Beast Prince Zew, with his men in tow, walked into the bar looking furious.
(Did Ur fail? But why is he so angry?)
I had asked Ur, the beastman, to do some research.
However, I didn't understand why Prince Zew was so outraged by the content.
Prince Zew slowly approached the table that my friends and I were occupying.
"Oh, Prince Zew, would you like to join us?"
Helmios was also surrounded by the beastmen, but he didn't raise an eyebrow and called out to Prince Zew.
"Helmios. Is this some kind of ploy by the Giamut Empire?"
"What? What is?"
Helmios had no idea what Prince Zew was talking about.
Helmios looked at me, thinking that I knew something.
"Oh, that's probably me."
I then looked at Ur, the wolf beastman, who looked apologetic behind Prince Zew.
"Allen, is it? You're the one snooping around the Beast Kingdom. You've got a lot of nerve for a rat."
Prince Zew was impressed as I said so while drinking fruit juice and a nonchalant look on my face.
"It's disturbing to hear you say "snooping around". It was the Allies who were looking into it, and if you put it that way, the Beast Kingdom had something to do with it as well."
(Okay, that's pretty relevant.)
The Confederacy was a group of small and medium-sized states on the continent south of Rosenheim that was politically and economically united.
"I had intended to check with Ur, but it is just as well that Prince Zew Beast is here. Please, there is a seat available."
I said that there was a seat available at the table I was sitting in and invited him.
"What did you say?"
The expression on Prince Zew's face became even more grim as I asked him to take a seat.
Kiel, the most jumpy of my friends, looked worried.
He seemed to be swallowing the words, "Hey, is everything okay?"
"Huh? Are lions frightened of rats in the Beast Kingdom?"
(Things won't go anywhere until you take the seat.)
"Oh, oh, this is funny. Very funny. Oh, right, I'm thirsty from all the walking. I, too, shall have a drink or something."
Prince Zew was so angry that he was having a hard time slurring his words.
With an awkward smile made to show that he could afford it, the Prince Zew slowly took a seat.
Helmios admonished me with a glance that said I was going a little overboard.
One of the beastmen under Prince Zew's command who had surrounded us went to the counter and ordered a drink.
"So why were you snooping around the Beast Kingdom?"
"As I said earlier, it was the Allies who were looking into it."
"I see. But didn't you also say that the Beast Kingdom was involved? What were you looking into?"
Prince Zew probably took the seat because he remembered that he had not thanked me yet.
I tried to be a little more polite in my language.
He seemed to have calmed down after drinking the ale.
"Hmm? Just to be sure, am I correct in understanding that this is an exchange of information?"
"What? What the hell, you!"
The gratitude for saving the beastman, which had been so hard to nip in the bud, was discarded as Prince Zew reached the peak of his anger once more at my words.
I had heard from Ur that Prince Zew was very good to the beastmen, but he seemed to have quite a temper.
"Of course. It is an exchange of my information between Prince Zew and me. This is a transaction. If you think you can't trust my words, here is the Princess of Rosenheim, and Hero of the Central Continent Helmios."
"Mm? But ngh."
Prince Zew didn't seem to trust me. He slowly looked at Sophie and Helmion.
Then he looks at Sophie and Helmios.
Sophie had a higher position than Prince Zew as Sophie was the future Queen of Rosenheim whereas Prince Zew was not the Crown Prince. His party or group of beastmen were also weaker than Helmios' party.
"Allen, that's enough provocation. Prince Zew, it's useful information. I don't know what he wants to know, but I can assure you that the information he will provide you will be valuable."
Helmios intervened and politely spoke to Prince Zew.
"Valuable, is it?"
"Of course. We can be the first one to talk, and if the information is not valuable, then we do not need any information from Prince Zew. How about that?"
Helmios further persuaded Prince Zew.
"Hmmm... I get it. If the Hero of the Central Continent says so much. You guys can drink whatever you like."
""Hei""
Prince Zew was aware of the important exchange of information, so he dispersed the beastmen who had surrounded the table.
"So, Allen. Please, you first."
"Yes, Helmios."
(As expected of a Hero. He managed to persuade Prince Zew while keeping his face in perspective.)
I was impressed and carefully explained to Prince Zew everything from the discovery of the Orichalcum to the story of how the Fire Goddess Freya was robbed of her Divine Artifact.
I also talked about what was going to happen in the future.
The Spirit God was busy eating so he didn't say anything the entire time.
Prince Zew frowned several times, but listened carefully nonetheless.
"I see. It's a rather outlandish story, but is it true? Can I trust you?"
The Central Continent and the Beast Kingdom were virtually enemies.
On the surface, they were militarily united because of the Five Continent Alliance, but that was only on the surface.
It was unknown when the Beast Kingdom would start their invasion of the Central Continent.
The information I had just shared with him showed a possibility where the Giamut Empire, which was directly at war with the Demon King's army, might suffer a disastrous defeat as a result of the theft of the Divine Artifact.
"No, no, a Talent changing system is set to be introduced."
"Talent change?"
I also told him how it would be possible to change one's Talent in the future.
It was still under work but a system was being coordinated which was set to begin the next year.
"If true, that is indeed valuable information. Do you think that they are related to the Beast Kingdom?"
I nodded strongly as I understood what he was talking about.
Both the fact that Fire Goddess' Divine Artifact was stolen and a system that allowed for Talent involved in the Beast Kingdom.
"No, as I said before, it is the Allies. I'm talking about the Beast Kingdom's involvement in the Allies' 'defeat of the Evil Cultists.'"
"Well, sure. Hmm. That's why you were looking into Shea?"
I had heard a number of stories from Ur about the Beast Kingdom over the past few months.
During that time, I had also asked for more information about the right of succession to the Beast Kingdom's throne.
I had to know who would be the next Beast King.
I wanted to stop the Crown Prince Bek from ascending to the throne.
In the Beast Kingdom, the firstborn was basically the Beast King.
But it was not uncommon for the best children to come from sources other than the first child.
The first child could be ordinary, or the second and subsequent children might be born with superior Talents.
In such cases, the second and subsequent children were given a big test, and those who overcame the test could succeed as the Beast King even if they were not the first child.
Prince Zew's test was to be the first one to conquer the unconquered S-class dungeon.
This S-class dungeon, called the Tower of Trials, was an ordeal that Prince Zew must overcome.
But Prince Zew was not the only one who received the test.
The youngest sibling of Prince Zew was his sister also known as the Warrior Princess.
Even the Princess, who excelled in character and in battle, was put through a severe ordeal.
It was to subjugate the Evil Cult.
A pagan religion was born in one of the Allied countries and spread to other Allied countries.
It was born decades ago and was gradually gaining followers.
It was said that if people believed in them, they would not be invaded by the Demon King's army, or something like that.
In fact, the Demon King's army never invaded the Confederacy.
Because of that, the number of followers grew slowly but steadily.
And a few years ago, the teachings crossed the ocean and entered the Beast Kingdom.
Since there is trade between the Allied Nations and the Beast Kingdom, even the teachings of the pagan religion were transmitted along with the trade.
And the teachings of the pagan religion were slowly spreading throughout the Beast Kingdom.
The Beast King was furious at the situation.
The Albahar Beast Kingdom believed in the Beast God Garm.
He was worshiped as the absolute and only God.
Therefore, he ordered his youngest child, the Warrior Princess, to subjugate the Evil Cult.
I was told that the Allies were also cooperative with the Beast Kingdom.
"Yes, I am wondering if the Demon King's army will give the Divine Artifact to the Evil God."
The Demon King's army was always planning and moving ahead.
I thought about it for days to find out what use the Divine Artifact could have.
For me, who had memories of my previous life, an Evil Cult was as much a target to defeat as the Demon King.
Even though I didn't know the teachings of the pagan religion in my previous life, I had been exposed to many cults.
I also had the prejudice that the pagans would do things that were definitely not good.
I came up with the idea that the Divine Artifact would be given to the Evil Cult leader who was being pursued by the Warrior Princess, and that he would gather faith and start doing something nefarious.
"I see, but I don't see that happening."
In response to Allen's questioning of the suspiciousness of the pagan religion having the Divine Artifacts, Prince Zew assured me that it was unlikely.
"What? What do you mean?"
(Mm? How can you be so sure?)
"Just the other day I got a letter from Shea. It said that she had captured the head of the pagan cult and handed him over to the headquarters of the Elmea Church. He will be brought before a religious tribunal shortly."
"What? Oh, I see."
(What? He got caught? Will he also face a proper trial? So that means the next Beast King will be the youngest Princess Shea.)
One of the Allied countries was the Elmaleh Church State, the general headquarters of the Elmea religion.
Prince Zew also told me that Princess Shea was able to subjugate the Evil Cult easily, thanks to the full cooperation of the Elmar Church.
(Then again, I guess I completely missed the guess on this one. When I heard ecil cult I wondered if it was for those who believe in the Creator God Elmea or the Beast God Garm?)
I am so embarrassed by my smug prediction.
They might have been declared as a pagan religion because other religions were not tolerant.
"A trial will be held, but the result will most certainly be their execution."
It seemed that Prince Zew even had an ear for the fact that the Evil Cult had done some pretty bad things.
We then talked about some dungeons and the future.
Divine Artifacts were to be used in some form or another in the world.
We finally shared the understanding that if we heard anything that sounded like a Divine Artifact, we would have to look into it, and we disbanded for the day.
Then Prince Zew got up from his seat and uttered a few words.
"Next time you want to know about Shea, come and ask me directly. Is that clear?"
"Yes, I will."
(What is it? Just a brother who loves his sister.)
Allen thought that Prince Zew was apparently acting out of concern for his sister.
