Chapter 1 – Founding Day #2

The Yudelria Holy Nation.

A city-state that had adopted the ‘Cordelia Church,’ which worshipped Cordelia, the Goddess of Sun and Love, as its state religion.

This nation, scheduled to be founded between the central and southern territories of the Sailun Kingdom, was not a vassal state but a proud, independent country.

“By all common sense, it was an impossible affair.”

So said a blonde woman riding in a carriage bound for the Yudelria Holy Nation.

She was a striking beauty, and a large man sitting beside her chuckled and said, “Boss, I think we’ve backed the right horse. Why don’t we take this opportunity to move our base of operations to the Yudelria Holy Nation?”

At her subordinate’s question, the blonde beauty—Fabian, a transporter from Verdpolnir—wore a thoughtful expression for a moment before shaking her head.

“No, I think this distance is just right. Working with ‘that man’ is enjoyable in itself… but if we worked directly under him, we’d surely be worked to death.”

Yuder August Bayer.

The man who was both the Pope of the Cordelia Church and the partner of Cordelia, the goddess’s avatar.

He was a handsome young man with a smile more refreshing and warm than anyone’s, but Fabian knew a little of Yuder’s true nature.

“Get too close to the fire, and you’re bound to get burned. A moderate distance is best.”

As a business partner, Yuder was truly satisfactory.

He never forgot that Fabian and her subordinates were not vassals to be subjugated, but equal partners in trade.

That was why, instead of ruling them with power and fear, he created a situation where they would never want to betray him by offering generous payments—one and a half times the standard rate.

And he gives us occasional bonuses like this, too.

An ‘unofficial transporter’ personally invited to the founding ceremony by the Pope.

Considering that ‘transporter’ was just a euphemism for ‘criminal,’ it was a truly glorious and amusing affair.

The goddess’s avatar and the Pope… The ways of the world are truly a mystery.

Recalling how Cordelia had seriously debated whether to ride in front of or behind Yuder on his horse, Fabian chuckled, then gave a wry smile.

It was because another, separate matter had come to mind.

Still, the Yudelria Holy Nation… Isn’t that a bit of a problematic name for a country?

Yuder and Cordelia.

Put them together, and you get Yudelria.

Well… I guess it does suit them.

Especially if you thought of it as the nation belonging to that cute girl who hummed while hugging Yuder’s waist tightly.

“Boss, what are you smiling about? Let us in on it.”

At her subordinate’s request, Fabian just shook her head and closed her eyes again.

If she were to say it out loud, it might just reach that man’s ears.

Fabian, the transporter from the north, was not the only one riding to attend the founding ceremony.

From the north, the center, and the south.

People flocked not only from all corners of the Sailun Kingdom but also from the Argon Empire and neighboring small nations.

“There are so many people.”

It was a cliché expression, but one that accurately described the reality.

At the words of Sylvia Crossbell, the young lady of the Crossbell Count family, Edward Chase, who stood beside her on the balcony looking down at the city, nodded and replied.

“Indeed, there are.”

“Mmm… Shouldn’t Edward study how to talk to women?”

The latter remark was whispered very softly, not next to Edward and Sylvia, but from a short distance away.

From the lips of Countess Bayer—Yuna Bayer—who stood beside Count Bayer.

“Hmm… or maybe not? It seems like this works for those two. At least that girl, Sylvia, doesn’t seem to be reacting badly.”

As a Wild God, Yuna’s intuition was incomparable to a human’s.

Since Yuna said it was good, it must truly be so.

“It seems we can finally rest easy, Arthur.”

As his lovely wife provided her commentary, Count Bayer spoke with a pleased smile. In response, Arthur—Count Chase—merely huffed and took out a notebook.

It was a gift list made exclusively for his daughter-in-law, compiled on Yuna’s advice that a daughter-in-law is basically the same as a daughter.

Although Edward and Sylvia were still in the phase between friends and lovers, in Count Chase’s eyes, she already appeared to be the daughter-in-law of the Chase family.

“It’s a shame there won’t be a chance,” Yuna said, stroking her slightly swollen belly. Count Bayer and Count Chase both gave a wry smile at the same time.

She was referring to her wish to match Edward with the ‘third child of the Bayer family,’ just as Gale and Adelia, and Yuder and Cordelia, had been brought together.

[Was she serious?]

[Well… it’s Yuna, isn’t it?]

Count Bayer replied telepathically to Count Chase’s question, which had arrived via Message Magic, and Count Chase accepted the answer.

Because it was Yuna.

Not just because she was a Wild God, but because she was Yuna.

“Father, Mother.”

It was at that very moment.

Hearing the call from a distance, Count Bayer and Yuna turned their heads and broke into bright smiles almost simultaneously.

The next Count and Countess Bayer.

The sight of Gale and Adelia arriving with a large baby carriage was always a welcome one.

“Hmph.”

And, as always, there was one man huffing.

Count Chase approached the carriage with a stern expression. Adelia, with a small, resigned smile, opened the carriage’s hood.

Amber and Aiden.

The twin siblings born to Gale and Adelia.

Though Count Chase always maintained a strict and solemn expression, he couldn’t help but let the mask slip in front of Amber and Aiden.

“Gampa, gampa.”

“Gaba, gaba.”

At Amber and Aiden’s baby talk, Count Chase’s expression seemed to melt away. He reached out a large finger to gently stroke the babies’ cheeks.

“Yes, that’s right. Grandfather.”

They’re not even a year old, yet they can say ‘grandfather.’ Could these children be geniuses?

Count Chase, who had quickly recomposed his features, made his solemn assertion. Count Bayer, Gale, and Adelia smiled wryly, while Yuna beamed and nodded.

“Both children were born with a strong light within them. They will become great people.”

“Indeed. Is that so.”

Count Chase turned back to Amber and Aiden with an utterly delighted face, while Gale and Adelia once again smiled wryly.

It was a scene they had witnessed more than ten times already.

Yuna would declare that Amber and Aiden were born with great talent, and each time, Count Chase would marvel as if hearing it for the first time.

“It’s the Seven Kill Sword.”

At Count Bayer’s low voice, Gale and Adelia, who had been watching Amber and Aiden, turned their gazes.

Just as Count Bayer had said, they could see the Seven Kill Sword Seryu entering the banquet hall.

Dressed in the attire of the Eastern Continent, she was a striking presence wherever she went.

“Speaking of which… it seems various stories have been coming from the East lately.”

“Let us speak of that later.”

Count Bayer said quietly in response to Gale’s words.

He knew what the ‘news from the East’ referred to.

The Superhuman Emperor who had appeared in the East.

People called him the ‘Azure Dragon.’

After the decisive battle in the capital, exchanges with the East, which were already rare, had been all but severed. As a result, little was known about the truth of the rumors. However, the news that a new superhuman—a military emperor with powerful command over the army—had appeared in the East was inevitably a sensitive topic for the Sailun Kingdom, which shared a border with them.

But there was a time and a place for everything.

Discussing the Superhuman Emperor here, at a celebration for the founding of the Yudelria Holy Nation, was not a wise choice.

“I understand, Father.”

“Good. Then I shall go and greet the Seven Kill Sword for a moment.”

Realizing his mistake, Gale quietly stepped back. Count Bayer, with Yuna in tow, made his way toward Seryu.

And at the same time.

In another section of the banquet hall, another of the Ten Sword Masters was smiling.

“You’re that happy?”

“I am. I can’t help but be.”

The young man with a beaming smile was Lucas Hresvelg, renowned as the strongest swordsman in the Sailun Kingdom, the ‘Heavenly Sword Saint.’ Standing beside him, shrugging with a resigned smile, was the red-haired beauty and the seventh Rogue Master, Scarlet Viper.

The reason for Lucas’s slight blush and constant smiling wasn’t just his joy over the founding of the Yudelria Holy Nation.

There was another, more modest reason, one very typical of Lucas.

They say all men are children.

On Lucas’s chest sat a golden brooch.

The brooch, shaped like a magnificent sun emblem, was a limited-edition item produced in extremely small quantities to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Bildwein’s Heroic Saga.

As is often the case with such items, it couldn’t be bought with money; one had to draw a winning ticket included in a new book. And Lucas had obtained his winning ticket through perfectly fair and square means.

Even if he did have to buy over 100 copies of the book.

At this point, wasn’t it the same as just buying it with money?

But Scarlett chose not to point that out. Instead, she gazed at Lucas with endlessly warm eyes, watching him revel in the fact that he had obtained limited-edition merch for his favorite series and was wearing the brooch to an official event for the first time.

The more she looked at him, the more she thought what an adorable boy—no, young man—he was.

I guess I’m really seeing him through rose-colored glasses.

Her usual self would have cynically dismissed it as a rich man’s splurge rather than thinking about some pure young man.

“Anyway, Lucas, shall we go for a dance?”

Her best friend, rival, and meddler, Kaisa, had moved to another area to meet her family from the south.

In other words, this was a moment when Scarlett could have Lucas all to herself. As a Rogue Master, she couldn’t let such a prime opportunity slip by.

“Sh-shall we?”

As Scarlett leaned in, subtly pressing her chest against his arm, Lucas’s face turned bright red. He smiled shyly and turned his gaze toward the direction of the music.

But it was at that very moment.

“Lord Kamael?!”

Lucas wasn’t the only one whose eyes widened in surprise.

Many in the banquet hall, upon seeing the new arrival, showed expressions of shock, whether large or small.

One of the five heroes of Paragon and the First Captain, symbolizing the military might of the Holy Cross Guardians.

But it wasn’t just Kamael’s title and martial prowess that surprised everyone.

A man so beautiful he could be mistaken for a woman.

Snow-white hair, pale and translucent skin that could be called pallid, and eyes as red as blood.

His overwhelming appearance, exuding a decadent charm, caused not only the women but even the men to let out gasps or breathless sighs.

The Yudelria Holy Nation was deeply connected to the Holy Cross Guardians, and Yuder was the disciple of Kamael’s close friend, Landius. So, it wasn’t strange for Kamael to attend the founding ceremony. Even so, the very presence of the man named Kamael was enough to inspire awe.

Lucas, you’re the Heavenly Sword Saint!

And not just any Sword Saint, but the youngest in the continent’s history to attain the title. In terms of presence alone, Lucas was in no way inferior to Kamael.

But Lucas wore a rapturous expression, like a young boy meeting his favorite sports star, and Scarlett offered a complicated smile, finding the sight both endearing and pitiful.

And then Kamael took a step.

He walked in a straight line, toward none other than Lucas.

“Oh… the Heavenly Sword Saint and the Sword Demon.”

When discussing the continent’s strongest swordsmen, the names always mentioned were Yuder August Bayer, the ‘Sword Saint of No Sword,’ and Iron Man Landius, the ‘Warrior of the Sun.’

However, since both held the very peculiar position of being swordsmen who didn’t use swords, people naturally engaged in more lively discussions about the ‘third strongest swordsman.’ The names that always came up were the Heavenly Sword Saint, Lucas Hresvelg, and the Sword Demon, Kamael.

And now, at this very moment, the Heavenly Sword Saint and the Sword Demon were facing each other. It was a truly fascinating situation.

Kamael stopped in front of Lucas.

There was a noticeable difference in height and build between Lucas, who was well over 180 cm and nearing the upper end of that range, and Kamael, who was in the low 170s. Yet, there was no sense of Lucas intimidating Kamael.

Instead, the contrast between a fidgeting Lucas and a perfectly serene Kamael made it seem as if Lucas was the one being overwhelmed.

A beat passed.

“It is an honor to meet you, Lord Kamael.”

Lucas was the first to show his respects. Kamael gave a single nod, but instead of saying Lucas’s name, he mentioned something else.

“The emblem of Bildwein.”

The brooch, sitting proudly on Lucas’s chest.

“Gasp! Don’t tell me you know what it is?”

When Lucas asked back in shock, Kamael, still with his serene face, let out a small, knowing smile and gave a slight nod.

“It’s a good book.”

“Ah, so you do know it.”

Lucas said, his face filled with emotion.

And why wouldn’t he be moved? He had just discovered that a figure he had long admired shared the same hobby as him.

As Lucas’s lips parted, as if he was about to share his thoughts on the magnificence of Bildwein’s Heroic Saga at any moment, Kamael let out another soft chuckle and asked in a low voice.

“Do you like Bildwein’s Heroic Saga?”

For some reason, the question seemed tinged with a hint of impatience, but the overly excited Lucas failed to notice such a subtle difference.

He could only reply with a reverent expression, as if testifying to his faith.

“Yes, I do. I love it. To me, it’s truly… the greatest book in the world.”

“Hmm…”

Kamael fell silent, as if to say, Is that so? Lucas’s lips twitched again.

Watching the two of them from the side, Scarlett couldn’t help but tilt her head.

What’s this? Why do I get the feeling he’s trying to hold back a smile?

How should she put it? It was like he was dying of happiness but was pressing his lips shut to keep from showing it.

Why would he make that face when Lucas was praising Bildwein’s Heroic Saga?

Could it be that Kamael was as big a fan of Bildwein’s Heroic Saga as Lucas?

“Lord Kamael… do you also like Bildwein’s Heroic Saga?”

“I’m… quite fond of it.”

“Ooooh.”

“Well, shall we talk for a moment?”

“Y-yes, I’d love to! Ah! Scarlett. Um…”

He had promised to dance with Scarlett.

As Lucas turned his head in a fluster, Scarlett shrugged as if she couldn’t be helped and said.

“It’s fine. This isn’t a common opportunity. But… you have to make it up to me tonight, okay? Got it?”

“I will, I promise. Thank you so much, Scarlett.”

Lucas, smiling brightly, lifted the back of Scarlett’s hand and pressed his lips to it. Scarlett gave a small smile, as if to say this wasn’t a bad outcome either.

And so, just as the rare spectacle of the Heavenly Sword Saint and the Sword Demon standing side-by-side to discuss a heroic novel was about to unfold…

“Announcing the entrance of His Holiness the Pope.”

At the voice that rang out from a high place in the hall, everyone present turned their gaze.

---

Translated By: Meher (RaidenTL)

Please do consider subscribing to my Patreon or donate to my Ko-fi if you like this work or to get early access to chapters