第６９３堀：ガイドさんたちによる説明 (Part1)
Chapter 693: Explanations from the Guides
Side: Yuki
“I met her before the Holy Kingdom of Litea was even founded. Back when the woman who would later be called the Saint was still a nobody…”
Talk about a stroke of luck—or perhaps a gift from the heavens. Miyabi, the Queen of the High Elf Kingdom, happened to be an old acquaintance of the Beast God, the leader of the Beast God Kingdom we were currently heading toward.
“She was just a traveling recovery healer back then. I don’t know where she picked it up, but she showed up at our gates with a wounded white tiger, begging our guards to let it rest. That was the beginning of our association.”
As we traveled toward the Beast God Kingdom by car, she explained the circumstances of how she came to know the Beast God.
Simply put, at the time, the High Elf Kingdom existed in total secrecy—there wasn’t even a town for prospective entrants to wait in. Litea had managed to stumble upon it.
They had used magic to make the massive World Tree imperceptible to the outside world, but it hadn’t worked on Litea. Suspicious of this, and fearing the worst, they had detained her before eventually inviting her in.
Well, that made sense. Saint Litea—who was currently one of the two people giving me a headache—was the daughter of the Goddess of Love, Lilishe, and the God of Agriculture, Faide. You couldn’t exactly expect low-level mental interference magic to work on her.
“And when we took her under our protection, I was shocked. Ah, yes. It’s difficult to say this in front of a Saint, even if it is Litea’s daughter, but she was the daughter of the Goddess Lilishe and the God Faide!!”
“““W-what did you say?!”””
A shocking revelation!!
Well, I already knew, but if I didn’t act surprised, it would look suspicious, so we all put on a show of shock.
For the record, Kagura, Amanda, and the others who didn’t know were genuinely stunned, which I appreciated.
“…Leaving aside the envoys from the If Continent and the New Continent, were you all aware of this, Yuki-dono?”
Ah, that didn’t work.
“Or perhaps you don’t believe me? I saw it with my own eyes!! I had her show me her status!! It’s not a lie!! I know this might be a shocking fact for the Holy Kingdom of Litea, but I have no ulterior motives. Please, just keep this between us. It is absolutely the truth!!”
She was panicking, worried that we thought she was lying.
Well, I suppose knowing the secrets of the Holy Kingdom of Litea could lead to international trouble if handled poorly.
Sensing this, Rurua stepped in to explain on our behalf.
“Would it be accurate to say we were aware to a certain extent? It was a topic of debate in old documents, though the credibility was uncertain.”
“…Ah, I see. So it’s better not to speak of it carelessly.”
“Yes. It’s not a bad thing, but it could cause various problems if it comes from the High Elf Kingdom rather than an official announcement from the Holy Kingdom of Litea.”
“Putting that aside, what about the Beast God?”
“Ah, right. The Beast God that Litea-dono brought with her—back then, his name was Tora.”
Tora, the white tiger. That’s a bit too straightforward, isn’t it?
“Once we realized Litea-dono’s true identity, no one dared to lay a hand on her or Tora. In fact, we actively supported them to earn their favor.”
Of course. She was a god’s child; you never know what might happen if you pick a fight with someone like that. It was a rational judgment that being on their side was more profitable.
“Thanks to that, the Beast God Tora recovered from his wounds, and he and Litea-dono departed from our country. Afterward, Litea-dono built a great nation capable of protecting even our kingdom. I am truly grateful.”
“Hm? What about the Beast God?”
“Indeed. It was difficult for him to stay with Litea-dono at the time, given the Demon Lord situation and the founding of her nation. Moreover, Litea-dono is human. She relied on me again, so I had him placed in a nearby Beastman village. I could have hidden him in our country, but given our nation’s stance, we can’t just open our gates easily. He wasn’t of our kind, and I thought it would be better if it were a place Litea-dono could visit easily. She agreed.”
“I see. So, Saint Litea understood the circumstances of your country and kept it quiet?”
“That is correct. Rurua-dono didn’t seem to know either, so it seems she kept the secret until the end. She is a woman of integrity.”
Integrity, huh?
I hope she didn’t just forget about it because she was caught in the middle of a domestic spat.
At this point, the only thing I associate with anyone related to the gods is trouble.
As I was contemplating my unchanging assessment of the gods, Riel suddenly spoke up.
“Um, Miyabi-sama. I’ve heard of the Beast God, but I’ve never heard that anyone has actually spoken to him. Can he talk?”
That’s right. Even if he’s a Beast God, he’s still a beast.
Can he speak human language?
“Yes. You need not worry about that. Telepathy? Or rather, conversation through the manipulation of magical power was possible.”
“I see. But if that’s the case, our turn to shine might decrease. That’s a bummer.”
“Riel-dono, there is no need to be so down. I am a homebody, and it would likely go more smoothly if you and your team went to explain things first. Would you be willing to do that?”
“Ah, yes! Please, leave it to us.”
“……Leave it to us.”
“Yes. I’m counting on you.”
The fact that she was being so considerate toward Riel and the others showed why she had been a queen for so long.
At this rate, there shouldn’t be any problems when we eventually face those useless goddesses.
Though, I’ll be sure to mention that if they get shocked, it’s not my fault.
While we were having that conversation, we switched from the Marauder to a minibus and arrived near the Beast God Kingdom, but…
“You suspicious carriage over there!! Stop!!”
We were greeted with a grand display of intimidation; soldiers had their shields raised and were in a full combat stance.
Wondering why, but unable to just run them over, we stopped to assess the situation. One soldier approached us, clearly on guard.
“Yesterday, we received reports from villagers about a monster never seen before running along the highway!! We want to hear the details regarding that!! The representative of your party, get out and explain yourselves!!”
Ah, I suppose there are still people who have never seen a car, and since there’s almost no interaction in this region, they were on high alert.
I had no choice but to get out and explain, but since the other party was a dog- or wolf-beastman, it would be better to leave the explanation to Tori.
With that, I took Tori and the others and stepped out of the vehicle.
“I am Yuki, the representative of this car—this carriage—from Weed. And this is…”
“I am Tori, the guard. …Yuki-san is the Prince Consort of Weed. We should have sent word in advance, shouldn’t we?”
“From Weed? I did hear about that, but… this is a bit much… Do you have anything that can serve as proof?”
Well, to someone who has never seen an automobile, it must look terrifying.
Tori looked dissatisfied, but I thought it was a natural reaction.
Besides, they had come all this way based on a villager’s report, so the soldiers were clearly diligent. They hadn’t attacked immediately and had instead called out to us.
So, I had Tori hand over the letter we received from Litea.