CH 516

The Five Continents' Alliance meeting moved on.

"Then the decision to increase the school years has been approved. The specifics will be discussed with the management of the Academies."

Everything the queen said was transcribed by an elf.

"Next comes discussing the divine realm…done by Allen, and there won't be any voting."

Baukis' emperor looked at the schedule to see what was coming next.

He seemed interested in the divine realm, wondering if he could make money there.

"Yes. Next, Allen will detail his experiences after his party crossed the Gate of Judgement."

Allen remained on the stand, but then someone stood up, who did not have the right to speak.

"E-excuse, I'm the Bird King Oolon. I apologize for interrupting Allen's speech, but I'd like to speak a bit first, if I may have permission."

"...That's alright, go ahead."

"I appreciate that, queen."

Oolon was the king of Rameciel, the country of birdmen. He stood up apologetically, as usually only those given right to speak could talk in the meeting, unless they asked for permission.

Only the host country and those at the central table could talk freely.

Helmios and Galara were allowed in the central table too, though that was just to appease Giamut and Baukis. Allen was not there, so he could only talk when given permission.

(He has a pretty big crest… Ah, I guess he wants to talk about Kuwatoro. Maybe I can use that to bargain too.)

Allen could guess what the Bird King wanted to say.

"I apologize for not notifying Rameciel about Kuwatoro before."

Allen felt like it was a more specific issue, so he had left it out of the meeting.

Rameciel was a country of birdmen, who venerated Kuwatoro.

"A messenger from the Dragon King informed us about that. Please take good care of Kuwatoro."

(Hm? He actually sounds like he's asking me for a favor, he shouldn't be talking to me though.)

The Bird King bowed to Allen, entrusting him with their figure of adoration.

Allen turned to look at the Dragon King outside the room, who nodded back indicating he had sent that messenger.

"We'll make sure to work alongside Kuwatoro to defeat the Demon King."

(Kuwatoro, come out.)

Allen looked outside the room and summoned Kuwatoro, who then looked into the room.

'Bird King Oolon, thank you for taking care of birdmen while I hid. I'll accompany this valiant hero now, so take care of everyone.'

"I-I will!!"

The Bird King bowed profusely to Kuwatoro.

"So after Makris, Kuwatoro also joined Allen."

Prostia's empress said that, and her voice was amplified by a magic device.

There were three Sacred Beasts everyone knew in that world, Kuwatoro, Luvanka, and Makris.

They were commonly depicted in children's books.

"The Demon King keeps terrorizing the future and hopes of humanity. The Sacred Beasts have joined me to fight the Demon King's Army together!! There's no enemy that can stop us!"

Allen replied with that announcement, raising his fist vigorously.

That was met with loud applause from the meeting's attendees.

"Allen? Huh? It can't be…right?"

(Good good, praise me more, praise me more…oops, I just drooled a little.)

Usually Allen never boasted like that, or spoke highly of himself for praise.

Cecile was starting to feel uneasy seeing him act like that.

That concluded everything the Bird King wanted to say, so the elven queen brought the meeting back on track.

"Now that that's taken care of, Allen, if you could move onto the next topic."

(Alright, things are falling right in place. I have to make sure the mood is right so they beg me.)

Allen's face turned really sinister for a moment, but no one noticed.

"Alright, a few days ago, my two comrades Kurena and Haku opened the Gate of Judgement."

That had happened 10 days ago.

"Oh, so you arrived at the divine realm where Lord Garm resides."

The Beast King had been silent until then.

(Shea gave up on becoming the next Beast King, but there must be a reason why Zew still isn't the new one either.)

Many months had passed since Shea rescinded her position.

But Zew was still just a prince. Maybe he was not experienced enough with political matters yet.

"The Gates of Trials were a hard step to overcome, but we reached the divine realm."

"First he visits us at the bottom of the ocean, now he's going to the divine realm. Allen's adventures never end…"

Prostia's empress also listened attentively as Allen detailed his experience in the divine realm.

All the representatives listened to him like they were hearing the stories of a hero.

"Shortly after arriving there, we met a dragonkin, Abigayle, who I believe will be a valuable asset in protecting the world."

"I really feel like he's exaggerating so much…"

Abigayle said nervously, as his magic device was not yet turned on.

"We also received a boon from the God of Time and Space desperado in the divine realm."

Allen said with a solemn voice, holding his hand next to his chest in appreciation.

Only those in his party knew he was planning something.

"A boon from Desperado?"

The elven queen pushed him to keep going.

"Yes, he allowed me to take not only my party, but a select few others to the divine party."

"Hmm, so that's where the Ten Heroic Beasts come into play."

The Beast King quickly caught up, not to mention that General Lud had asked about them recently.

"Yes. We'll return to the divine realm shortly, and a few more will be able to join us there."

"Ohh, so you can take more people to the divine realm to get the power to defeat the Demon King!"

The queen continued, making her voice sound excited about it.

"I'd like the Ten Heroic Beasts to come with me, as they've already assisted me with clearing the S Rank Dungeon and fighting the Demon King's Army."

"I see."

The Beast King understood what Allen was getting at. Allen could take more people to the divine realm, and he wanted to take the Ten Heroic Beasts.

"I'll take all those valiants warriors with me. The Demon King is strong, but if we work united, we can overcome any difficulty and bring back peace to the world!!"

Allen announced with all the vigor he had, his voice shaking the room.

Clap clap clap clap!!

"He's a hero, we have another hero in the human realm!"

"He's right, we have to stand together as one!"

"We'll win! We'll work together for that!!"

The representatives cried emotively while clapping for Allen. The unrest that had spread during the last meeting was completely dispelled now.

Once everyone calmed down, the elven queen checked the schedule.

"Thank you for your speech, Allen. Next up…Allen?"

Allen was not the next person scheduled to talk, but he remained on the stand, staring at the central table. The queen wondered what he was doing now.

"What? Why are you looking at me."

Giamut's emperor looked displeased being stared at by a former serf like Allen.

"40 years ago Giamut's emperor founded this alliance, gathering all wise men of the world. I believe it's thanks to this alliance that the Demon King hasn't taken over the world yet."

Allen related the alliance's foundation.

"Allen, what are you doing?"

Cecile said in a strained voice, trying to not cause a scene.

"We need to cast off any doubts and unite properly. The Demon King called himself the tyrant emperor before, attempting to tear us apart. But we need to stay together."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

Allen's eyes were fixated on Giamut's emperor. He knew there was something in everyone's mind, and he wanted to dispel those doubts.

"Some believe Giamut is tied to the Demon King, and I'm trying to fix that misunderstanding."

Allen spoke more directly when Giamut's emperor asked what he was talking about.

"What?! Who would believe something so ridiculous!!"

"Please don't get angered. We've destroyed all their strongholds, but there was no evidence of them working with Giamut in the rubble."

"Of course there wasn't! Who would work with them!!"

The conversation between Allen and Giamut's emperor continued.

All of the shouting had made the other participants nervous, while the queen looked at Allen, wondering why he had brought up that touchy subject so early in the meeting.

Helmios and Galara also were confused by that.

The Beast King and other beastmen were also getting nervous being reminded of that.

"So you have no connection to the Demon King, and you're not following the tyrant emperor's orders. Though I heard you call yourself the fresh-blood emperor?"

Allen continued prodding at him. After the tyrant emperor, Giamut had a long history of overbearing rulers, some of which gained well-known nicknames.

"No one told anyone to call me that! They did that on their own!! Just shut up already!!"

Giamut's emperor glared at the queen, who was hosting the meeting, but she did not intervene.

He slowly rose up, glaring at the other attendees, who just averted their gaze nervously.

Allen had helped the world a lot, and even had various Sacred Beasts as allies, while Giamut's emperor was a harsh ruler who was doubted for working with the Demon King.

It was clear who everyone would want to side with.

Realizing that he was making an enemy of the entire world by arguing with Allen, Giamut's emperor calmed down a bit.

(Good good, he understands his position now. Now I just have to find a way for him to go grovel in front of Graham.)

Allen was doing all that so Giamut's emperor would go apologize to Graham in his ancestor's stead. Allen had offered all the money and presented Kuwatoro to gain that advantage.

All so the current emperor could apologize on his ancestor's behalf.

The idea that one should apologize for their ancestor's sins was something Allen remembered from his past life, and did not know if it would apply here. But it was all he could think of to complete that quest.

"I believe there was no serious reason for the name of fresh-blood emperor. But I have found one major indicator tying back to the tyrant emperor in Giamut's capital."

(Time to keep going.)

Allen finally went more directly into Graham's situation.

"Hm? Tell me then. I don't remember having anything like that though."

Contrary to Allen's expectations, the emperor was trying to think of that as hard as he could.

For the first time, he was paying attention to someone born as a serf, even though most of his life he only listened to nobles and people who could help him expand his territory.

"But isn't there a statue of the hero who once killed the Demon King? Representing him on his last moments while he was executed?"

"Hm? Ahh, G…Gr..Graham's statue? That's clearly…"

He struggled a bit to remember the actual name.

"It's commendable to remember the hero who killed such a villain with a statue. Keeping it in a nice district, and letting everyone who passes by spit on the statue."

It really was not located in a nice district though.

"How do you know all that… But that's something my ancestors did."

Vesta from Helmios' party had told Allen what happened with Graham.

He was branded a scoundrel by the next emperor, given the death penalty, and then a bronze statue was made shaped after his remains, and those of his family while they were being eaten by slimes. Everyone after that was taught that Graham was the worst person alive, while the tyrant emperor was said to be the hero who united the continent.

(In every world and every age, whoever expands territory is called a hero, huh.)

Allen felt like the emperor was too egotistical to care about Graham. And he pinned the blame on his ancestors too.

"So you don't see the tyrant emperor as a bigger hero?"

"Of course not. He's the enemy of all countries and all races."

Everyone's eyes were focused on the emperor as he replied, but the emperor did not seem to mind people criticizing the tyrant emperor.

"Then what do you think of Graham?"

"Huh?"

"Was Graham a hero? Or was he a traitor?"

"Well, he stopped the tyrant emperor's atrocities, so he's a hero."

His voice did not seem to care much about Graham.

"Then couldn't you get rid of that statue and change how you teach that story?"

"Why is that relevant now?"

"It's to unite the world. Everyone is watching your empire's actions."

"If you want that so badly, why don't you ask properly then?"

The emperor was still displeased that someone born a serf was talking to him like that.

Since the emperor asked him to ask properly, Allen bowed so much his forehead hit the stand.

"This is all to defeat the Demon King's Army. Please get rid of the bronze statue, change how history is taught, and apologize to Graham."

Allen added the apology to Graham in the end.

"Allen…we don't really have to-"

The queen tried to stop him, but then realized Sophie looking at her telling her to remain silent.

She understood they were doing that for a reason, and there was a point to everything Allen did.

It seemed like the emperor had expected a longer debate instead of what Allen did.

"Th-that's a respectable effort. If you're willing to ask like that, I'll do it. I have to dispel those doubts too after all."

(Alright! He agreed to apologize to Graham.)

"Please try to do it as soon as possible."

"Hmph."

Once that was done, Allen turned to look at all the representatives.

"It's time for the world to work as a single unit. Giamut's emperor is willing to do this just to get rid of a little suspicion. Just remember that we never know where the Demon King will infiltrate next."

Warning everyone to always be careful, Allen returned to his seat.

"So that was all for Graham… He really doesn't know when to stop."

"Well, that's Allen for you. Holy water didn't work, so I guess he looked for something else. I'll have to explain things properly to the emperor later."

Galara had noticed what was happening halfway through, so he looked baffled at Allen who was returning to his seat with a bright smile.

Meanwhile Helmios was worried trying to figure out how to explain everything to the emperor later.

And so Allen managed to make the emperor promise he would apologize to Graham.