Book 6: Chapter 20.1
Book 6: Chapter 20.1
Arrival at the Holy City
★ In the skies of the Holy City of Kruvanyu ★
Magic airships flew through the sky and reached the Holy City. It was reasonable for every country to want a magic airship because the 10 days it would take to travel by horse is cut short to less than a day with a magic airship.
The magic airships owned by the Holy Kingdom had a landing site in the “2nd Holy District”, but the landing site for foreign ships is in the “5th block”.
The magic airship landed in the evening the day after Eva decided to return to the Holy City.
Without delay, the person in charge on Kruvan’s side came and exchanged greetings with the Lev captain.
「——The shipment is early this time.」
「——Sorry. In the Empire, the monster subjugation has been dragging on, and so there is a shortage of goods.」
「——My goodness… Go ahead and pile up as much supply as you can.」
「——Thank you for your cooperation.」
「——Don’t mention it. This is the time we should all be helping out each other.」
The atmosphere was peaceful. This is because the interaction between the Empire and the Holy Kingdom has deepened since the “Red Gate Campaign”.
Lev provides magic tools, and Kruvan provides daily necessities such as food, medicine, and clothing. A steady supply of catalysts are required for the operation of magic tools.
Although there are only several wooden boxes containing magic tools, the supplies provided by Kruvan are much greater.
The Empire is advanced in technology related to magic tools.
On the other hand, the Holy Kingdom has a population that is dozens of times larger than the total population of Lev. The amount of necessities provided to the Lev is like a simple margin error considering the amount of daily consumption by the Holy Kingdom.
「……Let’s go.」
While loads were being exchanged, Dante and the others got down at the landing site. They moved in the shadows.
(I do not see anything unusual.)
Eva thought to herself.
Once getting through the landing site, they can slip into the city.
Eva wore a hood deep over her eyes. She proceeded while observing the surroundings.
The atmosphere in the Holy City was calm to an extent, for a place where a coup recently took place.
(Nn, is that… the church?)
Priests in religious habits gathered in a spot, looking at a building set up with ladders and scaffoldings.
「——My my, our church will also finally be refurbished in the same way as the head temple of Her Holiness the Pope.」
「——But is that okay? The threat of monsters hasn’t been solved yet…」
「——Some of the prices are rising in the market.」
「——Isn’t that because the merchants are hungry for profits? It’s okay for the church to spend its own budget.」
Renovation of the church.
In other words, the work to transform the church into a “magic tool” is in progress.
If it isn’t stopped, no one knows what kind of effect it will have if such a magic tool is placed in the middle of the Holy City.
「…Eva-sama, let’s keep moving for now.」
Dante whispered to Eva, who had stopped.
「Yes, I know.」
The renovation to transform existing churches into a goddess temple is being carried out in every country, but it is not something which can be completed in a day or two. It will take at least half a month.
If the refurbishment started after the coup, it must have just begun.
(For now, I have to find my father…)
Eva and the others proceeded towards the city.
An hour later, Eva noticed that one of her companions, the catgirl, had disappeared.
** Zerry **
The atmosphere of the Holy City was mostly calm, but when it came to the “2nd Holy District”, there was a feeling of tension. Fully armed soldiers patrolled the streets.
It was already late at night. The streetlights of the magic lamps illuminated the main streets, but the back alleys were dark and quiet.
A black shadow ran through in the shadows like wind.
It was Zerry.
In the past, when Reiji quit being Eva’s escort and tried to leave the Holy City, he had such an exchange with Zerry.
——Come to think of it, you easily slipped into the “3rd Holy District”.
——This much is no problem for me. Still, the “2nd Holy District” is dangerous, so I won’t go there.
——Dangerous security measures?
——Dangerous in the sense that getting caught would bring terrible consequences. Getting in would be easy.
She was not boasting.
Zerry, who specializes in reconnaissance spy missions, has a low fighting ability, but her value shines in these situations.
「Hmm, I don’t see any knights. I wonder if all the knights are standing by at home? Soldiers are easier to control… But on the contrary, they are weaker than knights.」
Knights, who have many noble relatives, were certainly selected for their bloodline, but they have received stricter training than general soldiers and possess rare skills.
Duke Grenjido probably didn’t want to use knights that his faction couldn’t control, so he used soldiers instead. But that caused a number of holes in the security.
That’s why Zerry could easily come this far.
「Ara? There’s no one here.」
She reached Earl Sillys; residence, but there was no evidence of soldier surveillance or conflict. Since there was no one around, Zerry jumped over the wall and infiltrated the premises.
She circled around to the back door and knocked — immediately hiding away from sight before anyone came out.
「Eh? I thought I heard a knock just now…」
A maid with strong-will in her eyes opened the door.
「Hey, thanks~」
「Eh!? W-WHO–」
「Ah, wait, wait, wait.」
The maid was about to raise her voice as Zerry suddenly emerged from the darkness. So Zerry quickly closed the distance and inserted a thick cloth in the maid’s mouth. She gets bitten whenever she tries to close someone’s mouth with her bare hands, so Zerry engineered a safer method.
「Hey, you’re hurting my feelings… yelling out just because of my face… Well, leaving that aside, I came as Lady Eva’s messenger.」
「!?」
「Don’t yell, okay? Do you understand?」
The maid nodded in response. And Zerry gently released her.
「Kyaaaaaaaaaa!! Intruderrrrrrrr!!」
**
The chief butler Sebas was smiling, but it was also a bit of a bitter smile.
Zerry, on the other hand, was sitting cross-legged on the couch, with her cheeks in her hands.
「Dear me… To think that you really are a messenger from Eva-sama.」
「It’s terrible, I tell you. To be screamed at, surrounded, and suspected.」
「We are also in a difficult situation, so please understand.」
Sebas bowed deeply.
「I get it. It’s fine. I’m not really angry.」
Zerry gestured to Sebas to raise his head.
She was surrounded by servants of the mansion when the maid screamed, but with Zerry’s nimbleness she could have easily escaped. She didn’t do that because there were no knights or soldiers left in the mansion.
The suspicion was finally resolved when Sebas arrived.
The maid who went against her promise simply stuck her tongue out. She did not feel sorry at all. If this had been a real thief, it wouldn’t be strange if the maid was stabbed to death due to her low vigilance. That said, however, this mansion is located in the “2nd Holy District”. No petty thief would ever think of coming here, so the low vigilance is in a sense unavoidable.
「What is the situation?」Zerry asked.
「Before that, where is the young lady right now?」
「She is in the Holy City.」
「!! I see… As I thought.」
Zerry cocked her head in response to “As I thought”.
「I thought that if it was Eva-sama she would surely return to the Holy City for the Earl. She is such a brave soul.」
Sebas said with a look that was a mixture of these two emotions; like a grandfather watching over his naughty grandchild and a father who was pleased with his daughter’s growth.
「But you arrived so soon. Did you come from the Saint Knight Kingdom?」
「Nope. From the Lev Magic Empire on a magic airship.」
「Oh……」
「They even dragged me out of the gambling house while I was on a winning streak… When all this is over, I’ll definitely live a life of gambling.」
If Reiji had heard this, he definitely would have said, “Haven’t you been living a life of gambling so far? Also, those words sounded like a flag.” Sebas, who has investigated Zerry previously, completely ignored what she said.
「I will explain the state of the country right now, so please relay it to Eva-sama.」