Volume 7 Chapter 17 (1/2)

The [Black] Demon Lord had launched a surprise attack against us. Fortunately, we were able to defend against it. Not only that, we even turned the table against him.

Even so, I should have been protected in the first place by the rule of the Creator that forbade old Demon Lords from attacking us new Demon Lords. And yet, not even a penalty was issued out.

This convinced me more than ever that he had some of his monsters mixed in with the enemy forces we fought and killed when we were rescuing Marcho. In other words, I had attacked him without knowing and gave him an excuse for attacking back.

I mean, I expected it… but he's really that kind of guy, huh. Well, anyway, everything's going well so far.

Even though he escaped, our original objective was still accomplished: to obtain a card that would help us shake his influence over the humans.

To that end, we put on a little show. Using [Divine Revelation], we played the footage we obtained over and over again to the royal capital which was a city full of his believers.

”Kuina, let's go join up with Prince Leonard and the others, alright?”

Earlier, Aura had taken the members of the royal family away and acted as their guard.

Now that the fighting was over, we had to meet up with them and continue our initial meeting.

”Yay~ ♪! And then, this city will be Oto-san's!”

”Haha. Not quite.”

I responded to Kuina with strained laughter.

Many of the humans that had lost trust for the Rigdolg Faith were most likely going to enter our Holy Grail Faith. Since time immemorial, humans who had undergone a painful experience were more likely to switch faiths rather than abandon religion altogether. They were simply not strong enough to continue living without anything to believe in.

Without doubt, our Holy Grail Faith was going to spread quickly and widely.

Thanks to that, our dealings with the Axela Kingdom was bound to be much smoother.

The king and the other royal family members might not notice right away, but they were becoming more and more dependent on my help. Soon enough, they would be like the weak-hearted humans that would rather switch religions than abandon it altogether.

”Avalon-Ritters, gather and load the corpses into the container.”

In response to my command, the Avalon-Ritters promptly gathered the corpses.

Unlike monster corpses—which turn into particles of light and vanish after a certain amount of time—human corpses remained well after their death. What this meant for us was that we could bring home the corpses of the artificial heroes we slew and have them be resurrected as undead monsters by Duke's [Enhanced Resurrection].

By default, these artificial heroes were more or less as powerful as A rank monsters, but through Duke's ability, they would be reanimated to be stronger than when they were alive. Furthermore, thanks to another of his abilities, [Ruler of Death], friendly undead monsters were strengthened even more.

It wasn't often one could gain A rank or higher war potential and I didn't intend to waste it. It'll be a nice souvenir for Duke.

”Alright, Kuina, let's hurry. We still have work to do, but once all that's finished, Prince Leonard's going to give us a tour to the fun places here in the city. We're going to eat a lot of delicious food too.”

”Yay~ ♪! Sounds fun!”

Kuina replied so with her fox tail swinging back and forth. Above all else, it was important to me that she and the others were happy.

I instructed the Avalon-Ritters to return to our church after they were finished gathering the corpses. After doing that, Kuina and I began walking.

◇

We had joined up with the royal family in a venue specified beforehand. The meeting progressed swimmingly, and more importantly, it ended peacefully.

We had obtained permission to build our churches and practice our religion not only in the royal capital, but also the other major cities of the Axela Kingdom. This was all toward the goal of spreading the Holy Grail Faith. After all, if we had spread it enough and we could call Avalon a holy capital, believers with strong—and delicious—emotions would travel to Avalon. There was a chance some might even chose to live there.

However, even if we were to adapt a rotation system, there was still a limit to the number of cities Ruru and the Ocean Singers could travel to. Because of that, it was necessary to choose carefully which cities to build a church in.

Another concern with additional churches was that we also had to increase the number of priests we had. Thankfully, I could always ask Conanna to refer to me another swindler or maybe an actor. I was now convinced that they performed even better than a real priest.

During the meeting, we also agreed on the of the schedule for the accommodation of the kingdom's soldiers that were injured in their war against the [Dragon] Demon Lord. According to the schedule, about a thousand soldiers were going to stay in Avalon for 2-3 months.

That increase of population for that long of a period was undoubtedly very appealing to any Demon Lord, considering the proportionate increase in DP and in the emotions we could consume.

Another thing from the meeting was the lending of 3 Avalon-Ritters. In case those that still believed in the Rigdolg Faith were desperate enough to revolt against the kingdom, three Avalon-Ritters should be enough to maintain the peace.

Along with those, I also handed over the rest of the financial aid I promised before.

”And with that, all agendas have been tackled. I dare say this meeting was very productive. Thank you, Procell-dono.”

”Oh no, it is I who should thank you. I am very grateful for the friendship formed between the Axela Kingdom and Avalon.”

The king and I then stood up and shook each other's hand.

Considering that my general objective was the prosperity of both humans and monsters, I was glad to have formed a friendship like this with the Axela Kingdom. I was a firm believer that coexisting peacefully with humans and forming a symbiotic relationship with them netted more long-term DP and strong emotions than outright killing them.

”One more thing, Procell-dono. I'd like to ask a rather impudent request. It's about that mysterious method you used to project your form and voice to the sky. Would you be willing to let us use it too? No matter how much I try using the methods currently at our disposal, it is just impossible for my voice to reach each and every citizen. But, using your method, no citizen would uninformed or misinformed. It's usefulness is tremendous, to say the least.”

It was only natural for any statesman to see the appeal of the [Divine Revelation]. Especially so in this day and age where broadcasting an unignorable message to a wide audience could easily be classified as an act of god.

”I don't mind letting you make use of it. However, this secret of our Holy Grail Faith could only be performed by a high-ranking believer of ours. If you submit a request, we won't mind dispatching a high-ranking believer who would relay your message to your people. Those are my conditions. Do you accept?”

”Are you sure that's all you're going to ask in return, Procell-dono? There's no need to be modest. We are willing to give much more for that method.”

”No, this is already enough. Asking for too much is a source of discord between friends and what I truly want is to maintain this relationship we have. Just treat this as a token of our friendship please.”

This was actually a windfall for me. Like so, people would be further exposed to the [Divine Revelation], which in turn would hopefully lead to a quicker growth of our believer count. Decreasing the [Black] Demon Lord's influence was a welcome effect as well.

Right when the meeting was going to be adjourned, Prince Leonard spoke.

”Procell-dono, please take care of us tomorrow too.”

By tomorrow, he meant the meeting with the [Dragon] Demon Lord.

Unless the [Dragon] Demon Lord swore in front of them to not retaliate, the leaders of the Axela Kingdom would never have peace of mind.

”Of course. I've already explained things to the [Dragon] Demon Lord. All that's left is for us to do our best tomorrow.”

There were very few—if any existed at all—causes of concern for tomorrow. In all likelihood, it would progress and conclude peacefully.

”You're as reliable as ever, Procell-dono! Now that our work for today is finished, let me be a good friend and show you around the royal capital. I'll try my best to entertain you as much as you have entertained me in Avalon.”

It was a welcome prepared by a prince, so it was most likely going to feature the best of things.

This rare chance to experience culture outside of Avalon was very valuable indeed.

Let's have plenty of fun.

”Yeah, I'm looking forward to it.”

”Then, let's get ready right away.”

The prince said so and then proudly led the way.

Excited as I was, I knew I shouldn't let my guard down since the [Black] Demon Lord was still at large.

◇

After a fun night in the royal capital, I joined Prince Leonard in his meeting with the [Dragon] Demon Lord the next day.

Without any demands of his own, the [Dragon] Demon Lord promised to not retaliate even if the kingdom pulled their forces out. He didn't demand compensation either. If anything, he was actually kind of sad that the soldiers were going home. Such a shame to lose a stable source of income, he said with a laugh.

Hearing that, Prince Leonard made a stiff smile. I found that reaction to be quite understandable. After all, they sent their forces to the [Dragon] Demon Lord's dungeon with the intent of destroying it, but now he was being thanked as though he had delivered a snack.

At any rate, there was officially no more reason for their forces to be on standby near the [Dragon] Demon Lord's dungeon, so those forces should be withdrawn soon.

All of my scheduled work done, I decided it was time to return to Avalon.

Thankfully, nothing else of note happened during this trip… which could also be perceived as kind of ominous.

◇

Three days had passed since my return from my trip to the Axela Kingdom.