Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 328

328

Indeed, you are the most pathetic.

After the war with Nudia, Hispania enjoyed about a month of peace.

Especially with the Beastmen and Elves emerging from their own worlds and actively interacting, Hispania was experiencing unexpected vibrancy. Understanding that the most important things in becoming friendly with humans were first impressions and gifts, both races brought valuable items.

The Beastmen brought byproducts from monsters that humans had rarely captured.

The Elves brought various tea leaves that were very popular among the nobles to the human world.

They had been, if not enemies, certainly quite uncomfortable neighbors until now.

Even though they were still unfamiliar and awkward with each other, the subtly progressing friendly relations were definitely a positive sign for the Hispanian royal family and nobles.

Therefore, to avoid disrupting this friendly atmosphere, they were holding meeting after meeting to find ways to continuously maintain the goodwill of the Beastmen and Elves.

However, the topic of the meetings had changed recently, and it wasn’t good news.

Ironically, those who poured cold water on Hispania’s peaceful atmosphere were the Holy Prussen, centered around the Doctrine of Light, which proclaimed peace, prosperity, and justice.

“The atmosphere is still not good.”

“According to the sailors and merchants returning on trade ships, people have become strange since some point.”

“There are many aspects, but especially, there are more people than ever before who cry out for the Doctrine of Light and desperately seek the Celestials.”

“What on earth is happening in Holy Prussen…”

If their relationship with Nudia, with whom they had fought so many wars, had turned sour, they wouldn’t have worried so much.

They never imagined that their relationship with Holy Prussen would deteriorate to this extent.

Even if something terrible happened to the followers of the Light, even if Hispania subtly pressured the bishops, Holy Prussen would only send an envoy to express regret, without ever applying any significant pressure.

The biggest incident was perhaps the indirect threat they made during the recent Holy War, saying that many followers of the Light would be very disappointed if they didn’t participate.

“Has the extent of the damage been investigated?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.

However, it is a compilation of the figures reported by those who safely escaped Holy Prussen, and it cannot be said to be accurate as there are still ships that have not returned.”

“It’s alright, speak.”

“First, 17 trade ships that were docked have been completely burned down, 12 ships are understood to have been seized and dragged away while entering the port, 9 ships were caught while departing, and 21 other ships were attacked while waiting.”

“…The extent of the damage is considerable.”

Trade ships are definitely not small boats like fishing boats.

Even though they prefer to travel along the coastline rather than the open sea, they have to go further out to sea in shallow waters, and they always carry a certain number of crew members, the drinking water and food they consume, and goods for trade to prepare for pirate attacks, so the ships become enormous.

More than 50 of those ships were attacked by Holy Prussen, who had been peacefully trading with them, not by pirates, and more than half of them were burned down.

Naturally, the whereabouts of the crew members were unknown, probably burned to death, drowned, or captured by Holy Prussen, their fate unknown.

‘…Why on earth?

Could it be revenge for Hispania’s pressure on the followers of the Light?

But if they come out like this, Holy Prussen will eventually have to bear the losses as well, so why?’

Vanessa bit her lip, trying to figure out Holy Prussen’s intentions.

The first thing she did was, of course, send an envoy.

However, those who headed to Holy Prussen by land and sea soon had to return, as news came that Holy Prussen had blocked all entrances to their country.

It was not just cutting off trade, but blocking all channels of communication.

Just in case, she sent someone to Nudia, but the news came that they were no different from Hispania, and then came even more terrible news.

‘The eastern part of Nudia is unsettling.

Why is Nudia, which had been trying to unite the divided public opinion after the war and was consolidating the nobles and rebuilding the foundation, suddenly…?’

A large-scale riot broke out in the east, and the main force was the nobles.

Moreover, the noble territories within a vast territory covering almost half of the east had revolted.

The details would be known when more intelligence arrived, but in any case, Nudia’s shaking was not entirely good for Hispania.

“Your Majesty.

It seems regrettable that we refused to give territory to Nudia.

If we had known that Nudia would shake like this, it would have been land that we would never have dared to take back.”

One of the nobles slyly offers his opinion.

His expression and voice were filled with regret, but Vanessa could already see what he was aiming for in this situation.

‘You’re subtly questioning Duke Zion Claussen’s decision.’

Many people were secretly uncomfortable with Vanessa’s favoritism towards Zion.

Mainly the noble lords residing in the western and central regions of Hispania, most of whom had nothing to do with Zion, seemed to be wary of his growing power.

‘Not knowing their place, daring to…’

She was dying to shout and tell him to shut his mouth.

However, showing too much favoritism towards him in such a public setting would only increase Zion’s enemies, so she had to maintain neutrality.

Even if it was just a superficial trick, she had to at least pretend to maintain neutrality so that the nobles wouldn’t be able to find fault.

“Foolish words.”

At that moment, the man sitting next to Vanessa opened his mouth with a frown.

Duke Volko Redenen, one of the three marquises of Hispania and a key figure in the military who had participated in almost every war.

He was someone who usually didn’t speak much at these meetings.

“If a riot occurs in eastern Nudia, there will be chaos, and that chaos will naturally create those who lose their homes.

Then, where do you think they will go?”

“That’s…”

“It’s not important to occupy land.

It’s important to protect it.

Duke Zion Claussen judged that there would be more to lose than to gain by receiving that land.”

He was showing respect to the other nobles because he was in front of the Queen, but that made Duke Volko even more intimidating.

Thanks to that, the noble who had offered his opinion shut his mouth.

“Tsk tsk.”

Even Duke Joaquin, who was in a political rivalry with Duke Volko, clicked his tongue.

There’s a time to step in and a time not to, and trying to take advantage of the fact that there was no one on Claussen’s side was too amateurish.

“Your Majesty.

It seems that we will need to wait for the envoy sent to Nudia to arrive to know the details.”

“That’s right.

It was quite close to Holy Prussen, so hearing their story would be the fastest way.”

By now, the envoy sent from Hispania would have arrived in Nudia.

She would have to receive news from there, grasp the details, and then decide on the direction of the matter.

At that moment, the chamberlain suddenly approached Vanessa with hurried steps.

Then, after whispering something in her ear, she frowned slightly and opened her mouth.

“Someone from Holy Prussen has come?”

“That’s what he says.”

“…What nonsense.

Holy Prussen has blocked all roads and stopped everyone on this side, so when did they send someone?

There was no news of sending an envoy either.”

“He says he will explain that part when he meets you.

The royal knights investigated and found that he had a token directly given by the royal family of Holy Prussen.”

At the chamberlain’s words, Vanessa tilted her head as if she was very suspicious, but decided to meet the person who claimed to be from Holy Prussen.

If he was really from Holy Prussen, she could get at least some answers about the current situation and suggest better solutions.

However, considering what they had done so far, she decided to deploy royal knights around and make full preparations to be ready for any emergency before bringing him in.

And after a while, a man followed the chamberlain into the conference room.

He was wearing a hood, so she couldn’t see his face properly, but the blonde hair flowing out from the gap was sparkling as if it had melted gold.

“The one who claims to be from Holy Prussen, take off your hood and reveal your identity.

If you are truly from Holy Prussen, you must explain how you came to Hispania secretly, and why you did not reveal that you were from Holy Prussen until you came to the palace.”

“…”

Despite Vanessa’s cold warning, the man did not open his mouth, nor did he take off his hood.

Then, the royal knights simultaneously placed their hands on the hilts of their swords, threatening him, and Duke Joaquin, on behalf of Vanessa, raised his voice, not hiding his displeasure.

“The one who has come to Hispania, quickly answer the Queen’s question.

You are being extremely rude.”

“…Take off the hood…?”

The man muttered that and slowly raised his hand to grab the hood.

Then, at the same time as removing the part covering his head, he even untied the string and slowly took off the clothes he was wearing on top, revealing his appearance to everyone.

“Uh, uh…?”

“What…”

Swoosh―.

A gentle and light breeze blows.

Not the wind coming in because the window is open, but the wind created by the fluttering of pure white wings.

The man who took off his hood and placed it on the floor, Richel, who belonged to the higher ranks of the Celestials, proudly revealed his wings that he had been hiding, showing his figure to the humans without any exaggeration.

“Human kingdom, Hispania, I have revealed my appearance as you wished.

Is that enough now?”

“Ce, Celestial!”

“Descendant of Light!”

Some of the nobles in the room opened their mouths, unable to hide their ecstatic expressions.

For them, who were followers of the Doctrine of Light, the appearance of the Celestial, who could be said to be the beginning of it all, was such a tremendous sight that it could be seen as almost the second coming of God.

Of course, even those who were not interested in the Doctrine of Light could not close their mouths at the sight.

Hair made by melting gold, a face with beauty that seemed to have been personally sculpted by God, a body with perfect balance, and pure white wings fluttering lightly behind it.

It was easy to understand why the followers of the Light went so crazy when they heard the word ‘Celestial’.

“…Ah, my friend who went to Nudia shed tears because there were so many sinners.

But I hoped that it wouldn’t be that bad, but there are so many sinners here that I can’t help but sigh.”

As the Celestial, Richel, muttered that, the nobles who had been fascinated by his beauty regained their senses and looked at him with tense faces.

The reason was that it was obvious what kind of storm those words coming from the mouth of the Celestial, the most important being to the followers of the Light, would bring.

“Celestial.”

Just as the nobles were in great confusion, a calm voice from a woman stopped them.

The person who changed the atmosphere around her just by opening her mouth was Vanessa, the owner of Hispania and the monarch of all the nobles gathered here.

“Although you are the noble descendants of light, this is the human kingdom of Hispania, and even the most central place.

If you came as a guest, wouldn’t it be the right thing for beings called Celestials to show behavior befitting a guest?”

It was a sound of saying, ‘Stop talking nonsense, keep your manners, and properly state your business.’

Richel, who immediately recognized that, smiled and nodded as if to say he would.

“I offer my greetings to the Queen of Hispania.

I am the one who stands before those who guide the light, and I am called Richel by my kin.”

“…”

“And now, unfortunately, I have come to warn all the humans of this Hispania.”

“Warn?”

At Vanessa’s question, Richel stepped forward very slowly, yet with a very elegant gait.

Originally, the royal knights should have stopped him immediately, but they were facing a Celestial for the first time, and the pressure coming from a figure that was hard to see as a being of this world made their bodies stiff without them even realizing it.

“Those who have been following us and spreading the will of light have said that Hispania was even more difficult than Nudia.

Well, I understand enough.

It’s the farthest place from the sanctuary, on the opposite side, so it will take that much longer for the light to reach it.”

“…”

“I thought that the reason why you keep distancing yourselves from the followers of the Light was because the light was too intense, and the warmth was still unfamiliar.

So, none of my kin had any worries about Hispania.

Until recently, that is.”

All the nobles gathered in the room knew that the key was the words, ‘Until recently, that is.’

Everyone was aware that the words that would come next were the most important, and that their future course of action would be determined by those words.

“The fact that it’s not true.

My descendants of light have been worried since they learned that Hispania is not simply far away from the light, but is trying to distance itself from the light itself.”

“Nonsense!”

The one who jumped up from his seat first was Duke Volko.

To him, who had no interest in the Doctrine of Light and believed that he had come this far only with the power of humans themselves, all the talk about Celestials and light was just nonsense.

“Distancing ourselves from the light?

Celestial, Richel.

Are you saying that we, Hispania, are like demons?”

“I never said that, human.

But why are you so excited?

Like a child who has been caught lying.

…Ah, are you feeling ashamed because you remember the past when you went to the Holy War but turned back without fighting?”

“There is no one who can care about outside matters when something happens in their own home.”

Among the moderate followers of the Light within Hispania, there were even those who expressed understanding of what happened at that time.

It was natural to summon the successor and the main force of the country when something happened inside the country due to the king’s decision.

In addition, Vanessa and Duke Volko, who were at the scene at the time, eventually gained their consent even though there was friction with Holy Prussen, and they thought that there would be no major problem since they returned to their country afterwards.

But in the eyes of the Celestials, that action was a perfect past to pick on.

“It is a great cause to close your eyes and grit your teeth for the sake of everyone, even when something happens in your own home.

From what I hear, you people of Hispania seem to be cowards who abandoned that great cause and simply retreated.”