Before going to Neldahl, there had been one nation I had never wanted to set foot in: the Illumasian Empire. You see, I had accidentally thwarted so many of their plans that I was sure they must’ve been holding a grudge against me. Also, though I didn’t know if the empire had given the orders directly, I’d witnessed countless tragedies befall those who crossed its path. For those reasons, I very much wanted to stay away from its territory.
According to the history books I’d read, Illumasia was a militaristic nation that had gradually expanded its territory by waging war after war and built its economy through both strict regulations and the labor of the people they’d enslaved during those conflicts, forcing them to work until they could no longer stand.
I’d heard that they had agreed to a ceasefire with the Luburk Kingdom—the nation they were currently at war with—but the situation was still pretty tense. On top of that, they had a reputation for spying on other countries, and there were rumors that they conducted demonization experiments on human test subjects. I’d actually gotten proof of the latter firsthand. The first person I’d healed after becoming a sage had been the Baron von Wisdom of Luburk, whom Illumasia had subjected to their horrific experiments. Who in their right mind would willingly go to such a place?
But at the same time, I felt like I’d never be able to learn the full truth behind the demonization cases if I kept avoiding it. And now that we had our airship, which gave us the ability to escape if the situation took a turn for the worse, I wasn’t as opposed to the idea of venturing into Illumasian territory anymore.
When I told my plan to my friends, their lively chatter died down, and our table fell into a sudden silence as they all stared at me. I closed my eyes and took a few seconds to compose myself before explaining my reasoning.
“There are several reasons I think we should visit Illumasia next. The main one is that, if we keep on letting them do their thing, we might end up having to fight overpowered imperial soldiers.”
My companions grew even more confused at my words.
“Wouldn’t that be resolved by just...not going there?” Lionel asked.
Yeah, I shouldn’t have expected them to get it with just this one statement. I kinda brought it up out of the blue too.
“The only reason I think it might be a good idea to go to Illumasia is because of you, Lionel,” I said.
“Why?”
I turned to Ketty. “Ketty, do all the people in Illumasia know Lionel’s—the Lion of War’s—face? And how much would a regular soldier know about him?”
“Only new recruits wouldn’t know of him. Sir Lionel was the symbol of Illumasia’s military power. He’s pretty much the face of the empire. More people recognize his face and his legendary feats than they do the emperor’s,” Ketty told me proudly.
This assured me that I was making the right decision. The only thing I was a little worried about was that Lionel looked much younger now. But we could just have him grow some facial hair; that should do the trick. If that didn’t work, I supposed our only other option would be to use makeup to age him up. When we first met in Yenice, he’d looked like an old man but had instantly lost twenty years after shaving his beard. All I could do was hope the reverse would work just as well. If it did, we could easily apprehend the fake Lionel and perhaps even use him as a bargaining chip with the empire.
“Thanks, Ketty,” I said. “So, to fill you guys in, I read in the documents Dongahar left behind that the mastermind behind the knights’ demonization case was Blanche.”
“Then shouldn’t we go there instead of Illumasia?” Lionel asked.
I nodded. “That’s why I’m hesitating. But my goal this time isn’t to fight; it’s to focus on diplomacy. And which country seems the easiest to negotiate with, considering the members of our group?”
“The empire, I suppose,” Lionel reluctantly said.
“Bingo. The worst-case scenario for Saint Shurule would be Blanche and Illumasia forming a military alliance. That’s why I want to ask for your help this time around.”
I had made my case, but I ultimately wanted Lionel to have the final say. If he refused, we’d go to Blanche, and I’d probably enlist Lumina’s help.
“It’s true that as things stand, the Knights of Shurule can’t win against Illumasia, even if they were to make an alliance with Blanche,” Lionel said, a hint of pride creeping into his tone as he spoke about his homeland.
“I’ve been thinking the same thing since I first saw you, Ketty, and Nalia in action,” I replied. “That’s why I believe we should head there as soon as possible. Their knights shouldn’t be fully demonized yet, so I can probably cure them before they completely lose their minds.”
I was aware that my plan was risky and that we might even end up having to fight at some point. But if the people of Illumasia turned into demons, the world would soon fall under the rule of the Wicked One, and it’d most likely collapse before the next hero was even born. If I didn’t find a way to stop that from happening, I could kiss the calm and leisurely life of my dreams goodbye for good.
“You’ve already done it before, so you should definitely be able to cure the demonized knights,” Lionel agreed. “So, you’d rather go to Illumasia first, huh?”
“Once again, it depends on what Dongahar will tell us once he wakes up.”
“But won’t we be attacked if we try to sneak into the empire? We have the airship, that’s great, but Illumasia has squads of wyvern riders.”
That was a fair concern. But my plan had never been to fly directly into Illumasia. I was thinking of using our airship to reach the empire’s border and then finishing the journey on horseback. This would give us more opportunities to cross paths with people who knew of Lionel and ask them for useful information.
“We could always just land when we spot the wyverns. Then we’d be able to counterattack,” I suggested.
“That would be completely reckless, sir,” he replied. “You may be strong, but the Illumasian army counts tens of thousands of soldiers that I’ve trained myself among its ranks.”
Soldiers trained by Lionel... The mere thought of it made my head hurt. Then again, they’d be a hundred times more annoying to deal with if they turned into demons. Besides, it might just be wishful thinking, but I didn’t think we’d be fighting the Illumasian army this time around.
“Well, unless you trained them so harshly that they hate you, those soldiers probably admire you a lot. So I’m thinking you could just make a triumphant return to Illumasia as the Lion of War and we wouldn’t have to fight anyone,” I said.
“What do you mean?” he asked, a confused look coming over his face along with a hint of melancholy.
“You could claim you’re there to confront the impostor who’s been pretending to be you, for instance.”