Moon Temple.
"We received a new letter from the saintess a few days ago, so I have called all of you here to discuss our development." An archbishop stood up, leading this meeting.
"A few days ago? If it's important, shouldn't you call us right away?" Another bishop frowned.
"That's what I would like to do, but her letter is… how do I say this…" The archbishop only waved his hand. "Bring it in."
A servant nodded his head and brought a mountain of paper. Each person would get at least forty pages filled with words and diagrams.
"This is…" The people looked at the number of papers, not expecting the report to be this many.
"The saintess has compiled all these within seven days. And I have copied the content so that all of you can read it." The archbishop's expression turned grim. "I'd like to know your opinion after you read all this. For now, I will give you an hour to read it. No one can talk, even if you are curious or want to discuss. Just read it again if you have finished. I'm sure you will find it more and more interesting."
They didn't know what the archbishop was talking about, but he rarely did it this way, so they still agreed with his words and read the whole thing, no matter how confused they were.
The saintess had compiled all this information as concretely as possible. The contents were divided into four major points.
The first one was about the war. Even though they had known that the war was over, they hadn't gotten the detailed report from Aurelia and Layla.
Hence, Layla told them everything she knew about Noel's strategy and all the weapons that she and Aurelia had witnessed. Obviously, they had heard about Felicia, who was able to defeat a superior demon while being a spirit master.
When they learned the war in detail, they couldn't help but suck a cold breath. The strategy might not be perfect, but it wasn't because Noel made a mistake. The enemy was simply much stronger than they expected.
The second point was about the carriage. This was the main thing. Layla was thinking about giving up the carriage in the agreement before the war.
Obviously, they were furious since they had fought hard for this. But Layla immediately showed them something even better.
Aurelia helped her draw the image of the carriage. It was a long carriage with ten wheels.
She even put the data that Anna and Roel gave while adding the fact that this was just a prototype. Once it was developed further, it wouldn't be strange for it to be much stronger.
Obviously, the one that piqued their interest the most was the fact that the moment they joined the wagons, they could bring more than a hundred tonnes. This meant a lot for the Moon Temple.
Everyone understood why Layla wanted to give up the carriage as long as they could get it.
And after this, Layla moved on to the highway that Noel planned to create. It would spread to the entire town of Lounstein as well as the territory near him.
There was one thing that she emphasized in this section. After creating the headquarters in Lounstein, it wouldn't be wrong to say that this was their current expansion priority.
If Noel indeed created such a highway with the carriage, they could easily expand in Lounstein.
At first, they thought completion would take at least a few decades. But with all this supply, they could actually complete their expansion within a few years.
This was the point that took everyone's breath away. It was simply too scary. She had even mentioned a few things like the airship and battleship, which would be another way to transport goods.
Last but not least, she added the fact that their action from this point on might cause some friction with the Muivell Kingdom.
While they could stick to the rule they had made, the other party might not do the same. This was her biggest concern.
When they finished reading, they started from the first page again or just read the part that confused them the most until one hour was up.
After that, the archbishop stood up and said, "I'm sure that you have read everything in that report. I'd like to know your opinion. To make it on point, let's discuss the war first."
"If we're talking about war, the saintess has done her job and should be rewarded by the lord of the territory. And all the opportunities written in here might be his way of expressing his thanks, but I can see that it's too much. He must want something."
"From the looks of it, the saintess is planning to help them. But she is still reporting to us, which means that she needs us to do something."
"Let's go back to the war topic. Earl Ardagan has shown the prowess that people can only look up to. In my perspective, with such a lord, it will be easy for us to expand in Lounstein."
"Agreed. Should we send another paladin or archbishop to quicken our pace?"
"I don't think so. While we can show our sincerity this way, we shouldn't do anything that outshines the local lord. Even Earl Ardagan has done it this way to avoid the royal family labeling them as rebels."
"I agree. That's probably why he shares the runes in those books, creates the Rune Academy, and shares the technology."
"If we end up outshining the Lord, it won't be weird if a certain rumor appears."
"A rumor about the chance of us instigating a rebellion, huh? If we bring too much force there, it won't be good. Our headquarters here have been granted as a special region, so it's not a problem, but Lounstein is different."
"Yes. For now, let's acknowledge his strength and think about his desire positively."
"Agreed."
When they reached an agreement, the archbishop continued, "In that case, let's talk about the highway and the carriage. They are connected, so we can discuss them together."
"In my opinion, this is something that we should take advantage of. If we can deliver more goods, we can gain more reputation. This reputation means a lot to us. After all, we will get more donations, more donations means more resources, more resources means more reputation, and more reputation means more powerful experts we can hire."
"And this is the main problem. He is planning to extend the highway to the Greenwood Kingdom. Through this, he is planning to connect this headquarters to Lounstein."
"But won't we get taxed by the Muivell Kingdom by doing that?"
"That might not necessarily be true." A Paladin thought for a moment. "If you take a look at the route that the saintess predicts, there is a chance that he will expand it to demon territory."
"Oh?! You're right." Another bishop nodded and took another look at the page.
"But won't it still be a problem if it eventually enters Lounstein?"
"Not really. I mean, what the saintess is implying here is that… we can simply drop it off in the demon territory. Since Earl Ardagan is also fighting the demons in their territory for the sake of the kingdom, if he happens to encounter and gain a lot of things in the 'ancient ruin,' no one is going to say a thing."
"!!!"
"So, we drop the items in the demon territory, and the Earl will take over, making it look like it's a supply he has found from the demon territory."
"Something like that."
"So that's what the saintess means about him expanding his territory."
"What do you mean?"
"Just take a look at this. If he is building the road like this, to prevent us from providing more and more items, the Muivell Kingdom has no choice but to make the demon territory a part of his territory. This way, we don't have any more excuses to drop it. And what will the Muivell Kingdom do to give him that territory?"
"Ah. There's no way they have a justified reason to give him the territory. And the only time they can give him new territory is when he is being promoted. In other words, the Muivell Kingdom has no choice but to promote him into a Marquis!"
"Right? And they won't be able to do anything other than raise his rank. For example, what if they choose a new lord north of his territory? It's simple. That lord has no choice but to become his ally since life on the border is harsh. And if they find a tough lord that can be considered his enemy, they will be overrun by the demons sooner or later. Once it returns as a part of the demon territory, the Ardagan family can get benefits again from us."
"What a clever tactic! From the looks of it, the highway itself is only a paved road. So, they won't serve any purpose if they are taken away, destroyed, or changed. The most important thing will be the new automatic carriages, which are in Earl Ardagan's possession."
"So, with this move, the Muivell Kingdom has no other choice but to let him win."
"And of course, there are two things they can do. They might send a royal army to protect the north, but it will weaken the kingdom as a whole. There might be a rebellion occurring because of this, so I highly doubt they will do this. The second thing will be having the new lord get our help."
"No wonder the saintess said we might offend the Muivell Kingdom because of this. If we sided with the Ardagan family, we would send nothing to that lord."
"That's right. I'm disgusted by how he plans to use us. At the same time, I can't help but admire his tactics. It's really a good maneuver. Even if he uses us, he is still giving us a lot of benefits."
"This is going to be a bit tricky."
The archbishop nodded. "That's why I called all of you here today. I'd like to know about your opinions and decide which course of action we will take."
One of the paladins stood up, saying, "I personally don't mind being used if it can benefit the temple. So, I'll cast my vote to agree with the saintess's opinion."
"The saintess's insight is much better than mine. I believe that she can see much further ahead, so I will support her decision."
"I don't think it will be good to break our neutrality. And we might get harmed along the way. I believe we have to consider it carefully once again."
"I can see the potential of the Ardagan family. I, too, support the saintess."
"I think everyone misses this one point. Everything that is shown here is just a plan and speculation. There is a chance that the royal family will stop them. So, I think it's better to remain here."
"That's exactly the reason why I'll support the saintess. The fact that the new technology is just a prototype means there will be a lot of improvement in the future. Earl Ardagan and his fiancee are the most talented people in the Muivell Kingdom, so I think it's good to place some hope in them."
"I also support the saintess. My main reason is their connection. He has a lot of connections in the Tower Association and the Demon Banner Army. And Marquis Stargaze has been in the royal faction for so long."
"I see. 5 vs 2. I think we have made our decision." The archbishop closed his eyes for a moment. "In that case, we shall agree to the saintess's decision this time. Prepare everything she needs and do it as fast as possible. Tell all the branches we have in the Muivell Kingdom to do it as quickly as possible."
All the people in the room nodded their heads. Even those who disagreed still helped, even if they didn't support the notion, since this was what the majority wanted.
