Episode 131 Interlude (3)
Right after the noon prayer ended,
Heinrich quietly waited for the Saintess to finish cleaning up.
They couldn't completely let go of their work just because it was over, so they needed time to discuss things.
And as they joined each other and headed towards the office…
She thanked him with an awkward smile.
"Ah— Sir Heinrich, thank you for earlier! I came out early today because I had something to prepare, but I was in front of the flower bed, and before I knew it… ahaha."
She had come out early in the morning, considering that she might be late, but she ended up being unable to leave the flower bed until the last minute.
"But haven't you always been on time, Saintess? You would have arrived on time this time as well."
Even if he hadn't reminded her, she would have either realized it herself or another priest would have come looking for her, so she wouldn't have been late for the prayer.
There was no one in this cathedral who didn't know that she had been spending all her time in the flower bed lately.
"Hmm… y-yes…"
But despite his consolation, she suddenly frowned slightly, as if something was bothering her, and just pouted.
He wondered if he had said something wrong.
"…You said I could call you by your name when it wasn't a formal occasion."
She muttered softly in a timid voice.
Heinrich, who could now even detect the slightest vibrations in the air, couldn't miss her voice at this close range.
'Come to think of it, she did say that. It was right after I became a Saint.'
But she had said it so casually, and it was something he had naturally forgotten in the midst of his busy daily life.
Since they had both been busy with their work lately, all their meetings had inevitably been formal occasions.
'She's saying she has no one to call her by her name…'
As the Saintess was one of the highest-ranking leaders of the Main God Church, there weren't many who could address her directly by her name.
And most of them just called her 'Saintess'.
She existed solely by that title, the only one in this world, so it was only natural.
The name she introduced herself with, 'Liesta Saint Hatianuss', was just something she briefly used when introducing herself to outsiders.
Before, the Pope, who was the only one equal in status to the Saintess, called her by her name…
'But that became difficult after he became bedridden.'
And that's when the new Saint, 'Heinrich Saint Landguard', appeared.
"Hahaha— I'm so used to calling you Saintess that it's hard to get used to. I'll try to be more careful in the future, Lady Liesta."
Of course, he wasn't going to drop the honorifics just because he was calling her by her name, but she seemed satisfied with just that, as a gentle smile appeared on her face.
And her smile, combined with the halo that was always emitting light, created a radiant atmosphere around her, along with her beautiful appearance.
'I always feel this, but it's like she's the only one under a spotlight. I don't have a halo like that.'
Heinrich inwardly expressed his admiration and complaint, but his appearance wasn't much different from hers to others.
"Hey, show some respect! The Saintess and the Saint are passing by."
"Hmm, the Saint seems to have become even stronger. Such presence, even though he's not actively emitting anything. And that aura…"
The holy knights of the Radiance Guardian, who were in charge of the cathedral's security, saluted them from afar and whispered softly.
Two men and women with wavy, shining silver hair and golden eyes that shone like the sun.
Their appearance was also breathtaking, and they complemented each other perfectly.
Of course, there was a difference in the halo they naturally emitted because they had received different 'Grand Blessings'.
Unlike Liesta, who was shining like a light bulb was lit above her head, Heinrich was emitting a transparent, flame-like aura from his entire body.
It was so faint that you couldn't see it unless you looked closely, but the aura, which was naturally emanating even though he wasn't actively manipulating his holy power, was clearly imprinting his presence in the surroundings.
It was like a torch illuminating the darkness or a lighthouse guiding the way, and it would serve as a guidepost even in a place where you couldn't see an inch ahead, never fading.
No matter how thick the abyss, it couldn't bury his existence.
That was the 'Hero'.
"So until the summit… we need to…"
"Ah, I already asked the Heresy Inquisitors to…"
Heinrich, walking with the Saintess and discussing work,
And so, the hero and saint, who carried everyone's hopes, was working hard for the continent again today.
____________________
And while the hero was working hard,
The demon king and Immortal King, who carried everyone's resentment, wasn't just playing around either.
[I pledge my loyalty! Immortal King!]
[I offer my soul to Your Majesty—!]
As the boundary weakened from the abyss opening, countless undead appeared throughout the continent.
Among them were many mid-level executives who had superior intelligence and commanded lower-ranking undead, even if they weren't former commanders of the immortal army.
Death Knights, knights of death, Liches, immortal mages, Dullahan Knights, headless executioners…
They were all talents at a similar level to 'Death Wizard Malcolm', the first undead with an ego that he created.
Most of them were those who had escaped the boundary and were cautiously observing the situation, seeking safety through their own judgment.
It was only natural that the army's size gradually grew as they joined Hans's side one by one.
'I'm satisfied. It was worth it to personally go around.'
After all, the Immortal King himself had the best detection ability and mobility, so it was the most efficient method for him to move directly.
It was a bit embarrassing.
As a result of his busy movements, he had finally collected all the undead that appeared in the western part of the continent and was now expanding towards the center.
'There are quite a few I couldn't retrieve, even though I took care of the western region first. I wonder how many are left in other areas.'
Naturally, the various forces in this world didn't just stand by and watch the undead.
There were all sorts of clashes between the undead's attacks, the humans' subjugation efforts, and unexpected encounters…
And in the end, the number of those who couldn't join the immortal army and were sacrificed was also significant.
'But it's a good harvest that I was able to find more commanders in the process.'
The number of high-ranking executives in the immortal army had significantly decreased in the last war, so he was lucky.
'The one I accepted a few days ago was named Pagos.'
He had recently taken 'Pagos', a Dread Phantom who was previously ranked around 20th in the immortal army, under his command.
Unlike Banshee Queen Olivia, who had the appearance of a human woman, he looked like a clump of black fog, and even though only his upper body had a clear form, he was massive, almost three meters tall.
[Glory to the Immortal King— I will lead the way— in spreading fear to this world—.]
Pagos's appearance, with a pair of red ghost fires glowing from his head made of black smoke, was literally that of an evil spirit.
His voice, which seemed to echo from a deep cave, was filled with magic power that stimulated fear in the listener, but it was the same for all high-ranking undead, so it wasn't anything special anymore.
'And the one I found this time is a Ghoul Lord…'
[Fiona—]
The ordinary-looking woman, who had just been subjugated and was prostrating herself before him, bowed her head again as Hans called her name.
She was previously ranked around 30th in the immortal army.
Ghouls, which were superior to zombies in every way except for the fact that they were moving corpses, had the characteristic of becoming stronger by eating corpses.
And she was the one who had reached the pinnacle of Ghouls by endlessly devouring prey.
'She doesn't look that different from a human on the outside.'
And since Ghouls could regenerate their bodies by consuming corpses, she wasn't that decayed, despite being an undead.
She almost looked like an ordinary human woman at first glance.
Of course, there was a strong sense of dissonance if you looked closely, such as the stench emanating from her body, her dilated pupils, and her dry mucous membranes, but she was in much better condition than other undead.
'Until you see the inside of her mouth.'
The corners of her lips, which stretched almost to her ears, her jaw that opened wide like a crocodile's, and the saw-like teeth filling it.
As befitting the representative of devouring undead, she had a monstrous oral structure that rivaled even Harley's.
[…Loyalty…]
But Fiona seemed reluctant to open her mouth, perhaps because she was embarrassed by the inside of her mouth, and remained silent.
She didn't need to open her mouth to speak because undead spoke by resonating magic power.
'It's probably a habit from her human memories.'
It was the virtue of a good boss to be considerate of such sensitive issues.
Hans, who firmly believed that he was an ideal leader, didn't criticize his subordinates' attitudes, including hers.
It didn't matter as long as they did their jobs properly.
'But I've never seen anyone act recklessly in front of the Immortal King.'
Anyway, thanks to the addition of various talents, the immortal army was able to move more actively in various areas.
But as the scale grew, it became increasingly difficult to move stealthily.
In fact, most forces were probably already keeping a close eye on their movements.
'Fortunately, there haven't been any major clashes yet.'
They were probably hesitant to strike first because they didn't want to unnecessarily provoke the immortal army, which had been relatively peaceful…
And they were also afraid of suffering losses themselves if they acted alone.
'But that won't last long.'
The 'Continental Summit' to jointly respond to the Immortal King and the immortal army was approaching.
Once a course of action was decided there, there would be a showdown.
And that would be…
The signal for the start of Operation 'Home Theater' in earnest.
____________________
Since the pre-meeting coordination took a long time, the preparations for the 'Continental Summit' proceeded smoothly once the schedule was confirmed.
Most of the preparations, including the conference hall, were handled by the Main God Church, the host of the event, but seeing how smoothly things were going, he wondered why it had been so slow until now.
'The others must have felt it too.'
Heinrich shook his head as he casually looked around the place where the meeting would be held.
Those who had been trying to use the chaotic situation to strengthen their political positions without any sense of crisis.
They also realized that if they continued to be selfish, it could backfire on them.
The current situation on the continent was that serious.
The madness incident was intensifying, and the riots and terrorist attacks happening everywhere were driving them crazy.
Especially the Azeria Empire, which had the largest territory and bordered most of the Northern Mountains, and the Rohan Duchy, which was located north of the Empire and surrounded by the Northern Mountains on three sides, were practically at war every day.
They would be desperate to receive support, whether it was through a continental summit or anything else.
The Empire must have also exerted considerable pressure on the surrounding areas to make this happen.
'Anyway, the meeting that had so many twists and turns is finally happening.'
The Roselia Cathedral had been preparing for this for a long time.
So that they could immediately start the final preparations once the date was set.
Thanks to that, they were able to move the meeting date forward as much as possible, and the distance wasn't a big problem since they had the temple's gate.
Everything was finally going smoothly.
And as time passed, when the date of the summit was finally just a few days away,
Envoys from each force started to arrive one by one through the cathedral's gate.