The Gift Offensive, Ian’s Conclusion

Polia Kingdom Royal Palace, the King’s Office.

“To think they are handing out gifts for free. I did not expect them to use this method.”

“Even if it is not that great of an interest, unlike before, they are giving away daily necessities for free, so it seems some people have become interested.”

At Viscount Rubingston’s words, Ian felt that things had become a little troublesome. In truth, after seeing how matters were going, he had thought that in just a few more months, they would become people no one would pay attention to anymore. But with even this small amount of interest, he thought the spark had survived.

“Are there any coercive actions?”

“There were some in the beginning, but since the police strongly warned and stopped them according to the instructions given, there have been no more attempts to evangelize by force.”

“I see. What should we do, then?”

“How about simply sweeping them away by force?”

“Would that not be illegal?”

“Would Your Majesty’s order not take precedence? Above the law is Your Majesty’s royal command. And as you know, considering what the Rat Religion did on the continent not long ago, I think we must not allow them to take root on our side.”

“Ah, that incident. It was quite shocking.”

One quite shocking incident had occurred, in which a noble family in the Iris Kingdom had come into conflict with the Rat Religion. Amid that, it was said the Rat Religion had declared them heretics. One might ask what being treated as heretics mattered, but what happened not long after that declaration was quite shocking.

‘They said all the members of the noble family had everything taken from them by their servants and were driven out of the mansion.’

Literally, the servants and maids. Even the gardeners and cooks, everyone had become believers of the Rat Religion, and they forcibly took everything and drove the nobles out of their home. They were even said to have stripped them of their clothes.

It was an extremely humiliating thing to suffer, and this could only be extremely shocking in this society centered around nobles.

“The problem is quite serious. It seems the empires are not in a good mood either.”

They had been in a situation where they could not pay attention because they had to hurry with reconstruction. Amid that, the expansion of the Rat Religion had been far too fast, and by the time they recognized them as a threatening existence, they had already taken deep root.

“Are you saying we must make them disappear before they become a problem?”

“Yes, I believe we absolutely must. They are people who will be of no help to our kingdom. If such people take deep root in the country, it will take a long time to remove them.”

“You are right. It certainly seems there is a need to remove them.”

Until now, Ian had thought they could only act when they broke the law, but after something like this happened, his thoughts changed. He thought the Rat Religion was a place that tended to become increasingly arrogant the more numerous they became. Meanwhile, at Ian’s positive words, Viscount Rubingston’s expression brightened.

“I will sweep them away at once.”

“Not by force. First, create a justification. At the very least, if a reason appears that leaves us no choice but to do so, there will be no burden on us, and we will have something to say to the outside world as well, will we not?”

“Yes, I will properly devise a plan and proceed.”

From the way Viscount Rubingston spoke with his eyes flashing, he seemed to have thought of a way to properly entrap them. Seeing that, Ian thought he would do well. Meanwhile, rather than the problem of the Rat Religion, he had to think about the problem immediately facing him.

‘What should I do about Princess Helena?’

That was right. Princess Helena was eighteen years old, the same age as his younger sister Charlotte. Since she was that age, she too had become an adult. In other words, he was in a situation where he had to choose what to do with her within this year.

‘Her expression has not been good lately. As expected, it must be because of the issue of returning to her country.’

It was probably because Rednix, Emperor of the Doicheun Empire, had told her to return if she could not produce results within this year. If that happened, she would truly be sold off to an older man in an unwanted political marriage. Thinking of that, he could only have truly great worries.

‘Do I really have to accept her as a consort?’

One might think he only had to decide, but with this choice, not only his own values, but also justifications for taking in new consorts in the future would be created. Even if he did not want it, those around him would constantly tell him to take in many consorts. Since he had to think about that, he could not help worrying.

‘There is still time before this year ends, so let me think about it until then.’

Time passed amid these worries. And the skill of Viscount Rubingston, the head of the Intelligence Department, began to be displayed.

One day in August, editorials containing the problem of the Rat Religion appeared in the newspapers.

「The Frightening Hypocrisy of the Rat Religion!? What Is Their True Identity?」

「The Terrifying Actions of the Rat Religion Now Taking Place Across the Continent!」

「Their Practice of Gathering Male and Female Believers and Forcing Them to Have Sexual Intercourse Has Been Revealed!?」

「There Are Noble Families Being Forcibly Driven Out of Their Homes Because They Do Not Believe in Their God?!」

「Smiles Are the Hope of All Healing? Their Doctrine Forces People to Smile, and Even Punishes Them the Moment They Cry.」

「We Investigate the Rat Religion’s Practice of Forcibly Taking Believers’ Money under the Pretext of Donations and Spending It Freely on Their Own Luxury!」

Various contents were written in the newspapers, and the expressions of the people reading them could only become deeply furrowed. The contents that had merely been known through relatives or acquaintances were now formally coming out through the kingdom’s newspapers, so most people came to know them.

Because this was true, people’s feelings and gazes toward the Rat Religion became unfavorable. In their eyes, the Rat Religion appeared to be a religious group with quite wicked intentions. Amid this, talk about them was also coming out through the radio.

[Greetings. I am your host, Barnes, presenting Channel 1 of the Polia Kingdom Radio Broadcasting Station, Voice of Aria. Everyone, do you know about the Rat Religion? According to information I received, the Rat Religion is currently handing out gifts for free. But is this truly free?]

At the voice of host Barnes, the people listening to the radio had expressions that seemed to ask what he meant. They had already heard through the newspapers about the problems with the Rat Religion.

[From the moment you receive an item, their claws have reached you. They will persistently tell you to believe in the Rat Religion. You gave your address because they said they would send you another gift while you received one? Soon, believers will come to you every day and continue harassing you to believe in the Rat Religion.]

At the voice of host Barnes, speaking with certainty, people felt that this would truly become troublesome.

[You ask if you should just become a believer? They will take more than half of your salary under the name of donations. They will take it from the amount after taxes, so your property will be cut in half that very day. Then, you will now live a difficult life, will you not? Do you truly want to live such a difficult life?]

At host Barnes’s voice, everyone could not help developing negative feelings toward the Rat Religion. Meanwhile, there were also people listening to this radio broadcast and exploding with rage.

“Wh-What kind of absurd nonsense is this?! When did we ever receive addresses? And we have not collected even a single coin in donations yet!”

“Lord Zad, this is deliberately making us evil with us as the target!”

“This is surely something someone intentionally plotted. You must formally find them and respond!”

“That is right! We must quickly find the one who plotted this!”

“You must resolve this matter quickly. Even the current believers are becoming suspicious and trying to leave.”

Seeing those people full of anger, Zad could only have an extremely hardened expression. The support funds had arrived, and through the gift offensive, they had been able to gather more believers. Just when he thought that results were finally appearing, such a painful thing had occurred. All evangelism was on the verge of being blocked.

“Who do you think plotted this?”

“If there is a place with a high possibility, it is probably the Hadis Religion.”

“The Hadis Religion, if it is them, it would be possible. They already think ill of us, after all.”

“Perhaps… it may be an order given by the king of this country. Whether newspapers or radio, to carry out actions simultaneously through them, one must have great power.”

“Mm, I cannot say there is no possibility.”

When he thought that the king of this country might have plotted it, he could not help becoming worried. Having come here and lived here, he could tell just how much support King Ian received from the kingdom’s people. There was even talk that the recent Dairam people’s incident had begun from insulting words toward the king.

‘If the king of this country truly stepped forward with us as his target, then we will have no choice but to be struck down without being able to do anything.’

Aside from the support of the kingdom’s people, the power he possessed encompassed the entire nobility of this kingdom. Literally, as long as he possessed absolute royal authority, the moment he set his mind on eliminating them, that day would be the end.

“For now, let us investigate centered around the Hadis Religion. I hope it was them who acted while targeting us.”

If it was the Hadis Religion rather than the king of this country, that would be much easier. If so, they would at least be able to resist. Just as he thought that, the door to the room they were in burst open. The one who entered was a priest in his early thirties. Since Zad knew he was not usually like that, he asked with puzzlement.

“What is it for you to come in so urgently?”

“S-Something terrible has happened.”

“Something terrible? What happened?”

“The company selling the industrial products says they cannot give us the goods.”

“What?”

“On top of that, they say they will return the price of the goods as is, so we should return the goods they have already given us. If we distribute them outside without doing so, they say they will sue us.”

“To make such an absurd demand.”

The power of newspapers and radio was now arriving. Naturally, it did not end with this. Soon, even those who had entered the Rat Religion quietly disappeared, and some cut off contact entirely. They tried to find them, but it was useless.

In other places, based on their many believers, human networks were established everywhere, but here, they had not even properly established themselves in one capital, so they could not do anything. Meanwhile, they did not yield to this and went out to the streets, spreading doctrine and evangelizing.

Of course, amid this, the gift offensive also continued. Inwardly, they knew the company had said it would sue them, but they did not care and brazenly handed out goods stamped with the company’s name for free. Of course, unlike before, the gazes of the people watching them had a coldness in them.

In just two days, as the Rat Religion became known negatively, discomfort had soon settled in the hearts of the people looking at them. They avoided them swiftly as if thinking that being caught by them would become annoying. Some people even clicked their tongues openly and pointed fingers.

“Look how thick-skinned they are. Even though their shameful side has been exposed like that, they are shamelessly talking about gods and such?”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. The world has truly gone mad. Why did things like that have to appear?”

“Ugh, it is so noisy I could die. Can we not report things like that?”

Even amid the words of those who were displeased, the Rat Religion people merely conveyed their words silently. At that moment, there were people approaching them, and they were the police. More than ten of them approached, and at that sight, one Rat Religion priest stepped forward and asked.

“What is the matter?”

Since they had only been watching until now, he seemed quite flustered by them approaching close. One of the police officers pointed at the piled-up daily necessities and spoke to him.

“Those, are you distributing them now?”

“That is correct, but why do you ask?”

“The company of these goods has reported you. They say you are distributing their goods without permission.”

“What are you talking about? We purchased these with money.”

“The company says they have already sent all the penalties as well? And they even told you absolutely not to distribute their goods, but it seems you are distributing them?”

“No, where in the world is there such a law? To do this over something already purchased. This makes no sense!”

“That is the law here in the kingdom. For now, we will collect all the goods. And you must go to the police station for questioning.”

“Wh-Why are you saying you will take us away!?”

“Then did you think we would leave you alone when you broke the law?”

“Wait a moment. Is this a targeted investigation or something? I am asking whether you are targeting our Rat Religion!”

“Hooh? How do you know about something like a targeted investigation? In any case, it is absolutely not that, so let us go for now.”

The police soon surrounded the Rat Religion people and tried to arrest them. At that sight, several people moved to run away, but around ten more police officers had approached at some point. In a blocked situation where they could not flee, all of them had no choice but to be arrested in the end.

At that sight, the people around them watched while murmuring as if they had seen an entertaining spectacle.

“The Rat Religion people are all being dragged away by the police now?”

“So what came out in the newspaper was right after all.”

“What did they do after coming to our kingdom?”

“The streets have been noisy for a while, but they will finally become quiet.”

Amid those murmured words, the Rat Religion priests and believers felt wronged because they had done nothing. They were arrested like that, and amid this sight, the Rat Religion’s position, which had already been almost nonexistent, was nearly wiped out.

The place most excited by this situation was none other than the Hadis Religion. For them, the people who had been like thorns in their eyes had been subjected to a large-scale formation of negative public opinion, and then they had seen them arrested with all sorts of justifications attached.

Inwardly, they guessed that the state had subtly stepped forward to do it, and they thought that it had been good to wait. Meanwhile, this fact was soon conveyed to the Rat Religion’s Central Order as well. Since it was news that would stir them up, there was no choice but for things to become noisy.