Chapter 2: Spend All to Buy Equipment (2)

Saint Sophia Cathedral, the largest cathedral in Constantinople and the headquarters of the Imperial Orthodox Church, is surrounded by many shops that are primarily properties of the Orthodox Church and personally operated by Church Deacons. Aske found a shop specializing in alchemy items and walked in, knocking on the counter.

"Good day, customer," the Church Deacon, dressed in a black robe, greeted him with a slight nod. "What would you like to purchase?"

"I have two shops that I hope to sell to the Church," Aske said.

"Ah, you must be Aske from the Achilles family," the Church Deacon recognized him by his looks.

After all, before Aske's parents disappeared, they would donate large sums of money to the Church every year. Therefore, the Deacon was somewhat familiar with this young master from the Achilles family, "Are you planning to sell both shops left by your parents to the Church?"

"Yes," Aske replied. "Please make me an offer."

"I am aware of the two shops owned by your family; both are highly profitable gold mines," the Church Deacon said. "For the apothecary on Theodosius Avenue, I can offer you 700 pounds; as for the tavern near Marina Tower, given that the restaurant business has been less prosperous recently, I'm tentatively valuing it at 550 pounds…"

"But I would like to remind you, Mr. Achilles, that these two properties are left to you by your parents, and they generate a stable income of about 10 pounds a month. If you are merely short on cash, you could apply for a mortgage loan from the Imperial Bank; there is no need to sell these properties outright."

"I understand your point," Aske lied, "but I am about to go back home to get married, so I don't have time to collect rent regularly from these two properties; I would still prefer to liquidate them."

The Church Deacon frowned. Going back home to get married? Aren't you a local from Constantinople? But given his fully armed appearance, getting married is probably false; the truth is more likely that he's going out on an adventure.

Seeing as it is someone else's career planning, the Deacon didn't push further. He turned around, took a real estate transaction template contract from a box on the shelf, and placed it on the counter, saying:

"Since that's the case, please fill in the names of the shops you're selling and sign your name at the bottom of the contract. After verifying the condition of your shops, we can complete the transfer and pay you."

Were it any other private buyer, they would definitely require a lawyer to review the contract before transacting real estate, verify personal identity, check property deeds, and request the Orthodox Church to be present for notarizing the whole process, which couldn't be done in less than a day or two.

This was also why Aske chose to sell directly to the Orthodox Church: it saves trouble.

After signing the contract, the Church Deacon stuffed the two documents into a fax machine, then invited Aske to sit down in the shop.

About half an hour later, after taking a phone call, the Church Deacon approached him and said:

"The properties you intended to sell have been verified, and the transfer procedures have been completed. Would you like the payment to be made directly to your bank account, or would you prefer cash?"

"Cash," Aske said.

The Church Deacon took out a stack of banknotes, counted them, and then handed them over to Aske.

The latter received the banknotes but didn't hurry to stash them in his wallet; instead, he asked the Deacon:

"Do you have blank Soul Contract templates here? I need to buy two."

"Soul Contract?" the Church Deacon was astonished. "What do you need a Soul Contract for?"

"I'm going back home to get married, to sign a loyalty agreement with my wife," Aske bluffed.

The Church Deacon responded with an "Oh," thinking that these nobles really know how to play.

The so-called Soul Contract is an oath directly affecting the Mind Body, bound by Extraordinary Power.

For instance, before spouses get married, if they write on the Soul Contract that they will never cheat post-marriage, then once the Soul Contract is signed, their psychological consciousness will incredibly resist any infidelity. If they forced themselves to breach the contract, they would inevitably end up with a mental breakdown.

However, a Soul Contract is extremely expensive, generally costing around 100 pounds, unaffordable for the average person.

Even wealthy nobles usually don't waste money on this, except occasionally during arranged marriages. The so-called "loyalty agreement" that Aske mentioned is essentially due to concerns about being unable to control their partner after marriage, jeopardizing their reputation. Hence, they rely on the power of the Soul Contract.

Having just received 1250 pounds and then spending 200 pounds, Aske's face showed no sign of regret. He carefully stored the two Soul Contracts and, with a smile, asked:

"We've just completed such a large transaction; is it possible to add a handgun as a bonus?"

"A handgun?" The Church Deacon started to truly believe the other was going to get married. How unsure are you about your future spouse?

Having signed a loyalty agreement, yet still wanting to buy a handgun to carry around? Are you planning to use it to kill a lover or your wife?

"Of course," the Church Deacon weighed his words, "According to the rules, for transactions above 50 pounds, I have the right to give you a 5% rebate. 10 pounds could actually buy you a semi-automatic rifle, but you would need to provide an automatic weaponry authorization permit."

"I don't have a permit; I'll just take the handgun," Aske said. "Do you have any powerful handguns? Preferably ones with a large caliber and robust armor-piercing capability."

"In that case, I must recommend the Imperial Eagle," the Church Deacon pulled out a black box from under the counter, "with a 15.2mm caliber. If paired with specially made ultra-heavy elephant hunting bullets, the muzzle energy can exceed 10000 joules, enough to blow a Titan's head off from the front. In fact, we usually only sell this to the Karma Empire in the North, as they use it to hunt frost giants."