Ch.216216. The Republic

Gilbert felt suspicious about the news of war breaking out. Despite the Empire having experienced many chaotic situations before, the timing seemed too perfect. It was as if someone was making them all dance according to a predetermined script.

He couldn’t shake this thought especially because he was receiving special treatment from the System. The System had designated Gilbert as a hero and spared no support for him. It would typically warn him about upcoming events through main scenarios or sub-scenarios, or provide clues to solve the incidents unfolding before him.

During the previous invasion of the Sigurd clan, it was the System that first detected their movements and announced the start of the main scenario. But for some reason, the System hadn’t informed him of anything until the kingdoms formed an alliance and declared war.

Of course, the System wasn’t omnipotent and shouldn’t be blindly trusted, but at the very least, now that he knew war had broken out, it should normally appear as a main scenario. That had been the pattern until now, and he thought there was no reason for it to suddenly change.

However, this time the System didn’t classify the war as a main scenario. Gilbert found this strange.

“Why would that be?”

Scratching near his chin, Gilbert laid out various possibilities about what benefits that bastard would gain from starting a war.

First, when a peaceful continent is engulfed in the flames of war, it naturally becomes chaotic. If wars between humans were already devastating, what about battles led by giant spirit soldiers?

He could tell just by looking at the Selene Plains where rebels and suppression forces had clashed. That once-fertile land had been completely devastated due to thousands of giant spirit soldiers colliding.

The magic bullets and magical armaments unleashed by the giant spirit soldiers had completely torn up the farmland, damaging its fertility so severely that it would take several years to recover. The aftermath of war didn’t just inflict damage on national finances.

Nevertheless, the kingdoms formed an alliance and declared war against the Empire. They were willing to risk everything despite the certainty of irreversible damage if they were to be defeated.

Doesn’t this look like “someone intervened”?

[System inspection initiated due to user bug report.]

[Affirmative. Intervention of authority confirmed.]

[System patch in progress.]

Sure enough, the System responded the moment he concretized his doubts. As he suspected, it seemed that the damn Demon King who could access the System had done something.

To summarize, this war was orchestrated by the possessed Demon King. He had manipulated the Empire and the Kingdom Alliance into waging war.

Gilbert hurriedly summoned Saint Veronica. Now that it was almost certain the possessed Demon King had intervened, her assistance was essential.

“Lord Gilbert, are you unwell? I heard you were urgently looking for me!”

Veronica, who had rushed to the hospital room, examined Gilbert’s body while looking at his serious expression. He raised his hand to stop her, as she appeared flustered.

“Saint Veronica, I’m fine. Rather, I have something to discuss about the Demon King.”

Veronica, whose expression changed instantly, recited a short prayer. As divine power spread around, the surroundings became quiet.

“I’ve blocked sound with divine power.”

“That’s possible too?”

“It’s just a small trick. So you said you had something to say about the Demon King?”

Gilbert, storing this new application of divine power in a corner of his mind, nodded. He told her his hypothesis, appropriately processed. He explained while hiding as much as possible about the System.

There was too much to reveal if he were to explain about the System. Even if Veronica was an awakened saint, there would be parts she couldn’t understand. Especially, he had decided that explaining the existence of God itself was not something to do to a saint.

After listening to his long explanation without any response, Veronica closed her eyes and recited another prayer. Gilbert thought it might be a prayer to God, or an action to compose herself, or perhaps both.

“Indeed, your speculation makes sense, Lord Gilbert. Although we don’t know what the Demon King’s purpose is, I also agree that the Demon King might have intervened.”

“War brings chaos to the continent. It’s not difficult to guess that he aims to make the continent chaotic, but we need to know what his original purpose is.”

“I’ll return to the Holy Empire first and discreetly investigate. I’ll verify if the Demon King actually had a hand in this war, and if our hypothesis is correct, I’ll find out his goal as well.”

“Yes. That’s what I wanted to ask of you, Saint. I have to participate in the war myself, so there might be things I can discover there too.”

Veronica clapped her hands as if to refresh the atmosphere.

“Good. Our plan is set. I’ll hurry back.”

“I’d like to share information as soon as we obtain it, but it might not be easy. The Demon King might intervene in some way.”

His authority was powerful enough to affect the System. Sharing information thoughtlessly could lead to major problems.

Tapping her lips with her index finger, Veronica took out a ring from her bosom and handed it to him.

“Take this.”

“What is this?”

“It’s a Covenant Ring. A sacred artifact created in the days when hero parties existed.”

“A sacred artifact…”

Gilbert looked down at the plain silver-white ring.

It was something he hadn’t seen during his Tactical Combat days. It seemed like a MacGuffin he couldn’t have known about in a game where heroes and demon kings were just background settings.

“Yes. It’s an item created for situations where we don’t know what might happen on the way to the Demon King’s castle. Think of it as a sacred artifact that allows us to check each other’s survival and communicate.”

Is it like an encrypted communication device?

Even if he didn’t know the extent of the possessed Demon King’s authority, if this sacred artifact was created specifically for that purpose, it might be immune to his powers. If he were truly omnipotent, there would be no need for him to operate covertly like this.

Gilbert examined the ring Veronica gave him carefully and asked her:

“How do I use it?”

“Wear it on the ring finger of your left hand. It only works when worn there, closest to the heart.”

“I see.”

Gilbert nodded and put the ring on the ring finger of his left hand. Though he wondered if it would fit, the ring automatically adjusted to his finger size.

[Can you hear me?]

Veronica’s voice was heard in his ear, or more precisely, in his mind. He had wondered how communication would work, and it seemed to be through telepathy.

[Infuse mana into the ring and think of what you want to say.]

[Like this?]

[Exactly! As expected of a giant spirit soldier knight, you got it right away.]

He couldn’t understand the principle behind how the ring worked, but it seemed similar to moving a giant spirit soldier. Still, considering it could communicate over such a long distance, he guessed it might be using the System like modern base stations.

Anyway, having decided on a method to transmit information, the two pledged to defeat the Demon King.

Veronica returned to the Holy Empire with her escort knight. Gilbert also couldn’t stay in bed any longer and got up despite the doctor’s dissuasion. Except for feeling a bit tired, he was fine, so he insisted on completing discharge procedures.

He returned, receiving congratulations from people on his discharge.

However, the reactions of Camilla and Brynhild, who were shooting fire from their eyes at the ring on his finger, were an added bonus.

***

The five kingdoms that started the war were located in the north, east, and south, excluding the west, from the Empire’s perspective. The Seraphim Kingdom and Mesopotamia Kingdom to the west, the Polminaria Kingdom to the east, and the Chronotia Kingdom to the south—a total of five kingdoms formed an alliance.

The Kingdom Alliance proclaimed that they could no longer tolerate the Empire’s tyranny on the continent, and advocated for the need of everyone’s strength to realize justice and peace on the continent, calling for the overthrow of the Empire.

The Empire also issued an official statement, launching a counter-propaganda campaign. They claimed that the Kingdom Alliance was trying to plunge the peaceful continent into the flames of war for their own private gain.

Naturally, the Kingdom Alliance responded in kind, engaging in intense political warfare even before the war began. Though no blood or flesh was spilled, their political battle was extremely fierce.

Countries that belonged to neither the Empire nor the Kingdom Alliance kept quiet. They didn’t want to get caught in the crossfire of a whale fight.

They made this decision considering what might happen if the side they supported lost due to incorrect diplomatic politics.

A month had passed since the declaration of war, but the tense political propaganda continued.

Neither side backed down, accelerating war preparations while tearing at each other in a battle for justification.

Amidst expectations that war would soon break out, a new player suddenly appeared, raising its hand for the Kingdom Alliance.

It was the Republic of Publica, which had overthrown the monarchy and adopted a republican and parliamentary cabinet system.