CH 92.2

[PART-2]

♢♢♢

“…They were fighting.”

“They had a duel.”

Lizlit, Erica and I watched the fervid boys from a distance, from behind the grass.

They were both in shambles. If Shannon hadn’t stopped them, I would have had to intervened.

But Oswald was still quite strong. He would already be a threat just by being able to hit accurately with a bow, not to mention he’s skilled in hand to hand combat too.

I think the winner would be….

“Hey, Glass.”

“Yes?”

Princess Erika must be worried about those two.

No, but sometimes men can only talk properly with her fists-

“Aren’t you going to knock them out?”

“Why would I? Why would that even be a justified course of action?“

Oh my demon king, what nonsense is that?!

“If there’s a violent incident at the academy… The ones who caused it would be punished with the teachers’ fists!“

“…Erica-sama…?”

He turned towards Princess Erika.

“I’ve been thinking for a while now that all your requests are things I can’t fulfill, Erika-sama. They’re all based on… simple or… even primitive thinking.”

Oh, there’s a guy over there on a rampage. Charge! I only get instructions such as these…

“Do you remember the request you made to me earlier?”

“…what was that? Do you want more tea?“

“I’d like to get a dog,” she said.

What’s the point of telling that to me?

“You should ask His Majesty or the Queen or Santa Claus, not me. You probably think it’s Glass and you can request for whatever comes to your mind. There are things even I can’t do.”

“Santa? Who’s that? A friend?”

I was so excited that my knowledge from Earth came out in my commentary.

“It’s an uncle who leaves a gift under your pillow on a special night.”

“Who is that? That’s scary!“

…….

“Erika, my dear. Santa isn’t scary at all. He’s just a nice guy who fills children’s socks with gifts that they’ve wished for.“

“You said the stranger comes at night!”

“Well… that’s right.”

She wasn’t mistaken.

You didn’t get to know him and you couldn’t make any arrangements with him. He travelled the world in one night. He couldn’t do things like getting to know children in such a short period of time the time, of course he couldn’t.

“And then he’ll break in and leave something in my sock! I’m afraid of what will happen after! What if he charges me money!? And most of all, I don’t want this random uncle to touch my socks!“

“No, no! It’s basically free! And Santa Claus is a fantasy uncle, he’s not dirty minded in the slightest! He’s almost like a unicorn!”

She poked the exact hole in Santa’s operation.

And she talked about Santa touching her socks like an adolescent daughter talked about not wanting to take a bath after her dad…

“…I didn’t explain it very well. But Santa is a symbol of hope for children, okay?”

“How is it a symbol of hope to have a stranger lurking next to your bedside?”

“…Don’t say any more bad things about Santa Claus!”

“….What? You’re always defending weird uncles over me! You’re a pervert! You love uncles!“

‘Uncle Lover’ got his heart ripped out of his chest…

Thus began an argument between me and Princess Erika, which happens quite often.

Oh, how frustrating it was that I couldn’t tell her how good Santa Claus is…

Sorry, Santa. I’ll give the selfish princess a firm scolding.

♢♢♢♢

The royal castle, in the ‘King’s Room’.

In front of Ryder Light sitting on his throne, Benedict Erkhman, the supreme bishop of the Angel Cult, knelt down, the atmosphere solemn.

Alone and unaccompanied.

“No.”

“……”

A word that conveyed the firm will of King Light.

Alto and Shiro watched the exchange with bated breath.

Even the expression on Duke Marton’s face showed no sign of composure.

“….that your intention to reject the Angel Cult will remain unchanged. Oh… holy goddess…”

Benedict sobbed, clasping his hands in worship.

“I restrain myself because capturing you here might cause a riot among the people, but in truth I would like to throw everyone involved into prison right now.“

His anger at his ancestors was growing, and he blamed Benedict in a strong tone that would be unthinkable in normal times.

“Your words are too merciless… I am convinced that this is the result of a series of minor misunderstandings and that Her Highness Celestia’s conjecture has gone too far.“

“I have conducted an investigation of the Church and have confirmed the involvement of several archbishops of the royal capital.“

The king accelerated pressing Benedict.

“We have also uncovered secret escape routes in their churches. There is no escape.“

“……”

“Just wait and see what happens.”

The meeting was originally between Alto and Benedict.

The king took the time out of his busy schedule to personally thrust the blade of words at the Supreme Bishop.

The king’s steely gaze was fixed on Benedict alone throughout the meeting.

………

……

…

After the audience, Benedict went down the corridor with heavy steps, surrounded by many soldiers.

“……”

Celestia, in silver and white armor, walked in front of Benedict.

The soldiers around Benedict moved to keep Benedict away from Celestia, but Marie, who was waiting for Celestia, stopped them with a hand gesture.

“Good day, Your Highness.“

“Good day, Benedict-sama. You seem depressed. Did father scold you?“

He bowed low to Celestia.

His posture exuded the slowness and gentleness that were unique characteristics of old men, and looked completely powerless.

“You seem to know everything. I have been reprimanded…”

Benedict turned his head to look at her.

“Your Highness, I think it’s time to…“

“Yes, go ahead.”

A soldier asked Celestia about the king’s order to take Benedict to the exit immediately while having the guards follow him.

“Please excuse me….”

“Yes, take care.”

Benedict, surrounded by soldiers, walked past Celestia.

And then, exactly after nine and a half steps.

A corner of the castle transformed into another dimension.

“……”

A light wind blew from behind Benedict.

It was a phenomenon that was difficult to describe, but it was as if particles of light were being dissolved into the air.

The area was enveloped by a gentle breeze of light.

The space was beautiful as if it were a place of absolute love, but it was also mysterious with a cold, heartless atmosphere that did not allow any movement.

“–I thought you had come here to check this….”

Benedict turned around slowly and when he saw…. it, his eyes widened…

“…I’m not sure what you’re talking about, I’m getting very confused…. It’s a very impressive ornamental sword though, is it a magic sword of some kind?“

She pointed her hand calmly at the…. jet-black ornamental sword in her hand.

The (・・・・・) sword of the Demon Lord given by the Black Demon King.

“Hmm. You’re probably more familiar with it than I am, but I’ve recently gotten used to it and can do a lot of things with it, you know?”

In a space of light reminiscent of a divine realm, everyone flinched.

But…

“……”

Benedict kept his soft smile on his face.

“…Your Highness, they are suffering. If we forget to respect others, it will be the spark for arrogance. Unlike virtue, it is not easily extinguished once it is born.“

“Isn’t it more attractive to be a little selfish as a woman?”

“……”

Her mask of a beautiful smile turned into that of a bitter smile, and she crossed her eyes coldly.

“……”

The light vanished in an instant.

The corridor of the castle, which had been transformed into another dimension, regained its normal air.

“Ugh….”

“Phew…”

After the merciless ‘light’ has gone, the sunlight shining from the sky felt even warmer, and the soldiers naturally let out a sigh of relief.

“Well then, Your Highness. I must leave your presence once again.“

“Yes. Have a safe journey.”

………

……

…

“…He’s bottomless.”

Celestia, who was still smiling, murmured her impression of Benedict, who was no longer visible.

“He seemed so unconcerned… Is he really just an old man?”

“…Maybe he wasn’t even human in the first place. I don’t even think he is a living thing.“

She puts away her sword and took off her smiling mask.

With a sharp, dignified presence, she spoke to Marie.

“I tried to mess with him with using my ‘light’ just a little, but I couldn’t feel… anything.”

“……”

“There must be a reason. Is it an ability, or is it witchcraft…?”

During the less than a split-second standoff, she was conflicted and made the choice to let him go for now.

“I was going to finish the Angel Cult here, but I guess he is still hiding secrets. It’s a shame….“

Depending on his response, she was ready to end the fight here itself.

Contact with the highest member of the Angel Cult.

There was no battle, just an exchange of sarcastic remarks.

“Chrono-sama is…. working so hard for me, and I wanted to be of some help…”

Celestia covered her face which turned red at the thought of Chrono, an action which changed the atmosphere.

The first thing this morning, she received a letter that gave her immense happiness.

It said that the Black Demon King visited the casino ‘Arch Qi’, gave him some orders, and left.

“…His Majesty really likes Celestia-sama, doesn’t he?”

“Hmph… nn, nn!”

Her face broke out in joy, and her smile bloomed, revealing her emotions.

Her smile was as lovely as a flower blooming in the heavenly world.

The knights and servants who had been watching from afar were completely fascinated by the scene, although they coughed and tightened their expressions.

“We must not be lenient just because we are… The fact remains that we are bothering Chrono-sama. This could call into question our loyalty.”

“I agree…”

The Demon King himself took the trouble to move in response to the casino’s struggling business situation caused by Hildegard and the Scarlett Chamber Of Commerce.

Looking back on it now, he sometimes secretly delivered bitter words against casinos.

He said ‘I lost all my money’, ‘they are cheating’, and implied that he could not continue like this.

Yes, he knew everything and was watching over us.

“In the meantime, we have a meeting tonight. Please prepare some green tea and something light to snack on.“

“Yes.”

Celestia headed for her room with bouncy steps, and Marie followed her with a smile on her face.

However, this…. happiness did not last long.

In the middle of the night, when the people of the capital had gone to bed—– madness was unleashed once again.