155. Preparation #2

One of the survivors of the Human-Demon War. The saintess, Maria Jane Johnson.

With the S-grade saintess—who had stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the heroes—now dead, A-grade saintess Maria had risen to take her place as one of the central figures in Elemen西亚. She also played a pivotal role among the humans striving to rebuild their nation.

Maria dismissed the people around her, then turned to Ellis with a benevolent smile.

"What brings the Devoted Hero here?"

"Heroes are a thing of the past in this era. Drop the fancy title and just call me by name."

"Alright, Ellis."

"I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠didn't say to drop the formal speech, though..."

"Just kidding. Anyway, what brings you to me so suddenly?"

"...I have a favor to ask."

"A favor? Of course I'd grant any request from you, Ellis. So, what is it?"

"It's awkward talking out here. Mind if we go inside and chat slowly?"

Ellis nodded toward a nearby building. Maria nodded back.

"Sure. But..."

Maria's gaze shifted to Ellis's side. A monster with a spider body and a puppy face. The Peace Demon King, Hekhekshaaak, who had saved countless lives during the Human-Demon War, stood naturally beside her. In the Ancient Labyrinth, it was a race known as the Dog Spiders to Kang Geon.

"Why is the Peace Demon King here...?"

She'd been flustered from the start, but not scared. Maria knew Hekhekshaaak was harmless.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce. The Peace Demon King recently started traveling with me. She's a companion now."

Ellis stroked Hekhekshaaak's head.

"Hekhek, say hi. This is the saintess Maria Jane Johnson."

"Ah, yes... Nice to meet you... I'm Maria Jane Johnson."

Maria gave an awkward smile and greeting. Clearing her throat, she led Ellis toward the building.

Hekhekshaaak couldn't enter the building. Unlike in the Ancient Labyrinth, its body was too large here.

"By the way, Ellis, have you found the Fallen Hero yet?"

"Not yet. Maybe they're really all dead."

Maria and Ellis continued talking as they entered the building.

Maria was well aware of the man named Gauntlet, even if she'd never met him in person. Her former S-grade saintess had spoken of him many times.

Thanks to that, Ellis had no trouble explaining Earth to Maria.

Gauntlet's situation. The world of the Ancient Labyrinth. Gauntlet's home, Earth. Earth's predicament. The guardian Nokya. The impending dissolution of the dimensional veil. The fact that, without the veil, Earth couldn't sustain life properly. Nokya was born before humans existed, in an environment hostile even to basic lifeforms. Only after the veil formed did diverse life begin to emerge. That's when invasions from other worlds increased, leading to constant reinforcements of the veil throughout history. Sage Lunaris's absence. And the Great Migration plan.

To make it easy for Maria to understand, Ellis patiently conveyed every detail over a long time.

"......"

Maria fell silent after hearing it all. After a moment to gather her thoughts, she spoke slowly.

"Alright. Saving lives doesn't need a special reason."

"...You're deciding that easily? No need to think more? You can't back out later."

"I won't. It's a decision I made after plenty of thought, so don't worry. Leave convincing the others to me. With your name, Ellis, it'll be a breeze."

"If you say so, I'm grateful..."

Ellis was stunned. Gauntlet had bragged it would be easy to convince people, but she hadn't expected it to resolve this smoothly. She'd braced for arguments.

She trusts me more than ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I thought... Well, I've spent my life helping others.

Relieved it worked out, Ellis sighed in relief—

"Oh, but there are a few conditions."

"Huh? What conditions?"

Maria spread a map on the table. Tap tap.

She pointed to one continent on the map.

"First, when you bring the Earth people here, we'll give them the continent right next to ours. But we're just handing over the land—we have no intention of letting them build their own nation."

"No nation-building? So you'll absorb them as your citizens?"

"Yes. As you know, Ellis, we're forming Elemen西亚's one and only unified nation. We won't allow or recognize any other countries. The other four heroes—excluding you—agreed to this too."

"Those guys don't care about nations at all..."

Ellis muttered, manipulating the floating status window in the air. She was relaying Maria's words to Gauntlet in real-time.

After passing on the condition via chat and hearing Gauntlet's opinion, Ellis turned to Maria.

"...Anyway, that's fine. We're the ones saving Earth's people, after all."

Ellis agreed to Maria's condition. Technically, Gauntlet had.

"I didn't expect you'd accept so readily. Don't Earth's humans lack a class system? I thought you'd deliberate more."

"What's to deliberate? If they want salvation and come to Elemen西亚, they'll follow our laws and adapt. If they don't like our terms, they can stay on the doomed Earth."

This wasn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Ellis's thought—it was Gauntlet speaking through her.

"More importantly, who's taking the throne of this new nation?"

Ellis asked. This one was her own question.

"Jumping straight to a sensitive topic without warning..."

"Sorry. Skip it if it's awkward."

"No, it's not that bad. No one's decided yet anyway—just candidates being discussed."

"Are you one?"

"Yes. You too, Ellis. You're the only hero in the running."

"...Me? Why?"

"You're the Devoted Hero."

"I haven't helped with nation-building at all."

"Still the Devoted Hero. Not just any hero—the Devoted one."

"......"

Normally, she'd demand removal from the list. Ellis had no interest in the throne. But now she stayed silent.

Gauntlet's people from his homeworld. Maria was the only reliable leader who could rule them without bias.

If Maria didn't become queen, Ellis couldn't entrust Earth's humans to anyone else. She'd even consider taking the throne herself.

"Got it. Anyway, those are all the conditions, right?"

"No? There's more."

"...More?"

"We can't just accept every human from Earth blindly. I'll use my ability to screen them."

Maria's ability distinguished good from evil. Subjective, but she could see souls' colors. Black souls were irredeemable evil in her eyes. She could also vaguely sense crimes committed for personal greed.

Ellis knew the ability well.

"No evil ones, got it?"

"Yes. I have no desire to save villains. I hope you'll understand."

Ellis immediately chatted this to Gauntlet. His response was positive—better to filter evil with her power.

After consulting Gauntlet, Ellis told Maria they'd accept the second condition too.

Later, if more conditions arose, Maria would mention them. She then pulled a bundle of golden keys from her bosom.

"Ellis. You said Gauntlet has many powerful monsters now? He can even dispatch to other worlds?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Could you ask him to send a monster with vast mana later? The Sky Ark needs enormous mana to operate."

"Huh? Those are the Sky Ark keys?"

Ellis's eyes widened. The Sky Ark—also called the Aerial Fortress—was the great sage's legacy from the Human-Demon War. A massive "ark of salvation" that flew through the skies, safely evacuating humans from the ground. The keys Maria held summoned it.

"Why do you have them?"

"I piloted the Sky Ark for rescues during the war."

"Oh... Right... Why don't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I remember?"

"It's natural. You were always at the front lines, and I inherited it near the war's end. Anyway, can you ask for a mana-rich monster?"

"Yeah, he says he can send one right now."

"Great. No rush—send it a few days before Sage opens the dimensional portal."

Afterward, Ellis and Maria delved deeper into the Great Migration plan.