Chapter 187 The Man and Woman Who Arrived at the Holy City
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
I received a letter of introduction addressed to the Ludo Merchant Guild¹ from Lambdaine-san. At the same time, she told me exactly where the guild was located.
* * *
Going out of the mansion, I had Ami-chan use her power to make us invisible.
While we were hidden, Aris transformed into the Magical Girl Lace Agate. Held by the two Magical Girls, our journey through the sky began.
”The view is amazing as always…” I said.
”It really is! You can’t see this kind of sight unless you’re a Magical Girl…!” Emerald replied.
Actually, I heard that Emerald is the best at flying among all the Magical Girls. Well, she was the first one after all…
Sardonyx can fly at a good speed, but her height is low. Also, Reika or Celestite is good at it, but she has trouble flying for a long time because of her Magic Power amount.
Since Reika stays in Japan, the chance for us to be together drops… It is hard for her to get the benefit of growing her max Magic Power from finishing inside.
We flew through the sky for a while. After passing many towns, we saw a spot where three city roads met at one point.
”Wow… I can see a few people walking down there,” I said.
”That place is where the city roads for the Empire, the Kingdom, and the Republic all cross,” Emerald explained. “People from the Holy City always pass through here when they go to other countries, so there are many kinds of people.”
”I see…”
”It only became part of the Empire’s city roads a few years ago, though. Another country used to manage the road to the north… but the Empire took it over.”
I remembered that the Empire has been expanding its land lately. With their huge power and the strongest Beastman Knight Order on the continent, things look hard for the Kingdom even with a Hero.
”If the Kingdom loses to the Empire, won’t the Republic and the Holy City be in trouble too? They might think the Empire will attack them next,” I asked.
”So you think all countries should help the Kingdom? That is a normal way to think. That is why the Empire waited until they were ready before starting the war,” Emerald replied.
”Eh…?”
While I was thinking about what that meant, Aris continued for her.
”We talked about this before, but the Republic and the Empire are friendly. Also, the Republic loves making money, right? The Empire has done a lot of good business with them.”
Basically, the Empire is one of the Republic’s most important customers. Their business is bigger than the Kingdom’s, so the Republic cannot easily cut them off.
I guess the Empire knows exactly how the business-minded people of the Republic think.
”When money ties get strong, some Council Members and nobles get closer to the Empire’s nobles too. The leaders of the Republic probably think the Empire won’t actually start a war with them,” Aris said.
”Hmm…”
We won’t know if that is true until it happens. But the Republic must be very confident in its own power. On this continent, there are three main types of money. The Republic makes one of them, the Balz currency². They must be very sure of their money and their soldiers.
Also, with that money, they could work together with the Holy City. Unless the Empire has secretly taken over the Holy City, it would be hard for the Empire to start a direct war. Thinking that way, the Kingdom is doing a very good job. I don’t know if that is because of Viorga’s skill, though.
”But if the city roads of these three countries—or four, including the Holy City—cross like this, don’t they fight?” I asked.
”That is a fair worry. But the Holy City does not let any country’s soldiers enter this area,” Emerald said.
”The Holy City does that…?”
”To put it simply, any fighting or starting a fight is strictly forbidden here. If they break the rule, that country cannot trade with the Holy City anymore.”
Emerald said that the Holy City’s power is very strong in this area. Even if other countries manage the city roads, the Holy City made rules to stop useless fighting. If a country wants to attack the Holy City, they have to move an army on these roads. The city is saying they won’t allow any soldiers near here for any reason.
(So the Empire cannot go around the Kingdom to attack the Republic using these roads…)
Also, I heard the Holy City’s soldiers are very strong. For the Empire, if they go around the Kingdom, the Holy City might hit them from the side. They must take the Kingdom before they can move toward the Republic. Or they could attack the Holy City first, but taking the Kingdom probably costs less time and money…
I don’t know why I am assuming the Empire will attack the Republic, though.
* * *
As the sun was setting, a giant lake appeared in front of us.
”Wow… amazing. A lake that big…” I said.
”From the sky, you can see how hard it is to attack the Holy City…” Aris said.
It was true. Behind the lake, I could see a giant mountain. A huge town spreads from the bottom to the middle of the mountain—that is the Holy City Ragnarond³.
Forests and deep valleys are all around the mountain, so the lake is the only way in. You have to use a boat to cross. The lake is so big that you cannot swim across it. I cannot imagine a big army reaching the city.
Moving people and things is hard, but every country wants to trade there. That is because the Holy City has many things you cannot find anywhere else.
Below us, some big ships were moving on the lake. Usually, you cannot enter the Holy City unless you follow the rules and use a boat. But we just fly over. They probably never expected guests coming from the sky…
”Heh… it’s my first time seeing the Holy City town, but it’s more like a big city than I thought,” I said.
The streets of the Holy City were finally clear. It goes from the bottom to the middle of the mountain, so it’s much wider than the Republic’s capital. Also, most houses were made of stone. The roads in the town were made of stone too. Maybe there is a place nearby to get good stone.
Also, the color is very white. It looks like a very clean town.
”Normally, only people with permission can go to the middle part. Only the fifteen noble families or very rich people can live there,” Emerald explained.
”Ah… I see. The buildings there look much better and bigger than the ones at the bottom.”
We finally reached the Holy City. Since we were invisible, we flew around to look at different places.
”There are many inns for high nobles from other countries too. Nobles from somewhere are always staying here,” Emerald added.
Every country sends nobles to live here. When important people visit, these nobles work hard to talk to the Holy City and find rooms. Higher nobles bring many followers, so they need a lot of rooms. They spend a lot of money in the city. When royalty visits, the money they spend is huge.
That’s a great business! They can get foreign money from everywhere ssu!
The town at the bottom is also very big. It’s already bigger than the Republic’s capital. With the forests, valleys, and lake acting as walls, they can easily make the town bigger as more people come. I can see small villages and farms in the forest too. All of that is part of the Holy City.
”Hmm. At this size, I need to put a Wedge⁴ in two places, the bottom and the middle ssu~” Ami-chan said.
”Is that so?”
”It’s better to make both easy to reach ssu. I have plenty of power right now ssu~”
Right. She gets Ego Points⁵ from the female knights every day, and she has one more Slave of Love⁶… Ami-chan is getting her power back.
After Ami-chan placed the Wedges, we checked the Ludo Merchant Guild. It was in the lower town, and we found it quickly because of Lambdaine-san’s help.
The sun had already set, so we returned to the Dominion⁷ using teleportation.
—
Summary:
The protagonist and his group fly to the Holy City Ragnarond while invisible. They discuss the politics between the Empire, Republic, and Kingdom during the flight. They arrive at the city, which is a natural fortress protected by a giant lake. Ami-chan places teleportation markers before they return to their home base.
—
Character Insight:
The protagonist is impressed by the Holy City’s business model of collecting foreign currency. Ami-chan shows she is becoming stronger due to the increasing number of ‘Slave of Love’ followers and daily Ego Point collection.
—
Behind the Scene:
This chapter establishes the Holy City as a neutral but powerful economic hub that even the Empire hesitates to provoke directly.
—
T/L:
Notes:
• Lambdaine – A powerful Councilor of the Shital Republic and a successful merchant who built his fortune from nothing. He is the grandfather of Iris and Aris.
• Ami – A palm-sized fairy-like being from a world separate from both Earth and the isekai realm. She has light blue hair tied in a ponytail, mischievous blue eyes, and tiny wings that flutter behind her. Her outfit consists of a provocative high-cut leotard and a short jacket that looks like a miniskirt from the back, leaving her legs bare. Despite her playful appearance, she is actively searching for a contractor who can protect her from dangerous pursuers in exchange for the powers she offers.
• Lace Agate – Magical girl Aris with elf-like long ears, 144 cm tall, A-cup, and a white-and-blue theme. She wears a leotard-style outfit with an open-front skirt cloth. Her pale blue hair has long bangs covering her left eye, shoulder-length back, blue highlights, and a ribboned braid on the right side.
• Emerald – Magical Girl version of Cleonora. Smaller, side-tailed, green-and-white mini-skirted girl.
• Celestite – Magical Girl of Reika. AA cup, ice vibe. White and sky-blue hues with high-leg leotard, paired with charming knee-high socks and gloves. Wore a flowing cape. Hair had turned a brilliant sky-blue with streaks of white, styled into a tidy, inner-curl bob.
• Reika – A beautiful high school kendo student who is engaged to ‘The Handsome’ for what seems like familial or arranged reasons. She is a ‘guarded’ beauty. Sha has long black hair, intense eyes, and wearing kendo uniform.
• Sard – Magical Girl version of Liliarette. A-cup, wolf cut hair, class guardian knight. Yellowish-red vibe.
• Viorga – The First Princess of the Emmeld Kingdom. She is a beautiful, young woman with long golden hair and sharp blue eyes, always dressed in an elaborate crimson and gold royal gown. She is utterly ruthless, viewing all people—including the summoned Heroes and her own family—as disposable assets in her political games. Looks like Aileen Lauren from certain series.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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