A Wish to Grab Happiness

Volume 10, Chapter 255: The Saint and the Queen

The noise of the soldiers engulfed the sound coming from outside of the tent. Every time the rustling tone pierced Eldith’s ears, she could see them stepping on the fallen leaves and moving forward.

The trees were old and lifeless, exposing their withered skin. Eldith felt cold and pity for the state of it. The sad times had come again. She wouldn’t see lush trees for a while.

「…It looks like Lugis has returned. 」

After hearing the fuss from soldiers around them, Saint Matia said in a heavy voice.

The voice sounded strange as if care disappeared from the face of the earth. Her firm fingertips moved in order to get her body up from the chair.

Matia had told Eldith to go to meet her earlier. Her blue eyes sitting face-to-face with Matia shone brightly, as if to crush her words.

「We haven’t talked about the true matter yet, Saint Matia. 」

Ghazalia’s Queen, Fin Eldith, spoke, lightly raising her trimmed hair. Her tone sounded friendly, but her eyes emitted a light that shed an uneasy feel.

Even if Matia moved her hips lightly, Eldith did not even move a single piece of her body.

It did not make sense to restraint words between allies, much less between fellow lords. Matia sat down again, sighing within her chest.

The air that seemed to be entwined with heavy chains covered the inside of the tent. Its weight even reached the outside of the tent, and was transmitted to both the Heraldic and Ghazalian soldiers. Everyone was swallowing the talk between the two.

This talk was not between subordinates or messengers, but the leaders of the Heraldic religion and the Hanging Gardens of Ghazalia. These leaders were exchanging words alone. The words that spilled from Eldith’s lips were much heavier than the iron sword of a soldier.

Both spoke about several contents, such as politics and the campaign itself.

「In this place, I don’t think there is a topic that has more importance than what we’ve just discussed.」

Matia’s hard voice hit the tent. Matia implied that they finished talking what should have been talked. Eldith, however, got her lips wet and said the real talk had not even begun.

「I was going to say the exact same thing. 」

Eldith faced it, and then said the same words. Her voice, which was spoken in a light manner, sounded as if she was spewing out something bitter.

「…Ghazalia’s, no, my knight Lugis. I want him back soon, that’s all. 」

Let’s promise a long-lasting friendship between Ghazalia and the Heraldic religion. Matia found that Eldith’s blue eyes were wide open.

In that statement, it seemed as if the current relationship would be broken if Lugis was not handed over. Matia had her back teeth gritted several times so that Eldith wouldn’t realize it.

The Queen of the elves used the word “long-lasting”. It was a word much heavier than words professed by the human kings.

The race of the elves was much closer to demons than humans, as its lifespan was innumerable.

Elves often said that human lives were short. Therefore, when they said “long-lasting”, it referred to hundreds of years in time.

To be honest, Eldith’s promise was insanely attractive to Matia. The nation of Ghazalia may be just one of the few alliances for the Heraldic Order, but more than anything else, the elf race had its own unique nation.

The Heraldic Order had now the walled city of Garoua Maria and the mercenary city of Belfein. Even if they kept those megacities and surrounding villages under their control, the Heraldics were nothing more than lonely people without a nation. With just one misfortune, they could lose everything they got. The Heraldic Order was still a thin existence.

However, if Ghazalia continued to be a friendly ally, the Hanging Gardens could become a temporary stop for the Heraldic Order in the unlikely event of losing a permanent place for its foundation to grow.

Such calm calculation reached Matia’s mind. Her lips got wet.

「Soon, the cold season…the age of dead snow will start. The days of sunlight, where we can enjoy life, will fall asleep. Then, we won’t be able to move our soldiers freely.」

That was why, before Matia could say anything, Eldith spoke, showing the true Queen’s strength through her line of sight. She implied that they should make the arrangement to swift Lugis to its proper place.

Matia’s fingertips bounced. Eldith’s words were undeniably correct. Today, Lugis was an entity that floated in the air everywhere. He was the Gold of the Heraldic Order, a hero, and at the same time, the knight of the Hanging Gardens of Ghazalia.

It didn’t matter if the Heraldic Order and Ghazalia were now forming an alliance and superimposing their troops. The exchange between soldiers would deepen, and the barriers between the races would be diminished by Lugis’ existence.

However, this was not the case when it came to the cold season and the age of dead snow.

Just as the Great Holy Church gathered troops, it was necessary to withdraw troops while maintaining Matia and Eldith’s power. Otherwise, they would be buried in the snow and their lives would be lost. The damage of the demon beasts would be more than it was now.

Where would Lugis be during that time? That was the key point of this meeting. Would it be Garoua Maria, the home of the Heraldic Order? Would it be the Hanging Gardens of Ghazalia? Where would he be? He could not be left floating in the air forever.

Eldith said the matter should be settled now. Her cheeks seemed to have a soft smile, but her eyes and lips were stiff. It was as if she had forced that look upon her face.

Matia’s eyes blinked for a few times upon hearing Eldith’s words, and she carefully thought about them before answering.

If she thought reasonably, the answer seemed to be fixed. There should be no other answer. For a moment, Matia felt pain in one corner of her chest, and she wondered if it was alright, but it couldn’t be helped. The worship of knowledge and reason… That was the greatest nature of the Heraldic Order. She had already given the answer.

All she had to do was follow it. Matia sighed when she opened her lips.

「Fin Eldith, I have no objection to your words. We should remove the anxiety as soon as possible. If so, then my answer is fixed.」

Matia said, letting the eyes light up, even the madness of faith.

「As the Saint of the Heraldic Order, let me make it clear…our golden Lugis is still a Heraldic hero. As you said, this is of utmost importance.」

A tone filled with faith and reason, and thus, intellect and emotion. Matia’s strong voice echoed in the tent.

In response to that voice, Eldith happily squeezed her cheeks to show a smile. On the other hand, her blue eyes were not laughing at all.

「I see. Then, I will say this as Fin; the Queen of the Hanging Gardens of Ghazalia…Lugis belongs to Ghazalia as my knight. It is forever impossible to break that position.」

All the heavy air in the tent transformed into heat. The air, which should have been dry, began to take on a strange viscosity.

Both of them burned, and a terrifying flame appeared. The two flames gradually strengthened their power as they dissipated within the heat of one another.

Eldith’s voice, which crawled on the ground, pierced the tent. The tone of her voice gave orders to the soldiers waiting outside.

「Call scribe Reishaw. I want him to bring the recording parchment right now. 」

Matia also went along with Eldith’s instruction.

「Yes, there is no lie in every word spoken here. Let’s leave it in the record by all means. 」

Their voices were extremely heavy and stiff. But strangely, their cheeks were floating with bewitching smiles.