TFR 404

Ho__y Maiden Bias [Part 1]

"...err... Let me explain it one more time, okay?"

Emma was troubled by all the twinkling worshiping gazes she received from the old men and uncles and attempted to escape from those eyes.

"It's fine, it's fine. We totally understand that Emma-chan is the Holy Maiden." The King laughed in gratification.

"No, uh? Your Majesty? Like I said earlier... Those burns were just an illusion the monsters showed you, and I didn't cure... them..."

At the campsite, which had returned to its previous peaceful state, the old men, who had miraculously survived, were kneeling in a circle around Emma in worship.

Emma couldn't take back her lies and no matter what she said to the old men, it couldn't get through them. It was naive of her to think they would understand that everything was just sophistry if she explained the situation in detail.

Nonetheless, she did explain it to them thoroughly. Thanks to that, the King, Prince, Marion, Arthur, teachers, knights, and hunters now understood the characteristics of Rainbow Raccoons.

Despite that…

The main point that Emma being the Holy Maiden was a lie just couldn't come across no matter how many times Emma explained it.

The King, in particular, stubbornly refused to listen. After all, old men who had started rolling closer to her on their own would no longer be capable of stopping.

"Emma-chan. Holy Maidens, you see? It's more of a concept. So many people believe from the bottom of their hearts that Emma-chan is the Holy Maiden. You couldn't overturn it anymore. No matter how much the person herself refutes it☆"

The King uttered grateful words with a wink, to which the knights and hunters (mainly old men) who were also present nodded with a dead-serious face.

"??? Y-Your Majesty!? If the person herself said that she's not the Holy Maiden, then of course she's not, right?! In the first place, are you sure concepts work like that? Hey, Nii-sama, William! Say something... Help me out..."

Emma felt a wave of panic as she realized that the lie she had told so casually couldn't be undone, so she asked her brothers for help.

"Emma... You... You've overdone it."

"Nee-sama, please look at His Majesty's clear eyes. Don't you see that he is already looking at you with such unclouded eyes?"

This was Emma, who had unconsciously gathered so many believers in the academy and high society, after all. So even if she claimed it was untrue, her unintentional actions had already made her seem like a Holy Maiden.

There was no turning back.

Emma's Old Man Hoi Hoi had lit the hearts of the old men and uncles with fire that was stronger than the Rainbow Raccoon's hallucinations and could burn longer than the Fire Fox's flames.

◆◆◆

Around the same time, the Imperial Army, which had plotted an invasion, successfully entered the Kingdom using a magic circle hidden deep in the forest, just as they had planned. The Imperial Army would invade the Kingdom swiftly and efficiently by leaving everything that might become obstacles during their attack to the monster (Fire Fox). While this tactic was sly and dirty, it proved to be an effective strategy that would keep the Empire's side safe from casualties.

...Or it was supposed to be an effective strategy.

However, in reality, things turned out to be much more complicated, and their plan was more of a hopeful theory than a guaranteed success.

There was no such thing as a safe war. The title, "The World's First War of Aggression" might sound impressive, but when it came to "firsts," none of them happened without accidents. A problem already occurred when they first released the Fire Fox, in which not a few soldiers were now on the list of casualties.

Even though they went on to invade the Kingdom after rallying themselves, the Empire's once-proud army was now moving forward hesitantly, with low morale, through the forest of the Barony of Skyte, which was the destination of the teleportation magic circle.

"Damn it, everything's burnt black."

"H-HOT! Oi, careful! It's still smoking here and there."

"I bear no resentment toward the Kingdom, but alas...... I have never seen a sight as cruel as this."

The Skyte forest that the Imperial Army encountered was shockingly terrible; even the hardest hearts would feel upset by it. Everything in plain sight was a burnt field. Not even the shadow of the former lush forest could be seen. Some places here and there were still smoking, and the heat was so unbearable that they could feel the temperature through their soles every step they took. The army turned sluggish in their march upon taking in the tragic spectacle.

...that being said, in reality, nothing was burning.