The one comforting her was a woman with brown hair.
Though she had the same regular features, the steely glint in her sharp eyes imbued her with a chilly atmosphere. She wore silver full plate armor and a white surcoat. Both were historic items passed down from the commander of the paladins. And there wasn’t a single person in the Sacred Kingdom who didn’t know the name of the sword at her hip.
It was one of the famous Four Holy Swords, Sacred Sword Safarlissia. Those four blades of legend were counterparts to the Four Swords of Darkness said to have been possessed by one of the Thirteen Heroes, the Dark Knight: Evil Sword Humuris; Demonic Sword Killineiram; Canker Sword Coroquedavarre; and Death Sword Sufiz. Incidentally, the other Holy Swords were Justice Sword, Pure Sword, and Life Sword.
Anyone gifted with such a weapon would have found it tempting to rely on its strength and slack on the fundamentals. For that reason, this woman didn’t carry this sword around very often. She wore it now because she knew she would have to face the impending fight with indomitable resolve if there was to be any hope of victory.
Her name was Remedios Custodio.
She was Calca’s close friend, and as the commander of the paladins, said to be strongest in all their history, she provided military backing for the Holy Lady’s authority. She was also White of the Nine Colors.
“Right, right. Plus, we had all the noncombatants evacuate, so they won’t be in danger. The only issue after the war is who will pay for it all!”
The source of an unsavory “oh-ho-ho-ho” was a different person.
The slant of her eyes and the shape of the corners of her mouth were a bit different, but she bore a strong resemblance to Remedios. Still, those subtle distinctions resulted in a dramatic change in the impression she made. She seemed like she had a hidden agenda—to put it unkindly, like she had some scheme up her sleeve.
This was Remedios’s sister, two years younger than her, Kelart Custodio.
She was a high cleric and head of the clergy.
Her magical ability allowed her to use up to tier-four faith spells—or rather, that was her cover story.
The public had no idea of her true ability; those close to her knew she could cast tier five as well.
Incidentally, she was not one of the Nine Colors. Though she was subordinate to both the influence of the shrines and the Holy Lady, due to various considerations for the balance of power, the country thought it politically wise to avoid bestowing a color on her.
Together, these two were known as the genius Custodio sisters, the right and left hand of the Holy Lady.
Since many nobles suspected that Calca, despite being a woman, had ascended to the throne thanks to the Custodio sisters working behind the scenes, unfavorable remarks were often aimed at all three of them.
They had cleared plenty of bad rumors, but there was one—that since they were all unmarried and had never even gone around with men, they must have been in some inappropriate relationship together—they couldn’t get rid of no matter how many times they denied it, which pained Calca.
“Hearing that makes my head hurt. It’s really just a lot of trouble if we win and don’t stand to gain anything.”
“But there are reports that the subhumans are well outfitted this time. Couldn’t we sell their gear or something?”
“Exaaactly…is what I’d like to say, but I can’t agree, honored sister. You say we could sell the gear, but to whom? You aren’t thinking this through. We’d have to sell them to another country, and no one will want to pay premium prices for subhuman gear. Plus, we should avoid furnishing the armories of our neighbors until we finish rebuilding the battered section of wall. I especially don’t want the Nation of Darkness flooding in.”
“Oh? You’re against the Nation of Darkness? I never heard anything about that at court…”
“None of the priests like them. Do you feel differently, Your Holy Majesty?”
Calca thought for a moment. As a person of the cloth, as the holy ruler, she hated it. But as the head of a state…
“A sovereign’s job is to care for subjects. And to give them peace. If their king is capable of that, then why should I mind?”
The sisters exchanged glances in front of her.
“Care for people? A thought like that would never enter an undead’s mind.”
“I agree with my sister. I hardly think an undead could have compassion for the people the way you do, Your Holy Majesty.”
“You’re both so harsh. You mustn’t bad-mouth someone you’ve never even met.”
The two of them, at a loss, wore nearly identical expressions. Yep, they’re sisters, Calca thought, and she suppressed the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth to speak in a more solemn tone.
“What do the staff officers have to say? Tell me about our plan to counter Jaldabaoth, Kelart.”
The Holy Lady had been visiting the base to raise the soldiers’ morale, so she missed the war planning meeting. The Sacred Kingdom’s soldiers had better training than those of other countries, but they were still a levy army. Maintaining morale was crucial.
“Yes, Your Holy Majesty. There’s a debate about the various scenarios we can envision—if the subhumans surrounded the city, if they pass us by, if they veer south, if they split their forces into two or three groups to go after multiple objectives, and so on.”
This was the sort of moment where Calca recognized that although the sisters resembled each other, they were quite different. If she had asked the elder of the two, she would only have been able to get a frustratingly meandering report that never got to the point.
“I see… And which scenario do they believe to be most likely?”
“Given the way the subhumans tend to conduct raids and what has happened so far, they feel that an encirclement is most
