Chapter 8: Laborer Neuvillette
Furina's excitement hadn't faded yet, but looking at the Iudex before her—dressed in such magnificent attire with a temperament so mismatched with this dilapidated courtyard—she belatedly realized a serious problem: this big shot seemed to know nothing about the current situation and was [email protected] complete novice to this other world!
"Uh... Neuvillette," she rubbed her hands together, trying to look like a reliable leader (though the effect was questionable), "since you've agreed to help, then... then I have to give you an emergency crash course first! Otherwise, when you see people using spirit tools for lighting later, don't go thinking it's some new kind of Indemnitium!"
Neuvillette nodded slightly, his posture still impeccable despite the backdrop of a crooked fence and a pile of flour sacks. "As it should be. Please proceed, Miss Furina." His cerulean eyes swept over the pots and pans in the corner of the yard that were clearly kitchen utensils. "Also, regarding the specific production and distribution process of the 'sacred objects,' I also need a detailed understanding." When he mentioned 'sacred objects,' there was a microscopic pause in his tone, as if he were redefining the word.
"Right, right, right! Leave it to me!" Furina immediately perked up and began her incoherent, scattered explanation of the world's worldview, a process that was quite jumbled.
"First of all, this place is called the Douluo Continent! We're currently in... some small, broken city in the Star Luo Empire? Anyway, it's not important!" She waved her arms. "The people here mainly rely on something called a 'Martial Spirit' to fight... Oh right, you're my Martial Spirit now too, although you can't fight for now... It sounds a bit weird, don't mind it! Martial Spirits can be hoes, swords, animals, or even steamed buns! There's all sorts of strange things! After all, even the body itself can be part of a Martial Spirit." She added, remembering the bizarre Martial Spirits from the original work.
"At the age of six, one can undergo an awakening ceremony, provided someone helps, of course," Furina spread her hands. "Everyone has a Martial Spirit, but not everyone has spirit power, and only those with spirit power can become a Spirit Master. This awakening probability, tsk, it's like a gacha game—there isn't even a pity System."
"As for Spirit Masters..." She curled her lip. As someone who had seen the power levels of Teyvat and had even (once) possessed some strength herself, her evaluation was quite blunt.
"To be honest, they aren't that impressive. Even the so-called Titled Douluo feels just so-so? In a burst of power, they might be able to level a hilltop? But their stamina seems lacking. They might not even be as capable of causing a stir as some of the powerful Vision holders back home. But there's no helping it; they are the main fighting force of this world. They're just picking the best from a mediocre bunch."
She continued introducing the core mechanism of Spirit Masters: "The main way they get stronger is by hunting Spirit Beasts to obtain spirit rings. Without a spirit ring, they can't even cast skills—can you believe it? For example, a basic First Spirit Ability might just be 'Bind' or 'Charge' or something like that." Speaking of this, Furina could hardly help laughing. "It feels... quite primitive, right? Like a newbie leaving town only being able to use basic attacks, and only learning skills after a monster drops a skill book."
"The color of the spirit ring represents its age: white for ten years, yellow for a hundred, purple for a thousand, black for ten thousand, and red for a hundred thousand. The further you go, the stronger they are. Though I hear hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beasts are pitifully rare, and red spirit rings are basically legends." She pointed to where her three hidden spirit rings would be at her feet and said proudly, "But starting with Purple-Purple-Black as a Food System Martial Spirit like me is simply being the chosen one! I am the Water God after all! It's only natural that I can easily do things that Mortals cannot." She completely missed Neuvillette's slightly furrowed brow as he seemed to ponder the logical connection between 'Water God' and 'Food System Martial Spirit.'
Neuvillette listened quietly, trying to extract the key points from this mess of information. "Spirit rings... originate from hunting Spirit Beasts?" He caught a keyword, his tone carrying a hint of inquiry.
"Right, right! Spirit Beasts are... creatures with spirit power. They look all sorts of strange, from grass and trees to lions and tigers, and even a bunch that look like chimeras; they could all be Spirit Beasts with spirit power." Furina gestured. "But my spirit rings are God-bestowed! No need to fight to the death! Eco-friendly and convenient!" —Even though they were bestowed by the System, ignoring the facts for a moment, hadn't Furina herself worked hard (by accepting the tasks)? Besides, since she had become the Pope of this Water God Cult and was the Water God herself, calling them God-bestowed was perfectly reasonable.
"Spirit Masters are divided into Ranks: Spirit Scholar, Spirit Master, Spirit Grandmaster, Soul Elder, Spirit Ancestor, Spirit King, Spirit Emperor, Spirit Saint, Spirit Douluo, and Titled Douluo." She counted on her fingers, getting a bit confused toward the end. "Oh right, and then there's the legendary God-level above that."
"Are there deities in this world?" Neuvillette followed up with a question.
"There are, there are," Furina nodded, then waved her hand again, her tone carrying a hint of subtle mockery. "But honestly, they feel just so-so, not as good as Barbatos... Although our Water God Cult doesn't have many Spirit Masters right now, I believe that under my great leadership, and with your assistance, we will surely reach the Peak of the world and unify the continent!" She began to fantasize about the future, completely missing the "Are you sober?" look flashing in Neuvillette's eyes beside her.
Then she continued to chatter about the international situation of this land: "Currently, there are four major Empires on the continent: Heaven Dou Empire, Holy Spirit Cult, Star Luo, and the Sun Moon Empire, which has a slightly skewed but still overwhelming technological lead over other countries."
"Oh, and there's Shrek Academy. Although it's an academy, it has a very strong armed force and isn't subject to national control, making it essentially a small country. Because seven gods emerged from there ten thousand years ago—different from the Seven Sovereigns. Anyway, it's currently the place every Spirit Master dreams of going. The tuition is obscenely expensive and requires recommendation letters from city lords and the like. It's incredibly competitive inside. As for their teaching and education, I don't think they can teach much; it's good enough if they don't mislead their students."
She specifically mentioned 'Soul Engineers,' brought over by the Sun Moon Empire and rising in the last few thousand years. "They're into R&D and weapon invention, making spirit tools. They can make anything from small things like lighting and heat preservation to large things like war fortresses. But I feel like their approach isn't great, a bit... well... too dependent on external objects and energy? Any random thing requires rare metals and such. In any case, it's not as practical as us handing out cakes!"
"Anyway," she took a breath and summarized, "here, Spirit Masters are the elite! It's as hard as climbing to heaven for ordinary people to undergo awakening! So the main purpose of our Water God Cult is—to help everyone Awaken! At least... give them some hope! And incidentally, hand out cakes to improve their lives!" She finally circled back to the main topic and began introducing her "great undertaking."
"Our Water God Cult's current main business is helping the children of commoners who meet the age requirement to Awaken, and distributing Cakes enriched with the Water God's grace! Eating them can cure minor ailments! Look!" As she spoke, a white light flashed in her palm, and a fresh strawberry cake appeared. "There, this is the basic model, the First Spirit Ability: 'Healing Cream Cupcake'! It can quickly restore some physical strength and treat minor flesh wounds. The effect... is roughly equivalent to a decent first-aid kit?"
She then demonstrated her second and Third Spirit Skills in turn: "This is the 'Swift Blueberry Cake.' Eating it can increase movement speed by about 60% for the duration of a meal. This one is the 'Purification Fruit Cake.' It can remove some common negative statuses, like poisoning or weakness. You'll feel more energetic after eating it, and all attributes are temporarily increased by about 20%. The effect only lasts for a little while." She introduced them quite casually, and the values were rough estimates; as long as they worked, it was fine.
Neuvillette looked at the sweet-smelling cakes of various shapes and was silent for a moment. "So, the spread of the 'Water God Cult' faith relies primarily on... giving away these desserts with special effects?" His tone sounded as if he were confirming the details of a very serious judicial case, even though the content was still a bit beyond imagination.
"Exactly! Food is the first necessity of the people!" Furina said righteously. "After eating my Cakes and feeling the tangible benefits, they'll feel grateful for the Water God's grace, and won't faith just follow? It's simple, direct, and effective! And look," she lowered her voice, "our doctrine is so harmonious—no fighting or brawling, just giving out cakes and helping people. How wonderful! It's much more noble than those Sects and Families that fight and kill all day over resources!"
Neuvillette seemed to take some time to digest this religious model centered on food distribution and assisted awakening. He spoke slowly, asking the key questions: "Then, how are the internal organizational structure, believer registry management, resource allocation records, dispute mediation processes, and... the production cost accounting and efficiency optimization of the 'sacred objects' currently being conducted?"
"Uh..." Furina's expression froze, her eyes began to wander, and her fingers unconsciously twirled her hair. "Well... haha... currently... for now... it's mainly handled by me... personally! I go by feel! Plus Mademoiselle Crabaletta and the others help out occasionally..." Her voice grew smaller and smaller, clearly lacking confidence.
Neuvillette understood. He looked around this courtyard, which had no planning to speak of and was littered with miscellaneous items, and formed a preliminary judgment on the extent of "personally" and "going by feel." This was practically equivalent to having no management at all.
"I see." He nodded without saying much more, but his eyes already carried a sense of "urgent need for systematic reorganization."
Just then, a growing commotion began to drift in from outside, sounding like a large crowd gathering. It was the believers who came every day at a fixed time to collect cakes, as well as adults from nearby villages bringing their children to try for Spirit Master awakening.
Furina slapped her forehead: "Right! This is the perfect time to introduce you to everyone! Let's give you a grand entrance!" Without another word, she grabbed Neuvillette's sleeve (not daring to grab his hand directly) and walked out.
As soon as she pushed open that creaking, broken wooden door, a dense crowd of people came into view. Most were sallow-faced commoners in patched clothes, their eyes filled with expectation and a hint of numbness. Seeing Furina come out, they immediately became restless, shouting "Lord Pope" and "Water God's Grace."
Then, their gaze fell upon the figure behind Furina.
The noise came to an abrupt halt, as if someone had seized them by the throat.
Everyone's eyes widened as they looked at the man standing beside their Pope.
That man wore clothes they had never seen before—so magnificent they didn't seem to belong to the Mortal world. His long white hair was groomed meticulously, and his face was handsome yet cold as a sculpture. His cerulean eyes swept over the crowd with a natural, breathtaking majesty. Simply by standing there, he formed an incredibly sharp contrast with the dilapidated surroundings and the ragged crowd, as if a Heavenly God had wandered into a slum.
The air was terrifyingly quiet.
Furina cleared her throat, trying to make herself look very solemn: "Um... citizens of the Water God! Today I'd like to introduce a new friend! This is Mr. Neuvillette! He is... he is my Special Envoy! He's here specifically to assist me in managing the cult's affairs and helping everyone! In the future, if you have anything and can't find me, you can also report to him! Mr. Neuvillette is most just and reasonable!"
As she spoke, she peeked at Neuvillette out of the corner of her eye, fearing he would pull the rug out from under her.
Neuvillette's face showed no particular expression. He simply took half a step forward and nodded slightly to the silent crowd. His voice was steady and deep, clearly reaching everyone's ears: "Greetings, everyone. I am Neuvillette. From now on, I will assist Miss Furina in handling the cult's affairs. If you have requests, you may present them in an orderly fashion."
There were no extra words, but that powerful aura and that indescribable majesty—completely different from ordinary Spirit Master nobles—caused the crowd below to freeze for a few seconds before suddenly erupting into even more heated discussion.
"Special envoy of the water god?" "Heavens... such poise..." "He looks so powerful..." "Even a Special Envoy has come to help us?"
There was doubt, there was awe, and more than anything, a strange excitement and anticipation. Though they didn't understand, they felt this Special Envoy looked especially reliable! Much more reliable than their occasionally flighty Lord Pope!
Furina sighed in relief as she watched the reaction of the believers below, feeling a bit proud. She nudged Neuvillette beside her and whispered, "See, everyone welcomes you! From now on, I'll leave maintaining order during Cake distribution, registering the names, doing the accounts, and mediating arguments to you!"
Neuvillette looked at this group of emotional, eager people and was silent for a moment. Assisting in the management of a religious organization centered on distributing special-effect Cakes and attempting awakening was indeed a responsibility he had never imagined in his long life.
But he still nodded, a hint of undetectable helplessness and... perhaps a very faint sense of responsibility flashing in his cerulean eyes.
"Understood." He responded, his gaze already turning toward the crowd, which was starting to become a bit disorganized. "Let us begin today's affairs. Everyone, please maintain order and proceed in turn."
The Iudex's re-employment in another world began with maintaining the order of the line for Cakes and awakening. His first task might be to figure out exactly how many of those children eager to Awaken actually met the 'age' standard—after all, some of them looked like it was a question whether they were even four years old...