Chapter 37: Records
???’s view
It's really hard to enjoy being a Noble in this town. When I first rose in rank, I'd thought what I'd achieved was a big, great thing. Not only did I defeat the demon lord, but I was now a noble, and could take over running a portion of the town and land.
After all the travel I had done, I decided to use my new political power, to get involved in trading between towns. I didn't expect to suddenly have all merchant business thrust into my control. Suddenly all merchants needed permission from me, to do business in town and I was granted a small amount of land outside each of the gates.
Now, forty years later, I think I understand what's going on. Every decade, a new hero rises and is given responsibility for something. Every time a former hero dies, their house will slowly lose power until it vanishes. While there have been a few exceptions, this rule seems pretty reliable, and at the center of it all, is Facile.
When I was young, I'd believed she was a great woman, serving Fenix, and granted long life and beauty by Fenix. Now I see her as just a cruel woman that enjoys toying with people. She might pretend to be an innocent bystander, but over the years it's become clear that it's no coincidence that the families whom gain her favor suddenly do well, while families that gain her disfavor do poorly.
With access to all trade records in the capital (the center of all trade in the new land) I noticed that every time a noble dared insult Facile, or questioned her authority, that their lands would mysteriously produce less.
The iron mines run by the Talmud family suddenly became barren shortly after the death of Talmud the hero. While Talmud had never stopped praising Fenix, his children (and grandchildren) often questioned Facile's teachings, claiming that Fenix couldn't be so great if Demon Lord kept returning. That family had their land taken from them not long after it became useless, and mysteriously, new iron veins were found within the mines once someone else took over.
More recently, the Brady family has been producing record yields from their farms. This coincides with them recently disowning a child whom spoke out against the Fenix church, complaining about their refusal to participate in monster subjugation missions. As the Brady family farms were near the edge of controlled territory, they had to hunt monsters fairly frequently, to keep their numbers in the area low.
Whenever someone asked Facile if they should do something about those who spoke badly of the Fenix church, she always insisted that there was no need to. With how she phrased things, saying that all who were discontent with Fenix should feel free to speak of it, I’d assumed she was encouraging such vocal dissent. Yet everyone who ever did, suffered for it, and I can see that in my records.
I do not doubt the power of Fenix. I do not doubt they are a god. Yet, they clearly seem petty in ways that I can’t like. Facile claims that Fenix has nothing to do with the prosperity of the land, but I can’t trust her words anymore. As a Noble, I’m stuck dealing with this unpleasantness trying to protect myself, my family, and the common people, from a petty god, and a lying church. I dare not tell anyone, because if word gets out of my complaints, my house could be the next to be taken down. Instead, I’m stuck giving false praise and empty flattery to a god I dislike, and a woman I can’t trust, pretending that everything is fine, when I know darn well that it’s not.
I don’t want my children or grandchildren to enter this hero selection contest. Yet I dare not say anything against it. All I can do is hope for the best, as my son and granddaughter both enter. All the priests and priestesses of the Fenix church have encouraged people to enter that contest. It’s to the point I assume Facile is up to something, but I have no idea what.
