Episode 202 The Second Continental Summit (3)
The chilly atmosphere in the grand conference hall gradually began to thaw after the Talia Kingdom delegation settled into a corner and some time passed.
Murmur, murmur—
"Ahem, so…"
"Ah— I see."
People started to chat among themselves again.
They were all aware of the vampires'… the powerful beings' sharp hearing, so they didn't openly talk about them, but they couldn't help but glance at the corner every now and then.
'Heinz Hybrid the Second, the new ruler of the Talia Kingdom. A vampire from the Brokoslack Clan who ascended to the position of Sacred Blood.'
The participants were all representatives of their respective countries, so they had already been thoroughly briefed.
Naturally, they knew all about the vampire group that had taken over a kingdom, as well as their leader, Heinz.
Of course, prior knowledge didn't make the initial tension any less palpable.
After all, vampires were predators who lived by preying on the blood of others.
It was a natural reaction, a combination of instinctive fear and the unsettling aura they naturally emanated.
And there was more…
Swoosh—
"Hmm? Viscount Pristine?"
"Excuse me for a moment, Your Highness."
Isea quietly moved and stood close behind Riley, who was at the center of the crowd.
Riley looked at her with a puzzled expression, but Isea ignored her and remained in her position.
She was still wary of the vampires… or more precisely, Heinz the Second.
Ready to react immediately if something happened.
'…He's strong. Can I even block a surprise attack? The cathedral's barrier is here, so maybe it's possible. But if I can just buy some time, the Church will intervene, so I should prepare for…'
If they had any sense, they wouldn't cause trouble in the heart of the Church, but a mage always prepared for the unexpected.
After all, Riley had been kidnapped by the Immortal King even though she was right next to her.
It was only natural to be extra cautious.
'······!'
At that moment, Heinz, who had been sitting quietly, glanced at her.
It was a fleeting glance, as if it meant nothing, but in that short moment, all sorts of magic spells formed and dissipated in Isea's mind.
'…Tsk, he's trying to scare me.'
After his gaze passed,
She took a deep breath, but didn't let her guard down.
Her intuition, honed to a transcendental level, was warning her not to let her guard down, even for a moment.
And she wasn't the only one who felt that way.
"Hehehe—. He's quite something."
The High Shaman of Calcos, Morna, who was accompanied by her assistant, the same one who had been staring blankly before.
"Hmm… This is interesting. Such a presence. As expected."
The leader of the Magic Tower Alliance, who couldn't hide his curiosity at the appearance of a Sacred Blood, a being that only existed in ancient texts.
"This continent is full of formidable opponents. You've been through a lot, Lord Rapori."
"Hahaha… I've only been talking to the Church. I'm more worried about Lydia, who'll be going through the real ordeal."
The High Elves of the Elven Kingdom, who had come from the Enamel Continent.
"Hmph! This is unsettling. Are you sure it's okay?"
And the beastman representative of Wild Land, Lionel…
All the powerful individuals who had come as escorts for the delegations were on high alert, watching the vampires as if they were ticking time bombs.
And Heinz, who was receiving all that attention…
'I expected this to some extent, but this is more than I thought. Should I have toned down my presence?'
He stroked his chin with a serious expression, wondering if he had gone overboard.
He had deliberately emanated his presence to establish dominance, but it seemed like it was too much.
When he glanced at Isea, her mind had gone into overdrive, instantly constructing and dismantling all sorts of magic spells.
She seemed genuinely threatened.
"Tsk, they're staring at us like we're some kind of spectacle. How rude."
"It's understandable. It's unprecedented for vampires to come out into the open and participate in an event at the holy land. Especially since High Lord is a legendary Sacred Blood."
"That's true, but…"
Freesia Brokoslack, who had come as an escort to showcase their power, clicked her tongue and grumbled. Mulo, who was also there as an assistant, tried to calm her down.
Even though Heinz the Second was a Sacred Blood, they still needed a few powerful vampires, those at the True Blood level, to properly assert their dominance.
Mulo was brought along because he was useful in many ways as the information officer, and Freesia, a combat-type, had nothing to do after recently eliminating the rebellion plotters, so she was brought along for the ride.
'I can't stand seeing my subordinates slacking off while I'm working. And Freesia used to live as a noblewoman, so she's familiar with these kinds of events.'
The Brokoslack members were actually happy, thinking that he was favoring those from their clan, the founding members of Hybrid.
But as long as everyone was satisfied, it was a good thing, wasn't it?
Of course, they were representing a nation, so there were also those who were there to handle the actual work.
"Ah, the Church representatives are entering. It seems like the meeting is about to begin. I'll escort you to the central table, High Lord. Shall we?"
Duke Bright, who had participated as a representative in the first summit.
He had become a Pureblood vampire and was participating in the second summit as the head of operations.
"Hmm, let's go."
As Heinz moved,
The representatives of each faction, who had been scattered in small groups, started to gather in the center.
As they approached, wary and scrutinizing gazes were exchanged, but…
Fortunately, everyone was able to take their seats without any major incidents.
A short while later,
"Thank you all for taking the time to be here, despite your busy schedules."
As soon as Liesta, Heinrich, and Cardinal Cordelia entered the conference hall and sat down at the round table,
"Then, let the second Continental Summit begin."
Cardinal Cordelia's brief opening remarks marked the official start of the meeting.
______________
Throughout the meeting, Heinz remained silent, his arms crossed.
There was nothing for him to do yet.
The proceedings were similar to the first summit.
After all, the main topic was how to overcome this crisis by uniting their forces.
The first order of business was the official establishment of the Continental Allied Force, which had been discussed before. They also established a system for immediate deployment to any location through cooperation with the Church and the Magic Towers.
Their first deployment destination was the Rohan Duchy, which was barely holding onto its capital.
They had been struggling, and the recent appearance of a White Giant had dealt them a critical blow. They were now in a situation where they wouldn't be able to hold out without additional support.
"…Thank you for your support."
Duke Dennis Rohan, with a pale face, forced a smile and bowed deeply.
They had lost all hope of reclaiming their territory, so the allied force's mission was simply to help the refugees of Rohan safely evacuate to the Empire…
But there was nothing else he could do.
The next topic of discussion was the 'White Giant'.
"That giant also appeared in our Republic. We were able to quickly respond and eliminate it, but many soldiers and civilians were sacrificed in the process."
The first to speak on the issue was Kayla McClair, the Vice President of the Zepia Republic.
She seemed to be struggling with the recent tragedy, as she massaged her temples with a tired sigh.
"I heard that the Saint can foresee the targets of the Immortal King's attacks. Is there any way to know in advance when the giant will appear? If we could just know that, we could significantly reduce future casualties."
"…I'm ashamed to admit that my abilities are still lacking. I can't foresee everything. The giants that invade from the abyss are beyond my capabilities."
"I see… I apologize for my thoughtless question, Saint. It wouldn't be easy to foresee such a thing. I'm sorry for troubling you with my complaints."
Kayla apologized with a slight bow, and Heinrich returned the gesture, lost in thought.
'If we could just know when and where the giant will appear, the hero party could respond immediately.'
There were limitations to how quickly the hero party could intervene in events that he couldn't 'foresee'.
By the time the incident was reported to the Church, relayed to Heinrich, and then Isea calculated the coordinates for teleportation…
'If we're lucky, we might be able to arrive in time, but it's better to rely on each country's response than on luck.'
It was a frustrating situation for him… or more precisely, for Harley.
If they could deal with the White Giant directly, they could obtain its core…
"There's a way."
But at that moment,
A voice interrupted his thoughts.
"We've recently developed a method after many trials and errors. It's not exactly foresight. But the moment the giant uses the abyss to cross over to the surface…"
It was Saintess Liesta, who was sitting next to him.
"I can detect that moment."
As she finished speaking, her golden eyes flashed brightly.
Heinrich suddenly remembered something.
'Come to think of it, Liesta has that ability.'
An incredibly wide-ranging blessing that tracked down evil.
Hans had gone through a lot of trouble to avoid it.
He had eventually obtained almost perfect concealment, which he was even using effectively on Earth…
'But didn't they say that ability was limited because of the madness that spread throughout the world?'
And the giant was resistant to holy power, so it wouldn't have been easy.
It seemed like she hadn't been slacking off.
"Oh! As expected of the Saintess!"
"If that's possible, we can definitely reduce the damage."
"Then the most effective way to deal with the giant would be…"
As everyone rejoiced at the good news, Heinrich continued his previous thought.
'If that's the case, we can know exactly when and where the giant will appear.'
They would even be able to pinpoint the exact coordinates.
But there was one problem they had to solve first.
Heinrich looked at Liesta, and she seemed to be thinking the same thing, as she smiled gently and met his gaze.
"So, Saint? Would you allow me to accompany you?"
The Saintess calmly declared that she would personally face the danger to reduce the number of victims.
For the Saintess to join the expedition led by the Saint, it was a clear demonstration of the Church's resolve.
But unlike the others, Heinrich's first thought was a bit out of place.
'…She must have really hated paperwork.'
Of course, it couldn't be the only reason.
…Maybe it was partially true, though.