Chapter 33: Chapter 33 - Sin (1)
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After concluding the meeting with the Archbishop, I promptly boarded a carriage heading north. In the rattling carriage, during the little time remaining until I reached my destination, I leaned against the window and thought for a moment about the plot of the original story.
Most events in the original story predominantly occurred within the Empire, resulting in the grim internal affairs of the Holy Kingdom being only briefly mentioned through the words of the Saintess. This trend persisted throughout the original story, but when the newest story, the war with the demons, ended and a new episode began, the focus of the story suddenly shifted to the Holy Kingdom.
As the humans' corruption continued to escalate, the gods could no longer bear it and became enraged. Ultimately, they took away all the holy power from the humans, including the power of the priests and the light of the Holy Sword. This was the ending of the last episode I saw.
However, unlike other events where my knowledge of the original work allowed me to devise solutions, this particular situation left me at a loss.
The story of the Holy Kingdom was the latest episode, but I died while I was just starting to read that part. It was an insurmountable situation regardless of who attempted to address it physically.
The issue was that it wasn't a circumstance I could simply ignore.
Without holy power, it was impossible to purify mana, and there would be a great deal of difficulty in dealing with cults and demon worshipers who were growing in power from all over the place, and the demons they summon.
Although a truce was signed with the Demon King, not a small number of demons still caused trouble, and there was even a mention that there was suspicious movement towards the Empire from the western kingdoms in the last episode.
Normally, I wouldn't have been able to remember such detailed information, but after I acquired the tome of Intelligence enhancement in the Demon World, my memory improved slightly, so I was able to benefit from it.
In any case, a total impasse would unfold in the future, and for me, who wanted a peaceful life, this was an obstacle that had to be resolved somehow.
It was somewhat fortunate that the Holy Kingdom's affairs had little relevance to the protagonist's party throughout the entire original storyline. This implied ample room for my intervention. Although this was an event far in the future, I hadn't read the original work afterward, allowing me some discretion in how events unfolded. My conclusion was to prevent the gods from reclaiming holy power to some extent and mitigate the Holy Kingdom's corruption. It seemed like a reasonable approach.
And the tool I chose for this intervention was Archbishop Timothy of Westford.
As the Archbishop was a subject of both the Holy Kingdom and the Empire, he was occasionally mentioned in the original work, and whenever his name appeared, the portrayal of his upright and good character was always emphasized.
And since there was no apparent connection to the protagonist of the original work, he appeared to be the best option for intervening in the Holy Kingdom.
I was worried for a while, wondering what to do if there was a side to him that was not mentioned in the original work that was different from the outside and inside, but after seeing him in person, I concluded that fortunately he was not that kind of person.
And in fact, even if he was an evil person, there was no other way. I couldn't think of anything else, so I had to give up cleanly at that time...
In any case, the task of recruiting the Archbishop with the bait of the relics was carried out very smoothly, and eventually it was successful.
Of the three relics, the Staff of Purity was stored in the warehouse of my home because it had a place to use later, but the other two were not very useful to me, so I didn't suffer much loss.
As a bonus, I have established a close relationship with the Archbishop, so I have created an opportunity for me to intervene directly through him if necessary.
To conclude, in many ways, this visit to Westford could be said to have been a success in its own way.
"Master, we have arrived. This is Drakton."
When I heard the coachman knock on the door, I awoke from my deep thoughts.
When I opened the window and gazed outside, I could see the scenery of a very prosperous city full of splendid buildings.
This was Drakton, the last destination I set before returning to the academy.
* * * * *
Drakton was an area situated somewhere between Westford and the Academy, and what made it unique was its political system as a free city, distinct from the typical territories governed by lords in this era.
And because of its nature, it had firmly established itself as a hub for trade routes connecting the Western Kingdoms and the Empire, flourishing in commerce. Naturally, my reason for being here was to earn money.
After asking the passers-by, I arrived at a splendid multi-story building located at the heart of the city.
As I passed through the front door and entered the inside of the building, a red-haired woman wearing a neat dress looked at me and approached me.
"Welcome to Baldwin & Malone Trade and Investment Association. I'm Irene, here to assist you. May I inquire about the purpose of your visit?"
"I've come for dividend investment. Excuse me, but could I see the prospectuses of the fellow merchants in this association?"
"Ah! Welcome, investor. I'll guide you to our study. Please come this way."
As soon as I revealed my purpose for visiting as an investor, the employee's face suddenly transformed into a warm and welcoming expression. Following her guidance, I entered an inner reception room.
After being seated, a while later, the staff member returned with an enormous stack of documents. It seemed she brought not only the prospectus I requested but also various documents such as business plans and financial statements from several guilds.
"Well then, I'll be waiting outside. If you need any assistance, just ring the bell next to you. Goodbye."
The employee exited the reception room, leaving me to sift through the pile of documents to find the prospectus. Although I felt sorry for the employee who had brought the heavy load of paperwork, I was unfamiliar with things like business plans and financial statements. My family affairs were usually managed by my father and Hudson, and I hadn't studied anything related to that.
While I did have some knowledge from my past life and could understand simple documents, delving into something substantial would be challenging. The reason I came here was not for serious investment but to confirm the knowledge from the game.
Pulling out the prospectus, I skipped the sections introducing products and focused on the index where the names of the guilds were listed.
"Ah, Horace. Found it. It really exists. Then E... Esmond... here it is, and finally V... Valenos? No, that's not it. Ah, Valentine. That's it. I found them all!"
When I confirmed that the names of the guilds I had seen in the game were still there, a cry of joy escaped from me. Now that I've found these three, I don't need to see any more. I rang the bell next to the desk to call the employee who had left outside.
"Did you find it?"
"I have decided where to invest. 100 gold to Horace. 100 gold for Esmond, and for Valentine... Invest 300 gold. Could you please bring me the contract?"
"Wait, wait a minute... Excuse me, have you checked all the documents?"
Only then, when I saw the employee's flustered expression, did I realize that I had made a mistake.
It is normal for people to spend hours carefully checking the documents, as they are investing their own money.
I got excited when I saw that the things I knew were still there...
The employee looked at my embarrassed expression as if she had known that would happen.
"Phew... I see that you are a young master who doesn't know much about this, but investing is not a game. If you make a mistake, you may not get a single penny back, let alone dividends. So please review the documents carefully."
"I've already checked everything I need to check. I made this decision after careful consideration, so I would like to proceed as is."
The water had already been spilled, and it was honestly a waste of time to spend hours reviewing meaningless documents.
When I insisted, Irene, the employee, shook her head and sighed, "Hah... then, in addition to the investment contract, you will need to sign one more document."
"What kind of document are you talking about?"
"A pledge."
"A pledge?"
"Yes. This is a pledge that, even if the investment fails and you are unable to recover the principal, you will not legally demand any liability or compensation for damages from our side."
"What else can I do? I'll sign it together. Just bring me the investment contract."
When I said that I would gladly write the pledge, the employee seemed to have given up further persuasion. Irene soon brought several documents, and I properly checked the contents and stamped it right away.
"Do a lot of customers come here and make a fuss when their investments fail?" I asked the question to the employee sitting across from me. She had been carefully rechecking the stamped documents, and upon hearing my question, she made a tired expression as if she had had enough.
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