18. The Jingluo can rejoice now (Vote, please~)

Although I would later be harshly “penalized” by the queen, her cooperation was truly genuine. During the recess of the summit of nations, I maintained my role as the queen’s attendant, threatening the saintess Ikusis while keeping her sheltered from the queen’s wrath. As the time spent with the saintess increased, the blonde archbishop from the church naturally grew more impatient. However, the queen skillfully used her “idol-like charisma” to delay the situation through subtle tactics.

“What? Still not found? Ah~ Archbishop, such a sensitive issue is beyond our Great Yng Empire’s assistance~ The one who went missing is your ‘nun,’ and we cannot interfere. Besides, even if we wanted to help, my personnel are all busy maintaining order in the royal city during the summit, working overtime every day~ We really have no strength left to assist~”

“What? We’re responsible? Archbishop, the one who went missing… is your nun, oh~ Please don’t shift the blame onto me~ How about having a cup of tea to calm down?”

And so, with the same radiant smile, I sent off the church delegation that had come once again to “ask the queen to find someone.”

【The church believes that Louis IV is intentionally stalling to gain an advantage in the second round of the summit!】

The script proved how perfectly Louis IV’s delay worked; it had been several days since the saintess Ikusis was “kidnapped” by us, and they hadn’t even suspected Louis IV!

You must know, just as that blonde archbishop was anxiously facing the smiling Louis IV, the person he was looking for was hiding in a room just a wall away from us!

“Ha~ Dealing with impatient and foolish people is just a waste of time~”

After mockingly sending off the blonde, Louis IV let out a momentary sigh of relief, then quickly switched back to her usual tone and opened the door for me, who was hiding inside with Ikusis.

“Both of you, the archbishop has left~”

Only then did I pull the handkerchief out of Ikusis’s mouth, enduring her resentful glare and the still silly script.

【Ikusis is plotting to stab Oqiliad!】

【But it failed.】

“Your Highness the Saintess, don’t you see? The archbishop isn’t worried about you; he’s just in a hurry to find you so he can use you.”

“Mm!”

The script hadn’t changed, and I knew without thinking that what I said was still too early for Ikusis, that fool, to understand.

“In any case, just be honest for now.”

I sighed; the situation was urgent, and I didn’t have time to make this fool understand. I just needed the saintess to be honest and not develop any strange ideas that would only cause me trouble and put her in danger.

As for the death scripts that emerged in Ikusis’s narrative because I offended her, I didn’t want to deal with them; with her intelligence, any attempt to scheme against me would be absolutely impossible under my narrative’s influence. Moreover, Kefir was always by my side, so I had nothing to fear.

To shake off the foolish saintess Ikusis, the key lay in the second round of the summit, which would have even more attendees after the first round’s recess!

“Come with me.”

After perfunctorily sending off the church’s troublemakers, Louis IV directly pulled me into the hall, her serious expression unmistakably showing her recent busyness. I couldn’t tell if it was because of this reason or because Kefir wasn’t around, but I often felt like “the queen was cultivating me as her trusted underling.”

As for Ikusis, who was also present, the queen didn’t care at all; after all, that fool wouldn’t understand.

“In the first round, our ‘proposal’ ended in a draw due to predictable incidents. We were confident about the second round, but now during the recess, I’ve received some unexpected news, and I think it’s better to inform you in advance.”

After saying this, Louis IV, emboldened by Kefir’s absence, became even more reckless in her attitude towards me, “Aren’t you considering some way to thank me?”

“Your Majesty…”

I pointed at Ikusis, who was lost in thought while staring at a fruit knife; how shameless of the queen to do this in front of others.

“In the second round of the summit, aside from some small peripheral nations expressing their hopes to join, a strange ‘faction’ has also expressed their desire to join. Priest, do you still remember when I first arranged for you and Kefir to go to that so-called ‘relic’ site?”

The goddess’s relic, in my view, was merely a dungeon for Kefir to “level up and loot.” At this moment, the seriousness in Louis IV’s sparkling gaze told me that things were far more complicated than I had imagined.

“The Forbidden Land, I wonder if you’ve heard of that dangerous region.”

“What!?”

The one who became most excited before me was the Saintess Ikusis. She perked up her ears as if she had heard some incredible news, leaning her body to eavesdrop. Then, when Louis IV teased her with a question, she made a clumsy attempt to cover it up.

“The Saintess, who never steps beyond the main gate, seems quite interested in that land where there is no faith in the goddess?”

“Eh? W-what? How could that be, hahaha! I have no interest at all, I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop!”

【Ikusis is very interested in the lawless land!】

The script felt a bit strange, but I didn’t have time to think too much about it now.

“This time, a so-called ‘organization that can represent the lawless land’ has appeared, and its leader wishes to participate in our summit of nations.”

“Isn’t that place rather disorganized?”

I had been to the lawless land before, so I knew it was a paradise for villains! But precisely because it was a gathering place for all sorts of “troublesome” people, it had once been a loose collection of sand. Rather than letting these Dangerous individuals roam freely, it was better to have a gathering point where they could stir up trouble amongst themselves. For this reason, the various countries on the continent had not taken any action against the lawless land.

“It is indeed disorganized, but there have always been organizations, big and small, present. However, recently, these organizations have suddenly formed a ‘large organization’. As a queen, I wouldn’t dislike this; if the other side has a leader who can listen, it would be easier to deal with. But this time, it feels a bit too sudden. I don’t know about you…”

With that, Louis IV fell silent and looked at me.

This time, unlike before, her eyes weren’t shining brightly, and she didn’t have the idol-like smile hoping to “utilize my prophecy.” It was just an ordinary request, which made it a bit harder for me to respond .

“Give me a moment.”

Helping the queen is equivalent to helping myself clear my name, and since I was also very interested, it wouldn’t be a problem to take a look at the script for the queen this time.

I began to read the script for the lawless land!

Unexpectedly, danger struck, as expected.

【The leader of the lawless land killed O’Keefe!】

【The organization from the lawless land is coming to the Great Yng Empire with ulterior motives!】

【Saintess Ikusis is very afraid of the people from the lawless land!】

A strange content mixed in, but I couldn’t care less about the foolish saintess; the key was myself and the Great Yng Empire.

“Queen, please be careful.”

“Thank you. With your words, I will be more vigilant. After all, they will be arriving today, and even if I am reluctant, I must meet them, at least to ‘take a look’.”

The queen forced herself to sound casual.

My mood, however, grew heavier, making me realize that clearing my name wouldn’t be so easy. The foolish saintess was one thing, but why was the lawless land, which I had never provoked, keeping an eye on me?

——

Those who won last month, remember to check the list and join the group; otherwise, I won’t be able to give it to you. This month, should also vote more for everyone the monthly ticket to support me, thank you.