15-32. The Golden Knights' Deployment, Preparation (2)

Satou's here. I think ending something without a fight is the best. However, I do think that it's different from the principle of nonresistance. It's necessary to take the appropriate actions against an opponent who invades further the more you yield.

◇

"First, let's start from the most important matter. I have saved most of the general populace, reincarnated and transported people of Weasel Kingom."

"Thank God...."

Sera who looked worried sighed in relief.

"As expected of my--"

"Mwu."

"--our Master, right."

Arisa changed her praise slightly due to Mia's dissatisfied mutter.

Many soldiers and the privileged class who abandoned the people and escaped the cities lost their lives, but since no one asked about it, I didn't mention it.

"All the cities in Weasel Empire besides the capital and Dejima Island have been turned into white salt by the God's Apostles, becoming ruins with no one left."

"You kiddin' me--"

Except for Tama and Pochi who don't really understand, everyone becomes pale.

Only Arisa is composed enough to joke.

"And, only the Temple Knights and Science Corps in the empire's capital have any kind of success in repulsing them."

Sera reproached the people opposing God's Apostles, muttering in a low voice, "How impious....", but I decided to pretend that I didn't hear it since it was something that couldn't be helped for religious people.

"In addition, demon lords manifested near the imperial capital and barged into the battle."

"But why?"

"--Who knows?"

Arisa's question is natural, but I too don't know the reason why.

There were some reincarnated people at the places where the demon lords manifested, so I couldn't help but think that maybe they were forced to turn into demon lords by the God's Apostles.

They probably didn't drink Demon Lord Orb like Shin boy did in Shiga Capital when he turned into a demon lord.

"And mysteriously, even God Zaikuon participated in that three-pronged melee."

"Haaaaa? But why!"

"I didn't ask the reason--"

I shake my head while soothing the peevish Arisa.

"--A wise man does not court danger, you see."

God Zaikuon might tell me if I interviewed him directly, but it felt like I would raise a battle flag if I made some strange connection with him.

"--That's quite true. Better not step on a tiger's tail."

It seemed Arisa remembered the thing she said to me when I went to Weasel Empire, she nodded in consent.

"For God Zaikuon to descend and personally deliver the Divine Punishment.... Unbelievable."

"You're right. My old friends said that the cost for a God to descend was extremely big, so they absolutely won't descend."

Hikaru affirmed Sera's muttering.

"Yes, even in the history of the temples, excepting the Invoke Deity ritual magic, the only record of the advent was 20.000 years ago during the war against the Dog-head Evil God."

God Zaikuon should be killed by the Dragon God 30 years ago, did he not manifest in the world at that time?

Or is it merely because it's not written in the [History of Temples]?

It bothers me a bit, think I'll ask about it to Aze-san when I visit Boruenan Forest later.

The one who told me that was the female intelligence agent in Selbira the labyrinth city, but since she got the information from Zaikuon God's priest who in turn learned it from an oracle granted to a miko of another God, she probably doesn't know much more even if I ask her.

"Then, there was probably a priest that could perform the ritual magic."

The old Zaikuon priest I saw in the slum quarters flash on my mind.

If I'm not mistaken, the reincarnated person who was with him called him Patriarch Bodrazog or something.

I checked and found that him and his sympathizers weren't among the empire people I rescued.

--God's damnation is near! People! Pray to God, ask for mercy!

The old priest Bodrazog was giving that sermon with flaming madness in his eyes.

That fanatic seemed like he was capable of sacrificing his and his followers' lives as the compensation for the God's advent.

Well, whatever.

Guessing won't tell me if it's right or not, and the person concerned is already dead even if I know anyway.

I put the subject back on track.

"And, the weasel emperor became a demon lord and challenged God Zaikuon in order to have the final duel against the God who destroyed his country."

I doubt that weasel emperor would fight from the front.

He's probably going to fight by throwing all the resources he has in hands and do all kinds of craftiness.

"The emperor became a demon lord and battled God Zaikuon huh.... Can he win?"

"I think it's probably impossible."

I shook my head at Arisa's question.

In the first place, the Unique Skills of the emperor who became a demon lord aren't suited for battle.

Even if he uses it with all his wisdom, damaging the God is probably the best he could do.

The [Self Destruct System] that the tactician prepared is probably their last hope.

"That's the situation right now. I don't intend to interfere as long as the God doesn't target here."

There's neither merit nor duty for me to go against the God and jeopardize my friends.

I omitted the matter about my identity being found out by the tactician and the weasel emperor, and the true identity of Tactician Touya as Elf Sage Trazayuya.

I can just tell them about those matters during a chat over some tea later.

◇

"Now then, let's decide on the deployment of the Golden Knights."

I clapped my hands to reset everyone's consciousness, and began to talk about the way to prevent the Monster Stampede calamity news that Sera brought with her.

"I'm thinking of dispatching people to Selbira City and Seryuu City which have labyrinths ahead of time, other than those places, the rescue squad will be deployed whenever we get a report from the branch offices of Echigoya Firm."

I tell and look at the girls.

No one seems to object.

"Sa-Satou-san--Me too."

"Of course, I want Zena-san to go to Seryuu city. Pochi will go with you with his Dragon Steed, Lyuryu, so you should be fine even if a greater demon and dungeon master come attacking."

There are Echigoya Golem units and Zena-san's little brother, Chevalier Marientail over there, and they've thinned the labyrinth's monsters quite a bit, so deploying there a bit late should be alright.

"I'd like to entrust Labyrinth City Selbira to Nana and Mia."

We've also thinned the monsters there and there's a lot of combat forces like the guildmaster and the explorers.

There should be no real problem with Nana's defensive power and Mia's spirit magic.

"U-um, what about Yowok Kingdom's labyrinth?"

Lulu asked timidly.

There's a revived labyrinth in the hometown of Lulu and Arisa that was invaded by Yowok Kingdom.

Even though she probably doesn't have many good memories about the place, she probably would hate it if her hometown is infringed by monsters.

"Right. Someone should go there too. Lulu, could you go?"

"Y-yes!"

"Then, I also--"

"You can't Arisa, I have another duty for you."

The duty thing is a lie.

Arisa and Hikaru can't be deployed outside since I've acquired the information, [People who hold God's Fragment cannot go against God], in the Weasel Empire.

I don't know whether that's true or not, but looking at the abnormal rate of demon lord occurrence in the Weasel Empire, I feel that it's not necessarily wrong.

I'd like to believe that they should be fine with the anti-mind attack items I made for them, but even it's fine against God's Apostles, I feel that it won't quite suffice against God.

Besides, Lulu should be fine alone.

Lulu demonstrates the strongest firepower at long range, but she also has the next strongest defensive equipment after Nana, can use Force Magic up until the advanced level, and has refined her self-defense skill enough to completely handle a Shiga Eight Sword.

She's not standing out due to her shy nature, but she's the all rounder who can fight at multiple range among Team Pendragon.

She's probably going to be fine alone as long as the opponent isn't a demon lord class.

Of course, I'll be sending some brownies and accompanying Golem units with her as a support though.

"Hikaru, please ask Tenryuu to exterminate Monster Stampede if she finds one near Fujisan Mountains later."

I can open a gate that connects to the Heavenly Dragon Shrine and let her talk with Tenryuu from there.

Or maybe I should ask Arisa to connect them with her [<>]?

"Okay! So Arisa and me are in the house-sitting team?"

"Yeah, sorry, but your turn will come a bit later."

Tenryuu and the other dragons should be able to cover the vast [Monster Domain] area along Fujisan Mountains.

"Shizuka too--"

"Okay okay, let's wait for our turn while playing cards here."

Demon lord Shizuka has the important role of extracting the [God's Fragment] from the demon lords that have occurred in various places, so she has to stay here regardless of the reason.

The remaining ones are Liza, Tama, Lady Karina, Sera and the princess.

"Let's change the plan for a bit--"

At first I planned for us to wait in the Solitary Island Palace until we get a report from Echigoya Firm, but since each of them is probably worried about their hometown and places they're related to, I've decided to dispatch them to each of those places.

I can bring them back to this palace with Unit Arrangement anytime anyway, I'll ask Tama and Liza to be the emergency dispatch units.

"--Karina-sama will be going to Muno Earldom which has many 『Monster Domains』 neighboring it."

"I-I understand! I will protect Muno Earldom with all my might."

Lady Karina pushed her fist on her breast and accepted the order.

The demonic breasts are transforming, I feel like they're shooting a dangerous level of charm wave.

『We will not forget to protect Satou-dono's and Liza-dono's posts either.』

"Thank you, Raka."

An attentive [<>] is wonderful.

"Sera-san, please go to the Duchy Capital where the ruin of a labyrinth sleeps."

"Yes, this time I will protect Duchy Capital and its people whom Satou-san has saved before."

Sera stares at me with eyes full of determination.

I feel like she's going to work hard alone, so I tell her not to forget to contact me before things get dangerous.

I'm going to give [Small Light Ship] to the two to assist their movement.

It's a high speed dimensional airship. I leave the steering to the brownie flying squadrons.

"Am I going to the Royal Capital?"

"Yes, due to the frequent disasters in Shiga Kingdom, the populace are most likely anxious. Therefore, please parade around the capital with strong looking Golem Knights to encourage the people."

I can't let her go to the front line after all.

"Echigoya Firm will prepare the prototype <> that can operate a maximum of 1024 non-combative search type drone golems, please use it during the parade."

"My! It's the magic tool for control that Arisa back then jokingly said to appear in 『Manga』 isn't it! How very wonderful!"

The princess who isn't really pleased with jewels and dresses gets into magic books and this kind of romance hard.

The prototype is quite big, so a small airship will carry it.

Since the princess's room is big and the floor is sturdy, it should be able to hold the throne.

In addition, I asked her to search for enemies around the capital after the parade.

"What about Tama~?"

Tama asked with a worried look.

"Tama will wait with Liza for now okay."

"Aye~"

I pat the disappointed Tama's head and nod at Liza.

"Don't worry, Your turn will come soon enough."

"Aye!"

"Yes, Master."

I went to Boruenan Forest while everyone was preparing for their dispatch.

◇

"Aze, long time no see."

"Satou"

Having come to the tree house in Boruenan Forest, I felt happy when I saw my beloved.

I gently embrace her and get healed by her warmth.

"Satou-san. Please reserve such a shameful act for when you've gained divinity."

"Hello Lua-san."

If it comes to this, I should've left it at that when Tactician Touya accused me of being God Zaikuon.

--Wait, I can't.

It'll just get found out immediately.

I separate myself and then Aze-san stares at me as if she's steeled herself.

"I really shouldn't tell you this, but just a little while ago we got a notice from Gods during the Sacred Tree Meeting."

Sacred Tree meeting is a meeting where the representative high elves from each World Trees in the world gather.

"It was a notice about the execution of Divine Punishment toward Weaselkin Empire and.... and the absolvement of Demon God's blessings in the monster domains and the labyrinths in the whole world. And we were warned not to tell this and not to give support to the king of every country....."

I see, so that's why there wasn't any contact from Boruenan Forest to the Solitary Island Palace at all.

"Dispatching Light Ships too, giving information too, everything has been banned."

"Then, should I return the Brownies dispatched at the Solitary Island Palace too?"

"No, only the elves were prohibited. We can't put up words for you, but spriggans and leprechauns who are good at fight, and also trolls--"

I put a finger on Aze-san's lip.

I'd be happy for reinforcement, but I want to avoid worsening Aze-san's position.

It seems she's barely ever interacted with Gods, but they're still acquaintances for hundreds millions of years after all.

"Having the brownies there are quite enough."

"But, those children are not good at fighting."

"Fighting isn't the only thing needed. The girls can fight with all their power on the front line precisely because of the brownies' support."

It'll troublesome in various ways if the brownies aren't there.

Putting aside cooking, we've left the brownies to do washing, bedmaking and taking care of the garden after all.

◇

"I'm not sure if Aze knows--"

I asked about the information I heard from the female intelligence agent of Selbira City, "God Zaikuon incurred the Dragon God's anger and was killed 30 years ago."

"Yes, that's the truth."

"Do you know where he was killed?"

"It's probably at the Dragon's Valley or a Sanctuary somewhere?"

Looks like Aze-san doesn't know where he was killed either.

"By Sanctuary, do you mean the same place as the one in the Duchy Capital's Tenion Temple?"

"It's a place made from a torn part of the God World where the seven pillar Gods are living. I think it's similar to the 『Another World (Sub-space)』 Satou showed me before? I have never been there but from what I heard from high elves who had visited there, it was a wonderful place filled with pure air and thick divinity."

I see, so they fought in an <>-like place similar to the temporary battle area in games.

It must be a place where they can fight with full power without affecting other places.

Right, lastly I have to tell them about Trazayuya-shi.

I ask them to call Mia's mother, which is also Trazayuya-shi's daughter, Lilinatoa-san.

"It's been a while Satou-san. Been awhile! Is Mia healthy? She must healthy right."

"Yes, she's very healthy."

I greet Lilinatoa-san who's in contrast with the taciturn Mia and then get to the subject once I clear my throat with some tea.

"--Toya was?"

"Yes, he was living as the tactician of Weasel Empire known as Touya."

"....I see."

Lilinatoa-san casted her eyes down while talking in a short sentence similar to Mia.

She probably also knows that Divine Punishment has befallen Weasel Empire.

"Thank you for telling me. My gratitude for you."

Her smile looks forced, but I'll leave the consoling role to her husband, Lamisauya-shi.

"Have you told Giril and Dohar?"

"No, I have yet to."

"Then I'll go tell Giril who's in Boruenan Forest myself."

I thanked Aze-san for the offer and left Boruenan forest.

I also have to tell Elder Dohar in Bolhart city, but they probably don't have the leeway to have a reminiscent talk right now either, I'll talk to him later.

When I got back to the Solitary Island Palace, a report from Echigoya Firm informed us of the Monster Stampedes.

"It's growing tense."

"You're right--"

I ponder for a bit.

"--Everyone, listen to me."

It might be difficult to keep the secret while fighting this time.

Even though you don't need to actively proclaim it, you don't need to worry about getting found out.

So I tell the girls.

"Is that alright?"

"Yea, if you worry about it and end up forsaking a life you could have saved, you'll be regretting it forever right?"

"Un, that's true but--"

Arisa probably wants to say that it'll make the sightseeing tour harder.

"It's alright. We can use illusion during the tour and we can visit anywhere without problem by disguising ourselves."

It's been proven when we visited Weasel Empire in animal costumes.

I look at everyone and say.

"Now, it's time for the Golden Knights' deployment."

I send the girls clad in silver and golden glittering armors one after another to the battlefields.

At this time, even though I had noticed the contradiction between, the thing little girl in painting told me, "Divine Punishment can't happen unless all the seven Gods who arrived riding on the world trees assembled." and the story about Divine Punishment I learned from the weasel emperor and the slates--I didn't realize the significance of that--.

I only learned about that a little bit later.

--At the day Weasel Empire disappeared from this continent.

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