Paladin of the Dead God - Chapter 105



Only Krnovel

Episode 105 Salt Council (1)

‘Norden? ‘Why suddenly?’

Since it was a summons from the bishop and no one else, Isaac immediately headed to Port Norden. The only person in the upper echelons of the church who could protect Isaac was Bishop Juan. After all, he was the one who put Isaac in this position.

However, there was a place where I was pricked inside by the sudden summons.

In fact, Isaac had recently sent Aidan to Port Norden for work related to the Salt Council.

‘We were working on capturing the Salt Council, but did we get caught?’

Norden Port was one of the base cities of the Salt Council. The Salt Council had base cities all over the world because no country had them as its state religion like the Golden Idol.

Of course, since most of the Salt Council believers are sailors, there are bound to be Salt Council believers in any port. However, among them, there was a place where so-called ‘lawmakers’ would gather. Norden Port was one such base.

There was no better place to control the Salt Council while being close to Isacrea Territory. It will be an important base to dominate the North Sea trade route in the future. Therefore, when Isaac left the Isacrea territory, the immediate destination was Norden.

‘Whatever it is, I guess I’ll have to meet him first. It would be nice if we could solve it by encouraging and soothing him… … .’

I had to meet him anyway, whether by talking to him or confronting him.

Isaac quickly kicked his horse.

***

“The Holy Grail Knight has arrived. “Bishop.”

Bishop Juan was staying in a rented mansion of a local man outside Norden. There was also a Church of the Code of Light here, but the old and impoverished cathedral seemed unsatisfactory.

The old bishop sitting by the window turned his head.

“Oh, our Lord Isacrea has arrived. “Do you like living in a permanent residence?”

It was a sarcastic tone.

I thought there would be some level of dissatisfaction since Isaac had not previously obediently followed the will of the church, but I did not expect the bishop to express his dissatisfaction directly like this.

He thought for a moment about how to behave, then decided to be polite first.

“See you, Bishop.”

Isaac walked up, put one knee on the floor as instructed, made the sign of the cross, and kissed the back of Bishop Juan’s hand. But Juan didn’t answer.

Isaac opened his mouth while thinking about what to say.

“Due to my limited talent and lack of faith, I was unable to repay the bishop’s trust. However, I treat my believers with sincerity and passion, so if there is anything that disappoints me, please feel free to give me advice.”

In fact, Isaac was doing very well as a lord. Compared to what the Hendlock family had done before, the territory was growing day by day, new roads were being paved, and security was being guaranteed. Isaac was honorable in terms of managing his territory, but his opponent was the bishop. He could demand more than simply what he had to do as a lord.

“Hmm.”

Bishop Juan seemed to like Isaac’s humble attitude, and his expression softened even more.

“How long has Lord Issacrea been a lord?”

“It’s been about half a year.”

“It’s still time to focus on stabilizing the territory. In fact, I heard from the priests how much Sir Isacrea is working for his territory. “But there were so many disappointing aspects that stood out.”

Disappointment? Isaac quickly racked his brain as to what he had done wrong. Since his territory was already quite devastated, he was bound to have many shortcomings compared to the estates that were already running well. But I didn’t think he was pointing out that part.

‘Is it because they made the Barbaris into guards? Or introducing heretical believers into the monastery? Have you subtly changed the doctrine of faith to suit your taste? Stealing the fallen angel piece? Creating a nameless sanctuary of chaos beneath the monastery?’

Now that I think about it, there were too many. It wasn’t strange no matter which of them was pointed out. Some people didn’t point out that it was a situation where the Holy Knights should have invaded right away.

Isaac cautiously opened his mouth.

“If Barbari was made the guard captain… … .”

“Barbary? Ah, I guess that’s okay. If it’s a change, something like that can happen. Maintaining public order is the lord’s heart. “What I want to point out severely is about faith.”

As expected, Isaac became nervous when something he did was pointed out. While he was preparing something to say in defense, Bishop Juan continued speaking.

“Not a single penny of donations came in for half a year.”

“The things I said at the prayer meeting… … yes?”

“Half a year, half a year. “Does it make sense to not give a single penny to the religious denomination during that long period of time to prove one’s faith?”

Isaac regained his composure and took a quick look around. There were deacons serving him and paladins serving as guards, but no one seemed to think Juan’s words were strange.

I wondered if this symbolized the corruption of the church, but when I thought about it, the church ran solely on donations and royal support. Considering that half of the donations were forcibly taken away, this attitude could have been natural among members of the same denomination.

“sorry. Bishop. I don’t know much about this… … And since the condition of the estate was not good, there were many places to put money.”

“Tsk!”

Bishop Juan clicked his tongue as if he was displeased. Isaac thought it was a ploy to make up money that he didn’t have and extort money from him. Of course, Isaac personally had a lot of money. The amount of money invested in the top of the golden idol was enormous. Isaac wondered if he should at least steal his personal wealth and silence him, but the bishop’s thoughts were completely different from Isaac’s expectations.

“Of course, since Sir Isacrea is an innocent Holy Grail Knight, I thought he might not know much about these things. So, I decided to take this opportunity to teach our Holy Grail Knight.”

“yes?”

“When I looked at it, it seemed like the head was good, but it didn’t seem to be turning this way. So, I have to tell you directly.”

Isaac then realized that he had been very mistaken.

‘So you didn’t call me here to reprimand or interrogate me… … ‘Did you call me here to teach me how to extort money?’

Isaac had already made a lot of money, but he thought that the knowledge Juan would teach him would be common sense from a completely different world.

***

Norden Port had a run-down appearance that was unbecoming of a base port.

It was a fairly prosperous place in the past, but it fell into decline as trade with the Hearth Church of the World was cut off. The empty streets and quiet port, with only the buildings lined up in abundance, seemed to show the current state of the Salt Council.

Bishop Juan continued his sermon to Isaac as he rode down the sloping road.

“First of all, did you say you couldn’t afford to make a donation because there was a lot of money going into the territory? That means you know one and not two.”

“Please teach me.”

“Who do you think has the power, those who spend money and those who make money?”

While Isaac hesitated to answer, Juan continued speaking one-sidedly as if he was not expecting an answer.

“Of course, the one who spends the money has the power. Even the very fact of spending money brings money. “If you are spending a lot of money to improve your estate, wouldn’t that money naturally flow to someone?”

Juan spoke in a solemn tone to the innocent Holy Grail Knight.

“For example, if you repair a bridge, money will go to masons and stone merchants. Let’s say it costs about 1,000 gold coins. “If you decide to spend that huge amount of money, masons and stone dealers will be lining up.”

“… … “I guess so?”

“Then, since your work is for the church, if you only offer to entrust the work to someone who can sufficiently prove your faith, the church will receive a considerable amount of donations. “I even heard that you built roads and roads in the territory, repaired not only bridges, but walls, and even reorganized waterways!”

Juan shook his head as if he was shocked.

“But no donations have ever come from your estate. Doesn’t that mean that the entire cost of repairing the bridge was just labor and personal expenses?”

‘… … ‘Isn’t it obvious?’

Usually we call it bribery. And even if he had a little money left over, he never thought about donating it to the church, lest he keep it for himself.

“If, as a believer, you received that much money, it would be right to donate half of it to the religious denomination! “I have a lot to say about the lack of faith in your territory, but I will leave it at that.”

Isaac suddenly remembered that there were quite a few ‘donations’ that had come to his monastery. Isaac naturally regarded it as a tax for the fiefdom and spent all of it on the cost of repairing the fiefdom. I thought it was natural to use it for the territory since the territory was still in disrepair. But he didn’t bother to tell Juan that fact.

“And when you became the abbot and lord of the Isacrea estate, nearby nobles, merchants, and landowners sent you gifts, right?”

“Oh, yes. I received a few, but I was in a hurry so I kept them for now. If you need it, I will give it to the bishop at any time… … .”

Isaac said something he had no intention of saying, but Juan shook his head.

“You can keep such a small gift! What matters is who sent the gift and how. Did you send it to the ‘abbot of Isaacrea’ or to the ‘lord of Isaacrea’?”

Isaac felt awkward receiving such a reprimand and began to feel confused.

Does it matter? Aren’t they both the same person?

Juan seemed to have read Isaac’s confusion and continued speaking in a scolding tone.

“If you are sending it to an abbot, you must offer a gift while praying for the protection of the Code of Light. If you are sending it to a lord, you must present it well to the new land owner, so you must offer a gift! But aren’t you an abbot and a lord? “Then how should I receive it?”

Still, Isaac felt like he knew what to say since he was in front of the bishop.

“I should receive it as the abbot.”

“You idiot. “Isn’t it natural that I should receive it twice, once as an abbot and once as a lord!”

‘Is he crazy?’

Isaac could not keep his mouth shut at this greedy and bizarre logic. But Juan continued as if it was obvious.

“Even though the duties of an abbot and a lord are completely different, you are doing both! Or are you neglecting one or the other? Probably not. “Because there is no one who is as innocent and good at work as you!”

When you said it that way, it seemed plausible. If you work twice as hard, you should definitely get twice as much money.

Looking back, there were indeed people who sent it like that twice. Isaac thought it was an error and sent them away one by one, but those people were really people who were familiar with the thinking of people like Bishop Juan.

‘I heard it was about making money, but I didn’t know it would be this much.’

Despite the sudden confusion of values, Juan’s education continued.

“Send a letter to someone who only sent it once. If it was sent to the abbot, it would be in the name of the lord. If it was sent to the lord, it would be in the name of the abbot. And if there is someone who didn’t send you a gift, write it down and never forget it. Those guys are truly the worst of evils. “The Code of Light will not forget such a person and send him to hell.”

‘Is he crazy too?’

Wouldn’t a god who sends people to hell for not paying a bribe be a bit crazy? Maybe it’s someone like Goluwaru.

Juan said sternly.

“You too, remember this. Spending money is power, making money is power, and having money is power. But the worst thing is to just keep the money you earned. If you keep holding on to the money you earn, not only will you make unnecessary enemies, but you will also miss out on the opportunity to make more money. “Money must be constantly circulated for everyone to be happy.”

“… … “I will keep that in mind.”

I didn’t expect to hear such teachings from the Bishop of the Code of Light, not even from the top of the Golden Idol, but I thought it was quite plausible. Isn’t the logic that the endless circulation of capital causes overall economic growth to be the foundation of capitalism?

‘In the end, the problem is that it means that you should not just eat the money you received as a bribe, but also return the consolation.’