Skeleton Knight, in Another World Volume 7 Chapter 5-6

「The End of Salma Kingdom」

Eastern border of Slama Kingdom, the Branier territory.

The territory originally was a part of Nozan Kingdom, but seventy years ago, it was awarded to the Branier family for their patriarch spearheading the Salma eastern expansion.

Since then, the Branier family was awarded a noble title and tasked with governing the border territory for generations.

In the center of the territory sat an unusual castle. Before the territory had been conquered by Salma Kingdom, the previous lord had resided in a luxurious mansion. However, that mansion had been converted into its current form, complete with a massive defensive wall usually reserved for forts.

In one of the offices within the residence…… an elderly man restlessly waited at his large wooden work desk.

His stout body snugly fit within the lavish chair, while his receding gray hair, sharp eyes, deep wrinkles, and mustache only added to its intimidating figure.

This man was Margrave Wendelin De Branier.

Unlike the nobility of the capital, Margrave Branier possessed the aura of a knight or warrior.

Originally, Salma Kingdom’s borders were once constantly contested by Nozan Kingdom, Delfuento Kingdom, and what is nowadays the Hiruku theocracy, which had been once known as the Arthus Kingdom…… While all of those countries coveted the large and plentiful region, having a military ruler like him govern the land usually kept them at bay.

Still, the circumstances of the neighboring countries changed about a hundred years ago when the power of the Arthus Kingdom was transferred from the King to the Pope of the Hiruku church.

Back then, the Pope used his holy knights to conquer the holy city, and the Arthus Kingdom vanished from the maps when the kingdom’s last king officially transferred power to the church.

The Pope back then had advocated for “Peace among the people”.

After that, where the Arthus Kingdom repeatedly crossed the borders and invaded the other countries, the pope spent his life establishing new borderlines and from that point onward all invasions suddenly ceased.

Despite the unilaterally imposed border, none of the neighboring countries dared to oppose the Hiruku Theocracy because the country had become the center of the most widespread religion on the Continent and was home to the Pope.

The conflict between the three countries took center stage, but Salma Kingdom’s eastern expansion was the last major invasion, the great wars decade spanning wars were reduced to sporadic fights.

One reason was that the Hiruku Theocracy became a rather affluent country once it had been freed from expanses of constant warring.

Witnessing the upturn of the Theocracy’s fortunes sparked a sense of crisis within the other countries, so they began enacting policies that would safeguard their national security.

The nobility of Salma Kingdom left the task of defending the border to the Branier family and pursued power within the Kingdom itself.

As a result, the nobility that had been fundamental to the protection of the country directed their efforts towards gaining the King’s favor and the pleasures of life, it became a rarity for them to protect the border territories.

There was no denying that the establishment of the Hiruku Theocracy calmed the strife between its neighboring nations, bringing peace to the region, but doubts remain about it bringing peace to the people.

Although the nobility lived comfortable lives, the common man was burdened by the cost of their luxurious lifestyles. It couldn’t be said that they lived rich lives.

“If the country falls into chaos, the capital’s nobles might be too late to respond……”

Margrave Branier spoke in the otherwise empty room and looked towards the ceiling as he mulled over these facts.

The recent incidents in his territory were bothering him.

First, there were the sightings mentioned in the reports.

Monsters that had never been seen before had been spotted along the Kingdom’s borders, the witnesses catching sight of them crossing the Uiru river after the creatures left the elven forest of Rouen.

Then there were the reports that one of those very monsters had been seen chasing after an unknown armed force.

In order to gain a hold of the situation, Branier had organized a search party for the monsters and the mysterious armed force.

The soldiers that had conducted the search encountered deformed, two-headed spider-human hybrids. Four of those deformed monsters had been found in the territory and while the platoons suffered heavy casualties, they still managed to defeat them.

The fact that even one of those creatures matched a platoon in terms of strength, and the direction they appeared from, had been enough for him to send messengers to Larisa.

Nozan Kingdom was also a possible target… with those monsters likely chasing some official through his territory, chances were that some kind of tragedy had already occurred inside that Kingdom, so Margrave Barnier had decided to send scouts to the Kingdom.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that whatever report they returned with would determine the fate of Branier’s territory.

Still, all that was still in the future.

It would take at least three days for the scouts to reach the capital of Nozan, and five days for the scouts to reach Salma’s. The return trip would probably take even longer.

Each party had been given a “bird”, so the actual report shouldn’t take twice as long as the trip there.

However, only being capable of waiting was an irritating prospect for Margrave Branier.

“Depending on the situation in Larisa, I may need to broker an alliance with Nozan.”

The Margrave rose from his chair and looked towards the map hanging on a nearby wall when he heard footsteps approaching from outside the room.

He’d expected the usual knock that should have preceded an entry, but it never came because the door was suddenly thrown open and a familiar face rushed into the room.

“Excuse my rowdiness, Wendelin-sama!”

The women who rushed into the room was none other than Branier’s personal assistant.

A foreboding feeling overtook the margrave’s mind as it was rather unusual for her to enter his office unannounced and she was never one to panic.

In fact, he could not even think of even one situation which would cause her to act in her current manner.

The scouts had only left for the capital three days ago.

It was a bit too soon for a report to arrive…… that was the thought crossing Margrave Brianier’s mind as he noticed of the person behind his assistant.

It was a young soldier dressed in the traditional uniform of messengers.

While the messenger was one of his own, before Margrave Brainier could open his mouth, the soldier closed his eyes and began shouting his message.

“The capital city of Larisa is currently besieged by a large number of mysterious undead! Their exact numbers are unknown, but it’s expected to be at least two hundred thousand! The King requests that the brave Margrave send reinforcements!”

With his message delivered, the let out an audible exhale before sucking in a large volume of air.

The content of his message was overwhelming……

“What did you say!!?”

Margrave Brainier’s eyes bulged and the veins in his forehead began to pulse as he tried to gain confirmation from the messenger.

The capital was threatened by two hundred thousand undead…… it was a situation where anyone would ask for confirmation, but even a hardened veteran would’ve been unable to provide a coherent answer in the face of the Margrave’s current intimidating figure.

Even if the undead spontaneously began cropping up in above-average numbers, two hundred thousand of them suddenly appearing defied common sense.

There was a historical precedent that some corpses left on old battlegrounds would occasionally rise as undead, but their numbers rarely exceeded the hundreds, let allow thousands.

To begin with, the numbers just didn’t add up. In this world, when two forces engaged in territorial dispute, they would prepare an average of two thousand troops.

“What type of undead are these two hundred thousand composed of?”

Even though Branier had broken out in a cold sweat, he forced himself to ask the questions that needed to be asked.

The reports on the spider-human monsters suggested that they might be some kind of undead, given their rotten human halves and that their bodies disintegrate upon being slain.

It was the worst case scenario if two hundred thousand of those spider-human monsters were besieging the capital. Every human nation would be at risk of being destroyed if that was the case.

“According to the messenger from the capital, the majority of the horde were armored undead soldiers, while there were a few spider monsters mixed among their ranks!”

The margrave let out a relieved sigh as the worst case situation had been avoided, however, it was only a temporary comfort as their numbers still remained.

While the contents of the report could be confusing and improbable to most listeners, a certain legend was brought to the forefront of Margrave Branier’s mind.

“It can’t be…… ‘Hades’? But, the legends say he was destroyed by the empire.”

Once upon a time, the undead were mere servants to a legendary monster that wreaked havoc across the empire’s territory…… it was said his undead army exceed ten thousand.

Margrave Branier, shook his head to cease such thoughts.

Now wasn’t the time to look for a cause, there was a situation that had to be dealt with.

“…… By the way, if you came from Larisa, haven’t you arrived too early?”

When the margrave asked for an explanation, it was his assistant, not the messenger, who replied.

“I was informed of the matter earlier. Our scouts came across the King’s messenger seeking reinforcements as they traveled towards the capital. The messenger is the only one who returned, while the rest of the party went ahead to conduct reconnaissance. The messenger from the capital will be entering the territory shortly.”

Although she spoke quickly, the Margrave nodded his head as his assistant seemed to have regained her composure.

He started to summarize the information in his mind and tried to plan out his next move.

“Realistically speaking, it’s impossible for reinforcements to reach the capital in time…… we may have to abandoned the capital all together, but that can’t be helped.”

The young soldier was shocked by the Margrave’s words.

Still, he kept his mouth shut as he understood that he wasn’t in a position to voice his opinion.

The Margrave raised an eyebrow at his behavior, before explaining his decision to assistant one point at a time.

“There is little our forces can do against two hundred thousand undead. Even if the capital engages in siege warfare, that’s not a number of enemies that can simply be worn down. Then there’s the distance and time. Assuming I deploy a massive number of reinforcements, it will take days before they arrive……”

The Margrave paused for a moment and looked at the map hanging behind him.

“It would take seven days for infantry, ten if you include preparation time.”

The assistant followed up the Margrave’s words.

The Margrave nodded in agreement.

The capital also sat in a large plain, making it impossible for a small army to fight a larger army there. Luring the enemy into the Uiri River and having the current sweep them away was a more plausible course of action.

However, it was hard to say for certain if that would work.

The enemy was undead, not human, so their behavior was bound to be different.

It was unknown if the current would have any effect on an army of two hundred thousand undead. This was hardly a situation where one could be optimistic.

If the spotted spider-human monsters had been scouts, then it was only a matter of time before the army set its sights on his territory.

Margrave Branier began preparing contingencies in case of such an event while he gave his assistant instructions.

“Send a message to the fort along the Uiru river. If they come across a unit of undead, abandon the fort and withdraw to the capital. Every available weapon in the territory should be gathered here. Inform every settlement that any crop that is ready for harvest should be brought here, effective immediately.”

The assistant was busy writing down the Margrave’s instruction on a corner of a document when another soldier entered the room.

“Milord, the bird from the Nozan messengers returned! This is the report.”

The soldier who had thrown open the office door saluted the Margrave before walking forward to present him with a small parchment.

“Birds” were one of the fastest means of communication in this world, but due to their natural homing instincts they could only send messages one way. Furthermore, it took time and effort to train the birds as carriers, making it impossible for them to become the normal means of communication.

“A report from the Nozan group? So soon.”

Even though its arrival added on to today’s surprises, Margrave Branier received the slip of paper and glanced over it.

The Margrave’s expression changed as he read the few sentences written there.

The assistant narrowed her eyes when she saw the Margrave’s strange behavior, who, detecting her curiosity, handed her the parchment so she could read it for herself.

As she received the message and scanned the contents of the report, Branier began rubbing his temple with his index finger.

“Apparently, the capital of Nozan Kingdom had already been attacked.”

Margrave Branier calmly nodded as she spoke the report aloud.

He’d expected as much, but then it was the rest of the report that had him wiping the cold sweat from his neck with the back of his hand.

Just what in the world is happening in this region?

“Innumerable sets of burnt armor were scattered across the plain outside the city walls. While one of the gates was destroyed, the city itself only suffered minimal damage, and restoration efforts are already underway.”

Though the Margrave’s expression remained claim, the joy in her voice at discovering a potential way out of this nightmare couldn’t be hidden.

Learning that a breakthrough had been made somewhere offered a sliver of hope for their own crisis.

“Was it just like the attack on Larisa? We can’t be sure about the scale, but if that was the case then Nozan Kingdom managed to strive off destruction.”

However, once she finished analyzing the situation from an objective point of view, she looked up towards her lord.

Even though he understood what she was getting at, the Margrave’s expression had become bitter.

If the Branier territory was unable to stop undead invasion, the two hundred thousand undead would overrun and destroy the region before traveling northwards and attacking the forces of Nozan Kingdom again.

Still, this also meant that there was a possibly upside for the inhabitants of the Branier territory.

The Nozan Kingdom and the feudal lords of the Branier territory had often clashed with one another, but the last thing they would have wanted was a large undead invasion, making them open to a temporary alliance.

After all, it was literally impossible to negotiate with this kind of enemy.

Even if an alliance couldn’t be formed, they might have been willing to help alleviate the worst of the invasion out of sheer self-preservation. Although, with the current situation…… it would be much better for Nozan if the Branier territory was wiped off the map.

In the worst case scenario, Nozan was confident in their countermeasures against the undead. If that was the case, they would most likely reject any pleas for aid from the Branier territory.

Without their support, the Branier house would be left to fend off the two hundred thousand undead alone.

The very same territory which had once belonged to Nozan Kingdom, before it had been conquered during an invasion.

All the Nozan Kingdom had to do was wait until they were defeated and wipe out the undead, essentially reconquering the territory with relative ease.

No, they would come into possession of the entire Salma Kingdom, since Larisa would have been destroyed at that point.

The capital of Salma Kingdom was a port city, so the nobility might be able to escape via ship, but even if they return, they would lack the soldiers and power necessary to oppose the Nozan Kingdom.

Though he tried to form countermeasures once more, the Margrave sighed after imagining the dim future.

“Even if I do that, nothing will happen unless I act. I’ll personally have to act as a messenger to the Nozan Kingdom’s capital. If we can’t join hands then everything will be lost, and the people will before forced to evacuate. We need to make the necessary preparation, time is of the essence.”

Margrave Branier looked towards the ceiling to shake off his fatigue, before turning to his assistant and giving instructions.

“When I depart as messenger, you and the Knight commander shall lead in my place. The two messengers here will follow your orders. She makes the decisions, understood? ……Salma Kingdom might not even be on the map by this time next year. Whether or not the Branier territory survives rest on the shoulders of everyone here.”

The two messengers could only gulp audibly as they listened to the Margrave.

“I’ll be off.”

With a brief send-off, Margrave Branier grabbed his favorite cloak and briskly left the office.

=======

「Meeting with Nozan’s King」

Nozan’s capital city, Soalia

A cubical tower had been built near the inner wall as a sort of command post in case the city needed to fight a defensive battle. It was a practical brick building that lacked any elegance.

The narrow pathways, little sources of natural light due to the small windows, and the relatively cramped room empathized the building’s intended purpose.

A certain room in the building felt even more cramped the rest of them as the people gathered here sat across from each other.

Four people had taken a seat at a table, which wasn’t a polished masterpiece like those you’d find in a palace, but crude board that sat atop two unstable legs.

Two of the seats were occupied by King Asparuf of Nozan Kingdom and his daughter, Princess Lille.

At their backs stood Zahar and Nina, the knights who had been charged with protecting the princess, while the country’s ministers lined the wall.

On the other side of the table was the pointy-eared and lilac-skinned dark elf Ariane and a knight wearing silver full-body armor who fidgeted in the rickety chair beneath him…… in other words, myself.

Another person, a black-haired cat beastman dressed in black grabs, Chiome, stood behind us, holding Ponta to her chest.

Had it not been for Ponta, Chiome’s dark attire would’ve made her blend into the background of the dimly light room. If one were to let their guard down, they would’ve lost sight of her.

In the silent room, it was Princess Lille who opened her mouth first.

“Allow me to introduce ourselves once more. This is my father and the King of Nozan Kingdom……”

“Asparuf Nozan Soulia. You have my sincerest appreciation for helping us through our country’s plight at my daughter’s request. Elves and beastman.”

King Asparuf interrupted his daughter by bowing his head and offering a self-introduction as well as an apology.

The King’s subordinates let out an audible gasp when they saw his behavior, but silence overcame the room once more as they all held their breath.

Personally, I wasn’t all that surprised by this.

The Hiruku religion, in which elves and beastmen were objects of disdain, was widely practiced in this country. The King had just lowered his head to members of those races, so I expected someone to complain about it, but the statesmen remained completely silent.

Occasionally, their gaze would focus on Ariane or me, but their eyes would dart away whenever one of us caught them.

Ariane’s shoulders shook and a small smile appeared on her face as she watched their behavior.

A little while ago, the three of us ended Palermo’s monstrous rampage, so they were naturally cautious…… no, they were terrified of us.

Honestly, our handling of Palermo gave us a convenient advantage in negotiations, seeing how the contempt I expected wasn’t present.

……Haa, talks wouldn’t proceed if things were left as they were, so I took it upon myself to start our introductions.

“I am Arc Raratoia of Great Canada Forest. Beside me is……

“Similarly, I am Ariane Glenys Raratioa.”

Once I finished my introduction, Ariane gave her own brief introduction after I urged her with a look.

My eyes landed on Chiome and Ponta next, but while her cat ears slightly twitched atop her head, she remained silent and I had to introduce her.

“This is Chiome-dono.”

“Kyun!”

“…… and that’s Ponta.”

Ponta was self-asserting when I finished introducing Chiome, so I added her as well before l turned back to the King.

“So, let’s move straight to the main point……”

The tension in the room rose at my declaration.

The gunboat diplomacy was a bit extreme, but I might as well make the most of it.

“You’ve already heard some of the situation from Princess Lillie, but we accepted her request to help liberate the capital. Although the level of support deviated from what was expected, the princess had agreed to a certain compensation. For the sake of our elven brethren and our beastmen allies, we don’t mind a bit of hardship.”

I cut off my words and gauged everyone’s reaction.

It was a brief explanation to inform the king that our efforts to rescue the capital had been done under Princess Lille’s employment, thus justifying our actions…… that was my intention anyway.

Several of the Kingdom’s ministers looked at the princess in utter bewilderment.

“I’ve heard about your reward from Lille. Of course, I intended to honor my family’s promises and deliver your earned payment since the beginning. However, are you certain there are no mistakes within the contract? So that everyone here may be informed, would you please reiterate what kind of payment you seek?”

Ariane gave me a sideways glance and a small gesture with her hand when King Asparuf boldly asked us about our demands.

“Our demands are as followed: First, we request entrance into this country’s treasury. And Second, the immediate release of all the elven and beastmen slaves, and that a penalty is enforced for anyone caught enslaving them in the future.”

I could hear the chatter picking up around us once I spoke the controversial demands set as our reward.

Since we were demanding a change of this nation’s laws in exchange for mercenary work, arguments were unavoidable.

…… However, we held the power to push for acceptance here.

“It is a reward for the efforts that insured your country’s survival…… it may be petty of me, but we’ve done the work to earn it. Our greed is in line with the effort we expended to make those demands.”

My eyes wandered towards Lille who was sitting across from me, as she slowly nodded her head in agreement with my remarks.

By simply referring to “your country’s survival” I was bolstering our position with our previous achievements while simultaneously wielding our abilities as a threat towards the very country indebted to us.

King Asparuf seems to have caught onto that, his smile remained as he responded in an agreeable manner, but the muscles in his neck strained against his skin.

“It’s ridiculous to consider that greed. The possession of elven and beastmen slaves is outlawed within our country. Emancipating the illegally possessed slaves is a rather cheap reward for us to provide.”

All chatter halted at the King’s statement.

……I seemed to have drawn out a promise from the King.

Ariane and I locked eye with one another before she gave me a small nod.

It would be a good bargain to remove the deeply-root Hiruku religion as well…… No, there were already plenty of reasons to remove the Hiruku Religion.

However, I doubted the religion would be purged even if we asked for it. In fact, the country might be divided into faithful church supporters and abolishers if I pressed the issue.

After all, the main reason for the current situation was me.

It was an angel who had annihilated the undead army…… Stories of “Michael” were bound to spread amongst the general populace.

Many of the city’s residents had been evacuated from the area between the inner and outer walls when it seemed like it would be turned into a battlefield, but those behind the inner wall witnessed the angel descending from the sky.

Of course, the soldiers who had been fighting on the second wall and the high-ranking ministers inside this room knew the truth. The greatly adored angel had descended on behest of an elf…… something no one would believe.

The angel that had appeared in front of the city’s inhabitants, they believed their god sent the angel in response to their plight. A multitude of citizens had witnessed Palermo’s demise and rumors of the cardinal staining his hand with evil had already started to spread as well.

Right now, the Hiruku religion was in a delicate position in the city.

It could be said that the faith in the upper echelons of the church had plummeted, but faith in the doctrine had increased for the people that witnessed the miracle.

What to do…… while I tried to figure things out, King Asparuf brought up the matter first.

“At that time, if Cardinal Palermo was to be believed, the reason he took on that horrifying form lies with the current Pope of the Hiruku religion. This is a very serious matter for us. The Hiruku religion has spread to many human country’s across the continent…… that those directly beneath the pope, the upper echelon of the church, are monsters is something none but those here would believe……”

King Asparuf let out a large sigh as he spoke before leaning in close to me with an earnest expression on his face.

“I would like to ask you…… No, Arc-dono, it seems that Cardinal Palermo knew of you. It seems to me that you already killed another cardinal based on what I heard. Even though he looked human, you knew that he’d been a monster since the very beginning?”

Apparently, they wanted to know if we elves were aware of the Hiruku Church’s other dealings, such as this attempt conquest from behind the scenes.

However, I only met one other cardinal in Tajiento and defeated him by chance, we were only investigating the Hiruku religion because of what happened to Chiome’s brother.

While I was at a loss as to how to answer the question, Ariane unexpectedly voiced a reply.

“We encountered them before by chance. ……but, it was inevitable that we’d discover their secret.”

Her golden eyes took on a feral gleam as she stared down the people in the room, it was if she were daring them to challenge her.

Several people unintentionally filched back when they got caught in her gaze.

It was the same in the Rhoden Kingdom, Ariane had no mercy for elf and beastmen slavers, especially those in a position of power.

The only exception seemed to be human children.

It was rather fortunate that the one who’d contracted us had been princess Lille.

“……What in the world do you mean?”

The King asked Ariane to expound upon what she said with a straight face.

“Though I’m am unfamiliar with the Hiruku doctrine, after seeing Palermo I can guess why they remove elves and beastmen from human cities. He might have seemed human to you, but he was far from that…… we could tell that he’d been undead with a single glance.”

The ministers swallowed and focused all their attention on Ariane after she said her piece.

Eventually, an old man standing along the wall timidly asked her a question.

“S-So, you’re saying you knew Lord Palermo wasn’t human on sight?”

“That’s right. Even if an undead wears human skin, it won’t slip past us. You people have been removing the eyes that can see through the monsters’ disguises with your own hands, all for the sake of those monsters’ doctrine.”

Well, there was one person that hadn’t been able to see through it, but let’s keep that close to my chest instead of interrupting her.

Still, today’s “Ariane-dono” was in a bad mood because of our surroundings.

Had she been practicing her speech about the “The Hiruku Church……” ever since we dealt with Palermo?

The old man lowered his head after receiving Ariane’s criticism.

According to their doctrine, elves and beastmen were inferior races, there wasn’t a single Hiruku follower that didn’t see themselves as being above those two races, but that superiority complex had them dancing in the palms of the undeads’ hands.

However, pushing them any further on the matter would only ignite even more hostilities against elves.

She was sitting next to me and they knew she had the power to sink sections of this city beneath the earth, so no one was brave enough to challenge her now.

Still, it was for the best that we move on……

“Let’s put that on hold for now, Ariane-dono.”

She crossed her arms and remained quiet at my request.

“There is no doubt that Cardinal Palermo was the one who orchestrated the assault on the capital. Since we’re not concerned with the inner-workings of the Hiruku Theocracy, we only have a rough idea of their goals. No, you could say that this event has clued us in on their goals.”

King Asparuf held his breath as I changed topics and looked directly at him. Beside him, Lille clasped her hand together over her chest like a child listening to a ghost story.

“When I encountered Cardinal Charos…… he was on the verge of conquering a city through the use of undead and other monsters. Since there was a church in the city, I didn’t understand his reasoning, but it probably had something to do with the enormous number of undead that attacked this capital.”

“That……”

Someone opened their mouth when they heard what I said but they quickly shut it afterward.

You couldn’t spontaneously create that many undead…… moreover, the armor and weapons were uniform in appearance, not something you’d find on undead scavenged from random battlefields.

Palermo had said that his power was something “the Pope had given me”, so that meant the pope could create undead himself.

The two cardinals were simply one type of monster the pope could create.

It was all about the available materials……

“Then my brethren that are taken to the Hiriku Theocracy are……”

When Chiome unexpectedly joined the conversation with that quiet question, I slowly nodded my head.

“They were probably turned into undead…… From what I heard in Rhoden’s port city Lanbaltic, the Theocracy has been purchasing a large number of criminal slaves recently. I was told that they would be put to work in the mines, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.”

For now, I simply spoke the conclusion that I had come to based off of the information I had on hand, how they would treat the Hiruku Theocracy from now on was up to them.

Lille’s shoulders trembled and her eyes bulged when I said my piece.

“This is serious, father! The Hiruku church has to be removed at once!”

Asparuf turned to his daughter and tried to calm her passionate declaration.

“Wait, Wait, Lille! it’s not that simple!”

Of course, it wasn’t simple……

To expel the deeply ingrained Hiruku religion from a country, you’d need to convince a majority of the proud believers to turn their backs on their faith.

It wasn’t an easy feat to accomplish now that an actual angel had descended.

Rebellion was all but assured if they tried to force the matter with the royal family’s power, and depending on the scale, it could result in them being overthrown.

And would the Hiruku religion just leave Nozan alone simply because their attack on the capital had failed?

Perhaps they were already preparing a larger force to launch the second attack, or they would simply apply pressure.

Even if they revealed the truth about the church to neighboring countries, how many would actually believe them…… in this world, which lacked means of communication, it would take days before the message even reached the heads of other nations.

Frankly speaking, they were in a check.

The people around us started to understand and frantically began voicing countermeasures and tactics to avoid the worst case scenario, however, even I could tell none of their suggestions would bear fruit.

There were no effective measures, but for those that lived under the Hiruku religion for so long, maybe it was impossible to think of any solution.

Still, there was no reason for us to proceed at our own discretion, so we might consult Dylan abo…… no, in this situation, we needed to speak with someone higher up.

“That’s it! Why not seek reinforcements from Rhoden?”

I heard one of the ministers suggest an interesting idea, but how realistic would it be to expect Rhoden to send reinforcements across the gulf?

In my heart, it wasn’t all that likely to occur.

“That…… should do, right?

Lille’s eyes had become teary-eyed after hearing her father yell at her, causing me to switch towards cleaning up this discussion before asking for our demands to be met.

“Since your country is incapable of purging the Hiruku church right now, wouldn’t the next best thing be to announce the mastermind behind the crisis to the populace and start detaining clergymen for questioning? The fact that any of them could be an undead in human skin can be used as a valid excuse.”

The King began stroking his chin as he considered my suggestion, while Lille watched him with a frustrated expression.

Instead of replying, Aspauf gave me a stout nod to indicate he’d accepted my suggestion, despite the brevity of our acquaintanceship.

I honestly expected the King to criticize my proposal when he stared at me with a hard look on his face.

“When the questioning begins…… I suppose you’d like to be there to watch?”

Since it had been my suggestion, it was a reasonable question to ask.

Currently, the ability to detect the undead was limited to elves and beastmen, but I doubt there were any more hidden undead within the capital.

If you were an undead capable of mixing in with humans, they must have some will of their own. It’s unlikely that any of those guys would’ve stuck around after Palermo’s defeat.

Well, there was no reason to refuse selling this country a few more favors.

……Still,

“You don’t mind if I leave Ariane-dono and Chiome-done in my stead, do you?”

My gaze shifted between the two as I spoke, Chiome nodded her head in approval, while suspicion began to cloud Ariane’s eyes.

“Hold on, what are you going do after pushing this hassle on us?”

Although they were humans, calling a request from a country’s king a “hassle”, had me worry that they’ll carry a grudge over it.

“I’ll be clearing out the remaining undead in the city.”

I rose from my seat, grabbed the 『Holy Shield of Teutates』 with my left hand and rested the 『Holy Thunder Sword』 over my right shoulder.

It wasn’t like I was capable of distinguishing the hidden undead from humans anyway.

A more productive use of my time would be to help the soldiers clear way the undead that had breached the outer wall.

Since the majority of the credit for the annihilation the undead army went to the angel I summoned, I figured I could compensate for that with a good showing now.

An elf activity taking part in the defense of the capital should dispel some of the negative assumptions the people had of elves, even though my elven nature was hidden while I still had my helmet on.

The King’s face turned pale when he caught on to what I was suggesting.

“Arc-dono, I am grateful for the offer, but we’d like to have a city left standing……”

The ministers who had been talking about future countermeasures along the wall stopped talking and simultaneously looked in my direction.

They were afraid I’d call down another angel to clear out the city, even though doing so would cause the reputation of elves to plummet.

“Do not worry, that isn’t something that I can recklessly call down. I’ll just be swinging this sword around.”

I gave the worried people in the room a brief explanation, asked Ariane and Chiome to meet me later, and left the room.

Ponta had been relaxing in Chiome’s arms up till that point, but she came flying after me with her wind magic, gracefully landing on her favorite spot.

“Kyun!”

“You wanna come too, Ponta?”

Ponta vigorously wagged her tail in response to my question.

There were a lot of soldiers stationed around the building once I stepped outside, the citizens that the knights kept at bay began pointing and chatting amongst themselves when they saw an unfamiliar knight leaving the building.

Well, the inner wall’s gate was still shut tight and the soldiers should be capable of handling the regular undead themselves. Therefore, for the sake efficiency, it would be best to focus on the remaining spider chimera.

I’ll probably be finished in the evening……

With that thought in mind, I began making my way towards the gate.