Chapter 171: Rising Trust Levels

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"M-More food?! By the goddesses!" Scarlet cried as she saw the bags full of bread, vegetables, and fruits. "My lord! If I hadn't taken a celibacy oath, I would gladly become your concubine in a heartbeat! You truly know how to earn a lady's heart!"

"U-Uh, is that so?" Vlad muttered, blushing lightly.

"Come on now, Mother Scarlet, don't tease the young prince!" Grayshade sighed. "I apologize, my lord. Mother Scarlet is the one who built this orphanage on her own and also protects and loves the children the most. We joined her much later—some of us were the children she raised as well. She has a very peculiar personality, however. Well, a personality you would expect from someone who built all of this with her bare hands."

"I can tell she's… a remarkable person," Vlad nodded nervously as he saw Scarlet smiling gently while hearing them talk about her.

"My, Grayshade, you're much younger than I am, but you're so grumpy! Is this how werewolves are in general?" Scarlet giggled.

"I simply maintain some dignity, Scarlet…" Grayshade said, her snout letting out a small sigh. "Please, my lord, come inside. We shall receive you with the best hospitality we can."

The group entered the orphanage happily, greeted by hordes of children walking everywhere, running, playing, crying, napping, or just awkwardly staring at them while eating bread or fruit.

"Woowowow!"

"A princey!"

"And a princess?"

"Is this a fairy tale?!"

"Heheheh! She's floating!"

"I can do that too!"

The children quickly started surrounding them and swarming them. Chris was annoyed as he met his match—three children in the orphanage happened to be flying demons: one incubus and two young succubi.

"Aaagh! Stop pulling my wings and my tail!" He kept crying, trying to gently push them away.

"Heheheh, big sis, you're so pretty!"

"Let's play! Let's play!"

"I wanna play house!"

"H-Help!" Chris tried to ask Paul for help, but he was already left behind, noticing Paul was sitting down with the nuns, talking already. "Eh?! Damn traitor!"

Ermelinda was suffering a similar fate as she had her hair and ears pulled by a bunch of kids, but she had much more tolerance, only giggling while she shared food with them.

"Come on, now, children, please don't pull my hair and ears; it really hurts…!" Ermelinda said so gently and motherly that the children stopped.

"S-Sorry, big sis!"

"We were just playing…"

"Um, do you have food?"

"Of course! Here, please eat anything you want!" Ermelinda shared fruits and sandwiches she had stashed. "Let's become good friends, alright?"

"I would rather have you as my mommy!"

"Can you adopt me?!"

"I wanna go to Fantasia with you!"

"Become my mama, pleaseeeeeee!"

"H-Heheh, I can't…" Ermelinda giggled, feeling embarrassed.

Vlad glanced from afar, smiling.

"Looks like your friends get along really well with the children, Your Majesty," Scarlet said with a nod. "So! I suppose His Majesty didn't come here just to see the children and play, right? I wonder what shady business you have in mind, hmm?"

"M-Mother Scarlet! Is that the way to treat royalty?!" Grayshade reprimanded her again, the fur of her tail getting all spiky.

"Don't worry, Mother Grayshade. I don't come here for any shady business. If anything, I just want to genuinely help this place, and in exchange, I can also receive some help from you five," Vlad smiled. "I've been thinking for a while about expanding the Church of the Moon Goddesses. As you can already tell, I am one of the few blessed by the Scarlet Moon Goddess; I bear her Mark."

The prince showed the mark of the goddess on his hand, shocking a few of the nuns, although Scarlet already knew, nodding.

"Yes! I do also have that mark, so I immediately could tell you were one of us, Your Majesty," Scarlet said, showing her own, which was in the middle of her chest, opening her dress shamelessly to show Vlad.

"E-Eh?!" Vlad grew redder as he saw her large breasts bouncing.

"M-Mother Scarlet!" Grayshade quickly covered her. "M-my apologies, Your Majesty!"

"Oh my, but what's wrong? I was just showing him!" Scarlet giggled.

"Always the same, you…!" Grayshade groaned at her.

"It's… alright, ahem. I'll let that slide," Vlad sighed. "As I was saying… I plan an expansion of the church. The more faith and believers we can gather, the more strength the moon goddesses will gain. And I certainly prefer them over the Seven Evil Gods, who only use people for their own benefit and don't actively work for the overall benefit of the world or its people. I happen to be one of the unfortunate souls to have been cursed by them, so I experienced their… presences in my class rank-up."

"Ah, yes, they're a very nasty bunch. I dislike them," Scarlet nodded. "However, Your Majesty, isn't your family the one pushing the Church of the Seven Evil Gods the most? Wouldn't supporting its rival spark unneeded conflict between you and your family?"

"At this point? I couldn't care less," Vlad said. "And…"

With the civilization system, Vlad was confident that expanding the Church of the Three Moon Goddesses could net him incredible benefits.

"The very reason why our society has become the way it is is thanks to the terrible teachings of the Seven Gods—teaching people to only be selfish and only think about themselves," Grayshade said. "Their teachings… are very deplorable. And it has only twisted the perception of people that good deeds are foolish and unnecessary."

"I agree…" Vlad nodded. "So, what do you say? I plan to build more churches and perhaps recruit more nuns and even a priest or priestess. In fact, I believe Scarlet has all the qualifications to become a priestess herself."

"M-Me?!" Scarlet gasped.

"Yes, Scarlet, and everyone else here—I really need your help," Vlad tried to be as honest as possible. "Please take this, a souvenir to perhaps seal our new friendship."

He quickly gifted every nun a beautiful black bracelet decorated with red jewels—an amazing accessory full of Arcana, one of the many "duds" that he had mass-produced and just stashed away forever.

"T-This is…!"

"Truly? Such an expensive item…"

"It's not really… necessary!"

"Oh my… Your Majesty…!"

"It's a beautiful bracelet! Thank you so much, Your Majesty!"

[The Trust Level of [Elder Werewolf Nun, Grayshade] has increased from 28 to 100!]

[The Trust Level of [Young Yellow Goblin Nun, Landy] has increased from 17 to 100!]

[The Trust Level of [Young Banshee Nun, Oblivia] has increased from 31 to 100!]

[The Trust Level of [Young Blood Elf Nun, Bloodilia] has increased from 27 to 100!]

[The Trust Level of [Elder Blazing Majin, Mother Scarlet] has increased from 64 to 100!]

"Perfect…! Scarlet could become an incredible vassal! I had no idea she even existed a few minutes ago, but I won't let go of her now…"

As Vlad schemed, Chris glared at him with a face full of disdain.

So hard was his disdain that Vlad could feel it stinging on his back like long, sharp needles.

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