Volume 8 Chapter 40 Refusal Means War
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
So there really was a retreat house deep inside the forest.
A garden open to sunlight, its ceiling woven from green leaves.
They called it a detached building, but it was just another part of the woods—strange and restless in atmosphere.
Two carefully crafted chairs of bamboo and wood stood with a round table between them.
Blue sky overhead, tall trees all around.
The place was clearly meant for meetings, set up so one could fully taste nature.
”Excuse me.”
A young girl arrived.
Long, soft-looking green hair.
Dark eyes, and a beauty too refined for normal folk.
Her clothes seemed plain, almost rural.
Yet the aura she carried was unmistakably mystical.
One look was enough to see she was Isabella’s daughter. A girl who deserved to be likened to a flower.
So this was face-showing. Likely the younger daughter. The eldest would usually be kept safe.
That woman… she really meant to send her daughter?
Unbelievable. Why go that far?
Negotiation was a battlefield of wits.
If the intent behind the other side’s demand couldn’t be read, it was dangerous. If it was a trap, the result could be fatal.
”Peace talks” didn’t mean the intent was truly friendly.
An offer of a princess as proof of peace.
That alone swelled Klock’s suspicion.
From his view, he wasn’t worth a princess.
He wasn’t an unparalleled beauty, nor a hero of great renown. He wasn’t rich enough to interest a foreign nation.
By all measures, he was just another man—with a lover at that.
Yet Queen Isabella had proposed a marriage alliance.
She wanted to tie him by offering her daughter.
There had to be a reason Klock didn’t know, but it remained utterly unclear.
An assassination plot? Spies? Unlikely.
It had to do with this constant talk of the Chosen Ones.
The Forestkin princess walked forward, quiet, perhaps trying to be considerate.
Klock pretended to be lost in thought and ignored her.
He couldn’t accept the offer. It would only anger Cianie.
The moment marriage was mentioned, he’d already imagined her murderous glare.
The conclusion was set from the start.
The only goal was to guide the talk toward a calm end.
The girl set cups on the table, poured a red-brown liquid.
Her movements were practiced, like she had trained in serving.
Klock braced for words—but none came.
She simply stood by, waiting.
Standing there, silently, until ignoring her became impossible.
Damn. This wasn’t his style. He had to at least talk.
All he needed was a stance: stall, hold the matter off.
Show willingness for alliance, stop short of marriage, and avoid Cianie’s wrath.
Yes. That was the plan. Peace for all.
”You’re Flavia, right?”
”Yes.”
”How old are you?”
”One hundred and thirty-two.”
Klock nearly spat.
That number was insane.
She looked younger than him by a fair margin.
Yet she had lived more than four times his years.
So the Forestkin really were a long-lived race.
”I am deeply honored to be entrusted with this role. I am unworthy, but I shall serve with all my heart.”
”…Huh?”
Flavia bowed deeply.
Not just polite—it was almost fealty.
”Wait. The marriage talk isn’t even decided yet—”
”Then… you do not accept peace?”
The way she said it made it sound like things had already been agreed.
Panic welled up fast.
”N-no, I mean… peace, sure, but the details are still in negotiation—”
”Then it is only natural for the royal house of the Void to show sincerity. This is a covenant between the Grand Cathedral and the Void, a pact between worlds. The Forestkin must give their utmost courtesy.”
Klock turned his face aside.
Yeah, I knew that… He acted like he understood, even while thinking furiously.
The Grand Cathedral and the Void. A covenant between worlds.
So that was it. That was the real angle.
All this Chosen Ones, Chain Binder talk—they weren’t calling him special personally.
They were treating the Chosen Ones as representatives of the Goddess.
”…Look, I don’t think the Goddess cares if you go that far.”
”Your concern is appreciated.”
He hadn’t meant it as concern.
He was saying: you don’t need to go this far.
”Of course, Goddess Teekua is merciful. But if we relied only on her kindness without showing sincerity, no one of my kin would accept it. The Fairies Clan, our neighbors, would condemn us as faithless.”
”…Ah. So, to your people.”
She meant it was a matter of national duty.
This diplomacy wasn’t just external—it was also about internal legitimacy.
If they didn’t show enough devotion, the clan itself would turn doubtful.
”Moreover, the Void is led chiefly by the Fairies Clan and the Forestkin. The Fairies insist strongly on friendship under the Grand Cathedral’s protection. They entrusted this meeting to us.”
Cold sweat ran down Klock’s back.
The Fairies and Forestkin were seeing this completely differently from him.
To them, this wasn’t just politics—it was diplomacy directly with the Goddess.
A world-shaking event. A once-in-a-lifetime gamble for the fate of their people.
Oh crap. Oh crap, oh crap. Calm down.
This was bad.
Klock had thought it meaningless—offering a daughter wouldn’t appease the Goddess.
But to them, the very act of offering her was the meaning.
To them, this was diplomacy both outward and inward, tied to the Goddess herself.
He had underestimated it.
This wasn’t casual politics. The responsibility carried here was crushing.
And the worst outcome for Klock was Cianie’s fury.
That was his safety card: if needed, he could refuse by saying he already had a lover.
He could turn it down any time.
For now, just listen, try to keep things smooth.
But if he refused, to the Forest Nation it would mean diplomatic failure.
Failure, in an affair they saw as diplomacy with the Goddess.
If the Void believed they had botched such talks—
Then Klock’s refusal might be seen as a catastrophic mistake committed by their royal house.
Klock couldn’t make sense of the Forestkin’s political structure, but if the current king could be cast down, the result might be brutal.
The Fairies Clan might also split from the Forestkin, cracks spreading across the Void itself.
At what level would chaos erupt if that happened?
”…Is something wrong?”
”…No, nothing.”
Wait. Was this really such a massive issue?
Had he just walked into something he should never have agreed to so casually?
No way—this was the worst kind of deadlock.
…Or was he just overthinking?
Then it struck him—why had the town been empty?
He had wondered earlier, but now it was obvious: they cleared it so no one would stare at him.
To keep even someone like him from feeling unwelcome, they had locked down the whole settlement.
They had moved the entire town across the Human Continent, with the queen herself acting as envoy, just to show utmost courtesy.
The highest display of welcome for someone like Klock.
And now, by having a princess personally serve him, they were showing obedience.
The intent was clear.
The Forestkin of the Void weren’t dealing with him as Klock.
They were demonstrating allegiance to the Grand Cathedral—to the Goddess—through him.
Klock himself didn’t matter.
The key was how they treated the Chosen Ones.
The princess was a hostage.
Or rather, a sacrifice of sorts—offered not at an altar, but through the Chosen Ones.
”—Ah.”
He froze so hard he even forgot to sweat.
Flavia gave a startled little cry.
He followed her gaze.
”—Brrruhh!!”
It was Stormhorn.
Klock couldn’t even speak. Of course—the queen had told him to wait here, because he was to meet this creature.
He scrambled to his feet.
”…Y-yo.”
Huge. Both the body and the antlers were absurdly huge.
Just a deer, and yet its sheer presence was terrifying.
Last night he had noticed its size, but with the darkness and chaos, he hadn’t had the time to process it.
This was a Phantasmal Beast.
Standing before it in full view, the thing’s very existence was overwhelming.
”Then, please excuse me.”
With that, Flavia withdrew.
The princess left the room with regal composure.
Klock wanted to scream—Don’t leave me alone with this monster!
Suzette! Meina! Where the hell are you?!
He half wanted to tell someone to pour the deer some tea.
But he couldn’t tear his eyes away.
His hand itched for Cianie’s knife—not to fight, but just to keep his nerves steady.
”…”
It stared at him.
Those round eyes fixed on him alone.
Up close, the face was almost cute.
For all the “Phantasmal Beast” title, if you ignored the size, it really was just a deer.
Klock stood stiff for a long while.
Stormhorn simply stayed there, staring back, sometimes tilting its head.
”…Huh?”
Something felt off.
This was supposed to be the Messenger of Paradise. Surely it had something to say.
But Stormhorn only stood still.
Klock scratched his cheek, waiting.
Eventually, the beast sank down and sat on the ground.
”Hey? Uh, what are you doing?”
Nothing.
No movement, no words.
Well, it was a deer. Maybe it couldn’t talk.
Normally deer didn’t talk at all—though some dragons could.
Maybe he had assumed wrong about this one.
Maybe this was the non-talking type of deer.
”…Then why did you even come here? Huh? You are a Phantasmal Beast, right?”
Stormhorn tilted its head, looked away, then glanced around—
”You came all this way, even with the queen arranging it… How did you even—hey! Stop eating grass!! Damn it, you really are a deer!!”
Bored, the beast had begun munching the grass at its feet.
Klock gaped.
The deer paused, looked him in the eye for two seconds, then went right back to chewing.
And so ended Klock’s first meeting with a Phantasmal Beast.
Without waiting for the queen, he slipped out of the forest and went home.
* * *
”Mother. How was the Chain Binder?”
A young woman with long green hair appeared, attended by a scribe and guards.
Isabella’s eldest daughter, Avery.
”He was astonishingly ordinary for a Human,” Isabella said.
”His magic was faint. His eyes were cautious, like a small wild animal. He carried no air of battle, yet he chewed carefully over each of my words, careful not to be caught, not to show a gap.”
She compared his bearing to Human nobles—showing no weakness of heart, though at first glance he seemed like a mere brigand.
Hearing this, Avery narrowed her eyes.
”I thought a Chosen One would be amazing.”
”Your recognition is correct. That one is not given strength, but destiny. He is unlike those who fight and conquer with might alone. His role is different.”
The two stepped outside. The once-silent town now bustled with life, as if time itself had resumed.
”Honestly, he didn’t seem like someone chosen by Teekua. He was weaker than me or Flavia.”
”Human strength is secondary. Warriors wield the blade, but a king leads people. The fact that he holds no great power is proof he is the first of the Chosen Ones.”
The sky shifted rapidly, as if the entire town was drifting to another land.
Clouds raced across the heavens, the light turning crimson in moments.
”I still cannot accept sending Flavia.”
”The Void supports the Grand Cathedral. Sending my daughter is proof of our will to Teekua. Even Paradise, once so hostile to Humans, has changed its stance. Primjune has already sent priests. Now that we’ve resolved ourselves, we cannot lag behind.”
”…Will I never see her again?”
”You need not worry. The recent oracle promised prosperity for the Void. If so, then surely Teekua has already seen that you will meet your sister again within the next three centuries.”
Flavia will suffer hardships. But that is the duty of royalty.
And the fate the clan must bear.
Notes:
• Cianie – A noble girl with a fluffy white and light blue dress, indicating her high status. She has a hesitant and flustered personality but is kind and courteous. Her relationship with Klock begins as an accidental encounter and develops into a romantic interest. She has a fiancé but expresses feelings for Klock, complicating their relationship.
• Goddess Teekua – The deity who saved Sylvia after her death and granted her rebirth as a hero.
• Suzette – The older maid from Viscount Fennec. The head maid at the Viscount Fennec’s villa. She is confident, clear-spoken, and professional.
• Meina – She is a golden-haired catgirl employee of the beastman (Larana the cat woman) Inn, appeared performing fellatio, desperate and tear-streaked, with an inexperienced yet earnest approach to her work.
• Primjune – She is one of the Four Heavenly Kings, appeared as a scaled and finned figure, known for executing the saint’s kidnapping plan.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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