Chapter 51 - Trouble Brews in the Holy Lands

Brahniey, once a part of the Nohzan Kingdom, now formed the eastern border of the

Salma Kingdom.

Two generations back—nearly seventy years now—Brahniey himself, for whom the

city had been named, was head of the royal cavalry. He'd been given this position by

the king of Salma, as a sign of appreciation for his military victories.

The Brahniey family had also been granted the title of margrave, and had been

entrusted with overseeing this region. They now lived in the rebuilt manor of the

Nohzan lord who'd once wielded power over the domain.

The building's decorative architecture had been left as is, which stood in stark contrast

with the newly constructed walls and towers that surrounded the manor. The two

rulers' tastes in design couldn't have been more different.

An older gentleman, with an athletic build and a head of thinning white hair that

matched his white mustache, sat at a large desk in one of the manor's many spacious

rooms. His furrowed brow lent him an air of impatience, and he shifted uncomfortably

in his chair, as if something were bothering him.

This man's name was Margrave Wendly du Brahniey.

Unlike the other nobles, who lived in the capital and were constantly bickering with

one another, he had the bearing of a military man.

A hundred or so years ago, the ruler of the Holy Kingdom of Alsus had granted all

authority over his lands to the pontiff of the Hilk church, and the country was renamed

the Holy Hilk Kingdom.

The pontiff had used his templars to lay siege to the capital of Alsus, until the king gave

in to the pontiff and converted to the Hilk religion. On that day, the Holy Kingdom of

Alsus ceased to exist.

At the time, the pontiff claimed that this was all in the name of peace. From there, he

set firm borders around the Holy Hilk Kingdom, putting an end to the age-old

territorial disputes. Though this was all a rather one-sided decision, there was little

the other countries could do but agree to these new borders.

However, the disputes continued between the three remaining kingdoms, and the

Salma Kingdom saw its final success with a large-scale invasion on the eastern front.

Since then, there had only been minor squabbles. Now that the Holy Hilk Kingdom was

free to wield its abundant resources, the other three kingdoms decided it best to

maintain their military strength in the event that they needed to fend off an invasion.

For someone like Margrave Brahniey, who was in charge of overseeing his country's

defense against the neighboring Nohzan Kingdom, it seemed like the nobles back in

the capital were only concerned with solidifying their power bases.

While military acumen had once been a requisite for nobility, out of a necessity to

defend the country's borders, nobles today were mostly concerned with staying in the

king's good graces. Men like Brahniey were few and far between.

While the establishment of the Holy Hilk Kingdom had done a lot to bring peace to

these lands, Brahniey had his suspicions over what this truly meant for the country's

citizens.

Sure, the nobles were living in the lap of luxury, but that extravagant lifestyle could

only be sustained through the hard labor of people who shared few of those comforts.

Margrave Brahniey screwed his face into a frown and glared up at the roof, muttering

to no one in particular. "If some sort of disaster were to befall the capital, I doubt the

nobles would be able to react in time."

He was worried about the odd events that had recently occurred within his domain.

The first report he'd received came from some commoners. Apparently, they'd

witnessed bizarre creatures crossing into Brahniey and heading past the Wiel River

toward the Ruanne Forest, where the elves lived.

The next report about these creatures also came from commoners, who claimed to

have seen a military caravan being attacked.

Obviously wanting to know what was going on within his borders, Margrave Brahniey

assembled scouting parties at once to look for this mysterious caravan and the

creatures themselves.

According to reports from the scouts that encountered the creatures, they were

hideous amalgamations of two human torsos and a set of massive spider legs. Four

were discovered in total, and each scouting party that had the misfortune of

encountering one suffered heavy losses.

Based on the locations of the reports, Brahniey dispatched a scouting party in the

direction he believed the creatures to be heading—the capital in Larisa.

There was, however, another possibility. The military caravan might be traveling

through his lands from the Nohzan Kingdom, and these monsters were pursuing it. He

immediately dispatched a servant to check on the situation in Nohzan.

It would take a messenger at least three days to make it back to the capital of the

Nohzan Kingdom, while it was, at best, a five-day journey to Larisa. Factoring in the

return journeys, Brahniey still had quite a wait ahead of him.

Just to be safe, he'd entrusted everyone he sent out with birds that could report back

to him in a fraction of the time. Still, Margrave Brahniey was not a man who enjoyed

waiting.

He stood up from his chair and walked over to the map that hung from one of his

study's walls.

"Depending on what is happening in Larisa, I may need to consider signing a truce

with the Nohzan Kingdom."

The sound of footsteps outside interrupted his thoughts.

He turned his head just in time to see the door fly open. His secretary scurried into the

room.

"Excuse me, Master Wendly!"

It was rare to see her lose her cool, and even rarer for her to enter a room uninvited.

The sight of his frantic secretary gave the margrave pause. It had only been three days

since he'd sent everyone out. It was too early for any of them to have made a report.

Behind his secretary, Brahniey caught sight of a young man, someone he'd never seen

before.

The man was dressed in a military uniform, probably a messenger of some sort. He

offered a dramatic bow, looking brand-new to the job, and closed his eyes tight in an

effort to make sure he recited everything perfectly.

"Larisa is under attack by a large force of undead and other creatures! The exact

number is still unknown, but they're estimated to be around 200,000! We hereby

request that the margrave assemble his forces and send them to reinforce the capital

at once!"

After finishing his report, the young messenger straightened, then bowed again.

"Are you sure?" A vein bulged in the margrave's forehead as he looked wide-eyed at

the young man standing before him.

The messenger responded with several firm nods of his head.

An army of 200,000 undead had descended upon the capital… Brahniey desperately

wanted more information, but he could tell that the quivering messenger in front of

him was in no position to provide answers.

Even entertaining, for the moment, the idea that undead would assemble in large

groups and work together… an army of 200,000 still defied all logic.

There were several cases where the casualties of long-past wars had risen up as undead

and attacked neighboring areas, but there were never more than a few hundred —

maybe a thousand—at most.

To assemble a force of even 20,000 human soldiers would be a formidable task. But a

force ten times that size? It strained credulity.

"And what does this undead army consist of?"

Margrave Brahniey could feel a cold, clammy sweat roll down the back of his neck as

he tried to figure out how to approach this situation.

The reports had stated that the man-spiders melted into ooze after they were killed,

which was similar to what happened to other undead, suggesting that the man-spiders

were also undead.

Brahniey's greatest fear was that 200,000 of these man-spiders had descended upon

the capital. If that were the case, then the kingdom itself was finished.

"Th-the majority of them are armored soldiers, though there have been some halfhuman, half-spider creatures observed among them."

The messenger's response was a slight comfort, but it was still an overwhelming

number of undead.

A name from an old legend Margrave Brahniey had once heard sprang to mind as he

tried wrapping his mind around it all.

"This isn't… It can't be Hades, can it? According to the legends, he was stopped by the

empire."

All the soldiers who'd been killed over generations of war had risen from the dead and

formed an army that laid waste to the empire. At their peak, they numbered in the tens

of thousands.

Margrave Brahniey shook his head and furrowed his brow. There was no sense in

focusing on the cause of the problem. They needed a solution.

"It's still too early for our report to have made it to the capital, but what's become of

our soldiers?"

Brahniey turned his attention to his secretary.

"The scouting party encountered multiple messengers who'd been dispatched from

the capital to drum up reinforcements. They sent this man back, while the rest

continued to the capital."

Though she was speaking faster than usual, his secretary maintained her usual cool

tone of voice. The margrave nodded. A plan had begun forming in his mind.

"First off, it's unrealistic for us to try to reinforce the capital. I hate to leave them to

their own devices, but we really don't have much of a choice."

This seemed to take the young messenger by surprise. However, he also seemed to

understand that he was in no position to offer his unsolicited opinion. He kept quiet.

Brahniey's secretary also seemed surprised, and she looked at the margrave

questioningly, one eyebrow raised.

Margrave Brahniey continued. "First and foremost, we just don't have enough soldiers

to fight 200,000 undead. Then there's the problem of time and distance. It'd take

several days for a large force to reach Larisa."

Brahniey turned his attention to the map hanging from the wall.

His secretary did some quick math. "It would take at least seven days for an army of

foot soldiers to reach the capital. Ten, if you include preparation time."

Brahniey nodded. The area surrounding the capital was mostly flatlands. The odds of

achieving victory were slim. If they were to fight, they'd best be served fighting at the

Wiel River, where the enemy would be forced to cross.

But even that would hardly be a surefire thing, considering they'd be fighting undead,

not humans.

Brahniey didn't know just how much of a deterrent the strong currents of the Wiel

might be against an army of undead. But no matter how he looked at it, the situation

was grim.

Assuming that the man-spiders observed earlier were some sort of spies, it was only

a matter of time until the army made its way to Brahniey too.

The margrave's mind raced as he considered their next move.

"Issue an order to maintain constant contact with the forts along the Wiel River. If any

of them catch sight of an undead army, they are to immediately abandon the fort and

fall back here. I want all the weapons within Brahniey gathered here. Also, let it be

known throughout the land that we will buy up any and all available crops."

The secretary quickly wrote down the margrave's commands. As she did, another man

in military fatigues appeared.

"The bird from the servant dispatched to Nohzan just arrived! I have the report here."

The man slipped into the room, offered up a salute, and handed Margrave Brahniey a

small piece of folded parchment before stepping back.

Birds were the fastest method of communication available to humans, but the

drawback was that they would only return to their home base, which meant they had

to be manually taken to the location from which they would be sent.

"Already? That was fast."

The margrave read the piece of parchment. As he did, his expression began to change.

His secretary watched his reaction with great interest. Finally, he threw the report in

her direction.

She picked it up and began reading as the margrave ran a finger across the deep

wrinkles on his forehead.

"It sounds as if the capital of the Nohzan Kingdom is already under attack as well."

Margrave Brahniey nodded silently. This wasn't entirely unexpected, but a new wave

of unease washed over him. He wiped away the sweat accumulating on the back of his

neck.

Just what was going on out there?

"It says there were countless skeletons covered in armor outside the city walls. The

wall near one of the gates had been breached, but there appeared to be minimal

damage to the city itself. In fact, there were even signs of people repairing the damage."

The margrave couldn't hold back the smile that began tugging at his lips. Was there

still a chance? Was there a light at the end of the tunnel?

"Was this part of the same force that attacked Larisa? That would mean the Nohzan

Kingdom was able to escape their fate."

Ever the one to maintain an objective point of view, his secretary kept her face neutral.

It was almost as if she knew what he was thinking. The margrave's frown intensified

as he let out a low groan.

If Brahniey fell to the undead, the army of 200,000 would almost certainly head north

and once again descend upon the Nohzan Kingdom.

But this wasn't entirely to Brahniey's disadvantage.

After all, the Nohzan Kingdom almost certainly didn't want to be on the receiving end

of any more attacks. They would likely be receptive to allying with Brahniey in the

interest of fighting a mutual enemy.

But even if they weren't interested in joining forces, the margrave could probably get

the Nohzan Kingdom to tell him how they'd fought off the invaders. He'd have to offer

up something appealing in return, of course, but it would be a small price to pay to

ensure that Brahniey remained on the map.

However, if the Nohzan Kingdom was confident in its abilities to fight off another

undead invasion, they likely wouldn't offer any help to Brahniey, and the margrave

would be left with no choice but to try to fend off an army of 200,000 on his own.

This land had once belonged to the Nohzan Kingdom, after all, and it was his family

that had taken it from them. If Brahniey fell to the undead, the Nohzan Kingdom would

waste no time reclaiming it.

But why stop there? The capital of Larisa, and the whole Salma Kingdom, would likely

have fallen at that point.

The Salma Kingdom's capital was a port town, so the nobles would likely flee by ship,

but there wouldn't be enough citizens or soldiers left to defend against an attack by

the Nohzan Kingdom.

The world grew darker and darker the more the margrave thought about the future.

"Well, we can't just stand around and do nothing. I'll assemble a small group of soldiers

and head off to the Nohzan Kingdom myself. Joining forces is our best chance at

success, but if that turns out to be impossible, then I at least want to secure safe

passage for our citizens to seek refuge there. Time is running out for us."

The margrave looked up at the ceiling and shook his head, his face heavy with

exhaustion. Then he returned his gaze to his secretary.

"I leave the rest to you and the captain of the guards. You messengers will serve under

my secretary and do whatever she tells you. Our beloved Salma Kingdom may not

survive to see another year, but I hope that Brahniey will live on. That is up to you."

The messengers gulped audibly at this last part.

"Well, I'm off."

Margrave Brahniey grabbed his favorite cloak from where it hung on the wall and

abruptly left the room.

***

Back in Saureah, in the Nohzan Kingdom, a massive inner wall encircled the capital.

Atop this wall was a pathway made of stone and plaster, connecting multiple guard

towers at regular intervals. What the wall lacked in beauty, it more than made up for

it in defensive capabilities.

The guard towers were dimly lit, small slits providing their only illumination, in order

to keep out would-be invaders. In one of these guard towers, four figures sat around a

hastily constructed table that was little more than a flat board with four legs

haphazardly attached to it, one of which didn't even reach the ground. It hardly

seemed appropriate, considering who the figures were.

On one side sat King Asparuh, ruler of the Nohzan Kingdom, and his daughter, Princess

Riel. Behind them stood the princess's bodyguards, Zahar and Niena. Several advisors

watched from the corners of the room.

On the other side of the table sat Ariane, easily identifiable as a dark elf by her

amethyst skin, golden eyes, and snow-white hair tied back in a ponytail. Next to her,

in a rickety chair, was a knight in gleaming silver armor. That was me.

Chiyome, dressed in her usual all-black ninja garb—which matched her black hair,

catlike ears, and tail—stood a short distance behind us. She held Ponta tightly to her

chest. Chiyome practically melted into the darkness of the dimly lit room. However,

thanks to the purring furball in her arms, she wasn't too hard to find.

A certain tension hung over the room. Princess Riel broke the silence. "First off,

introductions. This is my father, king of Nohzan Kingdom."

The king bowed his head. "My name is Asparuh Nohzan Saureah. Be you elf or beast, I

am forever in your gratitude for heeding my daughter's call and saving our kingdom

in its darkest hour."

The king's humility caused a small ruckus among the advisors lining the room, but

silence soon returned.

I wasn't surprised by their reaction.

According to the teachings of the Hilk church, elves and mountain people were inferior

to humans, and subject to unending abuse at their hands. Seeing their king bow to

these "inferior" species had probably brought several to the edge of voicing their

objections, but it was clear that now was neither the time nor the place.

I could feel eyes wandering over to examine Ariane and me, but whenever I tried to

return the gaze, they quickly looked away.

Ariane smirked at this, her shoulders shaking gently in a silent laugh. After all, the

people in this room were acutely aware of the power we could unleash. They were

right to be afraid.

The fact that we wouldn't accept any sort of contempt or scorn toward other species

was undoubtedly to our advantage.

"I am Arc Lalatoya, sitting here on behalf of the Great Canada Forest. Next to me is…"

"Ariane Glenys Lalatoya." Ariane kept her own introduction short.

I turned my gaze to Chiyome, who was stroking Ponta's fur. Her ears twitched, but

there was no indication that she intended to speak, so I continued.

"The woman standing behind me is Chiyome."

"Kyii!" As soon as I finished introducing Chiyome, Ponta let out a sharp mew of selfintroduction, drawing the king's gaze.

"And that's Ponta."

King Asparuh inspected my face closely before turning to Ariane. "Are you two

husband and wife?"

"What?!"

The bemused expression disappeared from Ariane's face in an instant. She nearly fell

off her chair in shock.

"Whoa, wait a minute! Where did that come from?!"

The tips of her ears were burning red, though she tried to hide her embarrassment by

raising her voice. The advisors lining the wall behind the king all gasped. Princess Riel

also looked surprised.

"My apologies." The king smiled. "I merely assumed that since you have the same

family name…"

Ariane shot me an angry look.

Having spent a lot of time living among the elves, I'd become rather accustomed to

their naming system. But back here in the human world, the only people who shared

names were parents and siblings.

Now, as for why the king hadn't asked if we were siblings, I figured this was because

he'd seen my face earlier when I took off my helmet. Though Ariane and I were both

elves, we had different skin colors.

I leaned over and whispered to Ariane. "Here in the human world, usually only direct

familial relations share a name."

She frowned at this, but said no more.

She'd calmed down a bit, and the fear that had gripped the room seemed to subside. I

realized that the king's advisors were probably worried that if they upset her too much

she might use her magic on them, like she had with Palurumo.

I turned back to the king and tried explaining how things worked in elven society.

"We elves take on the name of the village we belong to."

The king seemed to understand. He bowed his head again. "I apologize for my

misunderstanding. I haven't had many opportunities to interact with the elves."

I gently waved it off. "Now, to the topic at hand…"

The atmosphere in the room suddenly became very tense again. It felt a bit like

gunboat diplomacy, but I wasn't going to let an opportunity go to waste.

"I'm sure you've already heard about this from Princess Riel, but we agreed to her

request for assistance on the condition that the living conditions for the elves and our

allies, the mountain people, be improved."

I paused there to gauge his reaction.

Though the reason why we'd agreed to save the capital had already been explained to

the king and his advisors, there seemed to be some surprise over the revelation that

Princess Riel had hired us.

"Yes, Riel told me the details of your payment. I give you my word, as king of this land,

that you will be properly compensated for your efforts. But I'd like you to reiterate

specifically what it is you want from us so that everyone may hear."

I glanced over at Ariane, but she gestured for me to continue.

"What we're asking is twofold. First, that we be allowed access to your vault, to look

around. Second, that you set all elves and mountain people free, and outlaw their

capture."

My demands seemed to cause a bit of controversy among the advisors, who began

murmuring among themselves. I couldn't entirely blame them. A mercenary

demanding they change the kingdom's laws as a form of payment was a bit much.

But I fully intended them to accept these terms, even if I needed to force the issue.

"We're talking about payment for saving your country from the very brink of

extinction. I understand your desire not to show favoritism, but we did a lot for you. I

don't think what we're asking for is unfair."

I spoke slowly and clearly, catching Princess Riel's gaze. She nodded.

"From the brink of extinction" was a direct reference to the battle we'd just fought, but

I'd also implied that we had the power to decide whether the country survived beyond

today.

I couldn't tell if King Asparuh had picked up on this nuance, however. Rather than

tensing up, as I'd expected, he simply smiled and nodded.

"Of course. There's nothing wrong with having your own demands. In fact, slavery of

elves and beastmen is prohibited within our country. Would it be sufficient for us to

hand over those who are being kept as slaves illegally?"

The advisors fell silent at this.

It seemed as if the king was willing to accept our terms. I turned to Ariane, who

nodded.

Now we just needed them to shake free of the Hilk religion that so firmly gripped their

city. But given the overwhelming resources available to the church, this was probably

a pipe dream.

Even if the people themselves demanded to part ways with the Hilk, it was unlikely to

happen. In fact, it might even lead to civil war, between those who wanted to stay with

the church and those who wanted to separate.

And it was all my doing.

Apparently, the commoners had determined that it was the Archangel Michael—a

messenger sent down from god—who'd destroyed the undead hordes. Of course, all

the high-ranking government officials in this room, along with members of the

military who'd been holding the lines during the retreat to the inner wall, knew the

truth. Though I imagined it was still difficult for them to believe that I, an elf, had called

down this angel.

There was also no shortage of people who'd witnessed Cardinal Palurumo transforming

into a monster. Rumors that the cardinal had been involved in some kind of black

magic, and had even been behind the attack on the capital, abounded.

The Hilk church was in a rather precarious position right now.

Though the commoners' faith in church officials was at an all-time low, the miracle

brought about by the angel's sudden appearance served as a strong counterbalance.

King Asparuh broke the silence.

"Assuming what you say about Palurumo is true, that means the pontiff himself was

behind the cardinal's monstrous form. That presents us with a rather… grave situation.

Hilk is by far the most powerful religion here on the northern continent. To claim that

the cardinals, those serving directly under the pontiff, are actually monsters… well,

that truth will be hard for many to swallow."

He let out a heavy sigh, adjusting himself in his chair, and leaned in close, holding my

gaze.

"There's one thing I'd like to ask of you, if I may. Cardinal Palurumo seemed familiar

with you, Arc. He said you'd fought another cardinal before. I assume this cardinal was

also a monster. How long have you known about their true forms?"

He sounded as though he suspected that the elves had known about the church's

machinations well in advance. However, it was pure coincidence that I'd run across

Cardinal Charros down in Tagent. In fact, it was Chiyome's search for Sasuke that had

led us to look into the Holy Hilk Kingdom in the first place.

I hesitated as I tried figuring out how best to answer the king's question. Ariane spoke

up before I had the chance.

"Our encounter with him was by chance. That said, it was inevitable that we would

uncover their plot."

She looked around the room, her golden gaze challenging everyone inside to speak up

against her. Several advisors let out hushed gasps and shrank back as her eyes locked

onto them.

Ariane didn't have a particularly high opinion of humans—especially nobles—due to

her experiences with them enslaving her people.

Human children seemed to be something of an exception, however. She seemed fairly

fond of Princess Riel at the very least.

The king eyed Ariane suspiciously. "And what do you mean by that?"

"I know little about the Hilk church and its teachings, but after witnessing Palurumo's

behavior, I could easily understand why they were so intent on removing elves and

mountain people from human society. He may have looked human to the rest of you,

but to us, it was obvious that he was undead."

A collective shudder rippled throughout the room. I heard several people swallow

hard. All eyes were on Ariane.

An older man stepped forward hesitantly. "You mean to say that you could tell Cardinal

Palurumo wasn't human the moment you saw him?"

"That's correct. No matter how well the undead conceal their appearance, it makes

little difference to elves. The church has been making you do their dirty work by

disposing of anyone capable of seeing through their illusions."

To be fair, I couldn't see through the illusions, either, but I didn't think that was

relevant right now.

Did Ariane really intend to make good on what she'd said after the battle with

Palurumo? About doing something about the Hilk church?

The older man slumped at Ariane's reply.

He was probably thinking about how they'd been played and preyed upon by the Hilk

church. They placed such a strong emphasis on demeaning the two—arguably

superior—species, that they were able to pull the wool over the eyes of the humans.

However, pushing this point further would likely only fan the flames of discontent and

distrust toward the elves. Though, considering I was sitting next to a woman who was

capable of causing the very city itself to be sucked up by the earth, I didn't think

anyone would fight back too hard.

But we'd gotten off track.

Ariane crossed her arms. "Shall we return to the subject at hand?"

"I think we can comfortably say that Cardinal Palurumo and the Holy Hilk Kingdom

were behind the plot to attack Saureah with the undead. We don't have much insight

into the inner workings of the Hilk, and can't speak to their intentions, but this most

recent incident has given us some ideas."

I turned my gaze to King Asparuh. He swallowed and motioned for me to continue.

Riel tensed slightly and put her hands to her chest, looking much like a young child

listening to a ghost story.

"When we encountered Cardinal Charros, he was also using a large army of undead to

lay waste to a town. At first, I wasn't sure why he would attack a city that had a church

in it, but perhaps the sheer number of undead we encountered here might offer an

explanation."

"You don't mean…" A voice spoke up out of the darkness before fading off midsentence.

On their own, there was simply no way this many undead would come together

naturally—and certainly not outfitted in military gear. Someone must have brought

them together.

Cardinal Palurumo had mentioned a power that was entrusted to him by the pontiff.

From that, we could assume that the pontiff was able to create undead. Taking it a step

further, that meant that both Palurumo and Charros were likely undead monsters

created by the pontiff.

And the base ingredient for them would have been…

Chiyome, who'd been listening quietly the whole time, butted in with a question of her

own. "So, my brother, and all of our comrades who've been taken off to the Holy Hilk

Kingdom, were…?"

I offered a weak nod.

"They were likely used to create the undead. According to the stories I heard in

Lamburt, the Holy Hilk Kingdom was buying up slaves and criminals en masse from

across the continent. The person I spoke to thought they were being used for manual

labor, but I'm not so sure anymore."

I decided to share my thoughts on the situation with everyone in the room. It might

influence whether they continued working with the Hilk church going forward.

Princess Riel appeared the most surprised by this information. "Oh, that's awful!

Father, we should cut ties with the Hilk at once!"

King Asparuh leaned back in his chair to look up at the ceiling, and to conceal his

expression from his concerned daughter. He tried his best to calm the situation.

"Things aren't so simple, Riel…"

The vast majority of the citizens in Nohzan, as well as many other human countries,

were followers of the Hilk religion. It would be hard to convince the ardent believers

that leaving the church was the right course of action.

Even without the recent wave of fanaticism caused by the angel sightings, this would

be no easy task.

If the king were to use his power to force a separation between church and state

without explaining the situation to his people, a rebellion was all but assured.

Depending on how large such a rebellion grew, the country itself could be torn apart,

or the monarchy overthrown.

Moreover, assuming that the Holy Hilk Kingdom had been behind this all along, would

they really just let the Nohzan Kingdom cut off all ties without taking further action?

It was more likely that they would either launch a second wave of attacks or find

another way to apply pressure.

Even if the Nohzan Kingdom found a way to successfully appeal to its neighbors

regarding the Holy Hilk Kingdom, would they even believe it? Here in this world,

where communication was still rather primitive, it would take days just to send a

message.

The Hilk had us between a rock and a hard place.

The advisors seemed to have finally absorbed the gravity of the situation. They began

talking animatedly among themselves, each voicing their own thoughts on the matter.

However, it was clear to me that we weren't going to arrive at a conclusion anytime

soon.

Of course, there was a rather simple solution, but those who'd spent their whole lives

believing in Hilk faith would be hesitant to present it. Alas, I wasn't in a position to say

anything without first consulting with Dillan, and even he might need to talk things

over with those above him.

"What about asking for assistance from our allies in the Rhoden Kingdom?"

The advisors seemed receptive to this idea, but skeptical at the same time as to what

kind of assistance the Rhoden Kingdom, separated by a vast body of water, would be

willing to offer them.

Princess Riel looked back and forth between her father and me, tears in her eyes. "Wh-

wh-what should we do, then?"

I figured it was time I returned this conversation back to the matter of our payment.

"It's unlikely that we can come to a solution right now regarding your country and the

Hilk church. But as a preliminary measure, I think it would do some good to announce

to the public who was behind this attack. You should also start publicly rounding up

church officials, to see what you can learn from them. After all, there may still be some

undead in your midst, pretending to be human."

The young princess looked up at her father as he put his hand to his chin, mulling over

my suggestions. He looked at me and scowled.

"We will round up the church officials for questioning, but I would want you to be

there."

His request made sense. After all, it was rather unlikely that anyone would give

themselves up under questioning alone.

Only elves and mountain people could see through an undead's disguise. Though, to

be honest, I doubted there was anyone else hiding within the capital. Anyone able to

blend in with everyday people would almost certainly have fled the capital after the

cardinal's fall.

Still, I didn't want to turn down an opportunity to generate some goodwill.

"Do you mind if I leave it to you, Ariane and Chiyome?"

Chiyome responded with a quick nod, but Ariane hesitated.

"Why are you dumping all the pointless jobs off onto us? What gives, Arc?"

A wave of concern washed over me at how brazenly she referred to the king's request

as "pointless."

"I was thinking that I would eliminate any of the undead still within the city limits."

With that, I stood from my seat and picked up my Holy Thunder Sword of Caladbolg

and Holy Shield of Teutates and put them on my back.

It wasn't like I could see if someone was undead or not. I might as well use my time

effectively and help mop up the undead soldiers still wandering between the inner

and outer walls. Since most of the undead kills I'd racked up had been unfairly

attributed to the angel I'd called down, a part of me wanted to try to even the score.

Besides, having an elf like me join in the defense of the capital could help our image,

though I wasn't sure how effective it would be if I wore my helmet the whole time.

The king spoke, interrupting my train of thought. "I greatly appreciate your offer, Arc,

but I'd like to leave the city intact this time."

I could feel everyone's eyes on me.

They were probably afraid that I would summon an angel again and blow the whole

city away in my attempt to rid the capital of the undead. Alas, that wouldn't do a lot of

good for improving elven relations.

"You have no need to worry, I won't do anything drastic this time around. I'll just be

walking the streets, waving my sword around."

I made to leave the room. Ponta hopped out of Chiyome's arms, summoned up a gust

of magical wind, and glided over to its rightful place atop my head.

"Kyii!"

"You coming, too, buddy?"

Ponta thumped its cotton-like tail excitedly against the back of my head.

After leaving the tower behind, I made my way toward a building where a large

number of soldiers were standing guard. Several citizens pointed and whispered at

the sight of me, a large, armored stranger.

The local troops would be more than capable of handling the run-of-the-mill undead

soldiers, so I figured eliminating any remaining man-spiders would be the best use of

my time. I turned toward the gate that closed the old town district off from the outside

world.

Hopefully, I could get this out of the way before sunset.

I started walking.

***

The sky above Saureah grew dark, the buildings casting long shadows out into the

streets, announcing the end of the last day of the siege.

From my perch atop one of the tallest buildings in the area, I gazed upward. With a

flick of my wrist, I cast off the remaining flashes of electricity that ran along the body

of my Holy Thunder Sword of Caladbolg and slid the blade into its sheath on my back

with a long sigh.

Down below, I could see countless soldiers patrolling the streets.

Thanks to Dimensional Step, I was able to quickly make my way around the city and

wipe out the powerful man-spiders that still lurked within it. The soldiers were able

to clear out the city without incurring any major casualties.

Due to their size, it was relatively easy to spot the man-spiders from a higher vantage.

Furthermore, without Cardinal Palurumo to serve as a central point of command, they

seemed to have lost much of their focus and were fairly easy to kill.

I was pretty sure I'd found almost all the man-spiders out there, but it would likely be

a few days before the king could safely open the gate to the inner wall. The capital was

vast, containing countless streets and alleyways where undead might hide. The

soldiers and guards had a monumental task ahead of them.

Once the majority of the city was cleared out, and the people began moving back into

their homes, the next stage of work would begin.

"Kyiiiiiiiiii…"

Ponta let out a long, hollow mew from atop my helmet, interrupting my thoughts. It

was time to finish up here and get some dinner.

"Wanna go and see what Ariane and Chiyome are up to?"

"Kyii! Kyii!"

Ponta wagged its bushy tail excitedly.

I was teleporting from rooftop to rooftop using Dimensional Step, slowly making my

way back along the inner wall, when I spotted some lit torches.

I quickly teleported down to street level and started walking toward the gate, greeting

the soldiers I saw. Most of them saluted, freezing in place until I passed. Whether that

was a good or bad thing, I couldn't say.

I weaved my way between the soldiers standing guard and entered the old town

district through the small passageway next to the gate. Once on the other side, I heard

two people call out to me.

"Took you a while."

"Welcome back, Arc."

They were Ariane and Chiyome.

"The city is a lot bigger than I would have imagined. This will definitely be a multi-day

job."

After giving them a rough overview of my exploits hunting the undead, I asked how

things had gone with them.

"Did you find any other undead members of the church?"

They exchanged looks.

Ariane shook her head. "We met with everyone affiliated with the church, but there

wasn't a single undead among them." She sounded tired. "However…"

Chiyome picked up where Ariane had trailed off. "However, some church officials

couldn't be found. They either died during the attack or escaped once news got out

that Cardinal Palurumo was dead."

While it seemed unlikely that all the people who'd disappeared were undead, it was a

fair bet that at least a few of them were.

"As with Tagent, it's probably best to assume that news of the events here has reached

the Holy Hilk Kingdom."

They both nodded in agreement. After all, Cardinal Palurumo had been fairly wellinformed about who'd killed Charros on the southern continent. Going forward, the

watchful eye of the Holy Hilk Kingdom would only grow more intense. They might

even decide to do away with us.

I'd become what I'd hoped to avoid most: infamous.

Ariane tapped her index finger against the side of her head. "This pontiff guy of the

Holy Hilk Kingdom… what's he up to? You'd think he'd be too important to worry

about a few people like us."

All I could do was shrug. "That's true."

But considering the power the three of us had combined, we'd be able to deal with

most threats thrown our way.

"Kyii!"

Okay, the four of us.

I reached up and scratched Ponta's chin, wondering if there were any threats out there

that we couldn't handle.

Even if we were able to deal with the immediate threats, I couldn't help but feel

incredibly shorthanded with just the three of us—plus Ponta—around.

I glanced over at Chiyome, who'd been deep in thought ever since we started this

conversation. She frowned as she gazed off into the distance, her expression sad.

"What's wrong, Chiyome?"

Her cat ears batted about for a moment, then her face returned to its usual calm look.

She shrugged. "It's nothing, really…"

Ariane's golden eyes met Chiyome's azure ones. After a moment of silence, Chiyome

spoke again.

"Does that mean the undead soldiers we were fighting were my friends? The ones

captured by the Hilk?"

Ariane and I exchanged glances.

The majority of the undead soldiers had been outfitted in armor, beneath which was

nothing but a skeleton, like me. It seemed likely that these skeletons had all been

human, but considering their vast numbers, it wasn't impossible that there were dead

elves and mountain people among them.

The Hilk church taught that all mountain people and elves should be banished from

human society. So what happened to those who were banished?

"If they were your friends, then putting them out of their misery is the best thing we

could do for them."

Chiyome looked at me in silence, her ears tilted to the side, then dropped her gaze to

her hands. Was she thinking about Sasuke?

With her own hands, Chiyome had ended the life of a man she'd thought of as family.

She of all people had every reason to hate the Hilk.

Ariane wrapped an arm around Chiyome's shoulders. The younger woman looked up,

her ears twitching. Ponta batted its ears in sympathy.

The silence continued for some time, until it was broken by a stifled laugh.

Turning my head, I spotted Zahar.

"So, there you are. Words alone can't express the gratitude I owe you for what you did

today. I know it's only a token of our appreciation, but the palace chef has prepared a

small feast. We would be honored if you could come."

Ponta puffed out its chest and mewed loudly in excitement.

I glanced over to Ariane. She nodded.

Of course, I'd need to drink some of the mystical water from the spring near the Lord

Crown to change back from my skeleton form before we could sit down to eat with

anyone. There was also the risk of the effect wearing off in the middle of dinner, which

had already happened once.

It might have been better to bow out of dinner entirely, but who knew when I'd have

a chance to eat the cuisine of a palace chef again?

Imagining a delicious meal after a hard day's work, I could practically hear my nonexistent stomach growling.

"I've made arrangements to call upon several people once you're done. The king has

approved your first payment, so you may go into the national vault. But I want to

confirm that you only have plans to look around, is that correct?"

Zahar seemed rather confused on this last point, but Chiyome nodded.

Ariane explained. "Thank you. And yes, we only intend to look. We seek a clue."

"I see…" Zahar said, under his breath. He pulled a young soldier out from his shadow

and pushed him toward us. "He will guide you."

With that, Zahar gave a quick bow and left us with our guide. I imagined that a man of

his status must have a lot to do.

We followed the young soldier as he marched jerkily through the halls, leading us to

our destination.

We eventually found ourselves in a large guest room built into one of the corners of

the palace. The room was large, and ornately decorated. A huge dining table adorned

with a vast array of food served as the focal point.

There was more than enough food for the four of us. I estimate that the table was

meant to sit at least thirty.

I couldn't help but wonder how they'd managed to secure this much food for us after

the siege they'd just endured. Even if we were honored guests, it still seemed a bit

much.

That alone made me not want to leave anything behind… though eating like gluttons

also felt wrong, given that there were probably people out in the city going hungry

tonight.

It was hard to say what the right thing to do was. I mean, it wasn't like we could just

go around the castle and ask if anyone wanted to eat.

Two maidservants stood against one of the walls, but we told them they weren't

needed. They hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to do, so I slipped them a coin

as a tip and sent them on their way.

While I knew coins were immensely valuable here, coming from a mostly paper-based

economy, I felt like I'd just handed them a 500-yen coin while acting like a high roller.

I shook my head and looked around the ornately decorated room once again.

It seemed likely that we'd be spending the night in the palace.

I couldn't be sure how the rest of the evening would play out, so I figured it'd be a good

idea to teleport back to the shrine near the Lord Crown and get some fresh spring

water.

"Kyii! Kyii!"

I looked over to find Ponta excitedly inspecting the food.

"Ponta… you're not supposed to be walking around on the table like that."

After chastising my partner, I took a small plate and started filling it with food. I could

only imagine the looks the maidservants would have given us if they were still in the

room.

After dinner, we would make our way to the vault to try to pick up Sasuke's trail. I

glanced over at Chiyome to find her nibbling at a piece of food. After taking a second,

tentative bite, she popped the whole thing into her mouth.

Checking for poison perhaps. To be fair, that was certainly a possibility.

I glanced over at Ponta to find my fuzzy partner ravenously chomping down on the

food I'd given it earlier, its cheeks puffed out like a squirrel.

I chuckled at the sight. Ponta looked at me curiously, and I gave its cheeks a light prod

before turning back to Chiyome.

She seemed to be doing all right.

Tracing Sasuke's steps had brought us to the Nohzan Kingdom in the first place, but

after our encounter with Cardinal Palurumo, looking for clues in the vault felt less

pressing.

After all, Palurumo transforming into his undead form had pretty much told us

everything, from the truth about the monster I'd encountered in Tagent to the fact that

the pontiff was the one who'd given them their power.

We'd suspected the Holy Hilk Kingdom was somehow behind Sasuke's transformation,

and that was all but confirmed now.

Was Chiyome still thinking about avenging her brother?

It seemed unlikely that our small party would be able to overthrow the whole Holy

Hilk Kingdom. As well, if the pontiff could use teleportation magic, as Palurumo had

said, we wouldn't even be able to escape him if we got ourselves into trouble.

After we looked through the vault, we would need to discuss our plan of action.

Ariane and Chiyome were talking animatedly about something, so I turned my

attention back to my own food and brought a forkful of meat up to my mouth. It was

nice and chewy, with an earthy taste from the vegetable sauce coating it. I had no idea

what kind of meat it was, but it was good.

I grabbed a bowl of orange soup. There were several sliced root vegetables inside,

giving it a relatively simple appearance, but the soup itself tasted strongly of meat. It

had a nice aftertaste that reminded me more of fresh herbs than traditional spices. It

was delicious.

I've always really enjoyed soup, so I hoped I could get someone to teach me the recipe.

I grabbed a piece of bread and let the soup soften it before popping it into my mouth.

A marvelous flavor danced on my tongue.

I devoured the rest of the bread and let my eyes glide up the walls to the vaulted

ceiling, where I caught sight of a painting.

It was an incredibly detailed depiction of a religious scene, filled will people living out

their everyday lives. At the top were winged creatures—angels perhaps—watching

over everyone. Nearby, skeletons dressed in rags were presided over by a god of death.

It looked like a scene from a story I hadn't heard yet.

There was something about the way the skeletons were depicted that made me

wonder: Just who—and what, for that matter—was the pontiff of the Holy Hilk

Kingdom?

From what I knew of his abilities, he could best be described as a necromancer.

A necromancer of the cloth? Now that was either a great piece of irony, or a sign that

the gods had a sense of humor. Though, as a skeleton Paladin, I wasn't really in a

position to say anything.

While the necromancers in the game were usually limited to summoning undead

monsters to fight on their behalf, the pontiff was able to control them completely.

Depending on how he chose to use his powers, he could very well conquer the whole

world.

If the undead we'd encountered here in Saureah were all that he had at his disposal,

then we might actually have a chance. But considering what we'd witnessed back in

Tagent, that seemed unlikely.

Rather than focus on the negative, I decided to turn my attention back to the delicious

food in front of me.

We could deal with the rest once I had a full stomach.

***

We wound up polishing off pretty much everything except the bread.

It was incredibly rare to see Ariane and Chiyome eat human food, much less human

food fit for a king. They tried everything.

After eating its fill, Ponta collapsed on top of the table and took a nap, snoring lightly.

I ate more than everyone else. Since skeletons like myself didn't have to worry about

their figure, and since I had some sort of fourth-dimensional stomach that sent

whatever I ate to who-knows-where, I could eat as much as I wanted. I counted myself

lucky.

We relaxed for about an hour or so after dinner, sipping tea until a guard came to our

room to escort us to the vault.

"Please follow me." She offered a smart salute before turning on a heel and marching

out of the room.

Ariane let out a large yawn and hugged the snoring Ponta even closer as she gently

stroked its fur.

Chiyome, cool as ever, rubbed absentmindedly at her stomach. It looked like she might

have eaten a bit more than she'd intended.

Our guide led us along a complicated route deeper and deeper into the castle. It almost

felt like we were making our way through a maze.

All the twists and turns down various hallways made sense to me, but I was surprised

when we suddenly descended a stairwell. For a moment, I thought the guard was

playing with us.

At every major corridor we passed, the guards would trade off, and a new one would

guide us, suggesting that none of them actually knew the entire route to the vault. This

level of complexity made sense. No doubt the king wanted to avoid anyone breaking

into the royal vault at all costs.

It was a simple, but effective, security measure.

"It's quite impressive that Sasuke managed to make it all the way here on his own…" I

muttered.

I glanced over at Chiyome. Her chest puffed out ever so slightly in pride.

I truly was curious how Sasuke had managed not only to navigate past all the guards

unseen, but also to do it all over again on the way out. How was that even possible?

If it had been me, I would almost certainly have been found by the very first guard and

then just brute-forced my way through waves of soldiers until I reached the vault.

I clearly wasn't suited for spy work or heists.

We arrived at a door deep within the castle—in some kind of basement, maybe?—that

looked like it might lead to a vault.

The walls and floor were made of heavy stone slabs. The guard standing watch over

the door snapped to attention when she heard the echoes of our footsteps.

Come to think of it, the floor also served as a tool to detect approaching intruders.

The guard swung the door open and waved us inside. We found ourselves in a spacious

hall with yet another door at the far end of it.

We weren't alone. A familiar figure stood in the middle of the long hall: Princess Riel.

Gone was the simple dress she'd worn when we met her, replaced with an elegant

gown the color of the morning sky. Small, jeweled ornaments adorned her curly

blonde hair, pinning it up in the back to expose her neck. She truly looked like royalty.

Behind her were her ever-present bodyguards, Zahar and Niena. They were outfitted

in splendid military uniforms decorated with various medals and insignia. It was

definitely a step up from the plain garb they'd been wearing before.

Apparently, they were here to supervise our tour of the vault. But why was Riel with

them?

"What brings you here, princess?"

"I was the one who made this agreement with you, wasn't I? So I must honor my

promise! Besides, I have Father's permission." She spoke in a proud, dignified tone.

Glancing over her shoulder, I caught a hint of annoyance on Zahar's face. I got the

impression that the king had relented rather than agreed to this.

"We've never let visitors into the vault before, so Father said that if a member of the

royal family accompanies them, that will prevent similar requests in the future."

Royal palaces varied wildly when it came to rules and customs. Even if the princess

herself had promised us access to the vault, we were still outsiders. It was in their best

interest not to set a precedent with us.

It was difficult for a commoner like me to understand fully, but judging from Ariane's

reaction, this all made sense to her. Perhaps it was because elven villages tended to be

enclosed, self-sufficient units.

Zahar spoke up, locking eyes with each of us in turn.

"Let's get down to it, shall we? I doubt you're thinking of stealing anything, but all the

same, I'd appreciate it if you stayed in sight."

We each nodded.

Not only did we have no interest in stealing anything, none of us were even armed.

Zahar and Niena would have no problem putting an end to any funny business.

But I was interested in seeing what kind of treasures a kingdom collected.

The door stood directly ahead of us. It took up almost the entire width of the hallway,

and was made entirely of reinforced metal. It looked more like the gate to a fortress.

Six guards, lined up shoulder to shoulder on either side of the hallway, stood watch

over the entrance to the vault. They saluted Riel as she walked over and handed one

of them a pair of keys. The guard slid them into the massive lock and gave them each

a full turn. A loud clunk resonated through the hall, followed by another. The guards

began pulling the heavy metal door open.

A low gasp escaped my mouth. I could feel my pulse quicken as I watched all of these

security measures. Just how had Sasuke managed to sneak into this place?

Zahar's gaze met mine. "We've improved our security since the incident with the

intruder."

Well, that made sense. They'd probably never expected any thieves to make it all the

way to the vault… until a lone ninja had slipped past their defenses.

I began wondering what had become of the guards charged with watching over the

vault during the incident.

One of the guards activated some sort of magical lighting device, bathing the vault in

a dim glow.

"After you." With a wave of his hand, Zahar urged Riel into the room, with us in tow.

An ornately decorated room, crammed full of jewels and works of art… was what I'd

been expecting. Instead, we were met with statues, cloths draped over them to keep

away the dust. Paintings in intricately decorated frames were tightly wrapped up to

keep them protected from the elements.

I couldn't spot any gold or other treasure out in the open. Best I could tell, it was all

locked away in simple wooden chests stacked neatly on shelves.

The room itself lacked any decoration. The walls were made of plain stone, and simple

pillars held the magical lights. It was more like a large storehouse than the exquisite

treasure vault I'd been looking forward to. In fact, the hidden room we'd broken into

back in Diento was a lot more impressive than this.

With Riel's permission, we started looking through several of the wooden chests. At

least their contents proved that we were in the right place—they were positively

brimming with gold, silver, gems, and decorative items. Their contents ranged from

bizarre wooden idols that looked practically worthless to large, translucent jewels the

size of coconuts.

"Hmm…"

"Kyiiii…"

We walked around the storehouse for a bit, but there didn't seem to be anything here

that hinted at where Sasuke might have gone next.

Considering that this world largely lacked in forensic science, and that I wasn't much

of a detective, I realized it was rather naï ve of me to think we might find clues here. In

that respect, it was rather fortuitous that we'd run across Cardinal Palurumo.

Riel watched with great curiosity as I wandered around the room. It must have seemed

rather absurd to her that we had no clear objective.

I checked in with Ariane and Chiyome, but they'd also come up empty-handed.

There wasn't even a hint of dust on the floor or shelves, and therefore no fingerprints

or footprints to follow.

I ran a finger along one of the shelves in the back, and it didn't even leave a trail.

I turned to Zahar. "It's awfully clean in here…"

His face was grave. "After we discovered that there had been an intruder, we went

through every single item in the vault and checked it against our records to see if

anything had been stolen. The decision was made to clean the vault at that time."

I stared back at him in disbelief. "You mean that you have a record of everything in

here?"

Zahar nodded. He directed me to a shelf in one corner of the vault.

At first glance, I'd thought it was full of spell books or forbidden tomes, but apparently

it was just a catalog of everything in the vault. It would take ages to make it through

every single book, so I decided to skim as best I could instead.

Princess Riel spoke up. "Now that you mention it, while no items had been taken from

the vault, I remember hearing that the record books had been thrown about. Isn't that

right?"

One of the guards grabbed a book and handed it to me. "That's right. We found this

one sitting on the top shelf, wide open."

I took the book from the guard and opened it. Inside, I found a drawing of something

I'd seen before.

"Chiyome…"

Chiyome looked over at the page I was pointing to. Her azure eyes went wide.

The drawing was of one of the items located within the vault: a diamond-shaped gem.

Next to it were comments about the gem's unique characteristics. This was, without a

doubt, one of the Jinshin clan's mystical treasures, a pledge spirit crystal.

I showed the book to Zahar. "Is this gem still here in the vault?"

He consulted several other books on the shelf before finally shaking his head. "According

to our records, this was given to the Holy Hilk Kingdom. It's no longer in our vault."

Chiyome and I locked eyes. This pretty much confirmed that Sasuke was the one who'd

snuck in here. He must have entered the vault, seen that the pledge spirit crystal was

with the Holy Hilk Kingdom, and made his way there. That's when the pontiff had

ensnared him. At least, that was my best guess.

Chiyome gazed down at the drawing for some time before closing her eyes, her

thoughts undoubtedly on the now-deceased Sasuke.

Niena, who'd been watching us in silence, suddenly narrowed her eyes, took a step

forward, and drew her blade. She fixed Chiyome with a steely glare.

"I knew there was something strange about you. You know the beastman that infiltrated

the castle last time, don't you? Breaking into the royal family's sacred vault is

inexcusable! Tell me what's going on, and what your connection is with that thief!"

Riel went pale, looking back and forth between me and her bodyguard, trying to make

sense of the situation.

Niena had to know that she wouldn't stand a chance in a fight with Chiyome. She'd

seen the power the cat girl could wield. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that the

hilt of her sword was trembling.

Zahar was trying to get Niena to stand down, but Chiyome threw more fuel on the fire.

"Assuming I did know this person, what are you going to do about it?"

Her azure gaze was as cold as ice, each spoken syllable literally chilling the air around

us. Her breath came out in white puffs that reflected the magical lantern light.

Everyone in the room froze, like frogs facing a snake poised to strike.

Chiyome, deep in her grief over Sasuke, didn't seem to be in the mood for Niena's rude

treatment. She slowly approached the bodyguard, leaving frosty footprints on the

stone floor behind her.

The room had gone completely quiet, as if the air itself was frozen. Chiyome's voice

cut through this crisp silence with all the bite of an icicle.

"Do you even know where this came from, before it ended up in your precious vault?

Do you have any idea why my people hide in the mountains? Do you ever think about

the sins you humans have committed by hunting, capturing, and enslaving my

people?"

Sweat beaded on the back of Niena's neck as she tried, and failed, to stammer out a

response. "I… Well, I…"

I decided I had to put a stop to this before it escalated further. The rage welling within

Chiyome was palpable.

"I think that's enough, Chiyome."

The temperature in the room seemed to warm by several degrees as she eased up.

"Princess Riel has already promised that all the enslaved mountain people in the

capital will be released tomorrow, so there's no point in you and Niena having it out.

The more pressing matter is deciding what to do with your newly freed comrades."

Chiyome was in the right, and she deserved answers to her questions. But violence

would only harm our cause.

"The mountain people are being freed tomorrow, right, princess?"

The young girl snapped back to her senses. She nodded several times in quick

succession.

"Th-that's right! Father will gather everyone in the square in front of the castle and

make an announcement!"

Chiyome closed her eyes and let out a deep breath.

The frost on the stone floor melted away and the fog that had begun filling the room

faded. Princess Riel and the other humans let out audible sighs of relief.

"I'm sorry, Arc. I kind of lost control just now. I think I'd like to be alone for a bit."

Chiyome gave a quick bow before heading for the door. I glanced over at Ponta, who

was snuggled tight in Ariane's arms.

"I've got a job for you, buddy. Can you keep an eye on her for me?"

"Kyii!"

Ponta let out an excited mew and took off after Chiyome, pawing at her tail. The ninja

girl leaned down, picked Ponta up, and made her way out of the room.

I looked at Riel and her bodyguards apologetically. "I'm sorry about all that. It's just

that the gem depicted in this book is sacred to her clan. I don't know how it ended up

here in the first place, but given the strained relations between mountain people and

humans, I doubt it was under pleasant circumstances."

Zahar bowed his head. "I didn't know we even had such a thing. I'm truly sorry, Arc."

Princess Riel hurried over to stand in front of her bodyguard.

"No need to apologize. There's nothing that can be done about it now. Chiyome is just

in a bit of a bad spot."

The events surrounding what was supposed to be our payment had all gotten bent out

of shape. I was hoping to get them back on track.

While everyone still looked uncertain as to what to do next, I tried to brush the whole

thing off. All the slaves in the capital would be set free tomorrow, and slavery would

be formally declared illegal, except in cases where the person had been convicted of a

crime. Still, the barriers between the two species weren't just going to disappear

overnight.

For those who'd spent years living under oppression, and those who'd profited from

that oppression, trust would be a long time coming. Chiyome and Niena were the

perfect example of that.

Riel looked up at me, her steely gray eyes brimming with tears. "I'm truly sorry about

that, Arc! I'll give Niena a stern talking to later tonight."

Niena closed her eyes in shame at the sight of her young master having to apologize

on her behalf. She tried hiding her embarrassment by casting her gaze down.

When I stepped out of the vault, I found Chiyome standing next to the door, Ponta held

tightly in her arms.

"I'm sorry, Arc."

Her cat ears were practically lying flat on top of her head, and her tail drooped

lifelessly behind her.

I brushed it off with a wave of my hand. "There's nothing for you to apologize for,

Chiyome."

She shook her head and stared down at her feet.

Ponta let out a low purr in an attempt to soothe the young girl's torment.

Chiyome was a warrior, of course, but at the end of the day, she was still a child. She

didn't quite have the coping skills to let insults slide.

In a weird way, it was comforting to see that the emotional side of her still existed.

"We'll have our work cut out for us tomorrow, finding homes for all the former

slaves—either in the hidden village or in the new one under construction. It'll be a

busy day."

I tried keeping my tone light, but I accidentally let out a heavy sigh as I thought of all

that we had to do. This brought a small smile to Chiyome's face.

"Anyway, we've had a long day." Ariane squeezed Chiyome's shoulder. "What do you

say we go to bed? They seem happy to let us stay here in the castle, but I was thinking

maybe we could head back to the village for the night."

Ever the observant one, Ariane sensed that having Chiyome sleep in a room provided

by humans wasn't going to help her relax, and instead suggested I teleport us back to

the village.

But Chiyome shook her head and clutched Ponta tighter to her chest. "Don't worry

about me. We should just go to bed now so that we'll be well-rested for tomorrow."

Ariane gazed deeply into Chiyome's eyes, then took her hand and began leading her

away.

"All right then. You can stay in my bed tonight, and Arc will… sleep in another room or

something, I guess."

Ariane spoke in a cheery but decisive tone—there was no room for argument.

Chiyome's eyes went wide at this, but she conceded with a nod of her head.

Since Ponta was still firmly buried in her arms, it looked like I'd be sleeping alone

tonight. Glancing down the hall, I could see faint moonlight cascading through the

narrow window slits.

When I woke the next morning, the sky was a sea of ashy clouds. It was hardly an

auspicious start to the day that would see the freedom of all mountain people in

Nohzan.

The undead cleanup operations were still underway, so the majority of the citizens

were crowded into the old town district. Everyone was making do as best they could,

but it was clearly a trying time for all.

Still, the crowds looked slightly more cheerful than the foreboding sky.

The streets buzzed with gossip about the mass destruction outside the city walls and

bustled with soldiers clearing out the remaining undead.

There were even a few ordinary citizens who expressed interest in going out to the

new town district and seeing the undead for themselves. It was beginning to look like

life was returning to the city.

I caught snatches of conversation about the city's restoration and rumblings about the

mountain people being set free. This wasn't a leak, but rather information that Zahar

had given to a select few in advance, to start preparing people for the new reality.

"I heard that while we were rushing back with reinforcements, they were running

short on soldiers here in the capital and starting mobilizing the slaves that had been

hidden from the Hilk church." Zahar frowned, trying hard to keep his face neutral.

"However, I can't help but wonder if any of the beastmen were planning to use this as

their opportunity to escape. There might even be some who fled as soon as the fighting

ended. That's why I started the rumor… to try to put any beastmen still in the capital

at ease."

There was a certain logic behind his plan.

We were standing with Zahar on the second floor of a large reception hall built next

to the castle, looking out over a sprawling garden below.

Commoners would never be allowed to enter the castle grounds under normal

circumstances, but right now, the garden was packed with mountain people. Zahar

estimated that there were around a thousand.

The crowd only consisted of those who were physically able to attend. There were

undoubtedly more throughout the city. However, the goal was to make sure at least

some mountain people heard the proclamation from the king himself. After that, they

could tell the rest of their comrades. At least, that was the plan.

Chiyome looked excitedly out the window at all the people assembled in the garden.

Zahar approached her. "I'd like to apologize to you for Niena's actions yesterday."

Chiyome's expression remained neutral as she watched the goings-on below. Ariane

looked over at me, silently urging me to say something.

"Chiyome doesn't seem too troubled over the situation, so please don't worry about

it." I decided to change the subject. "By the way, where is Niena? I haven't seen her

around. Is she with the princess?"

This elicited a chagrined look from Zahar as he scratched the back of his head. "After

what happened last night, Princess Riel took her back into her room for a thorough

lashing. Niena is reflecting on what she did."

I heard faint gasps from Ariane and Chiyome's direction. When I looked over, they both

quickly averted their eyes.

"That must be tough."

I imagined the young Princess Riel giving her tough bodyguard a whipping. With each

lash, Niena's face flushed pink as she shouted an apology. I knew of a few people who

might find this image rather exciting.

Zahar's cough brought my mind out of the gutter.

"Do you have any ill will toward the mountain people, Zahar?"

He let out a short, self-deprecating laugh. "Niena and I are different in that respect. I'm

the simple son of villagers. She's nobility. When I was a child, I had some non-human

friends I'd play with in the woods. They helped me out of a lot of dangerous situations.

I paid it back whenever I could by telling them where the slave hunters made their

rounds."

Zahar offered a slight bow of his head.

I wanted to ask what had become of his friends, but judging by the look on his face, it

seemed like that was a topic better left alone. I nodded.

"I see…"

Several trumpeters snapped to attention in the corners of the garden and blew a few

sharp notes. The crowd fell silent. All eyes focused forward.

After the fanfare, King Asparuh appeared on the large, second floor balcony, flanked

on either side by guards. One of them belted out an introduction.

"Asparuh Nohzan Saureah, honorable king of the Nohzan Kingdom, presents himself

before you!"

Most of the mountain people crowded into the garden had probably never even seen

the king before. A frenzied murmur broke out among them as they speculated about

whether this was actually the king.

Asparuh took a step forward and approached the railing of the balcony so he could

look down over the mountain people gathered before him. After a short pause, he

began speaking.

"First off, I would like to thank you all for coming. As you all know, up until just a few

days ago, our kingdom stood on the brink of destruction. It is only through your

concerted efforts that we are still here. I offer you my thanks on behalf of the entire

Nohzan Kingdom."

The mountain people exchanged confused glances. They weren't sure how to feel

about a human king personally thanking them for their sacrifices. Something like this

had never happened before.

Several of them were clearly angry at the king's words, their faces twisting into scowls.

For them, such words rang hollow, coming from a man who only saw fit to use them

as fodder, when human existence itself was threatened. However, the armed guards

around the garden's perimeter kept them from spitting or jeering at the king.

"I'm sure several of you have already heard the rumors, but I would like to assure you

that the hordes of undead that fell upon our capital are now almost entirely gone, with

only a few pockets of resistance remaining. I am confident that they will soon be wiped

out and life will return to normal—nay, better than normal—for you here in the

capital."

A small but hearty cheer erupted from the crowd.

"I am only standing before you today thanks to the tremendous efforts of my daughter

Riel, who recruited three fine heroes to save our city from almost certain destruction.

I owe these heroes a debt of gratitude that I fear I can never repay, but I have promised

that I would do my best."

A commotion broke out among the crowd at this. It was hard to imagine that three

people alone could have saved the city.

Some of the people wondered whether the danger facing them had been overblown,

if three people had been able to handle it. Others suggested that perhaps there'd been

no attack in the first place. However, these theories were quickly shouted down by

those who'd witnessed the undead hordes with their own eyes.

A few in the audience asked why they'd been gathered just to hear about these three

heroes. Various theories were shot back and forth. Many spoke of the heroic deeds

they witnessed.

Also, I couldn't help but notice that the story had been changed to Princess Riel heading

off with the express purpose of hiring mercenaries, rather than just happening to

stumble across us while she was fleeing the kingdom. It sounded better that way.

"The reward these heroes asked of me is simple. They want all the enslaved elves and

beast people within our fair kingdom to be immediately set free, and for the law to

change so that the owning of slaves be expressly forbidden. I promised to do so, and

hereby announce that such a law will be enacted at once."

Silence fell over the crowd for the briefest of moments before they erupted, clamoring

among themselves while the king watched. While many had already heard the rumors

of emancipation, it was another thing entirely to hear it from the lips of the king. Given

what they'd been through, I understood why this news might seem hard to believe.

That said, knowing that their freedom had been insisted upon by outsiders changed

the situation.

"And now, I would like to introduce these three heroes to you! Coming all the way from

the Great Canada Forest, the elven soldiers, Arc Lalatoya and Ariane Glenys Lalatoya!"

As soon as he announced our names, Ariane and I stepped out on the balcony on either

side of him. The crowd began murmuring anew at the sight of us.

Even though we'd discussed how this would all play out beforehand, I still didn't feel

comfortable being the center of attention. Sure, it was probably the same amount of

people I'd normally encounter simply walking through a square on any normal day of

the week, but it somehow felt more intimidating when accompanied by a royal

introduction.

The murmuring grew louder as some people recognized us from our battle with

Cardinal Palurumo.

"Can you believe it? Elves saved a human country from destruction!"

"Hey, ya think that guy in the armor is really an elf? I never heard of an elf wearing

armor before."

"And look at that helmet! Is he just gonna leave his face covered the whole time?"

"You idiot, aren't you paying attention? No hero would want to hide their face. So

either he's trying to keep his identity a secret, or he's an absolute nobody."

There were others who tried defending my right to privacy, which I was grateful for,

considering I was just a skull and bones in a suit of armor.

"Next, I would like to introduce Chiyome, representing the Jinshin clan!"

Chiyome looked as cool as usual, though I noticed that she was wearing a scarf over

her mouth in addition to her ninja garb, either out of respect for her traditions, or to

hide how nervous she really was.

Cries of excitement and joy erupted throughout the crowd at the mention of the Jinshin

clan. I was surprised at how well-known they were among the mountain people.

"D-did he just say the Jinshin clan?"

"No way! They came all the way here?! Does that mean we're really free?"

I saw Chiyome's tail sway gently from side to side as she gazed out across the crowd.

The mountain people cheered for a long time before King Asparuh gestured to the

trumpeters to play a short fanfare. All eyes returned to the king.

"All slaves within the capital are free! Once we have things settled here, we will then

begin to free the slaves throughout the country. Chiyome here will be in charge of

helping all the mountain people relocate to a newly created colony. More details will

be distributed at a later date. Thank you all for your time."

With that, the guards escorted the excited crowd out. It didn't look like their enthusiasm

was going to die down anytime soon.

Without taking my eyes off the departing crowd, I addressed Chiyome. "How many

people do you think we'll take to the new colony at first?"

"I was thinking around a hundred or so. There's still a lot of work left before we can

accept so many people, so we'll want a tough group that can handle some hard living."

Ariane sighed. "It's going to get even more cramped…"

A guard hurried toward the king, but Zahar intercepted, demanding to know what the

man wanted.

"Halt! Declare your business."

"I, uh, well, a servant sent by Margrave Brahniey of the Salma Kingdom is outside the

inner wall. He claims that the margrave is requesting an audience with the king. What

should we do?"

King Asparuh's face drew back with suspicion. "Are you sure this is one of Margrave

Brahniey's servants?"

The guard shrank back and let out a yelp as the king approached him, but he composed

himself quickly and pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, which he handed over to

Zahar.

"My, my apologies! I forgot that the servant wanted me to give this to His Highness. Aabout the servant… he says that he was dispatched by the margrave himself, and bears

all the proper crests."

Zahar nodded. He inspected the crest pressed into the wax seal on the back of the

envelope.

Something about the exchange seemed to spark Ariane's interest, and she leaned over

toward me.

"That country we passed through… that was the Salma Kingdom, wasn't it? You don't

think this has anything to do with the soldiers being attacked, do you?"

Zahar and I nodded in unison. That all felt like an eternity ago.

Zahar whispered something in the king's ear before handing the sealed envelope over.

"Did Riel really give that order? No one told me anything about you being pursued by

monsters into the Brahniey domain. The margrave is different from the rest of the

clueless nobles in the Salma Kingdom. I wonder if he realized that it was Riel

trespassing through his lands. By why send a servant all the way here?"

The king broke the seal and unfolded the letter. As his eyes scanned the words, a look

of surprise appeared on his face.

"What did the margrave say, Your Highness?" Zahar could barely contain his curiosity.

King Asparuh's forehead creased as he raised his gaze from the paper. "Apparently,

they're in a bit of a bind. The margrave would like to meet with me for a secret

discussion. I can't imagine what could have made him ignore protocol like this."

The king turned his attention back to the guard who'd barged in.

"Prepare a reply to the margrave at once. I apologize for treating my honored guests

this way, but I'm afraid I must be going."

With that, the king swept himself out of the room.

"Hmm…"

Ponta looked up at me curiously as the echoes of the king's footsteps faded.

"Kyii?"

Ariane didn't seem particularly interested in this turn of events and continued gently

stroking Ponta's tail. Chiyome and I, however, sensed something amiss. Her cat ears

were standing straight up.

"I feel it too…"

We both looked up at the foreboding sky, which seemed to have grown darker since

we'd woken up. It looked as if it might fall and crush us all at any moment.

***

King Asparuh penned a quick letter in response to Margrave Brahniey and dispatched

a messenger at once.

Assuming the margrave made preparations to leave the moment he received the letter,

it would take him around five days to arrive at the capital. That was why King Asparuh

was surprised when his guest arrived a mere three days later.

Zahar had been giving a report on Arc, Ariane, and Chiyome when he heard the news.

He couldn't help but express his misgivings.

"In terms of the distance alone, this shouldn't be possible. Are you sure it isn't some

sort of trick?"

"No, his identity has already been confirmed. I suspect that he may have started

making his way here without waiting for my response."

The certainty in the king's voice won Zahar over. It made sense after all. The letter

from the margrave had hinted at a rather dire situation. But between not bothering to

wait for a proper reply and the margrave himself coming out to visit the king, the

whole affair was rather strange.

Zahar's face clouded. "I have a terrible feeling about all this, Your Highness."

The king pursed his lips. "So do I. All the same, let us meet with him. Guards, show

Margrave Brahniey in at once!"

Several minutes later, the two men were sitting across from each other in a cozy room

in one of the far corners of the castle.

They sat on either side of a small table, silently sizing each other up. This was the first

time the men had ever met.

From the margrave's perspective, the king looked to be on the younger side, though

the intensity and experience in his eyes betrayed his age.

The king, on the other hand, felt admiration for the margrave's muscular build and

fierce gaze, which he'd won through hard years on the field of battle.

Both men smiled politely.

Compared to the mostly useless nobles the king knew, the margrave seemed a rather

magnificent specimen, capable of anything he put his mind to. Likewise, Margrave

Brahniey was impressed at the confident ruler sitting across from him, particularly

when he thought of the weakling who led the Salma Kingdom.

"I am Asparuh Nohzan Saureah, king of the Nohzan Kingdom."

"My name is Wendly du Brahniey, a margrave of the Salma Kingdom."

The two shook hands.

The only other person in the room was Zahar, serving as a bodyguard for the king. He

was surprised to see that the margrave had come without protection.

The king cut straight to the point. "So, you come seeking an unprecedented secret

meeting. I believe we can skip the unnecessary formalities and get straight to the

point. What brings you here?"

"Yes, I would appreciate that. But first, would you mind telling me how many undead

attacked your country?"

The king narrowed his gaze, but he saw no reason to withhold the information. After

all, the other man must have known at least something already.

"Around 100,000 at our best estimates."

The margrave slapped a hand against his knee. A smile tugged at the corners of his

lips.

"Well, that's certainly good to know! I apologize for how this must come across, of

course, considering the hardships you certainly endured while protecting your fine

capital. Suffering as few casualties as you did against an army of that size could be

easily be considered a miracle. But I wonder… how would you defend yourself again,

should another force of that size descend upon your kingdom?"

The smile faded from the margrave's face, and his voice took on a dark edge. The king

listened quietly as the other man spoke; it was all he could do to keep his cool.

"Has such an army appeared in Salma? How many?"

"Around 200,000, or so I've been told."

The king sat in stunned silence.

The sound of someone clearing their throat prompted the margrave to continue.

"The undead hordes are currently laying siege to Larisa, the capital of the Salma

Kingdom. I fear it's already too late for reinforcements to be of any use. If I were to put

everyone of age on the front lines of battle, I couldn't even muster an army of 20,000.

The capital is a lost cause. Therefore, I've come to you to propose we join forces. It's

our only chance for survival."

The king thought about this. If he were to dismiss the margrave's proposition, and the

other man fell in battle, then it would only be a matter of time until 200,000 undead

turned their spears toward Saureah. They'd already failed to take the capital once, and

would certainly be back to finish what they'd started.

King Asparuh let out a heavy sigh. "As you say, it's unlikely that our luck will continue

to hold out."

Brahniey smiled. "All's not lost! Tell me how you were able to drive off that massive

army. If I need to make any preparations, I can begin at once. Judging by the condition

of your outer wall, it seems like you had to use a fire magic trap of some sort and…"

The margrave trailed off, seeing the dark look on Asparuh's face. Perhaps the king had

already used up whatever it was that had helped him fight off the invaders. Perhaps

there was nothing left to defeat the next wave.

The answer he received, however, was something he never could have imagined.

"We weren't able to fend off the enemy hordes, at least not on our own. It was two

elves and a beast girl who saved the capital."

The margrave stared at the king. He'd no idea that the Nohzan Kingdom had strong

relations with either the elves or beast people. None of this made any sense.

The beast people were hunted and captured in accordance with the teachings of the

Holy Hilk Kingdom, leaving very few left out in the wild. Not to mention that the

majority of the elves had long ago escaped to the vast lands of the Great Canada Forest

off in the Rhoden Kingdom, making them scarce as well.

That left only one possibility.

"Ruanne?"

The king shook his head, explaining that the elves were from Canada.

What really threw the margrave for a loop, however, wasn't the species of heroes, but

the fact that Saureah had been, supposedly, saved from destruction by just three

people. He could no longer contain his surprise.

"Wait just a moment. Do you mean to tell me that all it took was two elves and a beast

girl to defeat an army of 100,000 undead? You're not just toying with me, are you?"

The king let out another heavy sigh. "Zahar, could you please summon Arc, Ariane, and

Chiyome for me?"

Zahar saluted and quickly left the room. Once he was gone, the king turned back to

Brahniey.

"Do you know who is behind all this, Wendly?"

The margrave had been wondering about this, but the threat of 200,000 undead had

been a more pressing matter. However, the sheer number alone raised a lot of

questions. After all, undead usually only appeared in small numbers.

He'd considered the possibility that Hades was behind this, and mentioned his

suspicions to the king. But Asparuh shook his head.

"My prime minister originally suggested the same. However, if the legends are true,

then Hades was defeated at the hands of the Revlon Empire. It could be, however, that

he was only sealed away, and that seal has now been broken, but…"

The king hung his head. There wasn't a hint of mirth in his voice.

"Our enemy is not some legend. The man who created these monsters is very real, and

is closely tied to your lands as well as mine. This is the work of the Holy Hilk Kingdom."

Margrave Brahniey's eyes went wide. He found himself temporarily speechless. The

thought of the Hilk being behind this had never crossed his mind.

"Assuming what you say is true, how did you learn this?"

King Asparuh explained the whole situation, from Cardinal Palurumo's visit, to the

elven woman seeing through his disguise, to the final battle with Palurumo's monstrous

undead form.

"And only elves and beast people can see through their disguises?"

The king nodded.

"At present, yes. However, there are very few of either group living here in Nohzan."

Before the margrave could respond to this, Zahar returned, three figures trailing

behind him.

The man immediately behind Zahar was dressed from head to toe in the magnificent

silver armor of a knight. The light reflected off the metal so brightly that it was hard

to look at him directly. Riding atop his helmet was some sort of strange creature

covered in green fur, with a long, fluffy tail. From a distance, it could have easily been

mistaken for a decoration.

The knight was followed by a woman of indescribable beauty. She had pointed ears,

skin the color of amethyst, eyes of gold, and hair as white as fallen snow. She was a

dark elf, a species the margrave had never even seen in the Ruanne Forest. In contrast

to her exquisite looks, however, she was dressed not in the gowns common to women

of her beauty, but crude leather armor and a dark gray cloak, clothes usually reserved

for soldiers or mercenaries.

Bringing up the rear was a girl who walked so lightly that her footsteps didn't even

register.

She was dressed entirely in black. Atop her head were two triangular ears, and a long,

black tail dangled from her waist. She was one of the beast people. Her intimidating

azure gaze locked onto the margrave the moment she entered the room, though he

wasn't one to easily give in to pressure.

Zahar arranged for three more chairs and gestured for the guests to sit at the table.

They looked back and forth between the king of Nohzan and the margrave from Salma.

"First off, introductions. Wendly, these here are Arc, Ariane, and Chiyome, the three I

told you about before. They saved our kingdom from the most dire of circumstances."

Margrave Brahniey reached out and shook each of their hands in turn.

He could tell these were no ordinary people. The man in armor particularly stood out.

It was odd that he made no effort to take off his helmet, and that an animal rode atop

it no less.

He stole a glance at Asparuh, but the king's face remained as grim as ever.

"I apologize for calling you all here like this. You see, Margrave Brahniey has informed

me that his domain is under threat of attack, apparently by a force twice the size of

what we saw here. Their target is currently the capital of the Salma Kingdom, but if

the Brahniey domain were also to fall, then the armies of the undead would likely cross

the border to attack Saureah once again. I understand that it is incredibly selfish of me

to ask this of you, but I was hoping you might be willing to assist us once again."

The margrave didn't know what to make of a king bowing to three non-humans.

Moreover, he was surprised to see that they didn't even bat an eye when the king

mentioned that this new army was twice as large. The only one to speak up was the

dark elf. She turned to the knight, sounding more annoyed than anything.

"Listen, we already handled Riel's request. I don't see why we should get ourselves

involved again."

"But if the country's overrun, then all our efforts to build decent relations between

humans, elves, and mountain people will be for nothing."

King Asparuh watched as the two debated.

Though the margrave didn't know how the three of them would be able to defeat such

a large army, it was clear that the decision made at this table would determine his

country's very survival. He felt compelled to do whatever he could to sway the decision

in his favor, by making sure they were aware of all the facts.

"If I may, I would also like to let you know that some of the undead, quite possibly

scouts, have been observed making their way toward the Ruanne Forest, home to your

fellow elves. I believe it is likely that they plan to attack not only Brahniey, but Ruanne

Forest and Count Dimo's domain as well."

This was nothing more than speculation on his part, but it couldn't hurt to have them

factor it into their decision.

Arc, the knight, was the first to speak up. "Considering what Cardinal Palurumo said,

I wonder if the previous attacks on the Ruanne elves were an attempt to make some

in-roads for a later attack."

Ariane narrowed her eyes at this.

This type of reaction was exactly what the margrave had hoped for. He wasn't sure

how large the initial group that attacked Ruanne had been, but if they'd suffered

casualties, it must mean that their warriors were nowhere near as powerful as the

three who sat before him.

Throughout his many years sharing a border with them, Margrave Brahniey had never

heard of any group of elves who were more skilled in the art of war than those who

inhabited the Ruanne Forest. This was one reason why the idea that these three alone

could have taken down an army of 100,000 seemed so preposterous.

While Brahniey didn't know much about the relations between the elves of the Great

Canada Forest and those of the Ruanne Forest, he was at least fairly certain that they

weren't on bad terms.

Ariane crossed her arms. "In that case, shouldn't it be up to the central council to

decide if we should send forces to aid Ruanne?"

Arc leaned over to whisper in Ariane's ear. "There will likely be far more elven

casualties if we wait for that to happen."

"Don't be stupid. If we take this up to the central council, my village will be tasked with

sending soldiers. Considering how powerful you are, we might even call upon the

Dragon Lord."

The room was briefly filled with the sound of angry whispering. None of the humans

dared say a word.

The "Dragon Lord" Ariane had mentioned was considered to be the pinnacle of all life

forms, at least among the elves. It was said to be so powerful that even mountains and

valleys bent to its whims.

The margrave grew lightheaded at the thought that the elves could mobilize such a

creature.

Ariane spoke up again. "The central council will likely not be terribly concerned to

hear that a few human nations will be wiped out. However, considering that we would

prefer to leave some human kingdoms intact, at least, those that are willing to treat

elves and mountain people properly, our interests align for now. If you can agree to

our terms, then the high elders of the central council may be willing to provide

assistance."

She glanced between the two human men sitting at the table.

"And what are these terms?" the margrave asked.

"No different from those the Nohzan Kingdom already agreed to. We ask that all

enslaved elves and mountain people be set free immediately, and that the practice of

slavery be made illegal."

The margrave didn't hesitate. "Understood. On my honor, I promise that these policies

will be enacted."

Since his lands bordered the Ruanne Forest, the margrave had always been careful to

avoid unnecessarily interfering with the elven way of life.

As for the mountain people, much like the Nohzan Kingdom, Brahniey had already

forbidden the practice of slavery—in order to follow the directives of the Holy Hilk

Kingdom and avoid any discord with those back in the capital—so he generally

avoided getting involved in the affairs of those that lived in the mountains and forests.

Ariane threw in another possible condition. "And what would you say if the high elders

decide that the Holy Hilk Kingdom must be overthrown? Would you offer your

support?"

"What?!"

"Well, I…"

Both men seemed flabbergasted.

"This whole ordeal was brought about by the pontiff of the Holy Hilk Kingdom, was it

not? I would think you'd want to get rid of such a person. I don't see what the problem

is."

She gazed at the two stunned nobles. Arc decided to offer them a little help.

"Ariane, many humans follow the Hilk faith. Trying to go after the pontiff could drive

an even deeper rift between humans and elves. Asparuh and Wendly here could very

well face being overthrown by their own people if they were to try to denounce the

faith."

The two men nodded vigorously at this.

For the first time since entering the room, Chiyome spoke up, offering a compromise.

"Well then, what about spreading the word about what the pontiff is doing? Once

we've overthrown him and his cardinals, we could have the church change its

teachings regarding the treatment of non-human species. No matter what we choose

to do, leaving the Holy Hilk Kingdom alone is simply not an option."

Both men groaned.

She wasn't wrong, of course. Now that the Holy Hilk Kingdom had used its armies to

invade its neighbors, the way forward was clear. The pontiff would need to be removed

from the Hilk church.

Ariane made it clear just how important this requirement was. "Considering what a

massive thorn the church has been in our side, the odds of the high elders electing to

offer their assistance will increase dramatically if they hear that this will also reduce

the Hilk's power. Frankly, it will be a hard sell if there's nothing in it for us."

"How about we head back to the Ruanne Forest first and talk with Dillan at least?"

"That's a great idea. My gramp… uh, grandfather is a high elder, so I'm sure that we

can get him to bring this matter up."

While Arc and Ariane figured out their next move, the margrave felt a sense of unease

wash over him.

"Sorry to interrupt, but the Ruanne Forest is a four-day trip from here. After that, you

would still need to head west to the Rhoden Kingdom and then onto Canada, wouldn't

you? I'm afraid that our countries will no longer exist by the time you arrive."

His fears weren't unfounded. However, Arc assured him that there was no need to

worry.

Before the margrave could press the issue further, King Asparuh spoke up.

"I understand that you can use the spirit paths, Arc?"

Margrave Brahniey's mouth fell open.

There were legends of so-called "spirit paths" that the elves used to travel long

distances in the blink of an eye. Or at least, the margrave had assumed they were only

legends. If the elves did have access to such mystical arts, then why had it been

possible for the humans to so easily capture them in the first place?

The large man in his ominous suit of armor simply shrugged and looked over at

Ariane.

Worried that Arc was perhaps confused, the king went on to explain what spirit paths

were.

"When Cardinal Palurumo tried to attack me, you used your power to come to my side

and protect me. Did you not use these spirit paths to move about so quickly?"

Arc finally seemed to understand what the king was talking about and clapped his

hands together. "Aaah, you mean teleportation magic?"

The king slumped back in his chair. He coughed into his fist to draw attention away

from his surprise.

The margrave, however, managed to keep up a calm demeanor and asked for further

clarification. "Ah, um, yes… I assume this teleportation magic allows you to

instantaneously travel anywhere you like?"

Arc didn't seem to notice the king and the margrave's surprise. "It's not exactly that

easy. However, the Ruanne Forest won't present any issues." He turned his attention

to Ariane. "How long will it take to assemble the high elders for a meeting?"

Ariane shook her head and shrugged. "Honestly, with what little we have to work with,

I doubt it will be an easy win. Probably three days at the very minimum."

"In that case, we shouldn't waste any more time sitting around. I believe we should get

going."

Arc stood up, bowed to King Asparuh and Margrave Brahniey, and made his way

toward the door, Ariane and Chiyome close behind.

The two men and Zahar watched in silence until they were once again alone.

"Just how did we end up here anyway?"

The margrave's question was more rhetorical than anything else, but his sentiments

echoed the thoughts running through Asparuh and Zahar's minds as well.