Ch.834Advance Preparation

In the monotony of daily life, even small changes become a cause for commotion.

It didn’t take long for news to spread throughout the castle that I had brought a Ka’har girl who clearly seemed special.

It was only natural for my companions, given their personalities, to rush over to me unable to contain their curiosity.

“So, this child is your half-sister, miss?”

“She’s cute. Quite different from you.”

Leonore and Frider kept snickering as they looked down at Imara, who seemed oddly intimidated, perhaps tense from being surrounded by several Champion-level warriors.

Like a leopard and a cheetah, her appearance was similar to mine yet distinctly different upon closer inspection, which they apparently found quite impressive.

“I thought all Ka’har women wore short tops that barely covered their chests… I was mistaken. So that attire was just Haschal’s preference…”

Nigel seemed more surprised by the fact that Imara was properly dressed in traditional Ka’har clothing that covered her entire body.

From what he was saying, he must have thought Ka’har women only wore chest coverings… which was understandable when I thought about it.

Until now, the only Ka’har woman he had encountered was me, and I actually did walk around in leather clothing as short as a tank top, openly exposing my collarbone and navel.

In truth, even by Ka’har standards, my attire was considered somewhat vulgar.

Of course, I dressed that way not because I was some pervert with an exhibitionist quirk, but because the instincts engraved in my body found proper tops restrictive.

There was also the fact that when fighting, my body temperature would rise rapidly, leaving my entire upper body soaked in sweat.

Perhaps Hersella had insisted on such short tops for the same reason?

If not, then…

‘Don’t tell me you…’

Unlike me, it would mean she was actually gaining mental liberation through exposure.

[What do you mean ‘don’t tell me’? What misconception are you harboring? Whatever you’re thinking, it’s all a misunderstanding!]

Hersella, now under suspicion of exhibitionism, hastily defended herself in a flustered tone.

[It’s not that I don’t know how to wear normal clothes. However, such garments are cumbersome for fighting, and with just a bit of vigorous movement, they burst and tear into rags! So it can’t be helped!]

‘Yes, yes. Calm down. If you say so, that must be it. Who’s arguing?’

Since her explanation was reasonably convincing, I nodded in agreement.

Certainly, considering this body’s strength, simply raising an arm or twisting the waist would tear normal fabric like tissue paper.

If I were wearing attire like Imara’s current outfit, with fur and cloth tightly wrapped around my entire upper body, the front would probably burst open from my chest just by taking a deep breath.

In other words, Hersella had no choice in selecting her tops.

Now, I may have acquired fabric reinforced with Rurik’s leather and fairy hair that could withstand considerable pressure, but during her time living as a member of the Great Plains, the best leather available would have been from wolves or bears.

So she had no choice but to endure such brief attire, and having lived that way for so long, her body had completely adapted to it. To the point where longer tops would feel too uncomfortable to even consider.

Probably.

—-

“Aishan-Gioro Imara?! Why are you here…!”

Jahan’s reaction was truly a masterpiece.

Clear, unmistakable shock. His expression was so dumbfounded it was comical, like a man who had just witnessed the woman he’d been secretly in love with walking out of the men’s bathroom.

Of course, unlike the others, Jahan would know well what relationship Hersella and Imara had, so he couldn’t have possibly imagined Imara joining our side so unexpectedly.

“How rude. Have you forgotten that the person before you is a member of the Golden Clan?”

Imara frowned and snapped at him. Her face showed that Jahan’s attitude, openly wary and speaking informally to her, was unpleasantly offensive.

“Though I may have sought refuge with the westerners’ Gurun, we are still children of the steppe. Before the name of Aishan-Gioro, the rightful masters of the Great Plains, proper respect—”

“…Imara, enough. Stop there.”

I gently grabbed Imara’s shoulder as she was about to launch into a lecture on proper etiquette to Jahan, firmly cutting off her scolding.

“This is not your concern. Jahan is not a warrior of Aishan but ‘my’ Champion, and since this isn’t Aishan, the surname Aishan-Gioro has no meaning here.”

In the Great Plains, Jahan’s status had been merely that of a Centurion, so he had no choice but to show respect before direct descendants of Aishan-Gioro. But this was Hestella, not Aishan.

If she wanted to adapt to life as a refugee, Imara needed to understand and accept that here, her surname carried no value whatsoever.

Only then could she shed the arrogance and sense of superiority that had naturally become ingrained in her while being revered as Orhan’s child.

“Ah! Yes, sister! I apologize!”

Imara jumped in surprise, shrugging her shoulders and bowing her head. Whether she truly understood my intention or was simply trying not to upset me remained unclear.

—-

I briefly summarized recent events for Jahan—the reason Imara had sought asylum with me, and the suspicion that Meiharin was likely the culprit behind Imelia’s murder.

“Hmm… Is ‘Haschal’ alright with this? Whether you can trust the daughter of Meiharin, of all people…”

After learning the truth, Jahan glanced repeatedly at Imara with a dubious expression and carefully asked me in the western language.

More precisely, he was asking about Hersella’s opinion, who would be listening to Jahan’s words in my mind. Emphasizing the title “Haschal” carried that meaning.

“It’s fine. We’ll need to keep an eye on her for a while… but I don’t think that appearance is a blatant lie. Probably.”

[Unlike her mother, Imara is not a child skilled enough in concealing her emotions or pretending false goodwill.]

According to Hersella, Imara wasn’t clever or capable enough to deceive others.

In simple terms, she was saying Imara was too stupid to have good acting skills.

Being trusted because you’re stupid—what a humiliating assessment. It would be utterly mortifying for the person concerned.

Hearing her evaluation, I was newly grateful to be relatively intelligent. At least I wouldn’t suffer the indignity of being trusted because I was thought to be a blockhead.

“Well… we should still verify. So, stay close to Imara for a while and keep an eye on her. Under the pretext of teaching her the Imperial language.”

“Me…?”

Who else but you?

You know Hersella and Imara’s past well, you’re at your peak as a warrior, and you’re one of only two people from the east who has learned the Imperial language despite being a refugee.

“Should I do it instead?”

If Jahan refused, I would be the only option left, but unfortunately, I would be too busy preparing for the attack on Ordos to waste time on language lessons.

War wasn’t something that could be started as soon as I declared an attack on Ordos.

“…No. If it’s your order, I’ll follow it.”

So, I had no choice but to entrust Imara to Jahan for the time being.

[Hmm. Jahan is trustworthy. He was the one who generously taught me when I was young and weak, helping me become an exemplary warrior.]

…After hearing Hersella’s muttering, I became a bit uncertain if this was the right decision.

—-

After determining how to handle Imara, I went to my office and wrote five letters.

One was for Leopold, another for Demian and Millia who would be focused on hunting monsters. The third letter was for Lacy, who would be staying at the Extrashafel Cathedral.

Well, the content was more or less the same in all of them.

/The situation in the east is concerning./

/According to a refugee who fled to Hestella, the Sahalan faction occupying Ordos has deep connections with a heretical and sinister group of sorcerers, and is presumably preparing for a mysterious large-scale ritual./

/Therefore, I intend to gather available forces to launch a surprise attack on Ordos to interrupt their ritual and, if possible, eliminate them completely./

In the letter to Leopold, I added that I would likely be unable to assist the Empire for the time being. To Demian and Millia, I gave an order disguised as a request to come to Landenburg as soon as they finished their monster subjugation.

Finally, to Lacy, I added that their sorcery appeared to be deeply connected to necromancy based on the circumstances, and though it might be a stretch, Feiryus might be involved.

Of course, I couldn’t present my knowledge of the original work as evidence, so I described it as a speculative assumption, but I was already certain that Meiharin and the other sorcerers were cooperating with Feiryus.

Almost all the sorcerers in the east were subordinates of the Third Apostle.

So naturally, they would have a mutually beneficial relationship with Feiryus, the First Apostle, wouldn’t they?

Of course, since the sorcerers serve the Third Apostle rather than the First, their relationship with Feiryus would be indirect rather than pledging direct loyalty to him.

In other words, Feiryus himself wouldn’t bother looking after every single sorcerer under the Third Apostle, unless it was the Third Apostle herself.

He might even discard the Third Apostle without hesitation. That bastard’s skill at cutting ties was truly admirable.

Therefore, attacking the sorcerers in Ordos wouldn’t bring Feiryus himself or his subordinates into the fray.

But what about the Third Apostle herself?

In my view, there was a high probability that the Third Apostle would reveal herself if we attacked Ordos and slaughtered all the sorcerers including Meiharin.

Unlike Feiryus, who could simply cut ties with compromised sorcerers, for the Third Apostle, the eastern sorcerers were all her brothers and sisters, subordinates and disciples.

She might tolerate the death of one or two, but if we started killing them with the intention of exterminating all sorcerers, she would eventually show herself.

Could she really stay hidden while all her clan members were being killed?

So, I would send that Apostle bitch to join the other sorcerers, then escape from Ordos with my companions and return inside the Wall.

What if she never showed up? Well, what could I do? I’d have to be satisfied with killing Meiharin and burning Ordos.

It would be a bit disappointing, but even that would deal a significant blow to the Third Apostle.

A clandestine organization might sound impressive, but even covert operations need public backing to be effective. What could a brain in a jar do without a body?

Clandestine organizations are like parasites—they manipulate their hosts for gain but can’t operate without them.

In other words, after losing Meiharin and Sahalan, who could control the massive Aishan force, the Third Apostle’s influence would inevitably diminish. She might still be able to cause trouble with her personal power, but would be unable to create nation-scale chaos.

That alone would be satisfactory for now.

—-

While the letter to Leopold was seeking understanding, and the letters to others were invitations to gather them in Landenburg, the remaining two letters had completely different purposes.

One was a letter to Knut, the new king of Dane.

A man known as a self-made collateral royal who, as a Crusader of Seals of the Church of Volberg, defeated the kinslayer Ragnar Lokan and ascended to the throne of Dane.

The letter to him was a kind of warning message about the Volberg faith itself.

Despite Ragnar following not Volberg but an ancient god named Alfodhr, he could still use the “Spear of Repentance,” the representative power of the Church of Volberg.

In other words, it meant that Volberg might be cooperating with Alfodhr, or might even be Alfodhr himself. With over ninety percent probability, in fact.

/…As the Saint of Order, I cannot ignore such a possibility, so I have no choice but to report this to key figures in each church, including the Church of Astraea./

/If my suspicion proves true, the Church of Volberg will be designated as a heretical faith, just like the Church of Grimnir./

/If you wish to avoid chaos caused by religious conflict, you should act before the heresy declaration and guide the Dane people to abandon the Volberg faith./

…In short, I was telling him to forsake the national religion of Dane, but there was no other way.

If, as I expected, Volberg was revealed to be related to the ancient god faith, all believers of Volberg would be designated as heretics.

In other words, Dane, where most citizens believed in Volberg, would literally become an evil kingdom full of heretics.

Whether Knut, who was originally a crusader of Volberg, would accept my advice was uncertain…

But at least Frigg and Hrafn beside him would understand how serious this matter was and would do their best to persuade Knut. I had to trust them.

If the Dane people continued to believe in and follow Volberg even after the Volberg faith was designated as heretical, the only thing that would follow would be war.

—-

The final letter, unlike the others, didn’t contain anything particularly special.

A letter to Grand Duke Valdemar of Faelrun Castle.

Its contents were a report that Frider was doing well, and a request to send Eirnesia, who was imprisoned there, to Landenburg.

Originally, I was going to let her rot in the northern prison… but Perneisia was very curious. About what kind of treatment a guardian who had lived for over fifteen hundred years had suffered at human hands.

She even swore to quit drinking until Eirnesia died if I would just bring her, so I had no choice but to grant her wish.

With her powers lost and looking more depressed than ever, I thought even that small gift might provide her some comfort.