No One Left to Stop Them

"Unbelievable. It just vanished completely."

I looked up at where the Constellation Tower had been while rubbing my stinging rear, courtesy of the slide.

Clear blue sky stretched overhead.

The ground below was, naturally, flat plains.

Such a massive structure appearing suddenly and then vanishing just as quickly.

I wanted to ask what happened to the laws of physics, but if that was just a glimpse of divine power, thinking about it was pointless.

I'd wanted to directly witness a god myself, but Elza was the only one who'd managed to pass the trial to meet one.

I've already heard what the god looks like, so maybe I should commission an artist to paint a portrait.

This adventure had used up almost all our consumables.

In return, we'd obtained treasure from the tower, so we came out significantly ahead.

In fact, a single gold ingot would more than cover everything.

I'll need to submit an inventory of what we obtained in the tower to the Duke for review first.

Since I nearly died, hopefully I can get a larger share.

"So, meeting Oscar was all you did? Did he give you anything?"

"He wished me good fortune. Gods are just like that."

"I see. Well, the spoils alone are plenty."

I'd thought I could at least be of some help by sticking to support, but it really was difficult.

Against enemies whose effects spread over a wide area, I just became a liability.

I'd put Orleans in danger too.

In the end, the preparation phase is probably the limit of what I can contribute to adventures.

We headed toward the carriage.

The Duke's army must have been caring for the mule until they withdrew; it was taking a leisurely nap.

I woke the mule, loaded our things, and set off for the city of Alsarm.

"Are you really alright?"

"Um, yes. At first I had a terrible headache, but I'm fine now. And it wasn't as bad as when I got the Water Elemental."

"A Fire Elemental inside your body, huh…"

I peered into Azu's right eye.

She immediately turned red but quickly calmed down and let me look.

Hmm, it doesn't look any different to me.

Besides, I was delirious from the poison when it happened, so I didn't actually see it.

I gave up and pulled back.

"Oh, that's right. Here, I'm returning this."

"Yes. I thought it might help, so I gave it to you, and I'm glad it did."

Azu pulled the fire brooch from her clothing and handed it to Alexia.

Alexia put it back on.

"So that little one really did move to Azu…"

Alexia gazed at the brooch she had just put on.

Come to think of it, she had grown quite attached to it, even giving it a name.

She looked a bit sad.

"Alexia-san, apparently Sara-chan will still lend you her power just like before. She says since she lived in that brooch so long, there's a connection between them."

"Really? Heh, she does have her cute side."

Saying that, Alexia pulled Azu close and patted her head.

Apparently she was petting the Fire Elemental through Azu.

My body felt a little heavy.

That outrageous woman called the Ent had treated me, but the poison's effects must have sapped my stamina.

I wanted some time off.

And with what we earned this time, I could afford to do exactly that.

I opened a bag of preserved food that had been left in the carriage and pulled out the contents.

Inside were dried apple slices and hard-baked honey cookies.

Made from butter, flour, and honey, all mixed and baked.

Without any leavening, the texture was crumbly, but above all, they were sweet.

Right now, with my exhaustion, that sweetness was a blessing.

Divided among everyone, each person's share wasn't much, but eating them with the dried apples made them feel more filling.

We encountered no monsters on the road to Alsarm.

Given what we'd been through, I wanted Azu and the others to rest. Lucky us.

The Duke had left because emissaries from the Church of the Sun God had arrived, I recalled.

Surely they would reach a peaceful resolution, and the wartime footing might already be lifted.

That's what I thought, but when we reached Alsarm, the atmosphere was no less tense than before we'd headed for the Constellation Tower.

No, it felt even worse.

We went to the Duke's estate to report our return, and I was ushered straight to the inner chambers.

I had been planning to just make an appointment and then rest.

Perhaps he wanted to know about the Constellation Tower and Oscar.

That would explain being admitted immediately.

But that assumption evaporated the moment I was shown into the Duke's study.

Duke Baroba wore a grave expression as he waited.

The naturally stern-faced Duke looking like that created overwhelming pressure.

It was so intense I didn't even want to speak to him.

"Good work. A theologian is staying at the estate, so explain what happened to him. I'm not particularly interested in gods I can't see. I might be if there were tangible benefits like there are with spirits, but it doesn't seem that way."

"Our priestess met directly with a god, she says. We brought back everything we found. Here's the inventory."

I handed over the inventory I had received from Orleans.

The Duke glanced at it and handed it back.

"The military's share of spoils already covered the cost of mobilizing the army. The rest is your achievement. Leave a few gold ingots as a site fee, and you may keep the rest."

"Understood. Thank you."

A wealthy noble is truly generous!

A crooked, cash-strapped noble would have confiscated everything.

Since I had approval, I would pick out some large gold ingots to leave and gratefully accept the rest.

This should be enough to upgrade Azu and the others' equipment.

Still, I couldn't let my expression show any excitement.

The room's atmosphere made that impossible.

"This is confidential, but you're involved parties. As I mentioned, emissaries from the Church of the Sun God visited. I thought they were either seeking some concession or accepting our demands."

Alsarm was, alongside the Royal Capital, one of the most developed cities in the Kingdom.

Its military strength was proportional to its economic power: extremely high.

Even a massive organization like the Church of the Sun God wouldn't want to make enemies of it.

"They delivered a single message and left."

"What did they say?"

"'Our god has deemed the Kingdom an enemy.' Apparently the moderates have been purged."

Those words were tantamount to a declaration of war.