Volume 14 Chapter (9-Side Story 4)

Chapter 9, New Residents

Kousuke had accumulated enough divine power to install the <Water Fairy Stone>, so he was planning to install it, but before he did so, he decided to show it to Wanri.

He decided to show it to Wanri before installation because he was going to install it on the floor where foxes resided.

Wanri was usually found in or around the Yurino Shrine on the 8th Floor, so he could get a general idea of where she was by asking those in the shrine.

So, Kousuke and his team came to the 8th Floor with Mitsuki, but…

"Eh…? Wh, who?"

They were suddenly surprised by a girl they didn't know.

Kousuke was surprised to find someone he didn't know in Yurino Shrine, but he recalled that he had asked Wahid to increase the shrine's manpower.

This time, he only received a report that 3 people were hired to work on the shrine. Other than that, he didn't know the specifics.

Kousuke thought to himself, [To the new helpers of the shrine, suddenly meeting someone they didn't know would have definitely surprised them].

"Oh, no, um. I guess it's quicker to have them join us than to explain things right now… Yuri, will you come over?"

Since Yuri who manifested in the Yurino Shrine had become a stable existence, she could appear at will around the shrine.

"Kosuke-sama, what's wrong? Oh, that's right. So that's what this is about."

Yuri seemed to understand after watching the situation at a glance.

"Saki. This is Kosuke-sama. This is your first time meeting him, so make sure you remember him properly."

Yuri introduced her as one of the three people who had been added to Yurino Shrine, their names being Saki, Miki, and Eri.

After being introduced, Saki came over and bowed her head hurriedly to apologize.

"I, I'm so sorry."

"Oh, it's nothing. I have not shown my face here for a while, so it's not a surprise that you didn't know."

Kousuke said, then someone added to him.

"Then it would be better for the other two to meet you while we're at it."

The one who said that was Cecil.

He heard before that Cecil and Arisa were participating in monster subjugation on the 8th Floor to hone their spirit arts, but this time, they were at the shrine.

"It's been a while."

"Yeah, it's been a while."

Kousuke also lightly returned the greeting to Cecil.

"Since you're here, would you mind meeting Miki and Eri as well?"

"Yeah, that's fine, but…. Where's Wanri?"

"If it's Wanri-sama, then she's probably out hunting at this time…"

Cecil glanced at Yuri, and she nodded her head.

"Yes. She's hunting around the shrine…Do you want me to call her?"

"Huh? Can you do that?"

"Yes. The shrine's power has become more stable, so it has established a kind of dominant territory. As long as she is located within the territory, it is possible to call her."

Incidentally, this area of control could be expanded as the power of the shrine increases.

If they wanted to, they could prevent monsters from entering, but since it was not necessary at the moment, they only prohibited entry to a small distance from the shrine.

"Hoh. Now that's a convenient thing to have."

"It's limited to the area around Yurino Shrine, so it's not very useful."

It was not that convenient at the moment, but it could be used to call Wanri, who was hunting within the area.

"Well, as long as you are able to contact Wanri, it's convenient."

"Thank you very much. I'll call her then."

After saying so, Yuri immediately disappeared from the place.

There was no need for her to disappear, but she knew that Kousuke and the others were planning to move inside the shrine, so she decided that there was no need for her to stay there.

As expected, Kousuke decided to move to his personal room.

The place they were now in, was of course, the usual central room.

Before Wanri arrived, Miki and Eri finished their introductions.

The three additional members looked younger than Cecil and Arisa.

When he asked them their age, they told him that they were all fifteen years old.

He had already predicted that to be the case because they look younger than Cecil and Arisa, and because they all look like they were all close in age to Wanri.

The biggest reason they were hired at this age was probably in consideration for Cecil and Arisa not to feel uncomfortable around them.

Since Cecil and Arisa were the ones who conducted the interviews, their intentions were also reflected in the way they did it. Since the three were also instructed and directed by the two, Kousuke had no objections.

It did bother him at first when the three of them who met him for the first time were afraid of him, but he decided to ignore it for now.

He was getting tired of worrying about it and correcting them every time.

Since he decided to officially announce that he was a living god, he already destroyed the part of his consciousness that made him feel uncomfortable when people fear and awe him.

"Speaking of which, how is your spirit arts training going?"

Kousuke asked Cecil and Alisa before Wanri came back.

They looked at each other and had a weak expression on their faces.

"We're no longer lagging behind the enemies on this floor, but…"

"Enemies stronger than those that are not from this place are quite difficult for us to handle."

The two of them were both spirit art users, and they were back liners. This made them unsuitable to fight without the help of a vanguard making sure that they were not easily approached, which made their training much harder than usual.

If Wanri was there, she could also play the role of vanguard for them, but Wanri was not always around to help them.

"I always tell them to shorten the activation time for their spirit art, but it doesn't seem to work."

It was Yuri who told him about that.

After all, Yuri was mentoring both of them.

Colette taught them the basics, but she couldn't always be there to instruct them.

At the moment, they could only rely on Yuri.

There was no problem in doing so, was what Kousuke thought.

Spirit art was an art that was used by spirits and fairies, so in a sense, being taught by fairies themselves was a special privilege.

"Hmm… Why don't you ask Gazeran to help?"

Kousuke suggested that with Gazerain's help, who is the head of the adventurers' division, they would be able to find a suitable party for the two of them.

Cecil and Arisa looked at each after hearing that offer.

"No… I mean, is it alright if we want to leave this area in the first place?"

"Eh…! Huh? Well… Now that I think about it, we haven't ironed out those details yet."

To begin with, Cecil and Arisa were both hired here to manage the shrine.

They had never thought of working as adventurers.

As for Kousuke, he didn't think that they needed to be that concerned about the shrine, and he didn't know what their contract was like in the first place.

"… I'll ask Wahid about it later."

In the end, that was all he could conclude at that moment.

While they were in the middle of their discussion, Wanri arrived.

Of course, she was still in her fox form and jumped straight at him.

She licked his face all over, just like the last time he came to visit her.

Kousuke was stuck like that for a while and thought. [When she takes human form again, she will probably turn red.]

Incidentally, Cecil and Arisa were smiling, while the three newcomers looked stunned.

After the whole ritual was over, they went to another room and Wanri came back dressed, in human form.

As expected, her face turned red.

"He, hello…"

The sight of her squirming with a red face was incredibly destructive.

Kousuke thought that he was the only one who saw it this way, but to his surprise, the surrounding women had similar expressions as he did, so anyone who watched her had the same thoughts as him.

"Oh, right, hi… I'm planning to add a few things and set things up on a different Floor today. I'm here to tell you about it."

"…Things to add?"

Wanri tilted her head, not really understanding what he meant.

"That's right. We'll talk about it properly, but for now, can you come to the Administration Floor?"

"… Okay."

Wanri nodded immediately at Kousuke's suggestion.

He was going to talk about the <Water Fairy Stone> at the Administration Floor, which he decided to install on the 48th Floor.

The reason for not using the 8th Floor was because Yuri was on the 8th Floor.

The presence of another fairy does not necessarily mean that it would have any effect, but they want to avoid any uncertainty as much as possible.

That's why they placed a <Water Fairy Stone> on the 48th Floor.

After telling this to Wanri, Kousuke went to the 48th Floor to check it out.

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Chapter 10, New Resident

They headed to the 48th Floor with Wanri, but they did not receive an enthusiastic welcome.

The reason was simple, Wanri was by his side.

When Wanri said, 'Okay', the summoned beasts swarmed him.

Even though she was in human form, the foxes knew that she was the nine-tailed fox.

They stopped flocking to Kousuke because of Wanri's reservation, but now that she gave them permission, they all flocked to him.

Kousuke wondered the reason why they didn't stop pouncing on him, even though he told them to stop.

After playing with the foxes for a while, he went to the <Water Fairy Stone> he had set up.

"Wow. The power of spirits in this place is amazing."

Wanri, who had seen the Fairy Stone for the first time, told Kousuke, who was next to her.

Like the other Fairy Stones, the <Water Fairy Stone> was overflowing with the power of spirits.

Because it was a <Water Fairy Stone>, it was intentionally placed near the fountain of divine water.

He didn't know if it was necessary to place it near the spring, but he decided to do so.

"I see. Wanri can also sense the power of spirits?"

"Yes. I think it's because I have the blessings of the Gods."

He remembered that Wanri had <Spirit God's Blessing> added to her.

"… Hmm? Well, even Colette, who doesn't have that blessing, knows about the power of spirits too, so I don't think the blessing has anything to do with it, right?"

"Huh? Is that so?"

"I think so. I think the blessing of the Goddess has a different effect. Why don't you ask her next time you see her?"

Kousuke had given Wanri a communication tool that he made earlier.

The tool was something she usually carries with her when she goes on a hunting trip, and leaves it with Yuri when she doesn't need to use it.

"Yeah. I'll do that."

Even without the divine tool, Kousuke could contact Spica using oracles.

After Kousuke's oracle was received by her, she would contact him directly, giving him the opportunity to communicate with her.

But since this topic was a different matter to Kousuke at the moment, he decided for it to be discussed later.

Right now, they were talking about the <Water Fairy Stone>.

He touched it to transfer divine power, but no particular change occurred.

He was hoping that something would happen, but it seems that it won't be that simple.

"Well, it's not working out the way we expected?"

At any rate, it was enough to know that transferring divine power at the start would not work.

All they could do now was to wait and see, just as they did with the Earth Fairy Stone.

There was no point in staying here any longer, so they returned to the Administration Floor.

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After they returned to the Administration Floor with Wanri, they found Sylvia, who had just returned from the Southeast Tower.

"Ah, Wanri. that's unusual."

"… umpf"

Sylvia, after greeting Wanri, hugged her.

Kousuke vaguely thought that this might be the reason why Wanri didn't show up at the Administration Floor very often.

The women on this Floor were taking too good of a care for Wanri.

For Kousuke, it was a blessing in disguise, so he didn't stop them.

If Wanri showed any sign of displeasure, he would of course stop them immediately.

"You could come over here more regularly… Why don't you come more often?"

At Sylvia's words, Wanri showed an annoyed expression.

"Well… I don't know, it's hard for me to visit."

"Is that so? I thought everyone would welcome you…?"

They were more than welcoming, but that made her do the opposite, making her hesitate to go.

Kousuke, who sensed this from Wanri's expression, offered some help.

"I think you're being too welcoming, though."

"It can't be helped. She's really cute~"

Peach participated in the conversation.

Incidentally, before he realized it, he was petting Wanri's head.

"I think Wanri is confused because she's the head of the foxes, but here, she's treated like a mascot."

Kousuke didn't hear about this information from Wanri.

He was just assuming that this was the thing bothering her.

However, Wanri, who was listening to Kousuke, did not deny his words, so he must have been right to some extent.

"… Is that so~?"

Peach tilted her head as she turned over to Wanri.

Wanri, too, tilted her head for a moment, thinking, but then nodded her head in return.

"Maybe? I don't know?"

"Ah, you see. The way you speak is the same. When you talk to me, you're pretty friendly, but when you come here, you're more reserved, right?"

"Eh? Is that so?"

"I didn't know that."

Peach and Sylvia looked slightly shocked.

"So, sorry…?"

" Ah, wait, wait. I didn't mean to blame Wanri."

Colette suddenly joined the conversation.

He didn't know where she came from, but she seemed to have been listening to the conversation from a certain point.

"…Is that so?"

"Yes. As for us, we'd like to get to know Wanri better."

"Wouldn't it be annoying if we forced our way into the shrine?"

"So far, we can only wait for Wanri to come here…"

Wanri listened intently as the three of them spoke.

Kousuke put his hand on Wanri's head.

"Well, there's no need for you to come. But I'd be happier if you showed your face here more if you can."

"…Yes."

Actually, Nana has been coming to the Administration Floor more often than Wanri.

While Wanri hunts on her own, Nana goes out of her way to come to the Administration Floor in order to make more friends.

She knows exactly what she has to do.

Wanri also knows how to manage the Tower, but foxes don't hunt in packs as much as wolves do, so it was hard for her to think about getting more friends.

While Wanri was looking slightly happy to be stroked on the head, something bumped into her.

"Kya…?"

She fell down unexpectedly, but the thing that bumped into her didn't care, it mounted on Wanri and started to lick her face.

"Hey… Nana, you're tickling me!"

The one who bumped into Wanri was the miniaturized Nana.

"Hey, Nana, do you want me to summon wolves today?"

Unlike Wanri, Nana has been going to the 80th Floor quite often. However, ever since hunting on the 80th Floor became easy, she has been coming to the Administration Floor frequently simply to meet Kousuke.

When she would like Kousuke to summon things for her, she would drag him to the room where the control panel was, so he could easily recognize what she wanted.

Today, she seemed to have come here just for fun.

She was licking Wanri with all her heart.

"Nana, wait a minute… Okay, okay."

Wanri had been somewhat depressed earlier, but now that Nana had made her feel comfortable, her mood had started to improve.

For Wanri, the atmosphere felt complicated, but thanks to Nana, she felt like she was saved.

Finally, after Nana moved away, Wanri stood up.

This time, she was licking Wanri's hand with all her might.

"…Nana, thank you."

Wanri said and patted Nana's head.

Nana tilted her head curiously, but eventually began to wag her tail happily.

Seeing this, Kousuke was also relieved inside.

Looking around, everyone else must have been feeling the same way. They all had smiles on their faces.

After all, starting from this incident, Wanri gradually more often came to the Administration Floor.

It turned out that it was not that Wanri did not like to be petted, but that she simply didn't understand the reason why they did it.

Furthermore, since she tried to stay away from the Wolves' territory as much as possible, she realized that she could meet Nana by coming to the Administration Floor.

Kousuke was relieved when he felt that the other members were getting to know each other better.

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Side Story 1, Discussion Among Agricultural Producers

The city of Kennelsen was an agricultural town surrounded by fertile land.

Many of the agricultural products produced here were exported all over the continent.

In the Central Continent, it was very difficult to secure land due to the large number of monsters.

As a result, most of the cities relied on imports for grain, and Kennelsen was the town that produced the most grains.

In this sense, the agricultural area of Kennelsen could be said to be the sole provider of food for the Central Continent.

Of course, there were other products besides grains.

Meat could be obtained from monsters, so if Kennelsen were to fall, it would not immediately destroy the Central Continent. Nonetheless, Kennelsen was still a very important part of the Central Continent's food supply.

Considering the fact that most of the grains of the four major cities of the Central Continent were imported from other continents by sea other than those that come from Kennelsen, one could understand how significant the change would be.

Mixen, despite being a city directly opposite to Kennelsen, did not experience high grain prices due to its location. The reason was because they used grain in lieu of cash as donations.

Merchants bought the grain stored in the church and sold it at the same price as the other cities.

The surrounding towns benefited from this arrangement, and grain does not become unnecessarily expensive.

The Central Continent's food supply, that was how the people saw Kennelsen.

It was Kennelsen's people, who were first to notice that their town's reputation was about to change.

"This is… We've been had"

Hewrick muttered as he looked at the documents in his hands.

Inside the document was the most recent information on food trade.

For Kennelsen, the grain trade was the lifeline of the town, so the grain trade was strictly controlled.

Therefore, relatively accurate information was available, and his men were the first to inform him.

What was written was bad news.

"… Contact me for a meeting of the Six Marquis immediately. The sooner, the better."

After telling this to the subordinate who brought the documents, Hewrick looked down at the documents to examine the information further.

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The Six Marquis controlled the economy and politics of Kennelsen.

It was decided because there were originally six representatives of the people who pioneered Kennelsen.

Because of the complete segregation of products, there were few conflicts among the Six Marquis.

There was a case in the past when conflict arose due to the overlapping of products. However, that was a case which appeared due to the intervention from the outside. Ever since then, the overlapping of products among the Six Marquis has been strictly prohibited.

Of course, new crops have emerged in the long history of the city, and where to produce them have been decided based on the discussion between the Six Marquis.

Therefore, it was not an exaggeration to say that the future of Kennelsen was determined by the decisions made at the Six Marquis Conference.

The meeting of the Six Marquis was being held at Hewrick's call.

"I know you're busy, but I'm sorry for calling you all here."

Hewrick, who did not look sorry at all, started by saying so.

It had been an established rule for a long time that the person who called for the meeting of the Six Marquis, would preside over the meeting.

However, even in the case of an emergency, there was no obligation for any of the Marquis to attend.

It was possible to be absent at one's own discretion.

Therefore, it was not unusual for the meeting to be held with missing members. In fact, it was uncommon for all members to be present.

This time, however, everyone was present.

That was why Hewrick held the meeting, because it was a serious matter for all of them.

"… We're all here. I guess that answers one question."

One of the Six Marquises said to him.

The other lords nodded.

"I see. Thank you for coming so quickly."

The Six Marquises have a keen sense of smell when it comes to products such as grain.

This was probably one of the reasons why they have dominated Kennelsen for so many years.

"Well, I'll be damned if I still need to let you see this document… I assume you've all done with your information gathering?"

"Of course."

It was the only woman in Six Marquis who said that.

She was the only woman in the Six Marquis, but in the past, there was a time when all the Six Marquis had been women.

The Six Marquises themselves were chosen by their families, but it was not a matter of the eldest child becoming one, it was completely based on merit.

Unless they were born in the family, they cannot become a Six Marquis.

"As for me, I already told everyone about the situation before I hosted this meeting. Before the meeting began, I even went to investigate deeper, but the results didn't make much difference."

"We're in a similar situation."

"Mine, too."

Hewrick's words were followed by a series of nods from the others.

"… I see. They've got a perfect hit on us. Whether it was intentional or just a coincidence is a bit of a mystery."

"The Schmidt there is said to have been a peddler. It seems that he has a strong connection with the agricultural side of the business."

What they were now concerned about was the grain that Crown's commercial division in Amamiya Tower was purchasing from Kennelsen.

Under normal circumstances, Kennelsen would be pleased, as it would increase their exports.

But there were circumstances that prevented them from simply being pleased.

About 10% of the current crop trade was being bought by Crown.

If that were all, there would be no problem. No, that would be a large amount, but it was not an issue because the transaction itself benefits Kennelsen as well.

What was the concern was the content.

Most of that 10% was through private producers and private merchants.

Of course, there were also purchases from places under the control of Six Marquis, but they were small in volume.

In the first place, it was already known that Schmidt had been buying from Kennelsen when he was a peddler.

It was also known that he was buying through the private producers and merchants mentioned above.

This was not surprising, since a merchant rarely purchased from the Merchant Associations.

This time, however, it was to their disadvantage.

Crown was now too big to be considered as a single Merchant Association, in the eyes of those who saw and judged it.

In a sense, it was only natural, since Crown was taking care of almost all the commerce of a small town.

As Crown held almost all the town's commerce, the transactions it conducted would naturally be enormous.

They knew about this from the fact that Schmidt accounts for 10% of Kennelsen's business.

The issue was that the transactions were done by individual producers and private merchants.

This meant that Crown could invite people to leave Kennelsen at any time.

Just like Crown's adventurer division had done with their adventurers.

"Is that a problem?"

One of the Six Marquises questioned, but it turned out to be a confirmation, and one that was shared by everyone present.

"But how do we stop the outflow?"

The Six Marquises' concern here were the private producers that Crown picked up.

If the producers were invited into the Tower, Kennelsen's advantage could be lost.

No one here was delusional enough to believe that there was no such thing as farming inside the Towers.

They have visited the site and know that it was a good environment for production, even from the perspective of Monsters.

The Six Marquises were well aware of what would happen if individual producers used their skills to expand production in the Tower.

And that was nothing but a threat to Kennelsen.

"The outflow of people… We won't be able to stop it. I'm more afraid of the repercussions of stopping it."

Everyone let out a sigh at the conclusion of what one of them had said.

Because they all had to agree with what they concluded.

Coincidentally or inevitably, the meeting of those who were aware that Crown's commercial activities were shaking the town of Kennelsen continued.

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Side Story 2, Discussion Among Agricultural Producers 2

The discussion went on for a long time.

It was understandable.

Kennelsen, which had developed as the continent's only major production area, had basically never been attacked.

The reason for this was simple: no other place on the continent had as much land available as Kennelsen.

However, the existence of the Amamiya Tower had come to the attention of many.

A comment from one of the Six Marquises who had visited the Amamiya Tower during the meeting said it all.

"If they develop that place in earnest, it will definitely surpass this place."

Of course, he wasn't just referring to the 5th Floor, where the town was located.

One of the Six Marquises, who professes that it was important to move first, was moving around the 5th Floor, inspecting it.

The 4th Floor may not be attractive to more skilled adventurers, but it was to the producers.

After all, monsters that were the natural enemy of humanity in more ways than one were not appearing.

All of these things were included in what they were discussing about.

Then, the discussion was divided into two main directions.

The first to discuss was overlooking the defection of individual producers and merchants from Kennelsen. Meanwhile, ideas of how to allow Kennelsen to continue on its own path without the defected.

The other was that Six Marquis and Kennelsen would become a part of the Amamiya Tower.

There was no suggestion of halting the defection and becoming completely hostile to Crown.

Kennelsen's weapons were not its military power, but its manufactured goods.

The products themselves were made possible by the advantage of having a large area of land.

But Amamiya Tower had the same weapon.

Moreover, unlike Kennelsen, Amamiya Towers were vast enough to allow for the development of vast areas of land.

There was talk of expanding Kennelsen's land as well, but it was not that easy.

The Six Marquises of the past have been trying to open up new areas of land for generations, but they have been hindered by monsters.

Kennelsen's lands have not expanded in over fifty years.

The last time they were able to secure land, it was not as vast as they had hoped.

Still, it was a valuable piece of land for that time.

It would not be easy for the Six Marquises to go to Amamiya Tower and negotiate with Crown to let them use the open lands inside.

They didn't think that Crown would be able to accept such an offer in the first place.

That was why they came up with a different suggestion.

Naturally, all six of them have pride as the Six Marquis, who have supported Kennelsen for so long.

However, the harsh reality was that it was difficult for Kennelsen to continue to develop further, and Amamiya Tower came about in the midst of all this.

For the Six Marquis, Amamiya Tower Floors were a place they wanted more than anything.

It would have been easy to enter if they could use their financial power, but unfortunately, that was not the case.

Those that manage the Tower knew about the information they had gathered. Naturally, these managers would of course know about the Six Marquis and their current conundrum. Therefore, there was no way they would accept their offer.

"…I think we're out of ideas, right?"

Hewrick said as he closed the discussion.

Everyone looked at each other and nodded.

There had certainly been more than enough opinions expressed.

All that was left was to come to a conclusion.

But before they could, Hewrick closed his eyes and spoke up.

"…Can I have one last thing to say?"

Hewrick opened his eyes and saw that the rest were looking at him before continuing.

"I was thinking that maybe we should remember the original cause that brought us Six Marquis together in the first place."

Hewrick chuckled to himself, not sure if he was making the right decision either.

All of them looked momentarily deflated by his words, and chuckled as well.

After that, they all had a look of determination on their faces.

"…Hm. Well, it seems like we all know what's going on without having to ask for your opinions… In the meantime, let's take a vote. Those are the rules, after all."

Hewrick, the chairman, began to take a vote, but in the end, the decision was made after just one vote.

It was unanimously decided that each of the Six Marquises would become part of Crown.

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Schmidt, the head of Crown's Commercial Division, was stunned for a while when Alec, his deputy, handed him the documents.

Seeing this, Alec also chuckled.

[I guess it is understandable.] Alec had been in a similar state a while back.

The document was from Kennelsen and was signed by all the Six Marquis.

It was a simple request for the Six Marquis to join Crown.

A short time later, Schmidt came back to life.

"…How do you feel about the possibility of this being a trap?"

With Schmidt's statement in mind, Lord Felkia, who messed with Kosuke when he had summoned the three Goddesses.

Felkia originally belonged to Kennelsen.

However, Alec was not worried about that.

It was obvious that the Six Marquises were in a higher position than Lord Felkia.

If the need arose, he would be able to use Six Marquis' position to expel them.

"No… I can't say it's likely, but probably not. If there is, it's probably because they would want to take a bite out of us if we show an opening."

That degree of vulnerability was always a possibility when running an organization.

Schmidt was of course aware of the fact that he was favored by Kosuke, but he does not make the mistake of thinking that his current position was secure because of it.

"…May I ask why?"

"That's exactly what it says in that document. Wouldn't that make more sense to you than to me, an outsider?"

Schmidt looked over the document again.

He had ignored it because it was written in a format that was used by the Six Marquis in their documents, which made it look more like a formula.

Each of the letters stated the reason for joining the group, and all of them included the phrase 'in accordance with our principles'.

Normally, such words would be simply judged as decoration, but when Kennelsen's Six Marquis wrote it, it became a different story.

If one was a merchant in the Central Continent, they would have probably heard of Kennelsen's Six Marquis.

In a way, it could be said that the philosophy used by the Six Marquis was also used by every merchant in the Central Continent, and that philosophy was also the reason why all the Six Marquises wanted to join Crown.

There was only one reason why all the Six Marquises wanted to join Crown, that is they could provide food for the entire continent.

Unfortunately, that goal was not currently being fulfilled, but the Six Marquis, with its long history, had not yet abandoned it.

In fact, Schmidt shuddered at the thought that it was for this reason that they had made this decision.

"…It's outrageous."

"Yeah. I had some tricks up my sleeve, but I didn't expect it to work out like this. Or rather, it worked too well. We underestimated their principles too much."

"I agree with you, sir. I thought it was just a philosophy, a goal… A long-standing obsession, perhaps?"

"If we use the Tower well, their dream will most likely become a reality."

"…Yes."

"But… Do you think the people of the four continents will be able to rest easy now?"

The four continents around the Central Continent still had a certain amount of influence, as they held the life-critical commodity, food.

But when it came to improving it, the other countries weren't necessarily going to sit back and watch.

"That's exactly why it depends on the development capabilities of the Six Marquis and the others, right?"

It was unlikely that they would be able to increase production to the point of immediately disrupting the current import balance.

However, it may become possible in the future.

"…I don't know. I guess we shouldn't get too far ahead of ourselves."

"I guess so."

Alec and Schmidt looked at each other and chuckled.

"Besides, I'm too heavy-handed on this one alone. It would be best to get confirmation from Master Wahid immediately. Depending on the case, we may need Kousuke-sama's approval as well…"

"Oh, I suppose so."

That was how important Six Marquis' joining Crown could be.

No matter how they look at it, this was not something that Schmidt could decide on his own.

In addition, since it involves land, Alec's administrative field would also be involved.

It was obvious that a decision from the top would be necessary.

In the end, the discussion went beyond Wahid and went all the way to Kosuke.

After listening to everyone's opinions, Kosuke decided to give his approval, and within a few days, the official announcement of Six Marquis' affiliation with the Tower was made.

Within a few days, it was officially announced that Six Marquis would be joining the Tower, which meant that Kennelsen would effectively be joining the Tower, and the impact of this move would spread throughout the continent.

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Side Story 3, Discussion Among Agricultural Producers 3

"You idiot…! What is the meaning of this!!!?"

The voice rang out in a room of a mansion in the high-class residential area of Kennelsen.

The owner of the voice was Felkia, the person who sent an assassin during the summoning of the three Goddesses.

Felkia's face was flushed as he heard the unexpected report.

He had received a report that the Six Marquises, who effectively controlled Kennelsen, had all expressed their desire to join Crown.

It was a surprise to Felkia, and one he had not expected at all.

What Felkia had done to Kousuke before was already a fact that had been spread amongst the influential people.

Felkia was in a very difficult position, but he thought that he could still recover from it.

However, it was a different story when it came to joining Crown.

Thinking to that extent, Felkia's face changed color as he huffed and started to give instructions to his subordinates who were beside him.

"Hey! Pack up your things immediately!!!! Take whatever that's here in Kennelsen that can be transferred to another city immediately…"

The instructions were drowned out by a loud commotion coming from the corridor outside the room, followed by the sound of the room's door being opened.

"…Excuse me!!! I'm sorry, sir. The Prison Guards are here!!!!"

Normally, Felkia would have shouted at the sudden visit of intruders, but this time he did not do so.

Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that he couldn't.

When he heard the report, he realized what had happened.

"…It's too late…"

To begin with, Felkia came from a family that had made a fortune in trade other than food production, which was unique in Kennelsen.

In the early days, they traded in farming tools made in Nansen.

They were recognized by the Six Marquises of that time for their work in bringing artisans to settle in the city, and were brought into nobility.

In Kennelsen, the Felkia family was almost solely responsible for the farming tools.

Therefore, even if they acted a little out of bounds, they had never been cut off before.

This time, however, the Six Marquises announced that they would join Amamiya Tower.

Amamiya Tower was under the control of Kousuke, whom Felkia had previously attempted to assassinate.

Felkia knew very well that he would be a hindrance for the Six Marquis to join the Amamiya Tower.

The fact that he was in the way meant that it was quickest to get rid of Felkia before the decision was officially made, in order to deny his involvement.

He knew very well that if he struck they would find something, then they'd find a lot more skeletons in his closet.

It would be a simple matter for the Six Marquises to dig up a large amount of crimes that he had committed in the past and remove Felkia from Kennelsen.

The arrival of the Prison Guards would mean that the preparations for that were already in place.

He desperately tried to think of an escape route from his current location, but unfortunately, there was no such convenient one.

Realizing his fate, Felkia sat down in his chair with a crash.

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"…Oh dear. You made it in time."

The one who muttered that was Royce, one of the Six Marquises.

Royce was the youngest of the current Six Marquises.

He had taken over at a young age because his father had passed away suddenly, and the other Six Marquises were not displeased about it.

The other Six Marquises were not displeased, because they had always had a reputation for being good at what they did.

The capture of Felkia this time was done on his own initiative.

To begin with, the relationship between the Six Marquises and Felkia's family, one of the Five Other Prominent Families in Kennelsen, was quite complicated.

Although the town was represented by a member of one of the five families, the Six Marquises had complete control over the town.

It was because Kennelsen was a city built on farming that none of the five families could surpass the Six Marquises, who had complete control over it.

While the Six Marquises had been involved in Kennelsen since the city was first settled, the Five Families were the ones who had contributed the most to Kennelsen.

It was not going to be easy for Royce of the Six Marquises to destroy Felkia, one of the five families, but thanks to Felkia's previous actions, he was able to get the cooperation of the other four families.

The fact that he was able to capture Felkia was completely Felkia's own fault.

Of course, there was a reason why the other Six Marquises gave up their roles this time.

Royce, the youngest of the Six Marquises, would have the longest relationship with Crown.

He thought that it would be better for Kennelsen if he made a name for himself now.

The other Six Marquises seemed to share his opinion, and it was decided that Royce would be the one to capture him without any opposition.

He was going to take Felkia as a gift and ask to be admitted to Crown as an apology, but he was not sure if it was necessary.

After informing the Tower that the Six Marquises would be joining Crown together, they immediately began to prepare for the capture of Felkia, but before they could do so, they were already granted admittance.

Even the Six Marquises were surprised at the speed of the decision.

Of course, Royce was surprised, too.

It was clear to them that the speed of the decision was the reason why Crown was developing so rapidly.

Now that they were under the umbrella of Crown, they could no longer use Felkia as a gift, but that didn't mean they could just leave him there.

In fact, Kennelsen's position in Crown would worsen if he was left unchecked.

The Six Marquises' entry into Crown had only been announced to important people, and no official announcement had been made yet, so he wanted to do something about it before then.

Since they were dealing with Felkia, it didn't take much effort to gather the evidence needed to capture him.

When they stepped in with the Prison Guards, Felkia was already planning to escape, so it was a very close call.

He had made it a point to mention to Felkia that the Six Marquises would be joining the group.

He was afraid that if he made any unusual moves, Felkia would find out about it, and it would have backfired.

In the end, they were able to catch him, so they concluded that the result was good.

The announcement of the Six Marquises joining Crown was announced with great fanfare in Kennelsen.

The story quickly spread throughout the town and was well received.

Of course, there was the trust that the Six Marquises had earned in the past, but more than that, there was no one in Kennelsen who could go against the Six Marquises.

The capture of Felkia also added to this.

They made it known that anyone who stood in the way of Crown would be eliminated.

The general sentiment in Kennelsen was less about joining Crown and more about the prospect of having a new production site in the Tower's floors.

Of course, the Six Marquises and their team would be leading the rumors, but there was already a lot of momentum behind it.

Kennelsen's recent situation was such that there was no hope for further development, if not a sense of stagnation.

The decision of Six Marquis was thus accepted by the majority of the residents.

Kennelsen's Six Marquises becoming part of Crown came as a huge shock to the inhabitants of the Central Continent.

It could be said that this was a natural result of things occurring.

After all, the food supply of the continent had been taken over by Crown.

However, for the majority of people, they realized that nothing much had changed.

The price of food didn't go up just because they were under Crown's umbrella, but rather the cost of transportation went down because of the use of the transfer gate.

Naturally, this would affect other food production, but since the transportation cost of Kennelsen's food was higher than that of local production, it did not cause much of a problem for the local producers.

If anything, local producers, who were trying to compete in the same price range as Kennelsen, were the only ones who were affected, but it could be said that they had been overcharging the consumers and were not to be pitied.

For the public, the decision of the the Six Marquises to join the organization was rather welcomed, but the situation was different for the influential people.

The food situation on the continent was now in the hands of Crown.

Because of transportation issues, they couldn't simply rely on imports from other continents.

In the end, they could only watch in silence as Crown's influence became stronger than ever in the Central Continent.

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Side Story 4, The Temple of Mixen

Laurelle, the Temple Head of the Elisa Meir Temple in Mixen, was currently being visited by the Temple Heads of the other two Temples.

By inception, there was no hierarchical relationship between the Elisa Meir Temple and the other Temples.

But no matter how big the three Goddesses were, there was a clear difference in the number of their followers.

Of course, compared to the other Gods, the Three Great Goddesses had a larger number of followers than most.

However, among them, Elisa Meir, the Sun Goddess, had more followers than any other.

For a Temple, the number of followers signified their difference in power.

Even though there was no difference between the top and bottom, it all goes down to the number of believers that would determine the power relationship of the Temples.

For serious matters, the Temple of Elisa Meir was the place to go.

But this time, the visit of the Temple Heads of the two Temples was different from the usual.

"…What do you mean?"

Laurelle tilted her head at the offer of the two Temple Heads.

"It is, as I said earlier. We, the two Temples, have decided to officially recognize Lord Kosuke, the ruler of Amamiya Tower, as a living god."

"Well, it makes little sense since the oracle is already known to the public and the Temple that worships him as a God is located in the Tower."

Hill, Temple Head of the Spica Temple, and Guile, Temple Head of the Jamil Temple, spoke up in turn.

"…You know what you two are saying, don't you?"

""Of course we do.""

They nodded at Laurelle, who pointed it out to them.

"We are a Temple below the throne of a Tower ruled by God. There's nothing strange about worshiping that same God, is there?"

"Even within the rules of the Temple inside the Tower, which is considered as their main shrine, there's no rule that states worshiping him in other Temples is forbidden."

Actually, there was already a movement among some adventurers to honor Kosuke as the God of Adventurers.

However, even if they tried to pray to that God, the only place where he was worshiped at the moment was in the Temple inside the Tower.

Not many adventurers, no matter how adventurous they may be, would go there every time they wanted to pray using the transfer gate, which costs a certain amount.

Well, as adventurers, they don't pray that earnestly, so they don't have any complaints until now.

Therefore, Laurelle felt a bit uncomfortable that the two of them were making this offer now.

"…What do you have in mind?"

"Oh…. Don't you understand, Laurelle?"

Laurelle stared at Guile, but could not tell if it was a provocation or not.

She let out a single sigh and honestly raised the white flag.

"…I don't understand. Why now, at this point in time?"

"Because of this timing, I guess."

When Laurelle was told that the timing was right now, what came to mind was the official announcement yesterday that the Six Marquises of Kennelsen would be joining Crown.

She was unable to grasp any of the movements on the surface as well as those under the surface.

That's how quickly and secretly it was carried out.

And that's why the impact on the Central Continent was so great.

The Six Marquises joined Amamiya Tower.

The meaning of this was too easy to understand.

"…Are you guys… No, are you serious?"

Laurelle couldn't bring herself to say the words.

"Oh, what are you talking about? As I said before, isn't it natural to worship a God in a Temple? And this time, we have an oracle. I have no reason to complain."

Hill's reply was an indirect answer to Laurelle's question.

Guile, listening next to her, also laughed.

Laurelle let out a sigh.

"Are you ready to make the internal adjustments?"

""Of course.""

Laurelle was surprised by their answer.

[Honestly, when did this happen?]

She had never seen any sign of it.

This thought was directly expressed on her face, and Guile, seeing this, laughed and told her.

"In the first place, even though we are ones who are worshiping the Three Great Goddesses, we have an underlying structure that makes it easy for us to accept other Gods. There will be no resistance if we carry things out this way, right?"

"…Did you also properly inform the people involved of the significance of announcing it now, at this time?"

"Of course. And that is the conclusion we reached."

"Mister Laurelle… To put it bluntly, for us, the summoning of the Three Great Goddesses was a big deal."

At Hill's words, Laurelle gently closed both of her eyes.

Even now, she could easily recall that moment.

It could even be said that the dreams of all clergy had come true at that very moment.

The Three Great Goddesses had manifested together right in front of them.

"Yes, well…"

"I'll leave it to you to decide what you want to do."

"Whatever the Temple of Elisa Meir does, we will make it known."

No matter what Laurelle had to say to them, it would be useless.

Rather, she knew that exercising her power would only lead to a backlash.

"…How long do I have to wait for the time limit?"

At Laurelle's reply, they looked at each other and laughed.

"Until whenever you want… is what I'd like to say, but unfortunately, if it's too late, there's no point. As soon as you can, please."

"I'll see what I can do."

Satisfied with Laurelle's answer, they both stood up at the same time.

[I guess they are done with their business.]

After all, they were both the heads of their respective Temples.

Unless there was something special going on, they would not be able to leave their Temple for very long.

After the two Temple Heads left, Laurelle remained there alone, and for a while she was lost in thought.

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Sylvia was making a rare visit to the 5th floor of the administrative office.

It was not often, but when Crown or the executive branch has business with members of the Administration Floor, it was handled by the Defrayer clan, who have been granted a blood contract.

This was because only trustworthy people were allowed in the Administration Floor.

"…How can I help you?"

"I've come across something I can't handle, so I thought I'd ask you for advice."

Sylvia asked Alec as soon as she arrived, and he quickly presented her with a piece of paper.

With a questioning expression on her face, Sylvia took the document and looked it over.

"This is…"

"To put it bluntly, I thought it would be better to talk to you, a [Shrine Maiden] first, than to make the decision."

Thinking for a moment, Sylvia let out a sigh and replied.

"…I think they should be allowed to do as they please."

"You don't mind?"

"I don't have the authority to stop them in the first place. If it's something that directly inconveniences us, though. That's another matter."

"…Hmm. What about the churches on the other continents?"

"There's nothing we can do about them. We have no direct authority to stop the three Temples in Mixen than what we do here."

In the first place, it was up to each Temple to decide which God to worship.

It was not that uncommon for the Gods worshiped to change depending on the beliefs of the local community.

"Well, I understand your concern, Alec-san, but I don't think it will be too serious, do you?"

"Why not?"

"Because if they were to make a bad move, they would incur the wrath of the Gods."

Sylvia was not referring to Kosuke here.

She was talking about the Three Great Goddesses and the other Gods.

In the previous discussion Sylvia had held, they have been threatened a lot in that regard.

She could only hope that they would not act foolishly.

Alec could only chuckle at Sylvia's words.

"If that's the case, then I'll officially accept. it."

"Yeah. Or rather, I'll take care of the processing. It'll be more effective that way."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course."

Alec didn't want to go to the Administration Floor.

Sylvia was sent here because the Main Office was not the one in charge of this, and it was the wrong department to approach.

When Sylvia said that she would take care of it, he gladly presented the document to her.

With a quick glance at the documents, Sylvia signed it smoothly and then handed it back to Alec.

"Thanks for the help."

"No, not at all. If there's any more church related information, please bring it to my attention if you can."

"Oh. I will."

Alec was inwardly relieved by Sylvia's offer, as the current God related matters would be too much for him to handle.

In the end, as a result of this day's exchange, the three Temples of Mixen would be worshiping the living god Kousuke.