Volume 7 Chapter 15 (1/2)

I had journeyed to the Royal Capital of the Axela Kingdom.

After landing, I put the Darkness Dragons into my [Storage], and then took a rather bumpy ride in the carriage provided by the kingdom.

My companion right now was just Kuina. This being her fist time in the capital, she was leaning her body toward the window and looking at the scenery outside.

”Oto-san, there's a lot of horsies here!”

From the outskirts of the city until the entrance, a large number of horse-drawn carriages were line up.

Golem-drawn carriages had already become the norm in Avalon, so it wasn't often we get to see so many horses in one place.

”Do you like horses?”

”I do! They're so delicious! Unlike piggies, they can be eaten raw as sashimi!”

I see, I thought as I smiled wryly.

Dishes employing horse meat were one of the latest trends spreading around in Avalon. And as Kuina said, eating it as sashimi was truly delicious.

”Anyway, I'll be counting on you for whatever happens today, Kuina.”

”Yeah~ ♪! Leave it Kuina!”

I had taken precautions against the worst the case scenarios.

I had three trump cards for this occasion:

First was Stolas's abilities.

Second, the silver watch I received as a reward from the [Time] Demon Lord.

And third, the reward I received from the Creator for winning my [War] against [Viscosity], [Evil], and [Steel].

”…So, the time to use it has finally come, huh?”

The last trump card I listed carried great risks, so I had tried to avoid using it as much as possible. However, if push comes to shove, I would not hesitate to use it this time.

At any rate, the carriage that we rode had entered the capital.

It feels like I'm about to enter the belly of a mysterious beast.

◇

It was quite lively inside the capital.

If in terms of just liveliness, Avalon was the much better one. However, the capital had a certain organized and systematic beauty to it that the ever-developing Avalon did not have.

”Oto-san, it's such a beautiful city!”

”Yeah. The streets are laid out in a perfect grid pattern, and buildings too are perfectly regulated. It's a view that you can't see in Avalon.”

Most likely, the buildings here were being regulated to conform to quite rigid specifications so as to not disrupt the already established beauty of the city. After all, a royal capital must be beautiful.

While talking like that, we arrived at our destination.

By destination, I didn't mean the royal castle already. We had to stop by a facility which dealt with guiding guests from foreign nations first.

We stayed there for short a while before being guided to a room.

”Woah! This room's so big! The bed's so soft!”

Kuina immediately dove into the bed.

It was nice room. At least for now, it seemed we were properly being treated as guests of honor.

A servant then appeared and informed us that should we need anything, all we had to do was ring a bell and he would come running at any time of the day—or night—to attend to that need. He also informed us that Prince Leonard would be arriving soon.

According to the schedule for today, after a short talk with Prince Leonard, we were to meet with the king and the other princes to inspect our newly built church wherein we would be holding a meeting. After that, Prince Leonard was supposed to give us a warm reception.

For the day after, together with the prince, we were to go to the [Dragon] Demon Lord's dungeon.

I had hoped that this whole trip would be over without any single incident, but I knew that was impossible.

>

Ruru's voice then came from my water-containing glass earing.

Being a R'lyeh Diva, she was able to use water as medium to communicate from the other dimension.

”Yeah. Loud and clear.”

>

”Just as we suspected. Kuina felt them too. How about Aura? Have you gotten in touch with her?”

>

Oh, interesting. First Kuina said she alone might not be enough for the enemies, and now, Aura's this cautious.

The question now was where and when they would strike.

It was hard to imagine the attack on us would happen while we were negotiating with the royal family. The [Black] Demon Lord treated the royal family as convenient pawns, so he shouldn't want to get them caught in the crossfire.

If so, the attack might happen while taking a break after the negotiation. Or perhaps…

◇

A servant then invited us to a reception room. We followed him there and then sat at a comfy sofa while we waited.

By the way, Kuina and I had changed into our formal attire. Furthermore, she had switched into her ”lady” mode.

”Procell-dono, welcome! I have been so looking forward to meeting you again!”

Eyes full of enthusiasm, Prince Leonard rushed into the room and said such things.

”I should be the one saying that, prince. Thanks to you convincing the proper figures, the Holy Grail faith can now spread even in Axela.”

”But it was the natural thing to do! In fact, I have made the spreading of your teaching—that humans and demi-humans are equal—my life's mission. In my eyes, the doctrine that says humans are the superior beings is just wrong. For our nation to develop, we must employ individuals of talent, regardless of their birth. So, you see, I did it more for my nation than to do you a favor. There's no need for thanks.”

At that, I smiled wryly. It seemed like I had influenced him more than I thought.

>

Ruru contacted me again and reported so.

When the prince first came to Avalon, he was under the effects of the [Black] Demon Lord's magic. We had dispelled it, but there was a chance it could have been reapplied to him upon his return.

Anyway, as scheduled, the prince and I talked for a while. I asked how he had persuaded the king and the other important individuals. I also asked how he got everyone to attend the meeting that we would be having later.

We chatted for a while, uneventfully.

Once we were finished, the prince guided me outside. We rode a carriage and then headed to the newly built church. When we arrived, I saw a remarkably wonderful carriage that was surrounded by a group of knights.

There were only a few people who could have that much security on them.

When we exited our carriage, the other party also exited from theirs.

”It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Procell-dono. I thank you for the enormous amount of wealth you've provided us. Of course, I am also deeply grateful for your medical treatment of our wounded soldiers and your intermediation with the [Dragon] Demon Lord. You have been a great help.”

Although the middle-aged man that exited the luxurious carriage didn't lower his head, he said words of thanks.

For the leader of a country to say such words to the leader of a mere city in most remote of regions, it was unprecedented. It goes to show how dire things were for the Axela Kingdom.

”Oh no, I should be the one thanking you. I am very grateful for allowing us to build our church and conduct our religious rites.”

”…Just to be clear, I only gave you permission. I and the kingdom are not bound by any oaths to promote or protect your religion.”

In the latter case, the king probably was referring to protection from the disturbance to be caused by the believers of the [Black] Demon Lord's religion.

According to Ruru's reports, we had already been receiving some kind of harassment from them. Now that our church was finally built and our activities about to go full-swing, their harassment would probably only grow worse.

”Yes, we are clear on that. If I may be candid, we have no need for half-hearted believers who became believers only because the kingdom told them to. Our desire is not to simply gain more followers, it is to gain more followers who believe and practice my teachings.”

At my reply, the king let out an ohh.

I had no need for donations or superficial believers. What I really wanted was devotion.

”I think it's better to see for yourselves what my teachings are all about.”

According to Ruru, preparations for the mass were all done. Soon, she would step out from the other dimension to participate in the mass.

Aura was also in position. If anything so much as a shadow seem suspicious to her, she was ready to shoot it down.

The former swindler turned priest also seemed ready, looking very much the part.

And so, I guided the king and the princes to our prized church.

◇

The mass was then over.

I was surprised at how great the swindler that Conanna referred. He was able to tell my teachings better than I ever did, embellishing it with fleshed-out narratives. His speech patterns, his intonations, and application of emotions were all very skillful. Impressive. One should not make light of a professional who used neither magic nor medicine, but just the art of conversation to coax people. Nevertheless, we still employed Ruru's song and Aura's [God's Smile] to have a 100% success.

”…Wonderful, Procell-dono.”

”Father, you see now that everything I said was true, don't you??”

”Hmm, how to say it. Frankly, I have a bit of prejudice against new religions that are too good to be true. As the leader of my country, I still can't provide you any aid, but as an individual, I think I will take your teachings to heart and abide by them for the rest of my life. Leonard says you have holy books. Won't you give me one?”

”It will be my pleasure.”

The priest descended from the stage and handed over copies of the holy book. He passed it to the king and Prince Leonard's brothers.

Counting the king as a supporter—if not a believer—was huge.

At this rate, the next meeting will go well. …now then, let's use that insurance here. It feels a bit awkward to deceive myself, but it might just decide victory or defeat.

◇

We changed location once again, this time back to the facility earlier. Thanks in part to the effects of the mass, the atmosphere of the meeting was rather calm.