Ch.234Yuyeol’s Hall. Harpoon Bay (2)

“Party venue. I’ve looked into some decent companies. Unfortunately, there’s only one company here that specializes in manufacturing warships.”

“Well, can’t be helped. This isn’t a naval base after all…”

Like Fernheim and Harpoon Bay, this was an undefended city without a regular army, but aside from monsters, no one invaded this place.

It was protected by the tremendous name value of being the birthplace of a god.

And above all… as seen in the bizarre behavior of my soldiers, invasion by an army of ordinary people would be… well… impossible, wouldn’t it?

“So. The cost?”

“200,000 gold coins.”

“Is that cheap, expensive, or reasonable?”

“Well… don’t ask me as if I can answer everything. There’s only one company here, so we have no basis for comparison.”

“Hmm…”

It seemed I had no choice. Out of my million gold coins, spending 200,000 seemed quite reasonable… right?

Damn. Suddenly having so much money was making my financial sense go haywire. Where had the me who used to pinch every silver coin gone?

Though it had been nearly two years since I started adventuring (actually not quite, since I didn’t start on January 1st), I sighed as I felt my financial sense transforming into that of a nouveau riche desperate to spend money.

“Go ahead with the modification work then. Take the money as needed.”

“Understood. In the meantime, your soldiers will need somewhere to stay.”

“…They already have a place.”

“Ah.”

The sage understood the meaning behind my sigh.

I can only hope that by the time the hull reinforcement is complete, my soldiers will have overcome their misfortunes and return with their staggering bodies.

“By the way, are you alright? You must also be under Logos’s protection…”

Suddenly I wondered if Simon was immune to this rampant lust.

As they say, men are beasts even in old age. In this birthplace of the god of carnal desire that turns normal people into sexual deviants, are sages completely unaffected?

“Ah… He does protect me. I can feel it too. Quite intensely, in fact.”

“Really? How do you feel it?”

“I can’t get it up.”

Oh… oh my…

Curiosity killed not the cat but the old man.

I offered him my sincere condolences and hastily excused myself.

To think erectile dysfunction was Logos’s blessing… I wondered how a young woman sage would be mentally protected. Would her menstruation be forcibly stopped or something?

*

After my (somewhat unfortunate) meeting with Simon, I returned to my lodgings and summoned the brigade commander.

About 23 minutes later, the brigade commander entered with kiss marks messily engraved on his nape, and I asked him if he could still control the troops.

“Can you still control the troops?”

“Yes. Surprisingly, it’s possible.”

“It’s possible?”

The brigade commander nodded and began to explain.

“I was also puzzled seeing the soldiers fooling around in the brothel district, so I asked Medina’s priest. Apparently, the power here specifically amplifies suppressed desires. That’s why soldiers who normally have to suppress their sexual desires have ended up in that state.”

“Ah… I see?”

“So… there’s still no problem with troop accountability.”

“That’s good. Are they running out of money?”

“No.”

Surprisingly, my soldiers still possessed normal reasoning.

They just had tremendously heightened sexual desires. The fact that they could make rational judgments once their urges were satisfied was at least fortunate.

To be honest, I never wanted to see a maintenance worker thrusting his testicles into the Sky Warden again.

Looking at it positively, one could say that sexual desire was the only thing my soldiers had been suppressing.

Considering all the oppression and injustice that could occur in the military, it could have been a Pandora’s box. They weren’t becoming morbidly obese from unleashed appetites or slaughtering each other over human relationships—they were just sexually hungry and enthusiastically getting laid?

This was like a certificate proving that I had been treating my subordinates quite generously.

Considering that the most serious problem in armies led by knights in my position was internal injustice, I was in the upper ranks as a military leader.

“How are the officers doing? You seem to be having quite a bit of fun yourself.”

I joked with the brigade commander while tapping my neck.

At first, the brigade commander touched his neck with a confused expression, but when lipstick marks appeared on his fingers, his face turned bright red as realization dawned.

“The… the officers are fine too! This may be a city of pleasure, but it’s not a city of darkness. There are no prostitutes asking for military secrets, nor would they appreciate being told such things. Of course, any officer loose-lipped enough to share would be subject to punishment.”

“Naturally.”

In reality, prostitutes acting as informants is something you only see in novels.

It’s possible, of course, but how could mere whores who just shake their hips extract high-level information? It might happen, but that would be intelligence agents using honey traps rather than prostitutes being informants.

“For the next month, the Sky Warden will undergo major repairs and renovations, so select a warehouse and move all the soldiers’ personal items and other cargo there. Pay the rent with the money in the treasury. Understood?”

“Understood.”

“You may go now. And keep your neck clean.”

“…Yes.”

The brigade commander left, covering his neck.

He must have enjoyed himself quite a bit…

But I had no intention of blaming him. Soldiers are essentially designed to endure stress, so they should at least be allowed to pass on their genes.

This is Medina’s birthplace, so they wouldn’t be cowardly enough to use contraception.

I wonder why my wife and I haven’t conceived yet though?

I’ve been ejaculating inside her until I’m exhausted every day…

*

“So you’re the Knight of the Sun. I knew the Yangwol Order was still alive, but this is my first time seeing an Apostle of the Sun.”

The person shaking my hand was President Royce Ben, who would be in charge of renovating the Sky Warden.

I shook his hand and, looking at the Sky Warden being disassembled piece by piece by an enormous crane, said:

“Have you seen other apostles?”

“I’ve seen each of them once. The Crusader, Apostle of Karil. The Evangelist, Apostle of Medina. The Accountant, Apostle of Moneta. The Librarian, Apostle of Logos… What should we call the Apostle of the Sun?”

“Hmm…”

Come to think of it, I hadn’t given much thought to my apostle title.

The Crusader, Apostle of Karil, is called so because he wages endless holy wars. The Evangelist, Apostle of Medina, spreads pleasure and happiness. The Accountant, Apostle of Moneta, calculates endlessly increasing prosperity. The Librarian, Apostle of Logos, organizes infinite knowledge as the librarian of the great library.

Then what should the Apostle of the Sun, who bestows radiance upon all, be called?

During the Imperial era, there was no concept of apostles, so there was no need to worry about names. But now that the Four Gods have established the concept of apostles, the Yangwol Order should come up with something too.

After much deliberation, I found the perfect word.

“Luminator…”

“Luminator… sounds like a good word. I’ll address you by that term then, Apostle of the Sun.”

I nodded. Honestly, isn’t this a noble and dignified name?

[…Couldn’t you have used Japanese instead…]

Oh come on. This is the 13th century. Even your descendants can’t speak Japanese, so why keep insisting?

[…]

Don’t be so sulky. I’m doing a good job as an apostle, aren’t I?

The Sun remained silent afterward.

They say people get cuter as they age—is that why? Lately, whenever I converse with the Sun, he tends to give up first. Especially after yesterday’s debate about whose wife is better.

Of course, I did get a bit heated and said some inappropriate things… but still, my wife is a fresh young woman not even 20 years old.

Comparing her beauty to that of the Ice Grandmother who’s over 350,000 years old is unfair to my wife.

“Luminator? Why are you suddenly frowning…?”

“Ah… the Sun was just giving me a message… Don’t worry about it.”

“A message… truly an apostle indeed.”

“Do other apostles receive messages too?”

“How could one be an apostle without receiving messages?”

“Ah… is that so?”

I scratched my head and looked at the hull of the Sky Warden, which was gradually bulking up as numerous modules were fitted between the sections.

Soon we too will become stronger.