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Chapter 108: If My Lin Wei Were Here, He’d Have Made Them All Kneel!
Chapter 108: If My Lin Wei Were Here, He’d Have Made Them All Kneel!
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Nerinette departed, her face still shadowed with worry.
The room fell silent once more, leaving Lin Wei alone in the vast, empty space.
Where the Office of Alchemy had once bustled with life, now only a cold, uncanny hush lingered.
He scratched his head, his gaze drifting toward the counter at the very center of the room.
Come to think of it, that night—Nerinette must have collapsed right there.
So the Memory Stone had been hidden in the drawer, able to capture every sound in the room.
“Damn you, Nerinette! I almost forgot—I still owe you for that one.”
“When the time comes, I’ll ‘accidentally’ botch your order, make you suffer, and force you to apologize on your knees!”The wicked thought flashed through his mind.
Lin Wei let out a breath, knowing full well he’d never actually do it.
After all, Nerinette had left the evidence behind only to help the Holy See investigate what happened.
And it wasn’t as if he’d suffered any real consequences—his ability to use holy light had simply been exposed.
From a certain perspective… perhaps that wasn’t such a bad thing after all.
“If I help Veya complete this task, as long as I avoid the Pope, I shouldn’t run any risk of being discovered.”
After all, who would ever suspect that a bona fide Demon Lord could wield holy light?
And who in their right mind could imagine that the once world-dominating Demon Lord was now a member of the Holy See?
“The only real risk of exposure now is what happened back in the Lotai region, when I dealt with that demon…”
“Come to think of it… there’s a rumor about a traitor in the Holy See, someone who defected to the Cult of the Evil God, isn’t there?”
Perfect.
Looks like I’ve found my scapegoat!
“Alright, let’s get to work. The current order calls for eight thousand bottles of [Superior-Grade] amplification potions, doesn’t it?”
He unleashed a magical sweep across the room, making absolutely sure there were no hidden magical devices this time.
Only then did Lin Wei finally feel satisfied, forcing himself to rein in the old Demon Lord habit of muttering to himself.
Before she left, Nerinette had already written out all the requirements.
He glanced over the list of pending orders, and after a moment’s thought, he understood why that woman, Wilma, was so confident.
After all, the Holy See’s potion requirements were hardly as simple as they appeared on the surface.
Not only did they demand [Superior-Grade] as a baseline, but each potion had to grant multiple attribute enhancements and minimize side effects.
Even with the recipe in hand and Nerinette’s personal guidance, only a veteran alchemist could hope to fulfill the order.
But now that I, Lord Lin Wei, have decided to handle it myself, there’s no need for all that trouble.
“Honestly, the formula’s decent, but there’s still plenty of room for improvement.”
“If there aren’t enough materials, it’s only because the other organizations have placed orders too. For the Holy See alone, there’s actually more than enough.”
“But to be safe… I should tweak the formula a bit to save on resources.”
He snapped his fingers, casting a powerful barrier that sealed the entire office off from the outside world.
Lin Wei nodded to himself, a thoughtful glint in his eyes—he was fully prepared to get to work.
◇
Holy See City
A solemn, sacred aura permeated every corner of the Holy See’s capital.
Miss Rennie, the clerk, hurried in from outside, approaching the Pope, who was absorbed in her work.
Her brisk steps slowed almost involuntarily as she neared the desk. With practiced care, she placed a stack of documents before Selena and spoke in a soft, respectful voice.
“These are the files you requested. Just now, Duke Ous delivered all five million gold coins to the Holy See as promised.”
“The treasurer, upon hearing this, asked me to seek your approval—may we allocate a portion of these funds for the Holy See’s daily operational expenses?”
Standing at the Pope’s side, Miss Rennie quietly relayed the message.
“They mean that distributing all these coins to the populace or spending it all on winter supplies seems a bit excessive.”
“The Empire will also be providing relief, so perhaps we could reserve part of the funds for the Holy See’s own use… Several departments are running dangerously low on their budgets.”
But the woman at the desk—Veya—barely looked up from her work. She dismissed the proposal with a single, curt response.
“Each department’s budget was finalized at the start of the year.”
“I just held a meeting last month and confirmed that the funds are sufficient to last through the end of the year.”
“If the treasurer thinks the budget is lacking, then have him submit a list detailing exactly where the shortfall is. I’ll review it myself.”
If these key positions hadn’t been personally assigned by the injured archbishops currently in seclusion, she would have replaced the lot of them long ago. How much longer did she have to tolerate their constant testing? These church officials were far too used to their old habits of extravagance.
Outwardly composed, Veya’s frustration simmered beneath the surface.
Even with the war dragging on, did none of them have the slightest thought of practicing restraint?
Archbishop—the second-highest rank within the Holy See, just below the Pope. Unlike the Pope, whose position is determined by divine revelation, archbishops are elected internally by the clergy.
According to the teachings left behind by the goddess Alicia, the Pope is her living representative in the mortal world.
Archbishops, on the other hand, serve as a unique symbol of humanity’s devotion to the goddess—a living testament to her mercy and presence among humankind.
They hold the authority to bring grievances before the goddess on behalf of the Holy See, oversee the actions of the Pope, and ensure the smooth operation of the church.
That’s why so many critical positions within the Holy See are currently filled by people appointed by the archbishop.
Respected by all and wounded in the recent war, the archbishop’s authority was unchallenged.
Until he emerged from seclusion, Veya could do little but reprimand the officials he’d chosen—unless their misconduct truly crossed the line, outright replacement was out of the question.
The truth was… she didn’t really have any trustworthy candidates to take their place, anyway.
Even if she wanted to replace them, there was no one suitable to fill the gap. As long as she could curb their extravagance, that would be enough.
Still, if only Lin Wei were here at the Holy See right now.
Veya’s thoughts drifted to Lin Wei.
If he were dealing with the treasurer’s constant testing—pushing her patience to the limit—he’d probably have made the man kneel on the spot and apologize to the Pope by now.
“Yes, Your Holiness.”
Miss Rennie nodded, quietly making a note of the message she’d need to pass along later.
“Oh, right—how are things at the Imperial Capital’s Academy of Magic?”
Once Veya started thinking about Lin Wei, she couldn’t help but let her thoughts wander further. It had only been a single morning since they’d parted, but it felt as if ages had passed—like it had been a lifetime since she’d last seen him.
Veya kept up the appearance of working, but her mind was entirely preoccupied with news about her husband.
“I heard that most of the assistants in the Alchemy Department were injured during the Evil God’s incursion, and can’t continue their work.”
“Today… that adventurer, Lin Wei, should have gone to check on things. Has any word come back yet?”
Even though she’d already discussed the matter with Lin Wei this morning, since it involved critical supplies, she couldn’t help but ask again—just to be sure.
“There is news!”
Is Her Holiness getting a little too invested in that Lin Wei fellow? Miss Rennie couldn’t help but think so.
Still, she remembered how, not long ago, a single letter from Lin Wei had transformed the Pope into such a dashing figure. Even if she felt a twinge of envy, she would never let it show—for Her Holiness’s sake. Nodding promptly, Miss Rennie gave her report.
“According to the Holy See’s latest intelligence, nearly all potion ingredients and finished products on the Imperial Capital’s market have been swept up—deliberately cleared out. Even alchemists from surrounding regions have been contracted for short-term work by the Royal Noble Magic Academy.”
“At the moment, the Academy of Magic is facing a severe shortage of both potion materials and skilled personnel. Just this morning, people from the Royal Noble Magic Academy tried to take advantage of the situation and snatch away their pending orders.”
“However, adventurer Lin Wei happened to be there at the time and managed to drive them off. The specifics are unclear… but that’s the general situation.”