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Chronicles of an Aristocrat Reborn in Another World – the Apostle of the Gods Who Know No Self-Restraint (Web Novel) - Volume 2 Chapter 30: Conflict with the Church 1/2
Volume 2 Chapter 30: Conflict with the Church 1/2
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The day before, in the end, Cain had been able to finish the minotaur steak, even if it had become a little cold.
Dash had said ‘I’ll remake it!’, but its taste was still satisfactory even if it had cooled down.
When he thanked Dash and Himika, they in turn said he was very kind.
The fact that he had been exposed to them as the lord made Cain concerned, but he managed to calm them down by asking them to continue to address him as before.
He’d also been discovered by some locals, but it was only by the people there, and as for the guards, there would be no problem.
Cain stayed in the luxurious room as always and ate breakfast in the Cat’s Harmony Pavilion while thinking about what he’d do that day. In regards to the adventurers’ guild, he’d managed to meet with the guild master and sub guild master the previous week, so next should be the church. Cain thought he had to do something about the healing magic that was way more expensive than in other cities.
“Thank you for the food. Breakfast was delicious too.”
Cain finished his meal and called out to Enaku, who was working in the hall.
“Cain-onii-chan, are you going again?”
Enaku asked with a lonely expression.
“Yeah, today and tomorrow, I’ve got some work to do as the lord. But I will come back to eat.”
Cain lightly stroked Enaku’s head while explaining to her. Enaku’s face showed that she enjoyed it.
Dash and Himika also came out of the kitchen.
“Lord-sama, thank you for yesterday. Thanks to you, Enaku didn’t get hurt either.”
The two bowed their heads and thanked him, but Cain told them to just talk to him like before.
“Well, you say that but…”
Dash nodded with a bitter smile.
“We will prepare delicious food again. Please come again if you like.”
Next to him, Himika answered so. Cain also nodded.
“I’ll try to stay here or at least come to eat again next week. See you next time, Enaku-chan.”
Cain said goodbye to the three, left the inn and headed towards the lord’s residence.
As soon as Cain was seen at the gate, one of the guards went to call Eribe, while the other one bowed.
“Welcome back, lord-sama.”
“Yeah, I’m home.”
While waving his hand at the guard, Cain went straight into the office of the lord’s mansion.
Eribe arrived in the room a little bit later.
“Sorry for making you wait, Viscount Cain, is there anything you’re going to investigate today?”
Cain nodded at Eribe’s question.
“It’s still going to be a while, but an internal affairs officer is coming. We really have to change the state of this town, so my father, Margrave Garm, is sending someone. When that time comes, please cooperate with them.”
“…An internal affairs officer… understood. I’ll consider a place for them to stay.”
“Also, it’s not really set in stone, but maybe I’ll go talk to the priest at the church this afternoon? There are some things I have to ask them.”
Apart from just the ridiculously expensive treatment fees, Cain had other things to ask the church as well. Medical care was important for the development of the town in the future. There was no point to having medical care if no one could receive any.
“Priest Stagg-dono isn’t really affiliated with the church… How do I put it…”
Eribe, sweat trickling down on his forehead, was at a loss on how to explain it.
“It’s fine, I’ll go to the church myself. I haven’t been to a church lately, and praying now and then is a must, don’t you think? I’ll go there in a little while.”
Cain hadn’t been to church since he became a lord. If he prayed again, he would see the gods, but he wanted to go and report back as well.
Cain looked over the documents he had received from Eribe and stamped the settlement. He ate lunch in his office and then changed into a slightly more formal dress and headed to the church.
Eribe had tried to arrange a carriage for him, but Cain refused and headed out on foot, partly because he had only been lord for a short time and wanted to see more of the town with his own eyes. Eribe insisted Cain should at least be escorted, but that too was turned down.
The church was apparently a bit south from the central square, and Cain walked over leisurely while looking at the townscape. There was quite a lot of pedestrian traffic, and the stores seemed to be doing well too. The adventurers’ guild’s main building was also there, but Cain walked past it, heading southwards.
Which building the church was became immediately apparent, as its size was out of proportion compared to the rest of the town.
“Do we really need a church the same size as the one in the Gracia territory in this town…”
Cain opened the church door, thinking. A receptionist lady was sitting right by the entrance.
“Did you come to pray today? Or for treatme-– doesn’t seem like it.”
The receptionist lady called out to Cain, who had just entered.
“Today, I came to pray. Also, I’d like to meet with the priest here.”
Cain politely told the receptionist lady.
In response, the receptionist lady wrinkled her forehead.
“Prayers are a single silver coin. Also, the priest-sama won’t meet with anyone without an appointment.”
To be able to pray at a church, you could make a donation, not pay a fee. Normally, the amount donated would be decided by each person individually, but this church had set a specific amount, which Cain thought to be a problem. Moreover, one silver coin was worth 10,000 yen (~95$), which was too expensive for a single prayer.
“So this church specifies the amount you need to offer in order to pray? In other cities, the amount of money offered is left up to the individual.”
Cain said to the receptionist lady forcefully, as it was a bad habit.
“Don’t tell me that, it’s not my problem. I’m just following the instructions from the priest-sama. If you can’t pay, please go home.”
Because she had raised her voice a little, two church knights came out from the back of the church.
The church had its own system of knights; they were dispatched from the church in the royal capital to churches in each town. They all wore white armour, and thus they were easily recognized when seen.
“It seems a bit noisy over here, what happened?”
One of the church knights came over and asked the receptionist lady.
“This kid is being stingy and doesn’t want to pay the fee for a prayer.”
After listening to the receptionist lady, the guard turned to Cain.
The church knight went right up to Cain, and, squatting down, looked him in the eyes.
“You’re from another city, aren’t you. This is how it’s done in this town, by the authority of the priest. I’m sorry, but you’ll have to go along with it.”
The knight didn’t seem to be a bad person. However, the command of the knights in each city basically belonged to the priest. This knight seemed to be just following orders.
“I can pay a silver coin no problem. However, isn’t a whole silver coin too expensive for the general populace? I also heard that you were charging illegally high fees for treatment. It’s these fees that I came to talk about today. I’m the new lord of this place, Cain von Silford Drintor. So go let me talk to the priest.”
“““Eh……”””
The receptionist lady and the two knights were surprised to find out that Cain was the lord.
“Do you have any proof…”
One of the knights asked, terrified, so Cain took out the dagger that proved he was the lord and showed it to him.
Confirming that Cain was indeed the lord after he’d seen the dagger, the knight’s face became pale.
“I’m terribly sorry. I’ll go confirm this with the priest-sama immediately. Please wait a little while.”
One of the knights ran off and disappeared in the back of the church.
After a few minutes of waiting, the knight returned.
“I apologise for being late. Priest Stagg will meet with you. I shall guide you, so please, this way.”
The knight of the church guided Cain to a reception room. The reception room was decorated with gold and silver jewellery, and there were a large number of paintings attached to the walls, it looked nothing like what one would expect from the reception room of a church, like it had been made with money.
The same was true for the sofa on which Cain sat down. It was a luxury item so soft that his bottom sank right into it. A Sister served him black tea, which was fragrant and tasted delicious, certainly not the kind sold in the market. And after a short wait, a person who seemed to be the priest entered the room. No, the priest was so wide, he could have been mistaken for an orc.
“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting. I’m quite busy with various things… I’m Stagg, the priest here. Nice to meet you, Viscount Cain.”
Priest Stagg sat down on the sofa, his heavy body swaying. He was so heavy that the sofa creaked just from one person sitting on it.
Moreover, his breath smelled of alcohol. He stank so much that Cain wrinkled his forehead.
“I’m Cain von Silford Drintor, the new lord of this town. I came to ask some questions about the church here. First of all…”
And thus, the verbal battle between Cain and priest Stagg began.
