chapter_0121

120 – If You’ve Stepped into the Mud, Do Your Best

120 – If You’ve Stepped into the Mud, Do Your Best

Frien, seemingly satisfied with the answer she received, quietly closed the door.

As Daniel Steiner inwardly sighed in relief at that, Bellaf, unable to hide his embarrassment, said, “I-I’m sorry. I never imagined Lieutenant Colonel Daniel held my daughter in such high regard.”

It seemed like a misunderstanding, but Daniel didn’t bother to clarify.

It was obvious that the father-daughter relationship wasn’t great, and he didn’t want to say anything to Bellaf that might reach Frien’s ears.

So, Daniel simply nodded and cleared his throat. “There’s no need to apologize. I have no desire to force my opinions on others. More importantly, shouldn’t we get down to business?”

“Yes? Ah… the main point. I understand.”

Bellaf raised a hand to adjust his glasses and then began to speak. “Actually, The Great Church of Holy Flame has two main requests for Lieutenant Colonel Daniel.”

“Two?”

“Yes. First, we would like you to show the congregation that you have a connection to The Great Church of Holy Flame.”

“…Why is that necessary?”

Bellaf began to explain to the puzzled Daniel. “As the war continues, the public’s willingness to donate has decreased dramatically.”

This was due to the economic hardships, of course, but also because more and more people believed that if they had money to donate, it would be better to support the soldiers and end the war quickly.

As a result, some churches had even stopped operating or closed their doors.

Rumors had even started circulating that the church was just a place to extort money from the people in the name of God, which was driving Bellaf, the head pastor, crazy.

He was gripped by the fear that The Great Church of Holy Flame might follow in the footsteps of other struggling churches.

That was when Frien, who was on leave and had come home, took to the podium.

Standing before the congregation, Frien gave an impassioned speech lamenting the death of the war hero Daniel Steiner and calling for the Allied Nations to be wiped off the face of the earth.

Advocating for the destruction of the Allied Nations in a church that preached benevolence and love?

Bellaf was shocked at the time, but the reaction was surprisingly positive.

In fact, it was a resounding success, with cheers and applause echoing throughout the building.

“I don’t know if I should call it fortunate, but ever since Frien mentioned you, Lieutenant Colonel Daniel, in her sermon, word spread, and more and more worshippers began to visit The Great Church of Holy Flame.”

By then, they had secured a congregation similar to what they had before the war, and then news broke throughout the Empire that Daniel Steiner was actually alive.

People rejoiced at the news of Daniel Steiner’s survival as if it were their own, cheering and celebrating.

Festivals were held not only in the Imperial City but also in the provinces, and as a result, The Great Church of Holy Flame was able to secure an explosive increase in its congregation.

Now, they had even more worshippers than before the war.

“After you returned alive, Lieutenant Colonel Daniel, the number of worshippers increased even more than before the war. But as the number of worshippers increased, so did the noise.”

“Noise, you say?”

“Some people have begun to question whether The Great Church of Holy Flame is really connected to you, Lieutenant Colonel Daniel. That’s why we wanted to invite you to the church on this occasion.”

Daniel chuckled softly.

As he listened, he couldn’t help but feel absurd.

“So, you’re asking me to let you continue to do business by selling my name?”

Bellaf broke out in a cold sweat at Daniel’s blunt words. “Lieutenant Colonel Daniel? That’s not our intention. If we’ve offended you, we apologize…”

Daniel raised his hand to stop him.

He decided to hear the story to the end first. “What is the second thing The Great Church of Holy Flame wants to ask of me?”

The atmosphere around Daniel changed, becoming somehow overbearing.

It was as if he were treating Bellaf like a subordinate, but Bellaf couldn’t express his dissatisfaction.

After all, the source of the church’s funds was the power of Daniel’s reputation.

“The second thing we want to ask…”

Bellaf swallowed hard and said, “Is for you to get the people who are protesting in front of the church every day to leave. Originally, there were only a few of them, but at some point, their numbers began to increase. Now, they’ve become so large that they’re threatening the worshippers who come to the church, and it’s a real headache.”

“What kind of protests are you talking about?”

“Yes? Ah. Basically, they’re anti-war protests. They criticize and condemn our church for idolizing the warmonger Lieutenant Colonel Daniel. We’ve tried to appease them and persuade them in our own way, but it’s not working at all.”

Anti-war protests? He thought that anti-war protests had noticeably decreased since his all-out war speech, so he couldn’t understand why a large-scale protest was taking place here.

“Pastor, do you know when the scale of the protests started to increase?”

“Hmm. As far as I can remember, the number of people participating in the protests started to increase rapidly about a month ago. Some of the more radical people even throw rotten fruit and vegetables at the church, so it’s a very difficult situation.”

Daniel frowned as he listened to Bellaf’s story.

‘A month ago, huh…’

That was when he had gone to the outpost located on the border of the Belmore Kingdom to support the operation.

‘So, they were preparing for this since then.’

They were leaking information to the Belmore Kingdom on the outside and inciting the people on the inside to lead the anti-war protests again.

It was to tarnish Daniel Steiner’s image in the guise of anti-war protests.

Even if Daniel Steiner were to die in the battle against the Belmore Kingdom, they were trying to slowly ruin his image so that the people wouldn’t deify him.

They would have started in the provinces and gradually spread out as the church raised the white flag.

‘They’re even more disgusting than I thought.’

It was like starting a mud fight.

They were using every trick in the book to drag Daniel Steiner into their mud and cover him in filth.

Clearly, a larger percentage of the people participating in the protests were operatives who were being paid or acting on orders, rather than those who genuinely wanted peace.

‘What should I do…’

How could he ruin their plans?

‘No. Just ruining them isn’t enough.’

He needed to create a backlash and cut off their wrists so they could never pull off this kind of trick again.

Daniel, who had been fiddling with the armrest of the sofa, looked at Bellaf as if he had just thought of something. “You said that some of the more radical people throw rotten vegetables and fruit?”

“Ah. That’s right.”

Daniel smiled faintly at the answer. “Then, they might even throw bricks in their excitement.”

“Yes? It’s possible, but they haven’t thrown bricks in the month or so that they’ve been protesting. If someone were hit by a brick, it would be a disaster.”

“Pastor, the fact that they haven’t done it isn’t important.”

Daniel leaned forward and tapped the table as if to tell him to focus. “What’s important is that they could throw bricks.”

The moment they threw bricks, they would no longer be mere protesters.

If someone were hit by a brick, the nature of the protest would change to a violent one, and the soldiers of the Empire would have grounds to punish them as rioters.

“Surely, Lieutenant Colonel Daniel wouldn’t…”

But Daniel shook his head. “Of course not. Even if they were to throw bricks, I would never punish them. However, the entire process will be reported by a mysterious reporter and spread throughout the Empire.”

Daniel reached out and grabbed his cup.

He wanted to taste the top-quality coffee. “I’ll call the reporter, so please promote it, Pastor.”

“…Promote it, you say?”

“Yes. Spread the news that Daniel Steiner will be visiting The Great Church of Holy Flame tomorrow. Make sure the fish that have taken the bait swarm in.”

Daniel, holding his cup, savored the aroma. “I will persuade them myself.”

After finishing his sentence, Daniel took a light sip of the coffee.

The fact that it was top-quality coffee was apparently no exaggeration, as the not-too-acidic taste pleased his palate.

Inwardly impressed, Daniel put down his cup. “And…”

The clinking sound echoed quietly in the empty reception room. “If you wish, I will allow you to continue to do business by selling my name. However, in that case, The Great Church of Holy Flame will have to fulfill my requests without any conditions from now on.”

He was speaking indirectly, but he was saying that he would make The Great Church of Holy Flame his own tool.

Bellaf, flustered, quickly opened his mouth. “L-Lieutenant Colonel Daniel? That’s an unfair statement.”

“Unfair, you say…”

Daniel chuckled playfully and shrugged. “I’m just surprised that someone who’s been profiting from selling my name is saying it’s unfair. I don’t want to, but if you keep acting like that…”

Daniel suddenly erased his smile and stared intently at Bellaf.

Daniel, who had been staring at Bellaf with his pitch-black eyes, quietly opened his mouth. “I’ll show you what’s really unfair.”

A brief silence fell between the two.

Bellaf felt his body stiffen like prey that had seen the teeth of a predator.

Bellaf, realizing that Daniel wasn’t joking, slowly lowered his gaze. “Lieutenant Colonel Daniel’s proposal…”

Bellaf closed his eyes tightly and continued to speak in fear. “…I will accept it.”

Author’s words (Author’s Afterword)

I would like to express my infinite gratitude to all the readers who have read this!

You’ve worked hard today too!

Just hold on for two more days and it’ll be the weekend, so let’s go, let’s go, fighting!

Then, I’ll see you again tomorrow!