Chapter 19
“First of all, I regret to meet you all in such circumstances. Now, as the representative granted full authority by His Majesty the King and as one who conveys the will of the great Seraphim, I will now present the terms of surrender to you.”
With those words, Eva glanced at Reeve, the Holy Knight standing next to her.
Reeve, holding a document that seemed to have barely dried ink, looked at it and began to speak.
“The peace treaty between the Kingdom of Kanan and the Kingdom of Moabmon. It consists of three articles, and we inform you that our King, His Majesty David, has already approved all of them.”
They must have used magic, but in such a short time, the contents had already been reviewed.
The lords began to wonder how harsh the terms must be for the King, known for his careful planning, to sign off so quickly. With an uneasy feeling, they braced themselves for what could be called their ‘verdict.’
“Article 1. From now on, the Moabmon Alliance shall not invade the Kingdom of Kanan under any circumstances.”
A demand to prevent future wars, as expected. This was not surprising, and in their defeated state, they had no intention of breaking it anyway.
They had no desire to challenge that terrifying god again. Next time, they might not just suffer under the scorching sun for a day.
Without much reaction, the lords accepted this term, and the next article was read.
“Article 2. As of this moment, the Kingdom of Moabmon shall sever all ties with the Baal Church and instead worship the Seraphim, as the Kingdom of Kanan does.”
“…”
“Hmm…”
“Well… that’s a bit…”
“No matter what, we’ve served the Baal Church for years…”
A demand for forced conversion. Some of the lords timidly expressed their opposition.
“For your information, if you refuse the peace treaty, His Majesty has ordered that you be brought directly to the Kingdom of Kanan. He said he would make sure to repay everything that was done to us… so feel free to think about it…”
“Long live Seraphim!”
“Baal? We don’t know such a thing.”
“We have now seen the light of true faith! There is only Seraphim, the true god!”
The swift conversion of the lords who had first expressed resistance. Watching the fastest changes come from those who had once supported Roth and his war songs, Lord Root sighed quietly.
“I will comply as well.”
Of course, like the others, she wanted to live longer too.
Thus, all the lords accepted the terms of conversion.
Now they awaited the third and final condition. They had been demanded not to invade and to change their religion.
Surely, the remaining condition would be about reparations.
They braced themselves, fearing how severe the terms might be.
And then.
“The final condition is as follows: As those who have decided to serve the all-powerful and merciful Seraphim, you are from this moment our neighbours and brothers.”
“…?”
A strange preface that gave them a sense of both curiosity and unease.
However…
“Therefore, on this occasion, I will show mercy and accept only the weapons and munitions used for the invasion. There will be no other reparations, and all prisoners will be released. You may remember today’s events and return home in peace.”
“…Huh?”
At the next words, they were seized not only by confusion but by a deep shock.
“Wait… what did you just say?”
“No reparations?”
Though war reparations might seem less severe than land or surrender, they are actually the best means to strangle an enemy.
Under the guise of debt, you can effectively pressure a rival nation, and if interest is added, it becomes a tool to regularly drain their national power.
There are even cases where countries have completely fallen due to excessive reparations they could not pay back.
As such, the lords of Moabmon had fully expected that their long-time rival, the Kanan Kingdom, would demand an enormous sum in reparations. But Kanan effectively waived them, reducing the cost to virtually zero.
“No reparations…”
“Are you serious?”
“To be honest, what reparations would there even be?”
“…”
As Eva pointed out, despite bringing an army of 60,000, they hadn’t dealt any significant blow to Kanan. They hadn’t even gotten close to Nehemiah Fortress.
Of the 300 soldiers who participated in the battle just now, not a single one was killed. By the strictest standard, they had inflicted no damage and only suffered losses. So it would seem odd for them to ask for reparations.
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“But even so, no reparations…”
“Hmm…”
Of course, this is only from an individual’s perspective.
When seen from a national level, it was normal to extract reparations no matter the justification. They would certainly have done so if the roles were reversed.
In this situation, the statement of no reparations aroused suspicion and doubt among the lords.
In response, Reeve showed them the treaty.
“Isn’t it written here as well? Do I seem like someone who would joke in a situation like this?”
“There’s no way…”
Even seeing it written down and hearing it with their own ears, they couldn’t believe it. The lords expressed their confusion openly.
Eva, with a serene smile on her lips, addressed them.
“There’s no need to be surprised. We are simply trying to follow the merciful law of Seraphim, which commands us to love our neighbours as ourselves.”
“What… what did you just say?”
“Neighbours?”
“That’s right. Although we’ve quarreled all this time, we’ve lived close by, side by side. No other nation knows the Kanan Kingdom better than the Moabmon Alliance, and we feel the same. Though we’ve been enemies, we are also neighbours and brothers.”
Sure enough, the treaty mentioned something about neighbours, but hearing Eva mention it directly struck them differently.
After all, these words came from the mouth of Kanan’s greatest knight, their most feared enemy.
Yet at that moment, there was no sense of pretense or dissatisfaction in her voice. What they saw was only sincerity.
The Moabmon lords, upon realizing this, felt…
The path with the most influential voice at this moment was beginning to take a serious interest.
What kind of being could have tamed this wild knight, who once wielded her sword against the Moabmon alliance without hesitation?
Moreover, he had changed not only the knight’s behaviour but also the way the Kanan Kingdom looked at them.
Now, even as that Seraphim floated silently above the barracks, observing them with countless crimson eyes, one thing was clear.
Without uttering a single word, the Seraphim seemed to say, “I am merciful.”
‘It seems I should seriously consider who… no, what this being is, even if not only because she serves that figure.’
*
A white marble hallway.
In this place, where it was clear that it did not belong to the mortal world, a figure slowly walked forward.
She had red hair, green eyes, and a captivating appearance reminiscent of a beautiful human woman.
Dressed in a daring white garment that revealed much, she had the power to enchant countless human men.
Her name was Isiris.
One of the seven gods of the Ba’al Church, and known as the goddess who ruled over rivers and seas.
Despite her immense power and influence, she had an unusual fondness for the attention and admiration of others.
Even now, as she walked, soldiers clad in platinum Armor bowed their heads with every step she took.
It was a familiar sight, yet Isiris never tired of the feeling of superiority it gave her.
Suddenly.
{Enjoying yourself? Even at your age? How pathetic.}
{…Tch.}
A grating voice reached her ears.
There stood a figure who looked anything but refined—an unkempt man with a sneering expression.
Golden hair and brown skin.
Though his body was well-built and his face quite handsome, he was far from meeting her aesthetic standards.
That… beast.
Anumaeshi.
Among humans, he was known as the god of power and war and even ruled a nation.
Looking at him, Isiris couldn’t help but show her disgust as if gazing at a pitiful animal.
{Silence, little brother. A god being worshipped by others is the most natural thing in the world. How dare you mock your elder sister?}
{Of course, being worshipped is great. Today, I, too, received so much worship that my back is sore. But no matter how good it is, I can’t sympathize with an old spinster who gets off on public displays or dolls worshipping her. No wonder you haven’t gotten married yet, considering what’s inside.}
{…I’ll kill you.}
{Go ahead. Try.}
With a menacing aura, Isiris summoned a trident charged with blue lightning from another dimension.
Likewise, Anumaeshi drew a grotesque black sword from a dark space, ready to retaliate.
-Rumble…
The ground shook, though no cracks appeared, but the tremor was strong enough to make the surrounding soldiers stumble.
Amidst the trembling, the two gods stood unshaken, glaring at each other with their weapons in hand.
Isiris resolved to teach this insolent younger brother a lesson once and for all.
{<Superconductive Thunder Spe…>}
{<Enuma Elish…>}
At that moment.
{Enough. We don’t have time to waste on such childish squabbles.}
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