“Hiyaaa! What a ruckus!”
Gazing out at the Sophia Cathedral, Alexia couldn’t help but exclaim in awe.
She had never seen so many soldiers gathered at a cathedral.
It was obvious why they had all come together.
They were searching for Tiltitz, known among the Majin as the Great Sage.
However, Tiltitz had already slipped away, and they couldn’t find her, so they were waiting just in case she returned.
“So! What on earth were you thinking when you did such a thing?!”
“Can you keep your voice down…?”
A girl hidden under a rag glanced around, softly murmuring as she tore off a piece of bread.
A strand of blue hair peeked out from her hood, but she hurriedly tucked it back in before anyone at the restaurant could see.
“Are you going to keep your mouth shut like that?!”
“……”
“Hmm! I’d appreciate it if you understood that it puts me in a difficult position! The illustrious Schlus Hainkel is looking for me! It seems he’s going to question me about the peace treaty! I wouldn’t know how to answer!”
“……”
The peace treaty between the Majin and humans was already broken.
Yet, it seemed they hadn’t announced it publicly due to the chaos in society.
Perhaps they were waiting for an apology from Tiltitz to prevent the war from escalating.
The problem was that it was supposed to be Tiltitz representing the Majin in discussions about the peace treaty.
But it was impossible for Tiltitz, who caused the issue, to step up as the representative.
To elect a new representative, they would need to summon a meeting of the Majin, putting Alexia in a hard spot.
“The peace treaty has already been broken.”
“It can still be restored!”
“I’m saying it won’t be restored.”
“Ah…!”
Alexia was taken aback by the firm response.
She had naturally assumed it was a mistake on Tiltitz’s part.
What she thought was an attack aimed at a different target had unintentionally hit Schlus Hainkel.
But Tiltitz was calling for war instead.
For a moment, Alexia wondered if this was truly the same Tiltitz who had mediated peace between Majins and humans thousands of years ago.
“Why on earth is this happening?! I can’t help Tiltitz like this!”
“You don’t need to help. With just me and the pagan forces, I can easily subdue the humans.”
“Well! I don’t think so!”
“It doesn’t matter what Alexia thinks.”
“It does! Depending on Tiltitz’s attitude, I might side with the humans!”
“……”
Tiltitz’s radiant gaze turned towards Alexia.
It lingered on her for a moment, then softened slightly.
“Sigh… Alright. I’ll only speak to you. You must not tell any other Majin.”
“Yes, yes!”
Remembering that Alexia was not one to keep quiet, Tiltitz considered that this information would probably leak out eventually anyway.
“The magician is dead.”
“Oh my! Really?! I heard she still had about three years left to live!”
“It wasn’t natural causes. It was disguised as a suicide after being murdered. And without a major battle, quietly. You understand what this means, right?”
“I don’t!”
“It means she was killed by one of her own.”
“I! I’m not involved! I swear I’m innocent!”
“I’m not trying to interrogate you, Alexia…”
As their conversation continued, Tiltitz suddenly felt weary.
She questioned whether she needed to convince Alexia, knowing that if Alexia sided with the humans, the war would become much more complicated.
“It wasn’t through a trial. A kind killed their kind. And with only five left, what do you think should be done?”
“Um! We need to find the culprit! We should capture and punish them!”
“That’s currently impossible.”
Since the magician’s death, they had searched the surrounding area for evidence.
They tried to figure out the alibis of other Majin.
But ultimately, they only arrived at the conclusion that they couldn’t determine who was suspicious and who was innocent.
“I feel that there’s a need for strict control among the Majin in light of this opportunity. Just like humans form societies and create laws to follow. But there are too many obstacles to establishing that society. Humanity is one of them.”
“Why do humans have to be the issue?!”
“Humans have lived comfortably for thousands of years because the Majin dispersed and acted individually. But if I establish a society where we live by strict regulations, what human would welcome it? They would interpret it as a declaration of war.”
If they feared human retaliation, they just needed to stamp it down first.
Sadly, there was no other way.
For the safety of the Majin, the humans had to make some sacrifices.
“And aren’t you scared? Humans are always developing technology and magic to kill Majin. Just a while ago, they could only surround us with piles of corpses to halt their advance. Now, they have weapons like the Annihilation Cannon. Sure, for now, it’s only mounted on massive airships, but who knows, in the future, they might fire it with one hand.”
“That’s a huge leap- ”
“No, it will definitely happen. Humans are evolving creatures. And when that happens, what will they do to us? They could easily snap our necks, but will they keep us alive for the fun of it? Not a chance. The moment they think they can win, they’ll come at us with the intent to slaughter. They kill each other endlessly, so why wouldn’t they want to wipe out Majin?”
“……”
Alexia fell silent, unable to find the words.
She had considered such thoughts before.
All Majin would have.
But Tiltitz had made up her mind to act on the magician’s death.
To conquer fully before humans had a chance to develop sufficiently.
“What do you see the odds of success being?!”
“Without Schlus Hainkel, it’s 100 percent. But with Schlus Hainkel involved… things get a bit tricky. I never imagined I’d return from that intact.”
Tiltitz looked around, snapping her fingers to conjure a shimmering purple light from her fingertips.
A crack formed, revealing a dark space inside, where the faint outline of a gigantic sword hilt could be seen.
The sword that tears through dimensions, Durandal.
She had wasted one use of this rare sword.
Now she had only one use left.
She couldn’t attack Schlus Hainkel in the same manner again.
Now, she knew Schlus Hainkel possessed the ability to return even from that dimensional rift.
“I have no idea how strong he is. I don’t expect him to win a full-scale war against a Majin one-on-one, but we still need to be cautious. If other Majin lend support aside from me, it shouldn’t be terribly difficult.”
Starting a war was also intended to unify the Majin for a time.
Tiltitz knew very well that although Alexia might claim she could side with humans, there was no way she would choose a short-lived species over her kin with whom she had spent thousands of years.
In the end, if all Majin united, they could easily sweep aside the human forces.
Humans couldn’t even deal with the Asylum, their own social circle, so that was a given.
Through war, Tiltitz aimed to unify the Majin, then nullify all weapons the humans might direct at the Majin, and finally realize her dream society.
A world where kin wouldn’t kill kin.
A world where weapons that could kill Majin didn’t exist.
That was the world that Tiltitz dreamed of.
“Will you lend your strength?”
“I will! For now, I’ll work to prevent the war!”
“That’s pointless; the war has already begun.”
“But still…!”
They were in a state where they hadn’t formally declared war on each other.
Or rather, Tiltitz’s surprise attack had essentially functioned as the worst kind of declaration of war.
This state of apparent peace, where most citizens didn’t even know a war had begun, wouldn’t last long.
Humans gathering military forces everywhere, creating an unprecedented state of tension, was definitely not aimed at fighting each other.
Tiltitz sensed they were preparing to turn those spears and swords against the Majin.
“I still don’t know… I need to think a bit more!”
“How long? A hundred years, perhaps?”
“It might take even longer!”
“Alexia.”
“If you don’t have my help, it’ll be tough! So while I’m thinking! It would be best for you to sit quietly and wait! Listen to me! You absolutely must not attack the humans!”
“……”
As Tiltitz’s persistent gaze fell upon her, Alexia stood up abruptly.
Then she rushed out of the restaurant as if fleeing.
Tiltitz was not in her right mind right now.
Yet, she wasn’t saying anything wrong.
Because of that, Alexia became increasingly confused about what to do.
‘It looks like Alexia will hide during the war.’
Despite saying she would think, it seemed unlikely Alexia would provide help to Tiltitz.
Having watched Alexia for a long time, Tiltitz could sense that.
‘I need to call the Madman.’
On the other hand, the Madman would jump into the battlefield at the mere mention of war, without even needing to ask.
If two Majin joined the fight, subduing humanity wouldn’t be particularly difficult.
Tiltitz thought about that as she finished off the last bit of bread.
