Chapter : 60

But on second thought, Bishop Marco's words had some merit.

Romulus, the capital of the Holy See, was a thousand-year-old metropolis.

In this place, teeming with families that had survived since the era of the Ancient Empire, having no wealth was, conversely, proof of being insignificant.

Besides, in my memory, wasn't this Romulus the very city of luxury and pleasure in [Pangea Universalise]?

It was a city where spending vast sums of money for the sake of appearances was a matter of course.

Of course, that didn't mean I fully understood the goat beastman Bishop Marco's actions.

“Meeeeh-. Take this, Lord-nimu. Mer.”

“?”

Bishop Marco, who had been sorting for a long time, suddenly handed me a piece of paper.

At a glance, it was a list of sorts, with the names of certain families written densely on it.

“Oh-! Did you write down the families or merchants worth noting among them? Excellent. This will be a great help, Bishop Marco.”

“Mehyuhyuhyu-.”

Then, the goat beastman, Bishop Marco, let out a sigh as if completely drained of energy.

The problem was that our lord was too faithful-!

On this trip to the Holy See, Bishop Marco realized that his duty(?) was very grave.

“Meheh-! With Lord-nimu's reputation, why bother with lowly things one by one! Mer. The problem is that Lord-nimu tries to treat them too delicately. Meeeeh!”

“Is-is that so? Then what is this?”

Then Bishop Marco jutted out his chin as if proud.

“This is a list of those who showed a ridiculously low level of sincerity. Mer! You must remember this well, Lord-nimu!”

“……? Why would I remember that?”

“Meeeeeeh-! How dare they offer a smaller gift than is customary. That is an insult to our faithful Lord-nimu. Mer! You must not accept their requests when they come later with piles of goods. You must extort at least three times as much, meeeeeeh!”

“……”

Just hearing it made my mind go blank. So this paper was a ledger of sorts.

A ledger of grievances.

‘He really is a goat mad for money.’

Surely he hasn't been recording everything like this until now?

At the sight of his true obsession with money, I looked at Bishop Marco with a disgusted expression.

“Mwa? Why are you looking at me like that, Lord-nimu?”

“Because you seem so amazing.”

“Meheheheheh. Don't be shy, what's there to praise about that. Meeeeeh~.”

* * *

It was a truly chaotic act, but Bishop Marco's actions were helpful in their own way.

If I had attended every family's invitation, I wouldn't have lived to a ripe old age.

That's how overwhelming the courtship from each family was.

Thanks to this, I was able to tour the influential families of Romulus and strengthen our friendly relations before the Holy See summoned me.

The problem, however, was....

“I don't know why they drink so much alcohol, Magician Agpiel.”

They drank like crazy at every banquet. And strong distilled liquor at that.

I don't know where they learned it, but they managed to make it quite delicious by mixing various spices and wine with medieval-level technology.

“Hahaha. Romulus is a bit like that. Alcohol is a must at festivals here. What other drink is as luxurious as distilled liquor?”

“Ugh.”

They said it was the local culture, so there was nothing I could do but sigh.

Indeed, distilled liquor was a drink that consumed vast resources. To consume precious food resources like grains and fruits solely for a recreational drink was no different from a tremendous display of wealth.

“If it weren't for the goddess's blessing, I wouldn't have been able to endure it.”

I shook my head, recalling the memories of last night.

A feast of endlessly offered glasses of wine!

The nobles kept refilling my glass as if they couldn't stand to see it empty.

For a moment, I was under the illusion that I had woken up from the game and returned to Korea.

“Tsk tsk. Who told you to accept so much? You should have refused moderately.”

“If I refuse, how embarrassed would the noble who offered it be?”

“Hahaha. Wasn't it just because you like alcohol? You've been drinking very well at every banquet since last time. That... bomb shot, was it? You even made that strange thing.”

“A-ahem. It is all for the sake of strengthening our friendship.”

I tried to make an excuse, but it was pathetic. I cleared my throat in embarrassment, stretched stealthily, and looked around.

The banquet that had started last night was still ongoing, even though the sun was high in the sky. Especially in the corner of the banquet hall where Bishop Marco was.

“Meheh meheh. The world is spinning. Mer. Now, hurry and pour the wine-! I am the closest aide to the faithful Lord-nimu! Mer.”

“Oh, my, I just saw. Hey there! Our Bishop's glass is empty. Hurry and pour him a drink-!”

“Meeeeeh~. Excellent, mer! I will tell the Lord-nimu.”

“Ugh-huh-huh. Thank you-! Here is a small but insignificant gift, Bishop.”

“Meheheheheh.”

As the people got drunk, Bishop Marco, like a fish in water, was stealthily extorting gifts(?).

‘He's really amazing….’

It was an exploitative ability that was nothing short of astonishing. And the nobles who were giving him those things were also so natural about it that I wondered if this was a daily occurrence here....

It was a difficult place to understand.

This city called Romulus.

“Alright. Then I will be on my way. I attended for your sake, but these banquet halls are really not to my taste.”

“Do you have somewhere to go?”

“Hmm, the sun is high in the sky, so I think I'll go to the university. In fact, there are very few places with intellectuals of such a high level to exchange knowledge like in Romulus.”

“Oh-!”

My face lit up at those words.

The university.... Come to think of it, wasn't the city of Romulus the center of culture and scholarship in [Pangea Universalise]?

It was this great city of Romulus that produced a huge number of scholars through its great university, which had continued its legacy since the era of the Ancient Empire.

‘And I remember that there were quite a few famous figures from [Pangea Universalise] there….’

If I met them and worked on our favorability, it would surely be a great help later on. And if, by some stroke of luck, I could recruit them, it would be the icing on the cake.

Having organized my thoughts, I rose to follow Magician Agpiel.

“I will go with you, Agpiel.”

“Hmm? What about the banquet?”

“Well.... even if I leave, I don't think anyone will notice, do you? Magician Agpiel.”

“Haha, that's true.”

More than half of the banquet attendees had already lost consciousness and were collapsed on the floor.

Those who were still sane were also heavily intoxicated and were about to collapse soon. In a situation like this, it was certain that no one would notice if I slipped away.

“What will you do if the sobered-up nobles look for you?”

“Well, I can just tell a servant here and leave. If they're that desperate, they'll send someone to contact me, won't they?”

“Well, if you put it that way, I won't stop you….”

Then Magician Agpiel said with a sour expression.

“It will be less interesting than you think. You might even get your feelings hurt. As you know, scholars tend to be a bit single-minded.”

“Well, that's fine. I don't care about things like that, Magician Agpiel. And I think it would be more interesting to listen to the scholars' lectures than to attend these banquets.”

I was sick and tired of alcohol now.

Besides, all I heard at the banquets was self-praise, with everyone complimenting each other.

Some were very pleased with this excessive praise, calling it honorable, but from my modern perspective, it was to the point where I wondered if they were being sarcastic.

In a situation like this, it seemed more interesting to just talk with scholars. And it would be even better if we became friends and I could recruit them.

“Haha. You are quite peculiar. Alright, fine. Let's go together. I have a friend at the university anyway, so I'll introduce you.”

“Oh-! Excellent.”

Whether he knew my dark(?) intentions or not, Magician Agpiel said with a smile. Nobles with whom one could have a conversation were always precious and welcome.

* * *

The university was quite far away.

It was in a rather remote part of the city of Romulus, and it was said that since they didn't have enough money to build it inside the city, they had renovated an abandoned royal castle from the era of the Ancient Empire.

It seemed that the problem of land prices was serious even in this era.

“What kind of person are we going to meet? Is he a magician like Agpiel?”

“Hmm. No. He's just a scholar who studies general medicine. A normal human. We became friends in the past when I asked him about treatment methods.”

“Oh?”

A scholar who could be consulted by a magician didn't seem like a normal human at all.

A famous magician would know many things. Even more so for Agpiel, who was called a sage. A scholar who could advise such an Agpiel?

That might be a person with incredible abilities.

“He must be a great physician? For Agpiel to ask him.”

I asked again, my heart fluttering. Then Magician Agpiel stroked his beard with an ambiguous expression.

“Well.... his medicine is not that great, actually. He's not good at diagnosing, well, he's a quack. Hahaha.”

“Pardon?”

“In terms of medical knowledge, he's probably worse than the other students studying at the university. Strictly speaking, he's not even a doctor.”

Huh?

What is this all about now.

“And you ask such a person for treatment methods and exchange knowledge with him?”

“Hahaha, how can a person be bad at everything? If there's something you're good at, there's something you're bad at. And if there's something you're bad at, there's something you're good at. Come to think of it, you might even like him more. More than the banquet earlier.”

“Hmm.... is that so.”

The longer the explanation, the more confusing it got.

“Hahaha. What are you thinking so hard about? You can just go and see for yourself.”

Magician Agpiel smiled mischievously, as if my expression was amusing.

Then, Magician Agpiel stopped in front of a door. Agpiel, who had looked inside, brightened up and beckoned to me.

“Come on, this way. Hmm, we've arrived just in time. This is something you don't get to see often.”

“???”

Don't get to see often?

Are they putting on some kind of show? I followed Magician Agpiel with curiosity.

And there.

“Now, esteemed guests-! Welcome, welcome.”

A man standing with a patient on a prepared stage.

-Clap clap clap clap!

And a large crowd watching and cheering.

“Ooooh-!”

“Today, in Romulus, the surgical procedure of the famous master of surgery, Master Vesalius, will soon begin!”

-Tiriring!

[You have discovered a 3-star advisor for the first time.]

[Character information is provided as a first discovery reward trait.]

[Andreas Vesalius]

[Rank: 3-star]

[Founder of anatomy and master of surgery. If recruited, your favorability with the Holy See may decrease. Please be careful.]