Chapter 79
Chapter 79
The Duhein Family’s Demonic Beast (3)>
Dike was very kind. She kindly answered everything I asked.
“Most ancient texts are composed of ambiguous expressions and idioms. It is because of the linguistic system of that time.”
“Oh.”
At first, even Winter, who had lamented my excessive number of questions, began asking about things she did not know.
She possessed a great deal of knowledge necessary for running a religious order, such as its operational structure and financial management, and she did not hesitate to share it.
“Therefore, cross-verification of various sources is necessary. It is possible that Lady Anaye may appear in the scriptures of other gods as well.”
While she never once mentioned secrets such as those of the Karata Order, she answered every question that could be called know-how.
Winter eventually took out a notebook and began writing things down.
“Junior. Do you happen to know about the Holy Brush?”
“Of course I do. It is an artifact comparable to the Holy Scripture, meaning the brush that wrote the scripture.”
At my signal, Winter took the Holy Brush out from her robe.
Dike immediately recognized it as the Holy Brush and widened her eyes.
“My goodness. Lady Anaye truly cherishes all of you in the Order. To send something so precious.”
“Priest. The first thing this Holy Brush wrote was a certain sentence. But I’m not sure what it means.”
At Winter’s question, Dike pondered for a moment.
“There was a similar case in the Karata Order in the past. It happened during the founding era of the Karata Order.”
Dike slowly continued her story. Winter’s eyes sparkled, and I listened closely.
“A single sentence appeared in the Karata Scripture. At that time, the Order was able to decipher it through the existence of the Saint. The sentence was, ‘We will soon depart.’”
“‘We will soon depart?’”
At Winter’s question, Dike nodded.
“At the time, the Karata Order regarded it as a revelation and began to investigate the scale of ‘we’ and where it was meant to go.”
Hearing the story of another religion from a follower of that religion was quite interesting. Dike’s voice was easy to listen to and did not disturb my concentration.
“So the Karata Order abandoned their settlement and headed elsewhere. However, that was not what the revelation meant.”
“Then?”
At my question, Dike smiled gently. It seemed she sensed my interest, though I had appeared calm the entire time.
“The Saint passed away, and a ‘Great Divinity’ appeared at the place where the Order had originally been.”
“No way.”
“Yes. The entrance to what is now called the ‘Sanctuary’ was originally the location of the Karata Order. The ‘Great Divinity’ was the path leading to the ‘Sanctuary.’”
As she listened to the story, Winter let out a sound of regret. I felt the same.
If they had not moved rashly, the present scripture would likely have been managed by the Karata Order. The wealth and influence that would have followed were beyond easy calculation.
“From what I hear from Miss Winter, I believe that too was a revelation. However, what must be noted is the choice. In the case of the Karata Order, departure and return meant the same thing. More precisely, they occurred simultaneously.”
I recalled the sentence written by the Holy Brush. Just save.
“May I ask what the sentence was?”
At Dike’s cautious question, Winter looked at me. I nodded.
“Just save.”
“Just, save. In ancient language, salvation and death stood in opposition. For some gods, death was salvation. There are records stating that races such as the giants, who lived extremely long lives by nature, came to despise their prolonged existence. Thus, I have heard that for them, unending struggle and an early death on the battlefield were considered great blessings.”
Every word Dike spoke was of great help. If her explanation was correct, the word save could also be interpreted as kill.
“To see such fervor in a follower of religion. I am deeply impressed.”
I felt the previously stagnant direction of the religious matter gradually unraveling. The knowledge and information Winter possessed were, of course, remarkable.
However, this was also Winter’s first time being part of an Order. What I had wanted to ask about was not knowledge, but information born from experience.
“Oh my. It is already ten minutes before the auction. This was a delightful conversation. Senior, I hope you thoroughly enjoy today’s auction.”
“Thank you. You’ve been a great help.”
“Truly! Thank you so much!”
I expressed my gratitude sincerely for once. Dike’s guidance had been of exceptional quality.
“Hehe. Did you not wish to receive instruction? I was also delighted to meet such passionate juniors. If you ever have any questions, please come find me anytime.”
With a warm smile, Dike bid us farewell. That handsome young man left a good impression not merely because of his appearance, but for something else entirely.
It was something Winter had not managed to do for me.
“Wow. Unbelievable. That was more substantial than three lectures’ worth.”
“That much?”
Winter did not hold back her praise. It seemed she liked him quite a bit. Wearing the face of a cheerful girl, she grinned and reviewed her notes.
“Yes. He even seems to have a talent for teaching. He grasped the essence of the question and explained things easily by bringing in points we didn’t even ask about.”
A fondness for studying ought to be praised, yet for some reason I felt resistance first. I shook my head and drank my whiskey.
“This makes things a bit more concrete.”
“The Order?”
“Yes. Until now, we’ve mainly focused on what we roughly needed to do and what the Lofty Order demanded. But now, I can see a clearer plan.”
I wholeheartedly agreed with Winter’s words. Until now, everything had been too vague. We had merely been waiting for a religious quest to appear.
Of course, rather than actively trying to trigger it, we had been closer to preparing for an assumed future. Even that alone would likely have produced the results we wanted.
Though it would certainly have taken quite a long time. In that sense, the roughly twenty-minute conversation with Dike had been useful.
It was advice that could significantly accelerate the prosperity of the Anaye Order.
“I thought all we had to do was increase the number of members.”
“Exactly. I was surprised too.”
The only thing that had been circling in my head was increasing the Order’s membership. Even if I ignored everything else, that was the one issue I had worried about.
But Dike had firmly denied it. She had added that blindly increasing the Order’s size would make things extremely difficult.
“I had no idea the taxes would be that high. And that the more members you have, the more taxes increase.”
“Well. We also figured out what benefits we’d receive in return.”
“That’s true. The Imperial system is certainly excellent at keeping things in check.”
Religious Orders were taxed in units of ten members. The tax increased for every hundred members added. Moreover, unlike territorial taxes, this was paid directly to the Imperial House.
For the Anaye Order, which had only just begun supplying Candela bombs, once the number of members exceeded twenty, things would start to become tight.
“It’ll take quite a long time before offerings generate proper revenue.”
“We won’t have offerings.”
“Pardon?”
Winter’s face twisted into something grotesque. After all, the largest source of income for most Orders was offerings.
The money periodically donated by Believers was essentially a form of tax. Just as taxes were the most important factor in running a nation, offerings were crucial for running an Order.
My words meant I intended to operate the Order without such a system. It was more difficult than sailing a ship without wind.
“More precisely, there will be no mandatory offerings.”
“Uh. Uh. Well.”
At that point, Winter lost her words. What had I been like until now? Though I appeared lazy, I handled assigned tasks and necessary work faster than anyone.
Even when something unexpected happened, I resolved it briskly. Whenever asked something, I answered without hesitation, as though everything was already calculated in my head.
At least outwardly lazy, but in truth sharp and efficient—that was the image Winter had of me.
And just now, that image had completely shattered.
“I’m telling you clearly, Senior. Without offerings, an Order cannot operate.”
“I said there will be no mandatory offerings.”
“That’s the same thing. Except for the Lofty Order, there isn’t a single Order without mandatory offerings.”
The admission ticket spun fiercely like a throwing knife and embedded itself into the wall. At the bizarre display, Winter’s mouth fell open.
To drive a piece of paper into a wall simply by throwing it hard. If that was not a skill, what was?
“Here.”
“What is it.”
“Money. You handle the auction.”
“So you want to keep it from the Family?”
One of Bereninche’s eyebrows twitched. What she was about to do was clearly not beneficial to the Duhein Family.
She was planning to purchase something with her own personal funds, even though she could have easily done so with the Family’s money. It seemed she was plotting something.
“There’s a commission, right?”
“Buy whatever you want with that. The list you showed me last time.”
The box Bereninche handed over was filled with money. One hundred gold coins worth 500 Nuckle each. She received this much as pocket money.
I had once possessed money not quite at that level, but certainly not insignificant. Of course, I had offered it to Anaye, so it could no longer be retrieved.
“Deal.”
Still, waste was waste. I swallowed the faint sense of injustice rising in me and accepted the proposal.
Yet since it meant I would not have to spend my own money, my mood quickly warmed.
“Expensive liquor really is different.”
With little time left before the auction began, I settled into position and drank my whiskey. There was no hangover, yet the way it subtly clung to the inside of my mouth made it feel unmistakably expensive.
Apparently quite pleased by that, I kept taking small sips. As a side snack, I ate dried garlic cloves one by one.
As a result, Winter, sitting beside me, wore the expression of someone long accustomed to this. Watching this, Bereninche showed interest.
“Oh. What’s that?”
“Dried garlic.”
“……Why the hell are you eating something like that.”
The moment she heard it was garlic, the spice, her reaction turned sharp.
“It’s pretty good. You put plenty of it in that Seaweed Soup you had before.”
“I know that. Give me one.”
I tossed her a piece casually, and she deftly caught it with a fork. After examining it briefly, Bereninche gave it a sniff and, without hesitation, popped it into her mouth whole.
Winter silently watched Bereninche, then found herself impressed by the sheer boldness of the act.
“Oh. What. It’s good?”
The reaction was unexpectedly positive. Bereninche’s eyes widened as if genuinely surprised.
The soft, crumbly texture was followed by garlic’s characteristic spiciness and distinct aroma. She particularly seemed to like the sharp kick of heat.
“Ha. As expected. You really do know your stuff.”
Delighted by Bereninche’s positive response, I pulled out another pouch from my coat and handed it to her. She accepted the dried garlic without refusal.
“I heard that in the East, garlic is nationally encouraged.”
“What’s that supposed to be. A paradise?”
At my tone of excitement, Winter was dumbfounded. My taste was peculiar—far too peculiar. At least it did not give off a strong smell, which she considered a small mercy.