Chapter 164
Chapter 164
Chapter 164
Luuren (2)
The amount of treasure sleeping in the Illusion Castle, the main base of the Seven Seats, was incomparably greater than Caslay, as expected.
'...Their words about making the Morian Empire into a unified empire weren't empty after all.'
A massive mountain of wealth that brought to mind a certain duck character swimming in gold coins.
The amount was so heart-stirringly vast that one had to wonder if it equaled several decades' worth of the empire's national budget.
'If I poured all of that into military expenses, I could certainly grasp continental hegemony at least on the surface level.'
Rudian swept all the wealth within the Illusion Castle into his subspace.
In addition, he recovered all manner of elixirs, equipment, and artifacts without leaving anything behind.
'I've become the continent's greatest rich man in an instant.'
Particularly, recovering the equipment used by the Seven Seats members was the greatest achievement.
'This should be more than enough to fulfill what I promised Lady Sonya before.'
Ten legendary artifacts—the condition for taking Gray away.
If that many artifacts really went to Bellatrix, it would change the balance not only within the empire but across the entire continent.
If it were Sonya, she could properly control her desires even with that level of power, but...
'No matter how much of a family head she is, there will be times when she can't ignore the collective will of the entire family. If they really don't know their place and go wild...'
Sorry to Gray, but if such a thing really happened, Rudian was prepared to step forward personally and smash Bellatrix to pieces.
"Since we're roughly finished organizing, I'll close the doors of the Illusion Castle."
"If the doors close, will the Illusion Castle remain in this location?"
At Rudian's question, Rowen shook his head.
"No, when the administrator is absent for an extended period, it will go to another member who has primary authority."
"Another member... Ah."
Saint Britian, who had uniquely survived along with Rowen.
For a saint, her desire for survival was strong—the way she prostrated herself without hesitation, begging to be spared, had been quite impressive.
"That works out well. Since I have business in Luuren anyway, if I request her cooperation, she'll listen well."
Luuren was officially a place where the Pope occupied the position of head of state, but in reality, it was no different from a dictatorship under Saint Britian, who was the second-in-command.
Of course, since Britian had no interest in politics, normally the Pope and the College of Cardinals led the country, but a single word from her could completely overturn existing policies.
Having that much power would be a great help in reclaiming the Demon King's sacred relic hidden in the secret temple of North.
What if she didn't listen?
'I'll have to solve it with my fists.'
Rudian's pure combat power had now become so strong that individual members of the Seven Seats could no longer match him.
Even if it were a Demon King class, if they faced Rudian without releasing their restrictions, they would be beaten to a pulp in one blow.
Of course, compared to experts of Rowen's caliber, he still had the weakness of lacking technical proficiency, but even that was now a problem that could be resolved by simply pushing through with strength in most cases.
"Let's go, to Luuren."
Four superior spirits, Sylphid, appeared—much faster and more stable than Phantom Steeds.
They took the form of giant birds and even performed the gesture of saluting with one wing before Rudian and Evangeline.
-We'll provide express delivery service!
-Please hold tight to your seatbelts!
The spirits' personalities were quite more cheerful than expected.
...No, wait, where do you guys even have seatbelts?
***
The Holy Kingdom of Luuren.
A theocratic nation that worshipped Ruura, the goddess of love among the Seven Great Gods, as their supreme deity.
Actually, Luuren belonged to quite a unique case in continental history.
Although Ruura couldn't be considered particularly superior to the other six gods, it was a case where Ruura's followers, united by the power of love and peace, built a city that developed into a nation over time.
...That was actually the content written in the openly revealed history books.
The truth was that hundreds of years ago, Ruura, who wanted to establish her own kingdom, used cunning tricks, and the 'First Saint' who received her divine blessing abundantly made all the strong figures of that era kneel and established the nation.
Although Luuren's territory ranked in the lower tier among the 17 nations existing on the continent, it was a peculiar country that ranked in the upper tier in terms of overall combat power due to its solid level of civilization and the unique 'fanaticism' of its believers.
The Papal Office 'Lula Curia' was the place where Luuren's major and minor affairs were handled, essentially no different from a royal palace.
In the supreme conference hall where the 13 people who decided the nation's major affairs gathered, unusually, all seats were filled except for one.
"Is the Saint still secluding herself?"
It was uncommon for the Pope and all 11 Cardinals to gather together.
Since most of them handled business in their respective jurisdictions, normally only about five or six would gather unless it was a considerable major conference.
However, due to the emergency that had occurred several months ago, the Pope and Cardinals had been holding continuous meetings at the center with fire at their feet.
"The next Great Saint succession ceremony is just around the corner, but the Saint won't come out at all..."
"What on earth did she experience outside... That passionate person now stays locked in her quarters without letting anyone approach."
"Exactly. Even if there were considerably unpleasant matters, she was someone who would always bring a few of her favorites into her bedchamber..."
Among those sitting here, none were unaware that Saint Britian maintained a reverse harem.
Since it was the kingdom of Ruura, the goddess of love, coveting many members of the opposite sex wasn't particularly sinful... Rather, they had simply realized over 'hundreds of years' through generations that such was the Saint's preference.
"Sigh... The one who should be holding the center of the nation..."
"In any case, the Saint succession ceremony cannot be postponed. Since it's a national festival that occurs once every 30 years, we should keep the schedule as planned, but if it really doesn't work out, we must proceed even if we have to put forward a substitute."
At one Cardinal's words, the Pope nodded reluctantly.
"The important thing is that we need to refresh the ominous atmosphere that has become turbulent due to the recent war between the empire and kingdoms, and remove the citizens' anxiety."
Another Cardinal who nodded at the Pope's words muttered quietly with drowsy eyes.
"Don't we all here know that the succession ceremony itself has no meaning anyway?"
"Ahem...!"
"Well, that's true, but..."
The Saint succession ceremony that came around approximately every 30 years.
In Luuren's nearly 500-year history, countless Saints had completed their terms and passed their positions to the next Great Saint, but...
None present were unaware that all Saints throughout history were the same person as the 'First Saint.'
No, those who didn't know this could never rise to positions above Cardinal in this Luuren.
Pope Fabricio II of Luuren tapped his staff with a serious expression.
"But still, the fact that the Saint shows such a reaction..."
"Hmm!"
"Surely, something must have happened in the hidden world."
The Pope and Luuren's leadership knew how many powerful and terrible beings existed in the world's hidden side.
Since they knew that Britian's actual combat power exceeded the empire's former Sword Master, Archduke Quihiller, they were fully aware of how significant it was that such a Britian had gone into seclusion.
"Just in case, let's gather all the elite among the Holy Knights to the capital to prepare for any contingency... Hm?"
The Pope's words couldn't continue to the end.
From the entrance of the conference hall, a haggard Britian was trudging toward them.
"...Saint!"
"Have you finally taken steps?"
The Pope and Cardinals welcomed Britian with joy, but seeing her condition, they couldn't help but hesitate.
Her hair, which had always been lustrous, was dry and brittle as if struck by drought, and her eyes that had embraced all with love had become lifeless fish eyes that had lost all will.
Under the leadership's gaze, Britian opened her mouth with a parched voice.
"They're coming..."
"What do you mean..."
"They're coming! Since the authority of the Illusion Castle has come to me, they must have killed all the members and are definitely coming to finish me off last!"
Britian screamed with a terror-filled expression.
The day when Galdran and Zigmund died.
Britian, who had returned to Luuren with unconditional surrender, sensed the destruction of the Seven Seats and secluded herself after cutting off all contact.
Layla had come looking for her, but it was futile.
Rudian's group... precisely, having keenly felt the transcendent power and potential of Maria whom Britian had faced, she had completely lost her fighting spirit and wouldn't even meet Layla.
Living like that for a while, locked in her room and escaping reality...
"They're all dead. Layla, Jarsen, Zigmund, Galdran, Dugrid... everyone..."
Seeing that the authority of the Illusion Castle had come to her, she finally realized that the Seven Seats had been completely annihilated.
"Wh-what...?"
"Those transcendent beings are all dead?"
Those who vaguely knew of the Seven Seats' existence turned pale at Britian's words.
"Now it's my turn... my turn..."
THUD!
Watching Britian collapse to the floor and sob, the Pope and Cardinals couldn't say anything.
***
"It's a wealthy city."
Luuren's holy capital, Lu Gloria.
Though famous as the most beautiful city in the world, even considering its level of civilizational development, it was a cutting-edge city that rivaled Nevan, the empire's capital.
'...For a religious nation, I can see magical engineering applied in various places.'
Originally, religious nations tend to have antipathy toward technology or magical engineering, no matter how convenient.
However, Ruura's leadership actively embraced various technologies, citing inclusiveness as one of the goddess's virtues.
There were even primitive streetcars that didn't exist in Nevan, so it was certainly a strange sight.
"It is one of the ideal countries."
Rowen, who was in charge of guiding them through Luuren, spoke with a pleasant smile.
"Luuren is also a nation with one of the smallest wealth gaps on the continent."
The reason for this was absurdly that the Seven Seats had steadily helped with national management in the past to make this place their stronghold.
Of course, due to Luuren's inherent limitations, they ultimately aimed for the Morian Empire or elsewhere, but their influence itself remained to this day, creating a structure where corrupt officials or clergy couldn't easily emerge.
"Also, Lu Gloria is one of the continent's renowned gastronomic cities."
"...Oh!"
The person who made an exclamation at Rowen's words was none other than Yev.
"Are there sweet things too?"
At Yev's question, Rowen nodded as if it were obvious.
"The crepes here are famous. Particularly, one specialty shop in the famous food district is renowned for selling as many as 31 varieties of crepes."
"Ooh!"
Yev's eyes lit up to the maximum.
Thirty-one varieties...
Don't they sell ice cream there too?
"You know quite a lot, surprisingly."
Rudian looked at Rowen with a curious tone.
"Ah, I frequently went in and out of Luuren for missions, and I also did some research thinking I'd visit together with Evan when she got healthy."
Rowen scratched the back of his neck embarrassedly and smiled awkwardly.
"Then we can go now."
Evangeline pulled at Rudian and Rowen's arms like a child throwing a tantrum.
However...
"...Huh?"
"Why are the doors closed?"
Weekday afternoon.
The food district, which should have been bustling with business, was somehow quiet as a mouse.
Rudian and Rowen looked around with puzzled expressions.
Since they all had 'CLOSE' signs hanging, it didn't seem to be just one shop's problem.
"Something felt quiet from the checkpoint area, so has something happened inside the city?"
Rowen grabbed a passing citizen and asked about the circumstances.
The citizen initially waved dismissively as if annoyed, but when Rowen slipped him a gold coin, he became a more enthusiastic chatterbox than anyone.
"The Saint collapsed and martial law was declared?"
"According to rumors, great evildoers who will turn Luuren into hell are coming soon!"
"......"
The citizen clenched his fist and shouted with a voice full of justice.
"All of Luuren's renowned Holy Knights and Inquisitors are gathering at Lula Curia to prepare for the evildoers' appearance. You seem to be outsiders, so don't get caught up in the evildoers' attack and take shelter!"
"......"