episode_0022

“It’s been a while, everyone. Let’s start with a light hymn.”

As soon as dinner began, Abel sang a hymn.

Ah.

Being right in front of him makes me feel awkward.

“Well, let’s discuss what we did and the results during this dinner time. Let’s start with… Father.”

Starting with me?

“Well, it would be good to explain what happened at the academy this time.”

I mentioned everything that had happened so far and pointed out areas that needed correction.

I also talked about the commoners’ academy.

“Well… The commoners’ academy, your father probably hasn’t heard of it, but there is one under the control of the Akshin religion.”

“Is that so? But the rumors I hear…”

“It seems that the commoners are not very supportive of the academy. Generally, commoners find it hard to afford, even if it’s cheap or free. There are more who prefer farming.”

Is that so?

It was unexpected.

Certainly, because the nobles squeeze the commoners too much, sending a child to the academy makes it much harder for them to make a living.

There is a system created for such times.

“So, we can give money to the top performers.”

There is no scholarship system in the academies attended by the nobles.

They have enough money to attend the academy, and they are wealthy enough to even support the academy beyond that.

However, for these commoners, especially those struggling to make ends meet, it might be okay to provide scholarships.

“We can call this a scholarship and give money to a few specific individuals like top performers or the children of Akshin religious officials. Many people might attend in that case.”

“If we give money to those in need, it could attract them.”

“That’s right. If we do that, many people will gather at the academy.”

“Paying scholarships in the name of the Akshin religion could help promote a favorable view and spread the name of the Akshin religion further.”

“That’s right.”

Of course, I just said it without any thought, but if they accepted it well, it would be good for me too.

Okay then.

“I understand Father’s intentions well. You want to improve the image of the Akshin religion among the public, attract more believers, including followers of the Cheonsin religion.”

…No, that’s not it.

Why is this guy like this again?

“Or maybe we could offer them loans under the name of scholarships…”

“No.”

We’re not loan sharks.

What loan sharks? Just give it to them for free.

“To leave a good impression, we don’t need to go that far. Since our sect won’t be spending any money, let’s look into it. Then it’s Veronica and my turn after that.”

Going clockwise.

It’s going back to playing games more than I thought.

“We have finished suppressing the remaining rebel remnants and managing the Holy Empire.”

“I brought treasures from Rebecca and the treasure vault of the Holy Kingdom. In the meantime, at Abel’s request, I assassinated several priests.”

Everyone is reporting to me like that.

It’s a bit awkward, I don’t know if the food is going up my nose or into my mouth.

Why are they all looking at me and talking?

“Haha, I was managing the World Tree.”

“I, I played chess with demons! And… Oh, right. I became a Dragon Lord!”

“…I finished managing the Implied Market with Ryu…”

“Beatrice and Theresa couldn’t attend dinner due to their own circumstances, so that concludes the report.”

Everyone seemed busy with their own affairs.

Adele didn’t need much power at the moment, so she didn’t have much to do.

Everyone else had already done their tasks.

Theresia, who didn’t attend dinner today, conducted various experiments with specimens, while Beatrice spent a lot of time running the empire like an empress.

“Now that the report is over, we should make plans for the future. First, I will talk about the results of the Sacred Empire.”

As long as there were guests using the excuse of being hostages, the Sacred Empire could not escape the grip of the evil cult.

With even the Pope dead, Rebecca was the hope of the Sacred Empire, the last flame in which many people could believe.

She said it was quite easy to govern them.

“And regarding the Academy, it seems positive to consider. Among the commoners, there are many cases more talented than the nobles.”

It would be great to reach out to the subraces, but they had not yet been fully identified.

Could they barely find a few elves?

Of course, most likely, they were the few elves who escaped from Mari’s massacre.

“We will end the meeting here today. So, everyone, enjoy your dinner.”

He took a bite in silence.

Hmm, indeed, skills improve as you go.

The meal was getting tastier.

“Your skills are improving.”

“It’s because Caesar has been helping me whenever he has time.”

I see.

If such delicious food can be made with a little effort, it might be worth it, I thought.

“Everyone, you’ve really worked hard.”

They were enjoying dinner when suddenly Ryu spoke up.

“Oh, right. Right. That’s how it was… Ah… Phew… Evil, are you thinking of going on a trip?”

“A trip?”

“There haven’t been many events lately. Since we’re all here and have been so busy, how about taking a break together? If we all go together, it could be enjoyable for everyone.”

Certainly, it would be quite enjoyable to travel together.

If the kids had plenty of time, it wouldn’t be bad to go on a trip together.

If the kids had a lot of free time, going on a trip together…

“The Auction House opens in 3 days, so once that’s done, there won’t be much work for a while.”

“I also don’t have much work around that time.”

“I want to go on a trip too!”

“Mother, even if you’re alone for a few days, you can manage just fine with nature, so it would be nice to go with the Evil One.”

Hmm.

It seems like everyone has a lot of free time.

If everyone gathers for a trip, it shouldn’t matter for a few days.

Barely a few days later, there might be a possibility of war or rebellion breaking out, and it’s not like the Evil Cult is so dependent on officials that it would be paralyzed without them.

Hm, I didn’t create it, but I’m really proud of it.

“Let’s discuss the trip next time. Thank you all for your hard work today. Let’s call it a night.”

That’s how tonight’s dinner ended.

A trip altogether.

It feels like a family trip.

Hmm, how should we prepare for the trip? No, since we’re here, why not take a carriage together.

Where should we go?

To the beach?

Or maybe it would be nice to go to another country.

Since it’s the first time traveling with the kids, I feel nervous.

“Yeah, let’s think about that tomorrow.”

I mumbled and lay down on the bed.

Being under the blanket is the most comfortable.

No joke, the bed is much softer than modern society’s beds.

I don’t know how it was made, but it probably means they put a lot of effort into it.

So most of the day, if you don’t go out, you spend it lying in bed doing nothing.

“Oh, and should we also visit the auction house?”

I was curious anyway.

What kind of feeling would the auction house that I had been preparing for so long have?

My heart was pounding hard.

And so, on the third day.

The journey was decided to go to the Ask Desert.

I don’t know, suddenly I heard about some strange phenomena happening in the desert, and they said it looked interesting, so they were going.

In fact, I also had a curiosity about the city in the desert.

“Today is the day.”

“Ah… Are you ready? If so, let’s depart right now.”

“Let’s do that.”

Me, Ryu, Cecilia.

The three of us teleported towards the auction house in an instant.

After the momentary dizziness passed, what appeared in front of our eyes was a vast auction house with no one around.

“Well then, first the demon lord should… take a look at the goods…”

Cecilia spoke softly as she walked towards where the auction house’s items were displayed.

It took about 2 minutes.

Various items and people were visible.

“Magic tools, relics, slaves…”

Ah, right.

I heard that slaves are casually traded in the auction house.

And in some kingdoms, there are places that do not even designate slavery as illegal.

The Empire also seemed to be in a situation where slavery was not designated as illegal, so it wouldn’t be strange to have slaves.

“Magic tools…”

I had a vague sense of how they were used.

For some reason, recently I could feel what abilities items possessed and what penalties they carried.

Is this what they call relic appraisal ability or something like that?

“There are quite a lot of slaves.”

“Most are debtors or drug addicts, or in some cases, children sold by their parents. Well, it’s not our concern up to that point.”

Ryu entered while smoking a cigarette.

Considering the unique fragrance, it would be more appropriate to say he was smoking drugs.

“Phew…. Preparations are complete. It’s best to look at the goods here and then leave. Big players are starting to come in.”

After briefly looking at the items, we went outside.

They seemed like characters that could come out of a work of fiction.

Not a masked ball or anything like that, they all wore masks, touched magic tools, thought of numbers, and money was instantly updated on a large screen in front of them.

More modern than I expected.

“The minimum unit is gold coins, it’s a perfect sight to see how greedy they are, how much they waste money. Hehe, today there are even crossbreeds, so I can’t even imagine how much money will come in.”

“Crossbreeds?”

“Creatures called Harpies. There’s a saying that goes if you want to survive, just be cute. They have evolved from bird bodies to human bodies. Thanks to that, they are very popular among perverted nobles.”

Ryu extinguished his cigarette and stretched.

The atmosphere was slowly becoming that of the beginning of the auction.

“We’ve prepared a VIP room. Since there’s nothing much to do upfront, please relax there.”

The largest auction in the Empire began.