"If you're just going to write one sentence, then just send that—why bother writing ten unnecessary lines?"
"So this is a test for me, huh."
That guy—Gale or Ant, or whatever his name was—must have told the count that I said I'd gain Iric's trust and bring benefit to the count's household.
The count will decide whether or not to believe me based on my answer to this question.
Snorting, I wrote my reply.
I heard the Duke came looking for something very important, but the High Priest didn't tell me exactly what it was, so I'm not sure. Judging by the circumstances, though, it seemed like some kind of holy relic.
Also, he said he would visit the temple once a month from now on.
I mixed truth and lies in just the right amount.
Mentioning a holy relic would make it believable that I don't know all the details.
Anyway, since I don't know what exactly Lute took, the count won't be able to figure out more than this either.
"Monica, and Sir Victoria."
After sealing the letter, I called the two of them.
"You two are now my close aides, so I'll tell you. Count Kiris is trash."
"...Excuse me?"
"I knew it!"
While Victoria was flustered, Monica clenched her fists tightly.
That reaction is pretty refreshing.
"It was when I realized what trash the count was that I started reflecting on my past. Right now, it's hard to cut ties, but one day I'm going to leave the count's household completely. The temple will also break free from relying on the count."
Monica nodded fervently, and Victoria, though still confused, gave a nod of understanding.
"But since we need money, we'll pretend to play nice and bleed the count for funds. So don't be surprised if I feed him lies, okay?"
"Yes, understood!"
"I shall obey."
Even Victoria didn't object to that. A holy knight not protesting about squeezing money out of someone—looks like she's got her own grievances too.
"Good. Then, Sir Victoria, could you go send the letter? Monica, stay—I have some questions for you."
"Yes, I'll be back soon."
After Victoria left with the letter, I asked Monica:
"Monica, do you know much about the potion market in the Empire?"
"The potion market?"
"Yeah. You said you lived outside the temple until about half a year ago. So I figured you might know."
Though puzzled, Monica answered honestly.
"Right now, the potion market is split between potions from the Ocean God's church and alchemy potions. Well, it's supposedly split, but the Ocean God side is overwhelmingly dominant."
"Really?"
"Yes. The difference in divine power makes a huge impact. Because of that, they act like total thugs."
Monica, who had been explaining calmly, suddenly twisted her lips into a sneer.
Didn't think such a lovely face could make that kind of expression.
"They don't hesitate to do dirty things to monopolize the potion business. They've always been a bunch of cowards anyway."
That was unexpectedly blunt.
Even in the original story, the Ocean God faction were known to be jerks, but can she really just say that out loud like this...?
Eh, why not. We're in the Sun God's temple after all. Let the Sun God deal with the Ocean God.
"Of course, that doesn't mean alchemy potions don't sell at all. Their effects are weaker, but they're way cheaper, so commoners buy them a lot."
Potions that heal wounds just by drinking them aren't only sought after by nobles.
In fact, commoners, who do much rougher and dirtier work than nobles, need them even more.
But the Temple of the Ocean God prefers wealthy nobles over poor commoners, so they only produce high-quality, expensive potions to sell to the rich.
As a result, alchemists naturally began targeting the commoner market.
Especially since the potions from the Temple of the Sun God, unmatched in healing power, had virtually disappeared.
"The Temple of the Ocean God doesn't care at all about the struggles of commoners, so no matter how much dirty trash they pull, the alchemists' potion business won't go under."
Monica, I really like it when you speak so bluntly like that.
"But why are you suddenly bringing up the potion business? Wait, Saintess, don't tell me…?"
As she set the tea in front of me, Monica's eyes widened.
Instead of answering, I gave her a wide grin.
That's right. Now that I have funding, it's only natural to start a business.
I can't live off Lute and the Kiris Count's family forever.
More importantly, potion-making is the highest priority business for the Temple of the Sun God.
No one can match the Sun God when it comes to healing power.
Which is why the potion business used to be the temple's main source of income.
But when the Sun God's power started to wane and the quality of the potions declined, the Ocean God's side swooped in and took over the business.
It wasn't illegal—after all, the temples are competitors by nature—so the Temple of the Sun God couldn't even complain.
But the reverse is also true.
If we reclaim the potion market and punch a few holes in the Ocean God Temple's storage, they won't be able to say anything either.
"I'm planning to restart the potion business."
With Monica's confirmation, I summoned Iric and Seth to the parlor.
I didn't bother with pleasantries—I went straight to the point.
"Potions…?"
Apparently caught off guard, Iric's eyes wavered.
In his green eyes, I could see both excitement and desire.
"…That would be difficult."
But after squeezing his eyes shut for a moment and opening them again, the desire had vanished without a trace.
All that remained was resignation—familiar and more practiced than hope.
"Thanks to Duke Sheari, our budget has gotten a little more flexible, but it's nowhere near enough to restart a potion business. More importantly, we're severely lacking in high-ranking priests capable of using powerful healing abilities."
The latter was indeed the bigger problem.
In the original story, the potion business of the Temple of the Sun God only managed to shine again thanks to the heroine Idella's immense power.
But right now?
All we have is one rookie saintess with just 10% divine power.
And Iric doesn't even know I've become a true saintess yet, so of course he would be against it.
"How many priests can actually produce potions?"
"Probably fewer than ten. And among them, only three or four, including myself, can use significant divine power."
If we launched the business now, it'd be the perfect recipe for everyone to work themselves to death.
"Wouldn't it be better to wait until the temple stabilizes?"
"No. If we keep putting it off, we'll never do it. And I'm not planning to pick a fight with the Ocean God faction right from the start. We're going to start by targeting commoners, step by step."
"But that market is already dominated by alchemists. How do you plan to approach it? With so many of them, it won't be easy to make a dent."
This time, it was Seth who asked.
His voice trembled slightly, likely from excitement at the idea that they might finally realize one of the temple's long-held goals.
It was time to play my trump card.
"How about we collaborate with alchemists?"
The Ocean God faction is aggressive and only satisfied when they're on top—there's no way they would ever peacefully coexist with us.
But alchemists? There's no reason we couldn't work with them.
"There's no rule saying alchemists can't become believers, right? If our own followers want to produce potions with us, who could object?"
The current potion market is controlled not by a single alchemist, but by a collective organization.
But surely there are individuals among them who want to stand out and make a name for themselves, right?
"We'll recruit those few talented alchemists who've been overshadowed and stifled by the dominant group."
We can fill our shortage of priests, and they can overcome the limits of alchemy, which lacks divine power.
"On top of that, we can even start research into fusing divine power with alchemy. Isn't that the ideal outcome?"
It was a win-win strategy, plain and simple.
"I think it's a good idea," Seth chimed in, glancing at Iric.
He still looked hesitant, so I added more explanation.
"There are two main challenges. First, finding skilled but marginalized alchemists who are also willing to become Sun God followers. Second, distribution."
"Exactly."
Apparently that was what had been troubling him—because Iric nodded right away.
Well then, time to shatter that concern.
"That's why I plan to involve Duke Sheari in this business."
"What? The Duke will be involved?"
"Did you discuss this potion business with him when he visited the temple last time?"
Iric and Seth asked in turn, both looking surprised. Why are they asking the weird questions?
"No? He doesn't know about it."
I barely had time to deal with the sacred relics and divine artifacts when he was here—when would I have brought up a business pitch?
"But we're offering him a seat at the table. No way he'd refuse."
I declared confidently.