CHRONICLES of a PC Gamer Stuck Inside an RPG (Book One: Duelist)

Chapter 58 - The Secret Ambassador

The three of us turned our attention to the forgotten man in the room.

Bishop Canterbury smiled politely at the sudden attention directed toward him but held firm.

Lord Bane flapped his wings. "By all means, do tell us," he ordered impatiently.

"Yes, we can keep a secret, right Lawrence?" Lady Musa winked at me.

"If that is your wish, goddess," I bowed politely.

His concern ameliorated, the Holy One's lips loosened. "It took a while for undercover investigators of the Church to identify this contact. We know that the elves, in general, do not trust humans," Canterbury began.

"Right, because the elves have long lifespans and even longer memories passed down from generation to generation. And what happened to the drows could easily happen to them as well," Bane interrupted.

His lover gave her a stink eye, and the demon lord shut his mouth immediately.

"You are correct, milord," the old cleric nodded and continued. "So while Tregome is an important market town for the elves, the elves do not linger and stay in Tregome for long. This is why we do not have any elves as shopkeepers in this town, even though the other nonhuman races have set up their shops here. We know that the elves have rented a room across from your own at The Noble Lady, Lord Mulligan, and they have prepaid for that room for three years. Before this arrangement was accepted by the inn, the nominal owner had contacted me personally for permission to accept this arrangement."

My curiosity was piqued by the term "nominal owner." If Vern, the orc, wasn't the true owner of The Noble Lady, then who own it? I filed the question in my mental to-do list and focused on Bishop Canterbury's impromptu lecture.

"I was just as puzzled by this proposal as Vern was. While I understood the desire of the elves to set up an outpost in Tregome, they could have petitioned the Church officially and we would have welcomed the Elven Nation setting up an official embassy within our town. However, they chose not to do so. Since I recognized the importance of welcoming the elves to Tregome as traders, I gave Vern my approval and requested that the long-term lease to be made on terms that were more favorable to the elves. Specifically, I granted a waiver of the usual tithe of ten percent on the transaction and also offered a matching ten percent rebate against future tithe owed by the establishment," the cleric revealed.

Lord Bane whistled at the generous terms. "How much is a week's rent at The Noble Lady?" he asked out of curiosity.

"Twenty-one silver pieces," I replied immediately. I would know since I was renting my room for exactly a week.

"Let's see . . . there are fifty-two weeks in a year. The yearly rent is one thousand ninety-two silver pieces," the demon calculated out loud. "Three years' rent is three thousand two hundred seventy-six silver. Twenty percent of that is six hundred fifty-five silver and twenty copper pieces. That's a hefty amount you're forfeiting on behalf of the Church," Bane remarked.

I was very surprised to discover that the demon lord was able to calculate numbers so quickly without using pen and paper (or a calculator app on my smartphone, in my case). The little guy had many hidden talents!

Lord Bane noticed my incredulous expression and smirked while tapping the side of his head lightly with a black claw.

"If you boys would kindly allow the bishop to continue," Lady Musa scolded us gently.

"Yes, once I gave permission for the elves to rent the room long-term, I decided it would be prudent for the Church to keep an eye on them in case they plotted to harm the human residents of Tregome," Canterbury said.