Vol 9 Chapter 143 (1/2)

High Priest

Night

Carrying out guard duty, we kept watch of our surroundings as we stopped to rest Our h, so we made more distance with our pursuers than I had anticipated

But there was so I wanted to confirh Priest Gastone-san

A little parted from the campfire, we conversed arm drinks in our hands

There was plenty I wanted to ask, but getting to know the backstory of our pursuers was the first priority And what Gastone-san’s group had as their objective was important as well

Gastone-san made a tired expression, as he explained the situation

“Elites of the holy knight brigade?”

He nodded, beforein an annoyed fashi+on

“Elite in name alone, they are an assassination corps They’ve always been a unit that carried out some questionable work The former Holy Maiden Thelma-sama was of the moderate faction, so she couldn’t help but build up resenthts…”

Fro Gastone-san It was the Fifth

『Then instead of just opposing theatethe theing fire? Just abandoning a huge problem like that is unreasonable』

Even when he abandoned quite a few sparks with his own children, I thought toit tothem

“Monster slaying, and bandit subjugation, wouldn’t it have been fine if you recommended they performed in that field?”

There, Gastone-san made a horridly worn-out smile

“You think Thelh Priest lineage, you know Naturally enough, we didn’t want to ade, yet hand no work to them at all”

High priest lineage In noble terms, perhaps count or viscount, or some position around that There are sure to be un-noble-ish parts to their duties, but their priesthood was decided by heredity

It’s likely just how things worked in Zayin I don’t hear about things like that much elsewhere

“… Not invading foreign soil The high priests and knights conspired against pouring their efforts into internal affairs, and we ended up having to rely on adventurers We put soot the shape of it together, but that took twenty long years to acco able to hand her position over the entire tih much troubles”

The Fifth apologized to him

『… I’ll be frank I’m sorry』

The s I couldn’t put away

“Thelma-sama, was it? Then couldn’t she have just stayed in poithout handing the role to the next generation?”

There, Gastone-san put his hand to his forehead with a troubled expression Quetly, he spilled his feelings

“… Age-wise, the Holy Maiden is a strict position They must always be pretty She may still be beautiful, but shall I say she isn’t aa new one”

The Sixth, fed-up

『I’m surprised rule hass been successfully handed down all the way up to now And wait, if they’re meant to be pretty decorations, then wouldn’t just anybody do? One wrong move, and how easy would it be to instate a puppet…』

There, the Third

『Ah, so that’s how it is Like this, some country’s woman becomes Holy Maiden, and they use Zayin to indirectly destroy the countries opposed to the fights with those around them No, I still think it quite stupid, mind you』

While thinking it was messed up, in various ways, I questioned Gastone-san further

“About the current generation Holy Maiden, umm…”

“She used to be the daughter of a noble fa country of【Selva】 Even e’re usually supposed to avoid girls froins”

Selva… A s about behind the scenes In this land jumbled up by a co a status quo

Unlike a certain two countries, there weren’t any signs of theh intense battle

(Would it be possible to get these lands together? No, in the first place, is it physically possible?)

When I becaht

『How nice The previous Holy Maiden, and a High Priest of the rasp』

The Fourth

『This is getting close to rebellion No, this is rebellion The forh Priest driven out!』

The Third continued on

『Saddened with the state of her country, the forh it would be better if she was a tad younger!』

The Fifth

『Well then, how about putting the two of the Lyle at the center If you get Zayin in your hands, you can use rebellion as an excuse to coy of the country』

The Sixth

『Right The Holy Knight Brigade? Let’s crush the elites they’ve dispatched here, and now Thinking of the scale of the country, there shouldn’t be that rave blow』

… From what I’ve heard, she officially handed off the position of Holy Maiden It was a bit forceful, but Gastone-san couldn’t help but acknowledge it as well Yet the ancestors were telling o forth under the banner of rebellion

When I tapped and rolled the Jeith ertip, the Third tried to convince me

『Don’t like it, Lyle? Then think about it like this! For Zayin, a country whose ruling order is full of problems, you’ll use this opportunity to refor it to run riot, after all More than anything, you’re doing good! To lead this land of endless strife along the right path, why no down your tears here!』

The Fifth as well

『And wait, even if you leave it alone, it’ll eventually be crushed by Celes While that thing still has her eyes on her own country, overbearing as it ether Even thatsituations as well And they’re an opponent I can’t forgive overlooking』

The Fifth see with motivation Within that, the Sixth called out to me

『Lyle, I get how you feel, but it’s true that there’s a need to break the deadlocks on this situation You’re just a piece of that And if you abandon it, Celes is sure to move in the foreseeable future Look a little ahead, and make your decision』

His was a kind voice

After a while, I asked Gastone-san of his plans from here on

“Once you reach Beim, what do you plan to do?”

“We can’t be working up too much a fuss I only wish to secure safety for those that were dragged into all this Both Thelma-sama, and the former Holy Maiden candidate Aura-sama are with us At the very least, perhaps I can end it by having them set their mark on me alone”

While his appearance looked villainous, he was quite a nice person Perhaps he’d gone through a fair share of trouble Even so, the Ancestors were…

『What? Former Holy Maiden candidate? That ot even more cards to play!』

『She was good enough for candidacy There are others giving orders within Zayin, right… this is going to be fun!』

『Then once we’ve got our ‘just cause,’ should we go sell our na but a princess as well, right? The king and queen died in accident?』

『It’s nothing but shady talk And there’s an overly large a tranquility Even when their nale movement…』

『No, no, this tiet to chip down the war potential of the power you’ll end up fighting, and you’ve even got your hands on a ‘just cause’ Now you should get everything together, and make the preparations for victory』

They sounded like they were enjoying it Enjoying the hell out of it

(These guys are scary)

I took a deep breath, and offered a proposal to Gastone-san

“Gastone-san”

“So the matter?”

“It’s about the pursuers There’s no doubt they’re still chasing us I anticipate they were launch an attack on us shortly”

“… I understand that Rotten as they ade If you think it impossible, I do not mind your party flee But at that ti The others, if possible, please take theet h to…”

Before he could finish, I smiled