Chapter 1011 – #99. The Story of the Three Thousand Concubines and the Emperor (69)
The priest faithfully carried out what I ordered.
First, I re-established my relationship with the priests who had become a mess.
And by the emperor’s order, the priests were no longer moved to a prison where ordinary soldiers were imprisoned, but to a prison where nobles were imprisoned.
Having experienced the worst, the priests shed tears when they arrived in a space equipped with a bedroom and private bathroom.
“What happened? Isn’t there a reason for this to happen suddenly?”
“Well, I don’t know either. Why the Empire is like this.”
“Still, I feel relieved because I don’t see them.”
“Should I stop going in since I’m being noticed?”
Surprisingly, the prison that housed the nobles even had a separate rest area.
They gathered together and whispered, trying to figure out why the empire was suddenly treating them so well as priests.
“Wasn’t it just a good feeling?”
“Yes? Are you in a good mood?”
At that time, she spoke to her priests.
I don’t think there was any specific intention behind it, but rather that they simply provided this convenience out of good intentions.
It was also an argument that would be laughed at by priests who thought that the Empire was not the type of people.
“Have you forgotten what they did to us? They brought us to this place with good intentions? This is ridiculous.”
“We have been obediently treating imperial soldiers. Considering the actions we have shown to the empire, don’t we deserve this level of sincerity?”
Showing a friendly side to the empire is a trivial matter.
I had to subtly persuade them to change their minds about the empire.
So that you can develop a friendly disposition toward the empire on your own.
“Considering what we’ve done, it’s certainly natural to be treated this way.”
“Isn’t it the Empire that put us in such a horrible prison in the first place? It’s not something we should be thankful for.”
“Still, I’m so glad I have my own bathroom. It doesn’t even stink!”
The prison they were in had to live with a pounding headache because of the smell when doing business.
However, there was no smell here, and there was a rest area where you could rest.
The quality of the rice I eat has also improved significantly.
Even meat is available these days.
“I’m shocked that the treatment has suddenly improved so much.”
“Can I just enjoy it in peace?”
“Let’s not let go of the boundaries yet.”
Some people were grateful for the convenience provided by the empire, while others watched with their arms crossed, saying that they should not let down their guard yet.
Then one day.
“Did everyone hear that?!”
“What?”
“Not us, but priests from the other side who are being held captive.”
“Ah~ What happened to those friends?”
Was he eventually executed? When the priests’ complexions became gloomy.
The priest who came after hearing the news said.
“I guess they didn’t want to kill me. They took everyone with them and went somewhere. It seemed like they were being taken to the empire.”
“To the empire?”
“Wouldn’t they be forced to work there?”
“I thought he would be punished for the crime he committed, but the emperor showed unexpected mercy.”
The complexions of the other priests brightened when they heard that the priests were not executed as she had expected.
Even those who had expressed hostility toward the empire seemed to change their minds slightly at the empire’s merciful punishment.
“I thought he was harsh and harsh… But I guess it’s not that bad.”
“Hmm, well, we shouldn’t give up yet. We don’t know what the Empire will do when they take them away, right? They’re keeping us locked up here, too.”
She intervened in the words of the priest who still could not let go of her hostility toward the empire.
“The reason we are here is that the temple had no intention of saving us. It is not the Empire’s fault. I believe you are not blaming the Empire because you do not know that. It is not good to blame the wrong party.”
“Don’t lie! Why has the temple abandoned us? That can’t be possible!!”
“Do you really think the temple is trying to save us?”
“Yes! The Empire must have done something in the middle!”
I wondered why they hated the empire so much, but it seems that some of the priests still had vain hopes that the temple would not abandon us.
“Really… You don’t know what the world is going to be like. If you think about it just a little bit, don’t you think that the temple won’t welcome us?”
“Why aren’t you happy? Aren’t we just sent to the battlefield and treated the soldiers as we were told!”
“We didn’t do it, but the other side did it? We’ll be lumped in with them.”
“Even the Empire didn’t punish us for lumping us in with them! But you’re doing that in a temple?”
With this level of faith, it seemed right to just feel sorry for this person.
A person with such firm faith would feel much greater sadness when betrayed.
“It’s unfortunate, but that’s the reality. The temple has abandoned us, and if we go back to the temple, they’ll give us a hard time.”
“You too! I am different!”
“…”
“There’s no way my mother will abandon me! So she will definitely come to rescue me. Unless the Empire stops me!!”
Now that I think about it, this person is a priest with a fairly high background.
Despite his unusually young age, wasn’t he already appointed as a priest and sent to the battlefield?
The fact that he has already achieved the position of priest despite his young age means that he has a lot of background.
However, there would be no way for the latter to refuse the order given from the center of the temple.
“Huh… Heh…!”
The priest, who seemed to be spewing out words in an angry tone, suddenly shed tears.
It seems that the priest himself knew whether his words were unreasonable.
So, I couldn’t suppress my intense emotions and I burst into tears.
She approached the crying priest and patted her shoulder.
“Go away!”
“… I guess I spoke too harshly. I’m sorry.”
The priest initially refused to be comforted, but as if he had no choice, she accepted the consolation.
“Well… I know. Furthermore, I know, but I don’t want to believe it. How can the temple abandon us? The reason we came to the battlefield is because of the temple!!”
“The only thing left for a hunting dog to do is to be boiled and eaten.”
“You didn’t even think about asking the owner?”
“Our return itself would have been a threat to our master. There are many things we have experienced that we do not want the temple to know.”
“It’s okay to just tell them not to talk.”
“You lack faith.”
Even if we swore not to tell anyone, there is no way they would believe us.
In order for a secret to remain a secret, the best way is for no one to know.
I was hoping that no one would even know about the temple.
“I am not someone who deserves to rot in a place like this. I was aiming to become the next cardinal!!”
Being a cardinal is not a position you can rise to just because you want to.
There were always a lot of priests aiming for her position, and there were many cases where they failed like her.
Is this person aiming for the position of cardinal?
So what should I do?
A feeling of resistance arose, but she calmly took a deep breath.
In order to accomplish the task he was ordered to do, he had to get this priest on his side.
‘That way, when you return to the temple, you can prevent yourself from resigning to one position.’
He’s very arrogant, unprincipled, and foolish.
It was a style she didn’t exactly like, but it was worth using.
This is because this priest tended to take good care of those who were close to him.
On the other hand, the disadvantage is that people who are not close to you are severely discriminated against.
‘If you discriminate against people you’re not close with, you can just become friends with them.’
After a moderate amount of teasing, it was now time to hold the carrot.
“It might be worse to return to the temple. Why not settle down in the empire instead?”
“Setting up in the empire? Are you telling me to run a local temple and then die? How can you say such a terrible thing?”
The priest cries loudly, saying that this is the first time he has been ignored like this.
“No, I mean…!”
“I don’t want to hear it!!! It’s really too much!”
… Becoming friends doesn’t happen right away just because you decide.
Still, she calmed him down as if he were a child and explained so that there would be no misunderstanding what she was trying to say.
“You should have said that a long time ago! You misunderstood.”
“… Ha, haha. That’s right. I spoke too carelessly. I guess I was embarrassed because I cried.”
“Chiit, so you’re saying the temple might not welcome you back when you go back? That’s why we’d rather build a new empire-friendly temple here.”
“That’s right. What do you think?”
“Will the emperor accept it? He would be outraged if it were a temple.”
“It is impossible to completely exclude a temple that the people believe in and follow just because they hate it so much that they feel shame.”
“Well, it is impossible to rob the people living on earth who have received the Lord’s grace.”
I gently tempt you.
“What do you think? The temple issue is going to be a headache even in the empire, so they’ll say it’s a good idea to make a suggestion.”
“… Can I become a cardinal if I do that?”
“Uh… Even if it’s hard right now, it can be done someday, right? After all, you have to build it up from the beginning.”
All the other priests who were listening to the story were lost in worry.
A temple that does not welcome their return and an empire that will at least need them.
It was difficult to decide who to choose between the two.
“I… Don’t want to stay in the empire. There’s nothing here and I don’t know anyone. Looking at what the empire has done to priests, there’s no way they’ll treat them properly. Besides, the empire looks down on priests.”〈 Br〉
I still have vivid memories of being imprisoned and treated humiliatingly.
On the other hand, the memories at the temple were different.
It was natural for priests who had not yet experienced discrimination from the temple to want to return to their hometown, the temple, rather than go on a dangerous adventure.
“No matter how good you are here, it won’t make you feel more at ease than at the temple.”
“I want to go back.”
“I have a close friend and a lover in the temple, but I’m staying in the empire? I don’t like it either.”
Priests have not yet escaped the influence of the temple.
She had already guessed that something like this would happen from the moment she started talking, and smiled inwardly at the situation going as she had intended.
It probably won’t take long for their minds to change.
What if the difficult and arduous experiences experienced in prison happened differently in the temple?
It will be much more painful and painful as you have been betrayed by the temple you trusted.
And their pain will become another opportunity for her.
