Starting with the defeated female knight

But this is her family home.

And within her flowed the blood of glory.

This is also the reason why the other nobles from the original investigation team did not leave.

Even though they regret the current situation in the capital, their regret is not that they shouldn't have pursued industrialization, but rather that they didn't do it well.

"The former empire was a stagnant pool of water that slowly stagnated and stinked. Although it appeared calm on the surface, it was actually rotten inside."

“If you don’t stir this thing up, you’ll never know what’s buried underneath, and if you let it go, it will eventually rot away in silence.”

"Someone has to do something."

If it weren't for Dawn City, if they hadn't seen those things, if they were the kind of nobles with no ambition.

Then they can continue to pretend to be asleep.

But there are no "what ifs" in life. Even if they had to do it all over again, they would make the same choice.

The only difference is that they will learn from this experience and be more careful and cautious.

This story teaches us not to wake up sleeping people unnecessarily.

Because you never know what you might awaken—a sleeping lion.

[It's a massive district that's been lying in a toilet for hundreds of years.]

Illusion ignored Green's complaints, and after looking out the window for a while while holding onto the glass, she suddenly spoke.

"But you can handle all of that, right?"

"You might even be able to end all of this right now, if you wanted to, right?"

no answer.

When she turned around, she found that the tentacles had somehow wrapped around the little maid again and were playing with her, seemingly not hearing her words at all.

But that in itself is an answer.

Meanwhile, the church.

"Some bugs sneaked in during the chaos."

The elder nun picked up her teacup and blew on it.

"Green."

【I know】

The tentacles swayed slightly.

But it's alright, let Him do what He wants. I roughly know what He wants.

"Are you very familiar with Him?"

Although it's just an avatar, it's been staying with me for several months now.

I'd been wondering what she was up to, so I'd been waiting.

Now that I know, I have a general idea of ​​what to do.

"Is it the incarnation of a little girl?"

What does that have to do with anything?

"Just say it or not."

【Yes】

"Oh, then I'm relieved."

Seeing the nun begin to sip her tea, the tentacles twitched in dissatisfaction.

[Damn it, I haven't even asked you why you're so concerned about the bugs sneaking in here, and you're already insulting me, huh?]

"You're bound to bring this up sooner or later anyway."

【hehe】

After their usual banter, the tentacles turned and looked out towards the church.

As it turns out, not all forces were caught up in that storm.

Although they were initially very vocal in their criticism, the church quieted down when they saw that something serious had actually happened. In fact, as the situation became increasingly tense, they even showed signs of trying to act as peacemakers.

"Oh, it's just a product, we can just lower the price..."

"Don't get agitated, don't get agitated. Let's sit down and talk things over..."

"What do you mean we're not in a hurry since we haven't lost money? We also..."

As it turns out, peacemakers are useless.

Not to mention that the church's position itself is not very solid. They were excluded before, and when they saw them making money, they cursed them fiercely and caused no less trouble.

Now, when I tried to act as a rational and objective person, not only did it not work, but I was also attacked by several sides.

But it's not just about being scolded.

Because they did not participate in the earlier industrialization and because of their conservative tendencies, the church's internal industries have not changed much.

Furthermore, because many abandoned farmlands in other places were purchased by the church at low prices, this year's harvest has even increased significantly.

Logically, with such a significant increase in food production, coupled with the impact of industrialization, the church should have made a fortune, but...

"...Check your share and collect yours."

"The rest should be sent to the appropriate places, and those that have already been distributed should be distributed."

"Even if you're just passing through, don't smoke too much, or a lot of people will die."

Yes, the church is corrupt, decadent, and promotes certain practices, even allowing the poor in the capital to freeze to death in winter.

But faith and miracles have firmly anchored their moral bottom line.

When faced with ordinary losses, they can certainly sit idly by, speak shamelessly, and even find excuses to circumvent certain of their actions.

But there are some things that you can't get around no matter what.

Especially in winter, John built that series of chapels.

Although it may seem like he was just helping some poor people get through the winter, the important point is that he brought these usually pampered members of the Imperial Capital Church into contact with the poor.

Through various forms of help and guidance, they came to realize that the poor are not as scum as the bloodline theory suggests.

They are people too, with thoughts and feelings, and most of them even know how to be grateful.

Humans are capable of empathy.

Other forces may not be apparent yet, but how can the clergy resonate with miracles if they don't have them?

Furthermore, given that the church's very existence was based on puddles where dew gathered, it was even less likely that they would stand idly by and let the common people die.

Oppose factories, condemn nobles, distribute food...

It's hard to imagine, given that both nobles and mages have performed terribly.

On the contrary, the church, which knows nothing, is too lazy to care about anything, and relies solely on superstition for its livelihood, is the most human-like.

At the same time, it preserved that last glimmer of hope.

In fact, it seems that with their actions, the seed called faith and miracle is still expanding and showing signs of sprouting.

However, this thing also has significant limitations.

For example, they oppose education and rational thinking, and when faced with significant changes, they naturally tend to be conservative...

This stuff can provide a safety net, but it doesn't cure the root cause, and might even trap you in a vicious cycle.

I wasn't implying anything; yours doesn't even qualify as reincarnation.

[They just freeze the body with ice; if it doesn't rot, they assume it's not dead.]

Hey, hey, hey, let's talk this out, don't hit me—

Therefore, faith and the seeds of miracles alone are not enough.

So, in that underground nest where tentacles wriggle, in that place where many children disappear and reappear.

Something is still going on today.

Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle.

It was covered with wriggling tentacles, which formed a dense fleshy wall and were also covered with mucus.

Five or six petite figures were fixed on it, as if swallowed up, with only their faces and half of their bodies exposed.

They all had their heads down, their eyes unfocused, their bodies relaxed, as if their souls had been ripped out. They could only repeat words like "good child," "obedient," and "so comfortable."

If you look closely, you can even see that their bellies bulge from time to time, as if something is moving inside.

Is it weird? Yes, it is.

Even more strangely, halfway through all of this, a group of the same children came running over chattering. When they looked up at them, they were not afraid at all, but even showed an expression of envy.

"When will it be my turn...?"

"I want one too..."

"Waaaaah, my modification was done during PE class, what a waste of a class..."

I've said it several times: don't go into the modification room unless it's absolutely necessary.

Several tentacles swam over and wrapped themselves around them in a rather unpleasant manner.

[And he was shouting as he ran, "Each of you will have to do an extra homework assignment today!"]

"Hey--"

The chatter turned into wailing.

Then, after a while, when the surgeries on the wall were completed, the patients were lowered down, and the anesthesia wore off.

They looked at each other, then clenched their fists slightly, feeling the surging power within them, and both showed expressions of excitement and surprise.

After several months of development, Green's 'pseudo-bloodline' modification surgery has been further enhanced.

Although they cannot escape the limitation of being of the same bloodline, if they can obtain materials from multiple people of the same bloodline, they can make unique enhancements and modifications based on the advantages of each of them, and finally create a 'pseudo-bloodline' that combines multiple advantages and is even stronger than the regular bloodline.

There's no reason why a fake can't beat the real thing.

Seeing the power those children had gained, Kona, who had only recently joined and was the older sister Jessie had previously thrown in, showed an envious expression.

"My lord, I..."

It's okay, as long as you perform well, it will be your turn.

The tentacle gently brushed against her cheek, causing her face to flush slightly.

Seeing this, Jessie, who was hugging the tentacle and acting cute on the other side, laughed. She approached and, while touching the tentacle in her arms, spoke.

"My older sister has become a good girl too."

"I didn't, I just..."

"Really not? Your expression, and your body language..."

"Nonsense, nonsense—"

Alright, it's time.

The tentacle checked the time, and before they could finish speaking, it wrapped one of their tentacles around each of them and threw them into a certain place.

Splat, splat, splat.

Heaps of former waste products, former deformed children, and former nobles were thrown into the same room.

Arrange yourselves in order, sit down, and raise your heads.

A tentacle wearing glasses, with a twig wrapped around its tip as a pointer, emerged from the front.

After tapping the blackboard-like object with a twig, it began to swing.

This lesson is about economics. In light of the current situation, I'll talk about supply and demand and market behavior...