Kaltiainen shot a glare over to her.
“Hey! Do you not know where you are, woman?! Attendants are meant to wait outside!”
“Lord Kaltiainen! This lady is...”
Ginias was in a fluster, while Michael, who was sitting next to Kaltiainen, was in complete shock
“...What the? Why are you here?”
“Hmm? Someone you know, Diekmeyer?”
“I mean, I kinda do, but...”
Michael scratched his head in a troubled manner, while the woman undid her sword belt as if she found this entire ordeal troublesome. It was, of course, not a Sacred Sword. It was a regular sword with a slender blade, but its hilt had a crest of a cross and a lion engraved on it. And the moment she saw that crest, Chastille gulped. More specifically, everyone in the room gulped.
“I’ll be attending today’s meeting. Will you understand if I name myself as Oberon?”
A shockwave ran through the room at the mention of that name. Even Kaltiainen shot to his feet in panic. And that only stood to reason. The name Oberon was as sacred as God in the church. It was deified to the point that legends of Oberon defeating an Archdemon hundreds of years ago were still passed down.
I do think it’s an embellished story though... Or so Chastille thought. In any case, people bearing that name were practically non-existent because of that.
“Oh dear,” Michael said with a troubled laugh before proclaiming, “you’ve got a much cuter voice than I thought you’d—oomph?!”
“Watch your mouth, Diekmeyer! Is she not one we must all devote our swords to?!”
Kaltiainen pushed Michael’s head to the table and deeply bowed down himself.
“Allow me to apologize for my previous comment. There is none more suitable to this place than you are.”
“Hey, Chastille. Who’s that? Actually, isn’t that geezer’s attitude totally different from when I came in?”
“Oberon is the name of the technician who created all the church’s Anointed Armor and relics.”
In short, to the church, losing her would be the same as losing the ability to fight against sorcerers. That’s why her existence was a secret among secrets within the church. She was revered like a god, and both her face and location were kept completely confidential.
“So she’s a big shot?”
It still wasn’t ringing a bell with Stella, and Chastille held back a bitter smile as she put it as simply as possible.
“Well, she’s enough of a big shot that Lord Kaltiainen is standing at attention for her.”
Chastille had heard that the technician had been named Oberon for generations, but the current Oberon seemed to be quite the young girl. And after observing her for a while, Chastille knit her brows.
“...What?” Oberon asked as she noticed Chastille’s gaze.
“Oh, pardon me. I just felt like I’ve heard your voice before.”
“Is that so...? I do believe this is our first time meeting.”
“I do too, but...”
Who was she? It felt like it wasn’t all that long ago, but she couldn’t pin it down. And before Chastille could find an answer, Michael began cackling.
“We can’t possibly have you stand all this time, Lady Oberon. I feel kinda bad for Raphael, but how about taking his seat?”
There were surely those who weren’t convinced by such a proposition, but nobody voiced an objection. Kaltiainen simply drooped his shoulders dejectedly.
“Raphael was a man with a strong sense of duty. He surely wouldn’t allow a woman to remain standing. Please make use of Metatron’s seat, Lady Oberon.”
“...Got it.”
All twelve seats were now accounted for with Ginias and Oberon’s arrival. And after watching Oberon return a small nod and walk towards her seat, Stella whispered to Chastille once more in discontent.
“Isn’t that geezer saying the complete opposite of what he told me? Can I slug him?”
“I understand how you feel, but please endure it, Stella.”
Thus, the meeting that had Chastille’s stomach churning began.
◇
“We have two topics to discuss today. The first is the fact that Lord Hyurandell’s Sacred Sword Metatron has fallen into the hands of Archdemon Zagan.”
Ginias started the meeting in a firm tone. He was still fulfilling his duty as the head Archangel despite his young age.
“It’s a grave situation. One that has never occurred before in the church’s entire history.”
However, Michael immediately voiced his doubt.
“Uhh, about that. Where’d the intel on this come from anyway? It’s been half a year since Raphael went missing. So why’d we only find out about this now?”
Chastille also nodded.
“I’m in agreement with Lord Michael regarding this matter. Both Lord Raphael’s last battle and Archdemon Zagan’s base were in Kianoides, which is under my jurisdiction. So why wasn’t I informed of this first?”
Kaltiainen let out a snort.
“Hmph. There are tons of rumors that you’re colluding with those damned sorcerers. Be honest, weren’t you covering up this information the whole time?”
He was so entirely on point that Chastille was too embarrassed to reply.
“It’s not collusion, it’s unification. It’s not like she’s serving the sorcerers or anything, right?”
“E-Exactly!”
Chastille grabbed hold of the lifeline Michael threw her, but the reaction of those in the room was cold.
Well, this much is to be expected... Chastille didn’t have any supporters among the Archangels or anyone of equivalent or higher rank. Michael could be considered neutral, so even though he was somewhat cooperative, he wasn’t an ally of hers.
“Unification my ass. Sacred Swords exist to kill sorcerers. The crap you’re spouting is like saying we should all get along with blades at each other’s throats.”
He was an unpleasant man, but he did have a point. Michael began happily slapping Kaltiainen’s back.
“Haha, I can’t really refute that. I kinda like how you avoid claiming that your way is justice, ya know?”
“And what exactly do I have to gain by being liked by you?”
Kaltiainen looked extremely displeased, but Michael wasn’t agitated in the least. Ginias then cleared his throat with a cough.
“The source of the information is being kept secret.”
“Meaning it came from the cardinals? I really hate those guys. They keep a whole load of secrets and only ever say things that are convenient for them.”
“Lord Diekmeyer! You go too far!”
“Nope. I’m gonna vent. I spent a whole month doing work at the bottom of the gloomy sea! You really think you can stop me from resenting them for it?”
Michael was practically in tears, while Ginias was completely overawed by his behavior and shrank back.
“...I’ll voice your protests to the cardinals. I’m sure they’re aware that it’ll all be over were you to revolt against them, Lord Diekmeyer.”
Valjakka then chimed in as well.
“Lord Galahad, you said there were two topics at hand. Is the other one something as dire as the loss of a Sacred Sword?”
“I’ll be the one to speak of that,” Oberon answered. She stood to her feet and continued in a quiet voice. “There’s a relic being stored in Raziel’s treasury called Azazel’s Staff.”
That name caught Chastille’s immediate attention.
Azazel... That’s the name Zagan is investigating.
She then took a look around to check everybody’s reactions.
One, two... five people. That’s a lot... It was surely the first time half the people had heard that name. She could tell that some of them were pondering what that name meant with puzzled looks. However, there were also some who weren’t.
The first was Michael. As both an Archdemon and Archangel, he likely held the most information regarding seraphs, Marchosias, and many other matters. He had the s
ame faint smile as always, and his expression didn’t change at all at the mention of Azazel.
The others who showed no reaction at all were Ginias and Valjakka. Ginias likely heard about it directly from Oberon, but it was also possible to consider that he knew something as the Head Archangel. As for Valjakka, he was a veteran whose only senior was Raphael. Taking into consideration the time he spent as an Archangel, it was fair to consider that he’d heard something of it.
The ones who reacted very clearly to this were Kaltiainen and the older Juutilainen.
“Azazel?” Kaltiainen practically spat out. “Isn’t that the name of that secret order those cardinals use?”
“So you’re aware of it, Lord Kaltiainen. I’ve heard that Azazel was annihilated though.”
This was the first Chastille had heard of this, and she opened her eyes wide in shock.
“Lord Juutilainen, could you tell me a little more about that?”
“I don’t really mind. It happened just over a year ago. Azazel’s ace at the time apparently failed a mission and was beyond recovery. The mission in question seemed to be related to an Archdemon, and taking advantage of the ace’s absence, the Archdemon retaliated and wiped Azazel out. I don’t know if there are any survivors.”
Chastille groaned at this information.
By ace, he probably means Kuroka... She could keep up with an Archangel without even using a Sacred Sword or Anointed Armor. If there had been more people like her around, then they wouldn’t have even needed Archangels. If Juutilainen’s story was true, one of the Archdemons was responsible for stealing the light from Kuroka’s eyes.
The only one that comes to mind is Bifrons... The first time Chastille met Kuroka, she was spurred into action by Bifrons’ scheming. Not that she could really fault her, seeing that Chastille was partially to blame for Raphael’s situation. In any case, that was apparently the source of Kaltiainen and the older Juutilainen’s reactions.
“Azazel’s Staff is something Fairy Queen Titania once wielded in a battle against Archdemon Orias,” Oberon added.
“What?!”
Chastille broke into a coughing fit.
“What’s wrong?”
“N-Nothing. Please continue.”
Orias? No way... Is this about Nephy’s mother? Only a select few, including Zagan, were aware that the current Orias was none other than the Fairy Queen Titania.
Titania had thrown away her own name and took the place of Orias, meaning the weapon she wielded at the time was likely powerful enough to overthrow an Archdemon. It was said that Oberon once defeated an Archdemon, but if that was actually Titania’s accomplishment, then it somewhat made sense.
Chastille recalled her conversation with Zagan when he began investigating Azazel. At the time, he was under the impression that it was the name of a thirteenth Sacred Sword. In a sense, he may have been correct.
“An Archdemon is apparently after Azazel’s Staff,” Oberon continued. “We must recover it before it’s stolen. Please open the treasury for me.”
And this had everyone murmuring.
Archdemon... I hope it’s not Zagan... In any case, it was already determined how Chastille would behave herself here.
“Lady Oberon. That would be a grave situation if it is true. Allow me to cooperate to the best of my abilities.”
“You have my thanks, Lady Chastille.”
Oberon nodded without any change in expression, but Chastille felt a strange sense of discomfort from that.
Huh? Something about that just now felt a little... She wracked her brain for the answer, but Valjakka spoke up before she could figure it out.
“It is indeed a dire situation, Lady Oberon. I’m not accusing you of anything, but is there a reason you believe that to be the case?”
A legendary Angelic Knight showed up out of nowhere and told them of an unbelievable incident. It would have been more odd not to doubt her at all.
“Hah!” Kaltiainen broke into a scornful laugh. “There’s no need to even ask. It’s Archdemon Zagan. Bet that bastard’s full of himself because he took Metatron.”
That itself was a prime example of a groundless assumption. Chastille was about to object, but Oberon shook her head before she said anything.
“No, our enemies are Archdemon Shere Khan and Bifrons.”
The Archangels were all astir at this information.
“Two... Archdemons?”
“I’m not aware of the details, but the two of them have put together a joint front.”
“Lady Oberon and I were investigating the treasury, and we ended up crossing blades with Shere Khan’s underlings. However, they managed to get away from us,” Ginias said as he gnashed his teeth. Then he paused, shook his head, and continued, “No, that’s not quite right. We were sent flying away.”
“We were teleported into the middle of the Katachnia wastelands by sorcery and were stranded there for three days,” Oberon claimed as she let out an unamused sigh.
“Three days? And you were at the treasury? Doesn’t that mean...?” Kaltiainen mumbled as he rose to his feet.
“Yes. I believe they’ve already infiltrated the treasury.”
The treasury had managed to keep sorcerers out for a thousand years, but now it was in an ever-so-fragile state.
◇
“Haah. I’m done. I’m seriously done. What’s with this place?!”
A girl’s scream resounded throughout the labyrinth beneath Raziel’s cathedral. She looked to be around 15 years old. Her blonde hair went down over her right shoulder and was tied together into a little tuft at the end using a ribbon. Her small face was still somewhat childish, and her deep-blue eyes were blurred with tears.
And yet, she wore a casual outfit comprised of a breastplate with her navel exposed along with a skirt short enough that one could almost see her underwear. To top things off, she wore a belt that was ill-matched to her slender figure that also had a longsword dangling from it. This girl’s name was Dexia.
“Gaah! Seriously! What’s with that woman?! We would be in that stupid treasury already if not for her!”
She began flailing around and throwing a tantrum on the floor, and a blade stabbed into the ground right by her face.
“Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-What are you doing, Aristella?!”
“Aristella determined that you would be better off dead, Dexia.”
“Why?!”
Dexia retreated while still sitting on her butt. Aristella’s eyes were serious.
“C-C-C-C-C-Calm down, Aristella! Don’t you think Master Shere Khan will grieve if we have a falling out?!”
“Aristella does not. Abandoning the mission is a serious crime. There’s no need to bother Master with it. Aristella will kill herself together with you.”
“I didn’t say anything about abandoning the mission, right?!”
The girl thrusting a blade at Dexia without any light left in her eyes, Aristella, was wearing much more modest clothing comprised of an extremely frilly shirt and skirt. And just like Dexia, she had an ill-matched belt wrapped around her waist. However, unlike Dexia, she had two vicious-looking scimitars dangling from her belt.
The two girls were peas in a pod. The color of their hair, their eyes, and all their facial features were identical. About the only difference between them aside from their clothes was the fact that Dexia’s hair was tied to the right, while Aristella’s was tied to the left.
“I’ll finish the mission, okay? But we’ve been wandering around this place for three days, right? I can whine about it just a little, right?”
When Dexia and Aristella had attempted to break into the treasury, they’d been thwarted by a team of two Angelic Knights. The woman didn’t name herself, but the boy called himself Ginias. Aristella shook her head.
“It hasn’t just been a little. You’ve been whining for three whole days. Aristella’s spirit is at its limit.”
Taking some time to think about it, this would probably explain why Aristella’s eyes looked so em
pty. And having noticed this, Dexia twiddled her fingers together.
“Umm. Sorry. My bad. I’ll do my best, so let’s get out of this together, okay? It’ll all be good if we finish the mission, right?”
Dexia sincerely apologized, and Aristella eventually sheathed her scimitar. Finally relaxing, she let out a small sigh and sat on the ground. It was clear that she was feeling down too, and Dexia shuffled up next to her.
“I wonder if Master Shere Khan has been fine without us for these three days.”
“...Mm. We really need to get back. Aristella fears that one is dangerous.”
She was referring to the Archdemon who had suddenly appeared one week ago. They were grateful that Shere Khan was saved, but the girls really couldn’t trust the other Archdemon. It was perhaps to be expected of a sorcerer, but that one was different from their lord.
“How far away did that woman get sent?”
“The outskirts of the Katachnia Wastelands. Carriages rarely pass through there. It should buy us three days.”
“Three days? So time’s basically up now, huh?”
That was surely Aristella’s source of irritation.
I can’t really laugh at them when we’re the ones who totally got stalled. Dexia mocked herself. Everything was going fine when Aristella used her sorcery to send the two Angelic Knights far, far away. But they ended up tripping over that woman’s traps in the treasury.
Walls would swap positions with each other. There were classic traps like pitfalls and poison arrows. There were even malicious curses being fired around like one would find among the spirits of the deceased. It really made them wonder if they were underneath a church. It would have been much more convincing if someone had told them this was a sorcerer’s den. And thanks to that, Dexia and Aristella had been stuck wandering around this labyrinth for three days.
“Oh yeah, I wonder if those Angelic Knights were brought in by that guy?”
Dexia cocked her head, and Aristella nodded.
“The traitors?”
An Archdemon's Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride: Volume 9 Page 11