#200
The Second Continental Summit (1)
“It’s been a while, Saintess. But for you to come welcome us in person like this… I’m quite honored.”
“Hehehe, not at all. Compared to all the hardships you’ve endured out there, this is nothing.”
Saintess Riesta responded with a smile to Heinrich’s awkward grin, then turned her head toward the others and continued in a gentle voice.
“You’ve all worked so hard. I’ve heard about your exploits each time, but seeing you all safe and sound puts me at ease all over again. Especially since I heard something serious happened not long ago…”
She was referring to the battle against the white giant in Geos’s hometown.
Since the moment it emerged from the Scar of the Abyss had been witnessed, the Church had no choice but to react sensitively to it.
“It certainly was quite difficult then. Perhaps because it was a monster that had crossed over the Abyss directly, unlike the others so far, I couldn’t detect any signs in advance either. I suppose that, too, is all because I’m still lacking in many ways.”
“Is it not only natural that it would be difficult for a human body to fully comprehend the Lord God’s will? Even so, I believe the very fact that you happened to be there at that moment was the Lord God’s guidance.”
One of the giants that had appeared so far had been slain after inflicting enormous damage on the Imperial Army, while another had appeared in the Duchy of Rohan, only to run into the elites of the Lord God Church and be driven into the northern mountains.
But there was no way a monster of that caliber could have been stopped in the barony of the Lesque Kingdom, whose national power was far weaker than the Empire’s.
If the Hero’s party had not been there, there was no telling what sort of monster it might have become after swallowing up countless deaths and despair.
…Of course, whether that encounter had truly been a coincidence or whether it had been drawn there by something was still uncertain.
‘I’ve received a lot of help from Chehai, and I’ve grown attached to the children, so I can’t help worrying about them in all sorts of ways. The orphanage that was near the giant was completely destroyed too.’
Immediately after they finally brought down the giant.
The Hero’s party put in every effort to deal with the aftermath, but reality was not so simple.
When the thing had barged into the village, Lee Se-Ah had rescued and evacuated as many of those remaining in the danger zone as she could, but there had still been no small number of victims before she could even act.
Residents mourning the deaths of acquaintances, the wounded groaning from injuries sustained during the evacuation, and even those sitting in despair amid their destroyed homes.
It was truly nothing short of a total disaster.
Whether fortunately or unfortunately, the giant’s corpse, once its core had been removed, rapidly began to crumble and vanished completely within a few hours, so they were spared the misfortune of having to remove hundreds of tons of waste occupying the center of the village.
All that remained were traces of overwhelming destruction.
After taking various follow-up measures, such as treating the injured, they were finally able to leave the village with peace of mind only after Geos took an active role in supporting the village’s reconstruction and pressured Baron Regas, the owner of that land, as well.
From the baron’s perspective, since a high-ranking noble as great as a count was offering to help restore his own territory, which he would have had to worry about anyway, he had no choice but to pay special attention.
“Ah! I’ve kept you all standing here for far too long. You must all be tired. I’ll show you to where you can rest now.”
“Now that you mention it, yes. Thank you for your consideration, Saintess.”
Their conversation with the Saintess lasted only a short while, and since dinner time was slowly coming to an end, they decided to talk again tomorrow and dispersed.
“Saint, Saintess. Then we’ll be on our way. Let’s go, Heron. To pay our respects to the Imperial Princess.”
“Yes! Understood, Master. Everyone, have a good night!”
There were only two days left until the opening day of the summit.
Since it was now evening, once the night passed, only a single day would remain.
Naturally, all participating nations had already arrived at the Great Temple of Rosellia, and the Azerion Empire, represented by Imperial Princess Riley, was no exception.
“Then I’ll be going as well…”
Geos, too, having been told that the envoys from the Lesque Kingdom had requested to meet him, headed toward where they were.
In truth, he no longer had any lingering attachment to the kingdom or the nobility, but as long as he held a title, it was convenient, so it could not be helped.
Above all, only if he remained in good standing as a noble of the kingdom could he serve as backing for Chehai and her family, who had just undergone such turmoil.
“Wahahaha! Looks like I’ll get to taste the Great Temple’s meat again after so long! Then I’ll be off too before the dining hall closes!”
And once even Harley disappeared after a guide with excited steps, only Heinrich and Riesta remained there, excluding the attendants standing some distance away.
“Then, Lord Heinrich? Could we speak for a moment in my office? A fine tea happened to come in recently, and its aroma is quite lovely.”
“Mm, shall we, then? But Lady Riesta, are you all right without resting? To be honest, I’ve wanted to say this since earlier, but you look extremely tired right now.”
“…Hehehe, the summit is only two days away. Where would I find time to rest? If I don’t want to inconvenience the others, even checking again and again to make sure there are no issues isn’t enough.”
For some reason, a gloomy shadow fell across her face, which had been smiling the entire time.
‘Huh? Then she’s not just asking me to drink tea…’
Just as his thoughts reached that point and he unconsciously took a step back.
Grip—
Riesta, her expression once again smiling brightly, seized his wrist.
“I did finish the preparations for now with everyone’s help, but perhaps because there are many things I have to handle alone this time, I just can’t shake this uneasy feeling. But then Lord Heinrich came, and what a relief that is!”
The Saintess’s golden eyes flashed.
As if she would never let him go, her grip tightened firmly around his wrist.
“Since there isn’t any spare time now, I think we need to check everything once more, just in case…”
Certainly, during the first summit, Heinrich and the Saintess had divided the work, and for matters that were difficult to decide immediately, they had handled them through discussion.
Of course, even then, it had only been possible with the help of the cardinals and other practical staff.
Even now, they must have surely filled in whatever was lacking on their own, but…
“You’ll… help me, won’t you?”
It seemed that this overly responsible girl could not be satisfied with that alone.
“…Understood. I was planning to check the security-related matters one more time anyway. It was originally my job, too.”
How could he simply ignore those golden eyes looking up at him like a rain-soaked cat?
She had already tended to subtly rely on Heinrich, who occupied a similar position to hers, so it was not particularly strange for her to show this side of herself now.
‘It’s something I’ve done once during the first summit anyway, so just checking it again shouldn’t take that long.’
At his consent, her face brightened at once, and she pulled him by the arm with an even livelier air.
“Thank you! I knew Lord Heinrich would say that! Now, let’s go! There’s a lot to check one last time! Especially since the matter of the Thalia Kingdom is involved this time, I think a rather troublesome problem may arise…”
Saintess Riesta, gripping his arm tightly with both hands as if she were escorting him under arrest, led him to her office.
‘…It really will be over quickly, right?’
Judging by the situation, it seemed he would have to ask not for tea, but for coffee.
***
One day remained until the summit opened.
Even though the conference had not yet begun in earnest, both the host, the Church, and the participating forces were already bustling about in their own ways.
No matter that they had gathered because of a crisis, an opportunity to see the major powers of the continent together in one place like this was not common.
Thus, the higher-ups of each field spent days so busy they could hardly catch their breath, not only gathering information through exchanges with one another, but also reviewing their future policies and adjusting their lines of action.
“Sluuurp— sm smack.”
But even amid all that, there was someone who spent his day in complete ease, as if none of those things had anything to do with him.
“No matter how much I eat these days, my stomach empties right away. Is it because of that after all?”
It was Harley, the massive barbarian warrior, strolling through the halls of the Great Temple like a predator on the prowl.
The previous evening, to commemorate his first visit in a while, he had engaged in a juicy showdown with the cooks of the Third Central Dining Hall, and from the morning onward, as if challenging one dojo after another, he had been touring the various dining halls within the Great Temple and enjoying the food.
It was possible because, befitting its scale, the Great Temple had many dining halls, and now he was on his way to the training grounds for some post-meal exercise after enjoying a satisfying lunch at the First Central Dining Hall.
‘That must mean my energy storage has increased that much. Well, it’s only natural that an enormous amount of energy would be necessary for “Gigantification.”’
“Gigantification,” which he had acquired after devouring the white giant’s core.
That skill, which had settled within Harley’s body along with an immense amount of “Madness,” was an intuitive ability that made his body grow enormous, just as its name suggested.
It activated more efficiently than forcibly swelling his body with “Body Mutation,” but either way, the fact remained that using it required a tremendous amount of energy.
‘And it ignores the law of conservation of mass all the same. I’m still lacking in proficiency, so about seven meters is my limit for now.’
That was the result of sneaking into the mountains in the middle of the night out of curiosity about the skill and testing it.
And not long after, overwhelmed by the hunger that rapidly surged up, he had to hastily cancel the skill and shovel down a late-night meal.
Of course, even at seven meters, he was tall enough to look down on an ogre, the tyrant of the mountains, but after having faced the white giant not long ago, it was a size that left him entirely unsatisfied.
‘Well, if my proficiency increases going forward, I’ll be able to grow even larger from here. More importantly, I didn’t expect to run right into Patrick there.’
Patrick, the secretary-general of the Mercenary Guild, whom he had reunited with after a long time in the dining hall.
He belonged to the same faction as Kanble, the previous Mercenary King who had died in the Immortal King’s attack, and when he was in danger of losing his standing, he had approached Harley and made a proposal first.
Would he not join hands with him and aim for the position of Mercenary King?
Afterward, what he had demanded was one thing.
He would take care of the rest, so Harley should build a reputation that anyone in the Mercenary Guild could acknowledge.
‘And so far, that too has been proceeding smoothly.’
After all, he was active as a companion of the Hero—just like the famed first Mercenary King himself.
Unless he died midway, the current situation itself was an achievement that any mercenary could only acknowledge.
Perhaps because of that, Patrick’s expression when they had just met had been extremely bright.
As if everything was proceeding smoothly.
‘However.’
Perhaps inwardly elated as well, he had first offered Harley a handshake and greeted him politely before withdrawing.
Without imagining what Harley could do with just that.
‘A discrepancy between the body’s muscle mass and the actual strength it possesses. That’s not exactly common, is it?’
It was not one hundred percent certain, since it might have been due to some special ability or magic tool unknown to him, but at this point, he could consider it almost confirmed.
‘There are more people who’ve risen to high positions than I expected. Well, come to think of it, it isn’t that strange.’
In truth, considering the special abilities granted from the start and the additional correction that enabled rapid growth, perhaps it was only natural.
The problem was that in most cases, people would drop out before they grew beyond a certain point or give up on growth and pursue only safety.
‘I’m curious what kind of unique skill he has. Seeing as he turned toward administration, is it not combat-oriented? If he has a useful support ability like Andrew…’
Just as Harley was moving busily along while harboring such sinister thoughts—
“Kekeke— Are you that Harley? I have seen you before, but this is the first time we’ve met face-to-face like this.”
A sudden unfamiliar voice called him to a halt.
“Hm? And you are, elder?”
White hair streaked across her head, and ornate tattoos covered every part of her wrinkled face.
An old woman with a slightly bent back, holding a wooden staff hung with various ornaments.
“Keke, circumstances on our side haven’t been favorable until now. Still, I’m glad I can speak with you directly like this.”
It was Morna, the Great Shaman and representative of the Southern Kalkos Tribal Alliance, the origin of the “Kalkos-Style Combat Engravings.”
“So, could you spare this old woman a moment of your time?”
“What business do you have, elder? I’m rather busy right now!”
Although he grumbled outwardly, inside, he swiftly analyzed the other party.
Come to think of it, Patrick, the secretary-general of the Mercenary Guild, had not been the only one to recommend Harley for the death squad.
This old woman, the representative of the Tribal Alliance, had been included as well.
Even though Harley merely presented himself outwardly as a southern warrior and had never once gone there, nor had any acquaintance with them.
‘I was planning to approach the south before long anyway. But they came looking for me first?’
The coup d’état said to have broken out in the south, and the representative of Kalkos now standing calmly before him.
Could there perhaps be some trap in this approach…?
“By any chance, are you interested in the ‘Fighting King’s Engraving’?”
…He thought so, but it seemed there would be no harm in hearing her out at least.
He would not lose anything by talking for a moment, and even if the other party was plotting something, he might be able to gain additional information through it!
‘I’m feeling a strange sense of déjà vu.’
Had Patrick, whom he had met just a little while ago, not approached him like this at first too?
Following the Mercenary King, now even the Fighting King’s Engraving.
Those who approached him with intent were consecutively presenting sweet offers and tempting him.
“Oh! I’ve heard of that! They say its effects are absolutely amazing!”
But Harley, a true man among men, paid no mind to such things and promptly took the bait.
With a bright smile that bared all his teeth, one that would make the weak-kneed tremble just by facing it.
‘They said that was the endpoint of the engraving tech tree, right?’
It was true that recently, under the excuse of being a dragonkin, he had been abusing inhuman strength so much that the engravings had not had much presence.
On top of that, he had not even fully settled the “Gigantification” he had just acquired, but…
‘The more abilities you can use, the better! And this probably isn’t an opportunity that comes easily.’
Human greed was, by nature, endless.
#201