novelzi Chapter 13: Medieval Taxation
Chapter 13: Medieval Taxation
Chapter 13: Medieval Taxation
“How dare you, you lowly tradesman, blaspheme the divine!”
Leon’s thunderous tirade was no mere rebuke.
This was the most exalted being in the mortal realm and words spoken by a living saint and demigod are magical in their own right.
The fury he unleashed in his rage was not something a normal human could withstand.
“Huh...!”
Her eardrums are shaking and her mind is foggy. Her heart raced as she felt the wrath of an unimaginable divine agent but despite his incomprehensible rage, she understood one thing.
The life and death of the Doojeong Group and its managing director... Park Jong-chan, depended on the otherworldly man in front of her.
“Your Majesty!”
At that moment, Ha-ri, sensing the danger, stood in front of Leon, her legs trembling as she forced herself to not fall.
“Your Majesty, if you kill him, we’ll be in...trouble!”
Being a survivor is not a license to get away with anything. Understanding Leon’s culture and class is one thing, but committing a crime is another.
Of course, Leon’s value is not comparable to that of a managing director of a major national company, but even so, this was not it.
“Hmm. Don’t be mistaken, this king is not a fool that runs around.”
With that, Ha-ri, Park, and the rest of the staff breathed a sigh of relief. Director Park broke out in a cold sweat.
“Foolish one, you’ve made your sins known.”
“Yes, yes? No, I.......”
What the hell had he done wrong? He’d tried to slap a price on it. But how could a savage who had been on Earth for less than a week know that?
Feeling wronged, Mr. Park cautiously pleaded.
“I, I really don’t know what’s wrong.”
“Heh... How can you be so ignorant and clueless?”
At this point, Leon’s eyes held pity, not contempt.
“The crops come from the land blessed by Demera. It is a gift bestowed by the goddess upon the farmers who toil and cultivate the fields.”
Humans cannot survive alone. When there is a bad harvest they would starve and when they are hungry they must go to work in the fields.
They dig up the soil and steal the seeds from the earth.
“Therefore, those who are farmers should be grateful for the blessings of the land and thankful to the Divine for its creation.”
Faith, divinity, and divine grace is not something that can be bought with gold, but is bestowed upon a grateful heart and faith.
“Thou art a lowly thing, deceiving others for the sake of petty profit. How dost thou seek to profit from the product of a divinity thou hast no faith in?”
“Profit...!”
Director Park Jong-chan gritted his teeth and backed away. As he walked away, apparently in a wait-and-see manner, Ha-ri expressed concern.
“Is it...going to be okay? He may be a lowly trader in Your Majesty’s eyes, but... he’s quite influential.”
“Hmph. Not even worth bothering with.”
Leon is not dismissive of the influence of businessmen.
Businesses play a huge role in modern civilization and they have spread their influence far and wide in the soil of capitalism.
“Ten thousand temples carry a burden, but it’s not a burden that can shake this king.”
There was an overwhelming confidence in him. No, it was beyond confidence.
He was the chosen one, the king recognized by the heavens, a living proof of the Divine Right of Kings. The Emperor of the Empire, the Steel Dwarves of the Underground City, and the Guardians of the Forest recognize the demigod’s authority.
Only the self-indulgent take the agents of the gods lightly.
In the world of divinity to come, they will be excluded and relegated so it is not worth dealing with the ignorant and unintelligible.
“By the way, have you done what I said to prepare?”
“Uhm...You mean...the issue of the faith?”
“Yes. It wouldn’t hurt the country, of course.”
Ha-ri remembered Leon’s request not long ago, and of course, the Hunter’s Association flipped.
“Actually, Director Park Jong-chan contacted me before his visit, saying he had some suitable land.......”
If Leon could solve this problem, there was no reason why the Hunter’s Association couldn’t help, especially since the President was happy to see it.
* * * *
Since the gate crisis, humanity has lost tons of arable land.
Countries have been overwhelmed with responding to gates in urban centers and have failed to discover gates in rural and remote areas.
As a result, many gates have caused dungeon breaks, and much land has been contaminated.
The only reason humanity hasn’t had a severe food crisis in recent years is purely because of the amount of people dying. And some of the plains that failed to be dealt with have been permanently contaminated, creating countless displaced people.
The Naju Plain, where Choi had spent his entire life plowing fields, was one of them.
“Dad, do you see nothing but fields again from the morning breeze?”
“.......”
Despite his son’s question, Choi remained silent and looked at his land contaminated by miasma.
Today, Choi is a government-subsidized assistant at a supermarket in town, but until five years ago, he was a farmer in Naju.
He had spent his entire life herding cows and driving tractors but five years ago, a failed red gate triggered a dungeon break, and the entire Naju plain was contaminated with miasma.
The contamination was so intense that many farmers, including Choi, lost their land.
“Haa.......”
Nothing can be done on land contaminated with miasma and ordinary people were contaminated just by stepping on it, and only hunters could survive.
No one wants to buy land that doesn’t grow crops and although there were government subsidies based on the size of the land, they were pennies on the dollar.
The Lionheart Emperor didn’t even allow Ha-ri to call him by his first name but contrary to her expectations, Leon smiled gently and his voice trailed off.
“Your Majesty is sufficient, old man.”
“Aigoo... I’m sorry.”
‘What, are you discriminating against people?!’
Ha-ri made a sour face, but Leon continued.
“Did you say you’re Choi Chul-jin?”
“Yes, I did.”
“You have sworn to serve the Goddess Demera, the goddess of life and fertility. What about the others?”
At that, a middle-aged man stepped forward.
“...Are you going to cleanse our land as well?”
Leon frowned at the middle-aged man’s words.
“Do not attempt to bargain with the divine, for I promise you nothing in return.”
He despised shallow beliefs that promised to grant wishes in exchange for offerings, faith, or devotion.
You can’t trade with God. Only sincere worship will be granted by the gods.
To ask for a favor in exchange for faith is to doubt the divine and try to trade.
“I will give you the proper teaching. Will you listen to the divine teachings?”
“Yes, I will listen.”
“I am not forcing you to believe. It is your choice.”
Just then, a young man approached, a rarity in this part of the country... a son, to be exact, who had inherited his late father’s land and was invited to this meeting.
“I, I... I go to church.......”
“It doesn’t matter. You can believe in both gods.”
“Is that okay?”
“Divinity is not a singular existence. There are many great gods in the world, so why should we believe in only one?”
There are many faiths in the pantheon and its polytheistic nature does not limit beliefs.
“It is only up to you to follow the teachings and practice them. I will not impose my beliefs on you.”
Of course, if someone worships an evil deity, he will mercilessly decapitate them and tear their souls apart.
“Join this king’s Guild. Follow the due process to enter the enclosure the King will erect and receive the teachings of the Goddess.”
“I’ll do it, please let me do it!”
Choi eagerly embraced the faith. It was a miracle that no king, no shaman and no priest could have performed. He had come face to face with a real God, and He had purified his land.
How could he not believe then?
How could he not be grateful to the One who had given his old body a chance to plow the fields once more?
Choi rejoiced with tears of gratitude that he could reap the beauty of his life’s work.
“Yes, I will follow you.”
“Me, too...!”
One by one, the hesitant ones stepped forward.
The land was contaminated with miasma and could not be sold, so what was there to lose receiving help to cleanse it?
“Do you swear to follow the Divinity of Life and Fertility and to practice its teachings?”
“I swear!”
“I swear!”
With that, they were officially inducted into Leon’s Guild, The Ten Thousand Gods.
Leon knew they had their eyes set on the purification of the land, but he was confident that one day they would find their true faith.
“Very well, if you believe and follow, you are children of the Goddess. I, on behalf of the gods, will bless you as you deserve.”
Leon lifted the chalice and poured the holy water within it upon his new followers. The holy water flowed through the crowns of their heads, energizing them.
“Oh, my God... My head is clear and my body is full of energy!”
“I feel like I can see the world differently!”
“Is that straw doll really a goddess?”
“Yes. Goddess Demera...!”
The faith of those who already believed in the goddess filled the Lionheart and Goddess Demera would turn that faith into divine power.
“Build a temple. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, just a place where everyone gathers weekly to pray.”
Leon preached the teachings of life and abundance, which shouldn’t be too hard to follow.
Then came the most important moment.
“What about the offerings...how do we pay?”
The congregation embraced this new faith, but was uneasy about it. After all, religion is all about collecting periodic offerings under all sorts of pretenses.
You pay to make your child study well, you pay to expand the temple.......and their living was already tight since they hadn’t been able to farm for five years.
“You only have to pay one thing.”
The congregation’s faces lit up at the words. No need to make a new offering for every holiday or season? What a blessing──
“The Ten Commandments.”
“”......?””
To the wide-eyed congregants who wondered if they had misheard but Leon declared proudly.
“You will pay by contributing to the salvation of the world.”
Ha-ri, who heard his words thought ‘isn’t this evil?!’