Chapter 297: Rectification

“How could it be forced buying and selling? We’ve already signed a contract, and everyone here can bear witness. Those who dare deceive our great lord Basedo will surely be punished by the sea!”
“A contract? What contract? I don’t know what you plan to do to my magic ship.”
Seeing the calm expression in the other party’s eyes, with no trace of a powerful aura, the lead Silver Priest dismissed his concerns and said proudly, “You’re the owner of this ship? Perfect, then let’s finalize the deal!”
With that, he took out a money bag and opened it to reveal several gems glowing with brilliant light, worth over a thousand gold sols, surely not less.
“Wait. Did I ever agree to some non-existent deal with you?”
As soon as Donald spoke, the Sea God Priest’s expression changed, only to quickly return to a smile.
“You’re from Celt, led by your second prince to support the Magic Plague in the Siren Principality, right?”
“That’s correct!”
“Since you’re a delegation representing the Kingdom of Celt, then that official from your country has already signed the contract on behalf of your delegation, with the great Sea God as witness!”
Following the Sea God Priest’s gesture, Donald spotted that arrogant young man who looked down on him with disdain. He recognized that this person was either sent by the royal family or a distant relative. Though not a legitimate royal member, he always acted arrogantly relying on his royal status. But Donald had no interest in such a person—a parasite exploiting his royal title, lacking both strong military skills and administrative ability. Being appointed as an quartermaster was merely a privilege granted to him by the royal family. If the other party didn’t foolishly provoke him, there would be no interaction between them at all.
He never expected this guy to do such a thing. Did he hold a grudge against him, or was he truly that stupid, acting on someone else’s instigation to commit such a foolish act?
“Is he the one you’re talking about?”
The Silver Priest smiled triumphantly, “It’s none other than Lord Lassar. He’s also a member of the Celt royal family and is fully qualified to represent your delegation. You Celt people surely won’t break your word. Planning to tear up the contract, are you?”

Lassar, who pretended to be aloof and always looked down on others with his chin, snorted arrogantly and said, “It’s an honor for you, a mere local noble of the kingdom, to be able to forge such a powerful alliance with the Sea God Church for the kingdom. Baron Merlina, hurry up and complete the deal—or things will get difficult when His Prince returns!”
“Things will get difficult when His Prince returns!”
Donald spoke in a low voice, but his words meant the exact opposite of what that guy said.
One was a spoiled brat who relied on the royal name to show off, while the other was a noble lord with real power, second only to the royal family in status. It was obvious even to the simplest-minded person which of the two was more important in the eyes of the Second Prince. If the Second Prince learned that his relative had done such a foolish thing, he would surely be furious!
Donald looked at Lassar with pity—thinking Lassar had backed down while still acting arrogantly. He had not only offended Donald but also brought trouble to the team in the form of the Sea God Church. This guy really had no brains!
Then Donald glanced at the silver-ranked experts temporarily recruited by Dury, who were watching from a distance. He knew they must be involved. Ever since they met, they had spoken in a sarcastic tone in front of others, clearly dissatisfied with Donald, a young noble who seemed weak in strength, taking charge of all the battles.
Out of a habit of staying low-key, Donald hadn’t let Dury publicly announce their strength. He only revealed that he had two gold mages under his command but didn’t disclose their identities, nor did he reveal the identity of the legendary Sword Saint, Carlisle. Since both Donald and Carlisle had reached a level where they could conceal their auras, it was impossible for those amateur silver-ranked professionals to see through them. Thus, the young-looking Donald was seen by those people as nothing but a noble with an empty title, while Carlisle, clearly dressed like a swordsman, was thought to be at most a silver swordmaster. They were all guessing which two were the gold mages, ignoring the two strongest members of the team.
This proved Donald’s saying from his past life: You can’t judge a person by their appearance, nor can you measure the depth of the sea!

If these people knew that Donald was one of those two great golden mages, they probably wouldn’t have dared to pull such stunts earlier. The three members of the Sea God Church had indeed noticed something suspicious, but they intended to take this opportunity to seize this magically powerful ship, which was of great value to them. So they deliberately urged Lassar to sign the contract. “Since it’s him who signed the contract, then go ask him for the ship! I’m curious to see who he can represent and where he’ll find another magic ship.”

After saying that, Donald planned to return to his cabin to calm down, as watching those annoying guys made him angry. Moreover, due to his status, he couldn’t fight them, so he decided to wait for Dury to return.

But before he could turn around, the Second Prince of Selt rushed back after receiving news, accompanied by local noble officials led by the highest commander of the Peace Harbor Navy.

“What’s going on here?”

Seeing their leader return, the three priests of the Sea God Church realized that things might get difficult for them today. But with the contract in hand, they felt they had a valid claim, so they boldly declared their identity and met with the Prince of Selt.

“So you’re priests from the Sea God Church. I wonder what brings you here?”

The three Sea God priests remained silent. Lassar, a member of the Selt royal family’s branch and posing as an army supply officer, quickly stepped forward with an expectant expression, ready to praise himself and explain the situation.

“…Your Highness, being able to make a deal with the Sea God Church brings great benefits to us in Selt!”

Lassar continued to boast about his achievements, not realizing that the Second Prince Dury’s face was turning increasingly dark and ugly.

“That’s enough!”

“Huh?”

Lassar was stunned by the prince’s rebuke. He thought he had done a great deed by aligning himself with the powerful Sea God Church and deserved praise. Why did the prince’s expression seem so wrong?

Blinded by money and vanity, he never considered that Selt, as a legitimate descendant of the Banai Empire, would ever need to rely on alliances with various godly churches to boost its status and strength.

“Seize him first!” Dury ordered, and his guards immediately moved in. Two tall and strong guards grabbed Lassar, who was still in shock.

Lassal still struggled and made noise. The second prince gave a signal, and the two guards, who had already disliked this guy, and without considering his status, simply broke his jaw to prevent him from saying anything that could insult the nation.