Chapter 58

The road leading to Oratio’s fortress.
Countless people had gathered along the road, cheering for the approaching army.

White flags tinged with green fluttered in the wind,
and around a white carriage that seemed both splendid and modest, elves riding white horses formed a long procession.

Their number reached nearly three hundred.
The people waved at them, marveling at the rare sight.

‘It’s really noisy over there.’

Serpens was walking along a street away from the crowd.
It was because he had followed the adults, who suggested they avoid the people and go comfortably.

Before long, they reached the fortress, where security had grown tight,
and with Lars in front, they moved to the place where the meeting would be held.

As the boy once again admired the inside of the castle, Lucas spoke to him.

“Serpens. I do not think you would, but once the meeting begins, do not try to participate in the discussion.”
“That was my plan. I don’t know anything except that humans, elves, and dwarves will be gathering.”
“I mean that you must not react to any words or actions directed at you, Lars, or me.”

Serpens looked up at Lucas quietly.
It seemed the warning hadn’t been because of his ignorance.

“I understand.”

The boy nodded.
To begin with, he hadn’t had the slightest intention of stepping forward in an official setting.

“Keke, I don’t think it would be bad to give our little knight a chance to speak.”

Lars said in a tone full of mischief.

“You should be a little more serious too, Lars.”
“You say the most obvious things.”

The group followed the guide up through the inside of the fortress.
As they drew closer to a murmur coming from somewhere, Serpens swallowed dryly for no reason.

“Lucas. What kind of people came to the meeting? It can’t be just any elves or dwarves.”
“Well, the elves likely brought their king and queen, along with capable people, but…….”
“But?”
“I do not know how the dwarves will come out. For now, the energy that can be felt from that side is only one.”
“One person?”

One person.
Serpens tilted his head and fell into thought.

Had the king come? Or the queen?
He didn’t know much about politics or diplomacy.
Looking back on his experience, even in Oratio, he had seen the emperor, but he had no memory of seeing his wife…….

‘Maybe only the king came?’

He was not certain of even that.
Perhaps it was neither the king nor the queen.
After all, it was not as if Lucas, Lars, or Serpens himself were participating because they were kings.

‘I can’t wait.’

Serpens actually liked that better.

Someone who wasn’t a king representing an entire race.
Somehow, it seemed cool.

Even until the moment they reached the meeting room, Serpens could not keep still from his continuing nervousness and expectation.

How would a meeting of those representing their races proceed?
A solemn atmosphere?
A peaceful atmosphere?
No matter how it flowed, he was ready to be captivated by that atmosphere.

“Lord Liberator and Lord Musica are entering.”

The servant guiding them knocked on the meeting room door, and the moment he opened it.
The corners of Serpens’s mouth stiffened.

The gazes of six beings seated around a massive round table.
Serpens tried to meet those gazes, but ended up lowering his head.

The emperor of Oratio, Kerum de Evgenia.

Deus, the king of the elves, and his queen, Dea.
The knight Viento and the archer Stella seated on either side of them.

And the dwarven archmage Optatum.

“Welcome, my knights.”

The emperor of Oratio spread his arms and welcomed Serpens’s group.

Lucas and Lars naturally took seats beside Kerum.
The boy following them awkwardly sat in the empty seat between the two.

Even with his heartbeat pounding so loudly it seemed to block his ears,
the boy’s gaze kept sneaking glances at those who carried an air of loftiness.

The first place his gaze went was to the dwarf with the striking red beard.
It wasn’t because he was seated across from him, nor because Serpens had been curious about him before entering the room.

‘Why is he staring that hard?’

The dwarf was staring at Serpens with eyes opened so wide they looked ready to pop out.

Deep wrinkles formed in his expression, and his rough breathing made it seem as if one could see steam from his nose.
It made anyone looking at him feel as if they had to apologize for wrongdoing they had not even committed.

Serpens tried hard to ignore his gaze.
The robe worn by that ill-tempered-looking dwarf was scorched here and there.
Because it looked similar to Lucas’s, Serpens felt for no reason that even its owner should not be provoked.

“……!”

Where he turned his gaze, someone he had seen before was giving him a faint smile and a small wave.
Viento.
He was the elf Serpens had met once before.

The three elves seated beside him.
Those who seemed to be the king and queen gave off an intelligent and lofty atmosphere.
He thought the words “aged gracefully” suited them,
but seeing their glossy blond hair and neat impressions, they didn’t look all that old either.

The female elf sitting beside them.
Whether she was short while seated, or just short in general.
From a place about one head lower than the others, she was rolling her eyes as if bored.

Sparkling turquoise eyes beneath long eyelashes, and a faint peach-colored blush on her snow-white face.
Her pointed ears repeatedly twitched in time with the voices of the others.

‘Do all elves look like that?’

Serpens felt the wall between races.
Viento, who was smiling, the female elf wearing a bored and irritated expression, and their king and queen speaking with serious faces.
Every one of them possessed beauty that made him stare blankly.

“Then, since everyone has gathered, I would like to begin the meeting.”

In the meantime, Kerum opened his mouth.

“Before that, there is something I would like to ask.”
“Optatum? What is the matter?”

Optatum’s thick fingertip pointed at Serpens.

“This is a place where those who represent their empires gather. I will say nothing about you, or the king and queen of the elves over there, or the two capable people each side brought along……. But I cannot understand why a brat is mixed in.”

The elves’ gazes turned toward the boy.
Serpens held his breath and tried hard to hide his emotions, but he couldn’t hide his trembling pupils.

“He is my disciple.”

Lucas’s cold voice rang through the room.

“He’s my disciple as well.”

Lars said, lightly poking the boy in the side.
He mouthed silently toward Serpens, “It’s fine.”

“I believe being the disciple of you two and having the right to participate in this meeting are separate matters…….”
“I do not know what you mean by that qualification.”
“Why are you acting like this when you know perfectly well, Lucas? I said this is for those who represent their empires. By qualification, I mean at least the strength to protect an empire, do I not? There is no way that little brat has such power-”
“Do you have that qualification?”

Lucas’s question.
The atmosphere in the meeting room froze in an instant.

“……What do you mean?”

Optatum asked back.
His eyes had turned cold.
He was not asking because he did not know Lucas’s intention.

“I asked because you spoke as if you were confident you could protect an empire.”

Serpens felt goosebumps rise on the back of his neck.
A pressure weighed down on the entire meeting room.
Though faint, it was an energy he had felt once before.

‘Killing intent……!’

The boy looked at Lucas with startled eyes.

Why was he acting emotionally?
Serpens was grateful that Lucas was defending him.
But creating conflict in a place where they were supposed to seek unity.
Was that not a method that did not suit someone as rational as him?

“Let us stop there.”

Deus, the king of the elves, cut off the battle of nerves in a benevolent voice.
Deep wrinkles sat around the eyes that curved in a smile.

“Knight of Oratio, I hope you will not forget that we have gathered for unity. If you come out so aggressively, might we not come to regret the blood we have shed on this continent?”
“……I apologize.”
“Ha! You rude human bast-”
“And.”

Deus’s smile turned toward Optatum.
Serpens realized that sometimes, a smile could exert even greater pressure.

“Magician of Calor, I would also ask that you mind your choice of words. There are two people here who stand above you. Even if you have come as Calor’s representative, I hope you will not forget that you do not stand in the same position as me or Lord Kerum, the rulers of our respective empires.”
“Ahem!”

An awkward silence flowed for a moment, and Deus nodded toward Kerum.

“The reason we have gathered here is, as Lord Deus said, for the unity of the three empires.”

Kerum cleared his throat and began speaking.

“With a common enemy before us, all three empires have been wasting time and strength. You have personally proven by coming here that when we unite, we can resolve our problems more easily.”

He clenched his fist and raised his voice.

“There is only one thing I will propose to you. An all-out war against the monsters.”

Serpens held his breath.
The representatives of each race looked at one another while skillfully hiding their emotions.
An all-out war against the monsters.
It was a problem everyone had wanted to avoid, but one they would have to face someday.

The first to speak was Dea, the queen of the elves.

“As the situation worsens, continuing a war of attrition is certainly meaningless, but…… is an all-out war not something that should not be decided hastily?”

Her voice contained anguish.

“Of course, it is not something to decide hastily. But the war against the monsters has continued for years. I believe this decision is not a hasty one, but rather a late one.”

In the quiet meeting room, each of them sank deeper into thought.

Serpens quietly placed his hands on his knees.
The longer the meeting continued, the tighter his chest felt.

“I oppose launching an all-out war right now.”

There was an edge in Optatum’s voice.

“The reason a meaningless war of attrition has continued over the past several years? It was not because we lacked strength. The problem was that no matter how many we killed, those monster bastards multiplied like rats, and because we didn’t know the cause, we ended up in this mess. An all-out war when we still have not found that cause? I cannot agree to that.”

Deus also clasped his hands and nodded.

“For the same reason, we cannot easily agree either. That said, we also cannot concern ourselves only with defense. The land is gradually being polluted by the corpses of monsters.”

At those words, everyone grew quiet once more.

Clap.

A cheerful clap.
Lars began to smile brightly.

“Let us proceed with the all-out war.”

At his words, Optatum’s eyebrow twitched.

“Did you not hear what I just said?”
“I heard them clearly with my ears. I have something to tell you regarding the part you are worried about.”

Clatter.

Lars took four brilliant jewels from his chest and placed them on the table.
Everyone’s eyes were drawn to the alluringly sparkling jewels.

“Those are…….”

Viento muttered with a frown.
Not only him, but Optatum and Stella as well.
Both of them felt the Demonic energy leaking from the jewels.

“These are jewels that can be found in the corpses of the strange monsters appearing lately, in other words, the variants.”

When Lars gestured, the jewels slowly floated into the air.
Lars made the jewels keep an even distance from one another, forming the shape of a square, then spoke to Optatum.

“Would you infuse them with Mana, Lord Optatum?”
“……I will.”

Mana resembling the earth flowed from Optatum’s fingertips.
The moment that calmly flowing Mana touched the jewels.

Kwajijijik!

A violent reaction occurred, and the jewels began to shake.
Then.

Whooooom.

A small vortex formed around the jewels.
It swirled fiercely as if it would suck in everything, yet strangely, it didn’t actually absorb anything.
Everyone’s eyes widened at the bizarre phenomenon that was difficult to comprehend.

And at that moment.

Kireuk?

Part of something green began to emerge from within the vortex.

“That is enough.”

Kwajik!

When Lars clenched his hand tightly, the jewels fell and scattered.

No one could continue speaking.
How could they explain what they had just seen?

Lars smiled as if he did not mind and said.

“I think I have figured out, to some extent, where the monsters are coming from.”

Serpens also couldn’t hide his shock.
That green body he had just seen was clearly……

“A goblin……?”

It was unmistakably a monster’s arm.