Chapter 425

Chapter 425

For Sale. Fallen Lady. Never Used.

Episode 425: The Letter

After Iris sold out Elisha and subsequently met a traitor’s fitting end, the next day I was quite sore from being intensely lectured and even subjected to “preaching sex” by Helena and Iona about how I shouldn’t do such things.

Looking at the morning scenery outside the window, I suddenly muttered,

“…Shall we go back soon?”

At my words, Carla, who had been covering her naked body with just a blanket, rubbed her eyes and sat up, asking in a slightly hoarse voice,

“Master…? Are you leaving now?”

“I should. We’ve finished all our business here, haven’t we? More importantly, there’s no longer any need to carefully observe the situation.”

More than half of the Evil Gods are already dead. Their followers have been annihilated or weakened and scattered, with only a very small fraction converting to other Evil God cults.

Since the entire continent was originally working to suppress the Evil God cults, it’s only natural that a significant amount of leeway would be created.

“Now that the northern and southern regions no longer have opposing Evil God cults, we can expect full-scale support. Unlike Alfheim, Nidavellir only saved one territory at best, so it’ll be hard to expect full assistance…”

I nodded, recalling the dwarves trembling at a single Dragon Fear.

“There are many ways to make them help.”

“…Master. Your expression is wicked.”

“So, you don’t like it?”

“No! It’s cool!”

Carla chuckled and sat down next to me, pressing her hip against mine. We draped the blanket we had brought over our shoulders and recalled the remaining enemies.

“The Serpentine Leisure in the East. The Cardinal of Intolerance in the West. And the servants of the Lofty Dominion, who wander around causing havoc. If we deal with these three, the war will be over.”

“Do you have a plan?”

“Sort of. First, we’ll solidly fortify the Eastern front with Nidavellir, who are now free, the Church of Righteous Radiance, and even Crasius, who bore the disgrace this time.”

The Serpentine Leisure is basically a docile Evil God.

I don’t know if “docile” suits an Evil God, but it’s true that they are relatively docile.

No, rather than gentle, they are closer to being lazy. If other cults eagerly commit all sorts of evil deeds and proliferate distorted beliefs, the Serpentine Leisure acquires faith through equally cruel methods, but they don’t do more than their set quota.

That’s why it was the slowest expanding cult in H&A.

“Of course, the fact that we shouldn’t underestimate them is no different from other cults. To briefly explain their power, it’s about their domain. They cast a barrier, suppress opponents within it, and receive various assists themselves.”

“It’s similar to the Grotesque Proliferation.”

“Right. However, the purpose of their domain is slightly different. If the Grotesque Proliferation constructs a domain to inflate their power and influence, for the Serpentine Leisure, simply constructing the domain itself is the goal. The robustness of their domain is on a different level.”

If I had to compare, it would be the difference between strict security around important facilities and an actual fortress.

“That… would be too tricky, wouldn’t it?”

“Indeed. You’ve probably roughly figured it out, but their personality is also cautious, so they don’t act rashly like the God of Tainted Unity. That’s why their expansion rate is the slowest, but conversely, it’ll be quite difficult for us to attack them.”

“So you’ll just prevent them from growing larger and go after Cardinal of Intolerance first.”

“Correct. More importantly, the Cardinal of Intolerance is stationed in the West, where the Levantin Empire is, right? It’ll be even better since we can fight with ample support.”

It would be difficult to borrow proper military strength from Alfheim, which almost collapsed once already. But the priests can.

The imperial front will stabilize just by the priests of Circulating Life joining, and then the Empire’s renowned strong individuals might help us.

“Besides, Iona and I already thoroughly cleaned out their undead warehouse before, so we can definitely push the Cardinal of Intolerance hard.”

“I understand. Oh, but Master. I have one question.”

“What is it?”

“Didn’t the undead warehouse you swept clean with Professor Iona used to be in the East? I distinctly remember it concluding with support from Crasius and the Church of Radiance…”

“You remember well. That’s right. That was in the East. However, that place is a bit special.”

Originally, that port town was an ordinary place, but during the War of the Gods, one of the most intense battles occurred there.

The Cardinal of Intolerance had attempted to bypass the front lines underwater using Fishermen. They must have thought they could stab the Church of Radiance, who were a thorn in their side, in the back from the East.

It was possible because they had corrupted Surging Waves, seizing control of the underwater realm… but they were discovered midway.

At that time, Atlantis had just been destroyed, so a very small number of mermaids who had survived still existed.

Thanks to them, reading the currents of the sea and reporting that the Cardinal of Intolerance’s forces were circumventing, the worst-case scenario was avoided.

However, since it was a battle where neither side could retreat, an unexpectedly fierce engagement ensued.

They somehow achieved victory, but there was no avoiding heavy casualties.

“If you leave corpses lying around everywhere, diseases spread, water gets contaminated, and it causes huge problems, right? So they made a mass grave nearby for the fallen soldiers, but…”

“The Cardinal of Intolerance raised those corpses, didn’t they?”

“Exactly. Normally, they process and bury bodies to prevent them from becoming undead, right? But there were too many casualties to process them all. Or perhaps they forcibly turned them into undead by borrowing power from other cults. You saw it too, Carla, didn’t you? It wasn’t just a place functioning as an undead warehouse, but also a meeting place for high-ranking cultists from various cults.”

“Ah.”

“That’s how it was. If we hadn’t noticed until the end, the Cardinal of Intolerance’s flanking plan would have succeeded this time for sure.”

Suddenly having an undead army swarm from behind while you’re fighting well? Just thinking about it is horrifying, isn’t it? I know it well from experiencing it several times in H&A.

“Well, these are things we don’t need to worry about anymore. Anyway, the undead warehouse was destroyed, and the Cardinal of Intolerance is on the defensive.”

“The servants of the Lofty Dominion…”

“They are strong, but their numbers are too few to turn the tide of the war. Most importantly, like true cultists, they lack patience and cause trouble wherever they go. We might not be able to stop them, but we won’t lose track of their movements, so there’s no worry of losing a fish we’ve almost caught due to their sudden interference.”

So, for now, I’ll contact Alfheim and head to the Levantin Empire instead of the Academy.

The Emperor, despite his appearance, is full of worries but not a fool. If I set the stage this much, he’ll lend us Havel, even if grudgingly.

“Hmm. A perfect plan.”

“Ah! Seeing Master so triumphant, something bad is probably going to happen again.”

“……”

It was too sad that I couldn’t even deny it anymore.

—————

Carla said that something was bound to happen, and I somewhat agreed, but…there was no need to worry too much.

If push came to shove, there was always the option of taking things slow and steady, even if it meant being a bit slower. After all, the fact that we were in an overwhelmingly advantageous situation remained unchanged.

Besides, I was just someone who liked games, not a strategist.

It’d be better to consult with experts rather than making these decisions alone.

Right next to me were Iris and Iona, who had survived the Great War. At the Academy, there was the Chairman, who was once part of the Hero’s Party. And down south, there was Chancellor Milonne, who single-handedly managed Alfheim.

I might have to humble myself a bit, but there would also be a way to mobilize the Empire’s talents with the Emperor’s help.

So, the plan I just mentioned was merely a general guideline, not a confirmed decision.

No, wait…

…But isn’t this too sudden?

“They say there’s a woman rampaging in the eastern part of the continent recently, slaughtering cultists and monsters indiscriminately.”

“What?”

“Unusually, she wields several powers of Evil Gods who are already dead. An imperial decree has come down asking about her, as her appearance resembles Miss Lindelheit, and inquiring about her relationship with you—whether she’s an enemy or an ally. I apologize for stopping you just as you’re about to leave, but could you answer?”

“……”

This question was posed to me just as I was about to leave the room, having had my last meeting with Rohan to tell him I’d be departing from Yareunshade Territory. Faye had become a bit closer than before, but we still exchanged greetings awkwardly.

So… Tarla is fighting the Serpentine Leisure in the East? And she’s absorbed all the powers of other Evil Gods in this short time?

It was truly an unimaginable story, but I understood why this topic was being brought up now.

I had been warning everyone around the Empire, borrowing its power, to be careful because she looked exactly like Carla but was actually a powerful cultist.

But now that Tarla was actually fighting against the Evil God forces, people must be confused about whose side to be on.

Before, I would have unhesitatingly called her an enemy… but considering what she’s shown this time, it doesn’t seem to be entirely the case, leaving me confused as well.

After much deliberation, I was able to reach a conclusion.

“She is still untrustworthy, and I can’t call her an ally… but she won’t be an unconditional enemy.”

“Thank you for telling me. I’ll relay that to the imperial family. Indeed. For them to send this, they must not be on bad terms with her.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s a letter that woman sent to Count Lindelheit. She didn’t know the address, so she sent it as express mail to the Yareunshade family. I apologize, but I opened it thinking it was my letter and read the contents.”

Rohaan pulled out a black envelope, tucked among a stack of documents, with an impassive expression.

The opening showed signs of having been torn once, but as he said, he must have opened it thinking it was his own letter.

Anyway, Tarla has something so important to say to me that she had to go to such lengths?

I tilted my head and read the letter. And then…

“Girls, we need to go east.”

Our destination had changed.