Leave a Comment / Reincarnation into a barrier master / By IX
It was February, a month considered the most important in the Linos family because it was the birth month of their daughters. Eril, the eldest daughter born to Ricolette, celebrated her birthday on February 2nd, while Aliria, the second daughter born to Mei, had her birthday on February 28th. Moreover, it was their first birthday. As a result, Linos had been in high spirits for the past three days.
Humming a strange melody again, Linos, while working on something at the dining table. At his feet, a toddler was taking wobbly steps.
“Eril, Aliria.”
Calling his daughters’ names, Linos lifted them onto his lap.
“Eril, Aliria, don’t disturb Papa.”
“It’s okay, Rico. It’s not something urgent.”
“Well, but…”
Ignoring Rico’s concerns, Linos cuddled his two daughters. Recently, the two girls had started taking their first steps, and Linos couldn’t help but find them adorable. Lately, he couldn’t resist picking them up whenever they reached out to him.
“Linos… You might be spoiling them too much.”
“What are you saying, Rico? They’ll probably say ‘Daddy is annoying’ when they grow up anyway. Who knows how long they’ll let me carry them? Maybe they’ll start dating at five or something? If that happens… Wait, Eril is already engaged to His Highness Aroze, the king’s son. In that case, how many more times will I get to carry this child? When I think about it… I’ll carry her! As long as time and energy allow, I’ll carry her!”
Saying that, Linos left the dining area with the children in his arms.
“Linos…”
Muttering that, partly exasperated but also amused, Rico smiled as she watched him. Then, Linos suddenly returned to the dining area.
“Rico! Rico! Eril said something!”
“Oh, really…”
“Just now, she said, ‘Tousan’! Eril, say it again in front of Mama! Come on, come on!”
With a beaming smile, Linos encouraged Eril. Eril, on the other hand, looked blankly at Linos.
“There you go, Eril.”
“…Mama.”
“Huh?”
“Mama.”
“Well, Eril can talk to Mama now? How clever and smart you are!”
Rico beamed at Eril, who was in Linos’s arms.
“Linos, tomorrow is Eril’s birthday! Let’s celebrate in style! Tomorrow, I’ll put my heart into cooking the meal!”
“Oh, no, Rico… Tomorrow, it’s just… sukiyaki…”
“Leave it to me. In addition to sukiyaki, I’ll make plenty of other dishes! Peyris, Ferris, Luala, Sidi, Soleil, please come here for a moment!”
Seeing Rico’s enthusiasm, Linos, with a wry smile, said, “I never expected Rico to be more excited than me… And Eril is amazing. Speaking at the age of one is quite early, isn’t it? I wonder if Aliria will start talking soon too? Both of them are growing up so well… Hey, Rico, bringing out such a big pot, what are you planning to cook? This… Tomorrow, it might be better to invite not only Chuan and Roni but also Rafayens and Kunogen.”
Linos, holding Eril and Aliria, thought about the guests he would invite tomorrow.
—————
A grassy plain covered in a silvery world as far as the eye could see. In the midst of this landscape, a tent village had suddenly appeared. Two lodges stood at the center, surrounded by tents extending not only across the meadow but also into the woods beyond the river. The sight of thousands of tents lined up in the snow was somewhat surreal. Furthermore, in various places, buildings resembling lodges were under construction.
In one of the lodges at the center of this tent village, there was a heavy silence that had lingered for some time. Several bishops were seated around a table, and in the chair furthest back, there sat a young girl and a young boy. Their gaze was directed toward a man standing just at the entrance of the room. The man’s clothes were worn, his feet were caked in mud, and his face bore the marks of exhaustion.
“Why can’t the ships anchored off Galby come to Agarta? What’s going on?” These words were spoken by Vielle. Though she wore her usual smile, there was a hint of anger in her voice.
“We can’t make landfall at Galby. As a result, ships from the countries of Silenai, Narabutsu, Katowataro, Hoheins, Zakari, and Geiran have all temporarily withdrawn to their respective countries.”
“Why? Why are they pulling back without our orders?” Bishop Kohreshi interjected, swallowing hard.
“Galby experienced a flash flood. After that, the river swelled, making it impossible for us to navigate upstream. The lack of supplies from Galby is because of this. I came here from Lamaron, taking a long detour, but the Ilbeji River was also swollen, requiring significant effort to cross. Crossing that river with cargo laden with supplies is impossible. Furthermore, King Agarta has received another divine revelation…”
“A divine revelation?”
“It seems there was a divine revelation stating that we should not gather the faithful. Galby’s flash flood may have been a consequence of not heeding this revelation.”
Vielle’s face froze. Amidst this, Kassel spoke up, “Perhaps this country is still under the influence of the Great Demon King…”
Kassel’s suspicion was not unwarranted. In truth, the plans formulated by Vielle and the Crimeana Church had all been foiled, and they were currently in a situation with no viable options.
Initially, they had planned to establish a settlement near the capital of Agarta, where immigrants from the Crimeana Church would gather. Using overwhelming manpower, they would swiftly construct a city and showcase the strength of the Crimeana Church’s nation. Then, with abundant food supplies and ample funds, they would corner the city’s food market and create a temporary food shortage.
The Ilbeji River swells in spring, disrupting logistics in Agarta temporarily. Timing the procurement of food supplies for that moment, they intended to cause unease among the populace. Agarta’s citizens had experienced domination by the Great Demon King, gone through a civil war, and tasted the bitterness of those experiences. It was this vulnerability that the Church of Crimeana aimed to exploit. By addressing people’s anxieties and subsequently resolving them, they aimed to gain more followers. Moreover, they would offer significant support to their faithful. By doing so, they would pique the interest of Agarta’s people in the Crimeana Church. Following that, they would proceed to increase the number of believers across Agarta. Ultimately, they planned to take over Agarta.
In a sense, this was a standard approach for the Crimeana Church. Exploiting people’s anxieties and resolving them to gain more followers was their modus operandi. They did not shy away from causing disasters or disturbances themselves if needed. Thanks to this strategy, the Crimeana Church had been successfully increasing its followers and had grown into a nation with bases all over the world.
However, Agarta was different. When they initially embarked on proselytizing in Agarta’s capital, the Crimeana Church was completely disregarded. Agarta had ample food, a powerful army, abundant resources, and, above all, its citizens had unwavering trust in their king, Linos. Despite the bishops’ attempts to sow discord through fearmongering about the Great Demon King, plagues, and various other concerns, the people always responded with the same answers:
“We have Linos-sama, so we’re fine.”
“Everyone in this country is a good person, so we’re fine.”
At one point, a bishop even received a severe reprimand while trying to lecture a group of Agartan citizens, despite being dressed in just a loincloth and a half-coat in the midst of winter.
“You idiot! Believe in your own god and don’t try to lure people into your faith! Don’t you have any shame?”
The fact that the large quantity of supplies on the ships anchored off Galby hadn’t arrived was a grim reality. Moreover, they had received a divine revelation from the God of Crimeana, stating that they should not gather the faithful. Vielle and the Crimeana people were, at present, unaware of the hardships that awaited them in the future.
Leave a Comment / Reincarnation into a barrier master / By IX
It was February, a month considered the most important in the Linos family because it was the birth month of their daughters. Eril, the eldest daughter born to Ricolette, celebrated her birthday on February 2nd, while Aliria, the second daughter born to Mei, had her birthday on February 28th. Moreover, it was their first birthday. As a result, Linos had been in high spirits for the past three days.
Humming a strange melody again, Linos, while working on something at the dining table. At his feet, a toddler was taking wobbly steps.
“Eril, Aliria.”
Calling his daughters’ names, Linos lifted them onto his lap.
“Eril, Aliria, don’t disturb Papa.”
“It’s okay, Rico. It’s not something urgent.”
“Well, but…”
Ignoring Rico’s concerns, Linos cuddled his two daughters. Recently, the two girls had started taking their first steps, and Linos couldn’t help but find them adorable. Lately, he couldn’t resist picking them up whenever they reached out to him.
“Linos… You might be spoiling them too much.”
“What are you saying, Rico? They’ll probably say ‘Daddy is annoying’ when they grow up anyway. Who knows how long they’ll let me carry them? Maybe they’ll start dating at five or something? If that happens… Wait, Eril is already engaged to His Highness Aroze, the king’s son. In that case, how many more times will I get to carry this child? When I think about it… I’ll carry her! As long as time and energy allow, I’ll carry her!”
Saying that, Linos left the dining area with the children in his arms.
“Linos…”
Muttering that, partly exasperated but also amused, Rico smiled as she watched him. Then, Linos suddenly returned to the dining area.
“Rico! Rico! Eril said something!”
“Oh, really…”
“Just now, she said, ‘Tousan’! Eril, say it again in front of Mama! Come on, come on!”
With a beaming smile, Linos encouraged Eril. Eril, on the other hand, looked blankly at Linos.
“There you go, Eril.”
“…Mama.”
“Huh?”
“Mama.”
“Well, Eril can talk to Mama now? How clever and smart you are!”
Rico beamed at Eril, who was in Linos’s arms.
“Linos, tomorrow is Eril’s birthday! Let’s celebrate in style! Tomorrow, I’ll put my heart into cooking the meal!”
“Oh, no, Rico… Tomorrow, it’s just… sukiyaki…”
“Leave it to me. In addition to sukiyaki, I’ll make plenty of other dishes! Peyris, Ferris, Luala, Sidi, Soleil, please come here for a moment!”
Seeing Rico’s enthusiasm, Linos, with a wry smile, said, “I never expected Rico to be more excited than me… And Eril is amazing. Speaking at the age of one is quite early, isn’t it? I wonder if Aliria will start talking soon too? Both of them are growing up so well… Hey, Rico, bringing out such a big pot, what are you planning to cook? This… Tomorrow, it might be better to invite not only Chuan and Roni but also Rafayens and Kunogen.”
Linos, holding Eril and Aliria, thought about the guests he would invite tomorrow.
—————
A grassy plain covered in a silvery world as far as the eye could see. In the midst of this landscape, a tent village had suddenly appeared. Two lodges stood at the center, surrounded by tents extending not only across the meadow but also into the woods beyond the river. The sight of thousands of tents lined up in the snow was somewhat surreal. Furthermore, in various places, buildings resembling lodges were under construction.
In one of the lodges at the center of this tent village, there was a heavy silence that had lingered for some time. Several bishops were seated around a table, and in the chair furthest back, there sat a young girl and a young boy. Their gaze was directed toward a man standing just at the entrance of the room. The man’s clothes were worn, his feet were caked in mud, and his face bore the marks of exhaustion.
“Why can’t the ships anchored off Galby come to Agarta? What’s going on?” These words were spoken by Vielle. Though she wore her usual smile, there was a hint of anger in her voice.
“We can’t make landfall at Galby. As a result, ships from the countries of Silenai, Narabutsu, Katowataro, Hoheins, Zakari, and Geiran have all temporarily withdrawn to their respective countries.”
“Why? Why are they pulling back without our orders?” Bishop Kohreshi interjected, swallowing hard.
“Galby experienced a flash flood. After that, the river swelled, making it impossible for us to navigate upstream. The lack of supplies from Galby is because of this. I came here from Lamaron, taking a long detour, but the Ilbeji River was also swollen, requiring significant effort to cross. Crossing that river with cargo laden with supplies is impossible. Furthermore, King Agarta has received another divine revelation…”
“A divine revelation?”
“It seems there was a divine revelation stating that we should not gather the faithful. Galby’s flash flood may have been a consequence of not heeding this revelation.”
Vielle’s face froze. Amidst this, Kassel spoke up, “Perhaps this country is still under the influence of the Great Demon King…”
Kassel’s suspicion was not unwarranted. In truth, the plans formulated by Vielle and the Crimeana Church had all been foiled, and they were currently in a situation with no viable options.
Initially, they had planned to establish a settlement near the capital of Agarta, where immigrants from the Crimeana Church would gather. Using overwhelming manpower, they would swiftly construct a city and showcase the strength of the Crimeana Church’s nation. Then, with abundant food supplies and ample funds, they would corner the city’s food market and create a temporary food shortage.
The Ilbeji River swells in spring, disrupting logistics in Agarta temporarily. Timing the procurement of food supplies for that moment, they intended to cause unease among the populace. Agarta’s citizens had experienced domination by the Great Demon King, gone through a civil war, and tasted the bitterness of those experiences. It was this vulnerability that the Church of Crimeana aimed to exploit. By addressing people’s anxieties and subsequently resolving them, they aimed to gain more followers. Moreover, they would offer significant support to their faithful. By doing so, they would pique the interest of Agarta’s people in the Crimeana Church. Following that, they would proceed to increase the number of believers across Agarta. Ultimately, they planned to take over Agarta.
In a sense, this was a standard approach for the Crimeana Church. Exploiting people’s anxieties and resolving them to gain more followers was their modus operandi. They did not shy away from causing disasters or disturbances themselves if needed. Thanks to this strategy, the Crimeana Church had been successfully increasing its followers and had grown into a nation with bases all over the world.
However, Agarta was different. When they initially embarked on proselytizing in Agarta’s capital, the Crimeana Church was completely disregarded. Agarta had ample food, a powerful army, abundant resources, and, above all, its citizens had unwavering trust in their king, Linos. Despite the bishops’ attempts to sow discord through fearmongering about the Great Demon King, plagues, and various other concerns, the people always responded with the same answers:
“We have Linos-sama, so we’re fine.”
“Everyone in this country is a good person, so we’re fine.”
At one point, a bishop even received a severe reprimand while trying to lecture a group of Agartan citizens, despite being dressed in just a loincloth and a half-coat in the midst of winter.
“You idiot! Believe in your own god and don’t try to lure people into your faith! Don’t you have any shame?”
The fact that the large quantity of supplies on the ships anchored off Galby hadn’t arrived was a grim reality. Moreover, they had received a divine revelation from the God of Crimeana, stating that they should not gather the faithful. Vielle and the Crimeana people were, at present, unaware of the hardships that awaited them in the future.
