—The War Between the Empire and the Holy Nation/Blue Waters Federation—
I heard Sumire's words, but for a moment, my mind couldn't process them.
"The Emperor started a war of aggression…? No, but he's not someone so short-sighted… And besides, Airi, the next in line for the throne, would've strongly opposed any war… Why?" (Eugene)
I muttered in a rush without thinking.
We were friendly enough to send reinforcements to each other in the battles against the Great Demonic Beasts at the very least.
So what happened…?
"Sumire. Eugene's like Urashima Taro, so you need to explain the past three years to him properly." (Eri)
"You're right. If I don't explain everything step by step, it'll just confuse him." (Sumire)
(Urashima Taro? …Who the heck is that?) (Eugene)
Eri and Sumire apparently knew the guy.
But I don't remember anyone by that name at the academy.
Well, now's not the time to worry about that.
"Have some water. This will be a long story." (Eri)
Eri spoke considerately.
In my memory, Eri only ever acted like this when things were truly serious.
"Alright, I'll explain… You might be shocked, Eugy-kun, but…" (Sumire)
Sumire looked into my eyes and hesitated.
(So it's not "don't be shocked"… It's a certainty I will be.) (Eugene)
I braced myself, wondering what kind of shocking truth was coming.
But it was no use.
My mind went completely blank with Sumire's next words.
"One year ago… The previous Emperor was assassinated, and Airi-chan became the new Empress. So it was Airi-chan who ordered the war…" (Sumire)
Sumire said it with great difficulty.
I was left speechless.
◇◇
"I…more or less understand the major events from the past three years." (Eugene)
After hearing the explanation from Sumire, I drank down a glass of water to calm myself.
(…Even after hearing it, I still can't believe it.) (Eugene)
If Sumire and Eri had laughed and said, "Just kidding☆ Did you really believe that?" I probably would've gone along with it.
But judging by their expressions, I understood that everything was true.
Here's what happened:
One of the biggest events in the past three years was the resurrection of the Great Demon Lord on the North Continent.
And then, the Light Hero from the West Continent defeated the Great Demon Lord.
Up until then, the nations of the South Continent had maintained cooperative relations.
In other words, the world situation was as I knew it.
What changed was shortly after the Great Demon Lord was defeated.
The previous Emperor declared a major development project in the Chryse Plains.
The Chryse Plains, while within imperial territory, had long been untouched due to the sealing of the Great Demonic Beast Haagenti.
No people lived in Haagenti's territory, and only small villages and border forts dotted the surrounding area.
With the Great Demonic Beast gone, the development project made sense as a move to advance the Empire.
However, the problem lay with the villagers around the beast's territory.
Due to their distance from the capital and the proximity to the beast's domain, their trade was more closely tied with merchants from the Holy Union.
In those villages, priests of the Goddess Church resided permanently, healing injuries and illnesses.
The Empire allowed religious freedom, so that in itself wasn't a problem.
But when the development of the Chryse Plains was ordered, the villagers began relocating en masse to the Holy Nation.
Defecting abroad is considered an illegal act under imperial law.
That said, a few border villagers relocating was nothing out of the ordinary.
However, when most of the village populations moved to the Holy Nation of Caldia, it significantly impacted the development project…and the news reached the Emperor.
Furious, the Emperor ordered the arrest of the fleeing villagers and forced them to convert.
All churches that worshiped the Destiny Goddess were forcibly changed into churches of the Sun Goddess -the Empire's main faith.
This in turn triggered a backlash from the Holy Nation.
Rumors spread that one of the Eight Holy Maidens of the Holy Nation said, "So much for the Empire's proclaimed religious freedom. The Holy Nation will not abandon our fellow believers in the Destiny Goddess."
Tensions rose between the Empire and the Holy Union, and the Emperor ordered the construction of fortresses with what could only be described as excessive military presence along the border with the Holy Union.
Simultaneously, the Holy Union began expanding its Holy Knight Order border forts.
These were originally forts to monitor Haagenti, sealed within imperial lands.
Ironically, it was after the beast vanished that they began reinforcing their presence.
Tensions ran high for a time, but it hadn't yet escalated to war.
However, people continued to flee abroad.
And the border standoff between the Empire and the Holy Union persisted.
The incident that set everything off occurred when the former Emperor visited one of the remote villages.
During a banquet held in his honor, poison was placed in the food.
The poison wasn't normally lethal, but the Emperor had been poisoned with the same substance in the past, and it left his body hypersensitive to it. As a result, the poison overwhelmed him and caused his sudden death.
The culprit was a priest of the Goddess Church.
They were also the imperial food taster.
And the Empire announced that "the masterminds behind this were the Eight Holy Maidens of the Holy Nation."
Of course, the Holy Nation denied it.
But within the Empire, cries for revenge for the late Emperor surged, and the young Empress Airi could not ignore them.
The Blue Waters Federation tried to mediate to avoid war, but the Empire declared war on the Holy Nation.
And the Holy Nation declared war in return.
That was about a year ago.
The war is still ongoing.
"…Sigh."
I drank more water and calmed down a little.
It was all hard to believe, but I could understand it.
Now, there was one last thing I wanted to ask.
"Sumire, about Pops…" (Eugene)
Pops had been both sword and shield to the previous Emperor.
If his lord was assassinated…
"About Eugy-kun's dad, we didn't get much info all the way here in the Dungeon City. But rumors say that after capturing the one who poisoned the Emperor, he disappeared…" (Sumire)
Sumire told me with a grim expression.
"…I see. Got it." (Eugene)
He most likely went off in search of the one who ordered the assassination.
There's no way Pops would leave his lord's revenge to someone else.
"Eugene, are you okay?" (Eri)
"Eugy-kun, you look pale." (Sumire)
Eri and Sumire looked at me worriedly.
I must've had a terrible expression on my face.
"Sorry, I'm stepping out for a bit. I'll be back." (Eugene)
I said to them.
"Huh!? Then I'll go with—" (Sumire)
"Sumire. Let him be alone for now." (Eri)
Eri stopped Sumire from following me.
I appreciate the concern, but I really want to be alone.
I couldn't take Sumire with me to where I was headed.
I forced a smile at the still-worried Sumire, and left the 7th Sealed Prison.
Behind the familiar Lykeion Magic Academy, most of the buildings had been razed, leaving almost nothing.
Buildings of the Dungeon City lined up further back, but there seemed to be fewer than before.
(…It's changed…) (Eugene)
Three years bring a lot of change.
Sumire told me that the population greatly decreased since the Zenith Tower was sealed.
I walked through the former training grounds of the Lykeion Magic Academy with mixed feelings.
Beyond the training grounds lay a small forest where medicinal herbs for potions were cultivated and the animal club kept livestock.
But now it was untended and overgrown.
(…This way, I think.) (Eugene)
As I made my way through the forest, a small, lonely building came into view.
It was a chapel of the Goddess Church.
It has always been unmanned and poorly maintained, and now it was visibly falling apart.
Probably no one visited it anymore.
I opened the door.
*…Creeeaaak…*
The hinges groaned.
It was dusty inside.
Not expecting anyone to come, I cast a [Lock] spell just in case.
At the back of the small chapel stood a statue of the Destiny Goddess.
I placed several magic crystals before it.
They were ones I obtained from the Zenith Tower.
They would probably fetch several million G if sold, but…there was something more important.
——XXXXXX, XXXXX Hallelujah, light of the Lord
——XXXXXX, XXXXX Guide us on this dark path…
——XXXXXX, XXXXX…
I chanted in the Angel Language of the Divine Realm, which I learned over the past three years.
I was taught the Angel Language by Anemoi, the Dungeon Master.
Apparently, periodic reports to the Divine Realm must be conducted in this language.
I never thought it would come in handy so soon.
The narrow chapel began to fill with light before long.
The magic stones arranged before the statue of the goddess slowly began to melt.
I successfully established communication with the Divine Realm.
The light took the shape of a human.
A small figure with tiny glowing wings on its back.
I only casted the spell hoping to hear a voice, but the person herself had apparently come.
"Mother." (Eugene)
I called out to my mother.
"...Eugene, I've missed you." (Laila)
It's been a long time since I last saw her, and she smiled gently…but with a hint of sorrow.