Chapter 51

Chapter 51: Chapter 51 – Damn it

Chapter 51: Damn it
Grand Council Chamber.
Representatives of intellectual beings, scattered throughout the Serdes Continent, had gathered.
There were spacious seats and many people, but the Grand Council Chamber had no assigned seating.
However, they sat next to their own forces or close allies, flaunting the magnitude of their power.
«Things were really tense back then».
In Ferda’s eyes, it seemed as if he were looking at a single map of forces.
The largest country on the continent was the Arken Empire.
To counter it, the kingdoms sought a similar scale in the form of alliances.
It meant that the continent’s balance was still maintained.
Ferda, who belonged to the Arken Empire, took a seat where the forces of the Arken Empire were located.
The Grand Council Chamber lacked the splendor felt in the banquet hall.
It was similar to other councils, with a design that exercised maximum restraint so as not to be carried away by splendor.
The seats, arranged in a hemisphere, were organized to draw attention toward the center.
And in that central seat sat the owner of this Grand Council Chamber.
«White Dragon, Blancaros».
Pure white hair, white eyes, and the face of a handsome youth, untouched by the passage of time.
That white light was so strange that it mistakenly made one think it radiated brilliance.
That was precisely the immortal beauty possessed by dragons.
«Truly a dragon».
While Ferda observed him, the eyes that had been motionless moved.
He thought it might be an illusion, but that did not last long.
Blancaros was staring intently at Ferda.
His white eyes were cold and pure.
The moment that gaze touched him, Ferda felt the Circles inside his body twist.
An instinctive warning that one could feel from an absolute power.
Strangely, that warning contained no unpleasant sensation.
Just like when he entered his domain.
Behind him stood three men and women with equally white hair.
They were the three Spawns created by Blancaros through the Ritual of Ascension.
Tongue, Scale, and Hand.
Blancaros moved his hand.
When he snapped his finger, the woman standing with discipline cleared her throat and opened her mouth.
She was none other than the Tongue of Blancaros.
She was the representative who would speak on behalf of the White Dragon’s will and conduct the proceedings of this council.
Her voice resonated strongly throughout the conference hall.
— I sincerely thank those who have come for the peace of the continent.
She read the script she held.
Along with some formalities, she began to recite the agenda items that had emerged for serious discussions.
— We will begin the mediation of the dispute between King Hudret and Duke Urey.
The first start was a simple dispute.
It was called a dispute, but the magnitude was a war.
Then a man frowned and stood up from his seat.
— I sincerely thank the representative of the Great Lord of Order for organizing this place. Before joining, I request a correction to make things clear. This whole situation is a war and a catastrophe caused by the invasion of King Hudret.
Then another man stood up.
It was King Hudret, who had been pointed out.
— The people of our territory died first. How could I stop the villagers from moving to take revenge?
— You are the one who brought the army, King Hudret!
— Please remain silent. This is a place for mediation. The final compensation will be decided based on the evidence presented.
The Tongue of Blancaros interrupted the quarrel between the two, preventing a verbal dispute that would have dragged on.
— Each party, present the evidence you have prepared.
The evidence gathered by the parties of Hudret and Urey was documented and presented.
The purpose of the mediation was to receive compensation for damages suffered in the war.
The submitted documents flew one by one and spread before Blancaros.
The time it took him to read everything the ministers of each country and territory had written over two months was barely 1 minute.
Blancaros looked at a boy and snapped his finger.
The boy held the Scale.
He was none other than the Scale of Blancaros.
The Scale the boy held tilted to one side.
The Hand of Blancaros, who had been watching, began to document, and the Tongue delivered the judgment.
— Ruling! Duke Urey shall pay 60,000 gold to King Hudret as compensation.
It was a moment where joy and sorrow crossed.
Duke Urey, who received the losing ruling, was enraged.
— It makes no sense! They are the ones who invaded, so why do I have to pay compensation!?
— It was judged that you violated the law of war by taking no prisoners and obstructing the duty of priests to treat the wounded. Weighing all that, Duke Urey’s guilt was judged to be greater.
Duke Urey retorted.
— Other countries do that too! Surely King Hudret’s knights did the same! But to say that we cannot is… .
— As I said before, only present evidence.
The Tongue of Blancaros explained once more in a professional voice.
— This is an absolute neutral zone and a place that observes law and order. If you requested mediation here, we proceed in accordance with the law and order of the Serdes Continent. Evidence takes precedence over custom. If the same act was committed, present the same evidence.
In other words, even if the other party did it first and you retaliated, if there is no evidence, it turns out that only Urey did it.
Depending on how decisive the gathered evidence is, it is enough to swap the perpetrator and the victim.
Urey’s face was filled with resentment.
The Tongue of Blancaros, who had been quietly watching that scene, pointed to the outcome confirmation document placed before him and spoke.
— Duke Urey, the dispute mediation has concluded, so I ask for your confirming signature.
Duke Urey looked at the document, seized by anger and sorrow.
It could not be helped.
Because the moment he signs the document, he crosses a river of no return.
Unfair or not, from now on he becomes the perpetrator.
«Its effect is absolute».
Once decided, it cannot be undone.
«Yet you cannot refuse to comply either».
Everyone seated here is a witness and a judge, and at the same time could become a plunderer.
Refusing to accept a judgment of the Grand Council is giving them an excuse to tear him apart.
Yesterday’s enemy remains an enemy, but yesterday’s colleague may become today’s enemy.
— Your words… I will obey.
Duke Urey accepted it with humility.
His handwriting shook as if an earthquake had struck.
«The moment the perpetrator and the victim were swapped?»
For Ferda, who lacked information, that was the best speculation he could make.
— If it was unfair, you should have seen it through to the end yourself.
Someone muttered in a low voice.
Ferda felt a slight sympathy for those words.
If one wanted to receive compensation with certainty, one shouldn’t have sought dispute mediation or anything of the sort, but rather witnessed a war of annihilation where one side perished.
If you finish it halfway, it returns as retaliation; that is the logic.
The Tongue of Blancaros moved to the next dispute item of the day.
After that, there were a few more disputes, but they were very trivial matters.
Conflict between dwarves and elves.
Even among the dwarves, internal fighting based on dynasty and lineage, etc…
They fought while endlessly presenting disputes where only verbal arguments that would never be resolved and had no will to be resolved went back and forth.
Thus, after 2 hours, they concluded the endless struggle.
— There are no further mediation adjustment cases, so let us move to the agenda. It was proposed by the Director of Escolea… .
The Tongue caught her breath, paused for an instant, and spoke.
— The agenda is the proliferation of monsters and the possibility of the resurgence of demons.
Since Escolea was a massive city of scholars, its head was not a mayor but a Director.
The bald Director stood at the podium.
He seemed to have burned with academic passion for so long that even the roots of his hair had disappeared.
— 138 years have passed since the death of Godwin, the Lord of Deep Darkness who plunged the continent into chaos. However, if you look at this chart here…….
The Director visualized his drawing with magic and made it float in the air.
He pointed at the chart with his finger and spoke.
— Unlike that death, this is the chart drawn up so far showing that monsters are increasing rapidly.
A rising chart.
But the rise itself was not large.
Observing the appearance of the chart, they began letting out words one by one.
— It is not rising that much.
— The problem isn’t that the increase number is large, but that it’s rising, isn’t it?
— After all, they are just expected numbers, right? In reality, it could drop even further; it seems too sensitive.
Opinions were nearly split down the middle.
They were making a fuss over a slight increase.
It was a matter serious enough to make such a fuss.
They argued and contradicted each other like that.
Listening carefully, it wasn’t so much for the peace of the continent as it was that they were only trying to find excuses against each other.
“An excuse for arming themselves.”
The side saying they must increase vigilance did so to arm themselves.
The side calling it a fuss did so to prevent their armament and wasteful spending.
Whether the continent fell apart or not was not their concern.
Only what they possessed mattered.
It was then that it happened.
— Watch your mouths!
Someone with a presence from another dimension slammed the table and stood up.
However, a youthful voice very far removed from that presence.
Turning their heads, there stood Erdes Roton.
— Wow, the fiancé of Archduke Valdrova is also here! Do you think you can afford to speak like that?
Everyone turned their heads to look for Ferda, and those who found him fixed their gazes on him.
Ferda muttered to himself.
“That damned bitch.”
— The representative of Valdrova?
— That evil dragon who was quiet brought a representative?
People whispered, each reciting a rumor about Ferda Valdrova.
The Director, who already had the face of someone walking barefoot on a thorny path, looked bewildered as if a spark had fallen on his foot.
He glanced sideways at Erdes who had provoked this state.
She had a happy expression.
Like an arsonist watching a fire from the other side of the river.
He had come because there was a moment when he had to step forward, but at that moment he wanted to gauge the atmosphere a bit more.
Since attention was focused, Ferda decided to say what he had to say.
— It is true that monsters are constantly flocking to the Far East. However, since it does not seem to match the nature of the stories discussed here, I will not make a separate statement.
— Thank you to the Regent for saying so. Right now I am also speaking of the frequency of appearance across the continent, excluding the Far East.
The Director made a face like someone clinging to a saving hand.
It felt as if his right to speak was very weak.
— So, currently the speculation is…… that someone is intentionally summoning and creating monsters, in other words, the speculation that demon followers are increasing.
— Demon followers…….
— They are fanatics incomparable to devil followers, aren’t they?
Although both demon followers and devil followers are despised in society, the two are clearly different.
If devils wish to rule this world, demons wish for this world to be destroyed.
Devil followers have something to gain, but demon followers have nothing to gain.
It meant they were pure malice in themselves.
— What do they gain?
— If it is the desire of the demons, wouldn’t it be the resurgence of the Black Dragon Godwin?
The Resurgence of the Black Dragon Godwin!
It was a problem of a different dimension than the simple proliferation of monsters.
Even those who criticized it as a fuss fell silent.
Everyone’s attention had already shifted to the Dragon Descendants occupying the front seats.
— Resurgence…….
President Blancaros opened his mouth for the first time.
The moment the Lord of Order opened his mouth, the atmosphere fell under his control.
— How is the situation?
Blancaros asked the Dragon Descendants.
The first to answer the question was the Descendant of Silverwind.
Those with silver hair bore scars all over their bodies, regardless of age or gender.
Those were the honorable medals of Silverwind who guarded the North.
— Unlike the increasing trend of monsters, we are still constantly eliminating the remnants. I swear there is no one who matches our hatred toward the Black Dragon Godwin.
— Your loyalty to Silverwind is always highly valued. Iorga?
The representative of Iorga was a young, sophisticated, and dignified woman.
Her face overflowed with the vitality of a woman in her twenties, but the dignity forged by time was ingrained in her.
— No special fluctuations of magical power were detected in the Serdes Continent. Spaces that can be protected are also being constantly reported through adventurers. If it were an event large enough to alter the continent, we would have noticed it first.
Naturally, the priest of Odograsado took the floor.
— Our Order of the Golden Scale is also constantly monitoring demon movements, and we see nothing particularly problematic.
The three dragon representatives attending the Grand Council responded that there was no need to make it an issue.
They were all representatives of Guardian Dragons who cared for the safety of the continent as the highest priority.
They were far from mere human politics, and the weight of their words was different.
Blancaros closed his mouth again after listening to their words.
Again, the Tongue of Blancaros answered in his place.
— The conclusion of this agenda is that there is no need to make it an issue immediately, but we judge that vigilance is needed according to the continuous upward trend. Any objections, Director of Escolea?
— None.
The Director, sweating profusely, shook his head and stepped down from the podium.
Since it was an ambiguous matter to conclude as a fuss, he settled for the report.
— The next proponent is Ferda Valdrova…….
The Tongue of Blancaros stopped speaking.
It was different from the pause when reading what the Director had proposed.
A hesitation over whether it was alright to announce this.
That hesitation made her shift her gaze toward Blancaros.
Blancaros, aware of the Tongue’s gaze, replied with his eyes.
The Tongue of Blancaros received the instruction.
— The agenda is…… the recognition of the status of the Red Dragon Valdrova as a Guardian Dragon.
Sound disappeared from the Grand Council.
Those present were figures of Ducal rank.
They were those who ruled territories the size of a country and possessed military strength.
It was a delicate matter to the point that even those people held their breath.
Since it had already drawn attention once, there was no need to look around.
It was a sensitive matter that ordinary humans would not dare propose or participate in.
It is a suicidal act.
Unless you were crazy and wished to die, you couldn’t do it at all.
However, Ferda, who made that proposal, rose from his seat as if to show off.
His walking figure was like watching an acrobatic act.
The observer gets dizzy, but the walker himself seems not to care at all.
Ferda, who ascended the podium, looked toward the council seats.
What he can do is obvious.
— I am Ferda Valdrova, Regent, who insolently made a proposal despite this being my first attendance at the council.
Looking at each of them once, then opening his mouth.
— As you can see in this proposal, I came prepared to make an enemy of someone here.
And he was only acting according to his conviction to the point that he launched the proposal.