Published: July 5, 2025
"Abel, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely!"
"Huh?"
"There is a saying like that in my hometown."
Ryo crossed his arms in front of his chest and spoke in a surprisingly arrogant tone.
Abel, who had been reading some documents, looked up to see Ryo.
"Since Abel is an absolute ruler, he will definitely corrupt!"
"I see, that would be a problem."
"There is a wonderful way to not corrupt."
"Are you going to freeze me? Then I wouldn't rot, right?"
"The 'corruption' I'm talking about here is metaphorical! Please don’t take away my role as the comic relief!"
Abel said with a laugh, while Ryo looked indignant at having his role usurped.
"I am willing to speak frankly so that the ruler Abel does not fall into corruption. Yes, I dare say so. With a heart of stone, while crying inside."
"Uh, okay."
"I think Abel should be grateful to me for that."
"I am grateful."
"Gratitude must be shown through actions; otherwise, it won't reach the other party."
Ryo emphasized strongly.
At this point, Abel somewhat understood what Ryo was getting at.
"Is there something you want?"
"Huh?"
"While it may be possible at the Royal Castle, it's not feasible to have a weekly cake privilege in Skizblaznil, you know?"
"I-I know! That’s not it... I want your cooperation for persuasion, or rather explanation."
"Explanation?"
Abel tilted his head.
"Yesterday, I went to the market to help the head chef, remember?"
"Ah, yes."
"At that time, I wasn't sure, but I just went again a little while ago..."
Ryo said, opening his right hand.
There, in his palm, was rice...
"They have rice in the dark continent too, huh?"
"Yes, yes! When I asked around, it seems that it's quite widespread because it's easy to preserve. Indeed, storing it in paddy rice or brown rice has been done since ancient times. Well, it seems it can't be grown all over the continent, but it's quite abundant in the western regions, and the price is low."
"I see. So you want me to persuade Captain Paulina to buy rice."
"That's not all. It's also for Kobatchi the head chef."
"The head chef too?"
Abel tilted his head.
The one responsible for the ship is Captain Paulina.
Therefore, it is natural to seek the captain's permission regarding the cargo loaded onto the ship.
He thought Ryo wanted help with that persuasion, but...
"Actually, I have a dish I want them to make."
"Huh?"
"You know, the head chef makes that curry-flavored fried chicken, right?"
"Yeah."
"If we have that spice and this rice..."
"Curry!"
As always, Abel's pronunciation of "curry" sounded cool.
Ryo knew it was influenced by his older brother, the late Crown Prince Cain.
"We will establish curry in the dark continent and, with our hands, erase this barren land of curry!"
Ryo spun a grand vision.
Here, a new religion was about to be born.
Its name was the Curry Religion.
Both Ryo and Abel were devout curry believers.
"Let’s conquer the dark continent with curry."
"Sounds interesting."
Abel decided to play along with Ryo's scheme.
While a new religion, the Curry Religion, was about to emerge in Von City, two other religions were on the brink of conflict in the same city.
However, one of the key figures and leaders, Graham, was smiling as usual, spending his time as a gentle clergyman in the Von Church during the day and at the Western Droplet Inn at night.
"The faithful seem pleased as they leave. Your Holiness, please take a moment to rest."
"Thank you."
Bishop Mikita of the Von Church served coffee produced in the dark continent, which Graham accepted with a smile.
Since morning, believers from the Western Church had been coming to the Von Church one after another, hoping to catch a glimpse of Pope Graham.
Graham answered every single one of their hopes.
It was astonishingly impressive stamina from an observer's standpoint.
"I couldn't meet even half of their hopes like you do, Your Holiness."
"The enthusiasm of the faithful is due to the long years of evangelism by Bishop Mikita and his colleagues, demonstrating the church's teachings in their daily lives. I am the one who feels humbled."