Leave a Comment / Reincarnation into a barrier master / By IX
On a cold winter day with snowflakes falling, despite the chill, one of the guest rooms in Agarta’s palace had its windows wide open. There stood a man by the window, King Linos himself. He was gazing intently at the world of silver outside while eating something. Behind Linos, a figure appeared.
“…Aren’t you cold?”
The one speaking was Matokal. Linos glanced at Matokal for a moment but continued eating as if nothing had changed.
“I have a protective barrier in place, so it’s not a problem. I’ve adjusted it to maintain the ideal temperature inside the barrier. Oh, by the way, did I set up a barrier for Mat?”
“You did set up a barrier to prevent attacks, but as for temperature…”
“Ah, I see. Then I’ll reconfigure the barrier for you… There you go.”
“It’s… warm… Your barriers are quite handy, Linos-sama… Being around you, I feel like I’m getting weaker.”
Linos chuckled as he glanced at Matokal, who was still bewildered. Then he reached for something in a box on the table and put it into his mouth.
At that moment, several Fairy Dragons appeared outside the window. Linos stood by the window where the cold wind was blowing, facing them.
“I see. Have they started docking in this cold wind?”
“Yes. People are disembarking from the ships one after another.”
“People from Hideita are also heading this way. They should arrive at the Ilbeji River in about a day.”
“People from the Niza Principality are on the move as well. It’ll take a few more days for them to reach us.”
“I see. You’ve done well. Enjoy your reward, eat up.”
Saying this, I tossed some pastries from a shop that a girl had brought to the mouths of the Fairy Dragons. They wagged their tails and disappeared. After making sure of that, I closed the window and turned towards Matokal.
“Mat, deploy our forces at the border with Niza. It seems that followers of Crimeana are coming.”
“Are they coming from Niza as well? Should we just turn them away at the border?”
“No, let them land. We can’t make Paradise without a certain number of people, including those girls.”
I grinned.
“And Mat, summon Kunogen. Do it quickly.”
“Understood.”
After a while, accompanied by Matokal, Kunogen arrived.
“Kunogen, head to Galby immediately. It seems that the Crimeana’s ships that were anchored offshore have started docking.”
“Understood. I’ll go and prevent their landing.”
“No, it’s fine to let them land.”
“What do you mean?”
“Let them land, but forbid them from heading to Agarta. Keep them in Galby. And delay their departure for Agarta by three days. If they protest, tell them it’s a divine revelation from Crimeana. If they still try to leave forcefully, let them go. Just make sure to delay them for three days. That’s all. If they make any trouble, just say it’s divine punishment.”
“Haha, are you planning something again? Understood. I’ll do as you say.”
“Sorry about this, Kunogen. And Mat, don’t push too hard. Mat, once you confirm that the Crimeana people have safely entered Agarta, come back immediately.”
“Understood. Just keep an eye on them, right?”
“Yes. However, if they harm our troops or act insolent, don’t hesitate to send them back. In battle, they won’t fear death. Be prepared for that. I hope it won’t come to that, but… can you handle it?”
“Leave it to me. I’ll keep them in line while bringing them to Agarta. No problem.”
“Good. Be careful in the cold. If you come back, I’ll warm you up again.”
“I… I’m not cold, thanks to the barrier you set up earlier, Linos-sama. I’ll be fine.”
Matokal said this and left the room. Kunogen watched the scene and gave a wry smile.
“Her face turned all red.”
“Mat has no immunity to this kind of talk. She can’t help himself.”
“If you overdo it, Ricolette-sama might get angry, you know?”
“Oh, that’s no good. I’ll restrain myself to avoid that.”
The two of us burst into laughter. Then Kunogen transferred to the city of Galby.
“Well then… I should go too.”
After bidding farewell to Kunogen, I stretched and left the office.
———–
In the evening of that day, the port of Galby was in chaos. There were skirmishes between the hundreds of believers who had disembarked from the docking ships and the soldiers of Agarta.
“Who are you people? Why are you blocking our path?”
“We came here to make Agarta a paradise! Why are you obstructing us?”
“We are the followers of Crimeana-sama. If you hinder our progress, divine punishment will befall you!”
They hurled insults at the soldiers, but the Agarta soldiers didn’t rise to the provocation. They all maintained their composure and focused on pushing back the advancing Crimeana followers. Some of the followers managed to slip through the gaps, but the soldiers showed no interest and continued to push them back impassively.
At that moment, a few bishops stepped forward from the crowd, trying to separate the two sides. They raised their voices in anger.
“I am Carli, the High Priest of Crimeana. Bring forth your commander! By whose order are you doing this? Agarta’s King has permitted our entry! Yet you obstruct our movement! Bring forth your commander! Commander… Ugh!”
Carli, the self-proclaimed High Priest, had his chest grabbed by a hand that reached out from among the soldiers. He was pulled in without resistance and struggled to find the person gripping his collar.
“…I’m Kunogen, the Deputy Commander of the Agarta army.”
The voice came from above. Carli raised his head in surprise and saw a kindly-looking man of small stature but with a sturdy build.
“Are you the commander? What is the meaning of this…?”
“We received a divine revelation.”
“Huh?”
“Our King, Linos, received a divine revelation from Crimeana-sama. I can’t confirm its authenticity, though. I’m not a follower of Crimeana, after all. Our King had a dream like this. Crimeana-sama said, ‘Do not gather the followers, do not gather…’ in such a sad voice, with tears in her eyes… Or so it seemed. Anyway, Crimeana-sama said, ‘Do not gather the followers.'”
Kunogen nodded earnestly as he spoke, as if to counsel Carli.
“However, more than ten ships have already gathered here in Galby. If we continue like this, it will be seen as defying the will of Crimeana-sama, won’t it?”
“Ideally, we would have informed each ship individually, but time is of the essence. Therefore, our King, Linos, has ordered that for the next three days, all followers of Crimeana should evacuate via the ships. That’s why we are preventing you from leaving Galby.”
“Evacuate? What do you mean?”
“Well, there’s also a possibility of divine punishment, you know?”
“Divine punishment? What are you talking about? We are devout followers of the Crimeana religion. To Crimeana-sama, our goddess, we are like her own children. Why would punishment befall us?”
Carli laughed heartily. He suddenly heard an unfamiliar sound coming from somewhere. The sound gradually grew louder.
“W-What is this sound?”
“Haha, divine punishment might be coming sooner than expected.”
Kunogen grinned as he looked up at the sky. With a resentful expression, Carli stared back. At that moment, he widened his eyes and froze.
What Carli saw was a massive flash flood rushing down from upstream of the Ilbeji River, swallowing up the Crimeana followers who had broken through the Agarta soldiers’ blockade.
Leave a Comment / Reincarnation into a barrier master / By IX
On a cold winter day with snowflakes falling, despite the chill, one of the guest rooms in Agarta’s palace had its windows wide open. There stood a man by the window, King Linos himself. He was gazing intently at the world of silver outside while eating something. Behind Linos, a figure appeared.
“…Aren’t you cold?”
The one speaking was Matokal. Linos glanced at Matokal for a moment but continued eating as if nothing had changed.
“I have a protective barrier in place, so it’s not a problem. I’ve adjusted it to maintain the ideal temperature inside the barrier. Oh, by the way, did I set up a barrier for Mat?”
“You did set up a barrier to prevent attacks, but as for temperature…”
“Ah, I see. Then I’ll reconfigure the barrier for you… There you go.”
“It’s… warm… Your barriers are quite handy, Linos-sama… Being around you, I feel like I’m getting weaker.”
Linos chuckled as he glanced at Matokal, who was still bewildered. Then he reached for something in a box on the table and put it into his mouth.
At that moment, several Fairy Dragons appeared outside the window. Linos stood by the window where the cold wind was blowing, facing them.
“I see. Have they started docking in this cold wind?”
“Yes. People are disembarking from the ships one after another.”
“People from Hideita are also heading this way. They should arrive at the Ilbeji River in about a day.”
“People from the Niza Principality are on the move as well. It’ll take a few more days for them to reach us.”
“I see. You’ve done well. Enjoy your reward, eat up.”
Saying this, I tossed some pastries from a shop that a girl had brought to the mouths of the Fairy Dragons. They wagged their tails and disappeared. After making sure of that, I closed the window and turned towards Matokal.
“Mat, deploy our forces at the border with Niza. It seems that followers of Crimeana are coming.”
“Are they coming from Niza as well? Should we just turn them away at the border?”
“No, let them land. We can’t make Paradise without a certain number of people, including those girls.”
I grinned.
“And Mat, summon Kunogen. Do it quickly.”
“Understood.”
After a while, accompanied by Matokal, Kunogen arrived.
“Kunogen, head to Galby immediately. It seems that the Crimeana’s ships that were anchored offshore have started docking.”
“Understood. I’ll go and prevent their landing.”
“No, it’s fine to let them land.”
“What do you mean?”
“Let them land, but forbid them from heading to Agarta. Keep them in Galby. And delay their departure for Agarta by three days. If they protest, tell them it’s a divine revelation from Crimeana. If they still try to leave forcefully, let them go. Just make sure to delay them for three days. That’s all. If they make any trouble, just say it’s divine punishment.”
“Haha, are you planning something again? Understood. I’ll do as you say.”
“Sorry about this, Kunogen. And Mat, don’t push too hard. Mat, once you confirm that the Crimeana people have safely entered Agarta, come back immediately.”
“Understood. Just keep an eye on them, right?”
“Yes. However, if they harm our troops or act insolent, don’t hesitate to send them back. In battle, they won’t fear death. Be prepared for that. I hope it won’t come to that, but… can you handle it?”
“Leave it to me. I’ll keep them in line while bringing them to Agarta. No problem.”
“Good. Be careful in the cold. If you come back, I’ll warm you up again.”
“I… I’m not cold, thanks to the barrier you set up earlier, Linos-sama. I’ll be fine.”
Matokal said this and left the room. Kunogen watched the scene and gave a wry smile.
“Her face turned all red.”
“Mat has no immunity to this kind of talk. She can’t help himself.”
“If you overdo it, Ricolette-sama might get angry, you know?”
“Oh, that’s no good. I’ll restrain myself to avoid that.”
The two of us burst into laughter. Then Kunogen transferred to the city of Galby.
“Well then… I should go too.”
After bidding farewell to Kunogen, I stretched and left the office.
———–
In the evening of that day, the port of Galby was in chaos. There were skirmishes between the hundreds of believers who had disembarked from the docking ships and the soldiers of Agarta.
“Who are you people? Why are you blocking our path?”
“We came here to make Agarta a paradise! Why are you obstructing us?”
“We are the followers of Crimeana-sama. If you hinder our progress, divine punishment will befall you!”
They hurled insults at the soldiers, but the Agarta soldiers didn’t rise to the provocation. They all maintained their composure and focused on pushing back the advancing Crimeana followers. Some of the followers managed to slip through the gaps, but the soldiers showed no interest and continued to push them back impassively.
At that moment, a few bishops stepped forward from the crowd, trying to separate the two sides. They raised their voices in anger.
“I am Carli, the High Priest of Crimeana. Bring forth your commander! By whose order are you doing this? Agarta’s King has permitted our entry! Yet you obstruct our movement! Bring forth your commander! Commander… Ugh!”
Carli, the self-proclaimed High Priest, had his chest grabbed by a hand that reached out from among the soldiers. He was pulled in without resistance and struggled to find the person gripping his collar.
“…I’m Kunogen, the Deputy Commander of the Agarta army.”
The voice came from above. Carli raised his head in surprise and saw a kindly-looking man of small stature but with a sturdy build.
“Are you the commander? What is the meaning of this…?”
“We received a divine revelation.”
“Huh?”
“Our King, Linos, received a divine revelation from Crimeana-sama. I can’t confirm its authenticity, though. I’m not a follower of Crimeana, after all. Our King had a dream like this. Crimeana-sama said, ‘Do not gather the followers, do not gather…’ in such a sad voice, with tears in her eyes… Or so it seemed. Anyway, Crimeana-sama said, ‘Do not gather the followers.'”
Kunogen nodded earnestly as he spoke, as if to counsel Carli.
“However, more than ten ships have already gathered here in Galby. If we continue like this, it will be seen as defying the will of Crimeana-sama, won’t it?”
“Ideally, we would have informed each ship individually, but time is of the essence. Therefore, our King, Linos, has ordered that for the next three days, all followers of Crimeana should evacuate via the ships. That’s why we are preventing you from leaving Galby.”
“Evacuate? What do you mean?”
“Well, there’s also a possibility of divine punishment, you know?”
“Divine punishment? What are you talking about? We are devout followers of the Crimeana religion. To Crimeana-sama, our goddess, we are like her own children. Why would punishment befall us?”
Carli laughed heartily. He suddenly heard an unfamiliar sound coming from somewhere. The sound gradually grew louder.
“W-What is this sound?”
“Haha, divine punishment might be coming sooner than expected.”
Kunogen grinned as he looked up at the sky. With a resentful expression, Carli stared back. At that moment, he widened his eyes and froze.
What Carli saw was a massive flash flood rushing down from upstream of the Ilbeji River, swallowing up the Crimeana followers who had broken through the Agarta soldiers’ blockade.
