Chapter 215

“Put a sock in your baby mouth and stay out of this!!” “Eep…” She was struck down with ease. She could do nothing against the delegates’ scary glares. The old guys ignored the pope and continued fighting. Clenent DIV deflated in her chair. She had sworn to God she would bring peace to the world two years back, yet her vow remained unfulfilled. No one would listen to this little girl. “I am not worthy of the title of pope… Please forgive me, God…” Clenent DIV’s real name was Misha Sombresault. She was born into a common family of Holy Church believers but wound up getting embroiled in a power struggle in the Holy Lehysian Empire, and after many twists and turns, the poor girl ascended the throne as pope. In reality, she was supposed to have been “Clement IV,” but since a bigger number sounded more powerful to her, she had taken the title of Clenent DIV. Her name was also “Clenent” instead of “Clement” due to a spelling mistake on her enthronement papers that was found too late to be corrected. It was her duty as a servant of God to better the world. She needed to make this council a success, but the old guys were only interested in fighting instead of holding a constructive dialogue. God must have been weeping in Heaven. The Holy Church’s teachings spoke of a Judgment Day. Naturally, God would try to save the people when the end came to pass, but if there were too many irredeemable villains, he would sigh and throw in the towel. In that moment, demons would appear, and a hole to hell would open up. The people would burn in the flames of regret and be swallowed by the mouth of hell, after which the surface would reset. I don’t want Judgment Day to happen. Please, God, grant salvation to the world. She closed her eyes and prayed, when… “The congress dances but does not progress. It is meaningless like this.” …an oddly clear voice echoed. The hubbub quieted. One of the forty-two delegates in attendance—the representative of the Nekris Kingdom—glared at the table. His name was Liu Luxmio. The delegate who had been in Luxmio’s place yesterday had gone back home after getting a tummy ache from overeating. Yet strangely, the envoy’s replacement had a swollen face and was supporting himself on crutches. “Minister Liu Luxmio? What happened to you?” another delegate asked. “I tripped.” Everyone murmured. Clenent DIV worried for him; he should go home to rest. “But don’t mind me.” He pulled the attention away from his condition. “You all are blind. At this rate, the war will never end. You focus on these meaningless squabbles instead of identifying the real enemy.” “The real enemy? Did you hit your head, sir?” “I think you should go to a hospital!” The old guys cackled, but Luxmio did not mind. “Do you not find it strange? Nobody here wants war, yet conflict keeps breaking out unnaturally,” Luxmio said. “We do, and that is why we are here in this council. There is a country that does want war,” said another delegate. “Someone wants war, but it isn’t any particular nation… Someone is pulling the strings behind the scenes,” asserted Luxmio. “Don’t be ridiculous.” “Minister of the Toumor Republic, you said you attacked a neighboring country in retribution for the destruction of the mining city of Neoplus, correct?” “Yes. It was all a ploy of the Heegen Kingdom—” “No. The blame lies squarely on Spica La Gemini and Terakomari Gandesblood’s shoulders.” “Terakomari Gandesblood…?!” An old Warblade man rose to his feet, his eyes going wide. He was the minister of foreign affairs of the Kingdom of Aruka. “I-isn’t that the leader of the Komari Club?! The group who snatched the next Miko offered to us by Mulnite?! Did she do it to undermine relations between the nations of our realm…?!” “I lack evidence to support this theory at the moment; I’ll show you later. But there is no doubt in my mind that those two are at fault for everything strange that has been happening lately. We mustn’t direct our ire at each other, but at those wicked terrorists.” “H-he’s right! These fights are all the terrorists’ fault!” Clenent DIV stood up, clenching her fists. Luxmio’s words were oddly convincing. She had yet to fully grasp everything, but she went with the flow. The countries of the Netherworld needed a common foe to bring them together. “They want to plunge the world into chaos and bring about Judgment Day! Let’s beat them up together! For peace!” “Even Her Holiness agrees. We must work together to take down Terakomari and Spica,” said Luxmio. “But…where are these terrorists?” “They should arrive in the Holy Lehysian Empire soon.” “Whu-huh?!” shouted Clenent DIV. “They’re looking for treasures known as the Dark Cores—Divine Instruments powerful enough to destroy the world.” Luxmio stared at Clenent DIV for some reason—at the pendant on her neck, to be precise. “D-destroy the world? That’s terrible…” “And one of the cores is here in Lehysia. That means they’ll come here sooner or later.” “…” Clenent felt cold sweat drip down her skin. The Light Orb—regalia that had been passed down across generations of Holy Church popes. The previous pope had told her not to ever let go of this pendant, for it was proof of God’s approval. Clenent DIV followed the rule faithfully and kept it on her person when eating, sleeping, and even bathing. She was also informed the pendant was known as a Dark Core. It had the appearance of a party ball, and it held a sphere that glowed like a star. The point being, her standing as the pope was now in danger. Without the Light Orb, Clenent DIV was just Misha Sombresault. God would forsake her. Hence why she shouted, “M-Mister Luxmio?! When will the terrorists come?! How do we defeat them?! What do they even look like?!” “Don’t worry. I’ll draw a portrait and give each of you a copy.” “Thank you! Their faces must be frightening…” “When they stood against Star Citadel in the mining city of Neoplus, Spica and Terakomari distributed wanted posters and had the citizens track them down. Let’s do the same here.” “But will it be that feasible…?” “Everything will be all right.” Luxmio curled his lips. “With the help of all the countries present, the terrorists will fall to God’s hammer of retribution.” It was a wicked smile. Yet somehow, it made Clenent DIV feel relieved. Baseless certainty budded within her: Luxmio would be able to stop the terrorists. “It is time for us to fight together. Peace and order are within our grasp.” “…Where are we??” When I came back to my senses, I found myself standing in a field. A half-moon adorned the sky. The constellations were a bit off from before, which meant we had been teleported somewhere far from the campsite. “Hmm?” I noticed something soft pushing on my back. Someone was hugging me tightly from behind. This chilly feeling… “…Is that you, Sakuna?” “Wha…?! I-I’m sorry, Ms. Komari!” Silver knockout beauty Sakuna Memoir jumped away from me. What was that about? Was she hugging me because she was scared? “I… Umm… I was… I wanted to protect you…” “O-oh…! You’re so reliable!” I patted her head. She blushed and giggled so adorably that it made me dizzy. Her prettiness had a healing effect—I was sure of it. “You got teleported here, too, then.” “It seems like Ms. Kilty’s Magic Stone sent us here…” “Dang Kilty…” Who even is that girl? She said she’s with Full Moon… Wait a second, wasn’t the shadow I met at the Crimson Snow Hut also named Kilty? They can’t be the same person, can they? “Ah!” Sakuna pointed. “Look, there’s a flock of Mizuchi…!” I shouted in reaction, too. There were crimson-colored dragons all over the sprawling grassland. This seemed to be their territory; fortunately, they were gentle creatures. Except for Bucephalus. We wouldn’t be attacked if we kept our distance. “Wow! Wild Mizuchi! I’d never seen a flock before!” I said. “There must be at least fifty of them… Huh?” Sakuna noticed something, and I followed her gaze. A few of the Mizuchi were grouped together, eating something. Maybe there’s a patch of good grass there? Wait… That grass is person-shaped… Is that a kimono…? And a pair of blond pigtails? Plus a weird hat… Wait, that’s not grass! That’s Karla and Spica! “Uwaaah?! What the hell are you doing?!” I charged ahead with a war cry, and the Mizuchi ran for their lives. They stopped and stared after gaining a bit of distance from me, but my eyes were already off them. The two girls were covered in drool. The Mizuchi had only been licking them. “Karla?! Karla, wake up!” “Hee-hee… What a beautiful flower field… Huh…? Grandma is over there waving at me…,” Karla said. “Your grandma’s still alive!!” I shouted. “Um, Ms. Komari, should I kill the other one?” Sakuna asked. I turned around in dismay. Spica lay face down on the ground, Sakuna’s hands around her neck. The Sapphire girl looked serious. SAKUNA is evolving into DARK SAKUNA! “This is our chance… The Wicked God Slayer is out cold… Heh-heh… Let’s make this slow and painful…” “Stop it, Sakuna! Go back to being a pretty, gentle girl!” I launched myself at Sakuna and latched onto her. “Bwah?!” she moaned. “I-I’m joking! It was a joke…!” “It didn’t seem like a joke! I’m not letting you go until you calm down!” “Fwaaahh!! I’ll never calm down…” “Why?!” Apparently, I was the only sane one here. Stop wasting time, and let’s figure out what’s going on! “We’re about two hundred miles north of the campsite, I’d say! I can tell from the angle of the stars!” Ten minutes later. Spica had turned around lethargically before exclaiming the above. It was already dark. The wind was warm, the cries of bugs filled our ears, and the Mizuchi curled up on some grass nearby to sleep. “We should reach the God Slayer Tower if we walk a little farther north… If only she’d sent us to Lumiere Village!” There were four of us in total here. The rest of our group must’ve been sent somewhere else. “Ms. Spica, who in the world was that Immortal just now?” Karla asked, wiping her cheeks with a handkerchief. Yeah, let’s start there. The murderer who’d attacked us out of nowhere: Liu Luxmio. He’d gotten beaten up in the end, but his hatred for Spica was real. “He said he was a Fool from Observatory. Do you know him?” “He’s my archenemy.” “What happened between you?” “…” Five seconds of silence. “…He’s the man who destroyed my dream. I assumed him long dead; I never would’ve thought he could survive by putting a seal on himself.” “Why was he trying to kill you? Is he another of those crazies who wants to be the strongest?” I asked. “The Fools’ job is to maintain order, particularly by limiting the influence of the Dark Cores’ effect on society to the Foreworld. They hate change. The collapse of the Enchanted Lands’ Dark Core must have brought them back. They want to kill revolutionaries—in other words, people like you and me, who want to change the world.” “Since when did I become a revolutionary?” “You changed the hearts of the people of the Six Nations. That is a revolution in Observatory’s eyes.” Then their eyes must not work. Talk about misrepresentation. Anyway, this meant new killers were after me. You beat one, and a new one pops up immediately. “…What should we do now, Ms. Komari?” Sakuna asked, her voice tinged with worry. “I’d like to return to the campsite, but…” “No!” Spica exclaimed while gazing up at the stars. “Our objective hasn’t changed. Once we gather the Dark Cores and unseal the God Slayer Tower, we’ll find a clue to solving everything. That doesn’t change just because the Fools of Observatory showed up.” “But what about everyone else?” “Observatory is just after you and me! They won’t have the time to go after anyone else if we kick up a fuss.” “I agree with Ms. Spica.” A bell rang to accompany Karla’s cool voice. “The teleportation split us up, so the others should be elsewhere by now. But everyone knows our destination is the Holy Lehysian Empire. We should simply follow our initial objective.” “But…,” said Spica. “I understand you’re worried, but the others are tough and experienced. They won’t get them so easily,” I said. “You get it! That’s why you’re the strongest commander in the universe!” Spica said. “…Y-yes, of course! In the whole universe!” It had been a while since I last heard that phrase. Anyway, Karla was smart; she should know what’s best. We didn’t know where the others had been sent to, either way, so it would be nigh-impossible for us to find them. “Hmm?” Sakuna said with surprise. “Look, Ms. Komari. There’s a shed over there.” “Huh? Oh, you’re right.” There was a tiny wooden shack beyond the Mizuchi flock. We trotted over there. It seemed to be a storehouse. The structure was full of preserved foods and weapons. “I see. This must be a Full Moon refuge,” Karla said. “What?” I asked. “Ms. Kilty’s Magic Stones were meant for emergency escape. It makes sense that there would be supplies in the vicinity. Saddles and stirrups… The Mizuchi outside must belong to Full Moon. To use for escape.” “Oh… So they can talk, too…?” I asked. “T-talk??” said Karla. “We can use them to go to Lehysia! Time will fly with the Mizuchi on our side!” Sakuna scoured the place in high spirits. Right. I can’t even begin to imagine how sore we would be if we walked there; thank goodness for the Mizuchi. But it’s too late to head there now. Guess we’ll go tomorrow. I’ll try talking to the Mizuchi later. They probably won’t talk back to me around the girls, though, just like Charlotte the camel… Then I noticed something. Only Sakuna, Karla, and I were in the storehouse. “…Wait. Where’s Spica?” “Huh? Isn’t she outside?” “Forget about that terrorist, Ms. Komari. Look… There’s only two beds. Would you mind sleeping with me…?” “No, hold up. Don’t you think she…?!” I ran outside. The little terrorist was lying in the middle of the field. “…Spica? What are you doing?” “Nothing! I was gonna sleep here!” “You’ll catch a cold. C’mon and sleep in the storehouse with us.” “No thanks! I love nature!” I looked down at Spica’s body with suspicion. She was as still as a sloth. I tried pinching her upper arm. For someone stronger than a gorilla, she sure was squishy. As I expected, she showed no resistance at all. “What are you doing? Wanna die?” Spica asked. “Don’t tell me you can’t move,” I said. “I can move! I’m just not moving because there’s no need to—Gaaah!” Spica let out a squeal as I poked her belly button. Then I witnessed something that could turn the whole world on its head. Spica’s cheeks were…ever so slightly red.