The hero's gender is yet to be determined after rebirth.

Sally was taken aback: "Please speak."

The old priest said, "Our church has never had any sacred relics. If you don't mind, I would like to rent this one."

During the spellcasting, the old priest noticed that although this item had no attributes and was unsuitable for wearing, it was at least A-grade in terms of condensing magical power. Perhaps it was due to some special metal material that it produced an effect similar to a magic wand.

This was a small use that the old priest discovered only after years of using holy magic. Another appraiser might not have even noticed it.

With this sacred relic, the effectiveness of prayers within the temple will surely be enhanced; who knows, a miracle might even occur someday. Wouldn't the believers then crowd the doors? That would generate a lot of money... cough cough, it would gather a great deal of faith! The old priest pondered in his heart.

Sally was a little taken aback: "Rental?"

“Yes. Because I know this item is of great significance to you, but you can come and see it whenever you want; ownership remains yours. We're simply placing it near the statue of the Holy Light in the temple.” The old priest considered for a moment, “A rental price of four gold coins per year, for a three-year lease initially, what do you think?”

“Four years, twelve gold coins…” Sally was a little slow to react.

If the witch mother were here, she would immediately return Lorenwei's five gold coins as a deposit, without considering her future son-in-law, and then sign a contract with the church.

How could an ordinary person who values ​​money so much possibly let go of such a chance to make a fortune? Although there would be many drawbacks, they would never want to watch someone else make money off the things they just sold.

However, anyone with a modicum of sense wouldn't do something so short-sighted as to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs; they should understand that breaking the contract with Lorenwei would only result in more losses than gains.

However, Sally hadn't considered such a complicated matter at all. She simply bowed slightly to the priest and apologized, "Your Excellency, I'm sorry, this item has already been agreed to be sold to Lorenve."

"Huh?" The priest was taken aback.

Lorenwei smiled and said, "I only paid a deposit. You can refund my deposit and reach a new agreement with the church."

"No, no, we made a promise, and I absolutely won't go back on my word." Sally quickly shook her head, carefully wrapped the relic that was still radiating a divine glow, and stuffed it into Lorenwei's hands.

But her gaze remained fixed on it.

Lorenwei didn't refuse and turned directly to the priest: "Then how about I rent this holy relic to your church?"

“Alright! Then we have an agreement!” the priest immediately agreed.

If I had known it was Lorenwei, raising the price to twenty gold coins a year would have been worthwhile! The priest thought to himself, "Perfect! It's just perfect to befriend Lorenwei."

Sometimes, things like leasing are just excuses to build relationships and give gifts.

Lorenwei said to Sally, "Next, shall we go to your house? We can continue our visit. We had a good chat with your mother and are looking to learn more about the Sword Saint Warrior."

This was said to others, especially those girls, so that they would know that Sally was their friend, not a punching bag to be bullied.

Sylph, standing next to Lorenve, quietly pinched her.

“Come to my house? Sure, oh no!” Sally had just agreed, but then suddenly realized what she meant.

If I go now, I'm afraid my mother will start pressuring Lorenwei to get engaged!

Sally, as her daughter, knew very well what her mother was thinking.

For the witch mother, Lorenwei was a golden opportunity that had fallen from the sky, and she absolutely couldn't let him go. Forget about subtly courting him; she'd probably go to any lengths to keep Lorenwei overnight!

"Uh, is it inconvenient? Then let's do it another day." Lorenwei had originally intended this for others to hear, and she showed a slightly disappointed expression when she saw that Lorenwei refused.

"I'm so sorry, I'll treat you to dinner another day." Sally felt very embarrassed and silently apologized to Lorenwei in her heart.

“Okay.” Lorenwei nodded. “Oh, right, I should pay you five gold coins.”

Sally quickly refused, "No, no, five gold coins is already very expensive!"

“No, we made a promise. You’ve always kept your word. If I don’t pay you, wouldn’t I be breaking the contract?” Lorenwei said seriously, with a smile on her face.

Sally looked at him and felt he had a gentlemanly air about him.

Then, she saw how elegantly Lorenwei took out the five gold coins.

Sally felt her heart beating a little fast, but she shook her head sharply to drive the feeling away.

No, no, how could I be attracted by a good-looking person casually pulling out money? Sally reminded herself that looks and wealth are not synonyms for love!

Just then, Lorenwei wanted to hand the five coins to Sally, and seeing that she seemed a little distracted, she took Sally's hand without hesitation...

“Cough cough…” Siruf coughed.

At the same time, Lorenwei felt a sharp pain in her lower back.

"Ahem, it's a habit, sorry." Lorenwei explained, but still insisted on completing the action. Wouldn't it be a bit embarrassing to withdraw her hand now?

Sally felt her cheeks burning; it was the first time a boy (just kidding) had held her hand.

Sylph snorted.

Lorenwei bid farewell to the priest, who promised to take good care of the sacred relics and personally cast a spell to create a small protective barrier before personally seeing Lorenwei off from the church.

The others in the church were impressed by Lorenwei's beauty, praised the church for its generosity in renting out the sacred relics, and felt that all three parties were trustworthy.

The girls who were embarrassed were completely ignored and no one cared.

**************

On the way back, Lorenwei and Sally shared a short stretch of the route.

“I’m sorry, I’m too embarrassed to invite you to my house again. My mother…” Sally wanted to tell Lorenve that she had mentioned her Seville heritage, but it felt like she was telling him that her mother was forcing her to pursue him!

No, no, I can't say that! Sally is shy.

“It’s alright. It’s normal for older people to be greedy. After all, they’ve been toughened up by society for many years.” Lorenwei thought she was worried about her mother being greedy, so she smiled and comforted her, “You have to understand them. Or, when you feel annoyed, try to think about it with gratitude, and maybe you won’t mind.”

"A grateful heart?" Sally didn't understand. Why should her greedy mother have a grateful heart?

Sylph was also confused. She wanted to stop Lorenve from flirting with other girls, but she couldn't resist her curiosity and wanted to listen.

"Your mother endured much hardship and suffering to raise you. The more greedy she is, the more it shows how much she sacrificed to raise you. Every copper coin was hard-earned, which is why she loves money," Lorenwei said slowly, gazing into the distance.

“…” Sally thought about it and felt that there was some truth to it.

“More importantly, for Sally, the more greedy your mother is, the more it proves her greatness,” Lorenwei said. “I think a child who isn’t greedy is doing so because her mother has taken the beatings of society for her.”

“Huh?” Sally was surprised.

Sylph stared wide-eyed, a look of confusion on her face.

“You are beautiful, Sally, beautiful enough to easily marry into a noble family as a concubine. Even if we were to offend you, let’s assume you were already quite beautiful as a child; you could have fetched a good price then!”

"..." Sally bit her lip, unable to deny it. She had been beautiful since she was a child, and indeed, some people had offered her mother money, but her mother had refused them all.

“I can see that your life is still very hard. But even in the worst of times, your mother didn’t sell you. So despite her desire for money, she persevered and raised you all by herself…” Lorenwei stopped and looked at Sally seriously. “With a mother like that, do you still mind that she’s greedy?”

“…” Sally stared blankly at Lorenwei.

This was a principle she had never considered.

“Alright, from here on, Sylph and I will walk along the path on the side, and you will walk on the other side.” Lorenwei smiled and waved goodbye to Sally.

Sally stood there, still staring blankly as Lorenwei and the other woman left.

Sylph accompanied Lorenvi for a while, then looked back and saw Sally still standing at the intersection, watching Lorenvi and her direction.

"Hmph! Smooth talker!" Sylph grabbed Lorenve's arm indignantly, then hooked her arm around hers and quickened her pace, keeping close to her.

Lorenvi cried out in anguish, "Hey? Don't pinch me! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts... Walk properly and stop clinging to me like this! It's turning into a three-legged race!"

"Fool!"

Next, Lorenwei and Sylph returned to the villa, and then, they almost had to kneel on a washboard.

Fortunately, he's good-looking enough now, and after much coaxing, he was spared direct punishment and instead made to cook for her instead.

"He's not even settled down yet, and he's already so fickle!" After hearing Siluf's report, Kurara confirmed Lorenwei's continued privilege of sleeping on the sofa that night, and even removed the sofa cushions...

Meanwhile, Sally went home somewhat absentmindedly with five gold coins in her hand.

"Well? Have you found the results yet?" The witch's mother had been waiting at the door for a while. As soon as she saw Sally return, she quickly pulled her into the house and closed the door.

"The authenticity of the Sword Saint Hero's relic has been confirmed, but it doesn't have any attributes..." Sally briefly explained the situation, omitting the part about renting the church.

"Hehe, this Lorenwei is such a trustworthy girl! She paid so readily, which means she's quite wealthy! Why don't you hurry up and think about how to contribute?" The witch's mother received the remaining five coins and counted them happily.

Sally watched her mother count the gold coins with unusual seriousness for a long time.

She remembered when she and her mother first arrived on the outskirts of Stenden, struggling so much that they had to scavenge burnt bread and other scraps from the back door of a bakery. Her mother would carefully peel away the deep yellow crumbs of the burnt bread for herself; Sally could never forget the dry, bitter taste of those crumbs… while her mother ate only the charred crusts…

Through blurry vision, the mother was still biting the gold coin with her gums, which had lost many of her old teeth.

Sally remembered again...

Oh, by the way, during the academy registration exam, some villagers from the nearby village mocked me for being the daughter of a fortune teller...

She felt ashamed and couldn't hold her head up, but her mother loudly proclaimed, "Sariel is the daughter of the Sword Saint Hero!" This stunned everyone at the registration site, allowing her to register with confidence and attracting the attention of the academy. She even met the headmaster later on...

But after that day, the one precious gold coin that my mother used to take out every night and caress in her hand disappeared, replaced by…

Sally sorted out her thoughts.

By this time, the witch mother had carefully bitten each of the five gold coins, then meticulously wiped them repeatedly for a long time before carefully and cautiously putting them away close to her body. Only then did she notice that Sally had been watching her: "Hey, girl, what's wrong?"

“Mom…” Sally suddenly hugged her mother.

"What's wrong? Who bullied you?" The witch's mother was startled.

Sally remained embracing her mother's neck, saying, "No, Mom..."

"What's wrong? What happened?" the witch's mother asked anxiously.

So what if she's greedy? So what if she lies? A mother is still a mother...

“No, I just wanted to call you…” Sally didn’t let go, her voice choked with sobs as she hugged her mother, “Mom…Mom…Mom…Mom…Mom…Mom…Mom…Mom…Mom…Mom…”

She repeated the name to her mother tirelessly...

With each sound, a single, glistening tear fell...

Chapter 233 The person who understands me best is actually the most straightforward Meilan?

In the days following the identification of the relic, Sally became a popular figure at the academy.

Sally walked through the academy, surrounded by various whispers and comments.

"Look, that's the Sword Saint's daughter!"

"Wow, no wonder she's so beautiful, and she even has an S-rank talent with both water and fire attributes."

"I really want to date her, but I heard she rejected all the guys' invitations, saying she just wants to focus on her training. It's so frustrating."

"That was in the past; things are different now."