'First of all, about the church, why is there a set price for praying? Generally speaking, there is no set amount of money to be offered, though I suppose it's up to each of us to decide how we feel about it. Moreover, isn't a single piece of silver too much for the average fiefdom to pay?
From the very beginning, Cain was the first one to press the Stagg priest about the charges related to prayer and healing.
At Cain's words, Priest Stagg didn't seem to take offense as he looked up at his face with his fan.
''Viscount Cain, regarding the fees, there are too few ordinary citizens who pray, most of them are heads of merchant associations and the like. So even if the standard fee is a single silver coin, it hasn't been a problem. Some merchant associations will leave a large silver coin behind. And about the fee, there are not enough sisters in this church who can use healing magic to deal with the rush. That's why we've set our rates to screen them out.
Priest Stagg replied, looking up at his sweaty face with his fan.
'Isn't that just a matter of getting more sisters? The Stag Priest's Palace should be able to use recovery magic as well. This is a city with many adventurers. That's how many people need treatment. Wouldn't it be a good idea to send a request to the church in the royal capital?
''Even if you want us to send a sister, you have to pay up to the church in King's Landing. This church can't afford that. Or will you be able to increase the subsidy from the Viscount-dono?
At Cain's question, the Stagg priest gave him a grimace and asked him to give him more money, on the contrary.
'It's not worth talking about. There are too many things we don't need as a church, like the size of this church building and this gorgeous facility. We're going to end the subsidy for now.
Cain answered immediately. I'm not subsidizing a priest to live a luxurious life. And I have absolutely no intention of giving it to this flabby, belly-shaking priest with jeweled rings on his hands.
'Hmm--. Well then, I'll have to do it. We'll have to pray and raise the price of the treatment. This is going to cause more and more trouble for the people of the territory, isn't it?
Priest Stagg doesn't seem bothered at all and answers with a grin.
Cain was sure that Priest Stagg had no intention of changing at all.
'I understand what you think, Priestess Stagg,'
Oh, as expected of Viscount Cain, you understand. So we'll continue with the subsidy.
'No, by the authority of my lord, I will file charges with the church headquarters in the royal city. He drinks in the daytime and charges the residents illegally. There is no need for this in the city I will be ruling from now on. Then I'll leave now.
Cain, who was too unsympathetic to Priest Stagg's way of thinking, became completely hostile and sat up.
On the contrary, Stagg was upset when he heard that charges were being filed against the King's Capital.
Stagg understood best that if an inspection came from the church in King's Capital, there would be a problem. Up until now, all he had to do was submit the books, so he could cheat as much as he wanted. Being able to see the city in person would reveal that he was cheating. Stagg imagined that all the luxurious life he had accumulated up to now would be destroyed.
''Viscount Cain, please wait a moment.
Stagg hurriedly stopped Cain, but Cain walked out of the parlor without further ado.
Stagg stares at Cain's back, bites his nails as he poorly shakes them and then mutters.
'You ... bratty little brat, you're on a roll. Hey, who's there?
At Stagg's call, one of the church knights ran up to him.
'You wanted to see me, priest?'
''Mm. Go tell Betty, the sub-guild master of the Adventurer's Guild, that I said that the moon is black tonight. That should tell you.
I understand.
The church knight bowed to the priest and left the room.
After coming out of the church, Cain had completely forgotten that he was going to pray and meet the gods.
I can't go back to the church for prayers now since I left with a lot of momentum, well, I had some business to attend to in the capital, so I'll leave it at that time.
On his way back to the lord's mansion, Cain stopped by the Adventurer's Guild, looking at the streets and browsing through the shops and stalls.
He wanted to know the status of his current treatment now.
The guild was close by, as he'd passed by it on his way to the church, but it had taken longer than he'd expected because of the unnecessary detour.
Opening the door, Cain walks in.
The moment he enters, he feels a gaze on him, but it quickly slips away. Looking around, those who don't know Cain are quickly losing interest, thinking it's just a kid coming in. On the other hand, those who knew what happened the other day were shivering as they looked down and tried not to look at each other.
Looking around at the receptionists, it seemed there were still a lot of beautiful women, and although there were a few in line, they were all beautiful. Submassive Betty wasn't there, so I stood in front of the empty receptionist and spoke to her.
''Excuse me, I'd like to meet the guild master, Rixetu-san.''
Do you have an appointment? Basically, only high level adventurers or those with commitments will meet the Guildmaster.
The receptionist answered Cain's question in a clerical manner.
'I don't have any promises, but I think it will be fine if you give them my name. My name is Cain.
Well, I'll go ask the guildmaster, if you have a guild card, please present it.
Cain handed the gold (gold) shining A-ranked guild card to the receptionist.
''What ... A rank! My apologies. I'll go check it out right away.
After receiving it, the receptionist was surprised to see that the boy in front of her was A-ranked and immediately went to the guild master's room.
Within a minute of the receptionist going to ask, the Guildmaster looked impatient and came directly out to the reception desk with an impatient look on his face.
''Noーー. I'm sorry to keep you waiting, Cain-sama. I'll show you around, come here.
'Thank you, Lord Rixetu, for last week. I had a few consultations with you and I didn't make any promises, but I came. I'm sorry to have caused you trouble.
Cain bows his head to Lixetu and greets him.
Cain walks behind him as a horrified Lixetu leads him in.
When Cain is out of sight, the receptionists start to make a scene.
'What the hell was that kid just doing?!'
'He was a cute kid, but that Gilmouth was the one to care about!
Hey, Aura! Explain it to me.
It was the receptionist that Cain had spoken to earlier.
''Even though he asked me to explain, he wanted to see Gilmas, so I asked him to show me his guild card and when I went to ask Gilmas about it, he ran out like he was in a hurry. But still, for a kid like that, he's an A-rank.
""A""?
A kid who seems to have only been on the roster for a short time already has an A rating. I shouldn't be surprised.
I wonder if the older ones like it: ・・・・・・
It's also: ・・・・・・
'How can you be an A student at that age? ・・・・・・'
""Could it be that ""... is the name of the egg?"
The eyes of the receptionists were glowing like predators all at once.
Unbeknownst to Cain, it was Cain who was to be targeted by the receptionist.
He was led by Lixetu and sat down on the sofa in the reception room.
Sitting face to face, Lixetu is waiting for Cain's words with a nervous look on her face.
Immediately, the receptionist came into the room to say that she had brought us tea, but for some reason she looked at us and winked at us and left.
'So, what the hell are we talking about today ...?'
Lixetu looks worried and asks Cain about it.
''No, as a matter of fact, I've been in trouble at the church a while ago. I've come to ask Lixetu-dono about that.''
You may also destroy the ... church and--
No, I didn't!
I'm sorry.
I corrected Lixetu's misunderstanding and asked him about the current situation.
''After all, there are many adventurers in this city, and even adventurers can use it to the extent of heels. However, when it comes to high heels, only the priest class or high ranking sisters can cast it. It's also a single gold coin, so an ordinary adventurer can't pay for it. If you are injured and can't heal, you have to retire as an adventurer, so you can go to .... I wish you could be a guild employee like me, but it's not that easy. Most of them drift towards the slums: ...
Lixetu also regrets that if he could receive more recovery magic at a lower price, he would not have to retire as an adventurer.
'I had a conversation with Priest Stagg today about the exorbitant amount of money for that recovery magic: .... It broke down, and it was decided that I would file a complaint with the church in King's City. It's because it's too expensive compared to other cities.
Cain told Lixetu what he had just said.
Uh, that orc priest! You're living in luxury all by yourself.
Lixetu didn't seem to be on good terms with the Stag priest, either.
They had been negotiating for a lower price, many times now, and apparently it had broken down.
'Speaking of which, I'll give you this.
Cain produced a small bag from his pocket.
Inside were three white gold coins.
''It won't be enough to pay for the repairs to the training ground, but this will be in the form of a grant from my private funds. Please handle the taxes properly as well. I have an internal affairs officer scheduled to be assigned to this city, so I'll do an audit of the accounts once. Please be prepared for that in the meantime.
I'm sorry about this. I'm sorry about this, but I'll take it. As for the income and expenditure calculations, I have no idea whatsoever, so I've been throwing them to Betty.
Lixetu smiled bitterly and checked the contents of the sachet containing the white gold coins, then tucked them away carefully in his pocket.
''Speaking of which, you can't see Betty-san today, can you?
Cain wondered why Betty, who was always supposed to be next to him, wasn't there.
'It's kind of like someone came in suddenly and I thought they were talking and then they said they had something urgent to do and then they left.'
At Lixetu's answer, Cain didn't particularly care to let it slide.
And it was the beginning of the offensive and defensive battle that was about to begin.