“What! What’s going on!?”

In what looked like an underground conference room, gathered around a long table covered with a map, Branch Chief Hauser and dozens of Angulev branch members stood stunned in amazement.

This is no wonder, because suddenly three people appeared at that table.

They thought it was the Knights Templar who came, and everyone immediately prepared for battle.

"Who are you—Wow, isn't this the leader?!"

"Ahhh~ Hauser! And everyone! Long time no see! Xiao Mi is here!"

As usual, she lifted one leg, her left hand on her waist, her right hand raised to her eye in a "Ya" sign! Then she winked! Words were clear: her smug expression seemed to say, "How's it going? Are you happy? Everyone must be overjoyed to see the beloved leader!"

"This level of annoyance! Branch Chief! There's no one else but our leader!"

"Yes, this is far more annoying than the Templars can pretend! She is our little secret!"

"Long time no see! Annoying leader!"

"You showed up out of nowhere! How annoying! My heart's breaking! You're truly the leader!"

Everyone kept calling him annoying, and the members of the Anguliv branch immediately relaxed their tension and welcomed the leader with great joy.

"Xiao Mi is popular wherever she goes."

"...No, that's not it. That's not the welcome Xiao Mi wants."

Miredy lay on the ground in sorrow. The leader of this organization was constantly being called an annoyance wherever he went.

"Ah~ How should I put it? Anyway, please get off the table, Chief. Also, that big guy over there is twitching on the ground, is he okay?"

"Ah, Naruto-chan! Are you okay!?"

It seems that Natsu's magic power is completely exhausted. The reason why he moved to the table is probably because of insufficient magic power and some deviation in control.

With the help of the branch members, Miledi moved Niz off the table and asked them to use light magic to distribute magic power to Niz as treatment, and introduced Mel and Niz to everyone.

"I see. Basically, we predicted the leader's arrival, so we posted guides throughout the streets. But... that was the power of diversion just now. As expected, he's on par with the leader."

After listening to how Miledi and the others came here, Hauser nodded with admiration for their speed of movement.

"So, Hauser, what about the Bart people? How are they doing now?"

After a long separation, they should have reminisced about the past, but now the situation was urgent. Meredith displayed the aura of a leader, and the previously excited members of the branch regained their composure.

"That idiot is now in the Republic, serving as the Queen's advisor."

"What? What!? The Queen's advisor!? What's going on!?"

I had originally thought that even if he wanted to help the Republic, he would probably just do some mercenary work, but I didn't expect him to hold such an important position in the holy land of the Orcs, who don't trust humans.

This news was so unbelievable that even Meredith was stunned by it.

"According to that idiot, the Queen..."

"How is the Queen?"

Meredith swallowed hard, seeing Hauser's bitter expression, and a dark thought flashed through her mind. Perhaps the so-called advisor was just a figurehead, and Bart was being treated like a prisoner in exchange for intelligence. Or perhaps the Queen had done something to prevent Bart from leaving the Republic, and he hadn't returned after sending the letter.

Worry welled up in my heart...

"The Queen is his very favorite type."

"……What?"

"That idiot, after dropping off the letter and leaving the message, he immediately ignored everyone trying to stop him, yelling, 'I've found my destined person, don't stop me,' and then he went back to the forest. That idiot, I really don't understand what it was about him that made them fall in love with him, that idiot."

"Ah, ah, um, that's it."

Hauser's rage erupted. Because he already had a bad-guy look, he looked like a demon. Hearing him swear at her, "Idiot, Idiot," Meredith's facial muscles twitched violently.

"Let's ignore that idiot for now. Now, Hauser-kun, what is the Church's purpose in starting a war?"

"Hauser-brother?"

Hauser, fifty-five, was called "little brother" by Mei, who was less than half his age. His cheeks twitched. The branch members were stunned for a moment, then nearly burst out laughing, only to be met with a glare from Hauser.

"Sister Mei'er's bad habit is incurable. Just ignore her. She wants to call herself 'sister' to everyone. Being 'sister' has become her self-identity."

"Hmm, as expected, you're one of the leader's kind."

"Hey, Hauser, what do you mean by that? Oh? Mimi is always the embodiment of common sense."

The conversation couldn't get back to the main topic... The branch members all had awkward expressions, and then Natsu finally recovered a little. He shook his head and greeted everyone politely.

Ah, this person definitely has the most common sense... As this understanding spread, Natsu asked again:

"And what then? What is the purpose of the war?"

Hauser sighed, regrouped, and glanced at Meredith, Mel, and Nez one by one—then replied:

"The Queen of the Republic is a fellow of the Chief."

“!…She’s a magician of the Age of Gods, right?”

Everything became clear. The Church had provoked this war in order to obtain the "Son of God."

Since it has this righteous cause, the church will never stop unless one side is destroyed.

Afterwards, Hauser explained to Meredy and the others the general situation of the battle, the combat capabilities of both sides, and the anomaly of this war - the fog barrier and the unimaginably strong strength of the Republic Warriors.

"The Grand Master of the Temple Knights, the Beast Light Knights... even the White Light Knights were dispatched, yet they still couldn't capture it. It's truly astonishing."

"Yes, but it seems the Knights haven't yet exerted their full strength. Their actions seem too gentle. I guess they're investigating the existence of the Age of Gods Magicians while fighting."

I see. Meredy and the others nodded. Hauser shrugged and continued:

"Bart's message said, 'I've already informed you. I'll be there to greet you once you enter the sea of ​​trees.'"

"Where in the sea of ​​trees are we going?"

"Anywhere is fine. They say the Queen will definitely notice if you step into the sea of ​​trees."

"Wow, that's impressive... So, how should each branch proceed?"

"I'm currently gathering execution forces from surrounding branches and hidden villages. The main force, led by Grandpa Sarus, is heading northwest to attack the supply lines from the Principality of Uldia."

"Well, that's a good move. As expected of Grandpa Saroo, you've thought it through. But..."

"What? Is there a problem?"

"The problem is the Empire."

"...The report about the Demon King?"

Guessing Milady's inner worries, Hauser frowned.

"I've received reports about that, but I still want to hear it directly from you... Is it true? The existence behind the Demon King is related to the God of the Church."

How long have humans and demons been fighting each other? Haven't they been fighting to this day for the sake of each other's beliefs, leaving countless corpses throughout history?

However, the beings they believed in were watching the show together in heaven?

If that's the truth, then there's nothing more to say. Emotions easily become saturated, which actually makes people calm.

Hauser and the other members of the branch held their breath and looked at Meredith.

"That's true. That is to say, all wars in history were manipulated by the gods. The idiots in the sky seem to enjoy the struggles of 'humans'."

"...Damn it, so the church leaders know there's no need to be on guard against the Demon Kingdom right now? Then the Empire's breakwater is no longer needed either. There's no reason not to use it."

Hauser scratched his head in anger.

"But, Chief, we currently lack the extra forces to prevent the Empire from joining the war. Even if we were to gather our forces, it would take at least six months considering our comrades who are far away."

"Yeah...never mind. Maybe I'm just overthinking it. Even if the church leaders knew the truth, the next question is how they could explain it so that the Empire would give up its stance against the Demon Kingdom."

"Authority can keep the empire obedient."

“It will create distrust.”

That being said, it's still unclear whether the Empire will even join the war. After all, the Republic is facing a Confederation, a military power, and it won't collapse so easily.

"But basically, I've already sent a small number of troops skilled in espionage to infiltrate."

"What? As expected of Hauser! You've already taken countermeasures!"

"Because it wasn't someone else, it was you who sent the report."

"Really? You trust Xiao Mi so much, Xiao Mi is really worried!"

"Alright, alright, I'm so fed up with it."

Meredy's leader mode was nearing its limit. Hauser needed to quickly finish what needed to be discussed before she completely reverted to "Little Mi (annoying person)." As expected of someone of branch manager rank.

"So, Chief, I would like to temporarily abandon this branch and move to another location."

They should have moved their base before the Knights arrived. Since it was wartime, the Knights were on high alert, and it would have been difficult to keep it a secret from them.

"Ah, okay, I was going to suggest that as well. No problem. I actually hope you'll move on as soon as possible... Thank you for staying here just for us."

"This is our duty, don't worry about it."

As soon as he finished speaking, Hauser stroked Meredith's head with his large hand. Although Meredith cried out, "Stop!" and twisted her body to avoid him, her expression fell like a cat.

The atmosphere of the meeting suddenly became much more relaxed, and the branch members also smiled.

After that, the detailed information on the battle situation and current situation was shared, and the impromptu meeting was adjourned.

As for Meredith, she wanted to go to the forest immediately, but she was very tired.

Furthermore, if possible, she wanted to avoid the battlefield and enter the forest from above, so she wanted to avoid operating during the day. Therefore, they rested and waited for night.

After enjoying the warm meal prepared by the branch members, Mireidi and the other two went to bed for a nap.

About an hour later, Meredith suddenly woke up.

No, she wasn't asleep. Her magic power was low, her body was exhausted, but her mind was racing, and she wasn't sleepy at all.

There were two beds side by side, and Mel and Natsu were sleeping soundly on them.

Meredith could not bear to wake them up and quietly slipped out of bed.

Hauser was still in the conference room, and he appeared to be writing a letter.

"Hauser, I'm going to go out for a moment."

"Huh? Why?"

"I want to see the situation of the federal army with my own eyes."

Meredy said as she put on a hooded robe, while Hauser narrowed his eyes slightly.

"...That's really unlike you. What are you worried about?"

"I, I'm not worried."

Your eyes are wandering, Hauser said with a wry smile.

"Uh~ You know, I'm a little nervous because of the war."

"Don't be silly. At this point, how could you possibly lose sleep over fighting the Church?"

Although Hauser has a fierce and rude appearance, he was chosen as the branch leader because he is very sensitive to other people's mood swings. In addition, despite being one-eyed and one-armed, he is still a truly strong man.

Because of this, he is respected by many of his companions, and he also took good care of Miledy when she first joined the organization.

Meredith, still immature at the time, rushed to various rescues, only to be injured due to her aggressiveness. The person who reprimanded her most harshly was probably Hauser. It was the first time Meredith had ever been beaten, and it was none other than Hauser who did it.

Most of the elders, such as Reagan of the Esperade branch and Sarus of the headquarters, loved Meredith very much. But Bart was not discussed.

Therefore, Meredith often thought that this was what a father was like. Although he would scold his naughty daughter harshly, he would always show his care and concern. Fathers were not good at expressing their feelings.

Even so, Meredith hesitated to explain why she couldn't sleep...

"A-Anyway! I need to go out for a bit!"

Hauser stared at Meredith, who looked away. Meredith smiled and tried to get out in a hurry. At that moment...

"Miledy."

Hauser's voice sounded grave. He didn't call out "Leader," but rather his name. Confused, Meredith turned back.

Hauser looked at Meredith with a look of startling seriousness and a sense of intimidating power.

"The world is starting to move, I think."

"Hauser?"

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