Chapter 40: News Begins to Circulate
The Greenwich Wise Men's Council is often referred to in another spacetime as the Idlers' Council.
It is not a strictly defined organization. Although it has a nominal headquarters, that is merely a place where members can gather and give each other encouragement; the members are not bound by any system.
The name is meant to commemorate the "Witenagemot" (Wise Men's Assembly) of early medieval England, the prototype of the Norman "Great Council" system, which later evolved into the British Parliament, the "Mother of Parliaments."
The name of the Greenwich Wise Men's Council was established after Voban easily infiltrated Queen Victoria's bedchamber during the Victorian era.
Since its founding is directly related to God Slayers, studying God Slayers is its primary goal.
The study of God Slayers naturally begins with the Authorities they possess.
Initially, they studied the two God Slayers born in ancient times, the Marquis Voban and the Hierarch Luo Hao, as well as Lady Aisha, who was born shortly after its establishment. Following them were Smith of the United States, Alexander of Great Britain, and Doni of Italy. The Council's newest subject of study is Hikigaya Hachiman of Japan.
Alice Louis-Of-Nafar, the former chairwoman and current consultant, commonly known as Princess Alice, states that the Idlers can finally properly study the world's youngest Demon King.
No one knows what Voban and the Hierarch Luo Hao were truly like in their youth, but one thing is certain: these two definitely used their Authorities frequently on targets other than Heretic Gods.
It is said that the Vatican still retains records of the Voban's horrific deeds, and many terrifying stories circulated in Europe to this day have been adapted from the Voban's actual past actions.
The history of the establishment of the Holy Cult of the Five Mountains is also quite unsuitable for children.
As for the God Slayers born in the contemporary era, they may be better than the ancient Demon Kings—at least they don't wantonly take lives—but they, too, have frequently used their power on the masses. A Council member working at the British Museum reported that the Black Prince often visits there to pilfer things, and the citizens of Los Angeles can testify that Smith fights Warlocks in front of them every now and then, which once caused large-scale power outages in Los Angeles.
As for Doni... the Italian members of the Council expressed reluctance to study him, due to a certain King's Butler who likes to rush manuscripts.
In comparison, Hikigaya Hachiman is genuinely difficult to study because he has never properly shown off his Authorities in the present world, and his battles with heretic Gods obviously have very few, if any, witnesses.
But looking on the bright side, at least this kind of God Slayer would not affect the general public—something God Slayers can easily do. When they use their power in populated areas, it's like a human accidentally stepping on an ant pile; God knows how many people will be crushed under that foot.
But this was merely the Idlers' Council's original notion of Hikigaya Hachiman.
Because just one day ago, Hikigaya Hachiman suddenly crossed the Pacific for unknown reasons and began a massive slaughter in North America.
Multiple locations north of San Francisco on the US West Coast were precisely targeted with thunderstorms and earthquakes, and the San Francisco area was transformed into a snowfield, which has not yet thawed.
When Washington shockingly initiated a nuclear strike, the Sun Fire that erupted over the central part of North America was so bright that its light could be seen even over the Atlantic Ocean.
That land is already in great chaos.
This reminded Alice of a saying from that Eastern country—"Better not speak; when you do, it amazes the world."
The impact of this event on the global situation has not yet officially begun, but magicians generally do not care about this. There is nothing in the world that cannot be solved with magic; if there is, then use a combination of magic and martial arts.
What magicians care about is: Who will be targeted next?
Everyone was frightened by Hikigaya Hachiman. He was quiet normally, but when he acted, it was a war of annihilation.
What is it like to be treated this way by a God Slayer? The Vatican from a few hundred years ago could probably give an answer, as it is the only organization that has endured an annihilation strike from a God Slayer and still exists today.
Why did Hikigaya Hachiman lose control? Who provoked him? How bad was the resulting devastation?
This is now the trendiest topic in the global magic community.
At the same time, this is also the expectation everyone has for the Greenwich Wise Men's Council, because Japan's Official History Compilation Committee is completely tight-lipped and silent.
As for Yomi, no magic society has a dialogue mechanism with them.
With such immense professional pressure, the members of the Wise Men's Council are currently both happy and miserable.
Happy because intelligence gathering is super easy now. All sides are extremely cooperative; even a researcher from a common background, as long as they prove they belong to the Wise Men's Council, will be given whatever information they ask for—the researchers are delighted as the true nature of Hikigaya Hachiman's Authorities gradually comes to light.
Miserable because even though they are working themselves to death, they still have no clue about the cause and sequence of the event. They cannot even produce evidence to prove who angered Hikigaya Hachiman.
Although there are rumors that the King's Butler in Italy might know the truth, this King's Butler is reportedly finally spending time criticizing the Sword King and is absolutely not seeing outside visitors.
However, for Alice, none of this is the most important part.
"Nature and life, this is the power of Hikigaya Hachiman." She said this to her companions gathered in her office.
But the speaker was her Astral Body. Her frail physical body was propped up in the chair behind the desk, looking like she was cutely asleep.
This action was originally met with strong opposition from her subordinate and concurrent governess, Patricia Ericsson, but the situation quickly grew out of her control.
The fervent researchers are the actual controllers of this room, and the most fervent one is now carelessly indulging her Astral Body.
Patricia Ericsson grew increasingly worried the more she watched.
She normally doesn't use her Astral Body for this long or with such excitement. She must have been in contact with that man again, right? Otherwise, how could she have such detailed information?
Patricia Ericsson believes that Alice is indeed the person most suitable for the title "Holy One" among all humans, but her relationship with that other God Slayer is far too frequent.
The members of the Wise Men's Council research God Slayers not so much because they have the capability, but because no one else dares to form a faction and research God Slayers due to various concerns.
Even if others had this idea, they wouldn't dare to voice it.
After all, the danger level for mortals researching God Slayers is completely different from God Slayers slaying gods. The latter is a fifty-fifty chance; the former means death by a mere sneeze from the God Slayer.
Clenching her tiny fists internally, Patricia Ericsson once again secretly vowed to cut off that man's influence on the Princess.
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