The Holy Kingdom's Invitation
If we set up an adventurers' guild, it would mean we wouldn't even have to deploy our own troops in the end. The adventurers would handle thinning out the demon numbers all by themselves.
Sure, plenty of them would die in the process, but anyone who came to Crad wouldn't be some bottom-feeder with no real skill.
When I finally reached the office, the Ashtar brothers were already there.
"You've come?"
"Yes. Next Head of the House. Lord of the Castle."
Lockton was the heir, and the second son was the castle lord. For now, that was how I had decided to address them. Calling them "Big Brother" felt a little awkward given the situation.
"You may be a Saint, yet the authority of Ashtar stands higher still. Why behave this way?"
In short, they were sulking and wanted me to act like a proper member of the Ashtar family.
"Well, about that..."
"Come now, call us your brothers. This is Ashtar land. You have nothing to be mindful of here."
There is something to be mindful of. Celia is right beside me, grinning like an idiot!
If she weren't here it might be different, but right now? Absolutely not. She's staring straight at me!
"Celia? Would you mind stepping out for a moment?"
I tried to shoo her out with a forced smile, but Celia planted herself like a pillar and refused to budge.
This little... is she doing this on purpose?
Celia flashed a fox-like smile for the briefest instant, then immediately rearranged her face into something pitiful.
"What are you saying, Lady Olivia? What would you do if I weren't right here beside you?"
What would I do if you were here? You'd just keep teasing me, that's what.
"She has a point, Olivia. A noble, man or woman, ought to keep a close attendant. And the next Magic Tower Master is hardly a poor choice."
For fuck's sake. Who acts like that when family is talking? When relatives are speaking privately, the proper thing is to dismiss the attendants.
In the end I had no choice. These bastard Ashtar brothers were hanging on my every word, waiting for me to say it. So I had to speak.
"Fine. Fiiine. Big Brother."
"Yes, yes. That's exactly what I was waiting for."
I glanced sideways. Celia was smiling. Eye-smiles, full of smug little chuckles. She had clearly just found excellent material to report to that Light Sword wandering around the Ashtar domain.
Ugh, this is so irritating. I swear I could just—
"Heh."
Celia was laughing beside me. Thoroughly enjoying herself. Secretly pinching her own thigh while she did it. That look said she was absolutely determined to torment me later.
"So. What brings you here?"
"Ah, well, as for how this all came about..."
I told them that Clanis had remodeled a corrupted temple in a nearby forest, and that I had run into Pector. Only the parts the Ashtar family needed—and was allowed—to know.
That bastard Pector really ought to hide a few things better. He keeps getting caught by me and ending up in this exact situation. So of course I was going to snitch on him. Helping smash the temple was appreciated and all, but that was that and this was this.
"Hmm. So Pector comes and goes through our lands as if they were his own backyard."
"Yes."
"Hard to fault him for it, though. In the end he cleaned up a powder keg that was about to explode on us."
When all was said and done, it was difficult to even curse Pector. Thanks to him, Ashtar had saved its territory. For the moment, sealing the temple he had purified took priority over hunting him down.
"Exactly."
"But why is that bastard so soft-spoken only toward you?"
The second son's interrogation continued.
Why am I the one getting grilled here? I couldn't afford to look like I was colluding with a demon. Time to dodge carefully.
"Uh. I don't really know either."
"Suspicious."
"Could it be that the bastard has designs on you? Next time I catch him I'll break his legs for you."
No, stop that. Please. I'm the one who's embarrassed here. What are you even thinking?
Pector was an enemy, sure, but he was also a useful one.
"Please don't. He won't come barging in carelessly next time anyway."
"And how do you know that?"
"Ah. I just have my reasons."
There was no need to advertise that I had any sort of working relationship with him. I had no idea what the Ashtar brothers might do with that information. Troublesome business was firmly rejected—especially with these doting-idiot brothers. I just hoped I wouldn't get weirdly misunderstood for opening my mouth.
"Fine. Enough of that. Olivia."
"Yes. Big·Brother."
Beside me the damned girl was still grinning. That little snicker was seriously getting on my nerves. Hadn't she claimed she liked me? One of these days I was going to catch her and make her pay.
"An envoy from the Holy Kingdom has come all the way here. And those bastards have some thoroughly underhanded intentions."
What was that supposed to mean? Why were they even here?
"What did they come for?"
"Well. Their reason was obvious enough. They want you to come to the Holy Kingdom."
I had half expected it, but to go as far as sending an actual envoy?
Maybe that damned person was involved. The Pope. That rotten... thing. Not even human, really. However long he had been sitting on that throne, the resentment must be enormous by now.
But that was a separate matter.
"I was already supposed to go. What's this nonsense now?"
"They're the type who excel at nonsense, aren't they?"
"Well, if that's the case there's not much to be done. They want me as the Saint, right?"
I didn't even need to ask. It was blindingly obvious.
"Yes. You understand well. They asked us to send you as the Saint."
"And in exchange they would officially recognize the Goddess Church of the Empire, I assume."
Obvious. They definitely said that. There was no other reason these doting Ashtar brothers would even mention it. The deal had to offer some benefit to the Empire and to Ashtar, which was why they were floating the idea past me. If it hadn't, they wouldn't have brought it up at all.
"Oh-ho. You really do understand."
"Those people are completely transparent."
"Honestly, I'd rather you didn't go. What do you think?"
The second son spoke carefully. He didn't need to tiptoe around it. I didn't particularly care one way or the other.
"You two were a little tempted by the benefits, so you brought the proposal to me, right? Because it would help the Empire and Ashtar."
"If I'm being honest, yes. But as I said, the choice is yours. We have no intention of forcing you."
So what should I do?
Truthfully I didn't want to go. But one thing was certain: that damned Pope had his eyes on me. Even if I skipped this chance, he would keep making a nuisance of himself whenever he felt like it. Better to go take a look now.
"Hmm. In that case... I'll go."
"To the Holy Kingdom?"
Where else would it be?
"Yes. No choice. I should at least go once and see. Official recognition isn't a bad thing. It would also advance our diplomacy with the Holy Kingdom another step."
Either way it wasn't a loss. Especially now, with that White King bastard strutting around. Relations with the Holy Kingdom mattered.
"Those people might try something vile against you."
"Brother, even they wouldn't go that far. They call themselves the Holy Kingdom, after all. What could they possibly do?"
"True enough. But I can't help worrying."
Well... he had a point. The Holy Kingdom wasn't something you could simply ignore. They were clergy, sure—but that very status let all sorts of monsters hide in the shadows and commit every crime imaginable. Bernoa had nearly been raped there, after all. They talked a good game, but that was the reality.
"If that's the case, then so be it."
"They might try. I'm fine with it."
There were many overlapping reasons to keep relations with the Holy Kingdom smooth. Going once wouldn't hurt. Though one day I was definitely going to screw that Pope over.
"The envoy is already here. Would you like to meet him?"
"The envoy?"
Who had they sent?
"Some fellow named William, I believe."
William? The Pope's grandson. On the surface he looked thoroughly decent, but underneath he was thoroughly filthy. Not in the womanizing sense—he just had a bottomless hunger for power. He pretended to serve the Pope while secretly eyeing the throne for himself. Personally, the type I least wanted to deal with.
"Well, it's unpleasant, but all right."
I had to meet him anyway. He was an envoy. I might even end up traveling to the Holy Kingdom with those people.
"And one more thing before we finish. Atelina is far below your level. What do you think of simply graduating you from the place?"
Atelina? Honestly I wanted to graduate too. The only thing I liked about that school was the cafeteria.
"Hmm. Atelina..."
"Your thoughts?"
"Leaving would be nice, but I wonder whether the remaining fools can actually manage without me."
Those idiot nobles. I honestly doubted they could handle anything properly. A little training and they were supposed to be ready? Please.
"Don't worry. The faculty is decent. Moreover—"
"Moreover?"
What else had those kids gotten up to?
"The students are already half-crazy. They'll do just fine without you."
Would they really? These were the same people who needed an excuse just to run twenty-four-hour training drills. Catching a few anti-imperialists wouldn't magically reform them. Ordinary humans didn't change that easily.
"Is that so?"
"The professors are singing your praises."
"What on earth happened?"
I had no idea. All I did was train them. The fact that they were falling over themselves with compliments over something that basic just made me feel pressured.
"Atelina has basically turned into an Imperial military academy. Some of the professors claim the male students could be thrown straight into the Capital Army as is."
"Olivia, you've surprised me. How did a young noble lady manage to drill some sense into those thick-headed low nobles?"
How? I just ran them into the ground for twenty-four hours a day. That was it. If the results were that good, then I didn't need to worry. I could just leave.
"Hahaha."
"They even suggested we hire you as a professor."
"I didn't really do anything special."
Wasn't that level of training something everyone did? If they couldn't handle even that, how could they call themselves people? I just thought, 'Oh, so they finally have some combat ability. That's about it.'
"Perhaps they simply recognized the name of Ashtar and—"
More useless boasting about the Ashtar family was about to start. Time to escape.
"Anyway, I'll go see William first."
"Do so. He's staying in the room at the far end of the corridor outside the office."
Oh-ho. They stuck him in a corner because they didn't want to look at him.
With that, I left the brothers' office.