Tondemo Skill â 478 â That Religious Organisation Again
The work of felling trees and clearing land went on without incident.
I must say, the magic sword turned out to be pretty useful.
How useful you ask?
When I swing Gram at the tree trunk, at first I thought I had missed the tree altogether or something. However, it turned out that Gram was so sharp that the tree remained standing on the trunk even after it had been cut down.
By the way, I learned about this by accidentally pushing at the tree and causing it to fall after cutting it. Luckily, the tree did not fall on anything important, but it did cause the twins to jump in surprise.
After that, I just place every tree into my [Item Box] after cutting them with Gram.
Speaking of which, the twins were still whacking away at the large tree they had chosen to tackle with the battle axe even after I have cleared half the trees.
âYou donât need us at all!â wailed the twins.
âWell, I did promise to reward anyone who put in the effort,â I said casually. âIf you donât want to do it anymoreâŠâ
The twins went back to whacking at the tree with the battle axe.
As for me, well, the work was more repetitive than tiring. [1a]
Even so, I soon discovered an issue once I have cleared off most of the trees.
Thatâs right, the tree stumps.
Should I pull them out? Smash them with my Earth magic?
Or-
âHey, you guys. Come over and get these out,â I called my napping familiars over.
Sui happily bounced over and started melting one of the trees into a puddle. Will her Acid ruin the ground I wonderâŠ
Fer and Grandpa Gon just used brute force to drag the stumps out. As for Dora-chan⊠Dora-chan used Earth magic to soften the ground before pulling one of the smaller tree stumps out.
Oh, thatâs one way to do it.
Imitating Dora-chan, I also begin to loosen the soil around the smaller tree stumps.
Once the tree-clearing work was completed, I rewarded everyone who participated. The twins received a bottle of wine and a bottle of beer. As for my familiars, they wanted Fujiya Cakes so thatâs what they received.
Later, I piled up the trees in a section prepared by Alban according to his direction. As for the tree roots, Tony the gardener wanted them.
âThese could be made into interesting gardening features!â he declared, admiring the twisted roots.
Well, I donât mind my servants showing such initiatives. More importantly, this kind of no-waste attitude is definitely something I could get behind.
After the trees and tree stumps had been cleared, the area ended up full of holes. I handed over the job of smoothing out the area to the twins, giving them two weeks to do the job before calling the Contractor in for the next job.
I thought of going to the Royal Capital, but ended up deciding to just stay home and relax. The plan is to do nothing for the next two weeks aside from the odd day-trip hunts and shopping trips.
Two days into the holiday, I was enjoying a cup of coffee in the garden, wondering if I should browse [Net Super] whenâŠ
âMukouda-san!â
Peterâs voice was loud and urgent. I turned and saw Peter running over.
âWhat is it, Peter?â
âTh-the priests, the Rubanovs are here!â
âThe Rubanovs?! Wait, is there even a Rubanov church here?â
âB-bartel is alone at the gate now⊠[1b]â
âCall the others,â I said immediately. âWeâll meet at the gate.â
As Peter ran off to look for Tabitha and the rest. I used my telepathy to call Fer, Grandpa Gon, Sui and Dora-chan.
[2]
ââHey, letâs meet at the gate.ââ
ââHuh? Why?ââ
ââRemember those weird people coming to demand money from us at Brixt? We have more of those at the gate.ââ
ââHm? Those people in glittery clothing?ââ
That must be Grandpa Gon, I quickly answered, ââYes, those people.ââ
ââSui donât like them.ââ
ââThey looked like they might taste good roasted,ââ
ââFer, I am not cooking human meat, thatâs the end of that!ââ
ââAww, too badâŠââ
ââWhat was that, Dora-chan?ââ
ââNothing, I said, too bad they havenât learned their lesson from before.ââ
ââItâs possible that this is a different group of people, even though they are from the same association,ââ I replied. ââAnyway, letâs go and have a look.ââ
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âHow rude! Donât you know who I am?!â
Ah, the last thing anyone wants to hear.
âApologies, I do not know you. However, I am not at liberty to let you through,â Bartel sounded like an annoyed customer service workerâŠ
âA Dwarf dares to act arrogant before the might of Man? Humph, no matter, break down this gate and kill it!â
One of the larger men in the contingent pulled out a sword and aimed a swift kick at the gate.
âStop it!!â
Luckily, the gate did not fall at the first kick.
Bartel looked over at me. For once, I can see something like relief and desperation in his eyes. Not long after my arrival, the rest of the security detail arrived, fully armed, of course.
Good reaction time, Iâll have to commend them on that.
In the face of such obvious evil, itâs best to report them to the authorities. Thatâs why, instead of walking straight up to confront them, I quietly ordered Luke and Irvine to report to the Adventurerâs Guild and Knight Order about this.
Tabitha was my head of security, so I want her here, the twins were easily provoked, so I donât want them around the Rubanovs.
By now, my familiars have also arrived.
âAre those the trespassers? Iâll slice them to bits.â
âI can destroy them so that not even ashes remain with my Dragonâs Breath.â
ââIâll stab them with my Ice Magic!ââ Dora-chan declared, clearly not going to lose in this boasting competition.
ââSui will pew pew them and melt them~~!!ââ
Sui-tan, that sounds⊠kind of disturbing actuallyâŠ
ââNo attacking unless I give permission,ââ I told them sternly. ââI donât want us to get into trouble with the authorities over a bunch of unimportant people.
Finally, I turned to this bunch of nouveau riche and said, âUm, so, why are you here? Also, why did you threaten my people?â
âHumph, thatâs just a Dwarf, thereâs no point in being polite to those things,â said a fat man in the tasteless, gaudiest-looking cloak I had ever seen. He puffed up his jewelled chest and said, âWell, enough about that, let us in first.â
Does this guy seriously believe that Iâll let him in after he dismissed my people like that?
He was still staring at me expectantly, so I cleared my throat and said, âUm, no.â
âW-what?!â
I blinked exasperatedly at him, âWhy are you surprised? You were extremely rude to my people, tried to attack my security and want to barge into my house without even telling me who you are. Isnât it normal for me to not want to let you in?â
The fat man began to tremble, âY-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-â
Pu ku ku, look at his face. Itâs all red, I guess itâs kind of difficult for him to act forcefully in the face of logic?
The rest of my people were snickering in the back. I could hear them.
âHow dare you speak like that to Bishop-sama! His word is divine, so you should let us in right away!â shouted one of the flashy followers.
What is this idiot talking about? Also, âhis word is divineâ? Divine to whom? [1c]
âExcuse me, are you from the Church of Rubanov?â
âThatâs right! We are the sacred priests of Rubanov!â
âAh, I seeâŠâ I nodded. âWell, itâs too bad but no one in my household is a follower of Rubanov, so Iâm not sure why youâre here?â
âY-y-you⊠how dare youâ!!! Here I am, granting you the honour of donating to our church, but to think you would throw this opportunity away! Men, attack them. Destroy those filthy beasts!!â
The fat manâs face was already bright red, but now, blue veins of anger appeared on his forehead as he yelled at us.
âAh, as expected, you guys are here for moneyâŠâ
I swear, the fat manâs face became almost black after that.
âKill them!! Kill those beasts!!!â
Swords were drawn at the screech of the fat man.
One of the subordinates, a particularly nasty-looking one said, âThere is no need to feel bad, it is only natural for non-believers to be punished.â
What a hateful self-aggrandising statementâŠ
âHumph, looks like you really want to die,â
âYouâve pulled your sword at us, that means youâre the enemy. Have you prepared yourself?â
Fer and Grandpa Gon stepped forward grandly, openly displaying their menace.
âJust⊠make sure not to kill them,â I sighed.
âH-heyâŠâ
âIâll k-k-killâŠâ
âD-d-d-die!!!â
âH-h-h-helpâ!!â
Goodness, looks like the killing intent from Fer and Grandpa Gon alone was enough to cause these Rubanov people to cower away.
âHow pathetic,â Fer snorted.
âIndeed.â
For once, we are all in agreement.
ââHey, thatâs it? After all that talk?ââ
ââNo pew pew~~?ââ
âAh, wellâŠâ
That was when the twins arrived with people from the Adventurerâs Guild and the Knight Order.
One of the knights stepped forward to ask, âSo, what happened here?â
âI heard that someone from a religious sect came to make trouble?â a person representing the Adventurerâs Guild said.
âItâs those fellows from Rubanov again,â sighed a solidly built knight in his 40s. âThose fellows have been causing problems at the Royal Capital too. Anyway, Iâll report this to the main Rubanov Church and the people at the Royal Capital, there is no need to bother Mukouda-san over this.â
âOh, um, that would be very nice,â I said, relieved that I wonât get into trouble. âYou areâŠâ
âIâm the commander of the 3rd Knight Order that serves Lord Langridge, please to make your acquaintance, Mukouda-sama.â
âAh, nice to meet you too,â I said with a smile. Since this person was with Earl Langridge who had helped me before, things should be fine.
âAnyway, letâs clear these trash away from your gate. Men! Take them away and throw them in prison!â
âYes!!!â
The group of trembling bodyguards and shaking nouveau riche religious leaders were soon rounded up and dragged away.
âHis Lordship informed us that we must assist Mukouda-san in any way possible. I shall report this matter to His Lordship right away.â
âOh, um, thatâs very helpful. Do thank His Lordship for me,â I said a little awkwardly, tripping over the unfamiliar titles.
âI expect that this matter shall be reported to the Royal Capital as well.â
âAh, I seeâŠâ So, the Rubanov religious leaders could get into further trouble? Well, I donât mind if the Rubanov believers are kicked out of the Kingdom of Elman. Good riddance!
If I hadnât had my familiars with me, those greedy cult leaders would have no qualms about killing Bartel and barging into my house to loot my wealth.
I had thought they were just greedy money grubbers, but these fanatics were prepared to kill. I wonder just how many people have suffered under their oppressionâŠ
Maybe, it truly is a good idea to start thinking about carrying out Demiurgos-samaâs divine orderâŠ
I had been quietly trying to not think about it, but this involve actual human lives. The lives of my people in fact.
Right, letâs speak to everyone about this later tonight.
[Gumihou: Woah, Mukouda-san!]
[1] Deleted scenes:
[1a] Deleted: The twins grew up on the farm and gave xx advice. (150 words)
Already fixed this issue in the last chapter by having the Alban family talk about what to do with the leaves and branches.
[1b] Deleted: Bartel told me to bring x, y, and Mukouda-san etc
[1c] Deleted meandering thoughts about the legitimacy of the flashy followerâs claim etc etc
[2] Instead of Panicked!Mukouda, go with Exasperated!Mukouda.