144 – The Archwitch’s Conclave (4)
As I followed her Venia into the room where she was staying in her royal castle, I felt a strange sensation as if I had stepped into a completely different dimension.
It seems I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. As soon as everyone passed the threshold, doubts subtly appeared on their faces. In the case of Arachrut, it was interesting this time too.
Benia went to her seat and sat down and spoke her words.
“Each of you should sit where you feel comfortable. Ah, Acade and Aisha are coming this way.”
“I don’t like it?”
Aisha flatly refused her offer and pushed her butt into hers. Why are you trying to fight from the start? Are you not on good terms with Benia?
“Then you can do it this way!”
As Akade approached from behind and put her hand on my shoulder, her chair moved on its own and moved to the seat next to Benia in an instant.
Aisha seemed dissatisfied with sitting next to Benia, but she stayed still as if she couldn’t give up using me as her chair.
Everyone took their seats and sat down, and Benia, who confirmed that everyone was seated at the end of the academy, clapped her hands lightly and spoke her words solemnly.
“Then let’s start the meeting to save the saintess. Let’s talk comfortably without adding or subtracting. Anyone is welcome, so if you have any opinions, please let me know.”
First, Garhalf, the head of the saintess’ escort, raised her hand.
“Why don’t you use the broad-spectrum method to find the saint throughout the kingdom of Smitel? Of course, the cooperation of the Holy Land is essential.”
“I don’t doubt your faith in Raen and the Holy Kingdom, but I heard that you initially agreed to hide the fact that the saintess was kidnapped by the Holy Kingdom. Now, what is my intention to bring out those words?”
“Surely, only the best forces are gathered here to rescue the saintess. However, in order to guarantee the safety of her saintess, I thought that it should be dealt with quickly.”
It was a somewhat indecisive remark, but no one pointed it out.
He was the one to worry about the most, and he was the one who took the most risk.
Benia shook her head as soon as she heard him.
“It is meaningless. As soon as the personnel of her holy kingdom arrive, her swamp of five elements will abandon her plan to corrupt her saintess and murder her. Rather, it is nothing more than an act of advancing her lifeline.”
“Then you don’t know that we are here?”
“Who do you think I am? Since you came, your presence has been blocked by my own magic. However, it is unreasonable to cut off all the members of the Holy Kingdom.”
“Can’t we infer from the fact that he disappeared from the empire?”
“That part must have been taken care of by the Eternal Empress.”
When Gar Harp’s opinion was ignored, Hilde raised her hand.
“How about using the Shadows of the Empire? I have already obtained permission from the empress.”
“Um… Currently, in order to grasp the location of her holy maiden, Academy is gradually expanding her dream realm. I don’t think it will be any faster than that.”
“Then…… “
Oh, honestly, I was impressed.
Is it because I’ve only seen people who aren’t like the archwitch? Benia looked at the case with an age-appropriate seniority and a cool and rational mind, and accurately pointed out only what was necessary to solve the problem.
Perhaps thanks to that attitude, naturally, other people don’t hesitate to express their opinions. It is a completely different situation from the university group assignment.
Neither Academy nor Aisha, to be honest, didn’t look like great witches who were serious and dignified.
She was the only one among the great witches who managed her followers and efficiently fended off vampires.
“… What?”
Aisha asked rather curtly if she felt my gaze, but she ended her displeasure by gently pulling her around the waist and hugging her.
I followed her by raising her hand to offer her opinion to Benia.
“Why don’t we make it come from the other side instead of looking for us?”
“Whoa… What does that mean?”
Venia’s expression began to fill with interest. I really didn’t know the meaning of what I said, so I wouldn’t have asked again.
On the contrary, you must be curious about how I knew ‘that fact’. He told the story step by step so that others could understand.
“I was the one who suggested that the next destination for the Marsh of the Five Elements would be Smitel Kingdom. If the vampires were after the sacred drink of servitude, they should have headed to the lava field beyond here.”
“Ah… Come to think of it… “
Hilde, who belatedly noticed her strangeness, murmured softly. And it was no different from other people.
As if only Arakrut knew it already, he just calmly looked at me.
“Then you said that you knew where the wine of servitude was?”
“Yes. That’s why I tried to come here. Also, in order to prevent misfortunes that would follow if the alcohol of servitude was involved in this case, the stage this time had to be the Smitel Kingdom.”
Benia let out a short laugh as if bewildered, and leaned her body against her backrest.
“This is absurd. How on earth did you know about the subjugation of alcohol? I didn’t even tell Nanika and Academy.”
“Raen’s protection… I will tell you.”
Actually, Raen’s incarnation belongs to my family, so I’m not lying.
Everyone else looked puzzled as to whether they didn’t understand what we were saying. Aisha pushed the top of her head against my chin with a disgruntled expression.
“Don’t talk about what only the two of you know, explain it to me. I don’t know anything about subservient liquor.”
I glanced at Benia and she gave a small nod of her head, as if to have her own way.
“Everyone should know that the wine of submission is a fragment of Wita, the evil god of fame and gain.”
“Have you ever heard of it in an academy class! But I heard that you can’t tell where the liquor of the subservient is or what it is!”
“Exactly, senior. There is little information left on the continent about the liquor of the servants. To be precise, it was completely eradicated about 400 years ago through the efforts of someone.”
“Nya? Which one?”
Tinyasheep asked, pricking up his ears cutely. I smiled and stretched out my hand, facing right next to me.
“You are the Great Witch of Flame, indispensable to vampires.”
“Nyan? Why would you do that… “
“First of all, I would like to tell you that the wine of the subjugation does not refer to an object. It refers to a place like the spring of Patan.”
“And that place is in this body.”
I have a place. Not to own or manage, but to have.
Venia’s words sound like they don’t match, but there is no more appropriate expression. For those who don’t understand her muffled words, Benia proves herself by waving her hand in the air.
“This is the wine of servitude that this body possesses.”
As her hand moved, a gourd-shaped landscape began to form.
In the landscape, human corpses formed puddles, and warm blood was constantly gushing out. Even though I only put it in my eyes, I felt that the thick, fishy smell of iron was spreading.
Benia looked at it and said her words leisurely.
“I am the one who named this wine of servitude. As you can see, it resembles the shape of a bottle used to contain alcohol in the past. No matter what, it ended up like this.”
And then I spoke up.
“The wine of servitude is a place that exists as a concept, or a place that is no different from the hometown of the mind engraved in the instincts of vampires. The fact that the Archwitch sealed it with the magic of the Time and Space Foundation is the true identity of the Subjugation Sake.”
“Whoa… I don’t know how you knew. Does Raen’s divine protection tell you even that?”
Of course, I couldn’t say that I was bored while playing the game, so I shyly laughed it off.
“This wine of subjugation is the image of the mind, and the source of vampires. If the seal of this servile drink is broken, all vampires will return to their sources.”
“Then… What will happen specifically?”
“The vampires, who have now been reduced to human levels, will regain their original powers. Like the dragon’s destructive power, the devil’s dream… Even the vampire will regain her honor and drink the blood of all beings around her.”
This was the reason Benia was able to enjoy her own leisure while leaving the vampires in the lava field alone.
Vampires with cold blood cannot exert their full power in the hot lava field. In addition to that, they sealed the source of their power with their own power.
Nevertheless, since they are displaying powers similar to those of humans, it is not clear what will happen if those powers are released.
“So? Even knowing all of that, did you insist on using this subservient liquor as bait?”
“Yes, I think it should be. To be precise, what the Swamp of Five Elements is aiming for is to extort the sake of subjugation from you, the Great Witch of Flame. And I think it’s to restore the power of a vampire and at the same time corrupt her saintess.”
After my words, everyone opened their mouths and couldn’t say anything.
In that situation, Benia slowly raised her body and made a small crack in the air with her fingernails.
Deuk Deuk!
Then she gently beckoned me as she stepped her foot through the crevice.
“Come here, Aisha’s man. I guess I need to talk a little deeper with you.”
“Yes, I understand.”
As I followed her and stepped into her rift, Akade and Aisha shouted at the same time.
“Me too! You can’t afford to indulge in something that looks fun!”
“Don’t even think about taking Tyr without me!”