Kael and Jircniv ended their meeting. However, another exchange, thousands of miles away, had just begun. Inside a vast and magnificent palace, a blue-crested embroidered banner hung on the wall across from the entrance. Below it, three young women sat or stood.
In the center, Calca, a golden-haired woman, wore a white gown and a golden crown, sitting on a throne that symbolized the nation's supreme authority. The fusion of cuteness and firmness mingled within her, giving the impression of seeing an angel. Standing on her two sides were a pair of sisters, Kelart and Remedios, one in a priest's robe and the other in a Holy Knight's coat. They bore a strong resemblance, differing only in the length of their hair.
Calca, Kelart, and Remedios were the Holy Kingdom's supreme authorities, enough to represent a nation. And now, as they looked at the image projected by a magic item below the throne, an expression of solemnity unconsciously appeared on their faces.
It was truly tragic.
The city was filled with corpses, and the flowing blood had almost dyed the streets red. The sky was dim and dark because of the negative energy hovering above it. In the middle of a large magic circle, a wicked worshipper was manipulating negative energy, continuously pouring it onto the corpses at his feet. Those corpses, which seemed to belong to high-level Adventurers, were slowly turning into ferocious zombie monsters under the stimulation of the negative energy.
This was a record of an incident that occurred in one of the cities of the Re-Estize Kingdom, sourced from the memory of a member of the Church of Destiny.
Buzz!
The projected image vanished as the man holding the magic item cut off its magical input.
"The details of this incident are roughly like that. We were ordered to come to the Holy Kingdom to inform Her Majesty Calca, hoping that the Holy Kingdom can be prepared and avoid the same thing happening here."
Quaiesse smiled, her gentle tone making one feel as though they were bathing in a spring breeze. Calca, who was sitting on the throne, regained her composure and responded solemnly, "We are extremely grateful for the news from your esteemed nation. Without you, we might still be unaware that such a major event has taken place in the Re-Estize Kingdom and the Baharuth Empire."
"You are too kind, Your Majesty the Holy Princess."
Quaiesse's smile remained the same as she continued, "Nazarick's leader is an undead evil, and all of his subordinates are bloodthirsty and cruel monsters, the common enemy of humanity. We of the Slane Theocracy have always taken the growth and development of the human race as our goal, and now, guided by the great God of Destiny, we naturally will not sit idly by in the face of such a threat."
Calca nodded, but inwardly, she was a bit uncertain. On the surface, the Theocracy's visit to convey the disaster faced by the Kingdom and the Empire seemed to be entirely out of goodwill. But she was sure their purpose was definitely not just that. Perhaps they were trying to win the Holy Kingdom over to join in the fight against Nazarick?
So, should the Holy Kingdom get involved? If Nazarick was truly such a huge evil organization, rashly making them an enemy was certainly not a good idea. But if we refuse the Theocracy's alliance request, when a disaster strikes the Holy Kingdom, we will have to face it alone. Calca was in a dilemma.
Just then, Quaiesse spoke about another mission for this trip. "Your Majesty Calca, in light of the potential difficulties the Holy Kingdom may face, before my departure, His Majesty the High Priest specifically asked me to convey a kind proposal to you."
Is it coming?
"...Please speak," Calca said without changing her expression.
The next second, Quaiesse's suggestion, although related to the incident just described, seemed a bit different from what she had imagined.
"In the current circumstances, only the Church of Destiny, under the great God of Destiny, can resist Nazarick. If the Holy Kingdom needs help, you could invite the Church of Destiny to establish a branch in a city of the Holy Kingdom."
"Well..."
Calca hesitated. To be honest, the Theocracy's proposal was not suitable for the Holy Kingdom. Although not as strong as the Theocracy, the Holy Kingdom was also a nation with a strong religious flavor. Its political system was a joint rule by the Holy King at the top, along with four major divine religious powers. If a foreign religion were introduced, the domestic temple forces would certainly not welcome it, which could potentially shake her government's position.
She had to remember that ever since she ascended the throne, not a few people within the Holy Kingdom still didn't recognize her authority. Even with the help of her friend, Kelart, she might be able to suppress the temple forces' unrest, but introducing the Church of Destiny would still give the noble alliance in the south, who opposed her, a reason to attack. Was it worth shaking the stability of the Holy Kingdom for a crisis that might not even arrive?
Before Calca could respond, the Holy Knight Commander Remedios, standing at her side, suddenly spoke in a very displeased tone, "The Holy Kingdom doesn't need help from some so-called Church of Destiny! We are not the Re-Estize Kingdom or the Baharuth Empire. We can deal with undead and demons ourselves!"
Her personality was indeed so straightforward, or rather, stubborn, completely unable to hide her emotions. Quaiesse's previous statements were filled with exaggerated threats from Nazarick and praise for the Church of Destiny, implicitly suggesting that the Holy Kingdom was vulnerable in the face of them. This greatly angered Remedios, the First Holy Knight of the Holy Kingdom, making her feel that her nation was being belittled.
Quaiesse looked at Remedios with a hint of surprise. Was the Holy Kingdom's Holy Knight Commander truly so courageous, wanting to defy Nazarick with the strength of one nation? No, she hadn't truly witnessed the terror of the monsters from Nazarick. She was just overly confident in her own strength. This was also a matter of course. If they hadn't experienced it in person, even the Theocracy would only remain wary of those monsters, not feeling completely unable to contend with them.
"Since Commander-sama is so confident, why not have a battle with me and show the Holy Kingdom's strength?"
Before Quaiesse could respond to Remedios's statement, the person standing beside her stepped forward, looking directly at the three Holy Princesses with piercing eyes.
To the Holy Princesses' surprise, Quaiesse not only did not reprimand Lakyus's behavior but instead bowed respectfully to her and stood behind her.
This woman's identity is not simple!
Kelart, on Calca's side, observing the golden-haired woman below the throne, was quietly frowning.
"I am Lakyus, the captain of the Adamantite-ranked Adventurer team, Blue Rose, from the Re-Estize Kingdom. I have fought against the monsters in Nazarick before. If your esteemed nation has the ability to defeat me, then resisting them should be no problem."
The golden-haired woman, leaning on her greatsword, revealed her identity. She was Lakyus, who had received Kael's order to come and assist in the visit to the Holy Kingdom.
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