Subspace Countermeasure Meeting

A black cube several hundred meters tall, wide, and deep had suddenly appeared near the Royal Capital.

Edgar and the Demon King were trapped inside. There was no way to open it from the outside.

Therefore, we would raise Rāna the Sacred White Dragon, break in, and destroy it from the inside.

At the castle at night.

Liricia and I were meeting the king.

It was not the audience chamber, but a room with a large round table.

Armor and swords were displayed along the walls. It looked like a strategy meeting room.

Besides the king, the chancellor, the court mage chief, and Vice-Captain Milford of the Knight Order were at the round table.

The Archbishop of Fortis and Rubel, the Adventurer Guildmaster, were seated there as well.

They had gathered to discuss countermeasures for the subspace.

I was seated side by side with Liricia.

I had already told them what I had learned about the subspace.

However, I kept only the Demon King’s name hidden.

The meeting continued.

The king, who looked like a kind old man, let his face sag pitifully and opened his mouth.

“You say that thing is the work of the Holy Papal State…?”

“To be precise, it seems their operation failed and caused an unexpected result. But there is no doubt that they tried to harm this country.”

“Is that not practically war already…? However, can anything be done about it?”

“I don’t think anything can be done from the outside.”

I said that while remembering when I struck the black wall with my sword.

The king turned his face toward an old man in robes, thin as a dead branch.

“Court Mage Chief, is what Alec says true?”

“Yes, it is the same conclusion reached by the court mages. It accepts neither magic nor physical force at all. Because the inside is a subspace, a severance of space has occurred.”

Rubel shook her red hair and spoke in a strong voice.

“If we send Alec in, he should be able to erase it with that alone. The problem is the method.”

“Alec, if you have the Sacred White Dragon’s Jewel Orb, you can enter inside, correct?”

At the king’s words, I nodded.

“Yes, Your Majesty. So I intend to go to the Holy Papal State from here and receive the Jewel Orb.”

“Now!?”

“They can produce water with magic, but apparently, there is almost no food. If we do not save them as quickly as possible, things will be bad.”

“I see. That is true, we must safely save Yoa—no, everyone.”

Even at this point, the king still seemed worried about former Prince Yoanes’s safety.

As a father, he was a kind person, but as a king, he was a bit of a headache. Yoanes was a good-for-nothing.

However, right now, the fact that his son was trapped in the subspace was what made the indecisive king so eager.

The old court mage chief frowned.

“Still, for the Church to use such evil arts as ranking up monsters…”

“What were they planning to do by making Yoanes a hero?”

I told the old mage chief what I had been thinking.

“I don’t have proof, but they probably intended to have him defeat something Demon King-like and make him this country’s next king. There was already a dispute over the authority to appoint heroes, wasn’t there?”

“What! Indeed, it is said that originally, only the Holy Papal State performs the recognition of heroes, saints, and sanctuaries.”

“They probably intended to make Yoanes, who would obey them, into a puppet and rule Fortis. That would create a country that follows the Church’s wishes.”

“To think they were plotting that far…”

The mage chief muttered as if groaning.

The king also frowned and said in a groaning voice.

“How dreadful. If God said so, that would be one thing, but the humans who run the Church are possessed by authority.”

“Whether one prays in a church or prays in the fields, God should be the same. It may indeed be necessary to protect God’s glory, but is it not strange to strengthen the Church’s authority by interfering with other countries?”

The archbishop nodded, shaking his long beard.

The king also nodded.

“I think so too, Archbishop.”

“Why should a person with Holy Wave, a good character, and the power to defeat the Demon King not be appointed a hero? Why should one who commands sacred beasts and mediates between humans and sacred beasts not be called a saint?”

The archbishop said that with indignation.

I silently watched the king. The flow of the conversation had gone in a different direction from what I expected.

I did not want to become the hero, but I had thought I might have no choice—and this might become a way out.

The king sank deep into thought, but when he raised his face with a serious expression, he opened his mouth heavily.

“If this dispute over appointment authority continues, something like this will happen again. In that case, Fortis shall part ways with the Luktia Holy Papal State.”

“““What!?”””

Everyone present was shocked by the sudden decision.

I was shocked too.

However, I quickly realized it was not a bad thing. I stood to benefit.

Perhaps sensing the change in my attitude, Liricia, sitting beside me, made her violet eyes shine with expectation.

As I rapidly turned over my thoughts, the king spoke further.

“The Luktia Church in our country shall change its name and operate as the Fortis State Church. The Archbishop of Fortis shall become the chief archbishop, and together with me as its head, shall lead the state church.”

Everyone denied it one after another.

Rubel furrowed her well-shaped brows and said,

“Your Majesty, is that not far too hasty?”

“If you go that far, we will become completely hostile.”

The chancellor also said that with a frown.

The archbishop also spoke while choking on his words.

“Eventually, I do think… it may come to that… but without groundwork, to do it so suddenly… I think it may be difficult.”

Amid the many negative opinions, I leaned forward over the round table. Hiding my true feelings, I spoke in a loud voice.

“If things continue like this, we’ll be at the mercy of a fanatical Church. Knowing that and doing nothing would itself be evil, wouldn’t it?”

“If we take too strong a stance, the other side’s opposition will also intensify.”

“To move the situation forward as quickly as possible, don’t we need to take a strong stance against the Pope?”

“Mm, that is true… The lives of the trapped people are at stake.”

The king said that while looking around anxiously.

I nodded firmly.

“Exactly, Your Majesty. If Fortis shows that it is serious, they will surely deal with the matter strictly.”

The king nodded at my words and said,

“Then, if you are going now, becoming the hero should allow you to meet them immediately. Is that acceptable, Alec?”

—Here it comes!

While delighted that the conversation had gone just as I wanted, I answered with a smile.

“I refuse.”

“Wh-what did you say! To refuse at this point—are you sane, Alec!?”

“I served for thirty years, so I think I’ve had enough. However, I think I would be willing to become something like a temporary diplomat.”

“…What do you mean?”

“In other words, a kind of honorary negotiator position that implies a former hero. I would retire from the front line and become an observer-like existence. If it is something like a retired sovereign or special advisor, I am willing to accept.”

“You are saying we should create a new position?”

The king’s eyes widened in surprise, and I grinned at him.

“It will be a new organization of the Luktia faith, so there should be no problem appointing a new position, right? Let us counter appointment authority with appointment authority, Your Majesty!”

“Wh-what! So that was your aim in supporting the establishment of the state church!”

The king was so shocked his eyes nearly popped out.

Rubel shrugged her slender shoulders in exasperation. However, the corner of her beautiful lips twisted in amusement.

“You could simply become the hero… Your head works in strange places.”

“Thanks. I really don’t want to be the hero.”

One way or another, I would end up having to defeat the Demon King. I had already met him too.

The king groaned, “Mmm,” but nodded while grimacing painfully.

“It cannot be helped. Very well, I shall write that down.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“What should the position be called? If a former hero cannot be used, Acting Holy Official? Perhaps that is a little weak.”

“Yes… Divine Representative, Agent of Divine Will… Huh? This is surprisingly difficult.”

“Retired Hero, Temporary Saint…”

“Great Hero…”

“Fugitive… Scumbag… Expired Hero…”

Everyone voiced their ideas, but none of them quite fit.

—Actually, Rubel’s ideas were not titles, but insults.

I silently glared at Rubel, but she raised the corner of her red lips and grinned.

After everyone tilted their heads for a while, the king spoke as if summing things up.

“Mm… For now, let us call it the Salvation Representative. We shall think of the formal name later.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

When I thanked him, the meeting ended.

The atmosphere in the room loosened, and the meeting broke up.

Soldiers and attendants entered the room and began cleaning up.

The chancellor ordered one of them to bring blank paper.

He took a quill and began writing a letter.

After that, the king read the letter once and then signed it at the end.

He sealed it with wax and handed it to me.

“If you show this to the Pope, it should suffice.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

I received the letter and bowed my head.

Rubel crossed her arms and spoke arrogantly.

“It would also serve as a threat if you took the captured Mani with you.”

“Ah, I’ve thought of that. Where is Mani now?”

Milford, who had been about to leave the room, answered.

“At the knight station. We are interrogating him.”

“Has he said anything?”

“No. He only speaks fanatically about the greatness of the God of Light, Luktia.”

“A fanatic, huh. Did living in the darkness drive him mad, or was he able to do dark work because he was already fanatical?”

“Both, probably. …In that case, even if you take him with you, he does not seem likely to say anything that betrays the Church.”

In response to Rubel, who said that, I gave her a fearless smile.

“You still have a long way to go, Rubel.”

“What did you say!?”

Rubel shook her red twin-tails wildly and glared at me with a frightening face.

However, I said without being shaken,

“If we use Past Vision, the spell used by the mage chief, on Mani, we should find decisive evidence that he tried to use Prince Yoanes to trap the Fortis Kingdom.”

“Ooh! As expected of the former hero.”

“I see. Instead of forcing a confession, there was that method.”

The king and the archbishop raised impressed voices.

Rubel glared at me again while biting her lip in frustration.

“Guh…! After quitting as a hero, you became cunning.”

“I’ve had enough of being in a position where I’m constantly exploited.”

I smiled fearlessly, but Rubel only groaned in frustration and said nothing.

The old mage chief looked fed up. He spoke with a sigh.

“That spell is quite exhausting, you know…”

“But please. Right now, the kingdom is in danger.”

“It cannot be helped. Well then, up we go.”

The mage chief reluctantly rose from his chair.

He walked over to Knight Commander Milford near the door.

“Then, come with me.”

“Understood—then, Your Majesty. Please excuse me.”

I stood up, bowed to the king, and left the meeting room.

I followed Milford down the castle corridor.

Beside me, Liricia narrowed her eyes and smiled happily. She leaned gracefully closer and whispered,

“As expected of you, Master.”

“Wouldn’t it have been better for you if I became the hero?”

“Perhaps. But even if it is only until my unconditional slavery is lifted, I do not want to be separated from you, Master.”

“I see… Then stay by my side forever, all right?”

“Yes.”

Liricia clung tightly to my arm. Her large breasts pressed against me.

—I did not feel bad about it.

Not because her chest was touching me, but because I was happy that Liricia was pleased.

I scratched my head with my free hand and looked away.

—Then.

I noticed a small woman in the shadow of the corridor, watching us.

Even while hiding, her well-proportioned body was wrapped in a noble dress and an elegant atmosphere.

—It was Princess Carolina. The second princess of the Fortis Kingdom.

She was the person I had been scheduled to marry if I had achieved great success as a hero.

I thought she was cute and beautiful, but I felt like she avoided me, or rather, disliked me, so I was bad at dealing with her.

Milford, who was walking ahead, also seemed to notice her and stood upright with a clatter of armor.

“Princess Carolina, I apologize for causing a disturbance so late at night. However, I am honored to meet you.”

“Milford, I am glad to see you healthy. —Is that black quadrilateral dangerous?”

“Yes, Princess! That is something called a subspace, and while it is currently an obstruction, it poses no danger! In the near future, the hero—not the hero, but former hero Alec will deal with it!”

Carolina glanced at me with an emotionless gaze.

Then she gave Milford a smile filled with affection.

“I see. Milford, once the situation is resolved, you come report to me. And Alec, fight hard as well. …Then, farewell.”

Carolina gracefully turned on her heel and left.

Milford bowed deeply toward her lovely retreating figure.

Carolina looked back several times and glanced repeatedly at Milford.

Liricia, beside me, pinched my clothes with her fingertips, tugged lightly, and whispered,

“Princess Carolina and Milford-san appear to be very close, do they not?”

“Huh, really? …Well, protecting the royal family is the Knight Order’s duty, so I suppose they are fairly close.”

When I answered that, Liricia half-closed her violet eyes and looked up at me with a reproachful stare.

“That is such a Master-like answer…”

“Hmm? Is there a problem?”

Not understanding the meaning of Liricia’s words, I tilted my head.

Then Milford raised his face and looked at me.

“What are you doing, Alec? Let’s go.”

“Got it.”

Liricia and I left the castle with Milford leading us.

After that, at the knight station, we received Mani, who had been bound up completely, and the crystal ball recording Mani’s Past Vision.