Clara, who had been chatting with her companions, widened her eyes after overhearing my conversation with Plebelziam.
“You’re going to meet the Earth Priestess?!”
“Yeah.”
“Uh… um.”
The Dragon God Cathedrals didn’t get along with each other. From the perspective of the Sun Priestess, contacting a priestess from another cathedral would be quite awkward.
Sun, Azure Heavens, Earth, and Great Sea.
These were the four cathedrals that worshipped the Dragon God.
Since the Sun Cathedral had already fallen, it was out of the question. The Azure Heavens Cathedral wandered the skies above the Prima Continent along with its floating island. Unless I had sufficient means prepared later, there was currently no way to detect or contact it.
I knew quite a bit about the remaining two.
The Earth Cathedral was the state religion of the beastkin kingdom of Safaria, and its priestess was tasked with guarding the elixir known as 『Dragon God’s Tear (S+)』.
The Great Sea Cathedral had taken refuge in a force called the ‘Sea King Kingdom,’ located at a massive lake in the southern part of the Prima Continent, and had preserved the elixir called 『Dragon God’s Heart (S+)』 for generations.
Unlike the young Clara, the priestesses of both cathedrals were in their level 60s during Part 2. Both had participated in the final battle against the Schnifelt family and played significant roles.
Therefore, I wasn’t particularly worried about any problems that might arise between Clara and the Earth Priestess. In front of the common enemy known as the “rebels,” conflicts between the cathedrals would be temporarily set aside.
I gave a brief briefing to my companions.
“The Earth Priestess, the shadow ruler of Safaria, is only born from the Dragon Tribe, which is said to be the strongest among beastkin. She wields power close to that of a demigod in beastkin society, so if we ever have reason to visit, we must be especially careful with our actions.”
“Dragon Tribe? Then are they reptile-type beastkin like Kubri?”
“No. They’re much closer to humans than other beastkin. Aside from having horns on their foreheads, there’s almost no difference between them and humans.”
“I see.”
Epio nodded slowly.
After thinking seriously for a moment, he said,
“…Would it hurt if you got hit by the horns?”
“What kind of obvious question is that?!”
Kurt shouted in shock. The two of them had become completely inseparable, just like in the original story.
I quietly watched Kurt, who had started bickering with Epio. Until now, I had only been interested in the Soul Imprint 『Dismixer (U)』 that he possessed, but after my private conversation with the Emperor, my interest in him had grown significantly.
The only blacksmith throughout history who could process Meteor Gold — the Myth Forger.
The trait 『Myth Forger’s Bloodline (A)』, which signified that he had inherited that blood quite strongly.
I had a feeling that Kurt might be carrying a much bigger piece of foreshadowing than I had imagined.
“How have you been feeling lately?”
“…I-It’s fine.”
“I heard your spirit arts training is progressing smoothly as well.”
“It’s all thanks to… the kind person who’s teaching me.”
“Erendrel? That can’t be right.”
No matter how much his body was bound by Shambhavi’s ‘oath enforcement,’ that was impossible.
“It’s because you’re a genius.”
“T-That’s…”
When I gave her an honest compliment, Visanya blushed and avoided my gaze.
…Hmm, honestly, she was a little cute.
She really lived up to being a character who had secured a fairly dedicated fanbase in the original story.
On a side note, from what I had observed, the popularity ratio among the three heroines was roughly (Clara : Visanya : Lei = 7 : 2 : 1).
It wasn’t based on any accurate data or surveys, so it was just my own speculation, but if I asked other readers, most of them would probably agree.
Whether it was Lei or Visanya, when they first appeared, most readers had shouted “I’m calling dibs,” but both of them were also main heroines of their respective parts.
In particular, Visanya had spent the most time physically together with Epio due to the timeline of Part 4. That meant she also had many opportunities to appeal her charm.
- Black Flame: Visanya-chan, I’m dying 😭 😭 😭 😭 I want her to live happily ever after with the protagonist ㅠㅠ Ldlrjsnrkgotjrgksek: ? └ Fluid: Ah lol this guy └ Physical Mage: Someone beat this bastard up └ Black Flame: No, how long are you people going to cling to old connections? Just quietly accept reality~
As someone who had never once wavered in my faith as a hardcore Clara supporter, I couldn’t help but lament this, but the emergence of such heretical factions was, if anything, a natural flow.
Still, as I mentioned earlier, even if I combined the popularity of both Lei and Visanya, it wouldn’t even reach half of Clara’s popularity.
She was that much of a heroine who didn’t divide opinions.
- Anger Management X: Please, just don’t make that damn silver-haired cancer priestess the heroine. I’m begging you, don’t let her appear again in the latter half looking all pathetic ^^ (Comment under review)
No matter how much I searched my memory, there had only been one person among the Thirty-Man Death Squad who could be considered hostile toward Clara.
After finishing my regular consultation with Visanya, I passed by the training ground where the Professor and Arent were training before returning to the office.
After handling the day’s work, I received the report I had been waiting for.
“…Master. It’s regarding the ‘Shariz School.’”
“Yeah. How did it go?”
“Just like the previous report, there hasn’t been any notable progress. It seems they have no desire to interact with the outside world.”
“Hmm…”
A groan escaped me after hearing Camillo’s report. As expected, things in this world didn’t always go the way I wanted.
Shariz.
A renowned martial arts school located in the Haramadine Sultanate that combined twenty-eight different martial arts into a single heart method.
The reason I had attempted to make contact with them was because one of the three people on the Prima Continent who had even a slight chance of defeating Iris Schnifelt was there.
His name was Apino Scarone.
He was the strongest martial artist in the history of the Shariz School.
However, in the original story, he had only been mentioned in passing and never actually appeared. Therefore, he was closer to a setting character than an actual appearing character.
In the main story, it was only mentioned that he was one of the powerhouses who had once been discussed as a candidate for the continent’s greatest, and that was the end of it. Hearing only that, he didn’t seem particularly special.
But because I had crammed the setting materials of Reca Chronicles into my head, during my seventh reread I discovered a piece of information that seemed connected to Apino.
The clue wasn’t in the main story, but in the character encyclopedia section of the setting materials. It was under the entry for [Character No.501 – Olof Yonson], the former Triple Star.
Although Olof was now known as a calm and composed celebrity, in his younger, hot-blooded days, he had apparently been unbelievably arrogant and violent.
He had already been an outstanding warrior from a young age, to the point where he was directly compared to the Continent’s Twelve Heroes. Naturally, this led him to develop an enormous ego. He didn’t listen to others, was completely uncommunicative, hurled insults at anyone who fell short of his standards, and resorted to violence the moment something displeased him.
The turning point for him came from an encounter with an unknown old man.
On a night with a full moon, in a deserted alley.
Olof met an old man wearing a blue-white martial uniform. The old man stroked his magnificent white beard and asked,
- I’ve heard your name is quite famous among the young ones around here. Mind if I see your skills?
Eyes that revealed nothing of what lay beneath. Facing those eyes, Olof felt a strange sense of fear. To shake off the shameful emotion, he swung his weapon, and in that instant, his vision flashed.
The old man countered with a light thrust of his sword, delivering a shock as if Olof’s arm had been snapped. With the second strike, Olof lost his balance, and with the third, his energy channels were struck, completely subduing him.
Three attacks that contained infinite variations.
Olof couldn’t even properly read their trajectories.
As Olof lay on the ground with a dazed expression, the old man merely looked down at him with indifferent eyes before leaving.
Afterward, Olof reflected on his previous arrogance and developed a humble temperament. It was the kind of story you’d hear about meeting a hidden master in a martial arts novel.
At first glance, it seemed like a background setting thrown in without much thought, but after catching several clues in the main story, I believed the old man was highly likely to be Apino.
This conclusion was based on considering his physical description, the blue-white martial uniform, the characteristics of the techniques used to subdue Olof, the timing of his appearance, and the region.
I’ll save the detailed explanation for later, but the story above took place when Olof Yonson was in his late twenties.
At the time, Olof was estimated to be at least in the early to mid-50s in level. The fact that someone had so easily and instantly subdued an opponent of that caliber meant the old man was at least on the level of a “continent’s greatest” or higher.
“Continent’s greatest” was a term readers commonly used to distinguish powerhouses at level 65 and above from the ordinary(?) Triple Star.
Except during special periods like the era of the Five Heroes, the strongest on the Prima Continent were generally in the mid-60s, and rarely in the late 60s, so it was a fairly appropriate expression.
The fact that the old man had subdued a Twelve Heroes-level martial artist with just three attacks was already more than forty years ago.
Unless they were special cases like Tisie or Estriel, even if one continued training, their skills would usually decline as they aged.
However, due to the characteristics of the Shariz School, it was possible that Apino, an extreme powerhouse, had grown even stronger than he was back when he fought Olof.
The fact that the second-ranked member of Shariz who appeared in the main story was a whopping level 61 made the story quite plausible.
Camillo asked,
“I’ve also heard rumors about Duke Scarone’s unnamed status. But is he truly a powerhouse comparable to the Thousand-Man Slayer or the Sword Saint?”
“I don’t know either. No matter how much we speculate, we won’t know for sure until we confirm it directly.”
It was certain that he was at the continent’s greatest level.
The problem was the wide variance.
There was a possibility he was above the Thousand-Man Slayer, but there was also a fairly high chance he was below the Sword Saint. It would be better not to have high expectations, like buying a lottery ticket.
I fell into thought.
Tisie Verdad.
Apino Scarone.
And that guy, who was still too early to contact.
If everything went ideally and I could recruit all three, I could achieve a 100% victory even against the Schnifelt family. But realistically, that was an almost impossible assumption. The Shariz School hadn’t made any notable moves even during Part 3, when chaos had erupted across the entire continent. If things continued this way, the only one I could realistically seek cooperation from was Tisie.
It was fine.
I had come to deeply understand that plans should always be made while assuming the worst.
October 986.
Aliki, who had lost her newly acquired safe haven due to a young man’s scheme, was captured without resistance and transported to Safaria.
“Look over there. That’s the Cat Tribe’s Yonyeo who ran away before.”
“That woman?”
“Tsk, who knows what she’s been up to.”
Rats, boars, dogs, tigers… various beastkin whispered as they looked at her. In Safaria’s beastkin society, the position of Yonyeo was an honorable one. Almost no one could understand why she had thrown it away and voluntarily headed into human territory.
Soon, she was transported to the government office where the leaders of the seventeen beastkin tribes and the Dragon King resided.
“Straight to the Dragon King’s Palace? She must be receiving severe punishment.”
“He’s an extremely strict person.”
Aliki sneered at the ignorant commoners. Dragon King? There was a far more terrifying existence waiting for her.
Just as Aliki had expected, the one who greeted her after she was dragged into the hall was not the Dragon King.
“How was your long runaway, Aliki?”
“Helauklium…!”
Lime-green hair that looked as if it would melt into the grass swayed. She smiled while making her characteristic golden eyes shine.
Solise Helauklium Wi Drako.
She was the Earth Priestess who ruled over Safaria.
Aliki abruptly turned her head away to avoid her.
“It seems you have no desire to talk with me. More importantly… Aliki? You’ve brought something strange with you, haven’t you? Ufufu.”
“What…?”
Before Aliki could even react, the Earth Priestess Solise extended her hand.
“Kyaaah!”
Immediately after, Aliki screamed and fainted. Something rippling emerged from her body.
It was a flame.
A weak flame, as if it would be extinguished at any moment, like a candle in the wind.
It moved and took on the shape of words.
“Hmm… Is it the 〈Dragon Note〉 spell?”
It was an extremely weak energy, considering the long distance it had traveled. However, because the Dragon Priestess possessed world resonance abilities, she was sensitive even to the authorities of other priestesses, so she could clearly see even the faint energy before her eyes.
Movement, Blispiel, visit, negotiation… Indeed, it seems someone from Blispiel wants to meet me and the rebels.
With just a few keywords, Solise was able to infer the other party’s intentions.
“The rebels…”
Those disgusting beings who had rebelled against the Dragon God’s choice.
If their goal had been to draw her interest, they had succeeded. And on top of that, the fact that the one who delivered this message was the Sun Priestess was quite coincidental.
“Blispiel Clan, was it?”
She engraved that name into her heart.