It had been almost a year since the war began.
Finally, the Goddess Church, which had always been dragged around and beaten, issued a statement.
“This, this is it. With this, we can surely win back the hearts of the people.”
“Of course, this is the result of the best theologians gathering and researching.”
“The problem now is how to reveal our masterpiece and make the people aware of it…”
A 120-article rebuttal.
This was a work of the church’s utmost effort, made by adding five more articles to the previously circulated 115-article rebuttal.
It was a large-scale project with theologians who were still alive and reachable and many high-ranking priests participating.
After two months of work, involving nearly 1,000 people, it was completed — a masterpiece of the century.
“For all this time, the priests have only been subjected to criticism because we didn’t have proper arguments.”
“But if we distribute this?”
“We won’t have to suffer from unjust criticism and anti-church movements anymore.”
To summarize the content, it was as follows:A rebuttal of the general arguments in the 115-article rebuttal and a defense of indulgences and the corruption of the priests.
[Indulgences are the most noble and precious gift of our sky and our Lord, the Goddess.
Who said that this is a well-crafted scam, a false game?
Such foolish words.
To reject the opportunity given by the heavens!
It has already been clearly taught that the sins you and your family may commit can be forgiven.
No matter what anyone says, the church will not forsake its privilege, passed down from St.
Justia (the first saint of the Goddess Church) in the heavens.
Because indulgences have saved more souls than the apostles’ sermons ever did.]
[Priests!
Nobles!
Serfs!
Children!
Youth!
Virgins!
Can you not hear the cries of your parents and friends who are desperately calling from the depths of the bottomless abyss beyond Purgatory?
‘We gave birth to you, raised you, and even left you wealth.
How could you be so stingy and greedy, unable to offer even a small token to try and save us?’]
[You can save your parents now. A single coin in your pocket can save your parents.]
With the clink of a coin falling into the offering box, their souls were freed from purgatory.
Do you not wish to guide these souls to paradise?
For centuries, the Church had peddled indulgences, repeating the same hollow logic.
Now, they tried once more to make people accept their lies as truth.
The goddess had never endorsed such things, nor were they written in the scriptures—there was no justification.
Yet they spun miracles of rhetoric, weaving praise and sophistry to glorify their deeds.
“This isn’t a good strategy.”
It wasn’t effective.
Defending a system rotten to its core?
They knew this, too… but regrettably, they had no other choice.
To admit the indulgences were wrong would shatter the Church’s carefully built reputation and morality.
To protect their sweet privileges and keep feeding at the trough, they had to double down.
[Church’s Defense]
“It is true that there are corrupt and fallen priests within the Church.
But they are but a handful of heretical seeds—wicked ones who succumbed to greed, forsaking the goddess’s grace for heresy.
Even the most virtuous groups have such outliers.
Criticize the auditors who failed to root them out, but to slander the entire Church is not the act of a pious believer!”
“We demand the author of the ‘115 Counter-Theses’ reveal themselves!
By what right do they defame the Church, twisting sacred scripture to demean us?
Why paint devout priests as depraved, venomous, unimaginably lustful swindlers?
If they wish to criticize, let them step forward openly—name themselves and debate us in public!
The Church will gladly oblige.”
They clung to the “few bad apples” argument, pleading, “Do not judge the whole by its flawed parts.”
The critic’s anonymity became a convenient target—”If they’re so righteous, why hide? Their cowardice betrays their doubt!”
[The Church’s Counterattack]
“Dispatch agents to the printing presses at once!”
“I’ll fund it. Prepare propagandists to sway the masses.”
“Once finalized, distribute the counterarguments to every church and chapel.”
Priests and bishops were ordered to preach these “truths” to congregations.
The Church believed this would reclaim at least some of its former influence.
[The Backfire]
“Y-Your Eminence! The reports on public reaction…”
“Well? Do the people believe us?”
“…Insults against the Church have increased.”
“What?!”
Unsurprisingly, their efforts had failed spectacularly.
“Ugh. These idiots.”
*****
I clicked my tongue, reviewing the latest reports from the organization.
These days, when I have free time after working at the academy, I read the newspaper like a habit.
But every time I read it, all I see is nothing but pathetic stories.
“Do they not even know the basic principles of agitation?”
The best way to deal with widespread rumors is to ignore and confuse them.
Avoid direct confrontation as much as possible, and instead, spread other sensational news or gossip to bury the rumors.
Then, slowly shape public opinion to counter the rumors and use the influential figures to bury them.
This is the least damaging approach, even used in 21st-century politics.
“If you directly address it, you’re basically advertising that you have something to hide.”
But what if you openly refute it?
That’s like starting by ruining public perception.
It’s like overreacting to petty insults, and people are hardly going to believe you.
‘At this rate, the church won’t last long. A real disaster is coming soon.’
Once a perception is formed, logical persuasion or the completeness of an argument becomes meaningless.
No matter how much you try to come up with convincing words, people won’t listen.
It’s like how people don’t believe a con artist’s words.
Just like social trust or influence, elements that once added persuasiveness are rendered useless.
‘Our stubborn disciple lady is going to have a tough time.’
Just like politicians who lose their supporters and fall after ruining their image, these guys will only have one way left to go: collapse after losing their followers.
I think they will follow a similar path to the Catholic Church on Earth.
They’ll hold on, relying on a small remaining base of supporters, but they’ll lose their exclusive position and barely manage a soft landing.
Well, it will depend on how the saint and the church leadership act going forward.
“Miss Kalia, or should I say, Branch Leader Kalia, how is the recruitment of new members going?”
“Thanks to you, many people who lost their faith have joined us.”
This was a huge boost for organizations like ours—anti-government and anti-society groups.
Even without doing much, potential recruits were pouring in on their own.
After the 115-article rebuttal shook their hearts, the church itself delivered the final blow.
Could it be that the faith I’ve believed in was meaningless?
Friends who thought that way were being recruited by the dozens every day.
“The ones who show potential are being sent to the new training camp we’ve set up. We’ll properly train them and make them usable as members.”
“And the useless ones?”
“We’re convincing them and keeping them in check for now. They’ll be used as expendables later.”
Of course, most of them will be discarded, like figureheads or petty criminals to be sacrificed, or manpower for suicide bombings.
We don’t have the loyalty or the resources to keep those who probably won’t be loyal to our cause.
“Then, can we send some of them to support our shipping company or guild?”
“It’s not difficult, but why the sudden request?”
“I’ve found an opportunity to make a fortune through trade.”
With that, I turned the page of the report.
On the next page, a large title was written:[Regarding the large-scale expansion of factories and production capacity of the Hispania Empire]
The people obsessed with demography are suddenly expanding their production facilities without any clear reason.
They haven’t secured any new large markets to absorb the increased goods.
What does this mean?
It means they now have the ability to seize market share from others and expand their exports.
For the time being, trading between Hispania, Kram, and Navre will lead to a huge increase in profits.
It’s not like their technology suddenly advanced dramatically… so there’s only one possibility.
Price reduction through division of labor.
In other words, the introduction of factory-based craftsmanship, moving away from the artisan-centered production system.
The empire has finally embraced the principles of The Wealth of Nations.