Side Stories: Chapter 4

Side Stories: Chapter 4

Zich, Lyla, Lubella, and Weig all looked at one another. It seemed that the Pope had asked the staff to attend to their guests again, and a priest came in and brought fresh tea. Lubella took one sip of her tea and sighed slightly.

“After all the experiences I’ve accumulated, I thought I had caught up to His Holiness and Sir Zich, but it is still too early for me to go against them.”

“You are already doing so well, Saintess. His Holiness and Sir Zich are just a bit out of the ordinary. Even I am constantly swayed by the two. They are worthy models to follow, but it will only harm you if you try to catch up to them too fast. It’s a wonder if anyone would be able to catch up to those two even if they tried for their whole life. Above all, you should never ever try to emulate their personalities.” The last line was probably what Weig wanted to say the most.

“It doesn’t matter to me, but is it all right to talk about the Pope in such a way?” Zich wasn’t mocking Weig—he was asking out of pure curiosity.

“I am talking like this especially because it is about the Pope.”

“Ha! It seems like the Pope is quite an interesting person.”

The four chatted about similar small matters that interested them. At first, they talked about what they all had been up to no matter how menial they were. Then, eventually, the conversation topic moved to the festival that was going to happen soon.

“While we are talking about that, I suppose I can give this to you now.” Zich fumbled through his belongings, pulled out his magic box, and placed it on top of the table. “These are the parts of the dragon’s corpse that I own.”

Although Zich was displaying a whole load of valuable dragon parts that most nations and families were furiously searching to get their hands on a single scale, Zich behaved nonchalantly as if he was handing over a useless stone.

“I already knew this, but Sir Zich, your compassion awes me to no end.”

“This is just how much I trust the Karuwimans, Sir Weig. Moreover, people can try to steal these, but they would have to deal with the aftermath.”

“...You mean, they have to deal with you, Sir Zich?”

Zich smiled. Of course, no one in the room felt a sense of relief seeing his smile.

“I understand. I will surely pay you back for the great trust you’ve placed in the Karuwimans!” Weig struck his chest.

“Yes. I’m sure it would be fine if it’s the Karuwimans we are talking about.”

“...I sense a hidden meaning in your words, sir.”

“I heard that there are other groups collaborating to host this festival.”

“Ah, you are talking about that.”

It would have been fine if the Bellid conquest was simply a social subjugation or a war between countries. Rather, other countries may have enjoyed watching other countries’ power be cut from afar. However, this war was different from an ordinary war. First, it was a war to exterminate the Bellids, and this was what every country had been doing. Rather than out of sincere faith and respect towards the Karuwimans, it was an effort to curb the Bellids’ outrageous misdeeds. Thus, if this the Bellid conquest had been a slightly bigger form of subjugation, it wouldn’t have mattered. Yet, in this war, the entire Bellid faction was almost uprooted from its core. A literal holy war had been waged.

Naturally, the prestige of defeating the Bellids was incomparable to defeating a few small Bellid branches. The reputation of countries that participated in the holy war rose endlessly. Moreover, the fact that a legendary dragon appeared in the confrontation between the Steelwall Estate and the allied forces—a war that took place due to the Bellids’ conspiracy—raised their reputation to the peak. The fact that there was a dragon’s corpse made it hard to even dismiss it as a lie.

Thus, the countries that participated in this war literally achieved legendary feats, but other countries had nothing. Of course, the countries left out didn’t receive any direct damage, but the issue of prestige among nations, royalty, and nobles was not something that could be easily overlooked.

“That’s why they’re going to participate in this festival as a collaborator so that they can somehow also take part in this magnificent event,” Lyla said.

“Yeah, that’s something that anyone who is part of politics, whether they’re a king, noble, or a religious official would naturally think of. Constantly racking their brains with these cumbersome issues is also the fate of politicians.”

Zich and Lyla looked at Lubella and Weig with pitiful expressions.

“Cheer up, you two,” Zich said.

“If there’s anything I can do, I can help—ah, but only to the extent that I don’t get swept into any troublesome affairs.”

Weig replied, “...I’m just a holy knight. I’m sure His Holiness and the Saintess will do a good job with the politics.”

“Excuse me, Sir Weig?” Lubella looked at Weig with an expression of betrayal.

Weig avoided her gaze this time, even though he was a holy knight who protected the Saintess with his life during battle and assisted her like a loving grandfather taking care of his granddaughter on a daily basis.

“I guess even Sir Weig has problems that he finds too troublesome.”

“That’s a misunderstanding, Sir Zich. A lion is supposed to drop its baby on a cliff...”

“I heard that a lion doesn’t do that in real life.”

“...The lion in the area I know does that. It’s a type of lion with a very unique teaching method. The cubs who mature under this method soon command the whole plain and even kill the basilisk...”

“Sir Weig, stop saying such ridiculous things!”

Weig shut his mouth at Lubella’s cry.

“Well, it’s at least certain that the Saintess will suffer. Saintess, I think it’ll be a good idea for you to refresh yourself as much as possible until you have to leave again.”

“...I think it’s best to do as you say.” Lubella leaned back on her chair and relaxed her body.