Volume 6, Chapter 14 – Emergency Situation

Today is October 6th.

Around the time the ten o’clock bell rang, we finally arrived at the Royal Capital.

Despite being in the middle of the city, the carriage carrying us sped toward the castle at a considerable pace.

It seemed traffic restrictions had already been put in place, allowing us to reach the castle without slowing down.

“Now, Fiene-sama.”

“Thank you.”

Once again escorted by Chris-san, I stepped out of the carriage and followed the escorting soldier into one of the castle’s rooms.

“Saint Fiene Argentata, Holy Knight Christina, attendants Mieshiro Shizuku and Lumia—have arrived!”

The place we were led to was not the audience chamber, but a somewhat spacious conference room.

Present were His Majesty the King, the Pope, six knights, as well as Char and Hugues.

“Your Majesty, Pope-sama, it has been a long time. I am Fiene Argentata.”

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With the three of them behind me, I performed a lady’s curtsy.

“Hmm. You have labored much on your long journey. I heard you safely reached the Silver Village and became acquainted with the Elves. Lady Fiene, it seems you have gained quite a bit of valuable experience. You’ve changed so much I almost didn’t recognize you.”

The King spoke to me with a satisfied tone.

I broke my curtsy and responded.

“Thank you. It is all thanks to my knight, Christina, and the traveling companions standing here. Your Majesty, Pope-sama, everyone, allow me to introduce them. This black-haired swordswoman is Mieshiro Shizuku. She is from the Golden Sun Miko Nation and is my second knight. And this green-haired Elf is Lumia.”

As I introduced them, Shizuku-san performed a knight’s salute, and Lu-chan performed a lady’s curtsy.

“I see. Lady Shizuku, Lady Lumia, my country welcomes you both. And Holy Knight Christina, I am truly glad you protected Lady Fiene and returned safely.”

The three of them responded to the King’s words with courtesy.

“Your Majesty, the four of them are exhausted. I hear they have ridden from the Red Sky Empire without a single break. Perhaps it would be best to let them take a seat?”

“Oh, Pope-sama. You are right. Come, please be seated.”

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At their urging, we took our seats around the large round table.

The King immediately began to speak.

“Now, I apologize for summoning you so suddenly, Lady Fiene. In order, these are the Captain of the Royal Guard and the Captains of the First through Fifth Knight Orders. I assume you are already acquainted with Lady Charlotte and Holy Knight Hugues.”

“Yes.”

Hearing my reply, the King immediately continued.

“Now, there are two reasons why I have called for Lady Fiene and Lady Charlotte in such haste. First, as I believe you know, the Demon Lord Alert has been raised to an Elevated Alert. As a result, Monster Stampedes have been breaking out one after another across the country.”

“Yes.”

That was something I had heard in rumors along the way. Even in Calvara, though it was dismissed as a hoax, we had been caught up in it, and in Chi Tien, we had repelled a considerable number of Goblins.

“And the second reason is that the Black Rainbow Empire of the Southern Continent has launched a war of aggression against our country.”

I see…? A war? At a time like this? And wait, the Southern Continent?

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“What! Please wait, Your Majesty! Under the World Saint Protection Accord, the deployment of a Saint into wars between nations is strictly forbidden! It is unacceptable to involve Fiene-sama, a Saint, in such a war!”

Chris-san cried out in a panic before I could even voice my question.

“Indeed. Holy Knight Christina, you are correct. Normally, it would be forbidden. However, this is no ordinary situation. I do not know what methods they used, but the people of Black Rainbow are commanding monsters. Furthermore, there are reports that they are even commanding the Undead. If they are one with monsters and the Undead, then they are servants of darkness. And if they are beings of malice, they meet the deployment requirements for a Saint as stipulated by the World Saint Protection Accord.”

“What! Monsters? And even the Undead!?”

Even Chris-san was shocked by this.

Sounds like there’s one seriously dangerous country on that Southern Continent.

“Yes. And if they are commanding the Undead and utilizing them in war, there must be fallen Necromancers among them. In that case, we of the Temple cannot simply remain silent,” the Pope added, explaining his presence.

“I see. Could you explain in a bit more detail?”

“Very well. Approximately two weeks ago, the fishing village of Gurda on the Ronbelia Peninsula in the south of our country was attacked and occupied by a strike force from the Black Rainbow Empire. The direct reason is that monsters and Undead were confirmed to be among that force. As for the background, this is information already known to everyone except Lady Fiene and her party. Forgive me.”

The other participants nodded solemnly.

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“Hmm. It all began roughly six months after Lady Fiene departed from this Royal Capital. Suddenly, trading ships from the Black Rainbow Empire stopped arriving. Because of that, the economy began to be affected. We checked with the Yellow Planet Chiefdom, which also trades with them, and it seems they have also lost contact.”

Um, Yellow Planet… if I recall, that was the place south of the continent where Novarbour and the Red Sky Empire are located?

“Originally, we knew that the Black Rainbow Empire had been suffering from poverty and that their situation was poor. Then, around the summer of the year Lady Fiene departed, they began to impose even more severe oppression. Furthermore, we knew they were pursuing forced military expansion.”

I see. So is this one of those stories where their land’s barren, so they’re after more fertile territory?

“And since that empire closed its borders, anomalies have continued there. In particular, young people were reportedly being taken to the castle one after another… and never returning. Around the same time, powerful monsters—and monsters no one had ever seen before—began appearing one after another. While mine development and military industries are flourishing, farmlands are hardly protected, and many people, primarily the elderly, are said to be dying of starvation.”

Huh? So it wasn’t about fertile land after all… more like they’d become obsessed with conquering the world?

“The last contact we received from our spies was six months ago. he last thing we received was a hastily scribbled letter that read, ‘The Black Rainbow Empire may be in league with monsters,’ and there has been no contact since. Then, two weeks ago, our country was suddenly attacked without any warning.”

I see. So while the Demon Lord Alert was sounding, the Black Rainbow Empire somehow managed to get the monsters on their side… and got cocky enough to start an invasion?

“Thank you. I understand the general situation. So, what is the current state of the war?”

The answer that came back to my question was far worse than I had imagined.