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141 Temples
and the Koga Clan
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Translator : PolterGlast
A first-grade priest
named Mephis came from the temple. I've never been deeply involved with the
temples, but they came to me. He was a priest with thin, brown hair, a greasy
face, and a very big belly. He was about the same height as me, so I don't
think he's 160 centimeters tall. But he's wider than Gandarvan, so he must be
quite portly.
"I understand the
gist of your request. You want to build a temple in Triange, and you want my
family to fund it entirely."
He wants to build a
temple, and his proposal was that we should bear all the construction costs.
You want me to pay for it but have no say in it? Are you kidding me? That's
what the person who's paying for it should be saying. You're a money-grubber.
"We are building
a temple in a rural town like this. Isn't that something to be grateful
for?"
Even if Triange is a
rural town, you shouldn't be the one to say it! He's so condescending. I'm so
grateful that tears are streaming down my face.
"A temple should
be built in the best location. Let's see, it's not much of a main street, but
I'd like to build it adjacent to that square."
You're insulting my
territory, and you want to build a temple here... I wish someone would praise
my patience for not punching you.
"But there are
several stores and other things there, aren't there?"
"You should just
have them move out. A temple is a sacred thing that should be given priority
above all else, my lord."
"Is that the view
of the entire temple?"
"Of course. Look
at the royal capital and other large cities. The temples are all built along the
main streets or in places with a lot of foot traffic."
This is the current
state of the temples? It makes me want to vomit. Even after the chief priest
Dandelid caused that incident, they still haven't learned to be humble.
"That's a lot of
money. It's a bit too much for my family to bear all of it."
Who do you think I am?
Do you think nobles have money trees? He wants me to pay 1 billion Grille.
"Hmph. Then how
much can you bear?"
"I think I can
manage about 10 million Grille."
I don't even want to
pay a single Grille, but I want to settle this as peacefully as possible for
now. But he didn't seem satisfied with my offer.
"That's not even
worth talking about. Do you think a temple can be built with that amount of
money?"
10 million Grille is
equivalent to 100 million yen, so you could build a modest building with that.
"I can't give
what I don't have."
"In that case, we
can give you a loan!"
Oh my God, are you
also in the money-lending business? You're pressuring me to build a temple, and
then you're offering to loan me the money for it. You're despicable.
"I'm sorry, but
it's not an amount I can easily agree to, so I'd like to discuss it with my
retainers and make a decision."
"What are you
saying?! You are the lord! You are the one who should make the decision!"
He's so desperate.
Your eyes are bloodshot.
I could give him 1
billion Grille, but I have no intention of doing so.
I evaded his questions
and politely asked him to leave.
I mentioned earlier
that I had been trying to stay away from the temples, but I never expected them
to come to me. Is this a side effect of finding a dungeon? Or is it
hero-related? I refused to be a hero, but... it's no use thinking about it. But
I still want to complain.
They're probably
trying to freeload off me because they think I have a lot of money. But I think
they would still try to freeload off me even if I didn't have money. Their
intention is probably to get me into debt and take over my house or turn me
into a yes-man. I should assume that those kinds of people are in power.
Should I investigate
the temples? But Sodon is busy gathering information on the Parton family, and Daigou
and the Koga clan are investigating Marquis Tsukmandes, who is related to the
Parton family. So I don't have anyone who can handle the temples. ...Is this my
cue to step in?!
"Toi-sama. Are
you thinking of doing something reckless?"
Anneliese, who was
drinking tea with me after the annoying person left, peeked at my face. She's
so beautiful today!
"That's not
true."
Anneliese's sharp gaze
made me flinch. How did she know? Is this the power of love?!
"It's fine to
investigate the temples, but please be careful."
Oh, she knew what I
was planning. As expected of my Anneliese. Our hearts are connected!
"Hahaha.
Understood. I'll be careful."
I've heard that the
priests under the Princess are growing well. But it's too early to make the
temples our enemies. Everything has its time. The number of priests isn't
overwhelming, and it's still a bit low, so there's a possibility that the
Princess might have to bow to the temples' pressure. We must avoid that at all
costs.
The Duke is also
training priests. The Royal Family, the Ducal family, and we are aiming to have
over 200 priests. The number 200 is not arbitrary. There are about 50 places
with temples in the kingdom. We want to send two priests to each of them and
also have some to spare. That's why we're aiming for 200.
We're aiming for 30,
the Ducal family for 50, and the Royal Family for 120. These are just target
numbers, so more is fine. Currently, the Royal Family is a bit behind. We've
already reached 40, exceeding our target of 30, and I've heard the Ducal family
has secured 50. But the Royal Family only has about 60, which is only 50% of
their target. The reason is that they have a strict gag order and are being
very careful so no information leaks.
But it's not enough to
just have a lot of priests. Their level is also important. In our case, we plan
to send them out after they reach at least Level 30, but the Royal Family and
the Ducal family plan to send them out after they reach Level 10 or higher. We
need immediate personnel, so we're not counting the Level 1 priests who have
just changed jobs.
Regarding the fourth
and fifth generations, we are freeing those who have reached Level 40,
excluding those in the ninja training school. Most of them have decided to work
for us, but a few have left. I don't know where they've gone, but I hope they
don't become my enemies. I won't show any mercy to those who betray me after
I've raised them and cleared their debts.
We've also accepted
the sixth generation (130 people). 60 men and women between the ages of 10 and
19 have been admitted to the ninja training school. Of the remaining 70, we
plan to make 50 of them priests. With this, we should be able to cover for the
Royal Family even if they don't meet their target.
This time, we tried to
gather as many young people as possible. If their parents were with them, we
bought them together. My territory has increased so much that we're short on
people, but finding people with the potential to be civil officials is tough.
I'm thinking of having the orphans we're raising be educated. It's a long-term
plan, but there's always the problem of what to do now, which is a headache.
Even with the shortage
of people, we are prioritizing the training of ninjas. The Koga clan, which Daigou
belonged to, seems to have a problem with me poaching (enslaving) them.
"So the leader of
the Koga clan, Koga, came all the way here to kill me, huh?"
The leader of the Koga
clan, Koga, is sitting in front of me. Since he's already a slave, he can't
escape or commit suicide. By the way, it seems that when someone becomes a
leader, they inherit the name Koga, so the name of the clan and the name of the
leader are the same. The person who founded the Koga clan's hidden village
apparently decided that long ago.
"Our village has
a small population because we live in the shadows. We've had nothing but bad
luck ever since we accepted the assassination of Viscount Footscythel."
He can't commit
suicide or attack me, but Koga is glaring at me.
"Then why don't
you all move here? I'll protect you."
I've already built a ninja
training school and am running it like a hidden village. There's no problem at
all if the rest of them join us.
"That is
impossible. We have our own circumstances."
"Circumstances?
The assassination business?"
"..."
"I'll take your
silence as a 'yes'."
"We have our own
ties."
"Hmm. Then, I'll
support your current hidden village. In return, stop accepting assassinations.
I don't mind you doing some information-gathering, though."
"...What's in it
for you?"
"I have a lot to
gain. The gain of not having my life targeted."
"You've got some
nerve saying that after you so easily incapacitated me."
"It's not a
problem if you only target me. But I have a family and retainers. I have a lot
of people to protect, so there's no way to defend them if they're targeted
indiscriminately, is there?"
"Hmm. That's one
way to look at it."
"Let me just say
this. If you do that, I'll come at you with everything I have. Don't think you
can die so easily."
When I put bloodlust
into my words, Koga's expression stiffened. I'm quite serious, so I recommend
he doesn't do it.
"That's
impossible. I'm a slave."
"There are many
ways to break a slave contract."
"You're the only
one who says such things."
Koga is about 50 years
old and has a Japanese-like face with black hair and black eyes. He probably
tried to preserve his Japanese blood as much as possible. Detailed Appraisal
told me that he didn't even shy away from incest. These are personal values,
but I can feel his desperation to preserve his bloodline. But I thought incest
made the bloodline weaker, not stronger? Well, maybe the combination with the
local bloodline (in this world, the locals are actually reincarnated Japanese
people) somehow strengthened them.
"Understood. From
now on, I will work under you, Your Excellency Footscythel."
"That's a great
help. For now, what kind of support do you need? I'll arrange for money and
food right away."
I'd be in a bind if he
said he needed people, but I'll provide as much support as I can.
"We need food. We
had a poor harvest this year."
The Koga clan's hidden
village is in the northern part of the Oda Kingdom. And it seems that a lot of
land in the north had a poor harvest.
"Speaking of
which, didn't you get a lot of money from Count Parton?"
"We received an
advance payment of 50 million Grille, but after that, things went as they
did..."
The information I
obtained was that the total compensation for Koga was 300 million Grille, and
it was supposed to have been paid in full. This is different from the
information I got from Detailed Appraisal when I captured Count Parton. What's
going on?
"The total
compensation was 300 million Grille, right? You didn't receive all of it?"
"The total
compensation was 100 million Grille, and we don't receive the full amount until
the job is done."
"Huh?"
Does this mean someone
embezzled the money? And that person embezzled 250 million Grille? That's too
much embezzlement.
"Who was the
mediator?"
"Vladimirovich
Parton."
I haven't met him, but
there was an old man who was the elder of the Parton family and was arrogant.
So he, as an elder, tricked his own family and enriched himself, huh? What a
scumbag.
"I see. So he
used us as an excuse to enrich himself."
"Yeah, that's
what it seems like. So, what are you going to do?"
"Naturally, that
money belongs to us, the Koga clan. Since it was paid by the Parton family
under that pretense, no one can object if we take it."
"Do as you
please, but don't get caught."
"We will not be
outsmarted by a person like Vladimirovich."
Even though he was so
easily captured by me. I won't say that because it would be rude, but I hope
he's really careful.
Afterward, I heard a
rumor that most of the wealth that Vladimirovich Parton had hidden away
disappeared. The old man, who lost all the money he had stolen from the former
Parton family, was shunned by his relatives and retainers, and eventually, his
name was no longer heard. Only those who know the full story know what happened
to Vladimirovich Parton.
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