Chapter 13: The Undercurrent of Unrest within the Italian Magic Associations
After arriving at the dining hall, Shirou first dismissed the servants standing by, ordering them to attend to other tasks. He did not like people staring at him while he ate.
"Hmm, the taste is quite good."
Shirou used his knife and fork to sample the high-quality, tender steak. Seasoned with Italian Alba truffles, he thoroughly enjoyed the culinary delight on the tip of his tongue. Then, looking at the other delicacies spread across the table, Shirou frowned slightly.
"Karen, you sit down and eat as well."
"Eh?"
The maid, hearing Shirou's words, was momentarily stunned. She hadn't expected the "King" to suddenly ask her to dine with him. For her, serving a "King" required the utmost caution and prudence, for he was a Devil King who possessed divine authority and ruled over all things on earth. She had to constantly speculate on the King's mood; even the slightest dissatisfaction could lead to unimaginable punishment.
While the maid fell into a state of panic over his casual remark, Shirou looked at her with some confusion.
"What's wrong?"
"Ah... N-nothing!"
Caught by Shirou's gaze, Karen was startled. She hurriedly pulled out a chair and sat upright.
"The texture of this steak is quite excellent," Shirou remarked as he tasted it, offering praise.
"As long as you like it, my King."
Karen maintained a stiff, formal posture, carefully picking up her utensils to begin eating. Her fearful demeanor left Shirou somewhat speechless. Watching the maid steal occasional glances at him while she ate, Shirou suddenly remembered something.
"By the way, why haven't I seen Sir Liliana?"
"That... Miss Liliana said there is an important meeting at the 'Whelp' headquarters today. It might take a while, and she won't be back until the afternoon."
Hearing Karen's answer, Shirou speared another piece of beef, put it in his mouth to chew, and narrowed his eyes, murmuring in a slightly muffled voice.
"..."
Because she didn't know what the King was thinking, Karen vaguely felt that the situation seemed a bit bad. Terrified, she didn't know what to do. If Liliana were here, she would surely be able to provide a solution, but in this situation, Karen felt incredibly uneasy.
"You don't need to be so nervous, Karen," Shirou said, finding the maid's apprehensive look a bit amusing. "You haven't done anything wrong."
Even though the King said so, the young girl still maintained a tense expression. Shifting her mindset from facing a Devil King seemed not to be that easy. The maid's eyelashes trembled slightly—a manifestation of the instinctive fear brought by the pressure of the "Godslayer's" aura, which was entirely different from that of a mortal.
From the moment a human slays a god, those who usurp divine authority are set apart from common men. Seeing the maid's trembling state, Shirou let out a light chuckle and withdrew his gaze. Instantly, the girl felt the pressure weighing on her diminish significantly, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
Shirou placed his utensils on the table, wiped his mouth with a napkin, stood up, and walked directly toward the villa's entrance.
"Prepare the car. We're going to the 'Whelp' headquarters to see what those old fogies are plotting behind my back."
.
.
.
At this moment, a tense meeting was taking place at the "Whelp" headquarters.
In a magnificently decorated living room, a massive round table occupied most of the space. Seated in the chairs surrounding this table were seven people in total.
Paolo Blandelli, the Grand Master of the magic association [Copper Black Cross], and Diana Milito of [Bronze Black Cross]—long-time rivals—were gathered here. Normally, as opposing camps, they shouldn't have sat down for a peaceful talk, but facing a Devil King who possessed divine authority far beyond the reach of any magus, they could only set aside their hostility for the time being.
Naturally, the Grand Masters of other magic associations were also present: the heads of [Old Lady] and [Whelp]. The last one was the young Grand Master of [Lily City] (Lilium), who was not even thirty years old. He had abandoned his real name to inherit the title held by every generation's leader of his association—the Purple Knight.
Two magic associations were missing because they were currently in a period of upheaval and had not yet elected a Grand Master.
The five who had arrived, members of the Italian "Seven Sisters" alliance, were gathered here because a Devil King had come to Italy. They were holding a meeting regarding the Seventh Godslayer.
Besides the Grand Masters seated around the table, two others were participating in this alliance meeting.
First was the girl with long golden hair, Erica Blandelli. Since ancient times, many magi had appeared in the world—despicable fraudsters and great mentors alike. "Knights" were those who studied both the skills of the blade and magic. Erica was a descendant of the [Temple Knights] who had once dominated the Middle Ages, practitioners who followed the Son of God and the demon Baphomet. Although she was only fourteen this year, she was one of the youngest witches here, having already reached the rank of Great Knight and earned the title of "Crimson Devil."
The other person was on equal footing with Erica: Liliana Kranjcar, also fourteen. A girl with silver-white hair tied in a ponytail; though she was not skilled in political negotiation, she was Erica's equal in all other aspects. Liliana could use European "Witchcraft" and possessed the bloodline of a shrine maiden. She had combat capabilities on par with Erica and held the title of "Sword Fairy."
Ordinarily, at their age, they would not be qualified to participate in a meeting of Grand Masters. However, Erica was backed by the legendary Paolo Blandelli, and Liliana was a knight who had directly sworn loyalty to the new King. Thus, no one objected to their presence.
"Since everyone is here, let us begin the meeting quickly. We cannot let that new King become dissatisfied with us," Trinid, the Grand Master of [Old Lady], spoke first.
Following his statement, the Grand Master of [Lily City] looked toward Diana Milito of [Bronze Black Cross], his words sharp.
"Everyone, I believe the purpose of this meeting is very clear. This new King is currently very close to [Bronze Black Cross]. It seems he has already accepted your loyalty. Therefore, I hope you can share information about this Devil King. This concerns whether our 'Seven Sisters' alliance can continue to cooperate in the future."
Hearing the confrontational words from the head of [Lily City], Diana Milito could not help but let out a bitter smile.
"Thanks to Lily's help, our [Bronze Black Cross] has indeed successfully gained the favor of this new King. But in reality, we have very little information regarding him. All we know currently is his name and that the god he slew was the 'Black Dragon' Nidhogg from Norse mythology, the one who gnaws at the roots of the World Tree."
Saying this, Diana Milito sighed.
"As for other information about this King, we have no clues up to this point. We have no idea where he even came from."
Upon hearing Diana's answer, the other Grand Masters showed expressions of astonishment. The head of [Whelp] spoke up aggressively.
"How is that possible!? No matter how powerful that new King is, he couldn't have completely erased every trace of his existence in this world! You, [Bronze Black Cross], must be intentionally withholding information to curry favor with the King!"
Diana Milito immediately retorted, "That is a baseless slander! I have not hidden any intelligence; I have truthfully told you all everything we know!"
After saying this, her next sentence seemed calm but felt full of ruthlessness.
"We, [Bronze Black Cross], have already pledged loyalty to a King. If we truly intended to act against you, we wouldn't have needed to attend this meeting at all."
"..." Everyone fell silent.
It was true. Currently, among the Italian magic associations, only Milan's [Bronze Black Cross] had secured the King's protection. They didn't even need to acknowledge the invitation to this meeting, yet Diana Milito had come as promised. This indicated that [Bronze Black Cross] still wished to maintain its alliance with the other associations in Italy.
Just as the Grand Masters fell into silence, Paolo Blandelli of the [Copper Black Cross] unexpectedly spoke up to diffuse the situation for Diana.
"I have had multiple contacts with the Devil King of England, the 'Black Prince,' and I have seen with my own eyes how powerful a 'Heretic God' is. Even with my strength, when facing a Heretic God, I feel like an ant, completely unable to muster the thought of resistance. Therefore, I believe [Bronze Black Cross] is indeed not hiding anything from us."
The [Bronze Black Cross] and [Copper Black Cross] had always been rivals; this was common knowledge to all the other leaders. Seeing Paolo Blandelli defend Diana Milito was a peculiar sight that made the others look at each other in surprise.
Paolo continued, "I am not speaking up for the sake of [Bronze Black Cross]. I am merely stating a fact."
The other Grand Masters turned their gazes toward him. Facing their eyes, Paolo Blandelli spoke in a heavy tone.
"Those who can slay gods were never powerful magi to begin with. They are incomprehensible existences that we can never hope to reach."