Thomas: The Reincarnated Person Who Became the Adopted Child of a Knightly Noble Family
Messengers from the king came several times, but Grandfather handled all of them. It had been agreed between the Queen and Grandfather that they would instill a sense of urgency in the King. The idea was to have the King focus on his own well-being.
When I saw Reinhardt at the academy, he was laughing.
“Father really is a handful, but I’ve heard the Queen has been scolding him quite severely. Would you mind helping him out soon?”
“It’s going to be difficult without the Queen’s permission.”
The Queen has ruled over the wily and cunning nobles for many years, maintaining her position. She’s the kind of person who could make me shrink back with just a glare. That said, on most days, she’s a good-natured auntie, so it’s hard to dislike her.
“I guess it can’t be helped. I’ll tell Father that.”
“And remind him, next time, to cut back on the drinking.”
“Haha, got it.”
Reinhardt left with a refreshing smile. I wonder if I could ever pull off a smile that effortlessly charming? …Nope. My cheeks would definitely cramp up.
“What are you doing?”
Ben was looking at me as if he’d seen something strange.
“Nothing.”
Ben had struggled to learn reading and arithmetic, but now he could write fluently. Thanks to that, he was reinstated as my guard.
Grandfather and Cardinal Arelia Messina had gathered. Lady Messina, a 42-year-old woman, had replaced Lord Dardale as the liaison between me and the temple. She was reportedly a former temple knight, still keeping her brown hair cropped for ease of movement and maintaining a slender, fit physique. Naturally, she is also a follower of Deuro. This will be on the test, so take note!
“It seems the Kingdom of Catriais is reaching its limit.”
Grandfather began the discussion.
“Riots from famine are breaking out everywhere, and the Catriais military has repeatedly suppressed them. It’s utterly foolish. They’re weakening their own nation.”
Grandfather spoke matter-of-factly. If it were about the fall of a high-ranking archbishop or the annihilation of a military force, he would have discussed it with amusement. But since this was about famine causing suffering among the people, his tone lacked that enthusiasm.
The famine had been triggered by an economic blockade imposed by neighboring nations. However, it was Catriais that had instigated the events leading to the blockade.
In recent years, over a million refugees have fled from Catriais . It has become increasingly difficult for the Baldo territory to accommodate them all. Still, as long as they weren’t die-hard Catriais followers, we made an effort to accept them. This has caused the population of Baldo territory to surpass even that of the royal capital.
The refugees who followed Catriais ‘ teachings were first placed in refugee zones in the eastern part of the territory. If they converted, they were relocated to places willing to accept them. We asked them about their preferred occupations and sent those who wanted to farm to frontier settlements. The Deuro temple provided support for these efforts, funded by me.
I used transmutation to create food, which I channeled as aid through the Deuro temple. At the same time, we constructed small temples in the frontier settlements and promoted the Deuro faith—not the Catriais faction of the Nirgneed sect or the Ashstent faction, but Deuroism itself. Through these efforts, we have steadily increased our number of followers, not only among those we took in but also through persistent evangelism.
“Military forces formed from former Catriais citizens are also making steady progress. We’ve promised them land in former Catriais territory as a reward for their service.”
Out of a million refugees, we’ve managed to form an army of 50,000. Naturally, all of them have already converted. Feeding these 50,000 troops also falls on the Deuro temple (me).
They march on the land where they were born and raised, offering thanks to Deuro. Those who achieve military distinction are rewarded with land and titles as either nobles or quasi-nobles.
The “quasi-noble” rank was introduced after plans to invade Catriais were set in motion. It applies to knights, soldiers, and civil servants serving the kingdom or noble families. While such statuses existed informally before, they’ve now been officially codified.
Quasi-nobles are ranked above commoners and divided into three levels: junior insignia, senior insignia, and holder insignia, with the highest level being subordinate to lower-ranked noble titles.
“We’ve also established collaborators within Catriais . A fair number of them have infiltrated the holy city of Banik.”
Lady Messina is also a priest of the Deuro temple, which is independent of temples that worship false gods like Nirgneed.
Recently, the term “temple” has become synonymous with the Deuro temple. Consequently, what was once simply called the “temple” is now more often referred to as the “Nirgneed temple.” The transition has been smooth. Harboring the determination to eliminate Nirgneed’s influence, I’ve been steadily advancing the spread of the Deuro faith.
Currently, the Deuro temple is expanding its influence, both within this kingdom and in neighboring countries.
Former Nirgneed temples have been converted into Deuro temples. Statues of Nirgneed and similar deities are quietly removed and stored in temple warehouses. Smashing these statues outright would provoke backlash, so we don’t go that far. However, they should not be preserved for posterity.
Among domestic and foreign Deuro followers, making a pilgrimage to the Deuro temple in Baldo territory has become a status symbol.
Praying at the temple’s sacred lightstone prevents disease. The slogan “The Deuro temple is a great place—visit once!” has been attracting believers.
“Are we certain about the plan to invade next year?”
“Yes. We’ve secured secret agreements with other nations, and both the military and key nobles are preparing accordingly.”
“Since this will be a major war, the temple (Deuro temple) is ensuring thorough readiness for logistical support.”
While the temple doesn’t engage directly in combat, it handles crucial support roles such as food supplies and medical care for the injured.
At the Deuro temple, miraculous rank-ups occur through prayers to Deuro. This phenomenon isn’t something I’m responsible for; it appears among devout believers.
There’s already a case where someone ranked F rose two ranks to rank D. A rank-up enhances divine blessings, and about half of those who rank up become capable of using magic.
Healing magic is possible with light and water attributes. Water magic is especially popular due to its utility in agriculture, as it eliminates struggles related to irrigation.
That said, Deuro does not respond to prayers born of impure intentions.
