A Treacherous Courtier Manages the Empire Well

18 – Bringing in another healer should be enough.

For reasons unknown, an epidemic was raging in the fertile lands of the western empire, as if the devil had cursed it. The epidemic of that year was particularly vicious to the peasants who had already suffered from looting and oppression by the nobles, as they had nothing to eat and no property.

The corpses of starving and diseased peasants began to pile up in the streets, emitting a putrid odor. The rats and swarms of flies that gathered, smelling the stench, began incubating even more infectious diseases, with disastrous consequences.

An unprecedented and terrifying massacre began.

“Lord Fellings, I implore you! Please, come to take care of the territories now!!!”

Despite the desperate cries of Prince Adran, Lord Fellings remained indifferent, locked away in the capital, as if he were ignoring the events unfolding in his own territories.

It was a simple but repulsive reason.

He didn’t want to smell the rotting corpses.

In this way, the despicable elements of the inept emperor, Lord Randor who toyed with him, and the irresponsible lords converged, causing the western continent to gradually become plagued.

-From the novel “The Fall of the Ayram Empire: Outbreak of the Epidemic”-

“Carl Hanson, let’s try our hand at a medical business.”

Carl looked at me with an expression that said, “What nonsense is this?”

“A medical business? Why all of a sudden?”

If I were to say it was because a massive epidemic would break out in six months, would Lord Randor believe me? Would he believe that I could see the future? It seemed obvious that I couldn’t tell him the truth.

“The Portu Commercial City and Lord Elond’s territories have already grown tremendously. They will only continue to grow even further.”

“Is that so?”

“Even if the sick people arise, unlike other territories, there should be proper medical facilities to handle them, don’t you think?”

“Well………. that makes sense. Then should we summon the officials?”

“Sounds about right.”

“Then which sect should we go with?”

I fell into deep thought at his question.

In the Ayram Empire, there were many sects.

There were sects that focused solely on eradicating evil and delving into scholarship, as well as sects that trained healers, just like the typical image of a fantasy novel. There were also fantasy-like sects that studied dragons, and so on. There was a wide variety of sects distributed throughout the empire.

“What about the Healing Sect, which serves the Goddess of Healing, Ella? They have the most healing priests and a large number of followers, so it’s the most suitable sect when considering expertise and skills.”

Carl Hanson stated his opinion. And if I were not a reincarnator, in other words, someone who didn’t know who the sect’s leader was, I would have thought his words were correct.

“No, the Healing Sect won’t do.”

However, as a reader of the novel, I knew who the leader of the Healing Sect was. To put it simply, he was a quick-witted opportunist and a greed-driven individual. He was someone who would become one of the culprits, much like the Yard Party, in making the empire bleak.

“That guy reveals his desire for money too much.”

The Supreme Pontiff Ronald II of the Healing Sect was a man obsessed with money. By raising the cost of treatment to an impossible level for the common people, he made it impossible for them to receive treatment, even when a plague spread throughout the western region as depicted in the original novel. Many citizens were unable to receive timely treatment due to the exorbitant fees, resulting in countless deaths. Just when the momentum of the epidemic that had swept through the western region was finally dying down, Sultan Saldin suddenly led his army to attack.

It was truly a wretched development, resembling a cheap novel.

“It is true that money is important, but honestly speaking, there is no one as skilled as the priests of the Healing Sect. And among all the sects, the Healing Sect has the largest number of priests capable of healing. They are the only ones who can handle the number of priests needed by Viscount Eland and the commercial city of Porto.”

“That’s… true. Because we have so many followers.”

“Exactly. Don’t we make a considerable profit from our trade routes? Even if they demand a high price, we will have the means to pay. Wouldn’t it be beneficial to gather the priests by offering a reasonable price, even if it’s a bit expensive?”

Carl Hansen’s words were not entirely wrong.

Honestly speaking, to prepare for the epidemic, there needed to be a large number of priests capable of healing.

“Yes. Carl, you have a point. Let’s go meet him.”

After considering for a moment, I decided to meet Ronald II. According to my memory, Ronald II had demanded an average treatment fee of 200 gold coins per commoner in the original novel.

Just that alone was an outrageous sum beyond imagination, but I was desperate. Despite the significant expense, I needed to attract the Healing Sect in preparation for the upcoming epidemic in six months.

But it was my mistake.

Human greed knew no bounds.

“Give us 20% of the total revenue earned by the Merchant Guild.”

Ronald II demanded an absurd amount that could not be fulfilled at all.

“20% of the total revenue… Are you serious?”

Carl Hansen opened his mouth wide and looked at Ronald II in disbelief. Ronald II nodded.

“Deducting taxes and necessary expenses, simply give us 20% of the total revenue. I believe that Lord Landoor is capable of accommodating that. I’ve heard that he is making quite a fortune from the movie industry, land reclamation in the Golden Plains, and the spice business in the trade routes. hahahaha!”

Ronald II, in his fifties, had a bloated belly that matched his greed, making him more obese than Carl Hansen. He shook his belly, which was difficult to tell whether he was a priest or an orc.

Carl Hansen forced a smile while internally regretting not listening to me sooner, as he was desperately trying to prevent a disaster of insulting the largest and most famous sect in the empire. Well, what could he do? I stood up from my seat.

“I apologize, Your Holiness. The Merchant Guild cannot afford such a large amount. We will consider receiving the grace of the Goddess Ella’s healing on another occasion.”

“Hmm… If you think you can handle the large population of Porto and Eland’s territory, which have numerous inhabitants, with the number of healing priests in other sects, then go ahead.”

However, even with my words, the leisurely smile of Pontiff Ronald II did not disappear.

He already knew.

It means that the denomination with a wide talent pool and many followers that can provide priests in numbers befitting of my territory in the western continent is practically the only one of its kind.

“Since you are a merchant, let me explain using familiar commercial terms. Lord Randor, there are concepts of supply and demand. Lord Randor, there is a demand for our healing priests from our denomination, and we have the capacity to supply them. The problem is that we are the only suppliers outside of your denomination.”

The Pope smiles.

He was a person who could display a more wicked and greedy laugh than the loan shark, Carl Hanson.

“If we monopolize the market supply, well… the price naturally increases, doesn’t it? And considering your special position, we offered it to you very cheaply. If you refuse today and come again next time, we will charge you from 40% of the total profit.”

“That’s enough!!…”

Just before the explosive curse could escape Carl Hanson’s mouth, I could barely find a way to silence him.

King Ronald II had a composed face.

“Well. Please do as you wish. You will be the one to regret if illness arises. Life and money. When pushed to the limit, everyone makes a decision. Usually, it is leaning towards life.”

“Thank you for your generous decision, but unfortunately, it seems that I have to refuse. Your Holiness. It was a pleasure to meet you today.”

“Well… do as you please. Lord Randor.”

I greeted and led Carl Hanson outside. And throughout the journey back to the Earlond Viscountcy, I had to endure Carl Hanson’s foul language.

“That f*cking pig son of a b*tch should learn to be modest!!!!!!!! 30%?!??!!? I almost died………”

“It’s my mistake. I knew he was greedy, but I didn’t expect him to be this greedy.”

“Who would have anticipated that greed? Even demons would retreat in front of him.”

Carl Hanson complained for a while, but he was indeed an experienced merchant.

Taking in the cold air of the Earlond territory, he cooled down a bit and asked me with a rational voice.

“Peasants keep coming from the provinces. Lord Randor, it is true that there is a massive need for healing priests.”

“And realistically, there are no denominations other than the healing denomination that can provide priests in that number, right?”

“Yes. What should we do?”

The two of us pondered with our heads together.

However, no matter how long we thought, we could only confirm that aside from the healing denomination, there was no choice available to us.

In the Iram Empire, where sacred magic was highly developed, the concept of medicine did not thrive, and as a result, the only beings capable of playing the role of doctors were the priests specialized in healing magic from the denominations dedicated to healing.

And the denomination large enough to provide healing priests for the Portu Commercial City and the Earlond Viscountcy was the healing denomination, the only one of its kind.

“This f*cking sh*t!! To be robbed by that pig bastard!!!!”

Carl Hanson vented his anger, but in the current situation, even I had no solution. In the original novel, the protagonist Prince Adran, while being angry at the greed of King Ronald II, ultimately had no other choice and asked the nation to bear the enormous medical expenses, so it was no wonder. By the time that happened, the situation had deteriorated to the point where many people had died.

“This is ridiculous. Even if I can’t be a doctor, I have to bring in thousands of people, but besides the healing denomination, there is no choice… “

I muttered in frustration, then abruptly stopped in my tracks.

It was because a single idea briefly crossed my mind like lightning.

“In the Ailam Empire… there are no choices, right?”

“Yes. Why are you stating the obvious?”

I look at Karl Hansen.

It was different.

The original novel and the current situation were not the same.

“… What if we go to the Karamba Empire?”

“Huh?…”

“Wouldn’t there be people we want in the Karamba Empire?!”

Karl Hansen and I stared at each other in silence for a moment.

Then, simultaneously, we burst into laughter and got up from our seats.

“Send a message to General Saldin! Tell him I’ll visit soon!!!! And prepare some gifts that the Sultan will like!!! Get the interpreters ready too!!”

“Let’s proceed like bullets!!”

“I’ll tell Karia to prepare the Dragon of Protection!!! Let’s fly on our dragon!! We even pulled out the steel horns quickly, didn’t we! Uh-ha-ha!!!”

Karl Hansen’s actions were surprisingly fast.

Two days later, we received permission to visit from the Sultan, and during that time, Karl Hansen gathered the best treasures as gifts.

We flew on Karia’s dragon to the residence of Sultan Saldin in the Crescent Triangle, the only fertile land in the western continent where farming was possible.