Helping with Adventurer Party Management - Chapter 213

“Now, when it comes to managing the church’s seal, we’ll have to do something similar,” I begin, focusing on Deacon Michelino as I ask, “Is the same thing possible within the church?”

“No,” he replies immediately. “If news spreads that the church engages in such violent acts, I would be subjected to inquiry. To be precise, it would be the political rivals trying to tarnish Lord Nicolo’s reputation who would spread such rumors.”

“I see. So violence is strictly prohibited,” I acknowledge.

I anticipate this to some extent. The church’s power does not rely on violence; it is rooted in authority that is intertwined with daily life. It exists in both urban and rural areas, registering newborns in birth records, providing counsel for illness or injury, offering blessings at weddings, and conducting funerals when relatives pass away. It oversees everything from birth to burial, serving as a vital function of the community and an important social space. There is no need for violence, nor would it serve any functional purpose.

“But the church has knights, right? I’ve seen them on the battlefield alongside the captain,” Kiriku questions, expressing his doubts.

Given that the Sword Fangs Legion sometimes operates as a mercenary group during wartime, he might have encountered the church’s knights.

“Well, their gear is decent, but they seem completely incompetent,” Kiriku adds, sharing his impressions.

“They are, how should I put it, a bit different from the seasoned clergy like us,” Deacon Michelino explains.

According to him, the so-called church knights include both a directly affiliated holy knight order and knights dispatched from the nobility, essentially church-associated knights. It is the latter group that appears on battlefields where mercenaries are present.

“Well, they’re basically the second and third sons of noble families, who are entrusted to us by the noble houses that seek to enhance their prestige through donations,” Deacon Michelino summarizes.

“In other words, they’re just naïve young masters, huh? Sounds promising,” Anne comments. I wonder what exactly is promising about that—perhaps they are seen as lucrative sources of income.

Certainly, even if a hundred of them gather together, the Sword Fang Legion, with its experience fighting powerful monsters in peacetime, would likely regard them as insignificant. If they faced the Sword Fang Legion on the battlefield, they would surely be routed by a volley of crossbow fire.

The crossbows of the Sword Fangs Legion are specially crafted to be powerful enough to face formidable monsters, and their arrowheads are designed for maximum effectiveness. Shields and armor that are merely shiny on the outside cannot deflect their impact and will only end up impaled.

The critical point is that such individuals are entirely unsuitable for the menial work of managing the church’s seal, both in terms of their status and abilities.

Whether a system has the power to execute its mandates ultimately depends on who undertakes the dirty work at the grassroots level, how it is done, and whether responsibilities are clearly defined.

In the current system, there are no workers at the bottom to empower the system to execute its duties.

“I don’t know much. When it comes to the church’s direct jurisdiction, I’m not familiar with the systems in place, but in rural areas, there must be people who violate the church’s decisions, right? How does the church crack down on such individuals?” I ask 

Deacon Michelino replies, “We ask the representatives of the towns and villages to help us.”

In other words, the church holds authority and establishes rules, while the execution of administration is left to the autonomous organizations of towns and villages. The laws set by the lord apply within the territory, but the church dictates marriage laws for matters that cross territories, such as marriages between nobles. Sometimes, disputes don’t get resolved this way and escalate into wars over territory, but it is the church’s role to arbitrate at the appropriate time and collect arbitration fees.

Since the church lacks the ability to use violence directly and the seal management department struggles to carry out the actual work, they have no choice but to establish a working unit outside of their jurisdiction.

After all, a working unit tends to make people unpopular. It makes sense why the organization managing music copyrights in my previous world operates outside the music industry. Perhaps we should consider establishing a similar organization in the future, but it’s too early to do so in-house.

Is there an organization that can handle chores for the church while remaining immune to violence?

“Should we hire adventurers…?” At my suggestion, Sara makes a slightly distasteful face.

However, it’s still a much better request than being killed by monsters outside the town. At the very least, there’s no threat to life.