Monster no Goshujin-sama - Volume 13 - Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Arrival in the Imperial Capital

The next day, we finally reached the imperial capital. We teleported into the Holy Church’s headquarters, into a room in the grand cathedral. Feeling a little nervous, I let the still-unfamiliar sensation of teleportation pass, then...

“We’ve been awaiting your arrival.”

In a large and empty room were two men with a small retinue. One was a slender old man wearing the clothes of a priest. His hair and beard were white, and his wrinkled face and intelligent eyes gave him a very mature impression. The other man was a large, middle-aged knight. He had chiseled features that still managed to resemble ours. That combined with his trimmed black hair suggested that he might be of Japanese descent. His bulky body made even the atmosphere feel heavy, indicating his caliber as a knight.

Both these men had an unsettling aura about them. Before we could react in any way, they looked at our whole group and walked toward me as I stood there surrounded by my servants.

“Excuse me, would you be Mister Majima Takahiro and Miss Katou Mana?” the old priest asked. His voice was deep and hoarse, but it was easy to hear.

“Yes, we are,” I answered, and the two of them bowed.

“It is an honor to make your acquaintance,” the priest said. “I am one of the archbishops here. My name is Gerd Kruger.”

“Harrison Addington. I serve as the marshal of the Holy Order,” the knight said.

This was a surprise. I didn’t think the heads of the Holy Church and Holy Order would greet us personally. Was this a display of how seriously they were taking this? The fact that they had very few guards protecting them demonstrated they were keen to avoid coming off as overbearing.

What’s more, the fact that they’d brought so few guards to meet monsters was an indication of the trust they had in us. With that in mind, it was almost unfair of us to bring so many escorts, even going as far as including Iino. Regardless, it was a necessity because of the incident with Travis, so they probably understood. Neither of the men seemed to mind.

“We thank you for taking the time to travel here from such faraway lands,” Gerd said.

“I should thank you too for taking care of everything for our journey,” I replied.

“I’m glad to see that nothing has inconvenienced you. I believe we must cooperate to break the current deadlock. I hope we can work together to that end.”

After our brief greeting, the two of them expressed their gratitude to Shimazu and the others who’d helped out. As far as I could tell, they all had favorable relationships. They then greeted Philip and the other Akerian officials and briefly introduced themselves to the dragons of Draconia. Once all the greetings were over, they turned to me once more.

“If you aren’t feeling tired, then after you put away your luggage, I was thinking Harrison could go over our plans for the peace talks. What will you do?” Gerd asked.

“We’re fine. Can we begin?” I answered.

“Understood. Harrison, if you will.”

With that, Gerd took his leave. It seemed he’d made time just to greet us despite having a busy schedule. Still, there were sure to be many things an organization couldn’t do with their two leaders preoccupied. Honestly, having Harrison here felt like more than enough.

“I shall guide you from here,” Harrison said.

“Thank you.”

First, he took us to the room we’d be staying in.

“Okay then, Majima, see you tomorrow,” Shimazu said.

Exhausted from using so much mana to transport us here, she split up from us once we arrived at our rooms. After resting for a bit, she was going to return to where the exploration team was staying. Seeing that the exploration team’s leader had done so much for us, I was planning on visiting them the following day once things settled down. That meant I would see Shimazu again tomorrow.

Iino was here as a guard, so she wasn’t going back to the exploration team and was instead sticking with us. I deemed our other escort, Gordon, to be trustworthy, but the Skanda’s presence was still reassuring. If only she didn’t glare at me every time our eyes met, I’d have nothing to complain about... Well, there was no point wishing for luxuries. Mitarai was tagging along too, but that was likely because Katou was with us. If something happened, Mitarai was sure to protect her friend, so it was heartening to have her here too.

We followed Harrison again. On the way, we passed by a window in the hallway, and the scenery outside garnered a sigh of admiration from Lobivia and Kei.

“Wow...”

“Amazing...”

They were both gobsmacked. They were looking up at a spire that shot up into the sky.

The church’s headquarters in the capital was an extremely large grand cathedral with a dome at the center surrounded by six enormous spires. The tall spires looked about as big as forty-story buildings. We were currently pretty close to the ground floor and could look up at the other spires too.

This building was said to exist to extol the greatness of saviors past, present, and future. The darkened white exterior was covered in detailed carvings that depicted their long history. The complex shadows cast by the carvings created a solemn and impressive atmosphere.

The cityscape spreading around the cathedral was also far more prosperous than any I’d seen in this world. When a city expanded, it did so by adding layers of walls. This was where the first advent of a savior had happened, so the imperial capital boasted the longest history of any human settlement. Accordingly, it had seven layers of sturdy walls. The packed rows of houses were quite the breathtaking sight too. It lived up to its name as the world’s greatest city.

Beyond the walls, prairies spread into the distance. No manner of forests that could serve as a den for monsters existed in the immediate vicinity. The closest forest was one that looked like no more than a dark shadow far off at the foot of a mountain. I’d heard of a Dark Woods north of the imperial capital that still hadn’t been conquered, so that was presumably it. It was where the swarm of tripdrills I’d once seen went on their trip from the southern Woodlands.

At this distance, we didn’t have to worry about being attacked by the swarm. Even in terms of defenses, the Holy Order was stationed here, and so was an army under the direct command of the imperial family. The imperial capital was probably the safest place in the world.

“Hmm. It’s my first time seeing such a large building in this world.”

“Indeed. I wonder how much time and skill was needed to create such a thing.”

“I have no idea what religion is, but such a magnificent sight truly is worthy of admiration.”

“Yes. It’s wonderful. I never thought the day would come when I could witness the grand cathedral with my own eyes.”

Everyone voiced their opinions, and as they did, I narrowed my eyes.

“Hm...?”

The sensation of mana coming from a part of the grand cathedral’s dome caught my attention.

“What’s wrong, Master?” Lily asked.

“Oh, I was just thinking about how the presence of mana here is amazing,” I said.

“Aah, that. It really is,” Lily agreed, taking a look around. “It’s a little surprising, but I guess that’s the Holy Church for you, huh? They’ve got magic tools all over the place.”

Magic tools were used for religious ceremonies too. For example, there was the altar I’d seen in Fort Tilia’s underground mausoleum. With such a large religious building, it was only natural for them to have countless such magic tools. Lily was right. Simply walking down this hallway, I could sense mana from every direction.

The dome surely hosted all sorts of ceremonies and was hence equipped with that many more magic tools. The Holy Church was the biggest organization in the world. Not only did it have great authority and military strength, but wealth too.

As we enjoyed the sights, we arrived at our destination.

◆ ◆ ◆

Harrison went on to give us a detailed explanation of their plans for the peace talks, but most of it had been conveyed in the letter that Shimazu had brought to us. For example, he went over the fact that the church was preparing the location and all required tools for the talks. He reviewed the state of our conditions as I’d discussed with Gordon, and he told us all about the formal processes for the negotiations. We were totally ignorant of such matters in this world, so we’d already consulted Philip and the other Akerian delegates on what to do if there were any problems. On this point, both parties were going to confirm things in person.

Everything regarding the peace talks was proceeding as planned, so in truth, I didn’t have much to do. Aker and the margrave had negotiations to conduct, but as an amateur in politics, it wasn’t my place to say anything about it. That didn’t mean I could relax, though; we had to make sure this didn’t fail.

The all-important peace talks themselves were scheduled to happen three days from now. This was later than what we’d heard beforehand, but it was because the margrave was late in arriving. Also, the church knew of the army the margrave was bringing. They’d had the same conjecture about his intentions as we did and had already taken measures to handle it.

We went over everything, so it took quite a bit of time. I listened all the while without letting my mind wander, and just like that, his explanation came to an end.

“Do you have any questions?” Harrison asked once he was done.

I exchanged looks with everyone. His explanation was thorough and not lacking in any way, so everyone seemed to be of the same opinion. I was about to tell him we didn’t have any questions when I suddenly changed my mind. This was a rare chance to speak with the head of the Holy Order; it would be a waste to end it here. It was best to ask whatever I could.

“Just one, then,” I said.

“What is it, sir?”

“What do all of you think of someone who leads monsters like I do?”

Harrison’s stern face twitched a little.

“Mister Majima, do you doubt us?” he said after a short pause, gazing sharply my way.

A strong pressure pushed down on me, one that differed entirely from facing a cheater. Perhaps it was the dignity of the man who led the organization that protected the entire world’s stability. That said, even if it was small, I led a group and was responsible for them. I made up my mind and returned his gaze head-on.

“No, that’s not what I mean,” I said. “I came here because I concluded that it wouldn’t be dangerous.”

If I died here, the Holy Church had much to lose. The peace talks that were so close to being held would go to waste, and they’d lose the chance to correct the unstable state of affairs. Their dignity would be greatly affected by failing to hold negotiations after announcing them far and wide, and relations would deteriorate with Aker. If that happened, it was possible the Alliance would side with Aker, affecting the stability in the southern Empire greatly. Likewise, it would definitely form cracks in the mutual trust between them and the exploration team.

Because of that, I was sure the church would do everything they could to protect us during these talks. I didn’t doubt them on that point. However, that was only so long as we shared the objective of protecting this world.

“On the point of wanting to do something about the current instability, I believe I share the same opinion as the church,” I said. “But once that objective is accomplished, that won’t necessarily be the case anymore, will it?”

I made sure to stay calm as I spoke, and I saw a hint of understanding in Harrison’s eyes.

“I see,” he said. “Mister Majima, you are looking to the future after these negotiations are over. Therefore, you wish to know our thoughts while we are still cooperating with each other?”

“Exactly.”

My goal was, at most, to create a place to live a quiet life with my servants. The groundwork for that had now been set in Aker, so we were partway there. In all likelihood, this turmoil would be our greatest and final obstacle.

That was because not many people would invade another country, and one in faraway lands at that, just because a monster tamer was there. This world’s people didn’t normally have the means to consider such acts to begin with. By keeping the margrave and the other powers who supported him in check, my objective would be accomplished. My long journey would come to an end, and all my hardships would be rewarded.

There would certainly be many small problems to come, but those would all be normal, everyday problems, and we could simply resolve them by working together. We really did have just a little further to go.

Nonetheless, if the Holy Church picked a fight with us, it’d be a different story. As the greatest authority in the world, making an enemy of it would easily overturn everything we had. For this reason, I wanted to hear the frank opinion of someone who was in a position to make decisions for their entire organization.

Nothing could be done if the Holy Church was as extreme as the margrave, but if it wasn’t, there were ways of handling this. For example, say it viewed my servants as dangerous. We could talk things out here and explain that the girls possessed proper reason. Or say they felt revulsion toward the very existence of monsters and couldn’t stand even looking at them. In that case, we planned on never getting involved with them again. In either case, we had to consider how we would handle the situation. The chance to ask them directly about it was very valuable.

“Can you tell me what you honestly think?” I said. “Depending on the circumstances, I believe we should be able to do something. We do not want to antagonize the Holy Church.”

“I understand the point of your question, sir. Allow me to answer you,” Harrison said clearly. “Mister Majima, I harbor no ill will toward you like the margrave does.”

“Meaning you don’t consider me to be evil?”

“Indeed.”

In other words, I didn’t need to worry.

“I also will not selfishly pursue personal glory like Travis did,” Harrison added. “All I wish for is to fulfill the duty I’ve been charged with.”

“Your duty?”

“To protect the stability of this world. That is our responsibility, the duty that has been given to us.”

I could hear the pride in his voice.

“Ever since I became a knight I’ve devoted myself to protecting the peace of our brittle and frail world,” he continued. “I am sure I will continue doing so from this day onward too.”

His eyes were unwavering. Their positions differed greatly, but I could tell by instinct that this man was the same as Shiran. He was a noble knight who devoted everything he had to protecting the world’s peace. He lived up to Shiran’s and Gordon’s descriptions of him. So long as we posed no threat to the world, we would never become his enemy. Naturally, I had no intention of doing anything of the sort.

“I understand,” I said, sighing in relief and lowering my head. “Thank you very much for answering my question.”

“My pleasure,” Harrison replied, showing no sign of offense. “Do you have no other questions? That goes for the rest of you too, of course. If anything bothers you, I will answer whatever you ask.”

We all exchanged looks, then nodded as one.

“If there is nothing left unclarified, then allow me to take my leave,” he said. “Just as I said earlier, the talks will happen in three days. I’m sure you’re tired from traveling to these unfamiliar lands. Please leave the trivial matters to us and take it easy.”

◆ ◆ ◆

With the long explanation over, we returned to the room that’d been prepared for us. As Harrison had recommended, we decided to get some rest. It would be hopeless if we got sick on the appointed day. After they brought us dinner, we relaxed for the night.

“This is really good, huh?” Lily muttered, wrapping her hands around a steaming cup. “That’s the church’s headquarters for you. Even the after-meal tea is tasty...”

“Good to hear,” I said.

Lily looked deeply moved. Everything from dinner to tea was in fact delicious. There were signs that the food had been catered to our tastes as visitors too. Such modest consideration showed that they were treating us as guests of honor.

“We’re meeting the exploration team tomorrow, right?” Lily asked, looking completely at home.

I nodded. “Yeah. They’re a bit busy, so we won’t be going until the afternoon, though.”

During their stay in the imperial capital, the exploration team had received nonstop invitations from nobles, bureaucrats, and even priests. This was especially true for their leader, Nakajima Kojirou, whom I wanted to greet personally. Many members of the exploration team actively participated in such social gatherings, but Iino told me that he didn’t like to. Apparently, he always grumbled that he couldn’t continue rejecting all of them because of his position. I felt a little sympathy for him in that respect.

“Hey, Takahiro,” Lobivia said. She was drinking a cup of honeyed milk, but her expression was anything but sweet. “We’re coming too when you go see the exploration team, yeah?”

“Yeah,” I answered. “It’s best to stick together when we can, just in case. I’m gonna have everyone from Draconia tag along too.”

Security in the capital was solid. The knights of the Holy Order’s Second Company were also diligently carrying out their mission of guarding me. It could be said that we were very safe here, but I wasn’t going to let down my guard. Nothing was better than being careful.

“The exploration team, huh? I don’t really feel like it,” Gerbera grumbled. “It feels unpleasant when visitors ogle me.”

During our journey from Fort Tilia to Serrata, at a certain reclamation village we’d stopped by, Gerbera had gotten into a spot of trouble with Miyoshi’s group, who’d been traveling with us at the time. She was probably remembering that incident now.

“Hmph, if anyone acts that rude to a girl, I’ll tell them off,” Iino said, treating herself to some tea.

As for why Iino was here with us as if it were perfectly natural, she was guarding us even during dinner. Tonight, she’d be staying in the room next to us. Incidentally, my servants and Katou were all staying in one large room with me. The dragons of Draconia, Philip, and the Akerian delegation were staying in nearby rooms too.

“Hm? Are you...actually a good person?” Gerbera said, staring at Iino.

“How rude,” Iino said.

“You did cut off half my legs the moment we met.”

“I’m sorry about that...”

“Don’t worry about it,” Gerbera said. “I’m guilty of doing the same thing when I first met my lord. I’m not really one to speak.”

“I also tried to eat his hand, and Ayame blew him up with her pack,” Lily joined in. “Even Asarina sucked him dry for nourishment.”

“Majima... I’m surprised you’re still alive,” Iino said.

“I think the same thing sometimes,” I said.

Just then, a knock came at the door. We hadn’t made any plans, but it seemed we had a guest. Perhaps Philip or one of the dragons was here to check on us.

“I’ll get it,” Lily said as she rose from her seat.

I casually watched her back as she went to the door.

“Yes, yes, coming. Who is it?” Lily said, opening the door.

On the other side was a knight of the Holy Order...and a boy. In that instant, my breath caught in my chest. Time stopped. No. To be precise, it turned back. It felt as if this had happened before.

“Huh?” a foolish voice said from the other side. “I heard this was Takahiro’s room? Why are you here, Mizushima?”

I’d heard that exact line before, but there was a hint of laughter in his voice this time.

“Just kidding,” the boy said with an impish smile, then looked my way through his glasses. “Long time no see, Takahiro.”

I unintentionally rose half to my feet.

“Mikihiko?”

The friend I’d parted ways with near Serrata, Kaneki Mikihiko, was right there.