Chapter 78

While Yuri was returning the goblins that had been summoned earlier, tea and cakes for everyone was laid out on the table in the guest room.

The maids in the corner of the room had brewed it for them. When Yuri sipped from the cup, it tasted just like the tea she’s been drinking lately.

“This is…… the same one that Lydina always makes, right?”

“Yes. It’s the tea that Altorius dedicates to us every year.”

After taking a sip of tea, Arcana spilled her words, and Lydina nodded her head.

It’s a medicinal tea with a very distinctive taste, so if you’ve had it before, you’ll recognize it immediately.

Half of the land in the Holy Land is desert, but surprisingly, the other half of the land has a lot of forests.

This medicinal tea is said to come from a certain Elven village located in the middle of the forest.

“It clears my head, so it’s a good accompaniment to my work.”

“That’s true. It’s good for organizing your thoughts.”

“I simply love the taste.”

Yuri, Lydina, and Arcana. When each of the three main gods praised the medicinal tea, Altorius broke into a happy pose when he heard the words.

Although he had called them ‘such and such’ earlier, he must be proud of his country’s local products.

“Also. You can look through this while you drink your tea if you like.”

“Oh…… Yuri, what are these papers?

“It’s a plan for the construction of a new city, drawn up by one of the children of the Yuri Empire. As I mentioned earlier, there are plans to build a [Labyrinth Dungeon] within the city. I think it will be a good place to raise the level of the priests, so I think it will be valuable for the Holy Land.”

“That’s interesting. It costs a lot of money to train priests.”

Pope Altorius immediately began looking over the documents that Yuri had distributed to everyone present.

I’m sure there are more people with the vocation of a priest in the Holy Land of Nimun than in any other country since it is called the Holy Land. This is why the high cost of training them must be a problem for many.

“I can’t believe you have four copies of the same document…… Yuri, don’t tell me you’ve already developed a [Copy Machine]?”

“No, of course not……”

I can understand why Lydina, who knows modern Japan, would think that way. Yuri laughed at her words.

I am aware that I have made many timeless things, including the railroad carriages in Yuritania. You can’t be too quick to use a photocopier.

“That document was copied by alchemy.”

There is a skill in alchemy that allows you to duplicate an item. If the item to be duplicated contains even a fraction of rare materials, the duplication cost will be ridiculously high and the production time will be ridiculously long, so unfortunately it is not a very practical skill.

If it is a document, the cost of reproduction is low because it is only paper and ink, and the work can be completed in an instant, so using alchemy to make a duplicate copy is a more convenient method than you might think.

“Sister, are you going to build six [Labyrinth Dungeons] in the new city?”

“Yes, that’s the plan. By the way, you seem to have a very high level, do you think you hunt a lot of demons?”

Yuri asked. Estoa replied with a big smile on her face as if to say, “I’m glad you asked”.

“Yes! My vocation is a priest, I can’t handle healing magic as well as a priest, but I can handle some offensive magic instead. I can use long-distance attacks with a high hit rate, so I used to go around the cities of the Holy Land to kill demons to reduce the number of flying demons. But now, because of the wards that sister has put up, I don’t hunt demons as much.” (TN: Something like mage instead priest maybe?)

“I see. At Estoa level, you should be able to easily conquer half of the six [Labyrinth Dungeons]. I think the other half will be challenging for you, and if you want to raise your level, even more, I’m sure you’ll find it useful.”

“Wow, that sounds exciting……! I’ve been able to win the demons that appear around the Holy Land with relative ease, so I wanted to try fighting stronger opponents!”

“I’m glad to hear that. That’s good.”

It seems that Estoa surprisingly has a belligerent and martial personality.

Well… if you didn’t, you wouldn’t have grown to level 64.

“It’s a great idea to have a [Labyrinth Dungeon] where no one dies…… If this is a reality, it will greatly reduce the cost of raising priests. This will also allow us to keep the cost of treatment for the citizens at a reasonable level.”

“Altorius. I’d rather make the treatment free of charge.”

“No charge? No, the temple’s operating expenses are covered by donations from the faithful and support from the government, so it is possible to make the treatment a free service if it does not cost money to train the priests.”

“Well, I don’t strongly believe that it has to be ‘free’ either. But at least I would like to create a society where people who don’t have money can visit the cathedral and receive free treatment for injuries and illnesses.”

“Yuri. I think that’s a very nice idea.”

Lydina leaned forward to affirm the conversation between Pope Altorius and Yuri.

She felt great pity for the people who had to endure such unreasonable suffering. The poor who cannot afford to receive medical treatment is probably the most common targets of her deep pity.

“Altorius, hen Yuri completes this new city, by all means, send a priest to make great use of it. And please do your best to make the treatment free of charge.”

“Yes, I understand.”

In response to Lydina’s words, Pope Altorius bowed deeply.

The Pope is not only the head of the state but also the servant of God. If Lydina, the most well-known goddess, gave him a direct order, he would not be able to deny it.

“But even though it’s a neighboring country, it takes six days to travel from Farrata to Yuritania and back by carriage. The more priests we move, the more we will be without a healer, so we will only be able to send a few at a time.”

“If it’s okay with Altorius, I’ll set up the [Transfer Gate], so you can ignore the travel time.”

“…… What exactly is this [Transfer Gate]?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I should have explained that first.”

Yuri gave a verbal explanation of the [Transfer Gate] to everyone present.

The [Transfer Gate] had already been used once to move the citizens of Nildea to Yuritania, so when I explained the experience of that time, it was relatively easy to get everyone to understand.

“However, if I’m going to set up a [Transfer Gate], I would like you to limit the number of users to a certain extent at first. At the very least, I would like to see restrictions placed on the Holy Land to prevent general use.”

“…… Why is that?”

“The reason is that a society that uses too many [Transfer Gate] is undesirable.”

For example, if we set up a [Transfer Gate] between the Divine City of Yuritania and the Holy City of Falrata, it will be very easy to move between the two cities.

People would be able to interact with each other, trade goods from both countries would be exchanged closely, and citizens would be able to buy local products from both countries very cheaply.

It seems like a good thing, but on the other hand, once the [Transfer Gate] are in place, the number of merchants and passengers using the trade routes between the cities of Yuritania and Farrata will decrease dramatically. No one will use it anymore.

A trade route that is no longer used by anyone will decay faster than you can imagine. If this happens, it will not be easy to travel between cities overland again when the [Transfer Gate] is lost.

A society that relies too much on the [Transfer Gate] being set up and maintained by Yuri himself is not a desirable one.

“Of course, there’s nothing wrong with limiting the use of the [Transfer Gate] to a few people, such as those who hold a vocation as a priest.”

“I see… I understand your concern, and if Yuri-sama were to set up a [Transfer Gate], I can assure you that its users would be strictly controlled by the state.”

“Thank you. That’s very kind of you to say.”

“No, I must thank you as well.

As long as I am in the position of Pope, I have to avoid danger as much as possible, so I have given up on directly hunting demons and raising their levels. When Yuri-sama completes the [Labyrinth Dungeon], I will be able to use the [Transfer Gate] to go there frequently to gain experience. I can’t help but look forward to it.”

In the back of Pope Altorius, who said this with a smile, I felt that I could glimpse something…… like an aura of fighting spirit that was bubbling up.

…… Earlier, I thought that Estoa was ‘belligerent and martial’. Perhaps it was Yuri’s misguided guess.

It’s not just about Estoa. The people of the desert are all ‘belligerent and martial’.

Somehow, it seemed to make more sense to think that way.