Lambard was adamant about not offering the ring for more than a month. No matter what Elora said, he didn't budge.
Ultimately, Elora had no choice but to go along with the seal. Even though it was only for a month, it was better than not having the ring at all. One month of freedom was better than nothing.
Ever since she joined the Church of Water at the age of nineteen, she had been training only.
Most of her life in the church went in training as she tried to master her element of Water. She didn't even leave the Church of Water to explore other places.
For eight years straight, she stayed on the premises of the Church, never taking even a single step out. Throughout the years, she mastered all the skills and even got promoted a few times until she became a Head Priestess at the age of twenty-five only.
That was the highest post someone could be promoted to inside the Church of Element since only one person was above a Head Priestess... It was the Head of the Church.
No one could be promoted to the Head of a Church of Element since the Holy Grimoire itself selected someone after the death of the last owner.
Just a few years ago, the last Head of the Church of Water died a few days after coming back from an Exploration. As the Head Priestesses, the ladies were given priority attempts on the Grimoire before anyone else could've been tried.
All the Head Priestesses were brought to the chamber where the Holy Book of Water was kept after the death of the last head. Not many people actually thought that the book was easily going to select someone. They thought they needed to spend decades to find the next rightful heir, but they were wrong.
The Book of Water flew on its own to the Youngest Head Priestess. Elora was selected as the Head of the Church of Water. She also received the control of the Church of Water along with the Ancient Staff of Water.
The news of that spread like fire everywhere. Almost the entire world knew about her since the position of a Lord of Element wasn't something that anyone could get.
Only after becoming the Head of the Church of Water did Elora realize how her life had changed. Throughout the last few years, whenever she left the Church for anything, she was often recognized even when she didn't want to.
She wanted to find a solution for her problem. That's when she was informed about a treasure that was held by Lambard.
She wanted that treasure for a lifetime, but she really underestimated Lambard, it seemed.
"Fine. I'll take the ring for one month. Give the ring to me." Elora reached out her hand toward Lambard.
Lambard smiled as he glanced at Lira, who seemed really upset.
"I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait a couple of weeks for the ring. As soon as it's available, I'll send an Envoy to the Church with the Ring. You can give the letter to my envoy at that time."
Lambard wanted the letter, but he also realized that breaking his promise wasn't a wise decision at this point. He might have broken the promise if it was only Lira, but there was also Gabriel in the mix... There were just too many factors at play, and he didn't want to offend one side or the other.
He knew these were chaotic waters, and he wanted to be neutral at this point.
"May I ask why you can't give us the ring this instant? If it's about the letter, I did bring it with me."
"I'm sorry, Lady Elora. But I have some prior engagements which need the ring to be with me. I should be able to give the ring to you after a few weeks."
"Fine. We will wait for a few weeks."
Elora didn't appear to be in any hurry to get the ring. It was going to be with her temporarily, after all. So she was fine if it was delayed by a few weeks.
"Deal it is then," Lambard affirmed. "That's one thing covered, but you said there was another reason you came here as we. May I ask what it was?"
"The other reason is because I want the Map of the City of Ruins that you have. I got some information that it's going to be available for the auction that's about to happen in the city. I want to buy it from you, and don't tell me you can't sell it for money since you've put it up for auction."
"Of course, I can sell that for money. It's just a map. It's not like it's a Numen." Lambard smiled. He waved his fingers. A small portal appeared before him.
"The ring of Damion helps me store some things." Seeing the surprised faces of everyone, Lambard explained as he placed his hand inside the portal.
Bringing his hand out, he revealed a pale yellow scroll. "I believe this is what you're looking for."
"That's right. How much money do you need for it?"
"I'm sorry, Young Lady, but I must refuse you once again. As you stated, this map is already up for auction. I can't sell it before the auction. If you want the map, you should probably get a room in the city and wait for the auction tomorrow."
Lambard knew the Church of Water had a lot of money, and he could literally ask for any amount he wanted, but he was also a man of principles in certain aspects, and one of those aspects was the auctions he often conducted.
"I know it's up for auction, but I can't wait for that. I don't believe there is anyone who can bid more for it than me, so just give it to me. Three Hundred Thousand Gold Coins... How about it?"
"Lady Elora, I doubt you know what you're speaking. You think you're the only one interested in this map?" Lambard shrugged.
"The offer to sell this map directly... I've received this offer from many sides. So far, I've received a letter from the Church of Lightning, Church of Earth, Church of Nature, and Church of Wind. Only Holy Church of Light hasn't shown any interest in it yet."
"I'm giving you the same answer that I gave to all those letters... If you want to buy this map, get it in the auction. If I didn't break my rule with them, how could I break the rule with you?"
Ruyi brought her lips closer to Elora's ears and whispered something in her ears, seeing the man refuse. "Lady Elora, this man has the map in his hands. The rings are also in his hands. Why are we even listening to his arrogant refusals? Let's just take him down and snatch everything. We can get more than one ring from him."
Ruyi made sure to keep her voice as low as she could so Lambard had no chance of hearing.
Unfortunately for them, this was the domain of Lambard. He heard everything. He found this discussion quite amusing but not unexpected.
***************
[Author Note: Create your own character!
Create a Character (Name, Personality, element, history etc) in the comments that you want in the Academy of Elements when Gabriel gets there or vote for characters created by other readers if any by liking comments.
The character you create or like might become reality and might be an important part of the story!]
