Chapter 180

“I’ll be happy to help you.”

As soon as High Priest Conrad finished hearing the details from Yuri, he gave his consent without any hesitation.

If you want to teach your children an unknown language such as Japanese―――I’m sure.

Yuri had thought that the high priest Conrad would be adamantly opposed. The fact that he agreed so easily made her feel like she had been let down.

“Hmmm… is that okay? Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Of course. I’m not going to say no to a request from Your Majesty Yuri.

The fact that Your Majesty gave the job to our older group not only allowed the orphanage, which had originally received enough funds to operate, to have more room to run, but it also made our diet much richer.

I, and all the children living in the orphanage, are deeply grateful to Your Majesty Yuri. If I were to refuse Your Majesty’s request, I would be hated by the children.”

High Priest Conrad smiled somewhat happily as he said this.

At the orphanage in the Divine City of Yuritania, which was entrusted to High Priest Conrad, ‘children without parents under the age of thirty’ were supported.

Yuri used to offer jobs in the Divine City to the orphans who were over 25 years old, who were classified as the oldest among the orphans living here, to take care of the chickens, the divine messengers of Amaterasu.

This is a job commissioned by the government, so of course, they pay a reasonable fee.

Originally, the orphanage was supported with enough funds to provide food, clothing, and shelter for all the children living there. Of course, the money earned by the children from their work is added to the operating fund and paid to the orphanage.

According to High Priest Conrad, the orphanage now has enough money to hire professional cooks to prepare more delicious and nutritious meals for the children.

The menu is very rich, and in addition to the three meals each day, a snack is served at three o’clock in the afternoon. In addition, Amaterasu brings home a large number of eggs every day for the children who work in Shinto City, and these are often used to make meals and snacks, which greatly helps to improve the health of the children.

Also, the number of people working at the orphanage itself has been increased, allowing us to pay more attention to the children than ever before.

If any of the children were to get injured or sick, they would be able to receive immediate medical attention at the temple. The cost of treatment at the temple is much cheaper than it used to be, so the orphanage’s current business conditions will not be a burden at all.

When the children reach the age of 30 and leave the nest, the government will provide them with a stipend. In addition to that, the orphanage can provide them with an additional amount of money.

“The children know that they are blessed. And they know that it’s all thanks to Your Majesty Yuri.”

High Priest Konrad said as if it were a matter of course.

“I’m sure the children will be more than willing to learn a new language or anything else that Your Majesty Yuri asks of them. If there is anything I or the children can do to help, you can always and always count on us.”

“…… I appreciate that, though. I am not asking the orphanage to instill any loyalty to me or the state in the children, so please understand that.”

Yuri couldn’t help but feel that High Priest Conrad was indoctrinating the children to be loyal to Yuri.

The high priest laughed in amusement at her words.

“Of course, I understand. It’s not because I taught them to respect, revere, and be loyal to Your Majesty Yuri. It’s just that they have learned to do so in the course of their days in this city.”

“That’s all well and good, but…”

I feel like I’m not getting it, but if you say so, it’s hard to pursue.

Anyway, the next day, the ‘older’ children of the orphanage started going to the “Eight Wise School” to study Japanese for one hour every day.

Yuri had made it clear to High Priest Conrad that only those children who were willing to cooperate would be allowed to attend the “Eight Wise School”. It seems that none of the children showed any reluctance to cooperate.

―――The calendar has entered the “winter month” and the world’s climate is changing to winter.

After finishing her daily duties, Yuri went to “Eight Wise School” several times to observe the children taking classes.

Although the school is managed by Omoikane, the classes are conducted not by Omoikane, but by a scarecrow on the podium―――Kuebiko.

Kuebiko is a god in the form of a scarecrow.

Of course, as you can easily imagine, Kuebiko is a deity with powers related to rice cultivation and agriculture. On the other hand, he is also known as the God of Knowledge.

―――This is because the scarecrow is always looking over not only the fields but also the whole world.

He is omnipresent in scarecrows that exist everywhere in the world, and he observes and knows everything about the world from his many perspectives.

Because of his scarecrow form, Kuebiko is a God who cannot move at all on his own. However, this is not a problem for the role ‘teacher’.

In fact, by setting up scarecrows in each classroom, Kuebiko can be omnipresent in all of them at the same time, and he could take care of any number of classes by himself. In fact, the role of teacher seemed to be his true calling.

―――It was as if he was watching ears of rice grow to a golden color.

Kuebiko’s eyes are very gentle as she watches the children grow and absorb the knowledge she gives them.

As it turned out, the children’s mastery of the Japanese language had gone very well.

All of the 88 children succeeded in learning enough Japanese to be recognized as ‘sufficient’ by Omoikane.

The number of days required varied from person to person, with the fastest learning taking about 7 to 10 days, and the slowest learning only about 13 to 14 days.

In other words, it would take less than two weeks to master the Japanese language under Omoikane’s guidance, even with only one hour of study per day.

Most of the children living in the orphanage were originally kept by the slavers of the Duchy of Selsia―――so they are not educated. As long as the children of the orphanage were able to master the Japanese language, it is safe to assume that any citizen of the Yuri Empire can do so without any problem.

“Thank you very much, Kuebiko. Of course, Omoikane and Uwaharu were instrumental in helping all of the children learn Japanese without any problems, but Kuebiko’s contribution was also extremely significant. I would like to express my deepest gratitude.”

“…… I must apologize to Yuri-dono for one thing.”

Yuri thanked Kuebiko for teaching the 88 children.

For some reason, Kuebiko looked a little apologetic when she said that.

“Hmm…? What’s going on?”

“Actually, there are a lot of children who are interested in learning because of this.”

“Oh, that’s great.”

“I’m sure you’re right about that.. However… the children were so enthusiastic that they demanded to be taught something more. I was so overwhelmed that I promised to teach them about math soon.”

…… I apologize for being so selfish.”

“My, dear. Fufufu…! Even you, a scarecrow who can withstand the fiercest of winds and rains, are no match for the children.”

Yuri blurted out lightly.

The name “Kuebiko” is derived from “Kuzuhiko Kuebiko,” which means “broken man,” and represents the figure of a scarecrow decaying in the wind and rain.

The scarecrow god also stands firm, even as his body decays. Apparently, he is no match for the pure and innocent begging of children.

“Kuebiko. I want you to get Omoikane and Uwaharu to work together and try to create a textbook for teaching math. I’ll have a mass-production system ready for you.”

“Thank you, Yuri-dono. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

“Oh, no, you’re not, are you? It’s my side that should be thanking you since you are educating my subjects. ―――I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Kuebiko. Please continue to impart good learning to the people who live in my country as they seek it.”

“…… Respectfully yours.”

Kuebiko never bows. This is because he is a scarecrow.

But his eyes seemed to be filled with a passion that was not typical of a scarecrow.