< 66 : Black Sky (4) >
Crossbridge, Imperial Palace.
The Holy Emperor, Haifright II looked around the conference room with tired eyes.
The black sun that had caused everyone to worry had disappeared in just one day.
But contrary to that, the atmosphere in the conference room was even more gloomy.
The elders who had been arguing loudly until yesterday were all silent.
Even the knight commander who had been actively advocating for military expansion was now avoiding eye contact.
This was all because of the single reason that the black sun had vanished overnight.
The emperor sighed and opened his mouth as he looked at the attendees of the conference.
“The black sun has hidden its presence.”
“…”
“…”
The urgent problem had fortunately ended without any trouble.
Even though the emperor declared the end of the crisis, no one reacted to his words.
They all bowed their heads and remained silent.
In the silence that filled the conference room, the emperor frowned.
He looked at Antonio, who was sitting closest to him, and spoke.
“Elder Antonio.”
“…”
“The black sun is gone.”
“…”
The first elder’s face darkened as he heard the emperor’s words.
He kept twitching his eyebrows and lips, trying to suppress some reaction.
The emperor knew well why the elder was showing such a look.
The argument from yesterday was clearly in Antonio’s mind.
If not, there was no reason for the first elder, who liked to talk, to keep his mouth shut like this.
The emperor’s gaze moved to the fifth elder next to him.
The fifth elder was the one who had been decided to study the black sun by the emperor’s order.
“——The black sun.”
“…”
“The black sun has disappeared.”
“…Yes.”
The fifth elder also quietly spoke in response to the emperor’s gaze.
The corner of his mouth kept moving up and down as he answered the emperor.
He seemed to have something to say, but he couldn’t say it out loud.
The emperor sighed again as he saw the cowering elder.
He shook his head in disappointment and gave an order to the fifth elder he was facing.
“We don’t know when the black sun will rise again in the sky.”
“Yes.”
“Make sure that the theologians do not slack off in their research on the black sun.”
“…Yes. I understand.”
As the emperor’s gaze passed by the elder, he finally calmed down his mouth.
The aftermath of the argument that had become a vain effort was quite big.
The emperor moved on from the fifth elder and looked at the knight commander on the other side.
Knight Commander, Revelz Ederant.
A holy knight chosen by the black holy sword, and a nobleman from one of the empire’s prestigious families, Revelz was not much different from them.
Revelz flinched as he received the emperor’s gaze, just like the other elders.
“Lord Revelz.”
“…”
“Lord Revelz?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Revelz answered his call as the emperor called his name again, closing his eyes tightly.
He had lost his usual confidence, and only a weak look remained on him.
The emperor chuckled at Revelz’ appearance.
It was not a common sight to see such a great knight commander show a frail look.
The emperor did not forget to ask him a question as well.
“The black sun has disappeared.”
“…Yes.”
“What do you think, Lord Revelz?”
“…I think it’s fortunate that we can move on without any major problems. It seems that this black sun was just a simple warning.”
“You think so.”
The black sun.
The greatest curse that the evil god could cast had vanished overnight.
It also meant that a full-scale invasion had not yet taken place.
Somewhere in the continent, the forces of the evil god were still preparing for war.
It was not something to be overlooked just because the black sun had disappeared.
Revelz added his opinion with a bitter look in his eyes.
“But we should not be complacent. We don’t know when the black sun will rise again.”
“Lord Revelz is right.”
“…”
“Lord Revelz. How is the task that I entrusted to you yesterday?”
This time, it was the king who asked him about the agenda that was discussed at the meeting.
The task that the king had entrusted to him yesterday.
It was to prepare the escort troops for the food transport team that would be sent to the Hegros Kingdom.
Of course, the situation had not progressed enough yet.
Revelz’ face became even more embarrassed by the king’s inquiry.
He spoke with a dark expression to the king.
“…I am still preparing the formation.”
“I hope you learned a lot from this incident.”
“Yes.”
“Next time, make sure you have enough troops ready to deploy at any time.”
“As you command… I will comply.”
As the king’s gaze was withdrawn, Revelz also quietly sat down in his seat.
Was it because everyone who had been talking to the king closed their mouths?
A thick silence fell over the meeting room again.
The noisy meeting room seemed like a momentary illusion.
In the silence, the king’s eyes looked over the faces of Crossbridge.
Despite his old age, his eyes still showed a strong light.
The king looked at the members of the meeting who were in charge of the six temples and said.
“I could not hide my deep disappointment in Crossbridge for what happened yesterday.”
“…We are ashamed.”
“No, it’s not just yesterday. We still haven’t found half of the hero, and no one predicted it until the black sun rose.”
“…”
Bang!
The king’s fist hit the gavel and the wooden board, and the wooden board that was hit by his fist shattered.
Everyone looked at him with a surprised expression as he broke the wooden board in an instant.
Despite breaking the wooden board whole, there was not a single wound on his hand.
The king, who had gathered everyone’s attention, became stern.
He swept away all the fragments on the desk and warned the priests in the meeting room.
“Do you all plan to prepare for the evil god only after you die?”
“…”
“The great six gods do not help those who cannot even take care of their own affairs.”
He recited a verse from the scripture and rebuked them.
Even the elders who would have spoken out against him at any other time could not say anything to Haifright II at this moment.
The king moved his eyes to his hand in his boiling emotions.
He had said everything he had to say, and now he had to do what he had to do.
“I will end the discussion about the black sun here. The next agenda is about subjugating Cuebaerg.”
The lord of the abyss, Cuebaerg.
Subjugating the servant of the evil god who was devouring the empire was the next agenda of the royal court meeting.
***
“It seems to be somewhere around here.”
Somewhere in Ketterunt province, located in the west of the empire.
Eutenia, who had a holy relic in her hand, said that.
The gem in Eutenia’s hand emitted a red light and stayed still.
It was a reaction that only appeared when there was a holy relic nearby.
It also meant that there was a holy relic somewhere near Eutenia.
Peter, who heard her voice, looked around.
“Do you mean that guy who is called the ancestor of vampires is around here?”
“Probably. I’m glad we made up for the time we wasted yesterday.”
Peter nodded quietly at Eutenia’s words.
As Eutenia said, they had to stay in one place for a whole day yesterday.
The whole sky was covered with darkness and they could not move normally.
No matter how Eutenia could create light with magic, it was dangerous to drive a carriage with a small light in the darkness.
Besides, she could not use magic while using Natalia’s compass.
It was meaningless even if she created light and moved around.
In the end, they had to stop in one place and light a fire and wait for the darkness to go away.
“I thought something big was going to happen yesterday.”
“I can’t presume to know his thoughts… but maybe he was testing us on earth.”
“Testing us on earth…?”
“It’s just my guess.”
Eutenia said as she put Alpha on her shoulder while holding a book.
She stopped talking because she thought it was disrespectful.
Peter also felt awe when he faced the black sun yesterday.
He did not say anything about her master while following Eutenia from behind.
“Whatever the reason… I hope we don’t see such a sight again.”
He looked scared whenever he looked at the sky.
He seemed too young to serve her master, but maybe someday he would bow under his greatness.
Eutenia smiled with satisfaction and urged her steps forward.
As Eutenia, who had Natalia’s compass in her hand, continued to move forward, the gem in her hand began to show a change at some point.
“The signal is getting stronger.”
Woo woo woo.
The gem that emitted a red light trembled more strongly than before.
It meant that they were much closer to the holy relic than before.
If they moved in the direction they were moving, they could meet the holy relic.
Eutenia moved forward with anticipation.
Peter, who followed her, also spoke with a hopeful face.
“We’ll meet the vampire soon.”
“If this direction is correct… No, I’m not sure.”
“…What?”
Eutenia, who was walking along the compass of Etalia, denied his words with a suppressed laugh.
Peter looked puzzled by Eutenia’s sudden change of attitude.
But Eutenia looked at the compass and the surrounding terrain with a serious face.
She thought there was something wrong with the direction that the holy relic was pointing.
“We’re getting farther away from the mountain. It seems like the holy relic is in the middle of the road.”
“In the middle of the road? You don’t mean…”
The compass of Etalia was moving away from the mountain.
There was only one thing that this fact indicated.
The possibility that the holy relic was not in a specific place was high.
Considering the characteristics of the holy relic that Eutenia had heard, the compass of Etalia was detecting another holy relic now.
There was an unidentified holy relic nearby.
Eutenia showed a sign of caution on her face as she realized that.
“It’s more likely that it’s on someone than in a place.”
“You mean there are people who have a holy relic?”
“Maybe those people over there?”
In the middle of a rough road that was not well maintained.
There were people who were approaching Eutenia and Peter.
Two people wearing thick cloaks.
One was a man who looked like a knight with a sword and a strong face.
And the other was a girl who hid her face with a hood next to the man.
Even though she hid her face, there was an inexplicable dignity from the girl.
“Isn’t this cloak too hot?”
“There’s cooling magic on it.”
“Still, it’s hot. Isn’t your cloak cooler than mine, Rian?”
The distance that gradually narrowed.
The distance that narrowed enough to have a conversation with each other.
The girl who was talking to the man who accompanied her turned her head to the front.
Eutenia and the girl’s eyes met in midair.
“Instead of being fussy, you should walk a little more for your health… Miss?”
“That gem… could it be… a holy relic…?”
Over the shoulder of the man wrapped in a cloak.
The girl saw Eutenia’s hand holding Etalia’s compass and muttered.
