Volume 4, Chapter 275 - The King Moves (2/3)
Volume 4, Chapter 275 - The King Moves (2/3)
“Maybe we should we call that brat?”
But if so, he would have to persuade the saint, Reshia Fel Zeal, first.
Seeing Gi Gi fold his arms and make a difficult face, Gi Gi and Gi Ji looked at each other and wondered among themselves if calling Gi Za was a failure. In the end, they concluded that it was still too early to arrive at a conclusion, and decided to see the wisdom of the wizard class goblin first.
Gi Za left the battlefield temporarily and returned to the capital, The City Where the King Sits (Revea Su), as fast as he could. He needed an audience with Reshia, who had the brat, that could turn the battle around, under her thumbs.
This is a bit of a digression, but by this point in time, the road projects were steadily making progress throughout Alrodena. The biggest problem facing the giant nation, that continued to dispatch eastern expeditions, was the distance to its command center, Revea Su.
To solve this problem, Alrodena constructed roads extending to every direction from Revea Su and established a state-owned transport system utilizing horses that they named the Ekiden System.
Gi Za was not a good rider by any means, but when riding alone, he still managed to make it back to the capital from the front lines in just three days.
Gi Za visited Reshia to request the help of Douhet the Flame Ryuu, but she looked at him with a difficult face while carrying Gastora.
“If you insist, I could speak on your behalf, but…”
“What?”
“Of course, you’ll have something that will be of benefit to me, yes?”
“Less people will die. That should be an agreeable thing to you, the saint, yes?”
“But I’m not the saint anymore~ I’m just an adherent~”
“Is an adherent of the Goddess of Healing (Zenobia) really fine like that!?”
“Zenobia-sama never told us to love others for free. All she said was to heal others as much as we could. In fact, if profit is involved, even Zenobia-sama herself might turn a blind eye to it. Love and time are finite, after all.”
“…Enough, you ill-natured human! What do you want!?”
“I want to go to the front lines too!”
“But that’s…”
Reshia’s playful demeanor suddenly changed, and she looked at Gi Za seriously.
“Surely you know why the king left you behind.”
Gi Za tried to persuade her, but his words were weak.
“So what? I’m not the kind of girl who’s content to be spoiled like this.”
Battles were always a ghastly sight, and Reshia had once given rise to hell around her during the War of the Saint, so believing that war would be too ghastly a sight for her, the Goblin King decided to keep her away from the war. Of course, there was no denying that her power would be of great help to them. Reshia Fel Zeal could match a hundred healers all on her own.
Despite that the Goblin King made the decision to leave her in Revea Su.
“His Majesty will soon take over the continent. To that end, countless blood is sure to be shed. Beneath the glory is an ocean of blood and a mountain of corpses. I want to witness that with my own eyes and spread the word.”
She was not rejecting the Goblin King’s path to supremacy.
She just didn’t want to live while averting her eyes from the sacrifices made.
Though her words didn’t wholly agree with them, they weren’t hostile either, and somewhere someway they seemed to resonate with Gi Za.
“Very well, I shall talk to Pale.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“Hmph, do whatever you want.”
He had to persuade Reshia to borrow Douhet, but to persuade Reshia, he now had to talk to Pale.
“…Wyverns, huh.”
After being informed of the threat of a flying army, Pale was immediately able to understand how dangerous it was. As well as the fact that Douhet would be exceedingly effective against them.
But even Pale found it difficult to bring Reshia along when the Goblin King said to leave her behind. Besides, Reshia already had a job to do.
The restoration of Revea Su’s public order meant that stability has returned to the lives of the people living there.
But man did not live on bread alone.
Reshia Fel Zeal hails from the Ivory Tower, known to be the best at the forefront of education, and it was her job as an adherent to speak of the tales of the gods. And the Goblin King was exceedingly passionate about education. At the very least, he was a great deal more invested in it than other rulers of the same period.
He instructed the construction of schools in every city under his control, and did the same in Revea Su.
In the west, the elves were the ones that taught, and while it wasn’t rare for demihumans to open schools themselves, it was usually the humans who taught in the central and eastern parts of the continent.
The government also provides subsidies to these schools to help them in their operation. Reshia has also been named as one of teachers of these schools. In the first place, she has always been doing something similar during her time visiting villages and cities to teach. Her stories were always interesting, full of ups and downs, and popular with all races.
So when considering the development of future human resources, Reshia Fel Zeal was an exceedingly important person.
“…Fine. I’ll find a way to deal with the work she leaves behind, and I’ll send a letter to the king too. I’ll have Gi Ah-dono send it.”
“…Thank you.”
When Pale heard those words, she opened her eyes wide in surprise.
“Not at all, it’s well worth the trouble if it means hearing such laudable words from you.”
Gi Za’s face twisted in bitterness, then he snorted and turned heel.
After meeting up with Reshia and Douhet, they would report to Pale, then make their way to the frontlines.
“Douhet-san, Douhet-san, let’s go for a walk.”
“…Adherent, you’re not mistaking me for a dog, are you?”
Douhet was grumbling over his wine cups when Reshia visited him in the royal garden with Gastora in her arms. Douhet let out a scary groan, but Reshia ignored it and just smiled.
“Oh my, is that how you treat the person who saved your life?”
“…Damned adherent! Damned Zenobia! Oh master!”
At first, Douhet cursed and pleaded for help, but then he quickly changed gears and meekly bowed his head.
“So, where to?”
“Well, where to, Gi Za-san?”
“…”
Douhet glared at her, but Reshia ignored him and turned the conversation to Gi Za.
“The fortress Gi Gi Orudo is attacking. To the southeast.”
“Very well.”
As Douhet’s back silently rose, Gastora nervously looked below, before giving up and immediately fleeing to Reshia.