Chapter 71
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 071
Chapter Title: Roundtable Conference (1)
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We approached the Second Barrier alongside the expeditionary force.
The garrison troops must have spotted the routed soldiers approaching, as the main gate soon swung open and Holy Knights marched out. Judging by their crimson cloaks, they belonged to the Church of Struggle.
Conrad stepped forward as the representative of the routed soldiers. The two men conversed for quite some time. It seemed they were discussing the expedition.
"...The mood doesn't look great."
The knight glared at Conrad with furious eyes, as if the archbishop's authority meant nothing to him. And it was understandable.
This second expedition had only been made possible because Archbishop Conrad had pushed for it. After forcing it through like that, the expedition had failed, resulting in heavy casualties. He deserved to be reprimanded.
Conrad averted his gaze, as if ashamed. The knight, clearly unwilling to stand there any longer with him, shook his head and gestured toward the barrier.
Soon enough, the gates opened. The routed soldiers walked into the Second Barrier.
"Our turn soon."
I entered the barrier with my companions. Naturally, the garrison's eyes turned toward us. A wolf and hulking ogres were walking alongside the choir, after all.
I'd thought we might be denied entry, but fortunately, that didn't happen. Conrad must have mentioned us during their earlier conversation.
After that, all we had to do was walk.
The interior of the Second Barrier was a safe zone cleared of threats. With no need to worry about ambushes, we leisurely headed south with the expeditionary force.
A few days later...
We arrived at a bustling city: the Third Pioneer City. Woojin entered with his group.
The ogres kept looking around nonstop. It was their first time ever stepping into a pioneer city. A monumental moment for them.
"...There's so much amazing stuff."
Logar muttered in fascination. Every time he turned his head, the scenery felt utterly foreign. To the natives of the Demonic Realm, human civilization was filled with nothing but new and wondrous things.
Woojin urged them on.
"Let's hurry. The sun's about to set."
"Got it."
Only then did the ogres quicken their pace. As their speed suddenly picked up, Rolang piped up.
"Can't you just leave me behind?"
"That won't solve anything."
"...True enough."
Rol rang let out a deep sigh. He had secretly stepped down from his commander's position and joined the second expeditionary force. Now was the time to atone for his past sins.
They entered the command office. Bow, standing by the window, turned to look at them.
"Jin. I didn't expect you back so soon. What happened with the second expedition?"
"It got smashed to bits like a biscuit in my pocket. You didn't hear anything from the messenger?"
"I heard a bit."
When they passed through the Second Barrier, the garrison had sent out carrier pigeons. Thanks to that, Bow had some grasp of the situation.
"But it was hard to believe. Negotiating with Demonic Realm creatures, you said..."
Bow replied like that, then scanned Woojin's group with his discerning eyes: the wolves, three ogres, Rolang, and Saintess Cecilia.
"...Now I can't even trust my eyes."
Bow muttered to himself. Woojin tried to explain, but it wasn't easy to find the words. He couldn't figure out where to even start with this situation.
"It might sound a bit jumbled... but let me explain what happened during the expedition first."
"I'm listening."
He summarized everything that had occurred. Bow listened intently. Bored by the proceedings, the ogres and wolves sprawled out on the floor.
After a considerable amount of time, Woojin's explanation ended. Bow crossed his arms, mulling over what he'd just heard.
"...You really have a knack for stirring up the weirdest things every time you head out."
"It just happened... I didn't plan it."
"Anyway, why is the Saintess traveling with you? I don't think you mentioned that."
There wasn't much to say about that.
"No special reason. At some point, she just naturally joined the group."
For some reason, Saintess Cecilia had taken a huge interest in learning the ogres' sign language.
Finding it a hassle to go back and forth constantly, one day she started sharing the tent with the choir. That pulled their members along too, so now they were all traveling together.
As he explained, Bow seemed to piece something together and asked the Saintess directly.
"Are you still searching for the sanctuary?"
Swoosh, swish.
Cecilia responded to the question with hand signs. Bow looked slightly flustered by the sudden gesture. Woojin, standing beside her, interpreted.
"Yes. But she says it's not easy."
Cecilia had grown fond of conversing via ogre sign language. As a result, the priests from the Church of Prosperity had to learn it too.
Bow scratched his nape, looking troubled.
"She's already so quiet... Now I don't know if this makes things better or worse."
"Does it matter? By the way, what did you mean earlier by 'sanctuary'?"
Sanctuary.
The word had stuck with him, so he asked. Bow answered without hesitation.
"Just what it sounds like: holy ground. Every church has at least one sacred site they revere... but now there are hardly any left worth calling that."
"Why?"
"Because most of them were lost."
After the northern ruins cracked open and monsters from another world emerged...
Humanity had to cede about eighty percent of its land to the Demonic Realm. In the process, each church lost numerous holy relics, grand cathedrals, and sacred sites.
Saintess Cecilia of Flora sought a sanctuary hidden somewhere in the Demonic Realm.
"Is learning sign language part of that effort?"
Nod.
She nodded at the question. She'd learned it to communicate with Demonic Realm natives like the ogres.
The second expeditionary force had tried to conquer the ogre tribe by force and suffered a horrific failure.
Witnessing that, Cecilia judged the approach wrong and concluded that befriending the Demonic Realm natives was necessary to find the sanctuary. Conversing with ogres and other tribes might yield clues someday.
"Then you'll join the next expedition too?"
Cecilia nodded again. He'd thought their connection was fleeting, but it seemed they'd cross paths often from now on.
As they talked...
"...By the way.
Bow muttered suddenly, scanning Woojin's group anew. He looked like he'd just remembered something he'd overlooked.
Woojin had a rough idea of what he was looking for. He turned to Rolang. The Holy Knight stood alone in the back, pretending not to notice.
Thud.
He gave Rolang's back a light shove. Startled, Rolang stepped forward. Seeing this, Bow nodded with a smile.
"Rolang, you stay behind. It's been a while since I gave you some mental re-education."
"..."
Rolang's face paled noticeably. The Holy Knight glanced pleadingly their way, but this was karma he had to face.
Woojin ignored the look and said,
"Should we step out?"
"Got somewhere to go?"
"Thinking of meeting Cindy."
He planned to catch up with Cindy after so long. But that might not happen.
"Oh, I forgot to mention. Cindy left the pioneer city and returned inside the barrier."
Bow said that and rummaged through a drawer, pulling out a letter. It was from Cindy. Woojin broke the wax seal and read it right away.
"...She left the Demonic Realm for work."
Cindy's father, Golden Beetle Wolf, had wrapped up his Demonic Realm business long ago. With nothing much left for her here, she'd returned inside the barrier to earn a living.
It made sense. She'd taken an extended vacation. With the witch hunt over, it was time to get back to her real job.
"I'll visit her later."
Woojin thought that as he folded the letter and tucked it away. With things like this, meeting Cindy would have to wait.
There was something more urgent to handle first.
"Bow. Soon, I'll head to Church Alliance headquarters to bring up the peace treaty with the ogres... Could you help?"
The second expedition had failed.
The Church Alliance would summon Conrad for an investigation, and Woojin planned to attend and propose the ogre peace treaty.
To boost the chances, he needed support from allies. Bow pondered briefly before answering.
"...I don't like attending official events like that, but since it's you asking, I'll help. Let's go together."
"Thank you."
He'd gained a solid ally.
As he thought that, he felt eyes on him. Cecilia was staring intently. Noticing, she signed her intent.
—I'll help too.
"Is that okay?"
Cecilia nodded. It seemed the Saintess wanted in on this too.
"This is better than expected."
He'd done his best. Now he could only hope for results to match.
We left the Third Pioneer City with the others and arrived at Barrier City Yurgis. Getting here hadn't been difficult.
...The problem started now.
"Roundtable Conference."
High-ranking priests sat around debating, while observers sat in surrounding chairs, listening intently. This was where the peace treaty with the ogre tribe would be discussed.
Woojin couldn't attend the conference. He wasn't a cleric affiliated with any church.
"They said they'd call me during the discussion."
He'd been invited as an advisor. So he'd wait until the ogre agenda came up, then answer some questions.
"...Wonder if I'll speak well."
Addressing a gathering like this was a first for him. Would these people even listen, no matter what he said?
While Woojin drowned in such thoughts, the ogres chatted casually.
"I don't have a hobby of wearing collars... but humans sure seem scaredy-cats."
Logar said that, tapping the chain around his neck. For safety, the ogres were bound with handcuffs and chains.
Jaka muttered competitively.
"Wanna break 'em once?"
"Hold it. It'll cause headaches if problems arise. This is the heart of human territory."
"Just kidding. I'm bored to death."
Listening to their talk made time pass quickly. After waiting quite a while, Holy Knights approached and summoned Woojin.
"You're called to the conference."
Woojin stood without delay. He gestured to the ogres.
"Let's go."
"Finally, some action."
The three ogres followed Woojin. Each step they took sent chains clanking loudly against the floor.
Maybe that's why.
It felt like he'd become a gladiator. The moment he stepped through that door, it'd be like facing a starving lion.
"...A lion would be better.
You could just kill a lion, but you couldn't lay a hand on clerics. From Woojin's position, they were a bigger headache.
After deep breaths to steady himself...
He stepped through the door. Immediately, he faced the high clerics conducting the conference and the many followers seated like an audience.
"Come to the center."
Someone said that. Woojin obeyed, walking forward.
He'd thought a roundtable meant sitting around a round table, but there was a donut-shaped one with a bite taken out—like the letter C.
Standing in the middle with the ogres, he felt surrounded by the high clerics.
"Beast Hunter Jin. I hear you're advocating a peace treaty with the ogres, those hyena-like beasts. Is that true?"
A priest at the table asked. He seemed important, but joining midway, Woojin didn't even know his name properly.
Woojin answered readily.
"Yes. That's correct."
"Why do you think that?"
"Tactically, peace with the ogres has many advantages. I submitted a report explaining that beforehand."
Woojin had written several reports in his spare time during the retreat. Mentioning it, another priestess picked up a paper from the table.
"I read the report you submitted earlier. Honestly... it's fantastic."
...Unrealistic, she meant.
More explanation seemed needed. Feeling a bit urgent inwardly, Woojin continued.
"There are quite a few parts that might seem unrealistic. To elaborate..."
"Hold on. I think you misunderstood me."
The priestess smiled.
"I meant it's excellent. This report will be a huge help to the Church Alliance."
Woojin tilted his head slightly.
"...Good?
The report was solid, packed with his Demonic Realm experiences, insights, and know-how.
But having it accepted so readily felt strange. Like a hidden camera prank.
"Osaka dialect?"
He wondered if it was sarcasm and glanced around, but the looks directed his way were purely favorable.
Only then did Woojin realize.
"...These people can actually be reasoned with.
Having been burned once by the second expedition's leadership, this situation felt more surreal instead.