Chapter 234 - Chapter Two: Martial Demonstration
By the time I woke up the next morning and went to the square, Dune was treating the half-dead men. That said, she had apparently dealt with the truly dangerous cases on the spot. Even so, they weren't going to get well immediately. Since not only Roberts-sama but even Harrison-san had pale faces and were doing nothing but drinking water, it was decided we would stay for one more night. Originally, this was half-sightseeing anyway. A schedule change of a day or two was apparently within expectations.
The man who had challenged Roberts-sama to a duel and boldly entered the barrel-drinking contest against Dune and Fiona had become an overnight hero.
"You're a real man. Come with me. I'll recommend you to the King of Finis for knighthood."
The man was saying things like he couldn't receive a reward since he lost, but he seemed to have hit it off with Roberts-sama. The two of them were recounting the details of the Demon Lord subjugation while drinking water.
I was called by the two Bishops, who had enjoyed their alcohol in moderation. The priest was going to guide us to the church. Since we were here, those of us who were energetic decided to go see it.
The church was on a hill, made of wood and not very large. About the size of a village church. In Finis, the scale of a single town or village is smaller compared to Sertoria, but in exchange, there are apparently many of them. It's likely a difference in how they are counted. Sertoria counts by districts, but here they count by settlements. The largest is supposedly the Royal Capital, located upriver from a large inlet on the east coast, but even that isn't very large, about the size of Nakanohara. In other words, the churches are also small.
Inside, pews were lined up, and several people were offering prayers.
The stone statues at the front depicted both the Goddess and a male god who was the god of war, standing side by side.
I knelt and offered a prayer to the Goddess's statue, then gave a bow to the male god.
The male god wore armor and a helmet, holding a spear in his left hand.
"So there is a statue of the Goddess as well."
I had assumed they only worshipped the god of war.
"The root of the teachings is the same. The fact that we are constantly at war is a matter of politics and is different from faith."
He seemed to have seen through my thoughts.
I wanted to ask various things, but I had been told by Harris-sama and Phillips-sama not to talk about politics. I simply said, "I see."
"Are the scriptures the same?"
As usual, the rule-breaking mage asked.
"They are the same."
"Is that so?"
I accidentally raised my voice.
If the Headmistress had been there, she might have smacked me on the head.
"The God of War has always protected humanity in battle. He helped defeat monsters and till the farmland. Priestess Jeanne. I have heard that you have become a monster hunter to protect farmlands from monsters, and that you are buying up wasteland to till the soil. Your actions are the very embodiment of the God of War's own actions."
Harris-sama and Phillips-sama nodded. Apparently, the two of them had told him.
The God of War's words are not written in the scriptures; only his actions in mythology are shown. So that was the meaning of the first job of a priest that the Archbishop of the Nakanohara Grand Cathedral had taught me before.
In Finis, it seems priests also actively go out for monster hunting and war.
"I have also heard the reason why you were invited by the King of Finis. It is said that you and your companions fought and defeated a serpent monster that was desecrating the tomb of someone connected to our royal family. The people of this town offer prayers to this statue of the God of War before departing for monster hunting. It must be some kind of fate that brought you to this church. Why not offer a prayer to the God of War? There is no need for specific prayer formulas. You only need to pray that your future monster hunting goes well."
I looked at Harris-sama and Phillips-sama, and they nodded.
In that case, I pulled Beatrix along, and as the two of us knelt together, hands were placed on our shoulders.
The priest prayed to the God of War that we would be victorious in our future monster hunting.
After leaving the church, we were given a brief tour of the town's facilities.
I had expected it to be different from Sertoria, but it was even more different than I thought. First of all, there is no town hall. The place where the lord lives serves as the official venue. The church where the advisory priest lives also serves as such a venue, and it seems the lord and the priest manage military, taxation, and judicial matters simultaneously while consulting each other. Of course, this is under the King's approval, but the residents pay taxes not only to the lord but also to the church, and the church apparently sends donations to the Grand Cathedral in the Royal Capital.
As a result, the residents of this land are treated as something between free farmers and serfs, but military service is a duty for those who can fight; it is essentially a nation of citizen-soldiers. It's an interesting story.
"However, for the people of Finis, many believe that defeating enemies in battle is their true purpose, which is why people like the one who tried to challenge Roberts-sama yesterday appear."
"Does that man usually do farm work?"
"Yes. Everyone in Finis is a warrior. They take turns serving in military duty, town defense, monster hunting, and bandit subjugation."
Whether or not they respond to the King's summons is also decided after talking with the priest, so there are times when they don't participate in a war.
In other words, it's like Sertoria's vigilante groups being made mandatory.
Sertoria has a state church system where the church does not intervene in administration, so there is no such thing as a joint council system with priests. Therefore, a town of non-belligerence led by a priest cannot be created. Though, with serfs present, it's out of the question anyway. Still, if I study the systems of various countries, there might be some good examples.
"Your journey for this investiture will be by land from here. You will be staying at the estates of individual nobles, but a priest will accompany you at all times, so you will likely not be embroiled in political talk. Please, rest assured."
Setting aside Sertoria and Regnentes, Medioland is also allied with Septanaquila, which lies between it and Finis, and opposes Finis's expansion. This seemed to be a consideration for that point. James-sama and Gladys-sama expressed their thanks.
When we returned to the square, the hungover men had recovered. The pirates had also recovered and were starting to prepare for their return. As expected of Dune. Between her drinking last night and her treatment today, combined with her being a beauty, she was already receiving glances from the men. However, it was amusing that there was a slight sense of fear in their eyes.
Stalls were also out, so we decided to look around.
Come to think of it, I have to buy a souvenir for Matilda. I decided to look for checkered clothing.
Looking around, the women wore nothing but one-piece dresses.
One large woman was mixed in with the men wearing it, so I decided to ask her a question immediately.
"Um, excuse me. I'd like to ask about that clothing."
She had black hair and brown eyes.
"?"
She seemed surprised because I spoke to her suddenly, but when I said I liked the check pattern, she happily explained it to me.
What I learned was that it was originally a single piece of cloth with a specific way of wearing it. It is the clothing of heroes who fight monsters, and the check pattern is determined by the clan of origin of famous warriors and mages in history.
Does that mean... that? Is it better not to buy it casually as a souvenir?
"Originally, yes. Nowadays, people don't care much. Women want to be fashionable so they usually wear other things, but everyone wears this when they go for monster hunting or war. Everyone wears it hoping to emulate the legendary warriors and mages. I'm the same. If you're going to buy it anyway, you should wear it knowing that's what it is."
When I asked the price, it wasn't that high. In that case, I decided to study the origins and buy some. Since there was a place that specialized in them, she offered to guide me.
At the shop, single pieces of cloth in various colors and patterns were for sale. The most popular were the colors and patterns of the eight-member hero party from Finis who once defeated a Demon Lord; not only single pieces, but they could also make sizes just for wrapping from the waist down.
Since the original cloth is large, size doesn't matter. Since it's clothing for field combat, there are no child sizes. Of course, there are no priest garment versions, as that's decided by doctrine.
After consulting, I decided to buy enough for everyone in the Class of 175 and the Marcelo Company, excluding myself, plus the ghosts and spirits. For the goblins who run through the brush and climb cliffs, I decided to just buy the fabric. Mel had hers cut in half and shared half with me. For mine, I had it made so I could pull it over my head and tie it at the neck. It hides down to my knees, so it's perfect as a windbreaker. I can just wear it over my priest garments like the Green Marble.
The combinations of colors and patterns favored by the eight legendary heroes of Finis—excluding the two priests—who were the first to depart and defeated the Demon Lord just like that, are the basis. For warriors, there are three patterns, and the primary colors are red, brown, and yellow. Scouts are green. For mages, it was blue and red, depending on their proficient attribute.
Each of us chose our favorite colors, and the check pattern was matched to the profession of the legendary heroes.
I immediately bought and put it on. Even I participated in the Demon Lord subjugation battle. I should have the right to wear it.
When we returned to the square, the men gathered around. The women were there too.
Everyone praised us in unison.
I heard voices asking if we were going monster hunting.
"We've already been. Even we fought two members of the Demon Race and a Behemoth, you know."
When Beatrix talked back, everyone was surprised. It seems they didn't know we had participated in the subjugation force.
"D-Did you defeat them?"
"Of course! Though there were three former heroes with us."
Their eyes changed. They gathered around, asking to hear the story. After all, everyone was drunk and passed out last night, so there was no time to hear the story. Children gathered as well.
When I looked at Harris-sama, he said, "I'll leave it to you," and went off somewhere with Phillips-sama.
Roberts-sama and the other main members were among the spectators before I knew it.
"We don't know about your battles either. You should tell them about the battle on the third floor."
He had completely decided to be a spectator. It would have been good if Paul-san were here, but he isn't this time.
Having no choice, the three of us—Beatrix, Mary, and I—consulted each other.
"We can't talk about the 'Bowls,' right?"
"Also, Robinson-san and Wilson-san."
"Eleanor's armor and the illuminators too. Come to think of it, the Jaegers were also off-limits."
"The combination of [Camouflage] and [Magic Reflection] is also a no-go."
"Are we allowed to talk about the spider?"
"I don't know."
"Ah, what about [Megiddo Fire]?"
"What should we do?"
We were completely stuck.
Having no choice, I called Roberts-sama.
"What's wrong?"
"There are too many classified matters, so we can't talk."
He was laughing loudly.
That said, Roberts-sama couldn't think of a good way either. He called James-sama and Evans-sama.
"It seems they can't talk because there are too many things they can't say."
He explained the situation.
"The trump card for defeating the Demon Race on the third floor was a continuous attack of [Holy] Overflow while surrounded by [Magic Reflection]. On the fourth floor, it was similar support. The Behemoth... I haven't heard about that. How did you do it?"
"It was [Megiddo Fire]."
"You can talk about that. The previous generation has already talked about it here and there, after all."
Evans-sama informed us.
"Then, let's just demonstrate it. That'll surely be faster. It's hard to understand even with a verbal explanation, and if we get asked various questions, we might touch on classified matters."
When Beatrix made the proposal, the Heroes also got on board, saying it was a good idea.
Since we were at it, we also called Harrison-san, and the demonstration of the new heroes' finishing moves began.
"This is the continuous attack of [Holy] Overflow while surrounded by [Magic Reflection], which became the trump card for defeating the Demon Race on the third floor."
In accordance with Beatrix's explanation, I deployed [Magic Reflection] to surround Roberts-sama, who was playing the role of the Demon Race, and Harrison-san unleashed [Overflow].
"Nuwaaaaaaaaah!"
Roberts-sama's scream, drowned out by the vortex of light, could be heard, and I also unleashed [Holy Lance].
The spectators stirred, and the children cheered.
"In reality, the two of us hammered in four shots."
When I deactivated [Magic Reflection], Roberts-sama was there on one knee, looking as if he were at his last gasp.
"And then, after dealing further damage with spells like [Prominence] and [Cocytus], an arrow was driven between the eyes, and the vanguard charged to deliver the finishing blow."
As Gladys-sama made a motion of thrusting a spear with a "Ei!", Roberts-sama fell over and pretended to be dead.
Thunderous applause. They probably didn't expect a demonstration. The spectators were all excited.
After that, Mary used [Glacio] to freeze and drop water that Beatrix had sent flying toward the sea, they created a vortex of fire by involving [Flame] in a [Tornado Wind], and James-sama's lightning trajectory was changed by a dagger thrown by Hughes-sama, creating highlights.
The climax was, after all, [Megiddo Fire]; when it was reflected toward a rock on the shore after being fired toward Gladys-sama, the rock melted away. The surrounding seawater was boiling and giving off steam.
The spectators were also stunned by its power.
"Even so, we couldn't defeat the Behemoth or the Demon Lord with just that."
At James-sama's words, the spectators swallowed hard.
"In the end, it was [Holy] and this."
Roberts-sama brandished his silver spear.
"We whittled down their physical strength with magic attacks, and at the end, it was holy magic and silver weapons. By combining this pattern, we were able to defeat the Demon Race, including the Demon Lord. Thank you for watching."
When Beatrix bowed, the spectators gave a standing ovation.
It ended in great success.
In the end, it was decided that we would perform reenactment plays of the Demon Lord subjugation at subsequent lodging places based on this day's martial demonstration. I heard later that the demonstrations were well-received in front of audiences after Finis as well. Because we did it in wide open spaces outdoors, we were able to show the Demon Lord subjugation to people regardless of their status, and the seven Heroes also praised us for it later.
Perhaps because of the visual impact, everyone's surprise was generally stronger, and it seems they didn't pry too deeply into the details, which was good as we managed to avoid touching on classified matters. That was a fine play by Beatrix.