I Was Mistaken as a Great War Commander - Chapter 120

Thinking she had heard the answer she wanted, Freyen gently closed the door.

Seeing this, Daniel inwardly felt relieved, while Bellaf spoke, not hiding his bewilderment:

"I-I'm sorry. I had no idea that Lieutenant Colonel Daniel thought so highly of my daughter."

It seemed some misunderstanding had occurred, but Daniel didn't explain.

The father-daughter relationship didn't seem good at all, and he didn't want to say anything careless to Bellaf that might reach Freyen's ears.

So Daniel just nodded vaguely and cleared his throat.

"There's no need to apologize. I have no desire to force my opinion on others. Rather, shouldn't we get to the main point now?"

"Huh? Ah... the main point. I understand."

Bellaf raised his hand to adjust his glasses once and then opened his mouth.

"Actually, there are two main things that we at the Glory of the Holy Fire Grand Church would like to ask of Lieutenant Colonel Daniel."

"Two things?"

"That's right. First, we'd like you to show the believers that Lieutenant Colonel Daniel has a connection with the Glory of the Holy Fire Grand Church."

"...Why is that necessary?"

Bellaf began to explain to the puzzled Daniel.

"You must be aware that as the war continues, people's willingness to donate has decreased incomparably compared to before."

This was due to economic difficulties, of course, but also because more people thought that if they had money to donate to the church, it would be better to support the soldiers to end the war quickly.

Related to this, some churches had suspended their activities or even closed their doors.

Rumors even started circulating that churches were places that extorted money from citizens in the name of God, which was driving Senior Pastor Bellaf to the brink of madness.

Fear was creeping in that if this continued, the Glory of the Holy Fire Grand Church might follow in the footsteps of other small churches.

It was at this time that Freyen, who had come down to her hometown on leave, took the podium.

Standing at the podium, Freyen gave an extreme speech lamenting the death of war hero Daniel Steiner and arguing that the Allied Nations should be wiped off the face of the earth.

Advocating for the annihilation of the Allied Nations in a church that preaches compassion and love?

Although Bellaf was shocked at the time, the response was unexpectedly not bad.

No, it gained explosive popularity to the point where cheers and acclamations echoed.

"I'm not sure if I should say it's fortunate, but after the service where Freyen mentioned Lieutenant Colonel Daniel, word of mouth spread, and gradually more believers started coming to the Glory of the Holy Fire Grand Church."

Just as they had secured a number of believers similar to before the war, news that Daniel Steiner was actually alive was reported throughout the Empire.

People who heard this news cheered and rejoiced at Daniel Steiner's survival as if it were their own affair.

Festivals were held not only in the capital but also in the provinces, and as a result, the Glory of the Holy Fire Grand Church was able to secure an explosive number of believers.

Now, they had even more believers than before the war.

"After Lieutenant Colonel Daniel's return, the number of believers increased even more than before the war. But as the number of believers increased, various noises started to arise."

"What do you mean by noises?"

"Some people started questioning whether the Glory of the Holy Fire Grand Church was really associated with Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Steiner. That's why we wanted to invite Lieutenant Colonel Daniel to the church on this occasion."

Daniel let out a low laugh.

As he listened, he found it absurd.

"So you're saying you want me to continue letting you use my name for business."

When Daniel spoke bluntly, Bellaf broke into a cold sweat.

"Lieutenant Colonel Daniel? That's not our intention. If you're offended, I apologize..."

Daniel raised his hand to stop him.

He decided to listen to the story to the end first.

"What is the second thing the Glory of the Holy Fire Grand Church wants to ask of me?"

Daniel's atmosphere changed to something inexplicably overbearing.

It was an attitude like addressing a subordinate, but Bellaf couldn't express any dissatisfaction.

After all, it was the power of Daniel's reputation that was currently holding the purse strings of the church.

"The second thing we want to ask is..."

Bellaf swallowed dryly and said:

"We'd like you to make those who are protesting in front of the church daily to withdraw. Originally, it was just a small group, but at some point, their numbers started to grow. Now it's become a scale that threatens the believers coming in and out of the church, so it's giving us quite a headache."

"What kind of protests are you talking about?"

"Huh? Ah. Basically, they're anti-war protests. They're continuing to criticize and condemn our church for idolizing Lieutenant Colonel Daniel, who they call a warmonger. We've tried to persuade and convince them in our own way, but it's not getting through at all."

Anti-war protests? As far as he knew, anti-war protests had noticeably decreased after the total war speech, so he couldn't understand how large-scale protests were happening here.

"Pastor, do you know from what point the scale of the protests started to increase?"

"Hmm. As I remember, I know that the number of people participating in the protests started to increase rapidly about a month ago. Some extreme individuals even throw rotten fruits or vegetables at the church, so we're in a very difficult situation."

Daniel frowned as he listened to Bellaf's story.

'A month ago...'

It was when he went out for operational support at the outpost located in the border area with the Kingdom of Velmore.

'Were they preparing from that time?'

Outwardly, they leaked information to the Kingdom of Velmore, and inwardly, they incited the citizens to initiate anti-war protests again.

It was to lower Daniel Steiner's status under the pretext of anti-war protests.

Even if Daniel Steiner were to die in battle with the Kingdom of Velmore, they were slowly trying to ruin his image so that the citizens wouldn't deify Daniel Steiner.

They probably planned to start from the provinces first, and if the church surrendered, they would gradually expand.

'They were more disgusting than I thought.'

It was literally like picking a mud fight.

They were using every means to drag Daniel Steiner into their mud pit and make him covered in filth.

Clearly, among those participating in the protests, the proportion of operatives acting on orders or for money would be greater than those who genuinely wanted to end the war.

'What should I do...'

How could he turn their plans into bubbles?

'No. Turning them into bubbles isn't enough.'

There was a need to create a backlash and cut off their wrists so they could never pull such tricks again.

Daniel, who had been fiddling with the armrest of the sofa, looked at Bellaf as if he had just thought of something.

"You said some extreme individuals throw rotten vegetables or fruits?"

"Ah. That's right."

Daniel smiled faintly upon hearing the answer.

"Then they might throw bricks in their excitement."

"What? There's a possibility, but they haven't thrown bricks during the past month or so. If someone were to be hit by a brick, wouldn't it cause a big problem?"

"Pastor. The fact that they haven't done so isn't important."

Daniel leaned forward and tapped the table as if to emphasize.

"What's important is that they could throw bricks."

The moment they throw bricks, they cease to be mere protesters.

If someone were to be hit by a brick, it would change the nature of the protest to a violent one, and the Empire's soldiers would have grounds to punish them as rioters.

"Surely. Lieutenant Colonel Daniel, you're not..."

But Daniel shook his head.

"How could that be? Even if they throw bricks, I will absolutely not punish them. However, the entire process will be reported by a mysterious journalist and spread throughout the Empire."

Daniel reached out and grasped his cup.

He wanted to taste it since it was said to be top-grade coffee.

"I'll call the journalist, so please handle the publicity, Pastor."

"...Publicity, you say?"

"Yes. Please spread the news widely that Daniel Steiner will visit the Glory of the Holy Fire Grand Church tomorrow. So that the fish that have taken the bait will come swarming in schools."

Daniel, holding the cup, said while savoring the aroma:

"I will personally persuade them."

After finishing his words, Daniel took a light sip of the coffee.

It seemed that the claim of top-grade coffee wasn't an exaggeration, as the taste with its balanced acidity pleased his palate.

Inwardly impressed, Daniel put down the cup.

"And..."

The clinking sound echoed quietly in the empty reception room.

"If you wish, I'll allow you to continue using my name for business. However, in that case, the Glory of the Holy Fire Grand Church must grant my requests unconditionally from now on."

Although he was speaking indirectly, it meant he would make the Glory of the Holy Fire Grand Church his arms and legs.

Bellaf, who was flustered, hurriedly opened his mouth.

"L-Lieutenant Colonel Daniel? That's an unfair demand."

"Unfair, you say..."

Daniel laughed playfully and shrugged once.

"I'm bewildered to hear the word 'unfair' from someone who has been profiting by using my name all this time. Although I'm reluctant, if you continue to act like this..."

Suddenly wiping the smile off his face, Daniel stared intently at Bellaf.

Gazing at Bellaf with eyes as dark as pitch, Daniel quietly opened his mouth.

"I'll show you what's really unfair."

A brief silence fell between the two.

Bellaf felt his body stiffen like prey that had seen a predator's teeth.

Realizing that Daniel wasn't joking, Bellaf slowly lowered his gaze.

"Lieutenant Colonel Daniel's proposal..."

Bellaf, squeezing his eyes shut, continued speaking in fear.

"...I will accept it."