第３０９堀：話し合い 表 (Part2)
"Those are not words that should come from people who have been shedding blood since time immemorial. No matter how much I have endeavored, have you not been the ones who refused to stop the bloodshed? Even as we cried out desperately for the fighting to cease, you continued to engage in these pointless conflicts, did you not? Between the blood I am about to spill and the endless carnage you fools would leave in your wake, I believe my path leads to far less loss of life, don't you?"
"……What do you mean?"
My understanding couldn't keep pace.
Even now, blood is being shed, but this coming war would be on a scale far beyond that.
There was no way she didn't realize that.
"Ha, you are such a fool. I have been saying it from the beginning. Even if the world calls you 'Great Powers,' you are nothing more than idiots who continue to shed blood over petty territorial disputes. I said that I can no longer entrust this world to you. You do not join hands; you only spill blood for no reason, do you not?"
"……And you believe the Hifi Holy Nation can achieve that?"
"Yes. I have been watching this foolish conduct for over four hundred years, but this is the end. I have realized that it was a mistake to trust you humans. It has been a long, winding road, but if I do not stand up myself, true peace will never come."
"Is that the reason for this conflict?"
"Can you not believe it? But reality is different. After Lady Laraina leaves this Holy City, I will immediately mobilize my forces and conquer August."
"That... if you do that, the common people will be caught in the crossfire!!"
"And what of it? Even when I called out to you, you trash suppressed my voice, did you not? Or perhaps you are simply fools who cannot hear. Either way, this is a necessary sacrifice. I will erase you creatures—you 'nobles' who preen yourselves on ruling people and nations—from this continent. After all, you serve no purpose, do you? Even Lady Laraina, while claiming to protect the people, uses those very people as tools for war, does she not?"
"Th-that is not..."
That was not my intention. It wasn't, but in the end, I could not deny that it must look exactly as the Hifi Goddess said.
Yet, I had taken up the sword dreaming of a day without conflict.
"Well, there is no use blaming fools. You lack the intelligence and the power to lead the world to peace. It is pointless to seek what does not exist."
"Are you saying you can do it? That this small Hifi Holy Nation can unite this continent..."
"Yes. I am initiating this because I know I can. That is enough talk, is it not? I am not seeking your understanding. I have merely answered your questions."
"……"
I could not utter another word.
In a sense, her words were the truth.
But it was a truth that everyone dreams of, yet eventually gives up on and comes to terms with.
And yet, she had started this war because she believed that dream was within her reach.
……This could not be stopped.
I realized only that words would never be enough to halt her.
"If you wish to stop me, then try to force me with the power you love so much. It is what you always do, is it not? It should be simple. Just as you have always done by conscripting the healing mages of my country and working them to the bone, you can rely on some other nation this time. I will no longer entrust my precious people to you."
In those words, I felt her resolve.
A fierce anger, and a deep sorrow.
So, this was the root of it all.
We had relied on her too much, treating her citizens like disposable tools, and now we had been discarded.
……It was as simple as that.
"You must wash away your own failures with your own lives. Ah, you must be tired from your long journey. A room has been prepared for you, so please rest there for today. Now, please, lead them to their quarters."
As we were guided away, feeling her gaze upon our backs, we left the room.
***
Side: Jessica
"Lady Laraina?"
"……Forgive me. Please, let me think by myself for a while."
I had gone to Lady Laraina's room to check on her, but as expected, she seemed bewildered by the other party's rhetoric.
Thinking it best to give her some space as she requested, I turned to leave, only to see Samantha walking toward me.
"How is she?"
It seemed Samantha was also concerned about Lady Laraina.
Well, that was only natural. Even I was taken aback by that declaration.
"She asked to be left alone for a while."
"……I imagine so. My own ears burned hearing it."
"Mine as well. However, it is a dream that would normally be unreachable..."
"……It is a malicious situation. A Dungeon Master, and a person from another world. One who possesses civilization and knowledge equal to Yuki-sama's."
She had reached it.
She had obtained power that left other nations behind, power they could never hope to catch up to.
She had truly obtained it.
"So, Samantha. Where are Eris and Cleena?"
"Eris-san and Cleena-san are currently calming Amanda down. She seems quite shaken after hearing the words of the Hifi Goddess."
"I see. However, it seems you saw the same thing, Samantha."
"And you as well, Jessica? Then it is all but certain."
"Yuki seems to be meeting with the person from the other world, so we will hold an emergency meeting once he returns."
"That is quite an emergency... *sigh*."
We had our duties as Lady Laraina's guards, but we had another task as well.
To investigate who the true mastermind was.
Was it the Dungeon Master, Comet-dono, or perhaps the person from the other world...?
Or someone we had yet to discover?
But that speculation was slightly off-base, as a major player had emerged.
"To think that a Goddess would lead a nation herself."
"I can understand her ability to command loyalty. But she is an extremely troublesome opponent to deal with."
Indeed.
The mastermind behind this was likely the Hifi Goddess herself.
When I checked with Appraisal...
"Hifi Goddess: Goddess of Peace and Healing."
Those words were written in her status.
It seems Hifi has decided not to rely on humans, but to stand on her own.
Well, it feels as though she has finally lost patience after watching them for hundreds of years.
It is truly a case of the people of the New Continent reaping what they have sown.
Now, next is the matter of Yuki and the others, and Taizo.
I wonder how that will turn out.