Chapter 444: The Grey Desert(2)
Chapter 444: The Grey Desert(2)
The supreme leader of the Holy Nation 'Savior' is the Pope, but even the Pope is no different from an ordinary priest in the face of an oracle.
However, by their nature, oracles are often open to various interpretations, and the Pope holds immense power to choose which interpretation to follow.
This means that if another priest claims an oracle means one thing and the Pope disagrees, that’s the end of it. Of course, the gods, who can read the future, surely anticipate this.
Therefore, the recent oracle might have been what pushed the Grey Desert expedition forward. Lina seemed to think so as well.
"But the problem is that Savior isn't sharing the contents of the oracle."
"Are you saying they lied about it?"
"It’s likely not a lie. Someone tried that in the past and was struck by divine punishment. The gods asked how they dared to besmirch their prestige."
The gods, including Luminous, are infinitely warm most of the time, but they are strict in certain areas.
For one, they never lie. Even if the information is difficult to share, they only tell the truth. Perhaps for that reason, while they might speak in riddles, they are uncompromising when it comes to falsehoods.
As Lina just mentioned, divine punishment fell the moment someone lied about receiving an oracle.
Even those fanatics firmly believe they represent the will of the gods; they would never resort to lies.
The fact that they take it too far is the problem. The reason the gods don't restrain the fanatics is that they do not speak falsely.
"So, you're saying Savior might be plotting something suspicious?"
"The possibility is high for now. They might even claim that the truth revealed in the Xenon Biography isn't true. If that happens, your position will become quite awkward."
"Hmm..."
I fell into thought after hearing her words. To be honest, the probability of Lina's hypothetical scenario actually happening was close to zero.
First of all, Clark saw that truth with his own eyes, and I simply included it in the Xenon Biography.
If it had been a lie, the gods would have given me a warning. Instead, they let it pass without a single mention.
In other words, the probability that the origin of demons being human is the truth is extremely high.
'It's not like they're trying to purge me, either.'
Furthermore, the gods hold me in high regard. Even Hirt, the Chief God and Supreme God, bestowed upon me the Blessing of Pure Nature—a 'Divine Authority.'
I had exposed the demon worshippers who were slowly eating away at this world and, furthermore, delayed the Demon War by thousands of years.
Simply put, it was impossible for the gods to abandon me. If they did, they themselves could suffer significant harm in reality.
I don't mean I would make it so, but rather that the believers might start to harbor doubts. My reputation had grown so large that it was nearly at the level just below the gods themselves.
'I also have to consider the possibility that Savior interpreted the oracle strangely.'
There were simply too many variables at the moment. The worst-case scenario would be that the truth I revealed was a lie, but that was impossible.
Still, the fact that Savior sent the expedition out so early was bothersome. I shook off my thoughts and asked Lina.
"The nation responsible for the expedition is the Holy Nation 'Savior', right?"
"Yes."
"How are the other nations providing support?"
"Starting with basic supplies, they've dispatched knight orders. Helium and Albenheim are in a similar situation. But given the nature of the expedition, the Holy Nation's influence is bound to be strong. Not only do they have to cross a desert, but the expedition includes non-combatants, so the role of priests is vital."
I had seen it in the newspaper earlier. The ancient ruins in the Kingdom of Gerios had been buried for over 3,000 years due to various complex reasons.
From the perspective of scholars, this wasn't just about confirming the starting point of the Demon War; it was about excavating the hegemonic power of 3,000 years ago.
Naturally, any scholar worth their salt would be foaming at the mouth to get there. In fact, as soon as news of the expedition broke, scholars from all over the world came running.
Because of this, the proportion of scholars, including archaeologists, was quite high. It even included many famous scholars who were frequently mentioned in the newspapers.
'Though their actual numbers are probably small.'
Of course, there were only about ten of them. The Grey Desert was a demonic zone where even walking upon it put one's life at risk.
The more non-combatants there were, the greater the burden on the expedition, so they had to keep the numbers to a minimum.
Still, since those ten were all highly authoritative scholars, excavating the ruins shouldn't be difficult.
"I really can't understand why they moved the schedule up. Just what kind of oracle was given?"
"There are many suspicious parts even without the oracle. For now, we can only hope the expedition succeeds normally. Once it succeeds, either Helium or Albenheim can just set up a teleportation gate."
Some people might have wondered: if the Grey Desert is so hard to cross on foot, why not fly through the sky with magic or use teleportation?
It wasn't that they hadn't thought of it. However, teleportation is a spell that can only be used once you've actually been to a place and know the coordinates.
It's impossible to head to a place you've never visited via teleportation. Doing so would likely result in getting lost in the void.
Then what about flying? While the field of vision would be wider, finding one's way would be nearly impossible. Deserts, in particular, are the perfect place to lose your bearings.
Furthermore, the demons had been isolated until then and couldn't even try, while Albenheim had shown almost no interest.
The typical Elven mindset of 'why should we go to such a filthy place?' played a big role. Still, there was news that an Elven scholar was included.
"By the way, why are you telling me all this? Do you want me to ask the gods? To ask what kind of oracle they gave?"
Having grasped the general situation, I asked about Lina's intentions. In truth, the Grey Desert expedition didn't have much to do with me.
The origin of demons was a situation the gods had tacitly accepted as truth. Whatever truth came out of that place would be nothing more than source material for me.
So, there had to be a reason Lina was telling me this. I stared at her intently.
Lina looked back at me with a serious expression for a while before letting out a sheepish chuckle, perhaps feeling embarrassed.
"...No. I just wanted to know what you thought. I felt so frustrated that I was willing to grasp at straws. If Savior had done this unilaterally, it would be one thing, but since an oracle is involved, I'm in a position where I can't do anything."
This could be called a side effect of a world where divine right is strong.
The reason the Holy Nation 'Savior' could maintain its powerful hegemony despite all sorts of bizarre incidents was precisely because the existence of the gods was clear.
Even if other countries piled on complaints, a single phrase—'It is the will of God'—would silence them all. Mortals might feel dissatisfied, but they had to follow that will.
It would have been even worse if Savior hadn't committed those insane acts fueled by fanaticism in the past.
Whether Luminous wants this situation or not, he is currently Savior's powerful benefactor.
Luminous might be able to abandon Savior, but Savior would never be able to abandon Luminous.
Helium could also be called a holy nation since its state religion is Mora, but because its believers are far fewer than Luminous's, they aren't able to throw their weight around.
"Hmm... I'll try asking once. I was planning to visit the temple in a little while anyway."
I tapped my cheek with my finger and spoke while glancing at Lina. It was to fulfill Lina's request and satisfy my own curiosity at the same time.
"R-really? You're really going to ask?"
Lina's eyes widened as she asked urgently. With her sharp eyes wide open, she looked like a startled cat.
The real cat (Leona) was elsewhere, but since the impression was similar, it didn't matter. I nodded in affirmation to her question.
"Yes. But don't get your hopes up. Lord Luminous might say he can't tell me. Besides, since oracles can be interpreted in many ways, I'd rather you focus on Savior's actions rather than Lord Luminous's intent."
"O-of course. How could mortals like us know the will of God? I was just curious about the content of the oracle."
"I understand. Anything else?"
"There is one more thing..."
As expected. I smirked, wearing an 'I knew it' expression.
Lina, looking quite embarrassed, brought her fist to her mouth and cleared her throat. Seeing her cheeks slightly flushed, she seemed truly bashful.
Then, with her face still tinged with a blush, she looked straight at me and spoke quietly.
"It's about the demon worshippers. You know they've been active in the underworld, right?"
"I know."
"And you know that the funds for that have been leaking out of our Minerva Empire?"
"I heard the House of Kerison took the biggest hit?"
According to the news, the head of the Count Kerison family was currently being interrogated.
It was an unavoidable measure, considering the wealth of the richest family in the Empire had been leaking to demon worshippers.
The Count himself claimed to be a victim, but as you know, there's a perfect saying for this situation:
If you knew, you're an accomplice; if you didn't, you're incompetent. Regardless, for the Imperial Family, it provided a foundation to strengthen their centralized power.
"Right. But we've discovered a major problem here."
"What is it? That the Count really was an accomplice?"
"It might be worse than that."
What could possibly be worse than that? My curiosity piqued, I leaned forward.
Lina looked around to make sure no one was listening before speaking in a hushed voice.
"...The demon worshippers sourced most of their funds from our Empire. With those funds, they expanded their influence into the underworlds across the globe."
"Hmm..."
"But the method they used to source those funds was... counterfeit currency."
"...Counterfeit currency?"
My eyes widened at the mention of counterfeit currency. Counterfeiting is one of the oldest (?) crimes even on Earth.
Its power is dangerous enough to completely ruin a country's economy. It destroys trust in the currency and causes hyperinflation by exponentially increasing the money supply.
In the distant past, issuing counterfeit currency was almost always met with the death penalty or something equivalent. It was even a basic tactic used during wars.
It seemed the demon worshippers had also sourced their funds through counterfeiting, but the problem was that their target was the Minerva Empire, renowned for its immense economic power.
Since the demon worshippers had been active for a long time, the Minerva Empire's counterfeit currency must have spread across the world by now.
'And since the Minerva Empire's currency also serves as the reserve currency...'
Gold, silver, copper, and so on. The Minerva Empire's currency is counted that way and, based on its strong economic power, it even serves as the reserve currency.
Although 'paper money' hasn't appeared because a currency reform hasn't happened yet, it is still treated as the reserve currency.
Instead of being a near-perfect reserve currency like the 'Dollar,' it's closer to the Euro, Yen, or Pound.
This is because the global economy, as well as the financial industry, hasn't developed enough for an advanced financial market to exist.
In this situation, the fact that the Minerva Empire's counterfeit currency had spread worldwide meant...
"We're fucked."
"...Saying it so bluntly makes it even more depressing."
"I have no choice but to be blunt."
A specific country's counterfeit currency has spread worldwide before the invention of a central bank? And a currency that acts as a semi-reserve currency at that?
Recovery was practically impossible. Real and counterfeit coins would be so mixed together that separating them would be difficult.
Furthermore, the fact that they only just noticed the existence of counterfeit currency meant the demon worshippers' fakes were that sophisticated.
Thanks to this, the Minerva Empire was likely to be branded as the cradle of demon worshippers once again. They were becoming a total punching bag.
'Still, it's a relief the Empire is sensitive to these things.'
The Empire wasn't stupid; as its economic scale grew, it had prepared thoroughly against counterfeiting.
If they hadn't even done that, the slums in the Minerva Empire would have increased significantly, and the economy would have collapsed.
They had suffered some pain by carrying out currency reforms periodically, but it had turned out to be a blessing in disguise, allowing them to absorb the damage.
"What's the scale of the damage?"
"The problem is outside our Empire rather than inside. The demon worshippers were clever enough not to spread the counterfeits within the Empire, using them only outside. I suppose they didn't want to take the risk since our Empire is sensitive to such things."
"They're smarter than I thought."
"They're cunning. Anyway, this is something we can get through with some diplomatic flak, but..."
She looked at me with wide, expectant eyes. Her blue pupils, filled with hope, stared straight at me.
She seemed to be indirectly asking if there was a way to prepare against counterfeit currency. Seeing the expression that betrayed her intent, I couldn't help but chuckle.
'Does this woman think I'm some kind of blue raccoon robot?'
Well, I suppose she would. But unfortunately, there is no way to fully prevent counterfeiting.
Even on Earth, where central banks exist and the financial industry is developed, counterfeit currency still circulates worldwide.
In fact, sophisticated counterfeits of the US Dollar that are impossible to distinguish frequently appear.
"I'm sorry, but even in the world I lived in, counterfeit currency circulated constantly. This isn't something you prepare for; it's something you have to catch."
"Is it really impossible?"
"More than that, start by creating an institution that manages the economy separately. You didn't even know money was leaking like this until now."
What the Minerva Empire needed most right now wasn't a central bank, but a proper control tower—that is, a centralized system.
The fact that their counterfeit currency was openly circulating worldwide without them knowing was a huge problem.
It wasn't that the current Emperor, Berit, was incompetent. The demon worshippers were cunning, and the nobles weren't very cooperative.
It was the biggest drawback of feudalism, and Europe was like this before the Black Death broke out.
'It's a bit funny that demon worshippers are playing the role of the Black Death.'
Of course, even without that, the Ters Republic had developed its political system in a different form. Revolution is scarier than disease, after all.
Anyway, as long as 'currency' exists, counterfeiting is an inseparable crime, even if the economy and financial industry are developed.
There's a reason people say money is the scariest thing in the world. In the end, catching them is the only answer.
"...I see. I'll have to use this incident as an opportunity to strengthen the imperial power further."
Lina finally gave up and spoke gloomily with a sigh. I felt bad for her, but I really couldn't tell her because there was no way.
"Is there anything else you want to say?"
"No. That's all."
"Then I'll go see Lord Luminous. I have other things to do, so it might take a while."
After that, I headed to the Temple of Luminous and asked him directly in a private chapel.
[I am sorry, my child. I cannot tell you that.]
I knew it.
*
Although many countries sent support to the Grey Desert Expedition, it was essentially the Holy Nation 'Savior' going alone.
They had suddenly departed, claiming an oracle had been given before the other nations could even send all their support.
Originally, an elite force of about 1,000 was expected to gather, but now there were roughly 700.
It was a smaller number than expected, but each individual was an elite, and only about 50 of them were non-combatants.
Furthermore, the most important issue of 'supply' was made possible without difficulty thanks to the mages dispatched from Helium and Albenheim.
Thus, on the surface, there seemed to be no problems other than the lack of numbers, but the place they were heading was the 'Demonic Zone,' famous for its cruelty.
No expedition had ever passed through it, and since only a vast desert stretched out, it was a region that had been ignored.
However, elite soldiers from all over the world had gathered in one place to find a single 'truth.' Humans, demons, beastkin, dwarves, and finally, elves.
Each would play a role in the expedition by utilizing their strengths, and they would move forward to excavate ruins that had been buried for over 3,000 years.
"Do you really think Isaac's words are true...?"
With deep dark circles and a sluggish way of speaking, Cindy asked tentatively. Despite her manner, her Elven beauty gave her a strange, decadent charm.
At that question, Elena, an elf with hair reminiscent of grass and green eyes, stopped looking at the map and turned to her.
Perhaps because it was her first adventure in a long while, Cindy looked somewhat nervous. Well, it was only natural since she had spent nearly 100 years just doing research at the Academy.
However, she seemed more nervous about the 'truth' buried there than the expedition itself.
"I don't know. It's an unverified truth, so I'm not sure either. We'll have to go and see."
"Aren't you curious...?"
"I'm dying of curiosity. It's been a long time since my heart raced like this."
As explained a few times before, Elena and Cindy were originally adventurers who traveled the world uncovering ruins.
They were only conducting research at the Academy to organize the knowledge they had gained during their adventures; they had no intention of missing such an opportunity.
Of course, Cindy, who was steeped in chronic lethargy, didn't want to go, but Elena had personally dragged her along.
"Ruins revealing themselves to the world after 3,000 years. Aren't you excited? Besides, it's not like we're alone; an expedition was formed at the national level. I could never give this up."
"Yes... yes... and did you tell the Academy?"
"No? We just have to be back before winter break."
"..."
Cindy stared at her with an incredulous expression. It seemed actually possible, which left her speechless.
Elena usually exuded an intellectual aura, but occasionally, her adventurer's spirit would flare up like this.
In such cases, there was no use trying to stop her. She had spent 100 years quietly at the Academy, so it was understandable.
In the end, Cindy could only let out a deep sigh and grumble. Becoming her assistant was the regret of a lifetime.
"...Do whatever you want... but I don't want to die..."
"I knew you'd say that, so I brought this person along, didn't I?"
At Cindy's words, Elena linked arms with the man right next to her.
Seeing her press his thick arm tightly against her ample chest, one could guess they were no ordinary pair.
Cindy watched the scene and then tilted her head slightly to look at the man's face.
His face was handsome, but he had grown a thick beard, giving him a somewhat macho impression.
Furthermore, his physique was enormous, and one could tell at a glance just by looking at his arms that he was incredibly muscular.
"The Queen asked, but it's nice to see the outside world after a long time, isn't it?"
"Hahaha..."
At Elena's words, the man, Iker, let out a sheepish laugh. Surprisingly, he was currently participating in the expedition.
However, he used a pseudonym when attending and acted more as an escort than a direct display of force.
Naturally, the targets of that escort were his wife and scholar, Elena, and her assistant, Cindy.
There were other elves dispatched from Albenheim, but Elena and Cindy were the only scholars.
Normally, other Elven scholars should have been included, but they couldn't join because the Holy Nation 'Savior' departed earlier than expected.
"I heard the desert weather is extremely hot; will you be alright?"
"I'll be fine. By the way, look at your skin. How long has it been since you went outside that you're paler than me?"
"I did stop by the Holy Land occasionally..."
"No more excuses. Anyway, I'm counting on you this time."
Elena seemed to want to express her affection more, as she was practically clinging to him. Even after decades of marriage, their bond remained as strong as ever.
For Cindy, who was watching this in real-time, it was a situation that made her feel quite lonely.
Iker let out his characteristic hearty laugh at his beloved wife's aegyo and then looked around at the expedition.
As expected of an expedition Savior had put their heart and soul into, the spirit of each individual was extraordinary. Furthermore, it even included a Cardinal.
'It's quite suspicious that we're departing earlier than planned, though...'
Albenheim hadn't trusted the Holy Nation 'Savior' from the start, which is why they had drafted Iker as part of the support force.
To achieve that, Arwen had personally visited and persuaded him repeatedly—a natural course of action.
At first, Iker hadn't been very keen, but upon hearing that Elena was participating in the expedition, he had immediately changed his mind.
If anything were to happen to Elena, the grief would be unbearable.
Something is up. They’ll likely show their true colors the moment we step inside the ruins.
Iker had experienced the ingenuity and cunning of humans firsthand during the Race War. Consequently, he remained ever-vigilant against any potential schemes.
They might act like an ordinary expedition while crossing the desert, but the real test would begin the moment the truth within was revealed.
Just what was this "truth" that drove them to make such a hasty, suspicious decision?
Iker scanned the expedition members busy with their preparations once more before turning to Elena.
"Elena, could you show me our destination on the map?"
"Right here."
It was best to get his bearings first. In the worst-case scenario, he might have to make a run for it on foot.
Unaware of his grim thoughts, Elena obliged and spread the map out for him.
"This entire area was once the territory of the Kingdom of Gerios. It’s no exaggeration to say they ruled the entire Western Edge."
"Hmm. To think even a kingdom of this scale fell so helplessly to the demons..."
"Indeed. And what's more..."
The territory of the Kingdom of Gerios that Elena was pointing to...
"The west was surrounded by the 'sea,' leaving them with nowhere to run. The demons only had to keep pushing from the east."
The geography bore a striking resemblance to Europe on Earth.