--Highland Castle, The Silverwing Room

　One floor below the top floor of the Highland Castle.
　The top floor is a place where only royalty is allowed to enter.
　In other words, it's a place where the people of the highest status, except for royalty, gather.

(Well, who were they each?)　(Princess Sophia)
...I'll say it again, brave man.
　Whispering and whispering with Princess Sophia.


　The Land of the Sun (Highland) First Prince Gaius Highland
　Juliano Highland, second prince of the same country
　The Second Princess Noel Altena Highland and Cardinal of the Church of the Sun Goddess Altena

　Church of the Sun Goddess Althena Pope Roma Borgia

　Archduke Michal Rowland, Lord of the East Estate
　Grand Duke Marco Whitehorse, Lord of the Western Domain
　Grand Duke Lorenzo Belize, Lord of the Southern Territories
　Grand Duke Bartolomeo Ballantine, Lord of the Northern Domain

　Prime Minister, Vittorio Whiteheather.　
　Ewain Bloodnock, Commander of the Order of the Sun


　The heavyweights of the Land of the Sun (Highland) are all lined up at a huge round table, in a row.

(Remember?)
I can't do it, Princess Sophia.
(Huh, okay. I'll let you know later.
　Princess Sophia said a little happily as she sighed.
　Like such a badly made child........
　I can't remember so many of them all at once.

　I look around at them again.
　They are not in a very good mood.

"How is His Majesty the King?
　One of the grand duke's cheekbones opened his mouth.
"Your Majesty is unwell. He will not be attending today's meeting.
　The Prime Minister replies.

'Again. His Majesty the King is in a quandary.
What else is missing is the Great Sage, as usual.
　The Great Sage seems to be a regular slacker.
　Indeed, I have an image of him skipping out.

'What is it that you want to talk about, taking up all our precious time?　Noel.
　Is it the first prince who tells you to get on with it?
　But still, it's a bit harsh for my sister.
I'll talk to you about that, Sofia-sama.
　Princess Noel turned around and smiled at me.

''Oh, and look who's been sitting on the edge from earlier, it's the princess from the little kingdom next door.
　One of the Grand Dukes said, boringly.
''Don't underestimate him. There is a brave Lord who has been defeated by the wizard of that small country, chuckle.
What do you want to say, Mister Marko?
No, no, Lord Bartolomeo. I hope Sir Gerald is well?
....

　For some reason, she glares at me with a guileless stare.
　Princess Sophia's expression doesn't change.
　Wow, I feel sick to my stomach. I want to go home.

　Ah, how did we get into this kind of trouble?


　A few hours ago.


　When I came back, there was Princess Sophia at the inn in addition to Fujiyan and Nina-san.
　Is Lucy still at the Great Sage's?
　He's been working hard on his training lately.
　Fujiyan comes running over to me.

"I'm home, Fujiyan.
'You're back!　Lord Tuckey, I've been able to flush out who's coordinating this rebellion.
You're early.　Fujiwara-kun.
　Sa-san makes a surprised noise.
　Yeah, right.
　I heard from Noah-sama, but Fujiyan's ability to gather information is foul.

''Sir Fujiwara is excellent, isn't he?
　Princess Sophia joined in the conversation.
'What is Princess Sophia doing here?
'I have been asked to come to Highland Castle after this. Before that, I was going to gather the latest information on the rebellion but Sir Fujiwara has gathered far more information than we have. By the way, Brave Makoto and Aya Sasaki. I heard that you guys went to the Ninth Ward Street. Wasn't there any danger?
　Did I worry you?
　His expression didn't change, but I could feel it in his voice.

'There was no danger...'
'It was tough!　We're going to be chased by the inhabitants of the Ninth Ward, and we're going to be attacked by the undead in the underground canals!　Takatsuki-kun wants to go as soon as there's a new map.
　My answer was interrupted by Sa-san.
　Hmm?　Come to think of it, I think I got in a lot of trouble there.

What did you say? Lord Sasaki!　Undead! "Really, Deska!
　They all gave me a scathing rebuke.

''Well, when we entered the Ninth Ward area, we were chased by slumlords...''
That's what I'm wondering. Who are the Undetes?
You know, I saw an underground canal full of skeletons and zombies.
　I briefly explained what I'd been talking about.

'That's not how the underground canal...'
The youngest member of the Castor family, Deska!
The family's funding for the snake cult comes from drugs.

　Everyone had different points of surprise.
　Princess Sophia in particular, with a difficult face and a thoughtful look on her face.

''Brave girl, please come with me to Highland Castle.
'What?　I need something to eat...
''It's all information that would be best to get to Noel-sama's ears as soon as possible. Especially about the undead in the underground canals.
You know already, don't you?
I'll still go.

　I was forced to accompany them.
　I wasn't called in........
　By the way, the other members are staying away.
　While being seen off by Sa-san and the others, I went to see Princess Noel at Highland Castle.
　When I told her what I had told them, Princess Noel suggested that we have a meeting right away.
　So we decided to have a meeting.

　I'm going to be hungry.


　I'm hungry.


　Princess Sophia completes the briefing.

'What is this rebellion of the beastmen?
Those ungrateful cattle. After all, our system is lukewarm. We should make them all slaves once again.
'That's not a good move before the resurrection of the Great Demon King. There are many sub-humans in the Land of Trees (Spring Rogue) and the Land of Fire (Great Keith). There will be a backlash from them.
It will affect our plans for next year's northern expedition.

　I haven't said a word, by the way.
　What's the point of being there?

Why don't we just capture the ringleaders of the rebellion and execute them as soon as possible, and leave the details for later?
　Oops, that's a radical statement coming in!
　I know your face, Mr. Gerald's father!
　Like his son, he has a lot of blood in his veins.
　Is it the other way around, or is he like his father?

'Although you were planning a rebellion, it is now before it is carried out. Since there are considerations for other countries, let's say that the person leading the plan is deported.
　A mild-mannered old man the pope of the Goddess Church speaks up softly.
''Isn't that enough for you?''
　Is it the second prince who has been looking boring from start to finish?

''Well then, gentlemen, I will arrest and interrogate you based on the list of leaders of the rebellion submitted by Sophia-sama. Is that alright?
"..............................
　There is no rebuttal.
　Princess Noel summarized with a smirk, "Then we will proceed.
　Noel is the facilitator of the meeting?


Well, let's move on to the next item on the agenda.
The undead in the underground canals...
'Isn't this the negligence of the temple knights guarding King's Landing?　Pope Roma.
　The Archduke, who seems to have a bad character, looks at the Pope and grins.
　You're the one who was agitating Gerald's father earlier.

''As a matter of urgency, I have ordered the Temple Knights to search the underground waterways. However, this has never happened before in the warded royal capital. Isn't it important to find out the cause of the problem?
I don't think the cause is immediately apparent.
No, it's easy. The creation of the undead is dead spirit magic. Speaking of necromantic magic, it is the attribute of the cursed moon. Speaking of which, the other day, there was a troubled person who let the moon maiden escape.
'That was an attempt to get me to tell you about the relationship between the Moon Priestess and the Order of the Serpent...'

　A dismayed first prince.
　Did he make a mistake?

If we let him get away with it, we'll lose everything.
''The Moon Priestess reported that she came in contact with one of the Temple Knights in the Sixth Ward Street the other day. Perhaps the underground canals are not involved.
'What do you say. The cursed man loves dimly lit places. By the way, what happened to the Temple Knight?
I've been cursed. It's no use to me now.

Lady Sophia, I didn't know you were cursed.
(The Moon Priestess is a master of dark and cursed magic. (More on that later.)
　Dark magic, huh?
　It's a bit of a longing.

Well, well, the undead in the basement can't be the cause of the escaped moon maiden. By the way, the question is, how strong are the undead?
The brave man in this room will explain it to you.
　Oops, I'm going to talk.
　Everyone's eyes turned to me for the first time.

''Well, me and my two fellow adventurers entered the underground canal from Ninth Ward Street. We thought that there might be a clue to the 'Serpent Cult'. However, the only thing that was there was the undead. The number of them we killed was about 50.
...fifty is a lot.
'But it's only a demon that can be defeated by two adventurers. It's not a big deal.
What do you mean?　Your heroic lord is the one who defeated our country's pride, the Lightning Hero. He can defeat any demon that comes his way!　
　Can you please stop stirring things up because every time Mr. Gerald has been mentioned, I get a glare from Lord Ballantyne?
　Do they not get along?　It must be bad.

''The undead in the underground canals are currently being defeated by a thousand temple knights. They will all be exterminated shortly.
　The Pope speaks with a smile.
　This man seems mild and easy to talk to.
　I don't get the image of being hard-headed that Noah-sama said.

''Then all that's left to do is capture the moon maiden.
'It will only be a matter of time. Solidify the checkpoints and we'll never leave King's Landing.
''But it was a blind spot in the underground canals where the wards to avoid demons are weakened. We need to make improvements.
　I'm in chit-chat mode.
　My time is up.


Finally.
　Princess Noel looked around at everyone.
Is it still there?　That's enough. Do what you want.
　The Second Prince has left.

''There have been reports that the demons in the forest near the royal capital have been increasing and becoming more active recently. Using demons to attack villages and cities is a common practice of the 'Order of the Snake'. Recently, it has also occurred in the Royal Capital of the Water Country.
The Order of the Serpent doesn't have enough weapons or people to take care of it. The only thing we can do is to use demons.
'But it's not a bad move. Especially with the demons these days, they're tough.
''Hmph, comparing the King's Land of Water to my Sinfonia is ridiculous!　Especially now, the Knights of the Sun, the Knights of the Temple and the Four Heavenly Knights are all gathered here. Even if the Demon King is out, there's no reason to fear him!

(Oh, is that a demon king flag?)
　Master Noah, did you hear me?
　In case you're wondering, the Great Demon King hasn't been resurrected yet, right?
Not yet.
　...because I believe in them, don't I?

Their relationship with the Order of the Serpent is unknown. However, it seems that the next target of their next attack was the King's Capital, Symphonia, after causing the Horns' Revolt. It would be dangerous to be optimistic. I hope you will take care of the protection of the royal capital, Mr. Ewain-dono.
　Princess Noel turned her gaze to the Knight General.
　The taciturn man who had been listening quietly the whole time only said, ''It is accepted.

''Then today's meeting is dismissed. Thank you, Goddess.''

　The meeting is over.
　I'm tired....


　◇


Well, I'll have a word with Master Noel afterwards.
　Princess Sophia is still expressionless and ready to leave.
　But....
You're looking a little tired...

　--Makoto, please help your sister.
　I mean, Prince Leonard told me that.
　I don't know if I'm enough to cheer you up.

"Princess Sophia.
Yes. How can I help you?
　His face is cold and beautiful as he turns around.
'Would you like to go out to dinner with me sometime?'
!
Oh, no, no, not at all.

　Gosh!　And he grabbed my hand.
　'You're as hot as Lucy.

'I promise,'
Yes, yes....
　They promised me a great deal.
　Maybe they don't hate me... right?
　Do you think good food will make you feel better?
　I'll ask Fujiyan about a good place to eat next time.

　I saw Princess Sophia off as she went to the royal floor where Princess Noel was, and then descended the stairs of Highland Castle.

(Come to think of it, is Lucy still at the Great Sage's?)

　I've been holding off on this one because I thought he might suck my blood again.
　Since it's a good time, maybe I'll have him watch the training with me.