Priests and holy knights were gathered inside the Great Yuras Temple. There weren’t that many people, but once one looked at the faces of each individual, one couldn’t brush off the fact that there were so few of them. Most of the priests were high priests, and if they weren’t, they had enough merits and experience to take up the position if a high priest seat was vacant.
It was the same for the holy knights. They had accumulated great titles and military might and could be said to be representative Karuwiman knights. Above all, there was Saintess Lubella–the face of the Karuwimans—and lastly, the representative and the highest ranking figure of the Karuwimans whose duty was to spread the group’s ideals and purpose across the world: the Pope. With the exception of the meetings they routinely held, it was very rare for people of this stature to gather together like this, especially for just a single issue. Yet, because this single problem was so grave, no one complained as they gathered at Yuras following the Pope’s order.
Since they had hastily arranged the meeting date, it seemed like most people had come in a great hurry. Most of the priests’ faces looked dreadfully tired. Yet, their eyes indicated that they were wide-awake, and it seemed like no one would use the excuse of tiredness to not give their full attention to the meeting.
Zich looked closely at the people who had gathered. They were mostly people he didn’t know. Considering how often Zich used to clash fiercely against the Karuwimans, that might seem surprising; but before the regression, Zich was older when he accumulated enough power to fight against the world. Since the high priests in this meeting were all old, it seemed like they had died before Zich Moore officially began his activities. As proof of this, Zich saw some familiar faces among the priests who were next in line to become high priests. Those priests were the ones Zich killed in the future.
However, that was all before the regression. Zich was working with the Karuwimans now, and there was a very low chance they would die under Zich’s hands during this timeline. Then, after checking the attendees, the last place Zich turned to look at was the seat in front of him.
‘Glen Zenard.’ As usual, the sheer sight of Glen worsened his mood. Zich wondered if there was anything about the man he could like, but in the end, he stopped trying. Although Zich always enjoyed going against the impossible, finding an aspect of Glen that he liked was an extremely unpleasant experience before it was impossible.
‘Ah, actually there is one!’ The way Glen scowled in response to his actions pleased Zich very much. He could even say the sight was more beautiful than any scenery in the world.
“We’ll begin our meeting now,” the Pope said sternly, and the small murmurings in the room disappeared.
“As you all know, this meeting is about whether or not we will provide military support to the Pinne family in their attack against the Steelwall family.”
A sense of nervousness began to circle around in the tense atmosphere. Everyone was aware of the issue they were going to deal with today, but once the Pope spoke of military support, they began to truly feel the seriousness of the issue.
“You all must also be aware of how hesitant we, Karuwimans, are in meddling in wars, especially conflicts between nobles. However, the reason why we are describing this issue here is that this conflict has the possibility of involving our arch nemesis, the Bellids.”
As soon as the Bellids were mentioned, the nervous and tense atmosphere began to be mixed with slight bloodlust. That was how much the Karuwimans loathed the Bellids’ existence.
“I’m sure all of you know the general situation, but for those who are misunderstanding something or don’t know the whole situation, I will quickly give you an overview.”
“I will explain.” A priest standing next to the Pope rose. It seemed like he already had a plan in mind since he continued in a calm voice. Those who more or less already knew all the information listened attentively.
“…And that is all.” As the priest finished his explanation, people began to exchange opinions with the person next to them. They didn’t talk loudly, but since most of the people in the room were talking, the room became quite noisy.
“Silence.” All noise ceased with the Pope’s single, heavy command.
“Since all of you now know everything that’s going on, let’s start discussing our opinions. I will give the first word to the Honorary Knight, Glen Zenard, who was the first one to bring forth this topic on the table.”
“Hello, I’m Glen Zenard.” Glen got up.
“Sir Glen, state your position.”
“First of all, I want to express my deepest gratitude for His Holiness, the Pope, for paying heed to my request and creating this space. I also want to thank everyone for coming to this meeting despite everyone’s busy schedules.” Glen bowed deeply. People responded positively to his polite manners, but Zich tried hard to repress a strong urge to vomit.
“As it was just explained to us, the current situation is beyond chaotic. I can’t pride myself on being well-versed in the history of battles against the Bellids, but I know situations as big as this one aren't common.”
Those who were knowledgeable about the history nodded.
“In other words, that’s just how severe the situation is, and the Bellids really gave it their all in this case. Thus, I think we Karuwimans have to act a bit more aggressively than what we’ve currently been doing. As much time and effort those guys have poured into this scheme, they’ll receive a big blow if they fail too.”
Some flinched hearing that they could land a big blow on the Bellids. Most of the holy knights who had experienced clashing against the Bellids in person responded to these words, and it appeared that Glen had succeeded in firing up people’s battle spirits. Yet, no one spoke openly to agree with him.
“First of all, I think there’s merit to Sir Zenard’s words,” one of the high priests said.
“However, this matter won’t end with just attacking and defeating the Bellids.”
“There’s no need to think so complicatedly. Isn’t getting rid of the Bellids one of our highest priorities as Karuwimans? We just need to follow our usual policy.”
“We need to be more careful when thinking about this. We’re here to decide whether or not to make the Steelwall Estate our enemy; it’s only natural that we consider various factors and concerns.”
“No matter how strong the Bellids are, we, as Karuwimans, shouldn’t be intimidated by them.”
“No, I’m saying that whether our enemies are strong or not, there’s no definite evidence that Count Steelwall is a Bellid support—”
“Count Steelwall is definitely a Bellid supporter.”
“…!” The high priest stopped mid-sentence and looked at Glen. All the others also did the same. Regardless of how many incidents and events related to the Bellids occurred in the Steelwall Estate, they had been extremely cautious about branding a high-ranking noble as a Bellid supporter.
However, Glen calmly voiced his thoughts out loud. “I understand all of your concerns. Even though many countries believe and follow Karuna and respect the Karuwimans, they don’t want us to intervene in state affairs. In short, they don’t want us to obtain authority, and this is also obviously true for matters related to nobles. Many of them would despise how we are intervening in this affair as well.”
Glen began his speech by saying the negatives, but he soon continued, “However, if we’re so busy pleasing everyone and being careful not to cross them, how will we ever defeat those blasted Bellids? Of course, we might earn a bad name and be criticized, but if we’re fearful of getting criticized and intimidated, the Bellids will spread their wings further in this world. There’ll also be more victims.”
Glen tightly clenched his fist and increased his voice one level higher. “That’s why we have to make our move no matter what the world says to us! No matter how many people insult us and are suspicious of our behavior, if we move with firm resolve and belief, the world will realize our sincerity in the end!” Glen’s clear pronunciation and appropriate tone, and his large gestures at the perfect time increased his persuasive power. Of course, no one here would be played around by grand gestures and words, but it was enough to make people think of his words one more time. However, not everyone looked favorably at his words.
“Aren’t you just saying the obvious?” Zich threw cold water at Glen who was burning with passion. While leaning on the back of his chair, he said, “I have no idea why you’re saying all this, but is there anyone who doesn’t even know that in this room?” Zich had a completely opposite tone from Glen and spoke in a calm and almost relaxed tone. However, his words also clearly grabbed people’s attention.
Zich continued, “In the first place, the Pope personally spread different information to the other countries when we raided the Bellid’s northern branch, and when this situation was resolved, he perfectly dealt with the aftermath. The grand Pope has already shown his dedication to following Karuwiman’s policy to exterminate the Bellids, and it’s the same for everyone here. Mr. Zenard, your words sound like just a waste of time for all of us here.”
Even with the same content, the way people accepted a speech was different depending on how the words were phrased and spoken. As Zich said, while there were differences in intensity, all the people here had the same thoughts as Glen.
Glen planned to increase his persuasive power by voicing these thoughts in a concrete way. However, after a few words, Zich dismissed Glen’s speech as a waste of time, and a couple of people also nodded as if they agreed with Zich’s words. The atmosphere of the meeting changed.
Zich said, “The purpose of this meeting today is to see if you have concrete evidence of whether or not Count Steelwall is a Bellid supporter in the first place. Mr. Glen, stop wasting our precious time when everyone here is already busy. Quickly bring out your evidence.”
Even though his words were rude, he wasn’t wrong either. Moreover, even though some people were seeing Zich for the first time today, everyone knew of his achievements. There were also some holy knights with fiery tempers, so Zich’s attitude wasn’t considered much of a problem either.
Glen looked coldly at Zich, who ruined the atmosphere, but no one on this earth could faze Zich with just a cold gaze. Instead, Zich stared back at him with a mocking expression.
“…I understand. As Mr. Zich wants, I’ll immediately bring out the evidence.” Glen turned around and called out to someone. A person came into the meeting room.
‘That person is…’ A small burst of laughter escaped Zich’s lips. ‘Wow, it’s really been a while.’
The person walked up next to Glen, and Glen said, “Will you first introduce yourself?”
“Hello, everyone. I’m Halton Byner.” He bowed.
“Sir Byner is a young knight who is part of the Steelwall’s Steel Spear Order of Knights.”
Halton Byner. He was the knight who protected Hans and looked down on Zich right after Zich regressed and got beaten up like crazy. Moreover, after framing Zich, he completely lost to Zich in a duel. Now, he appeared in front of Zich again.