133 Episode 5 Fruiting so long (1/2)

One month after the secret meeting between Hercule and Cecilia, a council was held in Nova Lemuria.

The council reaffirmed the Alectian Creed and declared the excommunication of the self-proclaimed ”Pope” and his sect, officially declaring them heretics.

At the same time, Cecilia's goals of eradicating corruption, banning the buying and selling of clergy, and fine-tuning the doctrines were voted on, and the Messianic Church took a new step forward.

In addition, Hercule surprised the world by formally declaring that the right of ordination would be vested in the medium, or Cecilia.

The Messianic Church is organized in a hierarchical order of priestesses, patriarchs, bishops, priests, deacons, other lower clergy, and laymen.

In the Lemurian Empire, the right to ordain Patriarchs and Bishops was held by Hercule, who handed it over to Cecilia, a high priestess (medium).

However, this does not mean that Cecilia will decide everything.

Patriarchs and bishops were appointed by the Emperor of Lemuria from a list compiled by the Emperor of Lemuria, the mediums, and the patriarchs of the five head temples, and then appointed by the mediums.

In other words, the Hercule can still appoint Patriarchs and Bishops.

However, since he could not appoint anyone not on the list, his influence was diminished, and the influence of Cecilia, the medium, increased.

In addition, the ordination of priests and deacons was left to the patriarch and bishops.

Cecilia was responsible for the establishment of what later historians called the 'Messianic Orthodox School of Priestesses (Mediums)'.

”So, Shylock. So, Shylock, how far have you gotten with the coinage?

”Thanks to you, High Priestess Medium, everything is going well. We were able to recover a considerable amount of gold from the Holy Monastery and the local churches.

Shylock then handed Hercule a document.

It clearly stated the amount of gold recovered from the merchants, nobles, guilds, monastic orders and churches.

Hmmm... but then again, gold is everywhere, isn't it? I wonder how many times the national budget would be if it were all added up. ......

Monasteries and local churches also have a large amount of gold.

The amount of money accumulated by each congregation or church is not so much, but when it accumulates into hundreds, it becomes a tremendous amount.

Incidentally, the congregations and churches that did not respond to persuasion were eventually captured by Hercule, who used force to capture them as ”papists,” or heretics.

Cecilia forbade torture during the Inquisition, but not the Inquisition itself.

Captured monks, bishops and priests were subjected to the Inquisition, and many of those found guilty were imprisoned.

Many of those who were found guilty were imprisoned. The entirety of their wealth went into the pockets of Hercule, which made him very happy.

”By the way, Your Majesty, what will you do with the profits from the recasting?

”Didn't you hear about the trading company?　Antonio is working hard on it right now. ...... I'll use it to buy shares in the company.

You have to be careful, the profit from the recasting is temporary.

The next year it will be zero.

Therefore, Hercule believed that as much as possible, it should be used for the next project.

If there's a surplus, I'd like to give it to the regions as much as possible. I don't want the wealth to be concentrated only in Nova Lemuria and the other regions to decline. Well, we're doing fine now.

The province of Misrule is still growing as a breadbasket, and the province of Suria on the border with the Kingdom of Fars is growing richer due to the stabilization of the border and the expansion of trade.

If I were to invest, it would be in the western territories. ...... The territories of the western continent, with the exception of Nova Lemuria, are not very rich, flatteringly speaking.

”There's the Bourgarons. ......

The land is not very rich in limestone soil to begin with, but the existence of the Bulgallon Kingdom has spurred its decline.

Whenever the Bulgurons plunder the land, the western provinces are devastated.

I'll leave the situation in the west to Cecilia and get rid of the Bulgallon Kingdom soon. ......

Hercule muttered.

Another year passed, and Hercule turned twenty-two.

While groaning in the July heat, Hercule read the report from Todoris and smiled with satisfaction.

This was because the Kingdom of Tretum had established the orthodox Messianic School of the Mediums as the state religion.

This was due to the efforts of Cecilia and Todoris.

In the past year, Cecilia has made a major comeback in power.

The key has been ordination.

Cecilia has managed to restructure the church by putting the ordination rights in the hands of the mediums and banning the trading of the sacred orders.

Gregorius, on the other hand, has so far accomplished not a single achievement other than worsening relations with Lemuria.

The honeymoon period is over, and we are now in a malaise.

For the Kingdom of Edelna and the Kingdom of Fulling, this is probably fine.

What they want is their independence.

In other words, their goal is to get out from under the influence of the Lemurian Empire, and Gregorius' decline in popularity is not a big problem.

However, there is a limit.

If Gregorius becomes too useless, a new pope will be elected.

Therefore, Gregory is now desperately trying to turn things around, but it is not going well.

With Tretum and Lemuria between them, Fulling and Edelna will not be able to make any bold moves. I'm sure Cecilia has quite a few supporters in both countries.

Next, Hercule picked up a report on the situation in the Kingdom of Cerda.

”Hmm, it's getting exciting. I guess we're in the middle of the game.

The battle between King Raus I and King Hilderic II of the Kingdom of Chelda was at its peak.

Raus I has a small army and a weak financial base, but he has the support of the Warbeasts, who are the majority, and is a good fighter.