Chapter 766: Give them three bishops

"……fear?"

Isabel was stunned when she heard this.

"Yes. Because they are all slaves of the goblins, and slaves cannot take other people's things without permission. It is a shame for their masters, and it means humiliating their masters' 'poverty'. Slaves who take other people's things without permission may even be sentenced to death.

"But similarly, slaves do not have the right to refuse gifts given to them by others. Because the people of Avalon are all free people, slaves have no right to refuse gifts from free people.

"So when they knelt down, they were actually begging for mercy out of fear... 'Please, don't kill me' - that's probably what they meant."

Aleister vividly described the new knowledge she had learned from the Church, with the smugness of someone who had learned something new and was showing it off to her girlfriend.

"——Can extraordinary people become slaves?"

Isabel was very surprised: "Then..."

Aleister shook his head. "Later, it must have been the goblin manager of the engineering team who opened up their authority and allowed them to accept the gifts. After all, it's not convenient for them to publicly execute slaves in Avalon - it's too barbaric and bloody for us.

"...Their subsequent greetings and blessings were the trolls' way of expressing their gratitude. If nothing unexpected happened, the trolls must have truly blessed the residents... because they couldn't understand the Avalonians' culture of simply asking for blessings verbally.

"After all, trolls can truly bestow blessings on others through rituals—but blessings themselves are considered abilities of the Path of Devotion. Forcibly imitating them with the power of transcendence, or maintaining them over the long term, is extremely difficult. Using them at their low energy levels would most likely shorten their lifespan."

"To be honest..."

Isabel turned serious. "Then I have to order them not to ask the trolls for blessings. They came to build the railway for us for free, and we can't cause them trouble... If this gets out, people will look down on us Avalonians. Thank you, Alai... The information you gave me is very important. Do you want a kiss?"

"nothing."

Aleister whispered, turning his head away as a silent protest.

But the mention of the construction team brought another thought to her mind: "What about the railway? How's the construction going? I remember Grandet mentioned that he would give us ten locomotives... Did he deliver them?"

"No, they're supposedly purchasing some supplies. The railway is almost halfway done..."

Isabel recalled.

"After all, the contract states that the traffic will be open before August."

Aleister nodded in satisfaction and emphasized, "But don't rush to open the road. Remember to send experts to inspect it first. Although it's unlikely—they probably wouldn't dare—based on my understanding of the goblins, the managers and responsible persons below could very well pass off inferior products as good ones, thereby embezzling a large amount of funds."

"Okay, I'll check it strictly."

Isabel nodded and wrote it down: "Anything else?"

"Don't just sit there and watch those goblins decide the direction of the railway—the contract states, 'Any city with three or more bishops must have access to the railway.' Go back to Minister Hermes and tell him: draw up a list of cities that urgently need a train connection, and see if you can arrange three routes.

"As for the disconnected cities, that's also easy to fix. Go to the church and ask Bishop Mathers to issue a decree to transfer the bishops to the cities we need, three per city—I mean, all the important cities, give them three bishops.

"If the bishops wish to return to their previous locations... then tell them to wait six months, just as a training exercise. Once the railway opens, then ask them if they want to return to their original locations."

“…Is this okay?”

Isabelle was a little worried: "Is this...too mean?"

"How is that possible?"

Aleister laughed, his eyes bright. "Don't underestimate the goblins' cunning. Since the goblins proposed this condition, it means they had anticipated this scenario. It's like a casino. If one person wins, two others lose. But the casino owner won't lose money no matter what.

"It's just like the buildings they built for us. Although they're free according to the contract... the renovations do cost money. Whether it's the exterior decoration or the furniture and daily necessities needed inside, it's too troublesome to transport them from inland.

"The best way is to open a factory in Summer County. Alternatively, we could purchase goods in bulk directly from the port. Either way, it means increasing domestic demand, so we still have to buy from the Goblin Chamber of Commerce."

Come to think of it, now that the war has stopped... maybe I can use the connections in the church to build a bridge and contact Xingti.

Aleister thought.

If Avalon and Star traded, on the one hand, the people of Avalon would be able to buy cheap and useful things, and on the other hand, Star's economic collapse would be slightly alleviated... For some Star people, this might be considered a miracle of the "savior from heaven" level.

"In fact, the goblins are also happy to see this situation. The biggest advantage of a city with a bishop stationed is that it is difficult for undead disasters to occur. Undead disasters in the interior of the country—especially those in dense forests or swamps—are more severe than droughts and floods.

"Because this means that ordinary people's trade and travel are extremely risky. Without the Wild Hunt's regular clearing, if they encounter a large number of undead in complex terrain, they may become one of them.

“When wandering undead gather and become a disaster, they will impact places with many living things—farms, pastures, and even rural towns may be affected.

"For most mortals, 'dying' is the simplest way to become stronger. Many ordinary people, after death, can become undead spirits with extraordinary powers. Once these undead spirits gather together, those who are alone or without weapons are simply unable to resist.

"So a core condition of a 'big city' is that the church here cannot be too small, at least the clergy must be able to cover the funerals and weddings of local people.

"After all, once you reach the level of bishop, you can teach ordinary people simple rituals and divine arts... so having a bishop or not makes a huge difference. And with a third-level devotee, even if a passing dignitary suddenly gets injured or sick, they can receive immediate and effective treatment.

"With these conditions, and the opening of the east-west railway, it's easy for a city to become densely populated. And once the population becomes dense, more merchants will naturally come."

“…There’s even such a saying.”

Isabel nodded and quickly memorized it.

Adhering to the principle of asking when you don't understand and not pretending to know, she pondered for a moment and then asked carefully, "What happens after the bishops leave? Won't these big cities suddenly become empty?"

Aleister laughed. "No. Putting aside the fact that we need more bishops anyway... And Isabel, don't forget, these people can't just appear out of thin air..."

"——refreshed?"

Isabel blinked: "Oh... I think I understand what you mean."

"Yes. They must have migrated from other places, which means that the population in other places has decreased, and the demand for clergy has naturally decreased.

"And church schools would have been sending a steady stream of graduating interns to rural towns to serve as clergy. In reality, this simply meant transferring more clergy from underdeveloped rural towns to transportation hubs.

"This is actually a win-win situation—they don't want to live in underdeveloped areas, and these hub cities have more clergy. When people are relaxed and willing to work, it's easier to be promoted to bishop. From this perspective, it can even be considered a win-win-win situation."

Having said that, Aleister paused and added thoughtfully, "And, taking a step back... I might still be able to get a group of ready-made bishops. But I'm not sure about that."

She was talking about the population of Xingti.

After receiving the comfort and support from Aiwass, she planned to organize a new force in Xingti.

The forces within Xingti were already quite complex: the Royal Alchemist Association of the Path of Balance, the Forbidden Society of the Path of Transcendence, the Spirit Tower of the Path of Dusk, the Red Castle of the Path of Love, and the Leipzig faction...

Strictly speaking, the royal family should belong to the Royal Alchemy Association. However, it is clear that the royal family's alchemy technology is not enough to win the association's complete loyalty. Therefore, the royal family can be considered an independent fifth faction.

But there is actually a problem here - Xingti actually has the Church of the Nine Pillars, and there are quite a few clergymen.

After all, Xingti's land area is large enough and it is well developed.

Compared to Star Antimony, any city in Avalon except Glass Island seemed like a countryside.

With this kind of population density, the number of Star Antimony clergy is actually much greater than that of Avalon.

It is precisely because the political situation on the Star Antimony side is extremely complicated, and no matter who controls the Star Antimony, the Nine Pillars Church will ultimately be needed... Therefore, the church directly chose to remain neutral.

——So, what if someone gathered and led these clergymen together to form a new force?

Go save those people—that's what Aiwass said to her.

Aleister prefers to call it a mission or an order.

If everything goes well, she will lead these people to save the Xingtan people from suffering.

And if the plan fails, or Star Antimony is so rotten that it is completely beyond salvation... Aleister can't just abandon these priests who are forced to get involved in the vortex of political situation and then pat his butt and walk away leisurely.

At that time, at least Aleister could find them a safe place—taking them directly back to Avalon. This way, they could avoid the disturbance caused by the arrival of the Fallen Angels and avoid arousing the suspicion of the Rosicrucians.

At this moment, Isabel suddenly yawned, and her body gradually became transparent.

——This is a sign that she is about to wake up from her dream.

Aleister quickly added, "Oh, right, Isabel—remember to give some benefits to the residents of Midsummer County, such as extremely low or even temporarily free rental prices. Make good use of those vacant high-rise buildings and rent them out to companies at low prices as offices.

"Waiting for the population to gradually flow over would be too slow, and it would likely cause the original residents of Midsummer County to become wealthy too quickly, leading to a rejection of subsequent immigrants... They might think that those people were taking away the wealth that originally belonged to them.

"To avoid this situation, we need to transfer as many people as possible. Providing welfare support is a better option than forcing them to do so..."

"All right, all right—I'll remember it all."

Before Aleister could finish, Isabel suddenly interrupted him.

Before disappearing, Isabel knocked Aleister's head in annoyance, who was concentrating on business, and suddenly bit her ear, and then disappeared like a bubble.

Aleister touched his ear which had been bitten for no apparent reason, with a confused look on his face, but his cheeks gradually turned red.

“…Why are you biting me?”

She touched her red earlobe, lowered her head and muttered a little aggrievedly: "I'm talking about business..."

Aleister tilted his head, looking at the empty house where he was the only one left, but the corners of his mouth gradually rose, and his eyes were peaceful and clear.

The hollow soul has been healed, the anxious heart has been calmed, and the fearful spirit has been tranquilized.

...Perhaps, Isabel can really save me.

I came to save the world, and she saved me...

Thinking this, Aleister slowly rolled over and moved to where Isabel had been lying before. He imitated the way she had hugged him just now, hugged his curled up left arm, and embedded his body in the soft big bed, in the depression that still retained warmth and fragrance.

"Good night, Isabel."

The doll-like girl whispered.

Aleister closed his eyes and fell asleep alone in a sweet dream.

Update completed!

(End of this chapter)