第１８６８堀：あの時に似ているかも (Part1)
Chapter 1868: It Feels Like That Time
Side: Enora
"I see..."
After hearing the details of the Clearstream Church’s scandal from Yuki, I couldn't find the words to continue. It was all too familiar, given that I had once been in a similar situation myself.
"My apologies. Usually, I wouldn't bring this up out of consideration for you..."
"No, I’m glad you told me. If you had kept it from me, I would have been angry."
I made my intentions clear. This was an event I would never forget for as long as I lived. The despair, the frustration, the shame, the emotions I felt when I had finally given up on life... the very moment my life was slipping away.
But that is precisely why I stand here today. It is why I am driven to heal people—not just with clumsy restorative magic, but to reach a point where I can mend any injury, no matter how severe. Even if it is labeled as blasphemy, I continue my research, hoping that one day I might legally reclaim the lives that were lost.
Well, Yuki is cautious when it comes to resurrection. There are so many variables—the location of the soul, whether the person remains the same, and so on—so I am careful and attentive to those details as well. After all, stories of raising the dead are almost always destined for a bad ending.
But, setting that aside.
"So, what would you have me do? You didn't just tell me this information for the sake of it, did you?"
Yuki is kind by nature, but he never does anything without a purpose. He wouldn't have forced me to relive those unpleasant memories just to leave it at that.
"True. But remember, your feelings come first, Enora. What I’m proposing is a healing mission."
"I see. You want to use that to shift the perception of demi-humans, even if only slightly?"
"Exactly. I know it won't change overnight, but it’s still worth doing. If the perception within the Giadana Kingdom shifts, it directly translates to the safety of the demi-humans there. And it gives us a legitimate reason—a *casus belli*, if you will—to intervene."
"Ah, so we can be dispatched from Oue?"
"That’s the idea."
I see. If the perception of demi-humans changes within the Giadana Kingdom, we could be welcomed there, arriving from Oue and Weed. While the Giadana Kingdom generally treats demi-humans as ordinary citizens, the fact that we are currently at war with Oue and Weed complicates things. However, if we were to protect or assist the people in the wake of this scandal, the Giadana Kingdom would have grounds to question their hostility toward Oue.
Combined with the scandal itself, it changes the landscape.
"But wouldn't that just invite surrounding nations to attack? They were originally plotting a war with Oue to unify the North, weren't they? And to crush the Giadana Kingdom for harboring demi-humans. If Oue gets involved in that..."
Wouldn't that guarantee the outbreak of war? Before I could voice the thought, Yuki smiled.
"As you suspect, Enora, the Giadana Kingdom will likely become a battlefield."
"Is that really okay?"
"In terms of 'good' or 'bad,' war is never good, but it’s better than having it fought in the southern reaches of Oue. Besides, the Giadana Kingdom wants to eliminate the threat of the Clearstream Church. By bringing this scandal to light, they are effectively declaring their intent to confront the Church’s power."
"I see, so that’s how it can be interpreted. Is there any chance of success?"
"Who knows? They didn't go that far, but they mentioned that while the Church’s heavy hitters are busy in Oue, they plan to spread the scandal. That should buy us a significant amount of time."
"...Well, it is a scandal, after all. It’s not as if war can start immediately."
Spreading this news will undoubtedly trigger investigations in various countries. If people—not just demi-humans—discover they have been subjected to torture and the like, they will certainly begin to doubt the Clearstream Church. Unless the Church can convince them otherwise, a retaliatory strike against the Giadana Kingdom becomes impossible; an invasion would be out of the question. If they aren't careful, they might even lose their own standing.
"Ah, so that’s why."
"Exactly. It’s the perfect opportunity to crack the Church’s ideology of demi-human exclusion. And for the sake of national security, it’s better to have the war in the North than in the South."
It’s true. People talk about war so easily, but looking at the fighting in the North, it’s the usual affair: burning fields and harming the populace. If the enemy invades, the damage is immense. If we can keep the fighting on enemy soil, the benefits are significant. It would make the Giadana Kingdom the primary theater of war, but that is still preferable to having the conflict spread through Oue or the countries in the South that are cooperating with us.
"But what if the enemy decides to move south?"
They still have the goal of taking Oue, after all.
"It’s not zero, but it’s close to it. Remember, the Oue invasion was a strategy to unify the North. Thinking about it from that perspective..."
"I see. Stabilizing the North is their priority. Hmm, there might be other possibilities, but..."
"If we start playing 'what if,' we’ll never get anything done. We’ll remain vigilant, of course. And we can always poke them a bit to see how they react."
"True. There’s no point in dwelling on hypotheticals. Besides, Viria and the others are investigating, aren't they?"
"Yes. And along with the scandal, we plan to capture the Clearstream Church members coming to Oue to extract information."
If we go that far, some information is bound to surface.
"...Understood. I will go as a healer when the scandal breaks. What about the specifics?"
"Nothing is decided yet. We don't know how they plan to strike. I just thought of this while working at my desk; I haven't even consulted with them yet."
"I’d like to say 'then why tell me,' but knowing you, Yuki, you’ll definitely push it through. In that case, can I still add my own requests?"
"Of course. I can’t promise to fulfill them, but I will consider them."
"That’s fine. It’s simple: if we want to improve the sentiment toward demi-humans, don't you think the evaluation would rise significantly if not just me, but many other demi-humans were there to help?"
In that specific instance, I alone might be enough to save people and provide treatment. But I know from experience that to help many people across various regions, we need more than just one pair of hands. If we can increase those hands, we should.
Well, it’s not as easy as it sounds.
"It would rise, yes. However, unlike when you are on-site, if we are talking about rescue missions at other churches, there’s a risk of being scattered. In that case, they would need to be capable of self-defense..."
Exactly. The problem is what happens when I’m not there. If the Clearstream Church or those influenced by them take action, the damage will extend to those we’ve dispatched.