<b>? Preparation (2) ?</b>


    Back in Elia, life was monotonous.


    Waking up at the crack of dawn, Vera would pray in the Grand Temple.


    Afterpleting his daily tasks, he then went to Renee.


    Afterward, when he and Renee finished their tasks, they called it a day and weed the evening.


    …That was what it should have been.


    “What is that?”


    “Your share of work, Sir Vera.”


    Trevor’s young voice.


    Vera felt his mind go nk as he listened to him and looked at the pile of papers he’d been given.


    “…My share?”


    “Yes! Your share, Sir Vera!”


    It didn’t take him long to realize something wasn’t right.


    And rightly so, because the writing on the first page of this stack of papers alone was enough to tell him who it belonged to.


    [List of Repair Bills]


    It was a financial document.


    It was clearly a task Vargo should do.


    Vera asked.


    “What is His Holiness doing?”


    “He’s in the flower garden!”


    Vera’s eyes grew cold.


    To put the current situation in other words… It resembled that.


    ‘He’s avoiding his responsibilities.’


    Vargo had disposed of his work onto him.


    “Damn it…”


    He had been repeatedly singing retirement, retirement, and it appeared that this was what it was all about.


    Vera let out a deep sigh.


    “…How long do I have to finish this?”


    “This afternoon!”


    A clear smile tugged at the corners of Trevor’s mouth.


    Vera had to fight to keep his fists from clenching at the sight.


    ***


    “…So, you did all of that?”


    A look of weariness shed across Renee’s face.


    Her face changed as soon as she heard the reason why Vera waste.


    “I’m sorry. It can’t be put off.”


    “No! It’s okay to bete…!”


    Renee shook her head vigorously.


    Then she hugged Vera tightly, feeling sorry for him as she heard his weak voice.


    “Ch-cheer up.”


    She said that while giving him a pat on the back.


    Vera found himself feelingforted by it, and then realized that it was somewhat pathetic.


    ***


    Renee thought.


    “Is there anything I can do to help him?”


    She wanted to help Vera and to share some of his burden.


    Theresa smiled at Renee’s words and replied.


    “How sweet of you.”


    There was nothing more beautiful than seeing someone sincerely care for their loved one.


    Renee surely had her own tasks, but from the perspective of an observer, the way she thought of her significant other before such matters made Theresa feel proud.


    A flush of color washed over Renee’s face.


    “Well… I just want to share his burden.”


    “Yes, I understand your feelings. However, if I may offer a piece of advice, why don’t you motivate him so that he can ovee it rather than sharing the work itself?”


    “Motivate?”


    “Yes, like offering encouragement.”


    “Mmm…”


    Renee’s head tilted.


    She wondered what she could do to cheer Vera up.


    <b><i> What could she do to motivate Vera?</i></b>


    As she continued her thoughts, Renee remembered one thing she had forgotten.


    “…That reminds me.”


    “Hmm?”


    “It’s autumn now.”


    Autumn.


    There was an eventing at this time of year.


    “It’s Vera’s birthday.”


    “Oh, that’s great.”


    “Yes, this is it…!”


    In the garden of the Grand Temple where the sun shone warmly.


    There, ns Vera would never expect were gradually made.


    ***


    Although he spoke weakly in front of Renee, Vera was well acquainted with administrative work.


    He was the continent’s King of the Underworld.


    Vera had worked,manding some of the worst people in the world, people who didn’t understand what they were talking about, and even worse, those who wanted to stab him in the back.


    So, it was not difficult for him to manage Elia, which was only the size of a castle.


    Except for the fact that there was something about Elia that made Vera feel even more burdened than before, and so, Vera looked at Rohan with a weary face even today.


    “…So you embezzled public funds.”


    “Well….”


    Rohan’s eyes rolled around.


    The corners of his mouth curled up awkwardly.


    “To top it off, a receipt came from a nearby city.”


    “Mmm….”


    “Is the stolen money not enough?”


    Could it be any more obvious?


    The Apostles.


    They themselves were the problem.


    Rohan, who casuallymitted embezzlement, a felony of the highest order, and used the money to entertain himself.


    The twins, who pounded on the gates like punching bags when they were supposed to guard the it.


    Marie, who snuck into the dining hall whenever she had the chance and cooked up some bizarre dishes, and Trevor, who caused constant explosions during his strange experiments.


    Half of the Apostles were enemies of budget management.


    “…Fill it in.”


    “Yep….”


    Rohan walked away, and Vera sighed.


    He began to understand why Vargo had beenining so much.


    ‘These Apostles…’


    If another priest or pdin had done this, they would have been held ountable.


    Or, to put it another way, they would be forced to leave Elia and never allowed to return again.


    However, ‘out of all possible things’, they just had to be Apostles.


    Representatives of the Gods themselves.


    A finite resource for which there was no substitute if kicked out.


    Apparently, the level of punishment that could be imposed on them was limited, and the Apostles were bing increasingly desensitized to their sinfulness.


    Action needed to be taken.


    Vargo definitely designated some punishment for them, but it wasn’t enough.


    ‘New wine must be put into new wineskins.’¹T/N: Biblical Idiom: Jesus said, “New wine must be put into new wineskins” (Luke 5:38) oh my, vera is jesus christ?


    <b><i> There will be no disobedience in my Holy Kingdom.</i></b>


    Vera thought, his eyes burning cold.


    ***


    [Penalty System.]


    The impact of the system that Vera had designed and Vargo had approved, which resembled something from an elementary school, was immediate.


    In the middle of his office, Vera looked at Rohan and Trevor with glee.


    “Going to the dispatch empty-handed?! How could you! What should I eat then?! Where should I sleep?!”


    “F-for the experiments as well! They’re clearly experiments for the public good! They’re experiments for cultivating nearby crops! How can you restrict that!?”


    They were the first two toe running as soon as the announcement was made.


    Behind them, the twins who had been dragged along muttered in a daze.


    “Guarding the gates. Boring.”


    “Right. I’m itching. We have to do something.”


    They were desperate pleas to undo the announcement.


    However, Vera was not the one to give in.


    “I clearly stated, ‘In the event of a breach of thew, we will levy fines and make corresponding budget reductions.’ So as long as you follow the rules, you don’t have anything to worry about, right?”


    The four people tensed up.


    Vera red at them and then added.


    “Or were you intending to continue to do things that are against thew?”


    “N-no, I mean…”


    The rolling eyes of Rohan spoke.


    Without this move, he would have embezzled public funds again.


    “Th-the experiment….”


    “I’ve mentioned to submit your ns in advance.”


    “…”


    Trevor’s grim face was telling the same thing.


    “Protecting the gates. Boring.”


    “Right. You have to let us do something.”


    “I’ll bring you some scarecrows for training.”


    “Vera is smart.”


    “Right. Vera is the big brother.”


    The twins were easy to coax.


    In fact, they also had issues with the nightlife, but Vera did not stop it.


    The twins’ nightlife was done on their own budget, and he already knew that restricting them from doing such trivial things would make them work less efficiently.


    “All right. That’s it for now. Everyone, get back to work.”


    Rohan and Trevor staggered out.


    And the twins still seemingly had no mind.


    Vera looked at them go, ready to face his true enemy now.


    Norn, who was waiting outside the door, announced.


    “Sir, Lady Marie is here.”


    Vera’s face tensed up.


    “…Lead her in.”


    A senior that Vera found ufortable.


    The disaster scattering the entire kingdom with bizarre dishes that only Renee would enjoy.


    Vera would have to deal with her now.


    ***


    A half victory.


    Still, Vera overcame it.


    ‘I stopped her.’


    He stopped Marie from entering the kitchen after an epic battle that could not bepared to the previous four.


    In fact, it was merely about entering the dining hall.


    Moreover, it was just about normal cooking.


    There was no reason to stop it.


    It took a lot of persuasion and begging to stop her.


    <i> — The babies are too fragile…</i>


    <i> — Everyone has their work to do, right? Besides, if you cook, those people will lose their jobs.</i>


    <i> — Well, that is true…</i>


    <i> — I believe there is a request for you to look after the farming in a nearby vige. Have you taken care of that?</i>


    <i> — …</i>


    The way to get through was to mention Marie’s dereliction of duty.


    There were dozens of viges near Elia, each made up of folk who wanted to get a closer look at God’s grace.


    Simply taking a look at them periodically would keep Marie’s mind off the cooking.


    He couldn’tpletely block the source, but Vera’s trick significantly reduced the number of incidents.


    ‘I can be at ease now.’


    He didn’t have to worry about wasted public funds anymore.


    The work he had to do had been reduced by half.


    Vera looked at the remaining tasks.


    Appeals from all corners of Elia, and the dispatch requests paperwork, which was left behind by Vargo, who was starting to withdraw from the job altogether.


    Finally, the management of the pdins, which was essentially his job.


    ‘I’ll be done in three days.’


    Although the workload would pile up again in a few days, Vera was happy nheless.


    Once he took care of this, he would be able to spend a few days with Renee.


    …For Vera, whose sole purpose in taking on the task was to spend time with Renee, he couldn’t have been happier.


    ***


    He thought his job was done.


    Vera thought it was only the four individuals who were causing trouble.


    It was a mistake on his part.


    “…What’s this all about?”


    In a corner of the Grand Temple.


    In ab that was designated for Jenny.


    There, Vera, wearing a forlorn face, looked at theb that had turned into a mess.


    Jenny, standing next to him, also looked deste, having gone through the hardships of life.


    In Jenny’s arms, Annalise shouted, still looking proud despite the mess.


    [What, can’t you tell? It’s research.]


    What kind of research would turn the room into this kind of charred rubble?


    Why were all the equipment broken into pieces?


    He pondered for a moment.


    Vera’s gaze flicked to Miller, who was making an apologetic face.


    “Well… We were fighting to decide about whether to teach magic or sorcery and decided to leave the choice to the kid. So, after demonstrating this and that…”


    That was the conclusion.


    The room of the innocent Jenny was sacrificed to Annalise and Miller’s useless fight for pride.


    Suddenly, it urred to Vera that Jenny might be the one person in Elia who was suffering more than he was.


    He let out a spontaneous sigh.


    The back of his neck became taut with fatigue.


    Suddenly, Vera felt an aversion to sorcery and magic taking ce inside him.


    This was why all the researchers he had encountered so far seemed to have something wrong with them.


    Vera stared nkly for a moment, unable to find the right words, then soon tapped Jenny on the shoulder and spoke.


    “…Do whatever you like. And if you think it’s wrong, stop it as you see fit. I’ll take care of the rest.”


    Jenny nodded.


    The heavy, dark circles dangled under her eyes quite pitifully.


    “…I don’t want to do anything.”


    Jenny just wanted to rest.


    Footnotes:<ul><li>1T/N: Biblical Idiom: Jesus said, “New wine must be put into new wineskins” (Luke 5:38) oh my, vera is jesus christ?</li></ul>