Archbishop Dwayne looked out the window as the priest who had finished his report bowed his head.

"What should we do?"

"The discussions with the Elder Council of the Snake Cult are already concluded. The Cult of Ra supports their establishment as a state religion."

"But that will cause friction with opposing forces..."

"It is a necessary sacrifice. The benefits of the Snake Cult's Elder Council aligning with us outweigh the risks. It will surely help in keeping the Cardinal and the Archbishop favoring her in check."

This isn't something up for discussion. It was all pre-arranged anyway.

Dwayne turned his head and looked down at the priest.

"What about the 5th Inquisition Office?"

"Inquisitor Dimona has been burdened with more work than she can handle alone. Various pretexts have been handed over to her to process payments, and the accumulated amount exceeds billions."

"Very well, Priest Eileen."

Dwayne recalled the past. He had also brought down the previous Inquisitor of the 5th Inquisition Office, Belstein, in this manner.

Assigning blame for uncommitted actions, burdening someone with difficult tasks, and pressuring them to break down a person.

Ultimately, all the responsibility will fall on Inquisitor Dimona. Once she falls, Jahad can be brought down next.

It's just a matter of time anyway.

"Still, it's surprising... Inquisitor Dimona. To think she would endure that murderous workload for over a month."

"That's the workload of ten clerks handling tasks simultaneously. Even with Radatok's help... that's beyond human capacity."

"She is competent. That's why we tried to recruit her. Though that didn't happen, there's no doubt she's still an enviable talent."

It's unfortunate.

She had openly bared her teeth.

It wouldn't matter if she was crushed now.

"What about Inquisitor Jahad?"

"I heard he was released from his position as an apprentice Paladin as of yesterday."

"Even his protective shield has disappeared. Bring me tasks that no one has ever accomplished. I will personally select them and submit them to the 5th Inquisition Office in the name of the Papal Court."

"Understood, Archbishop Dwayne. All shall be imbued with the will of Ra..."

Knock knock.

Someone knocked on the door. Dwayne frowned. He was sure he had instructed not to be disturbed.

"What is it?"

"Ah, Arch-Arbishop Dwayne, I-I'm sorry. I have urgent news to report..."

The priest selected as his secretary entered hurriedly with documents in hand. Upon seeing another priest in the room, he paused.

"Um..."

"Ignore him and report."

"Ah, yes! It's about..."

The documents came tumbling out.The flustered priest picked up one of the documents.

"The, the 120 million talent invoice to the 5th Inquisition Office has been fully paid."

"...What did you say?"

"The, the 120 million talent invoice to the 5th Inquisition Office..."

Bang!

The desk that was slammed down broke in half. Dwayne asked once more.

"Could you explain... precisely?"

"The 120 million dalants have been fully..."

The secretary squinted his eyes tightly.

"Fully deposited without a single talent missing..."

"How?"

"There, there was an anonymous donor..."

‘An anonymous donor?’

Dwayne's expression hardened.

‘Why on earth? Who, and for what reason? We have tracked all the activities of the 5th Inquisition Office. We are also aware that they haven't done anything particularly noticeable.

But to sponsor them? To support the setting sun? Why the 5th Inquisition Office of all places?’

"Who is the anonymous donor?"

"That, that we are unable to find out..."

"Trace it. Immediately."

‘Who on earth would do this?

Who disrupted the plan I devised?’

Dimona looked at me.

I looked at Radatok.

Radatok looked back at Dimona.

We put on the cheap sunglasses we bought on a whim. Before us was the 'Black Market', which was the equivalent of a department store in this world.

"Now then, where should we..."

Dimona gave a sly smile.

"Shall we go shopping!"

"But, about the Snake Cult..."

"Oh, Inquisitor! Don't worry about that! The Papal Court will handle it! We're here to spend money! Thinking about anything else would be a real luxury! Right, Jahad?"

"Money only has value when you spend it."

I exchanged smiles with Dimona.

"The payment's all sorted! Let's clean it out, Inquisitor!"

"I really like that!"

We charged into the Black Market.Dimona was unstoppable.

"Everything from here to there!"

"E-excuse me? C-customer? Are you serious, not joking?"

"Does it sound like I'm joking?"

The clerk, who was lightly tapped on the cheek with a wad of cash, bowed deeply.

"Thank you very much! Customer!"

"This is thrilling!"

Dimona was panting. She bought up everything as if she were planning to replace all the welfare facilities, starting with training dummies.

"Ahhh!! This is why people always talk about money! Jahad, can I buy just one bottle of that promised drink?"

"I told you, you can buy whatever you want."

"R-really? Then I'm going to get something really expensive!"

Dimona returned, clutching a bottle of wine worth a hundred thousand talents.

"Myeongju… A hundred thousand talents... Hehehe..."

Feeling sorry, I bought her a bottle worth a million talents.

Dimona shivered, blinking as she clutched the million-talent bottle of wine and burst into tears.

"I feel like I could die here... Haahhh..."

"But you haven't even opened it yet?"

"I'll open it first and then die... Haahhh..."

Radatok cleared his throat.

"Brother... if it's not too much to ask..."

"Are you talking about Konjac Jelly?"

He handed over three large packs. Radatok tried hard to suppress a smile.

"Brother, thank you."

Dimona loaded the packages onto three carriages, carefully checking the number of items.

"With this amount, it seems we can change our diet again."

"Does that mean we finally get meat added to our side dishes?"

"It was always there, just low quality meat. But now it will be overflowing with nutritious foods!"

Despite the good news, Dimona sighed.

"But still, it’s disappointing... though we managed to put out urgent fires, there’s a chronic issue. How should we handle the amounts Dwayne will charge from now on?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Pardon? Oh, I didn’t mean to pressure you. Don’t worry, Jahad. You’ve already received enough, so just think about what you'll get in the future. Trust me."

"No, that’s not what I meant."

I shrugged my shoulders.

"I was planning to give 200 million every month?"

"...Huh?"

Dimona froze. I did the math again.

The total monthly income was about 500 million. Of that, we planned to invest 200 million into the Inquisition Office every month. Another 200 million would go into my account, and the remaining 100 million had other intended uses.

"Two... two... two hundred million every month?"

"From now on, don't worry about the payments."

I proudly showed off.

"Dimona, you have me, right?"

"......"

Dimona ascended — she collapsed as if her spirit had left her body.

"Inquisitor?! Inquisitor?!"

"Let her be, Radatok. See? She's smiling. It's a good expression."

Anyway, now that the apprentice label is gone, I wonder if pressure from Dwayne will start soon…

Or maybe not. Let's put out this urgent fire first.

The nationalization of the Snake Cult is a significant issue. They'll focus on that rather than smaller matters.

How will it turn out? Come to think of it, how is Isabella doing?

I hope she's doing well.

The Holy Fire of the Snake Cult flared up. Five masks emerged amidst the faint green hue that covered the black fire.

"The task is nearly complete."

"Now, the Snake Cult has been entrusted as one of the 13 Orders."

"Everyone worked hard. It was a challenging endeavor."

"There are no obstacles now to spreading Naga's will. But I suppose we must finish the task."

The Elder Council.

The five aging pillars that support the Snake Cult.

Their eyes converged. In the center of the round table stood the Apostle, chosen by Naga.

A young figure with black hair and dangerous, violet-tinted eyes.

"Estelle. Answer Naga's call."

"Travel the northern reaches of the Empire and proclaim that Naga's teachings have emerged into the light."

"We will form a delegation for you, Estelle."

"We shall assign you the elite, and grant you those you desire."

"If necessary, we will also promise sacred relics."

Estelle spoke.

"I don't need any of that. There's only one thing I want."

Like a snake slithering upwards, Estelle gazed up at the Elder Council.

Estelle opened her mouth.

"Please, let the Black Scale be part of the delegation."

The Elder Council murmured in surprise.

"The Black Scale?"

"Is she asking for Isabella?"

"Why those worthless ones, of all things?"

"They're fools. They aren't even worth protecting."

"Estelle. We have told you not to associate with useless ones."

"Who I associate with is my own decision."

Estelle asserted confidently.

"I will take Isabella with me. Our first stop will be the Cult of Ra. I will not accept any objections."

There was a heated discussion for a while. In the end, the Elder Council conceded.

"It will be a dangerous journey."

"It will likely provoke the opposition of other orders as well. Many will refuse to acknowledge us."

"The Cult of Ra is favorable towards us. However, be wary of Iskandar and Isis."

"Estelle, return alive. We will always be waiting for you."

"I won't die."

Estelle immersed herself in the darkness.

"Because I am the Naga's scale."

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