Chapter 2: Trying to Be a Paladin Captain
There were checkpoints along the road. It seemed they were wary of letting criminals approach the capital, and they collected taxes based on cargo and how many people were traveling. Naturally, the checkpoints were built in positions that made it difficult to get around them.
Diablo stopped the carriage at the road’s shoulder and spread out a map in the wagon.
“What should we do?” Rem said pensively. “We don’t have to go through here if we go straight to Greenwood.”
The map Houzen provided them detailed a path that didn’t go through any checkpoints, but it headed away from the capital.
“But Sylvie and Horn are still in the capital, right?” Shera leaned forward.
“...There’s a chance they’ve already been apprehended.”
The king and his lackeys already knew Sylvie and Horn had ties with Diablo. It was hard to imagine nothing had happened to them while they stayed in the heart of Kingdom territory.
“Sylvie and Horn are both clever and quick on their feet. I’m sure they’re fine.”
“...I doubt that’s the problem, but... Still, I can’t see Sylvie getting caught without some plan.”
“Yep, yep!”
“...However, they probably aren’t waiting idly in the hotel we decided on. How do we get in touch with them?”
“Maybe we could write Lumachina or Alicia a letter?”
“...All letters get inspected at the checkpoints. I doubt any we send will reach their destination.”
“Then let’s have my ?Turkey Shot? deliver it! It can fly!”
“...You underestimate the capital’s aerial defenders. Even wyverns can’t approach it.”
“Then maybe it can swim in?”
“...They have guards set up at the water canals, too.”
“But the capital’s so big!”
“...Yes, the capital is quite large. It’s ten times Faltra’s size. We can’t infiltrate the castle at the center, but if it’s just going into the city, it might be possible.”
“We’ll work something out when we get there!”
“...You make it sound easier than it is.”
Diablo pondered over the matter while not taking part in the conversation. Their current quest was to regroup with Sylvie and Horn and then escape the capital. Escaping wouldn’t be a problem, though, since teleportation allowed for up to six people. They’d be able to get back to Faltra in the blink of an eye.
He didn’t tell Houzen this since he’d gone through the trouble of preparing a carriage, but the three of them could simply teleport to Greenwood if that was what they wanted to do. That magic did exist in this world, though its use wasn’t widespread.
The problem here is regrouping with Horn and Sylvie.
After considering multiple possible scenarios, Diablo decided on a plan.
“All right,” he said.
“...Did you think of something?” Rem asked.
“What, what?!” Shera looked at him with glittering eyes.
Diablo reached for his pouch.
“Annihilation.”
“...I see.”
“Huh?! You can’t do that!”
“Hmph.” Diablo shrugged.
It was a joke. Rem saw through it and ignored him entirely.
“Geez, you startled me.” Shera, though, was a bit naive.
“...So, what’s your real plan?” Rem asked him with a chilly voice.
“Passing through the checkpoint with our carriage wouldn’t be possible.” He crossed his arms. “So we’ll use a nearby church. Churches are said to be independent of royal law. A letter might be too much, but we can ask the priests to pass a message to Lumachina.”
“All right, let’s do that!” Shera gave a big nod.
Rem seemed to think things through a bit longer, but eventually shrugged.
“...I agree. But I’d like to contribute a bit to this plan, if you don’t mind.”
Diablo always worked alone, so the idea of ‘deciding on what to do together’ was a bit foreign to him. Apologizing felt wrong, so he simply didn’t react. Rem moved the topic forward, though, not letting go of the conversation.
“...That said... Will the church cooperate with us? How do we know they won’t sell us out to the king?”
“No, a priest wouldn’t do that!”
“...I think we’ve seen plenty of priests that act only in their self-interest.”
True, that was a risk. But Diablo wasn’t one to rely on faith without any plan in mind.
“We use this.”
Diablo pulled a silver holy mark from his pouch — the Paladin Captain’s mark.
“What’s that?” Shera asked, tilting her head quizzically.
“You don’t know? Hmm, come to think of it, you were bedridden when I got this.”
“...It’s my first time seeing it too, but is that holy mark a Paladin Captain’s mark?”
“Mm.” Diablo nodded.
“Paladin Captain?” Shera still seemed confused.
“...Lumachina used her authority as High Priest to place Diablo in the position of Paladin Captain.”
“Huh?! That’s amazing!”
Saying he was placed in that position was a bit faulty. He was only given, and had accepted, this holy mark. He’d done nothing in the capacity of a Paladin Captain, and Lumachina didn’t expect him to do anything of the sort either.
“But it makes sense.” Shera nodded, seemingly convinced. “Diablo did save the church, after all.”
“Hmph... I have never once tried to save anyone.”
Diablo and his group had helped reform the church by driving out a corrupt group called the Cardinal Authority. In doing so, they’d saved not only the church, but Lyferia as a whole. But since that wasn’t the Demon Lord-ly thing to do, Diablo scoffed and disregarded the idea.
Lumachina gave him this mark as the greatest form of gratitude she could offer. If he identifies himself as a Paladin Captain, he would be welcomed at any church. The people there would cooperate with him to the best of their abilities... Or so she had said. He had never used it before, since a Demon Lord calling himself a Paladin Captain was all sorts of strange.
“...If we were to visit the church while wanted, the priests would surrender us to the army.” Rem nodded. “But if we’re with a Paladin Captain, everything changes. The pawns of the church betraying a higher-up could cause a great scandal.”
“Mm.”
“...The church has its own religious jurisdiction. Even if we’re criminals, only the High Priest would have the authority to judge us.”
That was the logic behind it, at least. Diablo was attacked by an odd sense of unease, but he said nothing.
“Let’s head to the nearby town,” Rem said, moving the carriage. “There’s a fairly large church there.”
The horse’s hooves clicked against the road.
“Go, go?” Shera pumped her fist into the air.
“...With a clip clop.”
“Go, go?”
†
The following morning...
Kenstone approached the second day of its occupation. Having received an ominous report, Aira took off toward the western square. Armed imperial soldiers stood around the square, menacing the Lyferian civilians. The townsfolk were unarmed, so this didn’t count as combat. If they did clash, it would result in a one-sided massacre.
Aira looked away, her gaze falling on a group of civilians being loaded onto carts. She ran toward it.
“Wait!”
“My, if it isn’t the good captain.”
The one in command of this place was a man in black clothing, his mouth covered with a mask that resembled a raven’s beak. He was a seeker, likely brought over by Doriadanph.
“What are you doing?!”
“As you can see, I’m performing a manhunt.”
Aira turned her gaze to the carriage. It was full of demis of many different races and ages, all of them with black hair, and likely all of them female. There were Pantherians, Dwarves, and Grasswalkers, but no Humans or Elves.
“I’ve heard nothing of this.”
“I see. So you weren’t told.” The man’s voice was muffled because of the beak.
“Please refrain from meddling needlessly with Lyferia’s citizens,” she said with a strong tone. “Maintaining public order in our occupied territories is my duty.”
“This isn’t needless meddling. I’m acting under the imperial decree of the emperor himself, according to the commander. You’d do well to not interfere.”
“An imperial order?!”
The emperor of the Gelmed Empire was already in old age. He was bedridden and very rarely moved. Aira didn’t think he had any reason to gather women at this point.
A manhunt...?
“I’m just obeying orders.” The seeker shrugged his shoulders. “I hold my life quite dear to me, after all.”
“Kuh...” Aira gritted her teeth.
The citizens of Kenstone directed looks of sheer hatred in her direction. It was her who had guaranteed the citizens and soldiers’ safety should they surrender, after all. And now this. Men in odd clothing were carrying their friends off. Their displeasure was understandable, but still, an imperial order meant her hands were tied. She could only stand by.
A memory of the past surfaced in her mind... Once, she had lived in her village along with her fellow Kobolds. But then soldiers armed with magimatic technology charged into their village, killed many of their men, and captured the rest of the villagers.
Aira was appraised as having ‘strong force of will’ and was thrown into Arjanos of the Silver. She thought she was going to be devoured alive... but as luck would have it, she was found compatible, which brought her to her position at present.
“...Come to think of it, back then... Only the black-haired ones were carried off somewhere else. I was sure they were chosen as candidates for the Magimatic Sols, but...”
“The ?Girl of the Vessel? wasn’t among the Kobolds, after all,” the seeker said, narrowing his eyes.
She couldn’t see his mouth because of the beak, but he may have been smirking.
“...What? What’s that?”
“I don’t know? That’s who we’ve been looking for this whole time... Though there’s no telling if she really exists.”
“You should have been ordered not to kill any black-haired girls, too.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
She’d thought it was for some humane reason, but looking back, it was strange indeed. All the black-haired girls in Aira’s village were rounded up and taken away, never to return. She’d thought they simply weren’t compatible with the Magimatic Sols, but was there another reason?
Just who or what was the Girl of the Vessel? The Empire was definitely hiding something.
“We... the Empire of Gelmed are fighting this war using magimatic technology to rule the world... to rid it of war, right?” Aira asked.
“You think I can answer that question?”
“...No.”
His position was the same as Aira’s. His hometown was conquered by the Empire, forcing him to obey.
“I’m simply doing as the commander ordered and gathering all the therianthropes and beast-like black-haired girls here,” the seeker said, shifting his gaze to the girls. “You’re better off not getting involved with this. For both of our sakes.”
“But that’s...”
“Captain, you value your comrades and the people of your homeland over the citizens of another country, correct? I feel the same way.”
“Ugh...”
The sight of the people of Kenstone raising their voices in anxiety and displeasure reminded Aira of her own past. But she couldn’t oppose the Empire to help them.
†
According to the map, their destination was close, but they had to take the long way around due to a suspension bridge collapse. It took them several days to reach the town.
“...This should be the place.”
“Rem, you look kinda pale.”
“...I’m relatively better off when I’m in the driver’s seat holding the reins.”
Still, the road was bumpy enough to kick up her motion sickness. Diablo himself was pretty queasy from having his backside kicked up by all the jolting. He felt like he’d vomit immediately if his stomach was stimulated in any way. Shera was the only one to remain perky.
“Are you alright? Want some bacon?”
“...Talk to me about food later, please,” Rem replied with a heavy voice.
Their carriage approached the town.
“It’s not really a small town,” Shera said, seemingly impressed.
“...Yes, it has about one hundred buildings.”
“And a really big fence!”
“...That’s to keep animals out. There are some guards at the gate, too. Only a couple of them, though.”
“Will we be alright? Has word gotten out that Diablo is wanted?”
“...We can’t know for sure, but I think we’re still in the clear,” Rem nodded.
“Really?”
Letters were the prime method of communication in this world. Some important cities and fortresses seemed to have some magical means of communication, but for the most part, it was letters. Plus, there was no printing press, to say nothing of copy machines.
“...If they wanted to distribute wanted posters that included our personal descriptions, they’d have to copy them by hand.”
“Oooh, right. That sounds hard.”
“...Which is why the information doesn’t circulate as fast to places that aren’t as important. Like this town, a ways off the highway.”
“Yeah, I don’t think they’d send anything here!”
“...There’s no way of knowing for sure, though.”
“Uuu... God, pretty please! I wanna sleep in a warm bed for once.”
A pragmatic wish, if there ever was one.
Their carriage rolled down the road, and two guards apprehensively approached to inspect the unfamiliar vehicle. But when they looked at the driver’s seat, they suddenly blushed.
“Whoa, they’re gorgeous...!”
“H-Hey, cut it out! Wait up. Who are you people?”
The Human gatekeepers were seemingly taken aback by Rem and Shera’s beauty. Very few actually fell in love with those of other races, but standards of beauty were another matter, and Rem and Shera were attractive enough that people turned to look at them in the streets.
And girls that pretty were with some Demon man who had put ?Enslavement Collars? on them... This could spell trouble.
“Who are we, you ask...?” Diablo glared at the guards. “To think you backwater hicks have not heard of me... Etch my name into your heart as you take shame in your ignorance! For it is Diablo, a—”
“Aaah, aaaah!” Shera waved her hands.
“He’s a... very important person from the church!” Rem leaned forward, her tail swinging nervously. “Would you be so kind as to point us in the direction of this town’s church?!”
Her voice was uncharacteristically high-pitched and her wagging tail was positively slapping the ‘very important person’ in question across the face, but... he was just about to identify himself as a Demon Lord, as he typically did.
Right, I’m supposed to be pretending to be a Paladin Captain now...
In terms of acting, it didn’t matter if he was pretending to be a Demon Lord or a Paladin Captain. So long as he wasn’t speaking with his own voice, the words would come out. Diablo produced the silver holy mark.
“I am a Paladin Captain. Let me see this town’s priest.”
The flustered guards stiffened as if they’d been hit by petrification magic.
“P-P-P-Paladin Captain?!” “A Paladin Captain?!”
“...Which way to the town’s church?” Rem asked again.
“W-We’ll escort you there!”
The two ran into the town. Was it really okay for the gate guards to be gone, though?
Well, this is the sticks, so it’s probably calm around here...
“Thank goodness...!” Shera sighed in relief.
She was right. It seemed the town hadn’t gotten word about Diablo yet.
†
Rem said it was a fairly large church, but if Diablo had to describe it, it wasn’t so much a large place as it was a building with a lot of history behind it.
Or, put another way, it was just old.
Pillars made of wood supported walls made of mud, and its roof was made of earth, too. It was an unusual building by Lyferia’s standards.
“...I don’t think this kind of architecture was in use even a hundred years ago. It must be older than that... Or it was intentionally built in an archaic style.”
A female Dwarf clad in a priest’s garb exited the building.
“This church was built in this spot 300 years ago. Saint Clasa built it here to save the people of this land.”
She had the Dwarven characteristics Diablo was used to — she was short with a plump chest, as well as dog ears and a tail. In her case, she had the lopped ears of a labrador.
“Welcome to the old church of Towa!”
“E-Erm!” The gatekeepers made to say something, but she simply nodded kindly and cut them off.
“These people are fine. Return to your duties.”
“Ah... Yes, understood!” The two bowed their heads and left for the gates.
“...Do you know about us?” Rem asked.
Rem was usually calm, but her tone was especially level. She was likely quite cautious.
“No, I don’t.” The Dwarf priest cocked her head. “But during my morning prayers, I’d heard that important guests should be arriving today...”
“...A divine revelation?”
“Oh, it’s nothing so grand. Only the High Priest can hear God’s voice. You could call it hearsay.”
“Hearsay?” Shera tilted her head quizzically.
The word normally implied unreliable rumors, but...
“Come in.” She gestured for them to enter the church. “I haven’t much to welcome you, but I can serve you some hot milk.”
“Yay!” Shera followed her without a hint of caution.
What she said seemed a bit suspect, but they had nothing to prove it was. Diablo followed Rem inside. The interior of the earthen church wasn’t what they were used to. It felt more like they were in a basement than inside a building. Wooden pillars supported the dirt that made up the ceiling, and around them chairs were set up.
There were no windows for illumination, and so candles lit up the place even during the day.
“Sit wherever you’d like,” the Dwarven priest said before going through a door in the back of the room. A few moments later, she returned carrying a tray lined with wooden cups full of hot milk.
“Wow, thank you!”
“...Thank you very much.”
Shera and Rem accepted the cups.
“Here you are.” The priest handed Diablo a cup. “It’s goat milk.”
“Mm.”
The word ‘milk’ tempted Diablo to sneak a peek at the priest’s bosom, but he consciously fixed his gaze on his hands. He was supposed to be a Paladin Captain right now. Ogling a woman’s breasts would just make his acting all the more unconvincing.
“...Are you the only priest here?” Rem asked, looking around curiously.
The Dwarven priest nodded, placing a hand over her considerable chest. She introduced herself with a kind voice.
“Yes. I am called Rilitana.”
“...I’m Rem Galleu, and this is Shera. We’re both adventurers. And this man right here is...”
Diablo held up the silver holy mark.
“That’s a Paladin Captain’s...?!” Rilitana’s eyes widened.
“Mmm.”
“I never imagined you’d visit a small town like ours... My apologies.”
She bowed down on the wooden floor and brought her hands together. Diablo felt an uncomfortable itch run down his spine. When he acted as a Demon Lord, he only ever saw challengers with weapons in hand and enmity in their eyes. He would only provoke them and stayed focused on battle.
But being a Paladin Captain was different. People respected him, and he was required to behave like a decent person.
Can I do that? Can I speak like a mature person in this position?
He was getting nervous. Thankfully, Rem took over the negotiations.
“...We have turned against the king, due to certain circumstances. We don’t intend to cause any trouble, but we need to get in contact with our comrades in the capital.”
“Huh?! You turned against His Majesty?!”
“...We want you to deliver a message to the High Priest Lumachina.”
A letter would be inspected at the checkpoints, so they needed a priest who would go to the Grand Cathedral for them.
Diablo opened his mouth, preparing to make a request.
You are a Paladin Captain. A Paladin Captain. A Paladin Captain...
“Rejoice, for you can be of use to the Demon Lord Diablo!”
But old habits die way, way too hard.
“D-Demon Lord...?” Rilitana stiffened.
Gaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Wait, no, gimme a redo! Another try! Another try! C’mon, just give me a redo!
He’d been acting out the part of a Demon Lord for so long, it slipped out naturally. A waterfall of sweat ran down Diablo’s back. He’d screwed it all up. Rem and Shera were panicking, too.
“N-No, that’s not what he meant!”
“Yeah, he meant, uhm!”
But they couldn’t come up with anything else.
“You’re just as I’ve heard...” Rilitana eyed Diablo closely. “You really are the Paladin Captain.”
“Aah?!” He screeched in an utterly pathetic voice.
“The High Priest had once told me,” Rilitana said. “The current Paladin Captain is a man who ‘is an adventurer playing the part of a Demon Lord, but is actually God’s incarnation.’”
Isn’t she laying it a little too thick with that backstory...?
Lumachina did say she’d explained his ‘circumstances’ to the believers, but she made him out to be one real idiot.
I’m actually a shut-in gamer from another world, though.
Diablo couldn’t exactly say that, so he simply fixed his sitting posture.
“Hmph... I have told Lumachina time and again that I am not God.”
“Heheh... Yes, she said that, too.”
“Haaaaa~” Shera sighed with relief. “Thank goodness you believe us...”
“...The High Priest has the highest authority in the church,” Rem said. “She’s not someone a regional priest can just speak to casually. Who are you, really?”
“I really am just a regular priest. Except... When the current High Priest was but a girl, her parents brought her to this land while on a pilgrimage.”
Diablo jolted up upon hearing the word ‘pilgrimage’. To him, it described visiting sites that were used as inspiration for scenes in anime. Rilitana was talking about the more traditional sense of the word, though — a journey where one visited religious sites.
“I could sense Lady Lumachina was close to the Lord, and took her to the Grand Cathedral,” Rilitana said nostalgically.
“...You did that?!”
“Her sublime grandness was clear to all.”
Really? Diablo wondered.
When Diablo first met Lumachina, she was attacked by the Paladin Gewalt’s summon beast and was stark naked, since it had torn off her clothes. He felt himself blushing at the memory. It was sublime, but in a much different sort of way.
“When Lumachina... I mean, when Her Eminence prays, it does indeed feel like she can reach the heavens.”
“Yep, yep!” Shera agreed. “The light goes woooooosh all the way up to the sky!”
“It was because Lady Lumachina could hear the voice of God that she was made the High Priest.” Rilitana brought her hands together. “But the title has brought great trouble and pain on her. And the one who saved her... was the current Paladin Captain. I cannot overstate my gratitude.”
“Mm.” Diablo crossed his arms and nodded.
He tried to not say any more needless things.
“I’m rather well known at the checkpoints leading up to the capital from here.” Rilitana proposed, “if I go along with you, you should be able to reach the Grand Cathedral in the capital even with the king’s order in effect. What do you say?”
“Wow, that sounds great!” Shera brought her hands together.
True, it was more reliable than entrusting her with a message, and it would allow them to get into the capital. And once they regrouped, he could just teleport them out.
“...If that’s true, it would be quite helpful,” Rem said cautiously. “Will the soldiers at the checkpoints really listen to you, though?”
“They look up to the priests of their regions.”
“...I imagine they do.”
“The local church is important for everyday life, after all.”
Making light of the church didn’t just make life harder for someone. At worst, the believers could even make an attempt on such a person’s life.
“...But since you’re the person who discovered the High Priest, they’ll treat you differently. It wouldn’t be odd for you to be part of the Cardinal Authority.”
Could they really trust her, though? Even if she didn’t have any malicious intent, there was no guarantee the priests in the towns beyond the checkpoints would listen to her. And the guards might not let suspicious people through regardless of what a priest had to say.
However, they didn’t have any other way.
“I allow it, Rilitana. Guide us to the capital.”
“I promise that I will, Sir Paladin Captain!”
†
They needed to have their carriage’s horse rest, and the town’s lone priest couldn’t leave for long without letting the people know. The church supported the town’s day-to-day activities, after all. And so Rilitana told the mayor she’d be gone for a time, leaving out the details.
Also, with the church being as old as it is, Rilitana needed to make sure someone looked after the building in her absence. She also sent messengers to her friends in the neighboring towns, making sure priests would show up periodically.
And so, a whole day passed by.
The following day, they were preparing to leave. Diablo stood in front of the dresser with a sour expression.
“Is this... really necessary?”
“I might be a priest, but we’re bound to run into troops that take their jobs too seriously,” Rilitana nodded gravely. “It’s important we don’t look suspicious.”
“That much goes without saying.”
“Fix that tone, please!”
“Guh...”
Diablo had a long-haired wig on his head.
“About your name, I figured we could go with Diala. What do you think?”
“Kuh...”
The tattoos that marked him as a Demon were hidden behind makeup, and he wore a comfortable dress. To any onlooker, Diablo — or rather, Diala — looked like a normal Human female.
Is she telling a Demon Lord like me to humiliate myself in public?!
He could only seethe internally. But Rilitana said “A Paladin Captain should prioritize their ambition over their appearance” with eyes full of faith, so he couldn’t decline.
And it was true that if crossdressing would save him trouble and get him to the capital that much faster, it was worth it. He couldn’t help but wonder what Sylvie and Horn were going through in the capital right now...
But Diablo and his group had to worry for their own safety, too. It wasn’t just Diablo in trouble here, but Rem and Shera as well. If they could avoid fighting altogether, it would be for the best.
The room’s door swung open and two young men walked in. One of them was a young Pantherian with the orange hair typical of the race. He eyed Diablo... Diala, with sparkling eyes.
“...Diablo, you look lovely! Like a real noble lady.”
“Yep! You’re really pretty!” The Elf boy nodded.
Those two ‘boys’ were actually Rem and Shera, who were crossdressing as men. Rem’s characteristic black hair was stuffed under a short-haired wig that was the bright shade of hair most Pantherians had. Shera looked convincing, too.
“A real metamorphosis.”
“Heheh... It’s a little tight around the chest, though...” Shera giggled.
Shera’s own unique characteristic, her large bosom, was completely gone, too.
“...Meanwhile, I just had to put these clothes on.” Rem glared at her.
To the onlookers, the three of them together would look like a slightly bulky noble lady and two demi boys... or not. Thanks to the Enslavement Collars clasped around the so-called boys’ necks, it looked more like a slightly crazy noble lady walking around with her two slave boys.
“We do have a carriage...” Rilitana said pensively. “I guess we could say you’re a spoiled noble’s daughter on her way to an evening party in the capital, and we’ve been assigned to watch over you.”
“...That’s awfully specific.”
“Yes, well... When you’ve been a priest for as long as I have, you see all sorts of things.”
Rilitana’s gaze turned distant, as if she were recalling something. Diablo chose not to pry and simply sighed.
“Enough. The details matter little. We must reach the capital as soon as possible, so I shan’t ask you for the particularities of how we get there. But let us make haste!”
“Yes, let’s leave right now, then.”
Rilitana picked up her luggage and Shera hopped happily.
“Go, go~?”
“...I like you better without those things blocking the view from your side. You should stay this way.”
“Huh?! But it’s so tight!”
Even when they looked like boys, the two of them were the same as always.
†
One week later...
Diablo’s group had passed three checkpoints without incident. The time was noon, and the weather was clear. The sun shone above them, and it was warm enough to start sweating under the sunlight. It wasn’t quite like Faltra, but the area was relatively warm. They were half a day away from the capital, and there was nothing left in their way. They’d likely be there by sunset.
“...Rilitana really is a wonderful priest,” Rem said, seemingly in a good mood. “The very ideal of what a priest should be, even.”
“Oh, that’s not true,” Rilitana said, covering her mouth modestly.
“But you’re amazing!” Shera joined in on the praise. “You always sing so well when it’s time for prayer, and your cooking is great, too!”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
Diablo thought she was like a mom. She really was skilled. They didn’t have to fight anyone on the way here, so he didn’t know how good of a healer she was, but... The melody of her prayers felt like they must even match Lumachina’s. Perhaps that was only natural, since she did help Lumachina on her first steps to priesthood when she was young.
Rilitana didn’t flinch away when she was surrounded by troops and spoke to the people in charge of the checkpoints clearly. She said she was ‘well known’, but she wasn’t just talking about the priests in the areas of the checkpoints — she was looked up to as a teacher by many. Whenever the people ran into problems they couldn’t solve, they came to her for help.
She was very much admired like a holy mother.
“...I really did mean what I said,” Rem said. “Someone like you should have been chosen for the Cardinal Authority.”
Rilitana cast down her gaze.
“I appreciate the sentiment, but I... I’m a Dwarf.”
“Oh... I see. The Grand Cathedral is in the capital, and there’s a great deal of discrimination around there.”
“Weren’t the members of the Cardinal Authority all Humans back when Vishos was in charge?” Diablo recalled.
“Yes,” Rilitana affirmed. “It’s not just that. Had Lady Lumachina not been a Human... She wouldn’t have been appointed High Priest, even with all her talent.”
“How foolish,” Diablo said.
“...It really is,” Rem agreed, baring her fangs.
“That’s awful!” Even Shera, who was slow to anger, was annoyed.
“Who to believe, what to believe in, and what world you want are all different for each of us,” Rilitana soothed them. “Good and evil are different from one’s likes and dislikes... And there’s not much to be done about that, sadly.”
“...Still, racial discrimination shouldn’t be tolerated.”
“It might be wrong, but the fact remains that some people in the capital maintain those prejudices. If my being at Lady Lumachina’s side would bring her trouble, then it would be for the best if I were not.”
Diablo could imagine trouble stirring up over that. Vishos’ Cardinal Authority were all slaughtered by the Order of Palace Knights. Apparently they’d had connections to the royal court, so the ringleader silenced them.
Lumachina did elect a new Cardinal Authority and invited Rilitana to join, but apparently she declined. Her town, as well as the matter of her race, kept her from accepting.
“That’s kind of sad...” Shera said forlornly.
“It’s fine.” Rilitana shook her head. “If anything’s the problem, it’s that the suffocating lifestyle of the capital doesn’t agree with me. I didn’t refuse just because of the old church or my being a Dwarf. I had my own reasons.”
Her cheeks suddenly flushed red.
“...Your own reasons?” Rem cocked her head curiously.
“I’m no good... I can’t restrain myself.” Rilitana looked outside the canopy.
Her gaze wasn’t the same calm look she often had, but had a certain hunger to it.
“Is there something you wish for? Do not hide it, and be frank with it.”
“...He’s right, Rilitana,” Rem said. “You shouldn’t need to feel bashful around us.”
“H-Huh? Can I really...?”
“What, what?” Shera leaned forward. “Do you want something? Anything you want to do?”
“Erm... I suppose it’s something I’d like to do...”
“Then why not?”
Shera was as easygoing as ever and didn’t ask for details.
“...Should we stop the carriage?” Rem wondered.
“No, there’s no need to do that.”
“...Then all the more so, don’t feel reserved.”
“Y-Yes.”
Rilitana snuck a look in Diablo’s direction. Her eyes were wavering.
“What is it?”
“No, it’s just that... Uhm... This might be an unpleasant sight.”
“Hmph... I am a Demon Lord. No matter what you do, it won’t faze me.”
“Thank you very much!” She gave a somehow-liberated smile. “Then, please excuse me...”
Rilitana reached for her priest’s garb. Rem and Shera’s eyes widened, and Diablo was struck speechless. Rilitana swiftly threw off her clothes.
“I just can’t stand wearing thick clothes when it’s this hot outside...!”
Yeah, I think I can see why she can’t live in the city now! Diablo thought to himself.
Apparently she didn’t put any underwear on to begin with, meaning she was now stark naked. She was a hard worker, so her features was toned, but perhaps because of her Dwarven physique, her bosom sagged a bit. Thick beads of sweat rolled down her skin.
Why did you take off ALL your clothes?! he nearly shouted, but apparently that was her wish. Diablo didn’t like seeing other people’s... peculiarities denied, nor was he one to deny them himself, so he didn’t intend to judge her for it. Still, he didn’t know where to look.
“Mmmm!” Rilitana stretched out her arms. “It feels so good! This wind! This sunlight! This freedom! Aaaah, being naked is wonderful!”
“...Ah, I, uhm, see...” Rem replied, dumbstruck. “I don’t, erm, take my clothes off in public, so I wouldn’t know...”
She didn’t deny Rilitana’s way of life either, but she couldn’t restrain a shiver in her voice.
“Aaaah.” Shera covered her flushed face with both hands.
Though she did peek out from between her fingers...
Rilitana seemed to have enjoyed their reactions, though, because she was getting even more cheerful.
“Heheheh... Once you get used to feeling people’s stares on you, it gets kind of addicting.”
“...No, I, erm, think that’s enough.”
Rem once had to walk through a village of Dark Elves completely naked to complete a magic ritual. Her body was quite sensitive back then. Perhaps Rem herself thought it could be addicting. Her expression was stiff at the moment, though.
“Ahaha...” Rilitana giggled awkwardly. “It’s actually a bit awkward for everyone else to still have their clothes.”
“...Even if all of us took our clothes off, we’d still feel awkward about walking outside naked,” Rem declared coldly.
“You’re right, it’s lonely if you’re the only one doing it!” Shera, on the other hand, nodded as if convinced.
“...Wait, Shera, what?! What are you thinking?!”
“It’s tight around my boobs!”
“...Then just unbutton your shirt!”
“Woohoo!”
Shera’s boobs came into full view after being contained for a long while, jiggling recklessly as if to compensate for several days’ worth of dormancy.
“Aaaah, this is the best!”
“Doesn’t it feel great great, Shera?!”
“Yeah!”
It would have been such a serene, friendly conversation... if it weren’t for the fact they were prancing around naked in the middle of the road.
“...This is a highway on the road to the capital, you know?” Rem said, her face as pale as a sheet. “There’s no telling when someone might pass by and see you.”
Rilitana’s cheeks were flushed, and she rubbed her thighs together, fidgeting.
“Mmm... Going for verbal abuse already, Rem?”
“...I’m only stating the facts.”
“Then you should be next.”
“C’mon, Rem. Take off your clothes.” Shera approached her.
“Are you a complete and total idiot?!” Rem raised her voice in shock. “I’m holding the reins... who do you think is driving this carriage?!”
“Then Paladin Captain, if you would? Or... would you like to join us, too?”
Diablo moved over to the driver’s seat before the situation could go in an even stranger direction. Rilitana and Shera’s breasts were bouncing all over the place, and Diablo honestly wasn’t handling this well. He snatched the reins away from Rem.
“Hmph! I will handle the carriage. Leave it to me!”
“Diablo?!”
You have fun now... Diablo thought as Rem was being dragged back into the wagon. Not too long ago, Diablo had had his back turned while Rem and Shera were bathing. He couldn’t sneak a peek back then, and the same held true now. This time didn’t quite count since Shera had stripped right in front of his eyes, but... Diablo didn’t have the nerve to watch the girls as they frolicked about in the wagon. He simply gripped the reins and kept his gaze fixed forward.
Ugh... I haven’t changed a bit...
“No, stop... Aaah, don’t take that off...” Rem’s seductive yelping reached his ears. “Ah, aaah...! We’re in broad daylight... Th-This isn’t like bathing! Nnn, aaah, nnnng?!”
“My oh my... Rem, that’s amazing.”
“Whoa, look at the state you’re in, Rem!”
He could hear Rilitana and Shera too.
“D-Doooon’t...”
“It’s fine, Rem... God will forgive us. We’re all born naked, after all.”
“She’s right. What feels good is right, Rem.”
“N-No, don’t... Th-this... This feels... addictiiiiing!”
†
Thankfully, the whole debacle ended with no one else bearing witness to it, and Diablo’s group was now close to the capital. Many carriages passed through this area, so even with a canopied carriage, they’d be seen. It wasn’t as hot now, so Diablo thought they’d be fine, but...
Dusk washed over the sky. The fields around them were dyed in red, and ahead of them were tall, massive walls. Several spear-like towers were built into these walls.
It looks weird every time I look at it...
The capital, Seven Wall, looked largely different from how it appeared in Cross Reverie.
“When were these walls built again?” Diablo asked, thinking back to a conversation he once had with Lumachina.
“Hmm... When I was taken to the capital fourteen years ago, they weren’t there... Ah, I think it was twelve years ago. That’s when the current, sixth king of Lyferia, His Majesty Delouche Xandros, took to the throne and ordered for them to be built.”
“The king of Lyferia...”
Diablo turned to look at the wagon. They weren’t naked anymore. Rilitana looked at him composedly, as if nothing had happened. Except her skin seemed a touch more lustrous than it was before.
“We just need to pass through the gate, Paladin Captain.”
“M-Mhm.”
It was hard to face her pure smile after he’d seen her true nature. Shera was fast asleep. Maybe getting so excited had depleted all her strength. Frankly speaking, she was a sloth.
Did Shera even do anything on our journey to and from the southern frontier?
Diablo couldn’t recall a single thing she actually did the whole trip. Well, she was the reason they met the Kobolds... but that’s only because she was about to eat a venomous fruit. And she’d fought Gewalt, the Palace Knight... whom Rem ended up dispatching. And she’d had Solami fondle her butt, licked Diablo’s finger, and stripped Rem naked...
This is the queen of the Elves...?
Seeing Shera snooze away with her belly exposed, Diablo grieved Greenwood’s future.
Rem, on the other hand, sat in the wagon’s corner. Having been stripped naked in public to the point where she screamed that it was ‘addictiiiiing!’ seemed to have had predictable effects, as she was mumbling to herself.
“Pull yourselves together, already,” Diablo said dismissively. “We’re almost to the capital.”
“Kuh... So you didn’t strip, did you... Huh?!” Rem’s expression turned seriously all of a sudden and she leaped to the driver’s seat. “Diablo, what’s that?!”
“Hmm?!”
She was pointing in the city’s direction. Rilitana covered her mouth with both hands.
“That’s an army!” Diablo blurted out.
A large number of troops, more than Diablo had ever seen, left the capital’s gate. Some were heavy infantry, covered in full-body armor. Others were cavaliers, with even their horses clad in mail. Gunners walked on, shouldering magi guns. Some soldiers transported large barrels.
And above them all flapped a banner Diablo remembered from Cross Reverie — a crown crossed with a sword.
“This is a military expedition. It’s led by the king himself.”
Which meant this was the Kingdom of Lyferia’s primary army, with every soldier they could spare. The Order of Palace Knights was likely part of it, too.
Diablo had the ability to gauge how many enemies he was up against, but it was different when an army was involved. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how many soldiers were walking there. It was likely more than fifty or sixty-thousand.
“...I’ve once seen an army of thirty-thousand,” Rem moaned. “But this is likely more than three times that number.”
“So it’s almost one hundred-thousand?”
“...If not more.”
Did they really mount this many soldiers against Diablo? He was expecting to fight the Palace Knights, but this was way more than he’d imagined. This would also mean they were aware of Diablo’s approach to the capital. Did Rilitana betray them? No, it was hard to imagine, especially considering how she fooled around naked in a moving carriage earlier.
Maybe they were reported at a checkpoint? It was possible.
“Would they really send this big of a force, though?”
“...Something’s odd, Diablo. This army is heading east.”
Diablo’s group was approaching the capital from the south.
“What could this mean?” Rilitana tilted her head curiously.
She was intelligent, but not when it came to military matters.
“...It means that army isn’t setting out against us...” Rem answered.
Diablo sighed in relief internally, but didn’t let his severe expression slip away.
Not that I can act all that dignified when I’m disguised as a woman...
“East of the Kingdom of Lyferia... isn’t that the holy land of Vilaar?”
“...The Kingdom has signed a pact of non-aggression with its neighbors.”
Them having signed a pact didn’t mean it would necessarily be honored, though. That said, none of this carriage’s passengers were in any position to discuss military or politics.
“Hmph... This is becoming annoying,”
“...What do we do, Diablo?”
“We hurry to the capital, of course!”
They couldn’t lose their nerve now. If there was some ruckus going on, it was all the more reason not to leave Sylvie and Horn in the capital.
“It’s going to shake!” Diablo grabbed the reins hard. “Hold on tight!”
Rilitana clung to the wagon as Rem gave a stern response.
“I’ll be fine!”
“Let’s go!”
As the carriage suddenly started shaking hard, Shera jerked away with a surprised shout.
“Wh-What?! What happened?! Is something wrong?!”
No one bothered answering her questions, though. Sneaking one more glance at the army marching east, Diablo’s group headed into the capital.
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