Chapter 490

After washing our bodies with warm water, we boarded the carriage again and headed toward Arvil.

Although the number of passengers had increased by two, since we had prepared a large carriage from the start, there was no particular inconvenience.

Rana sat on my lap, leaning her back against me while humming a tune. Nigel, upon learning that Seilon was my new escort knight, showed a disappointed expression and muttered that he needed to work harder.

Milia and Agnes engaged in a discussion about thirty different ways to slaughter beastmen, while Hersh sat in a corner, fiddling with a dagger.

Leonor, sitting by the window, twirled her tangled hair and reported to me and Lacey about the situation in the Holy City. It was quite shocking news.

“The Holy Sun Alliance and the Bølberg Church Order are clashing?”

“To be precise, they’re about to clash. While you were active in Arad, the Keres Church Order sent a unit to Nasiriya, which was annihilated in a surprise attack by the Bølberg Church Order. They’re now mobilizing to punish them…? Well, by now, they’re probably in full march.”

“I thought the Keres Church Order’s arrival was too delayed… So that’s what happened.”

Lacey sighed, pressing her forehead. Since news from the Holy City took time to reach Nasiriya, this was likely the first she’d heard of it.

I slightly opened the window and lit a cigarette.

The Keres Church Order, which constantly picked fights, and the suspicious, hostile Bølberg Church Order. Objectively speaking, it was a welcome development for the two orders to clash and weaken each other.

The problem was…

“The sound of the Holy Kingdom’s power being whittled away is audible even here. Seriously, do the people in this region have no hobbies other than waging civil wars? They’re all so desperate to kill each other.”

If the Bølberg Church Order won, things would get quite serious. Even if the Keres Church Order won, they would suffer significant losses.

This wasn’t an invasion war where victory would bring territory, people, and wealth pouring in. It was a civil war, literally a fight of cutting one’s own flesh to take the bone.

Even if the Bølberg Church Order were annihilated, all the Keres Church Order would gain was a city that was originally part of the Holy Kingdom’s territory and a mountain of corpses. Conversely, if the Bølberg Church Order won, the scale of the civil war would only grow larger.

“*Sigh*…”

The smoke from my sigh drifted out the window. Rana, nestled in my arms, leaned deeper against me as if to cheer me up.

“…Sir Median. Just in case, if you’re thinking of intervening, please don’t. It’s meaningless.”

“I know. It’s just… frustrating.”

I chuckled and flicked the cigarette ash out the window.

As Lacey said, there was nothing I could do there. The situation in Arad was fundamentally different.

The Keres Church Order, which framed me, and the Bølberg Church Order, which retaliated excessively. It was a clash where neither side could be called right.

Moreover, the Bølberg Church Order would rather fight me to the death than follow my words. Why? Because they believe that dying in battle against a strong enemy sends them to heaven. To the Heavenly Palace Knut spoke of.

The Bølberg guys had been hostile to me from the start due to Hersela’s past, and now that they’ve sent the entire Grimnir Church Order to God’s side… If I showed up, they’d definitely come at me with bloodshot eyes.

So, the only thing I could do was help the Keres Church Order annihilate the Bølberg Church Order. That was the only way to minimize the loss of power.

And that… wasn’t something worth doing while leaving the demons and cultists lurking just a stone’s throw away.

Right. What I needed to do now was head to Arvil and completely eradicate the cultists, including Belcus and Eljure. Nothing was more important than that.

What was the reason for preserving the Holy Kingdom’s power? Wasn’t it to fight demons and monsters? Leaving demons unattended while protecting the Church’s power was a completely backward move.

In the end, I decided not to intervene in the war between the Bølberg and Keres Church Orders. Since I had returned the Astraea Church Order’s forces intact, they would manage well enough without me.

—

After two more days of travel, as Arvil’s city walls came within a few hours’ distance, we stopped the carriage briefly to have an early lunch, replenish our energy, and prepare ourselves. We checked our weapons and armor, and loosened up muscles stiffened from the long journey.

Since we didn’t know what state Arvil was in, we had to make all preparations before entering.

“I never thought we’d be welcoming the New Year in the Holy Kingdom. This trip has turned out longer than expected.”

Nigel muttered as he trimmed his now-long hair.

Indeed, it had been the end of the year when we left Nasiriya, so the New Year had arrived. Though it didn’t feel real since we spent it in the carriage.

“True. I didn’t expect solving the Holy Kingdom’s problems to take this long.”

I chuckled, leaning my head against Hersh’s hand.

Fighting itself didn’t take long, but the time spent on non-combat matters was significant.

At this rate, by the time we finished everything and returned to the Empire, late winter would almost be over.

“At least the Ka`har are quieter in winter. That’s a relief.”

“Indeed. If it were autumn, we’d have to return to Berengeiria immediately.”

Nigel nodded.

According to Hersela, the Ka`har’s plundering stops in winter. As it gets colder and snow begins to fall, their mobility, their greatest advantage, becomes difficult to utilize.

So, when winter comes, they halt military actions, hole up in their settlements, and consume the goods they plundered in autumn and the grains harvested by the slaves they captured.

It was truly fortunate. Otherwise, Or-han’s invasion would have been several times faster.

—

Finally arriving in Arvil, the city was bustling with energy, so much so that it could be felt even beyond the city walls. As if it had nothing to do with heretics. The peaceful noise of daily life was everywhere.

At least, on the surface.

“…There’s no one guarding the city gate.”

Seilon stiffened his expression, glaring at the wide-open gates of Arvil. The rest of the group also didn’t hide their suspicious glances.

In any city in the world, guards are stationed at the gates to check the identities of entrants and inspect for dangerous items. Even small villages post guards to watch travelers, let alone a major city like this.

The fact that there were none meant…

“…It’s like they’re openly inviting us in. What do you think?”

“It might be a trap. If it were me, I’d choose a different entry point.”

“With the lady and Sir Seilon here, we could handle most traps… But it wouldn’t hurt to be cautious.”

Nigel and Leonor expressed strong wariness. Like true knights, they suggested choosing a different path rather than walking into the enemy’s trap.

“If they’ve set a trap at the gate… The entire city might already be occupied by heretics. Though we haven’t received such information.”

“Let’s prepare the Holy Barrier. If the heretics attack, we’ll be ready to block it immediately.”

Lacey and Agnes seemed ready to charge in head-on. With the confidence typical of religious figures, they believed they could handle any heretic trap.

“I smell kobolds…”

“At this height, even if there’s a trap, we can retreat by jumping over the walls.”

Milia was sniffing for nonexistent kobold smells, while Damien, a master of leaping, was already thinking about jumping.

“Um, Princess Ha-shal-leur…? You haven’t forgotten the ordeal at Grimnir Cathedral, have you? That place was bad enough, but this one doesn’t look much better…!”

Hersh, a living alarm system, was already full of worry.

“It’s less dangerous than that time. That’s a relief.”

“That’s not what I meant to reassure you with…!?”

Do you know what color you get when you mix black and white? The answer was written all over Hersh’s face.

I chuckled, patting Hersh’s shoulder, which had turned pale to the point of being gray.

“You and I both survived that place. There’s no way we’d fall in a place less dangerous than that.”

“Ahhh…”

Hersh looked even more dejected, but she never had a choice to begin with.

—

After a brief discussion, we ultimately chose to charge in head-on.

Since we didn’t know whether the gates were left open for us or for other unsuspecting visitors, boldly entering to gauge the enemy’s reaction would speed things up.

If it wasn’t a trap set for us… This was actually a good opportunity. It was the perfect chance to slaughter those who attacked us thinking we were ordinary visitors or capture them for interrogation.

Thus, our carriage boldly passed through the city gates and entered the city.

And we immediately realized. There was indeed a trap.

It wasn’t aimed at us, and it wasn’t particularly dangerous for us… But even so, we couldn’t help but be shocked.

The moment we entered the city, a scene so shocking unfolded that I dropped the cigarette I was smoking.