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Chapter 197

“... Does just seeing a holy sword cause damage to the undead?”

“No, it’s not that... It’s just that its nature is inherently antagonistic to mine...”

When I dismissed Tiamata, Eleris let out a deep sigh of relief, as if the ground had given way beneath her. She explained that while it didn’t cause physical damage, merely looking at it made her feel a deep chill.

“It’s fascinating... how that sword turned out to be Tiamata...”

Eleris seemed quite shocked at the idea that the Holy Sword Tiamata could fall so far and end up in such a state.

“In the end, while it’s a good thing that you’ve become the master of a holy sword, and I want to congratulate you... due to my circumstances...”

“I understand.”

Now that I had become the master of the weapon that was most lethal to her, Eleris seemed a bit frightened.

“Still, thank you for telling me,” Eleris said. She believed my honesty about Tiamata showed that I trusted her.

For quite a while, Eleris and I talked about the differences between the demon gods and the great gods of humanity, and about their divine statuses. In the end, we agreed that the meaning of the great gods varied, and their powers changed depending on what people believed.

Olivia Lanche had altered the usage of Ouen’s Divine Power so that she could also wield the power of the demon god Kier.

“Gods seem to be far stranger beings than we can imagine.”

“Exactly.”

However, this was all because I hadn’t set things up properly from the beginning.

“But I don’t really have a need for it,” I said. “I happened to obtain it by chance.”

By attending classes at the Temple and sparring with Ellen, I had naturally grown stronger. And while the Holy Sword Tiamata was indeed a powerful weapon, it was also a limited one.

I had no reason to fight against the undead for now, and so its power would only be of use to me in its corrupted form. And I would lose my mind if I killed people with the corrupted Tiamata and raised them as undead.

I kept it because it was a good thing to have, and it turned out to be a better item than expected, but having it wasn’t exceptionally beneficial to me.

Eleris pondered my words, pursing her lips in thought.

“At this point, it is more valuable as a symbol than as a weapon,” she said.

“A symbol. You mean its symbolic value as Ouen’s Holy Relic?”

“Yes.”

I had a rough idea of what Eleris meant by this.

“If it were to be revealed that Your Highness is a demon, and it became known that you are the master of Ouen’s Holy Relic Tiamata...”

“Then?”

“The Ouen Church would have to make one of two choices: either deny Tiamata, or acknowledge that even demons can be Ouen’s champions.”

I fully understood what she meant.

The Ouen Church followed the doctrine of purity, and rejected the undead and demons. A demon, particularly the Archdemon who was also the Demon King, was not supposed to be able to become the master of Ouen’s Holy Relic, Tiamata. Yet, the Demon King had become Tiamata’s master.

In such a case, they would have to either claim that the Tiamata I had was a fake, or acknowledge that demons could indeed become Ouen’s champions.

“As you know, however, the high priests would be able to tell at a glance that this is Tiamata. Even if they aren’t fully faithful, they cannot deny the power this sword holds.”

One cannot cover the sky with the palm of their hand.

Denying Tiamata or acknowledging that a demon could become a champion of Ouen were both difficult positions for the church of Ouen to adopt.

“The fact that Your Highness is the master of Tiamata is an issue significant enough to shake the entire faith in the Five Great Gods.”

“... Indeed it would be.”

“I can’t say that the entire church of Ouen would side with Your Highness. However, if such a situation were to arise, Tiamata could become a very powerful means of obtaining political and religious protection.”

Tiamata had more value beyond its use as a weapon.

In the worst-case scenario, revealing that I was Tiamata’s master could potentially lead to me coming under the protection of the church of Ouen.

Of course, there was always the possibility that they might try to eliminate me.

Eleris had provided some alternative uses of Tiamata, at least. She didn’t seem too worried about me becoming Tiamata’s master.

Of course, I wasn’t here just to inform her about the matter of Tiamata.

I was also here to prepare for the upcoming Gate Incident. My preparations for that had to begin in earnest.

As a preliminary preparation, I was constantly training to become stronger myself, but naturally, that wouldn’t be enough.

The Gate Incident was fundamentally an accident. An accident that overtook the human world while it was unprepared.

That was why the resulting casualties would be enormous, and the level of damage so unmanageable that even students of the Temple, who were still just students but of noble status, would be conscripted to fight.

I was the only one who knew the exact timing of this unknown accident.

If we could prepare in advance, the loss of life could be astronomically reduced. The location of the incidents, the circumstances, and the flow of the events—these were known to me.

If anyone within the empire or anyone else knew these things in advance, they would be able to prepare for it, so there was no reason not to do so.

It was obvious that becoming individually stronger wouldn’t suffice. If I could mobilize a large number of people, I could accomplish so much more.

But how could I explain and convince people that I knew about an unprecedented, colossal incident known as the Gate Incident and that we needed to prepare for it?

Indeed, I had the prince and princess by my side who were capable of mobilizing countless legions, but even if they believed my warnings about the Gate Incident, how could I explain why I knew it?

Even revealing my identity as the Demon King wouldn’t suffice as an explanation.

Therefore, for now, the best motivation for mobilizing people was money. I needed an astronomical amount of money, not for wielding economic power over the empire, but to prepare for the Gate Incident.

Money was a means. I wasn’t sure yet what exactly I would be able to do with it or how extensively I could extend my reach, but to prepare for the future, I first needed to amass a colossal amount of money.

The Rotary Club was the primary source.

“How are things on Airi’s side these days?” I asked.

Airi, who was living in the Edina Archipelago and solely focused on acquiring wealth, was the second source.

There was Eleris, Sarkegar, Loyar, the Rotary Club, and the Thieves’ Guild. Along with that, I also had connections with the prince and princess.

Then came Airi in the Edina Archipelago, and her affiliations with the wealthy local figures over there.

I essentially had influence from the imperial family and money from Edina Archipelago,

With these two sources of power, I had to prepare for the Gate Incident.

Eleris tilted her head at my question about Airi’s current situation.

“Well... based on the most recent update, it seems that things have progressed quite a bit since last time.”

“Progressed in what way?”

“With shipowners, money lenders, and local dignitaries. It seems she has built quite a few connections. It’s not so much that she’s become richer on her own. Rather, she is now able to mobilize the people who control capital. It seems she is achieving her intended goals, though...”

Airi was not just amassing money, but also trying to control those who possessed vast capital. I wasn’t sure how she was doing it, but she was getting the desired results. Controlling the people who had access to and could move money wasn’t much different from having a lot of money herself.

Despite this, Eleris seemed somewhat concerned.

“I’m not sure how much money would be enough to shake up the empire’s financial system, but it seems that Her Highness will soon be able to exert significant influence over the Edina Archipelago.”

I had only sent her there to keep her occupied, but Airi had done remarkably well. In less than a year, she had established herself in the capital of the Edina Archipelago and formed numerous connections with local wealthy individuals and those who wielded power.

Eleris’s concern was that Airi was doing her job too well, potentially causing significant disruption in the human world.

“Having a lot of money isn’t a bad thing. They’ll move as I command, and when the time comes, we’ll take appropriate measures,” I said.

“... Is that so?”

Despite my reassurance that I was in control of the situation, Eleris still seemed uneasy.

The money that Airi had amassed would be used slightly differently from how she had originally envisioned it. Despite Eleris’s unease, I would only benefit from Airi’s continued success.

The more means at my disposal, the better.

“How is the Rotary Club doing these days?”

“Oh, the Rotary Club.”

The issue of the Rotary Club was still pending.

The new clubhouse, their new headquarters, had already been completed some time ago, and everyone had shed their ragged appearances and at least somewhat resembled decent people.

After the bizarre incident in which I had been kidnapped by the Thieves’ Guild due to a lack of information sharing, Loyar had been continuously updating Eleris and Sarkegar on the Rotary Club’s situation.

Airi’s progress was too smooth, which was problematic in its own way. However, Eleris’s furrowed brow seemed to imply that there were some issues with the Rotary Club.

“Apparently, the sales are becoming increasingly difficult. There are too many competitors now, and as a result, the passengers on the magic trains are beginning to avoid them more.”

The subway panhandling was getting harder and harder. Of course, I had anticipated that much.

“Of course. I never thought it would be a long-term business.”

“Now that the club members’ standards of living have improved, they need more money. They seem unsure of how to continue running the club. It’s becoming awkward for them to keep asking the Thieves’ Guild for support as well.”

To live like proper people, they needed certain things. Although the club members’ standards of living had improved, the peddling business on the subway was generating less and less income.

I always knew that a different revenue model was needed. It felt ridiculous to talk about a revenue model for begging, but a shift was necessary.

Apparently, Loyar had been under a lot of stress lately. The club members were used to rough living and adapting to whatever came their way, but now they had many burdens, and their heads seemed on the verge of exploding due to the sudden increase in responsibilities.

“How about this?”

“Yes, Your Highness...?”

“We make the business completely legal.”

At the mention of legality, Eleris tilted her head, puzzled. “Pardon me?”

“We turn the peddlers inside the magic trains into legitimate vendors. Make it a permissible business.”

“... Are you suggesting we leverage the power of the prince or princess?”

Currently, selling items inside the magic trains wasn’t illegal. However, since passengers felt inconvenienced by it, it would soon become illegal.

Making it a legal business would solve this issue, but that was something only the prince or princess could do, not me.

“Yes. Instead of just carrying goods around and selling them as they do now, we can get them to set up proper shops.”

My initial idea was to have them selling snacks on push carts, but that would probably never get approved.

Magic trains did not have fixed seating, and having carts running around while passengers tried to stand and move around would undoubtedly cause significant inconvenience.

“Right now, each station where the magic train stops is just a station, with nothing in it. Let’s set up shops there and run our business.”

All stations merely served as boarding gates, and had no shops or facilities. Why leave such valuable spaces empty? It would be so much better to open shops there and sell goods. The stations were places with high foot traffic, and having nothing there was just a wasted opportunity.

We could transition from begging to operating a legitimate business. The permits could be issued by Vertus or the princess. The proposal was unlikely to be rejected, since it had no losses attached to it.

If they refused, we could deal with it then.

“... It certainly sounds like a good idea. But... even if we get the permits, wouldn’t it cost an enormous amount of money to set up stalls or shops at numerous stations?”

Setting up dozens of shops was no small feat. Even with the permits, without money, it would all be for naught.

‘Oh come on, don’t be so naive.’

“Who starts a business with their own money? We get investments. There are plenty of people willing to invest.”

“... Sorry?”

“The empire would be granting us exclusive business rights. It’s a sure-win business with no competition. Why should we use our own money? We should use other people’s money.”

‘Businesses are meant to be funded with other people’s money!’

If this worked out, the government would be granting us a monopoly.

Monopoly.

What a beautiful word.

The Rotary Club finally getting an exclusive business contract with the government... Anyone who wouldn’t invest in this would be insane.

Eleris, who was skilled in magic but not in business, looked bewildered.

‘Starting a business without money? Is that even possible? Is that allowed?’ her expression said.

Eleris could be quite endearing at times.

“The Merchants’ Guild should be our first stop. Those fellows would drool like dogs just at the thought of securing the suppliers’ rights.”

“Right... that makes sense.”

I personally didn’t care much for the Merchants’ Guild, but as the saying goes, hate the person, not the money. They had lots of money, and if we agreed to source all goods for the train station shops exclusively through the Merchants’ Guild, they’d be ecstatic.

They’d not only invest, but we could also negotiate substantial discounts on the goods. By creating a bidding war within the Merchants’ Guild for supply rights, prices would drop substantially due to the competitive nature of their members.

We would use the investments from the Merchants’ Guild to sell goods supplied by them.

Essentially, the Merchants’ Guild would end up doing everything, but the Rotary Club would rake in the profits. Of course, the Merchants’ Guild would still make significant gains.

With the personnel and the exclusive business rights, the Rotary Club would be able to generate an immense amount of money.

This was why power was so advantageous. It was easier to make money using power than to buy power with money.

“Inform Loyar. I will discuss this with Vertus or Charlotte.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

It would be great if they approved it; if not, we would come up with another plan.

Airi’s seemed to be progressing well on her own, and if this plan worked out for the Rotary Club, the club would begin to earn money on a completely different scale.

Eleris had another concern. “Your Highness, can Loyar actually handle a business of that scale?”

“Hmm. That’s true.”

“She’s already struggling with managing the club; scaling up the business so drastically might lead to failure.”

In Eleris’s view, Loyar was a bit of an idiot. She seemed to have gotten somewhat better since taking on some management responsibilities, but at her core, she was still not very bright.

Strictly speaking, she was more like a brute than an idiot.

Eleris was worried that Loyar didn’t have the capacity to handle such a large-scale business. Since I had to attend classes in the Temple, I couldn’t take on the task myself.

“Eleris, have you seen a homeless person that doesn’t have a story to tell?”

“Sorry?”

“Homeless people and vagrants, they all have some sort of story, whether big or small.”

“Yes... I suppose so, but...” Eleris tilted her head, not understanding what stories had to do with the situation.

“In other words, there are over two hundred homeless people with stories in the club.”

In one of Tolstoy’s works, Anna Karenina, there is a famous quote: “All unhappy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

The Rotary Club was a gathering of unhappy people.

Over two hundred unique tales of misfortune.

“Among them, don’t you think there’ll be at least one person who failed in business, either through their own mistakes or by being swindled?”

“Oh!”

There were undoubtedly several individuals who had ended up on the streets due to failed businesses.

Loyar did not have to figure out the whole business on her own. She could rely on advisors from within the club to move things forward.

Eleris nodded fervently, realizing the sense in it.

***

After giving Eleris an outline of the plan, I returned to the Temple.

The next steps needed to be taken gradually.

Taking control of the imperial capital’s underworld.

That was something else I needed to consider.

There were two ways to go about that: using the Thieves’ Guild, or leveraging the Rotary Club. However, it seemed more beneficial to utilize the Thieves’ Guild.

Although it was uncertain what exactly they could do, if I could manipulate the denizens of the underworld, we might be able to destroy all the warp gates in the capital at once.

Warp gates.

They were the key. In about two years, just as the first semester of the third year begins, all the warp gates across the continent would connect to another world, allowing otherworldly beings to pour forth.

That was the Gate Incident.

I had to figure out a way to stop that calamity from happening at the source, or, if prevention was impossible, at least minimize the damage.