The Morning Star

Heresy designation.

Being recognized as an enemy in the name of God.

It had been a long time since this continent had seen such a thing.

That was proof that the Church of the Sun God had monopolized all religions across the continent.

"I thought I had done everything possible to prevent this, but perhaps it was planned from the moment the attack happened. Come to think of it, they had been throwing caution to the wind ever since the statue incident. I had assumed it was just a fringe faction going rogue, but…"

"That's…"

I could never forget the statue incident. They took advantage of the lord's illness to manipulate his foolish son into carrying it out.

That became the trigger for the Kingdom to expel the Church of the Sun God.

Now that I think about it, everything about it was strange.

If they just wanted to siphon money from Kassad, there was no need to create such a statue.

What did they plan to do after having the statue attack a city?

They were certain to be exposed.

Even if they occupied it, they couldn't hold it for long.

All that would remain would be a mountain of corpses.

… Temple Knight Evris, who surely knew this, turned himself to ash and died.

"If they have no intention of even making excuses, then so be it. To designate us as enemies after launching their own attack takes some nerve."

The duke's household was attacked, and Lady Anatia was nearly killed.

Some servants had become casualties too.

The duke, who must have been angrier than anyone, had still intended to avoid war, but to think the other side would slap that hand away.

"… However, enemies of God, is it? Perhaps this too is fate."

Duke Baroba said this as he picked up the broken crown that lay nearby.

It was something he had won at auction along with the Earth Elemental Stone.

It must have been a magnificent crown once.

But even to Yohane's eyes, its luster had already faded, and all he could tell was that it had once been a crown.

The crown seemed to hold some significance for Duke Baroba.

"Yohane. That girl entrusted you with the management of Luido, did she not?"

"Yes. Various things happened and I've been working to improve it… The fragment of Earth Elemental Stone you gave me has been quite useful."

"You used it in Luido? Then even if war comes, we need not worry about the Kingdom's food supply."

That girl… he means Princess Tianis.

Will there really be a war?

"Don't look so worried. War won't come immediately. However, coming and going from Alsarm will become difficult. It's a good thing I had Anatia evacuated as a precaution."

"The royal castle is the safest place in the Kingdom, after all."

"Indeed. From what I've investigated, they seemed strangely fixated on capturing her, so it's better to have fewer worries for the future. Oh, about those items from the inventory…"

Did he think he was too generous after all?

I tried not to let it show on my face as I reached into my pocket to retrieve the inventory list.

A merchant must always wear a smile, no matter the circumstance.

"I have no intention of asking for them back now. But it is a lot, that's true. Anatia seems to have opened her heart to you people, so please show your face to her from time to time. Help her if she's in trouble. I trust you understand, but of course, keep your hands to yourself."

"Understood. I am well aware."

Hmm, so those treasures came with strings attached after all.

Well, this much is unavoidable.

After all, being around Princess Tianis means I have many opportunities to meet Lady Anatia anyway.

Requests would have come up even without being asked.

Thinking of it that way, it's practically free.

Converting that amount at auction or in Kassad would be difficult anyway, so maybe I should exchange it in the Royal Capital before returning to Kassad.

"I trust you understand, but you must never speak of this to anyone. I do not wish to punish the one who saved my daughter."

"I promise. Discretion is a merchant's trust itself."

From here on, this is a matter between the duke and the nation.

I left the duke's residence.

Come to think of it, the duke wasn't wearing the Anti-Magic Orb.

Perhaps he had given it to Lady Anatia, whom he cherishes so much.

When I arrived at the inn, I collapsed face-first onto the bed.

When I thought about finally being able to rest, exhaustion washed over me all at once and I didn't want to move a single step.

It seemed everyone felt the same way, and though the sun was still up, we fell into a deep sleep.

—-The light outside the window was bright.

I woke up to intense light streaming through the window.

I thought I had slept for a whole day, but something felt off.

Strong light streamed through the window, yet the parts of the room far from the window were so dark I couldn't see through them.

This shouldn't happen if it were morning.

Curious, I opened the window shade and looked outside.

"What the hell is this?"

Shooting stars were streaming across the completely dark sky.

No, that's wrong. Those aren't stars.

"Move!"

Alexia pushed me aside and leaned out the window.

"This is terrible… Those are all spells."

"Spells? Those are?"

That's impossible.

The number was enough to cover the sky.

The direction the spells were heading was probably toward the Royal Capital.

"Hey, what's going on?"

Finn came over with Azu.

People from the city were starting to come out to see what was happening too.

"The portal to the Royal Capital is still open, right?"

"Y-yeah. It should be."

Alsarm and the Royal Capital had heavy traffic of goods, so the portal was connected twenty-four hours a day.

It should be usable even in the middle of the night.

"The target of those spells is the Royal Capital. I think it's some kind of ritual magic. If you're going to move, you'd better hurry."

"Got it."

This was no situation for going back to sleep.

We hastily gathered our belongings and left the inn.

Staying here was also an option.

It would be much safer.

But I felt I would regret it if I didn't go now.

Perhaps it was because the duke had asked me to look after Lady Anatia.

When we went to the portal, soldiers had gathered there.

Perhaps they were confirming the anomaly in the sky.

When we spoke to them, apparently restrictions on use were already in place.

However, there happened to be someone among the soldiers I had met at the duke's residence, so fortunately we were allowed to use it.

We used the portal and moved to the Royal Capital.

The first thing I saw upon arriving in the Royal Capital was a massive number of meteors heading our way.

The barrier spread throughout the Royal Capital blocked them.

Most were blocked.

However, the number of shooting stars raining down was too great, and some broke through the barrier and fell.

One fell on the portal too, and though we hurriedly dodged, the portal was partially damaged and became unusable.

That wasn't all.

I saw a large meteor fall onto the royal castle.