Hero Summoning, the Demon King Descends (2)
"Hm?"
After eating a late dinner with Serenia and returning to her bedroom, Beatris had to wonder whether she was seeing things. A crystal orb was glowing with black magical light. A communication request had come in to the magic device that had lain dormant for so long.
Why now?
That was her first thought.
She had always believed there would come a day when they would have to use it again. But now was too soon.
...It surely isn’t about my husband.
Even as unease crept over her, Beatris gathered up the crystal orb and prepared to contact them.
Maybe this would be good news after all.
It might even help my husband.
Her eyes sparkled.
Leaving out the demon king, who had been officially recognized as Valdes’s legal wife, there was still no true number one in his harem. And Valdes planned to remain infiltrated within the continent for at least another year and a half. During that time, the demon king would stay in Demon King Castle.
If Valdes made great strides in conquering the continent over the next year and a half, she might not only edge closer to second place in the harem, but even receive his favor on a more exclusive basis. Since she carried the original sin of having taken part in the attempt to assassinate Valdes, she needed to work even harder for his love.
That was why she had kept the crystal orb a secret from Valdes as well.
It had once been used for secret meetings related to the assassination of the Hero, and later, from some point on, for communications among those opposing the Dezak Empire.
It had barely been used lately, but no one knew when it might prove its worth again. Since it included many important figures from every nation except the Dezak Empire, it could be used not only while they were infiltrating, but later, when they started a war as well.
If I can dig up some useful information, my husband will be pleased, won’t he? Heh heh heh.
Unlike her two daughters, who were merely princesses, or Serenia, who was only an ordinary countess, she was a queen. And though it was embarrassing, she had played a small part in the Hero’s assassination.
It was a dark chapter in her history, but she was confident she could turn even that into an opportunity.
Sorry, but I’m going to get a little ahead of myself!
After finishing her preparations, Beatris activated the crystal orb.
She must not have been too late, because a few of the lights still had not gone out.
"Who called this meeting all of a sudden? I thought we’d never need this thing again."
Beatris went straight for the question. There was no one here she needed to exchange pleasantries with. And even if there had been, that sort of thing belonged somewhere else, not in a secret gathering like this.
The one who answered her was Marc, king of the Ventorino Kingdom. He was a frivolous, irritating man with a laugh to match, but even he looked solemn in a place like this.
"It seems Saintess Claudi was the one who called us."
"The saintess?"
Of all people, the saintess...
The feeling of unease began creeping back again.
Saintess Claudi.
The girl who had been appointed the new saintess after the previous one received a revelation from the goddess and died while searching for the Hero. That tiny little saintess had grown into a fully mature beauty in her thirties before anyone had realized it.
Claudi was a rare beauty among saintesses, kind to the people and eager to serve, so she was wildly popular. A saintess with the accomplishment of having once defeated the Demon King herself periodically healed the citizens of the Holy Kingdom with powerful Holy Power, so it was impossible for her not to be popular.
But Beatris disliked her. Everyone in this meeting disliked Claudi. They either hated her or found her irritating. It was one or the other. Even Luciano, the dwarf paladin from the Holy Kingdom, did not like her.
Saintess Claudi was still devout. So devout, in fact, that she had become fanatical.
A fanatic.
That was the most fitting word for Saintess Claudi.
If that woman is the one who called us, there’s no way this is for a good reason...
It would have been better if it were Luciano, at least.
That dwarf was an abnormal clergyman who loved money and war more than he loved the gods.
He was always going on about purging the heretics and restarting the war until every last demon was wiped out. No one here believed his claims that it was for the goddess’s sake alone; it was obvious he just wanted war. Since he was making those arguments from the western end of the continent, farthest from Demon King territory, Luciano had already been written off as deeply unlikeable in both Ulsro Kingdom and Ventorino Kingdom.
By contrast, the saintess visited Ulsro once every three or four years, dazzling everyone with that brilliant light of hers, so there were almost no citizens who disliked her. If Claudi began making strange claims and the rumors spread, it would become a headache.
"Her stepping forward is surprising," Beatris said.
"Heh heh. That only means the matter is serious."
It was the voice of an old man.
He was one of the three lords of the southern alliance on the continent.
The sly old fox ruled the jungle of the three southern powers: jungle, desert, and archipelago. This man was also one of the targets on Valdes’s list of vengeance. His place on that list was not especially high, but if war broke out, he would be a troublesome enemy, so the internal factions absolutely had to be divided.
"Just how important could it be..."
"Hmm. Am I the last one to arrive?"
Before Beatris could finish, a young woman’s voice cut her off.
"Yes, Lady Angelina, you’re the last."
At the same moment, the host of the meeting, Saintess Claudi, appeared.
Beatris counted the lights that were on and the ones that had gone out. Eight were lit, five were dark. Since all five of the dark ones represented dead people, everyone who could come had indeed arrived.
Even now, this is quite the spectacular lineup.
Warrior Marc.
Saintess Claudi.
Dwarf paladin Luciano.
Elf archer Angelina.
Four members of the Hero’s party who had defeated the Demon King eighteen years ago. Of the original eight, three were dead—though in truth it was closer to two—and one was missing, so in effect, all the central figures of that war were gathered here. Over the long years since then, they had not only solidified their existing positions, but risen beyond them.
Marc had become king of the newly founded Ventorino Kingdom.
Claudi had spread the name of Saintess across the entire continent, gaining the power to exert real influence.
Luciano had, despite his obnoxious temperament, been appointed cardinal thanks to his enormous accomplishments.
Angelina had secured a seat among the Union Republic’s twelve councilors.
And the other four, the ones who had come from the same Hero’s party, were equally extraordinary. Back then, along with the now-dead great mage, they had all played a huge role in supporting the assassination of the Hero.
Beatris, queen of Ulsro Kingdom.
Isayas, ruler of the southern jungle and one of the three lords of the alliance.
Razli of the beastfolk, also a councilor of the Union Republic like Angelina.
And Sven, fourth elder of the Imperial Magic Tower and chairman of the continent’s black magic association.
They had been formidable even back then, but now they stood even higher above the continent’s power structure.
"So why did you gather all these busy people together, Claudi?" Sven, the black mage, asked.
"I’m already losing my mind because my disciple ran off. If this turns out to be nothing, I’ll file an official complaint with your side."
"Heh heh. I agree."
The mood was, as expected, far from pleasant. They had managed to gather everyone, but all of them led busy lives.
"The goddess has delivered an oracle."
"!!"
At the saintess’s words, surprise swept across Beatris’s face.
"What?"
"That’s... impossible..."
"I see. So that’s why the dwarf was keeping quiet."
"It is surprising, but is it really important enough to drag us all here?"
The atmosphere improved slightly, but for most of the people here—those who believed in the goddess but did not actively revere her—the news did not mean much. The significance of an oracle simply did not reach them.
"And... two Heroes have been summoned."
But when the saintess continued, everyone except Luciano was stunned into silence.
Beatris was so shocked she could not say a word. Unlike the others, she had something to feel guilty about. As the only one here who knew about Valdes, the existence of a Hero was deeply unsettling to her.
The goddess already...?! Why...? This is too fast!
No one could deny that the goddess was the only true god in the world.
Of course, the Goddess Church had countless believers, but few people formally joined or actively served it. Still, thanks to the vast barrier that kept the demons at bay, people believed in the goddess’s power and in her divinity.
The problem was that, by the same token, there was a limit to what else the goddess could do, and she had never been especially useful to the people of the continent in a direct sense.
The oracle from the previous war was the best example.
Only after the demons had already started the war and one kingdom had been more than half occupied did the goddess finally designate a Hero. That happened five years after the war had begun. Even then, the message had been so vague and so lacking in detail that it took another three years just to find the Hero. The previous saintess dying in the middle of it had been an added bonus.
If Pedro had not joined the war as a mercenary and made such a remarkable name for himself, finding the Hero would have been delayed even further.
And yet this goddess had summoned not one but two Heroes before the war had even started again. For Beatris, it was more than enough to leave her utterly flustered.
"A Hero... Heroes, huh..."
"But why? The demons are quiet, aren’t they?"
"Unless there’s some other problem... there’s never been a precedent for a Hero appearing when it wasn’t a demon issue."
"Heh heh. And two of them, no less..."
"But what do you mean, summoned?"
Perhaps because there were so many people, the voices from the crystal orb became noisy and overlapped. Even Beatris, who was too shocked to speak, and Claudi, who had brought up the subject, fell silent as the others clamored.
"I’ll explain step by step. First, the oracle I received said that the two men and women who were summoned are Heroes. And the two Heroes said they had met the goddess and heard her words."
"Oh..."
"Hmm."
"A threat is approaching the continent. Darkness is seeping into the continent, so we must stop it. Defeat the Demon King once again. We interpreted it this way: those filthy demons have not come to their senses and are plotting schemes."
"Darkness is seeping into the continent..."
The queen found herself repeating the phrase that stirred something deepest in her heart. No matter how she thought about it, that darkness seemed to mean Valdes.
"It’s only been eighteen years, and already..."
"So instead of open war, they’re resorting to dirty schemes... tsk."
"Once again? That sounds strangely ominous."
"Heh heh. I’m surprised none of you have any idea what that means."
"And when I say the Heroes were summoned, I mean exactly that: they were called from another world to this continent. The method used to appoint Heroes this time was different from the last, so we were taken aback as well. But after searching the records, it seems this kind of Hero summoning has happened a few times in the past. Of course... there has never been a case of two Heroes appearing at once."
"Does that mean this situation is that urgent?"
"Heh heh. It’s not only the number of Heroes that’s unusual, but the timing as well."
"Just how strong is the new Demon King, and how clever are his schemes? Hah."
Amid the confusion, the saintess clapped her hands once, drawing everyone’s attention.
"We can’t know why two Heroes were summoned, but as for the early timing, the Holy See believes this. First, even if you know in advance, it may still be dangerous, so be especially careful. Second—"
"These brats are still ridiculously weak. They’ll need at least a few months of training before they’re fit for anything."
"I see..."
"So they were summoned early in order to give the Heroes time to grow."
"Heh heh. If that’s the case, it makes sense."
...It could be something like that too. Maybe this is the goddess telling us to keep a tighter rein on the Heroes this time.
"......"
"......"
"......"
At the queen’s offhand remark, the crystal orb fell silent in an instant.
Everyone recalled that incident from eighteen years ago. They all found it unexpected. The one person who had most carefully avoided bringing it up was the first to speak of it.
Even if she had not said it, everyone had been thinking the same thing.
This time, there might be no need to kill the Heroes at all.
"There is one thing I’d like to ask..." Marc said. "What happened to the Heroes who were summoned before? Once their work was done, I mean."
"...The records are somewhat unclear, but it seems most of them returned to their own worlds."
"That... isn’t bad at all."
Everyone except Beatris thought the same thing. No matter how powerful the Heroes became or how great a threat they defeated, it would not have much effect on their own authority. If they stayed, it would depend on the situation, but this time they judged that the goddess had made a surprisingly good choice.
"That concludes what I needed to tell you. For the time being, the two Heroes will be kept by us and trained. The rest of you, please watch out for the demons."
And with that, the meeting came to an end.
The lights in the crystal orb went out completely, and Beatris finally let out the breath she had been holding.
If she had not known, it would have been one thing. But now that she did, there was no question that the information had to be passed on to Valdes. With intel of this caliber, Valdes would be very pleased. It might force him to revise his plans significantly, but that was still better than him being exposed.
"Heh heh heh. If I’m going to tell him the news, what should I ask for in return? Maybe I should casually slip in that I want to get pregnant... Heh. Heh heh heh."
The queen wore a grotesquely pleased smile as she slowly lifted the crystal orb linked to Valdes.