Episode 87: A chance in a game turns into reality

24. Holy sword or lightsaber (2)

Looking at the results of the first contest alone, we can see that the rankings of Ivril and her allies Judy Esther, High Elf Grace, Princess Evelyn Francis, and Princess Xia Lin are fluctuating.

Of course, Ivril and Grace High Elven are hitting it off a little more.

In any case, it feels like these 5 are the only ones competing, and the other 9 candidates have been completely left behind.

Just looking at the viewer ratings, the five people above recorded at least 1%, while the others did not even reach half of that, 0.5%.

Perhaps, if the contest continues like this, one of these five will be elected as a saint.

People who don't know much may react by asking why a contest is necessary since God makes the final choice anyway.

However, even though God makes the final choice, it can be seen that it is the role of believers to narrow down candidates to be chosen by God.

What this means is that when God makes the final choice, he does not simply ignore the rankings placed by people.

'Shin, who watched the contest, always chose a person who suited his tastes from among the top ranks. The current saint is also the person who took first place overall in the contest, and the person who was second place before that and fourth place before that became a saint.'

There has never been a time when a candidate who lost out in a competition became a saint or saint.

I don't know if this was a choice that reflected the opinions of the believers, or if they simply chose one of the narrowed down candidates out of annoyance, but thanks to this, the contest held every 50 years has become a major event where gods and believers together elect saints and saints.

In that sense, Ivril can be seen as one step closer to becoming a saint.

"I heard that the second competition will end quickly, is that correct?"

"Yes, I know so."

The first contest is a long-term project that lasts for a month, like this mercenary activity, but subsequent contests do not require that much time.

Among them, I heard that the second contest will end in one day.

The reason is that the second contest was a personal test to check the abilities of the saint candidate.

Simply put, it means that it is a time for each person to show off their talents.

"The content of the second contest has not changed for generations, so let's think hard during the given break."

"yes!"

Ivril's rivals' abilities are basically very high.

High elf Grace is a top-level spiritist who is on the same level as an archmage.

Princess Evelyn Francis was a high-ranking Auror Expert-level knight who took after her Grand Master father.

Judy Esther is no different from a high-ranking priest who has already been completed.

And the last Princess Xia Lin is said to use a unique power called Oriental magic.

However, compared to these prominent rivals, Ivril only studied to become an administrator, and it was only the second month since she began learning sacred power, so a solution was needed.

In that sense, the week of rest given to all candidates after the first contest was bound to be truly precious.

"dismissal."

"Is there a problem?"

Now, as I was slowly returning to the estate, a male priest approached me and started talking to me.

I had to tilt my head because it was my first time seeing this person.

But I couldn't help but be interested in what he said next.

"My name is Priest Farhan and I belong to the Archdiocese of Roberto. Candidate Xia Lin is requesting to see Your Excellency."

"Your Highness the Princess of the Kingdom of Roberto?"

"That's right. "If it's okay, he said he would like to see me later today."

Because it was an unexpected character, I thought of Princess Xia Lin.

Princess Xia Lin, who looked like an East Asian, had a small body compared to other races, just like Asians on Earth, and had an appearance similar to that of a Korean idol.

Her longing-inducing appearance alone was enough to attract my attention, but her personality and behavior were extremely polite, and I could sense that she was trying not to look through colored glasses on other people's identities.

This is hard to believe, considering the arrogant appearance of the nobles of Rondel.

She was truly my ideal princess.

'It's a pity that the Republic of Prius is buried, but in terms of personality, she is more suitable for the status of a saint than Ivril.'

After completing my review of Princess Xia Lin, I gave a positive answer to the priest.

"All right. "Of course."

"thank you. Candidate Xia Lin will be very happy."

Just like Archbishop Fred does for Ivril, he also seems to follow Princess Xia Lin wholeheartedly.

"When and where can I meet you?"

"How about around 5 p.m.?"

"You mean let's eat together. great."

"Then, I will meet you at 5 o'clock at Manbokjeong, Lorraine City, Holy Land."

Did you think I would be on guard if I was suddenly called to a foreign country?

The meeting place was set as a safe, sacred place.

I nodded silently at their consideration.

After a while, when he left, Ivril, who was quietly listening to the story, said something.

"Is it because he is handsome and talented? "There are many women who approach me."

"Eh?"

Considering Princess Xia Lin's personality, she didn't seem like a person who would do something complicated like this because of her attraction to the opposite sex.

I waved my hand at Ivril, saying it was a useless idea, but for some reason, Arcia responded as if she deeply agreed with what she said.

* * *

It has been over a month since the Brigham Empire declared war on the Prius Republic.

Even though the Republic of Prius is considered one of the four great empires along with the Brigham Empire, the overwhelming majority of people were of the opinion that how long it could endure against Brigham, the world's most powerful nation.

But when I opened the lid, the war was more intense than I thought.

Although it suffered consecutive defeats in the early stages of the war and gave up the sea to the Brigham Empire, the Empire was unable to advance due to the counterattacks of the Republic Army, which actively took advantage of its home ground.

Of course, this was due to the fact that the Brigham Empire was not doing its best, but the Prius Republic also continued to struggle, led by outstanding military commanders, as if to prove that it was not considered one of the world's four greatest powers for nothing.

"His Excellency Marshal Ansen."

"Something?"

"This is a message from the government."

"Tsk… ."

The tundra area in the northwest of the Republic of Prius, the largest battleground with the Brigham Empire.

Marshal Ansen, commander of the National Guard and one of the two major mountain ranges of the Republic Army, clicked his tongue at the adjutant's report and read the attached message as he unlocked the code on the confidential document tablet he had given him.

[Why can't we win? Field Marshal Ansen's dismissal is being discussed among politicians who are dissatisfied with the current situation of repeated defense. He hopes that more proactive measures will be taken to preserve his position. If Marshal Ansen is dismissed, his subordinates in the General Staff will also not be able to escape disciplinary action.]And at the absurd content of the message, Marshal Ansen threw the tablet he was holding on the floor.

As it was manufactured for military use, the sturdy tablet was not immune to that much.

However, his sudden behavior was enough to surprise his subordinates, and he revealed the contents of the confidential document to them as if he did not care.

"Our president tells us to fight the enemy more actively and achieve victory. Otherwise, this body will be dismissed and you will be disciplined."

His subordinates reacted by asking what kind of bullshit that was.

"What do you mean, Mr. President, you have forgotten who our opponent is?"

"It seems like that. And you don't seem to know that the Brigham Empire isn't at its best."

"The best choice our military can make is to endure without losing!"

"Who doesn't know that? It seems like both the heart and the brain have shrunk due to the recent increase in protest activity. "I don't think they realize that it's thanks to us that they can clink glasses in a safe capital even during the war."

The message sent from the government to Marshal Ansen, who already hated politicians, aroused anger beyond resentment.

In a situation where the war was going on, the idea of ​​dismissing Marshal Ansen, commander of the National Guard, and the military staff following him was bound to be difficult to understand based on common sense.

Of course, I knew this was a threat, but I felt a sense of shame as to whether I really had to fight for a country like this.

"People who don't even know the 'war' of war are saying this and that. "We have to go easy on the Brigham Empire."

"Lewis Fairmont may be torn apart in the middle. "The only thing that bastard is doing these days is inciting internal strife."

"How did such garbage gain prominence?" ."

"I heard that there are opinions circulating within the government that Louis Fairmont should be appointed as commander-in-chief of the military."

"Isn't that crazy? "If things continue like this, the Republic, not the Brigham Empire, will collapse due to internal problems."

In this way, soldiers' criticism of the government continued.

However, Marshal Ansen, who was the most angry, kept his mouth shut.

Therefore, one by one, his subordinates watched him and closed their mouths, and a staff member wearing a lieutenant general's rank insignia carefully asked Marshal Ansen's intentions.

"What do you plan to do?"

"But what can I do since I'm a soldier? "Even if he's a fucking bastard, if the president criticizes him, he should criticize him."

However, his next words were so unexpected that his subordinates looked shocked.

"So, are you saying you're going to switch offense? Then, if by chance our army wins against the Brigham Empire army... ."

The subordinates are more worried about victory than defeat.

I know very well what their concerns are, but Marshal Ansen had no choice.

"They already know. "Because I explained the reason for holding out several times."

"yes? "And yet you're giving these instructions?"

You must not win against the Brigham Empire.

If the Brigham Empire were to lose the war, they would take the war more seriously.

"It's the fucking popular vote (election) period soon, so wouldn't they be throwing out such unreasonable numbers?"

"Oh my... . shit."

To win the election.

It was meant as an instruction to protect their position over the nation.

"What we need to do now is prepare for what will happen later when the offensive changes."

"Politicians pick up the poop and it's up to us to clean it up."

Marshal Ansen and the General Staff sighed deeply as one, cursing the government.

* * *

"The name of His Excellency the Marquis of Lawrence resonates across the Central Sea and all the way to our continent of Triton. "It is an honor to greet you like this."

"That's too much praise. "Looking at Her Highness, Princess Xia Lin, who is so intelligent, the future of Roberto's Kingdom looks bright."

Geographically, the holy city of Everhill is surrounded by the kingdoms of Lucias, Jordi, Grisia, and Chase, but strangely enough, it is not a landlocked country, but a country surrounded on all sides by the sea.

At the center of the Defteron continent, there is a round inland sea that looks as if it was created by a compass, and in the center of the inland sea is a very straight and pretty circular island.

That unique round island is the sacred site of Everhill.

If you look at the map, you can clearly see that it is an artificially created place.

However, there is no known information about exactly how the terrain was formed, and as it is a place called a sacred place, it can only be assumed that it was created by God.

The inland sea surrounding Everhill has always had clear water and abundant fish resources, leading to the development of various seafood dishes.

The store called 'Manbokjeong', which I visited at the invitation of Princess Xia Lin, was a place that used Everhill's seafood to prepare and sell dishes from Roberto's Kingdom.

I heard that they also serve fresh crabs that have been briefly aged in soybean paste, and when I saw it in the picture, it looked very similar to Korean crab sauce, so I had high expectations.

"Nice to meet you. "The beautiful woman next to you is Count Klein."

"Meeting Her Royal Highness Princess Xia Lin."

"Please feel free to call me Princess Xia."

Princess Sia also shook hands with Arcia, who is always with me.

When I saw her up close, she was so cute that it could be described as cute.

It is questionable whether he was 150cm tall, and unlike Westerners, his nose was low and small, and his lips were as small as a cherry.

However, despite all of his small physical features, despite not having double eyelids, his brightly opened eyes were so large that he looked 5 years younger than his 19 years of age.

However, because we saw on TV that she was mature despite her youthful appearance, appearance was not a big criterion in judging the character 'Xia Lin'.

"This is the person who requested this position as my sponsor."

But what she said next made me question it.

Doesn't that mean she wasn't the one hosting this event?

And when a man who looked Russian, not Asian, introduced himself, I frowned.

"hello. "This is García Valen, Chairman of the State Council of the Republic of Prius."