Novels online

Chapter 14

14Demera, Goddess of Earth

「What is the mysterious rice field in the polluted Naju Plain??」

「Was the purification operation, which even experts said was impossible, a success? Is this the new reagent of the Magic Tower??」

「There is a guild that farmers in the Naju Plain commonly reside in.?」

After the purification of the Naju Plain, the Internet was full of news about the purified land for a while..

Although Leon had already purified the land contaminated with magic in the Honam Plain, it did not make much news..

This is because the Phoenix Guild put pressure on the media..

But the Naju Plain was on a different level..

It is a land that has been polluted and not purified for as many as five years..

This was the reason why South Korea's food self-sufficiency rate dropped significantly and rice from China and Japan had to be imported at high prices..

The purification of the Naju plains, which was thought to be impossible no matter what farming methods were applied or reagents poured in, was achieved overnight..

Farmers in the Naju plains who witnessed the scene shed tears of emotion, but the reaction of the Internet and celebrities was more rational..

-Has Magic Tower developed a new reagent? The recent technological progress of Magic Tower is unusual..

-How do we consume crops that have grown so rapidly? Wasn't it because I couldn't eat it anyway because of the toxins??

- Humanity's magical engineering skills are increasing day by day. If things continue like this, recovery of the world's breadbasket will not be far away..

That's right. This was the typical reaction.

Even if they witness a phenomenon that is realistically impossible, most people try to interpret it based on their common sense..

To those who were absorbed in scientific civilization, the miracles of God and the advent of divinity were an embarrassing and irrational way of thinking..

"Your Majesty, here's the internet's reaction. Isn’t there a need for an official announcement at the association level??"

The Hunter Association has not yet announced anything about divinity. It was natural. New faith and religion.

The unrest caused by the country's largest religious faction is a problem, but it is also a problem when a government agency appears to be promoting one religion..

"Leave it to me. Even if it were announced right now, how would foolish people believe it? They need more evidence."

Leon spent three full days looking around the village hall in the plains of Naju..

While purifying Mr. Choi's land, a higher quality faith than expected was found in the pantheon..

The faith that flowed to the divinity of life and abundance was immediately replaced by holy power, and Leon was able to purify the entire Naju Plain by squeezing in holy power..

Thus, a crested doll representing the image of the goddess Demera was placed on the plains of Naju, and people bowed and worshiped the altar..

"This king will give you the right to cultivate and farm this land. You must cultivate the body of Demera and continue its prosperity.."

Although the new believers were grateful for the purification of the land, they showed hesitation once the land was actually purified. It was natural..

"My Majesty... Anyway, isn't the ten-structure tax rate a bit too high??"

Yeah, this was the problem..

Ten structures. Paying 90% of your crops as taxes??

Leon briefly explained the tax structure of the Lionheart Kingdom..

It produces 90% of the total output. This was the same for everyone, regardless of whether they were nobles or free people..

How can the country run when 90% of all income is paid in taxes??

I wonder if everyone is starving to death??

With that money, I will start raising horses.?

These crazy talkative bastards!

This was a common refrain from imperialists who criticized the kingdom, but it was a misunderstanding caused by not understanding the structure of the Lionheart Kingdom..

The Kingdom of Lionheart, where he reigned as king, is a country of divine unity that revolves around divinity..

Following the divinity of light and justice, both the ruling class and the lower class followed justice.,

Fishermen who follow the divinity of the sea and waves caught the permitted amount of fish..

The land cultivated by farmers who follow the divinity of life and abundance has always yielded abundant harvests..

Even the king was chosen from among the Holy Grail Knights who were strictly selected by the goddess, so the kingdom was always peaceful during the thousands of years of succession..

A perfect social structure with divinity. It is only foreign invasion that can disrupt the peaceful kingdom..

Greedy northern barbarians, lowly orcs, and dirty vampires who refused to die invaded the rich kingdom..

There were honorable people who were willing to sacrifice their lives against the invasion of invaders: they were knights..

They follow the divinity of light and justice, are armed with iron armor and war horses, and valiantly subdue external enemies..

Free people praised the knights' bravery and honor and supported them..

What emerged in the process was the ten structures..

It is a system that free people willingly approved to support honorable knights who endlessly rush toward death..

Of course, this was possible because the fundamental system of society was just..

Unlike empires and miscellaneous kingdoms that are often distorted by the judicial system, corruption, and greed, the Kingdom of Lionheart was not chosen by the goddess if it was not just and honorable..

Are you trying to steal even a little bit of the excess taxes? At that moment, the grace of the goddess is withdrawn, and that lineage is not even given the opportunity to train to become an honorable Holy Grail Knight..

Therefore, the taxes of the Lionheart Kingdom were always used for public benefit..

It was used to build bridges, build walls, improve facilities and provide care for the families of those who died honorably as Men at Arms..

All of this is accomplished under the supervision of the Lionheart King, the perfect king chosen by the goddess, so no matter how much tax you pay, there can be no complaints..

It was against this background that it became the last bastion, holding out until the end against the invasion of evil species..

"But this is Earth. korea… Here it comes."

Even the farmers who had seen the divinity and had sworn to become believers agreed with that statement..

I understood that he was a king of medieval civilization. I thought it might be because the survivors' culture is very different from Earth's..

But this is Earth. The owners of the land were farmers, and they had to pay taxes separately to the government..

"your majesty… Still, 90% is too much. Residents must pay taxes to the government and pay for living expenses and fertilizers.──"

"What do you mean? Why do you have to worry about paying taxes to the government, living expenses, and fertilizer??"

"yes?"

Even the farmers who had been listening, including Hari, looked puzzled at Leon's unexpected remarks..

"As a follower of the goddess, how can you worry about your hunger? Food donated as a ten-structure will be distributed as food and all expenses will be covered, leaving a minimum amount.."

What he said was simple.

Taxes, forms, even living expenses and other things..

"Those among you who are most pious will be chosen as priests. The remaining work is entirely yours, so sell it and live in dignity and luxury.."

So, if you exclude 10% of your income, everything from eating, welfare, and living will be taken care of for you..

-what. When I heard it, I found something interesting.?

-No. Still, 90% is not too much?

At that time, Hari showed me a sneak peek of the emotion chart..

"I… When I think about it, it’s about this blessed rice. The appraisal value is huge.."

160g of rice per bowl has similar performance to that of most strengthening agents and its duration is overwhelmingly long..

However, since the yield is overwhelmingly higher than that of enhancers, the prices of enhancers related to stamina and magic recovery will be completely ridiculous..

Based on very conservative estimates of market oversupply and resulting price declines, the Hunter Association appraiser's conclusion is:──

"80The conclusion is that the price of a kg bag of rice is 150 million won... I came out."

"Yep."

"Yep."

"Yep?"

The farmers blinked and couldn't believe their ears..

1500 million? A bag of rice? How much rice was harvested 5 years ago??

"Poetry, long live the divine."

"Long live the goddess!"

"I believed it, Jewenzaaang!"

Leon satisfactorily listened to the praises he deserved and taught the code of Demera, the goddess of life and abundance..

1. Make an image of the goddess with the first harvest and offer it on the altar..

2. Don't urinate in the field. manure is ok.

3. Set up a scarecrow and dress it with a hat and clothes..

4. Sing a song when you harvest. It's even better if it's a song filled with gratitude to the goddess..

5. Don't go hungry even if you're busy.

…………

…………

…………

"that… Are you okay, Your Majesty??"

"What do you mean?."

"I feel like there are too many material conditions attached to faith.……."

Of course, religion basically promises take-to-take. It is a story that if you believe, you will be saved when you die, or you will be cured of an illness, or you will have dozens of virgin sex slaves..

However, I said this because I thought Leon would not want such a philistine belief..

"joy. How can one expect the nobility of a knight and the dignity of a nobleman from ignorant commoners? If they get drunk on divine grace and lose their correct faith, it doesn't matter because that grace will be withdrawn at any time.."

Leon had no intention of being greedy from the beginning. In the end, only those with true faith will be chosen by God..

And the target of missionary work is not just farmers..

Purification of Naju Plain. And the moment the crops grown there are revealed to the world, people will witness a second miracle..

Crops that make you healthy just by eating them.

The people of this Earth, who are afraid of diseases and have to rely on the barbaric practice of medical treatment, will eventually admit it..

"Can the grown crops be used as seedlings right away??"

"They say some are purchased from the Hunter Association, so stock up on something to fill your mouth right away.."

A world with divinity.

It was only a matter of time before such a world would come..

* * * *

After purifying the Naju Plain and building an altar to the goddess Demera, the first crops were piled in Leon's warehouse as predicted..

「This time, to expand agriculture, use everything except fish as seedlings. Those who need money should hand it over at a reasonable price, as the association has decided to purchase it for research purposes..」

Leon gave most of the crops to Old Man Choi, whom he had appointed as a temporary priest, and he would distribute the necessary amount of food to the residents and plant seedlings for the next crop..

The remaining work was left to the residents to sell on their own, but the association promised to purchase it, and the amount was well over 5 billion won..

"Are you okay? Even if you leave it to me so quickly."

"You mean that old man??"

"yes… You've already passed most of the work.."

In Hari’s opinion, Leon’s method was too simple..

The crops donated as ten donations from each farmland are given to the lord... When the lord is absent, the priest collects it, disposes of it, and sends the appropriate amount back to the center - Leon -..

The point was this.

right. Take care of it. To the best of my ability.

oh my god. It seems like a very blatant structure designed to evade taxes..

"In your kingdom, how do you catch people who are causing corruption??"

"There was no need to catch it.."

"Why, why are you like that??"

"Because those who did that all went to hell.."

"ah……."

Leon is a resident of a world where real gods exist, not an Earth that only talks about heaven and hell..

Harmony with divinity, faith and grace... Of course, heavenly punishment also existed..

a corrupt official?

Corrupt nobles? a vicious knight?

How can such a being survive?.

We are the inhabitants of a world where that was common sense and a natural law..

"He is a man who deceives God for the sake of his former wealth and fame... He is truly a great writer in another sense.."

"……."

Hari swallowed his saliva..

When she encountered the divinity of Demera, she was moved by the existence of the gods and their grace... I got chills when I realized that divine punishment also existed..

* * * *

There are two ways to become a hunter..

Enter the Hunter Academy and receive a hunter certificate through three years of government support and development..

This is the case of Assistant Manager Han Ha-ri from the National Hunter Association..

"I graduated at the top of my class~ hehe."

"I didn't ask."

"Yes……."

The second method is to have your ‘occupation’ and ‘skills’ measured through an awakened test certified by the Hunter Association..

Awakened people who were past the age of normal admission to the academy entered the academy, and many hunters visited the association's testing center every year to renew their ranks..

"Would your Majesty also take the test? Well, procedurally, it is easier to get a measurement test done.."

Indeed, what kind of job does Leon have? What skills does he have? Hari was curious about that..

Among the survivors, there were many who had skills that Earthlings in this world could not acquire, so the association also expressed their curiosity..

"What nonsense is that?."

But Leon’s reaction was cold..

"How are they going to test this lion-hearted king?."

"uh… Then why did you ask me to go??"

"I need to find useful free soldiers. I will test them."

"Well, that's the procedure……."

"If it doesn't work, make it happen.."

In response to Leon's unreasonable remarks, Hari wondered how to report this to Manager Kim Jin-su..

"Rather, when will the president return to the country??"

"Well, I'll call you right away. hello? Manager Kim?"

Rather than having this sword-wielding knight king meet with the president, it would be better to force the association..