"Declare war?"
This was a big deal. Little Parristol dared to directly declare war against the Astralrealm Kingdom? The speed was too fast, wasn't it just independent for a few days? Just...
However, after we inquired further, we realized it should be considered a warning, since it came with conditions.
"Parristol has issued a statement that if the kingdom's army does not order the Second Legion and Fourth Legion suppressing the locals to withdraw, then they will launch retaliatory strikes on Astralrealm Kingdom's territories including the capital Norvale!"
According to Mike, this was the original statement. It sounded like there was still a chance to resolve this. But Cysper didn't think so, sighing as he explained.
"Based on my understanding of King Galahad, he has never experienced the power of divine punishment and has never suffered greatly in his life, so he is unlikely to easily agree to this demand. This war is probably inevitable. The core issue now is - how far can Parristol's divine punishment actually reach..."
"It can't really strike all the way to the capital Norvale, can it?"
Brennan was startled. This was going too far! If the capital was hit, many would die.
"I don't think it's possible, even forbidden spells don't have that power!"
But Cysper shook his head pensively.
"From what I know, divine punishment could previously only affect Parristol's city area and a limited range outside, never more than ten kilometers. But the problem is, with such a short range, how can it possibly threaten Astralrealm's capital?"
He turned his gaze to me, inquiring.
"Based on everyone's consistent view of Adrian, he shouldn't be such an impulsive and unwise person, right? You know him best, can you offer a better perspective on this?"
Actually, Brennan and the others knew Adrian better, didn't they? I rolled my eyes and replied,
"Regardless of whether it can hit the capital or not, I don't think Adrian would have the heart to destroy Norvale, knowing his second home is there. He doesn't seem that cold-blooded!"
"Yeah!"
Hearing me, Brennan also realized.
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"Adrian previously joined the kingdom's army with me as special mercenaries to fight monsters. If he hated Astralrealm so much, he wouldn't have done that!"
"But in reality, this warning statement was indeed issued in the name of Parristol's royal family. It's impossible for Adrian, as king, to not know about it!"
Mike sighed, reminding everyone reluctantly.
"Unless it really wasn't him, just someone with the same name. But that's unlikely, so only the person involved may know the reason!"
"What could the reason be? Could monsters really be behind this mischief?"
Judith was puzzled. As supportive of Parristol as she was, she still disapproved of this move to escalate the situation. Moreover, if monsters were secretly causing trouble, humans on the continent could never tolerate it.
Regardless of anything else, as one of the major northern nations defending against monsters, Astralrealm had made substantial contributions protecting humans. If it faced destruction just for this reason, no one could accept that or ignore it.
"..."
Actually, I did know - the new king of Parristol was 99% likely Adrian! Combining his previous descriptions of his family situation and Cysper's evaluation of the Loren Family, it was easy to figure out the historical context. So I never doubted it.
To be honest, since our last parting, I was a bit afraid to see Adrian again. Because he suddenly confessed to me, leaving me clueless about how to face him, terrified he might show up again asking if I could accept him...
But unexpectedly, the plot didn't develop as imagined - this guy actually went and became king of Parristol?! And not just king, but also allied with monsters! Okay, I can ignore the previous parts, but why did he have to take revenge on Astralrealm Kingdom? Leaving aside my situation, how could he do this to his friends Vivianne and Brennan?
I did have some feelings for Astralrealm, the first kingdom I came to in this world, so I didn't want to see it destroyed by war. I never believed Adrian would make such a decision, but Mike's words shook me, because the facts were there. I felt I needed to get to the bottom of this!
I cared about whether Adrian was still as I imagined, or the same as before, or if I had been deceived all along...
"Judith, I may not be able to go to Crescent City with you for now!"
Thinking it over carefully, I finally made up my mind.
"Oh? You mean we're going straight back to Edenmere?"
Cyra was immediately shaken, but then showed a hint of puzzlement.
"What about Adrian's side, are you just ignoring it?"
During our earlier spiritual conversation, due to Parristol's extremely uncertain situation and the Sage Council's continued silence, Elara had again requested we stay away from that troubled area. Especially with Reed also with us, if anyone carelessly got into trouble, the loss for Edenmere would be tremendous.
"Of course not, why would I ignore it?"
However, I didn't want to obediently return just like that. Since I needed to investigate, not only was I not going back, I was going to...
"I'm going to Parristol myself!"
"Really? That's great! With Feliciana with us, we don't have to be so afraid!"
Yulanda was the first to react, cheering when she heard I was going the same way. She and Brennan had already agreed to proceed as planned, putting aside the border transit issue for now. Their main reason was similar to mine - taking this chance to probe Adrian's stance, since as roommates, Brennan and he naturally had a special relationship.
But the main issue now was Reed's side.
My decision was quite risky, but Reed, Cyra and the others had no need to indulge my caprice, so we had to part ways here.
"What? You're actually going alone without me?"
To my surprise, Cyra protested unhappily.