Gairadite, Hero Assembly Palace.
The current gathering place of the Hero Assembly was built on the former site of the royal palace. The Round Table Assembly Hall within the repurposed space was the backbone of Gairadite’s current government—every law and policy in Azesion was discussed and decided here.
However, the shift to this new legislative assembly was still in progress, and the Hero Assembly, which was at the center of it all, had yet to function at its full potential.
“I’m telling you,” Emilia said, tone harsh and firm, at the Round Table, “Leiacanetts is incapable of sealing the Sun of Destruction! You’re wasting the efforts of the Hero Academy students and all the holy water we have!”
She was making an earnest appeal against the use of Leiacanetts on Sarjieldenav. But her clear and thorough explanation had fallen on the deaf ears of the assembly members, the ones who actually made decisions on behalf of all of Azesion. They still insisted on suppressing the Sun of Destruction.
“This is not solely my opinion. The Hero Academy, Mr. Eldmed of the Demon King Academy, and Demon King Anos Voldigoad are all in agreement on this matter.”
The assembly members listened to Emilia’s argument with contemplative looks.
“If I may, Headmaster Emilia,” one member said, his face reminiscent of a sly old fox. He was Sival, King of Legrand, part of the allied nations of Azesion. “You’ve explained how the Sun of Destruction is too great for us to deal with. Does that mean you wish for us to sit by and do nothing? The fate of Azesion is our responsibility.”
“Dilhade is already preparing to deal with the Sun of Destruction. Azesion’s savior, Hero Kanon, is leading the plans. What do you have to be concerned about?” Emilia replied.
Sival sighed and shook his head as though what she said disappointed him, but did not actually reply to object.
“King Legrand, if there’s something you wish to say—”
“Former hero,” another voice interrupted. “The king of Legrand wishes to correct your terminology. It should be former hero.”
The one who spoke was the King of Portos, Enrique.
“Hero Kanon is indeed the figure of our legends. And the people hold him in high regard,” Enrique said. “But we formed the Hero Assembly to put the old Azesion behind us. For an equal and fair society to form in each of our countries we all decided to abolish the nobility and its privileges. And as the symbol of equality and fairness, the Hero Assembly cannot allow the former Hero Kanon any privileges.”
“All I said is that he is our ally. I said nothing about granting him privileges of any sort,” Emilia replied firmly. “We use Hero Kanon’s power to repel this threat to our nation. Nothing more, nothing less.”
A third king—Katnes of Nebrahile—interjected.
“If I recall correctly, Hero Kanon goes by the name of Lay Grandsley and currently attends the Demon King Academy. But as a demon lord, he’ll come to govern an area of Dilhade?”
“How is that relevant to the matter at hand?” Emilia asked.
King Katnes smiled calmly. “Someone as wise as you should know already, Headmaster Emilia. If Hero Kanon exterminates the Sun of Destruction, we will become indebted to Dilhade.”
“Hmm. Yes. That would become troublesome later,” King Sival said.
“What in particular are you calling troublesome?” Emilia asked.
“Now now, Headmaster Emilia. I understand how you feel, but please remain calm,” King Portos said sternly.
“You don’t understand. None of you do. How can you understand me when you keep thinking of later? If you don’t bring the Sun of Destruction down right this moment, by any means necessary, there will be no Azesion left to debate!”
King Sival let out a big, aggrieved sigh. “Yes, as you’ve already said. You’ve also said that since the Sun of Destruction is hiding its magic power, we cannot properly detect the danger.”
“It’s not hiding its magic power! Its power is so vast you cannot sense it!”
“The details don’t matter. Either way, we cannot see its magic.”
Emilia’s jaw dropped in disbelief. The two ideas were completely different. And in this case, the Sun of Destruction was so powerful, one could die just by feeling its magic.
“Azesion may be erased from the map. We are confronting this war with that in mind.”
“With that in mind?” Emilia repeated. It clearly wasn’t a matter of mental attitude. “I’m sorry, but the three of you still seem to be struggling to understand me.”
“I assure you that we do,” King Sival replied. “The situation is terrible. That is why the Hero Academy must succeed at casting Leiacanetts by any means necessary.”
Emilia gritted her teeth. They had been going around in circles for some time now.
“What exactly are you objecting to, Headmaster Emilia?” he asked. “The magic power cannot be seen. An attack large enough to wipe Azesion from the map is about to occur. Hero Kanon will eliminate the Sun of Destruction. We’ve listened to your explanation and agreed to your plan. We’ve even compromised by not sending away the Dilhade forces entirely. The least you could do is agree to the use of Leiacanetts, no?”
“So you don’t care about whether Leiacanetts works or not...” Emilia muttered, her voice low. She finally understood why their discussion was going nowhere: Although they were on the same side, the Hero Assembly were also probing her intentions.
“So as long as the people believe Leiacanetts played a part in eliminating the Sun of Destruction, you’ll be happy, yes?” she asked.
“Watch your words, Headmaster Emilia,” Sival said angrily. “Ideals will not save anyone. The people need something to believe in. If they come to believe the Hero Assembly cannot protect them, Azesion will collapse.”
He crossed his arms and sighed.
“She may have some human blood in her, but she’s not a real human,” Katnes muttered quietly.
“Katnes,” Sival chided. “You watch your words too. Headmaster Emilia has worked hard for the sake of Azesion, and we should treat her as a fellow member of the assembly.”
“My apologies. That was inexcusable.”
Katnes bowed his head at Emilia and held it there.
“It’s fine. That doesn’t bother me,” Emilia said.
“Thank you for your forgiveness.”
“Of course, we understand you have a position to maintain too,” Sival said to Emilia in a roundabout way.
“And is that because I’m a demon—”
“Your attention please, everyone.”
The moment Emilia opened her mouth, President Lloyd spoke for the first time to interrupt the discussion. “Let’s take a recess. We will resume in one hour.”
Sival and the others stood up and left the Round Table. Some lingered to watch Emilia, who stood facing the floor, expression obscured, but Lloyd urged them out of the hall.
“I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do without their agreement,” he said regretfully, once he and Emilia were the only ones left.
“I know...”
“Take a break,” he said, before leaving the room.
King Sival of Legrand, King Enrique of Portos, King Katnes of Nebrahile. It was only because these three large countries had given up their royalty that the Hero Academy possessed any meaningful power. If there hadn’t been any kings willing to lead the change, no one would have followed. The congress would have ended as a pipe dream.