The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 251 Be More Generous

Perhaps because the church clergy suddenly started spreading rumors in the city that the demons wouldn't be so easy to drive away and that people shouldn't believe claims that the demons could be defeated in a month, their serious attitude was completely different from before, making it hard for Duke Leo not to feel that his money had gone down the drain.

The discrepancy between the church's previous statements and his current stance led him to believe that this was some kind of planned scam, and that his illegitimate son, who worked at the church, had inadvertently become a crucial part of it.

But he was only slightly worried.

He believed in the unwavering resolve of the imperial warriors on the front lines, and in their fighting prowess. He was certain that the demons would be driven out of the empire, and restoration would only be a matter of time.

—That's what he said, at least when he was facing Her Highness the Holy Maiden and Her Highness the Grand Princess of the Empire.

Eric didn't take a single word seriously.

If you really believed that so firmly, why invite him and Natalia over on the second day of Hellenistic Festival, and then bring up the promised aid in such a roundabout way?

"However, dealing with demons is no easy task."

The old duke looked at the two young princes opposite him and said, "I don't know if I'll live to see that day come."

Eric and Natalia exchanged a glance, and he spoke up: "Of course you can. You're probably only in your fifties this year, and living to eighty shouldn't be a problem. Surely you can drive away the demons in twenty or thirty years?"

The Duke looked bitter. "The actual time shouldn't be that long..."

“No need,” Eric said confidently. “Five to ten years. We can integrate the forces within the empire, concentrate them to repel the main force of the demons, and then wipe out the remaining ones. If everything goes smoothly, that time will be enough.”

Natalia nodded in agreement.

Duke Leo looked at them and asked, "What kind of difficulties might arise?"

"Hmm... For example, since Your Highness and I left Lutia, we have encountered quite a few people who directly refused us. If those wealthy or military noble lords were more generous, we wouldn't have to travel too far. You may not know, but we also plan to borrow troops from the southern countries."

Eric pondered.

"Furthermore, the demons are still hiding their strength. It is unknown how many demon warriors in the Northern Demon Realm have not followed the army south."

This is the part that can be said.

The unspeakable parts include the possibility that after the demon race, which will be the main threat in the future, is defeated, the human alliance may experience conflicts or even splits due to the distribution of post-war benefits, leading to a civil war.

Duke Leo remained silent for a while, unable to express his regret for making such a hasty bet, and could only sigh deeply.

“I should have had a proper talk with you two when you first came here a few days ago.”

Although Eric and Natalia knew what he was really sighing about, they could only pretend not to understand and offer words of comfort while pretending not to.

"Rest assured, Your Grace, your support for the front lines will surely be rewarded in the future."

Natalia looked at the Duke and said, "I will not forget, nor will Her Majesty the Queen. No matter how long the war lasts, this reward will fall into the hands of the Leo family."

Duke Leo looked at her and Eric for a long time, then nodded silently.

After sitting for a while longer, the two bid farewell and left. The Duke had his second son, who was staying at home that day, see them off.

"Your Highness, please take care." He bowed respectfully beside the carriage.

Natalia boarded the carriage first, and Eric, halfway up, looked back at her.

He raised his head slightly, his gaze meeting Her Highness the Holy Maiden's before lowering it again.

“You…” he heard the saintess speak hesitantly.

"Bradon."

“Oh, yes, Braden, that’s the name.” Eric jumped down from the carriage again. “Braden, your father didn’t scold you, did he?”

Braden paused for a moment, then remained silent for two seconds before saying no.

“It seems so,” Eric said. He didn’t even say why he was scolded, but Braden answered no without even asking, clearly indicating that he had already experienced something similar.

Braden lowered his head even further. "My father said a few words to me about my gullibility in believing the rumors, and I have realized my mistake."

"You can't blame yourself. Those rumors were all heard from high-ranking clergy members like bishops in churches."

Eric offered a word of comfort, and Braden merely nodded to show he was listening, without daring to respond verbally.

Inside the carriage, Natalia peeked at the two of them. Eric met her gaze and spoke to Braden:
"I haven't had time to visit you these past few days. Is there any news about the cathedral?"

Braden pondered for a moment and replied, "As ordered by Her Majesty the Saint, the cathedral has been actively responding to the rumors circulating in the city these past few days, posting notices widely, and sending clergy of all levels to preach throughout the diocese in order to eliminate the impact of the rumors."

Eric guessed that his letter should have already spread, but without the Vatican's deliberate attention, the flow of information from the bottom up is slow, and the Vatican and the Archbishop of Norfolk probably do not yet know the actual scope of this "clarification," let alone its actual significance.

"...In addition, some heretics have been arrested throughout the parish. They are the culprits behind the rapid spread of this rumor, and the court is intensifying its interrogation."

"Huh?" Eric was taken aback.

Braden glanced up. "Does Your Highness believe that an interrogation is no longer necessary?"

“…No…we need to interrogate them and figure out what they’re trying to do.” Eric quietly wiped away a bead of sweat.

He wasn't worried about arresting the wrong person. Although the rumors circulating throughout the city were completely unfounded from the start, cults and heresies were real—not just in Westwind City, but everywhere there were cultists. There were many even in peacetime, and the panic caused their numbers to explode after the outbreak of war.

Cult members deceive and exploit ignorant civilians, creating panic. Eric has killed quite a few of them in the game. Now, by accusing them of more crimes, he is simply bringing them to justice sooner.

Each diocese has certain assessment requirements for arresting cultists. Before becoming a saintess, Eric had been the young master of the city lord's mansion for more than ten years and had seen a lot of things. He knew that a considerable number of cultists had actually been targeted for a long time, but only a portion of them were arrested around the New Year. They couldn't arrest too many, because if they did, the assessment requirements for the following year would increase.

I wonder how well the Westwind City parish has performed in meeting its KPIs this year. If it was already nearly met, and then this sweeping action happens again, what will happen next year...?

"It's always a good thing to arrest more cult members," Eric thought to himself.

Pulling himself back to his thoughts, he turned his gaze to the Duke's second son in front of him. Without saying much, he patted him on the shoulder, then jumped into the carriage and left.

"I wonder how this will end," Natalia said, looking at him.

Eric smiled. "It will probably take some time for this to really take effect, by which time we will definitely have left Westwind City. For now, we'll probably just arrest a bunch of cultists, have the clergy do some grassroots work, and that'll be over in a few days."

Natalia nodded without saying much, and then asked, "Thanks to our brief chat at the banquet yesterday, it didn't take long to appease Duke Leo. We still have plenty of time this morning. Shall we return to the Governor's Mansion, or proceed with our original plan to visit Marquis Adams?"

Eric thought for a moment, then looked at the sky outside; it was still quite a while before noon.

"Let's go to Marquis Adams' place. Although he said he would postpone it at the last minute, he should have made some preparations."

"Ah."

Although the celebrations of the Hailing Festival continued until sunrise this morning, only ordinary people actually participated in the all-night revelry.

After all, the daily lives of most nobles were no different from those of commoners, and considering their status and image, nobles were already considered to be fully engaged by drinking and partying until midnight.

The two nobles they had originally planned to visit today were among the less engaged.

"That governor was more involved than anyone else, and actually partied until morning. Otherwise, I would have liked to talk to him first."

Eric leaned against the carriage. "But if I were him, I probably wouldn't be able to resist partying all night like that. Just this one Harlequin Festival alone made him a fortune."

Natalia nodded slowly. "Otherwise, we wouldn't be so generous as to offer free food and wine along the entire long street outside the Governor's Mansion, so that anyone can participate."

When they left the Governor's Palace in the morning, the streets were filled with drunken revelers, which showed how serious the Governor's Palace was about this matter: it wasn't just about providing a serving, but about providing a continuous supply until the end of the revelry.

Eric looked out the car window. At this hour, quite a few drunkards had already sobered up and were staggering along the road, preparing to go home.

Although in terms of sheer numbers, it feels like a biohazard outbreak overnight, with zombies staggering all over the streets.

Moments later, the carriage arrived at the Marquis of Adams’s residence, where it received a very warm welcome.

Just like in Sunset City, they prepared a list of Westwind City nobles and visited them in order of their enthusiasm.

“I knew Duke Leo was very proactive, but I didn’t expect him to be so eager to steal my guests. Fortunately, the Duke wasn’t too greedy, and I still managed to meet the two princes today.” Eric just smiled, without mentioning the more important reason why the Duke had been so proactive.

As they had anticipated, the Marquis of Adams was very enthusiastic, and the aid negotiations went smoothly.

The two also had lunch at the Marquis Adams’s residence.

In the afternoon, Eric and Natalia continued their visit to another nobleman as planned.

For the next two or three days, the two continued in this manner until one morning, they "happened" to run into Governor Danvers at the restaurant.

"So Your Highnesses got up so early. No wonder I wanted to see you these past two days, but the servants kept telling me you had already left."

“We’ve been here for a week, and we didn’t really start operating until after the festival, so we need to make up for the time we slacked off,” Eric said, pulling out a chair for Natalia to sit down, and then sitting on the other side himself.

Danvers, sitting at the head of the table, sighed. “Busy, we’re all busy. The festival just ended, and I’m already looking forward to next year’s. Only on that day can I truly relax.”

Eric and Natalia exchanged a glance and continued, "Governor Danvers manages the largest port on the entire continent. He must have a lot to think about every day. His Highness and I have been thinking for the past few days about when it would be convenient to bother you."

"I was saying that Your Highnesses have been visiting those nobles all the time, and haven't come to see me at all!"

Danvers looked as if he had just realized something. "If it's the two princes who want to talk to me, I can always find the time."

Eric looked at him. "Like tomorrow?"

"Can't we do it today?" Danvers asked.

“There are already plans for today,” Natalia said.

Danvers nodded. "Whom were the two princes originally scheduled to visit this morning?"

"Count Loric".

Danvers turned his head slightly, and the butler beside him moved closer, but he didn't actually need to get that close, because his master had deliberately spoken loudly:
"Send someone to the Earl of Lorick's mansion to say hello. I've kept Her Highness the Holy Maiden and the Grand Princess here, so they probably won't have time to visit this morning."

"Yes."

So after breakfast, Eric and Natalia followed Danvers to his study and began talking to him about the aid almost unprepared.

“I have a good relationship with Austin and Memphis, so I’ve asked them about some things… Of course, I also have a good relationship with Edgar, but Edgar isn’t the same kind of person as them, so I won’t compare them.”

Danfur explained to Eric, who nodded, and then looked at Natalia sitting next to him, "I must say, His Highness's promise is very tempting."

Natalia looked back calmly. "Does Governor Danvers mean that your terms are the same as theirs?"

"—They are different."

Danvers immediately shook his head. "Austin is easy to please, but Memphis is much harder to deal with, isn't he?"

Natalia opened her mouth, but Eric spoke first: "One was negotiated during wartime, and the other was negotiated during the armistice, so of course there will be differences."

Danvers looked at him again, "Does Your Highness mean that I can only get the same conditions as Austin at best?"

“Isn’t that enough?” Eric retorted. “Governor Austin is quite satisfied with this, as it is almost the limit that Princess Natalia is willing to accept.”

"Please don't mind me, Your Highness. I just suspect that Memphis didn't tell me the truth, or rather, he didn't tell me the whole truth. I'm just curious, what exactly did Princess Natalia promise him?"

...So he didn't know.

Natalia thought to herself, "That was close!" She quickly glanced at Eric and said, "It's only slightly more than Austin's. You can tell me the conditions Memphis offered in his letter to you, and I'll help you determine whether he's exaggerating or hiding something."

Danvers laughed.

"You'll have to go back to Lutia sooner or later, so I'll give Memphis some face!"

The two people outside the desk cursed inwardly at the same time.

While cursing Danvers' cunning, Eric also vaguely sensed that Danvers seemed to look down on Austin—after all, both of them owned a large port city, and Westwind City under his rule was the largest port on the continent.

Or rather, he believed that he was on the same level as Memphis and should receive the same treatment.

But this is not possible.

Offering up an entire province's territory during a ceasefire, when military pressure is not so great, especially including a top-tier seaport like Goddess Bay that generates an unknown amount of tax revenue every year, is something that even Natalia couldn't accept, let alone him.

Eric thought for a moment and said, “Governor Danvers, I think we should reach a consensus that the Empire is a whole, and we all share the same fate. If Lutia falls now, it will be more than just a loss for the other cities.”

Danvers' smile faded. "Of course, that's why I will spare no effort to help the brave soldiers fighting on the front lines."

He looked at the two of them, "But I also want to tell you two princes a bottom line that has never changed over the years: I do not accept business that loses money."

Natalia remained adamant: "If you include the cost of lasting peace and maintaining it."

Eric added, "Even if the demons don't reach Westwind City, as long as they break through Lutia, the entire continent's maritime trade will inevitably be affected. You should be able to understand the difference between losing a little and losing everything."

Danvers remained silent for a long time.

Finally, he took a deep breath.

“Your Highnesses are right. Westwind City should shoulder more responsibility for protecting the Empire. We should not forget that Westwind City’s current prosperity comes from the helpless yet steadfast protection of the northern cities.”

He paused, looking at Natalia: "I won't beat around the bush with Your Highness. My request is simple: I want at least more than Austin can."

“Then you should first prove that you can provide more assistance to the front lines,” Natalia said immediately.

Eric, who understood Danvers' mindset better, quickly added, "Especially since your Zephyr City has the world's largest port and is already much more prosperous than Sunset City."

"what!"

Danvers laughed heartily, exclaiming with pride, "How much food and how many soldiers is Austin willing to provide to the front lines? I can provide five times more!"

Natalia recited several numbers.

"..."

Danvers remained silent.

“Well, Austin is more generous than I thought.”

"So Governor Danvers can be a little more generous than him; if he's too generous, we can't afford to pay him back."

Eric and Natalia quickly tried to save face for him, even more anxious than he was.

The two sides went back and forth several times, and Eric and Natalia were unable to leave all morning. After noon, the two simply postponed their afternoon visit and continued to stall Danvers.

By evening, Danvers finally abandoned his insistence on equal terms with Memphis—even though he still didn't know what Memphis had actually gotten—and reached an agreement with Natalia for aid on terms of lower taxes and military obligations than Austin's.

"The will of the two princes is even stronger than I thought..."

In the study at dusk, looking at the two people opposite him, Danvers showed some signs of fatigue. He was about to say something when the butler appeared at the study door.

"what happened?"

The butler came in and whispered a few words in his ear.

Danvers' expression turned serious as his gaze gradually focused on Eric's face.

"Your Highness, I have bad news to tell you."

Eric was startled and sat up straight.

"The church army of Thebuni has been defeated."

(End of this chapter)