The Marquis’ Eldest Son’s Lascivious Story-Chapter 158: Nobles And Priests

Chapter 158 - Nobles and Priests

Looking up from the window, I saw a large white moon floating in the night sky as if ink had been spilled on it.

My eyes, used to the color of candlelight, were slightly dazzled.

I stretched out my arm toward the moon and laid my palm on top of it, but I could not completely cover its appearance.

If I had done the same thing on Earth, I would have been able to hide it with just my thumb, but the moon in this world is much bigger.

The moon ring, which still gives me a sense of discomfort, reminds me once again that I have come to a distant world, and combined with the cold winter air, I feel a little faint.

On nights like this, I wish I could sleep with something warm and soft in my arms. For example, a woman's body.

As I warmed the air around me with my magic, I lowered my gaze from the sky to the city.

Most of the citizens had probably finished their activities by now, and the lights in the city were sparse and seemed like they would disappear at any moment.

"Young Master."

As I sipped my hot tea and looked down on the city, I heard a man's voice from behind the door.

I responded with an inarticulate snarl, as I stood in a daze with one foot on the window sill looking out into the dark night.

"I'm here with you. May I enter the room?"

It seemed that someone was waiting for me. I hardened my expression as if I were a legitimate son of the Quardenze family and moved away from the window.

I sat down in my chair with plenty of time to spare and gave permission to enter through the door.

"Excuse me, sir."

The first person to enter the room was a military officer who was rarely seen.

As soon as he entered the room, he assumed a flowing, graceful posture of bowing. His movements were supple and without the lumbering feeling characteristic of military officers.

"......, do you usually work at the museum?"

"Yes sir!"

The military officer replied to my question with his posture straightened.

On the outskirts of New Nelly City, there was a building that was simply called "The Pavilion".

The roof of the building had the aggressive look of a spear piercing the heavens, and the walls, blacker than night, were overbearing.

The wide moat that had been set up around the castle to prevent bandits from entering was wide, and the surface of the water glittered in the moonlight when viewed from a distance through the windows.

"I see, it's quite a sight."

The role of the museum was to be a prisoner of war camp.

The Quardenze family had expanded their territory to the west, and naturally, there was a noble family that was the ruler there.

These noble families belonged to the Zinkhaen Empire and the former Voistra faction.

As a result of the incessant trampling of these noble families, female nobles and daughters of knightly families were gathered in the mansion.

The mansion was originally a guest house for visiting nobles from other territories, but as the number of noble captives increased, it was renovated and turned into a prison camp.

It is said that male noblemen and knights have little value in captivity and are rather dangerous to keep on hand, so if there is a chance to capture them, they are killed.

According to my father, capturing noblewomen is delicious.

Of course, he didn't mean in the lower half of the body, but in the political and diplomatic sense.

For example, what would happen if he could take a female noblewoman who came to the destroyed noble family as a wife as a prisoner?

In this case, the Quardenze family could use blackmail diplomacy against the family of the captive.

They can ask for money in exchange for the captive, or force the captive to stop hostile actions against the family.

My father said that there was no better card to play in terms of immediate benefits.

Other times, he would take the princess of a noble family that he had destroyed into captivity.

However, the use of captive princesses is limited. In most cases, the princess can only be retrieved after the game has been decided and the house has been destroyed. There was no one to whom I could demand compensation.

No one can complain about the treatment of a princess of a defunct noble family in a prisoner of war camp, and there is no way to know about it. Therefore, under normal circumstances, the future of the captive princess would be very bleak.

Because even if she rots, she is still a snapper, and even if her family is destroyed, she is still the main ancestor. If a commoner raped a captive princess, the child would be a subordinate ancestor with magical powers.

Unlike the sexually sensitive male nobles, the female nobles only need to sleep with their legs spread apart for the time being, so they can be sure to get a cousin, albeit at a rate of about one per year.

After the birth of the child, she would be separated from her mother, the captive princess, and educated to become a member of the Quardenze family.

But now, there is also the option of selling her to a nobleman from another territory.

The number of ancestors has been decreasing due to the strange disease caused by the magical beast Yersinia, and the noble families with a shortage of children would want the princesses of the ancestors as much as they can.

As long as she is a princess of a noble family that has already died, they will not complain even if you treat her roughly, so you can handle her with ease.

The captive princess would be sold as a class change from a cousin-making machine to a main ancestor-making machine.

Sometimes my father invites male nobles from other territories to New Nellie City, and I think he's letting them inspect the captives to see if there's a princess they like. If there's anything that strikes a chord with their dicks, they'll buy it.

If this deal goes well, the Quardenze family will not only be able to ingratiate themselves with the other families, but they will also be able to gain a tremendous amount of money and be able to conduct espionage more easily.

In the case of selling the captive princess to another family, it is not possible to send her off as a single item. There is a possibility of leaving a bad taste in the future.

It is not uncommon for noble men to be partial to the women they love. It is possible that the captive princess, still holding a grudge, will one day seduce the nobleman to whom she will be sold and turn against the Quardenze family.

So, what to do is to send a servant of the Quardenze family along with the POW Princess as her caretaker.

The servants are expected to monitor and brainwash the captive princess, and at the same time act as spies to investigate and report on the internal affairs of other families.

Brainwashing is not a very difficult thing to do. The only person who can take care of the anxious mind of the captive princess, who has become the property of an unknown man in an unknown land, is a servant sent by the Quardenze family. It was not surprising that the young princess became dependent on the servant.

In this way, the captive princess is gradually brainwashed and no longer harbors any ill feelings.

If all goes well, the captive princess will become a dutiful princess of the Quardenze family, and will eventually give birth to the heir of another family. If we consider the cost and performance alone, it will be more profitable than marrying off our own daughter.

"Here is the latest report."

I picked up the report that the military officer had presented to me and skimmed over it.

The person we were waiting for today, Cynthia, a priest of the Zeth Order of the Holy High Priestess, had been detained by the military and transferred to a mansion to live under house arrest.

It is difficult to restrain a person with magic power.

The best way is to seal them with a magical seal that prevents them from using magic, but you need people with magical power to perform this procedure, and you never know when the seal will be broken.

However, it would require people with magical power to do this, and there was no telling when the seal would be broken.

However, if the captive was the cousin, it was still good. Since there are a lot of cousins in the army, it would not be easy for them to escape.

The problem was that the main ancestors, the female nobles, were the captives. If they wanted to, they would be no match for a bunch of knights.

The main ancestor has a lot of magic power, so it is impossible for the subordinate ancestor to seal the magic, only the family members of the Quardenze family, who are also the main ancestor, can do it.

Even if the magic was sealed, the captives of the main ancestor would be like time bombs, not knowing when the seal would be broken.

In order to restrain them, the mansion has been completely remodeled with stone that repels magic.

However, the captive princesses, who have no home to return to, rarely act violently and are said to be good little girls most of the time.

The prison is spacious, she is well fed, and on sunny days she is allowed to go out in the garden with the help of a military officer, so I heard that she is living a good life.

I had heard that military officers who have been working at the palace for a long time tend to be more soft-spoken because they have a chance to talk with the captive princesses.

Even the princesses of defunct noble families have a sense of reverence for their ancestors.

"As per Young Master's order, we have not conducted any unreasonable interrogation."

The contents of the report were not that different from what I had received so far, and I was able to finish reading it immediately.

"I see."

The report was a summary of the indiscriminate attack plan by the head of the Holy High Church in New Nelly City, as well as matters related to Cynthia's origins.

I had given strict orders to Cynthia not to be tortured or interrogated, since she had shown her willingness to cooperate with the Quardenze family.

I don't have a hobby of torturing women to the point of getting a boner for their tortured bodies.

"It's all well and good. I'd like to hear what you have to say."

It was I, of all people, who sent a message to Cynthia, the priestess of the Zesu Church of the Holy High Society, who had wandered into New Nelly, to come to New Nelly Castle this evening.

At any rate, I wanted to talk to her rather than read the report.

"Very well, sir."

The military officer left the room and came right back. He was accompanied by Cynthia, whose front and back were flanked by soldiers.

He was dressed not in monastic garb but in ordinary clothes worn by commoners, probably supplied by the Quardenze family.

Her long, cherry-red hair that brushed her hips and her red eyes gave her a warm impression.

And then I noticed her breasts, which had grown to the point where the cloth was puffed up. They look really heavy.

When Cynthia spotted me, she looked surprised and took a stance that meant she wanted to introduce herself.

I arranged the guards and military officers in a corner of the room, then turned to look at Cynthia.

"I allow."

When I gave my permission, Cynthia began to tell me her name and where she was from with a priestly bow.

Cynthia is a low-ranking priest at St. Navenpos, the head temple of the Holy High Society of Zes. That was Cynthia's true identity.

When the military officer asked her about her origins after she was transferred to the palace, she replied, "I'm from St. Navenpos," as if she were trying to sell him a fire extinguisher.

On the continent of Eruo, borders are not strictly controlled as they were in the previous Earth. If anything, the walls that surround the cities play a role.

Therefore, Cynthia was able to enter the territory of Quardenze without any particular difficulty.

The founder of the Zeth religion traveled all over the continent, so it is considered good for his followers to travel as well.

Despite being a noble family belonging to the Kingdom of Levios, the Holy High Church still exists in New Nelly City, so devout believers occasionally make pilgrimages there. It seems that Cynthia was thought to be one of them, and it was not so difficult for her to enter the city.

"Thank you very much for your kind attention."

Facing each other at the desk, Cynthia and I exchanged greetings with the usual politeness.

Her manners were impeccable and she understood her position as a woman of low rank in an audience with a nobleman.

...... You seem to have a sense of propriety. It's not surprising that a priest of St. Navenpos ...... would be under the command of a holy priestess.

So I decided to cut right to the chase.

The holy priestess is a rank that exists as a symbol of faith in the Zesian high society.

The role of the shaman is to reign supreme at important ceremonies, rituals, and festivals, and to act as a mediator between humans and spirits.

According to tradition, the granddaughter of the founder, Zeth, was the first to attain this rank.

Perhaps because of this, the rank was limited to the daughters of the famous family of St. Navenpos, who were said to have inherited the bloodline of the founder, Zeth.

Cynthia was said to have been a priestess in the holy city as one of the holy priest's subordinates.

Cynthia is the embodiment of the Zesu religion, but if you look at history, she is also the one who triggered the decline of the Holy High Priestess Association, which was once a prosperous and powerful organization.

In the past, the Holy High Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints operated under a system similar to a two-headed government. The Pope was the head of the organization and the Holy Priest was the head of the faith.

The Pope was the supreme authority of the Holy High Church, but he was not the head of religion.

The election of the Pope has always been a bloody power struggle, and the most intense was the uprising 200 years ago.

This time, the supreme priest, his supporters, and the holy priestess, who had not been elected pope, teamed up.

As the head of the organization and the head of the faith fought it out, the power struggle within the Holy High Priestly Association became a quagmire, the prestige of the Holy High Priestly Association of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that had covered the entire continent faded, and the turbulent times spread, eventually leading to the rise of the nobility.

After many twists and turns, the upheaval finally came to an end when the authority of the priests was burnt to ashes.

Ironically, as the priests lost their power due to the rise of the nobility, the organization dwarfed them and the scale of the conflict decreased. It might be more accurate to say that the two sides collapsed together rather than settled.

The priests who remained in the deserted holy city stripped all power from the rank of holy priest, which had been the cause of the prolonged conflict.

What was considered to be the authority of the holy priest could no longer be exercised without the approval of the highest priests, leaving only the role of a symbol of faith.

Rumor has it that the holy priestesses are chosen from among the daughters of famous families based solely on their character and good looks.

Very interesting.

I'd like to talk to you for a minute.

If there's anything I can do, anything at all.

I'm not going to ask you to pinch my cock with your big tits for now.

Maintaining the expression of a legitimate son of the Quardenze family, I instructed the servants to serve tea to Cynthia as well.

I asked him to pour me another cup, and we both sipped the tea.

"It smells wonderful.

"I'm glad you like it."

As I looked at Cynthia's chest, enjoying the fragrance of the tea, I thought about it.

The reason I called Cynthia this time was not for her milk, but for my father.

My father has been diplomatically dealing with noblemen with their own peculiarities, but he has rarely dealt with priests.

In a sense, it was no surprise that when my father was born, the Society of the Holy High Priest of Zeth had already fallen into decline and disappeared from the stage of history. There was no problem in ignoring it.

My father had to deal with the sudden appearance of the holy priest's subordinates by hand.

And he wanted to hear my opinion.

I can't deny that I was a little excited, because I never expected my father to ask me for help in diplomacy.

That's the reason why I immediately called Cynthia.

I was impressed by how knowledgeable the priest was when I heard about him earlier, but I didn't expect him to come from the Holy City.

"No, I'm still in training."

"How is life in New Nelly City compared to Holy City?"

When she stared at me, I felt like I was reaching for her breasts, so I asked her a safe question.

Her breasts are huge, by the way. She was wearing loose clothing, but her breasts stuck out like they were going to pop out, making her look fat at first glance.

If you look at her wrists, neck and face, you can see that she is not skinny, but she is smart enough. It's like the big tits tax.

"It's a great, vibrant city. This is because of the good administration of the Quardenze family."

"How?　Good government?"

"Yes. It is very wonderful that the teachings of the spirits have not been lost despite being in the Kingdom of Levios. The people will be able to spend their days in peace. I'm sure the spirits will bless the Quardenze family for not being involved in the invasion of the Misty Lands."

I thought it was just a sycophantic remark to the heir of a noble family, but it seemed to be Cynthia's true intention.

In short, the management of the territory in accordance with the wishes of the Holy High Church is wonderful.

"In the land of mist?　...... Come to think of it, the Holy High Church has made such a statement. I don't understand why they're saying that."

The Holy High Society of the Zeth Order makes statements from time to time to the commoners living in the Kingdom of Levios and the Zinkhaen Empire.

They say that rule by nobles is wrong, that the Levios family who oppress priests should die, and that territories that destroy churches will be destroyed.

One of the standard phrases was that nobles should not enter the Land of Mists.

Of course, the anti-Holy High Priest's family, the Leviathans, ignored this, and rather than saying, "You told me not to, so I'm going to do the opposite!" In fact, they went on an expedition to the Land of Mists with great enthusiasm.

It should be noted that the reason why the Quardenze do not set foot in the Land of Mists is because they are geographically unable to go northward, not because they are lending an ear to the advice of the Holy High Society.

I understood the complaints about the domination of the nobles, the suppression of the priests, and the destruction of the church, but I didn't understand why they were complaining about the entry into the land of mist.

I asked her why, but Cynthia didn't seem to know the reason in detail and just shook her head vaguely.

I was told that it was because the higher-ups of the Holy High Society said it was not allowed.

"......, but nobles are not allowed to touch the Land of Mist. I've heard that in the worst case scenario, the entire continent could be covered in unholy soil."

If the entire continent was covered in unholy soil, soil contaminated by maturing demonic beasts, it would be synonymous with the destruction of the people of the continent.

Although it was an exaggerated statement, there must be something about the Misty Land that the Holy High Society could not compromise.

The founder, Zess, has traveled all over the continent, including the Misty Land. Perhaps there is some secret in the documents left behind by the Seitaka.

"I'd like to know more about the contents of the scriptures. I'd love to hear the opinion of a priest who studied at St. Navenpos about the contents of the scriptures."

"Thank you." Cynthia smiled.

She seemed genuinely pleased that the nobleman was interested in the scriptures.

In the scriptures, there was a sentence that said something like, "The Patriarch must protect the earth. ......"

"Then said the Field of White Snow. The Lord among men must protect Eruo. "Then the field of white snow said, 'The principal among men must protect Eruo, or you will stone the wheat that now bears fruit. ...... Are you referring to Part 8, Chapter 73, Verse 12 of the Pure Scripture?"

"Yes, perhaps it is."

"It is said that the field of white snow is identical to the Tiamesarail, the spirit of the snow field in the Holy Scriptures. She is a member of the family of the Great Spirit of Earth, Harfaneal, and is the interpretation of the text of verse 12. ......"

It seems that she had studied something like theology in the Holy City in her previous life on Earth.

As soon as I mentioned the scriptures, her cherry-red eyes would shine and she would start talking about religion before I could stop her.

It was interesting to hear a professional preach, but that was not what I wanted to hear.

It's not that I don't want to hear about it.

"The teachings of the ...... Spirit of the Snowfield are naturally respected in the Seikoukai, right?"

After confirming that Cynthia nodded, I continued.

"If that's the case, I want to hear it. Is it permissible to defile the earth in order to reclaim the faith from the tyranny of the nobles?"

Cynthia stopped twitching, but I silenced her with an appeal with my eyes that I still had something to say.

This time, I had called her to ask this question.

"I think you heard during the interrogation that that woman Deanna and the head of the church here in New Nellie City had teamed up and were planning something. And I believe that it was a plan to create a mature magical beast to disrupt the Quardenze territory."

Mature demonic beasts don't occur in such a timely manner on the scale of New Nellie Field. It's natural to think that there's some kind of connection between the church leader's plan and the outbreak of mature demonic beasts.

Considering the babies found inside the field, the living space, and Lupetta's story, a plan to mature demonic beasts by sacrificing the main ancestor and the cousin emerged. However, the idea that the growth of a demonic beasts can be advanced by eating a magical being is currently only a hypothesis.

It is said that the literary officials of the Quardenze family have read every piece of literature related to demonic beasts in New Nellie Castle, but they were unable to find anything to support it. I've also tried to unravel the books in my spare time, but the result was the same.

There is a lack of literature in the Quardenze family. But the Holy High Society is different.

If you include the predecessor organization of the Holy High Society of Zeth, it has been in Saint Navenpos since ancient times, over a thousand years. It has a history not shared by the noble families of the Kingdom of Levios or the Zinkhaen Empire. I'm sure they have a thing or two of knowledge that they can't reveal too openly.

"It's ...... Sorry, I'm not aware of that."

And that information has already been heard by civilian and military officials.

Cynthia apologized to me in a sincerely apologetic tone and bent forward. The way her breasts, which were pressed against the desk, squirmed and moved was quite a sight to behold.

"I'm not going to ask you if that prediction is correct. You don't know, do you?"

"No."

The report said that Cynthia was trained purely as a priest, so she was not that familiar with knowledge related to magical beasts.

I don't trust Cynthia all the way, but I don't see the point in torturing her to find out.

If you really want to know, the best way is to feed your ancestor to a magical beast under the supervision of the military.

The three followers of Diana, who were thought to be the ringleaders, were just ragtag mercenaries who were scheduled to be executed. If you're going to kill them anyway, you may as well use them effectively in that direction.

It would have been best if we could have gotten Diana to tell us the whole truth about her plan, but she immediately committed suicide as soon as she realized that she would be tortured by the Quardenze army. He was the epitome of a terrorist.

What I want to ask is the first part. "What I want to ask you is the first part, is it permissible to go against the teachings of the scriptures and spread filth?"

It was not sarcasm. It's just pure curiosity.

Cynthia made a little gesture of consideration and then opened her mouth, stroking her hair with her hand.

"It is a solution that should be avoided, but it is not against the teachings of the scriptures. ...... No, it is allowed to go against it."

"Huh, ......?"

I was expecting to hear the priest's defense, but Cynthia answered firmly.

"With all due respect, Master Wilk, have you ever had a priest teach you the scriptures?"

"I've read a whole bunch of scriptures, but this is entirely a hobby, and I didn't invite a priest to tutor me."

I'm not so much a child as I am ashamed of what I don't know, so I answered honestly that I didn't have any.

"If that's the case, let's start with a brief talk about the scriptures."

Cynthia spoke to me in a soft tone, like a teacher teaching a child.

As if she had the scriptures in her head, she recited the part she needed without hesitation and continued to explain it.

Her confident tone seemed to show how far she had come in her sincere approach to the scriptures.

She continued to talk about the scriptures for a while, but they all had one thing in common. She continued to talk about the scriptures for a while, but they all had one thing in common: they explained the fundamental idea of the doctrine of Zeth.

It was the part that explained the fundamental ideas of Zesu doctrine, such as living together in harmony, not hurting others, and doing things that benefit others.

It's like a program provision in the Japanese Constitution. ...... To name a few. Defiling the earth with dirt is of course against these teachings.

Of course it is.

Terrorism, such as unleashing a mature demonic beasts, hurts people and is not good for them. It is only natural that it goes against the general doctrine.

It's only natural that it goes against the general doctrine. "Besides, you have the words of the Spirit of the Snowfield. Isn't that doubly contrary to the teachings of the scriptures?"

Cynthia, however, categorically rejected my continued opinion.

"Master Wilk has not been trained by a priest, so it cannot be helped, but it is a misinterpretation. The words of Tiamessa Rail, the spirit of the snowfield, are: 'The principal among men must protect Eruo' .......

"The principal among men is the Patriarch, right?"

"Yes. Yes, that's fine with me. Then, what about the rest of the words, "Protect Eruo"? What is Eruo? What do you think, Master Wilk?"

"You mean the earth, don't you?　The land on which the people live."

"That's what I've been taught, and I'm sure I'm right."

But Cynthia must have expected that answer, because she shook her head softly without any sign of surprise.

"In the empire and the kingdom, it seems to be treated as synonymous with 'earth,' but this is a misinterpretation and not correct."

My image of the word is that it is similar to "the land where people live," but apparently it is so difficult that there are many theories about it in the Seikoukai.

In addition, among the nobility, "Eruo = earth" is a completely established theory ...... or rather a definite matter.

Cynthia's face darkened a little as she muttered to me, "I'm not sure if the Holy High Church has a different interpretation.

"In the Kingdom of Levios, correct teachings are being lost and correct beliefs are disappearing,....... And there is no one who can correct it. ...... How horrible it is. ...... The holy priestess was right after all: ......"

I'm sorry to say that Cynthia is grieving in a tone of voice that sounds like she's about to cry, but I've decided to return to the subject at hand.

"It's a difference in interpretation of the word "Eruo". So, what does it mean in the Seikoukai?"

"I'll simplify it for you: Eruo means the ideal land. It is a world where people coexist under the protection of correct faith. In other words."

"So you're saying that a land under the control of noblemen is not an Eruo to be protected?

"...... Yes."

I don't know what it is, but it sounds like the most convenient interpretation for priests. Well, I guess it's only natural that it's the Holy High Society that interprets it.

"I'm sure you understand the true meaning of the words of Tiamessa Rail, the spirit of the snowfield."

"Hmm, ....... It's not about protecting the earth, it's about overthrowing the nobility.

I'm not sure what to make of that.

It seems that it is still awkward to tell a nobleman to overthrow a nobleman.

It's a good thing that she's a priest, because she's going to tell you the truth instead of playing games to please the nobility.

And a strong word from a spirit takes precedence over a weak word.

Weak words are words like, "Let's all get along," or "Don't hurt people.

When there are stronger instructions, it's okay to meditate a little on the sketchier teachings.

I guess this is similar to the principle of longest match. I think this is a safe way to interpret conflicting doctrines.

It's an approach that should be avoided, but I guess that's what they mean by not going against the scriptures.

As a believer, it is always better not to ignore even weak words.

But if the cause is to protect the strong words, it means that it is not absolute.

"In other words, if there is a priest who takes the words of Tiamesarail, the spirit of the snowfield, as his cause, then he is allowed to terrorize the nobles with magical beasts."

"However, I do not believe that any action that defiles the earth for any reason is the right one. Even if the words are weak, they are the words of a spirit. It should never be disregarded. I'm sure the shaman feels the same way. Therefore, ......"

Cynthia adds, as if remembering that the Holy High Society is not a terrorist organization.

Certainly, if the story ends here, it will end up being a priest who fought against the nobles.

I paused to accept Cynthia's words, and then returned to the topic of priests who condone terrorism.

"But it doesn't seem to make sense to turn the land into dirt to fight the nobles. But it seems to me that there is no point in turning the land into dirt to fight against the nobles, as there will be no faith in a polluted land."

"If the pollution is mild, it will be naturally cleansed in a few years, but if it is severe, or if it is repeatedly contaminated as if it were painted over, it will not be cleansed for tens or hundreds of years."

"If we go down the terrorist route badly, the next generation is going to have a very hard time."

"It is conceivable that once we get ...... Eruo back, the miracle will be restored."

Oh, miracles.

The Zesu Church of the Holy High Society, like most religions, has its own miracle stories.

There are many episodes in the scriptures about how the earth was cleansed and transformed into an ear of wheat just by walking on it. I only believe half the stories.

"Do you think that the priests of the Church of the Holy High Priestesses can purify the earth with miraculous power even if they get it covered in dirt?"

"With the right faith, you will surely be guided by the spirits."

I tried to say it sarcastically, but it was returned normally.

It seems that Cynthia really believes in miracles.

If that's the case, then the fact that St. Navenpos's dirt has been left untouched proves that faith has been lost. ......

In St. Navenpos, there are still traces of turmoil and unholy soil all over the territory.

If the Holy High Society was a religion full of faith, it would have been a miracle if it hadn't disappeared long ago.　

I thought I had said it back, but Cynthia nodded her head in agreement.

"Yes. The holy priestess also lamented this point. It is because the priests have lost faith that miracles have been lost in the Holy City. Yes, now is the time to regain the correct faith. We must recreate St. Navenpos by relying on the spirits and bring miracles to the continent again. This is our mission as students of the founder Zeth. ......!　Warthento-sama, Great Spirit of the Sun, please show us your faith."

Cynthia got really excited, and I just gave her a few words.

Compared to the congregation and priests at the Holy High Church in New Nellie City, the priests at the real place are very conscious.

I was impressed by her swaying breasts as she sang a hymn of praise and talked about her idealistic dream.

Still, when I talked to her in person, I felt that there was a big difference between the values of a nobleman and a priest.

The aristocrats seem to be more concerned about being the guardians of the earth, while the priests seem to be less concerned about it.

However, when I think about it, I think that only the spirits of the snowfield directly say "Let's protect the earth" in the scriptures.

And even then, depending on the interpretation of the scriptures, it could quickly turn into an order to eliminate the nobles, so there was nothing I could do about it.

I can understand why my father, a genuine nobleman, was not confident when he heard the results of Cynthia's interrogation.

Unlike me, who had known a time on Earth filled with a diversity of values, my father had only known an aristocratic society that was in a sense closed-minded, and Cynthia was a foreign body to him.

I guess he instinctively feels uneasy when he meets someone whose common sense he thinks is unacceptable.

"Nobles and priests: ......"

Originally, the relationship between nobles and priests was like that between central bureaucrats and local officials.

The priests from the central government of St. Navenpos indirectly ruled the land by subordinating the nobles who were the native lords.

In addition to the overwhelming military power of the Holy Army, the nobles also benefited from the rich economic power and advanced culture of the priests of St. Navenpos.

However, the uprising in St. Navenpos led to a great upheaval in the continent.

From the priest's point of view, it doesn't matter how much the territory he is sent to is destroyed, but for the nobles, it is a matter of life and death. They would not tolerate the destruction of their own homeland.

It is said that when the Zeldmitra family, which is known to have ushered in the era of the rise of the nobility, aimed to break away from the dominance of priests, they made a statement to the effect that they did not want priests who would not protect Eruo when asked to do so.

I don't know how the word "Eruo" was interpreted at that time, but he may have switched the interpretation to "Eruo = earth" to make a good argument for the transition of power from priestly rule to aristocratic rule.

Considering the historical background, it is natural that the nobles who broke away from the priestly rule would take pride in protecting the earth.

The rule of the aristocracy was the result of taking away the position of guardian of the earth from the priests.

On the other hand, I didn't know that the priests didn't place that much importance on protecting the earth until I heard Cynthia's story.

As a person who finds religious miracles to be scandalous, I can still understand the idea of nobles trying their best to protect the earth.

It had been a long time since the church had been destroyed in the Kingdom of Levios.

The words of Tiamesarail, the spirit of the snowfield, have already evolved in the aristocratic society, and it can be said that they have created a value system that is not chivalry but nobility.

And I'm convinced that this is the biggest gap between the values of nobles and priests.

"Tiamessa Rail might be a friend of Getulanaga."

"Huh?"

"Hm?　What about Getulanaga, the spirit of the battlefield?

The words of Tiamessa Rail fueled the conflict between the noblemen and the priests, and I sarcastically said that they must be close friends with the spirits of the battlefield, but it seems that my intelligence-filled joke was not understood.

"I know that, but I was wondering why Getulanaga, the spirit of the battlefield."

According to Cynthia, Getulanaga has a difficult personality, and if you want to call him a friend, there are plenty of fighting spirits who would be more suitable.

Unfortunately, I've read the scriptures, but I haven't read many of the spin-offs of the scriptures, such as saint conversations and spirit guidebooks, so I know very little about the personalities of spirits.

I've never read many of those books, and I don't know much about the personalities of spirits.

"The name came out as familiar. I'm sorry for the embarrassment."

Cynthia, realizing that she had embarrassed herself, apologized, though she was flustered.

"You can ask the name of Getulanaga, the spirit of the ...... battlefield, of Princess Orcian?"

"Yes. I'm sure you've heard at least some gossip about it in the city, haven't you?

Princess Orcian of House Myrendorva, who challenged the Levios royal family head-on, winning battle after battle and invading at an incredible speed, is even called the incarnation of Getulanaga because of her overwhelming fighting ability.

Whether it was a lie or not, a priest of the Holy High Society, who had been hiding his identity and spying on the Levios territory, saw Princess Orcian's rapid progress and said, "The Levios family, woe!　She is the very incarnation of Getulanaga!　She is the very incarnation of Getulanaga! Receive the hammer of the spirits! She is the very incarnation of Getulanaga!"

That's why the saga of Princess Orcian and the name of Getulanaga have been spreading together.

Cynthia told me some of the gossip she had heard in the city, but I felt like she was telling me the ideal image of Orcian, interpreted in a priestly way.

Well, it can't be helped that from the perspective of the Holy High Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, there is a part of her that seems to be a savior.

Having gossiped about the city, the political talk died down and moved on to the heartwarming stories of everyday life.

It started with the story of my days in Cynthia's New Nellie City, then became the story of my travels when I came into the territory of Quardenze, and then back to the story of my life in the Holy City.

As I knew very little about the current situation in the Holy City, it was interesting and fresh for me.

"...... Wow, the Holy City is recovering faster than I thought."

From what I've heard, it seems that the Holy City of Maguaose is much further along in its reconstruction than I had imagined.

"I had heard about the Holy City from peddlers visiting New Nelly, but they said it was a wasteland and dirt city at the end of the century. Did they use a sycophant?"

In recent years, reconstruction has progressed and some of the priestly territories seem to be regaining strength.

I was a little baffled by Cynthia, who didn't hide any information about the holy city, but rather talked about it as if she wanted people to be interested.

If I ask her a question, she responds quickly without bothering to answer. The Kingdom of Levios and St. Navenpos are enemies, but her lack of caution makes me uneasy.

I'm not sure if she meant what she said when she said she came to New Nellie City to work on dispelling the bad impression of the Holy High Society.

"...... Oh yeah, what kind of person is the head priestess of this generation?"

"Holy priestess?"

Cynthia put her hand on her cheek and straightened her posture.

"She is a wonderful woman."

"Well, what does she look like?"

It is said that a beautiful girl is chosen from a famous family, so the shaman must be quite beautiful.

Depending on the situation, the nobles of the Kingdom of Levios may invade St. Navenpos, it's worth listening to.

I'll give you the holy priestess!　Do as you please! "That's right, the Leviathans know what they're talking about! There is no guarantee that this will not happen.

It's also possible that the followers of the holy city will be treated to a public rape show by the holy priestess who lost the war.

Cynthia explained the appearance of the holy priestess, using spirits as an analogy.

To put it bluntly, it made little sense to me, but I could tell she was beautiful.

"She is a beautiful girl with black hair and black eyes, a year younger than me. ...... Of course she is beautiful in appearance, but above all, it is her heart that is precious as she faces the scriptures. Her faith can be said to be a model for all believers."

As I was creating an image of the priestess in my mind from her words, I seemed to be a bit preoccupied.

Cynthia talked more about the faith of the shaman.

I was thinking about the suspicion I had heard from my father: that the priestess was black-hearted.

My father believes that the priestess is a powerful vixen with a scheming nature.

The current Kingdom of Levios ......, or rather the Royal House of Levios, is eager to invade St. Navenpos by mobilizing all the nobles of the kingdom.

There are two purposes for this. One is to regain the centripetal force of the royal family, and the other is to stabilize the kingdom.

Just as the Quardenze family used the Battle of Nambonan City to unite the western nobility, war is the quickest way for the boss to show his leadership.

If we think about where to wage war, the answer will naturally converge on St. Navenpos.

In the past, the House of Levios became the banner of the anti-Holy High Society, united the hearts of the surrounding nobles, and founded the Kingdom of Levios. Beating up the Holy High Society will lead to the return of the "strong House Levios" of the past.

In addition, prisoners of war are an inevitable part of war. The Kingdom of Levios is desperate for them.

Currently, due to the strange disease spread by the demonic beast Yersinia, the number of nobles, or in other words, the number of the ancestors, has been drastically reduced.

The only way to solve this problem is for the nobles to bear children, but since the number of princesses, the main ancestors, has also decreased, it is not an easy matter to solve.

The weaker noble families are unable to secure wives, and they are looking for daughters blessed by spirits in their territories. The royal family of Levios even forced their daughters who were married off to other families to return to their homes.

St. Navenpos is a land of priests, and the high priests of the ruling class are the main ancestors.

The royal family of Levios must be thinking of stealing the daughters of the high priests in the war and distributing them to the noble families of the kingdom in order to stabilize the country.

Now, the one who will be troubled by this is the invading side, St. Navenpos.

If the aristocrats of the Kingdom of Levios were to unite and approach us, it would be an extremely difficult task to oppose them.

Even if we succeeded in defending ourselves, we wouldn't be able to count on the Holy City, which was on the verge of recovery, being burned to the ground again.

If I were the Pope of the Holy High Society, my first priority would be to avoid war, and even if war broke out, I would want to move with an early ceasefire in mind.

In any case, if you're dealing with the entire Levios Kingdom, you'll never win in a long-term war. They are outnumbered in terms of population, economic power, production power, and territory area.

Therefore, they decided to negotiate with the royal family of Levios using the great nobles of the kingdom as intermediaries. If I had to choose one of the five major noble families to mediate, I would choose the Quardenze family.

This is because they have the highest probability of success in negotiating a ceasefire.

From a practical point of view, it would be very inconvenient for the Leviathans to destroy the Holy High Society and conquer all of St. Navenpos.

Since Levios' territory and St. Navenpos are far away from each other, any territory they get would be an enclave.

Even though St. Navenpos was ravaged by the uprising 200 years ago, it was originally so rich that it was said to be the land where the spirits of fertility took a nap.

I don't know how long it will take, but once the pollution of the land is cleansed, it will grow to be one of the best territories in the continent.

It may be delicious in the future, but managing an enclave is not something that can be done well. If the enclaves are managed poorly and the magical beast disaster spreads, they will end up in the same place as before.

As for how to manage it, it would be appropriate to create a branch family with a non-Levios heir as the head, and place it in St. Navenpos after its destruction, but that would be psychologically difficult. However, it would be psychologically difficult to do so because the failure of the Millendorva family is still fresh in their minds.

Considering the civil war with the House of Millendorva, which was created to control the Far East region, we would not want to place a branch of the family there.

Therefore, even if the Levios family got the land of St. Navenpos, they would not be able to keep it.

In the event of an all-out war with St. Navenpos, the noble families located in the southern part of the kingdom would have more opportunities to play an active role.

If this were to happen, they would have a legitimate claim to the territory during the post-war cut-and-paste time. The Marquis of Zeldmitra, a great aristocrat from the south who is desperate for rich land, will be wielding a pizza cutter at this point.

Since the Zeldmitra family is located in the southernmost part of the kingdom, St. Navenpos is close by and easy to manage. If the need arose, they could even eliminate the enclave problem by annexing the free cities in between.

If the Zeldmitra family successfully absorbed St. Navenpos and the surrounding areas, the Levios family would feel threatened.

The birth of a powerful noble family in the south is something that House Levios should be wary of.

What's more frightening is that it may not end there.

It is possible that the Zeldmitra family will continue to expand southward and grow into a huge noble family that absorbs not only the Free City Counties but also the Ricarda Confederacy.

Following the Kingdom of Levios, the Zinkhaen Empire, and the Mamshred Federation, a fourth great power may emerge.　

Several generations after Zeldmitra Kraad, the founder of the Middle Kingdom who advocated a break from priestly rule and became a pioneer in the era of the rise of the nobility, the Zeldmitra family has always been a distinguished family, and the next head of the family is also reputed to be excellent. The next head of the family has a reputation for excellence, and we should be wary of his moves.

Furthermore, considering the history of the two families, the Zeldmitra family and the Quardenze family are not so much in love, but they are on good terms.

What will happen if these two families join forces and secede from the kingdom? Even if you consider the existence of small and medium-sized noble families that are sympathetic to the secession, it would be fatal for the Kingdom of Levios. At least, if I were a legitimate son of House Levios, I would definitely want to avoid that.

Taking these political factors into consideration, I thought about the war goals of the Leviathans.

The most desirable development would be to show leadership to the nobles of the kingdom by beating up St. Navenpos, and then some great noble would bring a messenger to negotiate peace.

We can pose as if we're in a good mood and we don't mind fighting more, but we respect the big nobles who are mediating and get on the negotiation table.

And at the negotiating table, I can show my diplomacy and get the Holy High Priestess to swear obedience to the Kingdom of Levios by taking her daughter as compensation and hostage. In return, he would grant St. Navenpos autonomy and relieve him of his lands.

In this way, the prestige of the royal family was restored, the domestic nobles were able to welcome the daughter of the founder, the southern nobles did not increase their territory, and the Holy High Society succumbed to the Levios royal family. ............ It was a very convenient development.

The important thing here is the existence of a great nobleman who can mediate the peace negotiations.

If the aristocrats, who are the henchmen of the Levios royal family, were to act as intermediaries, the Levios royal family's intention to negotiate for peace as soon as possible would be too obvious and they might lose the trust of the aristocrats.

Therefore, the Seikoukai needed to ask the five major noble families in the kingdom, excluding the Levios family, to act as intermediaries.

The first thing to consider is that the Zeldmitra family is out of the question. From their point of view, it is in their interest to continue the war, so they would never act as an intermediary.

The Millendorva and Aterahan families might be willing to act as intermediaries, but they are also far away from St. Navenpos, and it is unknown how seriously they will take the matter.

The best choice would be the Quardenze family.

They are at war with the old Voistra, and they don't want to participate in the Levios' expedition to St. Navenpos.

They have the same interests in wanting to make a truce, so they can be trusted in that area.

The existence of the Quardenze family is important to the Holy High Priestess Association.

That is why my father suspects that the priestess is a scheming woman.

He may have sent Cynthia to New Nellie City ahead of time in anticipation of the war with the Kingdom of Levios that would eventually come and its course.

She may have secretly formed a friendship with the Quardenze family through Cynthia, and when the time came to negotiate a ceasefire, she would appear on the scene to show her leadership.

It may be a ploy by the shaman to regain his lost authority and return as the head of the faith.

..... father told me not to trust the priestess.

I could tell that my father was even more wary than usual of the unreadable presence of a priest.

But he also said that even if he didn't trust her, he would make the most of what he could.

In most organizations, the more people there are, the more factions there are, and the more resources are devoted to infighting.

If the priestess, who has regained her authority, joins the High Priestess Council, which is currently run by the Pope and the High Priest, the balance will collapse at once.

If the Quardenze and Levios families could support the priestess and make her their puppet, it would come in handy in many ways.

I see, she thinks of showing the other side the benefits first to satisfy her own desires. She seems to be a very clever girl.

It may be that the Cattleyauk family, the family behind her, is giving the orders, but she is a girl you can never be too careful with.

...... No, it's not confirmed that she's black-hearted.

It seems that because of my father's suspicions, the priestess in my brain is becoming an incredibly evil woman.

I felt a little bad for Cynthia, who kept talking passionately about how wonderful the priestess was.

I know what Cynthia is going to say. ...... It looks like it's getting pretty late already.

Looking out the window, I saw that the height of the moon had moved more than I expected. It seems that a good deal of time had passed in scripture lessons and chit-chat.

"I'm sorry, but that's all I have to say for tonight."

"Yes, unfortunately. If you'll allow me to come back next time, I'd love to talk to you about the scriptures at ......."

It was a real shame.

As my father concluded, Cynthia's house arrest would continue.

She has not committed any crime, but it is the power of the nobility that allows them to capture her.

It is unclear to what extent she has gained the trust of the shaman, but depending on the situation, she may become a diplomatic card.

This is why the Quardenze family has decided to keep Cynthia under house arrest until the kingdom's course of action is decided in the spring at the royal capital.

With the old Voistra as an element of concern, the Quardenze family would want to secure anything that could be used for diplomacy, even if it was unlikely.

I talked to Cynthia this time, and I also think that there is no problem with my father's policy. In other words, there will be no change in policy.

And that means that I should not touch Cynthia.

If I do, she may have a big belly by the end of spring, and I may have to show her my weakness.

If it were true, it would have been a nice way to end tonight's conversation and continue in bed.

If Cynthia hadn't been a special priestess working for the shaman, she would have been able to do whatever she wanted.

Is this some kind of conspiracy by the shaman?

I felt as if I could hear the mockery of the holy priestess in my brain.