Chapter 74
Chapter 74
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Divine Power
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Plain City.
Government office.
Elwin's office.
Reports on soap came in every day.
Just as Russell had said, every batch they made sold out immediately.
Demand was overwhelming, and supply couldn't keep up.
He read through the current status and future projections in the report.
But at the end, there was new information.
"Some soap has been smuggled?"
They weren't selling soap on the continent yet.
The demand from the island was enough on its own,
and selling to the continent would mean paying 30% transit taxes to Callas.
"Callas is already profiting handsomely, and handing over soap on top of that..."
Those were the words from his meeting with the previous Callas Viscount.
Once the island market grew,
trade volume would increase,
and Callas's transit tax revenue would rise accordingly.
And indeed, that's what happened.
The number of monsters being subjugated had grown.
A significant portion of that supply passed through Callas territory to the continent.
Callas's revenues had increased as a result.
"This issue needs resolving too..."
He was in the same boat as Callas,
but letting them grow too strong was a burden.
At the end of the smuggling section,
the report writer's prediction was noted.
"It might have reached the Terra Church?"
This was trouble.
He was currently committing two offenses.
One was the unauthorized use of the Earth Goddess's name.
The other was the unauthorized use of the Terra Church's symbol.
"No, the church symbol is just similar, not identical."
Even setting that aside, misusing the Earth Goddess's name was an enormous sin.
He pulled out the religious status report he'd compiled so far from one corner of the office.
According to this world's mythology,
the world began with the Primordial God.
After managing the world for eons, the Primordial God fell into slumber, dividing its power to birth two deities.
The Creation God and the Destruction God.
Then the Creation God bore children of its own:
the gods of sun, moon, fire, water, wind, and earth.
And churches arose to serve them.
One of those was the Earth Church, devoted to the Earth Goddess.
He read through the report and turned the page.
A section on the Destruction God followed.
"Pass on this."
The Destruction God was far to the south anyway.
It was worshipped in nations with entirely different races.
Any connection to him seemed unlikely.
He turned another page.
In the past,
before the Holy Royal Empire he belonged to even existed,
the continent's superpower was the Roman Empire.
At that time,
the Roman Empire's state religion was the Sun God, so naturally, Sun God followers were the most numerous.
Afterward,
as the Roman Empire weakened,
various nations filled the void.
One of those nations grew enormously:
the Holy Royal Empire.
Holy for the divine,
Royal for loyalty.
True to its name, the Holy Royal Empire's power structure consisted of temples and nobles.
The Holy Royal Empire took a different path from Rome.
Unlike Rome, they worshipped the four elemental gods:
fire, water, wind, and earth.
Thus, the churches of five of the Creation God's children came to dominate the continent.
The established powerhouse, the Sun God.
And the four elemental gods.
This balance persisted.
Until 300 years ago, when Monster Island burst onto the historical stage.
The great war between the Demon King and humanity.
This world's Demon King wasn't limited to demonkin.
The literal king of evil,
the pinnacle of malice called the Demon King.
The Demon King, based on Monster Island, clashed with the human alliance.
The Demon King's power was so immense that
humans united regardless of nation, race, or faith.
Not just churches of the Creation God,
but even Destruction God-worshipping nations joined the war.
"Everyone except the Moon Church, that is..."
The Moon God.
The church of Luna.
Their numbers were few.
They barely maintained their influence amid pressure from other churches.
Perhaps because of that.
When they declared they'd only provide rear support,
no one paid it any mind.
A brutal war raged on Monster Island,
and priests, high priests, saints, and holy sons perished alongside soldiers, knights, and mages,
yet the Moon Church preserved its strength.
"And when the other churches were sufficiently weakened, they aggressively expanded."
Sensing the threat, the churches withdrew from Monster Island.
This left Monster Island in the peculiar situation of being religion-free.
He turned to the next page.
It showed each church's share of influence.
Moon Church 53%
Sun Church 27%
Fire Church 8%
Water Church 7%
Wind Church 3%
Earth Church 2%
(Excluding Destruction God regions)
The Sun Church at least held its ground,
thanks to its status as the Roman Empire's state religion.
In the Holy Royal Empire alone,
even the Sun Church's share was single digits.
"Earth Church 2%..."
It was bittersweet, but also a relief.
Even if the Earth Saint noticed something off,
they lacked the power to pressure him or Frontier.
"The current distance is perfect."
Too close, and his lies would be exposed.
Too far, and people would find it suspicious.
Living by merely borrowing the goddess's name like this was best.
Knock. Knock.
"What is it?"
He closed the religious report
and looked up.
"Heir, the northeast unit will arrive soon."
"Finally..."
He had received a reply from Hans.
The letter expressed gratitude for the soap and noted that the war would soon end.
Indeed, a few days later,
news came that the Vampire's northern subjugation was over.
He dressed neatly and headed to Plain's entrance.
After waiting about twenty minutes,
three thousand troops appeared.
As they reached Plain's entrance,
Hans, Inon, and the mercenaries dismounted.
"Heir, we have completed the northern subjugation and returned today!"
"Good work."
He embraced Hans tightly.
He had made the decision to go to war,
but these men had done the actual suffering.
After encouraging Hans,
he shared a warm hug with Inon next.
"Hm?"
A strong soap scent emanated from Inon.
"Did you bathe with soap?"
"Whenever I had time, I washed several times a day with the goddess's gift."
At that price,
he wished they'd ration it for at least six months.
"Washing too often isn't good."
"No, sir. Bathing makes me feel even closer to the goddess. When the bubbles envelop my body, it's like her touch..."
He quickly broke the embrace
and patted Inon's shoulder.
Then he turned to encourage the next person.
They held a grand victory feast.
He granted them an additional week of rest.
A week later,
they were deployed to satellite city construction and Plain's large farm development.
He climbed Plain's walls and surveyed the vast land.
"With three thousand skilled workers thrown in, progress is definitely faster."
Slave soldiers generally had plenty of clearing and construction experience.
Especially those who'd fought in wars—they'd received additional engineer training.
"Sorry about this, but..."
He sensed his mana had nearly fully recovered.
"I haven't had it easy either."
There hadn't been a single day with full mana.
He'd been using Demonic Energy Removal or Designer's Guidance.
After purging Demonic Energy from farmland late into the night, he returned to the office.
As he walked the government office corridor toward his room,
Inon appeared ahead.
"My lord."
"Inon."
A brief greeting, and he tried to pass by.
He was that exhausted.
Inon, on the other hand, was full of energy.
The soap scent suggested he'd just bathed.
"My lord, I'm heading to pray to the goddess. Will you join me?"
"No, I..."
A door opened, and Isaac appeared.
Soap fragrance wafted from him too.
"Is my lord going as well?"
Isaac seemed headed to pray too.
"No, I..."
Another door swung open.
Hans emerged, carrying the same scent.
"The Heir is joining us too."
Whoa...
The atmosphere was odd.
He needed to answer quickly and get some rest.
"No, I!"
Bang. Bang.
Doors flew open along the corridor,
and knights and administrators appeared.
They spoke in unison.
"The Heir is coming too!"
"It's an honor to pray together!"
'Looks like... I have to go?'
Earth Goddess Temple.
This wasn't one he'd built.
He'd prepared temple sites in the satellite city center
and within Plain City.
For that, he'd bought the Pianna mansion and surrounding land.
But all were still under construction.
Temples were massive projects, so he planned to start after key facilities were complete.
Perhaps because of that.
Commoners pooled money to build temporary temples.
Refugee camps linked huge tents,
and in Plain, they cleared buildings for the purpose.
His destination was one of these.
Temporary temple.
The exterior looked like any building,
except for the wheat symbol at the entrance.
The interior was similar.
Furniture removed, replaced by rows of chairs for people.
The podium overflowed with wheat symbols and soap bars.
'I'll grab a seat in the back and...'
Prayer posture was comfortable for him.
He struck it daily with skills.
Sitting in the rear, he could doze while maintaining it.
But.
"My lord, we've saved the front seat."
Isaac guided him to the very front,
where everyone could see.
'This way... I can't sleep.'
Prayer began,
and the building filled with voices.
No choice—he started praying.
Conveniently, he had words for the goddess.
'Goddess, forgive my lies. In return, I'll build you a grand temple. If that's fine, give me a sign I can recognize.'
He repeated this prayer.
As prayer peaked,
Inon's voice rang out.
"God! Ah... Aaaah!!"
Was he speaking in tongues?
Inon shouted.
'Be quiet...'
Crash. Thud.
Chairs toppling—he opened his eyes and turned.
"Inon...?"
Inon's body was glowing white.