This chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
ED Note: The mentioned new characters appeared. Which ones would actually survive author-san’s brutal concept?
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A small boat landed on an uninhabited island facing the southwest of the former Grumbarrel Empire.
Two hooded figures stepped out of the wooden boat-like vessel onto the sandy beach. When they saw that there were no humans or demons on the beach, one of them took off his hood.
Her beautiful peach-colored hair trailed in the wind. Imperial Army Former Tactician, Leelou Dimension, and her attendant hide the boat in the woods along the shore and walk away in silence.
For a while, they walk along an animal trail surrounded by virgin forest. Suddenly, the attendant heard a rasping, beastly cry from somewhere, and she braced herself.
"No worries."
Leelou said softly to her attendant, trying to calm her down. When Leelou peeked into the forest, she saw low-grade monsters no taller than a human's knees fighting amongst themselves.
There was a slime, a one-horned rabbit, and a mushroom monster named Matango. It's not uncommon for low-grade wild monsters to fight each other in territorial disputes, but…
(Three at once is rare.)
Unable to hide her curiosity, Leelou observed, and her attendant timidly opened his mouth.
"Lady Leelou. The clandestine meeting is about to start…"
"Which one do you think will win?"
After a slight hesitation, the attendant replied to the carefree-smiling Leelou.
"The one-horned rabbit that has an edge on combat power?"
"I predict the slime."
"The slime, was it?"
The attendant tilted her head doubtfully. Leelou's mouth raised on the corners.
"Look closely at the progress of the battle. Neither the one-horned rabbit nor the Matango had any interest in the weakest slime. After the other two weaken themselves in their battle, the last one standing will probably be the slime."
"Indeed. As expected from Lady Leelou."
The attendant's facial expression changed from doubtful to one of admiration.
"Once the clandestine meeting is over, everything will be settled. I could look forward to the return trip."
With a smile, Leelou left that place.
After traversing through the virgin forest, a small hill came into view. There, around a towering and solid stone fortress, soldiers wearing the armor of the old imperial army were deployed.
Now that the Demon Lord's army had conquered eighty percent of the world, Leelou had chosen this uninhabited island for clandestine meetings. She had also placed powerful barriers throughout the entire island to prevent the demons from detecting the island.
Even so, the wielder of the Heavenly Sword, the Master Swordsman Tartanin, was a very cautious man, and he was accompanied by a large number of armed men.
Inside the fortress, at a round table used for strategy meetings, Tartanin had encased his mighty body in golden armor and was accompanied by his loyal retainer Marguerite next to him. The powerful man with short, neatly trimmed blonde hair caught sight of Leelou and glared at her sharply, like a hawk.
(He is as cautious as ever. The only thing that has changed is…)
In the days of the former empire, Tartanin was a man with etiquette, even if it was rugged. But now Tartanin glared contemptuously at Leelou and her attendant as if they were demons. When Leelou expressed her thanks to him for accepting this invitation, he snorted with a "Hmph".
"What is the point of this type of clandestine meeting? Dame Former-Tactician."
Tartanin emphasized "Former" with an arrogant attitude. As if to imply that he was now of a higher rank.
"The heavenly sword of the east, and the heavenly power of the west. I believe that if both sides work together, the salvation of mankind will come even sooner."
"By the means of the power of my Heavenly Sword, that alone is enough to save the world. There is no need for the heavenly power, nor do we need to confer with the bearer who wields it."
"However… if you are too arrogant, you may cause yourself unexpected harm."
Leelou looked at Marguerite as she said this. Marguerite, who had lost one of her arms in a battle with the Demon Lord Army's special attack force, Thunder-Lance Charge, growled softly, "Gugh."
Leelou had advised them in advance in writing that the invasion of the South should be postponed. Despite this, the Salvation Crusaders led by Marguerite invaded the city of Leirune, which was under the Thunder-Lance Charge. As a result, Marguerite lost an arm, and their group suffered more casualties than the enemy.
"L-Lord Tartanin is making preparations to retake the Imperial Capital on his own! There is no room for other parties! Of course, that includes you! Dame Former-Tactician!"
Marguerite reddened and shouted those words.
Good grief, Leelou thought. She appeared to be remorseful, but her defeat seemed to make him more and more determined. The atmosphere in the conference room had suddenly turned tense. But then, suddenly—
"I apologiizzee—! I'm late—!"
A voice echoed, dampening their motivation. A priest wearing priestly robes rushed into the conference room. He had a tonsure—a bald, smooth top head—and a black beard around his mouth.
In front of the round table, the priest was hunched over and out of breath. A little later, children about ten years old, dressed in white, gathered around him.
Marguerite looked at the priest and the children, who did not seem to belong there, with a look of disgust on her face, as if she had been drained of her own malice. Offering him a seat, Leelou asked him politely,
"Are you the herald where the Heavenly Power resides, Zhaviest?"
"Yes. Indeed… OH–! That beautiful peach-colored hair! So you are as alive as they say, Grand Tactician Lady Leelou Dimension! Ooh, how beautiful! It is truly a work of God!"
As Leelou chuckled at Zhaviest's compliments, one of the children in the group suddenly coughed violently.
"Who are these children?"
"These are children from the town of Cobb, which was destroyed by the Demon Lord's army some time ago! This unworthy me is looking after them!"
Tartanin glared at Zhaviest, who smiled proudly.
"Such a man is world saviour… the herald of the Heavenly Power? A messenger of the heavenly powers? A priest, a mere priest, pretending to be a champion?"
Zhaviest looked back at Tartanin, who was cursing. However, Zhaviest was not angry,
"It's The Master Swordsman Lord Tartanin! No, no! What an interesting face and appearance! I bow down to you!"
At Zhaviest's friendly smile, Tartanin let out a small sigh and silently shook his head. Zhaviest turned his gaze to Marguerite, who was standing next to Tartanin.
"Is that the Imperial Army's swordsmanship instructor, Lady Marguerite, the one I can see! This one is also beautif…ul? What's with the arm?"
"That's none of your business!"
Marguerite raised her voice at the mention of her wounded arm. Zhaviest said with concern.
"H-However, isn't this Lady Master Swordsman's right-hand man? That arm. How come you haven't healed her?"
"If I could heal it, I would have done so already!"
Leelou took one look at Marguerite, who was outraged. That arm was nine out of ten probably cut off by Nephira, the Thunder-Lance Charge commander.
(The amputation surface is necrotic due to lightning magic.)
If that were the case, no amount of medicine or healing magic would be able to completely regenerate the arm.
Nevertheless, Zhaviest's smile remained on his face.
"Then let my Heavenly Power do it!"
He muttered and glanced back at the boy behind him.
"Please assist me."
"Yes!"