Three days after the return of King Hasse I to the capital.


    By order of the king, a decree was issued prohibiting the activities of the five temples affiliated with the Cathedral of Orszent in the capital.


    Soldiers came to the temples with a copy of the decree, and they drove the congregation and priests inside out and sealed the doors. The time when the ban will be lifted has not yet been decided.


    This was not my idea, by the way, but the king Hasse told me to do it. I was the one who fought him directly, and he told me that he was going to do it.


    It was a simple retaliation against the cathedralists, but they were smart enough not to destroy the temple. If we had tried to eliminate the cathedralists, they might have rallied and tried to fight another war.


    Then who knows what would happen in the next battle. The cathedrals will ask for help from the former royalists regardless of what they can do.


    At this point, there is no merit in making them enter into such a fateful battle. We should leave them alone.


    I told them that this prohibition is enough.


    Hasse said, "To tell you the truth, I wanted to destroy a temple or two, but I decided not to because of the chaos in the capital.


    I said, "You''re right, sir." I set the tone.


    A radical move always creates a strong backlash. Yet, my power is not strong enough to hold off the backlash without problems.


    I will clash with the cathedral, but if I win then, so be it.


    Ten days after the triumph, a messenger from the Cathedral of Orcendent came to the capital to apologize for having defied the king and to plead for the release of the cathedralist temple. I was to appear here myself.


    I left the questioning to Kerala and Jahnhahn. I added Jahnharn because I thought he would make the occasion more relaxed. This dragoness, who knows a lot about tea ceremonies, is usually easygoing. She does not seem to be a very successful merchant.


    "Then, why did the cathedral side cause this battle?


    I told Jahnhahn to speak more slowly than usual.


    "Well, that''s ...... because there were a number of lords whom the regent had attacked who were followers of our teachings, and we were trying to save them. ......"


    They can''t say it''s to protect the city or tax interests either. It''s a safe bet.


    "I see. But all of the lords that the regents have attacked have been ignored by the state in their letters of impeachment and surrender requests, so it looks like they have defied reason~, what does this mean?　If you save a believer even if he disobeys reason, isn''t there any justice in that?"


    Jahnhahn seems laid back and knows exactly where to make his points. A big businessman is a professional negotiator.


    "No, ...... it''s never like that, ......"


    "If you are cheering for the unreasonable, it means that you are not doing anything to meet justice, right?　You came here to apologize because you lost, but there is no remorse for your actions. Is that correct?


    "No, sir, no. ....... It was ...... that the lords were wrong, but I thought the charges against them were too harsh, so I tried to mitigate them. ......"


    The messenger was also blamed for the incident, and he was flabbergasted.


    Jahnhahn, you''ll be very useful.


    "I see. I understand that part.


    The messenger looks relieved.


    "But," said the messenger, "after I looked into it, it seems to me that Mr. Cathedral started his army for the sake of income. Does it mean that money is more important than faith?


    Jahnhahn produced some documents. It was as if he was trying to scare the enemy into submission. This must be very difficult for the enemy.


    "That''s not possible. ......"


    "I can''t help but think that your High Priest Kamito has a vested interest in the prayers he performs in a certain city and the amount of money he offers for them.


    "No, I''m sure the city''s faith is so strong that they just gave away a lot ......"


    After that, the messenger was still sweating coldly as he made his defense. This was due to the fact that Jahnhahn had collected more data than we had imagined, and asked questions without flinching at anything that he thought was unnatural. Yet, while listening to his defense, Jahnhahn often yawned.


    The messengers have to say that what they fought for was wrong, while expressing that their faith was not wrong. It is a kind of double standard, but that is what they have to say. They can never say that they do not care about their faith.


    Jahnhahn is getting into the middle of such an obvious thing.


    Somehow the conversation has turned into a theological debate. It turns out that Jahnhahn is quite familiar with scriptures as well. A number of specific names jumped out.


    "-- So, what the Cathedral of Orsent is saying would be considered heresy, wouldn''t it?　I don''t think it''s heresy, but rather a contradiction of the original teachings.


    "That''s not true. ....... For example, ...... there is a scripture that I''ve forgotten a little bit ......"


    --Oh, I remember I gave a monk of some sect a hard time. I wonder if this is also called a "Dharma disaster".


    I wonder if Oda Nobunaga has done something like this too.


    --He had a special place for it. I''ve never heard of him telling such a story to someone who came to apologize.


    I guess that''s just part of Jahnhahn''s character.


    --It''s good for the High King to see the boy in anguish. The priests are liars! On the other hand, the woman with the dragon horns is honest. I don''t know if there really is a God, but if there is, he will let the honest ones win.


    I see. That''s true. Justice is ours.


    The messenger''s plea was accepted and the Cathedral of Orcendent paid compensation to the king and withdrew from quite a few cities.


    I can finally say that I will be able to extend my power to the periphery of the capital.