CH 621

The next day.

"…I know now."

-…

"You actually enjoy this quite a bit."

As I was being carried in Harriet's arms, passing through the corridor, Charlotte, who bumped into us, said that with a slightly troubled expression as she looked at me in my cat form.

-Meow!

"And pretending not to enjoy it like this makes me even angrier."

No!

I didn't enjoy it that much!

In the first place, it was Harriet who asked for it!

"Why? It's cute."

Of course, Harriet was vigorously stroking my head.

Yeah.

How could I not do it when she liked it this much? Huh?

"It's not that I disagree, but this will only make a bad habit worse."

That's a bit harsh.

Not that it will worsen the habit, but that the bad habit was already there and would get worse.

Anyway, my habits weren't exactly good to begin with.

"Anyway, lend him to me for a while. I have something to talk about."

"Uh? Oh, okay."

Harriet hesitantly handed me over to Charlotte.

Of course, our (former) princess showed no mercy.

-Thud!

The princess grabbed me by the scruff of my neck.

-Hiss!

"Hey, hey! You can't do that!"

"It's not even a real cat, so what's the problem? And besides, what does it matter if it were a real cat? It's a world where people treat each other like that anyway."

Harriet fretted, asking Charlotte not to be so rough, but Charlotte paid no attention.

"I'll come to pick him up later."

"Uhh..."

-Meow! Meow!

"Quiet."

-…

If I made any more fuss, I felt like I'd be swung around a few times, so I hung there quietly.

Not everyone likes cats.

Of course, it seemed less like disliking cats and more like disliking me pretending to be a cat.

Charlotte took me to her office and sat me down in a chair.

I naturally returned to my human form. Charlotte sat opposite me, resting her chin on her palm and gazing at me intently.

"There's a lot I'm grateful to you for, and I really like you, but you're such an exceptionally weird pervert. I didn't think it'd be this bad."

That's true.

I never thought I'd have this kind of taste.

But isn't this enjoyable?

Do you know how many people just pass by if you're cute?

Even those who know who I am laugh at me.

To what extent? Even Gallarush didn't have a bad reaction, right? Isn't it all said and done if I'm eaten by an orc vampire?

No, was it because it was unbelievable?

"Since you like me, please like this part of me too."

"…"

"…I'm sorry."

I got goosebumps all over my body when Charlotte suddenly looked serious.

Let's not go overboard with everything.

Charlotte's red eyes stared at me.

"By the way, is there something you couldn't say during yesterday's meeting?"

"It's not that I couldn't say it, but it wasn't something to be discussed in that setting."

"What is it?"

"Olivia Lanze wants to make use of Eleion Bolton."

"Ah…"

"It's a shame to leave such a valuable person idle, isn't it? He's skilled and a veteran."

Eleion Bolton had handed over the position of Holy Knights' Commander to Rowan with a very simple transfer of authority. Therefore, when the Allied Forces began their march, Rowan would be in charge of commanding the Holy Knights

There was some noise surrounding the matter.

Naturally, the members of the Holy Knight Order in the allied forces couldn't help but know that Eleion Bolton's sudden retirement wasn't voluntary.

They couldn't help but realize that there was some political intrigue involved.

However, Eleion Bolton's closest associates had already been silenced.

Though they knew that the top brass of the Holy Knight Order had defected to the Demon King, they were well aware of the repercussions that would come from exposing that fact.

Everything couldn't go smoothly.

Eleion Bolton was a person who couldn't be left alone, and the inevitable noise had to be accepted in order to swallow the Holy Knight whole.

Thus, if Rowan failed to take control of the Holy Knight Order of the allied forces, Eleion Bolton might be reinserted into the mix. That would ultimately be both Rowan's and my failure.

Anyway, although Eleion Bolton had retired as the former Holy Knight Commander quite unexpectedly, he was spending his retirement in the territory of the Demon King.

That wasn't entirely without significance.

Eleion Bolton's closest associates knew the ins and outs of the incident, and that Eleion Bolton had come under my influence after his retirement. They didn't know about Edina Archipelago, however.

For that reason, those loyal to Eleion Bolton were essentially held hostage by their current master.

There was a reason why they couldn't act rashly.

Suddenly, Olivia Lanze wanted to use the retired Eleion Bolton.

"How? It's absurd to deploy him in the war, isn't it?"

"She'll figure it out. The important thing is that it seems she wants to make him agree with the banner of the United Holy Church."

"Ah... She wants to convert him?"

"That's right."

There's really no such thing as a Demon God.

In the end, there were only other names given to the Divine. Moreover, the powers they manifested were not consistent.

Olivia Lanze wanted to turn the former Holy Knight Commander into a member of the United Holy Church.

"To be honest, I'm not sure about that..."

I half-agree with the saying that a position makes a person.

To be precise, a position creates arrogance.

If I were captured by the empire and forced to participate in some affair, I couldn't help but feel miserable. Even more so if it were against my will.

Of course, Eleion Bolton had no say in the matter, but I didn't want to force such a thing on a person of his stature and create resentment.

Even if Eleion Bolton developed some resentment, it wasn't a situation where he could do anything significant.

"Reinhardt, what would happen if Eleion Bolton were converted?"

"He'd become one of our priests or holy knights, I suppose...?"

The United Holy Church is not a cult of the Demon Gods.

It's just a new form of faith that agrees with the notion that both the cult of the Demon Gods and the Five Great Religions share the same roots. It's different from both the Five Great Religions and the cult of the Demon Gods, and it's closer to the essence.

Eleion Bolton would be converted to the United Holy Church, not the Five Great Religions.

What could that mean?

"His thoughts on the cult of the Demon Gods would change, and then what would happen?"

"He'd be able to use the divine power of the Demon Gods... Well, it depends on how he does it."

Priests of the Holy Order sometimes used opposing holy powers. Of course, not all of them could do this, but it was not so rare either.

Prominently, the Holy Knights of Tu'an wielded both healing and corrupting powers. Olivia Lanze was one such example.

"That's the important part."

"Do you want to empower Eleion Bolton? It might help, but as long as they have immortals, aren't the chances high that we won't participate in the war? And I'm not sure if he'll be on our side properly. It seems better to leave things as they are."

"..."

Charlotte widened her eyes.

"...Sorry, can you tell me which part was stupid and how?"

"I thought you just habitually said you don't fit in and can't do well in politics and governing, but... it seems to be true."

King's annoyance.

Everyone knew that I disliked that.

"If Eleion Bolton could use the holy power of the demon god, and if he truly becomes influenced by the United Holy Church, not only would there be backlash within the Holy Knights, but it could also cause huge waves within the main Holy Order, provided we show it publicly."

"Ah... so this was about politics."

I hadn't thought about that aspect since I had been focused only on the war.

The conversation was not about the individual strength of Eleion Bolton.

Not about strengthening Eleion Bolton with the demon god’s divine power, but the influence that the fact of his conversion itself could bring.

That was what they were talking about.

"Even if Rowan has taken control of the forces in the capital, it's inevitable that she'll struggle to control the Holy Knights of the allied forces. Depending on the situation, we may need to reinstate Eleion Bolton. However, it would be better if we could change Eleion Bolton's way of thinking a bit before doing so."

Reinstating Eleion Bolton assumed Rowan's failure.

But in that case, if Eleion Bolton had already been influenced by the Holy Order, he would take over the tasks Rowan should have done but failed.

In fact, many people at the allied forces' garrison were suspicious and resentful about the sudden change of the Holy Knights' commander.

Rowan was experiencing the same situation Eleion Bolton had faced in the empire.

Rowan was a parachuted commander who appeared under suspicious circumstances of a sudden replacement. There were bound to be difficulties, and those difficulties would grow.

Olivia Lanze had predicted such a future and was considering the idea of converting and reinstating Eleion Bolton as a commander while he was idle.

Rowan had control of the capital, and Eleion Bolton controlled the Holy Knights of the allied forces.

"Capturing Eleion Bolton completely and converting him would indeed be the best option..."

It made sense why Olivia thought that way and why Charlotte positively assessed Olivia's proposal.

"Hmm... it would have been better if this was done earlier."

Back then, we had a lot to do, like overhauling the structure of the Five Great Religions and keeping it hidden from the outside. But now, I thought it would have been better if we had done it much earlier.

"No, if we had done it hastily, it would have only caused resentment."

Charlotte shook her head.

"Rather, now is the perfect time."

Approximately two months.

It had been enough time for me to organize my thoughts and feel the change in my emotions.

------

Could Eleion Bolton be considered a prisoner of war?

The empire and us were at war, but it wasn't a war where we were pointing our swords at each other.

Should I say that we were secretly forming an alliance against a common enemy?

When faced with my question of whether to die or retire, Eleion Bolton didn't insist on fighting to the death.

In a way, he was a general who had unknowingly entered enemy territory without realizing that it was, in fact, enemy territory and had been captured.

He hadn't defected, but he was in my hands.

While he couldn't exactly be considered a prisoner of war, Eleion Bolton's situation was virtually no different from being one.

In fact, considering the position he held, he could be said to be a prisoner of a higher status than a king.

So, even if Eleion Bolton didn't have any authority at the moment, it would be appropriate to treat him with the respect due to his status.

Furthermore, we were going to try to persuade him.

That's why Charlotte, the regent of Edina, and I, the actual ruler of Edina, decided to meet with Eleion Bolton together.

"But, you know, I'm not sure if this is right."

"…Right?"

"Even though we're both nobles… Even if Liana says it's fine…"

"Living there?"

"Yeah."

Eleion Bolton was neither a noble nor a royal, but he had held the very special position of Holy Knights' Commander.

It had been difficult for us to find a place suitable for such a prominent figure to retire and receive proper treatment.

Initially, Lazak, the royal capital, was not large enough to be called a capital. It was inevitable for a small country's capital, but to Charlotte, who had been a princess, it must have felt like a shabby provincial lord's castle.

We had forced Eleion Bolton to retire, but we didn't want to treat him poorly. However, we didn't have a suitable place to treat him.

Charlotte and I were walking along a quiet path on the outskirts of Lazak.

"Lady Yelena said it's fine, and Bolton himself said it's okay. What's the problem? Liana doesn't seem to have any issues with it, so it doesn't seem dangerous."

"…Is that so?"

So Eleion Bolton had ended up staying at the mansion of Yelena, Liana's mother, on the outskirts of Lazak like a guest.

That place.

The vacation house of the Grantz family, where we had stopped by after returning from Darkland during our first-year summer vacation.

When we were worrying about what to do with Eleion Bolton's lodging during the council of elders meeting, Liana casually suggested that he could stay there.

One of the countless ducal vacation houses built during the heyday of the Grantz Ducal family, we couldn't have provided a better environment for him.

In fact, both Eleion Bolton and Duchess Yelena seemed to get along well without any issues.

But…

Somehow…

It felt odd!

I couldn't exactly say what was wrong!

I knew it wasn't strange at all!

I might be a little conservative, but still!

It felt a bit off!

"What are you thinking about all the time?"

"…"

Charlotte looked at me with a disgusted expression and then walked ahead with large strides.

Right?

Was I the strange one?

------

Strictly speaking, the residence of the Duchess of Grantz, Liana's mother, was a more luxurious building than the Lazak Royal Palace.

The Grantz Duchy had held a power incomparable to that of the southern archipelago's minor kingdom, the Edina Royal Family. In a way, it was only natural.

There was bound to be a difference between the imperial nobility and the royal families, even among the top tier.

Not all royals were necessarily above the nobility. Some were both nobility and royalty at the same time.

Harriet, the daughter of the Archduke of Saint Owan, was a noblewoman but in fact not much different from royalty.

Now the Grantz Ducal Mansion, which should be called the main residence rather than a villa.

As we approached the mansion overlooking the beach after passing through a secluded path, someone's back came into view.

A familiar figure.

"…What brings you here?"

Upon hearing footsteps, Liana turned towards me and asked.

She then glanced at Charlotte, who had come with me.

"Considering you brought the regent, it's not a personal matter."

"Well, that's true."

There was no particular reason to come here for personal matters.

I rarely visited this place; I usually called her when there was work to be done.

"We came to see Sir Bolton."

"Ah, that gentleman."

The once prestigious and powerful Holy Knight Commander had now become a guest gentleman.

Well, Liana would probably have called Bolton "that gentleman" even when he was the active Holy Knight Commander.

Liana gestured towards the beach.

"He's taking a walk."

"A walk?"

"He went with my mother. They should be back soon?"

Hmm.

"…Ouch!"

As I was about to say something, Charlotte pinched my side.

"…What are you doing?"

Liana tilted her head, looking at Charlotte who suddenly pinched my side.

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing."

Charlotte shrugged her shoulders with an awkward smile.