As time went by, the climate in the borderlands gradually approached the cold winter. Although it was still autumn, many commoners had already put on thicker clothes.
“Is winter coming already...?” Ogre muttered to himself, watching the town residents passing by.
He was not lamenting the seasons, but calculating the timing of the next beast tide.
The great cold wave came in a two-year cycle, and looking at the dates, it was approaching.
“I need to remind Folke and the others later.”
When the beast tide arrived, the entire forest and even the towns would become dangerous.
At that point, the villages would only have two choices.
First, hire Professionals to help garrison them.
If they were lucky, they might even get some help from the Church of Dawn.
Second, migrate into the city, paying money to escape the disaster.
Of course, if they had no money, hiding in the slums was also a decent choice; the Professionals Association wouldn't just leave them to their fate.
But the real danger in the slums was not the beast tide.
It was other humans.
‘I suppose someone is already watching me right now...’
Ogre walked down the street.
He could sense many eyes watching him—or rather, the chest he was holding in his arms.
Ogre was not quite sure how many scouts were among them, but they certainly existed.
“I have to be careful... It seems I can't go outside the city.”
In the short term, as long as they hadn't figured out his background, no one would likely come looking for trouble directly.
But Ogre understood.
His current background was completely a bluff.
It wouldn't be long before his reckoning arrived.
When the time came and he lost his value as a buffer, even if he didn't leave the city, they would sooner or later frame him with some fabricated crime.
‘This place is not a long-term home after all, nor is it my true final destination.’
Ogre sighed softly in his mind and immediately quickened his pace.
He had to make some adjustments to his plans as well.
He should try to minimize potential troubles as much as possible.
While there was still time, he should do what needed to be done.
...
Before long, Ogre arrived at his destination—the Church of Truth.
The Church of Truth held an extraordinary status within the empire; even if many nobles wanted to make trouble, they generally did not dare to do so here.
Truth Sorcerers were aloof and transcendent.
That was not just talk.
No one knew just how deep the foundation of the Church of Truth was.
But every time the most advanced creations appeared, they always flowed out from the Church of Truth.
Moreover, the history of the Church of Truth was even older than that of the rebuilt Kingdom of Engodo. In fact, every time a new emperor ascended the throne, they needed the endorsement of the Attendant of Truth (a position equivalent to Pope).
It was said that the God of Truth was still watching over this world.
Ogre did not know if these rumors were true or false, but he knew this place was safe enough.
“I'm here to deposit money,” Ogre said, straight to the point.
The Church of Truth also handled the most extensive storage and banking services on this continent.
With the Church of Truth spread across the continent, depositing assets with them was the most stable option. Not only nobles, but even elves deposited their wealth with them.
Their credibility was recognized not only by the elves, but even by those in the black market, who would even accept their receipts as preferred payment.
With so much money on him, Ogre naturally couldn't carry it all around. Converting it into a truth receipt was the most convenient option.
“Are you opening a card account, or do you want a receipt?” the receptionist asked as a matter of routine. Today's staff member was a short-haired, black-haired young girl. While not stunningly beautiful, she could still be called elegant.
The area where the Church of Truth handled storage services wasn't large, but it still felt extremely orderly.
It was worth mentioning that this place also doubled as a newspaper office and a postal service.
The business operations of the Church of Truth could be called the most extensive on the continent.
The best-selling Dandelion Daily was one of the industries under its umbrella.
When Ogre had first learned about the Church of Truth, he felt that it was simply not how a church should be, though he couldn't quite put his finger on what exactly was off.
By comparison, the Church of Dawn was still a bit too traditional.
“A receipt,” Ogre said, placing the chest of gold coins onto the counter.
Cards allowed for repeated deposits and withdrawals, while receipts could only be used for a one-time transaction. Obviously, opening a card account was better.
However, opening a card account required official imperial identity verification, which Ogre lacked—only nobles and formal Professionals possessed it.
Formal Professionals without identity verification were universally regarded as dangerous individuals.
The borderlands were relatively relaxed about this, but in the inner cities, trying to enter or leave without identity verification would lead to guards detaining and interrogating you.
Once confirmed to be a formal Professional who had not yet been verified, one would be arrested until they completed the verification process.
“A total of three thousand six hundred and fifty gold coins, all of acceptable quality.”
The receptionist poured Ogre's chest of gold coins into a strange box, and before long, the count was displayed.
This surprised Ogre a bit; he had assumed the receptionist would have to count them slowly.
But on second thought...
These gold coins seemed to be issued by the Church of Truth itself... so it made sense that they had a method for detection.
The gold coins Ogre had won totaled three thousand six hundred and fifty-two. The reason the detection count was short by two was because Ogre had casually taken two out when he left.
“For the transaction fee, should I deduct it from the deposit, or will you pay it directly?” The black-haired girl at the front desk looked up to meet Ogre's eyes.
They were indeed staff members of a major power; no matter the situation, you could always see a calm poise about them.
Ogre did not say anything, but reached into his pocket, took out a gold coin, and handed it over.
Every time the Church of Truth processed a deposit for a receipt, they would charge one gold coin as a fee, regardless of the amount deposited.
This was also why Ogre had managed to enter without any trouble.
Even nobles rarely came here frequently—minor nobles had no use for it, and high-ranking nobles possessed spatial items.
Only mid-tier nobles might come here.
If it weren't for the fact that carrying this money around was a hassle and spatial items were too expensive, Ogre wouldn't have come here either.
“Here is your receipt.”
The black-haired girl took out a crystal badge, operated it on a magic circle, and then swiftly handed it to Ogre.
This crystal badge was the receipt itself, and was also a cheap, mass-produced magic item. The magic array engraved inside could preserve the information for at least thirty years without dissipating.
This was also one of the exclusive secrets unique to the Church of Truth.
A dandelion drifted inside the crystal badge.
This dandelion was constructed of magic arrays, and its fluff was of various colors.
This represented the gold coins stored inside the crystal badge.
Ogre took a closer look and found that his dandelion badge had five orange hairs, six yellow hairs, and three green hairs.
‘Five, six, three... this should represent units of measurement. Red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, violet—these seven colors represent seven units of scale. The three thousand six hundred and fifty gold coins I deposited perfectly match orange, yellow, and green. That means red is probably the single digits. So a single badge can only hold a maximum of a million gold coins? Still, that's quite a lot.’
With a glance, Ogre understood its functionality.
He found this design rather interesting.
Using colors to distinguish scale allowed for the maximum utility of the magic arrays. Such a design probably only required around seventy small magic arrays to solve the entire measurement issue.
And it remained aesthetically pleasing. He could only say it was indeed well worth the single gold coin fee.
“Thank you,” Ogre said, putting the badge away and subconsciously offering his gratitude.
This thank-you caught the black-haired girl at the front desk off guard. It was rare for her to see anyone show gratitude to a receptionist.
Usually, since a transaction fee of one gold coin was collected, most customers would look down their noses at the staff.
“Y-You're welcome,” the black-haired girl stammered slightly in surprise.
Ogre smiled at this. He really hadn't expected this poised Church of Truth staff member to stammer just because of a thank-you.
Still, he didn't dwell on it. He simply waved, turned, and left the building.
Depositing money was only the first step.
He had other things to do.
Walking out of the Church of Truth, Ogre took out the silver badge Yade had given him and looked at it. Then, he raised his head to gaze at the tallest structure in the city.
It was a bell tower.
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