“I’m Guillain Aurelius. I deal with goldwork, silverwork, and other metals.”
Once everyone had introduced themselves, Col shook their hands again. Their palms were not as hard as those of craftsmen, but the odd space between their index and middle fingers meant they held quills too much.
“These three here are on top of this city’s traders’ association. If you also count the other companies that have pledged their cooperation, this accounts for about eighty percent of trade.”
These people were not the sort one could typically just call up and see. Col almost flinched, but when he remembered how brazen Myuri had been to eat mutton so heartily like she did, he persevered.
“I thank you so much for the honor of being able to sit with the great Twilight Cardinal at his zenith. I was certainly surprised to learn that Lady Eve was acquainted with the Twilight Cardinal,” Arugo said first.
“His Eminence and I are old friends, you see. He even saved my life way back when. It was when he was still a young, cherubic boy.”
“Oh-ho. Does that mean His Eminence was under God’s protection even back then?”
Merchants always talked in exaggerations.
“This is most certainly God’s will, though. There is no questioning that us being able to meet you today is what God intended,” Matteo said, and all the merchants turned to look at Col.
He had made up his mind, and excessive bargaining was exactly their field of expertise. He decided to get straight to the point.
“I am also honored to be able to meet you. I do certainly want to hear what you have to say, so…why are you here? Are you not allied with the Church?”
He thought they might flinch, but they received his question with a smile.
They were veteran merchants, so of course Col was not surprised.
“We are allies of the Church. But things are a little complicated,” Arugo said, then lifted his sleeve and rolled it up, then placed both his hands on the table.
This was an action that gamblers used to demonstrate to another that they would not cheat, and Col knew well that it meant he had the disposition of someone who was in charge of a large company’s banner in a land far away from their home.
Even though they were supposed to be cooperating with the cathedral and working on their side, they sat next to Eve as if it was no big deal. He had been skeptical if Eve alone could monopolize the smuggling trade between the Kingdom and the mainland like she had said, but if she had plenty of coconspirators in the enemy camp, then her possibilities were endless.
And then, Col finally understood why Eve could not tell this directly to Hyland.
Who on earth would believe her if she told them this plan?
“You’re allies…? If you’re working with Miss Eve, then does that not mean you’re betraying the Church?”
Then that might possibly mean the merchants would be allied with Col and company, but since they were betraying the Church, it was entirely possible they would double-cross the Kingdom as well.
He had to be very careful about what they were planning.
“You could say that depending on perspective, but we have no intentions of betraying anybody.”
“It means they’re allied with both the Kingdom and the Church, Col. Our only enemy is the tax collectors.”
When he heard Eve say that, he felt like he was being made a fool of.
Beside him, Myuri looked on with a suspicious glint in her eyes, her fangs visible as she ripped into the mutton.
“What are you all trying to do?”
He could not expect them to answer his question honestly, but he knew what sort of lies they would tell. Hyland probably did not think he would be able to discern their truth right away, either. He had to return with the information of what Eve and the others said to him and how it felt to be in that room.
And then Eve spoke.
“To keep the scales in balance.”
“The scales?”
“Yes, Your Eminence. In order to keep the scales in balance, you will need to place things of the same weight on either side, and that is why we need to be on the side of both the Kingdom and the Church.” Mysterious words poured from Eve’s lips, wet with wine. “We want them to fight on equal terms. Forever, preferably.”
As Col found himself bewildered by the devilish mood, Myuri beside him swallowed her food and then spoke.
“Because fighting uses lots of things, Brother. And when people use a lot of things, these people’ll get rich.”
She loved hero tales, and she would never leave mercenary Captain Luward’s knee whenever he came to the bathhouse, so she knew things that would put merchants to shame.
“My, what an intelligent girl.”
“If you’re thinking about hiring her, I have dibs,” Eve said pleasantly, then placed her cup on the table. “If you understand that war is the chance to make money, then you understand half of it. We have another reason.”
Arugo continued for her.
“We hope to avoid a situation in which one side wins. You are appealing to the Church for a reform, Your Eminence, is that correct? In that case, think of what would happen if the Church won over the Kingdom.”
The Church would brush aside this chance to reform and claim victory.
If that happened, the forces that defied the Church would likely stay in hiding for a while.
Now, long after the war with the heretics ended, there would be no more enemies of the Church.
“Can’t you imagine what would happen to their tyranny?”
He was right, and before Col could say anything in response, Matteo spoke.
“You must think, in that case, we should offer our services to ensure the Kingdom wins.”
These were merchants, the best at seeing through others’ thoughts.
While Col gritted his teeth at the feeling of being led around by the nose, him losing his cool was just what they were hoping for.
“I…hope the Church will reform. The Kingdom must win in this war in order for that to happen.”
“Your Eminence.” Aurelius shook his head, a sad expression spreading across his face. “We cannot have that, either. That is because not even we can begin to imagine what would happen if the Kingdom was to win against the Church.”
“Huh?” Col responded with a furrowed brow, and Eve spoke.
“Col. The Church’s tyranny drives us crazy sometimes, too. Especially when they leave their debts unpaid. I don’t know how many of my fellow merchants have gone under because of that. But in the end, even though they denounce the money we worked so hard to make as dirty, they live in luxury. We hope they’ll start being a little more honest, too, just like you.”
It did not feel like she was simply flattering him; that was true anger.
Eve, however, sighed slowly.
“But on the other hand, that tyranny saves us sometimes, too. More correctly, it’s not the tyranny itself but the source of power that tyranny creates.”
“Your Eminence, the Church’s wealth and power that are talked about in town are not completely evil. The world needs them.”
As Col found himself in such shock he could not even voice his disbelief, Eve continued.
“It’s like a knife. You can’t travel without one, but it can also kill people. The key is how one uses it—just because there are people out there who don’t use it in good ways, that doesn’t mean we need to rid the world of knives, no? Of course, I’m not saying we should ignore their evils because they’re useful. But talk of leaving only the harm and taking only the benefits is much too unreasonable.”
He was used to unreasonable quarrels with Myuri.
He should not talk back but ask.
“What are those benefits?”
Those benefits allowed the Church to build up wealth and abuse their power. It brought about miserable souls like Sharon and the others, yet there was no way there could be justice in simply staying calm.
While he might not know anything a
bout trade, he knew what justice was.
“Listen for a moment, Your Eminence.” Arugo leaned forward slightly, took his cup in his hands, and lightly swirled around the wine inside. “Have you ever imagined how this wine might have come to sit on this table?”
Even though Col knew that merchants never took talk that was inconvenient for them head-on, he still found his face growing hot with the anger bubbling inside him as this man avoided his question with a straight face.
“That is not what I am talking about.”
“I am not trying to confuse you,” Arugo said with a sincere expression, and without waiting for a response from Col, he continued. “It’s the process this wine takes in order to come sit on this table. We could even talk about this wheat bread here—all these products came from far away, passed through the hands of many, carried all the way here to the Kingdom without interruption. The Kingdom—no, all the countries of the world function along these lines.”
Col was already well aware of that. That was the real value in the traders threatening to pull out of the Kingdom.
And how was that related to the justification of the Church’s wealth?
Almost as though he had heard him groaning internally, Arugo nodded silently.
“The problem is that trade comes with conflict.”
Col’s irritation only grew because nothing he talked about was relevant to anything else.
He was starting to think that perhaps it was time to kick back his chair and leave.
“Do you understand, Your Eminence? Let’s say a company from the south goes to purchase furs in the northlands. And then, let’s say once there, the company gets into quarrels with the local vendors over whether or not they paid, or the quality of the goods being fraudulently terrible, or there’s not enough, and so on and so forth. In times like these, the company that has come from far away is in the weaker position. No one is there to protect them, and the local authority sometimes even comes to dupe them out of ill will.”
Arugo spoke fluidly and without hesitation in a calm, mercantile manner.
He then struck his index finger onto the table.
Matteo took over.
“And then, it is the Church that helps them. The Church exists all over the world, and many will prostrate themselves before their might. Even in the farthest of lands, with no one to rely on, if the local powers cause you unfair problems, then the Church is there to help.”
What Col suddenly recalled when he heard him say that was the church in the northern islands. The Black-Mother faith, deemed heretical by the Church, was strong in that region, and not only that but their surroundings were shut off by a frigid sea—it was the sort of place one would never come home from without help from the locals. Even an idiot would know that it was pointless to be aggressive with locals in a place like that.
Outsider merchants still came together to build a church, even in a place like that. There, they understood one another’s language, and everyone followed one another’s common sense. If war came, it would surely give them shelter.
The Church acted as binding nodes.
Strength that could turn into violence could also protect others.
“The Church acts as a mediator when merchants get into quarrels, and many merchants follow the Church’s decisions. That is because if one defied the Church’s authority, that would mean making an enemy of the Church organization throughout the world. That would mean losing the Church’s backing, and we would no longer be able to engage in long-distance trade. And then…”
Aurelius continued after that.
“Plenty of money is required in order to build churches all over the world and secure authority. And people will not bow their heads to the shabbily dressed. Obvious power, like enormous cathedrals and gold and silver ornaments, is a necessary armor, as well as a weapon.”
“Of course, the war with the heretical faiths and the pagans was necessary for the Church to maintain its authority, and that also cost money. Their wealth is absolutely not useless. As a result of that, however, it is true that people think they are indulging in unreasonable pleasures, and there are people among them desperate for additional profits.”
“However, while that is an unavoidable and evil, as it were, cost, it is a mistake to mind only that cost but denounce the whole. The Church’s vast wealth allows them to keep their authority, and the trade of us merchants is protected by their continued wealth, and the trade of the merchants supports the lives of many people. Everything is connected, Your Eminence.”
What they were talking about was the makeup of the real world, which was not written about in the scripture.
“If the Kingdom was to subdue the Church at this rate and the Church was to lose their authority, please try and imagine again what might happen.”
What would happen if the Kingdom won in the conflict with the Church? What would happen if the Church’s power was dampened, if they lost their overwhelming authority and cohesive power and were also forced to give up their economic muscle?
They would have to live a clean existence. The world would be a better place…
Matteo’s bright-green eyes, typical of someone from the south, turned to Col.
“I’m sure you’re thinking that you would fix the conduct of the Church while their pride is hurt, Your Eminence, but I doubt it will go that easily.”
“Once someone who used to throw their weight around grows weak, those trying to supplant them will start popping up. Conflict like that would happen all over the world.”
“It would be blind, rampant chaos. That’s exactly why…”
And then, once all three of the merchants had spoken, Eve took over.
“People would regret it and almost wish they could go back to the time when the Kingdom and Church were just staring each other down.”
Col could barely tell where the truth stopped and where the lies began. Their relation of the topic seemed incredibly logical but also just off in general.
How was he supposed to believe being told that the Church’s tyrannical power needed to stay as it was for the stability of the world?
But the merchants continued on the offensive.
“If the Church lost their authority, where should us traders ask for support and mediation in such a faraway land, without any acquaintances nearby? Or maybe we should just give up on trade and go home? Plenty of people would be in hot water if that happened. No one can find all the things they need to live from one single land. Trade is necessary.”
“For example, if we got wrapped up in a trade conflict in a distant land that we had never heard of, would the Kingdom of Winfiel come help us?”
“Not only that, should the Church’s strength diminish, the heretics and pagans would gain strength again. The world would only return to a time of war like it was in decades ago.”
Col could barely get a word in, but Eve simply began talking slowly.
“Col, the world doesn’t work on logic. Power is necessary in order to preserve order. The one at that apex is the organization of the Church. They may seem evil, but they are an absolutely necessary entity.”
The merchants lived in a realistic world. And they were fighting in order to preserve their realistic world. The reason he had nothing to say was absolutely because of what Sharon said.
The weak had no choice in the end but to rely on the Church, and it was only the Church that could help them. It was certainly an idealistic thought to tell them to preserve their functions as protectors with diminished power.
Not only that, but a weakening Church was not only a problem of faith but would also affect trade, which supported the lives of the people. On the contrary, the order preserved by the Church’s authority would suddenly collapse, and the world would return to an era of war.
The table fell to silence.
The four merchants looked at Col.
“Well, it is true that the way high-ranking clergy act is egregious,” Eve said, concerned. “Like the ones who use
these special rooms the most are quite clearly the people from the cathedral. They come to such a grand establishment, eat such good meat and drink such delicious booze. If they just had brown bread and cheap ale, then they could share whatever they had left over with the poor. That is the truth, but the important people from the Church would never do such a thing,” she said quietly. “That’s why we can’t have them get any more stuck-up than they already are. But on the other hand, we’ve racked our brains to figure out what we should do about the situation now, since we can’t have them lose to the Kingdom, either.” Eve paused there to sigh deeply. “Though it’ll bring us riches, we don’t actually want to cross this dangerous bridge in the first place. But the scales are being tipped too far in one direction, and they’re teetering back and forth. The parties concerned with the Kingdom and the Church are lost. That’s because the weights on the scales themselves don’t have the power to stop them from teetering. They’re too busy keeping themselves from falling off the scales, at least until they go completely to one side. That’s why us merchants have to stop them from leaning. Even if they call us bats, even if they view us as traitors, we’re the only ones helping both camps; this is the only way to preserve order in the world.”
Their gazes on Col were clearly pressuring him.
There was no way he did not know what they meant.
That was because—
“The one who disrupted the balance of the scales was none other than you, Your Eminence.”
There was nothing he could say to argue against Arugo. Hyland had also pointed out the same. The Kingdom and Church had been at a standstill these past few years, so while one could lament it as a stagnation of the reform, one could also call it a stable condition.
Col had thought reforming the Church would be an unconditionally wonderful thing. But what if what he was doing was ignorant and naive, and all he was doing instead was planting the seeds of chaos throughout the world?
“Well, this is a bit hard to say, but…”
“You are responsible for giving this unstable situation stability.”
Wolf & Parchment: New Theory Spice & Wolf, Vol. 4 Page 15