179. Summit Meeting
179. Summit Meeting
"You're busy, so I thought you'd come later, but you came early?"
"Well, the one who's more desperate usually comes early. I considered coming late, but given the gravity of the matter, I suppose I was desperate too."
Though it was my first time personally attending a summit—a meeting of Masters—I had heard how they worked.
The Church hosting the summit would bring out several agenda items, opinions would be exchanged, and items requiring a decision would be settled by vote.
The core agenda of this summit was 'armed intervention by Masters in response to the explosive growth of the Demon Church.'
Because everyone was tangled in complex interests, it was common for items to be glossed over and ignored, yet if one actually passed, it gained effect.
Failing to sway anyone after an outcome took effect would let the Church or other nations voice their concerns.
Thinking about it now, the Demon Church was a tremendous nuisance to most Masters ruling over nations, so it would probably pass without issue—but there was a possibility to consider.
With even a Master like the Sword Saint having fallen for a Great Demon's temptation, I had to account for the chance that other Masters might refuse.
The Empire, which until now had always come alone and cast just one vote, now had all three of us here—that alone showed just how grave this matter was.
"I met him at the Academy and called Hulan too. He said he'd help us when it comes to a vote."
"You brought that guy?"
"He's probably been waiting here for days."
"One more head added... it'll be a majority, so we're safe."
"Alright, there's not much time left, so let's settle how we'll handle things before the summit begins."
"Aren't we going to talk about how we've been? I'm quite curious how you've been..."
"You can do that after it's over."
Before the summit began, we held a brief strategy meeting.
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When the time came, we entered the conference hall.
The conference hall was located beneath Saint Raoul's Cathedral.
A long table rather than a round one had been arranged there.
The seat of honor at the head was always reserved for Saint Macinto, who hosted this summit, and the other Masters sat in a rough line beside him.
There were no individually designated seats.
Three people were already seated and conversing.
"...All three came from the Empire? Are you plotting to start some kind of war today?!"
As the three Masters of the Empire entered side by side, a woman who had been chatting amiably snapped irritably.
Through her revealing indigenous attire, her brown skin, tattooed with a whale, glistened healthily under the light.
She looked like she had dressed skimpily, but given that she had even oiled her skin, this was the most formal attire she could muster within her culture.
That exceedingly healthy-looking woman was Rui, the 'White Whale' and representative of Pilaha, the southern island nation.
Outwardly she appeared to be in her mid-twenties, but no one knew her true age.
In Pilaha, the greatest warrior and messenger of the sea was called the 'White Whale,' but because they did not keep records of succession, there was no way to know which generation she belonged to.
Whether she herself had been the first White Whale, or whether the title dated back before the war, only she knew.
Imperial Masters like Director and myself had undergone relatively active generational turnover.
Sitting beside her was the person I had been looking for.
"You finally came? Hey, what's the deal with the one who invited you showing up this late?"
"Judging by your appearance, you seem to have been well taken care of and living comfortably—shouldn't you be grateful?"
Master Hulan, dressed in a rather impressive outfit he must have received somewhere, was sitting beside Rui.
Seeing them chat, it looked like they had grown quite friendly in the time since I'd last seen them.
"What, mister, you know that guy?"
"He's the one who gave me the invitation."
Hulan was extremely friendly, but toward us, as affiliates of the Empire, there was a bit of an edge.
Having a massive power meant earning hostility just for existing.
Anyway, seeing those two sitting side by side was tremendously imposing.
Sure, the things attached to their bodies were massive, but their actual bodies were massive.
Hulan was a dragon beastman over 2 meters tall, and her height was similar.
If I stood right in front of them, I would truly have to crane my neck painfully to look up.
I was dying of curiosity about what they ate to grow that big.
"Um, I came here from my research, so could you finish this quickly and send me back...?"
And on the opposite side, there was a small woman whose voice was so faint, like the crawl of ants, that it drooped weakly.
She hadn't slept properly—her eyes were hollow, with dark circles deeply etched underneath, and among her fluffy-looking purple hair, several experimental tools were stuck in.
It contrasted starkly with her very neat attire.
That frail woman was Van Hohenheim, the chief director of the Magic Tower, and the world's only Master of 'Magic.'
I had seen her a few times as a Shadow, and she always looked the same.
"...I really hate coming to places like this..."
"Then couldn't you just not come?"
"...A drifter like you might not get it, but people in positions responsible for an entire organization can't just decide things on a whim like that."
When Hulan, attending for the first time, commented lightly on her dislike of being there, she glared daggers at him.
Simply participating in this summit brought considerable benefits from the Holy See, which held a firm grip over religions worldwide, and the information handled here was entirely top secret.
If you could participate, it was unquestionably better to do so.
Even if you intended to exercise a veto, that was only possible if you could come to the conference hall and make your voice heard.
"You two over there, even here in the conference hall... no, right in front of me, you come wearing such trivial perception-inhibiting magic? Am I being looked down on a bit too much?"
Van Hohenheim, who had been glaring at Hulan, suddenly cast magic at us.
An invisible wave shot forth.
-Pishisik
"...Sorry, but that's going to be a little difficult."
However, the magic failed to take effect.
In my hand and Teacher's, pure white Aura Blades flashed.
The moment we saw her use magic, we drew and cut it down instantly.
The magic she used must have been Dispel.
Everyone else's identities were public, but only Teacher and I, as Shadows, had our faces concealed and used perception-inhibiting magic. It must have grated on her, but we couldn't reveal our identities now.
"Drawing your swords? What, you want to try something?"
"You're one to talk, flinging magic the moment you see us."
Teacher's mood had soured, and just as things were about to turn into a real fight, Director raised his arm to stop it.
Then he stepped forward and addressed Hohenheim himself.
"That's enough. You can see everything with your Magic Eye anyway. Why not just keep it to yourself?"
"What insolence, hiding your faces before me. You might have grabbed just anyone to make up the numbers, for all I know. Are those two really even Masters?"
"They cut down your magic right before your eyes—do you need further proof? Or was your magic the kind of shabby thing just anyone could cut down?"
It seemed they had a bad relationship even normally, as Director and Hohenheim suddenly started squabbling.
"There they go again. Don't they ever get sick of it?"
"Are they always like that?"
"It seems because they're in the most symbiotic relationship, each tries to devour the other a little more. The greed of humans is so sticky, isn't it?"
"So Masters aren't anything special."
.
.
.
.
.
It really looked like they might break into a fight at any moment, but at some point, their argument halted abruptly, as if doused with ice water.
It was because the final person had entered.
"What's this summit all of a sudden? No matter that it's the Church, ordering the Five Star Archduke Heiness around—isn't that a bit much?"
A man grumbled but walked in wearing a greasy smile.
He was a remarkably neat and well-dressed man of tall stature.
He had sharp eyes, a slender jawline, and a slightly hooked nose that stood out, but even that looked charming on him.
On his splendid uniform, which was not the least bit inferior to Director's, five brooches glittered.
Each brooch was engraved with the emblem of a kingdom.
The sole Master of the Five Kingdom Alliance, formed to oppose the Empire, Edmund Heiness had arrived last.
"Linda, is he always this late?"
"That he is. Amusingly enough, he always tries to arrive just a little later than me."
Teacher watched Edmund walking in confidently and asked.
It was my first time seeing Edmund in person, but I already knew he had that kind of personality.
A severe narcissist with an exhausting personality that centered all thought on himself.
In the original story, he was never properly featured after having his entire body devoured by the descending Beelzebub, but the fact that he held on for quite a while showed he had the skill to warrant his arrogance.
"A lot of unfamiliar faces...? Did you scrape them together to keep me in check? Even without that, my arms are always open, so you only need to convey your sincere heart to me anytime~"
"Your nonsense is hard to tolerate, you brat. Just sit quietly in your seat."
"You want me to sit beside you? Huhu saying that in front of everyone..."
When Edmund, smirking and lost in self-admiration, was snapped at by Hohenheim, he instead glided over to sit beside Hohenheim.
'That's a pretty interesting footwork technique.'
The way he slid across the floor without appearing to move his legs was extremely fascinating.
Seeing Edmund actually come to sit beside her, Hohenheim bared her teeth as if ready to kill him on the spot, but he just smiled.
[Then... it seems everyone is gathered.]
At the vibration that resonated throughout the room, the Masters ceased their squabbling.
[You're all surely busy, so I'm grateful you always gather like this.]
And then, parting the black curtain, Saint Macinto—the massive red dragon who had invited everyone—revealed himself.
Having guarded the Holy See for such a long time after being called by God, as if his prime had yet to end, he boasted lustrous scales and prostrated before the table, looking down at us below.
Until just before, I hadn't even sensed his presence; it was a marvel how he had appeared.
[Then, since there is no one else to come... I shall begin the Summit.]
The conference upon which the survival of the continent hinged had begun.