Chapter 166

Although Sheffy’s words were irritating, the question she raised could easily spark discussion.

The nobles whispered among themselves. Many instinctively judged that the greatest beneficiary must have been the Demon Clan—after all, they had plundered wealth and land from the kingdom, the gains were immeasurable.

But… as the discussion went on—

They realized the one Sheffy’s words were pointing to, that “other player.”

——The Holy Theocracy of Coreia.

Although the Demon King’s Army had been advancing continuously, they certainly could not have done so without casualties, and the numbers were likely not small.

But if one considered the absolute advantageous position the Holy Theocracy of Coreia held in this war… it was truly terrifying to think about.

They had not needed to send a single soldier, not shed a single drop of blood or tear. They only needed to hand out sesame-seed-sized benefits from the rear, occasionally supplying the kingdom with weapons or magic cannons in exchange for wealth. Aurus was even forced to keep borrowing money from the Theocracy to sustain the operation of the army.

At one point, because of the overwhelming foreign debt… the Kingdom of Aurus had even debated mortgaging one-tenth of its territory to the Holy Theocracy of Coreia in order to continue the war.

Although the proposal had not passed, the fact alone already showed the kingdom’s dire situation, leaving no need for further thought.

Many nobles clenched their fists tightly… cursing the Holy Theocracy of Coreia for exploiting the kingdom in its time of crisis.

This had not been a matter of one or two days.

Back when Firex was still alive, he had already been lording over them, arrogant and overbearing, despite being nothing more than an outsider!

Seeing that the moment was ripe—

Sheffy opened her narrowed eyes, shrugged her shoulders, and continued.

“Right? I just realized this Holy Theocracy of Coreia is going a bit too far, huh? To be honest, my Demon Clan’s intelligence department recently conducted an investigation. Before the century-long war began, your Aurus treasury was three times the size of Coreia’s. But now, after all this war—guess what? Hahaha, the Holy Theocracy’s treasury has become thirty times yours!”

“...!”

Gasps of shock resounded almost in unison!

No one bothered to question the authenticity of the figures. They only knew that the wealth in their own hands was indeed far less than that of the nobles of the Holy Theocracy. That fact alone was already the most direct evidence.

But they had never expected the difference to be this enormous!

Ahaha… in truth, Sheffy was just making those numbers up.

Still, considering how ruthlessly the Theocracy had been draining the kingdom dry, it probably was not far from reality.

If anything, the actual number was likely even greater, never less.

Seizing the momentum—

Sheffy spread out her hands and walked along the red carpet toward the king.

The knights on both sides immediately moved to shield the king, but the king waved his hand at them, signaling that there was no need to be on guard.

The knights hesitated briefly before retreating back to their original positions.

Sheffy stopped walking, less than two meters away from the king.

Sheffy’s proposal thus followed.

“So then, Your Majesty the King of Aurus, the two of us are playing a match, yet there’s a shameless third party stealing pieces from the side—doesn’t that feel especially aggravating? So I propose this! Instead of continuing to fight, why don’t we first cooperate, drag out those parasites in the Theocracy who are harming the people, and then reconsider whether or not to continue fighting. What do you think?”

King Celt Aurus, after all, was a seasoned veteran of politics.

His expression no longer carried the same disappointment as before, but his vigilance had by no means diminished.

“Heh… indeed, Your Highness Princess, your proposal is very appealing. The kingdom has already been scarred and battered by the Theocracy’s treachery, suffering endlessly. Firex was one such example. However… if it is merely this kind of rhetoric, I do not intend to accept Your Highness’s proposal.”

“Oh? And why is that?”

“Because your proposal brings no benefit whatsoever to the Demon Clan. Matters without benefit cannot be said to carry sincerity. Naturally, I have no reason to agree.”

If it had been an ordinary fool, they might have been easily deceived.

But Celt’s reply convinced all the ministers present.

Yes… the Demon Clan Princess’s words did sound reasonable.

Yet if one thought carefully, they were not logical.

The Theocracy draining the kingdom’s blood, making it ever weaker—was that not exactly to the Demon Clan’s liking?

The Theocracy was indirectly weakening the kingdom. The Demon Clan could have simply intensified their offensive, taking advantage of the kingdom’s frailty to seize the Royal Capital outright.

If it was truly about being displeased with the Theocracy, then after destroying the kingdom, they could march against Coreia next. That would have been the rational order of action from the perspective of a stronger power.

In short—

If it was merely targeting the Holy Theocracy of Coreia, the Demon Clan had no reason at all to cooperate with the kingdom.

So—

…Was the Demon Clan Princess playing some new trick of sowing discord again?

The king could see clearly: in a situation where neither neighbor nor ally could be trusted, how could one best preserve the safety of his people?

“Even if the Theocracy is shameless, they are, after all, of the same root as us in Aurus… A thousand years ago, we were a united empire. These years, it is true they have taken more than their share of profit… but they do not wish to see us destroyed by the Demon Clan. Because if that day comes, the Holy Theocracy of Coreia will lose its barrier. So, if I cooperate with the Theocracy, I can still survive in the cracks. But if I cooperate with the Demon Clan, only destruction awaits. They are not of our kind… and their hearts must be different… cough… cough, cough!”

Sheffy could not help but feel a touch of respect for this old king.

Heh… this old man’s mind was surprisingly clear, wasn’t it?

Livra hurriedly patted her father’s back to ease his breathing, while her worried gaze also fell upon Sheffy.

What kind of dilemma was this…

Miss Shaya, if you want to persuade so many nobles here… with no preparation at all, this matter came too suddenly, and it was far too difficult for you!

Don’t worry, don’t worry, Livra~ you just take care of your old man. Honestly, I was just afraid my sharp words earlier might anger him to death.

Ordinarily, at this point, Sheffy should have already had nothing left to say.

But in truth—

Everything earlier had merely been Sheffy’s prelude, paving the way for the true topic.

The real bombshell she wanted to drop—was only just beginning.

Sheffy turned around and walked toward the shining pillar.

At the same time, her six wings suddenly spread open.

The pitch-black wings, shrouded in purple demonic currents, made the grand hall feel all the more oppressive.

This time, both the knights and members of the Wright Family were prepared for battle.

But…

Sheffy only gazed toward the dark, bottomless sky beyond the grand hall, as if lost in thought.

It looked like she was pondering something.

But in truth, she was thinking of nothing at all.

She was merely waiting for the perfect moment to speak.

Alright then, you’re all nervous now, aren’t you?

Then I’ll go ahead and say it.

“You’ve already been betrayed by your Human God.”

“Human God Lady Aimeris has returned to this world. But unfortunately, though you are all human, though you are all her subjects, she chose to stand on the side of the Holy Theocracy of Coreia, abandoning you.”

“The suggestion I made earlier was the Demon Clan’s concern. In the face of such an unknown, we no longer have the will to wage war against your kingdom. The Human God is the true calamity we face. That, Your Majesty, is the reason you asked for.”

……?

It sounded like she was recounting some myth.

Yet with that serious tone, it also sounded like she was speaking truth.

So false it was unbelievable.

Yet so real it was terrifying.

Since there was doubt, questions naturally followed.

“Witch, what on earth are you trying to say! Even lies should have their limits! Gods are only beings in myths! How could they possibly exist!”

“Exactly! And even if gods really did exist, we’re humans all the same, no different from those in Coreia. The God would never abandon her people!”

Sheffy’s six wings quivered—once, and then again.

That was her laugh.

She was laughing in secret.

She was laughing in mockery.

She was mocking the God’s favoritism.

She was mocking the people for being abandoned, yet not realizing it.

“Haha… all of you are such ignorant fools! Gods won’t abandon you? Hey, tell me—when the Demon Clan was slaughtering you until blood was splattered everywhere, where was your God? When your families were torn apart and your homes were destroyed, where was that so-called God? Did she ever appear?”

“The rebellion at the arena was only a few days ago… and you’ve already forgotten everything?”

“Who was it that tried to kill your king and your royal bloodline?”

“Who was it that told Firex the technology to suddenly produce those massive magic cannons?”

“Why is it that, when dealing with the Demon Clan, you humans have always had to buy magic cannons from the Theocracy?”

“Haven’t you been researching them yourselves? Why is it that after a hundred years, you haven’t made the slightest progress?”

“Is the Theocracy’s development not beyond your imagination? Where do you think their masses of believers came from? Why is it that they, as humans, are allowed to praise their God, while you can only sit here waiting to die?! Use your brains for once, will you!”

Her sharp rebuke thundered through the hall, deafening.

Sheffy was indeed acting—and it was exhausting to play the role.

But… she was truly furious.

Sheffy was powerful, but there were things even she could not accomplish.

For instance—she could not erase hatred from the hearts of those who killed.

Of course, she had the power to stop a great war.

But with such useless salvation, hatred would only continue to accumulate, only to erupt all the more violently later.

So then…

If there truly were so-called gods in this world—

When your own creations, your people, were blinded by bloodlust on the battlefield, and meaningless rivers of blood flowed endlessly—

Where were you then?

A series of questions, each one struck directly at Aurus’s most painful wounds.

In a hundred years, the positions of Aurus and Coreia seemed to have completely reversed.

The Holy Theocracy of Coreia truly had achieved many feats the kingdom could never have imagined.

No one wanted to speak of it, but that dazzling white light in the arena that had split the skies with its terrifying power—had shattered their last shred of confidence.

All of that had been done by the Theocracy…

Even the lives of the royal bloodline… had been saved by the Demon Clan Princess.

Yet no one had ever asked why these sudden changes had happened.

Now, with the Demon outsider voicing the question—

They no longer knew how to answer.

Or rather, they did not dare to think too deeply on it.

The situation seemed to have fallen into deadlock.

Sheffy Harl’s words—they were unwilling to believe them, yet they also did not know how not to believe them.

Caught between belief and disbelief, no clear conclusion could be reached.

At that moment—

The sharp sound of high heels striking the crystal floor rang out from the direction of the Wright Family.

It drew the attention of the entire hall.

Xiarette clenched her fists tightly, as if she too had been stirred by Sheffy’s words.