Chapter 126

Ugh, I’M So Tired, So Tired.
I was out with Sandra until dawn yesterday, and when I finally got home, Diana and Irian were waiting with fire in their eyes.

Luckily, they didn’t seem to know about Sandra, but still, lying to my wives made my tiny conscience prick like crazy.

I felt bad, so I shook my hips extra hard, but today, Diana seemed suspicious, saying I seemed weaker than usual. Crazy… I thought I was about the same as yesterday, how did she even check that?

So… I had to give up my male pride. I made an excuse that I overdid it yesterday, and only then did they let go of their suspicion, which made me despair. Damn… physical ability… I’ll definitely raise it.

After not getting a wink of sleep, I came out to find the temple front bustling from dawn, and it turned out Cha Hyewon was causing a ruckus about leaving.

Haa… what’s with her again. She knows there’s a meeting today, so what’s with this nonsense? I barely managed to calm her down, and now she’s saying weird things.

“Who are you to tell me what to do?”
“What?”
“You. What are we to each other? Why do you keep telling me what to do?”

What are we? We are…

“Well…”

…What are we? What are we?
I was asked what my relationship with Cha Hyewon was yesterday too. Back then, my mind was so cluttered with other thoughts that I answered whatever came to mind… but now that she’s asking me directly, I’m at a loss for words.

Our first meeting was unpleasant. Now, I think of her as a somewhat prickly friend… She’s the only other modern person in this world, after all.

She’s the only one I can talk to about modern things, things I can’t even tell Diana and Irian. She’s always being prickly, but I’ve gotten used to it now. But if I say we’re friends, will this tsundere accept it happily?

Cha Hyewon is even worse than Irian. She’s a tsundere to the extreme. No, she’s just tsun-tsun-tsun. Does she even have a dere side? Her ratio is so messed up.

She still sees everyone in this world except me as NPCs, and she seems to have a lot of pride in herself, and a strong sense of self-respect. She’s the type who’s tiring because she has such strong standards.

If I call her a friend… I probably won’t hear anything good.

“Rival?”
“…Huh?”

The word popped out unconsciously. Now that I’ve said it, it sounds plausible. After all, aren’t we in a friendly competition?

“Well, yeah. Aren’t we rivals in a friendly competition… haha?”
“Why, why? Why a rival!”

Why is she reacting like this? I was dumbfounded by her shouting with a wronged expression. Then what did she want?

“Well… we have a connection, but not to the point of being close. And we’re definitely not on bad terms. A moderate relationship, similar positions and situations. A relationship where we’re subtly aware of each other. Isn’t that a rival…?”
“…Okay. Let’s be rivals. Rivals are good. Okay, fine. Let’s see who wins. Huh? Let’s see who wins.”
“Why, why are you like this? Huh? Hey, are you really going to leave like this? Huh? Huh? Running away?”
“Ah, damn it! Fine, damn it, I’ll attend that meeting! Happy now!”

Anyway, it was going to end up like this. She’s really tsun-tsun-tsun, that girl.

* * *

“Envoys from the Empire. Envoys from the Eastern Federation. The Kingdom of Falken, the Kingdom of Sumir, the Kingdom of Lueres, the Kingdom of Nahara, the Kingdom of Astru, the Kingdom of Frezia… they’re all gathering.”
“It’s been hundreds of years since the Holy War was declared. Oh, what’s that? Did the beastmen send a representative too?”
“Those over there seem to be from the Northern Grand Duchy. Look at that pure white hair. It’s as white as their homeland, which is said to have nothing but snow, just like the rumors.”
“There are mages too. Those wearing colorful robes, they must be representatives from the Magic Tower.”

The main conference room of the Holy Nation of Hespote.
Dozens of people were seated around a huge circular table, and with their attendants, there were hundreds of people filling the conference room.

Hundreds of years since the Demon King was sealed.
It had been hundreds of years since a Holy War was declared. The Order informed the nations and organizations they officially recognized of this fact, and announced the holding of a grand conference for the first time in hundreds of years. Thus, the conference, which was to be called the Huran Grand Conference, was held in accordance with the declaration of the Holy War in Huran City.

Representatives from all over the continent gathered in Hespote for this continent-shaking event, and a vast power that encompassed the continent gathered here.

“Then, we shall now begin the Grand Conference.”

The representatives of the Order were the five cardinals. Instead of the five cardinals who were seated at the table, the one who was in charge of the proceedings of the conference was the one who declared the Holy War and was newly appointed as a cardinal in his twenties… it was me.

“Yes. Representative of the Kingdom of Falken, please speak.”
“Ahem. I am the Grand Duke of Falken, the Count of Achen, Intzbune, and Holin, and Cologne…”
“Godwin. How long are you going to ramble on with your fancy self-introduction?”
“What! You little runt!”
“What? Runt? You ignorant fool! You have nothing to show for yourself but being the king’s brother, how dare you call me that!”

…I knew it. Damn it, why is the hard work always mine? Those damn cardinals.

“Prince Godwin, and Shelranhu Eirene. Please restrain yourselves. This is a conference space where envoys from each country have gathered. Surely, the noble prince and the lord of the jewel of the north, Shelran, wouldn’t start a fight in this important meeting…”
“Ahem.”
“Hmph. Proceed with the meeting, young cardinal.”

There were dozens of influential people sitting at the table. I almost died trying to memorize the names of all these people.

Why are their positions so long, why are their names so difficult, and why are their relationships and national relations so complicated? My head is going to explode. This is why the working-level staff suffers. The higher-ups just sit back and say, “Let’s have a meeting~,” but the working-level staff has to coordinate and prepare everything!

…Wait. But why am I the working-level staff? Even though I’m equal to the five cardinals sitting here? I’m a cardinal too? Damn it. This kind of thing should be done by subordinates.

…Damn it. Yeah. It’s all my fault. It’s my fault for being an orphan with no background, for declaring a Holy War on my own, and for making enemies everywhere while climbing the ladder to success as an unprecedented cardinal in my twenties.

The result of struggling to preserve my position is this.

“Cardinal! Get on with it!”
“Ah, I apologize. Then… the incident began with the discovery of traces of demons in the free cities of the Irup Lowlands.”

The demon’s minion that the envoys from Grampo presented as evidence. And the dispatch of an investigation team led by the Saintess to investigate and resolve the situation.

“The investigation team was able to find traces of demons in Grampo. The city was contaminated by the mayor, who was trying to resurrect the dead using a fragment of the sealed Archdemon… the Archdemon of Immortality, to be precise.”

The people’s gazes were indifferent. The Empire and the kingdoms already knew this. Those who coveted the enormous wealth of the free cities of the Irup Lowlands. The Empire and the kingdoms that bordered them had always coveted the wealth of the free cities, so there was no way they wouldn’t know about such a major incident.

Of course, there were some groups that showed interest, but they were relatively few. Most were negative about the declaration of the Holy War, which would clearly further increase the already high power of the Order.

“Wasn’t that incident already over? I heard that the Archdemon of Immortality was just a sealed fragment and was defeated on the spot.”
“That’s right, Grand Duke Giyem of Uzes. Fortunately, the demon of Grampo was dealt with, but we found traces of demons continuing, and as a result of pursuing them with the Saintess… as you all know, we headed to Huran City.”

I told a suitably embellished story. The Saintess and I discovered traces of demons continuing, but since we didn’t find any evidence, we made the excuse that we were conducting an unofficial pursuit.

I made a self-justification that was either believable or not, and presented the evidence.

“As a result of following the traces of demons that led to the underground of Huran City… we were able to catch the tail of the followers of the Archdemon of Blood.”

This was undeniable, solid evidence.
Especially since the enormous demonic power emanating from the corpse of that tentacle monster was enough to contaminate the land. The role of the followers of the Archdemon of Blood was significant in making the Holy War, which I had declared arbitrarily, official.

It was a pain in the ass back then, but thinking about it now, they’re grateful guys. Thanks to them, I’m making a living.

“What were they doing in the underground of that insignificant city? And what were those hordes of monsters that were surrounding the city?”

The people who had been indifferent showed interest in the question of the mage with the luscious beard, who was asking with curious eyes.

They were negative about the Holy War, which would maximize the influence of the Order, which was at its peak, but they were curious about the traces and followers of the Archdemon that had been discovered for the first time in hundreds of years.

Especially since they had mobilized a large number of monsters to fight against humans, it was natural to be interested in what their goal was. Perhaps this was the goal of many of those gathered here. To understand the goals of the Archdemon and his followers, but to scuttle or postpone the Holy War.

The religious power had become so bloated that it was suppressing the secular power, so there was no way that the secular rulers would allow the power of the Order to grow.

“Their goal is, of course, the resurrection of the Demon King and the Archdemon. As all of you here can guess.”
“Hmph. Nothing special. So? You’re going to declare a Holy War to catch those incompetent fools who can’t even conquer a small city?”
“The power of the followers is not limited to this. They are always among us, and they are operating in the shadows. It is dangerous to underestimate their power based on this one incident.”
“Then what do you suggest? Declaring a Holy War to beat them up… well, that’s good. Then where are those demon minions? Among us, hiding in the shadows? We need to find that out first.”

Tch. That’s the problem.
We crushed the exposed forces, so now we have to draw out the hidden ones… it’s not easy. If the guys who have been operating in the shadows for so long were easy to find, they would have been wiped out by now.

The biggest problem was that there was no clear enemy, even though the Holy War had been declared. And in the first place, I, who declared the Holy War, had no intention of gathering a large army. Not yet.

The full-scale alliance of secular and religious powers to gather an army would come after the enemies’ movements became full-fledged. Now it was time to drag them out of the shadows.

“Esteemed everyone. I have personally turned demons to ashes, and through the blood of their followers, I have realized that their goal is closer than we think. Of course, I know that it is difficult to feel the danger of those who are not exposed. However, peace is always a right granted to those who prepare for war. Long ago, our ancestors had to pay the price with a great war because they overlooked the danger of the adversaries.”

What I want is simple.
A foothold in the Order. Status. And compensation through it.

And.

“We must be different. For peace, for the prosperity of mankind, we must prepare for war. The fact that the enemies are not visible means that their preparations are not complete, so we must not waste this precious time. But I also know that it is difficult to prepare for an invisible enemy. Therefore, I propose it here.”

I need my own elite force, for myself.
It’s time to formalize my party.

“To investigate the darkness of the continent… to reveal the adversaries, the Saintess and I, as a cardinal, will take the lead. I will take responsibility for clearing away the darkness. I will risk my life to bring light to the dark places. Would you please provide me with some conveniences, including passage rights and investigation rights in each country?”