Rokuko's Scheme

Maiodoru had joined the faith.

Some time after I woke up, the maid used [Purify] on the drool-covered desk, then picked up the soundly sleeping Maiodoru in a princess carry and took her away.

"I slept so soundly… Beddhism is amazing. I'll recommend it to father as well."

I received Maiodoru's seal of approval later, but there was no mention of whether she would send a caretaker.

As for joining the faith, she did say she would lend us the [Divine Pillow]. By the way, she also said "Please don't use it"… Damn.

However, she didn't confirm anything about where to place it or other such matters. Does she completely trust our security arrangements?

Now then, my promise with Rokuko… the thing about resolving the church caretaker problem with no more than 1,000 DP—hasn't progressed at all.

As a result, I still haven't used even 1 DP, but what should I do?

That said, if it's about economizing on DP, my options are decided.

Either do something with [Create Golem] as usual, or find someone to be the caretaker from somewhere.

However, leaving the caretaker role to a golem is out of the question.

A caretaker needs to listen to people's stories and respond flexibly, and golems don't have that kind of intelligence.

That being the case, I have no choice but to recruit someone already here.

It's acceptable to use golems as extra hands and feet for that personnel. So if I'm drawing from our people, the candidates would be—

"… Niku, Rei… Ichika might work too. Now then—"

I considered who would be best suited to be caretaker if golems handled the miscellaneous duties.

In Niku's case, she has a mascot-like quality in the village so she'd be good at converting villagers into believers, but that's it. She's far too young to be a caretaker for a facility that outsiders will also visit.

In Ichika's case, she has a silver tongue so she'd probably attract believers somehow, but she's not the type for a sister role. There's also the fact that if she weren't a slave, she'd probably embezzle donations for spending money… That might be practical for a church in some post-apocalyptic wasteland, but not for the first church of a new religion.

In Rei's case… she'd probably handle it without any issues.

Well, she is a vampire. A vampire is an undead-type. Having an undead as a church caretaker is questionable… but since she's passing as human, it's a minor issue.

It's common enough to have sisters who are actually non-human.

Besides, compared to the empire where monsters basically fill all the important positions, it's nothing.

"As I thought, Rei is the most convenient choice for times like this… Alright, let's make Rei the caretaker. Problem solved!"

Well, when I thought it through, it turned out to be a problem that didn't require even 1 DP.

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

"No good. Rei has massage reservations booked a month in advance."

That plan was quickly rejected by Rokuko.

"… Seriously? Then I'll delay the full launch until a month from now."

"That's no good either. Maiodoru has already been spreading the word about Beddhism quite a bit. Even without that, the moment that church went up, it's been the talk of the dining hall and the bar."

Damn. I should have taken more time and built it slowly…

"Hey, Kehma. I know a truly wonderful solution to this matter. Want me to tell you?"

"… What is it?"

"You could just become the caretaker yourself, Kehma. Or you could obediently give up, summon a monster, and do what I say. What do you think?"

Rokuko smiled.

… No way.

Could it be… is Rokuko telling me to choose between "working" and "doing one thing she says"?

"Fufu, Kehma? It's a great suggestion, right?"

"Are you going to reject any other idea I propose?"

"I wouldn't do that. I wouldn't reject a flawless, perfect idea… But Kehma, you wouldn't work unless I did this, right?"

Rokuko figured out how to handle me!?

She figured it out and is forcing me into a binary choice!?

"… R-Rokuko, haven't you… haven't you been acting strange lately? Are you really the real you?"

"You're the one who's been rude lately, Kehma!?"

"You definitely ate something weird… Ah! Could it be the dungeon? The dungeon has developed more, so your brain grew more wrinkles or something!"

"I don't understand what you're saying, but I have heard that the more complex a dungeon becomes, the smarter its core gets."

"I don't think your recent progress is at that level, though…"

I quietly took out a lie-detecting magic tool.

"Rokuko, could you say 'I am the real Rokuko' for me?"

"How rude! I am the real Rokuko! Are you satisfied now!?"

The magic tool didn't glow red. However, this magic tool doesn't work if the person truly believes what they're saying from the bottom of their heart…

"I am a woman who grows, Kehma… Heh."

"O-oh."

Rokuko smiled and struck a cool pose. Ah, this is definitely the real thing. What a relief.

…

Wait, I still need to do something about the church caretaker… If I don't hurry, I'll end up being made the caretaker by default.