185 – Faith (3)
Late at night, when everyone else was sleeping, the office of the Patriarchate, which could be said to be the headquarters of Faustism, was filled with all kinds of information.
What is especially noteworthy is the correlation between quality of life and faith.
There was a reason why the lives of the people of the empire became more difficult as the days passed. The emperor didn’t hit me on the head for no reason?
[Religiosity tends to diminish as the quality of life increases. In other words, if you delve into this point, you should not improve the lives of the people of the empire.]
[In other words, for now, the emperor’s work to restore the empire must be hindered at all costs.]
[Of course, one day the quality of life will have to be improved, but even if it is improved, it will only be limited to those who have already become firm believers. As a result, if the poor feel envious, the number of people who will naturally convert will increase.]
Oh, what is this?
The more I read the report, the more dizzy and dizzy I become. It makes me feel good to see the ugly side of society.
…Why is it getting better? Is it because I’m the devil? Anyway.
“…It’s better organized than I thought.”
“Thank you… Thank you…”
It’s not a compliment, you idiot.
They deliberately damaged the quality of life of the people of the empire, forcing them to cling only to their faith, taking advantage of the chaotic society to expand their religious affiliations tremendously, and taking care of their public image by creating soup kitchens using the national budget… Wow, very. It’s just spectacular, it’s just spectacular.
How on earth did you do all this? If it’s touched just a little bit wrong or goes too far, it looks like a riot will immediately break out, but that’s controlled and handled with technology that’s almost magical.
“Hmm…”
“Ugh…”
When I look at Pierre with a feeling of half-fatigue and half-admiration at his political power that far surpasses my expectations, Pierre desperately avoids his gaze with his face turning pale.
…You bastard, you knew I would hate that.
Then we can’t just ignore it? If he did something like that just because he thought I would like it, then yes, there are extenuating circumstances, but if he did something like this knowing clearly that he would dislike it… Ugh, my head is a little feverish.
“Well, I… Wanted to spread Faust’s glory throughout the world…”
“It would be you, not me, who would benefit the most from that honor, right?”
“What do you mean!? Of course, Master Faust is the one who gains the most, and I am only the one who gains the least. There is no gain in this world that can be compared to being revered as a god by the people of the world. “
However, it seems that Pierre also has something to say.
He’s speaking as if it’s truly unfair, as if he can’t get a little power and wealth in return for giving him power and wealth.
No, even if you went to sleep feeling unfair, you did something knowing clearly that I would hate it…
“I’m sure you know that I don’t want this, right?”
“Yes, I know very well. However, there were requests from many people, including Flora, and since making the god they believe in great is the ultimate goal of all believers, I had no choice.”
Hmm… When I say that, I’m running out of things to say again.
It’s not wrong.
Although Pierre’s attitude is a bit problematic and he is overly realistic and acts based on his own interests, he still has faith in me.
Faith, awe, and fear may be expressed in different ways, but their essence is the same. Because it is a feeling you have about something unknown that you cannot do.
Pierre’s fear, which began when he faced me 20 years ago, turned into awe when I defeated Seraphia and freed him of his brainwashing. And that sense of awe turned into his faith as he took on the role of patriarch of the Faust Order.
Above all else, Flora’s request… No, coercion is the same.
Flora ordered Pierre to spread the Faustian religion, and of course Pierre had no choice but to follow her. How on earth does Pierre reject Flora’s will, who has turned her head to the god of light?
“…Let’s just watch for now.”
“Thank you for your mercy.”
Pierre immediately puts his head on the ground and bows to me. Pierre seems to be prepared to die if things get serious, as the feeling of relief that he is not just acting but that he really lived is radiating from his whole body.
Well, that’s what I originally came with the intention of coming… But it’s also a shame that Pierre is so smart, so if Pierre’s intelligence was moderately bad, I would have just brushed him off.
“First of all, this ridiculous plan to expand the church is discarded. If you can plant faith in people’s hearts by shaking up people’s lives and lives, isn’t that purely believing in me?”
“Yes, Faust.”
“They say there is nothing we can do about churches that are already under construction, but it would be better to stop the churches that will be built in the future and remodel the existing churches in Serapia. It would be better to rely on donations as much as possible rather than taking the national budget for the budget. .”
“Well, the current denomination cannot be maintained with donations alone. 60… No, 70% of the number of people will have to be reduced and the church will have to be abolished.”
“Hmm…”
Even though I gave the order, Pierre was very embarrassed and refuted my order. If Igo or Flora had been here, he would have been in a very bad mood and would have immediately punished Pierre with his eyes glazed over.
But of course I am not like that. Instead of feeling worse, I’m actually feeling slightly uplifted.
Rather than just accepting my opinion unconditionally, you can find the problem and immediately tell me the consequences?
Hmm… Well, there may be times when he resists desperately because his power and wealth are weakening, but it still doesn’t feel bad.
“Then, excluding any future church expansion, how much budget is needed to maintain the current number and size of the church?”
“At least… 20% Of the Aquileian Empire’s budget is needed.”
“That’s a lot.”
Hmm… 20% Seems like an absurd figure to me, who has memories of living in Korea… Pierre is answering really seriously and conscientiously.
He was not being unreasonable, but rather selflessly judged that he would not be able to maintain his religious affiliation without that amount of budget.
No matter what, it makes no sense for religion to eat up 20% of the national budget. Even if it means cutting down the denomination, it should be reduced by at least 10%.
“B, but… The church replaces the state’s administrative work.”
“Administrative work?”
“Yes, unless it is a fairly small village, most villages have a church, and through that church, the order of the empire is established by controlling the villagers and collecting taxes. No, the order of not only the empire but of most countries is established. .”
However, Pierre’s words that interrupted my thoughts were enough to resolve my doubts.
Ah, somehow he said he was taking too much money.
So what is it… Yeah, it’s roughly the local office, huh.
Well, in the past, it was said that the church took over administrative work, right? A church that has a register of believers can estimate the country’s population at a very high level, and since churches are spread throughout the village, it is said that tax collection can be easily done.
If you look at it from that perspective, it’s not something that you can’t understand.
As someone who has lived in Korea, it seems like it would be better to demolish all the churches and let the government take over the administrative work directly, but people here wouldn’t have thought of that unless they were idiots. Because there was some kind of problem, the administrative work was entrusted to the church.
“It seems that he was able to ruin the empire like this because he took over the administrative work. There’s a reason why the emperor bowed his head to me begging for his life.”
“Huh, hmm…”
“From now on, act conscientiously and distribute your wealth. I don’t plan on giving you any particular benefit if you trust me, but at least you shouldn’t be at a disadvantage by trusting me, right?”
“I will keep this in mind.”
It doesn’t seem like he’s particularly embarrassed or understands what I’m saying, but he doesn’t seem to have any desire to reject it.
Well, I guess I can roughly finish the job with this. The emperor would also be turning his attention to the religious world and wrestling with the monarchy, so it would be possible to preserve religious power.
“Well… Master Faust, could you possibly protect us from the emperor’s threat?”
At that moment, Pierre hesitated and then spoke carefully to me.
Protection from the emperor’s threats?
Ah, are they afraid of what the emperor with ill feelings will do if they become weak?
“What did I just say?
“Yes?”
“I don’t intend to give you any particular advantage if you trust me, but at least I don’t intend to wait for any disadvantages to come from trusting me. You don’t have to worry about that.”
“…! Yes, Master Faust!”
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Pierre opened his eyes wide for a moment and immediately bowed his head and expressed his gratitude to me, his face brightening as if he was moved. I guess I guessed that what I just said only applied to innocent people.
Oh my… If Flora or Lucia had behaved like this, she would have felt fine, but when an old man with wrinkles on her face looks like that, it’s a bit awkward to say anything.