ALL NOVEL Chapter 31 - Sudden Upheaval
With the political issues surrounding the dungeon somewhat resolved(?) by sealing it, the next step was to carry out the necessary procedures.
Priests from the Church needed to be summoned to seal the dungeon, and preliminary preparations had to be completed before their arrival. Additionally, administrative loose ends related to the movements of the lords of Badenbaden and Aghno, as well as the Paladin Order of Badenbaden regarding the dungeon, needed to be tied up.
“I believe it’s undeniable that the excessive movements of the three factions related to this dungeon worsened the local public safety and people’s livelihoods. What do you all think about that?”
“Why should that be our responsibility…ugh!”
Before some idiot, who had recently suffered a humiliating disgrace yet seemed to have learned nothing, could prattle on with nonsense again, his aide swiftly jabbed him in the side, forcing him to shut his mouth.
“Haha, it’s nothing. Don’t mind it and please continue speaking. I’ll listen attentively.”
Everyone witnessed the aide’s quick reflexes, but no one commented further. In their view, the aide had simply done his job next to the previous fool.
“Then let me continue. In summary, while the direct cause of this situation was the dungeon that appeared in Badenbaden, our stance is that we cannot ignore the fundamental causes either.”
The succession disputes between Aghno and Badenbaden, and the Paladin Order walking a tightrope between them in pursuit of greater power and influence in the region – the combination of all these factors created the current situation.
“The security and economy in the western imperial territories and eastern Frangia have already stagnated because of this mess. So, since the working-level representatives of the three factions have gathered here, I believe we need to reach some kind of agreement among the parties involved. What do you all think?”
What was she even talking about? Was the Church going to intervene in the secular lords’ succession disputes by brandishing the Paladins’ might? As the pupils of those who considered such implications dilated wildly, Hildegard curtly dismissed any misunderstandings:
“Of course, we have no intention of dirtying the Church’s feet by getting involved in your mud-wrestling over legitimacy. To be blunt, we have no interest in trivial matters like which of you has a claim or who wields power. Our concern is a more fundamental and magnanimous issue.”
Dismissing the noble lineage succession as trivial and calling it a crude, petty problem left those listening dumbfounded, their mouths agape as if insulted and anger welling up. But soon they came to accept it – after all, the Church had consistently maintained such an attitude throughout history.
“Our demand of you is simple. Bicker among yourselves over the succession all you want. However, refrain from any actions that could negatively impact the surrounding public safety and people’s livelihoods. What do you think?”
While there were certainly those present who resented the nun knights for setting certain standards to be observed regarding large-scale military actions that could harm the vicinity, excessive levies and plundering that could affect civilians, and so on, no one expressed their dissatisfaction directly.
Instead, they opted for an indirect form of resistance by appealing to their circumstances:
“Excuse me, but I’m not sure we have the authority to make such a weighty decision right away?”
In other words, shouldn’t they consult their superiors first before deciding? While the Church did have priority regarding the dungeon from the outset, they couldn’t simply be led around by the Church when it came to secular power.
Sensing she had no choice in this matter, Hildegard graciously agreed. Perhaps only a small portion of her demands would be properly agreed upon, but Hildegard thought that alone would suffice as a considerable achievement.
Incidentally, the task of persuading the Aghno representatives fell separately to Sophia, being a native of Frangia. The Aghno representatives, also Frangians, were relatively less receptive to the words of Hildegard, an imperial nun knight.
After messengers departed to receive the decision-makers’ responses from the three factions, the nun knights began overseeing various administrative tasks beyond what would be decided in the conference while awaiting its resumption.
Nuns and monks had traditionally been the administrative experts within the Church. Moreover, Sophia had at least a rudimentary grasp of 21st-century public administration.
Just as she had excelled in Brhymath previously, Sophia began performing splendidly in Badenbaden as well, to the point where Hildegard, who co-directed the administrative work, wholeheartedly cooperated with Sophia’s directives.
The administrators who had already heard about her exploits in Brhymath through their own networks were likewise amazed, exclaiming at Sophia’s comprehensive talents:
“Truly the patron saint of public administration who emerged in Brhymath!”
“The leader who set the wayward field of public administration on the right path!”
Watching the administrators’ admiring cheers, Conra, who had witnessed similar scenes in Brhymath, felt a familiar sense of discomfort.
‘Master really is popular with bureaucrats.’
But why exactly? Should he ask the bureaucrats? However, Conra knew he was unlikely to get a proper answer from them either.
‘Well, I’ll just leave it at that.’
In the end, Conra abandoned his musings and focused on achieving the day’s objectives Sophia had set.
Around this time, Conra’s training regimen had been partially revised after returning from the dungeon. This was because both the Bronze Giant’s belt and the presiding spirit they had acquired in the dungeon were given to Conra.
The Bronze Giant’s belt, true to its name, allowed the wearer to wield physical abilities equivalent to the Bronze Giant they had fought in the dungeon. However, the way it worked was problematic – it did not enhance the wearer’s base abilities by a fixed amount, but rather equalized their physical prowess to the Bronze Giant’s level regardless of their original capabilities.
If one was weaker than the Bronze Giant, the belt would raise their abilities to match it, regardless of their initial strength. But for those already stronger than the Bronze Giant, the belt had no effect – it was useless to them. This was the nature of the Bronze Giant’s belt.
Regarding the belt, Sophia had said:
“It’s not something to be worn for long periods. For me, it’s essentially useless.”
This was also the reason the belt was given to Conra. Since Conra was currently struggling with lacking physical abilities in combat, Sophia advised that it could serve as a temporary stopgap for him.
Still, she mentioned it wouldn’t be bad for training to get a feel for wielding immense strength. So Conra alternated between training with and without the belt, aiming to experience the difference in power levels and gradually close that gap.
But that wasn’t all – Conra also could not neglect honing his skills as a druid and alchemist under the tutelage of the presiding spirit he had contracted in the dungeon. The Silver Age spirit Esras-Hermes was already glaring at him impatiently, and conveniently, its specialties happened to be druidism and alchemy.
As Conra diligently studied, the spirit Ermes-Hermes said:
“To be blunt, if you want to call yourself a druid, you should be well-versed in the realms of bards and ovates, able to contract with ants or handle wickermen at the very least. Likewise, if you’re an alchemist, you should at minimum be capable of elemental refining and golem crafting.”
Conra wanted to argue but couldn’t. In reality, his father Setanta was a druid skilled in handling ants and wickermen, while his mother Kali was an alchemist adept at elemental refining and golem crafting. Their very will o’ wisps were products of such mastery, so what could he possibly say?
In any case, these relatively peaceful days continued for about a week. Conra had thought that once the messengers returned, they would wrap up worldly matters decently and set off on their next journey. But that peace was abruptly shattered upon the messengers’ return.
One day, the messenger who had gone to Aghno returned – his face weary, fearful, and caked in mud. Panting heavily as if he had run back, the messenger gulped down water greedily, seemingly parched, before finally regaining his composure enough to kneel trembling and plead:
“Nun knights, please help! Aghno, Aghno has…”
Sensing something was amiss from his appearance, Sophia asked the messenger:
“Calm down and speak. What’s happened to Aghno?”
“Aghno, Aghno has…”
Unable to continue, the messenger repeated the same words several times before the dam finally broke, his choking confession leaving everyone present aghast with its grief-stricken content:
“Aghno has fallen to a witch! Aghno is currently occupied by chimaeras and undead!”