Ch.406Chapter 406 – Meanwhile, in the Kingdom (2)

Watching Princess Liriel calmly drinking her tea, Kara spoke up.

“How did you know that?”

“You’re quite naive, Holy Maiden.”

Liriel said with a smile.

“Heroes and gods were just simple metaphors. When thinking about extremely powerful weapons needed at a national level, the easiest examples to cite are heroes, demon lords, and gods.”

She wasn’t speaking from actual knowledge.

Smiling as she said this, Liriel slightly narrowed her eyes as she looked at Kara.

“But there’s something strange about what you’re saying. ‘How did I know that?’ It sounds as if it’s actually true.”

“Hmm…”

Kara fell into contemplation.

Should she reveal everything she knew?

And soon she reached a conclusion.

‘…Not yet, I suppose.’

At the very least, she felt it would be better not to disclose Somnus’s true identity unless it was to someone trustworthy.

Kara decided it would be best not to reveal everything here, but rather to share only up to a certain point.

“Everyone, listen carefully.”

At Kara’s voice, all eyes focused on her.

“I’ll tell you what I know, what I’ve heard, and what I’ve seen.”

After letting out a small sigh, Kara began to speak.

“First, let me tell you about the horrific experiments they’ve been conducting.”

She proceeded to explain the purpose of the human experiments they were researching.

Experiments aimed at artificially creating heroes.

The stories of people who were unjustly sacrificed for that purpose.

The story of a man who luckily escaped and stood against them.

During this, she spoke about the evil deeds committed by the Order.

Since revealing the whole truth could cause confusion, Kara embellished some parts of her story.

Still, she disclosed most of the truth as accurately as possible.

For a while, all sound in the conference room ceased.

As everyone listened to her voice, Kara finally spoke of the miserable end of Platina, whom she could call her mother.

And shortly after.

Princess Liriel sighed and said quietly.

“I was just saying it offhand, but it turns out heroes really are the enemy. Why am I so accurate when it comes to these things?”

“We can’t conclusively say they have a hero on their side yet, can we?”

“It would be best to proceed assuming they have something very close to one.”

Following another minister’s comment, Count Metis quietly continued.

“…This Somnus character is a madman who serves an evil god, and accordingly, he’s trying to get his hands on some kind of relic. Is that correct?”

“That’s right.”

Kara answered Count Metis while feigning calm, as if nothing was amiss.

However, as if he had noticed exactly which parts she had embellished, Count Metis smiled slightly and shook his head.

But seemingly willing to let it slide for now, the Count spoke again.

“It’s hard to believe they actually have a hero right now. If they did, this Somnus character would have deployed the hero directly instead of sending out an avatar of the evil god. At least during the time of Firenchena Kingdom, the Dragon Slayer was their greatest military strength, correct?”

“That’s right.”

Kara answered that the enemy didn’t have a hero in their possession yet.

At least until the Philosopher’s Stone fell into their hands, there was still time.

And she quietly thought that since that item was necessary for Kei to be revived, neither he nor Chris would allow it to be taken by the enemy.

“Still, we can’t afford to be complacent.”

Aria said quietly.

“The strength of heroes described in legends is equal to or greater than demon lords. Demon lords are beings so powerful that even gods cannot easily deal with them. Such military power will soon be in Somnus’s grasp. We still have time, but not much.”

“So that’s why the regent was trying to gather troops despite the princess’s objections. With the intention of striking before it’s completed.”

Kaal quietly added to Aria’s words.

“But if Somnus and the Dragon Slayer really do obtain such power, the Black Templars won’t even buy us time. It’s essentially like having a being that can fight against gods on the enemy’s side.”

When Kaal looked around, most seemed to share his perception and nodded.

“Honestly, I don’t want to believe it. A hero? Isn’t that too far-fetched…”

“Unfortunately, the Magic Tower has been certain of this for a long time.”

The Alchemist Association President spoke, and Lucian responded.

“We haven’t been able to reveal it until now, but the man mentioned in Holy Maiden Kara’s story had contacted our Magic Tower before. At that time, we formed such a hypothesis while examining his body.”

“Not long after, we rescued another woman in a similar situation… So we were quite certain. Since then, we’ve been protecting those who fell victim to their experiments.”

“So the evidence keeps piling up, damn it.”

The Association President grumbled at what the two Magic Tower masters had said.

Princess Liriel glared at the masters and said.

“This is the first I’m hearing of this.”

“Considering that their identities could cause various forms of confusion, I deliberately prevented facts or rumors about them from spreading, for their sake. That seems to have backfired.”

Lucian honestly explained that he had intentionally concealed information to protect those who had been summoned from another world and turned into test subjects.

The princess stared at Lucian for a moment but soon sighed and said.

“I find it a bit excessive, but I understand. Those people have suddenly experienced a calamity, so they should be protected in various ways.”

“Thank you for understanding. …Come to think of it, the representative of those people isn’t at today’s meeting. Where did they go?”

“If you mean Miss Eina, she left to eliminate monsters that appeared nearby. She gathered companions from the Adventurer’s Guild and headed out.”

Violet looked at Nina as if seeking confirmation.

Nina carefully raised her hand and said.

“That’s correct… I issued the request from the guild.”

“I’d like to meet her and her companions next time. Please contact them.”

“Yes. The guild will relay the message.”

“What about the other side? I mean, aren’t you going to invite the one Holy Maiden Kara mentioned?”

Count Metis quietly asked Princess Liriel.

Princess Liriel smiled and said.

“He’s in Bestia right now, isn’t he? He can’t come immediately.”

“That’s right.”

The Count replied, sounding somewhat regretful.

Looking at the Count, Princess Liriel clasped her hands together and soon spoke quietly.

“We’ve discussed many things, but the conclusions we can draw are simple. Trigiena or the Holy Kingdom could wage war at any time. They’re creating powerful monsters called Black Templars. And finally, Somnus and the Dragon Slayer are expected to gain monster-level power comparable to a hero.”

Looking around at the people present, she spoke again.

“Let’s assume the worst-case scenario where we have to face all of them at once. In other words, we need to fight against the Holy Kingdom, which will have hero-level power and hundreds or thousands of monsters as troops.”

“To be frank, that’s impossible.”

The knight who usually guarded her quietly advised.

“Fortunately, the Kingdom of Mikea currently has many people with powerful abilities. Recently, they all joined forces to drive away the demon clan’s commanders. But the Holy Kingdom’s expected military power, in terms of both quality and quantity, must be viewed as being on a completely different level.”

“I agree.”

Princess Liriel said quietly.

“With just the power of our Kingdom of Mikea, it would be insufficient to face a Holy Kingdom with all its forces.”

Though still at the hypothesis stage, if the enemy’s power was as assumed, their disadvantage was certain.

Princess Liriel declared this.

Facing such a princess, Count Metis quietly smiled and said.

“Should we prepare a white flag?”

“A white flag so large it can be seen from distant countries? That would be amusing.”

“Hey, this is no time for jokes…”

Lucian incredulously tried to stop the two who were suddenly joking.

And Princess Liriel looked around regretfully and said.

“Count, since your joke has ruined the atmosphere, you should take responsibility.”

“Yes, I understand, Princess Liriel.”

Count Metis said this while briefly looking around.

Seeing that the atmosphere had lightened slightly, he smiled faintly and said.

“As the princess said, it’s impossible with just our forces. Even including the power of the Holy Maiden of Hati and the Holy Maiden of Evgenia here, as well as those not present at this meeting, it would be difficult to defeat a hero-level force.”

The Count reiterated what Princess Liriel had just stated.

“Then it’s simple. If we can’t do it alone, we need to form alliances.”

“With whom?”

“As many as possible.”

The Count quietly answered Lucian’s question.

“The opponent is the Holy Kingdom, a place where Somnus and the Dragon Slayer are certain to be involved. Therefore, we must ally with those who harbor hostility and a sense of crisis toward them, or those willing to lend strength to those who oppose them.”

The mention of hostility and a sense of crisis toward the Holy Kingdom was understandable.

If they remained idle, they would fall victim to the Holy Kingdom.

However, some people didn’t understand the other part.

“What do you mean by ‘those who oppose them’?”

“Some of you will know. I’m referring to the adventurer named Kei and his party.”

The room briefly became noisy.

Then the Merchant Guild Master spoke as if remembering something.

“The one who repelled the Dragon Slayer?”

“That’s right.”

The Count stood up and continued.

“For a long time, the Emiris Order has targeted him and his companions. Somnus and the Dragon Slayer have persistently sought their lives. This was also mentioned in Holy Maiden Kara’s statement just now.”

“That’s right. Somnus and the Dragon Slayer have been strangely vigilant about Kei and his party, trying to eliminate them.”

Kara knew the exact reason, but she substituted with appropriate words since it wouldn’t be well understood if she explained it here.

But the important point was elsewhere.

“The Emiris Order has committed many evil deeds trying to eliminate them. In the process, they have fought against various enemies, including the Order, and saved many people from those evil deeds.”

“…My domain is one of the places that received their help.”

Count Metis quietly said, following Kara’s words.

“Afterward, they traveled to Albheim, Ferarius, and the Kingdom of Firenchena, fighting many enemies and saving many people along the way.”

“There must be a great number of people who feel grateful to them. …Including myself.”

At Kara’s words, everyone briefly looked at her.

And Count Metis continued.

“I hear some people call him by this name.”

“What is it, Count?”

“The White Dragon.”

The Count looked at the princess.

“Let’s raise the name and banner of the White Dragon. In his name, let’s ask those who have received his help and those willing to cooperate with him to lend their strength to defeat his greatest enemies.”

“The White Dragon Alliance, is it?”

Princess Liriel grinned.

“Since it’s the White Dragon, a white banner would be appropriate. It seems we won’t be wasting that large white flag after all.”

The princess spoke lightly.

And as people’s expressions lightened a bit, the Alchemist Association President quietly asked.

“But is this acceptable? We would need some connection between him and us to raise his name.”

“Don’t worry about that.”

Princess Liriel said with a smile.

“For one thing, I’m his political backer.”

“Kei is my old comrade, so he’ll listen.”

“He is the disciple of Sir Ludger, the former paladin of the Jeolei Order. The Order’s holy relic chose him, and recently, knights he rescued have been strongly supporting his promotion to paladin.”

“Um, well, I’m the guild employee in charge of him…”

“The Magic Tower has long maintained a close relationship with him. A mage from the Green Tower is a member of his party and has been providing unwavering support.”

“He… is the savior of my life. I consider him… a friend.”

Princess Ariel, Aria, Kaal, Nina, Lucian, and Kara each spoke in turn.

Soon they looked at each other’s faces, and the Association President quietly nodded and said.

“That’s quite a lot.”

The Association President muttered that if they investigated further, they might find connections to their side as well.

Princess Liriel soon smiled and said.

“Then we need to send envoys to as many places as possible. To those who will lend us strength.”

“Speaking of forces that might lend strength, I have something urgent to say. I’d like you to hear it and reconsider.”

At Kara’s somewhat urgent words, the princess smiled and said.

“Even places not directly connected to him, and places we haven’t thought of yet, will surely be willing to lend us strength.”

The princess said quietly.

“If there are places you can think of, places you must mention, please tell me.”

“I will do so.”

With the guard knight’s words, the meeting came to a temporary conclusion.

When Princess Liriel suggested taking a break, the conference room became slightly noisy.

“It’s going to be difficult for a while.”

“But it’s necessary. That aside, the White Dragon, huh.”

Princess Liriel grinned.

“…We’ll think about the details later.”

“That would be best. For now, our priority is to identify countries that might join the alliance.”

At Count Metis’s words, the princess smiled.

And soon, as if wanting to tease the Count, the princess grinned.

“By the way, Count.”

“Yes.”

“You don’t have anything to show for yourself regarding this adventurer Kei, do you?”

The princess said with a grin.

“I’m just thinking that even the Count, who sees the future so well, misses some things.”

Looking at the princess’s teasing eyes, the Count briefly thought of his daughter.

‘Though we’re officially maintaining that there’s no relationship…’

Blood ties cannot be easily severed.

It happened because he granted her wish to be with the person she loved, separate from the family, but to the Count, the head of the Ravencha Trading Company was still his daughter.

‘It should be fine.’

If his daughter valued family.

She would forgive him for revealing a bit of truth in a place like this.

“Count?”

“Actually.”

The Count looked at the princess and quietly smiled.

“That fellow is my son-in-law.”

Immediately after.

Everyone’s gaze focused on the Count.