66
Chapter 66
Imperial Year 394.
The Holy Nation is weeping.
Because of one woman.
"Saint! Please stop!"
"If you leave, who will truly uphold the Church!"
"Stop this at once! The Empire has already decided, so why do you oppose it!"
"The Demon Beast Forest is a cursed place! It is no place for someone as noble as you!"
Everyone is weeping, but the woman's will does not bend. She is stubborn.
Step, step, step, step-.
The woman walks. Along the path that everyone desperately opposes. The path where they scream that it is impossible and criticize it as a foolish act.
Her name is the Saint, Iroel.
*****
Now, let's try a very interesting imagination.
There was food prepared for breakfast, but huh? When checking in the morning, it had vanished without a trace.
"Let's just confess."
I cannot let this slide. I am the leader here. I am Aru's captain, Beatrice's lord, and Uriel's leader. I must not be looked down upon. It would chip away at my face and prestige, and furthermore, it would lead to the collapse of the party's hierarchy.
"Let's surrender peacefully. This is a serious matter."
"Woof woof? Why? What happened?"
"Our breakfast has disappeared."
"...! Woof! Woof woof woof! Woof woof woof woof woof!"
Aru barks frantically at the news that the meal has gone missing.
I can't just believe her. This could be an act. Since puberty, Aru's acting skills have improved quite a bit, and these days, her acting is at a level that can even deceive me completely.
As a director, I want to praise an actor with great skills, but if that actor embezzled money, it's a different story.
However.
"This morning's breakfast was a salad made of vegetables."
Flinch-.
"There is no way Aru, a wolf, would steal and eat a salad."
"Gulp-."
"Dame Beatrice, why are you 'flinching' and 'gulping' your saliva?"
At my sharp observation, Dame Beatrice narrows her eyes. Don't tell me you were the culprit? You always act so noble and poised, but you stole the breakfast behind my back? Can you even call yourself a knight after that?
"...I believe I saw something vaguely while half-asleep."
"What was it?"
"Something whitish, moving near the Lord's bag."
"...!"
Something whitish!
There is only one white being in our party. Former Archangel Uriel, who is still a baby angel because her wings haven't grown a bit in a hundred years.
Aru is covered in navy-blue hair that reaches down to her thighs, and Beatrice always sticks to her brown ponytail. Neither of them reminds me of pure white in the slightest.
"Uriel?"
Flinch-.
"I just heard your heart race. Don't even think about denying it. You stole and ate it, didn't you?"
"Yes, that is correct."
"...What?"
"Why are you asking back? I said I ate it. I was hungry."
This crazy bitch, why is she so confident after stealing?
"Surely you wouldn't actually kill me?"
"...."
Uriel had a plan all along.
The plan of an arrogant woman who does whatever she wants, relying on her background.
The plan is so blunt and perfect that I can't even say anything.
"Then you cook."
"But there are no ingredients."
"Aw, dammit, you can just go into the mountains and get some yourself."
"You want me to enter the Demon Beast Forest?"
Hmm, now that I think about it, Uriel is currently a pathetic weakling who can't even beat an average monster. If Uriel were to die, Michael would immediately descend upon the Demon Beast Forest.
She really does have a plan.
Thanks to that, my mood is ruined from the start of the morning.
"Sigh, forget it. Hey! Aru! Go get some food!"
"Woof woof! Today's meal is the young demon's responsibility!"
"This pet talks too much! If you talk back one more time, I'll definitely feed you vegetables for dinner!"
"Whimper... mean demon... wicked captain...."
"Where did you learn words like that? Am I some corporate CEO? To be called 'wicked'?"
Still, I have a reliable assistant (slave). That's Aru.
If Uriel is going to be brazen, I'll be brazen too. Of course, my target is Aru.
If Aru were just a little bit smarter, she would have pointed out being a 'junior' and pushed it onto Beatrice.
"Whimper... wicked demon... I'm always the only one working...."
Aru, who exists somewhere on the borderline between the intelligence of a wolf and a human, couldn't even come up with such an idea. Dragging her shoulders, Aru weakly stood up and trudged away into the Demon Beast Forest.
Before long, the sound of monsters being slaughtered could be heard from afar. Our admirable Aru has already grown to the level of a decent powerhouse. It's been a while since our party gained some notoriety in the Demon Beast Forest.
Of course, she hasn't reached the level of the Five Kings yet. She's only trained for two hundred years; reaching the level of the Five Kings now would be a balance break.
Actually, the one who stole the food was me, hehe. After watching Uriel eat the salad, no one suspects that I was the one in whitish clothing who stole the other foods. This is why you have to be good at acting.
"Lord, there is something I wish to ask."
"Why?"
"A few days ago... you've been excited, saying you'll be meeting someone in the near future. I would like to ask who that 'person' is. A person, here in the Demon Beast Forest...."
"I was curious about that as well. Leader, what kind of person are you meeting in the middle of the Demon Realm?"
Ah, was it that?
It is about time I told them. Good, since Aru isn't here, I should use this opportunity to explain.
"Dame Beatrice, Uriel. Have either of you heard of the King of Humans?"
"The King of Humans? What is that?"
"The King of Humans... I know of him. But why do you mention it? There are no Kings of Humans in this era."
What do you mean there are none? He's perfectly alive. She's talking like he doesn't even exist just because she doesn't know him.
Every race has a born 'king.' Like the Dragon Lord who rules the dragon race, the Five Kings who stand at the peak of their respective species, or Aru, the Wolf King. Or the Demon King, who stands as the sovereign of the demon race.
Humans are no exception. There is a human born as a king—not a titular king or one created artificially, but one born naturally as a king.
There is no law saying that such a human must live integrated into human society.
"Do you happen to know of a certain primitive man who caused a stir in the Western part of the Demon Beast Forest about twenty years ago?"
"...I've heard rumors here and there."
"Do you mean the human called the Human King by the monsters? I heard he was called the only countermeasure to Dragon King Endros, who reigns in the West. Hmm, is he perhaps the 'King of Humans' you speak of?"
"Exactly. He was famous for being incredibly strong, but he vanished twenty years ago."
The current year is Imperial Year 414.
Twenty years ago, in Imperial Year 394, a human entered the Demon Beast Forest. Saint Iroel, the Reformation Saint. She harbored the absurd goal of reforming the Demon Beast Forest.
Everyone scoffed, but the Reformation Saint did not bend her will. This was because the Empire at the time had established a massive 220-year long-term project: the 'Demon Beast Forest Extermination' plan. Saint Iroel argued that burning the entire forest was crossing the line, even if it were a cursed land, and eventually stepped forward herself.
Naturally, Saint Iroel's journey ended in failure. However, she bought time. Nearly a hundred years of it. Furthermore, after entering the Demon Beast Forest, Saint Iroel faced all sorts of hardships and adversity she had never experienced while in the Holy Church, yet she continued to spread love and reformation.
In response, a primitive man was moved by the Saint. A savage primitive, called the Human King, who didn't even possess a proper language.
Saint Iroel died. Slain by a group of monsters under the command of Dragon King Endros, the ruler of the West. And perhaps influenced by her death, the Human King chose to vanish.
Later, after breaking that long seclusion to enter the world, he caused quite a commotion... but anyway.
Today, I meet that Human King. And I will recruit him.
To become my 'third assistant.'
Hm? Why third assistant when Uriel is here? Since when was Uriel my assistant? She's just a nuisance I need when I want to pin the blame for eating midnight snacks on someone.
"I heard the King of Humans is incredibly powerful. Will you be alright?"
"Why, do you lack confidence? Aside from that parasite over there, isn't our team pretty top-tier?"
"Wha-what? Leader! Did you just dare call me a parasite!"
"Well, that's true, but... the opponent is the Human King. Twenty years ago, everyone was buzzing about how the Five Kings might become Six Kings."
"What do you mean 'that's true'! A Holy Knight dares to speak so rudely to an angel."
"And you're an angel, despite holding blasphemy in your heart and getting all your wings plucked out?"
"...! B-Beatrice, you...!"
Uriel looks like she's about to faint from shock. I laughed out loud.
"Why don't you just admit it like I did, Uriel? It's much easier once you fall."
"D-don't talk nonsense! I will absolutely return to being an Archangel!"
"I don't think that's something someone who hasn't grown a single feather in a hundred years should say."
"Guh...! Just wait and see! My wings will grow back in no time!"
"Pfft."
"Y-you, did you just laugh? A Holy Knight being so insolent...!"
Even while I'm laughing heartily, Uriel reacts violently to Beatrice's faint smile.
Honestly, when did she become such a clown? When we first met, she was the very image of the blood-iron judge clad in flames. Did her mental state regress as her status dropped? To be teased by a swordsman like Beatrice.
"Certainly, it could be dangerous. If the Human King decides to be hostile, there's a high chance all four of us will face a disaster."
I stepped in between Uriel, who was grabbing Beatrice by the collar and shaking her back and forth, and Beatrice herself. Both looked at me with wide eyes. It was as if they were silently asking, "But do you actually have to touch us?"
"But seriously, since when do we avoid things just because they're dangerous? As long as it isn't a suicide mission, we should try everything!"
I mean, I've even attempted suicide in the past for the sake of a plan. Compared to that, this is a piece of cake.
"A hundred years ago."
Beatrice spoke up. A hundred years ago was when she and I first met.
"Back then, my Lord also undertook a task where your life hung in the balance. All to make God submit."
"Did I? My memory is a bit fuzzy."
"My Lord was weaker than the God of that time, who even wielded Lucifer's power, yet you stood boldly before him. Even when Uriel was still an Archangel, you stood before her without using a single drop of power."
"Honestly, I was terrified back then, but why is this coming up now?"
"It is because I feel you are about to do something similar this time."
Beatrice is sharp as always. Her memory is impressive too. I can't believe a mere human remembers things from a hundred years ago so vividly.
"Is that a hunch?"
"Pardon?"
"I asked if it's a hunch. What you just said."
"Ah, yes. It is a hunch."
"Good intuition. You're a natural warrior."
Will I do something similar to a hundred years ago?
I don't know yet.
Because I don't actually know the King of Humans.
What kind of story does he have, how did he meet Saint Iroel, why did he love her, and with what mindset did he choose to disappear?
And why, two hundred years from now, would he join forces with the Great Sage 'Merlin Gregory' to take down Dragon King Endros?
I don't know any of it yet. Since the research hasn't been done, I don't even know what color of paint is in my hand, so I can't predict what kind of picture I'll paint.
"Everyone, get ready for now. I'm going to meet the King of Humans today. I'll be gone for a bit. When Aru gets back, please give her a pat on the back for doing a good job."
"Yes, I shall tend to my Greatsword."
"I... ."
"Baby Angel, you have nothing to do. Just keep an eye on Dame Beatrice. Why pretend to be busy when you're nothing more than a parasite?"
"Wha-what are you saying...!"
"Wow, look at her stuttering because she knows it's true. Anyway, just stay put. Don't cause any trouble."
"Guh...! Just you wait...! I may be a parasite now, but once I become an Archangel...!!"
"Geez, you're still living in a dream world."
In my opinion, it'll take Uriel at least ten thousand years to become an Archangel. I can submit the fact that she's made zero progress in a hundred years as evidence.
Leaving behind Uriel, who was grinding her teeth and letting out a spiteful groan, I left the area and went behind a large tree. Then, I took an object out of my pocket.
A black rosary that still radiated light, despite being worn for two hundred years.
"Tel."
Pressing my lips to the rosary, I whispered softly, infusing it with purple energy. Soon, the voice I love most in the world would be heard from beyond the rosary.
[I have been waiting, Joker.]
Just hearing the voice made the corners of my mouth curl up on their own. I wonder if this is what they call love.