The Demon God Was Bewitching People??

After watching Yveta's spell in the carriage, the Old Witch fell into confusion. The spell's power and duration are both ordinary.

If that fool at the entrance had a slightly stronger mind, the Charm Technique might not have worked at all.

Although succeeding on the first try when using a magic item is already exceptional among ordinary Wizard Apprentices.

But this one is Your Grace.

Was the Demon God deliberately holding back?

The Old Witch secretly glanced at Yveta. A Magic Awakening Ritual using six Gods' Names must hold even more secrets. I need to keep observing.

In all the histories of magic I've read, no one has ever borrowed power using six Gods' Names.

I'm curious to see what will happen, too.

After entering Kali Town, Yveta sat in the carriage and saw that the town's buildings were made of a mixture of wood and stone. He even spotted something familiar to him—streets.

This was the first time Yveta had seen something in this world that was part of urban life.

The streets here were simply rather narrow.

They were just wide enough for a single carriage to squeeze through.

And along both sides of the already narrow streets, shops had set up stalls downstairs.

Most people living in town were workers and small merchants, so the houses were essentially commercial residences with storefronts.

To let more residents sell goods from their front and back yards, they had simply sacrificed the width of the streets, giving everyone as much space as possible to set up stalls.

Along the way, there were cloth shops, leatherworkers, produce markets, snack stalls, and shops selling farm tools.

Most of these goods were made inside the houses.

In other words, the town itself served as both the market center and the hub for workshops for the surrounding villages.

As they passed a stall selling meat pies, Yveta had Alicia stop the carriage. He bought a pie about the size of a cake for two pence.

"Goodness, Master, that meat pie could have bought ten loaves of black bread."

"If you want some, Black Wolf and I could hunt a hare in the hills for you and sprinkle it with salt. It'd taste much better than this pie."

He felt a pang at the expense.

Reilly was usually quite thrifty.

Generally, he spent only about one penny on each meal.

That was why he had managed to save up so many gold pounds.

Yveta said to Reilly, "Don't worry about the cost. I just want to celebrate the first step in our grand plan to restore our country."

"Reilly, just think of this pie as a gift from the town's inspector."

At the thought of those twelve shillings and eight pence, Reilly's eyes narrowed with a grin.

That was right. With the twelve shillings and eight pence the official had given them, spending money now felt almost like spending someone else's.

It felt great.

Yveta climbed down from the carriage.

Reilly followed, sword in hand. "Master, you're still a target of the Little Brotherhood of Faith. Please stay alert."

Yveta nodded, then asked the meat pie seller, "Could I borrow that knife?"

The moment the pie seller saw the luxurious ornaments on Yveta's right hand, so fine they made him feel inferior, he immediately handed him the knife.

Unlike the serfs in the manor and the dazed tavern drinkers, the townspeople seemed shrewd and capable.

That was the advantage of free people working for themselves.

If work became a public duty with no reward, people would end up like the manor's serfs, doing the bare minimum without any motivation.

Yveta took the knife and cut the pie three times, dividing it into six pieces.

He gave the first piece to Black Wolf, who had been the first to follow him along the way.

He gave the second piece to the Old Witch, and the third to Reilly.

Then he ate one piece himself, climbed back out of the carriage, and gave the remaining two pieces to Alicia and her child.

Alicia accepted the meat pie, somewhat overwhelmed by the honor. "Thank you, sir."

"God of All Things will surely reward your generosity and kindness, and make all your plans go smoothly. But my child and I only need one piece between us. Any more would be..."

Yveta ignored her and handed a piece of meat pie to the child hiding behind her. "Alicia, don't casually refuse your lord's kindness."

"What I say goes. That's your duty to me."

The child timidly accepted the pie. "Thank you... big brother..."

Alicia hurriedly gripped his shoulders and whispered angrily, "You should call him 'sir'! Use a respectful title!"

After returning the knife to the pie seller, Yveta turned to the people in the carriage. "Everyone, we've just entered a town in the Viscount Country of Ambrose. For now, we can only share one meat pie."

"But I believe that by the time we leave the Viscount Country of Ambrose, we'll be able to share the wealth of an entire territory."

Black Wolf and Reilly exchanged knowing smiles, while Alicia felt a warm glow inside.

The Old Witch, of course, wasn't impressed by the price of a pie. Instead, her heart sank. As expected of a Demon God—he really knew how to win people over.

In some myths and legends whose origins had been lost to time, it was said that Demon Gods bewitched people and incited rebellions, plunging kingdoms into war.

It seemed the tales were true.

Although the Old Witch was curious about Yveta, she was still afraid that staying by the Demon God's side would bring her terrible misfortune.

She said, "Your Grace, we should hurry to Ambrose, the capital of the Viscount Ambrose's Independent State."

"It's a city with a population of over a hundred thousand."

"There are more opportunities there, and my Beloved Disciple will welcome you."

Yveta looked at her with some confusion.

He had no idea what this witch was up to. She kept urging him to go to Ambrose.

Black Wolf suddenly spoke up. "Before we go to Ambrose, why don't we visit the local branch of the Adventurer's Association?"

"First, we can earn some money to cover travel expenses and the cost of weapons and supplies."

"Second, there might be some interesting jobs in this town."

"We're already here, after all."

Yveta's eyes lit up. "Good idea."

The Old Witch glared at Black Wolf, the damned Demon Hunter. "Your Grace, you're looking for jobs that can bring you wealth, or even territory. What kind of jobs could there be in a shabby little town like this?"

Black Wolf said, "Not necessarily. This town is probably so prosperous because it's on the main road into the Viscount Country. It may not have many people, but it's a strategic location."

Yveta said, "Then let's go to the town's Adventurer's Guild."

The Old Witch glared resentfully at Black Wolf, suddenly tempted to make a little straw doll of him and stick a few steel needles into it.

She had to come up with a new plan to get Yveta to Ambrose as soon as possible, so she could meet up with her disciple.