Ch.403Entry

The journey to the Holy State was peaceful and pleasant.

The diplomatic relations between the Empire and the Holy State had only recently deteriorated; until a few months ago, they had maintained cordial ties. As a result, the roads connecting the two nations were perfectly maintained.

Well-paved roads stretched between vast plains on either side, with inns and small shops for travelers placed at regular intervals, much like highway rest stops.

Since our route didn’t pass through mountains or forests, even common bandits were rare.

Instead, we encountered a different kind of brigand.

—-

“Yeeeeehaaaw!”

A bizarre war cry echoed from the distance.

Leonore, who was riding in the same carriage as me, let out a short sigh, making no effort to hide her annoyance.

“I can tell just from the sound now. Horse bandits again.”

Just as mountains have mountain bandits and seas have pirates, plains have horse bandits.

Like locusts, they charge in on horseback from a distance, rob travelers, and flee. Since they’re mounted, they’re particularly troublesome for soldiers to pursue and eliminate.

“Why do they always shout such weird battle cries?”

All those “yeeehaws” and “keeeeeks” and whatnot.

When I hear them, I can’t tell if I’m dealing with humans or monsters.

“Who knows? You should know better than me, my lady. The Ka’har make similar noises when they charge. Isn’t it some tradition among mounted bandits?”

Leonore shrugged.

“Mounted bandits? That’s racial discrimination.”

Though honestly, she wasn’t wrong.

The Ka’har were just bandits on a national scale, after all.

While Leonore and I joked while looking out the window, the horse bandits were getting closer.

A dozen horses pounded the earth with their hooves, kicking up clouds of dust.

“Three carriages without any escorts? Today’s our lucky day!”

The bandits on horseback drew their weapons, grinning with their filthy faces.

Lucky? More like your last day, you fools.

There are six Master-level fighters gathered here.

Though five of them probably won’t bother fighting.

Millia will take care of them all anyway.

Sure enough, a window opened from the carriage carrying Demian and Millia, and an arrowhead peeked out.

Then, with a thunderous sound, the released arrow tore through the bandits’ vanguard.

Three arrows were enough to turn the dozen or so horse bandits into pieces of meat.

—-

We traveled like this for several days.

Turning attacking horse bandits into fertilizer, staying at inns when night fell, and occasionally sparring among the Masters to keep in shape.

With Lacy and Lena present, we didn’t need to worry about injuries.

Whenever we stayed at an inn, Millia always chose a room as far away from Lacy as possible.

Her intention was obvious to everyone, but I couldn’t say anything about it.

“Are Lord Demian and Lady Millia married?”

Lacy tilted her head, watching Millia naturally pulling Demian into her room.

Come to think of it, she probably didn’t know the two had gone all the way. I hadn’t bothered to tell her.

“Not yet… but I suppose they will someday.”

They were planning to hold the wedding after establishing themselves more stably.

Though with a northern title, knighthood in a marquis family, and a proper mansion (even if not owned outright), I’d say they’re already pretty well-established.

“Sharing a bed without being married… hmm… I can’t say that’s exemplary behavior.”

“If they’re both happy with it, what’s the problem? They’ll live like that for the rest of their lives anyway, so they’re practically married already, just without the ceremony.”

In other words, they’re in a common-law marriage.

“Is that so…?”

Lacy, true to her priesthood, showed a somewhat conservative view on relationships, but she didn’t try to interfere with the couple.

She had no grounds to interfere anyway. Unmarried lovers having intimate relationships wasn’t particularly uncommon.

Though if they had been doing it in the carriage, she probably would have given them a long lecture about going too far.

—-

The inns along the road were packed with travelers, but we never had trouble finding rooms.

Being on the route to the Holy State, these inns had special suites prepared for high-ranking clergy and nobility.

The one downside was that Lacy, Leonore, and I had to keep our faces covered.

It couldn’t be helped.

All three of us had distinctive appearances and such high fame that merely showing our faces could cause a major commotion.

According to Lacy, if rumors spread of her presence, within a day, people from all nearby villages would flock like clouds, seeking healing and blessings.

“Normally I’d gladly help them, but… that would delay our schedule too much. It’s unfortunate, but there’s nothing we can do.”

Indeed, if we stopped to help everyone who came, it might take over a month just to reach the Holy State.

But once our identities were revealed, we couldn’t turn away people who came begging for help.

So Lacy and I had no choice but to stay cooped up in our room, discussing things like the Holy State.

Leonore remained by my side, taking care of Lena and playing with her.

Meanwhile, Lilies approached travelers heading in the opposite direction to gather information about the situation in the west, while Nigel and Valkers visited general stores to replenish our supplies.

Demian and Millia just enjoyed their time together, sightseeing here and there.

Since we had many beautiful women in our group, there were occasionally men who tried to hit on them or pick fights, but such foolish individuals ended up beaten and tied to crosses.

Not nailed, just tied up, with instructions to release them after a couple of days.

—-

Lilies, true to her role as a Crusader of Seals agent, was quite skilled at gathering information.

Few men would refuse to answer when a beautiful priestess flattered them with a gentle voice and asked various questions.

Unless they were criminals or extreme misogynistic homosexuals.

“The border regions are quite unsettled.”

According to Lilies, merchants and adventurers sensitive to danger had already left in droves.

The border with the Holy State was somewhat better, but the border region touching Himmel reportedly had almost no adventurers left.

It was natural that even adventurers who made their living by the sword wouldn’t want to work in a magical wasteland where pillars of fire rose from the horizon several times a day.

“Except for farmers whose only assets are land and serfs who can’t leave, hardly anyone remains.”

It was a vicious cycle.

With adventurers gone, public safety deteriorated; with merchants gone, logistics broke down.

With safety and logistics in shambles, even those who had stayed were leaving.

The lords of the border regions were deploying their private armies to maintain some control, but they couldn’t prevent free people from moving away.

She also had some information about the Holy State.

Factional fighting between the churches had become visible, causing priests tired of the conflict to leave the Holy State for other countries.

Within the Holy State, as the once-dominant Church of Elpinel weakened due to various setbacks, other churches saw an opportunity and formed alliances to vie for power.

“There hasn’t been any armed conflict yet… but that just means they’re using every means short of violence. The situation might be more serious than we thought.”

…Indeed.

As Lilies said, the Holy State seemed to have gone completely off the rails.

—-

After a long journey through several domains, small cities, and roadside inn villages, we finally reached the border of the Holy State.

Autumn was at its peak, with winter just one step away.

“Welcome to Elphirem, Lord Median.”

The high-ranking Paladin guarding the border opened the gate for us immediately after confirming our identities.

Though he saluted respectfully with one hand on his chest, his greeting carried many implications.

Addressing me as “Lord Median” rather than “Count Median” indicated they wouldn’t acknowledge my Imperial title.

Given the extremely cold diplomatic relations with the Empire, I should forget about being treated as a count here.

If I weren’t descended from one of the Great’s Twelve Knights, they might have refused entry altogether.

Moreover, the fact that he saluted me instead of Lacy, despite her long-awaited return, suggested that her standing within the Holy State had been significantly diminished.

Even though he was a Paladin of the Church of Astraea rather than the Church of Elpinel… someone of Lacy’s stature, a candidate for sainthood, would normally be recognized as at least an archbishop-level figure by other churches.

What a mess this country has become.

A nation supposedly established to distance itself from secular power seems to be engaged in power struggles worse than the Empire’s.

Lacy, as if she had anticipated this treatment, merely let out a faint sigh with a slightly darkened expression.