episode_0152

bang!

The chair was thrown away with a loud noise.

It was because the man, Alan, violently got up from his seat.

His expression was horribly stiff.

“… What.”

A painstaking plan.

The war that was supposed to finally make his dream come true.

It was going in a direction far beyond his expectations.

Originally, the two empires should have pointed their spears at each other here, and with that, a war that would destroy the continent should have started.

However, suddenly the armies of both empires began attacking allies rather than enemies.

That was definitely something that wasn’t planned.

However, if it had simply been that much, the man would not have reacted so violently.

The real problem was the identity of those being attacked.

The man recognized it. That they are people planted by the denomination and influenced by the denomination.

something.

Something is going wrong.

Firmly too.

That was the moment when such a thought crossed my mind.

“I’m sorry… ! There are reports that people are currently being attacked by those planted in Elbrent and Reinberg… !”

His loyal subordinate, Shadow, appeared and reported in an urgent tone.

It was the first time that the shadow had shown such an urgent appearance, and this was the first time that it had shown such a sudden appearance without even observing propriety.

“… … .”

However, I couldn’t afford to worry about that.

Because the information the shadow brought was more important to him now.

I felt like I had been stabbed in the back.

And, only then did I understand everything.

“… It was planned to be like this from the beginning.”

The two empires, Estelle and Cairn, had no intention of going to war from the beginning.

Rather, they gathered forces in the name of preparing for war, concentrated their strength as much as possible, and then took advantage of the turmoil inside the empire due to the news of war to find the power of the church hiding inside.

And, at this moment, they began to wipe out that force once and for all.

Well, it didn’t end there.

Alan still hadn’t stopped casting his spell while examining the plains.

And, the magic was visible in the flowing video.

The armies of both empires began to advance towards Perdion.

In this situation, it was not difficult to guess their intentions.

They were coming here, towards the academy.

Probably because he knew he was here.

“… … Ha.”

The man couldn’t help but laugh.

Because I got completely stabbed in the back.

Because I was completely fooled by Estelle and Cairn.

“… Teacher.”

A shadow’s voice was heard.

The shadow’s voice, which did not even reveal any emotions, could not hide its shaking.

He knows it too.

How dangerous is this situation?

What a crisis the church has faced.

“… What are you going to do?”

The shadow asked the man.

There was only a slight tremor at the sound of the voice, but the man recognized it.

A dark color of defeat had already appeared in the shadow’s mind.

It is not impossible to escape from those forces.

Perhaps the shadow knows that too.

however.

Even if you run away, it’s a problem.

Although it has lost much of its power, the church’s potential still remains.

However, it is difficult to pursue a great cause with that, and if the situation continues, it is difficult to regain power.

There was no way the Empire, having discovered the existence of the church, would stand by and watch Estelle and Cairn watch the church grow in power again.

Having defeated their internal enemies and gained greater power, they will wield the sword of absolute power to completely uproot the religious order.

A significant amount of the church’s power remains in other kingdoms, but if Estelle and Cairn join hands and begin to actively oppose the church, there will be no future.

Because the shadow knew that fact well, it reacted this way.

There was nothing different about being a man.

There was no way the man didn’t know that fact.

Therefore, he momentarily felt as if the road ahead was becoming difficult.

Originally, this would not have happened.

They would have read the future in advance and prepared to avoid such a situation from happening.

However, the man did not read the future.

No, I ‘couldn’t’ read the future.

But I wasn’t too worried.

I thought there was no way a war wouldn’t break out if the situation was like this.

however.

The situation turned out like this.

Expectations were wrong, war did not occur, and the church found itself in a corner.

It could be said that it was a truly hopeless situation.

However.

“… Not yet.”

The man did not sit down.

“… It’s not over yet.”

The man glared at Estelle, Cairn, and Wade in the video with wide eyes.

Eventually, I left the room.

***

To catch a bug, you have to catch it thoroughly.

When I saw Estel’s eyes turn to Ferdion with those words, I realized.

What does that mean?

“… Are you at the academy?”

Perhaps the head of the church, or someone equivalent to him, is at the academy.

That was the moment when I thought of that guess.

“No. I don’t know.”

Estelle gave me an answer that was far beyond my expectations.

“… Yes?”

In response to that answer, I couldn’t help but ask a question.

I don’t know. What does this mean?

“I don’t know if their heads are over there.”

“… … .”

I was at a loss for words at that calm tone and just stared at Estelle.

“Hoo. You’re making that kind of expression towards me. You’re so cocky.”

Estelle looked at me and smiled playfully.

At that smile, I secretly averted my gaze.

Estelle looked at me quietly for a moment, then continued speaking.

“We succeeded in picking out the forces of those hiding in Reinberg and Elbrend. And we succeeded in getting information about them. but… Little information could be obtained about the head. Gender, age, appearance, even the smallest things.”

“… … .”

I thought it wasn’t strange.

In the first place, the church was a mysterious organization whose existence was not revealed to the world at all until this situation came to light.

Even though it has that much power, the fact that no one has ever known of its existence means that traces and information are controlled so thoroughly.

If you were the leader of such a group, it would not be easy to obtain information.

“So, I decided to change my mind.”

Estelle smiled confidently.

“If you don’t know where the guy is, let’s drag him out.”

There was one word that passed through my mind.

“… Bait.”

she had said

This situation is bait.

At first, I thought it was meant to reveal the power of the church hidden within the empire, but that was not the case.

This was a bait aimed a little higher.

“Looking at what they were doing, it was clear that they did not want war, so I thought they would not just sit back and miss the moment when that goal was achieved.”

“… … .”

“In addition, the circumstances show that they consider the academy quite important. Even though I don’t know the leader, there was also a calculation that there would be at least one member of the leadership team.”

“… I see.”

I was amazed.

Not only was it not enough to completely deceive a religious order with enormous power, but their resourcefulness was enough to hunt down all those who were influenced by the religious order, and ultimately drove the religious order into a corner.

“This is no big deal.”

Estelle smiled triumphantly.

“… I want to say that, but.”

However, there was a backstory attached to it.

“This is not something that Cairn and I did on our own.”

“Yes… ? then… ?”

I can’t believe I did it on my own.

So does that mean there were other collaborators?

Let’s look at her with a puzzled gaze.

“There are people who provided information. They suddenly appear… Those who leaked information about the church.”

“… … !”

These are the people who provided information about the church.

“At first, I even had doubts about the authenticity of the information… I checked and found that the information was quite accurate.”

“… … .”

There was one face that came into my mind when Estelle spoke.

It was none other than Johanna’s face.

“But that doesn’t mean we cooperated. The other party was an unknown group, and there was a risk that information about the operation would be leaked if we joined hands, so we just unilaterally used the information they provided. what… I have to say that it was helpful in some way.”

As I listened to Estelle’s words, I remembered something that happened not long ago.

The conversation I had with Johanna in the warrior’s tomb.

The moment Johanna offered me cooperation.

The answer I gave at that time was a kind of ‘hold’.

It’s true that it’s an interesting story from my perspective, but in that situation, it would have been difficult to completely trust Johanna’s words and cooperate with that group.

However, it is true that my own strength is not enough to fight against the huge enemy called the Church.

In the end, I presented Johanna with conditions.

I can’t trust them right now, so I’ll wait and see what happens.

Please show me proof that you are enemies of the church.

If that can be proven, I will cooperate with you.

Johanna accepted that request.

And he told me how to contact him separately.

He said that if you contact him through that means, he will provide not only information about the denomination but also full support.

Although I couldn’t contact her directly after hearing rumors about the war, I originally planned to contact Johanna right away.

however.

Now it seemed like there was no need for that.

Johanna’s goal, and that of the group she belongs to, is now on the verge of being achieved.

I was quietly following the army advancing toward Perdion, feeling a strange emotion at that fact.

A thought suddenly occurred to me.

“… But if it was going to happen like this, there was no need to criticize me like that, right?”

Cairn completely denied everything I said to persuade him to prevent war.

And very thoroughly.

At the time, I felt deep despair because I thought it would be impossible to persuade him with words, but now that I think about it, I don’t think it was a necessary procedure.

Then why did Cairn disparage me so much?

With that question in mind, I looked at Cairn.

“… … .”

However, Cairn didn’t even look at me, as if he couldn’t hear me at all.

“It was definitely an unnecessary procedure. It was quite excessive. The reason I did that… I don’t know for sure.”

While listening to Estelle’s words, I glared at the back of Cairn’s head with deep bewilderment, but Cairn did not turn around.

My gaze, which had been glued to the back of Cairn’s head for a while, eventually turned to Estel.

“… Your Majesty, couldn’t you just stop watching and stop me?”

Estelle was also someone who could end a situation halfway if she wanted to.

Still, she just watched me break down cruelly.

I looked at her with a hint of disappointment at that fact.

Estelle said, smiling at my gaze.

“I hate you for not even contacting me despite being alive like this. I tried to be a little grumpy.”

“… … .”

In response to those words, I had no choice but to keep my mouth shut.

There was a clear reason for that, but it was true that Estelle was worried about me and was upset.

I could easily guess that just by looking at the agitation she showed when I revealed my identity.

Since I had nothing to say, I kept my mouth shut and quietly followed the army.

If it is true that there is a leader of the church in the academy, or someone equivalent to him, then this move is difficult for this army to avoid.

An army of this size could surround the academy and prevent even a single ant from escaping.

If we completely blockade the academy and begin a thorough investigation, that will be the end of it.

No one will be able to leave the academy, and his breathing will gradually become tighter.

Even if it is a somewhat coercive investigation, the Academy and those within the Academy will not be able to protest.

Because the opponents are two empires.

Even if he ultimately chooses to use force to escape, I have no worries.

At that moment, the entire might of the empire will pursue him, and I will also pursue him with all my might.

So this is an extremely crude yet powerful move.

I was hoping that this would be the end of everything, and it was finally time for me to follow the military and reach the academy.

Kuung─

With a roar.

Suddenly, vibrations began to occur.

“What… … ?”

The vibration was so strong that it could not be ignored.

That’s why everyone looked perplexed.

“Um, that… !”

At that time, someone shouted and stretched out a finger and pointed to the sky.

Everyone followed that finger and turned their gaze to the sky… … .

saw.

Countless cracks began to appear in the sky.

and.

Crunch─

Crrr─

A number of monsters that were difficult to count began to appear within it.

“This is… how… … .”

As I listened to countless voices that were close to astonishment, I became convinced.

That something unusual is happening.