Skeleton Knight in Another World Vol. 5
Page 22
He played with the dulled silver ring on his finger as he turned the conversation back to the person who’d killed Charros.
“I’m curious about this knight dressed in silver armor. Charros was a cardinal after all. I’m quite surprised to hear that someone out there could kill him.”
The cheerful tone in Cardinal Humilitas’s voice drew angry looks from the two bickering men.
“Like you’re one to talk!”
“Hmph!”
Cardinals Humanitas and Patientia skulked in their seats at being reproached by Cardinal Humilitas. Cardinal Castitas merely shrugged at this, the large mounds of flesh beneath her robe heaving as she sighed.
She turned her attention to the ring Cardinal Humilitas wore on his finger as she steered the conversation in a new direction.
“Where did you get that, if I may ask? You’ve been playing with it the whole time.”
She cast him a seductive glance—almost everything she did would cause men to do her bidding. However, Cardinal Humilitas paid little attention to this and responded with a cheerful smile.
“Oh, this? I made this back in the east empire. This item, an employ ring, can be used to control monsters.”
Upon hearing this, Cardinal Castitas recalled where Cardinal Humilitas was assigned.
“Ah, that’s right. You were sent to the Runeology Cloister in the Holy Revlon Empire.”
Cardinal Humilitas shrugged his shoulders dramatically and glanced admonishingly at the other members of the table.
“Everything’s going just fine for me. I really think we should limit these meetings to those who aren’t doing their jobs.”
The atmosphere in the room grew even more hostile, though he seemed to pay it no mind. His gaze stopped on one person.
“Are you just going to eat throughout this whole meeting?”
Cardinal Humilitas adjusted his glasses and shot a look at a small boy busily shoving food into his mouth. He hadn’t said anything so far.
Judging by appearance alone, one might guess that the young boy had perhaps stepped into the wrong room. But he was, in fact, one of the seven cardinals—Cardinal Tismo Ghoula Temprantia.
The only response he offered to Cardinal Humilitas’s question was a shrug before returning to eating.
The other cardinals sighed in response.
“It seems like you’re all here.” A low voice filled the room. All six cardinals stood up from their seats and immediately kneeled down.
“We are honored by your presence, Pontiff Thanatos.”
It was as if the man had suddenly appeared in the room. He bowed to each of the cardinals before sitting down in the elaborate seat placed on a platform overlooking the table.
He was dressed in even more elaborate garb than those of his cardinals, and held in his hand the holy scepter, a highly decorated rod and sign of the pontiff’s status.
Atop his head he wore a large hat on which the holy symbol of the Hilk was inscribed, a hat reserved for the pontiff himself. His face was covered with a veil that hung from the brim of the hat.
The veiled man who could bring six cardinals to their knees was none other than the head of the Holy Hilk Kingdom, Pontiff Thanatos Sylvius Hilk.
Pontiff Thanatos looked out over the assembled cardinals before speaking through his veil. No one had ever seen his face.
“I see that you’re all here. As I’m sure you must already know, Charros, Cardinal Industria, has been killed by an unknown party after being sent to the southern continent.”
He paused for a moment and looked at each of his cardinals one by one. They hung on his every word, and not a single person dared interrupt.
Satisfied, the pontiff continued.
“However, we should be happy that he did his job…at least to the best of his abilities. The west empire’s colony of Tagent has suffered a great blow. Though it would have been nice if the town had fallen entirely, that would have been a bit much to ask of him.”
A faint laugh could be heard from behind the veil.
The cardinals’ eyes went wide at this. It was an incredibly rare occurrence for the pontiff to laugh in front of them.
Undeterred by his audience’s surprise, the pontiff continued explaining his plans.
“Up until now, the war between the two empires has been leaning in favor of the east. I would like you to focus your efforts on our plans with Nohzan, Delfrent, and Salma. These are your orders.”
The cardinals nodded in unison.
“As you wish.”
The pontiff gave a satisfied nod, stood from his chair, and left the room.
He walked alone down the corridor. The only sounds accompanying him were those of his own footsteps. A faint laugh once again escaped his veil.
“Great things are about to be put into action. It’s been a long while. A truly long while.”
A bird sitting on the windowsill in the corridor watched the pontiff curiously before hopping out to ride the winds high above the mountain range.
Dark clouds filled the sky over the Rutios mountains.
Afterword
This is Ennki Hakari, the author of Skeleton Knight in Another World. Thank you so much for picking up this book. I can’t believe that the fifth volume of the Skeleton Knight’s story is about to hit shelves, and it’s all thanks to you, dear readers, who have faithfully supported the story thus far. Truly, thank you very much.
I never could have imagined that my work would be turned into a manga as well. Just imagining how Arc will spring to life on the page sends me into fits of giggles as I try to see it in my mind’s eye. Ultimately, I’ve decided to wait and see it when all of you, dear readers, have a chance to get your hands on it as well.
Now, if you would be so kind as to recommend it to all your friends and… nope, never mind, nothing to see here.
This is a bit off-topic, but honestly, I can’t remember the last time a close friend of mind recommended a novel or light novel. Manga, sure, but nothing else. I wonder if it’s because manga are easy reading, making them easy to recommend too? Come to think of it, even I rarely recommend any of my favorite novels to people. I guess it’s a little hard to do without knowing how the other person feels about reading in general.
So, now that Skeleton Knight is going to be a manga, you can easily recommend it to all your friends and… Oops, sorry. Forget about that.
Well, it looks like I’m about to run out of space.
As always, it’s only thanks to the hard work of my editor, the talented illustrator KeG, my proofreader, and all the others who helped out that the Skeleton Knight was able to return to store shelves for Volume 5. Thank you, everyone. I hope you continue to support Skeleton Knight in Another World.
Well, that’s about it for now. I look forward to seeing you again in the next book!
SEPTEMBER 2016—ENNKI HAKARI
Thank you for reading!
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