The danger that Sin Archbishops possess was known well by all who resided in this world. That being said, most people never witnessed one and were never, as far as they knew, affected by them. That is the only luxury that the regular people of Lagunica possess, for the witch- cult usually attacked the people of prominence in order to cause as much fear as possible. Killing nobodies, while it did happen from time to time, was ultimately unproductive to the cult's dark goals, whatever those goals might be.
While the Archbishops were, as a rule, the most disgusting beings alive, even amongst them existed a hierarchy of a sort regarding this state. On top of that hierarchy stood, without any meaningful competition, the Sin Archbishops of Gluttony. Archbishops indeed, for as it turned out there were three of this menace running around this world causing havoc. They owed this high place due to the nature of their power, the power that made people lose their memories or be forgotten by all. In addition to this two, they could also put a person in a state similar to a coma. Such people didn't require food or any other nourishment, and they were also forgotten by the world and its inhabitants. If the victim wasn't attacked in a populated place, or their bodies were not found by accident, the victim could remain asleep indefinitely without a single mark showing how long they had spent in this state. Due to this, such a state is usually referred to as a "sleeping beauty sickness".
One would think, that due to all the reasons mentioned the death of the gluttony trio would be celebrated by all. They would be indeed correct, those vile creatures' demise was well celebrated, but the little devils, even in death, don't stop causing trouble for the country and the world. No one man or a group felt this truth harder than the Sage Council of Lagunica, although there is a close second. The council's current position could be described as uneasy, while their rule over the land is not in danger, there is still a great deal of possibility for their rule to be challenged if the full image of their failure is to be presented to the public. The two greatest, and at the same time most troublesome mistakes, were the loss of lady Anastasia Hoshin, a dragon maiden and the candidate for the throne, and the false imprisonment of Natsuki Subaru, a former knight to the candidate Emilia and, most importantly, the hero who slew the white whale, Sloth, and as it turned out Greed as well.
The situation with the boy was the most troublesome, that came from the fact that he was, until recently, quite proactive. While he was imprisoned under justified suspicion that he was the missing Sin Archbishop of Pride, he was somehow able to escape while killing all the guards that were imprisoning him. After that, for a few months, he would attack Lagunican fortifications and even claim the lives of several royal knights. His activities ended after the failed assault on the Royal capital, motivated by the desire to kill the candidate Emilia who was in the capital at the time. While his attack caused much damage and took many low-ranking guards' lives, ultimately Marcus Gildark, the captain of the royal guard, was able to stop him. Their fight was hard, but in the end, Marcus, owing to the experience and caution he demonstrated that day, won. Subaru bit more than he could chew and was forced to retreat, since then nobody had heard anything about him, or more accurately Pride since that was the title attributed to him at the time.
His disappearance became worrisome when his name returned. People of Lagunica, naturally, wanted to know what had happened to their hero, and the council couldn't give them the truth. So, in order to please the masses while keeping their honor, they told the world that Subaru Natsuki had fallen in battle. More accurately they informed the nation that their hero had died moments after slaying the Archbishop of Pride. As far as the people understand, Subaru even after having his name eaten, continued his fight against the cult, culminating in his final triumph in the Royal capital. The reason for this information being released now was due to Gluttony's power affecting the memories of everyone, making it so that Subarus' role in Prides' death was unclear until recently. The truth was quite different, but the people don't know that, and If the sages get their way, that ignorance will remain. "What they don't know can't hurt them", reasoned the sages to themselves, but that reasoning wasn't fully without merit. Truth is that no news regarding Subaru had reached them in seven months, something very strange considering his active nature. So they summarized that he is either planning a new attack, something that is becoming less likely with every passing day, or he simply gave up and wants to be left alone. Of course, It is also possible that he had gotten himself killed, but considering his newfound power, this possibility is highly improbable. Whatever the case, he is not a direct threat to them, so If he wants to be left alone, the sages are more than glad to oblige. Provided that he doesn't blow their cover, but that need not be directly mentioned.
Unlike Subaru, Anastasia Hoshin proved to be much greater of an issue. After all, she simply disappeared when the battle for Pristella was won. Yes, for almost a year there hadn't been any new information regarding her, and possible additional misfortune that may have befallen her. Similar to Subaru, Anastasia was an active person, and most importantly, as far as the council knew, not a persecuted individual. Even with her name eaten, she should have been able to use her skill and cunning to acquire some wealth in trading, a year is more than enough time for her to make a decent amount of money, If not a small fortune. Yet, for some reason, she didn't, and in addition, they have no idea where she might be. One need not mention the possible conclusion that can be drawn from this, candidate Anastasia wasn't a strong person, more accurately wasn't a physically strong person, so It is hard to simply dismiss the idea that she might have been killed. The council couldn't dismiss the possibility that they had, granted unintentionally, gotten a dragon maiden killed. Even If that was untrue and she is alive that would only be marginally better for them, after all, they had still lost a throne candidate. If the people would learn the extent of the council's failure, they would naturally feel angered and scared. The anger is simple, they'll be angry for being led by people who are capable of such a blunder, but fright is even simpler. If even the throne candidates, arguably one of the most important and therefore most protected individuals in the country, can be victimized by the cult to this extent, what hope do the regular people have? How can the council or the knights claim to guarantee their safety, If they are seemingly incapable of protecting five women? They can't protect five, already powerful women, but they can the entire nation. No, the people wouldn't believe them and most importantly, they might stop believing that the council and the knights have the right to rule over the land. While this is highly unlikely, such a situation is still not to be taken lightly.
That makes their current situation Oh so more difficult, for they can't simply brush her under rug as they did with Subaru. No, she is too relevant for that, they can't simply award her posthumously or make her a statue. If they are to achieve their goal of remaining in power, they need to reintroduce Anastasia into Lagunicas' political scene. But most importantly, they need to reintroduce her their way, in a way that will make them look like heroes, or at very least not failures. That is no easy task, not only do they need to worry about the reactions of the people but also the reaction of the woman in question, If she is alive that is. If she doesn't go along with this, due to her possible dislike of the council or any other reason, the effect would be the same, if not worse than had they not found her in the first place. Yes, this is a delicate matter, which makes the newest news so much more disappointing.
"We are yet to discover any signs of her." The voice that spoke those words was stoic and calm, unsurprising considering that it belonged to the Captain of the Royal Guard. Marcus was, like always, wearing his armor with a sword on his belt, as expected of a knight. It is unknown if he had any feelings on the matter in question, If he did, he had done well to hide them.
"What measures had you taken to find her?" An equally calm response came back, a response worthy of a sage. The council was sitting in their usual place while listening to Marcus's report, on a surface level it looked like a normal day, but everyone in the room knew that this was far from normal.
"I had one-third of the royal knights sent throughout the country, enlisted aid from nobles that are well known for secrecy and offered merchants financial benefit if they give any useful information."
"You employed merchants? I assume that you took necessary precautions when dealing with them." Bordeaux true to his nature inquired about the safety of the operation.
" You are correct, at no point had I used Anastasia-sama's name directly or anything that might reawaken their memories of her." With an equally stoic voice, he added," Although, the information we might get from them will be rather vague and for the most part useless."
"Unfortunately, that is the cost we must pay if we want to keep this secret."
While Anastasia's name had indeed returned that doesn't mean that everybody remembers her now, most people still don't. Truth is unless you are directly thinking of a forgotten person, or an event with that person, one won't have their memories return, at least not immediately. If the council is able to keep their operation secret, they'll be able to prolong the time needed for most of the populace to remember her. They can't keep people ignorant forever and they don't plan to do so, they only need to keep them ignorant long enough until they have Anastasia back in their hands. Long enough that they can wash their hands of this blunder.
" How long will it take for you and your men to search the entire country?" Unlike the previous question, this one was asked by lord Miklotov, the de facto head of the Sage Council. He wanted to know how much time they were working with, something that they couldn't accurately measure until now. After two months of their investigation, they could, with reasonable accuracy, predict the length of the operation.
" With the restrictions that were put on me, around three months." Thinking a little he added, " Few days give or take."
"It is what it is I suppose, nothing that can be done about it." Somewhat disappointed, but accepting of reality Miklotov responded to this statement. " We will have to hope that there will be enough time."
"That is only true if she is in the country." One of the sages responded, " If not then we could be in this for much longer than we could possibly withstand."
The concern raised is a valid one indeed. There is no guarantee that their person of interest is still in Lagunica, but the sages are in a situation where they more or less have to hope that she still is.
"While that is true, our options in such a situation are extremely limited." Lord Miklotov's face showed, for the first time in this conversation, unease. Although such feelings were rather well hidden, so only the fellow sages and Marcus could pick up on this emotion. " Even then, if it comes to it, we could still send some spies to search for her."
"There is no way we could send spies to every country, in sufficient amount to achieve the desired result, in a fast enough span of time."
" It is not necessary to send such men to every country." Marcus decided to join the conversation and answer the councilman's worries. " Just Kararagi should be enough."
"How so?"
" Anastasia-sama is a smart woman, therefore she would avoid Vollachia and Gusteko, for she would know that she can't survive there for long on her own, be it due to her weakness, or lack of proper religious knowledge. In addition, she is by birth from Kraragi, so it makes the most sense for her to seek refuge there."
The logic was sound, Vollachia was well known as a country where the strong rule and the weak die, so it made sense for Anastasia to avoid It. Gusteko on the other hand didn't possess such ideology, but the country was brimming with religious zealotry. Their zealotry is so great that the country is currently locked in a great purge, where all those declared heretics are executed. Unlike the theocratic or barbaric hellholes that are Vollachia and Gusteko, Kararagi is a rather calm and peaceful place, for the most part. While there are dangers for her even there, she in the end still has the greatest chance of survival in the merchant country.
" All of this will only matter if she indeed left the country, which is something we have no evidence for." Miklotov attempted to bring the discussion where he thought it necessary, " We should for now focus on taking action in our lands, for only in here do we have authority to achieve what we want."
"What more can we do, without exposing ourselves in the process?" Bordeaux asked the question almost rhetorically.
"Not much, but we can increase the number of knights that are partaking in the investigation." Miklotov's proposition was immediately struck down by Marcus.
" That would not be possible." Marcus's stoic voice showed the most slight sign of annoyance," We are already suffering manpower shortage due to the knights already sent. Any more, and It will become quite obvious to the people that something is happening."
"That is most unfortunate", with a sigh Miklotov dropped his idea.
While the sages processed the newfound information and were thinking about the possible actions they might have to take, rather common intruders entered the chamber.
" I came back." A voice that had sounded like silver bells spoke, that voice could be described as determined and even slightly authoritative. It belonged to the silver-haired half-elf Emilia, the candidate for the throne of Lagunica and Subarus' former mistress. Two men walked behind her, or more accurately a young man and a teenager. Just like their mistress, the two attendants show determination and slight anger. "How could we not?" thought these two," After what they had done to our brother, these men deserve all the hate they can get." So they followed their mistress with a sense of righteousness, or self-righteousness, the rooms' occupants couldn't make up their minds regarding that.
When they were roughly halfway between the sages and large doors that separated the chamber from the hallway, Bordeaux spoke," That thing again", he said those words to his chin before demanding an answer from the intruders, "What are you doing in here."
" You already know, I am here to demand you search for my knight." Her voice was strong, a definite sign of her improvement as a leader, but such small improvements did not affect the old sage.
" You were already informed, we don't have enough resources to search for him and Anastasia-sama simultaneously." Attempting to keep a form of respectability Bordeaux half politely responded. " Besides, do I need to remind you that the last time that boy was here, he tried to kill you?"
"Subaru would never hurt me, he loves me after all, his violence is your fault and the least you could do is help bring him home."
"Our fault?" A bit annoyed, but still trying to be cordial Bordeaux inquired.
"Your fault indeed. There is no way Subaru could kill those guards or attack the capital, he is too weak for that. No, you broke him with your barbaric ways. So again help me bring him home so you could repent." Emilia's statement was visibly supported by her retainers. Garfiel and Otto nodded their heads and wore a small smile on their faces, clearly showing pride in their mistress.
Bordeaux finally lost his cool, he had enough of this girl and her delusions, " Please, save us your righteous indignation half-devil."
Emilia and her followers were visibly angered by this display of disrespect, but their attempts to voice that anger were stopped by Bordauxe's next words.
"Remind me who accused that boy of bein a Sin Archbishop? Was it us, or was It that spirit that you until recently called your own?" His voice got slightly louder as he continued, " Who backstabbed him when he was the most vulnerable? We, a group he barely had any respect for and against whom he held animosity, or his mistress and his close companions in whom he held complete faith? We indeed had him tortured, but that was only done after you had handed him over to us under the claim that he was a witch cultist." His voice became less angered and more mocking as he continued, " Don't for a second pretend that you didn't know what would happen, you knew and didn't care. But now you dare say that we are the ones upon whom the fault falls. No, you have only yourselves to blame for what has happened." He snickered and finished, "Truthfully, that boy's biggest mistake was putting his life in the hands of a half-devil." Bordeaux didn't really have any animosity towards Subaru, he kind of felt sorry for the boy. Yes, he was hotheaded, disrespectful, and probably insane, after all only an insane man could fall in love with a silver-hared half-elf. The boy's fate was quite tragic, but such is the world, full of death and tragedy. If the boy is still alive Bordeaux hopes that he found his peace, and that he never return to the Royal Capital.
Bordeaux's speech wasn't accepted well by its target audience, the two men gritted their teeth and clenched their fists, but their mistress had gone quite a few steps ahead.
" That was reeeally rude."
As she spoke the ground around her started to freeze and the air became noticeably colder. Emilia was angry and she is going to show the sages the extent of that anger, after all, they deserve all that she is going to give them. They hurt her knight, her Subaru and they dare to put the blame on her, no they deserve what they are going to get. Emilia couldn't feel the cold in the room, she couldn't feel the coldness of ice she made, but she out of a sudden felt an odd sense, a cold metallic sense on her neck.
Marcus naturally didn't just sit around as Emilia threatened the Sage Council, no he quickly unsheathed his sword and attacked, in less than a second he was in front of Emilia and his sword on her neck. A small cut was made by Marcus, nowhere near enough to cause a serious wound, but the cut still dripped a little bit of blood on the sword. If he wanted he could behead Emilia in less time than it took him to get to her.
" Assaulting the Sage Council shall not be tolerated." Locking his gaze on Emilia and showing no emotion in his voice knight captain spoke.
It would be an understatement to say that Emilia was surprised by the situation's development. Yes, by all accounts she greatly overestimated her strength, and now her life is at the mercy of another.
"How dare you spill Emilia-sama's blood, she is a throne candidate." Otto tried to defend his mistress, but his attempts were useless.
"Then she should behave like one, and not like a spoiled child," Marcus spoke as he sheeted his sword back, to Emilia's visible relief. There was no need for further violence, his victim after all was quite distressed and she most definitely won't try anything dumb again.
" Attempt something like that again half-devil and your head will be on the floor." Bordeaux's voice was as expected quite threatening, but if one would listen really close they would detect a slight fear in the old man's voice.
" To threaten a throne candidate, Is there no depravity that you won't fall to," Otto responded to this threat, after all, how could he not? These people, as far as he understood, killed his brother and now they are threatening to do the same to Emilia. No, he won't let them, his brother spent too much time, sweat, and blood on all of them, and Emilia in particular, for Otto to allow that to happen.
Bordeaux showed no meaningful emotion as he listened to Otto's words, when the green merchant finished speaking, the sage simply answered with, " If you are so concerned about your mistress's safety, you'd do well to keep her in line."
"Emilia-sama, It has been quite some time since Subaru-dono disappeared. Are you sure that, provided that he is still alive, he wants to go back to your camp?" Miklotov in an attempt to bring the discussion away from killings and beheadings tried to use reason against Emilia. Such attempts were, as expected, unlikely to carry results.
"Of course, he wants to be by my side again, he loves me, and he is my knight. He promised me that after all." This question dissipated Emilia's fright and brought her back into the argument. Although it should be mentioned that she found Miklotov's question to be rather dumb.
" If that is true, then why didn't he try to get back, or at very least communicate with you and your camp? It is been three months since he's name had returned, that is more than enough time for a simple letter to arrive."
"He must be unaware of that. He is probably still thinking that you are persecuting him, so he is hiding in fear." Emilias' response, although seeming at very least out of touch to the council, was somewhat correct.
" That is rather unlikely, considering all the accolades he has been given. There probably isn't a single person in Lagunica that doesn't know Subaru-dono's name and new status."
" Doesn't matter, I'll get him back and there is nothing you can do to stop me." Emotional and determined, Emilia spoke those words, those extremely truthful words. As far as she saw it, Subaru is hiding somewhere, Od knows where afraid of his tormentors. She won't stand for it, she will find him and the two of them can again be together, never to be separated.
"We won't stop you, but keep in mind that the result may not be what you expect." Miklotov with a sigh gave up, If the girl can't understand then there is nothing that he can do to remedy that. Hopefully, she will get what she desires, that is the only happy ending he could think of for that girl. " Now leave us, we have important things to discuss."
Emilia wanted to protest, but Marcus's gaze made her reconsider. She ultimately obeyed and left, followed by Garfiel and Otto.
" How that she is gone we can get back on track,"Miklotov sighed and spoke.
The sages indeed continued their conversation. They had a lot to discuss and a relatively small time. During their talk, they got to an interesting topic.
"If the boy is to attack again, do you think that you can defeat him?" Bordeaux asked the knight captain this important question. After all, there is no guarantee that if Subaru returns that he won't try to kill Emilia again. Although they didn't particularly like the half-elf, she is a throne candidate and they need to minimize the potential damage those women can get. That is the reason they are in this mess in the first place.
" During our last encounter, I was able to identify a few limiting factors of his power and one large handicap. Naturally, I made proper adjustments and tactics to deal with him." Marcus's voice betrayed a slight feeling of pride and eagerness. While a normal person wouldn't catch onto them, to them Marcus would appear to be stoic, they were indeed there. " So If It comes to that, I am positive that I can kill him."
"Let us hope It doesn't come to that," Miklotov responded and the sages continued their discussion.
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" You are Subaru-sama, Aren't you?"
It would be an understatement to say that Subaru was confused. He expected many reactions from the knight, to attack him, to call reinforcements, or at very least to insult him. Instead of doing that, the knight showed excitement, and what could possibly be idolization. So Subaru decided to tread lightly when dealing with this man.
" Yes my name is Subaru, how did you know?"
" How I knew? You are a hero, everybody knows about you." The excitement hadn't dropped from the knight's voice, perhaps it even increased. It's only natural, that Subaru had become a hero and a role model for many.
Granted that wasn't the intention of the Council, but the old men are in no position to complain. They washed their hands, so now they have to suffer any consequences of that. They probably didn't care that much, their reputation got saved, so anything that may come out of Subarus' drastically Increased reputation can't be compared to the fallout of the truth being found out by the general masses.
" I was also there when the royal selection began." Unlike his previous statement, this one was carried in a voice that could be described as awkward. He remembered the hero's less than stellar beginning, but now that he thinks about it, what Subaru had done didn't appear to be too bad. Yes, he did insult the knights' honor and prematurely declared himself to be one, but a few days after that he slew the white whale and sloth, then he became a knight, and even when forgotten by the world he continued to act like a hero. As far as the young knight cared, Subaru was more than deserving of the status and accolades he had gotten.
Subaru already knew about his status as a national hero, but it is one thing to hear about that and another to experience it yourself. After all, it wasn't that long when he was considered to be a Sin Archbishop, one of the worst terrorists in this world and now the kingdom considers him to be a hero again. While he did understand the reasoning, it still didn't feel right for him, he wasn't a hero, or at very least didn't consider himself to be one. He was just a man trying to survive in this world, a man trying to find happiness in this world, he was not a hero nor did he want to be one. He just wanted to be happy, to be able to sleep calmly, to be able to enjoy this paradise that he created.
" You slew three Archbishops, nobody else in history had even slain one."
" Three Archbishops, what do you mean." Indeed he was confused. He slew Sloth, and now that his name had returned, the kingdom can have given him the victory over Greed. So from where did, the third cultist come?
" Well, you killed Sloth soon after the royal selection began, Greed during the battle of Pristella, and Pride a few months after the battle." The knight spoke those words like one would speak facts because for him those words were exactly that.
" Oh, Yeah Pride, silly me how did I forget." He'd be lying if he said that he was shocked by this news, he expected that the council washed his misadventures, but he didn't expect that they did it in that way. That being said it made perfect sense, he was known as a Sin Archbishop and they couldn't venerate one. So the council simply claimed that Subaru had killed his, in a way, alter ego. That claim, funnily enough, wasn't completely untrue, the Subaru that had escaped from Pristellas' prison and Subaru that is standing now are completely different, almost different people.
" But let's get back on track why are you here?"
" I'm here on behalf of the Sage Council, they had sent a large number of knights like me to search for the royal candidate Anastasia Hoshin." With less excitement, but with something that resembled pride, the knight revealed his mission. Considering to whom he was speaking, and trying to be more casual to his hero he added, " You knew her, right."
"Yes, you could say that we were acquainted, but why do you have to look for her, what had happened?" Using his improved acting skills Subaru faked curiosity and worry. The latter he didn't have to fake, for he indeed felt like that, although not for the reason the knight would think.
"Her name got eaten by Gluttony, just like yours, and she simply disappeared. Nobody has any idea of where she is and what had happened to her." He was concerned when he spoke these words, was he concerned for Anastasias' safety or for himself and the work that he will have to put in fulfilling his orders? The answer wasn't clear, but Subaru had gotten the feeling that it was the former. This conclusion only served to further his intentions when it came to the young knight.
" That is quite terrible. I can understand her considering all that happened to me, hope she is fine."
" I suppose we all do."
After the knight's response, came a short and awkward pause. Both of them were thinking about something, although the knight seemed to be more restless of the two. The silence was broken when the knight, with a quieter voice asked," Subaru-sama, you are a great hero, and seeing where you are I can imagine that you don't have a particular desire to return back to service." The knight stop for a second to compose his thoughts, he was silently urged to continue by Subaru, " But It would greatly influence the investigation if you would aid us in this task. Your knowledge and experience would be invaluable."
Subaru's face was emotionless as he processed this information, but soon it formed a small smile, that smile was gone a split second after its formation.
" As you had seen, I am retired for the most part, but the situation is dire." He pretended to think over the offer for a short amount of time, before finally adding," I need a few days to think this over, why don't you stay here? After all, I am positive that the old man Gerlach will have nothing against housing you for a short amount of time."
To this, the village elder, who had been ignored for this entire conversation answered, "Indeed I will have nothing against housing a guest from the capital." He chuckled and added, " Of course, the young man will have to pay for his stay with interesting gossip from around the country."
" I'd be honored, mister."
" Well, that is great. I will visit you tomorrow, after all, I have some things I need to discuss with the elder." He smiled and politely waved. " Until then goodbye"
" Pleasant evening to you as well, Subaru-sama" the knight politely bowed as he spoke his words.
" Indeed see you tomorrow Subaru-sama", Unlike his guest, Gerlach was hardly polite. He wasn't offensive either, just making fun of Subarus', and in some way Anastasias' apparent high station. That would be a piece of information that the couple had never told him, while he wasn't offended by it, He reasoned that the kids probably had good justifications for hiding It. He still wanted to make fun of them for that, and there was nothing that they can do about that.
The situation was far from perfect for Subaru, he had a royal knight on his hands and he couldn't kill him. He decided that the moment he started speaking with the man, the guy wasn't a direct threat to him and Anastasia so he can't just kill him on his own. He does put in jeopardy their little utopia, but not immediately. After all, he accepted to stay in this village until further notice, which means that he most likely is unable to report anything. Subaru knew that the knights had access to conversation mirrors, but If the young man is to be believed a large number of knights were sent on this mission, and there is no way that they could all be given one, it is an expensive item after all. No, the ones that the guards have were probably given to the most experienced of members, which means that the man to whom Subaru spoke almost certainly didn't have access to one. Of course, there was a small risk of failure when it came to this plan, but Subaru had learned from his wife to take calculated risks, so he wasn't too worried.
This wasn't the only reason for not killing the knight, the other, and simultaneously the larger one was the fact that he simply couldn't make himself do that. This man wasn't one of his tormentors, he wasn't a member of his former camp, and on top of all that this man respected him. Respect, he was surprised by that, in the past, the knights either didn't respect him or feared him, but this is the first time somebody genuinely respected him, and he liked that. That played a large part in him searching for a diplomatic solution to the situation, although that doesn't mean that the knight's life isn't in danger, he didn't kill him immediately but depending on what he and Anastasia decide he might still die.
Unless necessary he will not make important decisions without his wife's input, just like she wouldn't without his. So now he will go home to inform Anastasia of this new development, and they will decide what to do next. But one thing was for sure, they will prevail.