Even so, none of the 12 Zodiacs could ignore Leo unless Fernando’s support base disappeared.

  "Didn’t Leo get seriously wounded because he was forced to fight in a confined space where the power of his group was suppressed?” Libra was trying to comprehend why Leo was still unable to recover from his injuries after falling for the prime minister’s delicious bait.

  "Uududuk!" Vibrio gritted her teeth at Libra.

  This reaction wasn’t only because he stabbed her weak spot; it also reminded her of how helpless she was at the time.

  "So, why did you approach me, Libra?"

  Libra removed his index finger from his temple and opened his arms wide. "I’m just here to give you advice."

  "Advice?" Vibrio doubted Libra. She was wary and distrustful.

  "I say advice, but it’s not anything big. Just leave the Great Temple."

  Leaving the Great Temple wasn’t a big deal? What kind of nonsense was he spouting? She could not leave the Great Temple. She had so many precious colleagues, the cardinal who they respected more than anyone else, and the Great Cause they risked their lives to follow.

  All of this was at the Great Temple. Above all, she could not understand receiving such advice from Libra.

  Vibrio just stared at Libra without saying anything, but Libra burst into a cheerful laugh. "Puhahaha! You don’t have to understand. I’m just telling you to look at the reality of the situation. What can you do while you’re at the Great Temple? Just sit helplessly in a room?"

  Vibrio exploded at Libra’s ridicule. "Shut up!"

  Despite Vibrio’s cry, no one in the crowded plaza looked over at her. It appeared as if they were in an isolated space that she couldn’t recognize. Yet, Vibrio’s anger had gotten to her head, and in her rage, she didn’t notice it.

  Libra was looking at Vibrio with eyes full of joy when he suddenly turned his gaze to the right. "Mmm, I guess that’s it for our meeting."

  Libra clicked his tongue like someone who was just disturbed and raised his cane. "I hope to see you again, Vibrio."

  When Libra placed his cane back on the ground, his body disappeared from sight. It was as if he was never there in the first place.

  "What……"

  Despite Vibrio’s trained senses, she could not find any signs of Libra. If he had moved with teleportation magic, she should be able to sense the lingering mana, but even that couldn’t be felt.

  "Unni!"

  Vibrio stared at the spot where Libra had been as if she were possessed by a ghost. She was interrupted when she heard a voice calling for her and she looked to the right. There, Hillis was approaching her as she pushed through the crowd while waving her hand.

  "Hillis."

  Vibrio stroked Hillis’s hair as Hillis went into her arms, and she looked at the fountain in the center of the plaza. The fountain’s water had been emptied to prevent it from freezing in the cold weather, and young children were running around it happily.

  She felt as if she had emerged from a black and white world into a colored world.

  Vibrio fiddled with her left hand. There was still some water on it that had yet to dry.

  * * *

  Lancelot sighed as he grabbed his head. "Ehew~"

  Mac and Leisha bowed their heads with ashamed faces.

  "So when His Highness, the Crown Prince, asked you to build a bridge with Saintess-nim, you said yes without hesitation, right?"

  "Uh…… that’s right," Leisha affirmed in a slightly dispirited voice.

  Lancelot’s sigh deepened. "Ha-ah~ And so that’s why His Highness, the Crown Prince, is coming here now?"

  Lancelot looked up at the vast temple from the entrance of the building.

  "Haha, that’s correct.” This time, Mac answered while avoiding Lancelot’s gaze.

  Perhaps because he felt a little guilty, he wasn’t speaking to Lancelot in his usual manner.

  Lancelot rubbed his face as he felt a headache come on. "Didn’t military affairs ask you not to get involved with the Empire’s politics before you left?”


  Leisha became flustered, "No, I didn’t know it was political. Really!"

  "That’s right. We didn’t know.” Mac copied Leisha.

  Lancelot suddenly burst into a fit of rage, "There’s no way the Crown Prince of the Empire officially meeting someone is not political!"

  The raging Lancelot took a deep breath and quickly apologized, "I’m sorry I yelled. I should have explained it better before I left.”


  When Lancelot blamed himself, Mac and Leisha spoke in panic.

  “No, it’s all my fault!”


  “That’s right! It’s all Miss’s fault!”


  Leisha looked back and glared at Mac. Mac turned his head away to avoid Leisha’s gaze.

  "Hmmhmm, anyway. Lancelot didn’t do anything wrong, right?"

  "That’s right."

  "Actually, I still don’t understand why this is political,” Mac said.

  Lancelot’s eyes looked like he had given up. If he explained it again, it would be the third time.

  "To explain in a way that’s easy to understand, the royal family and the temple are not on good terms. In comparison, it’s a relationship between the guard dog in hell and the stone monkey in hell." (1)

  In short, it was a mutual dislike.

  “Mmm, I understand up to there.” Mac nodded.

  "But at the same time, the royal family and the temple have a symbiotic relationship. The temple needs a safe fence called the Empire for the sake of the believers’ safety, and the imperial family needs the support of the faith for unified and stable governance of the Empire."

  "Uh…… I understand.” Mac’s face showed that he didn’t understand at all.

  He couldn’t understand how two groups could want to kill one another and have a relationship of mutual dislike while simultaneously being in a symbiotic relationship. To explain the relationship between the royal family and the temple, it wouldn’t work unless the details of 200 years of Empire’s history were explained at the minimum.

  For someone as ignorant of the Empire’s history as Mac, it was practically impossible for him to understand. At the same time, it would be going overboard to explain that much history in a short time.

  He wanted to make him understand but couldn’t. And so he stopped thinking about it.

  "Don’t give up!” Mac cried out.

  Lancelot smiled dejectedly while staring off at a distant mountain. "Huh-huh-huh. I wonder what I should report to the Military Leader……”


  Mac and Leisha became pale at Lancelot’s murmuring.

  "Plea, please, anyone but the Military Leader!"

  "That’s right! There’s no need to go so far as to tell Unni!"

  As soon as this news entered Hestia’s ears, it was clear that Doomstone’s iron fist sanctions would be imposed with a great deal of nagging.

  The Crow Tribe was extremely reluctant to be involved in the internal politics of other countries. This held true not only for the Crows but also for the Butterfly and Dragon Tribes. If the battle races interfered with other countries at any level, there was the risk that they might affect that country’s state of affairs.

  Let’s look at it in pieces. Suppose that the actions of the battle races led to countries implementing anti-battle race policies. If this occurred, the battle race tribes located in remote, difficult-to-reach areas would face considerable challenges in the supply and demand of materials from outside the tribe.

  In fact, 500 years ago, there was a period when public opinion toward the battle race was extremely poor due to the war between the now-extinct Holy Tribe and Giant Tribe. As a result, most of the battle races lost trade deals with the outside world. Therefore, they had to be more cautious now.

  Of course, that didn’t mean that Lancelot’s party would be reluctant to act. The Crows were also leaders in society, and as a village-level force, they possessed a strong power comparable to the Empire.

  Even if they had difficulty trading with the outside world, it was not too hard to wage war for their compatriots as needed.

  Nevertheless, the reason for the battle race’s slightly excessive cautiousness was that they felt the need to continue communications with the outside world. Therefore, it was necessary to establish a stable and continuous relationship with friendly allies.

  As a result, each of the battle race tribes dispatched various talents as a token of their alliance for the sake of safe and stable trade. This was why Bloody, William, and Orphina were currently members of the imperial army.

  Just Bloody, William, and Orphina.

  These three left their tribes and were associated with the Empire, ensuring that they had some political activities within the Empire. At the same time, however, they could not receive protection from each of their respective tribes.

  Of course, this lack of protection only extended in cases with clear and justifiable reasons, such as being killed or injured during war with other countries. For deaths with unclear reasons such as assassination and poisoning, thorough blood revenge had been carried out after investigating the truth.

  For reference, in the past, there was a time when Doomstone running away from home had caused issues. The father of Doomstone and chief of the previous generation, Zendia Blade, had resolved the situation through active trade (and force).

  This was a diplomatic strategy that used the Crow Tribe’s image of being simple and barbaric, as well as the Crow Tribe’s past achievements of defeating the Demon King Kanglim, to resolve the issue without any damage.

  In addition, there were battle races that were the exception and engaged in outside activities as the ruling class of a nation in place of building this type of alliance. This was the case for the now-extinct Holy Tribe and the Fairy Tribe currently located in the southern part of the continent.

  Lancelot sighed again at the sight of the fully grown adults clinging to him. "Still, it’s a mistake we made, so we have to report it, but don’t worry too much. This isn’t that big of an intervention.”


  "But! It’s scary!” As Leisha’s eyes became moist and she trembled in fear, Lancelot patted Leisha’s shoulders with eyes that seemed to have given up on everything.

  "As Den said, it’s comfortable if you give up. Give up. Hahaha." Lancelot’s dry laughter forced Mac and Leisha into despair.

  Lancelot still thought it was lucky to have a minor accident like this before they could cause a big one. At least now, they would be extra careful in fear of Doomstone’s iron fists.

  At that moment, a familiar voice came from behind them. "Leisha? You came earlier than promised."

  Leisha turned around and found Hillis walking over, arm in arm with her sister Vibrio. Lancelot didn’t have to explain the situation once more, as he had sent a letter in advance to clarify what had happened and make an appointment.

  At the same time, a huge carriage with an imperial flag was approaching from far behind Hillis. The dice had already been thrown. Lancelot sighed at the fact that he was not the one who threw the dice.

  It wasn’t his business whether the crown prince achieved his goal. He was just interested in finding Den.

  Notes: 1) I believe Guard dog in hell is referring to Cerberus and the stone monkey is referring to the Monkey king who defied Hell’s attempt to collect his soul.