"Seeing how he's acting, could he be..."
Cyra realized something was off after seeing Galahad try to kiss Nicola's hand after bowing.
"That's not necessary, thank you!"
Nicola was caught off guard and shivered, quickly pulling her hand back and rubbing it behind her back.
"Why?"
King Galahad was dumbfounded when Nicola pulled away, not knowing what to do and just standing there stunned.
"Your Majesty, is there something displeasing the Lord about me?"
Okay, now I understand. Cyra was right, this guy is also a True Church follower!
No wonder this country has a huge angel statue at the top when even the king has fallen.
"Uh, not really..."
Nicola also seemed to understand what was happening. She immediately explained the purpose of her visit in a serious tone, not giving him another chance to get close.
"Some things have happened in Edenmere recently. I'm here as Queen Elara's representative to discuss matters with you! There will be military and personnel changes in Edenmere soon..."
"Of course, of course!"
Galahad looked surprised then regained his composure.
He straightened up, put his crown back on, and invited us to the front of the steps. He sat back on his throne, looking dignified again.
"He almost kissed me, how disgusting! Elara only said he'd be stubborn and good at bargaining, not that he believed in Church! No wonder she didn't want to come herself..."
Seeing him finally keeping his distance, Nicola whispered her relief to me.
"Let's hide our wings, don't want to provoke him more."
"Who'd have thought he was a follower..."
I was also helpless. Frankly, the king's image was kind of unsavory. He had no beard like Cyra imagined, and his obese figure with that haircut made his earlier actions seem especially creepy.
"Your Majesty, Sixth Order Mage Eleanora is here to see you!"
Seeing everything was back to protocol, Eleanora finally found her place and introduced herself first.
"Hmm..."
Amazingly, Galahad was like a different person now, his attitude could even be described as arrogant.
"Put your matters aside for now, wait outside. I'll see you after finishing important business with the Edenmere envoys."
Seeing Eleanora exit the hall respectfully per instructions, Galahad's expression softened slightly. He then turned to us seriously, ready to continue the earlier discussion.
"So, who will the esteemed Queen Elara grace Astralrealm with? I'm sure she'll give me a wonderful surprise as the Lord wills, no?"
"Of course, Edenmere has decided to increase angel troops guarding the mortal realm. More angels will be sent down over time..."
Nicola handled him smoothly, having clearly discussed things with Elara beforehand.
They debated the safety of young angels on missions. Edenmere wanted to protect angel lives, needing Astralrealm's cooperation.
After much back and forth with no agreement, Nicola fulfilled her role well.
I listened for a while and understood - this King Galahad was crafty! Despite joining the True Church personally, he didn't relinquish national interests just because angels were higher in the religion. He differentiated the two clearly.
Like Cyra, he kept saying "Lord". It sounded like he wanted to use his status to gain from Edenmere.
Elara should have publicly declared Edenmere's separation from Church. So Galahad's attitude was interesting.
True Church followers didn't believe Elara's statement, insisting angels were God's messengers. Did he really believe in Yawee?
I didn't understand again...
"Regarding the Adventurers' Guild, we just need to ensure the safety of angels on missions..."
After almost ten more minutes, Nicola and Galahad finally reached a basic consensus. Just when I thought it was over, trouble struck!
A figure crashed through the hall window, tumbling a few rolls before rushing at Galahad on his throne with a sword.
"Watch out!"
Nicola reacted quickly, immediately unfolding her wings to shield Galahad.
"An angel?"
Seeing that, the attacker froze, his weapon already kicked away by Nicola. Now unarmed, he could only retreat.
"Long live Parristol!"
But he wouldn't leave quietly, yelling a slogan and pulling out a spell scroll from his pocket. He unrolled it and threw it forcefully at King Galahad.
"Be careful, it could be a bomb! Shield yourselves!"
I shouted loudly, quickly cocooning myself in light element with my wings.
Sure enough, the scroll contained an explosive fire spell. The massive blast destroyed everything in the hall. The assassin had already jumped out the window he entered during our distraction.
"Guards! Don't let the assassin escape!"
Shielded by Nicola, Galahad was unharmed. After the smoke cleared, he yelled loudly.
"Aren't you going after him?"
Cyra looked out the window, not sure if she saw the attacker. She turned back hesitantly towards Nicola.
"Don't feel like it, let them handle it..."
Nicola clicked her tongue dismissively, looking to the hall entrance.
Hearing the commotion, Eleanora and the guards waiting outside had naturally rushed in.
"Luckily Feliciana warned us, so we were prepared."
Cyra looked down at her undamaged clothes and sighed in relief.