Chapter 190: The Changed Past (5)

Several days had passed since I refused Princess Diana’s marriage proposal.

Then, the door to the separate palace where Raion was staying burst open.

“I’ve arrived! Master!”

It was the merchant Fordman.

At his sudden appearance, Jade, who had been passing through the entrance lobby of the separate palace, flinched in surprise.

“Fordman! Where have you been all this time!”

“There was something you ordered me to do, Master. More importantly, where is the Master?”

“He should be in his office. I’m heading there anyway, so come this way.”

For some reason, Jade and Fordman always got along well.

It was probably because both of them shared a tendency toward noisy chatter and a love of freedom.

“Hahaha, Sir Jade, why are you the one guiding me? Don’t tell me you got lost again?”

“Hahaha! How did you know?”

“I can tell just by looking! And I know where the office is.”

That was because before revealing his identity, I had once summoned Fordman while pretending to buy goods.

The two of them chatted away about all sorts of things as they walked toward the office.

Knock, knock.

“Come in.”

With the knock, the door opened.

Inside, Raion was alone(?).

“It’s been a while, Master.”

“It has. Are the preparations going well?”

“There’s nothing to worry about.”

“That’s a relief. Have a seat for now. Patrick, some tea please— hm?”

Patrick had definitely been standing by the window behind Raion just moments ago.

But now, the window was open, and only the curtains fluttered in the wind.

“…….”

Jade’s and Fordman’s voices had been so loud that they could be heard all the way down the corridor to the office.

“Looks like Patrick stepped out in a hurry.”

“Ah, is that so? I thought I might finally get to see him after so long. I even brought a few daggers from the Dekelan Kingdom as gifts if I met him.”

Fordman had not seen Patrick even once since Raion arrived in the Mineta Kingdom.

There had been several chances until now, yet they had never crossed paths.

Of course, there should have been opportunities, but every time, Patrick disappeared suddenly like this.

“I’ll pass them along for you.”

“Would you do that?”

After taking the daggers from him, Raion moved on to the main topic.

“So, what exactly is the situation?”

In the meantime, Fordman had temporarily left the Mineta Kingdom to check the areas near the border with the Dior Empire.

It was because he had sensed something ominous early on with the appearance of the demon race.

“First of all, I confirmed that a considerable number of troops have been deployed to the border regions.”

“They didn’t block merchants or anything like that, did they?”

“There were no such signs.”

Normally, once signs of war began to appear, the first thing to be prepared was supplies.

Among those, merchants became the greatest means of securing materials.

Merchants knew this well, which was why during wartime, unless it was their own country, they did not cross borders.

“It’s really strange…… no, maybe not. If they’re using those things, perhaps they don’t even need preparations.”

“What do you mean by ‘those things’?”

Fordman did not know what had happened due to the Dior delegation.

So Raion summarized it briefly for him.

“Is that really true? You’re saying they can make people possess that kind of power?”

“At the very least, they made them leap beyond two stages.”

If it was a knight with Swordsmanship Level 8–9, they were pushed into the early stages of Swordmaster, and an early-stage Swordmaster at Swordsmanship Level 10 was raised to intermediate or higher.

If someone of even greater skill awakened as a ‘MAGUS,’ it would be truly dangerous.

“The demon race really is incredible.”

“That’s why I’ll be visiting the Bachenan Holy Kingdom soon.”

“In this situation?”

Because no one knew when the Dior Empire might start a war.

If there were another kingdom between the Canel Kingdom and the Empire, it might be different.

But in a situation where they would clash directly, the risks to bear were great.

“I need to go as quickly as possible. I’ve already spent too much time here.”

That was because I had been gathering various pieces of information through the Blue Sun.

I could have done it while moving, but since the visit of the delegation had been unexpected, I needed to be cautious.

“I’ve also heard through the Adventurer’s Guild and merchants that the atmosphere in other kingdoms is terrifying.”

There were places where the royal capital had collapsed overnight.

The Dior Empire had practically been branded as a public enemy on the continent.

Even if all the kingdoms formed an alliance and moved together, it still wouldn’t be enough.

However, because of the war that could break out at any time, even that was close to impossible.

“For now, airlift all the gathered supplies here to Mineta and Boluzan.”

“To Boluzan as well?”

“It’s the route that leads into Mineta. The same goes for the Bachenan Holy Kingdom—if that place is breached, it’ll be dangerous.”

“I will do so.”

“Everything here is wrapped up now, so it’s time to go.”

Even now, it was already very late.

Moreover, many things had changed compared to both the original past and the future.

It had become impossible to even speculate on the timing and course of the war.

In a situation like this, securing as much information, supplies, and manpower as possible and preparing for what was to come took priority.

There were about two days left before departing for the Bachenan Holy Kingdom.

Then, news arrived from the royal capital.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince. We’ve received word that the Holy Emperor of the Holy Kingdom has arrived at the Mineta Royal Capital!”

At that news, Raion was taken by surprise as well.

The Holy Emperor never left the Bachenan Holy Kingdom.

“Is he coming straight into the royal palace?”

“Yes. His Majesty the King has requested that you enter the Great Hall.”

“Let’s go immediately!”

Raion made his preparations.

Patrick, who tended to disappear at the slightest turn, along with Jade, Negis, and Caldein, followed behind him.

.

.

.

In the Great Hall, the key figures of the Danas Federation delegation, who were still staying in the Mineta Kingdom, were also present.

In particular, Princess Diana Omtia smiled gently as she looked at Raion entering the Great Hall.

‘It seems she hasn’t let go so easily.’

The conditions she had proposed last time were still standing.

As recently as yesterday, she had conveyed her confession to Raion.

Of course, there was no sincerity behind it.

Raion lightly ignored the princess’s gaze and waited.

Not long after, the doors of the Great Hall swung wide open, and the shout of the knight guarding the entrance rang out.

“The Holy Emperor enters!”

A woman clad in a dazzlingly pure white priestly robe entered the Great Hall, her silver-white hair flowing down to her waist.

Though she walked quietly, the hall was so silent that even the sound of breathing could not be heard.

“I offer my respects to the King of Mineta. May the blessing of Goddess Zigasis be upon you…….”

The Holy Emperor approached the throne at the front of the Great Hall, clasped both hands together, and bowed her head.

At the prayer-like greeting, Deborah stepped forward as well.

“To come all this way, I’m truly grateful. Since this is not the proper place, let’s move elsewhere.”

The Great Hall had been gathered solely to receive the Holy Emperor.

With King Deborah’s words, they moved to another room beside the hall.

Deborah, King of the Mineta Kingdom; Diana, Princess of the Danas Federation; Francis, Holy Emperor of the Bachenan Holy Kingdom; and Raion, Prince of the Canel Kingdom, sat in a circle.

The others had seats prepared separately behind them.

“First, I would like to explain the reason I came here in person.”

As she went straight to the point, no one spoke and simply waited.

After a brief silence, Holy Emperor Francis unfolded a long parchment and spoke.

[Beings with pitch-black skin who fill their bellies with human blood and flesh……. The land upon which they descend shall be filled with foul-smelling blood…….]

“The pitch-black darkness described here, the beings known as the demon race. They nearly destroyed the ancient continent. And at that time, they were driven back by those who had received the Goddess’s blessing.”

“Then it should be possible this time as well, shouldn’t it?”

Deborah’s voice trembled slightly as she recalled Decarsen, the demon she had encountered before the Mineta Royal Capital.

He freely wielded pitch-black energy, radiating an aura that seemed capable of tearing anything apart.

Even now, if she were to face him again, she would surely collapse on the spot.

“Until recently, I believed it was impossible. Originally, those blessed by the Goddess had to be born within the temple.”

“Does that mean it’s different now?”

“No one has been born within the temple. However, there is an individual designated by an oracle.”

Another parchment was unfolded.

It was the same content Marianne had shown Raion before.

[Pitch-black darkness shall descend like a sun that never sets……. The Incarnation of Lightning shall return from a long journey and sweep it away!]

[The sun that faded within pitch-black darkness……, the one who lived there shall return.]

“It seems that the ‘Incarnation of Lightning’ mentioned here refers to that individual.”

“Yes. That is also our understanding.”

As the discussion continued, all gazes gradually converged in one place.

At the end of every gaze sat Raion.

“You mean me.”

At his calmly accepting words, Princess Diana felt a slight sense of doubt.

“You say Incarnation of Lightning, but according to ancient texts, shouldn’t that be someone with divine power?”

After all, she had only seen Raion’s aura burn white.

In response, Raion raised his palm and gently released his aura.

Pajijijijik!

Pure white lightning escaped between his fingers, tearing through the air in branching streaks.

At the sight of that aura, several people’s eyes widened dramatically.

“Could it be…… Master Emperor……!”

“Is he truly at that realm?”

“How can aura be like that!”

The knights, in particular, were utterly stunned.

Many had never even heard of a realm where aura could be shaped like lightning.

At first glance, it might have looked like lightning-element magic.

But there was no way they couldn’t sense the distinctive energy unique to aura.

“I only realized it later myself, but aura at this realm is accompanied by divine power. I confirmed its effects while fighting the demon race. That’s why they called it the Goddess’s blessing.”

“As expected……!”

Holy Emperor Francis spoke as if she had anticipated it.

Raion then brought up the demon race he had encountered.

“Decarsen and Malphas. Those two are beings known as counts of the demon realm. Unless one is a mage who has reached at least the 6th Circle, or someone on a level equal to mine, it would be impossible to fight them evenly.”

“There are two of them?”

“At least three. The name Demon King came from their own mouths.”

At that moment, Francis’s expression hardened.

“Are you saying the Demon King has truly descended into the Middle Realm?”

“I haven’t confirmed it personally, but that’s what they said. Do you know anything about it?”

“The leader of the pitch-black darkness. A being that feeds on fear and slaughter, from what I know. How could such an existence descend into the Middle Realm…….”

“I don’t know either. In any case, they’re opponents that only I can deal with for now.”

“Did you annihilate the two beings you mentioned earlier?”

“It took me too long to figure out the method, so I wasn’t able to. But the next time we meet, I can deal with them for certain.”

Raion was confident. As he extended his palm, he clenched the lightning in his grasp.

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