< 58 : Turmoil (2) >
Rex, the eldest son of Count Meyer, led his army to carry out the mission he was given.
He only had one hundred men, including his escort knights.
He had heard that the bandits were only about thirty, but he was still anxious about his first battle.
It was a fight where people’s lives were at stake.
He had accepted the count’s offer to earn some merit, but he couldn’t help feeling nervous.
Soon, he reached the location where the ruined towers were visible. He looked at Evan, who was next to him, and asked.
“Ev, Evan.”
“What is it?”
“We won’t fail this subjugation, right?”
Evan was a powerful force that the Church had assigned to him.
Rex looked at him with an uneasy gaze, but Evan was still calm and composed.
He seemed to be looking for something, as he kept glancing around.
He looked at one of the towers nearby and said.
“If the fortress was intact, it wouldn’t be easy to attack it with this number of troops.”
“So…”
“But there’s no need to worry too much.”
Rex’s face brightened at Evan’s words.
He looked confident to anyone who saw him.
Maybe if there was any problem, Evan would step in and wipe out the bandits himself.
Rex was hoping for that as he looked at Evan.
But then, Evan suddenly stopped and said.
“We won’t have to fight the bandits anyway.”
“Evan, what are you saying…”
“——Astraphe.”
Ignoring Rex’s puzzled gaze, Evan raised his hand with a gauntlet on it.
Crackle. Crackle.
Blue flashes gathered in Evan’s hand as he broke the air with thunder.
The lightning bolts in Evan’s hand intertwined and grew in size.
The blue current that grew bigger and bigger eventually formed a shape of a spear.
Evan turned around with the spear in his hand.
“Let’s start the operation now.”
“Yes…?”
“Move back if you don’t want to get swept away.”
After warning him, Evan pushed Rex aside, who was looking confused.
Then, he threw the spear of lightning at the hundred men who were following him.
The spear left Evan’s hand and flew towards the hundred men with a blast.
Boom!
The spear of lightning collided with the soldiers and exploded.
With a heavy sound, some of the hundred men who were chasing Evan fell down.
The soldiers who were hit by Evan’s surprise attack screamed in pain.
“Argh!”
“Ugh…”
Crackle.
Blue sparks flew over the ground where the electrocuted soldiers fell.
The soldiers who were hit by Evan’s lightning attack were all incapacitated without exception.
It was something that happened in an instant in an unexpected situation.
The hundred men were shocked by the sudden attack from their ally in the front.
The captain of the hundred men shouted at Rex, who was bewildered by the situation.
“Prince! What is going on here!”
“I, I…”
But Rex was also confused by the captain’s question.
He had no memory of receiving a notification from Evan that he would attack the hundred men.
The soldiers who were not attacked moved away from Evan and raised their weapons.
Evan stepped forward instead of Rex, who was at a loss for words.
And he opened his mouth to the captain, who was resentful of Rex.
“Don’t feel too wronged. Prince Rex didn’t know about this operation either.”
“What do you mean, he didn’t know? What kind of operation is this?”
“This operation is to make sure that none of the soldiers who participated will return alive.”
“…!”
The cold death sentence that fell upon the entire White Corps, including the White Commander.
At the same time, enemies who had been hiding in all directions began to pour out.
They were all wearing uniform outfits and holding weapons in their hands.
Rex was only able to understand the situation then, seeing the faces of the believers who surrounded him.
The ones who surrounded Rex and his soldiers were all followers of the cult.
Evan had obediently followed the subjugation for the sake of disposing of the soldiers.
“…Evan, sir? Why are you doing this?”
“To get rid of them and disguise the cult’s followers as soldiers.”
“Ah, no, but… there’s no need to kill them…”
“We don’t have much time. Do you want to lose your neck to your brother who became an earl?”
Evan snapped at Rex and raised his gauntlet.
Crackle.
A blue current appeared again with a thunderous sound.
It was the thunder spear that had blown away the soldiers just before. It reappeared in Evan’s hand.
The cult’s followers who had been waiting also began to move after Evan.
They each held sharp weapons and pressured the soldiers in a tight situation.
The White Commander, who was surrounded by the followers in an instant, let out a sigh.
“Prince Rex! We will be annihilated at this rate!”
“White Commander….”
“Please make a decision quickly! Soldiers, hold back the enemies from approaching!”
The White Commander urged Rex to make a decision, while gathering his soldiers in a formation in the narrow space.
But it was already too late. The morale of the soldiers had been shattered by the previous attack.
It was hard to maintain a numerical advantage with the troops that had lost nearly 30% of their combat ability.
Gulp.
The White Commander swallowed his saliva as the situation became more difficult.
Even at this moment, the followers with weapons were approaching the White Corps.
“—Astraphe.”
“Prince Rex! Don’t abandon us!”
“It’s too late. Blame yourselves for choosing the wrong master.”
By then, the thunder spear in Evan’s hand was also completed.
Crackle!
The spear roared and sparked as it flew towards the soldiers.
A blue beam cut through the air and landed in the center of the soldiers.
Kwagwagwagwang——!
A dazzling flash exploded and a thunderstorm swept over the soldiers.
***
“I finally made it.”
It was Friday evening again before I knew it.
I lay on my bed and looked at the screen of the smartphone in my hand.
On the game screen, I saw Eutenia with Estasia.
Eutenia had finally delivered the bishop’s appointment letter to the new bishop, Estasia.
Of course, I also had to see Estasia, who had changed a lot in the process.
I snorted at the sight of Estasia wearing all kinds of accessories.
“She looks familiar with sunglasses on.”
Gold necklace, gold bracelet. And a small gold headpiece.
She looked awkward with the excessive jewelry she was wearing.
She must have put on everything that was expensive.
Her outfit reminded me of the nouveau riche.
If she wore sunglasses, she would fit right in on any SNS.
She had amassed wealth by plundering the cult’s followers every day.
“Hmm… I feel like playing a prank on her.”
Estasia was living a leisurely and luxurious life unlike the other members of the cult.
She just sat there and food and jewels were delivered to her.
Of course, Estasia had played a big role in gathering the followers, so I didn’t want to completely deny her merit.
But somehow, watching her act so arrogant, I felt like teasing her a bit.
I looked at Estasia for a while and then tapped on the icon above Eutenia’s head to write a message.
“I should give Estasia some work.”
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
I typed a message and sent it to Eutenia.
Eutenia received the message and looked up at the sky for a moment.
Was it because of the message translated by the ‘Divine Translator’?
She seemed to be troubled by the sudden message.
She looked at the sky for a long time, then decided to approach Estasia.
And then she began to carry out the order I had given her through the message.
“Estasia.”
“Yeah.”
“I have a message from the Great One.”
Estasia tilted her head at Eutenia’s words.
She was not an apostle, so she could not receive messages from me directly.
She asked Eutenia about the message she heard for the first time.
“A message?”
“Yes. The Great One has something to say through me.”
“What is it?”
The corners of my mouth rose slowly as I saw Estasia’s reaction.
From my perspective, who knew what was going on, I couldn’t help but laugh.
The story that Eutenia was about to tell was the highlight.
I watched the screen closely, looking forward to Estasia’s next reaction.
Eutenia spoke to Estasia with a serious face.
“From today on, Estasia has to walk around the building every day and monitor if the followers are doing their work well, according to the Great One.”
“…Me?”
“Yes. The Great One said that only Estasia can do it.”
Estasia’s face turned serious as she heard Eutenia’s words.
Clatter.
One of the gold bracelets on Estasia’s arm slipped off and rolled on the floor.
Was it too shocking for her to receive a direct order from me?
Estasia looked at Eutenia with a dark face and asked.
“What happens if I don’t do it?”
“If you fail to do your job properly, lightning will strike the strawberry fruits around you, as a warning.”
“…!”
“Of course, I trust that Estasia, the faithful angel, will do her duty diligently.”
Gulp.
I suppressed the laughter that was about to burst out and looked at the screen.
Was it because she was fooled by Estasia’s angelic appearance?
Eutenia, who knew nothing, showed infinite trust in Estasia.
But Estasia was a greedy creature, contrary to her expectations.
She exploited the characters around her every day, collecting countless fruits and jewels.
And she spent all day in the cave without doing any work.
She trusted her just because she was an angel.
It showed how much the characters knew about angels.
“What do you mean by doing your duty diligently?”
She would be lucky if she just pretended to work and stayed in her room.
Of course, I only gave her a simple order because I wanted to tease her.
I was more interested in Estasia’s reaction than her working hard.
Estasia was sweating profusely as she heard my order.
“Ugh….”
“I’ll be going now.”
“Hey, wait….”
“I wanted to talk more with Estasia, but I have no choice because the Great One gave me another mission.”
“No… Estasia doesn’t like work….”
She couldn’t communicate with me without Eutenia.
Estasia tried to stop Eutenia somehow, but Eutenia coldly pushed her away after finishing her work.
She had to check the [Holy Relic: Etalia’s Compass] that she had received before arriving.
Now that she had completed the mission of appointing a new bishop, it was time for her to leave for the next mission.
Eutenia smiled and said goodbye to Estasia.
“I’ll be back soon, since it’s a mission nearby.”
“….”
“See you later, Estasia.”
That was the end of their conversation.
Eutenia left the place on a carriage as soon as she finished her mission.
And only Estasia was left alone, staring blankly at Eutenia’s empty spot.
Estasia stood still in shock until the sun set.
Of course, I watched her with a satisfied smile.
She was a creature that was fun to watch.
