CH 161

Chapter 161

When Peaceful Times Cease To Exist : The Archfiend Workshop, Part 16 — Resolution

Translated by KaiesV

Edited by KaiesV

「Oh well, I guess I talked a little too much. I’m going after them now, but it’s going to be pretty deadly. So when I die, you’ll become the Archbishop.」

「No! I don’t know why you’re telling me this all of a sudden, but…」

「With or without my permission, I have already discussed the matter with Miliazar. And of course with my direct subordinates. If anything should happen to me, you will take over everything I have built.」

Stunned, Elsa mumbled unsurely.

「…Can I do the job?」

「It’s not whether you can serve, it’s whether you will. And you don’t have to do what I do. If you were to encounter the same situation again, it would be up to you to decide whether to prioritize the mission or help. However, those who are in charge must predict the consequences of their decisions and take responsibility for them. Remember that.」

「I understand.」

Power returned to Elsa’s eyes. Mynar gave a small nod, perhaps satisfied with the look in her eyes.

「That’s good. Don’t worry, I’m not that easily beaten. I still have a lot of work to do for the church.」

「Without getting anything in return?」

Elsa’s worried question made Mynar a little at a loss for words.

「Quid pro quo, huh? Quid pro quo is not what I want. It’s the same for Manadil and Dryd. They naturally gained fame and respect, but not what they wanted. I don’t need those things, so I just try not to gather as much as possible. We three Archbishops share the same respect for each other and for fame, which we consider an accessory. And we get something in return.」

「?」

Elsa didn’t know what Mynar was talking about, but Mynar didn’t answer either.

「I have something more important to tell you. I noticed this when I was undercover, and I heard it when I was secretly following them earlier with a familiar.」

「A familiar?」

「My familiars are so small, they don’t even notice me. I know their names. Give me your ears.」

Despite the fact that only Eliza was already here—— or, in fact, the『dog』was there, but he was waiting a short distance away—— Mynar gave Erza an earful. The information he had obtained in his undercover work was baffling even to Mynar. Elsa was taken aback when she heard the name of the enemy and the details of what Mynar had obtained in his infiltration.

「Ehh!?」

「Your voice is loud.」

「S–Sorry.」

「Don’t worry, I am also puzzled. But these are the facts.」

「If this information is true… the Central Plains will be destroyed.」

「It may already be too late, because the fire has already been put out. But it isn’t for us to make that decision, but for the Master Bishop and the leaders of the nations. It’s a concern that we have no business making.」

「That may be so, but…」

「Better yet, be sure to pass this information on to Miliazar. Don’t worry, she will make a good move. And their names. Anomaly, Silence, Titania. Titania seems to be a legendary figure, but Miliazar would have been active at the same time. She might know something. Ask her about countermeasures. Well, I’m off now.」

「I will certainly convey this information to you. And good luck to you, Archbishop.」

「Hmm.」

Mynar was about to leave with those words. But he stopped dead in his tracks, and without looking back, he continued to speak.

「I’m talking about quid pro quo, though.」

「Huh?」

「The tea brewed with the leaves from the Deep Green Palace is quite good. Go out with me sometime.」

「…Is that an invitation for a date?」

Elsa asked a nasty question to get back at him for what he said earlier. But the answer was even meaner.

「You can take that as a yes.」

「Haah!?」

「Then, I’m off.」

Mynar disappeared after that. Once he disappears, no one can detect even a hint of him. That’s why those three people didn’t even notice him earlier.

The remaining Elsa was just stunned.

「…Then at least show me your face, for God’s sake. Or is he more shy than I thought?」

No voice answered. For a moment, Elsa wondered if it was a joke, but even if it was a true invitation, she strangely didn’t feel so bad. Although they were about the same age as parent and child, Elsa isn’t originally concerned about such things.

Then Elsa also changed her mind and looked back at Eliza, but she had already stood up and used the available cloth from her remaining luggage to hide the important parts of her body. The shaking had already stopped.

「Eliza, you’re not fine… are you?」

「No, Elsa-sama. I’m already sane. I apologize for being distraught earlier when we were in the middle of a battle. I’m in the pitiful state of having passed the limit of fear rather than having stopped being afraid.」

Eliza smiles to herself. Her face is forlorn, and she never looked like this before entering the cave. Elsa was sad to see how she had come to look like this in such a short period of time, but she couldn’t change what had already happened.

「There is no shame in being afraid. And moreover, we are women.」

「Is, that so?」

「Yes. Courage without fear is only called barbarism. True courage is not like that.」

「I still don’t know what courage is, but I do know one thing.」

「What is it?」

Elsa asks worriedly. Eliza has already experienced so much that she has no choice but to throw down her sword here. Elsa would have done the same if it weren’t for what was about to happen. Just the thought of going back to those people was horrifying. Someone else would do it even if she didn’t, even Elsa wanted to think so. But Eliza’s answer was different.

「I cannot leave those people alone, no matter what my ability is, no more than I can avenge those who died here and now. They will do nothing but harm to this world. I must finish them off at all costs, not as a knight, but as a person who lives on this land. To do so, my fear is a trivial matter.」

「…What a coincidence. I was just thinking the same thing.」

Elsa’s thoughts were also the same as Eliza’s. Even if she didn’t consider herself a member of the Church of Arnelia, she knew that she had to defeat these people at any cost.

Their eyes. They weren’t those of a perfectly decent human being. The emotions in their eyes would be different. Having spent her childhood in the slums, Elsa was very sensitive to people’s raw emotions, especially negative ones. Titania was delusion, Silence was hatred, and Anomaly was madness, although it was the most difficult.

Anomaly used the word war, but Elsa believes that there’s no good or evil in conflict, not just war. Each is both good and evil. Considering that neither side is completely right, it’s better that there’s no war. That is why she likes an organization called the Church of Arnelia, which is willing to intercede in wars. But no matter how big of a deal those guys were, she didn’t think they could lead others in the right direction. Although she knew that she was also contradicting herself by trying to stop them by using force, Elsa was determined to at least finish off Anomaly at any cost.

As her thoughts came together, Elsa looked up and looked straight at Eliza. Eliza also met her gaze.

「All right, Eliza. I will apply to the higher-ups to make you my personal knight. Any objections?」

「No, I was hoping that I would be able to ask you to do the same. Please use this life I have as a weapon.」

「Sometimes I don’t mind doing dirty things. Do you think you can stand it?」

「I will try. If it means taking them down.」

「Then I’ll leave my back to you. We’ll take them down at any cost.」

「Yes!」

Elsa and Eliza then decided to leave the place. They really wanted to mourn their allies, but even that time is now no longer available. After arranging the bodies and covering them with a minimum of covering, the girls decided to leave the rest of the work to the nearby Arnelia Church and left.

All the way to Arnelia—— Elsa and Eliza ride in the sky on the wyvern brought by the reinforcement team. Miliazar would do something about it. At least that’s what the girls were thinking now.