“Those who cling only to past glories are bound to fall, I suppose.”
Lucas Grevilleus, the lord of the northern town, muttered this to himself as he gazed out at the city from his private room.
The past decade had not been smooth sailing for the northern town.
Although no concrete borders existed, the surrounding towns and villages that had been under the northern town’s influence were now less than half of what they once were.
The northern town itself was barely managing to maintain its population, and even that was thanks to aid from the North Continent.
However, this aid wasn’t in the form of food, but rather luxury goods that enriched daily life.
As for food, ample supplies were being provided by Razek Amamiya, presumably to prevent the outflow of refugees.
Of course, this was on a paid basis, and payment for these supplies relied on imports from the North Continent.
The northern town itself did not possess any significant special products.
While there were processed goods made from monster materials found in the surrounding areas, they were insufficient to generate enough income to support a population of nearly 300,000.
Until now, the Ten Churches, who wished to maintain the North Continent’s influence in the Central Continent, had been providing various goods to the northern town under the guise of aid.
However, such an unnatural relationship could not last forever.
It was impossible to distribute such things to all towns and villages, and over the course of ten years, more than half of them had defected.
If this trend continued, the other towns and villages would likely be no exception.
Even reliance on faith was showing signs of wavering.
The churches on the North Continent did not recognize the Avatar, who was said to have been involved in the founding of Razek Amamiya, as an object of faith.
While they did not go so far as to deny divinity, they did not revere him as a church.
This was not an unusual occurrence.
It was common for gods with few believers or those who were simply forgotten to be removed from the churches’ objects of worship.
It was said that even the gods themselves acknowledged this.
However, even if the church itself did not recognize a faith, if it gained popularity among the populace, the church would often acknowledge it later.
Regarding the Avatar, at first, he was not widely accepted by the populace as he was a newly born god.
Faith in the Avatar gradually spread from the adventurers of an organization called Crown, who appeared wielding weapons called Status Cards.
As for the nation of Razek Amamiya, it gained popular support because its foundational city was located in Amamiya Tower.
Currently, it is even whispered with conviction that believing in the Avatar offers an advantage in anti-monster battles.
Whether this is true or not is unknown, but in matters of faith, the truth or falsehood is hardly a significant issue.
Faith becomes reality when its believers declare it so.
In that sense, churches do much the same, so they cannot be blamed.
Against such a backdrop, even some of the influential figures in the northern town had begun to openly discuss the subjugation and incorporation into Razek Amamiya.
Truthfully, Lucas was of the same opinion, but his position prevented him from expressing such sentiments.
The fact that the northern town’s stability depended on aid and trade with the North Continent was also true.
Subjugation and incorporation into Razek Amamiya would mean rejecting aid from the North Continent.
In the North Continent, where the Church held considerable power, refusing the Church’s aid could lead to the cessation of all trade.
If that were to happen, even if they were incorporated into Razek Amamiya, the northern town would lose its strengths.
The East, West, and South Towns have continued to trade with their respective continents, allowing them to prosper without being buried as mere cities within a nation.
Lucas had no doubt that the northern town, without trade with the North Continent, could not develop in the same way.
“So, this is how it ends.”
Looking at the report that had arrived from the North Continent, Lucas let out a sigh.
The document detailed a reduction in support from the North Continent.
While this support wasn’t in the form of money being sent, but rather goods, the quantity of these items was significantly less than in usual years.
Seeing the amount, Lucas was not so foolish as to believe something had happened on the North Continent to warrant such a reduction.
He was aware that within the Ten Churches, there were opinions advocating for the cessation of aid to the northern town.
It was clear without even thinking that this time, those opinions had gained the majority.
The problem was how to convey this news of reduced aid to the influential figures of the northern town.
“If we tell them plainly, they’ll undoubtedly wish to defect and align with Razek Amamiya,” one of his retainers said, breaking the silence.
“Indeed.”
Lucas himself had no objection to currying favor with Razek Amamiya.
However, the aftermath of such incorporation was the real issue.
If it were possible to be incorporated into Razek Amamiya while continuing trade with the North Continent, it would offer significant benefits to the northern town.
But it was a delicate matter whether the North Continent would permit such an arrangement.
Despite the reduction, some churches were still providing aid this time.
Aligning with Razek Amamiya would also be seen as betrayal to those very churches.
“Do we know which churches refused the support?” Lucas inquired.
One of his retainers shook his head.
“Unfortunately… Since it’s funded by donations to the churches, it’s difficult to track the flow of money.”
“Moreover, it seems the Ten Churches are also careful not to disseminate unnecessary information…”
Even though they had cut off support, they would not release information that might benefit the northern town.
Added to that was the secretive nature of the Ten Churches.
Even if there were internal conflicts, very little extraneous information ever leaked out.
They themselves were well aware that this secrecy was what allowed the Ten Churches to maintain their power until now.
“I see. So, even if we wanted to continue trade with those who cut off support after our defection, it’s not that simple, is it?”
Realizing that a significant decision had to be made, Lucas let out another heavy sigh.
“It should be arriving soon.”
The Primate of the Blue sect muttered this while sitting in a chair in his private room.
The report regarding the aid to the northern town should have arrived by now.
After that, no matter how much the Primate of the Blue sect tried to negotiate, he could not secure an increase in aid.
In the end, they could only send a significantly reduced amount.
How the northern town would respond to this was not an indifferent matter to the Primate of the Blue sect.
If the northern town were to align with Razek Amamiya, ten years of aid would be rendered futile.
For the Primate of the Blue sect, this was absolutely unacceptable.
However, he was also well aware that continuing in their current position offered no benefit to the northern town.
Although the Primate of the Blue sect’s influence was limited to a part of the North Continent, the areas close to the northern town were within his sphere of influence.
That was precisely why he had been so invested in providing aid, but ten years had caused the other primates to lose interest in the northern town.
What would happen if the northern town were to break away from the North Continent was unknown even to the Primate of the Blue sect.
However, he did not believe the status quo would continue.
Ten years had passed since the founding of Razek Amamiya.
Great changes were on the horizon for the North Continent as well.
