Work Prophet
Chapter 365 - 123 Mouse Woman

Chapter 365: Chapter 123 Mouse Woman

Sweet Water Castle. Leo saw two guards from the Lycet Family carrying a wooden box into the hall, and they tossed the heavy box down at his feet.

The wooden bottom of the box collided violently with the stone bricks, issuing a creaking sound as if it couldn’t bear the weight, indirectly expressing the displeasure of the master of the house.

However, it didn’t bother Leo at all. Since he took on this unlucky task and came to the western lands, he had become immune to these kinds of things.

And as long as the task could be completed, he could endure the scolding.

Leo gestured to an attendant beside him to step forward and open the wooden box.

The next moment, a dazzling golden glow caught his eye.

Without needing any instruction from Leo, the attendant began to count, and after confirming three times that there were exactly one thousand Gold Lions inside, he closed the box again and dragged it onto the carriage outside.

Leo cleared his throat and said to the little girl who seemed to be only about eleven or twelve years old sitting in the main seat, "I have received the donation from the Lycet Family, and on behalf of the Imperial Family, I would like to extend our thanks..."

But before he could finish, he was interrupted.

"After paying this protection fee, my castle won’t be attacked by those old rats, right?"

"Uh... I am not a follower of the Life Goddess."

"But you have taken our money. To gather this sum, I had to sell off more than half of the jewelry my mother left me."

"The Emperor and Life Goddess Valria will remember the generosity of you and your family."

Leo was somewhat at a loss about how to face those eyes filled with disappointment across from him, and after dropping that line, he quickly fled the scene.

He left Sweet Water Castle and took the carriage towards his next destination.

Halfway there, he suddenly felt an urgent need and had the caravan stop by the roadside to find a small tree to relieve himself.

While he was in the middle of it, Leo heard rustling noises behind him.

He turned around and saw a grey old rat with a big bald patch on its back.

Leo felt disgusted and kicked a small stone at the bald rat, but instead of scurrying away like a normal rat, it stood still, let the stone hit it, and just stared straight at Leo.

By then, Leo had finished peeing, pulled his pants up, and walked towards the peculiar rat.

It stayed immobile as Leo approached, as if it wasn’t the least bit afraid of humans.

So Leo extended his boot, stepping towards the rat’s bald head.

"If you don’t want its companions to find you at night, best not do that."

The guards nearby, hearing this stranger’s voice, drew their weapons, but Leo stopped them.

"It’s alright, she’s not an enemy."

The figure wore a dark green cloak, which was so wide that it enveloped her entire body, and despite it being daylight, the temperature seemed to drop a few degrees with her arrival in the woods.

"How is the collection of funds going?" she asked Leo.

"Since your involvement, the progress has been quite smooth. The Lycet Family has paid as well. I will report your contributions truthfully to His Majesty the Emperor."

"I don’t care about that sort of thing, just give me a list of the people who haven’t paid yet."

"Hey, hey, hey, don’t be so hasty. You’ve already had your little minions attack two towns and a castle, which has adequately conveyed the Life Goddess’s stance. Now it’s my turn to come forward. I will persuade those nobles to pay up willingly," Leo said.

"Your job is done; why not find a place to relax? Have a little drink, play a couple of games, and, um, maybe find yourself a man."

"Find a man?" The newcomer tilted her head, slightly puzzled.

"Have you ever slept with a man?"

"No, I’ve always only slept with rats."

"..."

"Then you should try sleeping with a man. It’s much more pleasant than sleeping with rats, believe me."

"I can’t sleep at night without rats to keep me company, and I doubt there’s a man in this world who would be willing to sleep with rats."

The newcomer stretched out her hand, letting the bald-patched rat leap onto it. She fondly stroked the back of its head then placed it inside her bosom. After a pause, she continued, "Do you know of the Arias Family?"

"Mhm," Leo nodded, "Ireya is the newly knighted female knight by His Majesty."

"That’s even less forgivable. She’s blessed by divine favor and should be sharing the Emperor’s concerns instead of defying both His Majesty and the goddess. The Arias Family must be punished."

Leo was taken aback, then quickly said, "Wait a minute, don’t do anything rash. It’s okay with others, but you better not touch Green Field."

"Why? Is there something remarkable about that Female Knight?"

"Ireya herself is not too much of a concern, but the Double Rest Sect behind her is not to be trifled with," Leo warned. "Especially Prophet Merlin from the Double Rest Sect—you must not provoke him."

Although Leo looked very stern, the newcomer obviously didn’t take his words to heart.

"I and my friends have conquered the Holy City of the most powerful Silver Moon Church in the west; a little sect I’ve never heard of..."

"The Double Rest Sect is not some little-known sect," Leo’s frown deepened, "Merlin and his Saturday just came to Bratis later. The Silver Moon Church has clashed with them a few times before, and they never got anything good from it."

"No wonder the Arias Family dares to refuse to donate. If I can change their minds, then probably no one in the west would dare not to pay anymore."

"Hey, are you not listening to a word I just said?" Leo was somewhat annoyed by being repeatedly ignored. Without further explanation, he simply ordered, "Just leave Green Field alone for now."

The tone of the newcomer remained calm, but her next words only infuriated Leo further.

"This mission, Priest Cornelia only asked me to cooperate with you. But I am not your subordinate and don’t need to follow your orders. I’ll act on my own accord based on the actual needs."

Upon hearing this, Leo scoffed, "If it weren’t for Priest Cornelia, do you think I’d care about your fate? If you want to go stir up trouble with the Arias Family and Double Rest Sect, go ahead. When you make a mistake and the mission fails, I’d like to see how you explain yourself to Priest Cornelia."

The newcomer didn’t argue further but just bowed slightly to Leo, then retreated into the forest.

As she disappeared, so did the whispering rustling sound.

Leo looked a bit displeased, standing still and looking in the direction the person had left, lost in thought.

Moments later, a guard reminded, "My lord, we should be on our way."

Leo gritted his teeth, "Yeah, let’s make the most of the time while that fool has yet to blunder. We’ll visit more houses in these days, collect as many boxes of gold coins as we can."