“In short, the Republic is already doomed. There’s no chance of recovery.”
Upon hearing my words, Sir Robert, without showing much concern, guided me and Roka to meet the Chancellor. According to him, the Republic is now in a state of uncontrollable chaos.
“As the head of the bureau, I am now the second-in-command of the Republic. Everyone above me, except for the Chancellor, has fled through the gate to the Empire.”
“Then why didn’t you run away, mister?”
Roka interjected, asking. Sir Robert, seemingly annoyed at being called ‘mister,’ took out a cigarette and bit into it. After puffing out smoke, he continued.
“There’s nothing left for me even if I don’t run away.”
He seemed genuinely upset, even blowing smoke towards Roka.
Roka took a pinch of salt from the mill she was carrying and purified the incoming smoke. Annoyed, she tapped the ground with her tail and created another pinch of salt, this time sprinkling it on Sir Robert.
“You’ve got quite a temper, miss. I had a wife with a nasty temper just like you.”
It seemed to have worked, as Sir Robert blew smoke in a different direction this time. His eyes seemed to reminisce, turning hazy.
“She went on a flower-viewing trip to the Caldera Mountain Range with other wives and children. She was invited to some lady named Catherine’s villa, and she insisted on taking the kids. They went missing, but I know. They’re probably dead.”
“Ah… I’m sorry.”
“But it feels a bit better to get it off my chest.”
He shook his head vigorously, as if trying to shake off something invisible.
“That damn woman. She made my life miserable when she was alive, and even in death, she won’t leave me alone. Why does she have to hurt me like this…”
After a moment of silence, he spoke again.
“I thought I had come far enough not to be ignored by anyone, but I was wrong. The Demon King… Grimudo ignored us all. He didn’t even consider us. Once he got what he wanted, he had no intention of letting us live.”
“Who in this world can be free from his disregard?”
I sighed.
“It’s just a matter of distance, near or far.”
As we walked, sprinkling salt, we soon saw a large building. It was big but empty. This place, which must have once been splendid, now exuded a cold atmosphere after just a few days without human touch. This abandoned building was once the center of the Citadel Republic, the Citadel Parliament.
“But it’s a parliament where all the members have fled.”
The owners of this place are now gone, except for the Chancellor, but he doesn’t use this large building alone.
The small conference rooms, once filled with chairs and furnishings, were now empty. Marble floors were covered with blankets, and patients groaned on them, while those in priestly robes ran through the corridors.
“Those people are…”
“They are servants of the god Aldehir. The Church Country once excommunicated the Republic, so there is no diocese stationed within the Republic now. Of course, there were discussions to rebuild the Valais Diocese, but before a decision could be made… Bang! You know the rest.”
It’s easier to take out than to put back in, right? That means there isn’t even a high priest of the Three God Faith in this city.
There might be a few ordinary priests or monks, but they alone can’t control this situation.
“Let’s use that salt.”
Sir Robert took a pinch of salt and sprinkled it around the conference hall. As the salt was scattered, the volcanic ash particles floating inside the hall were purified and disappeared. Authority is good for this.
Because I can freely define the scope of contamination.
Of course, that doesn’t mean you can designate people as filth and purify them by sprinkling salt. I tried it once against Grimudo, but it only removed the erosion ability of the Black Steel, not harming him.
Even without that, Grimudo is strong, so it was essentially useless. It worked a bit against the Blood God Atorize, but it didn’t touch the essence.
“Cough! Cough! Whew, I think I can live now. Thank you. Are you a priest?”
A priest, coughing, approached us. He pointed to the people lying down and spoke.
There were many patients, from those lying down with rashes caused by the volcanic ash irritating their skin, to those gasping for breath, those covering their eyes in pain, and those muttering about sore throats.
“Then please lend a hand. The Church will repay you later.”
“Cardinal, this person has come to defeat the Phoenix.”
“What? I’m sorry, I’ve heard so many loud noises lately that my ears aren’t working well.”
That’s understandable. What I’m trying to do is indeed outrageous.
You didn’t mishear. I really came to do that.
By the way, a Cardinal? I wondered if I had misheard.
Beside me, Sir Robert nodded, confirming this person’s identity. Good heavens, I had heard that the Aldehir Church, one of the five major sects on the continent, was the most open, but I never thought I’d meet a Cardinal like this.
“You’re going to defeat the Phoenix…? What’s the plan?”
“I plan to use a miracle that can only be used three times in a lifetime.”
“A miracle… You’re going to borrow the power of God? But even with God’s power…”
The person who introduced himself as Cardinal Omen of the Aldehir Church hesitated before continuing.
“It’s blasphemous to say this, but aren’t you underestimating the Phoenix too much?”
“It’s a difficult task, but there’s no other way. All these people can’t evacuate to the Empire through the gate.”
If there were an alternative, I wouldn’t have brought Roka here. But the gate is not an alternative.
It’s a teleportation gate connecting this place, the Capital, and Grantera. The larger the gate, the exponentially greater the amount of magic stones consumed.
The gate is so narrow that even a carriage has to line up to pass through, and people have to queue to enter. That’s because no one involved in building the gate considered the situation where all the citizens of the Citadel Republic would evacuate to the Empire through it.
Many people can’t even escape by ship, so that one gate is far from enough.
“Even if we evacuate, cough, it’s meaningless.”
Then, a voice close to a groan came from a corner. The person was so blackened that for a moment, I couldn’t distinguish their features. It was a patient in a horrific state.
“If the volcano erupts… it’s all over. It’s just a matter of dying now or a little later… Cough! The end is near.”
“Thomas William from the Land Development Bureau. He used to select land for development and search for mineral veins, but his hobby was studying volcanoes, so he was researching the Caldera Volcano.”
Sir Robert muttered softly, explaining who this person was.
“He went to the volcano with masters, intending to be a guide, and came back looking like a well-done steak. Now, he’s barely holding on with divine power.”
He seemed thirsty, so I pointed to the ground and used a miracle. Luckily, this was the first floor, or else the floor would have been punctured, and all the water would have spilled below.
“Spring water, spring water…”
“Clean water! It’s clean water!”
Amid the murmurs, a spring gushed out, splitting the marble floor. Thomas tried to drink directly from the spring but was stopped by a priest from the Aldehir Church.
Instead, the priest brought a ladle, filled it with water, and brought it to his mouth.
“Good heavens!”
“How is that possible?”
His throat moved, and as the water went down, his skin, which had turned dark, began to return to its original color.
His natural color returned, turning pale, and the smell of burning flesh began to fade. The soot that had already settled couldn’t be helped, but he no longer needed divine power to survive.
“Phew, I think I can live now.”
He realized the efficacy of the spring water and jumped up.
“I can live! I’m alive!”
Sir Robert’s gaze changed as he watched the man jumping around.
“To save someone on the brink of death, you’re not just someone who talks about the Phoenix. I didn’t know your divine power was so strong. Are you perhaps the pope of a small sect? If so, I apologize for my rudeness. No, I apologize.”
“Protocol isn’t important now. More importantly…”
I looked at Thomas and spoke.
“Mr. Thomas?”
“Ah, Priest. How can I thank you…”
“I’ll accept your gratitude. More importantly, I’d like to hear more about what you said earlier.”
Since he’s an expert on volcanoes, I had to ask.
“What did you mean when you said if the volcano erupts, it’s all over?”
