Chapter 66

People sometimes say that money has no color.

It is the idea that money is money, whether earned by dirty means or clean ones.

But of course there is also the opposite way of thinking, where even the same piece of junk instantly gains value if it once belonged to a celebrity.

The world is full of those irrational senses of value, and honor is one of the greatest of them.

If so, there is no reason not to use that in reverse.

Puzzles of honor and status can be made to disappear if you combine the pieces cleverly enough.

“Salvation for those who have strayed from the path… is it?”

“Yes, Priest-sama.”

Iiria put on the brightest smile imaginable in front of the worldly priest.

There was something faintly terrifying about Iiria when she put on that kind of performance.

Even the priest seemed somewhat overwhelmed, though the sheer strangeness of the plan suddenly laid before him may also have had something to do with it.

What I had come up with while talking to Kengo was the founding of a new convent, and the idea of having it take in those girls in question.

“It is a sad thing, but there are many girls in this territory as well who have strayed from the path of God. I believe the gospel of God ought to be brought to them, do you not agree?”

The priest pressed his lips together, groaned, and then looked toward me as if asking for help.

He probably could not grasp the true intent behind the plan Iiria had proposed.

Surely even this priest did not think that Iiria, with beast ears growing from her head, had genuinely devoted herself to the church.

Still, the establishment of a new convent would, in effect, expand the church’s influence, and that would count as an achievement for this priest.

In short, the priest was bewildered, wondering why Iiria, who ought to be an enemy, had suddenly brought him something that would benefit him.

“That is… indeed, yes, that is true, but…”

“We will gather the donations ourselves and bear the operating costs as well. All I ask is that Priest-sama, as the one responsible for the church in this territory, bestow your blessing upon it.”

At Iiria’s rapid-fire words, the priest finally seemed to find a foothold for understanding.

“…That house of God would not fall under my jurisdiction?”

“The authority to appoint the abbess rests with the lord.”

Once the topic turned into something like a scramble for vested interests, the priest’s eyes at once filled with eagerness.

But before the priest, now fully conscious of territory and prerogative, Iiria smoothly slipped aside.

“For the first abbess, I recommend Assistant Priest Clover.”

“Mm!”

The priest, who had been all but rolling up his sleeves for a fight over privileges, stumbled.

“Clover?”

“Yes. He seems to possess a truly splendid faith.”

“…”

The priest fell into thought for a while. Presumably he was considering whether having his subordinate Clover recommended as abbess would pose no problem for maintaining his power, or something along those lines.

“However, I would like the management of the convent’s accounts entrusted entirely to Yorinobu’s company here.”

The priest’s eyes turned to me once more.

It was a look that sized me up, a face calmly calculating his own gains and losses.

“Of course, a fixed amount will be donated from the convent’s accounts to the church. Clerical stipends will also be established.”

In the sense of wages for the clergy, each position in the church came with what was called a clerical stipend.

The church in this world too had a pyramidal structure, so if the income of those below increased, those above profited as well.

The priest must have been working the abacus in his head.

After letting his gaze slowly circle once, he turned it back toward us.

“I do indeed think the convent proposed by Lord Iiria has a most admirable purpose.”

The purpose of the convent to be founded in Iiria’s name was to give priority to taking in women within the territory who had lost their honor and make them followers of the faith.

Like Mary Magdalene, it would become a place of repentance for them.

Of course, that simple a plan was not what I had proposed to Iiria.

The heart of the plan was not to shut the girls away in a convent and be done with it, but to let the heat die down there first and then return them to worldly life.

If they spent their days clothed in pure white, offering quiet prayers, and in the end received the church’s full endorsement, then even a dark past ought to be able to be painted over.

From what I had gathered, there were in fact examples of such things in other towns.

In other words, this was a plan to carry out status laundering on a grand scale.

But naturally, running a convent cost money.

Just preparing a building would require a considerable sum, and the daily living expenses would weigh heavily as well.

That was why new convents were rarely ever founded.

When I had brought the idea to Iiria, she apparently envisioned nearly the same scheme, but it had fallen apart over the issue of money. Relying on that worldly priest would have been impossible, and even if he had listened, there was no knowing what sort of payment he would have demanded.

That was why, when she heard my outlandish idea, Iiria had practically leapt at me.

While Kururu peeled the wildly excited Iiria off me, I explained that one more circuit was needed to keep this convent plan running smoothly.

In other words, we would dock it with that livestock plan we had discussed with Dodol and the others.

“However, Lord Iiria, what concerns me somewhat is this convent’s emphasis on labor…”

“Yes, Priest-sama. We will educate them, and alongside that, have them devote themselves to labor with their hands. I believe even God would be pleased by the spirit of diligent work.”

They hardly sounded like the words of Iiria, who would nap in the courtyard whenever she saw the chance, but she made them sound convincing enough that it was impressive.

“I considered what sort of work would be fitting… and then, Priest-sama, I thought of the recent dragon affair.”

“The dragon.”

The priest repeated the word, and perhaps it brought back something like the despair of that time.

He gave an exaggerated shudder.

“This is a small island territory. We rely on imports for food. Therefore, if production were increased, it would become a blessing for all of us.”

“Mm… yes, yes, that is true, however…”

To the reluctant priest, Iiria spoke without hesitation.

“Grain does not grow easily on this island. And so, livestock raising.”

At Iiria’s explanation, the priest quite plainly looked at her ears and tail.

Iiria must have noticed, but when this girl wore the mask of a lord, she was not the sort of actress whose emotions would be disturbed by something like that.

“Comfort for those noble souls who become our sustenance. Thus the nuns shall offer prayers for the lives that were taken, and by their devoted hands transform them into nourishment that sustains the next life. Though meat-eating is cautioned against by the church, it is not forbidden. Therefore, by passing through their hands, people will feel God’s presence even more deeply in their daily meals.”

At Iiria’s flowing speech, the priest fell into a thoughtful silence.

Then, from behind his folded arms, he said,

“In other words, this convent would run a butcher’s shop.”

“And we will take responsibility for supplying that meat.”

That was the unconventional scheme.

Because Dodol and the others looked too much like beasts themselves, it seemed difficult for them to engage in the production and processing of meat.

But I thought that by passing it through the convent, this problem might be solved.

Much like wine that sold because cute girls stood out front even if, in truth, it had been stomped underfoot by old men, if the processing and sale of the meat were handled by nuns, perhaps people would buy meat raised by beastfolk without feeling repulsed by it.

That was the sort of godless merchant’s idea I had come up with.

“There is certainly no canon law saying that convents must not run butcher’s shops… but this is rather, well, a bold undertaking… is it not?”

“Yes. There may be some complaints from the butchers’ guild. But this is a convent, after all.”

When Iiria smiled sweetly, the priest’s face clouded all the more.

It was essentially the same as telling him to use the authority of the church to silence the butchers’ guild.

But the church was already so extraterritorial that smuggling at the harbor had become routine, so surely God would forgive us for making use of that power now and then.

“What do you think, Priest-sama?”

The creation of a new convent would count as a pastoral achievement. And if he kept as many as four mistresses, then surely the number of girls he had laid hands on was greater still.

If he felt even the slightest guilt toward them, then perhaps he would go so far as to take on the butchers’ guild.

More than anything, he must have smelled profit in this.

He was a worldly priest, but it was precisely because of that worldliness that there was something trustworthy about him.

At length, the priest unfolded his arms and said this.

“The butchers’ guild is no weak force. However, butchers do at times reap excessive profits, and above all, this is for the sake of girls who have lost their way.”

Smack, the priest struck his own knee.

“Very well. The church shall speak with the butchers’ guild. Now then, is it only pigs and chickens? Do you plan to increase ducks and geese as well? Quail may also be a good option.”

The priest, leaning forward now, looked for all the world like a man who had found a route to procure meat cheaply.

Thinking I would have to watch out for embezzlement, I told him that we could gradually expand the range of items in time.

In any case, I was relieved that the plan now seemed likely to come together, when I felt Iiria’s tail lightly tap my back.

When I looked at her profile, Iiria glanced at me and gave a small smile.