novelxo
Chapter 153: Requiem (1)
When Mira landed in a corner of the garden, she was quickly surrounded by many influential people. They began asking her questions, including what kind of ties she had with the Spirit King. Apparently they had started discussing the announcement broadcasted earlier during the day, and now they wanted more details. She could see Jack Grave, Eleonora, Sero, and other adventurers were also surrounded in a similar manner.
「The Spirit King’s Divine Protection?! That’s basically the same as the old Hero King Forsythia!」
「Magnificent, a hero has been reborn. Say, how are your finances? If you want I can sponsor you.」
「Hold that thought, Miss Katina. Cutting in line isn’t very polite.」
「Exactly, everyone should have a fair chance at negotiating such matters.」
When Mira briefly explained her connection to the Spirit God, a war of words broke out around her. Mira was the second person in the continent’s history to inherit the Spirit King’s Divine Protection. The influential people there wanted to be on the good side of someone so powerful, fighting for that spot.
Eventually that discussion became so heated that they only argued with each other while leaving Mira out of the conversation, so she sharpened her senses and silently scurried away without anyone noticing.
「You were quite popular down there, Grandpa.」 contemporary romance
「Hmph, there’s no need to joke about that. You should be well aware of my distaste for such situations.」
Mira went to the second floor of the party hall. There were mostly Fifty Bells members and spirits celebrating the victory there. The first floor was mainly a showcase of the main heroes who had fought against Chimera Clauzen. The stairwell leading to the second floor was past an atrium, which was mainly for a more private reunion of spirits and other people who had worked hard behind the scenes.
「Also, shouldn’t you be downstairs too? Alioth seemed rather busy on his own there.」
While Mira fled to the second floor, she saw a very lively crowd in one corner of the first floor. Alioth was in the center of it. He was there as the leader of the main forces that took down Chimera Clauzen, rather than a representative of the Fifty Bells.
The Prime Minister and other important politicians were around him, with even more influential people joining in. Alioth looked extremely busy entertaining all of them.
「Mm? Ah, nahh, he’s fine. I’m planning on having Alioth take the mantle from now on after all.」
Kagura answered as she emptied her glass, speaking like that was the most common thing in the world. She narrowed her eyes slightly and began talking about the future of the Fifty Bells.
First, the undercover Fifty Bells’ members would be the main forces hunting down the remnants of Chimera Clauzen.
Once that was accomplished, they would focus on dampening the effects of Chimera Clauzen’s disappearance. Once that reached a level that could be managed by the Unions, they would demilitarize the group, and dissolve the platoons. They would merge back into the charitable organization everyone saw the Fifty Bells as. Alioth was going to succeed Kagura as its leader as well.
Alioth was also going to be in charge of dealing with the Three Heads that had been controlling Sentopolly from behind the curtain.
That was Chimera Clauzen’s method of operation here. First building Sentopolly under the guise of an anonymous noble, then coming in as a charitable noble to support the country and exert control over it, without anyone knowing that they were the same people.
「In a way the entire country became part of the spoils of war then.」
「At first I thought the current Prime Minister could keep taking care of the country, but I prodded around his mind with my Art for a bit, and it seems his trust in the anonymous noble sponsor was quite strong. I feel like he could go insane if I told him that sponsor was actually Chimera. That’s why we’re thinking of taking over for him, and take care of things until a more reliable candidate shows up.」
Kagura sounded slightly disappointed as she sighed saying that. On top of that, the region Sentopolly was built on had only become habitable after Chimera Clauzen pumped spiritual energy into it, so now that they were gone, that lifeline was gone as well. So it would only take a few days for issues to arise.
The Fifty Bells’ undercover troops were also going to be needed to take care of the disturbances caused by that. At the same time, the spirits in the Fifty Bells would help maintain the land so the change happened more gradually. Some of them felt convinced the Spirit King had granted them power for that specific purpose.
While Chimera Clauzen had built Sentopolly, the people living there had committed no sin. That was the conclusion of the spirits.
「Their generosity truly is immeasurable.」
「Yeah, it really is.」
Mira and Kagura spoke almost in whispers as they looked at the spirits celebrating on the second floor. They did not generalize humans in one way or another, but instead saw everyone as an individual person each.
Usually warriors were unable to see spirits. But if the spirits deemed someone as worthy enough, it was possible for them to see spirits. All the warriors in the Fifty Bells had been recognized by the spirits, so they could see them. In a way, that also showed how trustworthy the Fifty Bells was as an organization.
Kagura and Mira were truly thankful that spirits remained as humanity’s friendly neighbors, even when Chimera Clauzen had threatened their safety.
「And that’s that, so just please wait for me a little longer, okay Grandpa?」
「Well, as long as you come back soon enough that’s okay.」
Kagura was going to remain as the commander of the undercover troops until they would demilitarize, then Alioth would take full control of all aspects of the organization, and Kagura would return to Arkite as promised. Mira did not mind as long as she kept her word on returning, so she was okay with waiting for longer.
Either way, she had finally found one more Wiseman.
「That’s still just one though…」
There was still a long way to go, thought Mira with a sigh, and looked at the party on the second floor again. Other than spirits, there were many other people she had not seen before. Though some of them looked familiar from her visit to the Fifty Bells’ headquarters.
Watching the party continue, Mira remembered something.
「By the way, did Sasori and Hebi not come here?」
Those two had been working in Roseline to take down the Melville Trading Corporation, which was one of Chimera Clauzen’s main supporters. Mira had worked with them for some time too, but she could not see them in the party.
「Those two, or well, all of the Hidden are gathered in Roseline now. Considering Melville was tied to Chimera, it’s easy to conclude Roseline is also overrun by stray Chimera members, and once the news reaches them they’ll all get on the move.」
Saying that, Kagura went into a bit more detail about the situation in Roseline.
According to Sasori and Hebi’s latest reports, the authority of the international trade minister and the mighty holy knights made most of the corporation surrender, and many groups of people involved with Melville’s shady deals were arrested one after another. Sasori and the Hidden decided to leave the main work to the church, and instead focused on those that attempted to resist or escape in secret, watching over every street in the city for anyone suspicious.
「Still, today was a day worth celebrating. I heard Eabates also organized a party there. Apparently they’re taking turns between watching the streets and celebrating. I even got a desperate message from Sasori asking for help since Hebi drank too much earlier. Once she gets drunk, that girl becomes a kissing demon.」
「Ohh, I see. It sounds like they’re having a good time there too then.」
The owner of the Eabates Trading Corporation, Ulysses Teles Eabates, had essentially secured his position as the next ruler of Roseline. He had organized a party to celebrate that and the downfall of Chimera Clauzen, which was gaudy enough to rival the one organized by the Prime Minister in Sentopolly.
「Hmm… A kissing demon, hmhmhmmm…」
Mira had fought alongside Sasori and Hebi in the past. Now she was fantasizing a steamy scene between those two as she shamelessly served herself a pile of food.
The party slowly became less noisy, though it remained lively, and everyone eventually had met everyone else. Mira remained on the second floor, escaping the incessant pursuit of influential people. She held a glass in one hand as she watched what happened on the first floor from next to the stairs.
It seemed that many adventurers had managed to sign contracts with various influential people.