Ice Vapor Goddess

Chapter 88 Sunday Dinner (Part 2)

In the following procedures, Xilun did not make any further moves, which relieved some people.

When distributing the Eucharist, he gave out extra bread. People could understand, since this ritual originated because people had nothing to eat in the past, so giving you a little bread was already a great favor. Now that people were having nothing to eat again, the bishop gave out more food.

Finally, Grimm shouted "The Mass is complete!" and Siron stood in the center of the altar, facing forward, left, and right, and bestowed the "Triple Blessing," symbolizing the Trinity and blessings upon the whole world.

After all the ceremonies were completed, it was already noon, and the sunlight outside finally peeked out a little, weakly shining on the earth.

Xiren took off his heavy robes and piled them aside.

The knights also removed their plate armor with each other's help, while Kyle had already come out of the archangel and sat in the courtyard to cool down his sunburnt skin.

The Royal Knights are basically qualified to wear the Archangel's Robe, but they cannot control it well. If the battle lasts too long, it will still damage their bodies.

Xilun pushed open the door and tossed the last "Holy Body" into his hand: "Just grab something for lunch, and come to my house for dinner tonight."

This was said in such an ordinary way that Kyle, who had just come back to his senses from the sacred ceremony, was stunned for a long time.

“Everyone come,” he said, and then walked away.
-
In the evening, people gathered at the Spiritual Dwelling for dinner, and in addition to the people from last time, there was one more person, Grimm.

He sat quietly at the end of the table, not competing with these senior colleagues.

Dinner consisted of cold ham slices and pickles, along with wine and bread prepared for morning mass. It wasn't a lavish meal, but at least there was meat.

After a brief pre-meal prayer, Siron, holding his knife and fork, said casually, "From now on, come have dinner here every Sunday evening."

Most people nodded in agreement, but a few suddenly realized something.

As the church's membership expands significantly, it's time to distinguish between confidants and non-confidants, and the sign of becoming a confidant should be this "Sunday dinner."

In the future, if you want to know someone's status in the church, you only need to ask, "Have you ever eaten at the bishop's house?"

People silently chewed on the slightly salty ham slices in their mouths, accompanied by bread and wine, as if they were eating not food, but recognition and power.

Soon, after everyone had almost finished eating, Xilun put down his knife and fork. In his previous life, he had had enough of the leader's endless lecturing before meals, so this time he learned his lesson and made sure everyone had eaten their fill before speaking.

After coughing twice, he said calmly, "Joseph has been promoted to a sixth-rank deacon, responsible for communication between various departments. Green, you will write an appointment letter later."

Green, with the last piece of ham stuffed in his mouth, quickly swallowed it upon hearing this and shouted, "Yes!"

"For internal affairs, it's just the two of you for now. Green will be responsible for directly relaying my orders and compiling data. Joseph, you'll be more involved with colleagues in various departments. With your extensive experience, you'll be better able to coordinate the various departments."

"Yes, Your Excellency the Bishop." The two nodded, but Joseph looked indifferent and did not seem pleased with the appointment.

"As for the army—when can we train the first apprentice knight?" He looked at his three subordinates.

Logan was able to stand up and was sitting to the left of Xilun, his face slightly pale.

"Within a month," Kyle thought for a moment. "It still depends on them. Sometimes, awakening a talent just depends on a single opportunity."

Xiren nodded. He had originally wanted to issue some kind of mission, such as "the first person to train a trainee knight will be rewarded," but after thinking about it, he realized that the Royal Guard and the Knights were completely different, and there was no need to create conflict between them.

Even if we want to promote healthy competition, it should be between the two knightly orders.

"How's it going in the agricultural area?" he asked again.

Fafnir's expression turned sour when this was mentioned.

He was the one who handled this matter, and at first he was very happy—because there was no one in the church in charge of managing assets, and since he had just bought the agricultural area, it was handed over to him for management. If he could do a good job, he might be able to surpass his superior Logan through his economic and production achievements.

But problems soon surfaced.

Yesterday, a rumor inexplicably spread that a strange infectious disease had appeared in the Ninth Agricultural District, which was the reason Sir William had sold it. Until the source of the disease is completely eradicated, anyone who has worked in the Ninth District will never be hired for another position.

This directly led to many of the employees who had been recruited in District 9 announcing they would not be coming.

Because there is not always work available in agricultural areas, most farmers work during the busy farming season and do odd jobs during the off-season.

If they are refused other jobs, many people simply cannot support their families.

Fafner tried to promise to improve wages, but the farmers still refused—no matter how good the promises were, they were just the bigwigs' words. What would happen to them if they were fired one day and no one else wanted them?
Fafnir honestly explained the situation with a pained expression, and then waited for the bishop's reply.

The scene was very quiet for a moment.

People then realized that the team seemed to be missing someone who knew how to handle economics.

Xiren was also having a headache. He certainly wouldn't abandon those farmers, because this was the only asset the church currently had. If he didn't care about the lives of the hired workers, what would become of the church's reputation?

But farmers don't understand this principle, not because they are stupid, but because their positions and support are different. Farmers cannot afford the cost of failure, so they will naturally choose the least risky approach.

Suddenly, Xilun asked, "When the Gospel Church conducted a survey before, I remember that the proportion of women in the workforce was not high, right?"

People paused for a moment, but Mathilde nodded: "Only 9% of women are in the workforce, mainly because there are not many jobs available for them, traditional factors, and the pressure of caring for children."

"Only factories such as textile mills, ceramics factories, and match factories give priority to hiring female workers because they are docile and skillful, and they don't ask for high wages. But Speyside doesn't need that many products at the moment, so it offers very few jobs."

"In addition, there are not many positions for cleaning ladies, milkmaids, and maids, and the competition is very fierce."

"Another point to note is that the proportion of women among the refugees in Newport is far higher than that of men, and many of these single women cannot find work and are unable to support themselves."

Green immediately nodded: "That's true, because when we left and escaped, we always let women and children go first, and on the road, it seems that women are more resistant to the cold for longer periods of time - at first they were indeed more afraid of the cold, but once they went a long way, men were more likely to freeze to death."

Xiren also remembered the question he had written down before and quickly asked, "How many women are unemployed?"

“We haven’t had time to count them, and we’ve only distributed half of our supplies,” Mathilde said. “But roughly speaking, there are over four thousand unemployed single women in Speyside.”

Xilun nodded: "The agricultural area will give priority to hiring these people."

These people rely on the Gospel Church for their livelihood, so they would definitely take any job they can get and wouldn't care if they couldn't get other jobs in the future—they're lucky to have any, why would they have room to choose?

“By the way—don’t reveal the criteria we used to make our selection,” Celen said.

"Understood!" Fafnir quickly interjected, afraid that someone else would take the job.

Xiren looked at him. Actually, Fafnir wasn't really suitable to manage that place, but there weren't any other suitable candidates at the moment, so after thinking about it, he decided to let him be for the time being.

"What are your thoughts on the issue of women's unemployment?" he asked.

An agricultural area can only hire a dozen or so farmers at most, which is still insufficient to cope with the thousands of unemployed people.

“Uh…” Fafner quickly opened his mouth, trying to salvage the bad impression caused by the defeat, “How about we hold some dances? Let the young men and women get to know each other, so that they won’t be unable to make ends meet after marriage if their husbands have jobs…”

Now not only Xilun, but everyone's eyes were on them, looking at them as if they were idiots.

"What do you take the church for?" Green said with some dissatisfaction.

The church views marriage as sacred, believing that the union of two people is a divinely ordained "predestined union," a marriage arranged by God, or, in traditional terms, a match made in heaven. Therefore, people cannot divorce or have multiple spouses. This practice of arbitrarily pairing people together is undoubtedly a serious violation of the spirit of the scriptures.

“Didn’t I just say there are more women than men? Single women are inevitable.” Kyle felt a sense of intellectual superiority for the first time.

“Speyside is actually short of workers,” Mathilde said. “The core issue isn’t that there are too many people, or that there aren’t enough jobs, but that many jobs are off-limits to women.”

“The coal mine is always short of workers, so how can we let them go down into the mine?” Fafnir muttered.

But to his surprise, the bishop looked at him. "You can give it a try," Siren said, then turned his gaze to Mathilde.

The latter thought for a moment, then nodded: "We can talk to the coal mines and see if we can recruit female miners. We can pay them less, but the mortality rate there is very high—the Gospel Church can't possibly take them there to their deaths."

The scene was quiet for a moment, and then Siren slowly said, "We need a clergyman who goes deep into the mines. In order not to cause objections from the mine owners, he must also be a coal miner himself, not only to work, but also to take care of our workers."

This statement shocked people even more. They had only thought about negotiating with the mine owner to improve welfare, or about visiting regularly like the Evangelical Fellowship. But the bishop actually wanted the clergy to go down into the mine as miners.

Mathilde looked at him, puzzled, seemingly not following Siren's train of thought.

“I’d like to establish a special branch for clergy,” Siren said with a smile. “It’s an idea I had when I set up the Rune Institute for Aldrich.”

“Although we come into contact with many working-class people through the evangelistic church, we are essentially priests, and our daily work is to hold various ceremonies and manage the church.”

"So I want to specifically promote a group of clergy from among the workers. They will not be responsible for church affairs, but will work alongside the workers in various factories. They will have clergy positions, religious authorization, and meager wages, but they will be responsible for caring for their fellow workers, regularly reporting back to the church, and spreading the gospel among the workers."

“I would call them the black-robed priests, while we who preside over Mass and manage affairs are the white-robed priests.”

The confidants looked at Xilun helplessly, thinking that the bishop's whimsical ideas had come up again. He wouldn't stop until he had completely messed up the structure of the church. It was one thing to introduce rune masters into the clergy system, but now even workers could come in. He had even specially assigned a "black-robed priest" to be on the same level as them, who were now called "white-robed priests".

Green's eyes widened, and he was the first to shout, "This...this isn't in accordance with the rules!"

It was the first time I had ever witnessed a bishop's unorthodox out-of-town priest emit a sharp, explosive sound.

"Ah—it's just a small idea, don't get so excited," Xiren said with a smile.

Green breathed a sigh of relief and gave an awkward smile: "I knew it..."

But those familiar with Xilun didn't take these words seriously. They knew that the bishop was determined to do what he wanted to do, but this time the commotion was just too big, so he was letting it out first.

“Your Excellency the Bishop,” Fafner suddenly said, his expression serious, “I would like to be transferred to the mines to oversee this matter.”

"Huh?" Xilun looked at him in surprise, and everyone around him looked over as well.

"Why?" Siren asked.

He had only intended to say it casually to give them a heads-up, but he didn't expect Fafnir to volunteer.

This was completely unexpected.

“My talent, [Canary], is well-suited for this.” He looked into Siron’s eyes. “Is that a valid reason?”

His reasoning was certainly not that; who would willingly give up their positions as vice-commander of the Knights and manager of the agricultural district to go down into the mines? But he had served in the army and under Renn, so he knew all too well how to please his superiors.

When the bishop reveals this intention, what kind of person does he like best?

It was definitely not someone who was planning to persuade or stop him, but someone who immediately followed his lead at his mere glance.

He knew he wasn't cut out to manage the agricultural area, and that he would inevitably lose real power once a suitable replacement was found. Furthermore, within the Knights, he couldn't possibly surpass Logan, who was already a Royal Knight and had saved the Emperor's life.

Not only that, his combat power is not as good as Kyle and Logan, and now he is even worse than Mathilde. He only had some use when the bishop first arrived in Speyside and was at his weakest. The further he goes, the weaker he becomes.

Even the incompetent have their own survival rules—Fafner clearly realized that he was weak and useless in everything among his confidants at this table. He couldn't compare to these people in any field, so he could only occupy an unclaimed niche.

The bishop needs a sycophant by his side.

There are loyal ministers like Logan and Kyle, straightforward ministers like Eldridge, and capable ministers like Mathilde and Greene, but what's missing is a dog who will pave the way for the bishop's every idea and be the first to pounce on him.

Ironically, that's exactly what he's best at.

He is not a believer in the church, and the church's traditions are worthless to him. He doesn't care how many doctrines the bishop violates.

He had fought his way up in the old-fashioned army and had done the dirtiest and hardest work under Ryan.

Siren looked him in the eyes, and he knew that Fafnir's reasons went far beyond that.

"Are you sure?" he said. "I don't currently have the [Sacred Treatise - Chief Authority of Peter], so I can't grant you divine magical authorization. You only have a nominal title."

“I’m sure,” Fafnir nodded.

Kyle looked at him with a complicated expression, remembering what Fafnir had said to him that day while leaning against the wall.

Joseph looked up at him, caught a whiff of something very similar, a survival strategy he had abandoned, and shook his head, continuing to pray silently.

When an organization gets big, all sorts of thoughts arise. The most senior members, those who crossed the snowfield together, can remain as steady as Mount Tai, but people like Fafnir, who defected halfway through, are already starting to get anxious.

Looking at the various expressions on the faces of the crowd, I wondered what was going through his mind. He turned to Fafnir and asked, "Who will be in charge of the agricultural area?"

Fafnir pointed to the silent old carpenter beside him: "I recommend Sam."

The carpenter, who had been completely invisible, stared wide-eyed, pointing to his own nose, as if asking with the most astonished look—How could it be me?

“Don’t underestimate yourself.” Fafnir patted him on the shoulder and said to everyone, “Although the Dean is in charge of the Gospel Church the most, Sam has always been the one who can get along the most with people. He’s just a little reserved here. Normally, he can chat with people all day long after finishing a bottle of beer at the Gospel Church!”

Sam's face flushed red, and he angrily slapped Fafnir's hand away.

“Agricultural areas don’t really need much management; the farmers know more about farming than we do,” Fafner said. “We’re like the landlords of the past; we don’t need to teach the tenant farmers how to farm. As long as we can get along with them and find professionals when problems arise, we’re already the best managers.”

Siren nodded, agreeing with Fafnir's statement: "Then Sam, you will be in charge of the agricultural area. If you are too busy, Gospel will have your apprentices take care of it."

“Yes, Your Excellency!” Sam said, his hands trembling.

“In that case, I’ll give you the position of seventh-rank assistant priest… let’s call you Administrator.” Siren thought of the Administrator position that Renn had set up and revealed a playful smile. “Fafner will be promoted to fifth-rank priest. Starting tomorrow, you and Mathilde will discuss the issue of the unemployed—not just in the mines, women should be in all positions to liberate the productivity of the family.”

“Yes!” Fafnir nodded, thinking to himself that he had guessed right. The bishop did indeed value the idea of ​​the black-robed priests very much, and for the first time, he had offered the position of priest.

"But wouldn't that mean married women would also have to work? Wouldn't that upset some people, since there would be no one to do the housework at home..." Sam asked quietly.

“No, not at all,” Siren said calmly. “It may not be common here, but there are many dual-income families in Lundini. Either the wife hands over her entire salary, or the wife's salary covers the household expenses, while the husband's salary covers cigarettes and alcohol. The husband is happy about it, why would he stop it?”

"If you're worried about having no one to cook or clean at home, you can use your salary to hire a cleaner and a cook, which also creates more jobs."

“Spise is mostly women, and we can’t let this workforce go to waste at home.”

Sam didn't understand most of it, but since the bishop had spoken so seriously, he nodded hesitantly.

Then, Siren looked at Fafnir: "The lack of divine authorization is a big problem, so I will give you more access to medicines. If there is an opportunity in the future, I will give you authorization first."

In his vision, the black-robed priest should be a position hidden among the workers, using divine magic to heal and language to guide people; it is a key position in his grassroots structure.

Unfortunately, the authorization of divine magic requires the [Sacrificial Divine Magic: Key of Heaven] and the [Holy Treatise: Chief Authority of Peter]. He has the memory of the former and can currently organize it, but the latter is not in Speyside—only the Archbishop can hold such a thing.

“I understand,” Fafnir nodded.

Siren looked at him seriously: "Fafner, I'll tell you again, I don't need anyone to guess my thoughts, I don't need anyone to lead the way for me, because I myself am the torch, I will lead everyone forward."

"You don't need to worry that you will no longer benefit from the church as it grows. I will not abandon any of the lambs, nor will I forget everything that each of you has done."

People fell silent for a moment.

“No, Your Excellency,” Fafnir said softly, then suddenly smiled. “I just want to go back, back to where a canary should be.”

(End of this chapter)