Episode 218: Did you like the donation? (4)
Porisco went straight to his office and wrote out Piote’s transfer order.
“The confirmation of the diocese requires a general assembly and the permission of the archbishop, so I cannot make a decision right away. However, I can send Piote, so I will write it down first.”
“Please write without disturbing others as much as possible. Father Piote can write freely.”
“It is a permanent missionary assignment, so Father Piote can stay there as long as he wants.”
Now Fiote was free to be in Fenris territory. Usually, a permanent mission like this would grant him a lot of freedom.
Although the church could later order a forced summons or transfer, it now had the justification to refuse if it wished.
“Well, isn’t it all done now? We’ve got Fiote and the holy relics. Let’s move on to finish the revelation.”
As Porisco was quietly trying to wrap things up, Jiselle took out a contract from her bosom.
“Will you write down what has happened so far in your own handwriting? And stamp the bishop’s seal yourself?”
‘Ha, this dragon-led bastard.’
The contract came out right from your arms? That means you planned it from the beginning.
Porisco glanced at Jiselle and began writing a very complicated and detailed contract.
Jiselle, who received it, tilted her head as she read it.
“… … Help us always to follow the path of the Goddess Juana, the Creator of this world and the Mother of us all, who guides us with kindness and mercy. We entrust all our needs to you… … . Are you kidding me, now?”
“Oh, no. But I am a bishop, so I write the prayer first… … .”
“Oh, okay. Just write down the facts clearly.”
“Oh, really? Was it too long? Then I’ll write a new one… … .”
“No, I think it’s better to just write it the way I say it.”
Jiselle immediately tore up the contract and took a new one out of her bosom.
Contracts usually have authentication and preservation magic like the letter of credit above. That’s why they’re so expensive.
That kind of thing just comes out of my arms without any problem.
‘What! Why are you carrying around so many contracts! Who are you? Are you a loan shark?’
Porisco looked at Jiselle with a dumbfounded expression. Looking closely, it seemed like there were many other people involved besides himself.
I tried to mix up the prayers to make the interpretation more complicated, but I failed. I tried to find a way out, but the other person was too meticulous.
“Now, please write it down. I, Bishop Porisco of the Order of Juana, received food aid from Baron Fenris… … . In return… … .”
With tears in his eyes, Porisco wrote the contract as Giselle dictated and stamped his seal on it.
Now, the weakness has been definitely discovered.
‘Ugh, we’ll just have to wait and see. When I become Archbishop, I’ll definitely get that back and tear it apart!’
The contract stated that Porisco had received support from Giselle, and in return, he had given her a holy relic. The holy relic, which was the evidence, was in Giselle’s hands, so she could not take it or leave it.
Porisco gritted his teeth and said as he roughly handed over the contract.
“Let’s get started quickly. We need to solidify public opinion before the general assembly begins. The archbishop must have heard the rumors, so he won’t stay still.”
“Don’t worry. I have another expert in that area under me. Oh, before that, I have some advice for you.”
“Advice? What advice?”
“I’m talking about the wealth I’ve accumulated through bribery. The Archbishop will definitely be after it, and if he does something wrong, it could cause problems.”
“Uh, uhm… … .”
Certainly. He must have hidden it in a secret vault, but the Archbishop must have known about it. He must have figured it out for such an important moment and pretended not to know about it.
I had to deal with it, but I was worried about how to do it. It was an asset I had worked hard to accumulate while being cursed at all my life. I absolutely did not want it to be taken away.
“Then what should we do?”
“Just give it to me.”
“You want that… …? That much wealth?”
“If you keep it, you’ll probably get caught by the Archbishop. The excuse the Bishop is giving now is ‘I received a revelation, worked hard to accumulate wealth, and used it to buy food’… … If you get caught, how can you handle it? You’ll definitely get hit back.”
‘You were the one who created that excuse!’
Now that I look at it, the justification is also very suspicious. But it’s already spilled milk, so it’s a waste of time to investigate.
“But it’s a fortune I’ve worked hard to build my entire life… … .”
“Why are priests so greedy? Doesn’t that go against the doctrine?”
“… … If I get caught, I can call it food money, and if I don’t get caught, can I keep it? Or I can move it to another place… … .”
It was the best method for Porisco. As expected, he’s really smart in that regard.
But that is only possible if Giselle agrees.
“Even if you move to another place, if you get caught with what you had, it will end up giving you an excuse. If you’re going to do it anyway, it’s better to do it cleanly. If you hand it over to me, I’ll package it well and raise your reputation even higher.”
“Ugh… … .”
Although it is a bit suspicious, what Giselle said is not wrong.
It takes more time and effort to explain things after they happen than to prevent them before they happen. Dealing with it cleanly is the safest way.
The priority now is to save lives and secure his position. In the end, Porisco held his heart that was breaking and handed over the key to the secret storage.
‘Could it be that I’m joining hands with the devil?’
Although he had a bad feeling about something, Porisco shook his head and tried to shake the thought off.
‘I just need to get through the crisis that is now upon me. Once I ascend to the position of Archbishop, I will have the chance to get everything back.’
Then we can figure out a way to deal with this little bastard. So for now, we need to maintain a good partnership.
“Ahem, let’s get started quickly. We have to make sure we do this cleanly.”
“Don’t worry. Just wait a moment and we’ll take care of it right away.”
Jiselle smiled and put the key to the secret storage in her bosom.
The two people developed a close(?) friendship to the point where they even shared a secret storage room.
As soon as Lowell received the order from Giselle, he immediately looted the warehouse of Porisco and released the food again, fabricating rumors.
Not only the name of Porisco, but also the name of Giselle began to spread widely in the capital.
The two even set up a show to distribute food in the capital’s main square.
“Bishop Porisco!”
“It’s Baron Fenris!”
The two smiled brightly and held each other’s hands, raising them high.
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“The Goddess is looking down on you through me and Baron Fenris! It is all the Goddess’s will!”
As Porisco shouted loudly, the people became even more excited.
“Wow! These are the ones who have received the revelation from the goddess.”
“Saint Porisco!”
“Saint Baron Fenris!”
The royal family, the Marquis of Branford, and the Earls of Aylesburg also released some food in an attempt to appease the people.
However, in a situation where there was a conflict with the Duke, it was impossible to solve it to the extent that the people were satisfied. Even if the capital was a logistics center, there was no way that food that did not exist could suddenly appear.
In the midst of all this, Jiselle started to spread food like crazy, so chaos was bound to break out. And she even heard the ridiculous excuse of a ‘revelation’ from the goddess.
Even… … that worked out really well.
“Bishop Porisko received a revelation and informed Baron Fenris!”
“That’s why Baron Fenris collected so much food!”
“How did you believe that? Because Baron Fenris also received the revelation!”
“Of course you will win the war! Why? Because the goddess is looking after you!”
Lowell’s planted spies occasionally incited others.
All the mysteries have been solved. The basis for why Baron Fenris gathered so much food has been established.
The truth didn’t matter anymore. In tough times, people needed something to lean on.
Priests who carried out the will of God and nobles who received the protection of God provided food and solved difficulties.
What could be more trustworthy than this?
The popularity of these two people could only rise to the sky.
Of course, the thoughts of the people who were smiling, holding hands and putting on a ‘show’ were completely different.
‘This little noble bastard… … . How am I going to get rid of him later? Still, it’s good to be popular. Things have been going really well thanks to him… … . Ugh! No! Let’s not think about it anymore!’
‘It worked better than expected. By the way, what should I eat for dinner? Is there anything delicious?’
Unlike Porisco, who had a complicated mind, Jiselle had no worries.
If civil war and chaos come, the contracts we have written down now will be meaningless. Whether it be the sect or the magic tower, we will have no choice but to follow the strong.
If I could just squeeze out everything I could get until then, that would be enough.
* * *
When this situation came to pass, the Archbishop of the Order of Juana was very embarrassed.
After eliminating Porisco and reducing the opposition’s power, he intended to put forward his chosen successor.
However, since Porisco’s popularity grew to the point where rumors of him being a saint began to spread, it became difficult to touch him.
“Oh, hurry! Hurry and raid Bishop Porisco’s storehouse! There must be a pile of wealth there, amassed from exploiting people and taking bribes! There must be ledgers too!”
The Archbishop had already figured out the secret warehouse of Porisco.
Originally, I had planned to use it to solidify my victory by laying down a more solid board, but now was not the time to save it. If just a little more time passed, I wouldn’t be able to touch it at all.
It would have been best to reveal the weakness and break the momentum even now.
The Knights Templar, under the orders of the Archbishop, raided the warehouses of Porisco.
They stopped walking in surprise when they saw inside the warehouse.
“T, this can’t be happening… … .”
There was no gold or silver treasure in the warehouse. There were only old scriptures, priestly vestments, prayer books, and communion utensils neatly arranged.
To anyone who saw it, it was a storehouse of very clean and upright priests who could serve as an example to others.
It was certainly surprising that this sight was so contrary to what they had expected, but that was not why they were surprised.
It was because of a single phrase written in large letters on the wall of the warehouse.
[The Goddess already knew that you would come here under the orders of the evil Archbishop. Do you really want to fall into the fires of hell?]
It was a phrase that seemed to say that he knew everything. He was indeed a priest who had received revelations from the goddess.
Behind the temple knights who were trembling at the astonishing sight, Polysco appeared with Giselle.
“Do you know the truth now?”
At the majestic words of Porisco, the temple knights threw away their weapons and knelt.
“Ah, Bishop Porisco… … .”
“Please forgive our impious sins.”
“Until now I have been deluded and followed the archbishop.”
The temple knights began to make confessions with tears in their eyes.
Looking at that sight, Porisco nodded with a kind smile.
“I forgive your sins.”
The temple knights cried even more at the sight. This man was real. They had been calling him a greedy pig without recognizing him as a real saint.
In the name of God, loyalty to the Archbishop was of no use, since the Temple Knights were basically men who prioritized faith over personal beliefs.
The fear that if they turned away from such a miracle before their eyes, they would be condemned to hellfire also played a role in changing their minds.
Looking at the sight of those temple knights, Porisco sighed.
‘Phew, if I hadn’t cleaned it up quickly, I would’ve been screwed. I’m glad I listened to that kid. Man, this kid’s smart.’
Since he had already decided to hand everything over to Jiselle, Porisco came up with a plan.
If the Archbishop were to attack soon, I thought I might as well take advantage of it.
Looking at such a police officer, Jiselle laughed.
‘Look at this? As expected, he hasn’t just survived until now. He didn’t rise to the rank of bishop for nothing with such greed.’
Instead of giving up because Jiselle had stolen his fortune, he used it to his advantage in some way. He was definitely not an ordinary guy.
I’d rather have this kind of blatant guy. I thought I could get away with a lot of things in the future if I used the right amount of carrots and sticks.
The effect was clear. Starting with the temple knights, the rumor began to spread like crazy.
As the rumor spread, Porisco’s prestige rose further and further, and no one in the church could treat him lightly. Porisco became even more arrogant.
Ultimately, this incident completely reversed the positions of the Archbishop and Porisco.
At the general meeting, Porisco scratched his stomach and spoke with an arrogant expression.
“Your Majesty, you have made a big mistake. No matter what, you sent knights to suspect me, a pure and upright man. Tsk tsk tsk, if the goddess hadn’t told me, I would have been in big trouble.”
“… … .”
The archbishop had nothing to say.
I know that all this is nonsense. I’ve known Porisco for more than a year or two.
It’s just that I fell for that guy’s trick because my timing was late. Heaven knows that, the earth knows that, and all the bishops here know that.
But that’s the way politics is. If an attack fails, it becomes an excuse for the enemy.
The archbishop first offered an apology to try to resolve the situation.
“I’m sorry. I… … I think I made a mistake. I received a false report and… … .”
“Huh! Does that make sense? You’re just trying to frame me!”
“Oh, no… … I really got the wrong tip… … .”
“That’s a cowardly excuse!”
The archbishop was left with a cold sweat under the continued pressure from Porisco.
While he was at it, Porisco tried to push for the recognition of saints. This is something that should be pushed forward when the momentum is high.
“You must have heard the rumors. I think he could be called a saint. Would you like to vote?”
Porisco said with a very shameless attitude, spreading his arms.
But not everything goes as planned. Porisco got the timing right, but he didn’t know how to stop at the right point.
The hall soon became a scene of chaos as the archbishop and his bishops protested violently at his words.
