第１５７１堀：本や書類って目に痛い (Part1)
**Chapter 1571: Books and Documents are Hard on the Eyes**
Side: Yuki
Dressa approached me, carrying the documents she had received from Agil. Behind her, Agil was winking while holding a mountain of books, which made it clear that she had orchestrated this hand-off on purpose. In other words, this was something troublesome.
"Yuki, do you have a moment?"
"Yeah. Did you find something?"
Even though I had a sinking feeling, if I was being addressed, I had to respond. If this were just a casual chat with Dressa, I wouldn't have minded, but that wasn't the case right now.
"This appears to be a record of the financial flow between Vinoshia and the Church."
"I see."
I took the papers and checked them. Indeed, the text detailed the monetary balance between the Litea Church, the Holy Kingdom of Litea, and the Kingdom of Vinoshia. Honestly, I wasn't in a position to judge whether the amounts were appropriate or not. I didn't know the standard rates for "donations" or the fees required to have bishops and sisters dispatched from the Holy Kingdom.
As for Weed, the Holy Kingdom had bowed their heads and asked to be allowed in, so we didn't have that kind of arrangement. Well, we did pay a small amount of sponsorship or dispatch fees out of courtesy to other nations, but that was at "Weed pricing." I had no idea what other countries paid to invite the Litea Church. I could guess that Litea might not charge much since they were gaining a place to proselytize, but I really couldn't be sure...
"Do you think I should show this to Rurua and Lilishe?"
"That’s a problem."
Exactly. That was the reason Dressa had brought these documents to me. Or rather, the reason Agil had routed them through Dressa. Either way, if these documents contained something Rurua and Lilishe couldn't overlook, it meant trouble was brewing. Still, ignoring it would only be delaying the inevitable.
"Sigh. Dressa, I’ll be the one to show them. It seems like it would be better for me to have a grasp of how Litea’s money moves anyway."
"I’ll join the conversation, too. A leader of the navy needs that kind of knowledge, don't you think?"
"That’s true, I suppose."
Dressa would likely be heading out to sea to explore the New Continent soon. Or perhaps she would be docking at a port in a land she was already familiar with. If she could get along with the local religion in those places, it would minimize friction and trouble. And what you need to get along with people is money.
It’s a cynical way of looking at it, but money provides a certain degree of flexibility. It’s better to have it than not. However, the amount has to be appropriate. Too much or too little invites trouble. Dressa knew that, which was why she wanted to understand it. As for Agil, who had dumped the task on us, it was her way of saying she wanted no part of it. Of course, she would help as much as she could, but she’d had her own experiences in the Holy Kingdom of Enaria, so she might be wary of getting too involved.
*“Master? And Dressa? Did something happen?”*
*“Oh my? What’s the matter?”*
They answered the call immediately. I had assumed they were in the middle of treatment, but that didn't seem to be the case. Still, I made sure to ask.
"Are you free right now?"
*“Yes, we’re on a break.”*
*“Yeah. The morning treatments are finished~. Having a range is so convenient~.”*
*“I worked so hard!”*
Ah, I see. Hairen had been doing the heavy lifting. Seeing Senal clutching her head, I could guess that they’d blown through their schedule.
"I see. As long as it’s not too much of a burden, that’s fine. Anyway, I found some documents—money-related ones—and I’d like to send them over. Is that alright?"
*“Money?”*
*“Money~?”*
*“What is it, what is it~?”*
The people on the other side of the call seemed intensely curious. Well, money wasn't exactly a topic you could ignore.
"It’s about the financial transactions between Litea and Vinoshia."
The moment I said that, the curious expressions on all three of their faces went blank, their emotions dropping away. I had expected it from Rurua and Lilishe, but I hadn't thought Hairen would react the same way.
*“Understood. Please send it.”*
*“Ah, I suppose that sort of thing would come up, wouldn't it...”*
*“I’m going to go play with the children.”*
*“Hey, wait.”*
It seemed they all recognized it as a headache.
"I’m sure you know this, but make sure it doesn't interfere with your actual work."
*“Yes, we’ll be fine. By the way, why is Dressa there for this?”*
"I need to grasp the scope of these kinds of offerings. Given my position, you understand, right?"
*“Ah, I suppose that’s true~.”*
Once they were satisfied, I took a photo of the balance sheet I was holding and sent it over. It reached Rurua and the others instantly, and they began to read it.
*“This is... ah, this is something that requires an inquiry to headquarters. May we give you a detailed response after we return?”*
*“That’s right~. At this scale, we can’t handle it alone~. Don’t worry, we’ll make sure Dressa-chan is present for the discussion~.”*
"Understood. I’ll leave that to you, then. I’m going to continue the investigation of the archives."
"Right. I’ll leave it to you."
The call ended, but...
"Rurua and the others are probably contacting Litea right about now, aren't they?"
"Likely. Well, things like that aren't resolved immediately. I’m sure you’re curious about a lot of things, but please continue with the archive organization, Dressa."
"Understood."
Dressa replied and returned to the desk where she had been working. After watching her go, I looked over the balance sheet again. It was clearly not an amount for personal transactions. The digits were off by more than three orders of magnitude. It meant that inviting a church or even just calling for a single healer or recovery mage required a significant cost.
Well, it wasn't as if you could just drop off a doctor or a recovery mage and be done with it. You’d need guards for them, living expenses, and you’d have to secure a facility. In other words, if you wanted to spend money, you could spend it endlessly—on personnel, facilities, supplies, and so on. That was why the numbers were so high. Oh, and you had to add operating costs for the organization on top of that. At this point, what constituted an "appropriate" fee was so tied to supply and demand that I truly had no idea.
"...Religion is a real pain, isn't it?"
"Well, that’s just how it is."
Deryu, who had appeared behind me at some point, answered as she handed me a coffee.
"Thanks. Want to read it?"
"No need. Financial records of that sort are of no use to me."
"No use?"
"Indeed. You can’t tell if they’re legitimate unless you’re from that country. Well, if the numbers are obviously astronomical, that’s one thing, but usually, they hide those things under vague headings so you can’t tell."
"That’s true. They definitely do that kind of obfuscation."