182. Summit Meeting

Edmund, slammed into the floor with enough force to shatter even the expensive table in two, was completely subdued.

Seized by Hulan, whose weapon was his body honed to the extreme, Edmund writhed and struggled to break free, but he was pinned face-down, making it difficult to exert any strength.

Even if they were comparable in level, the inherent difference in base physical ability between a dragon beastman and a human made escape through ordinary means impossible.

Unless he broke the floor or cut off Hulan's arm, he would have to keep this humiliating position.

"You didn't have to do that."

"This is amusing too, so let's just watch for now."

I awkwardly fiddled with the hilt of my sword.

If Hulan hadn't subdued him, my blade would have cleaved Edmund in two.

Teacher had been just about to draw his sword, and the Director, though she hadn't spoken, also seemed poised to attack at any moment.

It was laughable, but in a sense, Hulan had practically saved his life.

After all, there was no way he could have endured the combined assault of three Masters.

"You..!!"

Edmund, caught in Hulan's grip, thrashed about in a wretched manner.

Much like a thuggish drunk subdued by an older gangster after a rampage, he flailed only with his mouth, spewing all sorts of harsh language. It was an incredibly ugly sight.

However, as someone who had also reached the realm of Master, Edmund did have a hidden card to play.

By suddenly pulling his body downward, he slipped out of Hulan's grasp like a loach.

"Whoa, that's gross... his movements were weird just now, how did he slip out?"

"Perhaps he has a loach beastman somewhere in his ancestry. If you looked closely, wouldn't you find scales?"

The sight of him slipping out rather than breaking free with raw strength was incredibly fascinating.

Though he had managed to escape somehow, his carefully styled hair and sharply pressed clothes were now a complete mess.

Edmund probably wasn't genuinely out of breath, but he was so agitated that he snorted and gasped for air violently.

Perhaps because he had been attacked every time he had opened his mouth during the summit, his eyes were even more bloodshot than before.

"I'm covered in that filthy lizard stench...!"

"... What?"

Ah, there he went and said it.

He stepped on a landmine.

An absolutely massive one, at that.

He probably said it without thinking much of it, but that made it even worse.

Calling someone a lizard, here in a place where a dragon beastman and a dragon were gathered together... there were limits even to boldness.

"You are young and ill-mannered."

Hulan did not tolerate the insult.

The moment he heard it, his claws sharpened immediately, and he unleashed volleys of Sword Aura with the clear intent of tearing Edmund to shreds.

"Alright then... you want to do this, huh! Let me teach you some manners...!!"

Concluding that since Hulan had launched the first strike, he himself wouldn't face serious repercussions for lashing out, Edmund also drew his sword and countered Hulan's Sword Aura.

Abruptly, the Sword Aura of the two Masters clashed violently, tearing up the vast underground chamber of the Grand Temple.

"Whoa?! Mister, calm down!! We're underground!!"

"I'm not patient enough to endure something like this!"

The place where the summit was being held was the basement of the Grand Temple.

One wrong move and the pillars could all be pulverized, potentially forcing everyone to use the Grand Temple as their tomb.

Though, it was so entertaining I wanted to keep watching.

As expected, Edmund was appalled to see that his attacks couldn't even penetrate a single scale of Hulan's.

"Kgh!!"

He dodged well and tried his best to land an effective blow, but in the end, while launching ineffectual attacks, he was caught.

If Hulan had been merely trying to grab him, Edmund might have continued to evade with narrowly precise movements, but Hulan had caught on to some extent and seized Edmund's shoulder with his claws wreathed in Aura.

His shoulder was pierced by the pale ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Aura Blade, and blood began to seep out.

"Lizard? Say that again. Do I still look like one to you...!!"

Hulan raised his fist while still holding onto Edmund.

Unable to move a muscle, Edmund's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠body shrank back at the prospect of being pummeled by the dragon beastman who had pulverized a mountain.

[I believe I told you to stop.]

Just as things were really about to overheat, shining chains burst forth from all directions and first coiled around Hulan's arm.

"Hrk?!"

"What is this..! Stay out of it!!"

In the blink of an eye, both of them were restrained.

Hulan was bound just tightly enough to make it difficult to move, while Edmund was bound without a single gap to slip through.

They struggled desperately to break free, but eventually gave up.

There had been no need for anyone else to step up.

[If this continues, it will truly become a death match. Since it seems there are Masters here for the first time, I will adjourn around this point for today. If you intend to attend regularly, learn the rules.]

Around McIntosh, the red dragon, dozens of Holy Relics were floating.

Each and every one was a Holy Relic of the same caliber as the Sacred Orb I possessed.

Though not a Master, the 'Saint' and 'Red Dragon' raising his voice among Masters was no easy opponent.

[And... Five Star Duke. You knew the rules, yet you drew your sword first... First, the Five Kingdom Alliance's speaking rights are suspended for three years... and separately from that, it seems you will need to have a conversation with me.]

Though he wasn't outwardly showing it much, McIntosh's voice was laced with unmistakable anger.

———————————————

Everyone was heading up to the surface after the summit ended.

It felt ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like a faint earthquake was happening underground, but everyone tried hard to ignore it.

"I got almost everything I wanted."

"Well done. It would have been better if Edmund hadn't acted up at the very end... but that is regrettable."

I spoke casually as we exited after the summit.

What I absolutely had to accomplish in this summit was, ultimately, to create a pretext for the other Masters to attack the Demon Church's strongholds.

Bringing up things like the baptism earlier was entirely to cultivate that atmosphere.

In truth, I couldn't guarantee there were no other Corrupted Ones among the Masters.

In the original story, as the Great Demons began awakening rampantly, about half of the Masters were killed off right from the start, but that wasn't the case now.

There could be more Masters harboring foolish thoughts who simply hadn't been revealed yet.

By using the Sword Saint's case as a pretext and creating an atmosphere where being a Master no longer made one a sanctuary, things became much easier.

There were probably other Masters inwardly debating whether they really needed to step up just to hunt down heretics like the Demon Church, but in this atmosphere, refusing would unnecessarily attract suspicion.

I was planning to exchange a few words with Teacher or the Director and then leave, but someone called out to me.

"... Hey, you there."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. The shortest one."

A vein almost popped up on my forehead.

Who was she calling short when she wasn't that much different from me in height?

Van Hohenheim was staring directly at me.

Seeing as her left pupil was glowing faintly, she was apparently using her Mystic Eye to see through the Cognition Hindrance Magic.

I wanted to keep it hidden, but she insisted on peering behind the mask; it was immensely rude.

I knew she hadn't approached me out of simple curiosity.

After all, I had mentioned a keyword to pique her interest.

For various reasons, I had to deal with her.

"What is it?"

I didn't speak to her formally this time either.

Privately, Van Hohenheim, a Master who had reached the pinnacle of magic, was someone to be respected, but standing here as one of the Shadows of the Empire, I did not address her with honorifics.

It was because only Teacher and the Director were my seniors; everyone else was a Master in an equal position.

If I used honorifics, it would mean a Master of the Empire was using formal speech to a Master of another nation, which would get troublesome.

No matter how much of a Shadow I was, fundamentals had to be observed.

"Aren't we acquainted?"

"I have seen you once before, yes."

This was not our first meeting.

I hadn't had a proper conversation with Van Hohenheim; I had met her once before when I had to request cooperation from the Magic Tower as a Shadow.

We hadn't had a deep discussion; it had just been a few brief, business-like words and then it ended.

"This summit was incredibly interesting. The fact that the dormant Great Demons have started moving again... and that you've already dealt with several of them, as well."

"What is it you want to say?"

"You already know full well. Isn't that why you brought it up to me?"

"Let's leave it at that."

As the conversation showed signs of deepening, the Director interjected and cut it off.

"I do have business with you too, but as the mistress of the Magic Tower, I'll state it formally later, so step aside for now. I have something to say to that Shadow."

"We're all busy people, so how about a deep discussion later after setting a proper appointment? There are many watching eyes here."

"It's urgent... but you're not wrong."

She subtly glanced around the surroundings.

A few people were eavesdropping on this conversation, everyone feigning ignorance while holding their breath.

It wasn't like we were in a private room, so there was an issue with discussing deep matters.

Hohenheim fumbled through her hair for a moment, then pulled out a high-quality sheet of parchment and instantaneously engraved a magical formula onto it.

"It's an invitation. If you come to the Magic Tower with this, you'll be able to meet me directly. I won't let you come empty-handed, so stop by sometime."

"I'll drop by if I have business in the area."

"I'd like you to come as soon as possible. Preferably, bring the horn of that Great Demon with you."

"I'll think about it."

——————————————-

After parting ways with Hohenheim, I prepared to leave in earnest.

I had thought about at least greeting Hulan once it was over, but he had already left with Rui.

Since we had formed a good connection, I decided to consider it a win-win.

As for leaving, I could just tear the Teleport Scroll I received like last time, but seeing as I had come all the way to the Holy Nation, it would be best to take care of all pending business while I was here.

"So we're going back now, right?"

"There are people I need to see, so I was thinking of taking care of that before we leave."

Teacher, who had little connection to the Holy Nation, seemed eager to leave this place quickly.

"You two handle that on your own. I have a schedule to keep, so I need to go back."

But the Director said she would return right away, as if she had a backlog of work waiting.

Even though it was a rare gathering of the three of us, and we could have talked more.

-Can't we have a proper talk sometime?

Come to think of it, she had said something like that when there was a bit of time.

"Linda, if you're going straight back to the capital, stop by the estate at least once. It's been so long since I've been there that they mistook me for you."

"I want to go too. Since I received the territory, how many times do you think I've even visited it?"

"... Still, isn't it about twenty times?"

After becoming a Master and having her skills recognized, the Director had been granted a title along with a territory.

However, with her duties as the Imperial Knights Commander, she preferred to stay in the capital, so she left her family members in the territory, entrusted its management to someone else, and resided in a mansion she had prepared in the capital.

"The people there probably don't even know I'm their lord. But I can't help it; do you know how much work there is to do in the capital?!"

"It's land truly worth its weight in gold, given to a Master, and you can't even visit it."

"The only way I can really feel that is by watching my wealth pile up."

"Then why don't you start a family or something? You haven't visited even once since your father passed away."

"Now you're sounding just like my father used to, cheekily."

The Director claimed she had things to handle immediately and had to leave, but that didn't mean she worked through the night.

Having served in the Knight Order once, I at least knew when the Director got off work.

"Director, then shall we go to the capital together?"

"... Atlas, you have to go back to the Academy."

"You know me. I can go back right away if I want to, anyway. We'll be waiting for you at the tavern until you finish work."

"That's true. Ah, I need to go and change my clothes too. I'm getting itchy from wearing this damn quilted armor all the time. It's been a while, I should dress like a civilized person."

Seeing us happily saying we would follow and wait just because she was leaving first, the Director sighed.

"I envy you, having so much ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠free time."

She turned her back resolutely and tore the scroll.

The fragments of parchment began to glow, emitting a halo of light that enveloped the Director's body.

I wondered if this was a rejection, but just before she vanished, the Director turned back toward us.

"... Half past nine. The tavern behind the barracks."

After leaving those quiet words, the Director, wrapped in the halo of light, disappeared from the corridor.

"You heard that?"

"Yes, I heard it. Is she telling us to wait there?"

"Is she going through a late puberty or something? What's with her?"

Looking at the spot where the Director had vanished, Teacher wore an expression of disbelief.

It was indeed an uncharacteristic sight for the usual Director.

Was she embarrassed?