Even in the face of Jaldabaoth’s invasion, the humans still bore grudges against each other. Neia simply found that laughable. In addition, there were whispers of a power struggle for the position of the next Holy King, and it only served to make Neia, a commoner, even more unhappy.
“That’s quite bad.”
“Indeed. The navy has very few assets which can do battle against flying demons, and their battles have taken a terrible toll on them. If this keeps up, they won’t be able to hold off Jaldabaoth’s army forever. We need strength to overcome this situation! Please, I beg you, lend your strength to us! All we need is a month or two! We can pay anything you want! I beg you, please save the Holy Kingdom.”
As Gustavo bowed his head to them, Neia and the other paladins went “Please!” and bowed as well.
The room was silent once more, and then Lakyus’s voice spread through it.
“Please, raise your heads. And — I am very sorry, but we cannot go to the Holy Kingdom.”
“Why!?”
Neia jerked her head up at the sudden shout from Remedios. She saw Remedios had risen from her seat and was glaring at Lakyus.
“There’s no way Jaldabaoth will stop at conquering the Holy Kingdom! He’ll gather his strength there and then invade the Kingdom, you know! If you don’t beat him now, he’ll become even stronger in future!”
“You are correct. The possibility of that is very high.”
“Since you understand, why aren’t you helping us!? And it’s not just you, it’s also the nobles of this country, of our country! None of you get it! Isn’t now the time to come together and fight as one!?”
“...The reason why this country’s nobles won’t lend you their strength is slightly different from our own. What do you know about the Sorcerous Kingdom?”
It was a frightening place ruled by the undead, a city taken from the Kingdom and used as the heart of a nation. That was all the average citizen of the Holy Kingdom knew about it. As Remedios said as much, Lakyus smiled bitterly to her.
“That’s true, and it’s largely accurate… but it’s wrong in some places… While the undead are everywhere, the humans there live safe and peaceful lives.”
“...Eh? In a country founded by the undead, who hate the living?”
“There are many kinds of undead, and the Sorcerer King is a ruler of the undead. Ordering the undead under his command not to harm human beings and enforcing that order is a simple matter for him.”
Evileye made a noise of disapproval.
“Evileye… Mm, anyway, we still have the Sorcerous Kingdom before our eyes to deal with, so it’s hard for them to aid your country. Also, a lot of people perished during the battle with the Sorcerous Kingdom, which will have grave consequences in the future. The nobles who appear so well-off are hardly as well-to-do as you might think.”
“Even so, isn’t Jaldabaoth a problem that should be taken care of as soon as possible? The fact is, countless people are suffering because of Jaldabaoth. And the Sorcerous Whatever hasn’t harmed anyone, has he?”
“...Fighting on two fronts at once while you’re exhausted is very dangerous. I trust I don’t need to tell you that, right?”
Remedios shut her mouth.
“Also, it’s the same with us. Two of us were killed in combat with Jaldabaoth and while they were resurrected from the dead, they still have not regained their full strength yet. If we invade Jaldabaoth’s territory in this state, we might all end up being killed.”
“Didn’t Gustavo say that you wouldn’t need to fight Jaldabaoth?”
“What the heck, she actually believed that…”
“Tia! Excuse me. Ahem. I’m very sorry, but I don’t think things will turn out as you imagine. So long as it involves the risk of facing Jaldabaoth, we will refuse this job. We need to become stronger than we are now in order to prepare for the future. ...This is just a hypothesis, but we need to get ready in case Jaldabaoth decides to attack the Kingdom once more.”
The faces of every member of Blue Rose were unmoved. It would seem they could not be swayed.
Soon, Remedios managed to squeeze a few words out.
“Then, who else is there who can save our country?”
Blue Rose’s members looked at each other.
“There’s only one person,” Evileye replied. “Or rather, he’s the person you should have gone to in the first place, no?”
“...Who’s that?”
“Momon-sama, of course. The Momon-sama who beat off Jaldabaoth.”
“Ohhh! Did he!?”
“A moment, Captain Custodio… If I’m not wrong, he’s…?”
“You’ve heard, haven’t you? Yes, Momon-sama is now in the Sorcerous Kingdom and is one of the Sorcerer King’s subordinates. Therefore, you will most likely have to convince the Sorcerer King to help you.”
“Geh!” Remedios grunted bitterly.
Neia understood how she felt. Any citizen of the Holy Kingdom would have very complex feelings about asking anything of the undead.
Considering she, as a squire, felt that way, how much worse would it be for the captain of an order of paladins who bore a holy sword? However — Remedios looked forcefully at the members of Blue Rose.
“...If that is the best way to defeat Jaldabaoth, then let’s do it. No, that’s all we can do. If we can, we’ll pin our hopes to that Momon—”
“—I believe it’s Momon-sama, Captain.”
“Er, yes! Can you please write a letter introducing us to Momon-sama?”
Part 2
After the talks with Blue Rose ended, the diplomatic delegation from the Holy Kingdom to which Neia belonged made an early departure from the Royal Capital. This was because they had already seen that nobody in the Kingdom was willing to aid the Holy Kingdom, researching Jaldabaoth’s true form would need several month’s time, and also because they knew that the only one capable of beating Jaldabaoth was Momon.
In addition, the thought of the Holy Kingdom’s citizens suffering made them anxious to do something for them.
They rested their horses as little as possible, sometimes even casting spells on them, and they travelled east along the roads at speeds that normal travellers could not match.
They passed the final village of the Kingdom, and now they were at the buffer zone between the Kingdom and the Sorcerous Kingdom.
The gently-swelling hills blocked the travellers’ lines of sight, and they could catch the occasional glimpse of a densely-packed primeval forest. It felt like a monster might leap out at them at any time. This might have originally been the Kingdom’s territory, but that was all. The chance of being attacked by monsters had only decreased. It was by no means gone.
On terrain like this, Neia’s sense of vision and smell sharpened, and she forged ahead.
There’s no sign of creatures waiting in ambush nearby. No tracks of large carnivores near the road either.
There were many patches of bare earth exposed on the road. If they continued onwards, they would be entering territory which had formerly been controlled by the Crown, whose roads seemed to have been paved. Paved roads were more convenient for travellers, but to Neia, the bare earth from just now would make it easier to spot best tracks.
Neia looked at her hands.
She did not like these hands.
It was not that she resented the hardening of her hands from her training. It was simply distaste for her lack of talent.
She might have inherited her father’s keen senses, but sadly, she had not received anything from her mother.