After a brief period of relaxation, Yokosuka once again entered a state of tense busyness.
Now that the entire city of Yokosuka was fully on track, with its population reaching 300,000, Ryou decided it was time to reform the existing political system.
The first step was naturally to abolish the Shogunate's feudal lord system and military rank structure.
Since he was posing as Michael and intended to pursue a path where religious authority reigned supreme, it was only natural that the government and military systems be restructured along the lines of a theocracy.
For an ordinary person, attempting such sweeping reforms would either take ten to twenty years of gradual, subtle changes, or they would have to risk being overthrown in a rebellion by their subordinates.
The biggest obstacle to his reforms was the oldest group of his subordinates: the senior retainers of the Yomogawa family.
Setting aside the fiercely loyal Shinjirou Konochi, the other senior retainers were quite dissatisfied with Ryou's current series of actions.
If it were the original Kenshou Yomogawa, he might have been swayed by years of loyal service.
To Ryou, the retainers were nothing more than pawns and tools to complete his quests.
After occupying Yokosuka, in the early stages, he had to rely on these people, using their clans to fill the lower and middle levels of the bureaucracy to ensure Yokosuka's administration didn't descend into chaos.
Now, six months later, Ryouhad established multiple church schools, producing wave after wave of talented individuals. He had already begun replacing the incompetent ones.
This move threatened the interests of the senior retainers.
Now that Ryou had hinted at a major military and political reform, the dissatisfaction among the senior retainers, except for Shinjirou, reached its peak.
As night fell, the city was still lively, with people seemingly not yet coming down from the festive atmosphere. The streets were bustling with crowds.
In stark contrast, the atmosphere in the reception room of Retainer Fukuda Hideaki was suffocatingly tense.
"That Kenshou! He become so arrogant!"
A senior retainer in a purple robe slammed his fist onto the wooden floor, making a dull thud.
"That's right! Kenshou Yomogawa wouldn't be where he is today without the support of the five of us. Now that his wings are fully fledged, he wants to burn the bridges behind him. It's infuriating!"
Another senior retainer with triangular eyes pounded his thigh in frustration.
The clansmen of these two retainers were the most disappointing—corrupt and incompetent. When Ryou's talent development hit its stride, he immediately targeted them.
Of course, this was also because they failed to keep their subordinates in check.
Ryou's territory had expanded, and with it, their greater power had blinded them.
"Lord Fukuda! You are the most senior among us retainers, having served the previous family head. You must stand up for us! If this continues, Lord Kenshou will soon push all of us senior retainers out of the core!"
The triangular-eyed retainer's eyes darted around as he pretended to be concerned for others, crying bitterly.
His words immediately resonated with the other retainers.
"Lord Araki is right. If this continues, those lowly peasants will soon be stepping all over us."
"That fool Kenshou—has he been playing the role of a foreign god for so long that he thinks he's a deity?"
At this moment, Fukuda, who had been sitting quietly at the head of the room, finally spoke.
"You're right; Kenshou is indeed gradually stripping us of our power. But what do you plan to do? Assassinate him directly? Or gather an army to besiege him?"
Fukuda's face twisted into a smile.
Ryou's possession of extraordinary powers had become common knowledge in Yokosuka.
Assassination was a joke, and gathering an army for rebellion was even more impossible.
When it came to the military, aside from Shinjirou, Ryou didn't allow them to interfere at all. Other than their private soldiers, they couldn't mobilize any troops.
"Maybe we could try poisoning him…"
One retainer began to speak, only to notice that his colleagues were looking at him with expressions that could only be described as pitying his foolishness.
Not to mention whether the poison would even work on someone with such extraordinary abilities, the maids serving Ryou were all devout believers, some even fanatically so.
To date, the retainers, and even external forces, had attempted countless times to plant spies among Ryou's servants, with a success rate of precisely zero.
To prevent spies or ninjas from infiltrating the admiral's residence and to discover talented individuals, Ryou had even unlocked a system that allowed him to view the attributes, faith levels, and other details of the natives.
And since the system was made by the ROB, it was top-notch. It could even measure a lady's bust, waist, and hip sizes down to the tenth decimal place.
No female spy or ninja could escape detection, and all were quickly rooted out.
It must be said, these people had truly gone all out.
These female spies and ninjas weren't just beautiful but were also highly skilled in bedroom arts, yet they were all pure virgins.
Each one could be said to be a treasure in the bed of any man.
Yet without exception, Ryou had them all unceremoniously executed.
He wasn't interested in such mundane women. After all, his actual women included real goddesses. These common women were beneath him—at the very least, they'd have to be of princess-level status.
With assassination off the table and military rebellion not an option, the retainers were left frowning in frustration.
"I might have an idea…"
Fukuda stroked his goatee thoughtfully, looking every bit the scheming old fox.
The other retainers immediately sat up straight, ears pricked.
"Kenshou himself may be flawless, but those around him are not."
Fukuda began to speak slowly.
"You mean…"
One of the retainers immediately thought of something, his eyes widening in realization.
"Doesn't he have a 7-year-old daughter?"
The retainers' faces darkened instantly.
Rebellion and overthrowing a superior were one thing, but using someone's 7-year-old daughter as a hostage was another matter entirely.
Japan had always revered the Samurai code, and Fukuda's methods were too dirty, making them distasteful to traditional samurai.
"He hasn't remarried because he dotes on this daughter so much. If we can capture her, perhaps all of Yokosuka will be ours. At the very least, we could regain the power that's rightfully ours."
The other retainers' expressions grew uneasy. Seeing this, the triangular-eyed retainer immediately chimed in loudly.
"As expected of Lord Fukuda! A brilliant plan!"
He then turned to the other retainers with a sinister expression.
"Gentlemen, you'd better think carefully. This is our only chance."
The other three retainers were startled, quickly realizing the implication—if they didn't agree, they probably wouldn't leave this house alive.
Weighing the risks, they reluctantly agreed to assist Fukuda.
But they seemed to have forgotten that after Ryou had performed several miracles, especially after his astonishing performance in the recent Kabane wave defense battle, his prestige in Yokosuka had already surpassed the limits of mortals.
While they were plotting how to deal with him, how to deal with the Yomogawa family, and how to divide the power in Yokosuka…
Outside the paper door of the reception room, a maid tightly gripped the wooden cross around her neck.
...
Hundreds of Ryou's fanatical followers stormed the homes of the five senior retainers, dragging them out and hanging them.
Ryou had indeed been planning to take action, but not in such a violent manner. He believed in making clear distinctions between right and wrong, and while the retainers were guilty, they also had their merits. Initially, he only intended to strip them of their power, reward them with a large sum of money, and allow them to live out their days peacefully as wealthy retirees.
Who could have predicted that they would meet their end before he even had a chance to act? This left him both amused and exasperated.
The cause of the incident was quite simple: a maid from the Fukuda household overheard the five senior retainers conspiring against him. This maid was a devout believer and reported the information to the priest with whom she regularly attended mass.
Had the priest been more level-headed, he might have reported this to his superiors first and waited for an opportunity to gather evidence. However, this particular priest was a fanatic, and so tragedy befell the five senior retainers.
The priest used his influence to gather hundreds of zealots, who then stormed the homes of the five senior retainers. Because the attack was so sudden, the retainers were completely unprepared, with only a few guards and samurai at their homes.
The fanatical believers displayed unparalleled and terrifying combat strength. Armed with makeshift weapons like wooden sticks and machetes, they charged straight into the homes, even under the fire of the samurai's steam guns.
The samurai, armed with steam guns, were beaten to death with clubs, and the fanatics then dragged the retainers and their families out, hanging them at the gates. Thirteen believers were killed, and fifty were injured during the assault, yet not a single one retreated.
If this were a game, the morale of these fanatics would be locked at maximum.
After laughing it off, Ryou fell into deep thought. It seemed that he had underestimated the terrifying power of religious belief.
Desires can be abandoned, but faith can conquer everything.
He now had some understanding of why followers of certain religions were so terrifying, often resorting to suicide bombings.
Religious belief is a double-edged sword, incredibly sharp. If wielded correctly, it can be a tremendous asset, but if mishandled, it can turn against its wielder.
With the five senior retainers no longer a hindrance, Ryou was able to smoothly implement his military and political reforms.
In the military, he retained the naval rank system, which had proven its advanced nature by being adopted by various countries to this day. However, he also embedded a large number of devout religious officials into the military.
These religious officials were not responsible for military strategy; they were there to enhance the soldiers' ideological education and deepen their faith in both God and Ryou.
As Crusaders fighting in the name of God, those who achieved military merit were granted permanent, independent titles. Starting from the lowest, the titles were Warrior, Knight, Grand Knight, Knight Commander, and Paladin.
There were five major ranks, and within each, four sub-ranks differentiated by the material of the medal: Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Iron. In total, there were twenty ranks.
These twenty ranks were similar to noble titles, considered lifetime honors that were not easily stripped away, except in cases of treason or blasphemy. They represented the highest honor for his soldiers and served as the best proof of their service to the Cross.
Even after retirement, those who held these permanent titles still enjoyed numerous privileges. This new rule, once announced, immediately caused a stir in the military.
Especially the part about the permanent titles and their associated privileges—it left the soldiers practically drooling. For example, they would be granted land or property matching their title, and it would be permanently tax-exempt. This alone made them eager and restless.
There were also more than a dozen other privileges, such as church-provided pensions and education for their descendants.
Ryou understood one thing very well: faith alone was not enough; it had to be supplemented with tangible benefits.
After all, most people are short-sighted, and while you can fool them with words temporarily, you can't fool them forever.
With the military system transformed, the administrative system naturally wouldn't be left unchanged. From lowest to highest, the ranks were Believer, Monk, Deacon, Priest, Auxiliary Bishop, Diocesan Bishop, Archbishop, and Cardinal.
The hierarchy was largely based on the Catholic Church's system, except there was no Pope. Ryou's intention was clear: with him as the divine supreme leader on earth, there was no need for a Pope.
No one found this odd; in fact, they felt Ryou was right.
However, given the current scope of his influence and population, the administrative hierarchy could only go as high as Auxiliary Bishop, and the military ranks as high as Colonel.
While the military and political reforms seemed like a big deal, they were quite straightforward. With Ryou's current prestige, Yokosuka was essentially under his sole rule, bypassing the need for lengthy meetings.
Skipping the most cumbersome step naturally made everything much more efficient.
He only needed to present a broad framework, and his subordinates would follow through with the details.
After the first few days of busyness, he found himself with free time again.
It wasn't until he had some downtime that Ryou noticed something: ever since that passionate night, Jeanne seemed to be avoiding him.
She spent all her time either at the seminary or the convent, teaching the nuns.
For the first day or two, Ryou could tolerate it, thinking she was just shy. But after a week of this, he became furious.
Am I that scary, that she has to avoid me like this?
So without informing anyone, Ryou cloaked himself in invisibility and sneaked into the convent, which was like a secret garden for young girls.
I'm just going to see my wife, he rationalized his somewhat perverse behavior.
With a light jump, he easily vaulted over the more than three-meter-high wall, which was also equipped with a high-voltage electric fence.
Ryou landed inside the convent almost silently.
Though it was called a convent, it didn't train ordinary nuns but rather holy clerics similar to battlefield nurses. In addition to some nursing knowledge, Jeanne also taught them how to make holy shrouds.
In other words, the skill of making holy shrouds was almost useless, but in the world of Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress, it proved to be incredibly effective.
Ryou had tested it and found that as long as a wound inflicted by a Kabane was wrapped in a holy shroud, the victim wouldn't turn into a Kabane.
If Jeanne expended a large amount of magical energy to perform a baptism ritual, she could even turn a Kabane back into a human!
Ryou's confidence in elevating Jeanne to the divine position of Seraph Raphael, representing purity and healing, stemmed from this very ability.
Of course, the secret of turning Kabanes back into humans was known only to him and Jeanne.
This was because Ryou's current forces were too weak, and this skill wasn't suitable for exposure at the moment.
If it were revealed, he was 100% certain that all factions would target him, and they would stop at nothing.
If it came to that, this quest would be a guaranteed failure.
To prevent leaks, Ryou even went against Jeanne's objections and killed the person who had been used as a test subject.
That was the first time he saw Jeanne so furious.
The senseless killing was one thing, but what truly enraged Jeanne was his attitude of treating human lives as test subjects. It made him no different from those dark arts practitioners who toyed with life.
Ryou had no choice but to promise never to do something like that again and had to personally cook for Jeanne several times to calm her down.
As for why the holy shroud, which couldn't eliminate bacteria but could purify curses, was able to cleanse a Kabane wound, he couldn't help but be curious.
It seemed clear that the Kabane infection wasn't viral but rather transmitted like a curse. The low-magic world of Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress harbored some hidden and profound secrets.
At that moment, accompanied by a burst of clear and pleasant conversation, several young girls in white nun habits, youthful and beautiful, walked toward him, chatting and laughing.
Ryou admired them for a moment before turning to leave.
From the girls' conversation, he had already figured out where to find the person he was looking for.