The southern province of the Holy Kingdom of Quolia. A major city where provincial functions were concentrated.
In this town, known for its fertile farmlands and granary districts, a holy knight was striding through the cathedral's interior with a disgruntled expression.
"Hey, Ronius! Ronius! You in here!?"
"Yes, what is it, Holy Knight Verdel?"
The man who burst through the door with a bang and barged into the sanctuary was—well, a man with an undignified face and an undeniably crude demeanor.
In stark contrast, his attire was lavish and opulent.
In the Holy Kingdom, there existed a rank above common soldiers known as "holy knights."
Quolia was a theocratic nation guided by the Holy King as its supreme pontiff. All citizens adhered to the same faith and devoted their daily prayers to God, and it was said that as many as thirty percent of the populace held some form of holy office.
In such a country, it was only natural that the nation's military forces would be deeply steeped in religious overtones. Among these forces, the holy knights commanded enduring popularity and trust.
Ranging from senior to junior ranks, they were handpicked elites who had survived grueling training and examinations. Mastery of martial arts was expected, along with proficiency in various academic disciplines and crafts, but above all, noble lineage was paramount.
In fact, holy knights who could perform miracles—albeit not on the level of a Holy Maiden—were indispensable elites for the nation.
They were typically deployed across the entire kingdom, handling domestic disputes requiring force, occasional subjugation of magical beasts and demi-humans, and protection of important figures.
Such was the existence of the holy knights.
And this man—defined by his boorish behavior, remarkable for someone in holy orders who should have received God's blessing—possessed that untiring discipline, a will of steel, and sufficient virtue to guide the people alongside the clergy.
His name was Verdel, and he was a senior holy knight.
As Verdel clanked toward him in full armor, Holy Knight Ronius, who had been praying in the sanctuary, quietly raised his face and turned around.
"This is a place of prayer to God. I would ask you to keep your voice down, Verdel."
"The Southern Continent! It's still the Southern Continent, even if it's the northern part! Why do I have to go to some backwater full of barbarians?!"
"But if you succeed in this mission, the council will look upon you favorably. Besides, wasn't this a divine oracle personally bestowed by the Radiant Holy Maiden Soarina herself? There can be no greater honor."
"Hmph... yeah, right..."
Holy Knight Verdel opened his mouth with nothing but a vulgar outburst of complaint.
Unlike Verdel, whose defining trait was a vulgarity unbecoming even of a common knight, his counterpart Ronius was the very picture of elegance. With refined features that conveyed inner strength beneath a gentle countenance and an immaculately worn regimental uniform, he was like a model holy knight come to life.
Holy Knight Ronius quietly grasped the implications behind Verdel's words.
The southern reaches of the Idlagia continent—within it lay a cursed forest known as the Great Cursed Realm.
Word had reached him days ago that Holy Maiden Soarina had received an oracle foretelling disaster in that region and issued an investigation order.
Initially, he was supposed to be the one assembling and leading the investigation party, but an abrupt directive from above—citing insufficient military strength—ordered the addition of more holy knights. That had raised his suspicions.
The fact that this man, riddled with misconduct, problematic behavior, and suspicion of acts unbecoming of a holy knight, had been forcefully inserted into the team—that was proof that certain machinations were at work.
The Holy Kingdom teemed with hidden agendas.
Even priests who were normally paragons of virtue, or sisters of immaculate purity—once you saw what lurked behind the facade, you could never tell what they were really thinking. Was it a problem born of the organization's bloated size, or simply human nature?
Even if this investigation mission succeeded, all the credit would go to Verdel. And if any problems arose—or if, heaven forbid, they failed—the blame would naturally fall on him.
Though skilled, Ronius came from an unimpressive lineage and remained stuck at the rank of junior holy knight. Deep down, he gritted his teeth.
(Still, having Holy Knight Verdel participate wasn't entirely a bad thing.)
If his presence raised their survival odds, that was all the better. Verdel was a senior holy knight, after all. His competence was guaranteed.
This was Ronius's first investigation mission abroad, and with it being a Holy Maiden case at that, his anxiety had been mounting. Now he felt a small measure of relief.
Above all, his own life came first. It would be meaningless to rush into glory only to lose his life.
The image of his beloved wife and their newborn daughter surfaced in Ronius's mind.
Perhaps this, too, was God's will. He was a deeply devout man.
"So, how large a force shall we send on the investigation? With your cooperation, Verdel, I imagine we could borrow a reasonable number of soldiers from the southern province..."
"Nope. Apparently it's just us. The bigwigs on the council sent down orders to hire a mercenary company to make up for the soldiers."
"...Excuse me? Why would they—"
"How should I know?! Damn it! I don't have any connections to mercenary companies! And right now, everyone and their mother is tied up dealing with the unrest in the north. What the hell am I supposed to do?!"
He agreed completely. But Ronius, bound tight by the chains of reason, didn't lash out the way Verdel did.
Instead, he quickly turned his mind to the problem, determined to do everything in his power.
"Leave that matter to me, Verdel. An old friend of mine has connections with a mercenary company. I'll see what I can do to arrange something."
"Hm? Ronius, you've got connections? Well, would you look at that! That's a load off. I'm counting on you!"
"Yes, leave it to me."
Verdel slapped him so hard on the back that Ronius choked.
Without so much as a glance of concern, Verdel let out a hearty laugh and strode off.
He might have been lacking in decorum, but he wasn't a bad person.
Ronius felt he now understood why some of the clergy were fond of him.
But still... Ronius turned the matter over in his mind.
(Holy Maiden Soarina currently oversees Quolia's northern province. If an investigation was ordered through divine oracle, it would have originated from the northern province. Yet the target—the Great Cursed Realm—lies in the southern region of Idlagia, commonly known as the Southern Continent. Preparations would fall to the nearest province—Quolia's southern province. Ah, so the southern provincial council was pulling strings.)
He continued to pray quietly, deepening his meditation.
(With the Radiant Holy Maiden Soarina occupied by the crisis in the north, the other Holy Maidens couldn't be easily mobilized from a national defense standpoint. There were even rumors that the Hidden-Face Holy Maiden might be sent as reinforcement. ...This really wasn't the time for internal squabbling.)
The unrest erupting in the northern province was growing in scale with each passing day.
Harmful demi-humans, magical beasts, and all manner of anomalies. That not only the main force of the Holy Knight Order but even two of the four Holy Maidens—half of Quolia's total number—would be required was unprecedented even when scouring through history.
The fact filled Ronius with an indescribable sense of unease.
(A calamity foretold by divine oracle. A Holy Maiden case, no less... If only they could return safely.)
Holy Knight Ronius, as if to dispel the anxiety gnawing at his chest, began to pray to God once more.
◇ ◇ ◇
"The 'Cannibal Trees' have been completed on schedule. With the attached granary, we can now manage all food supplies for this region—our Mynoghra capital—in one place."
Emuru, a dark elf woman serving as deputy to War Chief Gear, was reporting construction progress to Atou, the eerily towering trees standing before them.
Several months had passed since the previous meeting.
The "Cannibal Trees" were already complete, and judging by the attached granary, the administrative building, and the workers coming and going, operations were running smoothly.
The only issues were their grotesquely unsettling appearance and the trees' quasi-harassing quality of making anyone who ate from them instantly realize they were "consuming human flesh." But living creatures adapted surprisingly well, and while there had been initial confusion, no major problems had arisen since.
Atou, having received reports on the current state of affairs along with suggestions for minor facility improvements and discussions on future operational policy, nodded repeatedly with a satisfied expression.
"Good, good. Food production from the farmlands seems to be progressing well too. In terms of supplies, we're on track with no issues. Once residential construction is completed on schedule, please begin work in earnest on the royal palace."
In principle, Takuto as king and Atou were constantly in communication.
The king possessed the ability to oversee the entire nation and could, if he so wished, communicate directly with any individual.
Perhaps because the two had been transported simultaneously, Takuto's bond with Atou was especially strong—even when separated, they could unconsciously coordinate their views and share information.
That was precisely why facility inspections and directives like these were mainly carried out by Atou.
The dark elves believed that most matters could be resolved by simply asking her, and that peppering the king with trivial details would be an act of gross disrespect.
In any case, even Atou—the perfect servant who fully understood the king's will—could be careless.
In fact, she was rather the type to be careless.
This time was no different.
Emuru glanced around, then steeled herself.
Despite serving as deputy to the War Chief, her breadth of knowledge and position had effectively made her a secretary and communications coordinator. Now she finally voiced the question that had been nagging at her for some time.
"Um, excuse me... Lady Atou?"
"Yes? What is it, Emuru?"
"We haven't heard anything about this, but..."
A slender, pale finger pointed at the townscape that had evolved from a mere settlement into a somewhat civilized array of structures.
Planned clearings dotted the land, while the deliberately preserved giant trees and their branches had been used to build a network of aerial dwellings resembling a honeycomb.
The ground was divided into neatly sectioned farmland where planted crops were sprouting.
Simple defensive fences and wells had also been constructed, giving the residential area the growing appearance of a proper town. But there was something far too strange about it all.
Indeed. The forest that had once stood here was gone, replaced by a sight that could only be described as evil.
The deliberately preserved giant trees bore twisted, contorted forms, their leaves tinged with eerie, unsettling colors.
The ground was no better—the vegetation had taken on repulsive shapes—and some sort of thin, smoke-like haze seemed to permeate the entire town.
The water gushing from the wells was an unmistakably unpalatable color, and seeing a young dark elf bathing in it nonchalantly nearby only deepened one's unease.
In blunt terms, their new homeland had undergone a terrifying transformation. A truly abominable one.
"Hm? Was that so? Ufufu, my apologies."
Atou laughed it off as if she had just done something trivially innocent.
Emuru was long accustomed to the carelessness of this servant of the evil king, so there was no point being surprised now. Still, she had to ask about what had become of this forest.
"No, that's not the issue. Why has the forest ended up like this? Or rather... is this okay?"
"Yes. By becoming citizens of Mynoghra, all of you have been transformed into evil entities. Honestly, you probably don't feel much difference, but that change is the result of the king's majestic aura. And that power extends not only to the citizens, but to the land itself."
"S-so this landscape is..."
That was the concise explanation.
In other words, the logic was simple: if the citizens became evil, then naturally the land would become evil too.
Having never truly felt that she herself had become evil, Emuru could only stare in stunned silence as she tried to come to terms with the fact.
"It's called 'Cursed Land.' It fundamentally benefits evil-aligned entities while penalizing neutral and good-aligned ones. It's perfectly suited for defense—a wonderful territory."
"Wha... wait. Benefits evil-aligned entities?"
Her question was entirely reasonable.
If she had become an evil entity, then this land should have been exerting some kind of positive influence on her.
And yet her impression was "this is creepy," and she honestly didn't feel particularly good about it. Not the positive kind, anyway.
Having already anticipated this question, Atou smiled softly.
"Then try taking a deep breath."
"Huh? O-okay! *inhale* ... *exhale*"
"How does it feel?"
"Despite the atmosphere, I actually feel really refreshed... It's like energy is welling up inside me?"
"That's proof that you've become an evil entity. Well, people rarely notice changes in themselves."
Emuru made an impressed "hmmm" face and clenched her fist tightly.
Come to think of it, she had eaten the fruit from the Cannibal Trees the other day—actual human flesh—and it hadn't disgusted her as much as she'd expected. If anything, she'd found herself thinking, "It's a bit tough; wouldn't slow-cooking make it more delicious?"
Atou had said that people were surprisingly unaware of their own transformation into evil entities.
Perhaps that was true.
Come to think of it, maybe this scenery wasn't so bad after all. In a way, that quiet atmosphere—one impervious to outside influence—was actually quite to her taste.
Emuru nodded to herself in understanding.
She was more corrupted than she realized.
"However, there is one problem... This is going to stand out quite obviously..."
A new problem weighed upon her—something that had just been articulated by Atou.
The words "Well, obviously!" nearly escaped Emuru's throat before she swallowed them back down.
With such a large-scale, distinctly alien space, it was impossible for it to go unnoticed from outside.
Fortunately, this land was within the Great Cursed Realm. The massive forest would serve as camouflage for a time, but once the nation prospered and its territory expanded, that wouldn't last forever.
Their existence being exposed to the outside world meant a corresponding increase in danger.
Especially looking this evil.
"In any case, our existence will inevitably be discovered by the outside world sooner or later. Rather than agonizing over every little detail, let's enjoy our lives to the fullest!"
"So you've given up because there's nothing to be done"... is what Emuru couldn't say.
The other party was a superior being, and above all, the king's right hand.
Just because Atou spoke casually didn't give her license to be disrespectful.
Moreover, no matter how much she argued against Atou's words, no solution was going to materialize in Emuru's own mind.
In that case, it was probably better to do as Atou suggested—accept it cleanly and turn her attention to other matters.
As Atou had said, their existence would become public eventually.
At the very least, the existence of the great king, Ira=Takuto, was far too significant to be concealed and allow them to live in peace.
Still, Emuru felt no anxiety.
Ira=Takuto, the apocalyptic king who would destroy the world.
His existence filled her with infinite reassurance, and his subordinate Atou allowed them to envision a future where Mynoghra's enemies were utterly destroyed.
How fortunate their race was. How blessed.
Watching the children running past with laughter, the young people hard at work, the warriors training with dedication—watching her own companions, she surrendered herself to an infinite sense of trust.
That said, she had a mountain of things to do for the nation and the king.
As Emuru cast her thoughts toward the day that would surely come, she once again vowed to do everything in her power in the present.
=Eterpedia===
[Erosion Direction] National Direction
- The nation's territory transforms into "Cursed Land" - ■■■
~~The world reaches its time of destruction, and eventually all shall become cursed land under the evil army's dominion~~
The Erosion Direction is one of the national directions available to an evil-aligned leader.
It primarily features the transformation of the nation's territory into "Cursed Land."
Cursed Land inflicts penalties on good-aligned civilization units while providing bonuses to evil-aligned ones.
Paradoxically, given its evil nature, this is a direction well-suited for domestic governance and defense.