Who made him a paladin?

Chapter 12 The Spiritual Dressed Boy

To avoid soldiers who might know Sylvie, the group circled most of the Deer Forest, only returning to the sparsely populated North Gate of Wes City the following afternoon.

Throughout the journey, Linus walked ahead without exchanging a single word with Xia Nan, and didn't even bother to think about how Xia Nan had killed the goblin.

Perhaps for Linus, a trainee like Xia Nan, who was not up to par, simply did not interest him.

Sylvie and Lisa are much more interesting.

The former's gaze occasionally drifted towards Xia Nan, but when noticed, he quickly looked away and pretended to be admiring the familiar scenery along the roadside.

The latter is even more outrageous.

She took out her notebook and, through constant mental visualization, drew the untold story of Xia Nan in leather pants and the goblin.

That's right, Lisa also has a hidden identity: the most famous "H" comic artist in the black market, as well as a fan fiction author.

Her pen name is Mei Yangyang.

In a hurry, the group parted ways in the alleyway at the North Gate.

The succubus, bound hand and foot, was escorted by Sylvie and Linus to the Lighthouse Church to await trial.

During this time, he even reminded Xia Nan to come over as soon as he finished dealing with his business.

After all, she was very curious about what other novel methods Xia Nan could use.

……

Ding-dong—

Xia Nan and Bruce pushed open the wooden door of Karl's Equipment Shop, and the familiar smell of iron filings and charcoal fire wafted out.

Short and stout Karl was squatting behind the counter, polishing the iron pipes with a small file.

Upon hearing the door open, she jumped onto a high chair, ready to greet the guest.

Upon seeing Xia Nan, a smile briefly appeared on Karl's face, but it quickly vanished.

Hmm... what's with these leather pants?

"My dear friend," Carl said, his tone cautiously inquiring, "I'm not entirely sure what you've been through... but if you need to talk, I can open another bottle of wine."

"Don't rush to open the wine." Xia Nan took out a sheepskin scroll from his waist and placed it on the counter. "I've brought the things back."

Carl's attention shifted from his leather pants to the scroll.

He then reached out and touched the seal pattern on the surface of the scroll, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes.

"Did you get them all back?"

"That's right, everything is included."

"You're my lucky star, my friend!" Carl jumped excitedly off his high chair. "I knew you were someone I could trust!"

"As per our previous agreement, I'll take care of the materials."

At this point, Karl took out an account book from under the counter, licked his thumb, and turned to a certain page.

"50 pieces of fine iron ore, 30 pieces of corundum ore, and one dwarven forging scroll." He counted on his fingers, "According to the current market price, each piece of fine iron ore is worth 8 copper, each piece of corundum ore is worth 3 silver, and the scroll is worth 12 gold."

Karl paused slightly and looked up at Xia Nan.

"I'll give you a discount; I'll just charge you 17 gold and 3 silver."

Upon hearing this number, Xia Nan appeared slightly lost in thought.

My entire body contains only 1 gold, 3 silver, and 8 copper pieces. How am I supposed to buy all these repair materials?

"I know this price isn't very friendly to you." Carl seemed to sense Xia Nan's embarrassment, scratching his beard as he spoke sincerely, "To be honest, I don't know what you're going to do with these materials. But you've helped me so much, Carl isn't an ungrateful person."

"How about this, you can pay on credit first. You can pay back whenever you have the money, and we'll waive the interest."

Xia Nan opened her mouth, but swallowed back the "thank you" that was on the tip of her tongue.

He is not the type of person who overspends.

Leaving aside the 10 gold coins in debt he already has, if he incurs this debt, his liabilities will reach 28 gold coins and 6 silver coins.

The monthly salary for a paladin apprentice is 60 silver coins.

Xia Nan silently did some mental calculations.

The exchange rate in the Pasar Empire was 1 gold coin = 20 silver coins = 240 copper coins.

Even if I don't eat or drink, it will take at least 10 months to pay off these two debts.

This doesn't even include the red ore.

Based on the quality conversion of royal monopolies, 50 gold is considered cheap for this thing.

Although [Greed] can drop gold coins from monsters, with his current strength, he can only fight low-level goblins; anything higher than that is an illusion.

Besides, with such a low drop rate, trying to pay off your debts by grinding monsters is no different from mining with a spoon.

But it's a path I chose, so I have to grit my teeth and see it through.

Xia Nan took a deep breath and nodded.

"Thanks, Mr. Carl."

"Oh, right."

Xia Nan was about to turn and leave when Karl called him back.

The dwarf's gaze fell on the leather trousers again, his expression quite complex.

"My dear friend, I simply cannot bear to see my companion dressed like this strolling the streets of West City."

Carl went into the back room, rummaged through the drawers and cabinets for a while, and brought out a set of clothes that were neatly folded.

"This is the long tuxedo I was planning to give to Baron Lancaster; it should be about the right size. Take it and wear it as an extra thank you gift."

Xia Nan scratched his leather pants, looking slightly embarrassed.

Xia Nan accepted Karl's gift without saying much. Although she didn't express her gratitude at length, she silently kept the kindness in her heart.

Soon, after a quick rinse, Xia Nan put on a proper long dress and stood in front of the full-length mirror, where she was taken aback.

Looking at myself in the mirror, I see I am 185 cm tall, and my Victorian retro formal attire makes my figure look tall and sharp.

Wear a plain white classic shirt underneath and pair it with dark gray slim-fit trousers for a simple yet elegant look.

Xia Nan securely fastened the silver round buckle on the shawl.

Looking at his face, his high brow bone and strong jawline give him deep and three-dimensional features, exuding a cool and aloof aura.

Only the short, messy black hair beneath his brown eyes softened the formality of his suit.

Yet it blends in a touch of arrogance and unruliness, like a mysterious wanderer roaming Mink Street.

It has to be said that the saying "clothes make the man" has become a concrete reality.

Xia Nan nodded with great satisfaction.

"My God." Bruce's dog head popped in from beside him. "Dude, you're dressed like one of those aristocratic gentlemen sitting in a coffee shop discussing business!"

Have you ever seen a nobleman drowning in debt?

Xia Nan tugged at his sleeve with a self-deprecating smile, turned around to thank Karl, and then left the equipment shop alone.

As for the broken sword, since it doesn't match this outfit, it can only be temporarily kept by Karl.

Interestingly, no sooner had Xia Nan left than Carl rushed to the backyard to unroll the scroll.

A gentle shake.

Nothing fell out.

Carl frowned and shook it twice more with greater force.

"Splash—"

A piece of lava rock the size of a fist rolled out first.

"This young man looks quite ordinary. How did he manage to get these stones back from the goblins?"

Before he could finish speaking...

"boom--!"

Hundreds of kilograms of soil poured out of the scroll, instantly burying the dwarf completely.

This is the soil Bruce had left over from digging the tunnel.

Xia Nan casually put the scroll away, but he was in such a hurry that he didn't have time to explain to Karl.

……

After traversing two streets, Xia Nan finally arrived at the Lighthouse Church at 123 Kerry Street.

Passing through the bustling corridor, Xia Nan stopped in front of a heavy wooden door inlaid with iron bars, which was the only entrance and exit to the interrogation room.

Strangely, the staff responsible for the rescue were frantically carrying people out of the building on stretchers.

Xia Nan frowned.

One of the men looked like an interrogator.

He was lying face down on the stretcher, gripping the edge of the stretcher with both hands, and his waist was moving back and forth.

As Xia Nan looked on in confusion, another female interrogator was carried out.

She lay on the stretcher, her body curled up like a shrimp, her legs together, her flushed cheeks suggesting she was enduring something.

Xia Nan silently stepped aside to make way and watched the stretcher team leave.

He realized that these people were probably under the spell of a succubus.

Xia Nan composed himself and continued walking inside.

Soon, Sylvie's figure came into his view.

She had already changed into a white-gold Rococo-style corseted ball gown befitting a princess, and her light pink long hair draped over her fair collarbone, giving her a touch of royal elegance.

"Hey, the turkey has turned into a firebird," Xia Nan joked.

Upon hearing this, Sylvia rolled her eyes.

"You have such a mouth..."

When she turned around and saw Xia Nan, she swallowed the words of anger she wanted to utter.

She blinked her eyes, her mouth gradually widened, and a faint blush rose on her cheeks.

It's incredible.

How could this person, after changing their clothes, be...?

"Your Highness, are you seeing a ghost?"

Xia Nan waved his hand, trying to wake the woman who was lost in her infatuation.

Sylvia, still dazed, touched her cheek with the back of her hand and stammered:

"No...no."

"I'm just a little unaccustomed to your sudden appearance."

To cover her embarrassment, she coughed loudly and looked back towards the interrogation room.

"The progress hasn't been particularly smooth; we've had twenty-seven different interrogators." She spoke in a deliberately calm tone, "Regardless of gender, within minutes of entering that room, they all turned into the state you saw at the door."

"How about I give it a try?"

"That's a good suggestion," Linus said, stepping out from the side. His voice sounded friendly, even encouraging.

"Your Highness, I think it would be wise to give Xia Nan a try. Since he is capable of completing the mission, he should also have a way to deal with the succubus."

It wasn't that Linus had a change of heart.

The reason he promoted Xia Nan was that he wanted to see him make a fool of himself in front of Sylvie.

During the interrogation, Linus had thoroughly investigated Xia Nan's background.

Born into a pastoral family, he never attended a formal college, and even the things he said in church a few days ago were unorthodox and heretical.

So, can you really pull off something big with this country bumpkin?

On the other hand, when Xia Nan saw that group of people again, he had already thought of a plan, but he wanted to turn this hard-won opportunity into an exchange of benefits.

"Your Highness, if I could get her to talk, could you grant me one wish?"

Linus took a half step forward, placing his right hand on the hilt of his sword at his waist.

"Intern, please be mindful of your position..."

"Shut up," Sylvia snapped.

To be honest, she didn't really believe Xia Nan could withstand the charm spell.

On the other hand, she also secretly hoped that this man could bring her some more surprises.

"Alright." Sylvia raised her chin. "As long as it's not too outrageous, this princess can agree to anything you ask for."