"When I finalize the contract, I'll be your manager, and Cornelia will be your assistant. Later, I'll introduce you to our CEO, Mr. Croix."
It was convenient to register a legal company. The Rejoice Church also needed a proper office as its base. The startup capital would be easily provided by Croix.
Although Dekan and Cornelia had some savings, it might not be enough.
As Shadow World raiders, they needed to keep some funds for unexpected needs.
"What do I need to do?" Flora asked.
"At that time, I'll provide guidance on musical arrangement and choreography. You can also express yourself freely. We'll record your performances using props."
Dekan was thinking of discussing with Professor Mergutt from the College of Alchemy on expanding the broadcasting range of their live performances. In the next trial run, he hoped to broadcast their performances to the public areas of various major cities in the Norton Kingdom.
Expanding the broadcast range came with high costs. But, if they could gain attention, the returns would be substantial. The College of Alchemy had many investors, and despite Professor Mergutt understanding the risks of expanding the broadcast range for these two, the temptation of money was hard to resist.
If the profits were high enough, there might be opportunities to apply to the Kingdoms Federation for further expansion.
However, no matter how successful the live broadcasts were, the share that Dekan and Cornelia received would not be excessively high. After all, they were not the owners.
But, if they could leverage this traffic to promote their signed artist, Flora, the returns would be entirely different!
Dekan and Cornelia planned to insert Flora's live performances during their broadcasts. With Flora's talent and the popularity of Dekan and Cornelia's live broadcasts, she would quickly become famous!
They would then carry out various plans in the real world, leading to unimaginable wealth!
"Flora, you'll be the top idol of our Rejoice Agency in the future!"
"Yeah!"
"That’s great, Flora!"
The three of them walked back towards the school in cheerful laughter.
Although they were no longer the trio of fools, they had formed a deep bond of friendship.
On the way back to school, Dekan, Flora, and Cornelia said their goodbyes in advance. The two girls returned to school together while Dekan went to the newspaper office to publish a notice.
He used a prearranged cipher to publish information about wanting to meet with Ourola.
The undercover agent of the Rejoice Church infiltrated into the Resurgence Church was finally going to be put to use.
The fulfilling day ended like this.
...
The next day.
On Sunday morning, many people were passing the time in the vast park in the capital.
A handsome youth and a pure and gentle-looking girl sat on separate benches not far from each other by the park lake.
Occasionally, families with children would pass by.
The park was peaceful, with the sunlight reflecting off the lake creating a dazzling sight.
Dekan was flipping through a book.
It seemed like he completely ignored the beautiful lady near him.
"Do you know this person, Mauleon?" Dekan said as if speaking to himself.
"Mauleon Hanover? He is one of the highest-priority wanted targets of the Resurgence Church."
Ourola heard Dekan's voice and replied.
But she did not turn her head to look at Dekan.
She placed her hands on her thighs, sitting with a ladylike posture, enjoying the scenery on the lake, as if waiting for a date.
"..." Dekan pondered.
The term "highest-priority" indeed carried some weight.
It seemed that Mauleon had done quite a few good things for the Resurgence Church. The wanted poster gave a feeling similar to that of Monkey D. Luffy.
"Is our church also seeking him?"
Ourola asked softly when she saw Dekan remaining silent.
She did not dare to turn her head to observe Dekan's expression.
The more dignified and sacred Dekan appeared in the sunlight, the clearer the shadow behind him became.
It was a darkness she dared not peek into.
"No, he's our missionary. Recently, I lost contact with him. I'm a bit worried about him and wanted to ask if there is any information about him from the Resurgence Church."
Dekan snapped back to reality from his thoughts, turned a page in the book, and continued.
A simple sentence made Ourola's mind race with thoughts.
Indeed, the cadres of the Rejoice Church were no ordinary people!
After Dekan dismissed her, she had speculated who might be the other members of the Rejoice Church. The first person that came to her mind was the genius named Mauleon.
No wonder the benefits of the Rejoice Church were so good. It turned out they treated the Resurgence Church as an ATM. Loyalty to the Rejoice Church seemed to be the prevailing trend.
Ourola put away her suspicions and answered Dekan, "Yes. A few days ago, in a Shadow World that just ended, some members of the Resurgence Church encountered him."
"Tell me more."
"It was a tier 5 Shadow World with a theme of a Hero going against the Demon Lord. The challengers' goal was to ensure the Hero's success in defeating the Demon Lord as supporters. In this instance, three fifth-tier Resurgence Church members bumped into Mauleon."
"They found an opportunity to ambush Mauleon, but he managed to lead them to the Hero's team. The Hero then misunderstood the three Resurgence Church members as bandits and defeated them on Mauleon's behalf."
"In return, Mauleon tricked the Hero's team out of their money. He used a significant portion of that money to post a bounty, accusing the three Resurgence Church challengers."
"As a result, the Hero, lacking travel funds, had no choice but to pursue those three 'bandits.' In the end, the three Resurgence Church members died under the Hero's relentless pursuit, all without knowing why."
"Because the Hero wasted time and lacked the strength to defeat the Demon Lord, Mauleon earned a considerable amount of money during this period. He then purchased many cursed items and potions with severe side effects to support the Hero, successfully leading the Hero and the Demon Lord to mutual destruction."
"..."
After listening, Dekan fell into silence once again for a considerable while. He couldn't help but be grateful that Mauleon wasn't a necromancer. Otherwise, this Hero could have been exploited by Mauleon for a few more rounds of value.
Even if the Hero was a native of the Shadow World, exploiting him in this way was too inhumane. At least, Dekan's moral bottom line wouldn't allow him to do such things.
"By the way, does this Hero have any distinctive features?" Dekan was curious if this Hero had offended Mauleon.
"This Hero seems to always enjoy writing stories, but each time he writes halfway and stops. So, minstrels don't have a very favorable opinion of him."
The Resurgence Church also had a Shadow World Viewing Program, so they recorded some relevant information.
Dekan nodded. Although the Hero had committed a crime, it wasn't a crime worthy of death. Mauleon seemed to have gone a bit too far.
Ourola added, "By the way, the Hero's name is Review. When he gets drunk, he always likes tearing apart other people's books."
Dekan said, "Serves him right!"
