Evade The Hero and Flee!

Chapter 185

Chapter 185

Evade the Hero and Flee! 185 #21. The Stories of Others (4)>

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#5 Their circumstance: A certain religious orders circumstance

Hah-ah To think its the empire

An old man kitted out in a pure-white priest robe was racking his brain while staring at a letter.

Its not exactly a problem, but

That, in itself, is the problem, isnt it

In the world where gods presided, men and women of cloth exercised undeniable influence on all people. Even kings and queens would find it rather tough to reject a religious temples request.

However, the opponent this time happened to be too powerful.

Not to mention

Its impossible to predict what the empire might or might not do, so

Indeed, we cant carelessly step in front of them.

Before they earned the label of the strongest nation on the continent, the Karuan Empire was known as that one nation that loved to stir up trouble. And the current problem was related to that trouble-loving empire.

There are plenty of nations possessing great military might and not much else. And there are many wise nations, too.

However, Karuan is both powerful in its military and wise in its tactic. Yet no one can even remotely predict what they will do next from their erratic behaviour

The empire oh-so nonchalantly did many acts that most normal people wouldve said, No way, they wouldnt do that!. Such decisiveness and swiftness wouldve been evaluated as terrifying if it was done by a regular nation, but the empire also possessed actual military might and abundant wealth to support their actions!

Besides, the Order of Nature didnt even have a pretext to complain regarding this matter either. The letter stated that the guests were being treated royally under the careful protection of the empire. With the way the letter was worded, what exactly could the Order do now?

One of the heros comrades was an Elf, wasnt she? How are the Elves responding to this?

It seems that they are also waiting, watching what will happen next. The empire is the most trusted ally of all the non-human races, after all.

Uh-huh

Plenty of nations existed on the continent, and more than a few of them treated other humanoid races very poorly, with the justifications of them not being actual humans.

Things were especially terrible during the last great war; the entire continent was embroiled in warfare back then. Human treated their fellow humans horribly during then, so it didnt take a genius to figure out that the treatment of non-human races would be even worse. Countless many people from those races were forcibly enslaved or thrown into various war zones.

The two races that had it worst were the beastmen possessing excellent physical specs and regenerative abilities, and dwarves, reputedly blessed by the God of Blacksmithing.

A handful of kingdoms actually focused more of their attention on capturing slaves instead of fighting in the war so much so that it became difficult to distinguish whether they were participating in the war to capture slaves, or were capturing slaves to fight better in the war.

While the whole world was mired in confusion and chaos, only the Karuan Empire acted differently from the other kingdoms by starting a slave emancipation campaign.

The empires forces quickly mobilised to dismantle all the hidden slave markets found throughout its territory. After successfully conquering enemy nations, the empire freed all the slaves regardless of their races, and they even pressured their allied nations to do the same.

Quite literally, the empire was the saviour to all non-human races!

Of course, their actions did raise a few heated complaints. Those complaints mostly consisted of, Why are you butting in the domestic affairs of other kingdoms?!

The empire would simply nod at all those complaints before using their mighty military to wipe out the complainers from the face of the earth.

At the beginning of this campaign, everyone was still mostly oblivious. As more and more victims piled up, however, other kingdoms had no choice but to clamp their mouths shut and hold their tongues.

The most notable incident during such tumultuous times was the attempted kidnapping of the High Elf, an existence meant to serve as the Elf races chief priest and to protect the World Tree.

A mysterious group tried to kidnap such a High Elf during the early days of the great war, but it ended with the empires forces finding & rescuing the victim.

This incident led to the Elves acknowledging the empire as their greatest ally, and since then, the two parties have been maintaining lively diplomatic ties.

Was that why? An Elf tasked by the High Elf with a sacred duty was currently captured by the empire, yet the Elves hadnt made a move so far.

Does that mean we dont have a choice but to act independently?

Even the Order of Nature found dealing with the empire rather burdensome.

Just where did our sir hero disappear to

Indeed, if only he was here

Priests constantly sighing away began bringing up the hero almost at the same time.

When you confirmed the truth with the empire, they said that our saint and the Elf came under their protection right after sir hero vanished without a trace, yes?

Yes, thats correct. A freakish turn of events led to sir hero and his companions getting kidnapped, but the empire informed me that they managed to rescue the companions.

But our sir hero is a dragon slayer. Can anyone even kidnap such a powerful warrior? Is it possible that the empire did something to our hero?

I dont think thats the case. If thats true, the Goddess of Nature wouldve sent us an oracle.

Excluding crises dangerous enough to threaten the balance of the world, gods chose not to interfere with the ongoings of human society. That was their rule, but some gods did interfere here and there when their believers were experiencing unfair treatment.

However, the victims this time were none other than the Goddesss one and only hero and the saint accompanying him. If something untoward happened to them, the Goddess of Nature wouldve surely sent an oracle to tell her believers and inform them of what the heck was going on.

Which can only mean that the current incident is within the range of what our Goddess deems as still tolerable. Or she has acknowledged the parties involved. Which leaves us with the potential candidates as

One priest piped up, but that prompted the others to shut their mouths up instead.

Their hero defeated a dragon by himself. Not just any dragon either, but an elder dragon that had been alive for twenty thousand years. Just who would be capable of kidnapping such a powerful hero, then?

Was that all, though? Of course not. Elves had natural aptitude towards spirit magic and were talented in the field of summoning, so it was nearly impossible to estimate an individual Elfs combat prowess.

But the problem currently was

Bloody hell. Even Harian has failed, so what now

Ah, now I remember. I heard that Harian tried to resign again only to get a scolding. Was that true?

To think that its so awful there that even a loon like that begged for a replacement

As expected of the empire.

Despite the excellent combat capabilities of Elves, two of their best warriors were helplessly held captive by the empire right now the summoner Harian and the warrior, Selena.

Lets just give up on Harian. Dont you remember how that poor Elf we sent as a diplomatic student to the academy called Yugrasia turned out?

Right. That was horrifying.

Yugrasia was famed for turning you into one of the greatest summoners, no questions asked, as long as you got admitted. Elves, having played a part in the creation of that legend, decided to send one of their own to study in that academy.

I hear that that poor Elf still goes into convulsions the moment someone even dares to bring up the topic of studying.

Yes, you heard right. That Elfs condition of trembling in fear at the sight of tree branches has improved a lot lately, but they still mumble in fear at the sight of logs and things similar to that.

A certain scene was deeply engraved in the memories of the Elves gathered here today. And that was the sight of the Elf student who went to Yugrasia for a year of studies getting terrified by a tree branch, diving into a corner and muttering, I hate the bat. I hate it! Im so scared!

When we lodged a complaint to the empire back then, we got a very colourful reply, didnt we?

Right, I also remember that. The empire replied that one year isnt enough for our Elf student to develop the necessary tolerance yet, didnt they?

Yes. They even added that in around two years, our Elf student wouldve learned to give up on everything and thus learn how to overcome the trials.

Although that reply sounded utterly nonsensical, even Harian ended up acknowledging it, so what else can we say about that topic?

Just what the heck was the empires academy doing?

As the prominent figures of the Elves attending this meeting began thinking about that question

How are things going, everyone?

That was a simple enough question, but the voice asking it was so beautiful and melodious that it couldve been a musical instrument.

L-L-Lady Lirelia?!

That voice was indeed like a heavenly instrument. But the Elves listening to it began trembling in fear instead.

Oh, my? I wonder, why are you all acting like this?

W-well, its nothing. maam

One of the Elves tried to hide the letter behind his trembling figure, but too bad for him, such action was way too eye-catching. Unsurprisingly, the woman before their eyes spotted it, instantly understanding the intention behind such a move. Well, she was an existence that Elves, famously referred to as the fairies of the forest, couldnt even compare to, after all the High Elf!

Oh, my. It seems something has gone wrong?

T-that is

Lirelia gazed at the trembling and silent Elves with a warm gaze on her lips. Its quite alright. Can you tell me what happened?

Shuffle

With her gaze still fixed on the paralysed Elves, Lirelia acted first.

Ah, no

Elves couldnt dare to bring themselves to reject or push aside Lirelias hand reaching out to them. In the end, they had to watch as she snatched the letter away. Their expressions resembled the convicts about to walk into an execution chamber as their heads hung low.

Ah-ha?

She let out a short exclamation. But that brief sound was more than enough for the Elf higher-ups to feel that their necks were placed under the guillotine.

Im so dead.

I have no regrets, though.

Dear wife, please look after our children.

Ah, ah But I dont want to die

Uh-huh Uh-huhuhuh

And so, just as these Elves began watching the revolving lanterns flash by before their eyes

Well, it doesnt really matter, anyway.

The executioner wielding the axe No, the royalty of the Elves, Lirelia put the letter down on the table with an unconcerned face.

That person is destined to come to me soon, after all.

I beg your pardon?

Her totally out-of-character response prompted one of the Elves to dazedly mutter out. Even then, Lirelia proceeded to oh-so cheerily resolve his curiosity.

That person will come to find me very soon. I can tell because I have a feeling. A radiant grin bloomed on her face as she continued on. Just like back when I first met His Highness the Prince Its our destiny.