Chapter 155. Preparation #2
One of the survivors of the Great Beast War.
Saint Maria Jane Johnson.
With the death of the S-rank saint who had once stood shoulder to shoulder with the hero.
Maria, an A-rank saint, had now taken her place, becoming one of the central figures of Elemencia.
And.
She played a pivotal role among the humans striving to rebuild their nation.
After dismissing the others around her.
Maria, with a gentle smile, spoke to Elise, who had come to see her.
“What brings the Warrior of Devotion here?”
“Warrior in this era? That’s too grand a title. Just call me by my name.”
“Alright, Elise.”
“I didn’t say you could drop formalities…”
“Just joking. Anyway, what brings you here all of a sudden?”
“…I have a favor to ask.”
“A favor? If it’s a request from Elise, of course, I’ll oblige. So, what is it?”
“Standing out here to talk doesn’t seem right. Can we go inside and talk slowly?”
Elise gestured toward a building with her eyes.
Maria nodded.
“Alright, but…”
Maria’s gaze shifted to the side of Elise.
A monster with a spider body and a dog’s face.
Hexil, the Demon King of Peace, who had saved many lives during the Great Beast War, stood naturally next to Elise.
In the Ancient Labyrinth, Hexil’s species had been called Dog Spiders by Kang Geon.
“Why is the Demon King of Peace here…?”
She had been bewildered from the beginning.
But she wasn’t afraid.
Maria knew Hexil was a harmless monster.
“Oh. I forgot to introduce him. The Demon King of Peace has been traveling with me lately. In other words, he’s my companion.”
Elise patted Hexil’s head.
“Hexil, say hello. This is Saint Maria Jane Johnson.”
［Shii! Nice to meet you! I’m Hexhexxilshiiiiik!］
“Ah, yes… Nice to meet you… I’m Maria Jane Johnson.”
Maria greeted awkwardly with a forced smile.
Clearing her throat, she led Elise toward the building.
［Take your time talking! I’ll wait quietly out here! Shii!］
Hexil couldn’t enter the building.
Unlike in the Ancient Labyrinth.
Here, his body was much too large.
“By the way, Elise. Have you found the Fallen Hero?”
“Not yet. They might really all be dead.”
Maria and Elise continued their conversation as they entered the building.
***
Maria had heard of the man named Gauntlet many times.
Although she had never met him in person.
She had heard numerous stories about Gauntlet from the S-rank saint she served.
Thanks to that.
Elise didn’t have much difficulty explaining the world called Earth to Maria.
Gauntlet’s situation.
The world of the Ancient Labyrinth.
Gauntlet’s home, Earth.
The situation on Earth.
The guardian known as Nokya.
The imminent disappearance of the Dimensional Barrier.
The fact that Earth had once been uninhabitable for living creatures without the Dimensional Barrier.
When Nokya was born, humans did not yet exist.
It was presumed that life itself could barely survive, and it was only after the Dimensional Barrier formed that various life forms began to appear.
From that point on, attempts to invade from other dimensions increased, and the Dimensional Barrier was consistently strengthened.
The absence of Sage Lunaris.
And the Great Migration Plan.
Elise spent a long time explaining everything to Maria so she could easily understand.
“……”
After hearing the story, Maria was silent for a moment.
And after some time passed.
Once Maria had organized her thoughts, she slowly opened her mouth to speak.
“Alright. There’s no need for a special reason when it comes to saving lives.”
“…Aren’t you deciding too easily? Don’t you need to think it over more? You can’t change your mind later.”
“I won’t change my mind. I’ve given it plenty of thought, so don’t worry. And leave persuading the others to me. If I use your name, it won’t be hard at all.”
“I’d appreciate that…”
Elise was stunned.
She had confidently told Gauntlet that it would be easy to persuade people, but she never imagined it would be resolved this easily.
She had expected at least a few arguments.
‘I guess the trust in me is stronger than I thought… Well, I have lived my life helping others after all.’
Elise sighed in relief, grateful that things were going smoothly.
“Aah, but there are a few conditions.”
“Huh? What conditions?”
Maria spread out a map on the table.
Tap, tap.
Maria pointed at a continent on the map with her finger.
“If we bring people from Earth, we will give them the continent right next to ours. But we have no intention of letting them build their own country.”
“You won’t let them build their own country? Does that mean you’ll accept them as your citizens?”
“Yes. As you know, we plan to establish the only unified nation in Elemencia. We don’t intend to acknowledge or tolerate the creation of any other nations. The other four warriors besides you, Elise, have also agreed to this.”
“Weren’t they completely indifferent to whether a new country was formed or not…”
Elise muttered to herself.
As she manipulated the status window floating in the air.
She was relaying Maria’s words to Gauntlet in real time.
After passing on Maria’s conditions through chat.
Elise, having heard Gauntlet’s opinion, spoke to Maria.
“…Anyway, that seems reasonable. After all, we’re saving Earth’s people.”
Elise agreed to Maria’s condition.
Though, in truth, it was Gauntlet who agreed.
“I didn’t expect you to accept the condition so quickly. Didn’t you say the humans on Earth don’t have a class system? I thought you would have agonized over this.”
“What’s there to agonize over? If they come to Elemencia after being saved, they’ll have to adapt to and follow our laws. If they don’t like the conditions we set, they can stay on Earth, which is doomed to perish.”
This, too, wasn’t Elise’s own thought.
She was merely repeating Gauntlet’s words.
“By the way, have you decided who will sit on the new kingdom’s throne?”
Elise asked.
This time, it was a question of her own.
“That’s quite a sensitive question to ask without any warning…”
“Oh, sorry. If it’s hard to answer, you don’t have to.”
“No, it’s not difficult. The truth is, no one has been chosen for the throne yet. There are only candidates being discussed.”
“Are you one of those candidates?”
“Yes, I am. And so are you, Elise. You’re the only one among the warriors who has been mentioned as a candidate.”
“…Huh? Why me?”
“Because you’re the Warrior of Devotion.”
“I haven’t contributed anything to the rebuilding of the nation, though?”
“But you’re still the Warrior of Devotion. Not just any warrior, the Warrior of Devotion.”
“……”
Normally, Elise would have immediately said she didn’t want to be considered.
She had no interest in the throne.
But this time, she remained silent.
The people from Gauntlet’s world.
Maria was the only trustworthy leader who wouldn’t discriminate against them and would govern fairly.
If Maria couldn’t become queen.
Elise couldn’t trust anyone else with the humans coming from Earth.
So, she was considering the possibility of ascending to the throne herself.
“Alright. Anyway, that’s the end of the conditions you mentioned, right?”
“Nope, there’s more.”
“…There’s more?”
“We can’t just accept humans from Earth unconditionally. So, I plan to use my ability to screen them.”
Maria’s ability.
It was the power to distinguish between good and evil.
Though it was based on her subjective standards.
Maria could see people’s souls.
To be precise, she could see the color of their souls.
And those with black souls were clearly evil by Maria’s standards.
Additionally.
She could vaguely sense the sins the person had committed.
The sins they had committed to satisfy their own greed.
Elise was, of course, aware of that ability.
“You mean you won’t accept the evil ones?”
“Yes. I have no intention of saving evil people. I hope you can understand, Elise.”
Elise immediately opened chat to relay this condition to Gauntlet.
And.
Gauntlet’s reaction was positive after hearing the story.
He thought it was even better that Maria could filter out evil people with her ability.
［Elise. But is that power really trustworthy?］
【Bubble Bubble】─Yeah. Maria’s ability has never harmed an innocent person, so don’t worry. I can vouch for it.
【Pururu】─What if someone was forced to kill? Does their soul still appear black?
【Bubble Bubble】─Killing for survival, by accident, or in defense is not considered a sin. Killing for pleasure or to fulfill selfish desires is what counts as a sin. Killing for food, of course, is not a sin either.
【Bubble Bubble】─Maria’s ability can distinguish even such subtle details.
［That’s reassuring. Go ahead and tell her we accept that condition as well.］
【Bubble Bubble】─Got it.
After discussing it with Gauntlet.
Elise told Maria they would accept the second condition as well.
Afterward.
Maria said she would let Elise know if she thought of any additional conditions later and then took out a bundle of golden keys she had been keeping in her possession.
“Elise. You said Gauntlet has many powerful monsters, right? And that he can send them to other worlds?”
“Yeah. But why?”
“Could you ask him
to send over a monster with an enormous amount of mana? We need a tremendous amount of mana to operate this Sky Ark.”
“Huh? That’s the key to the Sky Ark?”
Elise’s eyes widened.
The Sky Ark, also known as the Airship.
It was a legacy left by the Great Sage during the Great Beast War.
The Sky Ark was.
A gigantic ‘ship of salvation’ that could fly through the sky, rescuing humans from the ground.
And the keys Maria held were the device used to summon the Sky Ark.
“Why do you have that?”
“I was one of the people who piloted the Sky Ark during the Great Beast War.”
“Oh… Were you…? Why don’t I remember that?”
“It’s understandable if you don’t remember. You were always on the front lines, and I didn’t take over the Sky Ark until near the end of the war. Anyway, can you ask for a monster with overflowing mana?”
“Oh, I just asked, and they said they could send one right away.”
“Really? That’s great. You don’t have to send it right now. Just a few days before Sage opens the Dimensional Portal will be fine.”
Even after that.
Elise and Maria continued to discuss the Great Migration Plan in depth.
—
■Maria Jane Johnson
─Threat level: A-rank.
─Abilities: Distinguishing Good and Evil, Execution of Justice.