The Mech Touch novel Chapter 4694

What happened here was not ideal, but it would do more harm than good to turn it back to its original form.

The Enlightened Church of Vulcan helped too many people and converted so many different believers that the Creation Association would definitely incur a backlash if it got rid of all of its overly religious aspects.

Aside from that, trying to break or reduce people's relationship with Vulcan would have an adverse effect on the growth of his spiritual incarnation.

Samandra Avikon successfully argued to Ves that if he wanted Vulcan to grow faster and become exposed to more craftsmen throughout the Red Ocean, he needed to set aside some of his most rigid objections.

"You can't have your cake and eat it too, patriarch." She argued with him. "The purest faith and devotion that is freely given to a divine existence is one of the most sacred and intimate acts in life. Please respect the faithful who for one reason or another found their source of spiritual sustenance in Vulcan."

He sighed yet again. "Fine. These people can do what they want as long as you don't turn them crazy somehow. Let's talk about more practical matters. How many members does the Creation Association have these days?"

"Over 100,000 people, but many of them have only signed up for the lowest tier of membership that we offer. The fees they pay are minimal and they generally do not take part in many of the activities that we organize. A much smaller proportion of members have decided to increase their commitment, but they also gain more benefits in return. Many of them tend to be senior production workers or master artisans who require more guidance and structure in their busy, stressful lives."

The woman spent the next few minutes detailing the kind of services they provide to the higher level members.

Aside from putting in a good word to Vulcan, the workers of the Creation Association also acted as counsel and advisors.

All in all, the Creation Association took on a lot more responsibilities than at the start.

Ves placed his hands on his hips. "You do know that I set this all up so that I can sell more totems and earn more money from their usage, right?"

The robed woman shook her head. "Money should not be your primary concern anymore. The clan has other sources of income that can cover for its expenditures. What is truly important to you is to connect Vulcan to more people. Changing our status from a generic non-profit organization to a religious institution helps us to connect to a wider audience of individuals who seek relief from their overly materialistic lives."

"That sounds nice, but how much revenue is the Creation Association making these days?"

"Around 2000 MTA credits a year, but we spend much of that on various investments such as building additional churches on other industrial planets."

"I see."

Although 2000 MTA credits meant little to Ves these days, it was still a massive amount of wealth to nearly every other person in the Krakatoa Middle Zone!

The spending power of 2000 MTA credits was extremely high in most second-rate states in the old galaxy.

Even in a busy place like the Red Ocean where all of the prices were inflated, 2000 MTA credits could easily be used to fund the creation of a mercenary outfit or a modest mech company!

The investments that Samandra was referring to had to be massive.

"How many branches have you set up so far?" Ves asked.

"We have built over 200 different branches up to this point, though many of them are rather small and staffed by only a handful of employees at most. The majority are located in the star systems aligned to Davute, though we have made a greater effort to expand outside of this sphere as of late. The more people become aware of Vulcan and the Creation Association, the more convenient it is for us to establish branches in more distant territories."

"I see." Ves looked impressed. "Your expansion progress exceeds that of the rest of our clan. I did not expect that out of all of our institutions, it would be yours that has made the greatest progress."

Even if most of the branches were little more than rented offices that accommodated a couple of people at most, that still meant that the Larkinsons had managed to establish a foothold on a planet!

This was what Ves sought the most. A foothold allowed the Larkinson Clan to integrate into the local scene and gain a deeper understanding of local conditions.

He talked a bit more with Samandra Avikon about the expansion strategy of the Creation Association.

It turned out that aside from setting up branches in the middle zones, she had already set her sights on the lower zones!

The woman explained her rationale for setting up branches in the lower zones.

"I am aware that our clan has long ceased to orient much of its business operations towards third-raters, but that does not mean they serve no use to us anymore. To a deity like Vulcan, humans are all equal for the most part. It makes little to no difference whether his flock consists of second-raters or third-raters. I believe that the same goes for first-raters."

Ves never thought about this topic from this angle, but she was pretty much correct!

The spirituality of a citizen of the New Rubarth Empire wasn't inherently stronger than that of an ordinary citizen of the Bright Republic.

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