episode_0127

Milreya wanted to be of help to Unoah.

After her hometown was burned down by Bloodstain, Milreya lived only for the day of revenge.

Her sharpened sense of revenge, honed every day, made her forget how to express emotions and made her emit an aura of hostility even in her usual state.

The uncontainable pressure emanating from her stoic demeanor made Milreya isolate herself.

But Unoah was the only man who didn’t cower in front of her and approached her, even pointing out her faults.

And the relationship that started as mere advice became special when Unoah, whom she thought was dead, returned and saved Milreya instead.

“…I’m not the patient type.”

Milreya, entering the secret chamber of the palace, spoke to the underground king, Lotus.

No one tried to stop her from entering the secret chamber.

To clear the obstacles in Unoah’s way and prevent him from being hindered.

With just that thought in mind, Milreya sensed the presence of several hidden assassins inside the secret chamber.

The underground king, Lotus, had hidden an assassination squad to protect himself in the secret chamber.

Each member was as skilled as an active adventurer.

If it had been just a fight, she would have drawn her sword and struck Lotus right then and there.

And she would have gone on to kill all the hidden individuals as well.

Moreover, Milreya had the power to turn that absurd idea into reality.

But Milreya made a promise.

Never put herself in a dangerous situation where she could lose herself.

So, to keep her promise with Unoah, Milreya decided to use a slightly different approach.

“Hmm, it seems you didn’t come here with the intention to fight.”

Lotus, seeing Milreya not drawing her sword, seemed somewhat relieved.

But cold sweat was dripping from his forehead.

Even though he had experienced various dangerous situations as the underground king, he felt unease from Milreya’s strange aura of pressure.

“…”

Milreya felt the hidden individuals in the secret chamber aiming their weapons at her.

But to her, it didn’t feel that dangerous.

Compared to the axe that split Bloodstain’s land, attacks from higher demons, or rampaging mutant monsters, she felt comfortable.

At this point, it wasn’t a situation where she was breaking her promise with Unoah.

Even if she were to rampage with her strength here, she had confidence that she could destroy half of this place.

But still, Milreya held back.

No matter how insignificant the enemies here seemed, facing multiple opponents at once could lead to mistakes.

She heard that the assassination squad operated by the rebels used deadly and treacherous tactics.

Fighting against multiple opponents always brought about variables. If that happened, there was a possibility of not keeping Unoah’s promise.

“As the strongest adventurer and the renowned swordswoman, you must have a reason for coming to this new kingdom, right?”

Lotus tried to maintain his regal demeanor as he asked.

But despite the content of his words implying belittlement, his voice was trembling.

The mismatch between his trembling voice and the content of his words created a sense of unease.

Milreya replied, “I heard the story of cleansing the past sins of the old kingdom and ushering in a new era for the kingdom.”

She quoted the story written on the numerous flyers scattered on the streets as soon as they arrived in Pifernel.

The flyers were spread by Lotus to incite the citizens.

Cleansing the past sins of the old kingdom and a new king ushering in a new era.

“Hmm.”

“I’m just choosing the most efficient way for the kingdom to stabilize.”

Milaea’s words made Lotus narrow his eyes and look at her with a suspicious expression.

Choosing the path that efficiently stabilizes the kingdom……

Lotus carefully observed Milaea’s face.

Since his days ruling as the underground king, he had learned the skill of seeing through people’s lies in order to survive.

Human lies somehow always surface unconsciously.

Lotus’ observational skills were able to catch those unconscious changes in humans, determining whether they were lying or not.

His ability was also very useful in gambling dens, as Lotus rarely lost money when he gambled in the underground waterways.

That’s why he was now observing Milaea, trying to discern whether she was lying or if there was another hidden agenda.

“…It doesn’t seem like you’re lying.”

And Lotus thought that Milaea was not lying.

Her confident posture, with no hint of wavering in her eyes, even when observed by the keen-eyed Lotus, did not reveal any signs of lying.

“Alright, I permit it. Help us in our new kingdom.”

“Yes.”

Milaea replied, slightly bowing her head.

* * *

A few days later, Milaea stayed in the capital, waiting for the people in the palace to fall asleep.

She stayed in the capital, keeping track of the time and place where the key figures of the rebellion, including Lotus, would gather in large numbers.

If it weren’t for Yunoa’s request, she would have come to the palace and confronted the rebels head-on.

But Yunoa had specifically asked her not to put herself in danger, so she pretended to join them, buying time.

And the reason for buying time was to make preparations.

After observing for a few days, Lotus held a meeting with the key members of the rebellion in the secret chamber on a specific date and time.

And under Lotus’ permission, Milaea, who had joined the rebellion as a new force, was also allowed to observe the meeting.

There, they discussed how to merge the cities that had not yet submitted to the new kingdom.

Although Milaea did not directly participate in the meeting, she stood in the back corner as an observer, listening to everything.

After the meeting, Milaea asked a subordinate and found out that this meeting in the secret chamber was held regularly.

That was enough information she needed.

In the early morning, Milaea sneaked into the empty secret chamber.

Lotus would be sleeping in a separate bedroom, and there were guards protecting the palace, but there were none for Milaea.

To achieve Yunoa’s request without putting herself in danger, Milaea had to act.

It was something unimaginable for her usual self.

In the pitch-black, empty secret chamber, Milaea stood.

Except for when there was a meeting or when Lotus sat on the throne during the day, no one would come here.

But here, Lotus regularly hosted the rebellion’s meetings.

Furthermore, Milaea had attended one of those meetings and roughly remembered everyone’s positions.

Swish-

Milaea drew her sword in the empty secret chamber.

And she walked towards the empty throne, where no one was sitting.

If someone were to witness this scene, they would think Milaea was behaving strangely.

Indeed, Milaea was slashing at nothing but empty air above the vacant throne.

Swish- Swish-

In the pitch-black darkness, only the sound of the sword cutting through the air could be heard.

After bending the empty air above the throne dozens of times, Milaea descended and repeated the same action in different locations.

How much time had passed, Milaia finally sheathed her sword back into its scabbard.

Her task was now complete.

Quietly, before the break of dawn, she slipped out of the secret chamber.

* * *

“How is it? I’ve thought about it as much as I could.”

“Well, I just need to polish it up a bit.”

Guild Master’s office.

I was in the midst of discussing the execution of the plan known as ‘City of the Goddess’ with Algot.

With the market residence now vacant, the plan to use the Goddess as a means to persuade the citizens of Kubele.

With Algot temporarily assuming the role of mayor, we gathered the citizens in Kubele Square and revealed the existence of the Goddess Stellania.

And there, we declared that we would calm the chaotic situation in the kingdom as the Goddess’s apostles and defeat the Demon King with the new hero appointed by the Goddess herself.

What I showed Algot was a speech to be read to the citizens.

I didn’t want to write the speech myself, so I planned to leave it all to Algot, but…

Following Algot’s suggestion that it would be better if I wrote the first draft of the speech, I squeezed out as much as I could.

To add credibility to the presence of the Goddess in Kubele, I combined various facts to create a story.

I decided to use the story of the ‘fake hero’ spread by the Central Church in reverse.

The kingdom and the Central Church had been corrupting slowly over time, splitting into factions and fighting each other, losing the trust of the Goddess.

They each pursued their own interests and turned away from the real Goddess, leading to the appearance of the ‘fake hero’.

The recent disasters in the kingdom, such as the earthquake that destroyed the Central Church and the rebellion in the capital, were all because of that.

But in the midst of the kingdom’s chaos, the Goddess herself descended to correct the situation.

That is none other than the Goddess Stellania.

We declare Kubele as the ‘City of the Goddess’ under the protection and name of the Goddess…

It was a speech made up of such stories.

We would carry out our activities with the laundered name of the Goddess behind us.

Although the speech seemed to have been overly seasoned with additives…

“In times of chaos, people tend to seek a place to rely on. In this situation, with this kind of speech, and with the Goddess who has descended before their eyes, people will easily follow. Even if the Goddess currently has no power, as long as our activities appear to be the ‘power of the Goddess,’ there should be no problem.”

Algot nodded as he spoke, reading over the draft of the speech several times with his eyes.

“I hope it goes well…”

At that moment, someone entered the office.

“Oh? Miss Milaia?”

“I’m back.”

It was Milaia who appeared.

It had been quite some time since she had left for the capital to resolve the rebellion.

Was everything finished?

“As promised, I have returned after completing the task in a way that did not put me in danger.”

What did she do?

There had been no news of any incidents in the capital.

“What… did you do?”

“In three days.”

“Huh?”

“In three days, the leader of the rebellion and the key figures supporting him will all be dead.”

Milaia said emotionlessly.

What on earth did this woman do…