Happy moments always pass by especially quickly.
After everyone enjoyed the sumptuous and delicious dinner, they all returned to their respective rooms.
By the way, Su Yao had already “fed” Lilith and Vainet before dinner started.
The quiet, long-haired, black-haired succubus lady seemed to have something on her mind—most likely because Su Yao hadn’t visited her “Seamstress Shop” as often lately.
There was no helping it; she had truly been too busy these days to spare the time.
However, regarding the “Police Equipment” that Sofia mentioned today, Su Yao would still need Vainet’s help, so she’d go look for her tomorrow.
For now, she set aside the various trifling matters.
Su Yao looked at Chlorel, who lay tipsily on the bed, and while a sense of fullness and satisfaction welled up inside her, she also recalled Miss Arthur’s earlier warning.
She gently shook the princess, who was nearly asleep, and asked, “Chlorel, what kind of country is the Saint Nation?”
“Hmm? The… Saint Nation? It’s… it’s an annoying country. Everything they do is under the name of the Goddess, but in reality, it’s always for themselves.”
Chlorel’s lazy voice carried a hint of discontent, as if the wine had loosened her tongue and revealed her true feelings.
The “Saint Nation”—as the name implied, this was a country founded on religion, and the “Goddess” was clearly the “God” they promoted.
Su Yao didn’t understand much about religion, but she wasn’t one to criticize others’ beliefs.
From Chlorel’s answer just now, it was clear she herself had some “Goddess faith,” yet her evaluation of the country was poor.
It was just like saying “God is good, but the church is bad.”
Logically, it was rare for the faithful to develop such a sense of “disconnect.”
“Why do you say that? Do you have any evidence?” Su Yao asked, curiosity getting the better of her.
“Evidence?… For example, when human kingdoms pass on the throne, the ‘Pope’ is required to crown them in place of the ‘Goddess,’ and the Pope’s attendance at the coronation requires a huge royal donation of gold coins. Does that count?”
Of course, this was a standard practice in history during the age of divine right of kings.
There was something similar in her original world too—the “tithe”—which was an important means for the church to amass wealth.
Looks like Chlorel was quite clear-headed.
“Anything else?”
“There’s also the monopoly over the ‘Potion of Life’ in Yadian Dungeon, renaming it ‘Divine Gift’ and then selling it at high prices to nobles from all nations?”
Pfft, calling “a gathering of radishes” a “grand assembly of heroes,” is that it? The “Goddess” is a trademark now? Anything with her name becomes a “luxury item”?
Come to think of it, the name “Potion of Life” sounded quite familiar.
So that was it. She now understood why the Dungeon had become a target. It seemed she had inadvertently moved in on someone else’s “cake.”
“Anything else?”
“There’s also seizing treasures from other countries by branding them as ‘Holy Relics’ and taking them away at will, convicting nobles who don’t acknowledge their doctrine as they please, waging ‘Holy War’ against demi-humans and forcing all nations to send troops and donations…”
Uh, alright, no need to go on.
It truly was “as it is now, so it was then.”
In the Middle Ages, religion had been exploiting people for hundreds of years.
Yet in this world, the faith could miraculously persist to the present…
“Don’t the other human nations harbor any resentment toward the Saint Nation’s actions?”
Even Chlorel could see the church’s arbitrary abuse under the name of the “Goddess.” How could the high-ranking leaders of other human countries not see it?
They clearly saw it, yet continued to feign ignorance—something just wasn’t right.
“The upper echelons of the Saint Nation control the ‘Sanctuary,’ and the Sanctuary controls the medical care of commoners. Although Healing Magic isn’t completely monopolized, the Sanctuary charges the commoners very little for healing, and there are regular free Temple Charity Clinics.”
Got it. So the Saint Nation was quite clever—it didn’t make money off the poor, but took what it could from the wealthy…
It appeared that the nation had bound its religious system to the medical care of human society, thereby keeping the upper echelons of other nations in check.
What a clever move! There was a reason they could get away with so much for so long.
But could that alone really be enough?
All the pent-up dissatisfaction among the upper classes of various nations hadn’t erupted even now; surely it wasn’t because they cared about the commoners’ wellbeing?
Just looking at the territory beneath her feet, it was clear that most nobles in this world likely had no notion of “the people are more important than the ruler.”
Even if nobles truly cared about the lives of their people, as long as they were willing to pay for Healing Magic users, it wouldn’t be impossible to provide medical care without relying on the Sanctuary.
There must be more than one reason why a group of vested interests would be willing to give up their own benefits.
So Su Yao asked again, “Besides that, are there any other reasons?”
Sure enough, Chlorel nodded in reply.
“And also, the Saint Nation is the oldest human country in history. Every four years, the top three of the Martial Tournament are recruited by the Saint Nation, and the Goddess’s Silver Dragon is in that country.”
A dragon! And a silver one at that! It sounded so cool!
Damn, that monster cost millions of DP to summon—she wanted one too…
Ahem, she was getting a little carried away. But after hearing Chlorel’s words, she understood—the so-called “medical monopoly” was just one form of insurance.
What really made the other nations swallow their pride was “military power.”
But by that logic, why would a princess who disliked the Saint Nation still “believe in the Goddess”?
After all, just now she had called out “Goddess-sama!” She had never once addressed Su Yao as “Lord Su Yao,” yet she called that unseen “Goddess” “sama”!
How unfair!
“Chlorel, if you dislike the Saint Nation so much, why do you believe in the ‘Goddess’? You must have overheard what Lilith said before—there probably aren’t any gods in this world.”
As she asked, Su Yao watched the princess’s expression closely.
But Chlorel didn’t seem like a crazed zealot, nor did she get angry at being contradicted, nor did she try to preach to Su Yao.
On the contrary, she blushed shyly.
“The various legends about the ‘Goddess’ are one reason. The other is that, when I was with the envoy fleet to the Kingdom of Elves, I saw the Goddess riding a Silver Dragon over the distant sea—it looked really cool…”
Damn, it’s the dragon, isn’t it? She must be talking about the dragon, right?
“It’s said that whenever a great calamity occurs, the Goddess’s Silver Dragon descends from the sky to save the world. And that day, after the Silver Dragon appeared, the torrential rains ravaging the Elf Sea stopped. Thanks to her, I was able to return safely by sea.”
Heh, “gods” don’t have the time to go flying around on dragons for fun. She must have just seen wrong!
Even so, she really did want a dragon!
If she rode one, maybe Chlorel would truly call her “Lord Su Yao” from the heart.
“Su Yao?”
“What is it?”
“I don’t like that Silver Dragon.”
What did that mean? Was the “Goddess” her first love or something? If so, Su Yao would get jealous right here and now!
“I just long for a ‘dragon’ to descend from the sky and save me when I’m in danger—just like when I first met you. That was really cool.”
Is that so? That’s more like it…
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