Chapter 276. The end of the saintess (5) + The war is over… (1)
“…If I were in Dragon’s position, I don’t think I’d ever appear in front of my sister again…? I still care, so I’ll order an investigation.”
When Asha and Seina heard us having this conversation, they laughed bitterly as if they couldn’t stop it.
“Ahahahaha… For us, just surviving is pretty cool.”
“I agree with Asha. Both of you think on a different scale than we do.”
They had ordinary sensibilities, and they didn’t want to meet the dragon again.
Is once in a lifetime enough?
In the meantime, I wondered if I could feel the presence of a teleport outside, and then Dia returned.
“great job.”
“….sorry.”
Apologize as soon as you see it.
Probably because I missed the saintess.
I said it was okay to come back right away, but Diajam said he would search a little more and went out quite far.
I was wondering what to do if I noticed the place where I and that girl fought, but it seems that I didn’t notice because the space isolation magic was still in effect.
She was still far away.
Dia, who didn’t know what I was thinking, just lowered her head as if she had no face.
“We have not been able to find the whereabouts of the saintess.”
“are you okay. After all, at the point of escaping from there, the saintess ends there.
No matter where you fled, you will never be able to exert your influence within the Holy Kingdom again.”
In fact, since he died there, there is no further back-and-forth.
Even more troubling things have been confirmed, but that’s none of her business.
“Everybody did a good job. Thanks to you, the battle ended safely.”
When I praised them like this, everyone let out a sigh of relief.
“Arel? I am? I am?”
Like Pena approached, she waited for me to say something, as if demanding a compliment.
“???? Dia.”
” yes.”
Upon command, Dia approached Pena holding a new magic crystal for recharging magic power.
“huh? Arel? sleep!”
Her words did not follow through.
Dia teleported to take Pena to the Empire.
First of all, I have an appointment with the Empire, so when the business is over, I have to return home as soon as possible.
It is disrespectful to hold a young lady in such a shabby place for a long time.
“…I feel sympathy for Her Highness, the princess, at least this time.”
“Arel. Are there any problems now? It’s going to be a headache later.”
“huh? why? are you okay? No problem.”
let me tell you
Isn’t everyone here looking at someone with pity?
“How are you? Wouldn’t it be nice to keep Pena in a place like this for a long time anyway?”
I shrugged my shoulders and evaded it moderately.
“Anyway, everyone did well. The same goes for Asha Seina, including her sister. So now everyone go back to rest.”
“It is still far. We haven’t even formally entered the end-of-war process yet.”
Pretending to surrender while being stabbed in the back is a common tactic, so you can’t be relieved until the end.
Asha insisted, but I shook my head.
This time, it can’t be any more.
“No, it’s over.”
Okay.
Anyway, now the war is practically over.
Seongguk won’t have the strength to fight anymore.
The war is over… (1) The next day after the flag of surrender is raised at Fort Caylan.
A letter was sent from the commander of the fortress announcing formal surrender.
I decided to accept it.
In fact, it is our side’s freedom to accept surrender or not.
However, there is no reason to hesitate to surrender.
There’s no reason to bully even the little ones.
As we headed towards the fortress, the gates were already open.
Even if it was a surrender, the possibility that it was false could not be discarded, so the advance party went into the fortress and went through the preliminary procedures.
From what I heard, there was no sign of rebellion.
However, there is no advantage to doing so.
After entering the castle gate with the escorts, I peeked around.
‘Everyone seems to be in a state of collapse.’
Because I was told not to suppress it roughly, the soldiers of the Seongguk watched devastatedly as I entered under the surveillance of our soldiers after disarming.
However, rather than resentment toward me, I feel only futility.
It was because the saintess had run away.
They fought only because they believed only in the saintess and that she was innocent.
However, since she futilely escaped, the sense of loss would be indescribable.
I also have some sympathy for them.
But you don’t have to say it.
All I have to do now is walk around the fort confidently.
Now that they have surrendered, it is necessary to intimidate them.
After a short walk, the commanders of the Holy Kingdom who had been waiting for me were waiting on their knees with their weapons all disarmed under the watchful eye of our soldiers.
“Are you the commander of this place?”
“My name is Gierence, Commander-in-Chief of Caylan Fortress. This means that everyone, including me, has signed the intention to surrender.”
Submit formal surrender documents.
After Asha received it instead, she confirmed that there was no problem and passed it on to me.
I checked the paperwork and nodded my head broadly.
“i get it. I will surely accept your willingness to surrender. As long as you don’t change your mind, we guarantee your safety.”
“…Thank you for your generous treatment.”
He lowered his head and muttered heavily.
That’s why I’m in a position to surrender, so I won’t feel comfortable.
I understand.
But it’s the price of following a fool, so there’s nothing you can do about it.
Shouldn’t we at least endure that much?
It was the time when I was going to leave the rest of the procedures to the other guys and go back to the original.
“There is something I would like to ask you without shame.”
Commander Gierence spoke to me as if he had something to say.
I raised my hand to stop the wary knights, saying it was okay, and looked back at him.
“what? You don’t have to worry about the treatment. I have strictly told you to treat them with respect as long as you do not rebel.”
“It’s not like that.”
“hmm? Let me tell you.”
“Yes… Your Highness, do you intend to advance to the Saints as is?”
“Umm, if it goes as planned, I think so.”
The saintess was gone, but the war hadn’t officially ended yet.
Instead, it is necessary to formally reach an agreement with someone else.
However, Seongguk has not yet contacted us.
Then you have to go to the saints.
“Come to think of it, if there is no saintess, who will be next in power? Unfortunately, I’m not sure what the ranks of the High Priests are. Do you have an agent?”
“That… that.”
His senses were strange.
hesitate to answer something
“what?”
“Actually… that would probably be difficult.”
“…Let me elaborate.”
When the Ernesia Kingdom army arrived at the castle, the door to the castle was already open.
I ordered the army to be stationed outside, but not to provoke anything, and once again entered Chengdu with a minimal escort.
There was no resistance from anyone until they reached the palace.
When we arrived at the castle palace and waited for a while, a senior priest who clearly looked tired came out and greeted us.
The face is familiar.
This is the same priest who received a little present from me before and helped me a bit at the conference.
“…I didn’t know that you would be the representative of the Holy Kingdom.”
“I didn’t expect it to be like this either.”
High Priest Celius.
This is the old man who betrayed the saintess after taking money from me in the last meeting.
And now, he is the only surviving high-ranking priest.
Why is he welcoming me here? The reason was extremely simple.
“I never thought that the saintess would have purged all the other high-ranking priests…
“She must have been insane.”
“I agree with that too.”
Originally, Kellius should have gone into hiding with enough money from me.
But, of course, the situation now.
A situation occurred where all other high-ranking priests were purged and there was no leader of the Holy Kingdom left.
I was also embarrassed.
If you want to end the war, you need to get a formal surrender document from anyone, but who do you want to get it from?
When I heard the story from the commander there at Fort Kaylon, I was dumbfounded.
But if you leave it to the local nobility, which local nobility will be good?
All you have to do is surrender and prostrate yourself.
In the end, Kelius had to return instead.
To be exact, I forcibly found it and brought it.
He was hiding in a hiding place and how funny he was when I showed up with Dia.
At first, he thought he was trying to get rid of him, so he cried and begged.
However, after hearing the circumstances, he put on a serious expression on his face and obediently asked me to take him to the Chengdu.
So I secretly teleported them before officially entering the city.
Now, he is working as a temporary representative after undergoing a training session.
“For now, keep the fact that you ran away a secret. I’ll keep it a secret too.”
“…I don’t think it has to be.”
“Well, no one will raise an issue now.”
Those high priests are all dead.
How dumbfounded I was at first to hear from the Commander of Fort Caylan that there wouldn’t be any High Priests left alive.
Apparently, the saintess didn’t even doubt that she would be defeated.
Since it was like this, Kelius was also aware of the seriousness of the situation.
There is no one to fix it.
No, there is no one who can properly control the Holy Kingdom in the first place.
If left unattended, there will be no turning back.
Realizing its importance, Kellius chose to return at the risk of shame.
Even though he was blinded by money and ate it, he must have had at least a conscience.
The reason he betrayed the saintess originally was because he didn’t like her war intentions.
….well, it must be a very small rat tail.
“First is the surrender document.”
“Yes, I got it.”
He carefully held out the document on the table.
I declared that I had received it without fail.
“The Zelnian Holy Kingdom will admit all its sins and surrender to Ernesia Kingdom.”
“I will take responsibility and give it to His Majesty. Clearly received.”
hmm…. I got it, but something is more futile than I thought.
I didn’t like war from the beginning, but it still lacks something.
Well, that would be war.
Afterwards, the detailed agreement will be handled by Jeil Hyung-nim, not by me.
However, since the cause of the war is the cause, we will not hold excessive responsibility like in the previous war.
If the Holy Kingdom is completely ruined, I will be in trouble too.
Because the purpose was to end only the saintess in the first place.
“But after all, aren’t you going to be in charge of politics?”
Well, come to think of it, then will the author eventually become the next successor?
Politics cannot be done alone, so even if talented people are brought in from the provinces, in the end, he must lead the country.
“Can I say congratulations in advance?”
When I asked him, he had a very complex expression on his face.
I guess I’m not happy at all.
I guess so.
I am not happy either.
“Well, I’ll tell His Majesty well so that the Holy Kingdom doesn’t collapse, so cheer up.”
“Please, please.”
He bowed his head as if in sincere request.
It’s kind of pitiful.
Shit was cheap for another year, but didn’t it end up like a traitor having to clean it up?
His sales are also really good.
