Surviving as a Cult Leader in Another World (Going up)

When pastors and priests preach in church, there is one sermon that people dislike, even though it is necessary.
It is the sermon about tithes and offerings.
Offerings are mentioned in the Bible.
They are not given to the church, but to God.
And that money is used to run the church community.
In other words, not giving offerings is like stealing from God.
"This guy didn't pay the offering he promised, huh?"
Flip-
As I unfurled the scroll I received from Archbishop Archibald, the details were written there.

Baron Rush Voltaire hereby pledges to pay 200 gold coins as a building offering upon the completion of the Grand Cathedral of Durgien.

The signature was properly written.
It seemed to have sufficient legal effect.
However, this Baron Voltaire did not fulfill his pledge, resulting in the deterioration of the Grand Cathedral's financial situation.
"Because of that, I had to pay an entrance fee to enter the Grand Cathedral."
How infuriating!
Although the affairs of the world seem diverse, they are all intricately interconnected under one grand will called 'providence'.
Therefore, the anger I experienced today was essentially due to this Baron Voltaire, and I could not forgive him.
"Is Baron Voltaire here?"
I entered a small mansion located in Florence.
Guards in chainmail were guarding the entrance, and even from the entrance, the garden was very luxurious and spacious, with a fountain spraying cool water.
"Cathy! That dress is beautiful!"
"It's a new dress the tailor made for me!"
Giggle, giggle- Noisy laughter could be heard continuously.
Peeking over the guards' shoulders, it seemed like they were enjoying some kind of banquet.
The guards blatantly scanned me from head to toe.
"Are you a guest invited to Lady Cathy's wedding? Please show us your invitation."
Indeed-.
Today, the Baron's daughter's wedding was being held in the garden of this mansion.
However, I was not an invited guest.
"I wasn't invited, but I came as a representative of Archbishop Archibald. It seems Baron Rush Voltaire has not paid the offering he promised for three years."
"Unpaid? Offering? Ah, I see. I will convey the message to the Baron, so please return today. We are busy now. Can't you see the people lined up behind you?"
Looking back, I saw that a lot of people were lined up behind me.
They were each holding gifts like exotic fruits or flowers in their hands and were giving me dissatisfied looks, as if saying, "I don't know what's going on, but hurry up and resolve it."
A wedding.
The influx of guests.
Indeed, on a day like this, someone like me who came to collect offerings was no different from the tax collectors, portrayed as traitors in the Bible.
So what?
Are you the only ones who are busy?
I have an appointment this evening too.
"I will speak to Baron Voltaire directly. It will be over soon, so please let me meet him for five minutes. Then, I will go inside."
As I tried to slip past the guards, they grabbed my shoulders and became very angry.
"How dare you try to enter without permission!"
"We'll have to beat you and chase you away! This is the private property of the Voltaire family!"
The grip on my shoulders was quite strong.
It seemed like they were really going to pull out their clubs from their waistbands and beat me.
But I was dumbfounded.
"Why are you angry? I'm the one who should be angry. How dare someone who stole from Elohim's treasury shamelessly demand rights! Everyone, listen!"
I had many talents, and I could confidently say that my voice was louder and clearer than anyone else's.
After all, when I was active as Lust, I preached to 5,000 people gathered at the foot of a mountain without a microphone.
Of course, the sermon was mostly useless stuff like "It's a good day for rape," but anyway.
"What?"
"What's going on? Is there a problem?"
People started paying attention to my booming voice.
I didn't lose my momentum and continued,
"Baron Voltaire is a sinner who stole and didn't pay the price! Today, as a representative here to collect that rightful price, I will accept the guests' gifts instead!"
I snatched the flowers, baskets, and other gifts from the people lined up behind me. Naturally, the guests got angry, saying, "Who are you, you bastard!", and a scuffle ensued.
"You bastard! Who are you! You beggar! Do you know who this is! This is Baron Melti! According to noble etiquette, a beggar like you can't even speak to him!"
Thud-
Among the guards accompanying the guests, some pushed my shoulder hard with their fists, and I fell on my butt.
Soon, people burst into laughter.
I seized this opportunity and said,
"How dare you lay a hand on a member of the Agarphe Count family? According to noble etiquette, I am also here as a representative of Count Agarphe!"
"What?"
"Count Agarphe?"
"What are you talking about?"
There was probably no one in this Durgien region who didn't know the name of the Agarphe Count family.
After all, even though they were in decline, they were the family that ruled this Durgien region before the kingdom was unified.
"I am Hyde, son-in-law of the Agarphe Count family! Baron Melti! Your soldier struck my shoulder, causing me great injury! This insult will be avenged!"
As I shouted, the Baron with a weasel beard, who was wearing a wide-brimmed hat, trembled greatly. He frowned, seemingly conscious of the commotion around him, and soon asked me,
"Do you have anything to prove your identity?"
"I'll show you the Count's pass."
I presented the pass I had received before leaving the Agarphe territory. It was undoubtedly genuine, and if Baron Melti was even a minor noble, he would surely recognize its authenticity.
Soon, Baron Melti trembled in great embarrassment.
"Oh my, you are the famous son-in-law of Count Doban. My soldier Hans was rude, not knowing that. I will punish and fire the soldier, so please forgive us-."
"B-Baron-."
"What are you doing! Quickly expel this rude fellow! How dare he lay a hand on a member of a noble family! Don't just chase him away, beat him!"
"Y-yes…!? B-Baron! I was wrong! I was wrong!"
The soldier who hit my shoulder became extremely flustered and bowed his head to the ground. If he were beaten and chased away like this, this man's life would be ruined-.
But thinking about it now, the soldier's sin wasn't that grave.
Well, if an unknown person approaches a noble and acts suspiciously, it's only natural for a soldier to be wary.
"Baron Melti, it's alright. People make mistakes, so I forgive you. Soldier, please raise your head. I'm not here to fight with you all today."
"Are you sure? Hans! Thank the son-in-law of Agarphe for his generosity!"
"Thank you. Thank you very much!"
After the commotion, I headed back to the garden entrance.
The expressions of the guards, who had tried to chase me away earlier, were now slightly embarrassed.
"So, do you want to lay your hands on me too?"
Should I just breeze past them like I have a free pass-.
As I was thinking that,
"Escort the guest inside!"
A man with a stout physique approached us from inside the garden. He was wearing a sable fur scarf around his neck, and I wondered if he wasn't hot in this summer heat.
"Are you Baron Rush Voltaire?"
"Yes, I am. You must be Hyde. Rumors about you are spreading throughout Durgien. I wonder what kind of lucky fellow married the Lady of Agarphe. Come inside!"
Baron Rush Voltaire's mansion was very splendid and luxurious.
Chandeliers were hanging from the ceiling, murals painted by artists adorned every wall, and porcelain of unimaginable value was placed in every corner, decorating the hallway.
There were also many soldiers and knights.
I saw at least twenty soldiers and three knights.
According to the five ranks of nobility in the kingdom, in the order of Duke-Marquis-Count-Viscount-Baron, wasn't Baron the lowest rank among nobles?
Of course, there were cases where this hierarchy differed depending on political and economic circumstances, but Baron Voltaire seemed very wealthy and authoritative.
"Compared to the Agarphe Count family's mansion, this is a humble place, so I feel a bit ashamed to host you, Lord Hyde."
Baron Rush.
His words were humble, but they actually contained arrogant pride. After all, this mansion was better than the Agarphe mansion.
The Baron sat on the balcony overlooking the garden banquet hall.
"So, Lord Hyde, have you come to celebrate my daughter Cathy's wedding on behalf of the Agarphe Count family? It is truly an honor."
"No, I'm not here as a representative of Agarphe. It was Archbishop Archibald who sent me. I'm here as a representative of the church."
"What? How can the son-in-law of the Agarphe family be here as a representative of Archbishop Archibald?"
Baron Rush seemed confused.
After all, the Agarphe family and the Archibald family were enemies.
"Our Voltaire family is well aware that the Archibald and Agarphe families have been fighting in Durgien for over 500 years since the founding of the United Kingdom. This is very interesting."
Baron Voltaire looked me up and down as if he found it truly amusing.
As his brown hair swayed like seaweed, I said leisurely,
"Where are there eternal enemies? We are all equal brothers and sisters under the Lord. And the Voltaire family, which was the standard-bearer of Agarphe for 300 years, is now loyal to the church, isn't it?"
"…Well, that's-."
Rush Voltaire seemed quite flustered.
He probably didn't expect me to bring up such political matters so blatantly.
During my stay in Agarphe, I read a lot of history books and books about noble families.
Nights without sex.
I had a lot of time.
According to the history books I read, Agarphe was a great noble of Durgien and had many noble families as their vassals.
Voltaire was one of them, but the power dynamics changed drastically during the war between the church and the royal family about 20 years ago.
"When the Agarphe family was siding with the Unizer royal family until the very end, the Voltaire family was the first to betray them and become a pawn of the church, right?"
"Well, that's because there was no justice in the royal family…! The mad king was trying to kill everyone…! It was our duty as nobles to oppose the royal family…!"
In this manner, the nobles of the royalist faction left the front lines one by one or sided with the church, and the tide of the war turned rapidly, leaving the Agarphe family as the only ones siding with the royal family in the end, as I recall.
"Of course, our Agarphe family also ended up opposing the royal family in the end. As you said, Baron Voltaire, there was no justice in the royal family. So, let's not talk about this."
"It would be best not to. Today is a joyous wedding!"
A wedding.
That's right.
Weddings should only have happy stories.
What would happen if I said, "Pay the overdue offerings," on a day like this?
Archbishop Archibald had given me a difficult quest.
"Congratulations on Lady Cathy's wedding. But as I said before, I came here to collect the money that is rightfully owed. I speak as a representative of Elohim."
"Elohim?"
"The 300 gold coins that you and the Voltaire family promised. I urge you to pay it now, in full. Otherwise, you may face great misfortune."
300 gold coins was a large sum of money.
I thought the reason the Voltaire family had to donate 300 gold coins to the construction of the Grand Cathedral was probably an act of "pledging allegiance".
Since Voltaire was originally a vassal of the Agarphe family, the church would have wanted to put a leash on them.
Perhaps there was a deal like, "If you truly pledge allegiance to the church, pay the offering"?
However-.
When peace returned after the war, Baron Voltaire might have become reluctant to pay such a large sum of money.
So he might have been making excuses and delaying the payment.
"Alright, Lord Hyde-. Wait a moment. Our family is so poor and insignificant, but how can we dare steal from God? I will immediately procure 300 gold coins."
Baron Voltaire rose from his seat.
He was a more understanding man than I thought.
That's why he's so good at switching sides like that.
There was no logical flaw in my words from the beginning.
"I am simply demanding what is rightfully owed, in the rightful capacity. In fact, I am giving Baron Voltaire and his family a chance to be forgiven for the sin of stealing God's offering."
Time passed like that, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes.
I felt puzzled that Baron Voltaire hadn't returned.
Soon, sensing something was wrong, I went out to the garden and witnessed Baron Voltaire laughing and chatting with a group of people who looked like nobles.
"Baron Voltaire, what are you doing?"
"Ah, Lord Hyde. I was just borrowing money from people to pay the offering. But it's not going as well as I thought."
Baron Voltaire looked at the man standing in front of him.
The blond man was a head shorter than me, but he was wearing very high-heeled shoes, had a sword elegantly strapped to his waist, and wore a gold ring on his finger.
Baron Rush Voltaire said,
"Look here, Aaron, my son-in-law needs 300 gold coins. Can you lend it to your poor father-in-law?"
"I'll look into it, but it might be difficult today. After all, today is my wedding day, isn't it? Rather, Lord Hyde, it's a pleasure to meet you. I am Aaron, the second son of the Orleans Count family. I once proposed to Lady Psyche, but she married you. However, I heard that she's still a 'virgin'. Is that true?"
The man's eyes looked at me arrogantly as he spoke.
A member of the Orleans Count family.
Indeed, I wondered what gave this Voltaire guy the confidence to act so boldly, and it turned out he was related to a Count family by marriage.
Did he find a new lifeline?
"The Orleans Count family here is the family that produced Sir Roland, one of the Six Knights of the Holy Knights."
"Roland is my older brother. Compared to my accomplished brother, I'm nothing. However, I will definitely give you the money, so just enjoy yourself today and leave. Lord Hyde, there's no need to cause a scene at a wedding."
Pat, pat-
Finally, Aaron Orleans patted my shoulder with his hand.
His attitude was as if asking, "What can you do other than just go back like this?"
These bastards-.
So, they're going to screw me over like this, huh?
No, this wasn't just about screwing me over.
It was like openly insulting the Agarphe Count family and Archbishop Archibald to their faces.
And it was like rebelling against the will of Elohim, who sent me to this land.
However, there was nothing Monk Hyde could do in this situation. I couldn't do anything further.
Right now, Monk Hyde was in a very politically sensitive position.
"Then, I'll be on my way. Have a wonderful wedding."
As I stepped back, I heard loud laughter, saying, "Haha, feel free to stay and enjoy yourself!"
I pretended to go to the bathroom and rummaged through my pockets.
Then I saw a mask with a blood-stained cross on it.