Demon King of Phantom Thief Chapter 40

Sorry for the wait. Here is the chapter.

Mary Arrives at the Holy City

The leader of the rebel is now the Vice-Chairman of the Ashtran Republic
The Chairman is, of course, General Altsfaith, who was a general of the empire before.
The two were being swayed in a carriage.

“The truth is, I don’t want to leave the country.”

Altsfaith sighed.

“Ashtran is still in the midst of turmoil. Merchants are stocking metals in bulk. In the future, itd price will definitely rise …”

Altsfaith, a former member of the Imperial higher-ups, is not a politician.
However, as the no.1 person in the Republic right now, he still need to think about it.

“Our revolution will keep going until the Republic national affair get on track. It’s not just about changing the leader.”
“As you say, in the first place, this coup d’etat happen because of war, so we need to attain peace.”
“That’s why we leave the country and travel like this.”

loading…

Altsfaith said in a self-deprecation tone.
The war is still going on, and the people and soldiers are still suffering.
It was necessary to initiate a peace talk with the three countries as soon as possible.

The destination of the carriage is the Tristram Kingdom.
A summit meeting of the four countries involved in the war will be held in the royal capital of Tristram Kingdom.
In the weeks before, the two had a lot of discussion and devised a strategy for the meeting this time.

And on the day of the summit meeting at the State Guest House of Slate Palace.

From the Tristram Kingdom, the King and Margrave Goldluff came.
From the Principality of Raden, the former Prime Minister and the current Prime Minister.
From the Republic of Colden, Chairman Rostov and his Vice-Chairman.
Then lastly, Altsfaith, the Chairman and also Vice-Chairman of the Ashtran Republic.

Surrounding the table in the conference room.

“I want to say one thing first.”

Altsfaith was the first one to speak when the talks began.

“Ashtran still have their mighty army.”
“Of course their head of military would say so.”

Duke Raden was considerably young among the leader who gathered at this meeting.
He has a cool smile on his face, which is not suitable for the occasion.
But Altsfaith continues regardless.

“Everyone knows. In fact, we haven’t lost in a single battle before the Battle of Kaleb.”

Margrave Goldluff, the de-facto representative of the Tristram Kingdom, made a bitter face when he heard it.
The victory at the Battle of Kaleb would not have been possible without the help of the Demon King Kingdom.
The leader of all nations know it.

“But we want to to stop this war, Because there is no reason to continue this war anymore. “

Altsfaith did not use the word Ashtran.

“We have abolished the Imperial rule, which was obsessed with territorial expansion. Now we, the Republic faction is the one who dragged down the Empire, which can be said to be the enemy of all the countries! It’s us!”

The voice of Altsfaith echoes in the conference room.

“This is your victory and our victory. Therefore, we, the Parliament of the Republic, think that it is worthless to continue the war, dragged by the will of a defeated ghost.”
“That would be a sophistry.”

It was Duke Raden who open his mouth again.
He gracefully brushed his golden bangs and continued his words.

“You are still Ashtran. It hasn’t changed in the past or now. Even if your neck has changed, can you escape from history?”

Altsfaith also replies without losing.

“That’s a sophistry too. The body of a country is their people. As long as Ashtran is not an empire, the people are not guilty. I want you to think in the same way as we did when we defeat the empire. As I said earlier, we want to get rid of the past ghost. “(TN: don’t ask me, I don’t even know what I’m translating anymore.)

When Duke Raden heard it, he squinted his long eyelashes and smiled.

“I see, get rid of the past ghost, is it? So you want to say that Ashtran’s movements from the outbreak of the war to the present are all by the Imperial doing, and the Parliament of the Republic is irrelevant.”

Duke Raden said, crossing his fingers on the table in a sloppy manner.

“Of course, the territories that the Empire gained from the war, Benigsen, Grat, Habnir, and Torden, will be returned. On the other hand, the land that you took from us is of course ours. Leiben, Gunirito, Kushtor, because those land is what you have won from the ghost.”
“Is that the same for my territory too?”

It was Chairman Rostov of the Republic of Colden who got along well with Principality of Raden as an allied power.
The dark-skinned, fat man stroked his beard.

“………………”

This was a predictable situation.
The territories obtained by the Allies belong to the Allies.
And the territory obtained by Ashtran will be returned to them.

Ashtran have experience the bitterness of war.
And returning the lands taken from war becomes a form of Ashtran’s “surrender”, which is much better than paying compensation.
The reason why each country does not insist on it and talks in the form of a peace talks is that all countries are exhausted from war.

Of course there are those who benefit from this war, but everyone here wanted to escape from war.

“I understand what the Allies want to say.”

Altsfaith said.
This is not the situation where Tristram Kingdom can get in the way.
In the first place, the reason for the opening of the war between the Ashtran Empire and the Tristram Kingdom was the declaration of war from the Empire.

In addition, since the peace talk is right after the war begins, there is almost no exchange of territories.
The Ashtran side insisted on the absolute disconnection between the former Imperial rule and the Republic Parliament, so it was a good situation for the Tristram Kingdom as that means the declaration of war is no more.

“Then everyone. Is it okay to sign a peace treaty under above conditions?”

The Principality of Raden and the Kingdom of Tristram accepted the words of Altsfaith.
But here, Chairman Rostov of the Republic of Colden cough slightly.

“It’s too early to talk about peace. We have a problem other than this war.”

Rostov snorted as he was waiting right for this moment.

“That is, both the Republic of Ashtran and the Kingdom of Tristram have approved the Demon King’s territory as a nation!”

‘Finally’, Altsfaith thought.

The Republic of Colden is a religious nation that has the “holy city” that is the headquarter of the church.
The exclusion of the Demon King, the deadly enemy of mankind, is also what the church strongly suggested.
The “priest” of the hero party is always produced from the church.

“As for the peace treaty, I’m okay with it, but it is impossible to join hands with the nation that is close with the Demon King.”

The Kingdom of Tristram was the first to recognize the Demon Lord Territory as a nation.
Before saying something, Margrave Goldluff want to hear what the others want to say first.
Then the King of the Kingdom of Tristram drop the bomb.

“Uhmm, sorry, but I hope we all get along well …”
“Uohon !!”

Margrave Goldluff made a big sound to distract the others from the King.
The other nations knew about the sudden change of the King, and if Tristram say something wrong, Tristram may lose their right here.
Without a break, Margrave Goldluff said.

“But as a matter of fact, there is no record about the Demon King invading our human territory. Of course, we can coexist with opponents who do not show hostile behavior. Isn’t that natural?”

Rostov responds to that by hitting the table with his round fist.

“If so, how would you explain about the hero party! The hero party also includes a priest sent by the church!”
“But the priest Mary has returned to Conrad safely. The church receive no damage from the Demon King.”

Only priest Marie was safe from the hero party whose power was stolen by the Demon King.
This was unfortunate for both the Kingdom of Tristram and the Republic of Ashtran.
However, the pursuit of Chairman Rostov does not stop.

“The one sent by the church has been driven back. The path to follow God’s guidance has been blocked. Now, the Demon King is clearly an enemy of those who believe in God. Of course, in the past and in the future. And there is one more thing I would like to say. “

Chairman Rostov smiled.

“Mary Conrad is no longer just a priest. The church recognizes her as a saint. “

Other than the hero party, saint is regarded as a symbol to counter the Demon King.
It was the first time in the history of the church that someone is recognized as a saint.
The fact that the two nations of the continent joined hands with the Demon King is that much of a big event.

“Now that there is no hero party, she is the only force against the Demon King. The Republic of Colden agrees with that idea.”
“But as long as the Demon King hasn’t touched humanity, then we …”
“We?”

Chairman Rostov frowned and blocked Altsfaith’s words.

“It is an unacceptable statement for us that you who succumbed to the Demon King early are on the side of humankind. You have gone to the other side sadly.”

No matter how much Altsfaith has stepped on, the Republic of Ashtran is a de facto defeated country.
And the Kingdom of Tristram has almost lost its voice by abolishing the treaty with the Allies and admitting the Demon King Kingdom first.
The initiative of the talks was now being seized by the Principality of Raden and the Republic of Colden, which has the Holy City.

–On the other hand.

Mary was summoned to the Holy City in the Republic of Colden by the order of the Pope.
Aside from the Demon King territory, it’s the first time for Mary to go abroad.
She never thought that she would be called to the holy city, which can be said to be the headquarter of the church.

The title of a saint on her back feels heavy.
Certainly, Mary is now different from ordinary people
Her magical capacity is magnitude away from ordinary people, but it’s a gift from Keith.
And a saint is a symbol that is in direct opposition to the Demon King.

Mary’s heart was complicated.
If someone can be saved by becoming a saint, there is nothing more to hope for.
But she didn’t think things would go so simply.

“I’ve been waiting for you, Saint-sama”

Taken by the priest, Mary got off the carriage.

“Let’s enter the catheral.”

A white shining cathedral.
A detailed sculpture depicting God’s salvation between the large pillars.
And there are many tall towers that make ones neck hurt if they look at the top.

What came to Mary’s mind was, strangely, the Demon King Castle.
The colors and designs are decisively different, but the two are somewhat similar.

“Please enter.”

Guided by a priest, she entered the cathedral.
When Mary showed up, the buzz spread to the believers.

“Saint-sama! Saint-sama is finally here!”
“I met with Saint-sama … what a luck … what a grace!”

In the buzz, the great priest who is already a middle-age welcomed Mary with a smile.

“Welcome, Saint-sama. Welcome to the Holy City.”

The great priest bows deeply.
Mary hurriedly did the same.

“I know you are tired of your long journey, but please first give everyone the opportunity to see your graceful figure.”
“………………”

Mary stands beside the sermon stand and faces the believers.
Seeing the people staring at her with their eyes shining, Mary stood still.

(If there are people who can be saved just by me being there …)

Thinking that, Mary smiled as bright as she could to the believers

Previous – Next