episode_0041

There were many religions on the continent, but most of them were simply sects that branched off from a single god.

They were simply called by different names and described differently depending on the power or role that the gods controlled.

The Hedon Church was one of them.

The only difference was that it boasted tremendous power as the state religion of the Kingdom of Zeof.

And those who held high positions in the Hedon Church were gathered together today.

“Due to the last structural agenda, the food and funds that had been stored within the church have been significantly reduced. If you have any countermeasures for this, please share your opinion.”

Most of the people sitting in the sacred conference room were elderly, but each and every one of them had tremendous influence.

Even the nobles with great power could not easily touch them, as their power was so great. And among them, the one with the most power was Pope Rahve.

“I guess we need a solution. Everyone, please think carefully and give us your opinions.”

Rahbe looked around tiredly.

On the surface, they were all equal priests who served only God, but when people weren’t paying attention, he was like a king.

This was the result of eliminating numerous political enemies while directly leading the church for several decades.

People of all social classes, from clergy who were too honest to stand in the way of power to nobles who kept the religious order in check, disappeared from his hands.

Even innocent humans.

Others, who had been living for a long time and knew this fact well, watched his expression and gave their own opinions.

“How about talking to believers to increase their donations?”

“No, that is not enough. It would be more certain to raise the interest rate a little more for believers who come to borrow money.”

“That’s good, but it might also be a good idea to receive land as a donation and run a business that can make money.”

“Or how about adopting a talented child from an orphanage at a reasonable price···”

Most of the opinions they gave were far from those of benevolent priests. However, Rahbe looked at them with a pleased expression. They were loyal subordinates who were loyal to Rahbe and helped increase the power of the church.

But there was one exception among those sitting in this seat.

“I’m against it. If you do things that way, there will definitely be people who get hurt.”

Everyone’s gaze turned to the direction where the beautiful voice had come from. There, sitting there, was a woman who was noticeably different from the others.

With golden hair and sapphire-blue eyes that seemed to have been blessed by the gods, she was a beauty with a pure yet divine aura, and was the famous Saint Angela of the Kingdom of Zeof.

“Then do you have any good ideas?”

Angela was the only one who could confront Rahbe in this place. So the priest who was acting as the host asked her carefully.

If you were to ask who had the most power inside the church, everyone would point to Rahbe, but outside it was different.

The beautiful saint was enough to receive explosive support from the people.

“I think that in times like these, we need to reduce our extravagances so that we can prepare for those who need help later.”

The people sitting there glanced at Rahbe’s complexion.

His expression didn’t change at all, but everyone could tell.

That his heart was filled with displeasure and anger.

‘I should have sold her to a whorehouse a long time ago.’

Rahbe’s specialty was calmly expressing eerie thoughts with a gentle expression.

His acting was so good that most people didn’t even notice it.

“But if you cut back on spending, there is a concern that Hedon’s authority will fade···”

The priests tried to refute Angela in their own way, but it was not enough.

“Hedon, who rules over joy, will not be sad that we help people by reducing our spending. He will bless us as much as people are happy.”

People’s eyes were naturally drawn to Rahbe.

But he didn’t say anything and just recalled his past memories and was filled with anger.

‘I didn’t know that the girl I was going to use as a signboard would be this annoying···’

Saint Angela.

She originally came from an orphanage run by the Hedon Church.

Rahve noted her extraordinary talent for divine magic and revered her as a saint.

Originally, it was just a sham to increase the power of the religious order, but the problem was that the effect was too good.

People were more familiar with and supported Saint Angela than Pope Rahbe.

There were many problems with hasty removal.

If an important figure like the Saintess suddenly disappeared, it could become an excuse for the kingdom to suppress the religious order.

Moreover, there were forces within the church that supported her.

‘It would have been much easier if I had wanted wealth just like these guys.’

Rahbe had two choices.

Accept or oppose Angela’s opinions.

In the former case, there was concern that the power of the religious order would be weakened, but in the latter case, the entire religious order could be put at risk.

That’s why he accepted her opinion with a smiling face.

“The saint’s words are certainly correct. However, other people have also expressed their opinions in preparation for when a great disaster strikes the people, so please consider it later.”

Looking at Rahbe’s kind and gentle expression, Angela and the others had different thoughts.

Angela, who was vaguely suspicious of his greedy intentions, wondered if her judgment was correct.

But others thought it was a creepy performance.

‘That’s Rahbe, the one who speaks with that kind of face and then calmly puts his sword down.’

‘I should just stay still and not get in between the two of you.’

As the atmosphere became increasingly strange, the host quickly tried to move on to the next topic.

Because if Angela had discovered Rahbe’s true identity through his own mistake, it would have been difficult for him to survive.

“The next topic is··· about the forest in the northeast of the kingdom. Recently, monsters have been invading the village near the forest more frequently, and the believers have been requesting that they be subdued.”

“Did something happen?”

“Perhaps something has changed inside the forest···”

Most people who heard the host’s story looked as if it were a trivial story.

The northeastern part of the kingdom, the frontier, was largely rural, save for one city.

The population was small and the economic power was low.

Although they were training paladins under the pretext of helping those who had suffered damage from monsters, the probability of benefiting from helping them was extremely low.

But Rahbe thought differently.

‘If we do it right, we can take advantage of this situation.’

He looked at Angela with a look of concern for people.

“Since it is a remote area, it seems like it will be difficult to get support from the royal army. Even if you try to hire adventurers, it will be difficult in many ways because the economy is low.”

“Then we will send a paladin to help.”

As expected, Angela took the bait and Rahbe smiled inwardly.

It was risky in many ways to take her out with your own hands. But it was different when she died fighting monsters to help people.

Rather, it was possible to publicize the death of the saint and thereby increase the power of the sect.

‘It’s said that there’s no case of surviving by going deep into the forest, so it’s quite possible. It would be appropriate to send a few low-level paladins with weaker fighting skills under the pretext of doing so.’

Rahbe’s skills in eliminating numerous enemies were outstanding. He opened his mouth after sending a signal without Angela noticing.

“How about the saintess go with the knights to find the cause? Then the burden on the knights will be greatly reduced.”

“That’s right. If the saint helps, people’s suffering will surely disappear quickly.”

“I agree with you too.”

The conference room was already in an atmosphere where one could not refuse.

It was difficult to refuse, since it was Angela who suggested sending the knights.

Even if she could refuse, she was not the type to easily refuse to help people.

“Then I will personally find the cause of the increase in monsters together with the Paladins.”

“As expected, you are a saint. Let’s find out which knights can move right away.”

While Rahbe was putting on a perfect performance, he was secretly plotting a scheme.

It wasn’t that difficult for him to assign incompetent paladins within the sect.

“I pray that the saint will protect and bless you, Hedon.”

Even though she was a saint who could use excellent divine magic, she had virtually no offensive abilities.

That’s why Rahbe was confirming her death.

But there was one thing he didn’t realize.

The reason why the monsters living in the forest came out.

That was because relatively weak monsters gathered as the dungeon was created.

As the number of prey decreased, naturally stronger monsters came out of the forest.

‘If we can somehow recover the body later, there won’t be any trouble.’

Rahve was unaware that there was a special orc in that forest.