The Seventh Training Ground
The 7th training ground was a place used by Celestia's 7th Legion. It was also where Veronika had been training ever since she came under Seere's command.
"Ah, Lord Nahen, you've arrived? Huh?"
Celestia, who had greeted Nahen first since she was the one who called him, looked slightly flustered. Her lord, whom she served, stood right behind him.
"Your Majesty! I didn't know you were coming. You didn't mention anything. I'm truly sorry."
"It's fine, Commander. I simply followed my teacher."
Celestia shot Nahen a quick glance. Her eyes seemed to ask why he hadn't given any warning if he was bringing Seere along. Nahen deliberately ignored the look and spoke.
"So, what's this important matter that required calling me?"
"Ah, I was thinking it might be time to formally incorporate Veronika into the legion."
"...Already?"
Veronika had been here for less than two months. Nahen tilted his head at the suggestion of integrating her so soon.
"Isn't it too early?"
"I thought you might say that, so I figured showing you Veronika's abilities directly would make approval faster."
"That's why you called me."
As Celestia said, seeing Veronika's skills firsthand would make judging her readiness much easier. It would also speed up understanding the decision to bring her into the legion.
"Then let's see it right away."
"I've already prepared an opponent."
Celestia summoned one of her subordinates who was quite skilled to face Veronika. Goska, the second strongest soldier in the 7th Legion after Celestia and Vice-Commander Erina.
Seere seemed to recognize him and tilted her head.
"Isn't Goska too strong an opponent for her?"
"Please watch."
Goska greeted Seere and Nahen before stepping into the training ground. Veronika, visibly nervous, fidgeted as she took her position opposite him.
"Veronika! Don't be nervous—just do as you always do!"
At Celestia's encouragement, Veronika nodded slightly and fixed Goska with that peculiar, childlike gaze.
"Ready!"
Celestia's hand rose. Both Goska and Veronika shifted into combat stances.
"Begin!"
Goska charged first. Despite the considerable distance between them, he closed the gap with impressive speed. But then, something unexpected happened.
"Huh?"
"Eh?"
Nahen and Seere exclaimed in surprise at the same time. What appeared in their view was a blood spear that had materialized out of nowhere.
Bang—!!!
Goska's sword was blocked by Veronika's blood spear. It wasn't that Goska had moved slowly. Veronika's blood magic had activated at an abnormally fast speed. The casting time far exceeded what Nahen and Seere had anticipated. Nahen finally understood why Veronika had reached the upper ranks of lords at such a young age in the game.
'She had this kind of talent...'
The follow-up blood magic casts were also swift. Whether due to limited mana reserves or not, the power wasn't overwhelming, and Goska handled the attacks flexibly, so the match didn't end decisively. Still, for an eleven-year-old who had trained for less than two months, this level of performance was...
"...A genius."
"A true genius."
Not only Nahen—Seere seemed to share the same impression. Nahen turned to her.
"Seere, what do you think?"
"Yes?"
"Would it be all right to incorporate her into the legion?"
Though Nahen was temporarily holding military authority, Seere was the true master of this place and the one leading everyone. That was why he sought her agreement.
Seere smiled faintly at his consideration and nodded.
"You didn't bring her without reason, Teacher. I approve."
"Commander Celestia, proceed with incorporating Veronika into the 7th Legion as you suggested."
"Understood."
"From now on, you'll oversee Veronika's training. If she focuses on building stamina for about a year... she'll be able to keep up with the rest."
Celestia bowed her head and accepted the order. She then instructed Veronika and Goska to end the match and descended to check on their condition.
Now alone with Seere, Nahen spoke in a casual tone.
"Seere."
"Yes?"
"The attempt to spark war in the human realm has failed."
"...Yes?"
Nahen explained the situation in the human realm to Seere. After hearing everything, Seere remained silent for a moment before speaking.
"Then the Heavenly Demon War will break out."
"We need to prevent that."
"How?"
Nahen pondered briefly. How to stop it—that was something he was still considering himself. He looked at Seere. She was far more perceptive than her age suggested.
'Rather than worrying alone, it might be better to hear her thoughts.'
So he asked her honestly.
"What do you think?"
"...Didn't you say you would create chaos in the human realm to draw the Heavenly God's attention there?"
"That's right."
"But the emperor we planned to use... died in the rebellion. And the princess who started it didn't take the throne herself. Instead, she put her younger brother on it, correct?"
"Correct."
Charlotte had been clever. Rather than becoming empress herself, she had placed her younger brother Leonardo on the throne to secure legitimacy. She intended to rule from behind the scenes as the true power while Leonardo served as a figurehead. Just as Nahen was thinking how shrewd her move had been, Seere spoke again.
"Then we can use that, can't we? Even if he became emperor thanks to his sister, he must harbor resentment. After all, he's been reduced to a puppet."
Nahen widened his eyes. He stared at Seere for a moment, then the corner of his mouth lifted slightly as if something had clicked into place.
"...I see. You're right."
"You thought of something, didn't you?"
"Seere."
Nahen stood up. Then he addressed his disciple, someone he now trusted enough to delegate to.
"I'll return military authority to you."
"Yes?"
"I need to move in the human realm for a while. Seere, while I'm gone, use Gremory and Sitri to aim for higher positions. If possible, collect the Moon's Blood from each floor as well. I'll tell you their locations."
"...You're not coming with me, Teacher?"
"I'll try to return as quickly as possible. Besides, it won't be a problem for you to lead now. I trust your abilities and judgment."
Seere looked at Nahen for a moment. The sudden change was a little bewildering, but at the same time, she felt pleased that her teacher trusted her. She also felt a strong desire to live up to that trust.
"If you believe in me, Teacher, I'll do my best."
Seere lightly took Nahen's hand and placed it on top of her head.
"So please come back soon."
"...I will."
Nahen smiled like a father and gently stroked her hair. Then he spoke to her in a low, resolute voice.
"I'll resolve everything as quickly as I can and return."
#
Nahen returned the authority he had taken over to Seere and headed for the human realm accompanied only by Dane and Eri.
'...Yes. We can start over, step by step.'
Charlotte von Bismarck. It had been Nahen's mistake not to anticipate her appearance. But everyone makes mistakes, and mistakes can be corrected. He had erred because he tried to manage both the human realm and the demon realm at once. From the beginning, he should have handled the urgent matters in the human realm first and entrusted the demon realm to a disciple he could rely on.
'I still tend to see Seere as too young.'
And while Charlotte was brilliant, she was ultimately just one human. She too would be caught off guard by sudden developments and forced to focus on them.
After crossing into the Holy Kingdom through the portal, Nahen gave Eri an order.
"Eri."
"Yes, Lord Nahen."
"Go to the Empire and supply this artifact."
It was the same artifact Nahen had previously ordered to be distributed. Eri examined it for a moment before speaking with difficulty.
"Lord Nahen, the Bismarck Empire has completely banned distribution of this artifact. We won't be able to distribute it anymore, even through the merchant guilds."
"I didn't say to distribute it. I said to supply it."
"...Yes?"
"You're not going to the merchant guilds. Take this and go directly to the magic associations."
It meant meeting and trading with the magic associations in person. Dane, who had been listening, tilted his head.
"After everything that's happened, would the magic associations still buy this?"
"Avoid the central ones. Most of the artifacts supplied through the merchant guilds went to the large magic associations in the center. This time, target the small and medium-sized associations."
"They've probably still heard the rumors."
"It's fine."
Nahen turned to Eri.
"Humans are creatures of endless greed. There will definitely be those who covet the artifact. There's no need to supply every association—just those kinds of people. Eri, if you handle the supply, it will make Dane's job much easier."
"...Yes."
"What should I do?"
"Dane, make contact with the current emperor, Leonardo von Bismarck."
"...Yes?"
Dane looked at Nahen with a startled expression, but there was no taking back the order. Nahen continued.
"Contact Leonardo and recruit him."
"Recruit him...?"
"Ask him if he wants to become a real emperor instead of a puppet. Tell him to join hands with us."
It was hard to believe Leonardo had willingly become a figurehead. If Charlotte hadn't launched her rebellion, he would have naturally inherited the throne. It was more accurate to say he had been threatened by his sister and forced to participate. So Nahen would draw Leonardo in and lay the groundwork for conflict between him and Charlotte.
If he couldn't spark war between the Holy Kingdom and the Empire, then he would ignite it from within.
"Should we reveal that we're from the demon realm?"
"No. The affiliation you should claim is..."
The affiliation Dane would reveal was not the demon realm. And the place Nahen intended to use as the spark for that civil war was...
"The Northern Alliance."