Renea Divine Light Country.
The newly birthed nation located in the southern part of the Proper Continent was, by extension, geographically connected to the Dark Continent.
This naturally meant easy exchange with a Dark Continent nation, and proportionally, problems concerning territory.
Especially in a situation like this, where various intentions clashed, it was an inevitable conclusion that unexpected events would manifest.
"This is unacceptable! Bring forth someone of higher rank! I cannot converse with you!"
"This... this is quite the predicament..."
The senior Holy Knight leading the detachment was utterly exasperated by the overly assertive person from Fonkavun standing before him.
When had it all begun?
The memory was still fresh: not long after the tumultuous day of the new nation's birth, petitions had poured in like mountains from villages across the governed territory.
Among those, the most urgent was concerning an unknown monster that had appeared in the border region with the Dark Continent.
What was the first petition, likely? It must have been from itinerant merchants traveling between the Dark Continent and the Proper Continent.
The content was this: requesting Holy Knight subjugation due to the discovery of an unknown magical beast near the Dark Continent.
The senior Holy Knight remembered how terribly panicked he had been, because a small village was located not far from the discovery site, and the report hinted—though with low certainty—of an extremely malevolent presence.
(With the threat of magical beasts still looming, won't this just consume precious time if left as is!)
With the upper echelons immobilized by the chaos of nation-building, he had frantically rallied fellow Holy Knights and subordinate soldiers to form a subjugation force. But what they saw there surpassed imagination.
Bizarre monsters that seemed to pollute the mind just by looking at them.
Huge, ferocious, deviating from the characteristics of any known lifeform.
These abominations, as if welling forth from an otherworld inscribed in scripture, harbored danger beyond their appearance, forcing them to undertake the subjugation with resolve for death.
It was in this context that they happened upon a group claiming to be from Fonkavun, who were also there to subjugate monsters for the sake of pacifying the region.
"I'm saying again! If our goals are the same, cooperation is better! Why can't you understand that? If you don't get reasonable soon, I'll get angry too!"
"No, I already feel rather angry...!"
"Of course! You're impossible!"
What a pain.
That was the unanimous thought of Renea's knights.
They had come here for the peace of the people. Their objective from the start was to exterminate unknown monsters, and whatever preparations they had managed to piece together were all in service to that goal.
Therefore, this political situation was entirely unexpected, and if possible, they would rather avoid having to make any judgments.
The Holy Kingdom of Renea was a theocratic state that had branched off from the Holy Kingdom of Quolia. The foundation of the state was a legal system based on scripture in all matters, and since the people of Fonkavun held a unique religious view that worshipped ancestral spirits, interaction with them necessarily required a great deal of caution.
"At any rate, let's at least have an unofficial meeting with someone in charge! If this goes on, both your country and mine will be in terrible trouble. Ah, and I'd like to become friends with the Saint, so please take care of me regarding the Saint as well!"
His companions began to murmur, and he quickly sent a signal to settle them down.
It was unclear what he was thinking, but to presume to name the Saint, who received direct divine grace from God, was arrogant beyond all measure.
His companions' anger was justified, but to make a move here would be no different from a bad move. Even harsh words and accusations should be held back.
They too had a sense of crisis, and that was understandable to a certain extent.
Recalling the bat-winged snake monster they had fought before, the man who led this squad took a small, deep breath to regain his composure.
They were not so incompetent as to cause needless strife and forget their mission. At least, that was what they believed.
Though, there was also the fact that for some reason, he felt a certain goodwill toward this youth who dared to voice his opinions so candidly.
"The Saint does not show herself so readily. Moreover, as this is currently the most critical period, it would also be difficult for her to come. I believe you understand, but frankly, there is no time. We need to resolve this situation ourselves."
"Mmm, you're right! I understand! Well then, you'll do for an agreement between Quolia and Fonkavun. Let's do it now! Right here!"
"Now, that is certainly beyond my authority! Such a thing could not possibly be allowed! And again, not Quolia – we are the Holy Kingdom of Renea!"
"Is that so? Either way, I have proper authority, so it's fine. In fact, it's a hassle, so let's just officially establish diplomatic relations here. We've talked this much, so that should be enough, right?"
"No, that's impossible! It might be fine for you, but we are the ones with the problem!"
"Whoa—"
Cutting off the boy's words before the conversation veered off wildly.
Though they thought it the nonsense of a child, leaving it unaddressed felt too dangerous.
Would such a child truly possess that authority? If by any chance this was the overstep of some rich man's idle son, it would damage their own authority as well.
Such self-preserving thoughts flickered through his mind, but fortunately, he had neither the evidence nor the right to affirm either way.
Of course, even if they shelved the diplomatic response, the problem—the unknown monster species—remained a reality.
"There shouldn't be any problem, I think. ...But isn't this, honestly, bad? These monsters are stronger than we imagined. We managed to take them down, but it looks like there's a decent number of them. If any stragglers made it to Quolia's streets, it would be a disaster..."
"Not Quolia, but Renea. However, you are indeed correct. Hmmm..."
The holy knights listening to the boy—Pepe—involuntarily turned their gaze to their comrades and subordinates.
The mid-to-high-ranking holy knights with high combat capabilities were fine, but the junior knights and soldiers were showing severe exhaustion.
Fortunately, no fatalities or severe injuries had occurred yet, but if this situation continued, casualties were inevitable.
Although the connection point to the Dark Continent was geographically a narrow chokepoint, it was still far too vast to cover with their current forces alone.
How much of a relief it would be if they could borrow the strength of the Fonkavun.
The mysterious weapons they possessed were, in a word, bizarre.
They were like staves, but from their tips, small stone-like projectiles were fired with a bursting sound.
Were they some kind of magical tool? Yet all dozens of members of the Fonkavun unit were equipped with them.
Given their power and high proficiency, one would assume they were an elite or experimental unit, but the fact that the boy who was overly familiar led this unit gave a stronger impression of incongruity.
The captain, a senior holy knight, was at a loss for an answer.
It would be easy to dismiss them here and chase them off.
But this nation, which had just taken its first breath under new leadership, was still exposed to great instability.
Even with a holy maiden and divine protection, the problems before them would not vanish overnight.
At the very least, relations with their former homeland, the nation of Quolia, would be strained, and concerns over their relationship with El-Nar were also mounting.
Furthermore, the upheaval of the nation's founding had muddled the chain of command from above.
Directive orders signed by the holy maiden and those signed by the knight-commander arrived separately, and their contents were diametrically opposed.
They themselves had acted somewhat forcibly, coming to this land fully prepared to face punishment.
That did not mean they wished to add to their own culpability, and in the current state, there was no leeway in any part of their country to provoke incidents with other nations.
Unlike when they were a great empire, even a nation deemed culturally inferior on the Dark Continent could not be ignored for certain reasons.
"For now, why don't we cooperate on monster extermination? I'm being completely quiet, so they won't find out..."
For some reason, the boy whispered in a low voice, as if plotting mischief.
Whether drawn by his words or simply by coincidence, his companions also began to voice their opinions in hushed tones.
"Captain... it would be best to cooperate, even temporarily. Prioritizing the elimination of monsters and preventing further victims comes first."
"Absolutely not! For a holy knight, the model of the faithful, to commit an overreach of authority—that, no matter how urgent, cannot be permitted any further! At the very least, we require the permission of a priest with national defense authority."
"More pressing is the weapons they are using. That level of power cannot be overlooked. I formally request an immediate investigation!"
Three different viewpoints from three individuals.
No, there were as many differing opinions as there were knights in their company.
As a hastily assembled unit, their command structure was lacking.
The holy knights were all formidable warriors, but their experience was more in individual missions, making them ill-suited for situations requiring sudden political judgment like this.
Of course, the senior holy knight serving as their commander here was no exception.
It was unknown if their opponents were merely a nobleman's idle son. Yet the disciplined ranks of the Fonkavun army, maintaining perfect formation and standing guard behind him while awaiting orders, did not match the evaluation of being culturally inferior.
In this case, it was impossible to tell which was the truly civilized nation.
Even as he recognized it wasn't praiseworthy, the man's discriminatory thoughts emerged so naturally precisely because he was cornered.
(*Damn it, why do monsters appear now? If only I had another month, I could have dealt with them easily...*)
(*Should we refuse formal alliance but act under a mutual support agreement if problems arise? Dispersing our forces hurts, but if we focus solely on defending the village outskirts and patrolling the surrounding areas, it might be possible.*)
(*But their weapons are the issue. What principle do they operate on? Is it some unique magic technology? I've certainly never heard of it in Quolia or El-Naar. Even Holy Knights might stand a chance, but ordinary soldiers would be utterly helpless. I need immediate investigation.*)
(*Iridescent... I need an iridescent answer—something ambiguous that can smooth over this situation and somehow defeat the monsters. Is there, is there anything like that?*)
Ultimately, the decision to withhold a response and postpone the issue seemed imminent.
He wanted to establish some policy quickly and focus his efforts first on eliminating the monsters.
But—his judgment was a little too slow.
"Enemy attack!!"
"Wha—!?"
A report rang out from the Fonkavun soldiers on guard.
Because everyone had been silent, lost in thought, the voice carried clearly to all present, snapping their consciousness to the new reality.
From the reported direction, the same unknown creature they'd seen several times before was charging toward them.
"Damn it! All hands, draw swords! Mid-tier and upper-tier Holy Knights to the front! Show them the divine radiance!"
"Whoa! Whoa! All hands, battle stations! Make sure you don't fire on the Quolia folks!"
"We are not Quolia! We are the Godlight Nation of Renea!"
At the signal of an eerie, blood-curdling scream, as if hearts were being seized, the knights of the light nation and the warriors of the multi-species nation locked onto their common target.
Thus, the connection zone between the Proper Continent and the Dark Continent descended into utter chaos.
It was caused by creatures, created as TRPG characters and summoned as the Dark Continent's containment, now broken free from their master's oversight and control.
Chaos bred chaos, and given the urgency of the situation, a joint military operation was hastily adopted from that point on.
The holy knights simply fulfill their duty. Their mission is to be the sword and shield for the people.
At their core, they remain warriors, no matter what.
That is precisely why they cannot be condemned.
That amid this chaos, the Fonkavun forces would advance into the territory of former Quolia's southern province—namely, Renea's domain—and then brazenly settle themselves there, pretending all the while to know nothing of it... such a calculated move is beyond what anyone could have reasonably anticipated.