Chapter 150 (1/2)
Volume 2
CH 6
Volume 07 Chapter 06
「Meeting with Nozan’s King」
Nozan’s capital city, Soalia
A cubical tower had been built near the inner wall as a sort of command post in case the city needed to fight a defensive battle . It was a practical brick building that lacked any elegance .
The narrow pathways, little sources of natural light due to the small windows, and the relatively cramped room empathized the building’s intended purpose .
A certain room in the building felt even more cramped the rest of them as the people gathered here sat across from each other .
Four people had taken a seat at a table, which wasn’t a polished masterpiece like those you’d find in a palace, but crude board that sat atop two unstable legs .
Two of the seats were occupied by King Asparuf of Nozan Kingdom and his daughter, Princess Lille .
At their backs stood Zahar and Nina, the knights who had been charged with protecting the princess, while the country’s ministers lined the wall .
On the other side of the table was the pointy-eared and lilac-skinned dark elf Ariane and a knight wearing silver full-body armor who fidgeted in the rickety chair beneath him…… in other words, myself .
Another person, a black-haired cat beastman dressed in black grabs, Chiome, stood behind us, holding Ponta to her chest .
Had it not been for Ponta, Chiome’s dark attire would’ve made her blend into the background of the dimly light room . If one were to let their guard down, they would’ve lost sight of her .
In the silent room, it was Princess Lille who opened her mouth first .
“Allow me to introduce ourselves once more . This is my father and the King of Nozan Kingdom……”
“Asparuf Nozan Soulia . You have my sincerest appreciation for helping us through our country’s plight at my daughter’s request . Elves and beastman . ”
King Asparuf interrupted his daughter by bowing his head and offering a self-introduction as well as an apology .
The King’s subordinates let out an audible gasp when they saw his behavior, but silence overcame the room once more as they all held their breath .
Personally, I wasn’t all that surprised by this .
The Hiruku religion, in which elves and beastmen were objects of disdain, was widely practiced in this country . The King had just lowered his head to members of those races, so I expected someone to complain about it, but the statesmen remained completely silent .
Occasionally, their gaze would focus on Ariane or me, but their eyes would dart away whenever one of us caught them .
Ariane’s shoulders shook and a small smile appeared on her face as she watched their behavior .
A little while ago, the three of us ended Palermo’s monstrous rampage, so they were naturally cautious…… no, they were terrified of us .
Honestly, our handling of Palermo gave us a convenient advantage in negotiations, seeing how the contempt I expected wasn’t present .
……Haa, talks wouldn’t proceed if things were left as they were, so I took it upon myself to start our introductions .
“I am Arc Raratoia of Great Canada Forest . Beside me is……
“Similarly, I am Ariane Glenys Raratioa . ”
Once I finished my introduction, Ariane gave her own brief introduction after I urged her with a look .
My eyes landed on Chiome and Ponta next, but while her cat ears slightly twitched atop her head, she remained silent and I had to introduce her .
“This is Chiome-dono . ”
“Kyun!”
“…… and that’s Ponta . ”
Ponta was self-asserting when I finished introducing Chiome, so I added her as well before l turned back to the King .
“So, let’s move straight to the main point……”
The tension in the room rose at my declaration .
The gunboat diplomacy was a bit extreme, but I might as well make the most of it .
“You’ve already heard some of the situation from Princess Lillie, but we accepted her request to help liberate the capital . Although the level of support deviated from what was expected, the princess had agreed to a certain compensation . For the sake of our elven brethren and our beastmen allies, we don’t mind a bit of hardship . ”
I cut off my words and gauged everyone’s reaction .
It was a brief explanation to inform the king that our efforts to rescue the capital had been done under Princess Lille’s employment, thus justifying our actions…… that was my intention anyway .
Several of the Kingdom’s ministers looked at the princess in utter bewilderment .
“I’ve heard about your reward from Lille . Of course, I intended to honor my family’s promises and deliver your earned payment since the beginning . However, are you certain there are no mistakes within the contract? So that everyone here may be informed, would you please reiterate what kind of payment you seek?”
Ariane gave me a sideways glance and a small gesture with her hand when King Asparuf boldly asked us about our demands .
“Our demands are as followed: First, we request entrance into this country’s treasury . And Second, the immediate release of all the elven and beastmen slaves, and that a penalty is enforced for anyone caught enslaving them in the future . ”
I could hear the chatter picking up around us once I spoke the controversial demands set as our reward .
Since we were demanding a change of this nation’s laws in exchange for mercenary work, arguments were unavoidable .
…… However, we held the power to push for acceptance here .
“It is a reward for the efforts that insured your country’s survival…… it may be petty of me, but we’ve done the work to earn it . Our greed is in line with the effort we expended to make those demands . ”
My eyes wandered towards Lille who was sitting across from me, as she slowly nodded her head in agreement with my remarks .
By simply referring to “your country’s survival” I was bolstering our position with our previous achievements while simultaneously wielding our abilities as a threat towards the very country indebted to us .
King Asparuf seems to have caught onto that, his smile remained as he responded in an agreeable manner, but the muscles in his neck strained against his skin .
“It’s ridiculous to consider that greed . The possession of elven and beastmen slaves is outlawed within our country . Emancipating the illegally possessed slaves is a rather cheap reward for us to provide . ”
All chatter halted at the King’s statement .
……I seemed to have drawn out a promise from the King .
Ariane and I locked eye with one another before she gave me a small nod .
It would be a good bargain to remove the deeply-root Hiruku religion as well…… No, there were already plenty of reasons to remove the Hiruku Religion .
However, I doubted the religion would be purged even if we asked for it . In fact, the country might be divided into faithful church supporters and abolishers if I pressed the issue .
After all, the main reason for the current situation was me .
It was an angel who had annihilated the undead army…… Stories of “Michael” were bound to spread amongst the general populace .
Many of the city’s residents had been evacuated from the area between the inner and outer walls when it seemed like it would be turned into a battlefield, but those behind the inner wall witnessed the angel descending from the sky .
Of course, the soldiers who had been fighting on the second wall and the high-ranking ministers inside this room knew the truth . The greatly adored angel had descended on behest of an elf…… something no one would believe .
The angel that had appeared in front of the city’s inhabitants, they believed their god sent the angel in response to their plight . A multitude of citizens had witnessed Palermo’s demise and rumors of the cardinal staining his hand with evil had already started to spread as well .
Right now, the Hiruku religion was in a delicate position in the city .
It could be said that the faith in the upper echelons of the church had plummeted, but faith in the doctrine had increased for the people that witnessed the miracle .
What to do…… while I tried to figure things out, King Asparuf brought up the matter first .
“At that time, if Cardinal Palermo was to be believed, the reason he took on that horrifying form lies with the current Pope of the Hiruku religion . This is a very serious matter for us . The Hiruku religion has spread to many human country’s across the continent…… that those directly beneath the pope, the upper echelon of the church, are monsters is something none but those here would believe……”
King Asparuf let out a large sigh as he spoke before leaning in close to me with an earnest expression on his face .
“I would like to ask you…… No, Arc-dono, it seems that Cardinal Palermo knew of you . It seems to me that you already killed another cardinal based on what I heard . Even though he looked human, you knew that he’d been a monster since the very beginning?”
Apparently, they wanted to know if we elves were aware of the Hiruku Church’s other dealings, such as this attempt conquest from behind the scenes .
However, I only met one other cardinal in Tajiento and defeated him by chance, we were only investigating the Hiruku religion because of what happened to Chiome’s brother .
While I was at a loss as to how to answer the question, Ariane unexpectedly voiced a reply .
“We encountered them before by chance . ……but, it was inevitable that we’d discover their secret . ”
Her golden eyes took on a feral gleam as she stared down the people in the room, it was if she were daring them to challenge her .
Several people unintentionally filched back when they got caught in her gaze .
It was the same in the Rhoden Kingdom, Ariane had no mercy for elf and beastmen slavers, especially those in a position of power .
The only exception seemed to be human children .
It was rather fortunate that the one who’d contracted us had been princess Lille .
“……What in the world do you mean?”
The King asked Ariane to expound upon what she said with a straight face .
“Though I’m am unfamiliar with the Hiruku doctrine, after seeing Palermo I can guess why they remove elves and beastmen from human cities . He might have seemed human to you, but he was far from that…… we could tell that he’d been undead with a single glance . ”
The ministers swallowed and focused all their attention on Ariane after she said her piece .