The Ledger

Modi moved his hand from the map and picked up the first ledger on the table.

“Now that we've discussed the trade routes, next is the money, Lady Saintess.”

Modi spoke: “The sect’s treasury currently has seventy-three Gold Suns, eleven Silver Moons, and eight Copper Shells. The alchemy shop’s working capital is sixteen Gold Suns and seven Silver Moons. Ritual reserve funds: twenty-two Gold Suns. Undercover emergency funds: thirty Gold Suns.”

Sophie nodded.

Sounds decent—over a hundred and forty Gold Suns.

“Of those, only eighty-nine Gold Suns, eighteen Silver Moons, and eight Copper Shells are truly liquid.”

Sophie continued to nod.

Still decent.

“If we dip into the ritual reserves, large-scale prayers, barrier maintenance, sanctuary repairs, and exorcism rituals will be affected. If we use the undercover emergency funds, our ties with the patrol, the Companion Registration Office, the mineral tax office, and several other connections we maintain will be severed.”

“Next, fixed assets.”

Modi pointed to a specific page.

“Two underground warehouses under Bennis's command, plus one old sect warehouse; book value is ninety to one hundred and fifty Gold Suns. Two old prayer halls, eighty to one hundred and thirty Gold Suns. The alchemy shop, forge, ritual workbenches, and warehouse equipment: ninety to one hundred and sixty Gold Suns. Remaining leases, deposits, and relationship costs for several ordinary warehouses total thirty to fifty Gold Suns. The structure of the Night-Redemption Warehouse is forty to ninety Gold Suns. Old debts, noble donation pledges, and final payments on land deeds amount to about one hundred and ten Gold Suns on the books.”

Sophie felt more and more energized as she listened.

Isn't the New Moon Sect actually quite wealthy?

Things were looking up.

“However, Lady Saintess.”

“Yes?”

“None of these can be sold at book value.”

“Why not?”

“Because we are an evil cult.”

Sophie: Tell me something I don't know.

Modi sighed.

“The titles on the land deeds aren't clean, the old prayer halls are prone to royal audits, and once an underground warehouse changes hands, the buyer will first ask how many bodies are buried inside. We can't sell the alchemy shop either, as that would cut off our income. The Night-Redemption Warehouse can't be sold; at least forty percent of the debt is bad, and the noble donation pledges have become nothing but empty dreams after the orders you issued, Lady Saintess.”

Miaoyue, munching on a cream pastry, said indistinctly, “Dreams can be very important too.”

Modi turned to her and said respectfully, “Dreams are important, of course, but they cannot be exchanged for money.”

Miaoyue blinked.

Sophie: “Can we just raid the homes of those nobles?”

“According to the law, those assets would be confiscated by the state,” Modi shook his head. “We can only sell some of the personal accessories of the nobles who were under Elizabeth.”

Isn't that a bit too un-evil-cult-like? Sophie thought to herself.

Modi continued: “Therefore, after deducting debts, unclear titles, the ‘cult discount,’ and the cost of laundering the money, the net proceeds we can reliably recover are about ninety-five to one hundred and seventy-five Gold Suns. If we're in a hurry to sell, we'd only get sixty to ninety.”

Sophie rubbed her temples.

Modi flipped to a new ledger.

“Next, the church's income.”

“Based on this month's confirmed accounts—excluding unrecovered debts, black market remnants that are too afraid to show their faces, and secret transport lines that haven't been restored yet—most of the nobles, merchant groups, banks, and patrol contacts connected to Elizabeth's fall are afraid to come forward. This month's regular turnover is expected to be only nine to thirteen Gold Suns.”

Sophie's finger paused.

“If we restore some of the alchemy commissions, purification rituals, and Night-Redemption storage, we can increase that to about eighteen to twenty-five Gold Suns in the short term. Please note, Lady Saintess, this is turnover, not net profit.”

Sophie pondered.

“And the expenses?”

“Minimum maintenance for Clerics, apprentices, and servants: eight Gold Suns and ten Silver Moons. Maintenance for warehouses, underground bases, and Moon-Shading structures: five Gold Suns and twelve Silver Moons. Materials for holy water and holy bread: three Gold Suns and eight Silver Moons. Undercover network maintenance: six Gold Suns. Bad debts, seizures, and escape preparations: five Gold Suns. Small bribes for the patrol: three to eight Gold Suns.”