episode_0071

After the Demeia Academy attack, Gilbert had a really busy day.

In the game, it was briefly expressed as simply being praised as a hero who prevented the attack on the Academy and receiving rewards from the imperial family and the Academy, but in reality, this was not the case.

I had to keep an eye on the political interests between the imperial family and the aristocratic faction, and I had to make faces with propaganda to raise awareness of the academy attack incident. Although he was a specialist when it came to combat, he was a poor at politics, so he got lost and got carried away.

The nobles who had made a living in the political world were desperate to take advantage of Gilbert. They spared no effort to somehow attract newly born heroes to their side, regardless of whether they were the emperor or the nobles.

A young hero as an academy cadet?

There has never been a better sign than this. The calculation was made that if they could attract him, it would be possible to solidify public support and political base.

However, there was one fact that they overlooked as they were blinded by the immediate gains. Just because Gilbert was unfamiliar with politics did not mean he had no political backs.

In the midst of the battle for succession to the throne of the great empire Infractus, the person who holds the undisputed first place has become Gilbert’s political ally.

That person was First Princess Serafina Rector Infractus.

Princess Serafina made it known that Gilbert was her priest as soon as nobles who reached out to him politically appeared. Rather than repeating long and hesitating words, I simply reminded them of that one fact.

However, there was no noble who could not understand the true meaning of those words. The meaning of politics can change completely with just one word or poem. There was no noble who did not know that he was Brianna’s previous disciple.

Seraphina’s words implied a warning not to mess with Gilbert, and were a remark that nailed down the fact that she was his political guardian.

When Princess Seraphina claimed to be Gilbert’s political guardian, the nobles who had tried to take advantage of him somehow shook off their hands as if they had never done so. Since she was known to be the closest to the next emperor, touching Gilbert was consistent with rebelling against her.

Although she was one of the youngest in line to succeed to the throne, her political foundation was stronger than that of any of her competitors.

He captivated civil servants with the charisma of a born emperor, and received enthusiastic support from military officers thanks to his experience traveling to battlefields at a young age.

To directly rebel against Serafina was nothing more or less than political suicide.

However, Gilbert, who had such a great political guardian, paradoxically had to meet the guardian at his request. The attack on Demeia Academy had a bigger impact than expected, so it was her earnest request that nothing could be done to calm public sentiment.

Gilbert was illiterate in politics, but he was not a fool who could not reason.

What Seraphina said was absolutely correct.

Since the academy, a symbol of the empire, was attacked, it was natural that public sentiment would worsen. Since there was nothing good to be gained from leaving it as is, he followed Serafina’s words without question. It was also a reward for taking me out of the tiresome political game.

After being called here and there for several days and showing my face, I was able to return to my original position. Although there was still time left for the award ceremony, at least there was no need to travel around to stabilize public sentiment.

“You’ve worked hard so far. Thanks to the priest, public sentiment was greatly stabilized.”

“I’m glad things went well.”

“I guess these are all the blessings of having a talented priest. Doesn’t the birth of a handsome hero always make people excited?”

Looking at Pom’s eyebrows furrowing, it seemed like he wanted to make fun of Gilbert. These days, Seraphina has developed a hobby, and that is playing practical jokes on Gilbert.

Gilbert, the person involved, could only sigh.

“There is something I would like to ask more than that.”

“I’m in a good mood right now, so you can ask me anything. Even if you ask her about her body size, she is willing to give a generous answer.”

“Princess!”

Yannick, who was guarding Seraphina next to her, was shocked and shouted at Seraphina’s explosive remarks. Because it was too low a word for the princess of the empire to say, Yannick’s eyes lit up with twinkles. Normally, showing such behavior towards the princess Seraphina would be considered an insult to the royal family, but as far as Yannick was concerned, that charge was avoided.

“Yannick. I’m not deaf yet.”

“Then, please be careful with your words and actions so that I don’t yell!”

“won. You can’t even joke.”

“Do you want me to inform the Imperial Maid of this fact?”

“Those are cowardly words. Snitching is a bad law. Yannick.”

“Don’t you think it’s the princess who makes that happen?”

Gilbert, who was watching the conversation between the two warlords, shook his head inwardly.

Even in the game, Seraphina and Yannick’s comic talk was a frequent sight. When the main character, Ian, joked without hesitation, Yannick would get scared and would stop him.

Normally, it was a kind of event that could be seen when the favorability level was above a certain level, but it was Gilbert himself who was seeing it, not Ian. It bothers me to compare reality to a game, but if we look at it as a single measure, it seems that Seraphina is feeling that much of a crush on Gilbert himself.

Well, I wouldn’t tell a joke like that to just anyone.

I took a sip of the Horok tea and put it back in the teacup. Seeing that the tea smelled better than ever, it seemed like the tea leaves were of high quality.

“The princess. I’ll say it again, if you show the same behavior as before, I will inform the Imperial Maid of everything that has happened so far.”

“Huh. I can’t find where my faithful servant has gone. How frustrating is this?”

“It’s no use saying that.”

“It’s just a pity. Um… Oh, okay. Is there something you want to ask the priest?”

Seraphina, who had finally finished the conversation, asked Gilbert, who was quietly drinking tea.

Gilbert, who had been a little out of alignment while drinking tea, adjusted his posture and sat down.

“It’s about the raiders. I was informed that they are claiming to be the New Resistance… but is there any other information?”

“Information… .”

Seraphina’s expression, which had been smiling a moment ago, changed sharply.

This attack on Demeia Academy brought great turmoil to the Infractus Empire. It was an unprecedented incident in which a total of 100 giant soldiers attacked the main territory of the academy, which had never allowed an enemy to invade since its establishment.

It was a tremendous incident that not only lowered the prestige of the empire and the academy, but also deeply damaged their pride. Moreover, wasn’t there an incident where a small number of Giant God Soldiers infiltrated during the mid-term evaluation?

Even considering that the Academy was a deserted island with minimal influence at the time, it was unacceptable. This was tantamount to declaring war against the empire.

“Unfortunately, there isn’t much information about them. The people involved in this attack didn’t know much. It seems that manpower was probably distributed with failure in mind.”

“It’s clear that they are a well-intentioned group.”

“Still, to sum up the information obtained, it is said that their predecessor is the old Resistance. It’s probably the work of the chairman who escaped safely from the resistance fight in which the Nüwa priests participated.”

There was that guy.

Gilbert was lost in thought, stroking his chin with his right hand.

Even at that time, Gilbert knew that the chairman of the resistance was Brecht. Since it was a world where the worldview in the game was applied, it was only natural that I blindly trusted him as the leader of the Resistance.

As a result, there was a vengeful resistance group named Brecht, but contrary to what he thought, Brecht was not the chairman, but a man named Van Dyck, whom he had never heard of, was the chairman of the resistance.

In some ways, it seemed like an irregularity, but on the other hand, it was a great opportunity to remind people that this was reality, not a game. It was after that incident that a policy was established to refer to game knowledge but not blindly trust it.

“The problem is that we cannot properly understand their strength. Clearly, the number of their giant soldiers at the time of the subjugation of the old resistance was only a tenth of the number of this attack. But this time, ten times that much power attacked the academy. This is a number that a mere rebel group cannot have.”

The 100 Giant God Soldiers were a force comparable to the number of Giant God Soldiers possessed by the royal family of a weak country. Even if a war broke out between countries, there was no need to think about how absurd that number was, considering that some would remain to protect the capital.

Even the Colossus they brought with them was a second-generation Colossus with better performance than the Colossi of Demeia Academy. The fact that the New Resistance can bring as many as 100 Giant God Soldiers, which are still active in many countries, means that the size of the New Resistance is at least that of a weak country.

This could not have been a burden even for the Infractus Empire.

“You can’t help but wonder what the Empire’s intelligence department was doing while the New Resistance was growing in power.”

“Not even the Imperial Intelligence Department had any inkling?”

“Okay. As the priest said, not even the Empire’s intelligence department knew about this. Even though it happened inside the empire.”

What kind of people are they?

The scale has grown beyond the game. At best, it was as if the guys who had been decorating the first chapter of the main story were completely ripped off from a large chunk and became the main antagonistic force.

I couldn’t even tell if the guy named Van Dyke had that much ability, or if the power behind them was so big that it could be compared to the Empire. Although I tried to gather information here and there, there was very little information given.

“That’s not all. Priests. Do you remember what you said earlier?”

“You said that this attack was planned with failure in mind. That means they can barely use that many giant soldiers as a throwaway weapon.”

“I saw it correctly. This means that the New Resistance is not a potential threat. It’s literally a danger right in front of you.”

Seraphina seemed to be a little thirsty, so she sipped the cooled black tea in her mouth. When the maid who was waiting next to her hurriedly tried to prepare hot black tea, Seraphina slightly raised her hand to stop her. I stopped it.

“And there is one more thing we need to consider. Do you know what that is?”

“Isn’t this about finding traitors who might be in the academy?”

“You got it right. He can’t be a very boring priest.”

Although she said it as if she was sorry, Seraphina’s eyes actually sparkled. As a priest, I couldn’t help but be happy that the only priest was intelligent.

“It is as the priest said. Even though I was worried that it would never be invaded, I had faith that it wouldn’t be easily breached. I can assure you that it is not at all easy to break through Demeia Academy like that. However, they attacked Demeia Academy very easily. This may have many meanings, but one thought stands out very strongly.”

Seraphina was half convinced that there was a traitor. There was still an ongoing investigation into it, but circumstantial evidence was pointing in one direction.

When she remembered that fact again, her eyes began to burn with anger.

“I will definitely catch that bastard, cut off his limbs, and hang him on the Academy gate until he begs me to kill him. How dare you play pranks on an academy with its eyes wide open? This is disrespectful to women.”

Although his voice was not loud, he was expressing an anger that was frightening just by hearing it.

Is it like going out on a winter night without a coat?

Gilbert felt that overwhelming intimidation, and inwardly stuck out his tongue.

“Phew. You got so excited that you showed your ugly side.”

“No. Because it was the same for me too.”

“You said the priest’s younger brother was in danger, right? The priest would be more angry than the woman.”

Seraphina clicked her tongue and contained her anger inside. It is not too late to get angry and catch the instigators of the incident.

Now that I think about it, there was a reason why I called a priest.

As Seraphina calmly controlled her mind as usual, she was able to recall the original purpose of calling him.

“You were so angry that you forgot one important thing.”

“You mean something you forgot?”

“Okay. This is the most important reason for calling a priest.”

what?

Gilbert felt uneasy as he saw Seraphina suddenly calming down and smiling. Even though it was a smile that clearly had nothing strange about it, I felt uncomfortable for some reason.

“Gilbert Lion Heart.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

However, his anxiety seemed to be unfounded, as Seraphina returned from her sister’s appearance to that of the first princess. The imperial energy that enveloped the spring naturally pressed down on Gilbert.

Gilbert did not go against that energy, but accepted it naturally, got up from his seat, knelt down on one knee in front of her, and showed royal courtesy.

I could feel Serafina’s majestic gaze looking down at my slightly bowed head.

“I cannot help but praise your hard work. Even though you are still a student at the Academy, you are at the forefront of confronting the enemies of the Empire. As a result, he protected numerous academy cadets and subjects of the empire, and saved the empire’s great star, Count Brianna Tefeo Malchirav. This is a feat worth bragging about, so I commend you for your hard work and loyalty.”

“Shin Gilbert Lionheart. I have done my duty as the shield of the empire.”

“But even so, there should be a worthy reward for you who have put in all your effort. I wish to give you some free time.”

“Shin Gilbert Lionheart. I gratefully receive the reward from His Majesty…”

Gilbert answered with the etiquette of a nobleman that he had become accustomed to, but then he felt something strange and raised his head slightly. It was because I seemed to have misheard the contents of the reward.

“Priest. Your expression is strange. As if I heard it wrong.”

“Definitely just now…”

“Are you so happy that you want to check? It is said that the extra time is given to the priest.”

“I don’t know what that means.”

“Really. I don’t know if Priest Ye is intelligent or not. Was it really that difficult to give one’s free time to a priest? Literally. I will give the priest the honor of spending time with you.”

Why are you giving that to me?

Gilbert had to feel a headache as he looked at Seraphina with a mischievous smile.