abcnovels
Book 9
Book 9: Chapter 7
— One day in the 1st month, 1,547th year, Continental Calendar, in the Northeast of the Kingdom —
It happened while Souma was still in the Union of Eastern Nations.
In the east of the kingdom, the National Naval Defense Force under the command of Castor was engaged in patrol duties. As they advanced not in the top secret island-type carrier, but in five of the traditional sea dragon pulled iron battleships, Castor’s ship received a report.
That message, delivered by a messenger kui trained specially for naval use, informed him of a clash between the kingdom’s fisherman and fishermen from the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago Union who had been fishing in the kingdom’s waters illegally.
What was more, there were armed ships on the side of the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago Union, and their attacks had forced the kingdom’s fishermen to retreat.
When Castor received the report, he immediately headed for the point where the clash was said to have occurred.
From his seat in the captain’s chair, Castor glared in irritation at the sea ahead.
These clashes have become more frequent lately. We’ve only had people wounded so far, but sooner or later, someone is going to die. Once that happens, there’s no stopping it. It’s a cycle of hatred. Do these Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago guys plan to kick off a war?
Even if it came to war, Castor thought the kingdom would win.
It was true that a naval conflict played to the advantages of a maritime state like the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago Union, but the kingdom had their secret weapon, the wyvern-bearing island-type carrier, Hiryuu.
The Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago Union would probably not be able to respond immediately to a weapon which went against the common sense of this world, which said that wyvern cavalry couldn’t be used at sea because wyverns feared going far enough out that they couldn’t see the land.
Besides, on that island they had secretly built into a carrier, his former vassals who were now the wyvern cavalry were engaged in intense training to improve themselves to this very day. He couldn’t see them losing to anyone.
Still, if we can avoid fighting, that’s for the best.
Even if he was confident they could win, nothing in war was absolute. The unexpected could happen.
Besides, they had just fought a war with the corrupt nobles and the Principality of Amidonia last year, and they were dispatching reinforcements to the Union of Eastern Nations now. Frequent military campaigns would exhaust the country.
Well, not that I’m in a position to talk...
Though it was the product of many different intentions and situations intertwining, Castor felt a heavy sense of responsibility for having opposed Souma last year. He resolved to work himself to the bone for this country this time.
He imagined what a war with the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago would be like. Wars at sea aren’t like wars on land.
In the war with Amidonia, their aim had only been to take one city, so it had been possible to end it in a short period of time. But an all-out war with the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago would be troublesome.
There may be routes in the sea, but there’s no land. With a single naval battle, we can gain superiority in maritime trade, but unless we take the land where their ports and docks are, the enemy fleet can recover as many times as they have to. That said, it would be difficult to make an agglomeration of island countries, like the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago, fully submit.
Even if they took an island, maintaining it would be difficult. Those islands were separated from the Kingdom of Friedonia by the sea, and he’d heard lifestyles on each island were drastically different from in the kingdom, of course, but even from each other. It would be difficult to put a magistrate in place to administer them.
Just winning’s not going to be enough, yeah. Honestly... When I was fighting in the air, brute force was everything, but there’s just too much holding us back on land.
Castor let out an exasperated sigh.
In the past, Castor would have been excited just at the chance to fight, but now he was thinking about what would happen after the war, too.
This was proof of his growth since losing to Souma and being properly reeducated by Excel, but he probably didn’t realize it himself.
“Captain, that is our destination.”
When his second-in-command told him that, Castor squinted.
He saw a fleet of about ten fishing vessels and medium-sized armed vessels deployed as if to protect them. As if to work himself up, Castor adjusted his captain’s hat.
“Okay. Today’s the day we find out what they’re up to. Send a message to all ships. ‘Ignore the fishing vessels; focus on capturing the armed ships.’”
If things followed the usual pattern, the illegal fishing fleet would flee the moment the National Naval Defense Force showed up. Then, in order to let them escape, the faster medium-sized armed ships would rapidly close in on them for a hit-and-run style attack to confuse the National Naval Defense Force before fending off pursuing attacks.
The medium-sized armed ships of the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago were made of wood, and instead of sea dragons, they were drawn by horned doldons, which were creatures that were like dolphins with a unicorn-like horn attached.
These horned doldons might not have the same pulling power, but their swimming speed and maneuverability far outstripped that of sea dragons.
For that reason, in a moving battle, the National Naval Defense Force was unable to capture the armed vessels.
Castor was well aware of that fact.
“I’ve gotten used to how they move,” Castor announced. “There’s no need to match their speed! Do not change heading, but remain fixed on the direction the fishing ships fled! Prepare for bombardment!”
“But Captain!” his second-in-commander protested. “If we simply fire as we pursue another target, I believe it will be difficult to hit an enemy with their maneuverability!”
Castor shook his head. “There’s no real need to hit them. We’ll see how they move, and fire where they’re likely to go. I’m sure they won’t go anywhere that’s already being bombarded. When we’ve naturally placed restrictions on their course, we can kill their mobility.”
“I see. Roger.”
As expected, the three armed ships moved to shield the fishing ships, closing in toward Castor’s fleet.
The National Naval Defense Force fleet followed Castor’s orders, deliberately not targeting the armed ships and firing where they were likely to go.
Boom... Splash! Boom... Splash!
There was the repeated sound of cannonballs firing, and then them impacting the surface of the sea and raising a pillar of water.
Though the armed ships kept trying to use their maneuverability to make fools of them, with the cannonballs and pillars of water, their courses were blocked and they couldn’t move around well.
Castor watched calmly from beyond the brim of his captain’s hat. “I more or less have it figured out.”
“Huh?”
“Artillery! Direction: two o’clock! Distance: eighty!”
When Castor yelled into the speaking tube, the artillery fire began as commanded.josei
Boom... Crunch!
There was a hit on the prow of one of the armed ships that had been trying to turn while avoiding the cannonballs and pillars of water.
It tore the front off the boat, severing the reins that bound it to the horned doldon, and the now-free horned doldon swam off to the east.
“Target struck! Medium damage to enemy ship!” Seeing the incredible hit, Castor’s second-in-command looked at Castor with surprise. “Th-That was magnificent. I’m impressed that you could hit it...”
“When I was in the Air Force, we had to calculate the wind currents so that explosive barrels we dropped would hit their targets. This is a cinch for me.”
Castor made it sound easy, but it went without saying that this was an insanely advanced skill. It was the product of his experience as General of the Air Force and his training in the navy.
While the second-in-command was exasperated, the remaining two ships gave up on any further distraction as too difficult and began to withdraw.
The ship with its prow damaged was listing heavily and beginning to sink, but they must have decided rescuing them was too dangerous with the National Defense Force here.
They cut loose a meager number of life boats into the sea and then headed off to the east.
The crew abandoned the sinking ship, swimming desperately for the life boats that had been left behind.
Confident that his opponents had no will to resist, Castor gave an order to the whole ship. “Cease hostilities. We will now go to save those thrown overboard. Every one of them is a valuable source of information. In order to find out what’s going on in the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago, save as many lives as you can!”
“““Yes, sir!”””
Then Castor’s fleet rescued all of the crew from the armed ship, loading them aboard and returning to Lagoon City.
The prisoners would likely be questioned by the National Naval Defense Force, and then Souma or Hakuya would decide what was to be done with them.
I hope we can learn something from this... Castor thought as he sat in the Captain’s chair on a ship returning to port.
— At the same time, in the northwest of the kingdom —
In the mercantile district of a walled city near the border with the Lunarian Orthodox Papal State, a large woman in her mid-thirties wearing armor was walking with a slovenly man who was casually wearing the vestments of a Lunarian Orthodox priest.
They were the female general of the former Principality of Amidonia, who Souma had entrusted with preparations against the Lunarian Orthodox Papal State, and the rotten Bishop Souji Lester who had come from the Orthodox Papal State.
When they walked through the town, people frequently came up to speak to them.
“Lady Margarita, please shake my hand.”
“I’m always listening to you sing. You have such a lovely, powerful voice.”
“Could I ask you to pat my child on the head?”
The words Margarita received from young women were all of praise and respect.
Meanwhile, the words Souji received...
“Hey, Bishop. Why don’t you come here and join us for a drink?”
“Hey, worldly bishop, come listen to my drunken confession.”
“Hey, you, when are you going to pay for your drinks from last time? I’m not putting any more on your tab.”
Well, as you could imagine, a lot of them were from drunkards or the old lady who ran the bar.
Margarita looked at Souji with a wry smile. “You’re a popular one, aren’t you, Sir Souji?”
“Geez, that sounds nothing if not sarcastic. I only get talked to by old women and drunk old men. I’d rather be popular with the young ladies, like you.”
“Isn’t that because you show up at the bar to drink every night?”
“I don’t have anything else to do, so what’s the harm? My old haunt looks like it’s keeping quiet, after all.”
“...True enough. We’ve seen no sign of any activity.”
These two had been deployed here to prepare against the Lunarian Orthodox Papal State, but the Orthodox Papal State was showing no sign of acting, and this border was oddly quiet.
Right now, close to half of the army had been dispatched to the Union of Eastern Nations as reinforcements, and the provisional king Souma was away on top of that.
It was a prime opportunity to pull something, but the Orthodox Papal State was showing no signs of moving. That was actually more disturbing.
“There have been no reports of their forces approaching the border, after all...” Margarita crossed her arms and cocked her head to the side.
Souji let out a snorting laugh. “Well, knowing that country, they’ll incite the believers here before they move troops themselves. That’s why you, who are beloved by the people of the Amidonia Region, and I, who am an obstacle to their incitement, were sent here, but... I don’t hear anything about orders being given to the believers.”
Margarita narrowed her eyes at him. “Is it possible that you’re just not aware of it?”
Souji shrugged. “I’ve asked the drunken adherents at all the bars I go around to, but nothing. Drunks will blab about anything, you know. If nothing along those lines is coming out of their mouths, that probably means there’ve been no commands at the level of the believers.”
“I thought you were just going out and drinking, but it seems you were doing what you ought to, after all.”
Margarita sounded impressed, but Souji just cackled.
“Yeah, I’m doing my job. So maybe I can get the king to pay my tab, huh?”
“...It seems you did it half out of a desire to drink, after all.”
“No arguments here. How about it, will you drink with me tonight? I happen to like glamorous gals like you.”
He was attempting to woo her, but Margarita was having none of it. “Unfortunately, you will have to try someone else. I am married, you see.”
“Huh?! You’re married?!”
“Is that such a surprise? I’m old enough to be.”
“No, but... I’ve never heard a thing about this...”
The bold General Margarita who feared no man had a man. Souji tried to imagine what kind of hero he must be, but Margarita shyly scratched at her cheek.
“Well, I won’t disagree that my husband doesn’t have much of a presence. He was originally a bureaucrat, and he’s a bit scrawny. Now he manages my domain in Amidonia and raises the children.”
“A bureaucrat?! Wait, you have kids, too?!”
“That was why I didn’t want to wear that dress for the Kouhaku red and white song battle.”
By the way, it seemed that Margarita’s husband and children had definitely seen her sing wearing that gaudy eighteen-meter dress Roroa had made for her over the broadcast. When she had returned, they’d kindly told her, “You did great.” And Margarita’s face had looked like it might spontaneously combust.
Margarita coughed to hid her embarrassment. “What about you, Sir Souji? You’re old enough; shouldn’t you be settling down yourself? Lunarian Orthodoxy doesn’t forbid its preachers from marrying, does it?”
“Womanizing is a taboo, though.”
“You’ve already broken that one, I’m sure. Did I not hear you were living with an elf-eared girl?”
“You mean Merula? When it comes to her... she’s more like my pet.”
“That sounds even more indecent, you realize?”
“It’s like feeding a stray cat. That curveless shrimp isn’t my type at... Hm?”
In the middle of talking, Souji stopped and looked in front of them.
From the looks of it, someone was coming their way. It was a middle-aged woman wearing the robes of a Lunarian Orthodox nun.
The nun stopped in front of Souji, out of breath. “Lord Souji... W-We have trouble...”
“What happened? Why the rush?”
“F-From the Lunarian Orthodox Papal State...”
Then, stopping to catch her breath, she brought her face to Souji’s ear and whispered to him.
“The saint has come from the Orthodox Papal State incognito. She says she wants to speak with you.”
Souji and Margarita visited a Lunarian Orthodox church on the edge of town.
Having Margarita stand by outside in case something should happen, Souji opened the door and entered the holy hall.
He saw someone wearing a hooded cape that covered the whole body sitting by the altar.
When he circled around in front of that person, Souji’s eyes went wide. “Well, color me surprised. It really is the saint girl.”
“It’s been awhile, Bishop Lester.”
When that person stood up, two pigtails fell out from inside her hood.
The shape of her face was beautiful, but pale and without life. This doll-like girl was the saint of Lunarian Orthodoxy, Mary Valenti.
While feeling suspicious, Souji didn’t let it show on his face as he casually asked, “What’s a great saint doing coming to the kingdom unannounced? If you’re not careful, they’ll catch you.”
However, Mary’s face didn’t move in the slightest.
“If it happens, it happens. I’ll simply request an audience with your Sir Souma from prison. That is the only reason I’ve come here, after all.”
“You came all this way just to see me? I had figured you fervent believers would hate an irresponsible bishop like me.”
“If I may speak my personal opinion, you’re right.”
“You’re forthright...”
“Sir Souji, you should be more aware of your role as a bishop of Lunarian Orthodoxy, and comport yourself in a way that befits that position.” Mary preached at him with a serious look on her face. “Though you are a man of the cloth, who ought to live a life of honorable poverty, you are infamous in the Orthodox Papal State for your fondness for wine and women. That hasn’t changed since you came to the kingdom, has it? That is unforgivable for the person who must unite the adherents of orthodoxy in the kingdom.”
“Yeah, yeah. Thanks for the sermon.” Souji dug the earwax out of his ears.
He was simply not equipped to repent after being given a sermon by a girl that much younger than him.
“Did you come all the way to the kingdom to lecture me?”
“...No. I say this strictly as my own personal opinion.”
“In that case, can we move on to the point?” he asked in irritation.
Mary’s face took on a sad look as she said, “The Lunalith has handed down a new oracle.”
“An oracle? Already?”
The Lunarian Orthodox Papal State centered their faith around a monolith called the Lunalith.
The oracles appeared by forming text on the Lunalith.
The Lunarian Orthodox Papal State based its rule and foreign policies on the oracles that appeared on the Lunalith. However, oracles were only supposed to appear once every five years or so.
It was said they had prophesied the emergence of the Demon Lord’s Domain around ten years ago.
Then, just around a year ago, an oracle had descended saying, “Send a saint to Souma who was summoned from another world, and place him under the influence of your own country.”
That plan had been cleverly thwarted by Souma, and though they had succeeded in making Lunarian Orthodoxy the state religion, it was a position shared with other religions, and the saint had been sent back so that they were unable to place him under their influence. It was fifty-fifty on whether it was a success or not.
After one had come down so recently, had a new oracle descended already?
“Isn’t the period a little short?” Souji asked.
“There have been precedents in the past. Though they say that when the time between oracles is short, the times are changing rapidly.”
“So, what’s the oracle?”
“‘Northeast,’ ‘rising sun,’ ‘light that covers the world’... and ‘burning countries.’”
“Huh? That’s pretty fragmented.”
“I’m told that’s how oracles from the Lunalith are,” Mary told a dubious Souji. “This is something only told to those in the upper echelons of Lunarian Orthodoxy, but we haven’t accurately deciphered all of the oracles from the Lunalith. However, we can understand parts of them, so we piece them together and infer their meaning.”
“Whuh?! The oracles are that vague?!”
Even for Souji this was a shocking revelation.
The oracles were a secret among secrets in the Orthodox Papal State. They said the Orthodox Papal State was ruled under the guidance of the Lunalith, but the truth was they could only read bits and pieces of it. That meant they were moving the faithful around on that sort of incomplete understanding.
A cold sweat ran down Souji’s back. “...Is it all right telling me something only the higher-ups know?”
“Normally, this is information neither you nor I would be able to learn... however, the situation that is unfolding inside the Orthodox Papal State makes it impossible to enforce that.” Mary lowered her eyes in sadness. “There were some disconcerting words in the oracle.”
“‘Burning countries,’ you mean?”
“Yes. The Orthodox Papal State’s higher-ups are divided over the meaning of these words. For ‘northeast,’ ‘rising sun,’ and ‘light that covers the world,’ they are united in their belief that it likely means, ‘A great man with influence that will cover the world will appear in the northeast.’ However, they are divided on what the ‘burning countries’ that will likely be burned at his hands are.”
Mary held up the index finger of her right hand for Souji to see.
“First, there is the group who see this great man as a threat. They think the Lunarian Orthodox Papal State may be one of the burned countries, and they propose that countermeasures must be prepared. Their main countermeasure is to form an alliance with the Kingdom of Friedonia. We may not have been able to make King Souma into the holy king, but activities of believers in the country are protected. If he were our ally, we would have a reliable backer. This group are the relative moderates, you could say.”
“Hmm...”
In that case, Souji thought Souma might accept it. It would mean a burden for Souma, but not having to worry about the Lunarian Orthodox Papal State when he handled that rising faction would be huge. He wouldn’t have to worry about them inciting the faithful inside the country anymore. If they were dealing with them not as the center of a religion, but as another equal ally, the kingdom would benefit from cordial relations, too.
Mary raised the index finger of her left hand. “The other group are the ones who have high hopes for this great man. They say that if a great man with such massive power is going to appear, we should send a saint, grant him authority, and bring him into the fold. Just like... when I was sent to be with Souma. This group is actively attempting to oppose other countries, so they’re being called the radical faction.”
“Radicals... More like extremists, right?”
“I won’t deny it.”
Well... I guess you’d expect there to be a group like that, Souji thought with a sigh.
The Orthodox Papal State gave Lunaria’s authority to the power holders of the era, and received their protection in return. That was how the country had maintained influence over their citizens and believers up until today.
If it was looked at as the survival strategy of a nation, there wouldn’t be anything more to say, but since it was his old home, Souji thought they were shameless.
“So? Which group has the upper hand now?”
“The radicals,” said Mary. “I think the failure to make Souma a holy king played a large part in that. The Gran Chaos Empire in the west has their own saint, and they’ve failed to form strong bonds with the Kingdom of Friedonia in the west, so the higher-ups were feeling a sense of crisis.”
Empress Maria had never declared herself a saint, and wasn’t backed by anyone as one, but that must have been how it looked to the Orthodox Papal State.
Mary continued. “For the radicals, if a new faction that can oppose these two countries is going to form, they see it as imperative that we form strong bonds with them this time.”
Because Souma skillfully dodged ending up under Lunarian Orthodoxy’s influence, he’s ended up pushing the Orthodox Papal State’s higher-ups into a corner, Souji noted.
And Souji carried a part of the responsibility for that, too.
With a rotten bishop like Souji in between them, the faithful inside the kingdom hadn’t had to listen to orders from the Orthodox Papal State. There was no worry about the church stirring them up into riots, either.
That had the result of making the higher echelons of the Orthodox Papal State panic, and ironically fed the creation of a radical faction that were eager to join hands with a great man whose identity was as yet unknown in order to counter the kingdom and the Empire.
“The moderates are already starting to be purged by the radicals,” Mary went on. “Cardinal Gold, who you were so fond of, was indicted for adultery and corrupt acquisition of wealth.”
“Well, the old guy had it coming to him.”
Cardinal Gold had risen through the ranks with the power of money. He was a corpulent man far from any ideal of noble poverty.
Souji had paid bribes to the man so that he had a free hand to do as he pleased while he was inside the Orthodox Papal State, but he’d had absolutely no respect for him as a human being.
Hearing that the man had been punished, I guess it was time he paid the piper, was all he thought of it.
“Well, which side are you on, little missie?” Souji asked.
“The cardinal looking after me belongs to the former.”
“I was asking for your personal decision, you know?”
“I... don’t know. No, perhaps ‘I don’t know anymore’ might be the more accurate answer.”
Mary stood up and looked at the stained glass mosaic. It depicted the goddess Lunaria descending from the heavens.
“When I heard King Souma say he would recognize not just Lunarian Orthodoxy, but other religions as the state religion, I thought he was acting haphazardly. That was because I thought different religions, different sects, couldn’t possibly coexist without conflict. I felt pity for the believers in this country who were forced to live under such a king.”
Souji was quiet.
“However... now that I see it, there have been no major conflicts, the believers inside the kingdom are not restricted in their activities, and they practice their faith at ease. More than that... Sir Souji, you carried out the Spring Announcement Festival inside the kingdom, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, it was Young Miss Roroa’s idea.”
Mary put on a slight wry smile. “I think there may be some issue with calling a woman who is going to become queen ‘young miss,’ you realize?”
“She calls me ‘old man,’ so I’d say we’re even.”
“You’re close... Well, setting that aside, I heard that many pagans participated in that Spring Announcement Festival. It’s a festival announcing the end of winter and praising the glory of Lady Lunaria, and yet pagans who refuse to convert and believe in Lady Lunaria participated and enjoyed the festival with the believers. When I heard about that, I was very surprised.”
“It goes both ways, though. Even orthodox adherents are taking part in Mother Dragon Worship’s festivals.”
“Yes. There were those in the Orthodox Papal State who were angry, saying, ‘This is outrageous.’ But I couldn’t see it as a bad thing. It’s strange. When we have discord emerging between members of the same faith in our country, a country that is a mix of many different religions has more mutual respect for each other’s beliefs.”
“Young lady, you’ve...”
...really changed, thought Souji.
The people called saints in Lunarian Orthodoxy were beautiful dolls who were absolutely loyal to the higher-ups in the Orthodox Papal State. They had no thoughts of their own, never doubted orders, and were offered up to powerful and influential men regardless of how they themselves might feel. That was how saints were meant to be.
However, Mary was unsure. It was proof she was thinking for herself.
Mary turned to Souji and bowed her head. “I’ve come with a request for you today.”
“A request?”
“Yes. To be more precise, I have a request I want you to pass along to Sir Souma.”
Seeing the sincerity in her eyes, Souji scratched at his head. “That’s fine for you to say, but I was dispatched here by the Orthodox Papal State. I can’t say anything about what the king here does. I don’t have any right to, you know?”
Mary nodded as if that much was self-evident. “I know. This is not too difficult. I am asking that he protect people. I’m asking that he protect those who will lose their place in the Orthodox Papal State should the radicals rise any further... or my sisters, at the very least.”
“Sisters?” Souji repeated.
“The hundred or so candidates for sainthood.”
In order to place the rulers of the time under their influence, the Lunarian Orthodoxy sent saints to them as a way of giving them authority.
Those saints, of course, had to be appealing to those in power, so the Lunarian Orthodoxy always maintained a stable of a hundred or so “saint candidates” so they could cater to all sorts of demands.
Mary had been chosen for Souma from among those saint candidates.
“If the radicals send a saint to the great man who it is said will appear in the northeast, and that great man accepts the saint, the rest of the saint candidates will become a liability. In order to monopolize the authority of Lunarian Orthodoxy, I’m sure the rest of the saints will be purged. If this great man is of such a fierce temperament that it results in ‘burning countries,’ that is more or less a certainty.”
“Well, I’m sure you’re right...” Souji admitted. “Are you the one they’ll send?”
“I am the saint prepared for Sir Souma. I’m sure that, for another great man, they will prepare a saint suited to that great man.”
“So, you’re going to be a liability, too...” Souji crossed his arms and groaned.
He’d known that Lunarian Orthodoxy had several saint candidates. For as long as those girls weren’t chosen, they were treated well as individual nuns, so he’d never thought much about it before.
However, internal conflict and external factors could easily mess with their fates. That was the kind of weak position those girls found themselves in.
For his part, Souji wanted to save those innocent girls, too.
“I get it. I’ll at least pass the message to Souma. I’ll persuade him if he’s hesitant, and I’ll press my head against the ground and beg him to at least protect the saint candidates.”
“You have my gratitude, Sir Souji.”
“So, if you feel a threat to your well-being, you run, too. You may be a saint, but you’re still young. There’s no need for you to carry every burden.”
“...Yes.” Tearing up, Mary bowed her head to Souji.
Once the tears had dried, Mary put her hood on again and turned to offer a prayer to the stained glass before silently leaving the church.
Once Souji had seen Mary off, Margarita entered as if taking her place.
“That’s quite the troublesome request she brought you,” Margarita said with a wry smile.
“Well, yeah. Nothing could be more of a pain, but I am, technically, a bishop. I know this isn’t like me, but if there are young maidens who’ve lost their way, I’ve got to extend a helping hand. Fortunately, I can move more easily than any bishop back in the home country.”
When Souji said that, he looked up at the stained glass of Lunaria.
“Was it your guidance that led me to this country?” he asked.
The stained glass image had no answer to his question.
— At the same time, near the western border of the kingdom —
This was close to the border with the Mercenary State Zem.
The Mercenary State Zem was surrounded by mountains, making it a natural state, difficult to invade other countries from, but easy to defend against invasion. There were few roads into Zem, and there was just one mountain road connecting the Kingdom of Friedonia and Zem that was fit for sending troops along.
Up on top of the walls of a city near the border and the road that connected to Zem were two old men, one of them Souma’s martial arts instructor and sounding board, Owen, and the other Roroa’s grandfather, who was the Lord of Nelva, Herman. They stared westward.
These two had been entrusted with handling the Mercenary State Zem, but Zem had made no major moves, so all they had been able to do was remain on guard. Still, it wasn’t that there had been no movement whatsoever.
There was a report from the spies saying they were gathering soldiers near the border. However, those forces showed no sign of crossing the border to invade.
“Hmm...” Playing with his Kaiser mustache, Owen groaned. “It seems Zem is intent on waiting and watching. If the Lunarian Orthodox Papal State or the Republic of Turgis move, I’m sure they’ll act to capitalize on that...”
“That country has always intervened in other countries’ wars and gained land as a reward,” Herman said. “They hardly ever fight a war alone. Sir Gouran has the republic under control now, and the Orthodox Papal State is keeping quiet for the moment, too. It looks like they’ll keep watching like this.”
Owen spun his thick arms in a circle. “How boring. And I felt it was so lucky when His Majesty entrusted this land to us to defend.”
“You should be happy there’s no trouble. Muscle-headed old men from the kingdom are too bloodthirsty for their own good.”
“Hmph, I’d say we’re a sight better than hard-headed old men from the principality.”
When their eyes met, sparks flew.
They were warriors, old commanders, both intent not to lose to the young’uns. That similarity made them each view the other as a sort of rival.
Especially after a large amount of free time with no invasion of Zemish forces, and with no one like Souma or Roroa to make them restrain themselves, they were competing with one another over every little thing.
“I think we’ll have to settle this with another mock battle,” Herman said. “I’ll have you retire from active duty today.”
“I’d have it no other way. I’ll give you time to be a doting grandfather to Princess Roroa.”
The two with too much time on their hands had made a daily event of having mock battles like this. They wouldn’t listen even if someone tried to stop them, so the guards nearby pretended not to see anything.
When these two fierce commanders fought, albeit with blunted weapons, the sound echoed around the city, inciting complaints from the residents.
The guards who would have to deal with those complaints sent resentful glares in the direction of the two energetic old men.
However, the mock battle didn’t begin today. That was because...
“Reporting. There appears to be a single mounted rider approaching from the west.”
A messenger came to report that information to them.
They leaned out over the edge of the wall, looking west, and there was indeed a single rider racing their way.
As the rider approached, they noticed that the rider was wearing an impressive suit of armor and two longswords crossed over their back.
Because their helmet had a full visor, it was impossible to see their face.
“Hoh... Their riding skill is impressive,” Herman commented. “They make a fine knight.”
Herman sounded impressed, but Owen said nothing, only staring at the knight.
That appearance, I’ve seen it before...
Then the knight came up to the gate and raised their voice.
“I speak to the keepers of this city! I bear a message from King Kimbal do Zem of Zem for King Souma Kazuya of Friedonia! Please, accept it, and deliver it to King Souma!”
The knight’s voice was loud, clear, and dignified, yet the slightly higher pitch made it clear it belonged to a woman.
Hearing this voice, Owen’s eyes went wide. “The woman’s voice... It can’t be?!”
“Owen?!”
Before Herman could stop him, Owen jumped over the outer edge of the wall.
Even though the wall was over ten meters high, Owen was able to kill his momentum with wind magic and land safely before rushing over to the female knight.
Looking at her up close, the knight had a long, thin, feline tail that extended from her rump and wrapped around her waist, meaning she was a feline beastman.
“Could it be, you are...”
“See to it that this letter makes it to King Souma.”
Before Owen could finish his question, the female knight pushed the letter into his hands.
Then, immediately turning her horse around, she raced off in the direction she had come.
“H-Hold on! Are you not Lady Mio?!” Owen shouted after her, but the knight raced on without looking back, and eventually vanished out of sight.
Herman came down from the wall and approached Owen who was just standing there “Why the face...? Just who is that female knight?”
“That person is most likely... Lady Mio,” Owen said, seemingly in a daze.
Herman cocked his head to the side. “Lady Mio? I haven’t heard that name before...”
“You were in the Principality of Amidonia, so I suppose you wouldn’t have,” Owen whispered, a pained look on his face as he looked off in the direction the female knight had departed. “Mio Carmine. The daughter of Georg Carmine, the former General of the Army.”