Chapter 635 - Chapter 2: The Eleventh Meeting (Northern Gram) From the Girls' Gathering...
The news that Engrio had subjugated and reconciled with the Demon Race without conquering the Demon Realm swept across the entire island. Of course, it hasn't been made known to the general public. It's likely only the Church's upper echelons and the royalty of each nation. The internal affairs of Engrio itself are being kept hidden, limited to those involved.
In August, a meeting for plague countermeasures was held in Northern Gram, but the topic was exclusively that matter. Originally, it was supposed to be held in conjunction with the Council of Lords at the beginning of June, but it was delayed by two months to take into account Aira giving birth to a prince in June. It was supposed to be a celebration for everyone after confirming that both mother and child were healthy, but it feels like the primary topic has changed. Of course, the Class of 175 prepared grand celebrations, including wild boar costumes. After confirming that the infant was extremely healthy through a special diagnosis by Dune for the parents who were concerned about the baby's health, we are holding a grand celebration party.
"Jeanne, you were there, weren't you?"
Once the general agenda was over and it became a girls' gathering, Saxburg immediately asked excitedly. Since she's on good terms with the Dullahan and Difodor, she has a high interest in coexistence and co-prosperity with the Demon Race.
"Yes. Harris-sama was also with me."
I have to properly mention that I wasn't the only priest present.
"That's wonderful. I would have loved to be present at that moment by all means."
Hey, it was only overlooked because King Seldic is a pagan. If royalty from other nations had been there, there's no telling what would have been said. Well, I can understand the feeling, though.
"I can only speak of it in a place like this, but it seems quite a debate was sparked within the Church."
Magdalena-sama is lightly cautioning her.
"But not only Jeanne, but Bishop Harris was also present, right? Did it not become officially recognized by the Church?"
"King Seldic is the king of a nation, and a pagan. Besides, the role of Bishop Harris and myself was to be guards in case of emergency as users of high-level holy attack magic during the interrogation, and we were not involved in the negotiations. King Seldic did not allow us to speak on such matters, after all."
"Is that so?" Saxburg asked with a smirk, but I said "Yes" quite firmly.
Thinking about it now, King Seldic probably took our position into account. And I think he requested our presence so we could report to the Church. In a sense, he threw a large stone into the Church that would cause a massive ripple. I can't say it out loud, though.
"Saxburg, it seems the Medioland Royal Capital Cathedral is split into two factions and a debate is being waged. Refrain from stating your personal views until a conclusion is reached."
Admonished by the Crown Princess, who is her older sister, she shrugged and fell silent.
"Speaking of King Seldic's behavior, the fact that the diplomatic situation of the White Island has changed significantly as a result of this Demon Realm conquest is more significant."
Magdalena-sama skillfully changed the subject. It's about the content of the joint statement issued at the Medioland Royal Palace at the beginning of August by the King of Medioland and Engrio's resident ambassador to Medioland. Apparently, a Provisional Council of Lords will be held in the near future, and a Non-Aggression Alliance is scheduled to be signed. I heard King Seldic plans to participate in it.
"I'm surprised that King Seldic actually felt like forming a Non-Aggression Alliance with the Northwest Coast Treaty nations."
Saxburg said it casually, but her eyes weren't laughing.
"Moreover, it was a sudden development and I was surprised."
It's the thing King Seldic said he would consider positively once the Demon Realm conquest was safely over. However, from his way of talking at that time, it sounded like it was proposed from our side.
"Originally, it was triggered by the discussion about the Demon Realm conquest at the Council of Lords in June. Engrio proposed that each nation should cooperate to proceed with the conquest of the Demon Realms."
Saxburg leaned forward with a "hum, hum" at Magdalena-sama's explanation.
Magdalena-sama shouldn't have participated in the meeting itself, but she participated in dinner parties and tea parties along with the King. Among the participants of the gathering, she must have heard it on the spot along with Sianya, who participated as a royal advisor.
"In response to that, the Medioland side showed reluctance, citing the situation on the continent. They had already conveyed that if Engrio participated in the war on the side of East Liber, the Northwest Coast Treaty nations would take appropriate action depending on the situation. They said it would be difficult to take a common step with Engrio considering such a situation."
To put it bluntly, James-sama has become unable to move because he's too concerned about Engrio's movements.
"Did Engrio agree to the Non-Aggression Alliance in response to that?"
"Broadly speaking, that's how it goes."
Saxburg nodded after hearing that.
According to Magdalena-sama, after various discussions, Engrio apparently compromised. Because if West Liber joined the alliance, the relationship with East Liber would become complicated. In the end, it was apparently agreed upon with conditions.
"What kind of conditions?"
"That it be limited to the duration of operations against the Demon Lord and the Demon Lord's army, including the Demon Realm conquest; that West Liber not be included as an ally; and that the negotiations with the Demon Race that actually occurred in Engrio be tolerated. In other words, it's more like an expansion of the Demon Lord subjugation guidelines than an alliance."
"Was it tolerated?"
For Saxburg, the other two didn't seem to matter. Magdalena-sama smiled, and the Crown Princess of Finis, her biological sister, looked down.
"King Seldic is a pagan. They said they would not concern themselves with what a pagan has done."
It's likely a consideration for the Church, where internal debate still continues, while officially acting as if nothing happened. In short, it's tacit approval rather than tolerance since they said pagans can do as they like, but the Engrio side apparently said nothing.
"That's strange!"
"Saxburg, it's not strange."
The younger sister's statement was calmly and clearly denied by the older sister.
"But..."
"Let's wait for the Church's decision."
This part is complicated. Now, within the Church of the White Island, a debate is raging between the tolerance faction and the opposition faction regarding coexistence and co-prosperity with the Demon Race. Northern Gram is rather a tolerance faction since spirit worship was originally dominant. On the other hand, Finis, where spirit worship is also flourishing, is likely an opposition faction since they have the God of War as their primary deity. The Medioland Royal Capital Cathedral is split in two, and Regnentes is clearly an opposition faction. Sertoria has a strong sense of neutrality, and Morandine and Engrio are tolerance factions.
"Regarding that matter, as the Western Church, we have issued a view that this should be taken as an opportunity to deepen the debate between both sides."
Sianya said with a composed face. To put it bluntly, she's in the tolerance faction, but since it would be bad if they were overruled by the opposition faction, she probably bought some time.
"Saxburg. Now, every royal family except for Engrio is waiting to see. Since the official view of the Church hasn't come out, you should respond cautiously."
"Understood."
In the end, the talk about coexistence and co-prosperity proceeded that way. The problem was the specific Demon Lord countermeasures, and Engrio said they wouldn't conduct operations in the winter. This again sparked debate.
"In other words, does Engrio mean they might go on an expedition to the continent when winter comes?"
Simply put, it's probably the idea that it's better to stop the Demon Realm conquest since it's cold in the winter and various expenses increase, but if you look at it from a biased perspective, it sounds like what Saxburg said. However, if we only need to be on guard during the winter, that in itself would be easy to understand. In any case, they'll be doing some kind of Demon Lord countermeasures until November.
"Then, Jeanne, are you going on an exploration somewhere again? It's still summer now."
That's right. It's just as Saxburg says. However, it's only been announced that we're going to investigate because there are unexplored places. The secret books haven't been made public.
"Who will participate? I wonder if my brother is going?"
Unfortunately, Eowyn-sama is not participating. Not only that, but Roberts-sama, Gwyn-sama, and James-sama are also not participating. The reason is that each nation has become required to work on the conquest of its own Demon Realms. The basic management will be done by the Medioland Royal Capital Cathedral, except for Engrio's territory. However, there's naturally no compulsory power over each nation, and they'll send monster extermination units or supporting high-level priests if they're supported. The decision made by the Medioland Royal Capital Cathedral in response to the Provisional Council of Lords was to prioritize nations currently conducting Demon Realm conquests, and for other nations, it was to be as much as possible considering the national situation. As for the current progress, it's the two-head countermeasure in Northern Gram, the ant extermination in Medioland, the third floor of the Demon Lord's cave in Sertoria, and the exploration of the place where the Demon Race woman is in Engrio. Among them, Northern Gram decided to do it jointly with Finis, Medioland jointly with Sertoria, and Sertoria decided to do it on its own. Morandine, which is currently reconstructing its national army, was excluded since it had already conquered one Demon Realm.
"Then, who is going to Engrio?"
"Um, Price-sama from Medioland. Bishop Harrison from Regnentes, Sianya from Primordia, Harris-sama and myself from Sertoria. The rest are from Engrio."
It hasn't come out on the surface, but Robinson-san and I are also scheduled to participate in the two-head countermeasure, and since we don't know what the Henry Party will do, although it's unofficial, Medioland, Regnentes, and Sertoria might end up sending people to all the currently progressing Demon Realm conquests.
"It's only priests. And the number of people is quite small, isn't it?"
"It's just investigating places that haven't been explored until now. Besides, Engrio has promised us support."
Actually, the Demon Race woman will also be with us, but I'll keep that quiet.
Falstaff-san is scheduled to participate from Engrio. Moreover, if there's a ruin, the members will change, but since explaining is troublesome, I kept quiet. Sianya also knows, but since she probably hasn't met them, she stayed quiet for me.
"Hmm, it's quite a lot of work, isn't it? When are you going?"
"Late August."
After this, I'll help with the two-head countermeasure, do healing in the Northeastern Forest, and participate in the Great Shark Festival. Lately, I've been so busy that I don't have time to do rat extermination. The Henry Party is involved in everything, and the saving grace is that the basic travel time is short.
"I see, that's tough."
So, I ended up going to Engrio again. It's an exploration of whether or not there's a ruin of the fifth secret book. Since there's a guide, it shouldn't take that much time.
I reunited with Falstaff-san at the checkpoint, just like last time. When I went in the luxurious dedicated carriage sent by the Medioland Royal Capital Cathedral, he came out to meet me. Falstaff-san seemed to have met Price-sama before, as he was talking with a smile. It's something unique to those who have challenged the Demon Lord.
"Bishop Jeanne, thank you for your hard work in visiting so many times."
After the general greetings were over, he spoke to me casually.
"Falstaff-san, thank you for your hard work in participating so many times as well."
"Honestly, they show no mercy."
It was a sudden complaint.
"This investigation is basically supposed to be handled by King Seldic and the Archbishop of the Royal Capital Cathedral. If that's the case, they should just go themselves, but they make us do the exploration. I wish they'd give it a rest."
My condolences. Well, a King and an Archbishop can't exactly wander around unexplored mountains.
"Those ones have also come, so please give them your guidance."
When I looked in the direction he pointed, Carla and Annabella were there. The supporting participants this time are only priests. Moreover, there's Archbishop Price, the deputy head of the Medioland Royal Capital Cathedral, and Sianya, the princess. Thinking they couldn't possibly appear before them, they were only showing their faces from behind the shed.
Since they were beckoning me to come, I went over.
"Hey, Jeanne. Listen, listen!"
I was pulled into a place where we couldn't be seen from the surroundings.
"What? What happened?"
"You know, we both became mid-level!"
When I looked at Annabella, she was looking bashful.
It seems Carla learned Freeze and Ice Cube, and Annabella learned Defend and Magic Reflection.
"That's amazing! Congratulations!"
"Thank you!"
"Thank you."
Does that mean you're both magic soldiers directly under King Seldic?
"Um, we're directly under the commander of the Monster Extermination Unit."
Come to think of it, they're both carrying bows and quivers and wearing leather armor. They have one-handed swords and knives at their waists. They don't look like magic soldiers at all.
When I asked, they said they were assigned to the newly formed unit at King Seldic's behest. They're apparently being valued as scouts who can use mid-level magic. Annabella, in particular, is a healing mage. She'll be treasured by her comrades.
"Look, look!"
What Carla was proudly pointing to was a medal. It seems they were directly decorated by King Seldic at the royal palace for their merit in the subjugation of two Queen ants.
"We're not exactly knights, but I guess we're about next to that."
If they become knights, they'll be squad leaders or commanders. They're like candidates for that. Even though they're ordinary soldiers, they were called to the royal palace, so it's quite something.
"You've moved up in the world, haven't you?"
"I guess so. We might actually be promising prospects."
"Then go and greet Price-sama and Sianya."
"N-No, that's, you know, it's not appropriate for our status."
"I'm fine as I am too."
"It's okay, they're both priests, so they don't care about status."
I dragged the two of them along, with Falstaff-san's help, as they both refused.