Within the home of the late patriarch within the headquarters of the Kushain believers was Saint Mira acting unlike her saintly self as she spoke to her aide, Vilan Do Zul.
“Ahh! I’m beat!”
The way she shook her head with her hair unkempt could be seen as charming in its own way if she were a normal girl, but as a princess and a saint no less, it was truly improper.
“P-Princess… That behavior isn’t proper for someone of your position…”
The princess threw her pillow at Vilan and hit him right on the head.
“At least let me vent my frustrations! Sheesh, I wanted to get the small feudal lords back, but now look what!”
“H-Huh?”
When Mira saw Vilan unable to understand, she grit her teeth.
“I don’t know why, but somehow someway, the message I sent to the small feudal lords was tampered with! Someone must’ve done this… Hmm?”
Mira puffed her cheeks in displeasure as she went on a rant, but then she suddenly stopped and became thoughtful as if she’d realized something.
“Is something the matter?” Vilan asked.
“Hey, Vil. The monsters are oppressing the small feudal lords, right?” Mira asked.
“Yes. Those who participated in the Battle of Kruzel confirmed it, a giant goblin no one has seen before.”
“Wasn’t there a clan residing with the small feudal lords?”
“Erm… Yes, if I recall correctly, it should be the Leon Heart Clan. They’re a giant merc clan on par with the Valkyuria. Their main headquarters is situated in the east, however. Supposedly, they’re only with the feudal lords because they were hired.”
Mira, who had stopped listening to Vilan midway, had her hand by her mouth as she muttered to herself.
“Could it be? Could it really be?
As she made up her mind, she turned to Vilan.
“Investigate the financial state of the Leon Heart Clan! You can at least get that much info, right?”
“Yes. It shouldn’t take long.”
“Then go!”
Vilan, who was chased out by Mira, came back after some time with the documents pertaining to the Leon Heart Clan’s financial situation on hand.
When Mira saw the documents, she nodded her head and said ‘I knew it’ to herself before falling back into silence.
“Is something the matter with the Leon Heart Clan?”
Mira smiled complacently at the poor Vilan who still couldn’t follow.
“The chaos in the south is because of the Leon Heart Clan. They colluded with the goblins and tricked the small feudal lords.”
“…You’re kidding, right? Their main headquarters is in the east.”
“It’s just a conjecture, but the odds are high. Don’t you see anything after seeing these documents?”
“Not particularly? I mean it looks fine to me.”
“Exactly! It looks too good! The Red King Clan and the Elks Clan are battling for influence in the east right now. So just how in the world are they able to remain unaffected despite that?”
“But, no… Could it be? Are they looking to move?”
“Looks like your head is finally working. That’s right. They’re looking for a new base, and it’s because of that that they met the goblins.”
“But those are monsters.”
“And yet they are fearfully organized.”
As the two gazed into each other’s eyes up close, they came to a realization. This enemy is dangerous.
“But we can’t touch them for now. Germion Kingdom is acting suspiciously.”
“Are you talking about the holy knights, Sivara and Jize? They’re probably just there to keep things in check.”
“And by keep in check, that’s the refugees, of course. But do you really they can suppress them? When I can send out 20,000 soldiers?”
“That many would take us 10 days, though.”
The Kushain Believers have many enemies. They were enemies with the Ashunasan Alliance because of Benem’s holy war. They were also enemies with Germion Kingdom, and have been for a long time now. They were also enemies with the goblins because they killed their patriarch.
What they currently needed was time, as well as a partner who would be willing to work with them.
“We’ll scheme against the Leon Heart Clan. But I’m also interested in the goblins, so make sure to gather intel on them too.”
“As you command.”
Just when Vilan was about to leave, word came that a messenger had come.
“Who is it?” Mira asked.
“A messenger from Elrain Kingdom,” reported by the guard.
Mira and Vilan looked at each other.
“Good heavens! Why did a person like that have to come now!?”
Mira’s poor behavior continued a little longer. When she finally calmed down, she received the messenger. At that time, she was already wearing her saintly mask.
“King Yuguno of Elrain Kingdom is worried about the current situation,” the messenger said.
Mira listened to the messenger with a smile as he spoke for a long time.
The messenger had come with a demand to surrender.
Mira tried to probe the messenger how much they knew, but of course, she still refused to surrender at the end of the audience. What was most noteworthy for her was Elrain Kingdom mentioning the movements of Germion Kingdom.
“Just how far are they scheming, I wonder.”
The goal of the Kushain Believers was to suppress their surrounding enemies and unify the south.
There was a slight chance of success were she to repeat what the late patriarch, Benem Nemush, did, and mobilized countless soldiers under the excuse of a holy war, but with 4 major powers in play, the odds of getting hit from behind was almost guaranteed.
Vilan could hold one line, but Mira could not think of anyone else she could rely on were she to try and hold two lines at the same time.
That being said, the same should also apply to the other forces. They may be able to hold one war, but a second war at the same time should be impossible.
“It’s unfortunate, but it seems we’ll have to quietly watch for now.”
As Mira muttered that to herself, spiritless, she sent Vilan to the northern side to deal with Germion Kingdom. As for the goblins to the west and Elrain Kingdom to the south, she decided to just watch for now.
She snorted in displeasure as she fiddled with her dazzling golden hair.
Since Elrain Kingdom asked her to surrender, they should be up to something. Perhaps they intend to attack Cultidian, or perhaps it’s Pena, or even the goblins.
She had plans in place in case of an attack. And in the case another force interfered, she could hit them from the back. She had plenty of spies in Fatina, so she was able to tell Elrain Kingdom’s movements.
“Hmph. Just watch,” Mira muttered out of spite to no one in particular as she emptied her cup of black tea.
She decided in her heart to strike Elrain Kingdom – which was now controlled by the Red King – from the back if they moved.
The black tea was faintly sweet.
