The moment he laid his eyes on the shimmering sacks of gold that Khalid had thrown in front of him, his eyes surprisingly lit up so brightly that he was even left speechless.
The priest was so flabbergasted by the twinkling gold coins inside the sacks that he could not resist the temptation to touch them with his hands. Feeling it touches his palms, Khalid just stares and watches as he makes such a cloying expression with those eyes.
"Ahem!-"
The priest scoffed, then smiled after.
After Khalid saw his smile, he already knew that the priest was up to something. There is just a cunning look in his eyes that makes him want more. A taste of great abundance and power.
"I sincerely apologize about what happened earlier."
Hearing it come out of his mouth made Erwin and Zev sneer as they rolled their eyes in disbelief.
'Look at this con man!'
Dal thought as they watched him put his right hand on his chest and bow down gracefully while his narrow eyes fixed on Khalid.
'-Bastard!'
He added.
The priest then stated that if they followed him inside the temple, he would be able to lead them to the saintess. So, as the gigantic door slowly opens in front of them, they have already noticed the hordes of sick and injured people holding their money and possessions for donation while begging on their knees for them to be healed.
Seeing it with his own two eyes made him remember the words that Reinhardt had spoken in the carriage.
"Do you understand?!"
Asked Reinhardt while they were sitting inside the carriage.
He was wearing a serious expression on his face, but it wasn't enough for Khalid to bother, as if he wasn't interested in anything at all. And noticing Reinhardt's reaction forces Khalid to reply.
"So? What is it that I have to understand?"
He then looks at Reinhardt.
"Do I have to make a study about abandoning their people in the war? Do I have to question them for their greed over money and power? Do I need to know where the antidote is and the hidden schemes of the saintess?"
Khalid had continuously asked questions without pausing after one another.
But then Reinhardt also replied within a second.
"All of it, milord, all of it!"
It is not the first time that Reinhardt has acted like an overprotective dad, so Khalid just agreed with him to not make things go any further.
'Got it.'
He mumbled while looking at the back of the priest, who was walking in front of them.
Just before they entered the temple, Reinhardt caught everyone's attention when a skeletal-looking boy bumped into him, making him fall flat on the floor.
"I'm sorry, kiddo, are you alright?"
He asked in a worried voice while trying to help the kid stand.
The boy was wearing a destitute outfit and looked so malnourished that bones were visible on his skin. He was then eventually startled when he started wailing.
*Hic!*
"P-p-lease help me!"
The boy implored, which almost made him panic.
"Wa...wait-wait! You have to calm down first!"
After saying that, the boy wiped off his tears as he looked at Reinhardt, who was kneeling in front of him and patting his head. Seeing the boy cry made him remember the first and last time Khalid cried in his arms when he was a child.
*Hic!-Sniff!*
"P-please help my mother!"
He wailed so much that it made him come back to his senses.
'What am I thinking?'
He thought.
"You have to get treated first-"
Reinhardt froze on the spot when he noticed the disgusted look in the priest's eyes.
Instead of helping them in the name of the god, the priest did not do a thing and just stared at the kid as if he were some kind of virus that made Reinhardt go ballistic.
"Why aren't you doing anything?!!"
His voice was contorted in rage, but he just gave them a hostile glare.
"As I've stated earlier, everything does not come for free."
The priest affirmed with a coarse tone of voice that made Zev raise her brow when the fake convivial act he showed a few seconds ago disappeared in an instant when it talked about wealth.
And hearing those words made Reinhardt's eyes so wide that he started clenching his fist in anger.
When Khalid noticed how he was boiling with rage, he immediately spoke before Reinhardt could even make a fuss, even though he knew that he was already trying to hold himself back.
"How much more do you need?"
Hearing it from Khalid made the priest's ears ring, forming a smile on his lips with his cunning eyes.
"Whatever you can give."
He replied.
'Let's see how much more you have!'
Thought the priest, who was expecting nothing more than to see how they begged on their knees.
Khalid already knew that this would happen sooner or later, so when he took off the pendant that was made out of good-quality gold from his pocket, he left them all in shock, making even the smile on the priest's face disappear.
"Treat the child and the mother as well-"
Erwin immediately cuts off his words when he notices the pendant he had given to the priest; of course, it was none other than the pendant, which symbolizes that he was once a member of royalty in the Ammyrs empire, so how could he give it up so easily?
"Milord, you can't, that's-"
He looked at Erwin as he spoke.
"I have no use for that."
"Now, treat them."
He added, but then his words and actions just made the priest let out a barrel of laughter.
*Pfft!*
"This one can't do."
His words made them confused.
"This mere gold wasn't enough to treat two people, was it?"
He added while pointing out that if they needed the child and his mother to get treated, then per piece of gold is equal to the person they have to heal, and knowing it made Dal and the others grit while Khalid stayed unruffled on the situation.
When the priest thought that he had nothing to give, Khalid took off the golden relic ring from his finger.
"Since the king of this land didn't give us any compensation after the war, this ring is the only thing that I have and nothing more; now, would you mind treating them?"
Khalid stated.
Even though the priest accepted the ring as a payment, he still looked unconvinced about his request, which made him question Khalid while making a confused expression on his face.
"Why do you care about these vagrants?! When you know they are nothing to be benevolent on?!"
Asked by the priest with a nonchalant expression.
Khalid notices that everyone's eyes are locked up on him as soon as he asks that nonsense question that he is not planning to answer, but when he sees how the child waits for him to respond.
He sighed before he spoke.
"I did not do it out of pity."
He looked at Reinhardt and continued.
"A person's life is more valuable than gold."
Stating it left the priest in silence before he formed another fake smile on his lips and responded to Khalid.
"Very well."
He replied as they watched him walk straight towards the crowd, where the saintess could be seen standing at the altar.
When the people made way for the priest, a ray of light struck the saintess, which made her face blurry, but watching how the priest whispered in her ears while forming a grin on his face made the others cautious. However, as they walked towards the saintess, her face slowly became so visible in their sight that a simple gaze at her appearance could already make the others waver from her beauty.
'That's it! Be hypnotized by me!'
She thought, but to be surprised, Khalid, however, felt disgusted the moment he laid his eyes on her when he saw a familiar smile of a girl pop into his mind.
'Ha- disgusting.'