Later that night, Meltor’s commanders, Theo, Orta, Vince, and Bors, were escorted through the hallways of the palace by knights. They didn’t seem to be going to the public areas like the throne room, but their guesses were soon proven correct as shadows lengthened with every step.
“I’m sorry for making you come so late at night.” Sure enough, the haggard looking Elsid was waiting for them in a secret room.
He wasn’t alone. All the king’s closest associates, from Marquis Piris to Baek Jongmyung who had become the marquis of Atron, were present. They were the leaders of Soldun Kingdom’s next generation. It was far too impressive a gathering for empty flattery or gifts.
If so, is there another reason?’
Theo’s brow furrowed. If all the leaders were gathered, this meant this was far more than simply expressing gratitude to Meltor. Everything seemed normal, so it was difficult to infer any more. There weren’t enough clues to come to a conclusion yet.
What did Elsid call them to talk about exactly?
Four pairs of eyes landed on Elsid, and he raised his right hand like he had been waiting for this moment. One of the knights standing behind him disappeared into a secret passage.
Elsid spoke calmly, “The full story will begin after that is brought out… but I will say a few words.”
The young man, who had become king, looked around with dignified eyes, and spoke with a much more solemn face than before. “First of all, I would like to express my deep appreciation for Meltor’s help. You have your own interests, but that doesn’t change the fact that you helped us. As long as this body of mine is on the throne, think of us as solid allies.”
“Thank you for Your Majesty’s words.”
“But I am well aware of how meaningless words are when it comes to international relations. So, I prepared my own sincerity.”
The moment that Orta was about to reply…
“Your Majesty, here is the sinner.” The knight who had disappeared into the secret passage a moment ago returned pulling a large chain. The clanging sound of the metal echoed in the confined space, but nobody complained about the noise. The man attached to the end of the chain was far more important.
“This…!”
“Paladin!”
Vince and Viscount Carter cried out first.
.
It was the sword of the Lairon Kingdom, Crusader Ruben.
Both of Ruben’s legs had been cut off and left untreated, while the thick chains wrapped around his arms and chest looked like they could be used with an anchor for a sailboat. A gag made of ogre tendons, which even a killer whale would find hard to bite through, had been stuffed into his mouth to prevent him from recovering his divine power.
Elsid looked down at him with cold eyes and ordered, “Release only his mouth.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” The knight pulled out the gag with an iron gauntlet. It came out speckled in blood and tore Ruben’s lip, but nobody rebuked the knight.
Blood dripped from Ruben’s mouth as he spoke for the first time in almost a fortnight, “Cough! C-Cough! D-Damn, cough!”
His saliva was dry and his lips were torn. Even so, the wounds were already beginning to heal. Ruben looked at the representatives of Soldun and Meltor, and spoke furiously, “You lot are worse than dogs! Do you know that? How long can you keep me as a prisoner!? I, Ruben, will never forget today’s humiliation!”
Orta glanced at Elsid and asked, “Your Majesty?”
“I will allow it.”
Allow it?
The crowd was confused, but Orta stepped forward and landed a swift kick right to Ruben’s chin. The sharp crack of Ruben’s jaw breaking rang out clearly.
“Keoook…”
Of course, he would recover, but Ruben was frightened into silence. Orta’s violence had come without any notice, and one battle was enough for Ruben to fear Orta’s abilities. He could feel the killing intent radiating from the white mask. Orta’s eerie aura was a serious threat.
Elsid raised his hand to stop Orta and said, “Crusader Ruben.”
“… What is it?” Ruben was like a dog who had become obedient after punishment. Marquis Piris’ eyelid twitched, but he didn’t say anything.
Elsid simply smiled and looked down at Ruben.
“Did you hear His Holiness speak? I heard that the paladins of the Lairon Sacred Order can hear his words at any time.”
“Hah, his eyes and ears aren’t far away.” Ruben laughed and color filled his cheeks when he heard the words His Holiness. “He said he would be benevolent. If you release me now, as well as cut off that barbarian’s limbs and send them to Lairon, he will acknowledge your crown.”
“Hoh, really?”
“Yes. Give up on the delusion of communicating with the land of barbarians and be baptized by Lairon. Then Lairon and Soldun will be able to get along peacefully.”
Ruben was far too arrogant for a prisoner, but the Lairon Kingdom was a difficult foe. It wouldn’t end here if Elsid killed the crusader.
Unlike normal masters, the Sacred Order could fill a paladin’s position with enough time. They had never been forced to reveal the true depths of the soldiers, berserkers, and paladins in the Sacred Order. Ruben knew that Soldun couldn’t afford another war right now.
“Get along peacefully…” Elsid murmured with a sneer.
They would become a tributary and have to make donations. Just the name Lairon made him sick. These disgusting donations were then going to be passed off as peace? Thanks to Ruben, Elsid was able to make a decision without hesitation.
“Sir Orta.”
Orta turned to look at him. “Yes.”
“This is the present that I—no, the Soldun Kingdom has prepared for you,” Elsid spoke firmly as he raised his left hand.
A flash went off in the room.
Puok!
Ruben didn’t even realize what happened as a blade ran through his skull. His brain, where his divine power had been stored, was destroyed in a single blow. Even an immortal would be seriously hurt if the seat of their soul was stabbed like that. A half paladin like Ruben would never survive such a blow.
Orta looked questioningly at Elsid. “Your Majesty?”
Elsid shrugged. “I didn’t say it before, but all prisoners have been executed. With this, we are completely Lairon’s enemies.”
Orta probed, “… What does that mean?”
“As a religious country that doesn’t acknowledge magic and sticks to Andras, the Lairon Kingdom can’t coexist with you. Of course, we are weaker than Lairon, but Soldun would like to form an alliance with Meltor.”
Orta’s mind moved quickly. It was natural for Lairon to join Andras, and Meltor needed as much power as possible. They had an alliance with Elvenheim thanks to Theo, and they were also in negotiations with Austen. Soldun’s land capabilities were slightly lacking, but the fleet of a coastal kingdom couldn’t be neglected.
“I will speak to my liege positively about this.”
Elsid sighed in relief. “… Thank you. I barely managed to stop myself from stepping over the cliff.”
It wasn’t an exaggeration. If Orta had refused him, Soldun had no place left on the Central Continent. They were still weak from the civil war; Lairon would have crushed them.
However, what if Soldun joined hands with another kingdom? Orta’s feat of taking down eleven estates in three days had already spread through the Central Continent. No nation would preemptively strike with his name attached to the Soldun Kingdom.
Elsid turned his gaze toward Theo. “Sir Theo.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“It was through chance that I made a connection with you. It’s clear to me that if it wasn’t for the connection with Lord Baek and his son, Meltor’s support wouldn’t have made it in time. Your first impression of me probably wasn’t very good, but I am really grateful that you answered my call.”
Theo inclined his head. “I am undeserving of those words.”
Elsid grinned and gestured to the knight behind him again, who brought out a pole wrapped in cloth. It seemed like a spear or a cane, but it was hard to figure out
If I look at it with Hawkeye… Eh? It isn’t working?
Theo’s eyes contracted after using Hawkeye, which was a power he had obtained from absorbing an artifact. It had evolved to become several times more powerful than it had once been. Moreover, it was also being supported by his seven Circles and the two divinities.
Yet Elsid didn’t give any explanation about the item as he unwrapped the bundle.
“Ah…” A strange expression appeared on Theo’s face as he saw it.
The blue presence coming from the stick, which was less than two meters long, made his skin tingle. Be it a blessing or a curse, an unbelievable amount of power was contained in the rod.
“This is an artifact handed down through the Soldun royal family. It’s called the King’s Flagpole.”
It was said that a king had crossed the ocean and set up a kingdom in a corner of the Central Continent. He had become known as the Wave King Okeanos. Some thought that he was from the East, while others worshiped him as a divine human who had fallen from the heavens. His feats had been so extraordinary that it was hard to think of him as a human.
He had protected his country by manipulating ocean currents, caused yearly floods to part around his territory, and driven off a malicious sea dragon. The king of that kingdom had evidently been a sword master or great magician, a mysterious hero whose stories were still being passed down. Furthermore, according to Elsid, this was the first flagpole that the Wave King had used to hang his flag.
Theo definitely wanted it, but he asked, “Is it okay to give me such a historic object?”
“Well, normally it is forbidden.” Elsid smiled as he tapped the flagpole. “But the Wave King said that someday it would shine if a qualified person would come for it. As soon as I thought about you, it started emitting this blue light.”
Theo was still hesitant. “Still…”
Elsid overrode him. “Everyone agreed. Anyway, we have only used it as a decoration, so it is several times more useful to give it to our benefactor.”
Theo couldn’t refuse. So, he politely extended both his hands and accepted the King’s Flagpole. He could feel a cool energy seeping into his palms. Unlike Aquilo’s blood, this felt as cool and refreshing as the waves of the sea.
Appraisal.
He instinctively used it as always, but suddenly—
[Please note! The divine artifact is damaged!]
[You can only see some of the information with Appraisal. It might be further damaged if you try to obtain more information.]
[+28 ――――’s ――dent (Divine Artefact)]
The god of the sea, ――――’s is his treasure. All ――beings stabbed by it, a person stuck by this ― will become extremely vulnerable. ――’s divinity, and it won’t exercise its power unless the person possesses a corresponding divinity. ――――――
* The rating of this magic tool is ‘――.’
* It can’t be viewed.
* It can’t be viewed.
* It can’t be viewed.]
This was the first time he had seen an information window like this.
W-What?
Theo’s eyes widened, and Gluttony stirred in reaction to his shock and confusion. It was curious what had happened to its user. Gluttony yawned a few times before looking out.
– ……Huh!?
Ah, what a surprise!
Theo nearly jumped out of his skin when Gluttony’s exclamation came out of nowhere. But the grimoire was in no mood to listen to Theo’s complaints as it examined the King’s Flagpole with a strange expression. Theo noticed its gaze.
What? Do you know this rod?
– Of course.
Gluttony’s voice was tinged with emotion.
– The god who ruled the oceans, ――――’s trident.Damn, I can’t say his name.Am I still bound by causality?
Wait a minute, that is a trident?
– That’s right.I don’t know where the ends are, but this was originally a trident.It was a treasure that could stir tsunamis with a single swing.
Gluttony noticed something as he explained its origin to Theo.
Theo had a contract with Dmitra, who became an ancient elemental, and Aiolos’ Pocket which had been removed from the Library. Now, Theo was being handed a divine treasure by a descendant who didn’t know its value. There was only one step left until the four world outlook was complete. If the last remaining fire divinity in this age came into Theo’s hands, he would no longer be a mortal. 𝘦𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝑙.
Gluttony felt agony and anxiety because it couldn’t rejoice over this fact, but those emotions soon faded. No matter what was involved, Gluttony’s role was to guide the breakthrough. Only one question remained.
– What are you planning, Prometheus?
It was a question that no one could understand.