#157
After the Capital Invasion (1)
As the distance was that great, the delegation from the Enamel Continent, including the Elven Kingdom, was the first to leave the Roselia Grand Shrine after the summit ended.
After that, with the cooperation of each temple, they quickly moved east, arriving at the forest at the eastern end of the continent in one day, and were now heading to the Enamel Continent via the ‘Forest Path’ operated by Laforie and Cecily.
“In the end, on the Continent of Ion, I was only inside the temple the whole time, except when I was going back and forth between the Eastern Forest and the temple. I guess that’s natural since I didn’t come here to play, but still, something was a bit…”
Shapiron, who was walking along the forest path with Harris, grumbled softly.
Her clothes had become considerably lighter than when she had arrived, and her many belongings were now neatly contained in the subspace magic tool hanging from her wrist.
It was a bit sad to see a child who had realized something of reality…
I guess this is how everyone grows up.
“Still, it’s not often that you get the chance to meet people from all over the world. Plus, they’re all in positions that are hard to find.”
Rustle rustle—
Harris comforted her with a soft voice and placed a bag of popcorn in her hand.
“No, I’m not a child! Why do you keep giving me food like this every time I say something? Of course I know that it was inevitable, right?”
Then, this time, she complained again, perhaps dissatisfied with the treatment, but of course, she did not refuse the popcorn that was in her hand.
Shapiron, who had been quietly walking along the forest path and eating diligently, suddenly looked back at him as if something had occurred to him.
“Come to think of it, Harris didn’t have a chance to look around the streets either. Where did you get this? Did you go out alone, which was fatal!”
“Ah! I got a present, a present. Why, isn’t there a friend I met a while ago, a big guy? Before we parted ways, he packed a bunch of subspace magic tools and gave them to me.”
“Ah… That, that strange person? At first, I thought he was a relative of the Suin tribe. … Huh? If he’s Yongin, isn’t that wrong?”
I tried to avoid the awkward topic by lightly diverting her attention, but she fell for it again and tilted her head, worrying about useless things.
But at that time, there was someone who intervened to solve that problem.
“No, no! Suin and Yongin are very different, aren’t you, Miss?”
As if he had heard their conversation, Han Su-in approached them playfully.
A large enough body, though not quite as large as Harley, with a mane as long as a lion.
It was Lionel, the lion beastman and representative of the Wild Lands who had taken his place against the Immortal King’s attack.
“Suin are a race that was born that way, while Yongin are creatures artificially created by dragons. Of course, Yongin can reproduce and pass on their blood to future generations, but their roots are clearly different.”
He spoke to them so friendly that it made you wonder if he was really the same person who had been silent throughout the meeting and only became violent when fighting.
“But what is that in your hand, young lady? It smells delicious.”
···It’s probably not because he was attracted to food that he approached me.
Although it seemed a little selfish.
“Oh, this?”
And then Shapiron’s eyes widened at that blunt question, and he handed Lionel the bag of popcorn he had been rustling.
It was either a misunderstanding on Harris’ part to think that she was a glutton, or she acted without any hesitation, as if she had no qualms about giving to others.
“I already ate everything, but would you like to smell it?”
“···No, it’s okay, miss. I like my nose even if you don’t go that far.”
I guess I just had no regrets because it was just an empty bag.
He paused for a moment, perhaps quite embarrassed by her impudence, then cleared his throat and continued speaking.
“Ahem, by the way, I owe a lot to the Elven Kingdom. Thanks to you, I was able to defeat the Immortal King, and you helped me travel between continents.”
“It’s better to help each other if we can. By the way, I heard that you were seriously injured back then, Lionel. Are you feeling better now?”
“Huh? Oh! Of course. How much time has passed since then, so how could you still be groaning? And if you can’t just shake it off and get up after receiving intensive treatment at the Great Hall, you can’t be called a human being!”
It was indeed a pride worthy of a person born with a strong body.
“Wow, we should quickly build a temple for the Enamel Church. Did you hear the news? Something big happened in the imperial capital.”
“···Yes, the Immortal King has invaded Jeron.”
But since they were already well on their way through the forest path, there was nothing they could do.
In the first place, they came as a delegation, not as combat support, so it would have been difficult for them to do anything.
“If we could have moved through the temple gate, we could have responded more immediately… In fact, it was discussed once three hundred years ago, but it was said to have been hushed up after the Immortal King fell.”
Of course, among the different races of the Enamel Continent, there were priests who prioritized the gods over their own religion, but their religious facilities were limited to large temples.
Of course, there was not a single temple, which is the minimum requirement for installing a gate.
In order to build a temple, not only all kinds of materials were needed, but also many high-ranking priests were needed, and in order to meet all of these conditions on the Enamel Continent, cooperation at the racial level was needed.
‘However, no matter how much you respect the Lord, it is difficult to help those who have separate national religions.’
I won’t necessarily interfere, but I also don’t want to directly help build the temple.
Even though the need for it arose three hundred years ago, in other words, it wasn’t really needed for the next three hundred years.
‘But everyone responded positively at this summit. When I return, I’m sure the leaders of the different races will discuss this separately and make a definite decision.’
Then, we will be able to build temples quickly with continent-wide support.
It will probably be up to the high elves to bring in the necessary high priests from the continent of Aeon.
‘···It seems like the need for it as a means of transportation is only growing.’
High Elf candidate Harris made a subtle expression.
Now, that wasn’t someone else’s problem.
At that time, something big was happening on the Continent of Ion.
The interracial delegation, including Harris, was walking along the forest path peacefully without incident.
***
The third central dining hall of the Roselia Grand Shrine.
“Hahaha—! I’m starting to feel a little hungry now! I feel really hungry after doing some intense exercise for the first time in a while. I’m a little hungry, but overeating isn’t good, so should I stop here?”
There was someone who walked out the door with a proud expression, stroking his stomach with a happy face…
“Oh, really? I said that I could just roughly season it and grill it. As expected of the chefs of the Great Hall, their sense of duty is as strong as their skills! Thanks to you, I had a delicious meal.”
It was the savage warrior Harley who had gone out to support Jeron and then returned to the Holy Land.
And the inner kitchen of the restaurant he entered seemed to have already been the scene of a war, with the chefs lying around, each breathing heavily.
“···As expected, you’re a formidable opponent. Today, even more so than before.”
“I guess it must have had an effect since you just came back from a fierce fight outside.”
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“Hahaha, but that won’t work for us. Our Third Central Kitchen is the best in the Grand Hall···.”
“Th, th-hey… Chef?”
The head chef carefully cut him off from his triumphant speech.
Of course, I could fully understand the chef’s feelings.
When the food I worked so hard to make disappears down my throat in just a few seconds, I almost give up.
However, this is one of the places responsible for the meals at the main shrine.
As he faced hundreds of paladins and holy knights a day, the glutton had considerable tolerance.
But that was exactly the problem.
“It’s almost dinner time. Well, it’s already a little late, so if we don’t get ready right now….”
“···That’s right, that’s right.”
The meal provided to Harley, a guest who helped with the work of the church, was not a pre-planned task.
That is, they had not even started their original job of satisfying the countless hungry demons who had been starved by the harsh training.
“Huh, right. You can’t just say something so weak. Move quickly, you guys! How long are you going to lie there? We are the best elites in Roselia, the Third Central Kitchen!”
“Yes, Chef!”
They dragged their exhausted bodies into preparations for a new war.
Since we were fighting a formidable opponent during what should have been a resting time, there might have been a few people who fell by the time everything was over.
Even if that really happened, there would be no problem.
After all, this is the Roselia Grand Shrine, which boasts the best medical facilities on the continent!
“Oh— maybe I should have eaten a little more? I’m already a little hungry···.”
With the kitchen in such a state of flux, Harley walked down the hallway of the main temple, muttering words that would have made the chefs grab the back of their necks if they had heard them.
In fact, you can eat all kinds of meat that are stored in the subspace, but isn’t it obvious that food prepared directly by the chef is tastier?
To others, it might have looked like he was just shoving it down his throat, but his transcendent sense of taste did not miss even the slightest taste in that brief moment.
‘No, that’s okay. I’ve eaten more than usual. Even if it’s free, it’s unconscionable to expect more.’
Although he had expended considerable energy fighting Hans and the Immortal Army, this level of consideration was basic for someone who prided himself on being the last conscience of this era.
‘···By the way, it seems like Heinrich still needs some time.’
Harley, who had only applied as a guest, was able to return right after finishing her work at Jeron.
However, Heinrich had no choice but to stay there to clean up, and given the current state of affairs, it was difficult for him, as the highest-ranking official on the religious side, to immediately leave.
‘Besides, the Jeron Daesinjeon is in a situation where there is a shortage of manpower due to the issue of sending troops to the Rohan Duchy and this matter.’
Still, the distance between Jeron and the Holy Land was not that far, so there was room to send Harley back there.
Now that the staff of the Royal Palace of Roselia have left for that area, Heinrich will be able to return soon.
‘Still, somehow this matter has come to an end.’
After the Immortal King’s invasion of the capital.
From the imperial family and other imperial leaders to the lowest levels of society, including back-alley gangs, the entire capital was struggling to deal with the situation.
In the end, the palace barrier was not destroyed until the very end, so no additional damage occurred there.
Not only were many of the knights who had to face the Immortal King killed or injured, but even the captain of the Imperial Guard, a master-level knight, was seriously injured and had to recuperate for a while.
At the same time, the situation was the same for the noble families and other organizations that were subjected to large-scale attacks.
The immortal army, which was subordinate to Hans and was able to accept a portion of his magic power, was given some of the abilities of the “Eye of the Abyss”, aka the evil karma judgement device, and was able to carry out a fairly merciless purge.
‘It’s hard for Olivia to control all of them on her own. Of course, the standards are stricter than usual.’
Well, I guess that can’t be helped, right?
If that’s what you’re unhappy with, then you shouldn’t have done bad things in the first place.
His usual belief was that if someone had to make a sacrifice, it had to be a villain.
of course.
He himself had already realized a long time ago that he was by no means ‘good’.
‘···By the way, Issae seemed to have a stronger bond with the princess than I thought. I expected it to some extent, but she was more proactive than I expected. Also, I’ll have to take care of the prisoners now, so this···.’
“Oh, Harley? You’re here. Can I talk to you for a moment?”
As Harley, lost in thought, was heading to the training grounds to do some after-dinner exercise, someone suddenly approached him and spoke to him.
One of those who brought him here by recommending him to the suicide squad.
He was the secretary general who oversaw the affairs of the mercenary guild in place of the signboard ‘Mercenary King’.
