◆the temple head of the god of commerce



　I am the temple master of the Holy City of Commerce.

　In other words, the de facto head of the congregation that serves the God of Commerce.



　That day, I called the senior priests of the temple to the inner sanctum of the temple.



"Thank you all for coming.



　After a few brief words of greeting, the agenda was set.



"Well, it is almost time for the ritual to take place.



　The first topic of discussion was not the matter to which I had invited everyone this time, but the annual rituals of the Holy City.

　Some of the high priests were looking over their shoulders expecting me to talk about it.

Young man, I can see the restlessness in your reaction.



　If you are not patient enough, the younger ones will soon take the high priest's seat, won't they?

　This is not a temple of the god of war, who values strength, nor of the god of wisdom, who values knowledge.

　This is the temple of the god of business, where money and influence are the only things that matter.



"But we've got a bit of a problem."



　The atmosphere changes when I get down to business.



"As you all know, the temple of the Lord God seems to be acting strangely.



　Yes, that was the reason for the unusual gathering of the senior priests.

　I signaled with a glance, and the Cardinal, who was sitting next to me, opened a document on his desk.



"I will explain from here.



　As soon as the Cardinal opens his mouth, a number of high priests intensify their gazes.

　As No. 2, there are many who want to take his place. They are all trying to drag him down and find a place for him.

　Well, the No. 2 of the church is not so easily exposed.

　It's rather immature of you to show hostility over something as trivial as this.



"The temple of the Lord God, the church suddenly became as good as new in an instant..."



What?"""Huh?"""



　Several high-ranking priests made dumb noises at the cardinal's statement.



"A moment?　What nonsense!"



　One of the voices in the stupefaction gleefully accused the cardinal.

　But it is you who are the fool.



"There is no mistake. The temple of the Lord God suddenly became as good as new in front of dozens of people during the day. This is confirmed not only by us, but also by other members of the Church who worship the Lord."



　The Cardinal casually reveals that his information network extends to temples dedicated to other deities, showing off his own intelligence-gathering abilities, but the person being told this does not understand the meaning of his words at all.



　What a stupid man! Did he not gather information before the meeting was held?　Or did you not trust the information gathered?

　Whatever it is, this guy's lost. He'll be deprived of his high priestly rank in less than a year.

　The cardinal ignores the incompetent high priest and moves on to the next piece of information.



"In addition, the temple of the Lord God now has a high level of healing magic users.



"Advanced healing magic?　Is it someone like the saint?



　I say the word "saint" and the conference room is in an uproar.

　Saint Phoca, a high priestess in the service of the Mother of the Earth, an eccentric priestess who spends most of the year as an adventurer.

　But the power of the recovery magic is terrible, and if it is asked who is the best in this holy city to heal the wounded and the sick, her name will come up without a doubt.

　It is a pity to say this, but there is no one else in the world, let alone in our church, who can work healing magic as well as she can.

　Therefore, even if she does not reside in the Holy City, she will have a great voice in the temple.



"No, those who have been healed by both of them say that she may be an even greater user of healing magic than the saintly Lady Phoca."



"What?



　I feign surprise at the Cardinal's unexpected statement.

　I knew this from the information I had received from the Cardinal.

　I knew this from the information I had received from the Cardinal beforehand.



"A better healer than a saint. ...... that's something. ......



"And to top it off, they say she's the most beautiful girl they've ever seen."



Is that so?



"Yes."



　No, did you need to add that information?



"Also, I don't know if this is directly related, but the number of demons around the Holy City has decreased dramatically.



"A sharp decline in demons?"



　Everyone tilted their heads as the topic suddenly jumped to the other side of the room.



"As you all know, even in the Holy City, which is deeply blessed by the gods, the outside of the city is filled with demons. Furthermore, in recent years, there have been some high-ranking demons that have not been seen before.



　Yes, I have heard such a story.



"It was said that demons who were driven out of their territory due to a territorial dispute in some neighboring mountainous area may have drifted into the area.



Yes, that is correct.






　As I recall, I heard that the investigation is being conducted in cooperation with the various temples, but in reality, there is a fierce struggle for control, and the investigation is not progressing well. Mainly, the temple of the god of war is making a lot of noise.



"Among such demons, only the top-ranking demons have been eradicated.



"Isn't it possible that the demons just moved to another land?"



　Another priest confirms, skeptically, that the demons have simply changed residence.



"No, this is actually a battle with a high-ranking demon, and the travelers and merchants have seen it triumph.



　The cardinal said he had received testimonies from several third parties, not from church officials.

　I had heard in advance that they were quite skilled in defeating high-ranking demons.

As I recall, it is difficult to defeat them without a party of A-rank adventurers or multiple B-rank parties. ......

In fact, when the high priests heard the reports, they rolled their eyes in amazement.



"...... Moreover, according to the testimony, it was only two girls who were going around slaying the demons."



Two girls?



"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!　The demons that have recently settled around the Holy City are being dealt with by the priests of the Temple of the God of War and the guards and adventurers hired by the other temples!



"As you see, when it comes to the high-ranking demons that the Cardinal just mentioned, even our own forces are having a hard time, you know?

　And all this was done by two little girls?



　Everyone is in disbelief and bewilderment, but the Cardinal is unmoved.





"The girls are said to be great users of magic and swordsmanship, and the gigantic demons were vanquished in the blink of an eye.



They look as if they can hardly believe it, but at the same time they are half-convinced that the Cardinal, the No. 2 of our temple, could be joking.



"According to the report, one of them is a beautiful girl with large breasts, and the other is a girl who has a bad look in her eyes, but I can't stand it, and something that looks like a moving mop with a beautiful coat of hair.



　...... Well, you might think it's a joke in bad taste.



"And the two girls came to the Holy City and entered the temple of the Lord God.



The temple of the Lord God!



　And here we return to the subject of the Temple of the Lord God.

The Cardinal has brought it up. It can't be completely irrelevant.



"Hmm. ......"



　When the Cardinal's report is finished, I open my mouth.



"A temple that suddenly became like a new building, a master of exceptional healing magic, and two girls with tremendous combat skills ......?



　After I confirm that everyone's attention has shifted from the surprise of the report to me, I resume my remarks.



"I am sure that you have come here to participate in the pilgrimage.



What?



　Everyone looks at each other as if to say, "I knew it.



"I don't know how they did it, but fixing the temple must have been one of the acts of intimidation before the pilgrimage. I suppose they want to say that the temple of the Lord God has not lost its power by showing their power.



　But then there are some unexplainable aspects.



"But to be honest, I don't think the temple of the Lord God has that much power left. We are aware of the flow of money in the temple of the Lord God, but I do not think they have the resources to do such a thing, nor can they afford to bring in men of skill.



　Yes, that's right.



"Indeed, they are starving in the temple grounds."



""""Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"""



　The fact that the temple of the Lord God secretly grows fields to save money for food is a funny story known to everyone in the temple community.

　They are in such dire straits.

　And yet, once again, those who were wondering how they had managed to get so many pawns in their hands were puzzled.



Perhaps some great power has sent them to intervene in the Holy City.



"A superpower ......?



　Yes, that's why I called you all here.



"I think that the Karden Empire, which worships the Lord God, plans to raise the authority of the emperor by rebuilding the temple of the Lord God and to increase his power in the Holy City.



　It is said that the empire is a place where not only the emperor but also the nobles under him are greedy for domination.

In fact, information from secret informants has revealed that most of the nobles are just like that.

Therefore, it would be easy to investigate them.



　Furthermore, the Empire has recently been replaced by a new emperor, and the political situation is not stable.

　In order to quickly increase their control, they would like to have the prestige of the temple of the Lord God, who is regarded as the god of rulers.

　Not the church in your own country, but the temple in the Holy City, your home.

　But the current temple of the Lord God is not strong enough to gain such prestige.

　That is why they want to make a successful pilgrimage and revive the glory of the Lord God.

　If that is the case, he will not be able to ignore the request of the empire that has worked so hard for the restoration of the temple.



"If he can control from behind the scenes the temple in the Holy City, which has a strong influence on the nations of the world, he will be able to legitimize his own hegemony. It is a shallow thing."



"So, these men are pawns of the emperor?"



I suppose so.



　But I have no information on an Imperial soldier of that caliber.

Perhaps they are special men who have been trained as trump cards to invade other countries.

　Do you really think the Empire intends to subjugate this holy city if you throw them in so generously?

　What a puny fellow you are if you do not fear the gods!



"How shall we do, High Priest?"






　I put my hand on my chin and think.



"Well, here's what I'll do. There must be a letter or something in the temple of the Lord God that describes the deal with the empire. I'll use it as evidence to disqualify you from the pilgrimage. This is an important role to play in protecting the ritual. The one who successfully exposes the evil of the temple of the Lord God will be promoted to a higher rank.



"""Oh!"""



I offer a prize, and everyone is excited.

It takes a lot of money and achievement to move up the ladder of priests.

If I accomplish this task, I'll be sure to rise to the next level.



Then leave it to me!　I will surely expose the evil of the Lord God's Temple and bring it to light!"



"No, no, you can't do it. You can't do it. Leave it to me.



What the hell are you doing?



"Good grief, you're ugly. If you leave it to me, Father, I will show you the results immediately.



　Immediately several high priests appealed to me.

　Good, good, they are full of enthusiasm.



"Leave it to me, Your Eminence!"



"Mmm-hmm, you are all very religious. Good. I'm counting on you."



　When the meeting was over, the high priests rushed out of the conference room.

　Good luck!



　If you work hard, I can get useful information without losing my money, and I can raise the authority of the temple of the god of business one more notch.



"And the more the followers, the more the money comes to me."



　Making money is not just about getting money. It means maximizing your income while maximizing your expenses.



　It's about maximizing your income.



"All gone?"



　A few days after the meeting, I received a startling report from the Cardinal.



"Yes, all the secret police who went in were captured. They were tied up on the main street with the word "thief" written on them.



"What a ......"



　The senior priests sent out all the sleeper agents?

　I am dismayed at the terrible result.



"What, the men below are so under-resourced?"



　It is pathetic that even the senior priests can only provide such a level of subordinates.



"No, the secret agents they had were A- to B-ranked adventurers. They are not incompetent.



"What?　Is that true?



　I do not know much about the realities of adventurers, but I do know that A- and B-rank adventurers are very skilled.



Yes, there were few A-ranked adventurers, but there were certainly some who were skilled. And even those of B rank were gathered by the high priests. If we had the right numbers, they could be equivalent to A rank.



"...... If that is true, it means that the temple of the Lord God is fully equipped with countermeasures against secret agents."



　You mean to say that more than expected, the imperial hand has infiltrated the Temple of the Lord God.



"This has made our investigation more difficult. The faces of those who were caught in this case have been exposed, and not only the Holy City but also the neighboring countries will know the identities of the secret agents they had.



　Even the Cardinal is raising his eyebrows, wondering what is going on.

　Indeed. The Holy City is crowded with secret agents sent from all over the world.

　Many of the priests are in close contact with them.

　With this failure, the high priest is as good as lost his spy.



"Perhaps it is fortunate that not only our temple but also those of the other temples were captured. Thanks to this, it is no longer possible to determine which of the temples the captured sleuths were working for."



It would be painful for anyone to be probed in the belly.



Should we bring in a new spy from the outside?"



　The Cardinal asked me if I would bring back a good spy operating in various countries.

　But that would be a bad idea.

　If we bring back the secret agents at this time, it would be like confessing that the returned secret agents from each country are Temple officials.



Wait, wait. There is no need for us to move directly.



What did you mean by that?



The spy can't get through. It would be pointless for us to send out another secret agent. Then let the other temples move instead of us.



"You want another temple to ......?"



　Hmm, you don't get it. The Cardinal is still young.



"Instigate the Temple of the God of War to investigate head-on!"



What?



　The cardinal rolls his eyes when he hears that the temple of the god of war is to be used.



"But the Temple of the Warrior God has also failed to infiltrate its secret agents..."



"That's why. This failure has made the righteous think twice. But those in the Temple of the Warrior God are bloodthirsty. They will take advantage of the least thoughtful of them, the ones most impatient for credit. If you inform him that the Temple of the Lord God may be connected to the Empire, he will move on his own to take the credit.



"......That's right, it's not surprising that he would act on his own initiative."



　For better or worse, many people in the temple of the god of war think that they can get by as long as they have power.

　A priest at the end of the line would understand the doctrine and only wield power for self-defense and protection, but a lower-ranking priest who spends all his time fighting for power in the Holy City would easily fall for it.

　This way I do not have to use my own spy.






"He is a great temple leader. I am sure that they will believe that I am righteous and will strike head-on and honestly.



"Well, I'll leave the rest of the work to you."



"Ha!"



　Thus began the ruse of using the temple of the god of war.

　If this succeeds, my reign will continue for a while.



　Why don't you young men wait and see what happens when others fail before you make your plans?

　They are sweet, sweet, and they will continue to be my wallet.