Chapter 40

Chapter 40, This Church and That Church

After Canada, maple syrup, and the antidiarrheal medicine, the compass also became a hit product.

The compass had particularly high added value.

Since I, the lord, had personally commissioned the product, a large portion of its sales revenue went directly into the territory budget.

Thanks to that, the relocation of the Cagliari residents into the frontier villages progressed smoothly.

However, because there were so many people, they had to be moved gradually.

I was in my office receiving a report from Chief of Civil Affairs Pascal about the frontier villages.

“...And my lord, the chief of Comanceville has submitted a complaint.”

“Is something inconvenient?”

“Yes. The distance between his village and the new settlement sites keeps increasing, making it difficult for him to travel back and forth.”

Farmland was needed between each village, so we had to leave space between settlements.

Since we were building so many villages, naturally, each new one had to be placed farther away.

“Can’t be helped. Send him horses and wagons. And tell the village chief to travel on a golem.”

A ten-meter-tall Wood Golem was an excellent form of transportation.

With its long legs, it could run through forests faster than almost any normal vehicle.

“Riding a golem sounds fun.”

“As long as he doesn’t smash his head into a tree branch.”

“Hehehe. I’ll tell him to be careful.”

Pascal then handed me mail and letters from other territories.

“A letter arrived from Countess Lorian Westfalen.”

“Finally.”

“Were you waiting for some news?”

“A letter demanding that I return Chloe.”

“Ah.”

Pascal came from Westfalen, so he already understood most of the situation.

I opened Countess Lorian’s letter and read it.

[To Eric.]

[Return Head Maid Chloe.

She is an essential talent for our Westfalen family.

As Head Maid, she managed the servants properly and also handled the property of the lord’s residence...]

[From Lorian Westfalen.]

I already knew Lorian’s personality, so the rude wording did not surprise me.

However, the long explanation of why she needed Chloe back was unusually desperate for her.

“She sounds desperate. Is the new Head Maid that bad?”

“That seems to be the case.”

“Did you hear something from your father?”

Pascal was the son of Westfalen’s Heraldry Officer.

Since they exchanged letters, he probably had more information.

“Yes. My father’s letters are almost entirely complaints these days. Countess Lorian and Young Lord Noah have become increasingly demanding and interfere with everything.”

The reason was simple.

Chloe had handled far too many responsibilities.

Her official title had been Head Maid, but in reality, she had functioned almost like the chief secretary of the powerful Countess.

“Then why were you waiting for the letter asking you to return Chief Chloe?”

“Because it feels good.”

Even if I was not a bad person, there were times when someone else’s misfortune made me happy.

“Hehehe. It certainly feels satisfying.”

“Don’t laugh. Have you forgotten your father is suffering there?”

“Well, I already told him that if he gets fired as Heraldry Officer, he should move here.”

That surprised me.

Pascal’s family had served as Heraldry Officers for generations.

“Fired?”

“They’re replacing the administrative officials. People are leaving one by one.”

“How long has it been since they made everyone swear loyalty?”

“Exactly. Anyway, it seems they’re accepting favors and inserting their own people into government positions.”

Pathetic.

Even if the ruling family were nobles, they could not manage a territory entirely according to their own whims.

The support of the minor noble class was essential.

If they kept replacing officials however they pleased, resentment would spread throughout the entire lower nobility.

“If resentment keeps building, eventually it will explode. Why would they act so shortsightedly?”

“Countess Lorian has always had quite a temper.”

True.

Considering Lorian’s emotional and hot-tempered personality, it made sense.

But if Chloe had still been there, she would have stopped Lorian somehow, even if she had to soothe and persuade her repeatedly.

Bringing Chloe here was definitely the right choice. I didn’t expect Westfalen to start falling apart this way.

Of course, the Westfalen Territory remained extremely powerful.

Its knight order in particular possessed strength that few other territories could match.

It was simply beginning a slow decline.

The only person now capable of controlling the destructive behavior of Lorian and her son was the former Count.

And who knows how long that old Count will keep cleaning up their mess? This is going to be entertaining.

Westfalen was surrounded by packs of hungry wolves.

Watching them slowly bite pieces away would probably be quite entertaining.

A smile naturally appeared on my face.

Pascal saw my sinister expression and looked horrified.

At last, Daniel Salamanca, former Deputy Director of the Internal Affairs Office at the Holy See of the God of Abundance, officially became Bishop of the Marcel Diocese.

There was no grand welcoming ceremony.

However, I gathered the territory’s residents in Marcel’s central square and organized a massive prayer meeting.

Tens of thousands filled the square.

Bishop Daniel stepped onto the stage with a satisfied expression.

Soon, Daniel used a voice amplification magic item and began reciting his prayer.

“I offer this prayer to the glorious God of Abundance. I, Daniel Salamanca, Bishop of the Marcel Diocese, humbly offer my praise.

God of Abundance, grant us your plentiful blessings.

Grant abundance to those without enough, wealth to those in poverty, rest to those in pain, and light to those surrounded by darkness.

Bestow upon us the enjoyment of abundance, and share with us the richness of plants and animals, earth and sky.

Bless our efforts and our labor, and grant strength to all who plant seeds and harvest crops.

With gratitude and praise, I offer this prayer. God of Abundance, please answer our prayers.

May I, Daniel Salamanca, Bishop of the Order of the God of Abundance, walk the path of abundance and prosperity under divine guidance and the protection of the Pope.”

A prayer that emphasized his own name, yet contained no concrete goals or promises.

It was vague enough that everything simply sounded pleasant.

That prayer is incredibly Daniel-like.

Unlike me, who almost laughed, the enormous crowd filling the square cheered and shouted praises toward the God of Abundance.

“Blessings of Annapurna!”

“Long live the God of Abundance! Long live Marcel!”

“Please let me get a girlfriend!”

With the enormous cheers behind him, Daniel came down from the stage.

I shook his hand.

“Bishop, I’ll be counting on you to manage the diocese properly.”

I spoke casually, almost as if I were addressing a subordinate.

However, Bishop Daniel did not even blink.

He smiled.

“Of course, my lord. I secured a very generous budget, so you have nothing to worry about.”

The only support I had provided was two buildings, the former homes of the administrator and tax official, along with a large empty plot near the lord’s residence.

Every other project would be funded entirely by the Holy See.

Daniel obediently following me, combined with religious development that cost me nothing.

Those were the conditions I received in exchange for supporting Daniel’s rise.

Judging from his expression, Daniel seemed ready to carry me on his back if I asked.

Then Daniel suddenly noticed someone and frowned.

“Why are those people here?”

The ‘people’ he pointed toward were priests of the Church of the Sun God.

Although this was an event for another religion, they had attended to offer congratulations.

“The Cardinal of Aachen sent them. He wants them to build a church.”

“A church? Don’t tell me... Are you planning to declare Marcel a region of religious freedom?”

Daniel immediately understood.

Apparently, he had properly studied the religious situation in southern Franche.

“Hey, stop worrying about unnecessary things. Whether Marcel becomes a region of religious freedom or not, my mother is a believer in the God of Abundance. She refused to change her faith even in Westfalen.”

My mother, Maria, was the mother of the most powerful man in this territory.

Even when the entire family converted to the Church of the Sun God, she alone continued worshiping the God of Abundance.

Only then did Daniel relax.

“Haha! That is excellent news. I should meet your mother as soon as possible.”

“Are you planning to create a prayer group for noblewomen?”

“Of course. Winning over the women who manage households is one of the basics of missionary work. Haha!”

Some things never changed, no matter the world.

Within religion, the mother often had the greatest influence over the family.

Daniel had already understood that.

Apparently, he intended to act on it immediately.

He would probably gather the wives of nobles and minor nobles throughout the territory.

And since Daniel knew how to control his desires for the sake of his own advancement, I did not need to worry about affairs.

“Take good care of that group. A peaceful household allows people to work properly.”

He smiled happily at my words.

“May God bless the great Lord of Marcel!”

You bastard.

I’m already blessed.

I welcomed the priests of the Church of the Sun God in the reception room of the lord’s residence.

They had actually arrived in Marcel quite some time ago.

I had deliberately delayed meeting them.

I had been waiting until Bishop Daniel officially took office.

Naturally, I wanted the Sun God priests to understand that the Order of the God of Abundance would receive priority here.

However, the priests did not show even the slightest irritation.

They simply kept smiling.

“You came from Aachen, so I suppose you’re originally from the Germania Empire.”

“That is correct. However, as clergy, our place of origin has little meaning.”

A textbook answer.

“It is also an honor to finally meet Viscount Marcel, whom we have only heard about through rumors.”

Apparently, even more strange rumors about me were spreading without my knowledge.

Still, if they considered meeting me an honor, there was no need to correct them.

“Is the Cardinal of Aachen doing well?”

“Yes. He told us to support Viscount Marcel properly.”

Support me.

If they were willing to use wording like that, I could probably push them fairly hard.

“I will not spend any of the territory’s budget on the Church of the Sun God. This rule applies equally to every church, so it will not be changed.”

Even after hearing such a firm rejection, the priests’ expressions did not change.

“We already expected that. The church will be built using Aachen’s budget.”

If that was the case, welcome.

“I’ll provide land for the church. Somewhere near the harbor would probably be best.”

“No. We intend to build it near the Great Forest.”

“Why? Do you enjoy making things difficult for yourselves?”

Most residents living near the Great Forest worked in agriculture or livestock farming.

Naturally, the Order of the God of Abundance held an overwhelming advantage there.

“If we want it to have meaning as a Frontier Church, then we need to go to places like that.”

By ‘places like that,’ he seemed to mean areas where most people followed another religion but religious institutions had weak influence.

In other words, they fully intended to carry out missionary work.

“Do not create pointless conflicts. If religious disputes cause violent incidents, I will exile those responsible.”

“We’ll guide them properly.”

These were young priests.

They were overflowing with motivation.

As long as that motivation did not harm my territory, I had no problem with it.

These guys seem fairly straightforward. Maybe they’ll answer if I ask.

I decided to use this opportunity to obtain information about something I had been curious about.

I wanted to know whether followers of Hela had infiltrated the Church of the Sun God as well.

“You know Hela, the God of the Dead. Have you heard anything recently about her followers becoming active?”

“That is...”

The priests’ smiling expressions immediately disappeared.

It did not seem like an unreasonable question.

Maybe there was some complicated story behind it.

“Is it classified information?”

“Not exactly. It simply isn’t a pleasant subject. May I ask why you wish to know?”

“If I plan to declare this a region of religious freedom, shouldn’t I understand what is happening within the other religions?”

“I see. Hmm.”

The priest thought for a moment.

Then he spoke.

“Recently, several apostates were discovered within the Holy See of the Sun God. Apparently, those people had begun worshiping Hela.”

The exact same thing had happened within the Holy See of the God of Abundance.

This was clearly organized.

What are these people trying to accomplish by creating apostates inside other religions? What strange bastards.

Followers of Hela were extremely rare on the Northern Continent.

However, I had heard that there were many of them deep in the Southern Continent.

Why would they deliberately create apostates on the Northern Continent even though doing so would only make people hate them?

Perhaps the priest noticed my curiosity.

Or maybe he was simply talkative.

He continued.

“However, we discovered something the apostates had in common. They had all recently lost children.”

“Some kind of dark magic?”

“Yes. Apparently, they were recruited with promises that they would be allowed to meet the dead again.”

“Is something like that actually possible?”

The priest hesitated briefly.

“True resurrection is impossible. But apparently, there is another method.”

So that was why educated clergy had become apostates.

Their dead children had been used as bait.

They had probably been given walking corpses resembling their children.

“But there should be side effects. Their bodies would rot, and they wouldn’t have emotions.”

I had seen things like that several times in my previous life.

They had no emotions and could easily hurt people.

Naturally, they were classified as monsters and exterminated.

The priest looked uncomfortable.

“That is... apparently, if mana is continuously supplied, they can be preserved to some extent...”

“What?”