Chapter 181 – 15. Return (2)

The pace of the delegation’s march back to Ulstro Kingdom was quite fast.

It was because everyone missed their homeland. There weren’t many nobles in the delegation anyway, and if there were, most of them were officers or knights. Just like the continental folklore that the march speed increases whenever the number of nobles decreases, their march was unstoppable.

Running almost straight distance like that, the delegation was able to reach Ulstro’s border much faster every time they came to Ventorino Kingdom.

But after that, it slowed down again.

Still, the delegation did not complain.

It was because every estate in the alley on the way back to the capital provided them with splendid banquets and abundant sights. And they, too, felt the reason for the reduced speed.

It was only natural that the road itself was different from when we headed to Ventorino.

“So, how do the nobles react?”

“To be honest, there are a lot of people who are anxious.”

“Hmm, is that so too?”

At Mercedes’ reply, Valdez shook his head.

1 The reason why the princess had to go to the capital by moving around the delegation’s march route was simple.

It was to check the condition of the local nobility and public sentiment.

Not a little time has passed since demons attacked the conference hall of the two kingdoms. It was judged that this fact could not be hidden even in the Kingdom of Ventorino, and on the contrary, it actively announced it and made Valdes and the captain of the guard into heroes. This was enough to spread the news to Ulstro Kingdom.

The reaction to this was different from Ventorino’s.

Unlike the people of the Kingdom of Ventorino, who were furious with the fact that they were attacked and burned their fighting spirit, the Kingdom of Ulstro was afraid. Rather than being afraid of the demons, they were afraid of war and the damage it would cause.

Mercedes was touring the territory that had been particularly damaged during the last war to confirm and read it.

“Even if we start a war anyway, we intend to minimize the damage, but we still have to be careful.”

“That’s right. After all, the people are important.”

No matter how much Valdes controlled the royal family of the two kingdoms, and he continued to schem against the nobles, it was impossible to seize the continent peacefully.

Aside from the hostility towards the demons, it is inevitable that the interests of the ruling class collide. If there are people who betray humans for profit, on the contrary, there are people who can never hold hands because of profit. War was inevitable unless Valdes gave up.

Mercedes, who was well aware of that fact, had a bitter expression on her face.

Unsatisfied and apologetic, Valdez turned his head to look at Marie and changed the topic.

“How is Jurina?”

“Is it Jury? She’s calm now… But honestly, I don’t know what she’s thinking.”

“Hmm.”

In fact, she’s been pretty quiet at the moment.

Not only in terms of behavior, but also in terms of speech. It wasn’t that he couldn’t get along with other people, but it was because he was overly cautious at the thought of where Valdes’ subordinates might be.

Because she behaved so cautiously, her Juri and those of her who approached me also found it difficult for her. A rare race in Ulstro called the beastmen, a former guard from a neighboring country, a beautiful woman who looks easygoing but wants to get close. If she put her mind to it, she could become a celebrity in an instant, but because of the incident with Valdez, Jurina was showing a completely different side of herself.

“It wouldn’t be like that. …Well, that can’t be helped.”

Virtually infiltrating the enemy.

It was a situation where Jurina could not tell who was the enemy and who was the ally.

Being extremely prudent and cautious was inevitable. She was even more so because she said Marie, as if she had to be careful, implicitly.

“So what will Jurina do, brother?”

“Well….”

At Marie’s question, Valdez stroked her chin and pondered.

She even thought about leaving it for a while. There was nothing Jurina could do anyway, and her actions were all under his supervision of her. Marie, Ethylene, Glet, Elza, and more. In addition, there were some species who did not touch him, but used their liking for him and asked for surveillance.

“I thought I’d just leave it for a while. There’s not much to do while waiting.”

“Eh? Why?”

Her plan behind her this was not explained, so Marie expressed doubt as if she did n’t know.

It was the same with Mercedes.

“Aren’t we moving on to the next one right away? There’s still an empire, a United Republic, a tri-province alliance, and a star kingdom. Besides that…”

“There are also new warriors who have appeared.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Valdes smiled meaningfully at the word hero.

“Then maybe…?”

Marie put on a puzzled expression. She had known Valdez for less than three months now, but he had learned a lot from mixing. A smile like this was enough to read.

“Yes, the next target is the new warriors.”

“You’re saying you’re going to deal with the most annoying ones first.”

“That’s right. I have more time than I originally thought because I got things done sooner than planned anyway. There is about a year and nine months left until preparations for war. You can relax a bit.”

“But aren’t the warriors in the Holy Kingdom? What are you going to do?”

“It’s simple. I just need to join the warrior’s party.”

“!!”

At those words, both princesses made surprised faces.

Only then did they realize what Valdez was after. That’s why he’s willing to wait a few months.

“Ah, I just remembered. I think I read in a book that it is customary for warriors to travel around the continent and ask each country for support when they form a party.”

“I didn’t do that because I became a hero in an emergency situation. I don’t know how many summoned warriors there are, but I’m going to train at the Vatican for at least three months. In addition, I’ I’ll study the continent. And when the time comes…”

“The Vatican will officially declare the existence of the hero and recruit party members for the hero.”

“I’m thinking of participating in it then.”

Instead of answering, Valdez gave a small smile.

Given his skills, it was strange that he failed to recruit party members. If he seemed to be lacking a little in his stronger outward appearance of him, it was enough to say that he became in three months. Because he has a master named Serenia and a revealed figure of a sword genius.

“The justification is sufficient. You can just use what you used in the martial arts competition.”

“There’s also an attack during the meeting here.”

“The Goddess Church may not like it, but the larger the party members are recruited, the harder it is to count.”

“If you do it wrong, you can create a strange controversy.”

“Wow… That’s fine, plan!”

Marie’s eyes sparkled.

Depending on the detailed details, it will be divided whether it is really good or a clumsy plan, but when I heard this far, the possibility was sufficient and the probability of success seemed high.

Although it was more problematic after infiltrating a party member, it was Valdes who had already done a lot of work in the two kingdoms. Even though I was a little anxious, it was more strange that I couldn’t believe it.

“But if you join the party of warriors, you won’t be able to see them for a while.”

“Ah, that’s right…”

The expressions of the two princesses darkened.

It was impossible because Marie had no ability to fight at all. And in the first place, both of them had no way of joining the warrior party due to their status as princesses. If a problem arises, it can become diplomatically complicated. The reason why the Goddess Church was recruiting party members on a large scale was because they couldn’t bring in royalty or high-ranking nobles.

Valdez spread his arms and hugged her sister, who was saddened by her shoulders. And he comforted them.

“What are you so depressed about? You still have a few months left.”

As I patted their backs with the arms I was holding, Mercedes and Marie also began to straighten their faces little by little.

“Huh, that’s right.”

“Haa… In the meantime, I’ll have to work hard with my older brother.”

“How many more months will it take to return to Ulstro?”

“It won’t be coming back soon. It usually goes in a close direction.”

“But at the same time… It will be an opportunity for you.”

“Okay.”

There were several reasons why Valdes wanted to join the warrior party.

The first is to get close to the heroes and deal with them before they get stronger and bigger. It was unknown how strong the twin heroes who were summoned from another world would be. It is because the information is strictly controlled in the Holy Kingdom.

However, although he did not know his current strength, it was clear that he would definitely become stronger in the future. In the first place, the warrior was such a being. No matter how weak it is at the moment, its potential is overwhelming. All the heroes so far have defeated the Demon King within two years of being appointed.

Because of this, it was necessary to break it before it got any stronger.

The second was related to the actions of the warrior party. They are bound to visit each country without fail. As a warrior, it was to draw proper support from the rulers of each country. This tradition is handed down from a time when the development of magic was still lacking.

I don’t think it’s necessary in this era where conversations can be made even at a distance with magic, but it was a useful tradition in its own way. The hero directly visits the capitals of important countries to boost the morale of the continent, and wakes up the nobility and the royal family with heavy hips to oppose the demons. It was pretty effective.

‘… I also traveled to neighboring countries….’

Valdez recalled the past with a faint expression.

Starting from the Holy Kingdom, the three-pronged alliance, the Dezac Empire, the United Republic, the Ulstro Kingdom, and finally the Ventorino Kingdom. The last two countries were already at the front, so it didn’t mean much. And out of the above three countries, only one country provided proper support.

The three-pronged alliance ignored the warrior party with all sorts of excuses, and the core forces of the United Republic did not move.

Dragon especiallys.

While he was appointed as the director of the United Republic, he constantly demanded various treasures. And with the dragon at the center, members of the legislature constantly repeated enmity.

It is clearly a nation created to resist the demons, and it is an organization, but they did not know how to unite. There was a faction that didn’t care whether humans died or not, and there was a faction that only defended their country, and there was a faction that had to follow the opinion of the dragon. In addition, different factions appeared, such as the need to stabilize the country, and the need to establish an empire with a dragon as emperor rather than a republic.

At least, the different races who came to the front line to make a contribution and the Beast tribe, who were actively fighting the war against the demons from the beginning, were of great help.

‘And as one later… Tsk. I fell into a flashback without even realizing it.’

He unconsciously furrowed his brow and clicked his tongue.

I have many good memories of what happened at that time, but as a result, there were a lot of annoying things. All of my comrades died or betrayed me. There are those who do not, but the number is small and the amount of memories is also small.

When Valdez’s expression didn’t look good, Marie suddenly raised her hand and shouted.

“Oh, brother!”

“… Ah yes. Why?”

“I-I! There’s a place I want to go!”

“Suddenly? What, where?”

“The Grand Mage’s dungeon!”

“… There? Why?”

He had an unpleasant face. Although he grandiosely calls it the Grand Mage’s Dungeon, there weren’t many proper things there. First of all, the facilities were for the great mage Robert’s numerous experiments.

There was nothing that would be good for the general public to see.

“You’re going back to the capital anyway, right?”

“Ummm… But I can’t.”

“Yeah?! Why?”

“Yeah…”

Valdez stopped talking and shut his mouth. Then he let out a small sigh.

“What’s going on there… I don’t really want to show you guys. Because Robert is there. I don’t want you to know what I’m going to do to him.”

“Ah…”

Marie, as well as Mercedes, made strange expressions.

At first glance, they seem to be keeping their distance, but Valdes was considerate of them anyway. He doesn’t want to show the people he loves the terrible things he’s about to do. It was the same with the demon prince who was carrying out his cruel revenge.

“Okay. But…”

“Please come back from there as soon as possible.”

“… Haha. Of course.”

The three exchanged glances with each other and laughed.

“Let’s stop talking about this. Where is our next destination?”

“Marquis of Propylene.”

“Propylene? If it’s there…”

“Yes, that’s right. Ethylene’s Youngji.”

It seemed that the day had come to meet a long-time relationship.