After hearing this explanation, Laine thought that even if the problem lay with Gailte, the Blood Axe had no recourse. The contract they signed proved Gailte had already paid. Hence, it didn't matter how the Great Alchemist made the payment, whether with straw or gold; the transaction was considered complete. Even if Blood Axe appealed to the Emperor, he couldn't help them.
The captain sensed something was wrong upon Laine's appearance, especially since he seemed acquainted with the mercenaries. Still, he bit the bullet and said, "Would the famous human hero, who single-handedly repelled thousands of the Barbarian Army, also protect these debtors, Mr. Laine?"
"No, the dispute over the ship fees between you has nothing to do with me. I just want to remind you to wait for a ruling and not resort to violence, understand?" Laine said gently, protecting Amelia behind him. This text is hosted at noⅴelfire.net
"Of course, I was just a bit agitated earlier. I apologize to this mercenary lady." The captain was pleased when he saw Laine didn't intend to intervene, and quickly apologized to Amelia to avoid offending the renowned hero, "I'm sorry, mercenary miss."
Amelia calmly accepted the captain's apology, lightly biting her lip in concern over the Blood Axe's fate.
The Sea God Knight soon appeared, and upon spotting Laine, paused in surprise. Laine quickly indicated he was just there to watch and didn't intend to get involved in the matter.
The mercenaries and the captain were then invited to the Ocean Church for arbitration. Seeing this, Laine turned to Veronica and asked, "Interested in going in to listen? After all, we aren't heading to the Aesthetic Society until this afternoon."
"Alright, if you insist." With a knowing glance at Amelia standing behind Laine, Veronica reached out to stroke the young mercenary's cheek, "Such a pretty girl! What's your name?"
Fear flashed in Amelia's eyes, for she knew her disguise had been seen through instantly by the witch before her. She quickly hid behind Laine, "I am Amelia, beautiful witch ma'am."
"Don't bully the young girl. It's not easy for her working as a mercenary alone." Seeing Veronica's interest, Laine said helplessly.
"Amelia... Is it?" Veronica smiled sweetly, but Laine felt the witch's grin was dangerous.
Seeing Amelia shiver from the cold, Laine draped a blanket made of White Wolf fur over the female mercenary's shoulders, indicating she should follow him inside to listen in on the proceedings.
As if he were truly caught up in the matter.
In a shadowy corner of the street, a man watched as Laine and the others entered the Ocean Church together. He muttered to himself in confusion for a while before deciding to continue waiting.
The three of them entered the arbitration court. The Sea God Knights were very friendly upon seeing Laine enter to observe. A priest even offered him refreshments. They sat in the court, listening to the ongoing proceedings. Viert and the captain each presented their arguments, but it was clear the Blood Axe Mercenary Corps was at a disadvantage, as their arrears in ship fees were indeed true.
The trio sat side by side on the wooden observer's bench in the court. A temple priest listened to both parties' statements. Amelia sat to Laine's left, while Veronica was on his right. After listening for a while, the Jialan Witch shook her head, "Blood Axe can't win. The evidence is too unfavorable to them, though it's not entirely their fault. After all, the opposite party is the unscrupulous Great Alchemist."
"The unscrupulous Great Alchemist?" Laine's curiosity was piqued. "How so?"
"In the Imperial Royal Wizard Academy, there's a specialized Alchemy School." Veronica paused, her tone disdainful. "The wizards of the Alchemy School not only study magic but also learn chemistry and physics. The most famous among them is the Great Alchemist, Biersaze Gaert. This Great Alchemist is not only extremely proficient in magic but has made many contributions to gunpowder and engineering. His presence has greatly eased the innate hostility between the Imperial Royal Engineering College and the Imperial Royal Wizard Academy."
"But there's an issue here, which is that some Alchemist Mages abuse magic to transmute gold for consumption, causing inflation in the economic market. These transmuted gold items eventually revert to their original metals after a certain time (depending on the magic power used). This fraud is a severe economic crime that has tarnished the Imperial Royal Academy's long-standing good reputation. People often protest against the academy over such incidents." As Veronica talked about this, her sweet face was streaked with black lines. "So the Royal Wizard Academy has specifically decreed that any Alchemist Mage daring to do this will face punishment."
"What kind of punishment?" Laine asked, wondering what sort of penalties wizards, who weren't governed by secular law, could face.
"Wizards certainly aren't subjected to exile or imprisonment, but they still get publicly punished, namely being whipped by the Law Enforcement Officers of the Wizard Academy at the marketplace for all to see. For a caster, this is quite a severe punishment." Veronica shrugged, "At least, I couldn't bear it. If this happened to me, I might hide in your bedroom for years without coming out."
"And yet the Great Alchemist still does this?" Laine found it quite baffling; Gailte was knowingly breaking the law.