Leave a Comment / Reincarnation into a barrier master / By IX
Three days had passed since the envoy from the Crimeana faith arrived. Ultimately, I couldn’t find any solution to the situation. The release of the criminal slaves, which I had thought would be simple, didn’t go well at all. I called the slave traders and asked them, but they claimed they didn’t have the authority to grant the release of criminal slaves, and they didn’t know how to go about it either.
Moreover, there was no progress regarding the matter of the beastmen. In the capital city of Agarta, there were not only dog and cat beastmen but also a small number of wolf beastmen. However, whenever I observed them, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the beastmen couldn’t be the carriers of the incurable disease.
Desperately seeking help, I even asked the goddess, but she too didn’t know any means to free the criminal slaves or the sources of the infections. Seeing my evident disappointment, Sandiyu offered to investigate, but she warned me that it would still take some time.
As of now, there haven’t been any significant disruptions among the people in the capital since I haven’t revealed anything. While Mei firmly believed that the beastmen were undoubtedly the cause of the epidemic, deep down, I had a vague feeling that it might not be the case.
Furthermore, when I tried to investigate, I found that the Crimeana faith was a much more formidable adversary than I had initially thought. This religion had followers all around the world, and there were many countries that worshiped it on a national level. Moreover, their bishops possessed the ability to lift the “curse” on humans and could use Level 3 healing magic akin to that of doctors, responsible for preserving people’s lives. It was also them who established the system of criminal slavery.
Indeed, there had been a church in the Juka Kingdom, and Elsa-sama used to attend their worship, with me accompanying her on several occasions. However, fortunately (or unfortunately), after I caused chaos in Juka’s royal capital during the civil war, the bishops withdrew from the country, and currently, the influence of Crimeana faith in Agarta is not that strong. In fact, due to their escape when they were most needed, the impression of the people in Agarta toward them was rather negative.
Nevertheless, it was a fact that they had followers all over the world and were under the influence of this religion in several countries, including the Hideita Empire and the Lamaron Kingdom. If we mishandled the situation, even these countries could become enemies, putting me in a precarious position. Protecting just the capital city of Agarta would be challenging, let alone the entire country. In the worst-case scenario, countless innocent people would die, which needed to be avoided at all costs. Moreover, above all else, I couldn’t bear the thought of Mei losing her life. Preventing that was my utmost priority.
During these three days, I wrestled with these emotions and dilemmas.
As expected, on this day too, I returned to the imperial capital mansion without any answers. Sensing my mood, the usually lively atmosphere during meals was absent, and the air felt heavy.
At such a moment, there was a visitor at the mansion. It was Willis, the one I entrusted with Super Dake.
“Master, I have a favor to ask,” he said.
“What is it, Willis? Come in.”
I tried to invite Willis inside the mansion, but he hesitated to come in. Approaching him to see what was going on, I found Shera, Uriel, and several other catfolk standing just outside the entrance.
“What’s happening? What is this all about?” I inquired.
“I’m really, really sorry, but… Can you please shelter us?” Willis asked.
“What happened exactly?”
Upon hearing my words, Shera broke into tears. Watching her in distress, Willis spoke with a sad expression.
“The people from the capital… suddenly attacked us.”
“People from the capital?”
“They claim that touching us, the catfolk, will cause humans to contract an incurable disease. So… they demanded us to leave.”
Willis clenched his teeth in frustration. Shera, sobbing, pleaded with me, “This is too much! It’s just too much! Until now, there’s never been anyone who caught such a disease from our shop! Moreover, we’re not cat people; we’re genuine catfolk! Everyone is misunderstanding us! It’s just too much!”
I managed to calm Shera down and let them into the mansion. Then, Willis began recounting a story that left us speechless.
As usual, they opened their shop, but that day, the number of customers was unusually low. Suddenly, in the afternoon, a group of men stormed into the shop, shouting angrily. They accused the catfolk of spreading the incurable disease and producing it in their shop, demanding that they leave immediately.
Willis tried to reason with them, but the men were relentless. Eventually, they sought refuge in an upstairs room, leaving the shop in the hands of human men. However, not long after, soldiers from the capital’s defense force arrived, stating that they would detain Willis and the others. Unable to comply, after a heated argument, they were forcefully expelled from the shop by the soldiers.
They decided to seek shelter in my mansion. On their way here, they faced avoidance and even had stones thrown at them by people in the capital. I was left in utter disbelief.
“For now, you all can stay here for a while. Tomorrow, I’ll go see His Majesty about this. It’s best for you to stay here,” I suggested.
“Master… We’re truly… sorry,” Willis said, unable to hold back his tears. His wife and children comforted him, while the other catfolk looked on with curious expressions. We felt overwhelmed with sympathy for them.
We provided them with meals and accommodated each catfolk in the rooms of Pelis, Felis, Luara, Shidii, and Matocal. As for Willis and the other male catfolk, they were given the empty birthing room to rest.
The next morning, I promptly headed to the imperial castle to meet with His Majesty.
“Your Majesty… What is the meaning of all this?” I asked.
“Two days ago, a bishop from the Crimeana faith came to see me,” His Majesty replied.
“You don’t mean to say, Your Majesty, that you believe what the Crimeana faith is claiming?”
His Majesty closed his eyes and pressed his temples with his fingers. After a moment of silence, he spoke solemnly.
“The Crimeana faith is the state religion of our country. Moreover, it was a direct request from the Pope, who is also our king. I cannot easily refuse such a request.”
“Do you truly believe, Your Majesty, that the beastmen are the source of the incurable disease?”
“…I don’t know. I really don’t know. However, the Pope’s request came with research findings that are said to be the best in the world. I cannot simply dismiss it.”
“In that case, does Your Majesty plan to capture the beastmen and send them to the capital of Crimeana?”
“That is… something that troubles me greatly. I would prefer not to do so. But…”
“Why not issue an imperial decree to prohibit violence and exclusion against the beastmen for a while?”
“That won’t work. The request from the Pope is based on legitimate research results. If we act in a way that contradicts the request, the empire will be seen as an enemy of Crimeana. In that case, the empire will be facing the entire world in battle. Moreover, the state religion of our Hideita Empire is the Crimeana faith. Not only common citizens but also nobles and military personnel are devout followers. If we go against Crimeana, the faithful may rebel against us immediately, and the empire will collapse. It’s difficult for me as well. I want to help the beastmen. After all, Lord Linos’s wife is also a beastman. I want to find a solution, but… I apologize. For now, I can’t find any means. At the very least, I will delay giving the order for as long as possible… It’s the only option I have right now.”
His Majesty closed his eyes, creasing his forehead deeply as he looked up at the sky. I couldn’t say anything and had no choice but to leave the room.
After leaving the imperial castle, I immediately teleported to Galby. Before heading to the capital in the morning, I had sent a letter to General Carius, expressing my desire to meet with him. So far, there had been no response from the general. As I waited in my room for a while, to my surprise, General Carius himself came to Garby.
“I apologize, General, for the trouble. You didn’t have to come all the way here…” I said, feeling embarrassed.
“No, Agarta is practically the suzerain state of the empire now. When the king summons you, no other matter should take precedence. Don’t worry about it,” General Carius replied.
“Well then, General, let’s get straight to the matter about the Crimeana faith…”
“Ah, they have reached the capital too. For now, we have no room to entertain such matters. We must focus all our efforts on rebuilding our national strength,” General Carius responded. “However, they are using the Pope’s direct request as a shield and won’t budge from their aggressive stance. Well, the people from that country have always been assertive; it’s not something new.”
He chuckled wryly.
“To be honest, General, what do you think? I just can’t bring myself to believe that the beastmen are the source of the incurable disease,” I expressed my doubts.
“Well, considering one of the Agarta king’s wives is a beastman, I can understand your sentiments,” General Carius replied.
“Then, General, do you also think that we shouldn’t treat the beastmen the same way as Crimeana?”
“No, I don’t think that way. I’ve been on the battlefield for decades, and there haven’t been any major outbreaks of diseases like Kirisrei, Gaisha, or Luroans in the empire in recent years. I remember there were only a few patients each year. However, among the troops of the empire, there are also beastmen who are currently the target, but as far as I recall, none of them have fallen ill with such a disease. Neither have their families. But…”
“But what?”
“The most prestigious medical research institute in the world has confirmed it. There must be some underlying cause after all.”
“Then, General, should we also…”
“I would like to find a solution as well, but for now, there’s no way to proceed. If the beastmen were to disappear, it would delay the recovery of our national strength. It’s a headache of a problem…”
In the end, the conversation with General Carius yielded no results.
And so, trapped from all sides, time passed by fruitlessly…
Leave a Comment / Reincarnation into a barrier master / By IX
Three days had passed since the envoy from the Crimeana faith arrived. Ultimately, I couldn’t find any solution to the situation. The release of the criminal slaves, which I had thought would be simple, didn’t go well at all. I called the slave traders and asked them, but they claimed they didn’t have the authority to grant the release of criminal slaves, and they didn’t know how to go about it either.
Moreover, there was no progress regarding the matter of the beastmen. In the capital city of Agarta, there were not only dog and cat beastmen but also a small number of wolf beastmen. However, whenever I observed them, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the beastmen couldn’t be the carriers of the incurable disease.
Desperately seeking help, I even asked the goddess, but she too didn’t know any means to free the criminal slaves or the sources of the infections. Seeing my evident disappointment, Sandiyu offered to investigate, but she warned me that it would still take some time.
As of now, there haven’t been any significant disruptions among the people in the capital since I haven’t revealed anything. While Mei firmly believed that the beastmen were undoubtedly the cause of the epidemic, deep down, I had a vague feeling that it might not be the case.
Furthermore, when I tried to investigate, I found that the Crimeana faith was a much more formidable adversary than I had initially thought. This religion had followers all around the world, and there were many countries that worshiped it on a national level. Moreover, their bishops possessed the ability to lift the “curse” on humans and could use Level 3 healing magic akin to that of doctors, responsible for preserving people’s lives. It was also them who established the system of criminal slavery.
Indeed, there had been a church in the Juka Kingdom, and Elsa-sama used to attend their worship, with me accompanying her on several occasions. However, fortunately (or unfortunately), after I caused chaos in Juka’s royal capital during the civil war, the bishops withdrew from the country, and currently, the influence of Crimeana faith in Agarta is not that strong. In fact, due to their escape when they were most needed, the impression of the people in Agarta toward them was rather negative.
Nevertheless, it was a fact that they had followers all over the world and were under the influence of this religion in several countries, including the Hideita Empire and the Lamaron Kingdom. If we mishandled the situation, even these countries could become enemies, putting me in a precarious position. Protecting just the capital city of Agarta would be challenging, let alone the entire country. In the worst-case scenario, countless innocent people would die, which needed to be avoided at all costs. Moreover, above all else, I couldn’t bear the thought of Mei losing her life. Preventing that was my utmost priority.
During these three days, I wrestled with these emotions and dilemmas.
As expected, on this day too, I returned to the imperial capital mansion without any answers. Sensing my mood, the usually lively atmosphere during meals was absent, and the air felt heavy.
At such a moment, there was a visitor at the mansion. It was Willis, the one I entrusted with Super Dake.
“Master, I have a favor to ask,” he said.
“What is it, Willis? Come in.”
I tried to invite Willis inside the mansion, but he hesitated to come in. Approaching him to see what was going on, I found Shera, Uriel, and several other catfolk standing just outside the entrance.
“What’s happening? What is this all about?” I inquired.
“I’m really, really sorry, but… Can you please shelter us?” Willis asked.
“What happened exactly?”
Upon hearing my words, Shera broke into tears. Watching her in distress, Willis spoke with a sad expression.
“The people from the capital… suddenly attacked us.”
“People from the capital?”
“They claim that touching us, the catfolk, will cause humans to contract an incurable disease. So… they demanded us to leave.”
Willis clenched his teeth in frustration. Shera, sobbing, pleaded with me, “This is too much! It’s just too much! Until now, there’s never been anyone who caught such a disease from our shop! Moreover, we’re not cat people; we’re genuine catfolk! Everyone is misunderstanding us! It’s just too much!”
I managed to calm Shera down and let them into the mansion. Then, Willis began recounting a story that left us speechless.
As usual, they opened their shop, but that day, the number of customers was unusually low. Suddenly, in the afternoon, a group of men stormed into the shop, shouting angrily. They accused the catfolk of spreading the incurable disease and producing it in their shop, demanding that they leave immediately.
Willis tried to reason with them, but the men were relentless. Eventually, they sought refuge in an upstairs room, leaving the shop in the hands of human men. However, not long after, soldiers from the capital’s defense force arrived, stating that they would detain Willis and the others. Unable to comply, after a heated argument, they were forcefully expelled from the shop by the soldiers.
They decided to seek shelter in my mansion. On their way here, they faced avoidance and even had stones thrown at them by people in the capital. I was left in utter disbelief.
“For now, you all can stay here for a while. Tomorrow, I’ll go see His Majesty about this. It’s best for you to stay here,” I suggested.
“Master… We’re truly… sorry,” Willis said, unable to hold back his tears. His wife and children comforted him, while the other catfolk looked on with curious expressions. We felt overwhelmed with sympathy for them.
We provided them with meals and accommodated each catfolk in the rooms of Pelis, Felis, Luara, Shidii, and Matocal. As for Willis and the other male catfolk, they were given the empty birthing room to rest.
The next morning, I promptly headed to the imperial castle to meet with His Majesty.
“Your Majesty… What is the meaning of all this?” I asked.
“Two days ago, a bishop from the Crimeana faith came to see me,” His Majesty replied.
“You don’t mean to say, Your Majesty, that you believe what the Crimeana faith is claiming?”
His Majesty closed his eyes and pressed his temples with his fingers. After a moment of silence, he spoke solemnly.
“The Crimeana faith is the state religion of our country. Moreover, it was a direct request from the Pope, who is also our king. I cannot easily refuse such a request.”
“Do you truly believe, Your Majesty, that the beastmen are the source of the incurable disease?”
“…I don’t know. I really don’t know. However, the Pope’s request came with research findings that are said to be the best in the world. I cannot simply dismiss it.”
“In that case, does Your Majesty plan to capture the beastmen and send them to the capital of Crimeana?”
“That is… something that troubles me greatly. I would prefer not to do so. But…”
“Why not issue an imperial decree to prohibit violence and exclusion against the beastmen for a while?”
“That won’t work. The request from the Pope is based on legitimate research results. If we act in a way that contradicts the request, the empire will be seen as an enemy of Crimeana. In that case, the empire will be facing the entire world in battle. Moreover, the state religion of our Hideita Empire is the Crimeana faith. Not only common citizens but also nobles and military personnel are devout followers. If we go against Crimeana, the faithful may rebel against us immediately, and the empire will collapse. It’s difficult for me as well. I want to help the beastmen. After all, Lord Linos’s wife is also a beastman. I want to find a solution, but… I apologize. For now, I can’t find any means. At the very least, I will delay giving the order for as long as possible… It’s the only option I have right now.”
His Majesty closed his eyes, creasing his forehead deeply as he looked up at the sky. I couldn’t say anything and had no choice but to leave the room.
After leaving the imperial castle, I immediately teleported to Galby. Before heading to the capital in the morning, I had sent a letter to General Carius, expressing my desire to meet with him. So far, there had been no response from the general. As I waited in my room for a while, to my surprise, General Carius himself came to Garby.
“I apologize, General, for the trouble. You didn’t have to come all the way here…” I said, feeling embarrassed.
“No, Agarta is practically the suzerain state of the empire now. When the king summons you, no other matter should take precedence. Don’t worry about it,” General Carius replied.
“Well then, General, let’s get straight to the matter about the Crimeana faith…”
“Ah, they have reached the capital too. For now, we have no room to entertain such matters. We must focus all our efforts on rebuilding our national strength,” General Carius responded. “However, they are using the Pope’s direct request as a shield and won’t budge from their aggressive stance. Well, the people from that country have always been assertive; it’s not something new.”
He chuckled wryly.
“To be honest, General, what do you think? I just can’t bring myself to believe that the beastmen are the source of the incurable disease,” I expressed my doubts.
“Well, considering one of the Agarta king’s wives is a beastman, I can understand your sentiments,” General Carius replied.
“Then, General, do you also think that we shouldn’t treat the beastmen the same way as Crimeana?”
“No, I don’t think that way. I’ve been on the battlefield for decades, and there haven’t been any major outbreaks of diseases like Kirisrei, Gaisha, or Luroans in the empire in recent years. I remember there were only a few patients each year. However, among the troops of the empire, there are also beastmen who are currently the target, but as far as I recall, none of them have fallen ill with such a disease. Neither have their families. But…”
“But what?”
“The most prestigious medical research institute in the world has confirmed it. There must be some underlying cause after all.”
“Then, General, should we also…”
“I would like to find a solution as well, but for now, there’s no way to proceed. If the beastmen were to disappear, it would delay the recovery of our national strength. It’s a headache of a problem…”
In the end, the conversation with General Carius yielded no results.
And so, trapped from all sides, time passed by fruitlessly…
