At Elrain Kingdom, which was geographically at the center of the southern region, was the Goblin King. By the time word of Gi Gu Verbena’s bitter struggle was brought before him, most of the region that dispatched the main force had already raised the white flag.
Gi Ga Rax the Knight Cla.s.s Goblin conquered the labyrinth city, and with mercy and generosity won over the nearby cities. Gi Gi Orudo, who Leads the Monster Army, built a region of monster beasts and monsters at the northwest with the help of their goblin allies, the Kushain Believers. Ra Gilmi Fishiga the Hero of Ganra, to whom the western region had been entrusted to, nailed down Germion Kingdom without any significant losses.
“So, Pena really was strong.”
The Goblin King did not believe that this result was because of Gi Gu’s inadequacy. Although the four generals were sent to four different location for the sake of the coming organization of the army, none of their enemies were weak. It was precisely because the Goblin King trusted them that he could leave such powerful foes to them. Gi Gu’s foe was especially powerful. That was Pena, after all, a nation who possessed a cavalry so powerful their existence was burned into the Goblin King’s memory.
Just the fact that Gi Gu was able to avoid losing too much was a testament to his skill. There was nothing to be unsatisfied about.
The various territories the Goblin King lorded over in the southern region were all doing well. The area under the rule of Elrain Kingdom, which could be said to have been in the position of leading the south in the past, was currently being ruled over by the Goblin King directly. Because of that its ability to govern itself has greatly improved in recent times, and even its public order was hastily mending itself.
This was not because the Goblin King was particularly skilled. No. It would be more apt to say that this was a result brought about because he’d picked brilliant people to serve him. Of course, it was also because of the Goblin King’s decisiveness. When problems arise, the worst one could do is to not deal with them. Rarely does running away from problems ever bring about good results.
One must face the problem and take measures against it. If not, the problem will only grow bigger. Which is why it doesn’t really matter if the measures taken are stop-gap or drastic, just the existence of a king who was willing to take responsibility and act was enough for the government of Elrain Kingdom to pick itself up and stand tall.
Moreover, in the Labyrinth City, south of Elrain Kingdom, although the adventurers has decreased in number, because of Gi Ga Rax’s generosity and mercy, the management of the Labyrinth City has been going swimmingly well. This was also because of the skills of Zaurosh, the clan leader of the Proud Clan (Leon Heart Clan).
The goblins may be the ones in charge, but it was Zaurosh who would appear during negotiations. Gi Ga strictly controlled his army and preserved their dignity as a disciplined military force, allowing him to protect the public order of the Labyrinth City. By working alongside the local people to handle the administration, they were able to report positively to the king.
Even the last base of the Red King at the southern region, Fatina, was forced to capitulate by the goblins and the Kushain Believers. It was originally a city belonging to the Kushain Believers, so there was no need to rule over them harshly, and it didn’t take long for the area to stabilize.
Gi Gi and Gi Bu have been put in charge with developing bases for supplies and in preparation for Germion Kingdom. Given that there also existed the Holy Shushunu Kingdom to the northeast, the developments made by Gi Gi and Gi Bu might eventually become a key point. Although it was still not something they could afford to do a poor job on, but given the skills of the queen of the Kushain Believers, Mira, the king believes that perhaps even Gi Gi should start ruling a territory himself.
Ra Gilmi Fishiga, who has been entrusted with the western region that reached all the way from the border lands to the Western Capital, worked with Shumea to defend against Germion Kingdom. In the northern part of the western region, it seems that the villages that came under the king’s rule early on have now mostly settled down. The order in such places were now calm enough that they would not budge even at the sight of goblin soldiers.
An amazing feat, the Goblin King thought.
Although this was partly brought about by Shumea’s natural virtue as a person, this could be considered a model case for the reconciliation of humans and monsters. It was a good idea indeed to hire soldiers from the villagers in exchange for reducing their taxes.
Lack of knowledge brings fear.
Humans did not know the creatures called goblins well. And the same held true for the goblins. If the two races are to get along, then they must first start from there.
Villagers recruited to be soldiers will eventually return to their villages. At that point, they will naturally talk about the goblins to others. As the two races come to know each other, they will find places where they are unable to reconcile, but at the same time, they will also find places where they can reconcile. There’s a lot of challenges to overcome until then, but as with all things, this is a problem only time can solve. Or at the very least, that’s what the Goblin King believes.
“Hey, Goblin King!”
Suddenly, an elven warrior came barging through the door.
“What?” The Goblin King asked.
“Where’s all the war? Aren’t you going to fight a war!?”
The Goblin King tilted his head in confusion, but the male sylph (wind elf) warrior, who had supposedly become a leader himself, continued.
“I’m sick of playing bodyguard! Come on! Let’s go attack something!”
At first, it looked like the elf was just itching for a fight, but a closer look showed that the elf simply had a lot of pent up frustrations.
“Worry not. We need to send reinforcements to Pena soon, so just wait a little longer until we have the army in order.”
“How long!? Tomorrow!? The day after!?”
“We can’t leave immediately even if I call Gi Ga and Gi Jii back. We’ll need about 20 days.”
“20 days!?”
Felbi looked just like a criminal whose execution date had been announced when the king said that, but the Goblin King merely nodded expressionlessly like a judge.
“Since Gi Gu is having such a hard time, it can be reasoned that the enemy has some level of skill. If we dispatch our soldiers without due preparation, we are likely to lose.”
“…Ku. I understand.”
Felbi looked very childish as he left the room disheartened. That amused the Goblin King, but it was only for a moment before he went back to his work.
In order to make a decision, he needed to gather the necessary information. The Goblin King once again looked through the mountain of doc.u.ments on his desk.
The problem the Goblin King was concerned about right now was the issue of food. Until now they’ve been feeding themselves off of the monster beasts in the area whenever they attacked. Of course, they also brought portable food with them like dried meat, but they couldn’t sustain themselves with just that.
There weren’t many monster beasts in the area around Pena, and there were even less large-type monster beasts. As such, they would have to bring a lot of portable food with them.
Until now the goblins have never had difficulties with supplies.
But the further they head east, the smaller the monster beasts will become. In that case, they will no longer be able to procure their food from the local monster beast supply. Unless they are able to ensure a supply route that could preserve the deepening front lines, they will not be able to fight at their best condition.
Elbert and the rest of the bureaucrats of Elrain Kingdom have been showing off their skills recently. The Goblin King had to use them well if he was to meet the logistical requirements of the army.
◆◆◇
Within the throne room where hundreds of officials, military and civil alike, would be lined up, was Gulland kneeling on the red carpet. There was no one here other than him and King Ashtal. A deafening silence filled the room.
“Gulland.”
“Ha!”
After a short moment of silence, the old king sighed. It was a heavy sigh filled with exhaustion.
“My kingdom’s proud holy knight, the storm knight, the brave and gallant knight, Gulland.”
“…Ha!”
“After the western region, you once again suffered defeat in the south. The voices of the n.o.bles can no longer be quelled.”
“I am incompetent.”
“…I have already lost Gene and Gowen. Don’t make me lose another shield to defend this country.”
“…As you will.”
“Holy Knight, Gulland, I leave the holy knight, Sivara, to you.”
Gulland’s tightly held fist shook a little. That did not escape King Ashtal’s eyes as he closed his eyes and spoke.
“Gain merit and wipe away the shame from your name.”
“…It shall be done, even at the cost of my life!”
Gulland’s fame of being a hero comes from his great achievement of saving a saint. It was not something that the n.o.bles could remove. But while they couldn’t take away his status of being a holy knight, they could question his management of his territory and his strategic decisions.
Sivara, who has been entrusted with the defense of the south, defended the south with the holy knight, Jize. Although he retreated during the siege against the Cultidians without causing much damage to the enemy, because he was connected to a branch of the n.o.bles, he did not incur as much problems from the n.o.bles.
Instead, the n.o.bles turned their attention to Gulland, who was a commoner.
Fortunately, a commander with a n.o.ble background also lost in the previous battle at the western region against the goblins, so the n.o.bles couldn’t find as much fault with Gulland, but King Ashtal couldn’t possibly be happy from losing.
As Gulland left and pa.s.sed by the youth that entered, King Ashtal raised up his heavy eyelids.
“It is a great honor to be in the presence of the king.”
“What great honor? I still have to act like a king even in front of my grandchild. In any case, it is good to see you well, Ishtel.”
“Yes, grandfather. Valdor says I’ve gotten better.”
“Oh?”
The old king shifted his eyes away from the his grandchild to the knight beside him. The middle-aged man bowed his head deeply.
“I can find no fault in Ishtel-dono’s skill as far as knights go.”
“I know full well that someone as honest as you wouldn’t lie, but don’t praise him so much, he’ll get carried away.”
“Grandfather!”
“Please don’t worry. The sword of the king is only for defending. Attacking is our duty.”
From his sunken eyes, King Ashtal could understand the words of Valdor the Twin Swords Knight.
“Is that why you came together?”
“Yes. In the name of the prince, please give the imperial decree.”
Trust in the holy knight system was wavering. All the soldiers in Germion Kingdom could feel the crisis.
Everyone acknowledged Gulland’s strength despite his personality, but he lost. Gene died quietly in the shadows because of Gulland’s success. And then, there was Gowen, who himself was not just an old warrior, but also an excellent feudal lord. Despite that even he lost.
At this critical moment, the n.o.bles have started raising up a fuss and have started to push to redistribute the authority that has been left to the king. In order to suppress them, the only thing the king could do is to move the army and forcefully silence them. In such a case, a member of the royal family would have to take command of the army.
“It’s still too early.”
“…Then when?”
“The old woman of the east will die soon. When she dies, we will have to gather our strength at the east.”
Valdor opened his eyes wide and bowed his head.
“As you will.”
“The east… Shushunu’s Lady Claudia.”
Ishtel mouthed that as if to confirm it.
She was the symbol of Holy Shushunu Kingdom’s might. ‘Lady Impaler’ ‘War Princess’ Claudia. So long as she was around, the Holy Shushunu Kingdom could stop the minor countries to the east, and others had no choice but to acknowledge the supremacy of the Holy Shushunu Kingdom. Even Germion Kingdom had to respect them.
But that war princess will soon die.
Although there were no words of her going senile or going ill, everyone knew that she would soon die and a fierce battle for her successor would occur at the Holy Shushunu Kingdom. Right now, Germion Kingdom is being threatened by the goblins to the south and to the west. Germion Kingdom was in a position to suppress most of the northern barbarians and develop it, so they had to avoid creating an unfriendly relationship with the country to the east.
They could still barely hold on if it’s just the south and the west.
But if even the eastern Holy Shushunu Kingdom were to become an enemy, Germion Kingdom will quickly find itself in danger.
At the very least, they had to maintain their current relationship. Should the minor countries make their move, Germion Kingdom would be willing even to work with the successors of the war princess and dispatch soldiers. But to that end, they would have to ensure that they have some soldiers to spare.
As such, they can’t make a move right now.
No one knows when Claudia is going to die, so King Ashtal can’t send Valdor to the west.
10 days after King Ashtal had that conversation with them, the brave woman, Claudia the War Princess, who supported the Holy Shushunu Kingdom for roughly 50 years, pa.s.sed.
As that shocking news spread to all four directions, the expectations of each country became entangled.
The Ivory Tower, where the sages lived, could be found at the small country (minor nation) of Orphen. It was a country that would be encased in snow and ice for half of the year. Its summers were short, and its springs and autumns were even shorter. The fresh green shoots dazzled under the light of the sun as the warm wind carried with it the sound of the murmuring river. A two days’ walk from the ivory tower was Reshia Fel Zeal, who was headed towards a village to fulfill her duty as a saint.
Her duty was to share knowledge.
She would teach others to write, and sing, and how to use herbs, and she would use the miraculous power only she could use to heal other people and save lives.
To bestow healing upon all was her duty as a saint of the G.o.ddess of Healing (Zen.o.bia) (The Fourth Daughter). If this were a bigger city, even the ‘church’ that worshipped the Ancestor G.o.d Who Birthed the Nations, Ativ, would send someone out as well, but that church has gotten too big, and it was now too difficult for it to advance into regions where it could not turn a profit.
As such, there were many opportunities for her to appear as a saint.
Accompanying her was a human and a beast.
“Is that not too heavy?”
“It’s fine.”
It was the low-toned voice of a female demihuman that responded to Reshia’s clear and beautiful voice.
“You’re strong.”
“Humans are just weak.”
She was a demihuman with the face of a leopard, and Reshia purchasing her was an event that occurred at the slave market. It was only through some twists and turns that this girl called Tiora ended up traveling with Reshia.
“Gau! Gau!”
Scampering about by Reshia’s legs was the gray wolf, Gastora.
“Yes, yes. Are you okay too, Gastora?”
“GAUuu!”
Gastora seemed to understand what she said, as he jumped up high in response. Seeing that, Tiora narrowed her eyes.
“To think the king of the forests would become attached to you. I guess you really are special.”
“It’s not as good as it sounds.”
They walked to the village without stopping. When day turned to night, they would have to camp outside, so it was only natural that they would hurry.
“Really? Everyone would want something they don’t have.”
“You too?”
“Me too. And I’m sure you too.”
As the light of the sun fell on her, Reshia spoke from inside her robe and lightly sighed.
“Being special isn’t the same thing as being happy. When we get to the village let’s talk about the story of Ristia’s monster dog?”
“What kind of story is that?’
Recently, Reshia has noticed that whenever Tiora was interested, her ears and her tail would move a lot. Her ears would twitch rapidly and her tail would make huge swings from left to right like a dog waiting for its master. Those unconscious antics of hers basically announced that she was very interested.
“Like I said. I’ll tell you once we get to the village, okay? Just endure until then, Tiora-san.”
“…It’s not like I’m interested or anything.”
But contrast her words, her tail was making huge swings while her ears kept twitching toward Reshia’s direction.
“GARUUU!”
Gastora responded to that and stepped forward, as if to urge them to hurry tow the village.
“Fu fu fu. Then let’s hurry.”
They arrived at the village while the sun was still high up in the sky. The villagers received them, and they stayed at the village for a few days, telling them stories, teaching them how to formulate medicines, and healing the people patiently.
Outside the village, where the branches and the leaves extended themselves to bathe in the favor of this short summer, and where the streams murmured, was Reshia sitting.
The water was clear and the bottom could be seen even from her knees.
“…Just because you have a special power doesn’t mean you’ll be happy. I’m sure the king understands that too.”
Ever since she appealed at the Ivory Tower to negotiate with those known as monsters, her position has become sensitive. Because of the protection of the white elder, there was no one who openly criticized her, but even that elder wasn’t protecting her because he agreed with her.
Just a few days ago, word of Elrain Kingdom falling to the monsters has reached even Orphen. At long last, the Goblin King has gained power and was baring his fangs, Reshia thought. But she didn’t reveal these thoughts to anyone.
The Goblin King was wiser than any royalty or n.o.ble she’s ever met. She herself was human, so she couldn’t possibly stand on the side of the monsters. That’s why, the fact she didn’t tell anyone any information about that Goblin King, was a betrayal to humanity. At the very least, that’s how she felt.
Despite that, the words of the king that asked her to take his hand were burned into her mind.
“With your own will, deny that G.o.d.”
“…Why is he so strong, I wonder.”
That Goblin King that told her to overcome adversity has himself pa.s.sed through the border between life and death many times. He held absolute conviction in his words. At the same, he had the strength to back them up.
If only she were as strong as that Goblin King, then wouldn’t she be able to convince the Ivory Tower? But it was a meaningless thought, so she stopped. It wasn’t a good thing to think. Talking about what-ifs when she couldn’t do anything right now would only cause her to be depressed.
She should just do whatever she can, she thought. As she decided that, she once again carried the duty of being a saint.
“Ah, saint-sama!”
When she heard the voice of the children, she turned to the direction of the stream where the voice came from.
The bustling crowd of children surrounded Reshia and begged her to tell them a story. Reshia’s stories were one of the few pleasures they had in this village. Before anyone knew it, even Tiora was standing outside the crowd of children, ears twitching.
“Alright. Then, how about I tell you the story of the monster dog, Ristia.
Under the bright afternoon light, Reshia started telling a story, and the children listened.
That was a story about a powerful monstrous dog. It was about a monster that received a great power from a G.o.d, but at the same time, was cursed to be unable to protect the thing it cherished. Everyone swallowed their breath as they listened to Reshia, swinging from joy to sorrow, as the time trickled down, until eventually, it was almost evening.
In the end, the monster dog abandoned its power and protected its most cherished family.
“The end.”
When Reshia uttered those words, the children looked like they’d awoken from a dream and looked at each other.
“Saint-sama.”
A young girl tugged on Reshia’s sleeves with tears in her eyes.
“The dog is too pitiful.”
“Indeed.”
Reshia patted the girl’s head and gently said.
“If only everyone was kinder, then perhaps he wouldn’t have had to meet such a fate.”
Reshia wiped the tears off the girl’s face and smiled.
“It’s almost time to eat. You should go back now.”
At Reshia’s urging, the children headed back home in small groups.
Now that they were all alone, Tiora wanted to say something to Reshia, but she couldn’t open her mouth.
“We should go back too.”
Tiora followed her, but she couldn’t wait until they got back to their lodging (village chief’s house) and asked.
“…It was as if I saw the story unfold before me.”
“It was a story from a long time ago.”
Reshia dodged the question, so Tiora asked again.
“Is strength not enough to protect what’s precious to someone?”
“I don’t know. But a special power won’t always bring happiness. At the very least, that’s what I think. The only thing I can do is to gradually ease the prejudice. That’s all I can do.”
Reshia gazed at the dusk, dazzled, then she went back to their lodging.