The Knight King Who Returned with a God - Chapter 13

Chapter 13 Medieval Tax

“Does this lowly merchant dare to blaspheme!!”

Leon’s thunderous shouts were not mere shouts.

The highest-ranking being in the human world. The words spoken by the living saint and demigod possess magical power in themselves.

The anger he expressed in anger was not something that normal humans could endure.

Huh…!

I’m out of breath. The eardrum shakes and the mind becomes confused.

My heart skipped a beat at the exclamation from the agent of divinity that the culprit couldn’t even imagine.

Despite the incomprehensible anger I did understand one thing.

Doojeong Group’s powerful company its managing director himself… The life and death of a human named Park Jong-chan depended on the alien in front of him.

Lungs Your Majesty!

At that moment Hari sensing danger stood in front of Leon. She also forced her trembling legs to stand up and dissuaded Leon.

Oh no. Lord if you kill us we’ll get into… trouble!

Survivors are not immune to everything. Understanding Leon’s culture and class is also the line of not committing a crime.

Of course Leon’s value is not comparable to that of an executive director of a large domestic company. Even so this wasn’t it.

Heung. I’m willing to give advice but don’t be mistaken. The main king is not a foal that runs rampant like a thunderclap.

At those words Hari Director Park and the secretaries sighed in relief. Director Park who barely saved her life broke into a cold sweat.

Foolish thing. You made known your sins.

Yes yes? No that…

I mean what did you do wrong? I was trying to beat the price. But wouldn’t a savage who has been on Earth for less than a week know that?

Feeling unfair Director Park cautiously protested.

Well I really don’t know what’s wrong.

“Huh… How can you be so ignorant and oblivious?”

At this point Leon’s eyes showed sympathy not contempt.

The crop is a product of the land that Demera has blessed. It is a blessing granted by God to the farmers who work hard to plow the field and grow it.

Humans are a species that cannot survive alone.

When there is a bad harvest they have to starve and they are the ones who have to work in the fields despite starvation.

They dig up and steal seeds from the soil.

That’s why farmers. You should be thankful for the blessings of the land and have a heart of gratitude to the divinity that forms the land.

faith and divinity. and divine grace. you have to be aware of that

This is not something that can be bought with a thousand gold. It is given to a grateful heart and faith.

Ahaha. You deluded people by chasing vulgar profit. How are you trying to profit from the product of your unbelief divinity?

This profit…!

Director Park Jong-chan gritted his teeth and withdrew. Hari expresses concern as he leaves the seat as if to see clearly.

“That… is it okay? From Your Majesty’s point of view he is a lowly trader… but he is a man of considerable influence.”

Hmph. It’s not even worth worrying about.

Leon is not ignoring the influence of merchants and entrepreneurs.

The role of corporations in modern civilization is enormous. They have spread their influence far and wide in the soil of capitalism.

The pantheon is with me but it’s not a burden that can be shaken by that merchant.

But he had overwhelming confidence. No it’s safe to say that this is certain.

A being chosen by the divinities of the pantheon.

He is a chosen being and a king recognized by heaven.

It is 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 all acknowledge the authority of the demigods.

Only the self-indulgent take lightly the agents of God.

In the divine world that will unfold in the future they will be excluded and fall behind.

Just because ignorant and ignorant cloths can’t figure out the subject matter it’s not worth dealing with them one by one.

By the way did I tell you to prepare?

“Hmm… propagation to farmers… you mean?”

Yes. Of course it will not be a loss to this country.

Hari remembered Leon’s request not too long ago. And of course the Hunter Association was overturned.

Actually director Park Jong-chan contacted me before he visited. There is a suitable land…

It was a problem with too many. If Leon solved this problem there was no reason the Hunter Association couldn’t help and above all even the president was happy to see it.

* * * *

Since the Gate crisis mankind has lost a lot of arable land.

This is because responding to gates that occur in urban areas was not possible in countries where it was difficult to find gates that broke out in the countryside or remote places.

As a result many gates caused dungeon breaks and many lands were polluted.

The fact that humanity has not suffered a serious food crisis is purely because that amount of people have died.

And some plains that failed to cope were permanently contaminated and numerous victims were born.

Naju Plain. Choi Young-man who had been farming there all his life was one of them.

Father. Are you only looking at the fields again from the morning wind?

…

In response to his son’s question Choi looked at his land contaminated with demons without saying a word.

He is now old man Choi who works as an assistant at a mart in town while receiving government subsidies but he was a farmer in Naju until five years ago.

It was the years that I had been pulling cattle and driving tractors for the rest of my 80s. However 5 years ago the red gate that failed to capture caused a dungeon break and the Naju plains were contaminated with demons.

The intensity of the pollution was so great that many farmers including Mr. Choi lost their land.

ha….

You can’t do anything in the land contaminated by demons. Ordinary people were polluted just by going up on the ground and Hunters survived.

Land that no one buys on land where crops cannot grow. Government subsidy came in depending on the size of the land but it was a pittance.

I bought a magical energy purification reagent from the magic tower and put it in steadily but there was a limit to that too. The overly polluted land was not purified even with reagents.

The next new reagent will work the next better reagent will come out.

Choi bought reagents from the Mage Tower with all his wealth. Even though he is the only one who buys reagents for the mage tower from the nearby rice fields.

Give up now. It’s a land that even the people of the country can’t do anything about.

It’s noisy! You and your younger siblings. They all lived on the rice grown on that land and sent them to college! What kind of land is that land! My land that I cultivated all my life!

At that time there was a great war that divided the nation. He grew up in the ruins of the war receiving the help of American soldiers.

He had big dreams.

He said he would find his own decent land and farm on it. He said he would raise his children decently.

It was land purchased with money earned by fighting the Viet Cong at the risk of their lives in Vietnam. It was a land that was expanded whenever there was spare money.

The land and fields were everything to Choi.

I thought I could reap the last beauty of my life if I just farmed the last crop and passed it on to my children… … .

Fucking bastards. Naughty monsters!

They appeared and polluted my land. The Gate which had been trembling for 25 years at the word that the magic element was polluting the land and wished it would never appear on my land finally polluted my land.

Now he has only one wish.

only once. I want to plant a seedling on my land just once and see that golden light again.

I wanted to see it just once before I die.

Father did you hear what the chief said? I heard that the Hunter Association is introducing something.

It’s like introducing a new drug again. It’s just expensive without paying attention to it.

The reagents sold at the Magic Tower were expensive. Although subsidized by the government it was expensive even taking that into account.

In such a subject the probability of purification of the reagent was not high and it took two years without luck.

It didn’t work at all in highly polluted lands like the Naju Plain.

Let’s hear what bullshit you are talking about.

Choi always cursed the Association and the Mage Tower but he never missed a place like this. Because I wanted to hold onto even a thread of hope.

I am Leon Dragonia Lionheart. I have come to spread the faith to you.

town hall. The blonde-haired nobleman accompanied by the association’s staff spoke more absurd nonsense than the Mage Tower wizards he usually visited.

And–

Golden light grew in Choi’s land.

ah….

It was a land that had not been purified even after pouring expensive reagents holding exorcism and even reciting congratulatory speeches by bringing in church pastors.

It was a cursed land where not even a single pest could grow let alone crops.

however… however….

iced coffee…!

Choi knelt in front of the blond man. I asked to thank him for the miracle he had caused.

Everyone who are you?!

The merchants of the Mage Tower the noisy shamans the priests who said that these were all trials from God… … .

More than that to Choi the man in front of him was God and his savior.

Farmer with noble hands. I am the Lion Heart King. I am the agent of the pantheon and the priest who has come to deliver the divinity of life and abundance to you.

On this day the first devotee of Demera on Earth offered his faith and the farmers of the polluted land all prostrated themselves along with him.

* * * *

It’s real.

Hari admired the purified Naju plains.

The Honam Plain was still in the first stages of contamination. It was possible to purify it with the reagents of the Mage Tower.

That’s why in the eyes of Hari and other association employees the purification of the Honam Plain is just Leon’s special power.

However Leon persistently emphasized that this was a divine miracle and demanded a position to prove it.

That is the purification of the plains of Naju.

Five years ago a wasteland that was completely polluted after the red gate dungeon break.

The new reagents provided by the wizards of the Mage Tower didn’t work at all.

Leon was willing to purify such a wasteland. subject to some conditions.

Tell the president first. I wish I could meet you in person but it’s a pity.

Well look at that please.

Geary handed over the proposal over the phone and the president gave discretion to the Hunter Association.

According to the contract 8735 hectares of private farmers in the Naju plains will be incorporated as sponsors under His Majesty’s ‘Guild.’

Does not matter.

Leon established a guild in Korea with the help of the association. Its name is ‘Tenthus’. It is the name he uses to spread the faith of the pantheon to this world.

In addition a special autonomous area is designated for the guild to live and train guild members… And I was able to run a support project.

For example blacksmiths and magic tool workshops directly under the guild. Even the move-in and taxes of related businesses.

It was a law that was inevitably passed at the end of the teenage guild’s tyranny but thanks to it Leon was granted a legal domain.

Of course the government also has minimal safety measures in place so it is not permanent.

Don’t worry. How can I covet a legitimate territory in a foreign country? This is to spread the faith to the end. When the time comes I will return it to the president.

Umm… To be exact I’m giving it back to the people.

Leon was not interested in the territory of this land. The land of Korea is too small to be greedy.

To restore the glory of the Lionheart Kingdom it must be greater than this. I just happened to see a suitable foothold and I plan to advance there if I increase my power.

First of all we need to obtain the consent of the residents to join His Majesty’s Guild. Because the Guild’s Special Autonomous District must have the right to move in.

No problem.

Leon approached the waiting farmers. Some were middle-aged and some were elderly.

“Uh uh… are you here Leon de… de…”

Choi bowed his head and greeted Leon but he was unable to memorize his long name.

‘ah… I’m going to scold him.’

The Lionheart who shouted so loudly was dead. Aren’t you the one who doesn’t allow me to call you by my name?

Contrary to Hari’s expectations however Leon smiled softly and let out a voice.

Your Majesty is enough old man.

“Oops… I’m sorry.”

‘what! Do you discriminate against people?!’

Hari put on a puzzled expression but Leon continued.

“Did you say Choi Cheol-jin?”

Yes it is.

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 out.

“So then… are you going to purify our land as well?”

At the end of middle age Leon frowned. He speaks as if he were teaching a thousand obscure but unpleasant things.

Do not try to deal with the divinity. The original king does not promise anything in return.

He despised narrow beliefs.

He hated the vulgar belief that wishes would come true in exchange for offerings faith and devotion.

You can’t do business with God.

Only if you offer true faith the divine will know and bestow grace.

To wish in exchange for faith is to doubt divinity and try to make a deal.

The original king will give you the correct teaching. Will you listen to the divine teaching?

I believe you.

I’m not forcing you to believe it. It’s up to you.

Then a young man approached. Rare in a country like this… To be precise it is the son who inherited the land of his deceased father and was invited to this place.

I-I… go to church…

It doesn’t matter. Even if you believe in both.

Oh are you okay?

Divinity means the existence of many. There are many great divinities in the world so how can we believe in only one?

There are several beliefs in the pantheon.

It is a polytheistic religion in the first place and does not place restrictions on beliefs.

It is up to you to follow and practice the teachings. I will not force you to believe.

Of course if someone who worships evil spirits appears they will mercilessly cut their throats and tear their souls apart.

Enter the king’s guild. Follow the proper procedures to enter the fence the king will set up and receive the teachings of the goddess.

I’ll take it! Please let me take it!

Choi Young-man ardently supported that faith. It was a miracle that neither Narat nor the Magic Tower nor the shaman or pastor could accomplish.

Faced with the real divinity he cleansed his land.

Then how could I not believe it?

How can I not be grateful to the person who gave this old body a chance to plow the field once again.

At the fact that he could reap the beauty of his life old man Choi prostrated himself and was happy with tears.

Okay I’ll follow you.

Me too…!

Those who hesitated stepped forward one by one.

It was a land that could not be given anywhere because it was contaminated with magical energy. Wouldn’t there be nothing to lose by purifying such land?

Do you swear to follow the divinity of life and fertility and practice its teachings?

Mae I swear!

I swear!

With this they officially became residents of Leon’s Pantheon Guild.

Leon knew they were focusing on the purification of the land but he was sure that one day they would find true faith.

“Okay if you believe and follow them you are also the children of the goddess.

Leon took the Holy Grail and poured the holy water from it onto the new followers.

Holy power dwelled through the crowns of the followers’ heads and mysterious energy flowed into them.

‘Three my God… My head is clear and my whole body is full of energy!’

‘It feels like the world looks different!’

‘Ji are you a real goddess? Is she that straw doll?’

‘Oh Goddess. Goddess Demera… !’

As those who already believed in the goddess appeared their faith was filled through the lion’s heart. The goddess Demera will replace it with holy power.

Build a temple. It doesn’t have to be grandiose. Just have time for everyone to gather and pray every week.

Leon preached the teachings of life and abundance. It’s not that difficult just follow it.

And the most important moment has arrived.

How can I pay the offering?

Even as the believers accepted this new faith they were anxious inside.

Doesn’t the bondi religion periodically collect offerings under all kinds of pretexts?

I pay offerings to help my children study well and I pay offerings to expand the temple….

It was a fast-paced life. It’s only natural since I haven’t been able to farm for 5 years.

You only have to pay one thing.

At those words the faces of the devotees turned bright. You don’t even have to pay a new offering every holiday or season? This is totally hyeja–

Ten rescue.

“… … yes?”

Leon proudly declared to the followers who had wide eyes wondering if they had heard it wrong.

Please pay for the harvest as an offering. How merciful this is.

Hearing that moment behind his back Hari thought.

‘Isn’t this completely evil?!’