Chapter : 77

“Uwaaaaah-!”

As expected, ‘surely not’ really did get a man.

Upon hearing the news delivered by the messenger from Mangtong City, Treasurer Palmer screamed.

“S-So you’re saying he told me to come to Mangtong City?”

“That is correct, Treasurer Palmer. He said to come quickly as there is urgent business. Ah-! He said to hand over the work you are doing to Chamberlain Hamil.”

“Uuugh.”

At the messenger’s words, Treasurer Palmer let out a great groan.

He had only just now been able to work at a leisurely pace…. To think he would be called back right away.

Thanks to that, as soon as Treasurer Palmer arrived in Mangtong City, he poured out his complaints to his lord.

“My Lord! How could you call me like this again? Huhuhu.”

“What is it?”

“How hard have I worked all this time? Please look at this rough skin! And my gaunt cheeks. I’ve become like this because of the work you gave me.”

His once plump, oily, smooth skin, which he used to boast about, had long since disappeared.

Treasurer Palmer was so sad.

Other administrators were lazing around and busy amassing wealth behind the scenes, but he was being called around like this and only working-!

But it seemed his emotional appeal was not effective in the slightest.

“Hmmmm. Is that so?”

“Uh, ugh, umm…. It is… but?”

“Haha. But think of it the other way. By you losing weight, haven’t I taken care of your health? Before, you would be out of breath after walking just a little, but now, even after coming all this way, you can raise your voice at me like this, can’t you?”

“……”

What kind of nonsense was this! At his lord’s ridiculous logic, Treasurer Palmer’s jaw dropped.

“And think carefully, Treasurer Palmer.”

“Yes?”

“Who was the first person to learn the administrative system I am trying to implement now?”

“Uh…. Me?”

“Yes. Then who is the person who has utilized it the most and has the highest understanding of it?”

“That…. is also me… I see?”

The longer the conversation went, the more he felt like he was sinking into a swamp.

Was it just his imagination that it was getting harder and harder to refute?

But in the end.

“Oh? Then, to teach others, would one need to know and have experienced all matters by default, or would it be okay not to have?”

“O-Of course it would be the former… right?”

“Then who is the person in our domain who can do that?”

“……”

Treasurer Palmer had no choice but to admit it.

“Eheheheuk. It’s me. Me! Fine, I’ll do it-!”

Treasurer Palmer wept, stroking his unusually balding forehead.

* * *

As planned, the delegation to the Emperor, including the city council member, departed. If nothing out of the ordinary happened, they would manage to smooth over relations with the Emperor.

Some of the Holy See officials remaining in some cities and the pro-Bohemian nobles who participated in the southern subjugation expressed concern about my actions, but that was as far as it went.

They were in a state of being swept away by the huge problem I had thrown at them.

That is, declaring all the churches in the occupied territories as heretic churches and confiscating all their privileges and property.

“Margrave Bellua, Your Excellency! This is nonsensical.”

“That’s right. How can you violate the church’s property!”

“This is an abuse of authority!”

Some Holy See officials, and the priests who remained inside, all denounced it. My actions seemed to be a challenge to the authority of the Holy See and God.

But the nobles’ reaction was a little different.

“Hmm, well, it’s under the pretext of stabilizing the rear as the Margrave said, so there’s nothing wrong with it.”

“Haha, that’s right. We can’t just leave heretic churches in our rear, can we?”

If the church’s interests were abolished, the benefits would go to the nobles who would come to rule the new lands.

This became even more so when I began to distribute some of the confiscated property to the nobles under the pretext of ‘war funds for the holy war’.

However, not all clergymen were opposed.

In particular, the Holy See officials who had witnessed the miracle I performed firsthand were rather favorable to my actions.

“He is a margrave who performed a miracle, so would he have done it out of selfish motives?”

“That’s right. In terms of piety, can anyone even follow him?”

“Besides, as His Excellency the Margrave said, these are churches that followed heretics, so it is strange to just leave them be.”

“That’s right. Aren’t they hotbeds of heresy? It is a natural procedure to put new wine into new wineskins.”

Of course, the reason they were moving like this was not purely out of a simple heart of faith.

“Bishop. On this occasion, I would like to support the ‘shepherd’ who will rescue the lambs stained by false faith with funds.”

“Haha…. Is that so? You must need a very faithful and reliable ‘sheherd,’ eh? Your Excellency, the Margrave.”

“That’s right. Ah-! And while we’re at it, I would also like to build a splendid and large cathedral for the Holy See.”

“Ooh?”

“To create a foundation of true faith that will vanquish heretics with the money obtained from heretics. Is this not the way of Providence that God speaks of?”

“Ah. O God. Bless this faithful Margrave!”

It was all thanks to my diligent greasing of the wheels. With a good cause, money coming in, and their own authority rising, what reason was there to oppose it?

Thanks to this, the occupied territories were currently in a state of a free-for-all, with groups of different interests denouncing each other.

“Very good.”

As the situation turned out this way, the one who was smiling was me. No one had any interest in what I was doing. Using the wealth plundered (?) from the churches under the pretext of heresy, I poured it into rebuilding Mangtong City.

I expanded the port, replaced the sewage facilities in the burned-down residential areas on a large scale, and even brought in Moors from my domain to install public baths.

Some fundamentalist priests decried it as a culture of infidels made by infidels, but it was already out of the public’s interest and had little effect.

Thanks to that.

-Tiriring!

[You have rebuilt the destroyed city of Mangtong. You have created a more advanced city than before by expanding the sewer system and introducing public baths. In the future, the city will have a strong resistance to epidemics.]

[Notification: The population inflow of Mangtong City increases.]

[Notification: The probability of disease outbreaks in Mangtong City decreases.]

With the power of a vast amount of money, I succeeded in rebuilding Mangtong City in a shorter time than expected.

“You really…. I was worried in many ways, but you have far more talent than I thought.”

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

“Your talent as a monarch. It was once said that a monarch must have the cunning of a sly fox and the dignity of a bold and powerful lion.”

“Why that…?”

“Why, you ask? Think about what you’ve done so far. Haven’t you shown the cunning of a very sly fox? You are truly worthy of being a great lord.”

“……”

I was unsure if this was a compliment or an insult. It sounded like a compliment, but didn’t it also sound like he was calling me a cunning and bad person-!

I stroked my chin with a sour expression.

“W-Well, don’t they say you cover up one incident with another? Magician Agpiel.”

“Hoh? Cover up one incident with another? That’s an aphorism I’ve never heard before. But it sounds plausible. An aphorism truly befitting the cunning of a sly fox, no? Don’t you think so?”

“Keuhum!”

I tried to make an excuse but didn’t even get my money’s worth back. I cleared my throat and slyly turned my head away.

“By the way, Treasurer Palmer has to do a good job so that there won’t be an administrative vacuum in the future.”

At my subtle change of subject, Magician Agpiel chuckled and shrugged.

“Well, from what I’ve seen, he seems to be slacking off a bit, but he’s also working hard with a pouting lip.”

“Hehehe. He’s always been like that. The more you squeeze him, the better he does.”

It was nothing much, but since he had followed along well after I passed on modern knowledge, he was a decent figure.

Shall I say he was one of the characters who had improved the most, along with Chamberlain Hamil?

For a vassal obtained at the starting point, his efficiency was very good.

“Hmm. Then, once Treasurer Palmer trains the administrative officials, all the urgent work will be more or less finished?”

“That is correct, Magician Agpiel. It will be quiet for a while.”

The factions that would keep me in check would be busy biting at each other, so there was nothing more for me to worry about.

All I had to do was scatter the trained officials everywhere, collect taxes from the villages, and then supply the army of the Prince-elector of Bohemia who was fighting hard on the front lines!

That was even easier since it would now run on its own.

“Then I can get some good rest in the meantime. I’ve also been working hard helping you in my old age, so I’m quite tired. Hahaha.”

“My goodness. Please rest well. Surely nothing will happen.”

Thanks to that, I responded to Magician Agpiel’s words with a grin.

Mentioning ‘surely not’ just like Treasurer Palmer had in the past.

And….

“Margrave, Your Excellency! The-the supply line has been cut. It is an order from the Prince-elector of Bohemia to recapture it immediately-!”

“Damn it?”

As expected, ‘surely not’ was ‘surely not’.

* * *

It was a time when everything was going well.

The southern heretic subjugation army led by the Prince-elector of Bohemia was on a winning streak, subjugating the southern region with the force of splitting bamboo, and the occupied territories were stabilizing at a rapid pace with my policies.

Soon, the southern heretic subjugation would come to an end.

And yet….

“The supply line was cut?”

“Yes, Your Excellency. At the mouth of the Ariège River, the supply line is now cut, and everyone is wringing their hands.”

At the mouth of the Ariège River?

I knew there was no bridge there, but there were boats for crossing back and forth. So there was no reason for the supplies to be cut off….

“Did it rain by any chance? Did the river overflow?”

If it had rained a lot, the river could have overflowed, making it difficult to launch boats. Then the supply line could be cut.

But the reason was a little different.

“Th-that is….”

“Haa…. How frustrating. Just say it quickly.”

“A c-curse has been placed on the Ariège River, Your Excellency.”

“???”

The messenger spoke, his whole body trembling as if he was scared.

“A curse?”

“It’s true! The entire river has turned crimson red. It was…. it was like. Blood. Aaaah…! The river has become blood, Your Excellency.”

At the words that followed, I couldn’t help but be dumbfounded.

The river became blood?

I looked at the messenger in disbelief, but seeing him seized with terror, it seemed to be true.

“So people can’t cross because of that curse?”

“Yes, that is correct, Your Excellency. Everyone is afraid of receiving divine punishment and cannot cross. And….”

“And?”

If it had ended there, the Prince-elector of Bohemia probably wouldn’t have used the word ‘recapture’.

And sure enough.

“As soon as the curse occurred, the heretics hiding in that area came out, and several villages betrayed us.”

As expected, there was a reason.

As soon as the phenomenon that looked like a curse (?) occurred, the public sentiment in the surrounding area turned around.

From the heretic faction’s point of view, it was a very good issue to claim that God was angry and had poured out a curse.

‘Ugh. No wonder it’s been too peaceful lately.’

This world couldn’t stand to see me rest.

But what could be done?

Right now, it seemed like I was the only one who could solve this problem. I sighed and immediately summoned my troops.

The target was the mouth of the Ariège River.

It was time to show the power of a Performer of Miracles.

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