Ch.186186. Food Revolution (1)

After the fall of the Rom Empire, immediately after the capital region fell into the hands of the Vengeance Order.

While reorganizing the religious group known as the Vengeance Order into a proper nation, and determining the authority that would still be retained by the Order under that name.

The person commanding all these administrative tasks was none other than Gracchus, the High Priest of the Vengeance Order, who had been appointed as the interim regent of the state.

Though he had supposedly handed over his position as the supreme leader of the Vengeance Order to Bjorn, Gracchus remained the primary contributor to maintaining the triumvirate system of this interim state.

Red Dragon Ben Gaitenpang—the great bundle of administrative wisdom who had become the implicit prime minister of the administration through his innate administrative abilities alone.

Gracchus, who possessed experience in organizing and leading the Order’s system, the religious authority of being “the Chosen One,” and administrative skills that, while slightly inferior to Gaitenpang’s, were still exceptional.

And finally, Bjorn “The Chosen” Wolfson—who held both the authority as a “symbol” and the military might that functioned as a deterrent, the great “Destroyer of the Empire.”

Bjorn was more of a monarch who lent his authority rather than managing everything in detail, while Ben Gaitenpang was closer to a chief bureaucrat—the head of officials who handled assigned tasks.

Therefore, the one who actually held real power in this interim state was Gracchus, the very person seeking to reorganize this group that was both a religious organization and a state.

In the process of transforming the Order into a state, Gracchus divided the government organization into three parts.

First, the State Government, which combined a parliament for legislation and a bureaucratic agency for administrative processing.

Second, the Vengeance Order, which would handle religious roles while also taking charge of judicial matters.

Third, the Military, which would protect and defend the state, and the Monarch who would control this military.

At first glance, it might appear quite similar to the modern separation of powers, but looking at the reality, it’s not only dissimilar but rather quite alien.

Starting with the State Government, its legislative body, the parliament, would be composed of special members who, far from being elected by vote, would be selected directly by “God” through divine revelation.

Meanwhile, the Vengeance Order, which would simultaneously perform religious roles and judicial duties, might superficially appear like some deranged Islamic law-like entity.

However, in a world where God exists and can fully exert His power, religion can become an absolute standard as long as God does not become corrupt.

And while the Military might seem the most dangerous and potentially volatile, strictly speaking, they are not the only armed group.

Mages would be “dispatched” to the military as military chaplain mages under the State Government, while priests, including heresy inquisitors, would remain affiliated with the Vengeance Order as they always have been.

Moreover, crucially, as long as their supreme leader is none other than the state’s monarch, Bjorn “The Chosen” Wolfson, there would be no reason for a coup.

In any case, while these three organizations are far from a separation of powers and cannot even check each other, by the standards of this world, this arrangement is not bad.

After all, at the very top of this state is none other than the Bleeding God of Vengeance Himself, who started all of this.

Ultimately, these three organizations are merely tools for the God of Vengeance to govern smoothly. Essentially, the Vengeance Order moves according to the God of Vengeance.

Ma-Duk, who loves His mortal followers more than anyone else, paradoxically does not trust mortals at all.

In the end, the state that Gracchus would create by reorganizing the Order would be a structure like a massive body moving according to the will of the Bleeding God of Vengeance.

But Gracchus viewed this, which might sound like an outrageous act, in a positive light.

After all, what Ma-Duk was trying to achieve was absolute rule by a transcendent being, was it not?

A transcendent being who would never age or die, who possessed tremendous power, and who would serve the state selflessly without personal greed.

If such a being were to govern, one should naturally accept it, even if it meant kneeling.

That was the thought that Gracchus had come to embrace.

※ ※ ※

Meanwhile, among the many tasks Gracchus had to handle besides administrative reorganization, the most urgent was addressing the food shortage.

Yes.

Currently, the Vengeance Order was facing a food shortage due to the sudden population increase resulting from recent events.

Under normal circumstances, if the Empire had remained intact, they would have received food supplies from the Empire’s western granary region. But now that western granary region was in the domain of the Plague God, making that impossible.

To begin with, eating food produced in a place where the entire land had been half-rotted and contaminated by plague would be suicidal.

Of course, the Vengeance Order could produce some food, but… most of it was entirely consumed by the underground city.

Additionally, this southern region of the former Rom Empire was also fertile land, comparable to the Mediterranean coast on Earth.

Though less efficient, wheat farming would certainly be possible…

The problem was that it was now the dead of winter, the season furthest from farming.

Moreover, perhaps because the Empire’s collapse had occurred during the harvest season, this already harsh winter was likely to be more cruel than ever before.

Thanks to the significantly reduced population, there weren’t immediate mass starvations, but the remaining food in the (former) Empire would last less than a month even with the most optimistic estimates.

It was woefully insufficient to last until the spring barley harvest. Just as Gracchus was considering whether he might need to resort to extreme measures…

“You seem troubled, High Priest Gracchus.”

Suddenly, a messenger in the form of a vampire woman appeared right in front of Gracchus’s office where he had been deep in thought.

“…Messenger.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Gracchus assumed the proper attitude for addressing a divine messenger.

He knelt on one knee, bowed his head, and waited for the messenger to speak.

Having acted according to the etiquette he had established in his mind, Gracchus received a response he had not anticipated at all.

“Um… that’s really not necessary?”

The vampire messenger, clearly embarrassed, spoke as if she found it burdensome, and then said something that seemed surprisingly human.

“Our master said that excessive courtesy could be seen as mockery, so it might be better to… refrain from it?”

“…Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”

And since Gracchus was a priest who followed God’s will rather than a stubborn fanatic, he immediately returned to a posture of “appropriate” courtesy.

“Good.”

Satisfied with Gracchus’s response, the messenger, suddenly switching to completely mechanical behavior devoid of any humanity, began her business.

“Gracchus, leader of the Vengeance Order. I have something bestowed upon you by the Great One. Here, take it.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the messenger reached into empty space and pulled out what looked like a small cloth bundle.

“…Huh?”

While Gracchus made a dumbfounded sound at the messenger’s action that defied imagination, he reflexively caught the bundle she threw and realized—these were seeds.

“Check the contents right here, then we’ll talk.”

Normally, examining such items on the spot would be highly disrespectful, but there was no need to be so formal when she herself had instructed him to do so.

As Gracchus untied the string binding the bundle and confirmed the black seeds inside, the vampire messenger began explaining about the seeds, which were about the length of a fingernail.

“These are plant seeds that my master has bestowed upon you out of pity. When planted, they will fully mature in 10 days, producing 10 fruits, and each edible fruit contains 10 seeds.”

“Did you say… edible?”

“Yes. If you wish, you can try one.”

Gracchus, who had been momentarily startled when she tore into empty space and reached in, was relieved when the vampire messenger pulled out a fist-sized fruit from the subspace.

“This is it. As for cooking it… I’ll substitute with this.”

With those words, the messenger threw the fruit and ignited holy fire to cook it.

While he briefly wondered if it was appropriate to use sacred flames for cooking food, the fruit, which had been roasted to a golden brown and emitted a bread-like aroma, looked quite appetizing.

So when he received it and took a bite—he immediately recognized the true value of this fruit.

The fruit itself was bland except for the savory taste of baked carbohydrates, but that meant it posed no problem as a staple food.

Moreover, if ground into powder, it could adequately substitute for flour, and though called a fruit, to Gracchus’s eyes, it was clearly a grain.

“Thanks be to the Great One. Thanks to this, we will not starve to death.”

In response to Gracchus’s gratitude, having immediately recognized the potential value of the fruit, the vampire messenger gave a puzzled expression and said:

“I still have more to deliver to you?”

With those words, she once again reached her hand into the torn space.