Chapter 584: The Two Forces of the Continent

The royal capital of Ashe. The center of continental culture. The significance of this city, which stood at the culmination of its glory and prosperity, went beyond simply being the capital of the great nation of the Gharast Kingdom.

This was undoubtedly the center of the continent even before Gharast’s establishment. During the era when the great hero Altia built a unified empire…she placed her throne here.

That’s why the Great Holy Church, rooted in Altia’s worship, and the Gharast Kingdom had always maintained a close relationship.

Even now, the people of the Gharast Kingdom still maintained their claim that the entire continent was rightfully theirs. They proudly proclaimed themselves to be direct descendants of the great empire.

For this reason, they had repeatedly waged wars of invasion and defense. Some perished, others fled.

But now, the flag of the Heraldic Order, which they supposedly destroyed, flew in their royal capital. What else could this be called but irony?

「Oh…you’ve arrived quite early. A hero is always busy, you know. 」

The royal palace, a detached building with subdued ornamentation. Entering the assembly hall in one corner of the palace, Saint Matia, who seemed to have been waiting, spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Her blue eyes, which I hadn’t seen in a while, showed signs of fatigue, yet still possessed an unblemished radiance.

「Don’t be sarcastic. Besides, Ann told me it was starting around this time. 」

「I see, Ann huh. Then, I understand. She’s much better at keeping you under control. 」

I had been tricked. I thought something was off. I should have suspected something when Ann went to the trouble of telling me the time of the war council. It seemed she’d specified a much earlier time.

Reluctantly, I sat down and put some chewing tobacco in my mouth. It looked like Philos and the others wouldn’t be gathering for quite some time.

Since Princess Philos had officially been crowned, there was no need to hold a military council at the detached palace. It could be held openly in a room within the main palace.

But today, I was summoned to the detached palace. That meant…I had a rough idea that we’d be discussing something we didn’t want to make public.

Zebrililith was dead, and the great catastrophe was over. But the Old Kingdom’s army still held a blade to our throats. So, what should we do now? That was what we’d be discussing.

「So, how are you feeling, Lugis? 」

Matia said, seemingly out of context, glancing at the parchment in her hand. Knowing her, she was probably always burdened with work. Perhaps she even finished several tasks while we were talking. It was a realm I couldn’t’ even begin to imagine.

I frowned, wondering what she meant, and Matia added with a sigh.

「…I’m asking you, how does it feel to be an undeniable hero? 」

「If I was an undeniable hero, my old man wouldn’t be dead. 」

I shrugged my shoulders; having said something I shouldn’t have. But I couldn’t help thinking about it, and there wasn’t a day that went by that I didn’t think about it.

The word “hero”, which I had longed for more than anything, now held poison.

If I was a hero, I would have saved everyone, and what value could there be in the glory I paid for at the cost of my old man’s life?

「That’s not true, Lugis. 」

But Matia’s ring clicked, and she looked at me. Our eyes met, and those eyes that had surely captivated people seized my mind.

Perhaps it was because of her role as a saint. Sometimes, she could make people tense up with just a glance.

「It’s a fact that he lost his life to help you…That’s precisely why you must be a hero. 」

I almost dropped the chewing tobacco from my lips. An indescribable numbness lingered in my vision.

「Did Commander Richard die for the sake of a mere commoner? Surely not. If you desire to honor him, then you yourself must pursue it most. It is you who will put a price tag on his life, Lugis.」

「…That…No…」

For a moment, I swallowed my words. My lips shaped as if to say something back, but no sound seemed likely to escape.

I bit into a few seconds of silence. I could painfully sense Matia’s gaze. I furrowed my eyebrows and removed the chewing tobacco from my mouth.

「…Well. That’s right. You’re correct. The old man didn’t die for a commoner. He wouldn’t have died like that. 」

I supposed I should say what Matia had implied. Yet, surprisingly, I felt no unpleasantness at all. As she instigated me, my emotions seemed to have settled where they belonged.

As expected of a saint who could make people believe or even deceive them. It was almost as if Ann had staged this whole act for this very reason.

「Sorry. No, thank you, Matia. It’s much clearer what I need to do. 」

After I thanked her, Matia curled her beautiful lips and said.

「There’s no need for thanks. I said I’m your crown and you’re my sword, didn’t I? Do you thank your own limbs every time you move? 」

「That analogy seems a little too ominous, or am I mistaken? 」

「Yes, you’re mistaken. But it’s not an analogy. Remember that. 」

Wasn’t it more terrifying if it wasn’t an analogy?

However, I didn’t say anything about that. Before I could, the attendees of the war council, who had arrived on time, knocked on the door.

Besides, I didn’t think I would have pressed further anyway.

After all, I felt that there would be no turning back if I took one more step. Of all things, the memory of the marriage proposal from before was still lingering in my mind. Things would be much more peaceful if only I could forget it with a drink.

Those who showed up in the military council room were Ann, members of the Heraldic Religion, and the Gharast nobles, including Biomondor. Seeing Caria, Filaret, and Eldith there, it seemed they had gathered all the key figures, regardless of whether they were political or military.

I didn’t want to dwell too much on the strange look Caria gave me the moment she spotted me. It was typical of her.

Almost everyone was assembled, and the last to arrive in the military council room was Queen Philos. Perhaps she had deliberately timed her arrival. Consciously adopting a royal, elegant gait, she sat down at the far end of the room.

「…Now then. Everyone understands why we’ve all been gathered here, right? Let’s discuss what to do next. 」

What to do next.

Ann nodded slightly after receiving those words and Philos’ gaze. Despite her small stature, she strangely stood out more than anyone else when she was in front of others.

「Yes. Then, if you’ll excuse me. As you all know, the enemy army, the Old Kingdom’s forces, have advanced south. Their target is undoubtedly this capital city, Ashe. Their objective is to reclaim the throne. They are currently halting at the ruins of Fort Medraut. It is presumed that their purpose is to assemble their forces. 」

「Assembling forces…Lady Ann, but where are they coming from? The enemy already has a sufficiently large army. 」

The voice belonged to Biomondor. Dark circles were visible beneath his large eyes. He was supposed to be an honest man of a warrior family, but the rumors that he hadn’t been getting much sleep since being drawn into political affairs seemed to be true. Even in the presence of the Queen, he didn’t hesitate to interject during the war council.

Ann raised two fingers in response to the question, then folded one.

「One is reinforcements from the Cathedral. They must be well aware that they have no other options. This is undoubtedly the combined strength of the Old Kingdom and the Cathedral. According to our scouts, this alone amounts to approximately 100,000 soldiers. 」

The word “100,000” changed the atmosphere in the room to one of bitterness. Just as wine changed its taste repeatedly in the mouth, the sweet taste of victory from last night had now turned to bitterness.

But that wasn’t all, as Ann folded another finger.

「Another thing is that the West is on the move. 」

「…The Western Alliance of Roa. I thought they were people who weren’t interested in anything other than themselves. 」

It was Caria who interjected. Came to think of it, her family was in charge of guarding the western frontier fort, Coridden. For better or worse, there may have been contact with the West.

「As Lady Caria said, they have little interest in matters outside the islands. Furthermore, I heard they haven’t recovered from the demon disaster…but they’ve received protection from the Cathedral. No, from Saint Ariene. I don’t know how much of that is true, though. There are also stories that the Western magical devilish beings were annihilated by knights of the Holy Order. 」

Magical Devilish Beings. Whatever they may be, they were without exception a threat to humanity. If someone in the Holy Order was capable of killing them, then they would naturally appear as our enemy.

However, it was easy to imagine who that someone would be. No matter what kind of being that person was now, there was no way anyone else could pull off such a feat.

Eldith began to speak after receiving those words.

「Each enemy has their own heroes, I suppose. And they have their own knights. And if the Western nations were being helped out of gratitude for being saved, then it would be a beautiful story. But that’s not the case, is it, Ann? 」

「Yes, Lady Eldith. At first glance, one would say it’s a civil war between the Old Kingdom and the New Kingdom of Gharast. But in reality, it’s closer to a struggle for future hegemony. 」

Ann explained the current situation, drawing white lines on a blackboard in the military council room.

She said that the continent was now largely divided into two forces.

The Old Kingdom army was allied with the Western Alliance of Roa and the Cathedral, while the New Kingdom army was in a near-alliance with the Eastern Bolvat Dynasty and the Southern Elizard. A clear boundary line had formed between the northwestern and southeastern parts of the continent.

In a sense, the surrounding nations were using the civil war in the Gharast Kingdom, located in the central part of the continent, to wage a battle that would determine the future course of events.

「Just as the enemy is receiving reinforcements from the west, we too have received reinforcements from the Bolvat Dynasty and Elizard, but the question is how much that will actually close the gap in military strength. 」

「…No, but… 」

Ann muttered to herself as she looked at the map of forces and the difference in troop strength. A question suddenly popped into my head.

「Bolvat and Elizard have been very generous in lending us their strength. For them, it probably wouldn’t matter which side they sided with. 」

It was only natural that they would prefer to have a more powerful ally. So siding with the New Kingdom wasn’t necessarily in their best interest.

In fact, it would probably be far more in the best interest of their nation to remain neutral, wait for one side to emerge victorious, and then crush the weakened opponent.

Neither Mastigius, the magical general of Bolvat, nor Telsarat, the senior fighter of Elizard, were the kind of people who acted on personal feelings. They did what was necessary for their nation.

The military council room fell silent for a moment immediately after I said those words. It wasn’t that they were caught off guard, but everyone seemed to be searching for the right words.

Filaret lightly ran her hand through her black hair.

「Well, I suppose that’s one way of thinking, yes. But Elizard has a history with the Old Kingdom, and we…no, Bolvat would want to protect the alliance until it’s fully restored. 」

At the same time, Ann spoke up, almost as if she were trying to steal the point.

「What Lady Filaret says is valid, but the matter is much simpler, Lord Hero. 」

Lord Hero, she said. It felt like it had been a long time since she had called me that. Was Ann the only one who ever called me that?

She said with a smile that was even more knowing than usual.

「…Everyone is wary of you, Lord Hero. Perhaps it would be better to say they’re afraid of you. 」

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