“Summoning demons to collect intelligence would have been an option…except it corrupts your soul. And even if you summon lower-tier demons, they often don’t know much about the higher tiers. So we’d need to get in touch with someone capable of summoning more powerful demons.”
“Unfortunately, I don’t know anyone who specializes in summoning demons.”
It was Evileye who commented first. Then one of the twins.
Well, you wouldn’t, usually…, thought Neia.
Fortunately, evil casters who specialized in summoning demons never became very powerful—because they usually either ruined themselves or were hunted down.
Of course, there could be individuals who avoided such grisly ends, but they lurked in darkness and were hardly out and about making friends.
“Still, though. Isn’t it aggravating to sit around and do nothing? I wanna be able to make him cry next time he comes to the Kingdom! But for that, we need info—as much info as we can get our hands on.”
“Also, when he came to the Kingdom, he didn’t bring subhumans. If he took subhumans under his wing as a result of failing in the Kingdom, then we need to be even more cautious.”
Gagaran and the other twin voiced their thoughts as well.
“So you want to know what we know?”
The Blue Roses all nodded, and Lakyus finished. “We’ll pay you the same as what you paid us.”
“Commander, can I take over negotiations from here?”
Remedios agreed immediately to Gustav’s suggestion.
“Then we’d like our compensation in a different form, not cash.”
“And that would be? We’ll try to provide what you ask, but I can’t simply promise that anything will go… That said, if you want to be connected to an influential noble, I think we can arrange that.”
“Oh? Thank you for that, but actually we’re after something else. Would you come to our country and fight with us?”
Silence fell over the room once more. After a few seconds—no, probably more—there was finally a sound. Lakyus had leaned back in her chair.
“Apologies, but we can’t compensate you in that way.”
“…We’re after the information in order to not die. Doing it that way would defeat the purpose.” Evileye shrugged her shoulders as if to say, No can do.
“We’re not saying you have to face Jaldabaoth. You could be on standby in the rear dispensing healing magic.”
“Don’t lie to us. You definitely need more help than that.” Gagaran rolled her eyes.
It was true. The northern part of the Sacred Kingdom had been conquered by Jaldabaoth and could hardly put up any meaningful resistance at this point. Most of the people had been sent to the camps, and the few remaining paladins were hiding out in caves.
“No, it’s not like that. We’re just barely holding the subhuman invasion back.”
The Southern Sacred Kingdom’s territory was still intact, and the troops guarding the southlands and Jaldabaoth’s army were sizing each other up. If that could be counted as holding back the invaders, then they were.
Lies versus truth. Neia knew the truth, so she felt Gustav’s response was closer to a lie.
“Would it be possible for you to come?”
“Sorry.”
Remedios had straightened up to ask, but Evileye’s reply was a clear no. And the silence of other members must have meant it wasn’t just her opinion but the collective’s decision.
“…Honestly, I said we were just barely holding them back, but…we’re actually in rougher shape. The Northern Sacred Kingdom is lost, but we still have some forces remaining in the south. Still, it’ll be impossible to beat Jaldabaoth with them alone.” Gustav poured some water into his cup and took a drink. Then he spoke again. “The reason the country wasn’t swallowed up in a single gulp was that the naval forces managed to pin Jaldabaoth’s troops along the coast. If he found a way around that and continued advancing south, we wouldn’t stand a chance.”
But that was what the people of the north thought, since they knew Jaldabaoth’s power. The people down south may have had completely different ideas. Maybe they thought they could drive him off on their own.
That was a sign that information wasn’t being shared effectively, but it was partly due to other issues between the two regions.
In the south, a majority of the nobles opposed a woman overriding her elder brother’s claim to take the throne.
Which is why, in order to avoid a split, the Holy Lady had ignored the slanderous rumor in the south that she had attained her position through collusion with influential shrines and that her aide, Kelart Custodio, had been pulling strings from behind the scenes.
After that, the south never acted, so they managed to avoid an all-out confrontation, but that was because power had been balanced. Now that the north had collapsed, the south didn’t need to play nice anymore. The southern powers were only a few steps away from eclipsing the north.
At this juncture, with Jaldabaoth attacking, it seemed absurd that fighting would break out between humans. And catching glimpses of the power struggle surrounding the decision of who would be the next king made Neia, a commoner, uncomfortable.
“That’s no good.”
“It’s not. Our few air units in the naval forces sustained heavy losses battling flying demons. We won’t be able to hold Jaldabaoth’s army back forever. We need some kind of breakthrough. Please lend us your strength! Even just for a month or two! We’ll do our best to provide whatever compensation you ask! Please save the Sacred Kingdom!”
When Gustav lowered his head, Neia and paladins bowed and said, “We beg you!”
Then the quiet room filled with Lakyus’s voice. “Please raise your heads. And I’m sorry, but we can’t go to the Sacred Kingdom.”
“Why not?!”
Neia jerked her head up at Remedios’s shout and saw her leaning out of her seat, glaring at Lakyus.
“I doubt he’ll stop with defeating the Sacred Kingdom! He’ll probably just gather his strength there and then attack you! If we don’t defeat him now, things will
