Chapter 170 : Extreme Land (2)
Extreme Land (2)
Creak, creeeak!
The gigantic door shook as if it was about to burst open at any moment, but it couldn't overcome Grancesia's strength.
My jaw dropped on its own at the majestic spectacle.
I'd seen countless things Grancesia had done until now, but this was the first time anything had ever seemed so absurd.
"... Can you really hold out?"
"And what if I can't?"
"..."
To meet the Demon King, I had to go to the demon realm.
I had already thought of how to get there, but since I didn't know what the demon realm was like, I needed to budget plenty of time.
That was a week.
For an ordinary human, waiting while blocking the door for that long would be way too much, but with Grancesia, I just felt somehow she could pull it off easily.
"Fortunately, it seems they can't force the door open from inside by applying power."
Grancesia muttered as she pressed the doors with both hands to keep them from opening.
Well, if it could be opened from inside, they would have just opened it and walked out by now.
Unless it was this sort of magic array, it was essentially proof that opening the gates to the Heavenly Realm was impossible.
"But it really will only take a week, right?"
"Probably."
"How confidence-inspiring."
Though I said it sarcastically, I wasn't actually mocking her. Even when she put it that way, I could sense Grancesia trusted me.
"You never make empty promises."
"What a peculiar trust."
"Anyone around you would think the same way, I bet?"
Would they? Honestly, I wasn't sure.
Certainly, since I was a child, I'd never failed at anything I thought I could do.
'Seems the original work was a bit different, though.'
Well, that was the original; now I'm different.
"Grancesia, then I'll leave it to you."
"Hurry up and come back. If you're late, my arms will hurt."
I quietly chuckled at her grumbling. It was clear her intention was to answer lightly so I wouldn't worry.
Just as Grancesia was, I too could tell what she was thinking.
"Then let's get moving, Mersaya."
"Ah, yes! Clay-nim, then where should we go?"
"First, to the domain."
"The domain? Didn't you say we were heading for the demon realm?"
Given the pressing time, I should head straight for the demon realm, but I couldn't.
"Can you find your way in the demon realm?"
"... Sorry?"
"Do you know where the Demon King lives?"
"I—I don't."
Getting to the demon realm isn't hard. There was still a demonkin corridor left nearby here in Linken.
The real problem was after crossing into the demon realm through that demonkin corridor.
"Clay, so in the domain there's someone who knows about the demon realm... Ah!"
Kisea, speaking with a puzzled face, suddenly let out an exclamation as if she remembered someone.
I occasionally forgot, but there was a demonkin in our domain.
Not just any, but one who came straight from the demon realm.
* * *
'Will it really turn out as Rutia said?'
First, I sent some troops along the route Rutia described, just in case.
If what she said was true, a report would come soon.
"Riya, is that really true?"
"Yes, father."
Gideon gazed at Riya, who stood before him, deep in thought.
It was only natural.
The princess, who had gone to a foreign country to meet Clay Vanhart, suddenly returned and declared war would begin at any moment.
"I know Setram's moves have been strange, and they are preparing for war. But wars aren't the kind of thing that erupt so suddenly. Even Setram wouldn't..."
"They can."
"What?"
"If it were just Setram, they wouldn't try a sudden attack. But if there is an existence with absolute strength helping them... what do you think?"
An existence with absolute strength?
Gideon, staring quietly into Riya's eyes, had a hypothesis flash in his mind but shook his head.
Impossible.
"No, father. What you just thought is correct. The dragons... have taken Setram's side."
"... Is that true?"
"Yes. And it's possible that not only dragons, but also angels or even gods may soon descend to the ground."
"Hah."
If it weren't Riya who said this, Gideon would have shouted at her in Dragon Tongue to stop talking nonsense.
It was just like...
"Princess! Do you know where you are to be talking such nonsense?"
Just like the empress sitting by his side now.
"Your Majesty! There is no need to listen to this lunatic girl. The empire has always been the nation of dragons. How could dragons abandon us and side with those lackeys of the gods? This is nonsense!"
Seeing the Empress shout so everyone around could hear, Gideon had no choice but to admit it.
'Truly... she's got guts.'
Gideon could only marvel at the Empress glaring at Riya with venomous eyes.
Even though she was ignored by Riya every time and beaten up several times as well, being able to act like that was truly astonishing.
「Shut up for a bit, will you?」
Of course, there was no mercy this time either.
As soon as Riya's Dragon Tongue was uttered, not a word slipped from the mouth of the noisy Empress.
The crown prince looked at his poor mother with a pitiful expression.
Unlike the Empress, however, the crown prince stood by silently, not even frowning in anger as before.
He just observed the situation with a serene face.
"If what you say is true, what should we do?"
"Contact the empire's allies and gather the troops. And head to the western border."
"The western border... is that where the Alkandra plains are?"
"Yes, it's where the empire's greatest fortress is."
Beyond the Alkandra plains lies the land ruled by Setram.
Because it's where the most conflict with Setram occurred, the most impregnable fortress in the empire was built at the border.
The longest and largest wall on the continent.
The black barrier, a huge fortress itself.
"The dragons will try to break through right there."
Throughout the empire's history, there had been battles, but no country had ever crossed the wall at the Alkandra plains.
That's how deep the trust of the people in the empire was toward the black barrier, and their pride that no one could break through.
But if that wall was breached—if the enemy, including the dragons, invaded through there—the western areas of the empire would certainly be devastated.
"It truly is a troubling matter."
"Yes. That's why you must stop them at the border by any means."
Gideon was troubled by Riya's firm answer.
Should he really believe these words at face value?
Dragons flying to the empire, Setram invading with angels — such preposterous stories?
"Yo—Your Majesty!"
Just then, a nobleman rushed in, shouting in a hurry.
He was drenched in sweat from hurrying over.
"What is it?"
"T-the thing is..."
The noble stammered as he delivered his message.
"M-Messages have come from Lavantara and Eintban."
"... Lavantara and Eintban?"
Lavantara, the country of other races.
And Eintban, the northern kingdom.
Both were extremely closed-off countries. Of course, it was very rare for them to reach out first.
"What's the message?"
"Well... both countries have sent envoys to the empire."
Envoys?
Sending envoys all of a sudden like this.
"And among those envoys... both the king of Lavantara and Eintban are included."
"... What?"
Did he hear that right?
No, where in the world would a king personally come as an envoy?
It was inconceivable.
Unless the fate of the nation hung in the balance...
'No way.'
Gideon recalled what Riya just said.
If what she said was all true, then it made sense for even those two reclusive nations to move.
'But why those two specifically?'
His mind was a mess, but Gideon organized his thoughts quickly.
Anyway, he could ask the details directly now that the time had come.
* * *
When I returned to the domain with Mersaya, the first to greet me was Maria, running out excitedly.
The rest of the servants spotted us and greeted me as well, but strangely, Monet was nowhere to be seen.
"Where's Monet?"
"Monet is with Mother."
Monet was with Rutia?
It wasn't exactly unexpected, but it was still a bit strange, since Monet and Rutia didn't interact much.
"Clay, so have you finished everything? And the person behind you..."
Maria glanced over my companions, then abruptly stopped.
A man with white angel wings, radiating a divine halo, was there.
"C-Clay, may I ask who that is?"
"Pilla Ganest. He's an inquisitor and a direct descendant of angels."
"... After dragons, now it's angels."
So after the demonkin, dragons, and now an angel hybrid, the domain had truly become a melting pot of races.
"And I haven't resolved everything just yet."
"Sorry?"
"I'll tell the full story once everyone's gathered."
"All right."
Kisea, Mersaya, and Pilla disappeared for a break, and during that time, Maria and I gathered everyone in the mansion and shared what had happened so far.
"Riya left for the empire?"
I intended to take only Riya and Mersaya to the demon realm, since they could guarantee the upper hand against the demonkin.
Kisea and Ian weren't weak, but facing advanced-rank or higher demonkin would be too much for them.
'Rutia isn't reckless, so she wouldn't have said such things carelessly. For now, I'll trust Riya.'
One more thing that concerned me was why Rutia and Monet were together.
According to Maria, they were going to pass on knowledge about the "world of the gods," but it was hard to know exactly what that meant.
"Sorry we're late!"
Just then, Rutia and Monet showed up last.
I greeted her as she waved cheerfully.
"It's been a while..."
At that moment, my eyes went wide at the sight of the man following behind.
A man with a faint scar across his eyes.
Mercenary King Sehenz was standing there.
"Sehenz?"
"Yeah, long time no see. Surprised I showed up out of nowhere?"
"It'd be a lie to say I'm not. Why are you in our domain?"
"Why do you think? Rutia called for me."
Of course, at Sehenz's words, I turned my eyes to Rutia.
She had that look like she already knew exactly what I was about to ask.
"We're going to the demon realm, right?"
"That's right. Did you see it in a precognitive dream as well?"
"Yeah. I already saw my poor son-in-law suffering in a dream. Naturally, I was there too."
Thanks to that, it seemed I wouldn't need to give a long explanation.
Thankfully, Rutia had already finished all the preparations to go to the demon realm even before I arrived.
"Since the princess has gone to the empire, someone has to take her place, right? The guildmaster here ought to be a decent stand-in."
"... Maria, even as a joke, that's not something to say. It sounds like a chicken standing in for a pheasant."
"Plus, all the other Seven Heroes are meeting at the empire right now to discuss how to deal with the dragons, so the only one we could really ask was the guildmaster."
"Aghh."
Sehenz was relatively the most junior of the Seven Heroes, so there was nothing that could be done.
The latest addition to the Seven Heroes was Riya, who inherited Gideon Asktalin's position, but she was the empire's princess.
'And Riya is probably stronger than Sehenz.'
Though I did feel a little bad for Sehenz being pushed around, as far as I was concerned, gaining such a reliable ally was never a bad thing.