Chapter 191 – King of War (6)

War is balance.
Last ten years.
While the wounds of the turbulent continent were healing, the Grand Mage Terra Ernesten had been working at the Lighthouse of Horus to find a way to lead the final war to victory.
There is only one thing I want.
Destroy all enemies with minimal damage.

The opponents are the elite soldiers of the Holy Kingdom and the second hero they summoned.
And Antiope, the worst of the four.

Everything in the kingdom must be protected.
And it was Lewis’s oath.

“Terra. “The princess has called.”
“Have we arrived already?”
“The saint is already waiting in the throne room, and the distinguished guest will be heading there soon. “The corridor has already been cleared of security.”
“Wait a moment. “I’ll be there soon too.”
“Yes, I understand.”

As the maid bowed her head and left, Terra slowly stood up.
Although she prefers comfortable clothes, she likes to look like a wizard at her royal official presentations.
Because people place greater meaning on what they can see.

When I take off my dusty work clothes, my naked body is revealed, white and shiny like the flesh hidden in the shell.
After shaking my gray hair a few times, it regained its rich golden color.
Luxurious underwear prepared by the royal family, and a tailcoat-shaped robe that exudes excessive elegance.

“As expected, it’s a bit burdensome.”

It would be difficult for even a fairly shy noble to appear in front of a crowd dressed like this.
Isn’t it reflecting the sunlight coming from outside the window like crazy?
Fortunately, the main character of the day was not Terra, so this was the end of it.
As soon as the saint saw her clothes and script given to her, she was horrified and said she would never do such a thing.

“I wonder if Lewis will be able to convince me of that…”

She was just about to go to the throne room to hear the persuasion.
Even as she put on her robes and opened her door, Terra’s mind was still filled with thoughts of war.

War is balance.
To completely suppress the enemy with minimal damage, you need to keep all fronts tightly balanced.
The demons who were pounding the Ravier Mountains suffered great damage from Lewis’ holy sword and reached a standstill with the alliance.
The Knights of Holy Light and the Hymn Orchestra, who were trying to return by way of a side road through the desert, were blocked by Rochear’s soldiers.
On the Western Front, soldiers from both countries are fighting without retreating an inch.
And they don’t know that Lewis is still alive.

The enemy’s remaining strength is two of the four major parishes, the Blood Gate Brigade and the Wandering Evangelism Group.
Cheonakdae, Kassel’s bodyguard.
And the second warrior and Antiope.

The remaining forces on this side are the two Archdukes who can fight right away——The Five-Colored Duke and the Gourmet Duke.
And the four heroes who will stop the second hero.

The rest of the arch-competitions are not at their full strength right now, so even if we make exceptions, both sides are fighting tightly, showing more than half of their cards.
She expanded her battlefield as she pleased, and distributed her forces to maintain her balance.
This is where it starts.

“Welcome, Terra.”
“I’m going in. “You can now join the Royal Guard.”
“Yes!”

Cold winter.
If this fight continues, which side will have the advantage?
No one will have an easy answer.
At least it is certain that damage will accumulate on both sides.
Nevertheless, the reason Terra Ernesten proudly opened the throne room door was because this was all in her plan.

War is balance.
And the turning blow hidden by both sides, which can immediately destroy the balance, will be the difference between victory and defeat.
This was the first move Terra prepared.

“Oh, I said I would never do that!! All you have to do is make a statement in my name!!”

He is a stain that Seongguk tried to erase and a living witness who knows their plans in detail.
It was to put Caroline Magdalena at the forefront.

***

I changed into comfortable clothes and lightly washed my face to remove the sand.
And in the throne room where I followed the servant, Erzsebet, who seemed to have just come after parting ways with me, was sitting at the head of the table, and Terra and Caroline were sitting at both ends of the table.

“How are you… ! I definitely left for the north… !!”
“I finished it a long time ago and was on my way back. “Why on earth did I call you?”

As soon as Caroline saw me, she looked quite embarrassed.
Although the table was full of pre-prepared food, she came up to me holding a piece of pure white cloth that definitely did not look like a napkin and shouted.

“Why on earth are you wearing something like that!!”
“This armor? “You saw what the princess gave you.”
“That’s not it… ! Why only me… !!”

When I was having trouble understanding the situation, Erzsebet explained it to me with a nervous look on her face.

“I plan to report Seongguk’s evil deeds through Miss Caroline in a little while.”
“Yes?”
“The story of being connected to the demons is too sensitive, but in any case, it can be proven that they brainwashed their own saint to attack the kingdom.”

So, what does that have to do with my armor?

“But why doesn’t Caroline just refuse? “It is a very important matter, with the fate of both countries at stake.”
“Who said I didn’t like it!? “I don’t like this. This is——!!”

I took a quick peek at the pure white cloth and three or four sheets of parchment that Caroline had picked up.
The content written inside was, as Erzsebet said, a saint who had been used by her country confessing their mistakes while vomiting blood, but there were some peculiarities.

“Be sure to wear the designated clothing and stand on the podium, use 〈 Wings of Radiance 〉 and cry out in tears at the end of the seventh paragraph, and hold back crying for 30 seconds when the second page turns…”
“It’s to increase the effectiveness of the speech.”
“W-You want me to wear a piece of cloth like this and even spread my wings!? And that in front of all those people!?”
“What’s so difficult? I’m not telling you to go out naked. And since your name is completely unknown in the royal capital, you have to do something like this to show that you are a saint.”

Well, now I know why you’re taking your anger out on my armor.
Erzsebet, Terra, and I, who are here now, are dressed in luxurious clothes that will inevitably attract attention no matter where we go on the street.
The costume that Caroline was given was also a toga with quite a bit of exposure, and it had such a sacred design that anyone who looked at it could not help but think that the person wearing it was a saint.

On the other hand, unless she was a true saint, her clothes were so flashy that no sane religious person would ever wear them.
If I were to be honest, I think it would be closer to an angel than a priest.
They even took out their wings.
If it were me, I would just fly into the sky and run away.

To put it bluntly, it would be so fucking embarrassing.

“I-I can’t…” … ! I will not!!”

Caroline, who usually wore arbitrarily modified priest clothes, would never accept the request.
The moment she steps up to that podium, she will be featured in every newspaper on the continent, and assuming she does not return to her country, she will have to attend her academy for one more year.
At least in Parenzia, you can never carry your face.
Maybe it will follow you around like a tag for the rest of your life.

“…”
“…”

Then, naturally, I realized why I had been called here.
A big man who convinces her with just one word to let her wear those clothes.
The two women’s stinging eyes contained a belief that, if it were me, I would be able to resolve the situation, even though I did not like her.

“You too, say something! Do you want me to be humiliated!?”

Rather, I like that she is more honest when she shows shyness like now.
I thought persuasion itself wouldn’t be difficult.
However, the only persuasion I know how to do is to just rush in like I did at the Grand Council.
Even if Terra is like that, is it okay for her to look like that in front of Ergé Bette?

“Hey, Louis… ?”

Well, I guess it’s okay.
She also seems to know exactly what method Caroline used to wake me up.
More than anything, I was very tired right now, so I wanted to get over it quickly and take a nap since I was busy with the speech.
Since we had run from Sandalphonia to Thessalon without stopping at all, it was not the time to be embarrassed.

“Come here.”
“Huh?”

Caroline gave me a puzzled look as I tapped her knee.

“You want me to come? “Come and give me some of it.”
“Yes… Kwaaa!?”

As she came closer, he grabbed her waist and sat her on his lap.
After looking at her embarrassed look and taking a quick look at the saint’s clothes, I placed them in Caroline’s hands and said,

“It’s not a spirit even if you look at it, right? “There’s no need to do this, right!?”
“I want to see what you’re wearing.”
“What!?”

A skilled negotiator never shows hesitation or hesitation on his face.
When it was time to push, you had to lay down a steel plate and insist firmly so that the opponent would be embarrassed.

“I want to see you wear this and even spread your wings.”
“Are you crazy!? What kind of bullshit is this all of a sudden… !!”

Do it.

“No?”
“Hey, hey… !”
“It’s pretty, this one.”
“Tsk… !!”

She bit her lip as he pressed his body closer to hers.
The divine power flowing from a body with as many as nine sacred powers created my favorite, comfortable scent as soon as our hands touched each other.
If it were Liv, she would have finished persuading her by touching her stomach, but that doesn’t work on Caroline.
As I gently held her hand and looked into her eyes, she lowered her head without being able to do anything.

“Just think for a moment…”
“…”
“It’s not your responsibility… !!”
“…”
“Boo, don’t make that pitiful face, you idiot! No matter how much…”
“…”
“…”

Should we push further here?
Or not…

“… “Oh, I understand.”

This is it.

“Let go of your hands. I’ll change and come back…”
“Okay.”
“Are you going right away today?”
“No. I’m going to go in and take a nap. I don’t know when I’ll go yet. “It won’t be long.”
“There is today… Okay.”

I don’t know what she meant by finally understanding, but she opened the door and walked out with a half-resigned expression.
It’s easier than you think.
There was no problem even if I just contacted them through communication modification.
Putting her pride aside, she put on a relaxed smile and waited for Terra and Erzébet’s praise and admiration.
Because in moments like these, it’s better to stay still.

“… “He’s a very good player.”
“You’ve been like that since you were young? Nova was so worried.”
“Terra is having a hard time. Ah, should I call you Sir now?”
“Yeah, well… “It’s a good title for me, but princess, please be careful.”
“Ha, me? To a man like that?”

But for some reason, the gazes of the two people were not so kind.

***

“His Holiness the Pope! “We’re in big trouble!!”

The wire solidified.
The kingdom’s power is stronger than you think.
Fagaras Tvalisi, leader of the Blood Gate Brigade, delivered urgent news to Kassel, who was looking at the map with an expression as hard as the frozen ground.

“The Kingdom has issued a statement. In the name of Caroline Magdalena… !”
“Isn’t this what you already expected? “The fact that her royal family will lead the public opinion war on her.”

Although we failed to eliminate Caroline in advance, there is no major problem.
To be precise, it will be of some help to them, but it means that the soldiers of the Holy Kingdom will not be greatly disturbed.
A woman from the Blood Gate Brigade who dabbles in black magic and is now attached to an enemy country.
From the beginning, Caroline Magdalene’s position within the Holy Kingdom was nothing compared to the glory of her predecessor, Eris Prashuhra.

“Terra Ernisten is making her case.”
“Then we just have to fight back with a battle of strength. Please reveal her activities during her time in the brigade. “With a few modifications.”

If it drags you into a dirty fight, that’s enough.
Did she really think that her own army would be defeated like this?
Cassel was upset even after seeing Caroline through the video screen.

– Sadly… Monarch has already betrayed the will of the Goddess. Ugh, the evils of the temple piled up like a mountain of sin, blocking the sky, and the Greek sun lost its light!!

“It’s squeezed out just like fruit in a juicer.”
“… “Isn’t acting like that your specialty?”

The pure white robes that seem to embody her purity and the slightly reddened corners of her eyes create an even deeper appeal.
The people of her royal capital could not take their eyes off her, as if they were mesmerized by her beautiful appearance and her well-dressed clothes that revealed her voluptuousness that could not be hidden.
An official declaration by a saint who claims to be a servant of the goddess.
The crowd’s reaction was very enthusiastic.

“Please bring up mass tomorrow by an hour. “We also prepared a video screen here.”
“All right.”

But Cassel wasn’t too worried even then.
Because no matter how much they dressed up Caroline and used her, she had a very critical flaw.
It’s Seonghwi.

“Anyway, there is no real repercussions for a saint with only one holy title. “If you deal with it resolutely, it will pass.”
“You’re right.”

The moment when he lost interest and tried to cut off his magic from the video sphere being transmitted.

— As a servant of Greece, I swear that what I have just told you is the truth without any lie. As proof… I’ll show you right here.

Pure white wings sprouted from Caroline’s back.

— The nine sacred signs received from the Goddess will guide me and you to the truth.
“What… !?”

And at the words that followed, Fagaras and Cassel froze like pumice stones.