Religious Fanatics (4)

The project Tactical Temporary Totem: Tannian successfully obtained the approval of the higher-ups. However, it was still facing its final hurdle.

You have to go alone. No one else can go with you.

Tannian needed to give the others an excuse about why he had to go to a forest alone. Although the pastry club moved as a group most of the time, it wasnt feasible for them to move as a unit for this matter.

Tannians request, his useful abilities, his role as the target, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs having accepted despite his accelerated balding in anticipation of the Holy Kingdoms protests all combined to make Tannians participation possible. However, no one else would be permitted.

The Princes of Armein and Yuben taking place in the affairs of the Empire and the Holy Kingdom? It would be a diplomatic disaster of a huge scale that would probably get the Minister of Foreign Affairs replaced.

The last hurdle was easier to overcome than expected.

Im going to church.

Alright. Take care!

Thats it. It wasnt strange for the next Saint to visit the church, and no one would probably want to follow him there. It might have been different if Louise wanted to go, but even Louise quickly backed out at the mention of the church.

Frankly speaking, visiting a church during a trip could be quite boring.

It worked perfectly.

Thanks to that, Tannian could leave the Capital without raising any suspicions. For me, the word business was more than enough.

I expected this reaction. However, its still disappointing.

Its hard to expect a belief comparable to a priest from a civilian.

Tannian felt a bit hurt after getting a free pass at the mention of the church, but that wasnt a big deal, so it didnt matter.

It was a bit scary how the members of the Masked Unit swiftly gathered around us as soon as I walked out of the gate with Tannian. Anyone would be startled if they were suddenly surrounded by a dozen people dressed in black. Even Tannian flinched a bit, too.

The 4th Manager, whod been hanging around dressed as a maid, was naturally among the silent agents. She was cleaning the windows just before I left the mansion, but she seemed to move faster than me.

We will escort you.

Okay.

We followed the 4th Manager to the temporary headquarters that had been set up to ambush the Twilight Cult. Its called a headquarters, but it only consisted of a few makeshift tents since the mission would only last a few hours.

Its reassuring.

Tannian smiled after looking around the headquarters and feeling the menacing atmosphere.

It was indeed reassuring. Although the hostile atmosphere might be fierce, it was aimed at the Twilight Cult, not us.

Did the Holy Knights move, too?

As I turned my gaze to the corner, I saw a group of knights wearing silver armor. They were the Dawn Sects Knights that were stationed in the church of the Capital. It seemed like theyd been dragged into this operation as well.

The Twilight Cult was the natural enemy of the Dawn Sect. Even if the suppression was taking place in the Empires territory, the Dawn Sect couldnt just stand by. However, they probably didnt expect Tannian to participate.

Hes going to fulfill his wish.

Among them, I saw the former Army Commander who missed his promotion and was discharged. Congratulations.

He would fulfill his wish to take them down with his own hands. When someone holds a grudge, they could be tenacious and scary.

Executive Manager.

Ah, yes.

I became lost in my thoughts after seeing someone lead a passionate second life, but I quickly returned to reality after hearing the 4th Managers cautious voice.

Lets go inside. The Mage Duchess is waiting, so we shouldnt make her wait.

Among the tents, the biggest one was the one in the middle. The higher-ranking nobles were all gathered there. Besides the Mage Duchess, there wasnt anyone with a higher rank than me. However, the one above just happened to be a Duchess.

Im the Prosecutors

The homeland said they arent aware of it.

Its a decision that was made after much deliberation. Im sorry.

Yes

As soon as I entered the tent, I felt the urge to leave again.

There was a fierce argument going on between someone wearing silver armor and another one wearing the uniform of the Empire. The atmosphere was so intense that it made me feel suffocated.

But I think I know why theyre arguing, and thats even more maddening. Even without hearing the previous conversation, I could easily guess. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had chosen to do it first and ask for forgiveness from the Holy Kingdom later.

And to make matters worse, the two that were fighting set their sights on me since I confidently introduced myself as soon as I entered. I messed up. Lets just pretend the greeting didnt happen.

Prosecutors Executive Manager.

I see the Gods son.

The one wearing the Empires uniform greeted me, and the man in silver armor greeted Tannian. Their eyes were burning fiercely, probably because they had been in the middle of an argument.

Or maybe not? Maybe their debate became hotter because the protagonist in question appeared. If so, thats not a good sign.

She isnt here yet.

I looked around and noticed that the Mage Duchess hadnt arrived yet. If she were here, they wouldnt have been arguing before her.

For a moment, I felt resentment towards Mother Mage Duchess. I wouldnt have needed to witness this if shed come earlier.

Mr. Tannian, you dont need to get involved in something like this.

While I was harboring a small resentment, the man in the silver armor quickly approached Tannian. Perhaps he thought that it would be easier to persuade the actual party involved than someone who simply apologized repeatedly.

However, thats going to be even more difficult. Tannian had a terrible mixture of the stubbornness of a high-ranking person and the beliefs of a future Saint.

Since they came looking for me, I should greet the guests.

They arent guests, nor do they deserve such treatment.

Yes. I know that, and thats why Im stepping in.

I discreetly moved away from the one-sided plea unfolding right next to me. Good luck in convincing him. By his position, he seemed to be the head of the Holy Knights, but I wonder how assertive a mere Holy Knight could be towards Tannian.

As I turned my eyes from them, I looked at the Imperial Knight. Based on his badge, he seemed to be a high-ranking commander.

Im Francis Neville, a Senior Commander from the 1st Army Corps.

Ah, I was right.

As our eyes met, the Senior Commander lowered his head. The Commander of the corps did not come in person, but he sent his Senior Commander instead.

If the Commander had come, an embarrassing scene would have unfolded. It wouldve been a meeting between the former and the current 1st Army Corps Commander.

Im Prosecutors Executive Manager, Carl Krasius. Nice to meet you.

Anyway, I returned the Senior Commanders greeting. There was the Masked Unit, the Holy Knights, a portion of the 1st Army Corps, and the Mage Duchess, who would soon arrive.

It was over for the Twilight Cult. Not only them, but any regular legion wouldnt be able to win against us. If they somehow managed to assassinate Tannian, they should be grateful for having killed Tannian and end it.

Dont worry, brother. Even if I die, youre all innocent.

Mr. Tannian, thats not what Im worried about.

I pretended not to hear the terrible words coming from the side.

In the end, the Holy Knights Commander failed to persuade Tannian and honorably withdrew. It was a result Id expected since the beginning, so I wasnt surprised by the outcome.

After cross-checking the information provided by the Holy Kingdom and the Empire, there are 32 members of the Twilight Cult heading for the Capital.

Regardless of whether the Holy Knights Commander was ablaze, the Mage Duchess had arrived, so the strategic meeting began.

And weve confirmed that the leader of the Twilight Cult is among them.

Thats a big fish.

I nodded at the words of the Mage Duchess. Throughout the Twilight Cults activities so far, it was rare for the leader to appear in person.

It was also noteworthy that over 30 members were moving.

There were some inexplicable points. Regardless of their previous success, targeting the Empire that had finished the subjugation war in the North and moving hastily enough so that the intelligence network of both countries caught them made it look more like a haphazard move than a thorough plan.

But it doesnt matter. The fact that the leader was leading a large group towards death remained unchanged. Regardless of the circumstances, we would wipe them out today.

Thanks to Mr. Tannian, the Twilight Cult has lost its advantage of stealth.

Because it was a formal setting, I referred to Tannian with formality. As I said that, everyone looked at him, and he calmly spoke.

I can use it right now.

That answer was enough. While Tannians tracking technique couldnt cover the entire continent, it could at least encompass the area where those running toward the Capital would pass.

As soon as Tannian uses his technique, the Mage Duchess will deploy a large-scale magic barrier.

The Mage Duchess was ready to change the landscape of this area. A mere barrier could be made two or three layers thick.

The minor issue was that neither the Twilight Cult nor we could go outside during the barriers duration. But we had no intention of leaving until they were all defeated, so it didnt matter.

Thats how the strategy meeting concluded. With the conditions overwhelmingly in our favor, there was no need to prolong the discussion.

Enen protects the Empire, so theres no place for filthy heretics to step in!

After that, there were relay speeches from high-ranking people to the forces that would be deployed. However

One great silver coin for a neck, two for live capture. Five for the cult leader, dead or alive. Im going to pay immediately.

I kept it short. What was the point of having a long speech in front of guys who are about to fight?

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