76 – Episode 76 Divine Power
Plain.
Entrance to the temporary temple.
Arriving at the entrance,
I dressed neatly.
I brushed off as much dust as I could from my knees.
After making all the preparations,
I went inside.
Inside the temple,
The woman was waiting.
Black hair,
On top of it is something like a veil worn by nuns.
White skin and red-tinged eyes.
And even clothes with various decorations.
At a glance, I realized that she was a saint.
I put one hand in front of my navel and bowed according to the etiquette.
“Elwynn Frontier comes to see the saint.”
“hehehe. Please sit in front. Elwin believer.”
I sat across from the saint.
For a moment, I couldn’t think of what to say.
Fortunately, the saint spoke first.
“Elwin believer, I looked around the plain when I came here.”
“I see. How was it?”
“It was a better place to live than I had heard. “There were smiles on people’s faces, and the food wasn’t bad.”
We talked about planes for a while.
Meanwhile, Isaac brought out tea.
Two glasses were placed on the table,
The saint lowered her upper body to pick up the teacup.
At that moment,
The familiar scent of soap tickled the tip of my nose.
Soap was delivered to the Earth Church.
That too, to a saint who is at the peak.
Drink tea,
A full-fledged topic emerged.
“You said the Goddess taught the Elwynn believers how to make soap, right?”
“Yes.”
“Please share the production method with the church.”
The story flows strangely.
On the one hand, I understood it.
You must have smelled money the moment you saw the soap.
‘If it were the Earth Church, the financial situation would be bad…’
Because it is the smallest among the Creator God-affiliated denominations.
Even so.
“That won’t work.”
“… If it was given by the Goddess, the church also has the right.”
I refused again.
Then, the temple knight who was standing behind the goddess stepped forward.
“How cruel! If you are a believer of the Goddess, you must be loyal to the church!”
I turned my head and looked at the temple knight.
It was better.
Because it is easier to deal with a knight than with a saint.
“If you were going to give it to the church, you would have told the saint how to make it. But she was given to me by the Goddess.”
“Wasn’t it because of the epidemic? Now that the epidemic has been resolved, share the recipe!”
“If that’s what the Goddess means, she will let me know even if I don’t share it.”
I told the temple knight,
It was also said to the saint.
“Uh-huh! You…”
“Temple knights are not polite.”
Hans’ voice was heard from behind.
When I turned my head, Hans and Inon were coming in.
Hans continued, glaring at the temple knight.
“There are definitely ups and downs between humans. “How can a temple knight talk to Lord Xiao?”
The atmosphere in the room became increasingly heavy.
‘This isn’t bad either.’
If the relationship becomes difficult,
Because there is a justification for not giving out the soap making method.
‘More than anything…’
What I fear is the goddess.
The Earth Church is not scary.
The denomination only has a market share of 2%.
“Stop it.”
As the saint interceded,
The snowball fight between the two knights has ended.
“Let’s skip the soap gun first. “Shall we talk about something else?”
The saint mentioned a temple built in Ireland.
Then,
“Are you asking for the right to operate the temple?”
“Yes, it is a temple dedicated to the goddess, so of course it must be managed and operated by the religious order.”
That’s true, but…
To ask for the right to operate a temple,
In other words, it means to collect new taxes.
A different world.
Holy Royal Empire, to be exact.
Empire taxes are largely divided into two types.
1/10 Of the imperial tax paid by the empire.
1/10 Of the shrine’s walking shrine.
In other words, imperial citizens pay 20% of their income as taxes.
Unlike this, only the imperial tax existed on Monster Island.
Thanks to this, Irish people only had to pay 10% tax.
‘Even that was difficult.’
Ireland was so poor that even 10% was difficult.
‘But… If it’s a frontier, if it’s a region with strong autonomy…’
Farmers sell food at high prices.
Mining iron in an iron mine,
This is used to make weapons, armor, ballista, soap, etc.
I can afford to pay 20% tax.
Still, I didn’t want to give them the right to operate the temple.
It was I who gathered the believers,
It was I who built the temple.
I created everything in Ireland.
But you’re going to eat it for nothing?
Give in 100 times,
Because it is a denomination. The right to operate a temple can also be given.
At least, if the image of religion was good for me.
If you just study history, you will see how religion has caused many wars and killed people.
It was the same even in modern times.
If you look at the news, you hear that a pastor is handing over the church to his son.
The monk drank alcohol, drank meat, and gambled.
All kinds of news were all over the place.
He even went so far as to go to the media outlets that reported such things and embarrass them.
‘What worries me more than anything is…’
I went to church when I was young.
The pastor introduced someone before starting the service.
Sometimes I just called you by name,
Sometimes he brought me to the podium and greeted me.
I found out later.
That they maintain the region,
The person brought to the pulpit is a politician.
This is not the only thing.
One day, the pastor said that he was paying a tithe rather than a tithe.
So, I also donated 20% of my allowance.
1. Politicization of religion.
2. Increase in new tax burden.
These two things are fatal to managing a territory.
Because of that,
I cannot accept the saint’s offer.
“I will manage the temple of the Frontier.”
The saint’s eyes became sharper.
The atmosphere was different from the soap making method.
“Do you… Know what that means?”
“I will cover all the temple operating costs, maintenance costs, and even charity work.”
I am willing to pay this cost.
Instead of me walking.
“Solord Elwin, you are crossing the line.”
They called him Shindo, but the title suddenly changed.
“Even if you say that, the Temple of the Frontier is…”
“I have the authority to excommunicate.”
Excommunication.
If you are excommunicated, you cannot receive the sacraments or enter the temple.
This has a religious dimension and is also politically damaging.
The excommunicated lord is treated as an apostate by the church and its believers.
Loyalty of citizens, knights, and administrative officials decreases,
In severe cases, a rebellion may occur.
Excommunication is the strongest means by which religious power controls political power.
“Try it.”
“…Are you sincere?”
“The believers of Frontier believed in the goddess just by looking at me. “I wonder how those believers will react to the excommunication.”
The saint slowly closed her eyes and opened them.
This incident is different from a typical excommunication.
Because believers depend on me, not the denomination.
Even her, she would not be able to predict what the outcome would be.
“Divine power.”
“…?”
“I didn’t feel any divine power at all, neither in the soap nor in Lord Elwynn who was praying. Will he be able to maintain the temple without divine power?”
The biggest difference between religions on Earth and in other worlds is the presence or absence of divine power.
The gods of this world give divine power to the priests, and through this the priests do many things that humans cannot do.
In other words, the power of God is visible to the eyes.
Naturally, religions without divine power do not last long and disappear.
The saint said this part.
Even if the denomination were to be divided into two in the extreme, I would soon fall apart without divine power.
“Inon.”
“Yes, my lord…”
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Inon took a step forward with a troubled expression.
“Show the saint your power.”
“…”
A cluster of white lights gathered in his hand.
When the saint saw this, her eyes trembled.
“A few days ago, I received the goddess’ stigmata at this temporary temple.”
Her saintess’s mind turned white.
How can that be?
A temple built by the private sector.
Without a fuse.
You received the goddess’ stigmata?
If one person received it,
Two people, three people,
Dozens or hundreds of people may receive it.
The saint had no choice but to admit it.
The goddess’s will is here too.
I saw a saint with a stern expression.
Now it’s time to take out the carrots.
Because I have no intention of interfering with the religious denomination.
“Saint, instead, we will serve the Earth Goddess at the realm level. We will build earth temples throughout the territory. “I will do my best to make many young people believe in the Goddess.”
“…”
The increase in believers means that
It means that the power of the goddess will become stronger.
This is definitely a good thing.
But…
The saint was unable to answer for a moment.
Because there were other reasons why the temple operating rights could not be given.
Sinjeonse is largely used in four ways.
1/4 Is the temple operating cost.
1/4 Is the temple maintenance fee.
1/4 Is charity expenses.
The last 1/4 is delivered to the denomination.
Here, the funds delivered to the last denomination are important.
Current denominations are like making a profit with limited land.
As the number of believers increases in a specific area,
More and more new taxes are being lifted,
As this happens, the amount of 1/4 delivered to the denomination also increases.
The more money you have, the more priests and temple knights you can train.
This meant that the denomination became stronger.
The saint bit her lip tightly.
The Earth Church is not getting stronger, but is experiencing a crisis of survival.
2% Market share.
So, if we are talking about occupying 2% of the total new rent, this is not the case.
Even with the same 2% of the population,
The tax that is lifted from the wealthy 2% is much larger.
Currently, Earth believers are concentrated in the northern and western coastal areas.
It is the most underdeveloped place on the continent.
The market share is low,
Even the believers are poor,
The church’s finances became worse day by day.
The saint closed her eyes.
It is not something she would say as a saint, but
But you still have to do it.
From school maintenance,
Even feeding the priests and temple knights.
Because the ultimate responsibility lies with you.
It hurts my pride as a saint, but I cannot help but bring up this story.
I saw the saint sitting in front of her.
Her haughty expression collapsed.
I bit my lip,
Her eyes were tightly closed.
And her face turned red.
‘What is it?’
You seem angry, but you also feel embarrassed.
It was a strange expression.
‘Are you ashamed of your current situation? Why?’
The saint’s lips opened slightly.
And the words that came out were.
“Gyo…”
“Yes?”
The saint’s face became even redder.
Her face, which was facing straight ahead, was lowered to 45 degrees.
“…I…Need….”
I was muttering to myself, but I couldn’t hear what I was saying.
“Saint, could you please speak louder?”
The saint opened her closed eyes.
Her eyes were moist.
“The church needs money!”
