Chapter 807 – People Who Suffer

000

Even while the festival continues, the political affairs of the Eastern Kingdom do not stop.

As is natural in any country, in order for the people below to enjoy the present, the people above needed to make an effort to maintain the status quo.

After a long meeting lasting several hours, each subject goes to his or her own office to do his or her work, and the owner of the palace, Prince Miyeom, his children Riomes, and Damian remain behind.

＂Haa…＂

The meeting with the subjects is over, but I have to call the people of the upper chamber and the temple for a meeting, so I am waiting for their arrival.

As Riomes sighed, Damian looked at his sister.

＂Why are you doing this, sister?＂

“Uhm… Even though the festival has started, I can’t leave the palace, so I can’t meet the instructor. I guess I should at least see his face before I get too busy. I was just thinking about it.”

“Because you were away a few days before the start of the Five Elements Festival. Well, since you are the instructor, I don’t think you wasted your time.”

As Damian nods like that, he thinks that he hasn’t seen Cleon face to face for several weeks either.

“Lord Cleon is probably busy running around Asteris as the protagonist of the exorcism.”

Lord Miyeom quietly joined in on the child’s topic, brushed his beard and answered.

Although it did not appear during the meeting with his subjects just moments ago, there was a report on the incidents that occurred during the Five Elements Festival in one of the documents he had piled up next to him.

From small details such as a theft incident or a fight between travelers, to large-scale stories such as a part of a building collapsing and people being injured.

It is fortunate that most things are being resolved smoothly.

And among them, there are reports about damage caused by ghosts that occur during the Five Elements Festival or the history of exorcising ghosts.

Of course, the worst situation is the occurrence of ‘attribution’.

Because it was necessary to prevent phenomena such as the creation of a runaway locomotive with no way to recover, shamans and priests, separate from the protagonists of the exorcism, dressed up as ordinary people and walked around the interior of Asteris.

Of course, it was difficult for them to exorcise ghosts on their own, so most of their job was to tie the feet of ghosts and evacuate people around them when ghosts occurred.

In the meantime, it is to buy time for the anti-ghost or the protagonist of the exorcism to arrive.

Also, when nobles inevitably arise, it has the role of sealing them and taking them to the temple.

“First… According to the report received, there was no damage caused by ‘the nobleman’ yesterday.”

When Miyeomgong read the numbers written on a piece of paper the size of his palm, Damian nodded as if he knew that.

“As expected, you are the instructor. Almost every year, no matter how hard the leading exorcists and anti-ghosts try, at least one or two people suffer from attribution.”

“They say the amount of ghosts that occurred was much higher than last year, and it says that all of them have been dealt with.”

“From what I heard, he was running around Asteris like lightning.”

Riomes responded to his father’s words and looked out the window of the conference room.

To ensure smooth meetings, a soundproof barrier is currently in place surrounding the palace, but once it is lifted, the outside will be filled with the voices of the people excited by the fever of the festival.

After the sacred dance ceremony announcing the start of the Five Elements Festival that took place at the temple yesterday, I was unable to take a single step out of the palace because I had to take care of all the pending government affairs.

However, if he were to talk about it, his father, Miyeom-gong, was suffering from a much heavier workload.

Bombing plan by ‘Vajra’, a huge flying fortress that will rise during the Five Elements Festival by the Exile Church.

According to the information received from Cleon, there was meaning in starting the Five Elements Festival instead of evacuating the citizens from Asteris.

For the subsequent measures, to prepare for the internal operation of the exiled church that would occur before that, and to strengthen the barrier in cooperation with the temple, Miyeomgong himself was seeking out and using all the means available to him.

Also, no matter how much of a countermeasure was established by Cleon and his party, and although it was necessary for that countermeasure, it is the responsibility of the ruler to wonder whether it was really the right choice not to evacuate the people outside Asteris.

Because of them, Miyeom-gong had not been able to sleep properly at night for the past few days.

And although Rio Mes and Damian looked like he was no different from usual to his subjects, they could see that his father was overdoing things to his children.

But it would be difficult for them to relieve themselves of that agony.

They knew best what kind of person their father was.

So, there was nothing they could do now except hope that Asteris would have clear skies and the sacred tree that surrounds the sky and earth would remain safely there even after all this was over.

“Majesty. Herti and the messenger from the temple have arrived.”

The voice of a subject heard from outside.

Duke Miyeom asks his subjects to come inside, regaining the tension that had been relieved.

Now, once again, it was the beginning of a meeting that was like a long distance marathon.

001

[Urryaaa!]

As he felt Slash’s voice echoing through his head to the point that it hurt his ears, Cleon saw that the tree ghost in front of him was split in half and died.

A strange sense that what was cut was one’s own body, but the will was not one’s own.

As expected, the phenomenon of the body not moving properly the moment it encountered the tree ghost continued.

I couldn’t help but feel fortunate that Slash was a sword that could move as it pleased without worrying about such things.

And while the tree ghost was disappearing, Cleon took out a cylindrical magic tool – a dominant cylinder – from his bag.

Within it, more than half of the magical power was already filled, and as it absorbed the magical energy of the tree ghost that had just been defeated, the amount increased further.

Even compared to other common ghosts, these tree ghosts were found to have a significant amount of magical power.

After cleaning the area thoroughly to prevent any remaining magical power from being absorbed into the spirit vein again, Cleon sighed.

With the help of Selena and Diora, it has been several hours since I dealt with the tree ghosts that appeared in various places in Asteris.

In the meantime, ordinary ghosts also appear, and when the half-ghost is called, they run towards that place, and when Diora throws a telepathy message again, they go to catch the tree ghost.

‘One body is not enough.’

While I was worried that the inside of the dominant cylinder would be full by the time the sun went down, I sat down on a bench in the street and took a short break –

“You were here, Cleon. It’s just like Illenu said. Are you taking a break?”

Then, when he heard a voice calling him, he looked around and saw Emma and Illenu looking at this place.

Cleon, who remembered the last time they had parted ways, was a little embarrassed and fell silent for a moment, but soon regained his composure and greeted them warmly.

＂Emma and Illenu. Well… That’s what it feels like. Are these two people watching the festival?”

“Ugh, I was looking for Cleon.”

When Emma says that, Illenu puts her hand on his waist and sighs.

“She said she was going to take care of herself, but Emma said she was worried about you. I even rented the kitchen of the teahouse.”

＂Kitchen?＂

When Cleon responds as if he doesn’t know what’s going on, Emma hands Cleon the small bag she was holding in her hand.

When I opened it, there was a kingdom-style sandwich that Cleon had not seen in a month.

＂Oh…!＂

Cleon made a voice of admiration without realizing it, and Emma smiled as she watched Cleon’s reaction.

“It’s a lunch box. The shaman from Cleon’s party will be at the temple, so I thought there would be no one to take care of such things right now.”

＂… That’s true, but it’s been a while since I’ve seen a kingdom-style sandwich. After coming to the Kingdom of the East, Kuon fell in love with this country’s recipes, and became distant from the kingdom’s food.”

“I helped you too, so please be thankful.”

When Illenu said that, Cleon noticed that one of the sandwiches had more inside than necessary, so much so that it was sticking out of the bread.

“Is this what you made?”

＂Poetry, it’s noisy.＂

Ilenu blushed at Cleon’s point, but did not deny it.

Then Emma gives the water bottle she was holding to Cleon.

“There’s a water bottle here too. Bring it to the teahouse later.”

＂Are you leaving already?＂

＂Do you want to talk more with us?＂

When Emma mischievously asked Cleon’s question, Cleon hesitated as if slightly embarrassed, and Emma smiled and answered Cleon.

“We also have to go back to the teahouse. It’s still during business hours.”

“Because it’s during the festival, there are a lot of customers at the teahouse. At lunchtime, everyone goes to restaurants, so I just took a guess at the timing and left.”

“I see… Thank you both. I’ll eat well.”

After Cleon answered like that, Illenu said, ‘I made a little too much, but eat it without leaving anything behind!’, Nailed it, and left the place with Emma.

And, looking down at the lunch box again, it may be a bit too much to eat alone.

Even if you are a man in your 20s with a big appetite.

Just when I thought it would be nice to have someone to eat with…

＂Ugh…＂

A tired voice is heard, and Cleon, who senses someone approaching the bench, raises his head.

There, Aisha, wearing the same clothes as someone working on a construction site, was exhausted, with a hard hat on her head and a towel wrapped around her neck.

Thanks to her hardhat, the horns on her head were hidden, so from the outside you wouldn’t think she was a noblewoman.

“It’s been a while, Cleon… Can I sit next to you…?”

＂Ah, ah… Of course.＂

As Cleon moved a little to the side for her, thinking about whether she, who is a noblewoman and has more stamina than a human, could be so exhausted from work, Aisha sighed heavily as she sat down her exhausted body on her chair.

“It’s the Five Elements System… Are you working?”

＂Please tell me that I am working because it is the Five Elements System. Because we need money to make a living. I have to save up money to prepare for studying abroad at the academy… Repairing a collapsed building, preparing for a street vendor at night… Rather, it’s an opportunity to work while receiving additional allowances. And, you are also working during the Five Elements Festival, right?”

＂Well… This is more like volunteer work since there is no pay.＂

When Cleon said that, Aisha answered.

“It’s volunteer work without compensation… We did the same right after we made the pledge.”

Cleon nodded his head, remembering what he heard.

After recalling her gratitude, Aisha blushed and fanned herself with her hand, perhaps feeling a little embarrassed.

＂Well, well. Anyway. Let’s cheer each other up. We will work hard and not be ashamed of the opportunity given to us by Cleon.”

Saying that, she must have had a hard time withstanding the slightly awkward atmosphere, and when Aisha tried to move to another place-

＂Wait!＂

Her Cleon calls her and stops her.

Aisha slowly turned her head towards Cleon, wondering if she had done something wrong.

＂What is it?＂

“No. Actually, I received a box lunch a little while ago… But it was a bit big. If it’s okay, wouldn’t you like to help me?”

And when Cleon took out her sandwich from her bag and showed it to her, Aisha’s saliva started flowing out of her mouth without realizing it.

＂Hot!?＂

And, astonished by her sudden depravity, she wipes the corners of her mouth.

“I never thought there would be such a positive response.”

When Cleon himself said it was unexpected, Aisha blushed and waved her hand.

＂Uh, like that! Someone like me is stealing Cleon’s lunch! I can’t do such an ungrateful thing…”

Rumbling…

And Aisha’s stomach, which recognized her food with her eyes, was making sounds that were different from her will.

＂…＂

Both Cleon and Aisha fell silent for a moment at that sound, and then—

“… Because it’s okay. Really.”

While Cleon was saying this, he took her and sat her down in her chair, then picked out a nice-looking sandwich (all of which Emma had made were in excellent shape) and placed it in her hand.

“For those who work hard, there is a corresponding reward.”

＂~~Ugh…! Okay, thank you…! I think I can work at night with this!”

As she spoke, she filled her mouth with the sandwich Cleon had given her, filled with emotion.

Cleon looked at her, then suddenly came to her senses and answered.

＂No, rest properly at night…＂

It was a pretty cold tackle.

When others hear her say, ‘You’re doing well,’ she may have been a boomerang coming back to herself.

In any case, once this short lunch break passed – it was back to Cleon’s work time, where he had to exorcise ghosts as the protagonist of the exorcism.