CH 169

Chapter 169 – Return And Report

The next day.

Err, the upper limit of my strength and stamina gauge for today has been reduced by 50% and 50%. It’ll probably take a few hours to recover, so everyone take care of me, please — especially Isla, Grande, and the Harpies.

Are you guys absorbing anything from me that you shouldn’t? Is that okay? If I hadn’t raised my level or augmented it with various achievements or skills, I would be dead.

“I have assessed it properly. It’s actually safe.”

“Oh, right.”

Let’s just say that. What’s more, today we’re just riding the airboard from Mayswood back to Erichburg. After that, I will meet Sylphy, take the supplies from the rear base to the warehouse, deliver the airboard, prototype magic gun, and magic crystals to the Research and Development Department, explain various things and participate in the meeting between Ellen and the Liberation Army using the golem communication device… There’s a lot to do, isn’t there?

W-well, as long as I eat properly, my maximum value will gradually recover… As long as I don’t jump or run, it’s not a problem… I’m challenging myself to see how far I can deceive myself.

We all took a bath in the morning, finished breakfast, and took down the temporary accommodation. The Liberation Army soldiers, who had never seen me do anything like that before, were stunned by the scene. They were probably the ones who joined the army after the Liberation Army took over the Merinard Kingdom. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you.

We said goodbye to the people of the Liberation Army garrison in Mayswood and set off on our airboard today. The road between Mayswood and Erichburg is packed with passersby, but we gain a bit of altitude and hit the grasslands on the side of the road.

We passed a merchant’s carriage, and the merchant’s guards were very wary of us, but in less than two hours, we made it to Erlchburg.

Eh? Trouble on the way? Both Mayswood and Erichburg are the front lines of the Liberation Army. Naturally, there are many patrols by the Liberation Army, and they also exterminate monsters during their patrols. There are no bandits in the area. The only trouble they get into is when the axles or wheels of the carriages of the merchants and peddlers break.

We rode the airboard to the city’s gates and then put it in my inventory, passed the inspection gracefully, and entered Erichburg. Perhaps the existence of the airboard and the surprise of having it disappear somewhere in an instant prevailed, but I didn’t get any complaints from the people in line even though I passed the order with my face and entered the city of Erichburg.

Eh? Are you asking me if I don’t feel guilty for not following the order and just going inside? No, I don’t. Our search for the scriptures is also an important operation of the Liberation Army, you know. It’s also in the name of getting this to Sylphy as soon as possible.

If we were to make a showy appearance on the airboard and just stand in a normal line, we would be surrounded by astute merchants — no doubt about it. I don’t have time for that.

When we entered Erichburg, I asked the Harpies and Grande to precede us to the lord’s mansion from the sky. It’s to let everyone know that we’ve arrived. And as for Grande, she will be dismissed from my party for the time being. She said she would relax for a while, so she would probably spend her time in the living room of the lord’s mansion, buried under the cushions.

The city of Erichburg was indeed prosperous. This is where the headquarters of the Liberation Army is located, and people, goods, and money are gathered in Erichburg. The money comes from the crops I grow, the gemstones I mine and process, the rare metals like mithril, and the Elven products such as Elven honey wine.

“The economy seems to be improving.”

“Melty seems to be having a hard time.”

“I guess all the hard work is paying off.”

I’ve heard that Elven products sell particularly well. I’ve heard from Sir Leonard and Danan that the price of Elven honey wine is a hundred times higher than regular ale. After the Merinard Kingdom was turned into a vassal state, there were no more Elven products coming in, and Elven honey wine was treated as a phantom wine. Nowadays, it’s not surprising that its value has increased a hundredfold or even ten thousand times the price of ale.

I shuddered when I heard this story. I had never dreamed that the liquor I drank every day without a second thought was such a high-class drink. Well, I’m still drinking it now, after all. Now I can mass-produce it.

While talking with Ms. Zamir, I greeted some familiar Liberation Army soldiers on the street as I headed for the lord’s mansion, which was also the headquarters of the Liberation Army. Pirna and the others were already waiting for us in front of the main building, and they led us to the conference room.

“You’re back. You’re really early.”

In the conference room, there was not only Sylphy but also Danan and Melty. It seems that Sir Leonard is not present. He might have been out on patrol somewhere.

“I’m back. The search for the Adol scriptures from the time of the Omit Kingdom has ended successfully. This is the original, these two are the manuscripts, and this is what Isla and I translated.”

I then placed the four books on the desk in the conference room.

“Shumel and her party did an excellent job of guarding us and exploring the ruins without any problems. Grande also did a great job in investigating the ruins or rather locating the underground ruins. Please reward them commensurate with their efforts.”

“Please leave that to me.”

Melty smiled as she said this. Will it be okay…? Well, it’s probably okay. I think Melty is the type of person who tightens up to where necessary but gives credit where credit is due. I’ll check with Shumel and the others later, just to be sure.

“I’ve found a lot of other books, so I think it’s better to send this to the experts. If I help out, I think it will go a lot faster.”

Just translating the book titles and the table of contents will make the work go much faster.

“Okay. As for the scriptures, I will check the contents later. Is it okay if I leave the book analysis to you, Isla?”

“Hmm, I’ll handle it properly.”

“I’m counting on you. The meeting with the saint is scheduled for the afternoon, so you are free to spend your time until noon. Shumel and the others can leave as well. I’ve arranged for you to receive your reward at the guild.”

“Okay. If you need anything else, just let me know.”

“Yeah, I might need you for an escort mission in the near future. I’ll contact you directly or through the guild.”

“Understood. See you soon.”

“See you later, Kosuke-san.”

“See you later.”

With that, the three of them left. I felt suddenly lonely when the three big girls left. They’re easy to get along with in terms of personality, and I hope we can continue to get along.

“So, what’s going on in the Holy Kingdom?”

“I’d like to be able to get to know them better. The nostalgic faction is calling for peace, but it seems to have been completely overwhelmed by the mainstream faction.”

“Well, that’s true. There is no reason for the Holy Kingdom not to do so.”

We took the southern half of the Merinard Kingdom and pacified it. However, the size of the area is not very large compared to the size of the mainland of the Holy Kingdom and the territories of other vassal states of the Holy Kingdom. It seems.

In fact, it is said that the Holy Kingdom has an army of several hundred thousand people… and I believe that the total number of combatants in the Liberation Army is less than 5000. If the numbers are correct, they probably think that 30,000 troops will be enough to crush us.

If they actually attacked us with that many, we would be crushed, normally. As for the Liberation Army, since I’m here, I don’t think that will ever happen. We are working day and night to produce the best way to deal with the situation.

“And it seems that the position of the nostalgic faction within the Holy King is getting worse. The mainstream would probably consider those who deny their own doctrine and befriend subhumans to be heretical traitors.”

“Isn’t that too hasty a move?”

“I’ve heard that the mainstream faction is rapidly expanding its influence, taking advantage of the fact that the Saint of Truth is not in the Holy Kingdom. It seems that the saint can’t go back to the Holy Kingdom because things have become too disturbing.”

“When did this happen…?”

Doesn’t that mean that Ellen’s life is being threatened by mainstream groups at this very moment? Just like the time I was stabbed. Hey, hey, this is not the time to be sitting around here. I think we should go and help her as soon as possible. What should I do? Should I ask Grande to take me? And then what? Should I just ride over to where Ellen is and kidnap her? How? No matter how.

In fact, with my abilities, there’s no way I can just sneak into that castle and kidnap Ellen alone. As long as I can get Ellen out, I can even use the airboard to break the cavalry’s pursuit.

In fact, why didn’t they tell me that the situation was like that? If only I had known about it earlier, I could have done something about it.

“I guess the saint was right.”

Sylphy let out a sigh, and with a quick movement, she put her hands on my cheeks and stared straight into my eyes. Her amber eyes stare straight into mine.

“Actually, the saint herself didn’t want me to tell you. She said that if you heard about her plight, you would probably not be able to stay still.”

“Kuh…”

I was completely predicted. I can see Ellen’s expression in my mind as she snickered, “Huh, as expected,” at me.

“But what are we going to do? In that situation, the plan to overturn the Holy Kingdom by giving momentum to the nostalgic faction will be foiled.”

“That’s true. That’s why we’re going to have that discussion this afternoon.”

“Nuh… What does Sylphy have in mind?”

“Abandoning the saint and the nostalgic will not help. They are the enemy of our enemy, and I believe that we can bring them into our side. In fact, the doctrine of “righteous Adolism” that the nostalgic faction advocates would be a good weapon against the Holy Kingdom.”

The Holy Kingdom is a religious nation. If the doctrine of the religion that is the foundation of the Holy Kingdom is, in fact, wrong and is widely publicized, it will be able to greatly wobble the Adol religion, which is the backbone that supports the framework of the Holy Kingdom. Furthermore, if there are real saints who support the “correct Adolian religion,” the effect will be even greater.

It would be even more effective if we could invite a researcher from a neutral third country to prove the authenticity of the scriptures and the scriptures themselves.

“The saint and the nostalgic have their uses. I think it’s worth the risk to bring them to our side. It might even have the effect of suppressing people’s opposition from the Holy Kingdom. We’re a Liberation Army, after all. The majority of our members are subhumans. As is the case now, when we regain the territory of the Merinard Kingdom, we will have to deal with more people who believe in the Adol religion. At that time, the saint and the nostalgic faction will be of great help to us.”

After saying that, Sylphy removed her hands from my cheeks. When I looked at Melty and Danan, Melty nodded, and Danan wrinkled his brow and let out a sigh. It seems that Melty is for it, and Danan is reluctantly against it.

“It would be unrealistic to think that after the recovery of the Merinard Kingdom, every single Adolian believer would be expelled from the country or that they would all be killed. There are people who have already taken root in the Merinard Kingdom and were even born here.”

“That’s true, but…”

Danan may be convinced in theory, but it is difficult to convince him emotionally. Although he is not here, I think that Sir Leonard is also like that. I’ve heard that he, too, had his wife killed by the people of the Holy Kingdom.

“Anyway, that’s how I see it. You may disagree, but in reality, it’s impossible to keep fighting until one of us is destroyed.”

“With Kosuke, we can scorch the Holy Kingdom to the ground.”

“If you do that, all the other countries in the world will beat us to a pulp…”

“Hmm, I was just getting at the question of whether it was realistic or not. I don’t think that would be a good idea either.”

Isla, who said something disturbing, nodded frankly when Sylphy interrupted her.

“However, Kosuke can take such an option if he wants to. And if he wanted to, he could probably do it alone. So Kosuke, as well as us, have to be very careful. Too much power can destroy you.”

Isla stared at me with her big eye. I nodded curiously back at her. Fortunately, I haven’t been so angry with the Holy Kingdom that I’ve lost my mind, but there’s no guarantee that I won’t be in the future. I think Isla is telling me to control myself so that I don’t overdo it at that time.

“All right. I’ll be careful. The meeting will be after lunch, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Well, I’m going to the Research and Development Department to cool down a bit. I’ve got some things I have to hand over.”

“Hmm, I’ll go with you.”

Isla walked up to my side and grabbed the hem of my clothes tightly. I feel a strong will that she won’t let me go straight to Ellen now, even if it’s by mistake.

“…See you later.”

“Oh, I’ll make lunch for you.”

Sylphy smiled and sent Isla and me on our way. I’m going to try to regain my composure by lunch. In times like these, it’s best to immerse yourself in something.