Published at 26th of March 2019 2:42 am

Volume 13, Chapter 7 Savior of the Nation Part 1

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

The liberation of Kalinsha had been surprisingly easy.

The combination of the Zerns rising up in revolt, the sheer lack of demihuman manpower compared to the size of the city they had to defend, and the absence of the henchman demon to command them meant that it was a foregone conclusion. Of course, there were many casualties on both sides, but the losses of the Holy Kingdom Liberation Army were surprisingly light considering they had managed to retake such a large city.

One of the main reasons for that was Neia, who carried the Ultimate Shootingstar Super on her back.

Of course, Shizu had assisted from the shadows, but Neia and her spectacular bow had been a majestic sight that greatly inspired the people.

And so, Neia stood atop a platform and passionately addressed the audience gathered in the plaza.

She told them: there was no greater king in this world than the Sorcerer King.

The first thing Neia did after liberating Kalinsha was to canvass support in order to go searching for the Sorcerer King.

The Zern did their part and questioned the demihuman captives about the Abelion Hills, but she was still lacking in many things, like material resources, information, experience, and so on.

It would be one thing if they could try as often as they wanted, but it was difficult to repeatedly send out search parties and rescue teams into enemy territory. In other words, they had to get it right the first time. That being the case, they could not prepare themselves enough. That was why she had decided to capitalize on the fact that many people had been freed through the liberation of Kalinsha and seek their aid in various areas.

That said, the people did not volunteer their help immediately after it was requested. Even after taking back Kalinsha, there were still many other cities that had been captured by the demihumans, as well as many people who had been imprisoned or who had lost track of their relatives. Neia was trying to sell them on the benefits of aiding the Sorcerer King in order to move their hearts.

However, as the number of helpers increased, the contents of her speeches gradually began to change.

The people who had come to hear Neia speak about the Sorcerer King were all people that the Sorcerer King had once rescued. They were people who had suffered greatly and who now wanted to cling to a powerful being in order to heal the lingering emotional trauma in their souls.

Those who knew of the Sorcerer King’s greatness could be considered her comrades.

It was second nature for Neia to joyously tell them about the Sorcerer King’s magnificence.

Gradually, people had not met the Sorcerer King began to take part as well. They were friends of those who had been rescued by the Sorcerer King. As word of mouth spread, more and more unrelated people came to listen to Neia’s words.

With her visor on, Neia gushed to these people about the excellence of the Sorcerer King during the liberation of the city and the battle with Jaldabaoth.

She would not have been able to speak so unreservedly several weeks ago. She would have tensed up under the eyes of the audience and she would have been at a loss for words as her mind blanked out. But after addressing crowds over and over again, she finally came to realize that she did not need to express her own thoughts, only paint a picture of the Sorcerer King in her heart with her words. Neia had become an eloquent speaker.

Yes, they now spoke of her as the Faceless Evangelist.

And so—

“Thus, His Majesty is truly beyond compare! How could there be another king who cares so much for the people! Yes, I know what you want to say. After all, Her Majesty Calca Bessarez is also an excellent queen. However — has anyone here heard of a king who would go this far for the people of another nation! You!”

Neia pointed at one of the members of the audience in front of her.

“Have you ever heard of a king who went out by himself to save another nation’s people from torment?”

“Eh, ah, no, that, I’ve never heard… anything like that… before…”

As everyone’s eyes focused on him, the voice of the man who had been called out gradually trailed off.

“Excellent answer! That’s exactly it!”

As Neia praised him, the rows of like-minded people beside Neia on the stage joined the people in the audience who shared Neia’s views to applaud the man.

The man blushed and looked a little shy.

“In truth, we checked to see if any other king had done that much, but no! There was nobody else! We could not find any king like the Sorcerer King!”

There had been kings who had led armies to rescue neighboring countries, but it was a fact that there had been no kings who had gone alone.

“Think of it, a king going to aid the people of another country regardless of the risk to himself! It’s never been heard of before! Only the Sorcerer King!” Neia paused, then continued. “Only His Majesty! Only a king like that truly deserves to be called a righteous king!”

“But can we trust him!? He’s undead isn’t he!?”

Neia responded to the question from the audience with a gentle smile. Neia had once thought the same thing herself. In other words, he was like her past self. He simply did not know; he did not understand.

She would make him see — no, she would open his eyes, just like she had opened her own eyes, and those of everyone else’s. With that feeling in her heart, Neia addressed the crowd.

“Yes! His Majesty is undead! It is only normal that you should all feel uneasy! It is a fact that the undead are frightening monsters. I have no intention of saying that all undead are good. Many undead are evil, and there is no doubt that they hate the living!”

Now that everyone was listening to her in earnest, Neia seized on the mood in the air and forcefully declared her summation.

“However! There are exceptions to all things! Just as there might be a warm day in winter, just as a bud might bloom from a withered branch, just as a brilliant shooting star can streak across the darkest night. So too is His Majesty — he is an undead being who aids the living. You must have heard the stories from the people he rescued. It is also possible that some of you were rescued by him. Then based on what you know to be true, you have the proof that I am not lying!”

After verifying that there were no objections from the crowd, Neia spoke in leaden, grim tones.

“...This time round, that sturdy fortress line was broken, and the demihumans rushed in like an avalanche. Will such a tragedy only happen once? Does anyone believe it will not happen a second time?”

The silence of the audience spoke for them.

Of course they hoped that it would not happen again, but nobody could honestly believe that.

“I fully understand how uneasy you are. Perhaps our generation and that of everyone’s children might be able to rest at ease. After all, the tragedy that just occurred will spur us on to unceasing vigilance… However!”

Neia’s tone grew forceful.

“Can anyone guarantee that such a tragedy will not repeat itself in the generation of our grandchildren, or our grandchildren’s grandchildren? Does anyone dare say it will never happen again since it happened before!? That is why we must prepare, so the fortress will line never be breached again!”

Voices saying “Yes,” and “That’s right,” began to float up from the crowd.

“—It seems everyone agrees too, but in the far-off future, in the age of our children’s children and our grandchildren’s grandchildren, in an age when this tragedy is but a distant memory, can the people then still remain vigilant? Do you think we can station twice or three times as many people as we do now on the fortress line?”

The military expenses would drain the national reserves, and they would deploy an intimidating amount of fighting strength but have no obvious results to show for it.

“I trust there are people who served in the fortresses during your conscription. Then I ask you to search your memories. If the daily expenses and stores consumed back then were tripled, do you not think it would greatly strain the nation? At that time, do you think a country that only knows of that tragedy from memory will remain vigilant?”

As understanding dawned on the faces of her audience, Neia delivered her conclusion.

“—That is why we need the protection of His Majesty!”

“Why!? Why must we seek the help of the undead!?”

The same voice from before rang out.

It was the man who had questioned her earlier. People like him put Neia at ease. Her toughest crowds were the ones where nobody reacted at all. When that happened, she felt uneasy about whether her words had reached them at all.

Neia’s supporters had suggested planting a few naysayers like that in the audience beforehand, but Neia refused. Similarly, she had rejected the idea of planting shills in the audience.

“I am saying this precisely because he is undead. His Majesty is powerful, but more importantly, he is undead, and so in that far distant future, he will still be alive — still exist.”

“But, but I heard that the Sorcerer King fell in battle and died.”

“That rumor is both true and false at the same time. Sadly, the first part is true. His Majesty expended a great deal of mana and cast many spells in order to save we who were powerless, and in the end he was defeated by Jaldabaoth. But the second part is false. His Majesty is not dead! The existence of Shizu will prove that to everyone.”

This was the cue for Shizu — one of the key figures in the liberation of Kalinsha — to enter from the side.

The audience gasped in awe, and worshipful murmurs of “Shizu-sama” could be heard.

“...Mm.”

Shizu held her head high and puffed her chest out.

“Once, she was one of the maid demons in Jaldabaoth’s service, yet she fought alongside us in the Battle of Kalinsha. That is because His Majesty wrested command over her from Jaldabaoth’s hands.”

Many people had seen Shizu slay demihumans one after the other during the battle. The people who addressed her with -sama had probably been directly aided by her.

Shizu was very popular. While she had once been a maid demon of Jaldabaoth, she was still very pretty, and more importantly, she felt youthful. One could say it was difficult to bear hostility against her.

Had the Sorcerer King considered this when he bound you to his service? Neia had once asked Shizu. Shizu had replied, “Maybe.”

“Shizu was bound by the magic of His Majesty, and that remains in effect as long as the Sorcerer King still lives. In other words, she is the proof that His Majesty still lives.”

As the air turned electric, Neia raised her arms to indicate that everyone should be quiet, because she was not done speaking.

“I am sure you are all wondering why His Majesty has not yet shown himself. In truth I do not know either. However, I cannot imagine that such a compassionate lord would abandon us! There must be some reason why he cannot return here immediately. I do not know if that is because of His Majesty’s considerations, or if some danger has arisen. And that is why—!”

Neia’s voice reverberated through the silent plaza.

“That is why I beseech all of you for your strength! Please lend me the strength to find His Majesty. Even if we bet our lives to walk the length and breadth of the Abelion Hills where the demihumans live before finding His Majesty, the Holy Kingdom still cannot fully repay the debt we owe Him. And I have said this before, but His Majesty came only to fight Jaldabaoth, yet he ended up fighting the demihumans on behalf of our weak selves, thus wearing down his strength and leading to his defeat!”

Neia raised her voice even louder as she shouted.

“Nevertheless — everyone! That is why we ought to repay the debt we owe to the person who came to save us! That great man came by himself to save us! Even if he is one of the undead, I do not intend to be an ingrate! —And so, I call upon the people who seek to repay the debt to His Majesty in some small way.”

Neia stopped for a while to let the anticipation build before shouting again.

“I am looking for people to help me find His Majesty! But you do not need to go in person! Your skills, your knowledge, anything you can contribute will be useful. Please lend me your strength! Please help us!”

Neia bowed her head, and beside her, so did Shizu.

Ohhhh, the crowd roared.

After raising her head, Neia finished thusly:

“...I am certain there are some of you out there who cannot believe based on my words alone. However, how about asking the people from the Liberation Army before Kalinsha was taken back? That way, I am certain you will believe that my words are not lies.”

***

After returning to her room, Neia sank limply into her chair.

“Thank you for your hard work, Baraja-sama.”

The person thanking her was a quiet-looking — though somewhat gloomy — woman.

She seemed to be in her twenties, and her distinguishing features were a pair of ample breasts that drew men’s eyes and a head of short hair. Apparently, it had once been long, but it had been cut short in a prison camp.

She was part of the support team which Neia had established. Neia’s supporters wanted to name themselves, and so they called themselves the Sorcerer King Rescue Corps.

Her job was to help manage Neia’s increasingly busy daily life.

While it had only been half a month since they had first met, this woman had become irreplaceable to Neia. That was because she had completed her assigned tasks — cleaning, laundry, cooking, and various other tasks — with consummate perfection.

“Ahh, thank you.”

Neia wiped her face with the cloth the woman had offered her, and the cool sensation felt very comfortable on her burning face.

She then went Whew in a way that seemed very reminiscent of a middle-aged man before laying the towel on the table and turning to the woman who immediately reclaimed it.

“Ah, while I’ve been saying it all this time, please don’t call me -sama. After all, I’m hardly an amazing figure.”

“What are you saying? You are His Majesty’s spokesperson in this country and act on his behalf. Not addressing you as -sama would be rude.”

The fact that a woman older than herself was saying this slightly bothered Neia.

This was a problem only experienced by those who were not used to a superior position.

Speaking of which, Neia was not a spokesperson or anything. Rather, she was wondering how she had ended up in that position.

Neia felt that Shizu — who was staring aimlessly while lying down casually on a couch — fit the description better.

In the first place, the Sorcerer King’s greatness should have been obvious to everyone from an objective point of view. She was simply stating the obvious, not arguing on his behalf, and she had not intended to begin preaching any form of organized belief or opinion.

While Neia had started out doing that of her own accord, she had never expected things to turn out like this.

“I’ll take my leave, then. Also, Beldran Moro-shi wishes to meet you.”

“I understand. Can you help me call him in? Thank you for your hard work today.”

The housekeeper bowed to her, and then left the room. A man entered, as though to swap places with her. The woman was averse to men and feared them, and she felt uncomfortable when she was in the same location as men. Therefore, she had chosen to excuse herself.

“Baraja-sama, I apologize for disturbing you while you are resting. May I ask for some of your time?”

Beldran Moro.

He had the stout body of a man in his forties, but the part about him that stood out most was the thinning hair on the top of his head.

The Moro family had a tradition of buttling for notable noble houses, and in the past he too had worked as a butler. That was why he served as a secretary in the rescue corps, in order to make full use of his skills.

Neia had been very lucky to meet someone like him when she had first founded the group. If she had not met him, her hair would have gone white at an early age.

“No, it’s fine. What is it?”

“Thank you. I shall be brief. I wish to say that the membership of our organization is now in excess of 30,000.”

“Ah, that’s wonderful! To think we’d gain so many people who understand His Majesty’s greatness! No, that’s only to be expected. His Majesty truly is an amazing person, after all!”

Shizu nodded and went “Mhm.”

The organization now had more members than the population of a small city. Of the 3.5 million-odd residents of the Northern Holy KIngdom, around 1% of them now belonged to the group.

“Our supporters have expressed a desire for a symbol of some sort to show their membership in the group.”

“I see… indeed… That… makes sense.”

“Indeed. Some wearable item to indicate their membership is essential in order to foster a sense of reassurance and belonging.”

Mhm, Neia nodded. They would be very happy to have some symbol of solidarity — something related to the Sorcerer King. Neia wanted one too.

“Please use the best possible means at your disposal. However, I do not wish us to give preferential treatment based on cash donations and the like.”

“...unoff... fan...ub…”

Neia picked up something that even her acute hearing could not fully make out.

“Shizu-sempai, what did you say?” Neia asked.

“...Nothing.”

“...Really? Still, if I make a mistake when speaking about His Majesty, you must tell me.”

Neia turned her gaze back to Beldran. Recently, there were more and more people who remained unshaken even when she looked at them, and it made Neia very happy.

“Let the craftsmen take care of that, then. Now… can you tell me about the rest of my schedule?”

“Yes, Baraja-sama. In about two hours, the supporters will be organizing a “‘Thanksgiving to the Sorcerer King.’” I believe you are scheduled to take part and speak of His Majesty’s great deeds.”

“I understand.”

Neia felt quite excited. Having discovered that the Sorcerer King was justice, she felt a sense of camaraderie and closeness to the supporters who could understand how she felt, and she enjoyed talking to people who shared her views.

“Also, there are people who would like you to witness the fruits of their training. Given that you are very busy now, should I reject them?”

Neia had recently founded an honor guard unit of her supporters and was currently putting them through intense training. Both Neia and Shizu had taken part in that training.

To Neia, who felt that weakness would only be a burden to the Sorcerer King, working hard to become strong was second nature. If Neia’s participation could liven up the mood and motivate them, then she had to join them.

“No, I’d like to be there with them.”

“I am certain they will be delighted… and while that summary of events was quite basic, that is all I have to report to you. As for how long it will take to gather the supporters — after considering the time needed to prepare, I believe you will have an hour to slowly rest and relax.”

Beldran bowed his head and left the room. After watching him leave, Neia got up from her chair and walked over to the couch where Shizu was. Then she lay down beside Shizu and tightly embraced her, like she was trying to squish her with her body.

“...There, there.”

Shizu was shorter than herself, but she patted Neia’s back in a soothing manner, like a mother would for her child.

“When will we be able to go look for His Majesty… it’s been a month already…”

The people searching the eastern region of the Holy Kingdom had not found the Sorcerer King, and while they could not rule out the possibility that they might have missed him, it was almost a foregone conclusion that he had fallen into the land of the demihumans, the Abelion Hills. Therefore, they had to make ample preparations, but doing so was simply taking too long.

Of the 3,000 Zern who had betrayed Jaldabaoth, 2,800 of them had gone with their prince to the Sorcerous Kingdom, while the remaining 200 or so had gone to the hills to collect information, but they had not found anything so far.

“...You must not fail.”

“I know! But, but…”

Neia hugged Shizu tighter. She took a deep breath of the scent — like that of black tea — which came from her.

Shizu’s mere presence was enough to keep Neia’s uneasiness at bay.

That was because her existence was the proof that the Sorcerer King was alive.

“...It’ll be fine. Ainz-sama is generous.”

“Ah, that’s right, Shizu-sempai.”

“...Therefore, you should get more supporters and work out a search plan that cannot fail.”

“Ah, that’s right, Shizu-sempai.”

“...That way, Ainz-sama will be happy.”

“Ah, that’s right, Shizu-sempai.”

“...Neia. I’m quite interested in you. Now that I’ve gotten used to it, your face is quite cute.”

“...Quite cute… Speaking of which, you must be really bored because you can’t go outside, Shizu-sempai. Shall the two of us go somewhere together next time?”

Shizu’s extraordinary beauty — it was practically sculpted — attracted a lot of attention. However, the looks directed at her would become ones of fear and caution if people knew her true identity as a maid demon. Many of them would have exaggerated delusions like “She’s going to steal my soul!” which stemmed from the stories where demons transformed into beautiful women to claim souls as part of a deal. However, Neia felt that demons had a right to choose their partners.

For starters, being that she was a subordinate of the most merciful Sorcerer King, this difficulty 150 maid demon would not possibly desire the souls of the people around her, let alone want to charm theirs away..

Even so, there had been troublesome things which they could not avoid, and Neia — as a squire of the Sorcerer King — would not be able to face him if she ended up causing trouble for Shizu, his subordinate. Of course, Neia also understood that Shizu was so powerful that she would not be harmed.

For that reason she spent much of her time here, but now that there were more people in their organization, it ought to be all right to bring her where the supporters gathered.

“...Not a bad idea. We’ll go together as practice.”

“All right, let’s get ready, then. Although, those maid clothes are a little eye-catching… could you change into something more ordinary?”

“...The doctor… ahem. No problem. Lend me clothes. I’ll leave the coordination to you.”

“...I’m sorry, but I didn’t have anyone I could go out with and I had no interest in clothes at all, so I’m not confident in being able to pick out clothes for you.”

Shizu gently patted Neia’s shoulders. While she looked emotionless at a glance, Neia could understand her maternal warmth. After that, Shizu pointed her thumb at herself.

“...Leave it to me.”

“Really?”

The discovery that Shizu’s tastes were unexpectedly good would be a matter for later.

***

Caspond’s workload had increased dramatically after the recapture of Kalinsha. He had to work on organizing the people who had been rescued, the resulting amount of information which needed to be processed had increased greatly, and both the verification and assignment work was very time-consuming.

During this busy period, only one paladin was stationed by Caspond’s side for his safety.

This represented a lack of security, but one could not use a skilled paladin — they could read, write, do accounts, conduct religious rites, and keep the peace — as a mere bodyguard. In that respect, it would have been most efficient to assign Remedios to him, but after considering her mental state, he decided to have her train with other paladins.

When Neia and Shizu had returned with Kelart Custodio’s head, her resulting frenzy caused such a disturbance that it was a wonder nobody died as a result. While she did calm down eventually, they still had to handle her with care.

In truth, nobody could do anything by themselves. He had to be grateful to his maker for blessing him with wisdom. As he deepened his devotion to said maker, Caspond threw himself into his work, his pen flashing over the pages.

While it was practice for the future, this work was still very annoying. His paladin aide either could not read the mood or he was indeed very bothered, but he spoke to Caspond, who was trying to bury his grumbling in the depths of his heart.

“—My Prince, is it really okay to let the Neia Baraja situation continue as it is?”

Caspond understood the meaning of that question, and he smiled tiredly without taking his eyes off his documents.

“It can’t be helped, can it? Just leave it as it is. Also, Prince will do.”

“Thank you very much. However, what do you mean by it can’t be helped?”

The paladin could not seem to accept that, so Caspond lifted his head from his documents and looked him in the eye.

“What do you think would happen if we did anything to her, like say, pressuring her to stop?”

“I don’t think anything would happen, my Prince. All she is doing is causing unrest in the nation.”

“I see. So, her speeches — while I’m not sure if asking is appropriate — have you heard her speak? ...Judging by the look of things, I guess not, but you’ve probably read a summary of what she’s talking about... Now, my first question… has she lied?”

Caspond watched the paladin search his memory before answering:

“She has not… well, it would be better if she was lying. Next, anyone with a modicum of intellect can check what she has said and find that almost all of it is justified. The Sorcerer King did free them, and he is a hero who single-handedly recaptured a city too.”

He took a drink of water from the glass on the table to wet his throat before continuing.

“And then, Neia Baraja is a hero who helped liberate Kalinsha. We declared that ourselves. As for the maid demon — we introduced her as a minion of the Sorcerer King. That led to a sky-high opinion of the Sorcerer King, and so we had to go a little overboard in praising her. Also, her equipment befits a hero.”

The sight of Neia carrying the marvellous bow which the Sorcerer King had loaned her and wearing the Grand King Buser’s armor was nothing less than heroic.

“Now, let’s go back to the original question. If we try to silence her, how will the world view us? Do you not think they would see us as trying to shut a hero up because she’s saying something inconvenient for the royal family?”

“But that…”

The paladin tried to stammer out a denial, but his face already said that he understood better than his words could. He knew what would happen.

“On one hand, you have a hero whose stardom is rising, and on the other you have the royal family which is on the decline. Who do you think the people will believe?”

“—My Prince! Please don’t say that!”

“I apologize… but more to the point, what do you think the Sorcerer King’s maid demon will do if we try to interfere with Neia Baraja?”

“Uuu...”

The paladin’s face went stiff, and a ghastly look came to Caspond’s face.

“Heheh. The fact that she’s protected by that maid demon means she commands the most power in this city, you know? Trying to directly silence her with force is extremely dangerous, so we’ll have to leave things as they are. I understand your concerns, but every move available to us is a bad one.”

There was a knocking on the door, and one of the soldiers from the outside entered.

“My Prince, the Vice Captain-sama wishes to speak with you.”

“Send him in right away.”

Perhaps he had heard Caspond’s voice, but Gustav rushed in from where he had been waiting outside. The slight panting in his breath showed that he had come here in a hurry.

“Forgive me, Your Highness Prince Caspond!”

Gustav’s work took him further afield than Caspond, and made him more busy, so he very rarely came here. That was why Caspond knew that this was a sticky situation. If he had come here in person, he had brought with him a difficult problem that he could not handle on his own.

“I tell you every time, don’t worry about it. Also, you don’t need to bow if we’re the only ones around. Since you’re in such a rush, it must be quite urgent, right?”

“Yes, sir! Our scouts report a 50,000-strong army flying the flag of the Southern Nobles heading for this city!”

“I see… don’t tell me the South has already overcome Jaldabaoth’s forces? In any event, prepare for battle, because we do not know whether the Southern armies are being controlled by Jaldabaoth. Be careful. I’ll leave it to you.”

“Yes, sir!”

“You are not to attack under any circumstances until the enemy makes a move. If they want to talk, bring them here. After that—” Caspond turned to the paladin. “You will be in charge of welcoming our guests. If they’re what I think they are, there ought to be several high ranking nobles present. Prepare food and wine that would please them.”

Both men replied, “Yes sir!” and then left the room. As Caspond watched them leave, he muttered to himself.

“Now then… I wonder if this is a good time?”

***

“I am truly glad you came, Marquis Bodipo, Count Cohen, Count Domingues, Count Granero, Count Randalse, and Viscount Santz.”

“Oh, think nothing of it, I’m glad to see you’re well, My Prince.”

“Indeed! Indeed! We were so worried about you, Your Highness!”

After a toast, Caspond and the Southern nobles were all smiles, drank to their respective safety, and exchanged greetings again.

The nobles described the situation and spoke of their travails. Caspond listened attentively, because doing so was playing to their vanity about how hard they had worked — how much they had given up for the sake of their loyalty to the Holy Kingdom.

Count Cohen, who had been speaking for a very long time, suddenly seemed to have noticed something and asked a question.

“—Oya, Prince-denka. Is it me, or do you seem slightly different now?”

“Ahh, but of course. I trust you know how Jaldabaoth invaded the North? It greatly changed me inside. In addition, I think the parts you cannot see have changed even more… do you not think I have become thinner?”

Caspond indicated his belly. “Well, that does seem to be the case,” everyone cheerfully replied. At the same time, there was a keen glint in the nobles’ eyes.

Caspond did not miss that. He instantly realized that they were evaluating the worth of Caspond in the past to the present Caspond.

While they had carefully concealed that fact, he understood that the appraisal was still in progress.

Now he hoped that they would think that nothing had changed, in the hopes that they would not interfere with the royal family after the war.

“...Still, I, Caspond, am deeply grateful that you have led your houses here to save the Holy Kingdom.”

“What are you saying? Your Highness, as noblemen, it is only natural that we should marshal our forces and set out for the sake of the royal family. Or no, anyone who is physically able and does not join a battle concerning the survival of the Holy Kingdom cannot even be considered a nobleman!”

The nobles each nodded and made noises of acknowledgement. In other words, the noblemen who had not come here were the political enemies of the ones who were present.

Unfortunately, Caspond did not know which noble houses were not getting on with each other. That probably meant he was not sufficiently informed.

While he wanted to avoid committing himself to unfavorable promises here, he would need to give the people here preferential treatment or face rather dire consequences. Everyone hated a bat who flitted around trying to get in everyone’s good graces.

“Gentlemen, your loyalty to the royal family needs to be trumpeted far and wide. I feel it needs to be a matter of historical record.”

While it was only for a moment, the one who seemed the happiest about that was Marquis Bodipo, the oldest person present, whose blonde hair was flecked with white.

Now that he had power and position, he probably wanted prestige on top of that. The others would probably prefer to be rewarded instead. Of course, it was only natural for them to expect a certain return on their investment now that they had mobilized their forces.

The Marquis muttered some polite words of refusal -- more of a courtesy than anything -- even as he adopted a smarmy tone. During this time, Viscount Santz -- who looked quite ill at ease -- seized on the right moment to interrupt the conversation and hesitantly asked a question.

“My prince, I have a question I would like to ask you. What is the present condition of Her Majesty? I hear she has passed away…”

“That is a fact.”

Startled by Caspond’s frank and direct answer, Viscount Santz asked another question.

“Then, then where does Her Majesty’s body lie?”

“...It was in a hideous state, so we had to cremate it. Originally, we were planning to use a 「Preservation」 spell on it and give her a state funeral after driving off Jaldabaoth…”

Caspond shook his head with a pained look on his face, as though he could not bear to continue. “At the same time, we confirmed the death of the high priestess, Kelart Custodio.”

“Is that so…”

During this silence, Caspond used the time to take a drink.

Calca’s substitute was right before their eyes. However, the high priestess Kelart Custodio -- who stood at the apex of all divine magic casters -- could not be so easily replaced. Therefore, they were carefully considering how best to use Kelart’s death.

After seeing they had not reacted even after he had taken two drinks of wine, Caspond gave them another tidbit of information.

“Her remains were also in terrible condition, so they were cremated as well.”

The nobles frowned. Had they felt something from the deaths of two of the Holy Kingdom’s top individuals? Perhaps they had finally realised that this was a battle where their lives were on the line and losing meant death. They were probably frightened by the realisation that they would not be ransomed even if they were taken prisoner.

“How about the captain of the paladins, Custodio-dono?”

“Do you wish to speak to her? Can it wait?”

“Oya, so she’s still alive? Meanwhile, Her Majesty and the high priestess-dono are both dead...”

Count Randalse had a magnificent beard. When he delivered those words in a contemptuous tone of voice, the others smiled mockingly, as if to follow suit. Caspond opened the door and ordered the paladin outside to summon Remedios.

Just as the wine in the glasses was about to run dry, Remedios entered the room.

Before Count Randalse could speak, he took a look at Remedios and his eyes went wide.

“What!? Are you Captain Remedios, leader of the paladin corps!?”

The mockery in his tone had been replaced by shock. Every noble in the Holy Kingdom knew what Remedios looked like. Count Randalse was no exception either, hence his surprise. She looked tremendously different from how he remembered her.

Right now, Remedios Custodio looked like a ghost.

Her eyes were deeply sunken and her cheeks were haggard. However, a brilliant light shone in her pupils.

“You called me here right? Who else would I be?”

“What! The… the nerve…”

Count Randalse’s voice trailed off, and he stared intently at Remedios.

Right now, Remedios looked very frightening. The fact that nobody knew what she was thinking or what she would do made others uneasy. That was why Caspond did not keep Remedios by his side. It was also why he took care not to let Remedios know anything about Neia.

“What do you want?”

Everyone in this country knew that Remedios Custodio was the best paladin in the country. When it came to sheer brute force, she was the foremost being in this nation.

What use was authority against violence that was on the verge of running wild? The most solid armor of the aristocracy was like paper to her. In the past, there were people close to her who held her reins, so she was in a state of mind where she could endure being badmouthed. However, it was a different matter now.

The nobles all understood this, so they said nothing. Remedios snorted as she saw them, and then shrugged.

“...May I leave now, Your Highness? It seems there was no reason to call for me.”

“Ahh. Thank you for coming.”

After Remedios left, the nobles finally allowed themselves to look unhappy.

“How dare she show such disrespect to His Highness?”

“Even if she is the captain of the paladin corps, that attitude is intolerable. Can we allow someone without any loyalty to the royal family to remain as captain?”

Caspond raised a hand to quell the venting of their spleens.

“We are at war now. Her talents are still useful. Let us leave her disposition to the future Holy King.”

Quite a few people were upset by Remedios’ attitude. Some of them were hiding their fear of her with anger, but others had ulterior motives. Caspond knew this, and he smiled coldly in his heart.

Remedios had once been the mailed fist of the previous Holy King and a powerful weapon. Surely someone out there would not want to leave that weapon to the next Holy King. No, all of them might be thinking that for all he knew.

“Ohhh! Your Highness is correct! This is wartime! However, we won’t keep fighting the demihumans forever!”

“The Count is right! I believe our envoy already mentioned that we managed to come here because we defeated the demihuman forces. Your Highness! We ought to press our advantage and mount a pursuit!”

“Exactly! We ought to destroy the demihumans in one fell swoop, so Your Highness’ achievements may reach more ears.”

“I see, I see. Then -- how’s Old Purple?”

The nobles looked at each other, and then Marquis Bodipo spoke on their behalf.

“The old man seems unwell, so he did not come here with us.”

The Marquis was the most senior person here, and so the person that he called an “old man” was an 80 year old individual who had been appointed one of the Nine Colors. As a great noble of the South with the rank of Marquis, he had been granted that color in recognition of his loyalty to the royal family and his achievements.

Not all the Nine Colors had earned their position because of their fighting strength. Much like Purple, some of them had gained their title because of some great contribution. For instance, there was a Duchess who had been appointed Blue due to her fame as a composite artist.

As Caspond pondered Marquis Bodipo’s reply, he sensed for a moment that the other man was not hiding anything, and Caspond smiled coldly in his heart again. While he already knew this, he was simply confirming that reaction with his own eyes.

“...I see. It would seem that your opinions coincide with mine.” Caspond outlined his plan to ruin Jaldabaoth’s scheme by slaughtering the demihumans. “However, what will we do if Jaldabaoth shows up?”

“Is Jaldabaoth such a mighty demon? I hear even the Captain-dono could not protect Her Majesty.”

Count Granero had never faced Jaldabaoth before, which was why he was asking such an innocent question. Caspond responded in a somber tone.

“He is extremely powerful. We asked the Sorcerer King to face him, and his battle with Jaldabaoth was truly intense.”

“The Sorcerer King? Do you mean that undead king?”

It was only to be expected that they would exclaim in surprise.

“Oya? Did you not hear about that? I see…”

“So you called upon the help of another country’s army, my Prince? That is very bad!”

“Not an army. Just the Sorcerer King.”

The nobles froze with an ”Eh?” on their lips. It took some time before they stirred again.

“The Sorcerer King? By himself? The one and only king, the one who stands at the pinnacle of his nation, came over by himself?”

Caspond nodded in response to Count Randalse’s question.

“How could that be, that’s impossible, right? There’s no way such a king would exist! Did he not have his armies on hand?”

It makes no sense at all, the gathered people muttered. Some wondered if this was some kind of scheme. However, Caspond denied them with the finality of an executioner’s axe.

“Though you might say so, it is the truth. All we can do is accept it. In addition, if the Sorcerer King had brought his armies with him, then they would have moved out the moment he lost his duel against Jaldabaoth.”

“He lost?... I don’t get it. They say he’s one of the undead, so could it be that even his brains rotted away? However… is this not very bad?”

“It is. However, one of the envoys who requested the Sorcerer King to come was Remedios. I believe handing her over to gain the forgiveness of the other party will be a necessity, as are other diplomatic measures.”

“Will that settle matters? …Now that you mention it, the Sorcerous Kingdom is a nation within the borders of the Kingdom. In that case, they will not be able to cross the Kingdom’s borders to reach us… does that mean we must be on alert once the Kingdom is destroyed?”

They could not understand what was going on, and the nobles all clutched their heads. It was as though they were thinking about what to do if the sun rose in the west. Therefore, they decided to shelve the matter for the time being.

“Well, let’s put that aside for now. What are your future plans, Your Highness?”

“I -- I would like to retake the capital. And I would like to do this as soon as possible.”

“In that case, we will surely aid you!”

“Your Highness will become the hero who saved this nation from Jaldabaoth!”

“The demihuman army which invaded our nation was 100’000 strong. They’ve been culled to around 30’000 strong now, If we rally the people of this city and the soldiers we brought, we’ll be able to beat them easily!”

“Your Highness! The day will soon come when they call you Your Majesty!”

Caspond faced the flattering nobles and put an expression of his face that said they had hit the nail on the head.

“Umu. I will not forget to be grateful for the help all of you have given me.”

“What are you saying? We are only doing our duty to the Holy Kingdom and the royal family!”

In his heart, Caspond smiled in a completely different way.

“Very well. Then, gentlemen, let us make ready to take back the capital!”

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