Intermission (3)
Right after the midday service.
Heinrich quietly waited until the Saint finished tidying up.
Even though his work was done, he couldn’t completely let go of it, so he needed some time to discuss opinions with her.
As they walked together towards the office…
She thanked him with an awkward smile.
“Ah— Heinrich, thank you for earlier! I came out a bit early today to prepare for something, but I found myself lingering in front of the flowerbed without realizing it… Ahaha.”
She had come out early in the morning, anticipating a delay, but ended up being tangled up at the flowerbed until the last minute.
“Well, you’ve never been late so far, have you, Saint? I’m sure you would have arrived on time somehow.”
Even if Heinrich hadn’t mentioned it, if it had really been urgent, she would have noticed herself or another priest would have come to inform her, so there was no way she would have been late for the service.
No one in the shrine knew she had been loitering around the flowerbed.
“Hmm… Yes…”
However, despite his reassurance, she suddenly seemed a bit displeased, pouting her lips slightly while furrowing her brows.
As he wondered if he had said something wrong—
“…Last time, I asked you to call me by my name when it isn’t a public occasion.”
She quietly murmured in a shy tone.
Heinrich, having developed a keen sensitivity to the slightest vibrations in the air, certainly wouldn’t miss that voice so close to him.
‘Come to think of it, she did say something like that last time. It was right after she became the Saint, was it?’
Yet, it had been such a casual comment that it had naturally slipped his mind amid their hectic daily life.
With both of them fully engrossed in their work lately, all their meetings had inevitably become public.
‘Now she has no one left who can call her by name…’
Being the highest-ranking leader of the Holy Church Order, naturally, there were few who could directly call her by her name.
Most would only refer to her as “Saint.”
She was the only one in the world, and that title alone was enough to signify her existence, which wasn’t unexpected.
Her name, ‘Liesta Saint Hatyandus,’ which she introduced herself with, had become little more than a label used for external introductions.
Previously, the Pope, who was the only one regarded as her equal, had called her by her name too…
‘But since he fell ill, that’s become impossible too.’
In that situation, a new Saint appeared—‘Heinrich Saint Landgard.’
“Ahaha— I guess I’ve gotten so used to calling you Saint that it’s hard to shift gears. I’ll try to be more mindful from now on, Liesta.”
Of course, it didn’t mean he would drop the honorifics right away, but she seemed content with just that, her face brightening with a soft smile.
At the same time, her radiant smile, combined with her ever-glowing halo, began to fill the surroundings with brightness.
‘I always feel this way, but it’s like she’s hogging all the spotlight. I don’t have such a halo!’
Inside, Heinrich admired yet lamented, but in reality, he wasn’t much different in appearance either.
“Hey! Stand up straight! The Saint and the Saint are passing by!”
“Hmm, the Saint seems to have grown stronger than before. She’s not even radiating her power, yet her presence is this powerful. And that aura…”
The holy knights of the Radiant Guard stationed near the shrine whispered while offering their respect as the two passed by, all stars and sparkles.
With shimmering silver hair flowing like waves and golden eyes shimmering like the sun, the two were breathtakingly striking.
Their looks combined harmoniously, to the point where it was hard to say who was superior.
Of course, there was a difference in the kind of ‘Great Blessing’ they received, causing a subtle difference in their radiance.
While Liesta sparkled as if a light bulb was lit in her hair, Heinrich emitted a transparent flame-like aura from his entire being.
That translucency was so faint that it would be hard to see unless observed closely, but even without actively using Holy Power, the aura he radiated imprinted his presence sharply everywhere.
It was like a torch illuminating the darkness or a lighthouse guiding along a path, even in the depths of the Abyss where nothing could be seen.
No dark depths could bury his existence.
That’s what it meant to be a ‘Hero.’
“So, before the general meeting starts, we need to…”
“Oh, I already asked the Inquisition Officer about that…”
As Heinrich chatted with the Saint while heading towards the office.
Thus, the Hero and Saint, bearing the hopes of everyone, worked hard today for the continent.
*
And while the Hero worked diligently.
The Demon King and Undead King, carrying the resentments of all, weren’t just sitting around either.
[We pledge our loyalty! Oh Undead King!]
[I shall offer my soul to you—.]
With the Abyss opening and the boundaries weakening, countless Undead appeared across the continent.
Among them were many mid-level commanders who, although they weren’t specifically commanders of the undead army, possessed remarkable intelligence and controlled the lower Undead.
Death Knight, Immortal Wizard, Dullahan Knight, and more…
Just like Malcolm, the first sentient Undead he created, they were all beings of comparable caliber.
Most had just emerged from the Abyss, taking it upon themselves to assess the situation, ensuring their safety at the same time.
Naturally, as they began to join Hans’s ranks one by one, the army’s size gradually increased.
‘This is quite satisfactory. It truly was worthwhile for me to go around personally.’
Since the Undead King had the best detection and mobility, it was only natural that he would be the most efficient method of acquiring them.
A bit messy, but.
In the end, after his busy movements, he succeeded in gathering all the Undead that had appeared in the western continent and was now extending his reach towards the central territory.
‘Even though I rushed, I still missed a fair number of them. The western region where I acted first is like this, so how many remain in other regions?’
Naturally, various factions in this world didn’t just sit idly by while the Undead roamed free.
Undead ambushes, human purges, and unexpected encounters led to clashes between them all…
In the end, the capital couldn’t ignore the sacrifices made by those who failed to join the Undead army.
‘Still, among it all, managing to recover commanders was quite a fruitful gain.’
The high-ranking officers of the Undead army had diminished significantly during the last war, so he was fortunate in recovering some.
‘The one I accepted a few days ago was named Pagos.’
He had recently taken in a former Dread Phantom who had ranked around the 20th level.
Unlike the banshee queen Olivia, who appeared as a human female, Pagos resembled a mass of black mist, possessing a noticeable form only in his upper body despite towering at three meters tall.
[Glory to the Undead King— I shall lead the spread of terror to this world—.]
Pagos, with his head made of black smoke and a pair of glowing red eyes, was the epitome of a malevolent spirit.
His voice, echoing like from the deep caves, was packed with a magical power that sparked fear in listeners, but that was just a trait all high-ranking Undead shared, making it no real surprise now.
‘And the next one I found is a Ghoul Lord…’
[Fiona—.]
As Hans quietly called her name, an ordinary-looking woman bowed again before him, just having submitted to him.
Her former rank in the Undead Army had been around the 30th level.
Despite being an undead, the ghoul would eat corpses to become stronger, and she was the one at the pinnacle of ghouls.
‘On the outside, she doesn’t look much different from a human, does she?’
Thanks to her ability to devour corpses and regenerate, she didn’t smell particularly foul, even as an Undead.
At first glance, she could easily pass for a normal human female.
Of course, if one looked closely, they would see the unsettling signs like an off-putting odor, dilated pupils, and dry membranes, but compared to other Undead, she was in relatively good shape.
‘Just until I see inside her mouth, that is.’
With mouth corners split to her ears and an alligator-like jaw that opens wide, filled with serrated teeth, she was a prime example of a voracious Undead, rivaling Harley’s terrifying oral anatomy.
[…I pledge my loyalty…].
However, Fiona was quiet, unwilling to show her mouth, maintaining her reserved demeanor.
Due to the nature of Undead resonating power to speak, she didn’t need to physically open her mouth.
‘Perhaps her memories from her human days have become an ingrained habit.’
Being attentive to even such sensitive matters was a virtue of a caring boss.
Though he had never been in a social situation, Hans firmly believed he was an ideal leader and didn’t question his subordinates’ attitudes.
As long as they did their job properly, it didn’t matter to him.
‘But I’ve never seen anyone dare to act recklessly before the Undead King.’
In any case, with the recruitment of such talents, the Undead army could begin moving more actively in various ways.
But as their scale grew larger, moving stealthily became increasingly difficult.
In fact, most factions were probably already closely monitoring their movements.
‘Fortunately, there haven’t been any major clashes yet.’
From their perspective, they might have feared that if they made the first move unnecessarily, they would provoke the relatively restrained Undead army…
They might also have been worried about suffering losses if they acted alone and their conflict drew unwanted trouble.
‘But that can’t last much longer.’
The ‘Continental Summit’ aimed at jointly responding to the Undead King and his army was fast approaching.
That would serve as the signal for the official start of the “Home Theater” operation.
*
Given that the preliminary arrangements had taken a long time, once the schedule was confirmed, preparations for the ‘Continental Summit’ proceeded rapidly.
After all, the Holy Church Order, as the organizer of this event, was handling most of the arrangements, but seeing how smoothly the situation flowed made one question why it had been so sluggish for so long.
‘Others must be feeling the same.’
Heinrich shook his head lightly as he casually scanned the venue where the meeting would take place.
Those who had been using the chaotic situation without a sense of urgency to strengthen their political standing.
They had likely recognized that if they continued being selfish like they were now, they might face backlash instead.
That much, the current continental situation felt unusual.
The madness situation wasn’t easing but rather escalating, and the ensuing riots and terror acts happening everywhere were taking a toll on their sanity.
Especially for the Azerion Empire, having the largest territory, and the Rohan Principality, which was entirely surrounded by the Northern Mountain Range, each day was practically a continuation of war.
From their perspective, they would be eager for the summit to proceed quickly so they could receive support.
Therefore, the empire side was likely putting significant pressure on others to ensure this event went smoothly.
‘Anyway, the meeting, which has raised much talk and has been fraught with issues, is finally happening.’
At Rosellia Temple, preparations for the meeting had already begun long ago.
Once the date was set, they would be ready to wrap up their work promptly.
Thanks to that, they could hasten the meeting date as much as possible, and with the gate at the shrine, distance traveled wasn’t a major issue.
At last, everything was progressing smoothly.
Time flowed on, and finally, as the day of the event approached in a few days…
Delegations from various factions started arriving one by one through the gate of the shrine.
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