So I'm a sheep.

Volume 1: Chapter 39 Food Shortage

The sudden knocking interrupted the little girl's thoughts. After being granted permission to enter, a bishop walked in with a solemn expression.

"Lady Sasha, there is an urgent meeting. Please come with me to the meeting room."

"Hmm, what happened?"

"The Church has just received news that the Black Hand Brotherhood thugs... they... they've sacrificed the seventh city!"

The little girl's mind went blank for a moment, and the sense of security she felt after the big victory vanished instantly.

She stood up as fast as she could: "Let's go!"

.................................................. .....

He jogged to the meeting room, where Zorn and the other bishops were already present.

"Lady Sasha, we have received bad news."

Zorn said in a deep voice, "The fleeing Black Hand Brotherhood army attacked the neutral city of Brawi along the way, and they completed the seventh blood sacrifice."

"Didn't the Black Hand Brotherhood's army suffer heavy losses? And, how could they just carry out a blood sacrifice in a major city without any guards?"

"It's a demon."

His Holiness the Pope's face darkened: "The demon Simon has revealed his true form. He single-handedly breached the formidable walls of Brava."

"The guards were terrified when they saw the demons. They fled without a fight, and the Black Hand Brotherhood easily took over their home."

"...Damn it, if they had the courage to fight, they could definitely have driven the demons back!"

"Lady Sasha, not all armies are as valiant as the Church's army."

Zorn sighed and said, "Even the Church Army would waver when faced with a suddenly appearing demon."

"..."

"If we sacrifice nine cities, the gates of purgatory will open. What if Simon stops fighting us and focuses on slaughtering the cities?"

"Lady Sasha, according to the church's research, the cities where the Black Hand Brotherhood performs blood sacrifices need to meet two conditions."

First, it has a long history.

Second, the city has a large population.

"Currently, there are only four cities that meet these conditions. Two of them are ours, one is the Black Hand Brotherhood, and one is the neutral zone."

After a moment of contemplation, Zorn continued, "The Church's two holy cities are in the rear. The Black Hand Brotherhood can only try to take them by first capturing their headquarters."

“Aside from these two cities, if Simon wants to complete the ‘Gates of Purgatory’ plan, he must sacrifice the only remaining city in the neutral zone, including the city they own.”

"Even demons wouldn't attack their own city first. I think the Black Hand Brotherhood's next target is still the neutral zone."

Once the target was narrowed down to one, the little girl finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, then we need to prepare to support the neutral zone."

"exactly."

“Your Holiness, Lady Sasha, I have an idea.”

A bishop suddenly spoke up: "Since the cities where the enemy performs blood sacrifices must meet certain standards, why don't we break those standards and directly eliminate the feasibility of the 'Gates of Purgatory' plan?"

"you mean......"

Seeing that everyone's eyes were on him, the bishop explained, "If we move some of the people in the city to the villages, then the second condition for the blood sacrifice won't be met, right?"

"..."

"Yup!"

"Why didn't I think of that?"

"good idea!"

"Our side is relatively easy to handle, the key issue is the neutral zone..."

"If you reason with them, they will listen to your advice."

"In this way, even if Simon sacrifices his city, the Purgatory Gate Project will never be completed!"

After finding a breakthrough, everyone shared their opinions, and the atmosphere in the meeting room immediately became lively.

"This is not a foolproof method. If the Black Hand Brotherhood relocates the population after capturing the city, they can still complete the blood sacrifice."

"At least we'll have time to react!"

"Even if it's not foolproof, dispersing the population is a clever idea."

“Let’s get our city moving first, then persuade the neutral zone to evacuate its population while preparing to provide support at any time,” Zorn concluded.

"Your Holiness, as for providing assistance... we can only do it once at most; any more than that, we are powerless to do so."

A bishop in charge of logistics said with a wry smile, "The church's food reserves are running low."

"Should we borrow some more from the neutral zone?" a bishop suggested.

"They've really put all their savings into supporting us this time."

Zorn shook his head and said, "Borrow again? Impossible."

"..."

"Everyone, we have another important matter to attend to."

A bishop cautioned, “The villains of the Black Hand Brotherhood have destroyed many of our villages. The villages are gone, but the land remains.”

"This precious farmland cannot be left to waste; we must send people to cultivate it!"

"Who should we send?"

"Soldiers, let those soldiers who have lost their homes go."

“The village must be rebuilt; it is the foundation of the church.”

"The soldiers have all gone to farm and rebuild villages. When the neutral zone asks us for help, what can we offer them?"

"Isn't this exactly the kind of situation where we need to disperse the urban population? We should make full use of those people!"

"They already have a lot of grievances about being forced to relocate, and you're treating them like laborers?"

"If we don't use soldiers, we have to use them; it's a choice between the two."

After some debate, the bishops finally reached a consensus.

These are extraordinary times, and those who can't afford to relocate are harboring resentment.

Hate the Black Hand Brotherhood if you must; the Church can't do anything about it.

The problem of rebuilding the village has been solved, but the previous problem remains unsolved.

What should we do if the church is experiencing food shortages?

"Perhaps we can requisition grain."

Zorn's words immediately drew strong opposition from the bishops.

"These days, every family is short of food; food is everyone's lifeline."

“Requisitioning grain… Your Holiness, this is practically taking their lives.”

"We can't levy taxes, and we can't levy them anyway."

"We cannot let the devout believers starve to death!"

The bishops objected to it from every angle, which angered Zorn.

"The soldiers need food, and the church will definitely provide some food for the people rebuilding the village in the early stages."

"How can we fill such a huge gap without requisitioning grain?"

Zorn and the bishops argued endlessly, and even the little girl who hadn't said much at the meeting was caught in a dilemma.

Sasa can actually solve the food problem.

By collecting those tiny points of light again, she can rapidly increase crop yields in a short period of time.

only......

Those whose light spots are taken will experience aftereffects. Although Sasha hasn't figured out exactly what the aftereffects are, there definitely will be!

The little girl unconsciously twisted her fingers, and she couldn't make up her mind until the meeting ended.

Volume 1: Chapter 40 Diversion

Daisy noticed that Lady Sasha had become sullen and unhappy after attending the last meeting.

The little girl was often lost in thought, and occasionally when she looked up at the sky, a blank expression would appear on her face.

'My lord, what are you confused about?'

Many times Daisy wanted to ask the questions that were on her mind, but she always held back.

'The divine messenger must be pondering a very, very important matter; I mustn't disturb her.'

The female swordsman was originally a carefree and tomboyish woman, but after spending some time with the little girl, she actually became much more thoughtful.

Daisy is also trying her best in her own way for the sake of her important divine messenger.

The church's urban population relocation plan was proceeding in full swing, and unsurprisingly, everyone objected to leaving the comfortable city to farm in remote and impoverished areas.

"We haven't done anything wrong, so why should we be exiled?"

“My grandfather was a missionary, and my father shed blood for the church. Are you going to kick me out of my own home today?”

"Not everyone has to move out, so why do you insist on making me move out!"

"Your Holiness, why did you issue such an order?!"

The church leadership felt immense pressure, but they resolutely continued with the population relocation plan.

The bishops, each accompanied by a group of missionaries, took turns visiting the homes of city residents to persuade them that only by relocating could they thwart the devil's ambitions.

"By the goddess above, this is really not exile."

"We will not send you to ruins and leave you to fend for yourselves. Please trust the church!"