Volume 10, Chapter 250: Puppets and Warriors
「Well then, the emblem of the Heraldic Order has finally arrived. I want to welcome you as much as possible.」
Stating these words, Roseau, whose voice echoed high from above the gate of Philos, relaxed his eyes. Roseau’s words were pretty smooth.
Indeed, he was a man whose tongue professed wonderful words. The more he opened his lips, the more the words came out in his head naturally. His appearance by kneading the words looked really proud and dignified.
「…Lord Roseau. I would like you to tell me why you’re doing such an act. 」
Largud Ann opened her mouth to engage with Roseau.
Perhaps, it was a waste time to speak now. Engaging with the enemy was not much better than fighting the enemy. Time did not stop as well, delaying the inevitable.
The gate of the city of Philos was located in a plain area, and if we made a little fuss, there was a possibility that someone of the Heraldic Order would notice this situation. Of course, it was only a possibility. But, right now, we had to hold onto that sort of possibilities, right?
But as I stared at Ann, I was thinking about something completely different.
「I have no intention to engage with you. We are from the Great Holy Church and you are from the Heraldic religion. Even if some worries piled up in our hearts are similar, we are and never shall be compatible.」
In response to Roseau’s voice, the eyes of the city soldiers became more ferocious. It was as if Roseau’s voice was a fuel that ignited a fire.
In other words, he was the head and the city soldiers were the limbs. They were essentially just following the words of the head. There were practically no thoughts in their heads.
It was really easy to understand the surroundings. My lips were rippling.
「…Soldiers of the Heraldic religion, listen to me! Your fate has been exhausted. You are like a lion that is prepared to die after being seized.」
Roseau changed the target from Ann to our soldiers. He thought he wouldn’t be able to engage in a fruitful talk with Ann, a fanatic of Saint Matia, rather than the Heraldic religion itself. Rather, Roseau’s aim was our soldiers from the very beginning.
「Even if you escape this place, the one God will eventually shoot through your hearts and give divine punishment. Compare the number of the Great Holy Church soldiers and the Heraldic soldiers. No matter how hard you shake your hands and feet, you will surely die.」
His words were short but spoken with a certain power. At the end of my field of view, I could see the shoulders of the Heraldic soldiers bouncing.
He hit an open wound. Yes, what Roseau said was an indisputable fact.
Even though we once drove away the power of the Great Holy Church during the Sanyo Battle, the Heraldic Order still existed because a small portion of the Great Holy Church vanished. We were still worried about the other Great Holy Church’s breaths that were about to come.
Surely, it was not only Matia and Ann, but also most of the soldiers. If we continued to fight, we would certainly die. Our necks would be broken, our chests would be penetrated, our bellies would be split, and we would ultimately die.
Everyone was trying to keep their eyes away from that fact, and continued to fight with the emotions that were in their hearts, for example, for faith, for pride or for family.
「What do you say, Heraldic soldiers. The sacred priests are generous. You’re not immoral, just pagan. You’re just people who still don’t know the wonders of the Great Holy Church.」
Ahh, his purpose was to talk like that? I sighed while narrowing my eyes. He was a really easy-to-understand man.
「You were just being deceived by the devil Lugis and the witch! The one and only supreme god, Altius, will be pleased to welcome you…if you take that devil’s neck with your hands!」
After saying those words, Roseau looked straight to me. I could not read the expression of the man who professed such words on the gate clearly. Somehow, I was able to sense it.
I was sure he had the same expression as me now.
The soldiers let their eyes dwell with shaking, and they rang their teeth. Some expressions looked straight at me. I wondered if she understood what that meant, because Ann approached me immediately as if to protect me.
I was glad they were worried about my well being, Ann or the other girls such as Caria. I wondered if my existence was that important or dangerous if I must say. With a wry smile on my face, I threw the following words into the hollow.
「You’re quite good at speaking with that mouth of yours. If you used it well, you would even earn a place at the Royal Palace as a poet. That’s why it’s a sad thing to see someone like you doing a scammer’s job in this sort of place.」
I spoke lightly, a tone that well adapted to the ears. Moreover, I couldn’t stop my cheeks from trembling with excitement. That was quite funny, wasn’t it?
「I think you’re misunderstanding something here. We are not puppets who do not think about anything at all. We are warriors with a will.」
I shall crush that man’s evil to the fullest.
—
“However, what expression will the employer show me?” Bruder Geluah was shaking in the carriage and suddenly thought of such a thing in her head. A group of mercenaries walked along the stone-paved road with the resonating of the horses’ hooves.
She wrote that she would join the Heraldic religion with her sister Vestaline, and received a welcome letter from Largud Ann, who had served as a bridge. However, the name of her employer, Lugis, did not appear at all.
“Will he be pleased? Will he be surprised? Or will he have another reaction? I don’t know for sure.”
“But to show our faces after I said we’d be going to the countryside might cause him an unpleasant shock.” Bruder turned around her thoughts, chewing and holding a cigarette in her lips to find some good excuses for her sudden arrival.
“We’re coming because Vestaline said she wanted to repay Saint Matia. This is true, but it sounds like I am pressing everything on my sister. So how about I say that I was worried about the employer? No, it will be troublesome to accept such a thing.”
Bruder distorted her lips and twisted her neck while stirring the brain with plausible reasons. Bruder allowed herself to come even though she didn’t want to cooperate with the Heraldics.
“I clearly told my employer that I have a clear hostility against that silver-haired swordswoman. I even said that I would point my needle in her direction. Then, how can I easily take the hand of the Heraldic religion?”
“I don’t want the employer to think that I am a lowly person with a cheap mouth. But, how can I tell him my reasons?” Bruder put on the big hat with the fringes and put a chewing tobacco on her lips. The sensation that spread in her mouth was slight bittersweet.
This smoke didn’t feel delicious in any way. Bruder wondered why the employer liked this kind of thing. Bruder then raised her fist, throbbing with a sore throat.
Bruder sighed, as she continued to walk on her thoughts endlessly. No good thoughts came to mind.
The carriage stopped with a light vibration. Even the sound of the horses’ hooves, which slightly echoed throughout the journey, stopped.
“What is it? I’ve heard that the Heraldics are near the autonomous city of Philos. Then, we should be close but not quite there yet.”
Voices were heard in Bruder’s earlobes, which had just appeared from the hood of the carriage. It seemed that some random soldier and Vestaline were exchanging words.
「This should be the road where the previous King built extensively. There’s no reason to be stopped by anyone, much less a soldier like you.」
The roads that were drawn inside and around the Gharast Kingdom were built by the previous King of Architecture. Therefore, no one tried to occupy them or even block them. The King of Architecture did not allow such thing until the very last minute. The King even wrote a will to be carried on by future generations, because, after all, these roads were his legacy.
There was no human living around the Gharast Kingdom who would defy such legacy. So who in the world was blocking the road? Bruder thought so and squinted her eyes for a moment.
「Please, listen to what I have to say. Now we, Philos, are trying to defeat the great enemy of the Great Holy Church.」
Those words pierced the back of Bruder’s ears.