Re-Tale of a Hero - Chapter 16.2 Part 2. The World 300 Years Later

They moved on to discuss the political situation of other countries, but when it came to the west, Kuzuha’s expression became quite serious.

[The Luxelion Theocracy in the west is currently experiencing a political upset.]

“It is? Did the Cardinal lose his authority or something?”

The Luxelion Theocracy was a religious state which believed in the Luxion religion, a religion thought to be created by the one true God, Luxerion.

Though they were somewhat discriminatory against non-humans, such that they did not allow humans and non-humans to intermarry, they generally preached about the importance of frugality and the dangers of carnal desires.

They weren’t the type that sought to eliminate all non-humans, and power struggles were unlikely to occur as their Cardinal was believed to have received his authority from God himself.

Remembering how things were back in the days, Kaito made the assumption that the Cardinal had lost his power.

[No, the Cardinal’s power is even greater than it was 300 years ago. However…]

Kuzuha seemed reluctant to continue.

“What happened?”

[After Onii-sama returned, there was a big dispute about Lux-san.]

“Did they cause a scene because of Lux and Lucia’s marriage? Despite them leaving the country?”

Lux’s childhood friend, Lucia, was discovered to have some fairy blood within her. As such, Lux, who once belonged to the theocracy’s Order of Holy Knights, ran away from the country after subjugating the demon lord.

Afterward, he decided to serve as the Duke’s right-hand man and married Lucia. At the time, the theocracy didn’t raise a fuss over this, and they assumed all was well.

[It wasn’t about that. It was his sword and shield which were the problem…]

“Huh?”

Question marks appeared over Kaito and Tina as they couldn’t understand what the big deal was.

However, it only took Tina a moment to figure out what might have been the issue.

“Is it because his sword and shield are the only armaments that have been blessed and made sacred?”

Holy attributes didn’t exist in Enefia, with Lux’s equipment being the only exception.

“Right, if I recall correctly, they’re the holy sword and shield that God Luxion bestowed upon the first Cardinal. The Great Spirits once told me that the holy attribute doesn’t belong to any of the existing attributes, neither is it a combination of them.”

Kaito still appeared skeptical as he said this, thinking back to the weapons his friend used in the past.

“Since they’re equipment consecrated and blessed by their one true God, the theocracy must consider them sacred treasures. But it shouldn’t have led to a big deal if they simply requested the equipment to be returned.”

[Yes. After Onii-sama disappeared, the theocracy requested the equipment to be returned to them. However, a problem arose.]

“Did he refuse?”

Kuzuha shook her head.

[He was willing to hand them over, but he simply couldn’t.]

“Some people questioned whether they were real, is that right?” Tina asked.

[Indeed, just when he was about to return them, a group of people started questioning if what he had was the real deal.]

“I see.”

Finally gasping the whole picture, Kaito nodded while looking irritated.

“So they refused to believe that a heretic could wield their sacred sword and shield.”

[Exactly. Because of that, the theocracy wasn’t too keen on receiving them.]

Both Kuzuha and Tina seemed fed up.

“But still, would that be enough to shake diplomatic relationship with their neighboring countries?”

Kaito frowned. He found it hard to believe that something like that would become a big issue.

[After much discussion, the theocracy came to the conclusion that Lux-san’s equipment was genuine. The story goes that he was a devout follower of the doctrine while he traveled with Onii-sama, but he was corrupted by the non-humans after the fall of the demon lord. This story was put forth by a certain group of individuals that quickly gained power. This group believes that Lux-san, being the most respected holy knight at the time, was corrupted by the non-human races, and thus they’re quite antagonistic toward them. This led to a rapid deterioration in relations with the neighboring empire and the demons. Things have gotten worse, to the point where the theocracy is now waging wars aimed at annihilating non-human races, calling it a “purification”. The battles are at a stalemate, and there haven’t been any major battles as of late, but…]

Kaito and Tina were rather surprised by how tricky the situation was.

“Sigh, this is why religions are so…” (Kaito)

“Hey now, not everyone there is like that.” (Tina)

Though they weren’t atheists, they were non-religious, so they were rather critical of the theocracy.

[As for the Kingdom of Miranda that used to lie northwest, it’s been destroyed.]

“Northwest as in the Sakuha Desert? Did something happen?”

When they were active 300 years ago, Kaito and Tina had not interacted much with those from the northwestern region, so they didn’t show as much interest as before.

[Yes. Around 10 years ago, a bandit named Jatayu appeared in the desert and suppressed the bandits in that region. He then formed a group and laid siege on the royal palace of the Kingdom of Miranda, successfully capturing it. Afterward, Jatayu proclaimed himself the King of Bandits and conquered the surrounding towns and villages, eventually changing the name of the kingdom to the Kingdom of Jatayu. The countries around them naturally do not recognize their sovereignty, and as the order there is a mess, a lot of refugees have been flowing into the empire. It’s led to an influx of refugees and occasional attacks from bandits, but that’s all.]

Kuzuha looked at Kaito for a moment before continuing.

[Though I mentioned bandits, they rarely appear, and since they’re most active in the western part of the empire, it has nothing to do with our duchy that lies east. They seem to have enough brain cells to understand that nothing good will come of messing with the empire that has a lot of powerful races and the demonic territory ruled by the demon lord. Hence, they mostly target the desert areas and the countries that are west of us, which include the Luxerion Theocracy.]

Kuzuha said all this in a businesslike manner. Likewise, Kaito and Tina listened as if they were in a business meeting. Though they sympathized with the people that lived in the desert, as lords that governed a territory, their interest was in their own people. They felt bad, but that was all, and they had no intention of taking action against the bandits.

“Anything else that has changed?”

[No, not really. The situation in the south hasn’t changed. Other than that…I guess the economy to the south of the imperial capital has become revitalized as the threat of a demon invasion is now gone. To the north of the capital, peace and order have been restored. That’s about it, really.]

There was a sea to the east of the empire, and though countries existed in the south, they didn’t cause problems for them.

Entesia, the imperial capital, didn’t directly face the sea, but as it was located in the southeastern part of the Entesian Empire, it was relatively close to it. As previously mentioned, Nakatsu, a mighty power led by Ninryu, was also in the east, though it was basically under the rule of the Yozoku which had no desire for expansion. Political changes were rare, and they would not become hostile without first being provoked. As a result, it was disconnected from the west and had little influence there.

On the other hand, the duchy owned by Kaito controlled all major roads north of the imperial capital, which was supposed to act as a deterrent against demon invasions.

“I see. That should sum up the situation on this continent. Now, let’s move on to the other continents.”

[That was the report pertaining to the powers on this continent that have a connection with the empire. The situations are quite similar on the other continents, and based on the information gathered by our network, there’s no singular power that has a strong enough military to invade other continents. Tia Onee-sama, who’s the ruler of the skies, also has the same opinion.]

Since they could obtain information from an Elder Dragon that could soar through the skies, it wasn’t an exaggeration to claim that their information network was unrivaled.

Knowing this, Kaito concluded that he wouldn’t have to worry about the other continents at the moment, and he closed his eyes to digest all the information.

After a while, he opened his eyes again and signaled Kuzuha to continue.

[However, a new civilization has been discovered on the Ursia continent, and exchanges have begun.]

“Ursia? Then how about the other continents?”

Kaito leaned forward, showing considerable interest in the topic. He had once traveled the world, and his traveler blood was roused by this newfound information.

[Agnes and Isis are as they once were, and so are the twin continents. The Dark Continent is still closed off.]

There were seven continents on Enefia.

Enesia, where Kaito was, boasted the largest landmass in Enefia and was home to the most races.

Iosia and Iosis were referred to as the twin continents as their positions mirrored one another. Put together, their landmass was roughly 1.5 times that of Enesia’s.

The Dark Continent of Ortea was inhabited by high-ranking monsters, and entering was strictly forbidden.

Ursia was the continent where a new civilization was discovered, leading to exchanges.

Isis, also known as the Floating Continent, was constantly in the skies and often moved about.

Last but not least, Agnes was a continent with a decent level of civilization, though it wasn’t as technologically advanced as Enesia or the twin continents.

These were the seven continents that made up Enefia, and as an adventurer, Kaito had visited the five with civilization to request help in subjugating the demon lord. He had never been to Ursia as there was no discovered civilization at the time.

“Got it, thanks for the information.”

[It’s an honor to be of help to you, Onii-sama.]

Kuzuha seemed happy that she could help.

As their discussion was coming to an end, Kaito smiled sheepishly.

“I guess it’s about time.”

[?]

Kaito appeared slightly embarrassed as he smiled at Kuzuha who was puzzled by his behavior.

“I’m back, Kuzuha. Though some time has passed, I’m finally home. And…you’ve become very beautiful.”

Hearing his words, tears gathered in the corners of her eyes, and Kuzuha revealed a brilliant smile.

[Thank you for returning home, Onii-sama. Welcome back.]

That was that.

However, there was a cheeky smile on Kuzuha’s face.

[I’ve kept my promise with Onii-sama, so Onii-sama has to keep his promise as well. I’m sure Aura has become extremely pretty as well.]

“So you haven’t forgotten about it…”

Kaito had no choice but to admit defeat.

[Of course.]

Kuzuha turned away with a slight pout, but they all laughed before long, and after chatting a bit, they cut off communication.

Kaito and Tina returned to their assigned sleeping space, marking the end of their long first day of transfer.

After leaving the communication room, they were swarmed by the executives who found out that they were the legendary hero and demon lord, and amidst some of the members’ suspicions, were asked for handshakes and autographs. However, that was a story for another time.