episode_0055

Humans have frail bodies made of blood and flesh.

One might fall with a single blow, but the same goes for their opponent.

Armor is ultimately a tool to overcome the limits of the frail body.

Normally, a knight would not have been affected by such an attack, but now that he had removed his armor, he was on an equal footing.

Being able to hunt down an irrational being that only pours out one-sided attacks.

The archer’s hands trembled slightly with the thrill and tension brought about by this simple fact.

“-Shoot!”

-Ping!

At the same time as his comrades, he released his arrow. They had already agreed on where to aim.

No matter how superhuman one may be, they could not defend against two attacks in one blow. Of course, unless they were instantly killed, there would be some resistance, but in a battle where it was not one-on-one, an injury meant death.

One arrow that was aimed at his eyes was deflected by his sword, its path twisted and disappeared behind him.

But the other one hit his heart. However, why wasn’t his body faltering-

-Ping!

“Ugh…!”

It was when the question in his mind was left unanswered.

Something flashed near Lavender’s neck, and at the same time, an archer fell back.

Grabbing his chest and writhing, he let out a muffled scream and then stopped moving.

The archer left alone, instead of nocking the next arrow, stared blankly at the body of his former comrade.

The arrow he had clearly shot was back. It was not an illusion to see and touch it.

“Why?”

It was an irrational force.

He thought they were finally on equal ground, but if the gods were truly fair, this should not have happened.

Or maybe it was favoritism. If he wasn’t an adult.

Were they being so biased just because he had done a little looting like the other mercenaries?

-Huuk

“Ah…”

A heavy sigh. The sound that would have been teased for not managing his stamina properly was not taken lightly now.

The archer slowly raised his head. His face, obscured by the sun, was not clearly visible, but the silhouette reflected in the sword was sharp.

Rolling his eyes to one side, he saw a captain who was being beaten by a group with a broken sword in front of him.

The captain made a sound like a sigh whenever the anger of those who had been driven down the mountain hit his spine.

His fate was no different from this.

And as a mere thief who had lost everything, he had nowhere to turn.

“O gods.”

“The gods are not here to save creatures like you.”

“…!”

“Nor are they miracles and salvation for such reasons.”

There was a slightly annoyed tone in his voice.

And without further contemplation, the archer lost consciousness.

*****

Thieves may be difficult to catch as they scatter and flee, but in terms of power, they are easy to deal with.

Especially in a remote mountain like this, where they had exhausted their strength chasing after bandits.

The Ray Sword, which had been used occasionally as a Morimort in Lycia, finally proved that it had not lost its power, shining brightly and scattering broken weapons on the ground. There was no better way to break their morale.

With only one body, he couldn’t capture them all, so it was better to crush their will to fight and capture them all without letting anyone escape.

“I surrender.”

“Damn it, why is the Ray Sword here…!”

That’s why having a good reputation is beneficial. It makes it possible to quickly subdue any random opponent without having to deal with the hassle.

The thieves who were not able to digest it were unable to come to their senses in the face of the bug that had arrived in the current era of attack reflection and weapon destruction skills, and I was finally able to deal with the last band of thieves in Alpen.

Only after the situation was settled could I finally have the leisure to scrutinize the opponents.

From what I can see now, there were about forty of them. Judging by their appearance, they were not soldiers, but they were not a group that could easily be swarmed.

Especially if they were to cross the Alpen Mountains in winter.

One or two individuals could be pilgrims or hunters who had come out, but what kind of mentality was it to cross in a group?

Moreover, they seemed to have made some preparations, even wearing thick clothes on their sleds.

Surely they weren’t a medieval mountaineering club.

While pondering how to deal with them, a young man with small scratches here and there cautiously approached me.

As if indicating that he had no weapon, he put down the staff he had been holding in his hand and raised both hands towards me.

Although I did not sheathe my sword, the light dimmed as a sign of response.

Only then did the young man speak.

“I am a guide from the village beyond Alpen.”

“You’ve come from far away. It must have been a difficult journey in this season.”

“Um, judging by the sword you carry, could it be the Radiant Sword?”

That’s why having a good reputation is even better. When the other party immediately understands who you are, there is no need to introduce yourself.

Regarding nicknames, I, who had finally reached the point of enjoying them, nodded satisfactorily and replied.

“That’s right.”

“As expected! It’s lucky to meet you in a place like this. We have a request to make, could you spare a moment?”

“Go ahead.”

“There are many injured and tired people. Could you provide a room for them to receive treatment and care? Of course, we will pay a fair price.”

“We are all followers of the same Europa god. We should lend a helping hand where it is needed.”

“Thank you! Oh, and one more thing. Um, could you inform the Papal Office that we have arrived?”

At this point, it was possible to infer that this was not an ordinary group.

The group that crossed the mountains the most, such as merchants and pilgrims, and wanderers who had lost their homeland, would not make such a request.

Asking to meet with the Papal Office meant that they were someone of importance, so it was highly likely that they were nobles. Of course, they could also be high-ranking clergy, but it didn’t matter as nobles were not much different from them.

I remained silent as a sign to continue the explanation, and the young man understood it perfectly and replied.

“His Majesty wishes to meet with the Holy Father.”

“…What?”

A bomb suddenly dropped in the peaceful Alpen.

*****

Licia had hidden well as I had instructed.

Although I praised her for doing well, the girl murmured softly with her lips slightly pursed.

“I think there was someone over there looking at Lavender with strange eyes.”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“It’s nothing.”

I decided to explain the situation to the girl later.

First, I instructed the guards who had approached to call someone, and before long, the injured were moved to the church.

Since I was the one who had entered the village first, there was no major commotion.

The farmers only peeked out their faces from the doors and wondered what was happening as people swarmed around.

If it had been last year, it might have been different, but fortunately, the village had enough supplies.

It was possible to handle unexpectedly more than forty people who had visited for a short time.

The steward seemed a bit flustered, but what could he do when it was the Emperor and his family.

It was a problem that was difficult to handle within my limits. While I may not know everything about how the world works, one thing was certain: whenever an issue arose with the emperor, it would inevitably lead to war in some form.

The Remus Empire had just narrowly avoided plunging into civil war.

The emperor had staked his life on winning. No one could have predicted that the people of the empire would move so boldly.

“The emperor? Really?”

“The seal clearly belongs to the emperor. The steward also confirmed it.”

“So, you’re saying the emperor risked his life to cross the mountain at this time?”

“That seems to be the case.”

“The world is truly vast and full of surprises.”

“But the deed has already been done. So, what do we do now…?”

Risha, an unexpected participant, expressed her admiration, realizing the limitations of her imagination.

I sat in my room, lost in thought. Since it was not something I had imagined, I had not thought of a way to deal with it.

By now, the nobles beyond the mountains would have been alerted.

Sending them back the way they came might be an option, but after braving the harsh blizzard and steep mountains to get here… it didn’t sit right with my conscience.

“It’s not something we can easily turn away from.”

“He risked his life to come here, so we should tread carefully. The emperor made a wise decision.”

In the end, I sent a letter to Count Canossa.

I summarized the events truthfully, ensuring there was no room for misunderstanding.

The emperor’s party had been treated at the church, with Risha occasionally assisting in their recovery.

Suffering from cold and hunger, they gradually regained their strength by eating warm stew with bread.

Soon enough, a reply came back. Despite the verbose preamble and roundabout explanations, the essence of the message was clear.

‘The pontiff is in my castle.’

‘I will arrange a meeting, so hold on for a moment.’

Risha raised her head and asked with a smile, “Why is the pontiff with the count?”

“Maybe we’ll find out if we keep reading.”

Instead of spending the new year in the cozy pontiff’s residence, why were they alone with Count Canossa?

I unfolded the bottom of the scroll.

‘While on his way to attend a meeting of nobles plotting to establish a new emperor, news reached him and he sought refuge in my castle-‘

So, at this moment… was this story about encountering the emperor while on his way to eliminate him?

I looked at Risha. The girl was looking back at me. Her assessment of the situation was simple.

“The church is also handling things quite nicely.”

“That seems to be the case.”

Truly a dynamic duo as most of the empire’s people would say.

The emperor seemed to have timed things quite remarkably.