The king must have come to the same conclusion as evidenced by the slight grimace creeping onto his face.
“Furthermore, I don’t believe it is our right to decide who does and doesn’t deserve to be purified. Does that not make us the same as the Dark Djinn?”
Nervous tension courses through the audience chamber. The castle guards squeeze their sword hilts. I don’t blame them because I essentially just lumped their king in with the Dark Djinn.
Maybe I pushed too hard. But I won’t be able to reach the king if I mince words. I manage to stop myself from cringing and continue my case. “I also wish for things to remain peaceful forever, but it is up to humanity to walk that path. In the end, even if someone creates a path for you, if you don’t know how to walk, you can easily go off track.”
They might all be thinking I have some nerve to be challenging the king like this. But this is the decision I have come to. I am going to boldly voice it to the very end.
“I have touched on the various reasons why we should help them, but in the end…the biggest reason is that I personally can’t stand to leave things the way they are.”
Did my last comment come off as too childish? Everyone looks dumbfounded. I had debated wording it that way, but I’m also a human being. I need them to know that before I’m their Priestess, I have my own thoughts, feelings, and biases as a person.
“Your Majesty, please allow me to speak,” Sir Oden requests while everyone else is still in shock. Once the king gives him pardon, he speaks his piece. “If we decline the Holy Priestess’s request, we will sustain a dire loss.”
“Tell me: what is that loss?”
“Our kingdom’s strongest knight, Lex Irvine.”
“C-Captain! I asked you to keep that matter between us!” Lex cries out in a panic.
I shift my gaze to him to wordlessly ask what this is about, only for him to turn his face away. Seeking an answer, I redirect my question toward Sir Oden.
“Why would that happen?”
“Last night Lex came to me and said, ‘I will act on Lady Mizuha’s behalf even if Grantz is uncooperative,’” Sir Oden imparts, a slightly mischievous smile encroaching on his face.
Lex said something similar to me before too. Though I didn’t expect him to inform Sir Oden as well. A mix of joy and shock cause my mouth to fall open.
Meanwhile, a hearty “Ha! Ha! Ha!” comes from the king’s throne. “Why has the Goddess put me in such a predicament? Not only has my beloved daughter turned against me, but even my kingdom’s strongest knight has his sword at my throat!”
“Y-Your Majesty! I would never draw my sword on you!” Lex splutters.
“It’s just an analogy.” Quite the violent analogy. Still, the king seems to be in awfully good spirits. Things might work out—or so I thought, but I jumped the gun. In a single instant, the sternness returns to His Majesty’s face.
“Unfortunately, this matter is far too important for me to be swayed by a purely emotional appeal.”
“F-Father—”
“Hold your tongue, Cia.”
Cia tried to help, but she was immediately dismissed. His Majesty always dotes on Cia, but he places a greater emphasis on maintaining his authority during public affairs. Now that it’s come down to this, I have no choice but to carve open a path with my own words.
“If everything goes well in Cladorca, we will surely face similar issues elsewhere in the future. Thus, I plan to do what is right as ‘the Priestess who Aligns with Grantz Kingdom.’”
I currently have my title as Goddess Sadia’s Priestess. I’m the only human capable of purifying zombies. I’m confident that will make others view me as the most important existence in this apocalyptic world. By aligning myself with one kingdom, I’m giving them a huge advantage over the others.
“…Good heavens, my kingdom has the terrible problem of having too many talented people.” His Majesty suddenly laughs.
It sounds like he realized Pino gave me a hint on how to convince him. But the king seems so delighted by it, the smile reaches his eyes.
“You have persuaded me. I hereby vow Grantz Kingdom shall assist Holy Priestess Mizuha with Operation Purify Cladorca.”
At long last, he gave the permission I was waiting for. I’m skeptical I misheard him, but the smile on Cia’s face tells another story. I’ve felt such tremendous pressure to do right by this issue, that now I can finally breathe easy.
“However, you only have my permission once you are fully prepared.”
“Yes, Your Majesty! I promise to make sure we have a plan in place that guarantees everyone’s safe return!”
Our opponent is a dangerous dragon that makes the Boneless Hams look like kittens in comparison. Maybe I shouldn’t be throwing around promises and guarantees when facing such a threat, but it’s a promise I want to make.
“Things turned out just the way you wanted, Lady Mizuha.” Lex rejoices over my victory as if it is his own. He not only worked behind the scenes to help me, but I’m even more grateful he continued to stand by me when push came to shove.
“Yeah! All thanks to you, Lex. Thank you!”
It was touch and go there for a moment, but it all worked out in the end. Now comes the real challenge. I have to work harder than anyone to repay the people who bent for my ambitions.
Time to get serious!