==============
Just like Ludmilla, Zebeline must be burdened with a lot of worries.
I wonder if she’s okay.
She’s probably fretting all alone.
Zebeline had returned to the palace to receive the personally written letter from the Holy Kingdom. I made a sudden visit to check on the cute Saintess.
“What are you doing?”
“I was just thinking for a moment.”
As I entered the office of the palace, I found the Saintess with flowing silver hair. Sitting down, she grimaced as she handed over the personally written letter that had arrived from the Holy Kingdom.
Is it really okay to hand this over carelessly?
Of course, I’ll read it…
With an awkward expression, I unfolded the half-folded letter.
“They want me to come to the Holy Sanctuary? What a persistent fellow… He must have the intent to lure me in, right?”
“Exactly. I’m the bait.”
The great catch they’re trying to hook is the disaster of war.
Maybe it’s the disaster of famine sealed within Zebeline.
The disaster of innocence.
The peak of evil sealed by the Creator Deity Gael.
For those who worship the Earth Mother, the disaster of innocence would be an unthinkable enemy they must eradicate. I was suspicious of the Holy Kingdom’s intent to pull us into the Holy Sanctuary.
“Do you think they know that the disaster of tyranny has gone rampant?”
“Perhaps. The great Earth Mother is using divine oracles to intervene in the present world.”
It had only been four days since I rejected the proposal from the Holy Kingdom.
Four days.
Only four days had passed.
Yet the Holy Kingdom sent a letter urging me to visit.
They must have learned through the Earth Mother’s oracle that the Saintess Party would resurrect the disaster of death. Likewise, they must have realized that the Empire’s Red Dragon had returned as the disaster of tyranny.
“Sigh… This is really troublesome. Can’t we just ignore it this time?”
“Well, I think it’ll be difficult this time.”
Zebeline let out a deep sigh and pulled something out.
It was a thick envelope.
Inside, there was a neatly folded parchment.
Leaders from various countries, including the Holy Kingdom, always use parchment when drafting confidential documents. It’s an unwritten rule that has been upheld throughout the continent.
So, as soon as I saw the parchment, I frowned.
*
Maximilian visits the Holy Kingdom.
It was in response to the phenomenon brought about by the end of the world.
A wave of discomfort washed over me.
It was a nauseating discomfort, like a fishbone stuck in my throat.
Just how much do they know?
The destruction that began with the final chapter of the story, which was the very core and driving force of the worldview, is the “end of the world.” Surely, they can’t know that far. They must just think it’s a result born from the birth of the Creator Deity and the absence of disasters.
“They say more than half of the demon realm has been swallowed.”
“…So you’re saying the Saintess Party reported that?”
“They’re probably holed up in the Demon King’s castle trying to resurrect the disaster of death.”
“How should we take this?”
It was too complicated to just ignore.
However, it was also difficult to straightforwardly accept the information provided by the Holy Kingdom.
“Come to the Holy Sanctuary.”
The terms presented by the followers of the Creator Deity weighed heavily on my mind.
For cultists, the Holy Sanctuary was nothing less than a slaughterhouse. In other words, the Holy Kingdom’s request meant I was being asked to walk right into the slaughterhouse.
A slaughterhouse.
I frowned, letting out a deep sigh.
“Just ignore it.”
“Huh?”
“Ethan probably knows that he is the apostle of war. They’re likely trying to lure him out, just like they did with tyranny and famine.”
“……”
Nodding to Zebeline’s words, I picked up the envelope that contained the parchment.
Without hesitation, I threw it into the fireplace that crackled and popped.
Fwoosh-.
In an instant, it ignited.
As the flames flickered, it turned black.
“I never thought Maximilian would return to the Holy Kingdom. He was trying to resurrect the disaster of death with his comrades, right? No matter how much of a hero he is, he shouldn’t be able to escape the ultimate punishment…”
“That’s just how he is.”
Maximilian is a figure completely uninterested in anyone except Beatrice. He’s like an emotionless machine, almost on the brink of being a zombie or something.
A typical psychopathic male lead from a rom-com.
There’s no way he would be scared of the killing intent sent by the Earth Mother’s loyal hounds, the Cardinals. Rather, he would probably hold his head high and assert his decisions right in front of them.
Even if I don’t go to the Holy Sanctuary, a great uproar will definitely ensue because of Maximilian.
“Are you okay?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“The Empire’s Red Dragon has been revealed as the disaster of tyranny. Then it’s highly likely that the Holy Kingdom’s White Dragon is the disaster of innocence…”
“Oh. That makes sense.”
She was the representative Saintess of the Holy Kingdom.
She was also a believer who had devoted all her time to her faith, except for her childhood.
She must be suffering more than anyone else.
Yet, contrary to that expectation, Zebeline exhibited an extremely calm reaction.
I felt a bit awkward in seeing the Saintess appear just like any other day. Even though she was faced with the absurd fate of being the apostle of the Disaster God and the Saintess of the Holy Kingdom, Zebeline appeared very composed.
“If I end up becoming the apostle of the Disaster God… will Ethan hate me?”
“No, he wouldn’t do that.”
“If Ethan stays by my side, I guess it doesn’t matter. Whether I’m the First Saintess or the apostle of the Disaster God, I will always be Ethan’s Saintess.”
“Now you’re making it awkward.”
With her remarks, practically a confession, my face turned red. Zebeline had always been so aloof that this sudden confession felt even more shocking.
What is this?
Did she feel a sense of crisis with Ludmilla?
If I hadn’t given her a wedding ring, she would probably be throwing a fit right now.
Zebeline giggled as she brushed her wedding ring that was on her ring finger.
“Just don’t leave me behind. That’s enough for me.”
“……”
I nodded in response to the earnest request of the benevolent Saintess.
*
“The Hero of All Times.”
The strongest hero of all time.
Maximilian arrived at the Holy Sanctuary.
He accepted the transaction from the Holy Kingdom.
As if to prove it, a pitch-black Cardinal accompanied Maximilian.
The Cardinals of the Holy Kingdom expressed their furious indignation at Maximilian’s shameless appearance, with an atmosphere thick enough that one could almost draw their swords at any moment.
“Maximilian…!”
“How dare the apostate defy the Creator Deity and enter the Holy Sanctuary!”
The Holy Kingdom’s chosen hero of the Earth Mother had instantly transformed into an apostate.
A sinner who betrayed their faith.
The one who sought to collude with disasters.
With every step Maximilian took, the hostility only grew stronger.
He sought to resurrect the disaster of death, which had been cast into eternal rest. Thus, the Cardinals representing the Holy Kingdom branded Maximilian as the arch-sinner.
“I’ve heard enough about the plan. You intend to lure the disaster of innocence into the Holy Sanctuary and force it to rampage… What a lunatic idea.”
A man with black hair stood at the center of the conference room, like a sinner facing a witch trial.
Immediately, countless hostile gazes were directed at him.
“Impudent! This is a necessary strategy to save the world…!”
“Apostate trying to resurrect the disaster of death dares to speak of justice to us!”
The way to prevent the end of the world is to resurrect the ‘pinnacle of evil’ to replace the Demon King of Death.
Evil.
It is fear and horror.
In the Holy Sanctuary, where the devout followers of the Earth Mother gathered, the disaster of innocence would cause a bloody catastrophe. There couldn’t be a better signal than that.
If the disaster of innocence were to begin rampaging, it would unleash a cataclysm that would obliterate humanity’s existence. Nevertheless, the Cardinals appeared confident in their success.
Maximilian frowned at the hubris-filled Cardinals.
“I don’t see Boerun around. Does the Holy Kingdom not realize the comedic play of the Cardinals?”
The Cardinals gathered in the Holy Sanctuary were likely the hardliners of the Holy Kingdom. Confirming the absence of the Holy King, Maximilian shook his head.
This is treason.
In the guise of a noble cause, they were trying to overturn the powers at play.
Realizing that the end of the world was approaching, the Cardinals attempted to resurrect the disaster of innocence. Just like the Saintess Party had tried to resurrect the disaster of death in the demon realm.
While they kept waving their own noble cause, their process wasn’t much different.
It was inherently contradictory.
Maximilian’s black eyes shimmered with disdain.
“I just need to play along with these damn fanatics until the goal is achieved. If only Edanant isn’t involved, that would be just fine.”
Before arriving at the Holy Sanctuary, he had secured a promise not to involve Edanant.
And since the disaster of tyranny was the Second Imperial Princess of the Valtarian Empire, they wouldn’t dare touch her recklessly.
The goal was clear.
The hardliners were after the disaster of innocence, famine.
The First Saintess.
The vessel that encompasses the White Dragon of the Holy Kingdom.
They were planning a massacre to bring the disaster of famine down upon the Holy Sanctuary, where numerous believers had gathered.
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