Continental Summit (2)
“Welcome to the Rosellia Temple. Lord Laforey, Miss Cecily. It’s been a long time. It’s unfortunate that we meet under such unpleasant circumstances.”
“Thank you for your hospitality, Saint.”
“Hello, Saint! I am Cecily Granwood, a High Elf from the Elven Kingdom.”
The elf girl, who was special when she left, has now officially greeted the Saint as a true High Elf.
The atmosphere quickly became warm as Liesta, feeling a strange pride, greeted Cecily back.
In truth, despite appearances, Cecily was older, but that wasn’t really important now.
“Hahaha. I thought last time would be my final diplomatic duty, but look how it turned out!”
Laforey chuckled awkwardly, shrugging his shoulders.
The gravity of the matter had forced Laforey to step in personally.
However, it was quite unexpected for Cecily, who should have been focused on training in Drasha, to participate in the delegation, reflecting her strong desire to return to the Ion Continent.
‘Opportunities to cross the continent won’t come frequently. I can finally fulfill my promise to Lord Harley.’
The leadership of the Elven Kingdom accepted her opinion.
The delegation itself was hardly dangerous and could serve as good experience as part of her training.
“I’ve heard the news. Lord Heinrich has become a Saint, right? I sensed something extraordinary about him back then, and hearing the news confirmed my thoughts.”
“Hehehe… The Saint will be pleased to see you all. Although he’s quite busy inspecting the temple’s defenses right now.”
Thus, this long-awaited meeting was cut short by the Saint’s busy schedule welcoming others.
The Elven Kingdom’s delegation was guided to their accommodations until the meeting commenced.
Everyone was satisfied with the smooth schedule, but there was one person feeling down without revealing it…
“Wha… what?! I’m not disappointed at all! I knew it would turn out like this from the start!”
Harris hadn’t said anything, yet he flinched in surprise as he fidgeted with his belt.
“Of course? There’s no way something would go wrong with such a large delegation, right? It’s truly just precautionary…”
He still remained silent, but Shapiron insisted softly, trying to make her unconvincing excuses.
‘Well, it’d be mature of me to pretend I don’t notice it here.’
Harris looked at her warmly, and Laforey, glancing at them with a cute gaze, was no different.
Naturally, he was also an accomplice since he didn’t stop her.
*
As time passed, various delegations began to arrive at the temple.
Of course, there wasn’t a single place that didn’t attend.
‘In fact, missing such a large summit would be tantamount to choosing diplomatic isolation, so it’s only natural.’
It wasn’t called a ‘Continental Summit’ for nothing.
Had it been before things had come to fruition, it might have been a different story, but in a situation where everyone was gathering with a united purpose, missing out was simply unimaginable.
Moreover, with the convenient means of the Gate, the time constraints posed no hindrance.
Thus, without major incidents, time passed.
Finally, the long-awaited day of the ‘Continental Summit’ dawned.
Knock, knock—*
The inner sanctum of Rosellia Temple, heavily guarded by knights everywhere.
Heinrich, donning armor that sparkled even brighter than usual, lightly knocked on the door.
“Saint Liesta? It’s Heinrich. We need to head to the meeting hall now. Are you ready?”
“Yes! I’ll be out shortly!”
Immediately after the response was heard, the door opened, and she approached carefully, dressed in formal attire with her attendants.
Given it was a public event, she had to be mindful in many ways…
‘She seems a little nervous. This must be her first big occasion.’
Liesta approached Heinrich with a stiff face.
Although she had been representing the Holy Church in external activities, she was still just a 19-year-old girl.
Naturally, this kind of large-scale event was also her first, and one could only be nervous in such circumstances.
Of course, the master of emotional control, Heinrich, was utterly unfazed.
He pretended not to notice her tension and spoke calmly.
“There appear to be quite a few delegations attending. I’m seeing people from all over the world for the first time. You must have experienced something like this before, Saint?”
“W-well, yes. I’ve been a Saint for over seven years. I’m somewhat accustomed to meeting various people, but…”
“Isn’t that all thanks to your hard work, Saint? This gathering is a result of your efforts to unite people. You must feel quite emotional about it.”
“…That’s something I should be doing anyway. You’ve worked hard too, Saint! You must have been busy checking the shrine’s security lately.”
As they moved toward the meeting hall, the conversation flowed naturally, and Liesta’s tension gradually lifted.
With the Holy Law in place to maintain calm, her tension stemmed solely from mental pressure.
In such situations, the Saint was the face of the church, almost like a representative.
‘But now there’s also Heinrich, the Saint, so I don’t have to shoulder all the burden alone.’
Maybe she realized that too, as her demeanor improved while conversing with him, and by the time they neared the meeting hall, she had regained her usual composure.
“By the way, even though others have already inspected several times, didn’t you think it was necessary for you, the Saint, to oversee the security multiple times? Besides, you’re in armor instead of formal wear.”
“I am also a knight and a warrior who directly confronts the Undead King. Wouldn’t this outfit inspire more faith? Furthermore, the security of this place is tied to our Holy Church’s reputation, so I must confirm it thoroughly.”
High-ranking officials from various countries, empowered by their respective continents, indeed attended, including minor churches devoted to the sea and earth gods and representatives from the Magic Tower Alliance and Mercenary Guilds.
In total, with the representatives and their attendants and guards, an overwhelming number of outsiders had simultaneously flooded into this place.
Naturally, the defenses of the temple had to be tighter than ever.
It was only natural for paladins and archbishops to be mobilized, and for the Saint, Heinrich, to personally lead them.
‘Moreover, the Inquisition Officers are secretly monitoring the attendees, just in case.’
There might be those with sinister intent trying to sneak in, after all.
Fortunately, no individuals harboring such intentions had been detected so far.
“Oh, both of you have arrived. Then, shall we go in?”
After discussing as they moved, they reached the entrance of the conference hall, where they could join Cardinal Cordelia, who was there to assist with the proceedings.
With everyone else already inside, they were set to begin shortly.
The ‘Continental Summit’ that would determine the future of this world.
*
Inside the Rosellia Temple, a conference hall had been arranged.
The central area had seats arranged in a circle for representatives and their attendants, while outer seats were prepared for the accompanying delegations.
Just before the summit began, most seats were filled with no empty places, though the air between the factions showed a subtle temperature difference based on their relationships.
Hoo, this is tough. I hope we can salvage something from this meeting.
Among them, the busiest individual, engaging with various delegations repeatedly, was none other than Dennis Lohan, the heir to the Rohan Principality.
He had approached the Empire’s blessed proxy first to request support, but the prince merely responded with an attitude that suggested indifference.
Sending troops immediately was difficult, yet they could provide ample supplies as before, so just hold on a little longer.
Hoping that face-to-face requests would yield different results fell flat as nothing but the official route’s past communications were reiterated.
‘Of course I’m grateful for the supplies, but people are dying by the hundreds every single day… and we have no one to use them!’
The Empire was likewise overwhelmed by monsters, so Dennis understood, but still felt disappointment.
Compared to the reasonably holding Azerion Empire, Rohan Principality was akin to a candle flickering in the wind.
Dennis slowly gazed around the vast conference hall.
The sight of all the powers governing the continent gathered in one place was nothing short of spectacular.
It was utterly unfortunate that none among them would help his homeland.
‘…I couldn’t even speak to the non-humans. It’s not that they’d have sent troops even if we had gotten along well, given the distance.’
His gaze shifted toward the gathering of delegations from the Enamel Continent.
The Elven Kingdom, a realm of elves that worshipped the World Tree,
the Dwarves of Titania, followers of the god of fire and metal.
In addition, there were alliances of beast men practicing their local faiths, such as the ‘Wild Lands’ and the lizardfolk community from the ‘Central Swamp’…
Excluding the Holy Church, the non-human races weren’t particularly friendly to humans, making it difficult to even strike up a conversation with them.
Most of them likely wouldn’t have attended this gathering if it weren’t for the church’s request.
‘Unlike the Ion Continent, in utter chaos, the Enamel Continent is relatively intact.’
Surely, in light of the prior Undead King crisis, they would desire support across the continent before the flames spread, but what the Rohan Principality desperately needed was beyond that level.
They needed immediate and practical military force.
‘The Zephia Republic, which isn’t on good terms with the Empire, completely ignored us. We can’t help that our principality is pro-Empire, but still…’
Yet even after working so hard, there was not a single country willing to respond positively.
Not just the four kingdoms of Talia, Sharoty, Tulke, and Lesque in the west, which had suffered little from the Undead outbreak.
Including the island nation of Wizard Ma, where the Magic Tower was based in southeast, and the southern Calcos Tribal Alliance.
Given the tumultuous circumstances, it was expected for these nations to hesitate about diverting their military resources at this time, but from his perspective, it was infuriating.
‘The minor churches don’t have any real combat power either. Fortunately, the Mercenary Guild promised to introduce powerful mercenary groups, but I have no idea how long the negotiations will take.’
That’s why the outcome of this summit was so crucial.
The Holy Church had already sent Paladins and even the Paladins to support Rohan Principality.
They surely had a grasp of just how dire the situation was back home.
It was highly likely this would be treated as a significant issue.
If a continental coalition army could be formed to save the principality, they could certainly overcome this crisis.
As Dennis Lohan pondered what direction he should take next.
Clang,
The doors of the conference hall swung open, and the representatives from the shrine finally stepped inside.
All eyes instantly turned in that direction, and those around them awkwardly fell silent.
While a substantial number of aides were entering alongside them, the striking figures of just two individuals in the lead captured everyone’s attention.
“Wow— indeed, are they the ones blessed by the gods? It feels like their space is from a different world altogether.”
“That must be the newly born Saint…”
“Hmm… I think I caught a glimpse the last time, but the presence is truly remarkable.”
After a brief silence, the delegations began to murmur amongst themselves.
Unlike the familiar face of Saint Liesta, this was Heinrich’s first public appearance as a Saint, thus all eyes naturally focused on him.
Well, they couldn’t help it.
With a gentle, benevolent smile and an aura of divinity surrounding him, he exuded a fierce and mighty presence like a roaring flame.
He was none other than the champion and hope of this era who would stand against the Undead King and bring an end to the current chaos.
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