NOVEL WEB Chapter 295 (Self Edited) – Strolling in the Unchanging Holy City
Chapter 295 (Self Edited) – Strolling in the Unchanging Holy City
The contents of the letter sent by the empire to the Holy City became known throughout the other countries three days later. This was because similar letters were sent to other countries all at once. Furthermore, they politely announced it as a formal protest, the fact that the Holy city was struck by the empire almost the same as a declaration of war, and there was no doubt that it was widely spread among the general public.
In this world, the means of information transmission wasn’t so developed, but since there were magic and magic tools, it became the means of information transmission during an emergency. And the information that a war might occur between the Holy City and the empire was urgently worthy. Considering that it might have an impact on the general public, the news would be disseminated without concealing it, and in fact, that information was intentionally disseminated in the Holy City. At least, even children in the Holy City knew it.
As a result, the state of the Holy City compared to before–…
“Hmm… it’s surprisingly unchanging…” (Soma)
While casually looking around, Soma suddenly muttered. Hildegard, who was walking next to him, turned her gaze and tilted her head, probably because she heard his voice.
“Hmm? What do you mean?” (Hildegard)
“It has been ten days after receiving the declaration of war from the empire. It has been so long, and yet nothing has changed for those who are in the Holy City.” (Soma)
Yes, ten days had already passed since that day. The current situation of the Holy should be known to those who lived in the Holy City and those who weren’t.
Even so, the anxiety wasn’t displayed on the faces of people who went to the city, and there was no sign that the flow of people would stop at all. As it had been mentioned before, the Holy Doctrine believers were constantly coming to the Holy City. This situation looked strange to Soma.
“Aah… that’s natural, isn’t it? A war doesn’t start immediately just because it has been declared war, and it doesn’t mean that they exactly declared war in the first place. Even if a war actually happens, it won’t be happening at any time soon. Above all, this is the Holy City, right?” (Hildegard)
“Hmm…? Of course, I understand that this is the Holy City, but… what do you mean by that? It’s true that no country would fight against the Holy City, but the declaration of war has already been made. And in fact, it is possible because they are the empire.” (Soma)
As mentioned before, bringing the Holy City down was synonymous to bringing the Holy Doctrine down. The impact of this matter was so great that the action wouldn’t be recognized by neighboring countries, but in fact, there was one country excepted from it. That was the empire.
Since they already had the same or more influence as the Holy Doctrine, it didn’t mean that it would change even if the religion was brought down. It was only a matter if the empire’s influence didn’t overlap with the Holy Doctrine’s influence. It wasn’t known how big the power would be if the empire brought down the religion. From the view of other countries, they naturally want to prevent it, but… whether it was actually possible or not, that was another matter.
The magnitude of the influence of the empire was, after all, made up of only one factor. That was the enormous history that had been accumulated since the country was established.
To be exact, the size of the country wasn’t that great. It wasn’t small, but at least in terms of area, Veritas would be much larger.
However, having a history also means that they had a long relationship with each country. If it was a small country, the number of getting favors from other countries would pile up, but there was no reason for the country, that progressed for a thousand years, to be in such a situation. Instead of getting favors, the empire was the one that gave favors to other countries, which led to great influence.
In addition, the empire was accumulating not only history but also national power. As a matter of course, armed forces were included in it, which was suitable for the country that was said to be the most prosperous. If the empire was compared to other countries, it was definitely at the top, and there was no country that could stand by its side.
That was why the empire was the only exception. To put it simply, no other country could stop the empire.
Alternatively, it would be possible for all countries other than the empire to join hands even temporarily. However, such a thing wasn’t realistic. This was because some countries, such as Veritas and Radeus, were hostile to each other, while others were closely linked to the empire. It was very difficult to materialize it for the sake of opposing the empire.
More importantly, it was fatal that there was no country that could take the lead by uniting other countries. If a country wanted to do it forcibly, there would be internal damage even without doing anything else. So, the future would be worse. No matter what it was, the empire couldn’t be stopped at present.
For that reason, only the empire could wage war on the Holy City–…
“No, that isn’t the case. For starters, it only matters if the empire really invades the Holy City. It could also be a matter whether the Holy City side will resist.” (Hildegard)
“Aah… I see. There is such a thing, huh?” (Soma)
Soma nodded as he finally understood what Hildegard wanted to say. When he thought about it, it was certainly natural.
After all, the Holy City was a place that didn’t belong to any country. Therefore, the Holy City was synonymously being protected by every country around it, but at same time, it also meant that it couldn’t escape everywhere.
Yes, if the surrounding countries didn’t choose the do-or-die resistance. the defeat of the Holy City would be confirmed when the empire armed forces came here.
“In other words, it’s safe to be here, correct?” (Soma)
“Although the cause of the war with the Holy City is certainly on the empire side, if they really attack the Holy City, the believers of the Holy Doctrine won’t be silent. They are in the empire as well as in other countries.” (Hildegard)
“Hmm… is that we are acting as usual?” (Soma)
“Yes, that’s right. That’s probably why people didn’t talk about it. There is a lot of other things to talk about, and it doesn’t change what they do when they realize that this isn’t going to be a battlefield.” (Hildegard)
“That’s certainly true…” (Soma)
By the way, the reason why Soma and Hildegard were walking around the city was simply because they had free time. Satya was sleeping today and Eleonora was at work. He had read all the books given, and even though Eleonora had many books that Soma hadn’t read yet, none of them piqued his interest.
Of course, considering that other books might be useful for something, he should read everything he hadn’t read, but recently, Soma had devoted all his time to reading when he had free time. It was only normal that he felt like doing something else.
Plus, there was no other thing in the shrine that Soma would do. Although it was unlikely that this place would become a battlefield, it didn’t mean that the Holy City wouldn’t resist. Besides, the preparation for the war should be steadily progressing. But it was Eleonora who was doing that, and it wasn’t something Soma could help. Since he had nothing to do, he decided to take a stroll in the city.
Soma didn’t know the reason why Hildegard was walking with him though. When Soma went out, she followed him as if it was something natural to do.
Well, Soma didn’t have the right to restrict her action, so it didn’t matter. It was also possible to predict the reason why, but there would be replies that would make him feel tired. Therefore, he didn’t particularly ask for the reason and left it alone.
Anyhow, Soma went out, and this was the first time he did so in the last ten days. There was no need and no opportunity to do so. Hence, that’s why he was surprised that there was no change in the appearance of the city.
“Well, I guess it’s better to be the usual rather than displaying the anxiety atmosphere.” (Soma)
“Yeah.” (Hildegard)
It was possible that he wasn’t really worried from the bottom of the heart, but it wasn’t something that he could solve right now. If so, Soma would move forward, thinking that he should finish his business without worrying about it.
Still, he didn’t have any specific business. He was just wondering around to see if there was something interesting, so he wasn’t acting like a visitor who just arrived here.
While wondering if there was something, he looked around the surroundings.
“Aah—!?” (??)
It was then that such a loud voice entered his ears.
Although he was on a noisy street, Soma tilted his head because he felt that it was a familiar voice. He turned his gaze in the direction where he could hear the voice, and… suddenly, he squinted.
In his sight, there was a stunning bright red color. The two lumps at the side of the head shook, and the eyes, that matched with the color of the hair, met his eyes.
The pointing finger was definitely pointed at Soma, and he blinked his eyes a few times at the encounter with the unexpected person.
“Aina…? Why are you here?” (Soma)
“What the…? That is my line! Why are you walking around like this…!?” (Aina)
Soma didn’t really get it, but apparently, she was angry. Soma tilted his head as she walked and stared at him with sharp eyes.