“What’s wrong, Sir Calisto?”
Talking to him with the same tension as when I was dealing with a door-to-door newspaper salesman through the intercom, he, despite his high position, bowed his head as if prostrating himself.
“Please, please! I want you to use your tremendous magical power for the ‘God’! I will do anything I can! So please, please!”
“Hey, please raise your head.”
What is he doing!? Everyone is staring! It makes me look like I’m bullying him!
To come at me like this… As expected of an Archbishop. I don’t know what’s so impressive, but…
However, it’s too suspicious! He hasn’t explained anything at all.
“So, where and what?”
“I have borrowed the location from Duke Capel, and we plan to hold a prayer to God there. I’ve asked the ‘party of heroes’ that I’m on good terms with to provide the security, so you can rest assured about the safety!”
“The heroes… you say?”
They show up again, huh…
They’re a suspicious bunch, and if I try to recall, I feel like I’ll start laughing again, but the fact that they’re here means… ‘Onee-sama’ must be here as well.
“Very well.”
“Oh, thank you so much! Princess, no, Holy Maiden!”
“Hey.”
In contrast to the delighted Calisto, Rick, who had also sensed the suspiciousness, muttered a complaint.
“I can’t help it, Brother Ludrick. This is also my duty.”
“But still…”
If the national religion tells you it’s for God, the royalty can’t refuse it unless there’s a really good reason. –That’s probably what Rick is thinking, but my ‘duty’ is different.
The prayer sounds very suspicious, but if it clashes with our underworld control plan, it might be better to watch it first in order to crush it later.
After all, they are my ‘Onee-sama’! There have been various things lately, and I really need healing! If I leave Onee-sama alone, they’ll end up getting involved with suspicious people or demons, and if that affects her maturation, I’ll cry!
Ah, Onee-sama, I’m truly looking forward to seeing you from the bottom of my heart!
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
“Lucia… -sama”
“Noel?”
As I was seeing off Calisto, who was leaving with light steps, Noel-kun approached me.
“Is that Archbishop Calisto a trustworthy person?”
“I’d like to know that too.”
Following Noel’s words, Ludrick also furrowed his brow.
“I’ve never even heard the name of this Archbishop Calisto before. Even if he is an Archbishop in this Holy Kingdom, I should at least know about him.”
They’ve become quite normal, the two of them…
It’s not a bad thing, and if they get tense, it’ll be a burden on my stomach, so it’s a very good thing. But somehow, I feel a little lonely.
“Well, he was once an Archbishop in the Sigres Kingdom, so we can’t just refuse based on feelings or impressions alone.”
“That may be so, but…”
Could it be that he’s doing something strange with the Duke of Capel? I’m not interested, but if I can get caught in his scheme, it might become a weakness of the Capel family.
“… Princess Eurushia.”
Just as I thought she had been quiet all this time, Cordelia approached me with a troubled expression.
“If you’re going, I’ll go with you too. Father may try to stop me, but if I’m with you, Princess Eurushia, even Mother and Father may hesitate.”
“Cordelia-sama…”
Does she know something?…
From her expression, I can sense that she is holding back various things – about me, about the family, about her father, about her mother, about the pretty words and the reality that she can’t maintain as a noble… It makes me feel a bit… (sinister)
And so the evening banquet ended without any particularly dramatic events… right? It ended with hardly any upheaval, and I thought I had managed to suppress any opposition to accepting Calisto’s invitation…
“Euru-sama, I cannot agree with this.”
“Vio…?”
As I was walking towards the guest room provided by the Capell family, I suddenly heard Vio’s voice behind me and stopped.
Vio had been serving us, so she must have overheard the conversation with Calisto.
“Everyone, could you please go ahead to the room first?”
“Eurushia. I’m not fully convinced either…”
“Leave Lucia-sama’s escort to me, Noel.”
“Hey, Noel!”
Noel and mr bear took Rick, who still wasn’t convinced, by force. Bri and Sara, who are also part of my escort, discreetly left us alone.
For this expedition, in addition to my own escort, there are even three Holy Knights from Taliteld, the highest military might, accompanying Rick. You might think three is not enough, but these are people in high-grade magical silver armor who can use advanced holy magic, stronger even than a hippopotamus .
Even with such an impressive guard, I still can’t feel at ease……
But that’s not what Vio is worried about.
“Vio… You’ve disliked the church since long ago, haven’t you?”
“So you remember. I first mentioned that when you were two years old.”
“Vio. You, Fel, and Min, you’re all family to me.”
The ones who have been by my side since I was born are truly like family. My words brought a gentle smile to Vio’s face.
“What are you uneasy about?”
“If I tell you, will you reconsider?”
“I’m not sure yet…”
I gave a troubled smile, and Vio also let out a small, wry chuckle in the softened atmosphere.
“I think I told you before about my relationship with your mother, Leah-sama?”
“Yes.”
I heard that Vio was Leah’s junior at the magic academy, and she doted on Vio like a little sister. She even helped Vio’s struggling family and studies.
“Like you, I was able to use holy magic from a young age. With my aptitude for water and wind magic, and abundant magical power, I caught the eye of a certain priest, who persistently invited me to join.”
“I see…”
Somehow, this sounds similar to something?
“I declined due to my studies and helping my merchant family, but he kept pressuring me. Then, when I refused again, unpleasant things started happening around my family. That’s when Leah-sama, who was on good terms with Archbishop Molt, intervened, and my family was able to get back on its feet.”
“…And that priest?”
“Archbishop Molt tried to have him excommunicated, but there were movements within the Costol Church to protect him, so he ended up transferring to a Costol church in another country.”
“Hmm…”
What’s that all about? No wonder she’d become anti-religion after something like that.
But… wait a minute.
“…Do you know the name of that man?”
As I asked with a slight smile, as if sensing something, Vio hesitated for a moment before opening her heavy lips.
“I believe it was… ‘Calisto’.”
“My, my.”
My smile naturally deepened. I’m not sure what kind of expression I have, but seeing Vio’s slight trembling, as well as Noa and Nia’s strained faces shaking their heads, I can kind of guess.
“I see.”
“So, then…”
“I’d like to accept the request.”
“Euru-sama!”
As I remained unwavering, Vio reached out, and I gently enveloped her hands with both of mine.
“I understand your unease and concern. That’s why, as your ‘family’, I want to dispel that for you.”
“Euru…sama”
Vio looked at me with an expression of deep emotion, pressing her forehead against my hands.
Let’s clear the sediment in your heart. Let’s protect the heart I’ve known since I was ‘human’.
But I’m sorry, Vio.
I am a ‘demon’.
I’m not your beautiful, delicate princess. As a demon, I will save the world you live in, as a demon.
I’m getting quite excited.
The bleak, northern land – the realm of the demons. There is no clean water, the sky is perpetually shrouded in the accumulated resentment of thousands of years, with never-ending overcast skies that never see the sun.
The land and the hearts of its inhabitants are all ravaged. In the vast magical circle deep beneath the Demon King’s castle, magic power continues to flow endlessly.
But now, the burly demon who had been managing this place is absent. He has gone to the human realm on behalf of his master, the Demon King, to gather the magic power to be sent here.
As one of the generals of the Demon King’s army, this thoughtful individual can gather magic power without being noticed by the humans.
The proof is that over the past year or so, he has been able to pour far more magic power into the magical circle than ever before.
“Is he not here, Demon King?”
“…Geass?”
The king of the demon realm, gazing at the massive magic circle in the underground, turns to the voice addressing him.
There stands an old man clad in an aged, sorcerer-like robe. Whether he truly is an old man or even a demon is unclear.
What is known is that he possesses magic power equal to the Demon King, and has deep expertise in the arcane arts. And his name is “Geass.”
Why is this suspicious individual allowed within the Demon King’s castle, and permitted to converse with the Demon King himself?
It is because, in the demon realm that reveres strength, this person has exceptional magical skills and knowledge… And it is this knowledge that has allowed him to impart the techniques for this massive magic circle, in order to fulfill the Demon King’s wishes.
“…He has gone to the other side. Since he has taken action, we shall likely receive good news before long.”
“Heh heh, that is indeed fortuitous… With this, our desire shall be fulfilled.”
“…Indeed.”
Geass’s true intentions are unfathomable. Perhaps he is making a grave mistake, but even if it were a demon’s trap, the Demon King could no longer retreat, for the sake of his wretched demon kin.
(At least… return safely, Cordle.)
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