Chapter 177

Divine Authority (2)

“……This isn’t something to take lightly, Rania.”

At Dunadan’s words, spoken as he brushed his forehead, Rania—who had been puffing away at her pipe—quietly turned to look at him.

Seeing his daughter’s eyes, which looked so detached they were almost empty, Dunadan barely suppressed the sigh that was about to burst out and continued speaking.

“The hardliners seem like they’re planning to cause trouble again, timed with this Harvest Festival. There are signs of it popping up everywhere around us.”

“It’s not like that side causing trouble is anything new.”

Even after hearing that, Rania’s demeanor didn’t seem to change at all.

Rather than unchanged, it was closer to her looking almost completely uninterested, but instead of commenting on that attitude, Dunadan simply sat still and waited for her to continue.

After all, she was someone personally chosen by a god.

“…….”

Of course, her twin sister Cretin was the same, but when it came to that side… Dunadan knew well that she lacked the ‘qualification.’

…She herself must have been well aware of that fact too.

Of course, saying that out loud would leave an irreparable wound, so he had no intention of voicing it.

It was certain that this situation had come about because of what he had done to Rania when they were younger.

The divine possession being given to someone else instead of himself—

“Dad.”

Just as his thoughts were about to drift in that direction, Rania’s voice cut into his mind.

“You’re thinking about something weird again, aren’t you?”

“…….”

“I told you, there’s nothing going on between me and my sister. No matter how much you worry like that, it’s nothing.”

I really wish she’d stop doing things like peeking into other people’s heads without permission.

While Dunadan was thinking that, Rania puffed out more smoke from her pipe before letting out a sigh and speaking.

“Just finish what you were saying earlier instead. What are those bastards planning?”

At least this was a topic they could talk about more openly.

Dunadan ran a hand through his hair with a slightly relieved expression and spoke.

…Of course, considering the severity of the situation, it felt strange that this was the easier topic to talk about.

“You know they’ve always been hostile toward people outside the Great Plains, Rania.”

“I know they’re nothing more than stubborn, closed-off conservatives.”

Honestly, they were closer to nationalists than mere conservatives.

And what followed from Dunadan’s mouth didn’t deviate in the slightest from Rania’s cynical assessment.

“……At worst, it looks like they might even try to start a civil war.”

“…….”

Rania’s expression immediately twisted.

At this point, it was definitely the kind of issue that could push Dunadan to the brink of exhaustion.

“Of course, the chances are low, but there are all sorts of suspicious movements coming from their tribe—”

“No. It’ll happen.”

At her firm, cutting response, Dunadan’s mouth snapped shut.

When he looked at Rania as if asking what made her so certain, she shrugged and continued.

“You know something’s wrong with the Great Chieftain, right?”

“…….”

Dunadan’s expression darkened instantly at those words.

“He’s still appearing in public, but it’s a bit… different. Maybe only you or I can barely notice it.”

Dunadan, who had spent his entire life fighting alongside the Great Chieftain, would have sensed that subtle sense of unease, and Rania, with her innate intuition, had already noticed that something about him had become strangely different from before.

Of course, they had no authority to verify the truth, so it remained nothing more than speculation.

But both of them agreed on one thing.

The current Great Chieftain had become somehow ‘different’ from before.

“They’ve probably already done something to the Great Chieftain. And if that means the restraining force is gone… then a situation like this—where the Great Chieftain’s authority has been delegated to an outsider—must look like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to them.”

From the perspective of those who clung to tradition, granting such immense authority to an outsider was the perfect starting point for a justification to call for the Great Chieftain’s expulsion.

“……Then this is serious. We need to come up with countermeasures right away—”

“That’s not something we can prepare.”

The problem was that, given the nature of the Tribal Alliance—where reverence for tradition ran especially deep—neither Rania nor Dunadan could challenge that justification itself.

“We can’t just sit back and watch a war break out, my child.”

“Why would we just sit back and watch?”

“……?”

“I told you. It’s not something ‘we’ can handle.”

To begin with, they weren’t the ones holding the reins right now.

Whether the countless people within the Tribal Alliance would fall into the pit of war depended on a single man.

“Let’s just watch what Aiden Kellermain does.”

“…….”

At Rania’s words, Dunadan quietly rubbed his face.

In other words—

If those nationalists were not to ignite a civil war during the Harvest Festival, then that man had to prove that he possessed enough worth to satisfy them as the leader of the Tribal Alliance.

…An outsider who hadn’t even been in the Tribal Alliance for a full month yet.

“……Can you trust him?”

“No.”

“…….”

“People aren’t meant to be trusted, Dad.”

Rania exhaled a deep plume of smoke once more.

It almost looked as if she were letting out a deep sigh mixed into the smoke.

“What I do know is that any human always carries the possibility of betrayal and failure.”

“…….”

“You know that too, don’t you?”

Even family could be like that.

Understanding the meaning hidden between her lines, Dunadan lowered his head in silence.

Of course, Rania had just admitted that her relationship with Cretin wasn’t that bad.

But that didn’t mean what Cretin had done to her wasn’t terrible.

“But still.”

Rania tilted her head slightly as she steered the conversation away from that topic again.

“In this situation, if that guy can’t do it, then there’s no one who can.”

Considering the extraordinary things that man had shown so far, that statement was undeniably true.

Just how extraordinary was he, that—

…It had reached a level where even ‘that’ had to be taken into consideration.

The first time she saw something related to his ‘future’ through divinity, even Rania had nearly fainted…

“…….”

Lost in silent thought, Rania suddenly lifted her head as if something had just occurred to her and looked at Dunadan.

“Dad. There’s one thing I want to ask.”

“Yeah?”

“……If my sister and I go together, could he endure it?”

“…….”

Dunadan’s expression stiffened.

Of course, Rania saying things he couldn’t understand was something he was already used to, but what he was feeling now wasn’t simple confusion.

How should he put it—

Unease.

“Could you first clarify what you mean by ‘go’?”

“Oh, it probably doesn’t mean anything that serious like what you’re thinking, Dad.”

After saying that, Rania paused for a moment before tilting her head and continuing.

“……He might want to kill us, as fellow men.”

“…….”

He didn’t understand what she meant, but his unease had grown far worse than before.

▣

And it certainly wasn’t only Dunadan who was feeling that overwhelming unease.

Noel Astrea Simus had become aware that ever since entering the Tribal Alliance, she hadn’t felt good even once.

“…….”

“…….”

It was to the point that even her friend Elena was startled the moment she saw her face and hesitated, wondering whether she should even speak to her.

Hesitantly, she stepped quietly into the training grounds.

Inside the training grounds, Noel could be seen continuing her training in a manner that looked as though a calamity from the heavens had manifested.

The way her wooden sword cut through the air was nothing short of terrifying. It wasn’t even a real blade, nor was she using any supernatural ability, yet the air itself was tearing apart and letting out a scream—enough to make Elena’s skin prickle with goosebumps…

-Crack!

“Hmm.”

Without a single drop of sweat on her body, Noel looked at the wooden sword that had shattered to pieces in her hand once again, let out a scoff, and casually tossed it aside.

Considering that, due to the nature of the Tribal Alliance—where many were deeply devoted to training—only equipment durable enough to withstand the wear and tear of countless warriors was kept here…

The fact that it had been reduced to that state simply from being gripped and swung, without even colliding with anything, was a scene that bordered on grotesque.

“…….”

Somehow…

Hadn’t she become far more of a monster than before?

Even previously, she had been a knight who served as the public face of her nation, but there had been talk of monsters above her level—like The Completed One of the Holy Crown Kingdom.

And now, standing before her was a monster that didn’t fall short of even that…

‘……Let’s not provoke her for no reason.’

She had come because there was something she needed to say, but seeing Noel looking like a demon that had crawled up from hell made her think it would be better to just leave.

No one could predict what would happen if she delivered her news to her in that state…

As Elena turned around and began to quietly sneak out of the training grounds—

“Elena?”

“…….”

A voice that sent chills down her spine came from far behind.

Feeling a cold shiver run down the back of her neck, she stopped in her tracks.

The distance between them was great enough that they could barely make each other out.

And yet, despite Elena being a trained warrior who had concealed her presence as much as possible while moving—

She had detected her so effortlessly?

“…….”

Something was off.

Just from watching her train, it was clear she had grown much stronger than before, but right now, Noel wasn’t using even the slightest trace of supernatural ability.

And yet, this level of perception…

…it felt as though she was no longer entirely human—

“Elena? What are you doing over there?”

“……Ah, no.”

Before she could continue that line of thought, the voice that called out to her made Elena respond awkwardly, almost on reflex.

In any case, she had previously been caught by Noel while involved in some situation with Aiden.

Since then, they hadn’t properly talked, so the awkwardness was unavoidable.

But Noel must have sensed that as well. The words she spoke with a faint smirk made that clear.

“You don’t have to answer like that. I don’t feel anything about it anymore.”

“……Really?”

For someone who had seemed in such a bad mood ever since coming to the Tribal Alliance…

If she was forgiving her this easily, Elena could only be grateful.

“But what is it?”

The moment she heard that, Elena remembered what news she had to deliver and instantly felt depressed.

“……Elena? What’s wrong?”

“…….”

Still, she had to do what she came for.

Elena squeezed her eyes shut and spoke.

“It’s about Mr. Aiden, you see.”

“Yeah?”

“……He went to Mount Demon Sealing and came back with a woman.”

Well, that was only natural, wasn’t it? He had gone with a priestess.

As Noel tilted her head thinking that, Elena continued, still squeezing her eyes shut.

“No, two.”

“…….”

“She says she’s a Divine Beast.”

“…….”

“……She said she made some kind of important promise with Mr. Aiden. And she wants to meet you once.” 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Elena decided to just keep her eyes closed.

…That was far better than facing Noel’s expression.