"…How is it?" In the audience chamber, where the guards had been dismissed, King Reinhard von Abuetus XIII, seated on his throne, wiped the sweat from his brow and asked Orlando.
"While further observation is needed, it doesn't seem to pose a problem."
"…That's good." The king leaned back on his throne, utterly exhausted, and trembled as he recalled the divine beast that had just been beneath him.
That ferocious and terrifying appearance. Yet its speech and manners were completely different from its appearance, exuding refinement and respect—an unprecedented hybrid of human and beast.
Due to the extreme contrast between its appearance and behavior, Abuetus still felt a growing unease.
"Honestly. Even I, who can't sense Ethel, can sense its ferocious appearance. Thankfully, it speaks to me politely and respectfully, otherwise it would be a real headache."
"Indeed, it exudes a rather unusual aura compared to other divine beasts."
"What do you think? Could it be of any use?" A woman's voice suddenly rang out in the audience chamber where the King and Orlando were alone.
When the two looked in the direction of the voice, they saw a woman standing there, dressed in a magnificent gown, her face veiled by a semi-transparent veil.
Her voluptuous and sensual figure was accentuated by the magnificent gown, and her face was only partially visible through the veil.
Her posture was enough to make it clear that she was no ordinary woman.
Orlando bowed slightly to her, then shook his head and continued in a regretful tone.
"Right now... compared to other divine beasts, perhaps because of its youth, it doesn't have any particularly outstanding features besides its physical appearance."
"What a pity. If it could be put to use immediately, since it's a divine beast involved, it should be able to quickly wipe out the demons."
"However, since it says it wants to be an adventurer, as a divine beast, it should be able to grow rapidly."
Listening to their conversation, the king, seated on his throne, shook his head and rubbed his forehead.
"...Is war really necessary? Now that the divine beast has come to the kingdom, if we could make good use of it to request mediation from the Water Kingdom..."
"Don't you know very well that the Water Kingdom has been secretly assisting the demons?"
"Speaking such pessimistic words even now? Abuetus? You know perfectly well that the demons are a bunch of incomprehensible creatures."
"Knowing is one thing. I'm just venting for the soldiers and knights who are about to sacrifice themselves." The king gave a bitter look, shook his head as if tired of the two, sighed, and then asked Orlando.
"...Will that divine beast be willing to cooperate?"
"I heard he's established a guild. Since he intends to live in the kingdom, we should seize the opportunity to persuade him."
"If he's interested in power, granting him an appropriate title after understanding his character wouldn't be a problem. After all, divine beasts have long lifespans; as long as we ensure his loyalty to the kingdom, he'll definitely be of great use in the future." The three nodded in agreement, and Orlando placed his hands on his chest and bowed to the other two.
"Then, let's set off back to the border. Take care of yourselves."
"...We've come in such a hurry that we haven't had a chance to rest. I'm truly sorry, Lord Orlando."
"It's alright. If he knew I'd abandoned my post, that fellow would never be at peace. A war between the two sides would only cause huge losses, so for now, we'll keep each other in check, but he will surely attack once the opportunity arises." The veiled woman walked towards the looking-up Orlando, gently embraced him, and whispered.
"I haven't even had a chance to offer my friend a cup of tea before I must depart. Please don't force yourself, Lord Orlando."
After she withdrew from his embrace, Orlando smiled and bowed to her.
"Thank you for your concern, Her Majesty Queen Reinhard Parsifa Estoria."
... The next day. As expected, the Pope I met was an ordinary old man.
Unlike the audiences with kings where no nobles were present, this time the dignitaries of the Goddess's Church were all gathered, staring at me as if I were a rare object, making me feel incredibly pressured.
They were intrigued by my fierce aura, and subtly tried to persuade me to convert to the Goddess, which was utterly annoying.
I responded to them with a smile and perfunctory replies, and before I knew it, I was having dinner with the Pope, with Paul and Claire also present.
"Oh... looking for that Hero Devourer?"
"Yes. You should have heard of him; he's an extremely ferocious monster. He's the reason I became an adventurer."
He spoke like a hero burdened with a mission, while subtly probing the Pope's intelligence.
Hearing this, the Pope let out a soft "Hmm~," then looked at me with a headache and said:
"I've been overwhelmed lately because of those monsters. The disappearances of heroes and adventurers that were previously treated as accidents are now almost certainly the work of those guys. The Church has been gathering intelligence with all its might,
but..."
They're completely useless.
Why are both the King and the Pope like this?
Shouldn't they just talk about the end of the world to make them feel threatened?
...Sigh.
Never mind.
Thankfully, it was Kleia, the most skilled sensory user in the Cult of Goddess, who intervened and found the hiding place of the cunning, cat-like Hero Devourer, Erebus.
It's not that they're incompetent, it's just that their opponent is too good at hiding. Just think of it that way.
"Monsters are truly terrifying beings. Unlike the humans or monsters arranged by the Goddess, they appear suddenly at any moment, irrationally harming lives... Goddess..."
Hmm. As expected of the elder Pope. Suddenly mentioning the Goddess, he launches into a torrent of praise.
It's probably the atmosphere of 'Do you believe it? I believe it!' You have to play along.
"...I heard that the Royal Knights have slain several monsters with a similar aura around the capital. That happened in recent years, so there shouldn't be any Hero Devourers around the capital... However, recently there have been 4-5 missing persons, and the guild management is investigating whether it's related. Going over there to check it out wouldn't be bad."
Finally, some decent information was heard.
The Royal Knights have captured a few... Judging from the way those powerful figures acted, as long as we delay their demise to a point where we can enjoy ourselves to some extent, we can live a leisurely life.
With those overpowered guys around, as long as I buy enough safe buffer time, I can just lie around eating, drinking, and having fun, right?
Originally, taking the hero's woman for a mental shock wouldn't help much in delaying the demise.
It was just setting the bare minimum for humanity to satisfy my desires.
Recalling information like the goddess's memories, the correct solution to delaying demise is to directly capture the Hero Devourer… but will there be someone to do it for me? Well, that's another story.
Yesterday and today. Having synthesized the information I obtained from the royal family and the church, I nodded and redefined my life goals in Esendia.
I'll only choose heroes I can barely handle, and take their women to make them my females!
I'll delay the demise to a point where I can enjoy myself to the point of death, living a leisurely adventurer's life within appropriate boundaries!
That's right!
Life should be lived in moderation!
Hmm!
Playing is the best!
Yay!
A happy and sexually fulfilling life of training! ... ... "Ultimately, it's just a bonus, but everyone's so confidently showing off their hunting experiences. In that case, let's check their abilities. Clarice, living in the
No, isn't this good for that Clarice? This is her territory.
I'm still a newbie. A little brat like Semo trembling with fear at the sight of those terrifying heroes.
"Danger! And in monster-slaying or adventures, priests are always just supporting characters! This has absolutely nothing to do with verifying the Saintess's abilities…!"
"Alright, alright. This is also because we need to deal with the recently active Hero Devourers. Now that we know those monsters are dangerous, dealing with them will become one of the Saintess's duties."
"But…!" Despite Paul's continued protests, Astus ignored him, listing various reasons and refusing to accept his objections.
After listening to Paul's protests for a moment, Astus clapped his hands to signal the end of the discussion, indicating that this was a settled matter.
"Alright! In any case, this is a settled matter! In seven days, all candidates will be in their assigned dungeons to verify their monster-slaying abilities with the adventurers. Understand and prepare accordingly."
Astus placed a sheet of paper filled with various instructions on the table, then left the room without even glancing at us.
"…Ha. How did it come to this…"
"Isn't it strange that it feels like they're favoring that Sister Clarice?"
Hearing my question, Paul sighed again, then nodded quietly.
"That's right. Archbishop Astus supports Sister Clarice. Although he hasn't said it outright, as far as I know, they've known each other for a long time."
"But are we just going to conduct the experiment like this? Won't His Holiness the Pope say anything?"
"The experiment itself is decided by the archbishops… When selecting a saintess with power equivalent to the Pope's, the Pope's intervention could raise suspicions of fraud, so His Holiness the Pope will only approve it after the saintess has been chosen." Paul pondered for a moment, then clicked his tongue, stood up with a stiff face, and said to me while adjusting his bishop's robes.
"It seems I need to go see the other archbishops who support Claire. I'll leave Claire in your care for the time being."
After Paul left the room, I returned to Claire and Lisbeth's dormitory with a strange sense of unease, lost in thought.