Chapter 695 – 695. Inside the Line (2)
Agies slowly shared the troubles he and his Darian had.
“There will probably be many protests and inquiries from other countries due to this incident.”
The most distinctive feature of the sacred kingdom of Erenia is that it is a nation that revolves around the temple dedicated to the goddess Vesta.
And in the direction of maximizing its characteristics, the sacred nation of Erenia has achieved great growth through diplomacy with other countries.
The most representative example is the operation of sending priests and paladins who use holy power abroad and receiving subsidies through them.
And the numerous donations that came along with it accounted for nearly 30% of the operating funds of the Erenian Sacred Country.
The reason why the sacred country of Erenia was able to have wealth compared to other countries is because of these donations.
However, Agies predicted that there would be problems in the future that could affect the operation of the temple.
“… Is it a protest?”
Eunhyeon muttered as if she was thinking over Agnes’ words.
I could roughly guess what he was talking about.
Perhaps, with this incident, those who question the power of the temple might appear one after another.
The reason why many countries and territories donate enormous amounts of money to the Holy Nation of Erenia and receive support from priests and paladins in return is because they have strong military power.
Priests are the best manpower in the field of healing and restoring damage, and Paladins display their abilities in battle with their powerfully trained physical abilities.
Adventurers can be cited as an example of a similar military force, but unlike adventurers who tend to be personal who are bound by money and contracts, the temple troops have a public nature, so they are excellent military forces that can be active in various fields.
However, due to this situation, people who start to question the power of the temple will come out one by one.
As much as that, the reality of not being able to stop the invasion of the necromancer was by no means light.
It was even more problematic that the place where they invaded was Erenium, the capital of the Holy Nation of Erenia, where the main school of the Temple of Vesta was located.
Not a small number of priests and paladins were killed, and more than 10,000 civilian casualties were caused. Many foreign figures would question and protest about this situation.
‘Can I really trust the strength of the priests and paladins?’
Question to do.
In the end, someone will protest the temple without being able to erase the questions and doubts, and someone may withdraw the donations being sent to the temple.
The temple, which has already lost many priests and paladins, is in an unstable state of internal affairs as many resources are consumed to restore the city, which has been devastated.
If donations coming from outside are cut off, the operation will be even more difficult.
“I’m fine now, but I don’t know what will happen later.”
“Are you two struggling with how to solve this problem?”
“… That’s not it. Operations and financial issues are not at a precarious level right now. The problem is… It means that the influence of the temple spread across the continent will decrease.”
It is said that it can still endure right now, befitting its reputation as one of the great powers, but as people’s suspicion and distrust deepen, the temple and the sacred kingdom of Erenia, which have grown so far based on that faith and trust, are inevitably endangered. There was no
“Furthermore… The most problematic is the origin of the necromancer who is the culprit of this situation.”
The fact that Marius Holton, the necromancer who was the source of the disaster, was originally a priest of the Temple of Vesta was a fact that only a few inside the temple knew.
What if this fact spreads outward?
It is clear that the ignited embers will grow more and more out of control.
“I’m trying to hide that fact now, but I don’t think this is a secret that will stay hidden forever.”
The scale of what happened is too big for that.
Agies knew that no matter how tightly he wrapped it up and hid it, that secret would eventually spill out.
The problem is how to respond when it breaks out.
“This must be what that bastard was aiming for.”
Loss of honor and authority of the temple.
The chaos of the continent brought about by that is the target that Marius had.
The result of releasing the bad feelings I personally had in the temple was so heavy that just thinking about it caused a headache.
“The problem is not only that. The conflict within the temple has also begun to accelerate.”
In fact, this was also the problem Agies and Darian were struggling with.
Amidst the chaos, a high-ranking priest came forward in full force.
“It’s a quarrel…”
Even if it’s a temple that enshrines a goddess, in the end even this group is a group created by people gathering.
In a way, it is natural that there is a position of leader who leads a group, and that there are people who want to occupy that position.
This part was not much different from the Kingdom of Pernias or the Sacred Kingdom of Erenia.
“It started when one of the high-ranking priests being discussed as a candidate for the pope started to finance the temple by bringing in a lot of money from outside.”
He supports the temple and appeals for its achievements by making the most of the personal connections he has made from outside as well as the assets he originally possessed.
“… It’s obvious.”
Eunhyun smiled bitterly.
When many people have doubts about the temple and smoke the smoke of doubt, there is only one reason why they support the temple.
To fill the inside of the temple with his own forces and take control of the Temple of Vesta.
Now, even if the authority and reputation fall to the floor and falter due to the enormous damage, if the temple’s status is restored, the huge profits that will be made after that will definitely fill their pockets and boats.
What the high-ranking priests and the forces outside the temple that collude with them are aiming for is the power to exploit the profit while taking control of the seat of the pope and the temple.
It is similar to speculation, in which you buy a stock when it is at a low and intentionally raise its price to make a profit when it is at a high.
“I’m sure I’ll be busy, but really…”
Even Anies and Darian were grateful for the huge amount of aid that supported the temple, but when they found out about their filthy inner thoughts, they only felt annoyed.
I just wanted to get rid of all the things that were not like my temper, but it was not easy due to the nature of the sacred nation of Erenia, which places great importance on diplomacy with foreign countries.
In addition, it was frustrating because they couldn’t come up with a suitable way to check the high-ranking priests who saw this crisis as an opportunity and tried to strengthen their position and power.
At least, he was supposed to watch the situation until Albert, the grandson of the current pope, becomes an adult, but the internal struggle to decide the next pope is showing signs of escalating too quickly due to unexpected circumstances.
“There must be no justification for refusing the support coming from the diplomatic level, right?”
“… It’s annoying.”
“… That’s right.”
“Hmm. Can I help you?”
“The way… Are you there?”
After finishing the thought in her head, Eunhyeon unexpectedly reached out her hand, and Darian asked back with a surprised expression.
“In short, you’re saying that we just have to check the high-ranking priest who has his eyes on taking the position of the pope and making a big deal out of it, and the outside forces colluding with him?”
“… Yes.”
Agnies and Darian also had considerable influence and status within the temple as they occupied the positions of archbishop and head of the Inquisition, but the aid flowing in from the outside was seemingly clean money wrapped in pure goodwill.
It could not be refused without any evidence or justification.
After hearing the story and the situation, Eun-hyeon took out a crystal ball for communication from his bosom and made a call somewhere.
[… What happened?]
“Long time no see. Queen. How are you?”
The one who received Eun-hyeon’s communication was Yuria Pernias, who had officially become queen after her coronation a few months earlier.
Yuria returned her reply with a mixture of annoyance as she was stunned by Eunhyeon’s welcome greeting after a long time.
[Under… How are you? Yes. You’re doing great! Thanks to whom… !]
Yuria’s voice was full of tiredness and annoyance.
Currently, she is putting a lot of effort into strengthening her national power while arranging the complicated internal affairs of the kingdom and dealing with foreign affairs.
The reason why she sleeps 4-5 hours a day and keeps her awake at night is because her Eun-hyeon, who pushed her into her position as queen, has been giving her a lot of work lately as well.
[What else? Could it be that something else happened?]
“I’m sorry, but I have a favor to ask of you.”
[Oh really…]
YuRia lamented to herself why her sad premonitions were never wrong.
Even if she expressed her dissatisfaction, Yuria couldn’t refuse Eunhyun’s order.
It’s like a work order from her boss at work.
However, unlike her urge to hit the boss who throws her enormous tasks at her, she does not have the heart to do it.
It was because Yuria was well aware of the fact that Eunhyeon was busier than she was.
[I got on the wrong line… She thought that at least she was a companion that opened her way to life… It won’t break, it’s just a rotten rope that won’t break forever.]
She feels as if she has received a luxury foreign car as a gift that she does not want and has to pay monthly installments.
Somehow, she became the queen, and she was busy digesting the roles and responsibilities entrusted to that position, and her days were hectic and busy.
“Queen. Are you listening to me?”
[I’m listening! What’s going on? I want to wash up and sleep quickly, so tell me quickly.]
Darian, who was looking at Eunhyun, who was communicating with her, tilted her head and asked Agnes.
“Anes. Who is he talking to right now?”
The fact that he has an artifact that allows him to communicate at a distance. For a while, when Darian asked who the target he was communicating with was curious about, Agnes answered with a little sympathy for the target.
“There is. He said he recently got a subordinate he can roll with, and he really likes it.”
Eun-hyeon is probably the only one in the world who can make a queen of a country sleep like that.
‘Uh, it’s kind of dirty since they say they’re kneading it.’
Yuria, who heard that the situation was like a mess with the necromancer’s attack and the resulting conflict to take advantage of this crisis and take control of the temple, responded with excitement.
[Why are you always driving accidents?]
“It’s unfortunate. I’m mostly the one who got caught up in it.”
[Change your name right now. In the name of Conan or Kim Jeon-il. I think that would suit me better.]
“Queen. Did you send a congratulatory gift to Illyana safely?”
[…]
Eun-hyeon’s sudden question made Yuria speechless.
Come to think of it, she had heard that Illyana had safely given birth and that she had given birth to a beautiful daughter, but since then, she has never visited her, let alone delivered a gift.
[Bar, I’ve been busy so I’ve been distracted. As for Master… Could you please tell me a little bit?]
She didn’t think that Illyana would be saddened by something like this, but Yuria was quite taken aback by her imagination.
However, Eunhyun replied with a grin.
“If you take care of this day well, I will tell Illyana well.”
[All, you call it a threat now… !]
“Shall we not?”
[… Mr. I’ll do it! You can do it!]
When YuRia had a hunch that her sleep time would be reduced to three hours, she resented Eunhyeon for no reason and she nervously disconnected her.
