Chapter 47: A New Establishment and Bold Demands

“Start… a new establishment?”

Having heard the King’s words, the black-haired girl blinked, her expression utterly bewildered. A moment later, her eyes suddenly lit up, and she tilted her head, asking,

“Your Majesty, do you mean… we’re going to cast aside the Church and go it alone?! Are we launching a movement to eradicate religion?!”

“Cough, cough… No, not at all!”

Leo was visibly startled by the young girl before him. How could she utter such weighty pronouncements right off the bat? Eradicate religion? *Please*, she was a former Saintess!

Was such a drastic measure truly necessary?

‘She must be testing me,’ he thought. ‘Is she employing the ‘window effect’ tactic? Proposing an outrageous demand first, then scaling it back to her true, initial objective?’

“Hmm… My faith in the Divine Lord is unshakeable, Miss Allyrose, so please don’t jest. It’s simply that… I believe the current Church has strayed somewhat from the path of spreading the Divine Lord’s gospel…”

Leo chuckled softly, then spoke once more:

“Therefore… I thought, if we could establish a new denomination, one free from the Church’s control and united with the Royal Family, wouldn’t it be better able to spread the Divine Lord’s gospel to the people of our nation?”

“Oh~”

Upon hearing this, Allyrose largely understood. His Majesty the King intended to enact reforms. To prevent ecclesiastical power from overshadowing royal authority, he planned to contend with the Church.

“And a former Saintess, Allyrose, who was once revered by all the kingdom’s people, whose status has now been stripped by the Church, yet who still commands the ingrained faith of many—I believe *you* are the best candidate!”

Leo finished, gazing firmly at Allyrose. However, after listening to his impassioned speech, the black-haired girl lowered her head, as if deep in thought.

After a moment, Ufna gently ruffled the girl’s hair and spoke softly,

“It’s alright. This matter does carry some risk. If you are concerned for your safety, you are free to decline our offer. His Majesty will not force you.”

“Ah… no, I’m not worried about safety.”

Allyrose, comforted, slowly raised her head and shook it. Regardless, she and Vivian were destined for a deathmatch until one was utterly defeated. Whether she agreed to the King or not, she would be an enemy of the Church.

However… the girl was not one to help others for free. Since the other party had made such a request, she needed to carefully consider her compensation.

“I can agree to this, but I also have my conditions. Your Majesty, first, I demand that the Royal Family unconditionally provide the necessary financial support for the new denomination’s establishment and operation. Second, I require complete autonomy over the new denomination’s discourse; I can accept your suggestions, but I will be responsible for the final decisions. Lastly, I demand that if the Church tries to dispute the new denomination’s legitimacy, the Royal Family must offer me unconditional political support.”

After a long pause, Allyrose calmly presented all her demands. Leo listened intently, then… seemed to deliberate with some difficulty for a while. But a moment later, he nodded and said,

“No problem. I will provide you with financial support, and you will be responsible for decisions. However… regarding the Church, they still hold absolute sway over the people’s faith. I will, of course, support you, but for some particularly thorny issues, you may need to handle them yourself.”

“Hmm… acceptable!”

Allyrose nodded, and thus, the matter was settled. Immediately after, the black-haired girl asked Leo to bring out a map of the capital from his room, then, with a grand sweep of her hand, circled an undeveloped piece of royal land in the east of the city!

“Here! Build a brand-new monastery! Manpower, funds, equipment… I, Allyrose, demand payment! Finish it within two weeks! Kingdom speed, *kono*!”

Leo and Ufna watched Allyrose, who was so excited she was practically dancing. A moment later, they blinked in unison. ‘Wait…’

“Huh?”

‘It’s… that urgent?!

****

A few days later, not far from Allyrose’s magic academy, the main structure of a new monastery had already risen.

The speed was quite remarkable, and it was practically ready for use. Well… after all, she had made the old King invest a considerable sum, hadn’t she? If she couldn’t make the Demon Lord drop gold, making the King drop some was pretty good too!

Moreover, with magic in this world, this speed was actually for highly detailed work.

Walking to school with Allyrose, Luo Jia looked at the magnificent monastery, which prominently displayed a sign reading:

[Allyrose Monastery]

The silver-haired youth couldn’t help but gasp, then turned to the twin-tailed fox girl and asked,

“What exactly did you discuss with the King to get the Royal Family to sponsor this much?”

“Oho~”

Allyrose seemed to detect a hint of jealousy in his tone. A moment later, the twin-tailed fox girl turned, a mischievous smile playing on her lips, and winked her long eyelashes at Luo Jia, saying,

“What did I discuss~? Does little puppy want to know that badly~? Hehehe… But what if I tell you and you cry~? Ah, you can only blame yourself for not making the Demon Lord drop gold for me~ *Dame dame*, I won’t tell you~”

“Tsk…”

Hearing the girl’s teasing remarks, as if she held some unspeakable secret, Luo Jia felt a wave of speechlessness.

‘Who, who would get angry just because you act like that for a moment? What does it matter to me if you become the King’s concubine?!

I’m… I’m not angry at all. Who… who would be jealous of a wretched woman like you~!’

‘Ugh… but why… why do I feel so annoyed?’

Luo Jia silently turned his head away, which only made Allyrose burst into a giggle. A moment later, she patted Luo Jia’s head again and said softly,

“Alright, no more teasing. Let’s go. Today is the first day the monastery is open, time to get to work!”

“Huh? Aren’t we going… to school?”

Luo Jia blinked in confusion, while Allyrose turned her head, grinning as she gave a thumbs-up.

“No problem~ I’ve applied to Teacher Yuna for temporary remote lessons, that’s enough! Now that I finally have my own monastery, how can a Sister spend every day at school~? Now then, Whitey, I’m going to organize the interior layout. You go to the city center later and hand out flyers. That’s all, go on—!”

With that, the girl tossed a thick stack of flyers to Luo Jia. The Demon Lord froze, then a moment later, he silently gasped.

Damn it!

****

“Hello, the newly opened Allyrose Monastery in the east of the city is officially open for prayers starting today. Please take a look…”

Luo Jia walked down the street, handing out flyers one by one, not paying attention to people’s appearances, as there were simply too many flyers.

Thus, a flyer was quietly passed into the hand of a woman dressed in a nun’s habit.

Jennelle slowly looked up. A moment later, she gazed with some surprise at the title on the flyer.

“Allyrose… Monastery?”