Time is relative.
When you do something you really don't want to do, things go really slowly, and enjoyable moments pass by in the blink of an eye.
and,
“The winter break is already over. It feels like I just went home the day before yesterday.”
“We’re in the second year? … Hmm, really, what did we do to deserve being in the second year?”
"…therefore."
The confused mutterings of the cadets who gathered after each finished their winter training.
Well, that's not strange.
Because every year, after the winter break, when the next grade comes, this is what the students look like.
It was also a symbol of peace.
Just a few years ago, the academy was often closed due to the war, and some of the students returned to their families or prepared to go to war.
But how funny it is that now we can enjoy spring like this and even complain about being full!
Peace.
Yes, although there were many incidents and accidents in the kingdom, peace was in the air.
Without any confusion… … .
BAM─!
“You call that talking now!”
Shudder…!
However, those who knew that this peace came from ignorance were angry.
“You’re hiding what happened in Modred!? Is that something you should say now? No, is that something a human being should say?”
The remark that was made in a loud voice was that of the head of a prestigious family.
He was also known for valuing chivalry, and was a conscientious figure even in the aristocratic council, a hotbed of corruption.
“Sir, please lower your voice. This is not a place for fighting, but for discussion.”
“Those things make me mad! Mad!!”
“Even so, this is the Kingdom Conference Hall. Also, … there are nobles present here as well.”
“…Hmm!”
This time, the nobleman who had been raising his voice in response to the speech of the chairman who was acting as the mediator was speechless.
The Kingdom Convention.
It was a meeting of the powers representing the South, such as the Noble Council, the Guild Association, the Merchant Association, the Mercenary Association, and the Temple, and this meeting was held once every three years or so.
Nobles, merchants, guild officials, mercenaries, and even priests.
None of them were not busy.
But since they are the ones who force themselves to gather, it is inevitable that they will have a rare meeting.
… Also, the reason why this conference is more special is probably,
Swish.
'I never thought they would attend. Well, they are the ones who participated in the [Defense of Modred], so it would be expected, right?'
Among the nobles of the kingdom, there are heads of families that can be said to be of a different class.
'Your Excellency, Marquis Jenimia, I have met you briefly in private, but this is the first time I have seen you up close.'
The nobles, no, all the executives of the powers were sweating profusely.
The conference was notorious for being a place where people would make abusive remarks and fights would break out rather than discussions.
But unlike the usual meetings, there is only silence now.
…it must be because they are all in their seats.
“I guess you’re not going back north?”
“I have to take care of business and go. I have an agent, so it doesn’t matter. Why don’t you, Blake, go home? You always stay home.”
“Huh, it’s none of your business, Magnus.”
The Lord of Galahad and the Lord of Lionel.
As long as those two monarchs were present, people could not dare to speak rashly or engage in mischief as usual.
If I did that, I would be looked down upon by those two families, so that was something I refused to do.
I'd rather be hated by the royal family!
…but.
“…But, you all talk nonsense. I can understand covering up Modred’s work, but what kind of crazy person would say they want to cover up the existence of vampires, high-ranking demons, and even the great saintess? Raise your hand, I won’t get angry.”
[… … ]
“Even if you listen.”
… … I think I’ve already become as hateful as I could be.
It was Princess Isis's speech, and the two monarchs shared heavy, slumped gazes as if expressing silent agreement with her words, while some of the fainthearted ones trembled like sick chickens and their complexions turned pale.
And they were right to be angry.
It's not for anything else, they're trying to hide all information from the people.
<A fierce and honorable war that took place in Modred>.
<The Appearance of the Legendary Monster, the Vampire>.
<The Soul Evasion Method of the Blood Crusaders>.
<The Descent of the High Demon>.
<The Great Saint Who Descended After a Thousand Years>.
And even the noble sacrifice of this great saint… … !
It was news that could not but shake the kingdom, no, the entire South, and the monarchs turned a blind eye to those who insisted that it should be hidden.
Of course, you could say that it’s all just empty talk… .
“If you don’t believe what I say, I can show you [the video] again. There’s no evidence more certain than that.”
Video sphere.
It was the name of a magical tool jointly invented by a wizard and an alchemist along with the recent camera, and it was a tool with the mystical ability to record images.
Although not many people have one because its price is so high, everyone who participated in the battle known as the Defense of Modred had this video sphere and even filmed their own battles.
So the evidence was overwhelming, and there was no one to say it was false.
On the contrary… .
'You saw it, you saw it, so that's why we can't say anything now.'
'I wonder how much I doubted that the video was manipulated. They're like monsters… .'
'Never, never turn them into enemies. Our Merchant Association will be swept away in an instant!'
Those who watched the video were shaking with fear.
Because it was a moment where I witnessed their overwhelming strength and confirmed the power of the great family.
That is why I have no intention of making enemies of them, and no one here has shown greed or tried to make a fuss.
Why?
… If you do something like that, it wouldn’t be strange if you died tomorrow.
Those who had more had an instinct to want to live longer, and they had no intention of talking back.
… but there wasn't any.
“Wow, I know exactly what Her Highness the Crown Princess is talking about. Of course, I shouldn’t hide such things. Of course. But even so, now is not the time.”
“Hmm.”
Some people had the courage to refute the claim.
“Ah, don’t you know, Your Majesty, you are so intelligent, how could you not know? If that information were to be released, the South would be thrown into uncontrollable chaos. And it would be enormous…!”
“…Please continue speaking.”
“Phew, phew….”
The one who was given an additional speaking opportunity was a cabinet member who was actively working in the Prime Minister's Office.
He was a former prime minister and also a disciple of the current president of the Pendragon Academy.
“…First of all, I would like to thank you. The kingdom can enjoy peace now thanks to the blood and fighting that you shed. If it weren’t for you, the kingdom would have ‘collapsed’. So, thank you from the bottom of my heart!”
This was not flattery.
It was absolutely true.
‘I got goosebumps… .’
He also saw the video.
Over 600,000 monsters.
If they had been released into the kingdom, it would have been in ruins.
However, the monster is actually a lucky thing.
The devil. What would happen if a high-ranking devil descended into this world?
Especially in this hellish situation where even the temple, the devil's countermeasure, can't do its job?
“Perhaps the kingdom would have to be prepared to return to the Stone Age. This is not a joke or a prediction. The high-ranking demons have the power to do so. So thank you. This is my sincere thanks on behalf of the High Priesthood.”
However.
“We, the Prime Minister, must face the reality, despite such gratitude. Therefore, we must apologize in advance to Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess and the other two Highnesses. … This matter must be kept secret. It must be revealed at least ten years later.”
“…Is it because of the economy?”
“As expected, you know….”
As expected, Crown Princess ISIS is someone I can communicate with.
“What do you mean?”
“Why are we suddenly talking about the economy here?”
“?”
… On the contrary, the reality that others couldn’t understand was incredibly depressing.
The minister felt miserable.
The higher-ups have already figured it out, but the other nobles don't understand and want it explained to them.
Anyway, the problem is those who are ignorant and only good at using the sword, but have never read a single sentence from an economics book!
“Huh, before I explain to the others, the current economic situation of the kingdom is in crisis. The huge financial loss caused by the war with Britain that ended three years ago is a problem, but due to the recent series of incidents, the kingdom’s economy is currently experiencing a severe crisis. There is even a possibility that Pendragon’s economic credibility could be shaken.”
“Economic credit?”
“Is that such a big deal?”
“Those who spoke just now, just get out of the conference room! How can you be here without even knowing basic common sense!!”
Boom!
No one said anything when they saw him slam the table in excitement.
Of course, it's incredibly shameful to be here with people who don't even understand what I'm saying.
Those who do not know that if you do something halfway, you are halfway there, and that if you do not know, you should be tactful and remain still, are glared at by others and their faces turn red.
“If trust is shaken, the kingdom’s economy will soon be shaken! It is a serious problem in diplomacy with other countries, and even the trading partners of other countries that do business with the kingdom will doubt Pendragon’s power! You may be able to pass it off as a minor issue now, but that is something that only ordinary people do, and we cannot pass it off as a minor issue! A country with a collapsed economy will collapse even without war! It collapses because of money!”
“What matters is the economy, the economy!!”
“You understand, you idiots!”
Among the nobles, there were some who said that those who were engaged in business were just people who played around with money and had no dignity, but that was not a sign of their ability or nobility, but rather of their economic freedom due to the abundant resources of their families.
On the contrary, how many families that were nominally noble only relied on resources and ended up collapsing and ending up on the streets?
The ministers of the Prime Minister's Office simply looked at each other with expressions of utter disgust at the idea of having nobles like these incompetent people.
“Whew, anyway, for this reason alone, this fact must be hidden. I’m not saying to hide it forever. Just bear with it for ten years, exactly ten years. Then….”
“-I’ll forget again.”
“…….”
… For a moment, the minister was speechless.
“We’ll repay you then? It’s nice to say, but in the end, everyone will forget. We’ll forget that the reason we’re so safe now, the reason we can enjoy this peace, is because of someone’s sacrifice.”
“That, that….”
“Keep listening. You keep talking about reality, but do you think that chasing reality unconditionally is the answer? If we do not provide not only tangible credit but also intangible trust, who will stand up for the kingdom? If we do not reward those who sacrificed themselves throughout their lives and the heroes who saved the kingdom, who will believe in us?”
“…….”
“A friend of mine told me the expression ‘tosagupeng’. It means to get rid of a hunting dog that has outlived its usefulness and erase all traces of it.”
“!!?”
“Yes, of course I am not saying that you would do that. After all, how can you treat a hunting dog and a noble great saintess the same? However, what Yeo wants to say is that you should not only look at practical things. If you only consider profit, how can you gain the trust of the people? I hope that you, the prime minister, will make efforts to gain not only economic credit, but also the trust of the people.”
“…….”
The ministers of the Prime Minister's Office were momentarily speechless at ISIS's words.
As I said, losing the people's trust is just as frightening as losing economic trust.
“…….”
It was a conference room filled with silence, and no one broke the silence.
In order to break this silence, I had to make a statement that would convince everyone, but I couldn’t come up with a plan like that all at once… .
At that moment.
bang!
“Okay, excuse me for a moment!”
The silence was broken.
By unpleasant means too.
“What are you doing, you punk!”
There were nobles who raised their voices at the sight of a knight daring to intrude into the sacred tournament, and others also expressed their displeasure.
No matter how urgent it was, barging in like this without their permission was an act of disregarding their authority.
Although they were the people who gave him such murderous looks, the knight spoke urgently without even having time to look at them.
“That, that! Th, the mountain was carved away! Th, that giant stone statue…!”
“What are you saying?”
“Wow, there’s a statue! A giant statue of a woman standing 100 meters tall!!”
“??”
“Go outside now”
“……?”
They looked at him with a puzzled expression, wondering what the rude knight was talking about, but soon they had no choice but to leave the conference room due to his urgent remarks.
What the heck is this nonsense….
“What, what is that!?”
“???”
“Oh, there was nothing yesterday? I, I clearly saw it!!”
They know.
Clearly, just yesterday, there were no buildings in the direction they were looking.
But now.
“Seo, a stone statue?!”
A large, beautiful stone statue of a woman was seen, asserting itself powerfully, even though it was clearly far from the Great Hall of the Kingdom.
That too, is incredibly large.
Seeing this, everyone, regardless of their status or occupation, had their mouths agape and were speechless.
…because it is an incredibly mysterious situation, no different from a natural disaster.
and….
“Come to think of it, Yeo-ui’s younger sister has been very busy moving around here and there for the past two weeks….”
“Lark, my disciple was originally a strange guy, but he wasn’t the type to act like this.”
“……Maximus, this troublemaker little brother….”
The monarchs' blood pressure seemed to rise as they immediately identified the culprits who had caused this incident, or could have done such a thing.
I was wondering what they were doing recently when they suddenly started hanging out together… .
“You’re causing a huge accident.”
These were monarchs who realized what happens when three fools who shouldn't be together get together.
