The restaurant Tears of God, located atop a seaside cliff overlooking the beautiful beaches and harbors of the Meteor Isles.While the other club members were too busy stuffing themselves with delicacies, Elena and I slipped out of the clubroom and came here.It wasn’t exactly a private meeting.Including the female student accompanying Elena, there were three of us.Normally, the female students of Saintea choose to become priests and the male students choose to become Holy Knights, but this girl had taken an unusual path—she had chosen to become a Holy Knight.Adler Bonart.She was one of the people who assisted Elena from the closest distance.She also often partnered with Elena, who had not officially formed a “pair” with any other Holy Knight, during various exams and evaluations.“……”As I kept staring at Adler seated across from me, Elena spoke up.“Is my friend making you uncomfortable? If you’d prefer a private talk, we can…”“No. Nothing like that. It’s just my first time seeing her face.”“This is Adler. Go ahead and say hello to each other.”Adler, her short blue hair cut sharply to the chin, lowered her head stiffly.“…I’m Adler.”“I’m Loen.”After a brief exchange of introductions, I went straight to the point.“So, what did you want to see me about?”There was plenty of good food in the clubroom already. Calling me out to a restaurant had to mean she had another motive.“It’s nothing special. We just haven’t had a proper meal together yet, have we? Since we met anyway, I thought I’d treat you to dinner. At an expensive place, of course.”That reminded me—I’d turned down her invitations several times before.But I still didn’t know what her true intent was.“You’re treating me, so I’ll eat well—but that can’t be the only reason. Couldn’t we just have eaten in the clubroom?”“Oh, don’t be so prickly. I helped you a lot last time, remember? It was practically a bleeding discount service.”“……”That was true enough.Even if it hadn’t come from pure goodwill, the outcome had benefited me quite a bit.“All right.”It wouldn’t do to be too curt.I nodded and looked over the menu.This place—Tears of God—was one of the most expensive restaurants in Saintea’s dining district.After glancing at the menu for a moment, I ordered the simple Special Course A.Elena ordered the sweet Honey Carrot Grill, and Adler went with the veal steak.“Order received.”After the waiter left, Elena turned her gaze to the harbor scenery beyond the window and spoke.“How is it here? Beautiful view, isn’t it?”I followed her gaze and nodded slightly.A beautiful coastline and harbor bathed in the warmth of the setting sun.Shadows growing longer with the passage of time, and ships of every color lighting up one by one.The world of Mirellin Saga—each scene looked as if it had been carved into an exquisite work of art.The harbor visible beyond the window was Stella Port, the largest among the “Penta Ports,” the five great harbors of the Meteor Isles.Roughly thirty percent of the continent’s maritime logistics passed through this Penta Port.It supplied food and goods for more than a hundred thousand island residents, while exporting the isles’ high-quality magic stones and materials to the mainland.And since it also served as a forward base to the New Continent, it was natural for the trade volume to be immense.Elena pointed at a white sailing ship docked at the harbor.“That white ship belongs to our Holy Kingdom. Aboard are priests and Holy Knights sent to help those who, lost in sorrow, seek God’s aid. Even now, countless people are being dispatched to unexplored territories. They heal the wounded and fight monsters on the front lines.”“……”“And… God’s radiance reaches not only here in the Meteor Isles, but across the whole continent.”Elena glanced at me, and reading her intent, I replied calmly.“I take it you’ve already spoken with Illeina.”“As expected, you catch on quickly. I received her confirmation not long ago. The King of Izelin has granted permission for the Lu Order’s missionary work, so before long, a diocese will be established there.”“That’s good news.”Though not the most elegant method, the Holy Kingdom had, through this, effectively secured a foothold for expanding into the southern continent.For me as a player, the growing influence of the Holy Kingdom and the Lu Order—forces opposing the demons—was also somewhat advantageous. Definitely good news.“But as you know, this is only the first step. Missionary work in the southern continent won’t be easy.”The southern regions were traditionally dominated by powerful local religions.Even for the Lu Order, it would be difficult to settle and take root easily.“You seem rather knowledgeable about the continent’s religions and politics?”“Roughly.”I nodded.Those who pursued the priest or Holy Knight paths generally joined the Lu Order of the Holy Kingdom, so I knew enough to get by.“At least I know that the King of Izelin didn’t grant permission for the diocese purely for military reasons.”“……”Elena widened her eyes briefly, then gave a faintly curious expression.Watching her reaction, I recalled the situation in the southern region.'Izelin was originally a newly independent kingdom, separated from the Zeromia Federation—the predecessor of the military powerhouse, Jerome.'Because of that, the two nations shared similar ethnic backgrounds and overlapping culture and religion.It was easy to understand if one thought of the former Soviet Union.Anyway, Roland and the coin-faction supporting the First Prince had exploited this situation to argue for alliance and even reunification with Jerome.That was a dangerous ideology, undermining the very legitimacy of Izelin’s royal line—the one that had led the independence war.As the conflict deepened between both sides, Jerome grew impatient and began to toy with the idea of invasion.'But Jerome’s invasion plan was nicely crushed because of me.'Thanks to that event, the royalist faction of Izelin succeeded in greatly weakening the coin faction’s influence.Then, driving the wedge further, the king permitted the Lu Order’s missionary work and establishment of a diocese—clearly aiming to uproot the coin faction’s support base.Once another religion spread within the kingdom besides the native one, the national identity shared with Jerome would inevitably fade, and the reunification advocates would lose voice naturally.Thus, the decision held not only military deterrence but also political and religious significance.Of course, it was a double-edged sword, but for the Izelin royal family, a sufficiently worthwhile move.Well… assuming Celestia didn’t intend to use it as leverage to manipulate Izelin.I brought up the point.“Elena, you’re not planning to use this as a pretext to swallow Izelin whole, are you?”I had meant it half-jokingly, but her answer carried an odd nuance.Elena gave me a faint smile and shrugged.“Who knows~”After a pause, she turned her gaze back toward the window.“That’s beyond my authority, so I can’t give a definite answer.”“……”She merely ran her fingers along the teacup she was holding and said no more.Should I call it honesty, since she couldn’t lie? Or boldness, since she didn’t deny it?Either way, she wasn’t a simple woman.Then—Adler, who had been silently listening to our conversation, cautiously opened her mouth.“Elena-nim, if we’re bound to oppose either Izelin or Jerome, wouldn’t it be better to side with the stronger Jerome? Just thinking practically, Jerome’s population is far greater, so we could spread the faith more widely.”“What do «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» you mean?”“I mean that refusing to attend the observation hearing and not interfering in their dispute would’ve been best. Even if we didn’t go that far, there was no need to provoke Jerome by establishing a diocese in Izelin. It would have been more profitable to found one in Jerome instead.”“Hmm. That’s a fair point.”Elena nodded slightly, then turned to me with a soft tone.“But Loen sided with Izelin. He owed them a debt, and this was how he repaid it.”“…You’re saying it was for me?”“Thank you for seeing it that way.”Elena covered her lips with her hand and smiled.Looking at that beautiful smile, I couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly.Believing that Elena had involved herself in the territorial war and established a diocese in Izelin purely to repay a debt to me would be naïve beyond belief.'…Jerome’s native religion worships the God of War, and its influence is overwhelming. There’s no opening for the Lu Order. A kingdom that prizes survival of the fittest wouldn’t embrace a lenient faith like the Lu Order’s.'Moreover, Celestia, who preached divine love and justice, could hardly take Jerome’s side, a nation waging wars of conquest against weaker states.I glanced sideways at Elena, who was serenely admiring the night view, then closed my eyes.'With this, Elena has repaid her debt to me, secured a foothold for expansion into the southern regions, gained leverage to control Izelin, and acquired the moral pretext of protecting weaker nations.'Rather than provoking Jerome, a difficult opponent to digest, she’d chosen Izelin—the one she could seize for certain.'…Enough. Thinking about it just gives me a headache.'It was already beyond my hands.Best not to get involved in politics. I had enough to handle on my own.Feeling the weight in my head, I decided to change the subject.“Anyway, why bring this up? It’s not my concern anymore.”“No grand reason. Let’s call it a situational report? You’re still a relevant party, after all. Speaking of which, I heard you brought Illeina on as your Student Council secretary?”“Yeah. It’s only an honorary position, though.”“Honorary, huh.”“Why? Are you interested? I could spare a position for you. Let’s see… Head of the Medical Department sounds about right.”“Oh my, you’d hire me as the Student Council’s personal healer? How luxurious.”“The Student Council is, at least nominally, the Union’s highest authority. Hardly unworthy of you.”Nominally being the key word.“I’ll think about it. Oh, and how did things go with Miss Freya? You offered her the vice president seat, didn’t you?”“What’s there to say. Since she turned it down, no progress since.”“Hm? That’s unexpected. I heard you took exams together, and when she was in the infirmary, you even looked after her.”“……”How the hell does she know all these little details?I shrugged.“Calling it ‘looking after’ is overstating it. I just sat beside her and read for a bit. Needed to earn some points.”Even with everything going on, I’d squeezed in some study time for written grades.Though, to be precise, it was more like cramming system encyclopedia answer sheets into my head.“I see.”Elena seemed to consider something, then nodded as if satisfied.“All right. Since we’re talking about Miss Freya, there’s something I’d like to ask you.”“No guarantee I’ll answer.”“That’s fine. Just say whatever you’re comfortable with.”Choosing her words carefully, Elena asked cautiously,“It’s about the recent practical exam. Miss Freya said she collapsed because of the dense mana concentration in the mist, right?”“…That’s right.”In truth, she’d been knocked out by the demonized Demer, but that’s not what was known publicly.After I confirmed it, Elena continued.“For a student whose mana resistance is among the highest, the density must’ve been extreme to make her faint. And to cover the entire test field with such a powerful high-grade barrier—there are very few beings in the world capable of that. Even one of the Seven Tower Masters couldn’t do it.”“……”I immediately understood the implication behind her words.Tilting her head slightly, Elena fixed me with a sharper gaze than before.“Loen, do you have any idea who might have orchestrated that incident?”

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.