=====================
Rue shouted in a shocked voice.
“E-Edan was a warmonger?!”
The fairy’s tiny face turned pale in horror.
She jumped around as if to express her astonishment.
And why not? She had been chasing after the warmonger all this time.
Recalling how she had fumed about Edan not even greeting her, a senior who had just joined the Saintess Party later on.
“I am senior to Edan! I’m the mascot who joined the Saintess Party first!”
“I understand, Senior Rue.”
“Hehe! Feel free to ask me anything about the Saintess Party!”
“……”
I could confidently say that I knew far more than that.
Not only was I a reader who could recite the story perfectly, but I was also the one who had transmigrated.
Moreover, before I was pushed to join the Saintess Party, I had been giving advice and support to Maximilian.
However, not wanting to stomp on the joy of Rue, who hummed cheerfully, I decided to play along like a clumsy junior for a bit.
“I’ve realized!”
“What?”
“From the very first meeting, Edan had been telling me stories about Bea and Max! That’s because Edan went on adventures with them a long time ago!”
“W-what? Suddenly gotten smarter… Did you eat something wrong?”
I nearly burst into tears at Rue’s pompous expressions as she started to explain intelligently.
She had gotten surprisingly smart.
A fairy with the intelligence of a slug deducing complex inferences…!
I could somewhat understand the feelings of a father raising a child.
I clapped at Rue’s astute deductions with genuine joy.
‘Of course, it’s thanks to me being a transmigrator of the original work… but Rue’s inferences aren’t wrong.’
If the silly goddess had been present, she would have been kicking up a fuss.
That’s how astonishing Rue’s growth was.
“I thought you must have had a tough time with the sudden appearance of the villain… But I’m glad, Rue.”
“Max will come back! I believe!”
It wasn’t just that she had gotten smarter.
I’d say she had matured a bit more.
Rue showed a robust demeanor while smiling brightly.
“Ahem…!”
While joyously stroking the head of the newly grown fairy, there came a sound of the door opening followed by an awkward cough.
It was Zebeline.
The girl with silver hair entered the room, her face ablaze with embarrassment.
“Saintess.”
“Y-yes….”
Ever since last night, there had been an awkward atmosphere.
Seeing Zebeline, the bride-to-be shyly blushing like a newlywed made me feel a bit flustered.
The smile blooming on my lips.
The gentle touch of arms that embraced me softly.
And the warmth of thick lips resting on my forehead as if giving a blessing.
As the situation from that time vividly replayed in my mind, a feverish heat began to concentrate in my head.
“Why then? Has something happened?”
“N-no, nothing.”
In stark contrast to Rue, who had matured after experiencing a heart-wrenching farewell and reunion, Zebeline and I had turned into bumbling kids agonizing over our first love.
My face was burning.
Zebeline, clutching her cheeks, looked the same.
Thus, the Saintess and Zebeline repeated awkward coughs to regain their composure.
“As I mentioned earlier, I’ll be heading to the Powder Keg Peninsula. Please take care of Rue.”
“Of course, don’t worry and go!”
The Powder Keg Peninsula.
A land of war filled only with fights and slaughter.
I couldn’t possibly take Rue and the Saintess there, where bloodshed would eternally repeat, so I told Zebeline I’d go alone.
“Sorry, I think I need to go for a bit.”
“I’m fine! Just like Max… I trust you, Edan!”
How commendable.
She truly was the fairy that I cared for.
If Maximilian had kept taking care of her, she would have probably turned into a spoiled brat. Her once adorable face would have changed into that of an ice-cold statue.
*
Zebeline, sending off Edanant, sighed heavily, the weight of her thoughts showing as she grasped Rue’s slender hand.
She seemed like the tragic heroine.
No, she truly was no different from the tragic heroine.
If the story of the Saintess of the Holy Kingdom and the Apostle serving the Disaster God were to become widely known, it would undoubtedly attract much interest and love from many. Plus, the wicked old maid would appear as the villain, making it even more famous.
“Where is Edanant? Please hurry and call him back, as he needs to return soon.”
“Cough! They say even a tiger comes when you speak of it…!”
Just as Zebeline was indulging in a state of bliss while twirling around her own aura, the blonde princess encountered the First Saintess, who had returned to the Holy Kingdom.
Indeed, it was the Empire’s Red Dragon.
To fly here over such a distance in an instant.
Zebeline, staring intently at Ludmilla, clicked her tongue, openly showing her discomfort.
“He left this morning.”
“…He left, you say?”
Could she be lying?
With suspicion in her eyes, Ludmilla scrutinized Zebeline.
But the Saintess’s words were undoubtedly true. There was no sign of Edanant anywhere in the Boemon Kingdom.
“How did the princess aunt get here?”
“……”
Rue tilted her head in confusion, still cradling the cookies given by the holy knights as soon as she saw Ludmilla.
Had her intelligence regressed to its original state just after Edanant disappeared?
The Empire’s Red Dragon casually summoned the title she despised the most.
“Hahaha! Hahaha!”
Of course, Zebeline burst into a peal of childish laughter.
“What did you just call me? I hope I misheard that.”
“O-older sister! Beautiful and pretty… I said an incredibly young older sister!”
Ludmilla’s gaze turned fierce.
It felt like a warning that she would turn anyone who spoke carelessly into a corpse.
Was it because of the threat to her life?
Rue, who had regressed to her original intelligence, showed strong survival instincts and began to flatter.
Beautiful and pretty.
Young.
Only after hearing the satisfactory titles did Ludmilla’s roaring intensity finally calm.
“I heard you clashed with the hero Maximilian.”
“The Immortal Fortress, the capital of the Boemon Kingdom, collapsed due to the battle. Currently, the Holy Kingdom’s forces are on the scene conducting a rescue operation.”
How was Maximilian holding up after fighting the Hero of All Times?
How was Edanant doing after battling his only brother?
Surely he couldn’t be fine.
Even if he hadn’t sustained injuries, his heart would surely be in ruins.
I wanted to head over to Edanant and offer words of encouragement right away.
Displaying her complicated emotions, Ludmilla bit her thick lips and made a pained expression.
“Though a fierce battle ensued, everyone is safe. Maximilian and Regnas returned to their original posts, while Edan is heading to the Powder Keg Peninsula.”
“…The Powder Keg Peninsula, you say?”
Edanant, who had suddenly departed after a fierce battle with Maximilian, headed for the Powder Keg Peninsula.
Ludmilla’s eyes widened at Zebeline’s words.
“To confront the Disaster God of War amidst the stench of blood.”
“W-wait, the Disaster God of War…! Are you saying Edanant plans to bring the Disaster of Innocence into this world!”
The hero and the sword saint’s assault.
The warmonger’s appearance.
The shocking incident that took place in the Boemon Kingdom was about to turn into mere chaos compared to the dangerous plan unfolding at the Powder Keg Peninsula.
Chills of foreboding crept over Ludmilla.
Tremors of fear surged through her.
At the same time, a profound shiver ran down her spine.
Her red eyes trembled as they foresaw the impending events.
*
The Powder Keg Peninsula.
A land where greed and slaughter are repeated.
Even the gentle Earth Mother refused to bestow her grace upon this cursed region.
Arriving on the battlefield, which reeked of unpleasant blood, Edanant released a heavy sigh. He then overturned the cart that had been dragged all the way to the battlefield and prepared to summon the Disaster God of War.
“Hmmm….”
The barren land trampled multiple times by hooves.
The thick smoke completely obscuring the sky.
Numerous corpses abandoned in the battlefield regardless of nationality.
Satisfied.
It was perfect, with echoes of war spilling over.
Edanant smirked bitterly, emotions of self-pity clouding his thoughts as he began sweeping aside the goods brought in the cart. These were dazzling jewels and all sorts of precious adornments.
“What the heck is he doing…!”
“He suddenly appeared on the battlefield and wiped out all the forces!”
The fierce conflict at the Powder Keg Peninsula briefly entered a lull.
It was all because of one person.
The figure that appeared with countless potion bombs hovering in the air brought the battle to a halt.
Countless troops, nearly in the thousands, were left in shock, hesitating in their assaults. They thought the black muskets would unleash another volley of gunfire just like before.
“Clear out all the nuisances lurking about. Don’t kill them.”
“Yes, Seer!”
Edanant, commanding the vampire to take care of the pesky interruptions, sighed as he gazed at the existing pile of corpses.
The ceremony had not yet been conducted.
Neither had he invoked the name of the Disaster God while anticipating the divine oracle.
-How commendable to personally prepare offerings for the deity.
“……”
The only being in existence capable of using a mountain of corpses piled up like a sacrificial altar was none other than one.
The egregious monster who treated the war’s misery as a warm bonfire, transforming horrific cries and screams into exquisite music, and regarding rusty armaments and maggot-infested corpses as supreme offerings.
How could I forget that voice?
The voice filled with feverish madness directed toward war couldn’t be erased from my memory.
-Edanant.
“…Lierre.”
I uttered the name of the divine command.
The shadow sitting upon the throne made of corpses broke into a broad smile.
-My precious Apostle, do you wish to hear the oracle of the Disaster God of War?
“Yeah.”
Snap.
The shadow snapped its fingers.
And at that moment, all the surrounding glimmers began to be swallowed up like ephemeral candle flames.
The light was extinguished.
No bright radiance was spared.
The pitch-black shadow spread like dye, engulfing all existence.
The colors that shaped the scenery were stained by the shadows of war.
Those stolen hues were then used to fabricate the appearance of a beautiful girl.
-After a long time, I feel good descending upon the mortal realm. My beloved Apostle, what would you like to know? I will gladly tell you anything.
The voice was laced with pleasantness.
The girl with red hair asked with a bold smile, granting permission for questions.
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