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So, the business with the necromancers has come to a close for now.

The necromancers who were beyond redemption were sent to South Romania after proper preliminary processing and executed, while those who could repent were given a period to atone based on their sins, spending their time as death priests under strict supervision.

Even the slightly more aggressive inquisitors managed to be calmed down, so it seems best to wrap things up like this.

Oh, by the way, a request from Procyon came in asking for knowledge about the necromancers, but I just gave them a suitable snub and brushed it off.

The priests from among the mages were the ones who caused these incidents. What a bold face they have, making such requests! Hmph!

We did put a bit of pressure on those mages from the Church of Life, but they ended up brushing it off by saying it was just the misconduct of a few mages… So in the end, we couldn’t apply any real pressure, and it all fizzled out.

Hmm… Should I pressurize them through Sia? No, mages aren’t the faithful types. They just believe in Sia as the God of Magic because they need her, and even if Sia tries to force something on them, it wouldn’t have any impact.

“Instead, we decided to raise the selling price of Mana Stones.”

If they can’t understand through words, sometimes you gotta tighten the grip physically!

“But will that be okay? The mages in Procyon might retaliate strongly…”

“Let them reflect properly and apologize if they want to complain. Besides, Mana Stones are a highly valuable resource sought after not just in Procyon but elsewhere too.”

Mana Stones, which can be harvested from monsters, are known to contain the magical energy of the monsters. Of course, the actual reason for collecting them is to gather the pieces of darkness contained in the stones. Still, it’s a truth universally acknowledged that people often encounter problems if they carelessly use Mana Stones without removing the pieces of darkness first.

Anyway, the Church of Life possesses all the methods for removing that magical energy, and the purification of Mana Stones is one of their significant sources of income.

Adventurers around the world collect Mana Stones and transport them to the main hall of the Church of Life, where they undergo a purification process—reading it as collecting pieces of darkness—and then are sold elsewhere.

Originally, the purification tasks were conducted at the temple of the Church of Life in Procyon, but… there were simply too many unpurified Mana Stones collected from all over the world! So proper purification facilities were built in the main hall of the Church of Life to handle it.

Anyway, after the purification work is done, those Mana Stones are sold at appropriate market prices and spread worldwide…

“Still, raising the price of Mana Stones exclusively in Procyon…”

“Considering those guys don’t even reflect, it’s fair game. Plus, for mages, money is a surplus thing!”

Magic scrolls are still a hot-selling bestseller, and various products have been emerging with the development of magic! Procyon still has plenty of money!

“If they apologize sincerely, we’ll regularize things! But I don’t think those arrogant mages will bow their heads!”

“Yeah, I think so too.”

Hmm… now that I think about it, it makes me more annoyed. They made mistakes and don’t even reflect on them?

What to do with these guys… Hmm…

Should I unleash a plague or something?

No, that wouldn’t be right. Yeah. Just a momentary silly thought popped up there.

If I unleash something like a plague out of annoyance, other humans will suffer badly too. I should hold back on that. Yeah.

Hmm… How should I handle this? How do I squeeze those irritating guys? If I want to break the pride of Procyon’s mages…

Should I tighten the purse strings? Or should I create a competitor to stir some rivalry?

If I raise the price of Mana Stones in Procyon and then introduce a competitor to reduce their income… maybe those guys will reflect a bit!

“Let’s just go ahead with raising the price of Mana Stones in Procyon for now. I had other ideas, but that’s not something the Church of Life should handle internally; it’s an external issue.”

“Is that okay? What if Procyon raises a fuss?”

“What we’ve done is just a minor price increase on the Mana Stone sales as a protest against Procyon. Even that can be undone easily if they apologize and reflect.”

Hearing my words, the High Priest nodded slightly.

“I understand. Then I will take care of Procyon as you’ve said.”

Having said that, the High Priest bowed and was about to leave, but he suddenly turned back as if recalling something.

“Speaking of which, we’ve received several requests for the unbroken flag from not just North Romania but also South Romania…”

“From the emperor?”

“No, it’s not. After secretly sending a representative and tracking it down, it turns out to be some influential nobles.”

Hmm. Influential nobles, huh. Not the emperor…

Did they want it for themselves, or are they planning to present it to the emperor?

Either way, it could be useful.

“Let’s spread some rumors about those nobles. There are nobles coveting the emperor’s position, trying to get their hands on the unbroken flag!”

“Is that wise?”

“Yes. They’ll deny those rumors, but the emperor will start distrusting the nobles because of it.”

The High Priest looked slightly troubled with my proposal.

“If distrust builds up between the nobles and the emperor, would that not cause complications? Why would we need to spread such rumors…”

“The situation in North Romania has been reported back continuously, right?”

“Yes. The priests and pilgrims from each temple are sending in real-time updates.”

“Then the story is swift. What do you think will happen if South Romania raises an army to attack North Romania while it’s shattered into several pieces?”

The High Priest’s face grew worried.

“It would lead to a great war.”

“Yes. Given that one half of the empire is falling apart, it would seem like a golden opportunity for South Romania to strike. Even if it’s been slightly delayed due to the necromancers.”

Although some damage was indeed caused by the necromancers, it wouldn’t take long to recover from that damage.

Once recovery is complete, they will soon raise their forces, and North Romania, splintered into pieces, won’t be able to hold out.

In such a war… it goes without saying that a considerable number of lives will be sacrificed.

And if there are many dead, the duties of the underworld will increase! I really don’t want that! If it’s not careful, I’ll have to go help out too!

“In that situation, if rumors spread about some influential nobles coveting the emperor’s position, what do you think South Romania’s emperor will do?”

“Hmm… He would keep an eye on those nobles.”

“Yes. A northern Romania that is splintering and brawling is less of a concern than the powerful nobles in South Romania, who might be sharpening their blades behind his back.”

The knife hidden behind is always the more dangerous one.

“Given this situation, it’ll be impossible for him to raise an army and start a war. He’ll find a way to suppress the war.”

“Indeed… so one rumor can control the whole situation.”

“Of course, that would change if the emperor of South Romania is someone who says the rumors should disappear! I do what I want!”

If the emperor were that kind of person, he would start a war despite any losses.

“Is the emperor of South Romania that kind of individual?”

“As far as I know, he isn’t. He’s not very aggressive and prefers focusing on internal matters. He aimed to enrich the commoners, centered around the capital, Semerium.”

“Hmmm… what a good person. It doesn’t seem likely that spreading rumors would lead to a war…”

Still, it would be wise to take some precautions.

“Let’s just spread rumors appropriately in South Romania. As for the rest… I’ll take care of Procyon myself.”

“Understood.”

The High Priest bowed and left the room.

Alright… then shall I create a strong rival for the mages in Procyon?

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

That day, a certain dwarf saw something extraordinary in his dream.

A silver something revealing unprecedented wisdom.

A new method of enchanting tools using Mana Stones. A new process. New wisdom. New outcomes.

A device that shines with dazzling light from even a small shard of Mana Stone, showing a level of efficiency and results far superior to traditional methods.

“Oh, Silver Wisdom!!”

Awakened from that shocking dream, the dwarf quickly grabbed a piece of paper haphazardly lying around and hurriedly searched for a pen.

Moments later, he realized the ink in his pen was drying up and unusable, so he quickly picked up some coal lying nearby and began to sketch the new kind of magical circuit he envisioned from his dream.

The fact that someone watching that scene wore a satisfied smile was just a trivial, minor detail.

 

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