第４３１堀：真実を知る王者たち (Part1)
### Chapter 431: The Kings Who Know the Truth
**Side: Yuki**
Well, as expected, the conversation wasn't going to progress like this.
If this were some middle-aged guy, I’d kick him or splash water on him to wake him up, but I can’t do that to a woman. So, for now, I gave her cheek a light poke.
"Hey. Wake up, we can't move forward like this."
"Mmm..."
As I thought, that wasn't enough to wake her.
*Sigh.* Well, I’ve already called for "that person," so it’ll probably be more effective to leave it to them.
"What are you doing? Are you going to wake her by force? Or wait until she comes to on her own?"
"What’s this? If you want to wake her by force, leave it to me. I know a trick for this sort of thing."
"No, I’m going to have the priest I mentioned wake her up."
"The priest?"
"Why that?"
"Because it’s the most effective way. To continue this discussion, it’d be better to hear directly from that priest and the source of the information, wouldn't it?"
"...I suppose so."
"If there’s a shortcut, then that’s fine by me."
With the permission of both, I decided to let them in right away.
"Hey. You two can come in now."
As soon as I said that, the conference room door opened, and two figures stepped inside.
One was Lilishe, the Priest of Weed dispatched from Litea—or rather, Lilishe, the Goddess of Love worshiped by Litea.
The other was Faide, the God of Agriculture, who had come as a traveler to scout us out at the request of Nonoa and Nogosh.
"Hello there, excuse the intrusion."
"Pardon the interruption."
"For now, before the greetings, wake up the Saint of Litea over there."
"Oh my, oh my. What happened to little Alstaire?"
"She realized who was sitting next to her and fainted."
"This man? He’s not really anyone of great significance, is he? Honestly, he’s such a nuisance wherever he goes."
"...I really don't think I'm at fault here. If anything, isn't that reaction only natural?"
"To want to be revered when you haven't done much worth revering is laughable. Now then, Alstaire-chan. Wakey-wakey."
Lilishe said this while giving Alstaire a light nudge.
"Y-yes!! What is it, Lilishe-sama!!"
The effect was immediate; she snapped her eyes open.
"...For now, I have questions, but since the Saint of Litea is awake, let’s start with introductions. I am the King of Roschur."
"And I am the current King of Gartz."
"Hello. I am Lilishe, a priest dispatched from Litea to Weed."
"Excuse me for the intrusion. I am Faide, a traveler."
We exchanged greetings without any particular issues.
"Now then, the Saint of Litea just called this Priest Lilishe 'Lilishe-sama,' didn't she? How about you, Gartz?"
"Oh, so the King of Roschur heard it too? I heard it as well."
"Then it was no mistake. You of Litea, will you tell us why you called the priest 'Lilishe-sama'?"
"A-about that... to put it simply, it is exactly as you heard, but it is a difficult story to prove..."
Alstaire couldn't very well say, "She's a goddess."
After all, she’s been treating that very goddess like a subordinate; if she said that, it could easily turn into a massive problem.
"...I understand. You don't have to say anything more."
"...Yeah. You don't have to say it. I’ve realized that if we actually hear the details, we’re going to be in deep trouble too."
"...Thank you very much."
However, as expected of the leaders of great nations, they caught on. By choosing not to ask for details in this unofficial setting, they avoided a troublesome situation.
"...And as for the man next to her, I’m meeting him for the first time, but if he’s an acquaintance of Lilishe-sama, then that means..."
"...Don't say it."
"...Hey, hey. What on earth is going on here?"
The two middle-aged men looked utterly exhausted, as if they had just seen something completely absurd.
"Still, you two believed it quite easily. Without any explicit confirmation."
"We have to. The Saint of Litea herself is acknowledging it."
"That’s true. If it were a lie, it would be a massive scandal. Since she said it in front of us, it must be the real thing or something close to it. There’s no reason to disrupt the current state of stability."
I’m glad they’re quick on the uptake.
"Anyway, the source of the information is this Faide here. And it was something close to a demand for surrender directed at Lilishe."
"Gah. Don't say their names. Both of them are far too familiar..."
"...The God of Agriculture? I haven't heard that name in a long time, but he really existed...? Never mind that. What do you mean by a 'demand for surrender'!? Why are the gods getting involved!?"
"That’s why I gathered you all here—to explain that in detail. It will also involve revealing my true objective."
"...I see. So the time has finally come to speak, my son."
"What do you mean?"
"...Your 'true' objective?"
I had told the old man from Roschur that I would tell him when the time was right.
The other two already knew I was from another world since the Weed Founding Festival, but they had never asked why I was here.
I don't know if they didn't wonder, if they thought it was best not to poke a hornet's nest, or if they were just waiting for me to speak like the Roschur old man, but the time had come.
"Now, this is going to be a long story, but I’ll say this first: think of this whole problem as nothing more than a petty clash of egos."
"A clash of egos?"
"Yes. You’re going to hear about some very important people and events, but don't forget that at the root of it all, that’s the reason."
From there, I kept it concise: I explained that I was from another world, that I was brought here by higher-ranking gods to deal with the mana depletion of Aulorito, and that while I had succeeded in creating the current situation, the idiots who had been in this land for a long time finally felt a sense of crisis and started getting in my way.
It sounds simple in bullet points, but it took several hours to explain.
When the leaders of the three great nations finished listening, they...
"I see. I finally understand my son's intentions."
"Yeah, same here. I had wondered why you were doing all those things, but this makes sense."
"Yes. I am also convinced. So, there was such a noble purpose behind it all."
For some reason, they were convinced much more easily than I had expected.
"You believed that easily, too?"
"That’s because, while I couldn't understand your actions before, it all makes sense if this is the reason."
"Exactly. In Gartz, it was said that my son was trying to lead the continent to peace, but that felt like a weak explanation on its own. But with this reason, I’m convinced."
"So, you judged that it could no longer be handled within the framework of a single nation, and thus gathered various powers to encourage growth?"
Oh, these three are more impressive than I thought.
Is it really possible to believe this with their level of civilization?
Normally, it would be impossible.
"The most reliable reason is that you haven't conquered these three nations."
"We couldn't understand why you wouldn't, despite having the military strength to do so at any time."
"Indeed. With this context, I can see that taking over countries would just be a hassle."
Ah, that’s the biggest reason, isn't it?
They know the actual military strength Weed possesses.
That’s exactly why they can believe it.
"...However, if I may say so, the gods are quite worldly, aren't they?"
The old man from Roschur muttered, looking like it was difficult to say.
"I’m sorry. I’m just a fool who hasn't been able to produce any decent results until now."
"We are sorry for that as well."