I left Danan and Sir Leonard, who had some business to attend to, and went outside the lordâs mansion. Sometimes itâs good to walk alone. It was quite intense last night⊠and I wonder where everyone went. Itâs a new experience to wake up and find no one around.
âUm, Ms. Zamir?â
âYes.â
âWhy are you following me?â
âBecause if I let you out of my sight and you get kidnapped again, I wonât be able to live anymore.â
The reptilian eyes, unreadable and emotionless, stare at me. In her hand, she held a long jumonji spear with a long blade that reflected the dazzling sunlight, attracting the attention of the people around her.
âThat spear belongs to General Zamir, right?â
âWhat about it?â
âThat mithril glow⊠must have been made by a famous smith.â
Iâm sorry, thatâs like a factory-made product⊠But when did Ms. Zamir become known as a general? Well, itâs no surprise that sheâs called that since she and Sir Leonard were in charge of the strike force that took over the South.
âWell, that doesnât mean that you canât liveâŠ?â
When I received this Meteor, I swore that I would protect you as well as the Princess. However, I was so embarrassed that I let Qubi outsmart me and kidnap you⊠If it happens again, I wonât be able to live comfortably.â
âNo, please donât kill yourself or anything like that. Iâll cry if I come back and they say you took responsibility and committed suicide.â
ââŠIs that so?â
âThatâs right. You have to protect not only my body but my heart as well, I beg you.â
âHeart tooâŠâ
Ms. Zamirâs eyes widened. Fufu, I told her something good, didnât I?
âSo, am I going to be in your harem tooâŠ? Itâs a bit too much for my race, being an⊠oviparous.â
âNo, thatâs not what I meant. It means donât lose your life because of excessive self-sacrifice or sense of mission.â
âI see.â
In fact, Ms. Zamir is probably a real clumsy person outside of combat⊠This thought crossed my mind, but I shook my head and dismissed the thought. If anything, I had a feeling that the problem was with my work.
Thatâs right, Sylphy, Isla, the Harpies, Melty, Grande, and even Ellen, who isnât here⊠Yeah, they canât argue with that, even if you think Iâm a pink-headed stud. Itâs not your fault, Ms. Zamir.
âWhere are you going, by the way?â
âI donât have any particular purpose; I want to ask for advice on what to do, but all my advisors are out, so Iâm just wandering around looking for them.â
âAdvice?â
âYeah, Iâd like to do something to move things along, but I donât want to do anything on my own, you know? So I thought Iâd consult with Sylphy, Melty, and Isla. Danan and Sir Leonard seemed to be busy as well.â
âI see. Would you like to hear about it from me? Maybe I can help you with that.â
I heard that Ms. Zamir was very active in the pacification of the south, so she is a perfect person to consult.
âThen, Iâll ask you for it. But with that spear in your hand, we canât just go to any random store to talk about it⊠Oh, that place looks good.â
I found what looked like an open cafe, so I headed over there. It might be a good idea to put Ms. Zamirâs Meteor on a nearby wall, though.
âWhy donât we just go back to the lordâs house?â
âWeâve come all this way, so why not take advantage of these stores? Iâm interested in the menu.â
âIs that so?â
âYes. What would you like to drink, Ms. Zamir?â
âAnything, as long as itâs not alcohol.â
âLetâs have iced tea then. I want to order, please.â
I ordered two iced lemon teas and some tea snacks from the cat-eared lady who came to take my order. Shortly after, the cat-eared waitress brought us iced lemon tea poured into an opaque glass. The tea snacks seemed to come a little later.
I took a sip of the iced lemon tea, moistened my mouth, and started talking.
âIâve just heard from Danan and Sir Leonard about the current situation to some extent. Itâs a stalemate, isnât it?â
âYes, thatâs true. Itâs not looking good.â
âSo I was wondering if there was anything I could do to move the situation along. Specifically, I was wondering if I could do something to help Ellen, the saint of truth.â
âThe saintâŠ? What does that mean?â
âIf we want things to work the way we want to, it would be most convenient for the saint and the nostalgic faction to which she belongs to gain power in the Holy Kingdom, wouldnât it? In the end, the reason why the Holy Kingdom turned against the Merinard Kingdom is largely due to the Adelian doctrine.â
âThatâs true. They have a doctrine of human supremacy.â
âEllenâs nostalgic faction is questioning that. They say that there are signs that the doctrine of Adel has been drastically altered in the past. If thatâs true, thereâs a high possibility that it could be a blow to the current mainstream of human supremacy.â
âYes, thatâs what Iâve heard. But if thatâs the case, will the Holy Kingdom immediately change their human supremacy and return the territory of the Merinard Kingdom? I highly doubt it.â
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Ms. Zamir closed her eyes and shook her head.
âWhen I was born, the Holy Kingdom already had a human supremacy policy. They have been taught from the time they were born that subhumans should serve humans and that humans are a superior species that should be treated and used above all others. People donât change their minds that easily.â
âSo you think what Ellen is trying to do is pointless?â
âNo, I donât think so. It is a good thing for us that there are forces among our opponents that are friendly to us, and it is in our interest that these forces gain momentum. However, if the balance of power between the mainstream and the nostalgic factions within Adelian is disrupted, thenâŠâ
âAnd then?â
âI think there will probably be an internal struggle before we can reconcile with them. If that happens, will the forces belonging to the saint be able to compete with the mainstream?â
Ms. Zamir tilted her head. Fumu?
âIsnât it hard to imagine that they would physically eliminate them regardless of their pretense? They may be from different factions, but they are still citizens of the same country and believers in the same Adel religion, right?â
âI wish that were the case, but⊠both the current Holy King of the Holy Kingdom and the Pope of the Adel religion are mainstream factions. In some cases, the nostalgic faction may be exposed to severe suppression. Perhaps the nostalgic faction is approaching our Liberation Army in anticipation of this.â
âAre they trying to use us as a fighting force in an internal conflict?â
âWe canât deny that possibility. In that case, we would have the advantage of helping them.â
âIs there any advantage? No, in that case, I would definitely want to help Ellen and the others.â
Basically, getting involved in the internal strife of another country, even a religious one, seems like a foolish thing to do, like jumping into a quagmire of war.
âIf we can get them in, we will have a window of opportunity to communicate with the Adel religion, or the Holy Kingdom, through official channels. In addition, the neighboring countries that feel threatened by the human supremacy of the Holy Kingdom and the Adel religion will also be able to support the Adel religionâs faction that has a harmonious philosophy toward subhumans. This is especially true if their legitimacy can be proven to some extent by past documents. We will be able to acquire human resources that we can use to negotiate with other countries. Human priests have a high level of social credibility.â
âI see; thatâs one way of thinking about it.â
In other words, there is a certain amount of merit for the Liberation Army to get along with Ellen and the others. If there is anything we can do, we should try it.
âIn that case, the best thing to do would be to find the old Adelian scriptures in the ruins of the Omit Kingdom.â
âI suppose so. Fortunately, the Great Omit Wilderness is our sphere of influence. I think weâll get some results sooner or later.â
âMaybe my abilities will come in handy when it comes to digging up the ground.â
ââŠYes, but Kosuke-dono is the key to our Liberation Armyâs supply line. I donât want you to do anything too dangerous.â
âBut that doesnât mean that I can sit idly by every day in Erichburg. I have Grande now, and if I ask her to help me, I can do anything I want about transportationâŠâ
Moving, moving, huh? Iâve been thinking about developing an alternative means of transportation to the horse-drawn carriage. Hmm, considering the overall efficiency, is it better to proceed with the development of the means of transportation first?
It wouldnât be good to use Grande too conveniently, either. She doesnât belong to the Liberation Army. Sheâs only cooperating with me as a personal favor to me.
âItâs not good to be too impatient. Itâs times like this that you have to think calmly and logically and move efficiently.â
âThatâs right. Everything should not be done in a hurry.â
âThank you, Ms. Zamir. That was very useful.â
âNo, Iâm glad I could help you.â
Based on what Iâve heard from Ms. Zamir, Iâm going to discuss it at length with Sylphy, Melty, and Isla tonight.
After that, I spent some time chatting with Ms. Zamir normally while eating the tea cakes that were brought to us. We talked about what I had seen in the Black Forest and the workbench I had recently built.
âI wish you could make my Meteor even strongerâŠ?â
I may have been careless in mentioning the granting workbenchâŠ! Iâd like to note here that it took a lot of effort to appease Ms. Zamir, who came at me with a keen eye.