The Branded Female Fencer

Chapter 85

When Peaceful Times Cease To Exist : Attack On Church Of Arnelia, Part 13 — Cleaning Up After The Attack ①

Translated by KaiesV
Edited by KaiesV

＊＊＊

This is a corner of the facilities in the church, a short distance from the Palace of the Deep Green. The Palace of the Deep Green is mainly the residence of Miliazar, and the priests of relatively high status, including the Archbishops, have their own workplaces in the continuation of the facilities of the Order. The Templar Knights have a very large number of people who are orphans or from Arnelia, and it is not unusual for some of them to use the Knights’ dormitories as their own residence. However, many people of a certain rank would have their own residences in the city, but Archbishop Mynar, strangely enough, always lived in his own quarters.

However, he spent most of his life sleeping at his place of business and seldom returned to his quarters. Many people ridiculed him for his innate poverty, but not a few supported him for not being pompous at all and sharing their hardships with them. But he was not in the quarters for that reason, but simply because it made his job easier.

When Minard returned to his place of work, he was met by Espis and Rinella, the assistant archbishops who accompanied him. Both are deeply hooded, but apparently Espis is a man and Rinella is a woman, as evidenced by the difference between their monk’s and sister’s uniforms. Mynar gives them instructions.

「Espis, Rinella. I have something for you to do. Espis will split his forces into two groups and went to the Western Alliance and Romansland. Rinella will also divide her forces into two groups to search for the Duchy of Krummus and the countries to the east. You may use all the forces you can mobilize. I want you to focus on the king, queen, ambassadors, princesses, prime ministers, and dukes to see if there is anything strange going on.」

「A major player, sir?」

「That’s right.」

「If you would like to share your reasons with us, please let us know.」

「Can’t you work without a reason?」

「No, it’s not like that, but when they were heavyweights, the security would be very strict. If we know the purpose, we thought it would be easier to do some research.」

「…Fair enough. We are treading on the assumption that perhaps this raid will lead to some kind of disquiet among the leaders of the countries. If I were to do a country collapse, the fastest way to do it would be to brainwash or hobble the heavyweights. They wage war on other countries, waste the national treasury, don’t run their domestic affairs properly… Assassination is one thing, but it would quickly come to light. If you are going to go after someone, it has to be someone who can deal a heavy blow to the country with a single blow, but there is no one that is that efficient. It’s not often that a country leans on one person. Then it’s a horrible story… It’s possible they’ve been collectively brainwashed.」

「That again… So, what should we focus on to find out?」

「What I want you to look for is someone who has a guilty conscience. Especially spendthrifts, bettors, couples who are having marital difficulties, aberrant sexual predators, etc. They are often the ones who are vulnerable. They are the ones who will be targeted. And hold on to any and all of its weaknesses… which will eventually work in our favor anyway.」

「Understood. What is your order of preference?」

「The intelligence work will be prioritized for Romansland and Krummus, respectively. If you have no other questions, go ahead. Call your『dog』here instead.」

「At your will.」

Then Espis and Rinella leave the room without a sound. They have been working with Mynar for so long that they know well that he doesn’t want to waste any time at all. Therefore, they didn’t waste any words and left promptly. Then, after a while, you hear a knocking on the window. Mynar doesn’t even look at it and starts talking.

「『Dog,』I’ll let you do your job. Follow those who emit the same magical response as this one. When you find them, do not do anything unnecessary, but send out a message each time. And you will remain there until I tell you otherwise. Good.」

Then, without any reply… the window creaked open and only a hand came out. When Mynar puts something in his hand, the hand retracts and the presence of the one called “dog” disappears. And Mynar also did the same. Not ten minutes had passed since Mynar returned to the room to set everything up.

＊＊＊

At that time, Miliazar and Kyojō Shino were holding a press conference. Miliazar herself had a close relationship with the Kyojō family when she traveled to the Eastern Continent, and it was the Kyojō head of the family eight generations ago that she was actually close to, but she had also met Shino herself when she was a small child. Later, Shino also studied at the Arnelia Church for a time, and was often taken care of by Miliazar. As Miliazar has not had much contact with the Society, she had hoped to make a connection with them, so she proposed the meeting, but she didn’t expect the Kyojō family, which sometimes serves as the acting head of their association, to suddenly show up at her door. It was an unexpected appearance of a heavyweight. At first, they had planned to go to the meeting, so it was easier for them to save time and effort.

It had been seven years since she had seen Shino, who had been in Arnelia until the age of 10. She was impressed by the progress of her skills, but more than that, they treated each other like real mother and daughter. Kuchinashi had seen it happen, and both of Shino’s companions had heard about it many times. The people around them were expecting a very emotional reunion, but it was easily ruined by a single word from Miliazar.

「But, Shino, you have grown up… especially your breasts. What size are they?」

「Erm… A year ago it was 96…」

「W–What!? Damn, I thought you’ve had those signs since you was 10 years old… Dammit!」

「Miliazar hasn’t changed, not at all.」

「Kiih!」

「Master Bishop-sama, you’re messing things up…」

Kuchinashi sighs in the back. While Miliazar is overcome with a sense of defeat, Shino poses with both hands to emphasize her ample breasts. Of course, she was not conscious of this.

「It seems to have grown again recently…what should I do? My shoulders are stiff, and it’s tough problem.」

「Wait a minute… how many of those things are there now?」

「I don’t know? I have nothing on top of it, so I have no idea.」

「Wait a minute, you’re not wearing one?」

「Yes, because a miko’s formal attire is to wear nothing. I often don’t wear it, especially when I use hōjutsu or have many purification ceremonies. By the way, I don’t wear underwear either.」

「…If a man heard that, he would bleed to death from nosebleeds. Because of your whip, because of your looks, because of your clothes, because of your head.」

「Ehehe～ Not that much～」

「No, Shino-sama. You’re not being praised.」

Shinonome butts in, but Shino is embarrassed, blushing and cackling. The other miko with a naginata, apparently named Shikibu, was quite unconcerned. While Shinonome’s personality is easy to understand, Miliazar tried to get a grasp of the character of Shikibu, whose character is still elusive.

「By the way, it seems that Shikibu-dono is also a priestess… Is she also down there…」

「Yes, everything.」

「Is that a custom in all of the East?」

「Unfortunately, we’re not in such a benign world. When Shino-sama is in the main house, due to her rituals and practices, she starts with morning purification and goes straight into meditation, so she has little time to wear such things, and it has just become her habit not to wear them. Well, there is a story that Shino-sama simply forgot to put them on often and carelessly.」

「Every now and again!」

「By the way, I am usually the one who removes them.」

「What are you doing to your master? And why are you not wearing them?」

「It’s a preference.」

「When did this health practice exist?」

「It’s not a health practice, it’s an exposure hobby.」

「Don’t rephrase it!」

Miliazar felt her headache returning again.

「Shino, you too will have a hard time.」

「No, it’s more like I’m causing trouble for the ceremony.」

「That’s right. You will be punished when you return, Shino-sama.」

For some reason, Shikibu comes in for a tea break.

「Y–Yes…」

「Which of you is the master? And why does Shino blush?」

「A child like you don’t need to know this.」

「No, there is no one older than me. What’s the matter I don’t know?」

「It’s an adult thing.」

「Where in the world are you talking about?」

「A world you don’t know」

Shikibu grins. At that moment, Miliazar was convinced that this woman would be her natural enemy——

「And, well, so much for screwing around.」

Shino brings the conversation back on track. Miliazar was somewhat unfamiliar with the differences in the development.

「I, I’m tired… I’m too old for this. But the press conference is different. Shino, the fact that you came here means…」

「Yes, you may consider that as the reply of Touma Kyoukai.」

With a bow, Shino gave an example. Miliazar let out a breath of relief at the sight of her.

「I am grateful for that. It is surprising, however, that the Touma Kyoukai has such a single chain of command. That’s why you saved my life this time. I thank you.」

「No, it’s not like that… But the current head of the family is a rigid man. However, there are certainly many movements against him. All decisions must be obeyed by all…」

「It really could be considered『just in case.』」

「Unfortunately.」

Shino was apologetic, but it was appropriate for Miliazar. She might have done the same if she was in the same position. But if she knew the urgency of the situation, it might change some.

「Shino, on the Eastern Continent, the Archfiend, or in your parlance, the 『Great Demon』these days? Is not out there?」

「Especially recently.」

「Any signs of war?」

「We are still riddled with battles, but there has been no significant change in recent decades.」

「Hmmm…」

Miliazar involuntarily folded her arms and thought about it.

「（If what Shino says is true, are they only after this continent? Or maybe they simply haven’t gotten around to the east yet… the worst-case scenario is that they’ve already done what they need to do. Now, to what extent should we trust this Shino? We would like to do our own investigation, but the situation in the East is different from ours. On this continent, intelligence is not so important, so I can get by without my own mouth, but on the continent to the east, intelligence is so well developed that my protegees can barely get back at me. That’s why I don’t know what’s going on over there… I’ll think about it later.）」

There must be plenty of problems to take care of first, Miliazar reconsidered. But I would later regret that I should have reviewed her relationship with the Touma Kyoukai more at this time. However, it may have been an uncontrollable event.

「Shino, at what point do we make an agreement… are you ready for an『alliance?』」

「No, not that far. I think a『cooperation』would be appropriate to start with.」

「I am the same way, because we straddle continents. I think it would be best to start by exchanging personnel through a joint relationship and see what each situation is like.」

「I would agree with you on that.」

「So, let’s think in detail about how to plan for the future.」

「Okay!」

From here, the two move on to detailed discussions. The cooperation between the Church of Arnelia, the Magic Society, and the Touma Kyoukai was established earlier than Miliazar had expected. However, she didn’t realize at the time that the content was still far from what should be the ideal state of Miliazar.