In the Mountain Cave

"My Lord, all the catches have been inspected. There are no issues for now, and no signs of contamination. I've also told the fishermen that going out to sea is prohibited for the time being—I told them there are pirates roaming the nearby waters."

"How is it? Did they accept that?"

"Of course they did." Connor's expression was slightly odd.

"The wages you offered are enough to cover two days' worth of their catch, but is this really sustainable? We're hiring all the fishermen to do work..."

"Don't worry, we'll be short on manpower soon enough." Theus chuckled.

"This time we're hiring them to renovate the workshop. Once the renovations are complete, they will be our first batch of workers."

Connor hesitated for a moment but didn't argue. Workshops in the territory were cash cows; that was a consensus among all lords. However, skilled craftsmen required years of learning to master every step of the process. This was true for any kind of workshop.

Where would they find skilled workers?

Thinking of Theus's request to establish a school, perhaps he really had a way.

Theus naturally had a way. In fact, he had already planned the specific implementation. If it weren't for the delay caused by this strange contamination, he would be in the workshop right now guiding the workers through the construction.

Theus sighed. He only wanted to develop his territory, but he hadn't expected trouble to come one after another.

Fortunately, this contamination would be resolved soon.

Theus glanced at the sea not far away. The Banshees were gathered there, casting Flesh Magic on Monica.

Come to think of it, these Banshees possessed some bizarre magic. He wondered if it could be used to help with the territory's production...

This was the treatment location Theus and Nora had agreed upon: a sea cave.

When the tide rose, the seawater would submerge the cave ceiling, leaving the entire grotto underwater. Now that the tide had receded, they had arrived inside.

The water wouldn't rise here until nightfall, by which time it would be dark, so there was no need to worry about being seen. For now, the cave provided cover, making it a location Theus had carefully selected.

After reporting to Theus, Connor left the cave. He needed to keep watch outside. To maintain secrecy, only he and Theus were here; the other servants had returned after delivering the supplies and carriages to the perimeter. He had driven the carriage himself to bring Theus here.

Connor also knew what the Banshees meant to Theus, so he was extra cautious, avoiding any risk that might lead to exposure.

I hope everything goes smoothly, Connor sighed inwardly.

It was truly strange to think about. He had been a sailor on the open sea for many years, so why had he never heard of any such contamination?

"That is..."

Connor suddenly perked up. He saw a short figure walking slowly in the distance.

Right, it was Nora from the Silent Temple. Connor had seen her before.

But...

Why was she wearing full plate armor and carrying a massive shield on her back?

Connor felt a bit alert. He looked into the distance, but it seemed no one else was coming.

A person in full plate armor could easily handle an attack from over a dozen men. If they were riding a barded warhorse, they could scatter a hundred unarmored bandits.

When a rebellion occurred in a noble's territory, sending a few knights was usually enough. A single charge from a few men was all it took before the squires could move in to clean up the battlefield.

Although Nora was walking alone, Connor's expression remained grave.

"Ms. Nora, did you encounter a battle? Do you need my help?" he shouted.

Young Master Theus was not far from here and would certainly hear him. Besides, they could always hide in the sea, so it shouldn't be a major problem.

Thinking of this, Connor felt slightly more at ease.

But as Nora drew closer, Connor's eyes suddenly widened.

This is...

Heavy armor from the Northern Territory?

In the White Crow Duchy of the Northern Territory, priests charged into battle wearing heavy armor. That kind of full plate armor, specially forged by the Silent Temple, could even withstand volleys from Imperial musketeers. The military formations they charged through were like plowed fields, leaving behind nothing but blood and wails.

After a few tentative skirmishes, the Empire immediately became friendly and generous. After signing a treaty of friendship with the White Crow Duchy, they turned their attention to the western front.

It was just rumored that soldiers returning from the Northern Territory front seemed to have contracted a strange illness. The moment they saw that pure white armor bearing the Bone White Crow emblem, they would go mad and frantically recite the scriptures of the Silent Temple.

Looking at that bone-white emblem, Connor swallowed hard.

"This is necessary equipment for treatment." Nora's voice came from beneath her cold, hard visor. She took the flail from her waist and spun it a few times.

A puff of smoke rose, and only then did Connor see that one of the three spiked meteor hammers on her flail was emitting a faint mist.

Theus also walked out. Seeing Nora's attire, the corner of his eye twitched involuntarily.

"...A portable censer?"

"Yes," Nora said earnestly. "This one is for exorcism, this one is for healing, and this one is for..."

"Smashing people?" Theus asked subconsciously.

"No, all three can be used to smash people," Nora said with a straight face. "This one is for proselytizing."

Theus and Connor exchanged a glance and both chose to keep their mouths shut.

This Burier of the Silent Temple was more talkative today than before. For some reason, Theus saw something in her eyes... eagerness?

"Neither of you has been corrupted." Nora looked at the two of them with a strange expression. "Who is the one in need of healing?"

"Please, follow me." Theus led Nora into the cave, while Connor nodded at them and continued to keep watch.

"Get Monica closer to the water, Ash, and explain to Miss Nora exactly what happened... Miss Nora?"

Theus turned his head, surprised to find that Nora had somehow raised a massive tower shield, was holding a flail in her right hand, and had even lowered the visor of her helmet.

The white armor was meticulously maintained and looked incredibly menacing, causing Theus to involuntarily take a step back.

Is this, is this really equipment for healing?

Theus was highly skeptical, but he recalled that in the online games of his past life, it seemed to be the same way—the more skin the armor revealed, the higher the defense; perhaps these transcendent items could not be judged by common sense.

Besides, the flail in her hand... well, the censer, was indeed emitting smoke.

Ash had already awakened, and although she still looked weak, her spirits were good—with the Symbiotic Pact providing vitality, she was recovering even faster than imagined.

At this moment, she lowered her head and scanned the area before finally spotting the... short person in front of her.

There was no helping it; Theus was considered quite tall among humans, yet he still had to look up to speak with the Banshees, and Nora, even by human standards, was on the shorter side.

Therefore, Ash saw the tower shield first, then circled halfway around before finally seeing Nora standing behind it.

Nora tried hard to tilt her head back, attempting to look at Ash, and then...

Clack!

The back rim of her helmet collided with her breastplate.

Nora fell silent for a moment, then ceased her attempts.

Although this plate armor looked like a tin can, it was actually quite flexible; Nora could jump around in it without any issues at all.

However, this flexibility did not include looking up at the ceiling; the craftsman who made the plate armor simply hadn't anticipated such a use.

Damn it, next time I'll definitely make the Temple change this helmet design!