Chapter 256: Summit Conference (3)
A frigid silence settled over the meeting room. Low murmurs of surprise and deep sighs echoed here and there. Just moments ago, Johan had been rambling like a proud fool about his disciple. Now, however, he glared at Khalid with a gaze so cold it was hard to believe he was the same person from before.
“Please mind your manners, Sir Khalid,” Johan said.
Khalid appeared completely unconcerned and laughed it off. “Hahahaha! My apologies, my apologies! The booze in Valhalla City is just that good, you see!”
As I watched this gray-haired old man plop himself down at the table, I narrowed my eyes slightly. Khalid was the leader of the largest mercenary corps on the continent. However, most of those mercenaries were pretty useless.
It wasn’t a coincidence that my first job after graduating at the very bottom of the academy in my previous life had been mercenary work. Of all professions, mercenary work was one of the most despised paths for academy-trained heroes. The work was filthy and dangerous, the pay was lousy, and there was no glory to speak of.
To put it in Republic terms, mercenary bands were where the misfits who lacked the credentials to become high-ranking officials or land jobs at major corporations ultimately ended up. And Khalid was the idol of those mercenaries.
Like the saying about a phoenix rising from the ashes, he had clawed his way up from the very bottom and earned the title of Master. While compared to the other Masters, his strength and influence were lacking, which had earned him the derisive nickname “Last Seat Master,” he was undoubtedly one of them. Among the tens of thousands of heroes on the continent, only five stood at the very pinnacle. Anyone who bore the title of Master was the real deal, and there was no questioning that.
Nevertheless, in my previous life, Khalid hadn’t exactly accomplished much before dying an anticlimactic death. He had met his end after being swept into the war between the Empire and the Republic, which had erupted following Empress Camellia’s assassination. Of course, at the time, I had been little more than a nobody among nobodies, so I had only heard about it through rumors rather than witnessing it myself.
But this time, Camellia had survived, and the war never happened. I wondered if that meant I had saved Khalid’s future too. Moreover, Headmaster Ryu was also fated to die at the hands of the Archbishop of Madness, but that future changed when I had killed the Archbishop instead.
I swallowed a bitter smile and looked around at the five Masters seated before me. By my count, I had altered the fate of more than half of the five Masters. It still didn’t feel real.
“Very well. Let us begin the meeting,” Headmaster Ryu said, and the previously chaotic atmosphere settled at once. “As you all know, the reason we’ve gathered here today is to form the Tri-Nation Alliance in response to the demons’ increasingly active movements.”
Until recently, the demons had remained largely dormant, clustered in the southern regions of the continent. But now, all at once, they had begun to move. The proof was the Sealing Festival incident last year, the invasion of the monster legion, and the attempted assassination of Empress Camellia.
Camellia calmly raised a finger. “There is one more thing, the Church of Eternity.”
The Church of Eternity was an enigmatic group that had joined forces with the Archbishop of Depravity. Their true objective remained unknown, but one thing was certain: they were a threat to heroes everywhere.
Headmaster Ryu narrowed his eyes slightly. “Yes. Them as well. The Apostles of Ruin and the Church of Eternity. To stop them, we must unite our strength.”
Marianne nodded with her characteristic gentle smile. “I agree. In times of chaos like these, the light shines all the more brilliantly. If nothing else, we must work together to prevent the resurrection of the Demon God.”
Camellia’s eyes narrowed. “The resurrection of the Demon God, huh. Then, in the end, the demons’ final destination will be here, the Hero Academy itself.”
To be more precise, their final destination was the ruins beneath the academy. The demons would inevitably converge toward the Abyss, where the Demon God was sealed.
Headmaster Ryu closed his eyes heavily as though he had long known this truth. “That is likely...”
From the moment the Hero Academy was built atop the land where the Demon God had been sealed five hundred years ago, perhaps this future had been inevitable. Still, as he was the one responsible for the cadets’ safety, the weight of this burden clearly troubled him.
“With that in mind, I would like to make a proposal,” Camellia said.
“A proposal?”
“How about constructing Warp Gates connecting the three nations directly to the Hero Academy?”
“Warp Gates? Valhalla City already has...” Headmaster Ryu’s expression stiffened mid-sentence. “Are you suggesting we install a Warp Gate inside the academy?”
Camellia nodded slowly. “That is correct. The Warp Gates currently installed in Valhalla City do connect to each nation’s capital, but they are not positioned to allow the rapid deployment of troops in an emergency.”
No matter how close Valhalla City was to the Hero Academy, being outside the grounds versus inside was a world of difference, especially in emergencies where every second mattered.
Constructing a Warp Gate that linked the academy directly to the outside world was undeniably a sound idea; with it, cadets could evacuate swiftly in a crisis, and allied reinforcements could be summoned with ease. However, there was a downside too.
Headmaster Ryu replied, “But you’re well aware that it could also lead to the opposite outcome, aren’t you?”
Ease of travel wouldn’t benefit allies alone. If a demon army were to pour out from a Warp Gate inside the Hero Academy, the result would be a catastrophe.
“Of course. I am aware,” Camellia answered.
Headmaster Ryu fell silent, deep in thought, his lips pressed tightly together.
Johan, who had been quietly listening until now, finally spoke up. “If your concern lies with that risk, then how about this approach? Instead of simply installing the Warp Gate, let’s make it so that the authority to activate it would rest solely with you, Headmaster Ryu.”
“You’re suggesting that the Warp Gate can only be used with my approval?”
“Yes. That way, we can prevent the demons from using the Warp Gate to invade the academy from the outside.”
After pondering the matter for quite some time, Headmaster Ryu finally nodded. “Very well. Once the formation of the Tri-Nation Alliance is publicly announced, we’ll proceed immediately with installing the Warp Gate.”
“If construction funds are lacking, inform me. Gold is piled so high in the imperial vaults that it’s practically rotting,” Camellia replied.
“We’ll provide any necessary support as well.”
Khalid tipped back the bottle in his hand, gulping noisily before letting out a satisfied burp and grinning broadly. “Hahaha! Excellent! Everyone’s very enthusiastic! As for us, well, we’ve got neither gold nor resources to spare.”
“You...”
Khalid shrugged and chuckled to himself. “What do you expect from mercenaries who live hand to mouth? The only thing we’ve really got is these sorry bodies of ours. So, if you need manpower, we’ll send our boys over.”
“You’re saying you’ll have heroes do construction work?”
Mercenaries or not, they were still superhuman beings who had received soul stigmatas from the Seven Gods. They weren’t exactly the kind of workforce meant for simple manual labor.
“Heh heh heh. Guess folks in high places don’t really understand our situation. Plenty of mercenaries end up breaking their backs on construction sites when there’s no work.”
As Khalid said, quite a few heroes made ends meet through sheer physical labor when demon or monster subjugation requests dried up. I used to do that a lot myself. It couldn’t be helped. Subjugation requests didn’t come every day, and the large-scale, well-paying ones usually went to heroes affiliated with major guilds or the state.
“If you insist that much, very well.”
“Hahaha! Just make sure you pay the lads their daily wages properly!”
“That won’t be a problem.” Headmaster Ryu nodded as he flipped through the documents. “Next on the agenda....”
And so the summit continued. The formation of the Tri-Nation Alliance was progressing far more smoothly than I had expected. Perhaps it was because of the recent surge in activity from the demons and the Church of Eternity.
“Very well. We’ll conclude today’s meeting by announcing the alliance publicly one week from now.”
Khalid produced an entire lineup of liquor bottles from who knew where and spread them across the table. “Heh heh heh! Now that the meeting’s wrapped up so nicely, how about we raise a toast?”
The Masters shook their heads with weary expressions. Just as a celebratory drinking session for the formation of the alliance was about to begin, Camellia rose from her seat.
“I will excuse myself first,” she said.
“Huh? Leaving already?”
“It’s been a while since I’ve been outside the imperial palace. I’m tired.”
“Oh, come now. I thought this would be a rare chance to share a drink with you, Your Majesty.”
“I appreciate the sentiment.”
Leaving the would-be drinking party behind, Camellia exited the meeting room. Naturally, I followed her. The two of us walked along without a word. Once we were outside, she turned to me. “What did you think?”
“Well, it seemed to go pretty well?”
She nodded. “Yes. Just as I expected.”
If she had expected the summit to proceed without issue, or even if she hadn’t, there was no obvious reason to have someone who wasn’t even a Master sit in on it. So, I asked, “By the way, why did you call me to the meeting in the first place?”
Camellia closed her eyes gently, as though organizing her thoughts, and remained silent. A few minutes passed. Then she opened her platinum-colored eyes and stared at me. “After the previous incident, I conducted a separate investigation into the Church of Eternity.”
“Oh, I see. Did you discover anything?”
“Discover, huh.” Camellia clicked her tongue softly. “I did. Though I’m not sure I’d call it good news.”
“What do you mean?”
“Meetings like today’s, where we gather in person, are rare. However, video conferences among the Masters are held regularly.”
“And?”
“I can’t say for certain yet, but...” She narrowed her eyes slightly. “It appears that information shared among the Masters is leaking to the Church of Eternity.”
I was lost for words. That could only mean one of two things.
She continued, “Either someone very close to a Master is leaking our information, or...”
Or it is one of the five Masters themselves.
“Anyway, it leads to the conclusion that someone among the Masters is connected to the Church of Eternity.”
I looked at Camellia with a stiffened expression. “In that case...”
“Yes. The reason I summoned you to this summit was...” Her platinum eyes met mine. “So that you might uncover the ‘traitor’ hiding among us.”
“Why would you ask me to do something like that?”
“Heh. Isn’t it obvious?” Camellia smiled faintly and reached out, gently brushing her fingers against my cheek. “Because among all the heroes on this vast continent, you are the only one I trust, from the bottom of my heart.”