'You're going to have to join me because there's going to be a loss of order, is that what you're saying?

　Masamune opened his mouth.
　The mage churchman turned his head to Masamune and announced, ''Yes, I said so.

'If you refuse, I will have to use global forces--'
'That's a bit rough. Let me just say that I will keep order, sir.

　He denied it.

'I see. There is one thing I want to make sure of.'
What is this?
'Earlier you clearly compared the Church to the Yagi and said that they are the superior entity. What is the logic behind that?
Logic? ........No, there's no reasoning or logic to say otherwise, because it is so--
''The eight kings drew up and exchanged the eight-king alliance in the wake of the defeat of the white dragon in the eight-kingdom. What does it mean that it is even under your control? Does that mean that the church was involved in its inception, or that it was absorbed later on...?

　Of course, Masamune knows this.
　That it was the King of the Elves - Zemeckis - who proposed the inauguration of the Eightfold Alliance, that is, the Church of the Mages.

''We have a treaty,''
Treaty?　What and when was the treaty signed?　That is information that is not available to the world. And those of us in the Brave Society are made up of people who are unfamiliar with the affairs of this world, including myself, so we don't know about it. But if you are going to join the organization, you need to know about it.
...What was that for?
What's that for?　No, simply put, this is politics. But we only set up a company called the Brave Men's Association to mediate work for adventurers, so to speak. It's a kind of freelance work, so to speak...

　Masamune choked on his words, as if he couldn't get through to them in this way.

''In other words, they are no longer adventurers, and to us they are just people or beastmen or demons or something.

　The one from the mage church interacted with him irritably, "So--" but Masamune interrupted him and continued his opinion.
　There was no point in talking about such things, because he knew he would be told so.

'That's why I don't mind merging or absorbing or whatever, if you want me to join your organization, I'll join. If you want me to join you, I'll join you, but we need to know more about what 'under control' means," he said.
Hey Hidaka, is that what you want?　The Society of the Brave is going away.

　Holly disagreed.

'Sonoda agrees with me.

　Masamune said as he pushed away.
　Holly looked at Sonoda's face.
　Sonoda formed a faint smile and remained silent.

'Sonoda, are you okay with that?'
Let Hidaka do it.
'Well yes. If it's okay with you, I won't deny it.

　Apparently, they have different priorities individually.
　Hiiragi sees Sonoda above Masamune.

''Fine.''

　Then a man from the Church of the Mages cut him off.
　He said he could speak, but he wanted those in the audience and the entourage behind him - Reid and Kato Shiori - to leave.
　He said he would only teach Sonoda, Hiiragi, and Hidaka.

　Then he ordered Scratch of the Adventurer's Guild Church and Philip of the Merchant's Guild Church to leave as well.
　Scratch left the room with each of them, though he looked confused.
　Philip bowed before the round table and left with a dignified appearance and a dignified appearance.



*



　There were only four people left in the room.
　As soon as the composition of three bodies one, those from the Mage Church brought up the subject.

''Would you like to make a deal, Hidaka-san?
"Deal?
Yes, there is someone who would like to see you, and would like to accompany you for a few minutes. And also your companion, Ichijo Yukimura.
Is that a yew?　Why did he--
You'll find out why eventually, but I'm not going to tell you...

　The one from the Church of the Mages slurred his words.
　If he is forbidden to speak, then someone is using this person as an emissary.
　Masamune thought to himself.

'I understand. I have no reason to refuse. I will make every effort to have Ichijo accompany you as much as possible. I don't know who he'll be sent to meet, though.'
It was the Church that gave birth to the Eightfold King.

　Masamune's face did not change at that immediate answer.

''I see.''

　Masamune connected the pause with an aphorism.
　'That's new to me,' said Masamune, although Romero had informed him of the story.

'What? The Church has the kings!　No way, no way....

　Holly was too upset to swallow the story.
　Sonoda remained silent.

''Technically, I mean the eighteenth king,'' he said. They were the venerable kings who ruled their respective lands before the alliance. And I can't say more than that. Beyond that, I will tell you where we are headed later.
I'm curious about that place. Where in the world are they taking us?

　The one from the Mage Church opened his mouth after a plentiful pause, as if he was lost - ''I'm Victoria.

'This is Victoria.'
I see. No thanks--

　At that moment, there was a high-pitched sound like a gunshot.

　Holly straightened her spine, her eyes widened and stiffened.
　Because in front of me, the one from the Mage Church was spewing a lot of blood from his forehead and warping on his chair.
　His forehead was turned to the ceiling, the tip of his chin facing us.
　In an instant, he is that figure.
　He doesn't move.

'He's not going to talk any more...'

　A voice was heard.
　Hiiragi turned to Masamune, who was next to Sonoda in a state of abandonment.

''Hidaka... you, what are you...''

　Masamune held what looked like a pistol in his right hand and pointed the muzzle of the gun at him in the Church of the Mages.

'I had a dwarf make this for me. This is the second one I've made, but I guess it's no good. It looks like this.

　The pistol crumbled like a pile of dirt and fell to the ground.

I've been told that I can use my magic as a ball, so I can hit it indefinitely, but my magic power apparently can't withstand it at all. I'm not sure if one shot is the best option.

　Masamune put a hand to his ear and muttered, "Keep them bound, I'm coming.
　Hiiragi had a look of disbelief on her face and asked, "What... what is it?

'Hmm?　What?
'Why did you kill him? .....
I didn't kill him.

　With a question in mind, Holly turned to those in the Church of the Mage.
　What was there was a dissolved object.
　He crumbled like wax and had no human form.

'They're ready. They were going to kill us all if we didn't listen to them.''
Eh....

　Holly turned around with a strong look on her face.

'There were hundreds of mage troops holed up outside. I've already taken care of them.'

　Instantly, Holly's body was lifted into the air.
　It's as if something invisible is grabbing her by the neck.
　She has a pained expression on her face.
　Her gaze was about to look at Sonoda directly below her.

''Sonoda.......help me.....
Oh, no, that's not Sonoda.

　Hiiragi could no longer understand Masamune's words with a pained expression on her face.

'Because someone like Sonoda hasn't been here for two years now.

　Masamune gave a big fake smile.