The carriage rattled to a stop. Xenous glanced at the outside towards the palace doors. With a nod, he shifted his gaze towards the Cardinal sitting opposite of him. “Shall we?”

“Yes.”

Xenous got out of the carriage first, meeting the gaze of the paladin commander who was waiting for them. When he stepped to the ground, the palace servants came to approach, and at the same time, the cardinal exited the carriage. Along with the servants was the first prince, Eleden.

Xenous quite half expected that his majesty himself would be here to first greet them. But then again, this was an official and formal meeting with a nation they were in alliance with. At least Wisteria was kind enough to send the first prince to meet the guests first.

“Greetings, High Bishop,” said Eleden with a low bow.

“Greetings, your highness. Let me introduce Cardinal Zaine Lucian Fernsworth from the Holy Kingdom of Valaies.”

Eleden smiled as he held out his hand towards the cardinal for a shake. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Cardinal Fernsworth.”

The cardinal took and shook the prince’s hand. “The pleasure is mine, your highness. I hope I have not inconvenienced you with my visit.”

“Oh not at all. The allies of our nation are always welcome here.”

“I see… I’m glad for that.”

“Now then, I will guide you to my father, the king.”

With Eleden taking the lead, Xenous, Zaine, and the paladin commander entered the palace. The servants that had already lined up bowed as they all entered. Afterwards, they made their way to the throne room. The guarding knights, upon seeing the group, promptly opened the doors.

Inside was a stretching red carpet, leading to a group of extravagant thrones radiating the color of purple and gold. Behind them displayed a giant flag of Wisteria. Looking to the side stood more knights in their beautiful full set of armor. Some had their swords in their sheathes, and others had spears in their hands. Closest to the doors, on each side, were knights holding poles brandishing flags from both nations.

At the frontmost of this throne room decorated with golden embroidery at the walls, and shining chandeliers at the ceiling, were the aforementioned five thrones, and sitting at the center most was the king of this nation, a golden crown lying on the top of his head.

The first prince got ahead first and sat down on the king’s right side. Then on the first prince’s right was the second prince, Estevan. There were two empty seats on the king’s left, the closest was supposedly for the Queen, and next to it was for the only princess.

Both were absent. And Xenous didn’t have an idea why that would be. He wouldn’t be surprised if the princess did not appear, but he expected the Queen wouldn’t miss this.

When they reached before the steps to the thrones, Xenous kneeled on one knee and bowed his head. Meanwhile, the two guests only bowed deeply before raising their heads.

The King rose from his seat and spread out his arms. “Distinguished visitors from the Holy Kingdom, Cardinal Zaine Lucian Fernsworth and Paladin Commander Cassius Hanovar Ryker. Wisteria welcomes you! It is of highest pleasure to meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine, your majesty,” the Cardinal said.

“I am amazed. To think his majesty would know of my name.”

“Commander, your reputation is so renowned that it even reaches my ear. It is always so interesting to hear the feats of another warrior.”

“I am honored, your majesty.”

The king nodded. “Now then, do you wish to dine first, Cardinal? I have prepared food in the room next door.”

With a blank expression, the cardinal answered. “I apologize, but there is no need, your majesty. We have only eaten with High Bishop Xenous. I would like to head straight to business, if that is alright.”

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“I suppose as much. Very well. I don’t mind.”

The king returned to sitting down on his throne. At the same time, the Cardinal’s eyes pointed towards the empty thrones as if curious of the other royals’ absence.

“I apologize for the absence of my wife and daughter. They are quite busy with important matters for the moment.”

The cardinal’s eyes narrowed for a brief moment before looking straight towards the king. “I understand.”

“Alright… I know you are here regarding the recent commotion in our capital. But what do you precisely wish to know?”

“We heard that the enemies you faced were odd. I witnessed the damage and the reparations on my way here. What manner of creatures are they? The court would like to know.”

“Perhaps you are wondering if they are demons?”

“That is what I am most curious about.”

“They are not demons.”

The cardinal lowered his gaze for a moment. “Is that for certain?”

“Xenous can vouch for it as the high bishop.”

The cardinal turned towards the high bishop.

Xenous nodded. “It is certain that they are not demons.”

“May I ask where they are?”

The one to answer was the King. “They have been executed.”

“... I see… What are they exactly?”

“This may be a good chance. Perhaps you’ll know something about them. The first kind are called the beastmen. They can have the form of man, but they have ears of animals on top of their heads. And they could completely transform into beasts.”

The cardinal pondered. “... No… I am not familiar with them... Although, there are folktales in our lands where beasts could turn into a human. But that is an ancient folktale, a horror story for children. I will try looking into it. What other kinds are there?”

“Elves. Light-skinned, long pointy ears. They have a high magical aptitude.”

“Pointy ears, you say? Right… elf. I have read about them from one of the oldest books.”

“What do you know?”

“They are said to be extremely beautiful beings, charming and skillful. Bodies so slender and mesmerizing. Wise. And they are also said to live for a very long time. In the far past, people would see them, especially in forests, and sometimes in the lands of men.”

“Do you know where they came from?”

“It was never stated which specific forest… And oh, if I remember correctly, when they are seen, accounts seem to suggest that they are beings to be avoided. I cannot tell if it was out of respect or of fear. Also, I was under the impression they were more fairy tales than real beings.”

“How dangerous are they?” the paladin commander chimed in and asked.

“Each one of both can fight off a squad of knights.”

“Are they not as different from demons, then? This is a matter the Holy Kingdom should get into. Such creatures lurk in our lands, and we cannot let it be.”

“Commander, all manner of creatures lurk our continent. Even powerful monsters. Demons are still ultimately the ones the holy order should be concerned with,” the king said. “You may leave the matter with those strange creatures to us.”

“...” he didn’t appear to know how to respond, and he shifted his gaze towards the cardinal. “Cardinal…”

“Hm. This makes me curious. Why of all places, they come here to your city? To incite chaos. Why, your majesty?”

“Hmm. That is complicated.”

“Please try to explain.”

“... It would appear that they intended to slay the royal family, to ruin the nation.”

“Why? What is it that they want to achieve with that? Just to ruin you or to attain something from you?”

The king heaved a heavy sigh, as if a little annoyed. “They do not want something from us, they want to destroy us, to destabilize Wisteria. At least, that is what we suspect. We do not have any solid answer just yet. But, in short, they intended to pave the way for the Empire.”

“Are you saying those creatures are from the Empire? Are they their secret weapons?”

“Nothing is assured, Cardinal.”

“...... Very well. I shall take your answer to heart. Are you sure they are not here for something else?”

“None that we know of.”

The cardinal glanced towards Xenous briefly. “I understand. If it is alright, I would like to take a closer look at those creatures. I want to make sure they are not a subspecies of demons that we don’t know exists.”

“Their mass graves need to be dug up then. It will take some time.”

“I can wait, your majesty. I just need one of each species. Thus, for now, it would seem I will be touring your beautiful city. I would like to savor this chance of seeing new scenery.”

“Of course, you are free to go wherever you wish, Cardinal.”

“Thank you, your majesty. That is all for me.”

“Then you can go. If you have other questions, feel free to ask me.” The king smiled. “Xenous, please take good care of our guests.”

“Of course, your majesty.”

“I will call for you when the corpses are ready. Please do share what you may find.”

And with that, the guests, along with Xenous left the throne room. After a few more steps, the cardinal stopped and turned his head towards the High Bishop.

“Are you sure you’re telling me the whole truth?”

Xenous smiled. “His majesty told you what needs to be told. What is there to question?”

“Are you perhaps hiding something?”

“Cardinal Zaine, are you perhaps just unnecessarily being too speculative? Please do not overthink everything.”

“We’re supposed to be allies. I do not see the point of hiding anything.”

“Precisely. We are allies. Is there any place for doubt?”

The cardinal’s brow furrowed. “At least I will get to have a personal close look at those beings. The utmost priority is ensuring that demons have not set foot on the continent.”