Chapter 74: The Great Schism of the Church (2)

“Is this everything we have here?”

“Yes, nothing was sent elsewhere. Everything is being processed in one place.”

“Good.”

As soon as the idea struck me, I rushed to the Intelligence Department and commandeered Kys’ desk (read: took over).

Beside me, the lieutenant had brought in experts from the Tax and Accounting Departments of the Treasury.

“You’ve had plenty of time to get started this morning. Are the categorization tasks finished?”

“Of course. These are the meeting records, and over there are the documents related to the Holy Kingdom’s national budget—”

“Spare me the explanations. Just bring all the financial documents over here. From now on, prioritize analyzing and organizing those.”

We quickly created extra seating by dragging in folding chairs and even benches from the hallway.

The Intelligence Department’s meeting room became noticeably cramped.

Of course, that was inevitable, given that a space meant for twenty people now held nearly sixty.

We could’ve moved the materials to a larger workspace, but that would’ve been a waste of time.

With tens of thousands of documents, there was too much risk of them getting mixed up during the transfer.

“As I mentioned earlier, start with calculating the amounts for each category and estimating the total sums. That’s the most critical information right now.”

“Shouldn’t we also calculate the scale of the Holy Kingdom’s tithes and population?”

“That can wait. It’s not immediately relevant to what we’re doing here.”

In a smoke-filled, cramped room, we got straight to work.

Our task was simple but critical: consolidating and analyzing the records of corruption committed by the clergy across the Holy Kingdom, the embezzlement by the Holy Emperor’s court, and the misuse of funds and resources.

In other words, we were quantifying, with cold, hard numbers, just how the Holy Kingdom had squandered the money extracted from believers across the continent.

“Should we categorize artworks and land separately?”

“Rights like mining permits or logging licenses are harder to assign a monetary value to—”

“Then just combine them by area. For example, how many acres of land or how many mines they control.”

Can a few dozen people really uncover corruption on the scale of an entire nation? Surprisingly, yes.

This isn’t an investigation.

If we were conducting a full-scale inquiry like a prosecutor going after criminals, even a hundred people wouldn’t be enough.

But all we’re doing is analyzing documents.

The clergy had carefully recorded these details for their own internal use.

All we had to do was read and consolidate the information correctly.

Granted, the sheer volume meant it would still take time.

But with everyone working hard, we’d get through it eventually.

“Your Excellency, is this information really that important?”

I turned to the one who asked, a junior officer who seemed skeptical, and replied with a smirk.

“It’s critical. This data is a weapon.”

I paused for effect, then continued.

“If you can prove to the public exactly how much wealth they’ve hoarded and wasted, you can destroy their authority without firing a single shot. The Holy Kingdom thrives on faith, but faith falters when the truth comes to light.”

As I busily scribbled with my fountain pen, Kys leaned in and whispered, making sure no one else could hear.

“Why?”

“If your purpose is to expose corruption and threaten the moral and religious legitimacy of the church, wouldn’t simply releasing these documents be enough? Why waste time on analysis?”

It seemed he was curious after hearing about my plans earlier.

I gave him a straightforward reply.

“Because people in power prefer numbers over explanations.”

If the goal were simply to stir up the masses and rally public opinion, I wouldn’t need to go this far.

Just exposing the fact that supposedly virtuous clergy are actually corrupt embezzlers would be enough to create an uproar.

Releasing the stolen documents as evidence would naturally sway public sentiment to our side.

But I am neither an atheist nor a heretic. I’m a soldier who dabbles in politics.

My objective isn’t to destroy the people’s faith.

This is a medieval fantasy world.

Even if I convince a million peasants, they won’t wield any political power.

One corrupt central noble holds far more value in terms of influence than ten thousand righteous commoners.

Thus, my target is, and always has been, the leadership of each nation—those who hold real power and control their governments.

And to convince them, objective metrics are crucial.

“Think about it. Instead of just shouting, ‘That guy’s bad,’ wouldn’t it be more compelling to say, ‘He’s a murderous thief’? Same principle.”

Everyone already knows the church is corrupt.

They’ve been bleeding the faithful dry with their endless tithes and donations for centuries.

No one is oblivious to that.

But what they don’t know is exactly how rotten it is.

How much has been stolen?

How far does the corruption go?

Even within the Holy Kingdom, this is one of the most tightly guarded secrets.

They’ve gone to great lengths to conceal it because they know that exposing it would obliterate their honor and authority.

But what if we unveil it all at once? Not just the evidence, but the cold, hard numbers that surpass even the wildest imaginations?

What kind of reaction would there be when they learn that just a small fraction of the embezzled funds already matches the kingdom’s annual defense budget?

Well, I don’t know exactly, but one thing is certain—they won’t be pleased.

Power-hungry rulers might not care about the lives of commoners, but they are exceedingly sensitive when it comes to the nation’s wealth being siphoned off by external forces.

With this, I might not only shatter the authority of the Holy Emperor’s court but also secure justification for establishing a new organization to replace it.

Surely, there won’t be any brainless idiots who’d continue supporting them after receiving such specific, incriminating evidence.

“I understand now,” Kys finally said, nodding in agreement.

I patted his shoulder lightly, signaling it was time to focus.

“Good. Now stop overthinking and pick up your pen. We’re not going home until this is done.”

“Are we pulling an all-nighter right after you’ve returned…?”

There’s no helping it.

I need to destroy those bastards in the Holy Kingdom so I can rest in peace later.

…Ah, damn it.

I miss Camilla.

Haven’t even been able to sleep next to her lately because of work.

Roughly nine hours and thirty-seven minutes later.

It was already past 4 a.m.

when our monumental analysis effort finally came to an end.

“We… w-we’re done. Here’s the final report.”

“Great work, everyone. Go home and get some well-deserved rest! Today—well, technically, later today—is officially a holiday. No work!”

“Ughhh…”

The bureaucrats and soldiers groaned as they shuffled out of the room, too exhausted to even cheer at the thought of a full day off.

So weak.

Despite being the one who endured the most, I was still perfectly fine.

The following afternoon.

After nearly 12 hours of deep, uninterrupted sleep—though it had started as a quick nap that turned into me completely missing the morning—I finally felt human again.

A hearty meal helped me fully recover, and I wasted no time inviting the saintess to my office.

“…Your Excellency? What on earth happened to you in just one day? You look like a corpse!”

“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

“How am I supposed to not worry when you look like you could drop dead at any moment?!”

As much as being treated like a patient right off the bat wasn’t ideal, the results were undeniable.

Miracles really are amazing.

With just one instance of divine healing, my fatigue vanished entirely, and I felt like I was back in peak condition.

No wonder the saintess is hailed as the representative of the goddess.

Anyway, with that brief incident behind us, we quickly got down to business.

“So, may I ask why you called for me?”

“Saintess, I’ll be blunt. How would you like to join me in a rebellion?”

Her expression froze in shock, as expected.

It was clear she understood that I wasn’t referring to a rebellion within the kingdom (I’d already taken care of that myself).

The target was obvious.

“You’re suggesting an uprising against the Holy Kingdom? Are you planning to mobilize the kingdom’s army for this?”

“Of course not. This will be done entirely through diplomatic and political means.”

I spoke as gently as possible, trying to win her over.

“You’ve seen it for yourself during your life—the Holy Kingdom is completely rotten, from top to bottom. There’s not a single part of it that functions as it should. The people are consumed by fanaticism, and the clergy exploit that to line their own pockets.”

“…That’s true. Even the Holy Emperor drank my blood as if it were some kind of miraculous elixir.”

“If they’d kept their greed confined within their borders, it might have been tolerable. But now they’ve overstepped their bounds and reached into other nations—including ours.”

I subtly brought up the incident where the Holy Emperor’s court sent a contingent of knights to escort Carl VII.

I highlighted how outrageous it was for them to deploy military forces to interfere with the internal affairs of a sovereign nation.

An act like that could easily justify a declaration of war, potentially leading to widespread devastation.

“We cannot stand by and watch such reckless behavior any longer.”

I handed the saintess a copy of the materials we had painstakingly compiled overnight.

“Saintess, will you lend us your strength? With your reputation, you could denounce the Holy Kingdom’s corruption and crimes before the people.”

“All you have to do is expose their wrongdoing and condemn their sins publicly. We’ll handle spreading your message across the continent and rallying support.”

She wanted to use her name and influence to shoulder the responsibility, leaving the smaller tasks to us.

It would give her the opportunity to strike at the Holy Kingdom she so despised—surely, that was an enticing offer.

After mulling it over for a moment, she looked at me and posed a question.

“Your Excellency, have you decided how far you’re willing to take this? Will you stop at reforming the Holy Kingdom, or do you intend to utterly destroy it? Surely, you’ve set some goals.”

“If possible, I intend to dismantle the Holy Emperor’s court entirely and establish a new headquarters for the goddess’ church.”

“In that case, fine. I’ll help you—on one condition.”

“What is it? If it’s within my power, I’ll promise it to you.”

The saintess took a deep breath before boldly declaring her demand.

“I will kill the Holy Emperor myself. I’ll tear him limb from limb and grind him to pieces while he’s still alive.”

“…Saintess, are you even allowed to, uh, commit murder?”

“So what? It’s not like that goddess has done anything to stop her followers from descending into this mess.”

Her demand was… shockingly extreme, but it wasn’t entirely unreasonable.

After all, if we were planning to bring down the Holy Kingdom, the Holy Emperor’s elimination was inevitable.

And if it’s framed as the goddess’ representative delivering justice to a corrupt religious leader, the public response might even be favorable.

Assuming, of course, that he’s still alive. If he is, I’ll simply hand him over to her.

Having made my decision, I nodded firmly.

“Understood. We’ll proceed as you wish.”