Chapter 773 - Chapter Nine: Egbert's Old Story
After a round of commotion... though the only one making a fuss was the self-proclaimed evil spirit Egbert-sama... we toasted with wine.
"This is..."
With the Grand Archbishop, the Church's Number Two, and the founder of the Northern Church all gathered, the Wetlands Priestess, who didn't chug it as usual but sipped it elegantly, stared at the wine in her bowl after drinking.
"What's wrong? Was there poison in it?"
If it were poison, a human wouldn't get away with it. That's an insult to the Grand Archbishop who prepared it.
"Was it not to your taste?"
See, he's worried.
"It's not that it's not to my taste, it's that it's incredibly delicious. I've never drunk such delicious wine in my life."
"Wahahaha, this is good. After all, it's a brand that could be called the finest among those drunk by successive Grand Archbishops. By all means, savor it as you drink."
He started frolicking again. It's not wine you brought, though.
With three heavy drinkers and the wine being so extraordinary, the banquet proceeded in a good atmosphere. Egbert-sama seemed to have taken a liking to the Priestess and Germana, and while chugging the finest wine, he repeatedly said to look after his disciple... me. Even though he's a ghost who doesn't get drunk, he's just a drunkard.
"By the way, Egbert-sama. Regarding the reason Jeanne came here this time..."
Seeing the right moment, Price-sama broached the subject.
"I know. Apparently, the demons have become weaker."
Egbert-sama looked annoyed, but he still responded.
He chugged the wine, thrust his empty bowl at the Grand Archbishop, and had the Grand Archbishop pour for him. Since he didn't say anything when the Grand Archbishop asked, it's progress, I suppose.
"Yes. As I've already told you, I've heard so from my companions."
"The cause is light magic, isn't it?"
"Yes. This too, as I've already told you, is apparently what the Dragonewts said."
"Jeanne sent them off, didn't she?"
"Yes. That's what I've heard."
It's a somewhat unreliable response, but is it okay? I hope he doesn't get in a bad mood and coop himself up. I wonder if it'll be okay if Germana is here?
"Did you ask the Priestess who protects the secret books?"
He knew about the Priestess of the secret books. Or rather, that really was a Priestess.
"Is the Priestess the one who makes the ceiling glow?"
"That's right. Did you not know?"
"I am sorry. I was not taken seriously."
Instead of offerings, I'm supposed to have her give any oracles if there are any, but in reality, we're just having small talk while having a banquet. Since she occasionally glows brightly, she must be listening.
"I went to one place. My companions, including Jeanne, went to another. We went to ask the ceilings in two places in total, but we were not taken seriously."
"It's the [Vow of Silence]. You got caught on that."
Egbert-sama said that they must not reveal their own identity. Apparently, they became glowing ceilings on that condition.
"Those people are not allowed to speak much with others."
In exchange, they apparently gained the power to protect the secret books. It's just like Germana. I wonder if I can't take them with me?
"What I know is only a small part. Be satisfied with that."
Is there information? It was worth coming.
The content Egbert-sama spoke of was like a corroboration of the tall tale surrounding the Dragonewt Elder and Price-sama's Eastern Church. The new information obtained was about what the demon curse countermeasure the Priestess of that time applied was, and about the secret art the Eastern Church was protecting.
"What is the great terror that comes from across the eastern sea? Jeanne, what do you think?"
I was suddenly put on the spot. But he was serious. He didn't ask it as a joke.
"I heard that what humans fear is mass death in a short period, especially due to famine, plague, and war. Among those, I think the ones coming from across the eastern sea... that is, from the continent, are plague and war."
"Hmm. That's quite persuasive. And, the countermeasures?"
"I heard they are currently under consideration, but..."
"That's about those people in organizations. I want to hear what Jeanne would do."
Eh? Am I going to do something political like that? It's impossible for a stray to do such a grand thing.
"Um, as for what I can do personally..."
"No! Who said to do it alone. Think on the premise that you can utilize all the people and organizations you think would be good to utilize."
I-I see. Understood.
"Um, then, as for plague countermeasures, we are currently proceeding with them including the person in charge on the continent, so if possible, I'd like to prevent the spread on the continent before it comes to the White Island. As for the method, the person in charge from the White Island should cooperate at the meeting held on the continent..."
There is the Great Unity Conference. I don't know what the pagans think, but at least the people of Sertogne will believe us. After that, it's early detection and prevention of spread. Since they'll probably do it again this year, we have no choice but to consult with Anri-sama and further strengthen the cooperation system. Of course, we must consider the mass production and transportation methods of the magic water made with [Anti-Sepsis]. If Beatrix is here, we can send a large amount of magic water to Sertogne all at once. I won't know without an experiment, but the challenge will be to make the range we can send it to the defense line and how far we can carry it from there.
"Hmm. It's realistic. But can that magic water be sent by [Teleport]?"
"Um, I have one amazing companion..."
I explained this and that.
"What, apprenticed to Gnome..."
He must have been very surprised. He became noisy with flashes and bangs.
Egbert-sama finally calmed down after chugging the wine the Priestess was drinking slowly and preciously one sip at a time. The Priestess looked as if it were a waste.
"Then, what about war countermeasures?"
This is a bit too heavy for me.
"Wouldn't it be fine to gather ghosts and sink all the enemy ships at the coastline?"
The Priestess offered a helping hand. Since she was doing defense training at the border fortress, she's quite radical.
"Hoho. Gathering ghosts. Can such a thing be done?"
"I think it can. Because in the Western Church I belong to, a knight order of ghosts is guarding the border."
"A-a knight order of ghosts? What is that?"
She explained this, that, and the other. Again, he started doing flashes and bangs.
Again, he chugged the finest wine. He let out a breath, 'gefu-', and it started looking like desperate drinking.
The Priestess must have made up her mind too, as she started chugging. Price-sama was pouring into the bowls for the two of them.
"Then, Egbert-sama. What do you think?"
Corroboration was obtained, but it's not like a solution was found. The mystery remains a mystery. I didn't like being the only one asked, so I asked him.
"Me?"
"Yes. Something terrible might happen to the White Island. At any rate, we must gather various information, ask for the opinions of experts, and set up some kind of countermeasures."
"I do not know."
"Heh?"
"If I knew, an evil spirit like me wouldn't have taken a disciple and be training [Voiceless] practitioners."
"I see."
Now that he mentions it, that's true.
"Then, if you knew, you would have done something?"
The self-proclaimed spirit of the cave asked. Egbert-sama is deferential toward Germana. It's an effective question.
"What could someone like me do? I'm just a measly evil spirit without even the power of a spirit."
Again, he chugged the wine. He let out a breath, and it became like desperate drinking.
The Priestess also made up her mind and started chugging. Price-sama was pouring into the bowls for the two of them.
"Then, if you could use the power of a spirit, what would you do?"
"W-what?"
As expected of a lady. She doesn't hesitate.
"Spirit of the cave or whatever. Weren't spirits neutral? Especially high-level spirits who possess power."
He glared at Germana. The atmosphere changed. The Priestess placed her bowl on the floor and straightened her back.
"There are exceptions. As you can see, I was once human."
"A spirit who was once human? You, could it be... the fifth..."
Egbert-sama dropped his bowl. The finest wine spilled onto the ground. What a waste... The Priestess looked as if she were about to suck her finger.
"I am Germana, just a spirit living in a cave. Although, I am currently a guest at my friend Jeanne's place."
"I-I see. Th-then, you were able to escape from the cave?"
"Yes. There were instructions from Gnome-sama, and with the efforts of the Grand Archbishop and Price-sama, the security system was established and preservation work is also proceeding."
"G-Gnome... Moreover, a security system and preservation work..."
Egbert-sama looked at the Grand Archbishop. The Grand Archbishop smiled pleasantly.
"Ge-Germana... no, Germana-dono. Do you know about the Priestess who protects the secret books we were talking about earlier?"
"The glowing ceilings, right? I visited one place with Jeanne and the others."
"I see. What were your impressions of those people?"
"I thought they were just like me before I was cooped up in the cave. Just like me now, it might be fine for them to go outside."
"Y-you think so!"
This time he didn't drop his bowl. Instead, the Priestess was drinking for two. Egbert-sama was so focused on Germana that she was drinking it herself. She must have really liked it.
Egbert-sama appealed for the salvation of the Priestess who protects the secret books. He said it was pitiful.
"You must have noticed already. The places where the secret books are are the very barriers that protect the island. And, the Priestess who makes the ceiling glow became, so to speak, a human sacrifice to maintain the barrier."
It's exactly like Germana. And he says that is the secret art the Eastern Church was protecting. This secret art was passed down to disciples. In other words, if you want to know the secret art, you have no choice but to apprentice yourself to one of the five glowing ceilings.
"Hey, Jeanne."
"What?"
Germana asked me.
"Alex-san is the one managing that place, right?"
"Yeah. That's right."
"Let's talk once. About those people."
"Right. He's the gatekeeper, so there are limits to what he can answer, but let's ask what we can."
"After that, I'll go directly to ask the Priestess of the ceiling."
"Really. I'm sure the Priestess will be happy too."
Germana is a spirit, and she understands the Priestess's position. If Germana doesn't work, we'll think of something else.
"R-really!"
This time he didn't drop his bowl. Instead, the Priestess was drinking for two.
Germana set a condition for Egbert-sama. She told him to tell everything he knew about the cave of secret books and the demons, including things from when he was alive. Certainly, there are many mysteries about both.
"What I know about those things is only a very small amount."
"That is fine. I too once trained to subjugate the Demon Lord. Egbert-sama is likely the same, right? As fellow people who share the same purpose, we must exchange information."
"That's right. Since my disciple is working this hard, I suppose it's about time I talked."
And so, Egbert-sama began to talk about three thousand years ago.
Speaking of three thousand years ago, various things were happening. First, around the current Nakanohara Lake, a human who came from the continent encountered the Goddess, and as a result, a shrine-like structure now called the Primal Ruins was established at the site of the encounter. After that, the terrain around the shrine changed due to the Goddess's power, and the current Nakanohara Lake was created. And, Dune was born. The caves of secret books were made in five locations on the island. Around the same time, silver was discovered near the current Primordia capital. There must be a gap of several years, but various things have been left for posterity. I heard that Egbert-sama was someone involved in the creation of the current Church organization. I wonder what kind of involvement he had?
"I was involved in the creation of the secret books. It was when I was still an apprentice."
The people who came to the White Island from the continent with iron weapons, since landing in the southeastern part of the White Island, conspired with some of the locals, and through diplomatic negotiations and battles with people of other settlements that could only be called village-scale, they gradually gained power and influence. That said, since the original population was small and they were just people pushed out by a powerful nation from the east of the continent, they were satisfied once they had seized a certain amount of land. And together with the locals they conspired with, they supported those who came later and spread almost throughout the entire region except for the north. Through those circumstances, the era of the generation influenced by the great mana swells arrived. In the region corresponding to the current Nakanohara Lake, they encountered the Goddess, and furthermore, the current Nakanohara Lake was created by a miracle. Since then, the Goddess faith has held a certain amount of power on the White Island.
"As a result of the battles until then, various secret arts were lost. To prevent the same thing from being repeated, descendants of those who originally lived on the White Island gathered and tried to create secret books to leave for posterity."
It seems they were a different group from the so-called Church organization... which didn't exist back then. Ultra-high-level mages representing each region gathered. They likely had the power to subjugate the Demon Lord, but at that time the Demon Lord did not resurrect. However, only the legend of the demon's curse was passed down. They searched for the barriers made by their predecessors who tried to seal the demon's curse, and while performing preservation work there, they requested the Dwarves to record the secret books and act as gatekeepers.
After that preservation work, the ones who took on the role of protecting the barrier were the Priestesses who are currently making the ceilings glow. However, the method to become such an existence is apparently different from Germana. Germana is a spirit, not a soul. There is a big difference there.
After that, Egbert-sama achieved the creation of the Church organization. He is not the first Grand Archbishop. He must have been a hidden existence.
"I gathered the five. And I requested the preservation. I requested the cursed ritual from the first-rate Priestesses of the time who knew the technique. I am a cursed existence."
It's something that can only be done by someone involved in the creation of the current Church organization. And the reason he insists on being an evil spirit must be because of those circumstances. Most likely, as a result of hesitating to go to the Goddess's side alone, he must have remained in this land even after death as the successor of the ultimate secrets of voiceless magic, just like Erikson-sama.
"Then, I shall do what I can."
Germana, who had finished listening to the story, said to Egbert-sama. her expression was calm. I thought she would react to the expression 'cursed ritual', but she didn't seem to, looking at her.
"R-really?"
"Yes. However, there are still things I do not understand."
"W-what is it? As long as it's within what I know, I'll tell you anything."
"It's about the demons."
"What about the demons?"
"I understand the reason they weakened. What happens after that? Do they remain weakened?"
"That's right."
W-what! Really? Is that so? If the Demon Lord is weakened, isn't it advantageous for humans!
"However. The clear difference only appears up to the subordinates. The Demon Lord doesn't change much. It's said to be because the original is strong. That's why [Testament] is necessary."
What. I was hoping they wouldn't resurrect anymore. But it might be helpful that the executives are greatly weakened.
"That's right. However, the current Demon Lord is a veteran who survived the battle with the Priestess who sealed many demon leaders before, so do not be careless."
The story was that some of the executives might have been sent off by light magic even before I sent them off. In other words, the one who was the strongest among those not weakened was Number One, so in the next battle, the order within the Demon Lord's army might change. The ones I sent off were the three from Number One to Three. Therefore, in the next resurrection, the one who was Number Four last time might become the first in the order.
Eh? Wait a minute. Could it be that Number Six, who is in the Northeastern Forest, will become the third and one of the Four Heavenly Kings? I shouldn't say this given my position, but I feel sorry for the Demon Lord.