Succubus cannot be a saint

Volume 1: From Crazy Daughter to Saint: Chapter 36: Why be lazy?

The next day, in the stonemason's workshop, Sharlene stared at the "cement" in front of her.

In her memory, cement powder should be a fine gray powder, not the mud-colored, unevenly sized particles in front of her, and even clumping... mud.

She walked around the workshop, examining the raw materials and tools for making cement—ground limestone, clay, the furnace for calcining cement powder, the sieve for sifting the powder...

The limestone and clay had not been carefully sifted, and there were impurities in the materials, and other tools also showed signs of laziness.

Finally, she returned to the stonemason and his apprentice. These dusty men lowered their heads nervously, but even so, she could see the wooden expressions on their faces.

"Lady Saint..." Ophelin, who was serving beside her, clearly felt the low pressure emanating from Sallelei. Even though she knew nothing about stonemasonry, she could see that the "cement" in front of her did not meet the requirements at all.

Sharlene waved her hand to signal her to be silent, then stared at the old stonemason in his fifties or sixties in front of her and said gently, "What's your name?"

"...Ruth." The old stonemason raised his head with a bit of fear. In front of him were not only Sharlelei and Ophelin, but also a guard holding a spear.

In addition, he also understood that he was facing a descendant of the nobility. Even if it was just a young, beautiful girl, she was still a noble who could easily take his life.

"Ruth, let me ask you," Salleh continued softly, "Do you know what these things you made are used for?"

"It's... used to repair the wall west of the town." Ruth said in a low voice.

"Then why are you still slacking off?" Sharlele took a deep breath and asked this question. The moment the word "lazy" came out of his mouth, Root's whole body shook, his legs swaying uncontrollably, and his eyes involuntarily looked at the spear in the guard's hand.

Sighing inwardly, Shailelei used her charm to soothe the old stonemason. Gradually, Ruth's trembling subsided, and his expression became hazy.

"Speak, Root. I will not punish you or your apprentice, nor will I withhold your wages."

The gentle voice of Charlene echoed in the old stonemason's mind. He raised his head, tears welling up in his cloudy eyes. The face of the girl before him seemed to be illuminated by a bright and soft light, like the statue of the goddess in the church.

Feelings of affection and reverence quickly spread throughout his heart, and he couldn't help but say, "Because... because these things... were made for the mountain people... right? Master Derek said they were cold-blooded monsters and pagans, and he... he would one day drive the mountain people... out of town... and..."

"Go on, Root."

"But... as long as it's not done for Master De... Derick himself, he never checks it, and the wages he pays us are never enough, so..."

Hearing these words, Ophelin's expression couldn't help but darken. Salares continued to ask softly, "Do you think that building the wall is a service to the mountain people? You feel that you won't get paid enough anyway, and Derek won't check it, so you just slack off?"

"Yes, it is……"

"Have you ever considered that if the wall really collapses and the monsters get into the town, you might be bitten to death?"

Ruth shook his head desperately: "No... No, the monsters are far away from us, and Master Derek promised that he would protect us... We, we handed over the food, we handed over the food..."

Turbid tears flowed down his wrinkled face. The old stonemason seemed unable to explain how Derek would protect them. He just kept repeating "We handed over the food", as if as long as they handed over the food, there would be an invisible barrier separating them from the monsters.

Salaret shook her head. "He can't save you."

Hearing this, Root's eyes suddenly widened. The apprentices behind him also showed disbelief.

"Call Sam." Charlene turned to the guard. "The injured Sam."

Soon, the guards brought Sam to Salares. After a few days of rest and treatment, Sam had regained some mobility. Salares asked him to take off his shirt and showed his bandaged abdominal wound to the stonemason and his apprentices.

"These are wounds inflicted by monsters. In fact, these guards... almost died at the hands of monsters." Sharlelei looked at Root with tenderness and compassion. "Derek didn't tell you that he couldn't save you. No one can save you now."

Hearing this, Root's emotions suddenly collapsed. He fell to his knees with a plop, tears streaming down his face. "Master Derek... Master Derek can't save us? Then, then what should we do... What should we do...!"

There were several more thuds, and the apprentices also knelt down, weeping bitterly. The emotion spread, even the guards and Sam were infected. Their eyes were red, and they turned to look at Shalelei and slowly knelt on one knee. Before they knew it, Shalelei and Ophelin were the only two people still standing.

Sharlelei took a gentle step forward and extended her hands to the people kneeling before her. An invisible charm spread out, soothing and stirring their emotions.

The girl lowered her eyes, and on her beautiful face was a gentle and compassionate smile like a goddess.

"Listen to me, my devout believers," she said softly, "The lord cannot protect us, we can only protect ourselves. Root, you must understand... the work you do is not to protect the mountain people, but for your own lives and the lives of your families."

"As a member of the Dravi family, I promise that you will not be harmed by the mountain people, and your wages will not be deducted again."

Ruth stupidly raised his head, staring in disbelief at the girl before him. The slender figure stood against the sunlight, casting a golden edge on her form. In that instant, the scene was deeply imprinted in his heart, and in the hearts of everyone present, becoming an indelible memory.

He could no longer bear it, and this old man, in his fifties or sixties, fell to the ground like a child, sobbing uncontrollably. At that moment, the emotions that emerged in his heart could only be expressed in this one word.

“Lady Saint… Ah, Lady Saint! Lady Saint, please save us, please protect us…!”

Then, everyone, including the two guards, murmured and chanted, then fell to their knees, worshiping Salares. Behind Salares, Ophelin's eyes were filled with tears.

Looking at the townspeople kneeling before her, Sharlene's emotions were mixed. In other circumstances, she would have secretly rejoiced if a group of people had worshipped a succubus and called her a saint. But now, she wasn't in the mood for joy.

Derek, what have you done?

Seriously, just chop him up.

"All right, Ruth, you two can get up now." Sallelei bent down, took the old man's arm, and helped him up from the ground. But seeing that this noble saint was willing to condescend to help him, the old stonemason's body trembled even more, and he almost couldn't stand steadily.

"Root, I expect you to do your best work. This is for your safety and that of your family. I want you to grind the raw materials as finely as possible and calcine them at the highest possible heat. In the end, I want to see a fine gray powder like flour."

Charlene looked into the old stonemason's cloudy, moist eyes and whispered, "Remember, Root. Gray stone powder as fine as flour. If you can do it, I will pay you three times your wages."

Ruth nodded desperately, tears in his eyes. At this moment, the wages might no longer be so important, because a more burning and fervent faith flowed in his heart.

Volume 1: From Crazy Daughter to Saint: Chapter 37: Saint Mortar

"Opheline, pen and paper." Salares said casually, and Opheline immediately took out pen and paper - since she became a succubus, she has been used to carrying pen and paper with her, which made her feel a little strange.

Sharlelei took the paper and pen and quickly wrote a few lines - as long as Root and his apprentice could make gray stone powder that looked like flour, she would pay them three times their wages. Then, she signed her name on this simple contract.

"Here, Root." She handed the paper to Root, and the old stonemason took it confused and trembling, not knowing what to do.

"This is a contract, written in black and white," Sharlene said calmly. "I want something similar to the mortar you normally use, but stronger and easier to use. But I'm not a stonemason, so my recipe isn't clear. Root, I trust you, and I hope you'll follow your experience as a stonemason."

Root was stunned. He had never seen such a nobleman before.

Not only did ordinary nobles have no idea about the "commoner's work" of stonemasonry, they also tended to boss the craftsmen around. Over a decade ago, he was asked by the old lord of Yuequan Town to make "gorgeous golden stone bricks," but because he couldn't achieve the "gorgeous gold" the lord had envisioned, his wages were docked.

And now, this girl actually openly admitted that she didn't know how to do stonemasonry work, and even wrote him... a contract!

You know, in the past, when the noble lords ordered them to do something, it was always what they said. A written contract? There was no such thing!

At this thought, Root's body trembled again, and tears welled up in his eyes again. He felt that he had cried more today than in the past few years combined, and a burning sense of mission also burned in his heart.

Even if it cost him his life, he would make the "gray stone powder like flour" that the Saint Lady mentioned.

....................................

After leaving the craftsman's workshop and walking back to the lord's mansion, Sharlene looked at the sky and sighed.

Then she turned around and saw Ophelin with her head down, muttering the word "contract", so she smiled and said, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just... the contract you gave to Root..."

"A written contract is a must," Salares said casually. "Even if the nobles can still regret it, tear it up, or find loopholes in it, it's still necessary because it's a start, a fair start... Now that I'm a saint, I have to do what a saint should do."

"What you said sounds a bit like the teachings of the God of Commerce and Law..." Ophelin was stunned, then laughed.

The god of commerce and law, also known as the Lord of the Supreme Treasury, the patron saint of merchants, and one of the seven righteous gods of the continent.

"Really? Then I really want to learn about the teachings of the other gods." Sharlene also smiled. Ophelin's words reminded her of something: commerce. At this point, she couldn't help but imagine the good old days of collecting commerce taxes with a group of succubi.

Even though Yuequan Town currently has nothing, dreaming is free anyway...

"By the way, what happened to the three human nuns?" Sharlelei suddenly asked. As she said this, she couldn't help but feel a little strange, as if she was no longer human.

Oh wait, it isn't.

And Ophelin's face looked strange, and it seemed that she had thought of the same question.

"From their reports, the nun who enhanced her agility is indeed more flexible, and the one who enhanced her memory also has a better memory..."

"It seems our 'blessing' is also effective for spiritual attributes... I see. Well done. Once the work here is finished, we will gather the sisters and make these three part of our group."

When Ophelin heard that Salares promised to turn the remaining three into succubi as well, her brows immediately lit up with joy.

"Also, there's one more thing..." Sharlelei coughed lightly, "When you and the sisters are free, remember to help me search the library in the lord's mansion. Derek said there's an elf bracelet in there, which might be a magical item. By the way, check if there are any books like natural history books or travel notes..."

Ophelin's smile froze immediately. This succubus nun from another world didn't know that the feelings she was experiencing at that moment were what modern Earth would call—

"The despair and sadness of workers when they realize they have joined a shady company."

...............................

In the evening, after a busy day, Root and his apprentices personally brought "cement" to the lord's mansion. After receiving the news, Sharlelei immediately came out of the laboratory and took Root and his apprentices to the reception room.

In the spacious and luxurious hall, the dusty Root felt uncomfortable, and the apprentices were terrified. But Charlene didn't care and spread out the cloth bag Root brought on the table.

The bag was filled with gray powder, just as she'd said, fine as flour. Sharlelei rubbed a handful between her fingers, feeling the fineness of the cement powder and nodding with satisfaction. This stone powder looked similar to the modern cement powder she remembered, but its effectiveness remained to be verified.

"Lady Saint, please... try this first..." Ruth stuttered. Sallelei said that this thing could dry and solidify into hard stone. Although he made this "Saint Mortar", he was still not confident about its effect.

"Ruth, do you have the contract with you?" Salares said gently. The old stonemason immediately took out the white paper with trembling hands.

"The contract says that as long as you can make gray stone powder as fine as flour, I will pay you three times the wages. As for whether it can achieve the expected effect, that is a matter for later." Sharlelei said softly and clapped her hands. A succubus nun immediately took a purse.

Sharlelei opened her purse and placed the coins one by one on the table. According to customary practice in Moon Spring Town, a stonemason's daily wages were eight copper coins, with ten copper coins convertible into one silver coin. Apprentices' wages were halved.

Looking at the silver coins on the table, Old Root and his apprentices were all stunned. One apprentice even swallowed his saliva. After counting the coins, Root's hands began to move, wanting to sweep all the shining coins into his pocket.

But then, a delicate, fair hand lifted a dented silver coin from the pile. Ruth watched the coin leave the pile, his heart sinking. Even if it was a poor-quality coin, it was still silver! Could it be that this Saint Lady was still going to withhold his wages?

But the next moment, the hand threw the silver coin with a missing corner back into the purse, took out a complete silver coin and put it into the pile of money, and pushed the coin in front of Ruth.

The old stonemason finally understood - it turned out that the generous and kind Saint Lord had deliberately replaced the poor quality coin with a good one!

"Alright, count the wages," Sharlene said with a smile. Root and his apprentices didn't care about anything else and gathered around, holding the coins in their hands and kneeling on the ground tremblingly. "Thank you, Saint Lady... Thank you, Saint Lady...! You are truly the most kind-hearted person I have ever met! It must be... It must be the Goddess who asked you to save us...!"

"Next, we should test the cement's performance." Sharlelei smiled and gestured for them to stand. Looking at the suddenly nervous old mason, she added, "Don't worry. Our contract is complete. From now on, regardless of whether the cement achieves the desired effect, I won't withhold your wages."

After hearing these words, the stonemasons finally felt relieved. They looked over and over at the coins in their hands, feeling overjoyed.

Afterwards, Sharlelei, Root and the others came to the courtyard of the mansion. Since Sharlelei only knew the formula and didn't know how to use the cement specifically, she entrusted these matters to the old stonemason.

Based on their experience in using mortar, Rutt and his apprentices conducted several sets of control experiments at the suggestion of Sharlele, adding cement powder and water in different proportions to determine which ratio was most suitable.

"Lady Saint, the 'Saint Mortar' has been prepared. Please go back and rest first..." After doing all this, Ruth wiped his hands on his clothes and said respectfully to Sharlelei.

"I see... uh, wait, what do you call it?" Shailelei finally came to her senses.

"Saint Mortar..." Root was a little confused.

"But it's called water..." Sharlelei said halfway, looking at the reverence on Root and the apprentices' faces, she smiled helplessly: "Forget it...it's just Saint's Mortar."

Then she turned her head and looked at Ophelin who was standing beside her. "By the way, Ophelin, come to my room later. It's a bedroom, not a laboratory."

Ophelin was startled, not knowing what she was thinking of, and her cheeks turned red involuntarily, "Yes..."

Sharlelei was completely bewildered. "I just wanted to teach you some spreadsheet management techniques, and you're blushing like a bubble teapot?"

Volume 1: From Crazy Daughter to Saint: Chapter 38: Ophelin's Slacking Time

A few days later, Sharlene received good news and bad news.

The bad news is - steam engines and gunpowder are finished.

After a few days of experimentation, she truly felt the influence of the "elements" and "magic" that permeated this world. Before she was stumped by the metallurgical technology required for the steam engine, she fell on something even more fundamental—water.

In this world, although the process of boiling water and even the conversion of water into three states seems to be the same as on Earth, the driving force generated by steam is completely insufficient to build a steam engine.

In other words, while the macroscopic physical phenomena of this world and Earth are identical, the laws governing the operation of matter behind these phenomena may be completely different. Even the slightest misalignment of these laws can cause Earth's technology to fail.

The basic education that "Sharolei Delavé" received taught her that everything in the world is composed of the four elements of earth, water, fire and wind - and the time traveler Sharolei understood that the "elements" of this world and the chemical elements of the earth are definitely not the same thing.

Maybe one day she will invent a microscope and when she shines it on water, she will see not hydrogen and oxygen molecules, but a huge collision of Fu-something... Oh no, it will be a bunch of lively "water elements".

This is going to be fun.

The simple black powder she'd tried to make using this world's "saltpeter" and "sulfur" was also a dead end. She didn't know if it was the "fire element" and "air element" that were interfering, or if her formula was wrong, but it just wouldn't explode. It looked like gunpowder wouldn't be made anytime soon.

But the good news that cheered up Sharlele was that the "earth element" did not cause her any trouble like the Seredes collision, so her cement was considered a success.

When the guards checked the cement that morning, they found that one of the "control experimental groups" had successfully bonded together firmly. After being tested by the stonemasons, it was indeed much stronger than the ordinary mortar people were using. The guards hit it with a hammer several times but failed to break it.

"This... doesn't use any magical materials, yet it's so strong..."

In the open space of the lord's mansion, Ruth, who was summoned, saw how hard the cement was and tears welled up in his eyes again. He murmured, his voice trembling.

Seeing this scene, Sharlelei also breathed a sigh of relief.

Even so, constructing cement buildings is far from easy. The advantage of cement buildings on modern Earth lies in reinforced concrete, which naturally cannot be made in this world. Preserving and pre-mixing cement and water is also a problem...

"Ruth, while this material is useful, it's not a panacea." She paused for a moment and said to the old stonemason beside her, "Although we've initially arrived at a suitable ratio, we can't be careless and need more experiments. I won't interfere in this matter. How to use and improve it is entirely up to you."

"Yes, Saint, I won't... I won't betray your trust in me..."