It is now February. This month is regarded as the most important month of the year for the Linos family because it is the month of the birth of their daughters. Since Eryl, the eldest daughter with Likolette, was born on February 2nd, and Alilia, the second daughter with May, was born on February 28th, which was also her first birthday, the Linos' tension had been a bit strange for about three days.
Once again, Linos is writing at the dining room table, humming a strange melody and seemingly in a good mood. A waddling child clings to his feet.
"Erylou. Aliria."
Calling his daughters' names, Linos picks them up in his lap.
"Eryl, Aelyria. You mustn't disturb daddy."
"It's okay, Rico. It's okay. It's nothing urgent.
"Well, but..."
Despite Rico's concern, Linos picks up his two daughters in his arms and soothes them. Lately, both girls have been moving from holding on to their feet to walking with a gait. Linos loves his daughters. Lately he has been holding his children in his arms when he comes close to them and touches them.
"Linos... You shouldn't spoil them too much..."
"What are you talking about, Rico? When they grow up they'll say they don't like you because you stink. You don't know how long they'll let you hold them. If you're not careful, you might have a girlfriend by the time you're five years old. And when that happens... No, wait, Eryl's already engaged to His Majesty's son, His Highness the Arrows. How many more times can I hold him? And when I think about it... I'm gonna hold her! I'm going to hold her as long as time and energy permit!"
With that, Linos left the dining room with the child in his arms.
"Linos..."
Rico mutters, half-heartedly, but smiles at the sight of her. Then he turns his eyes to the paper Linos had written on. There was a menu for Eryl and Alyria's birthdays.
"...Who will eat all this food? Four Carthusian Charolais? What are they going to make?"
While Rico is thinking about this, the dining room door suddenly opens and Linos enters.
"Rico! Rico! Eryl just spoke!"
"Well..."
"I just said, 'Toussaint'! Eril, say it one more time in front of Mom! Come on, come on!"
With a big smile on his face, Linos is urging Eryl on. Eryl, on the other hand, looks at Linos with a blank stare.
"There you go, Eryl."
"...as it is."
"What?"
"Mom."
"Well, Eryl, you can talk to your mother now, can't you? That's great! You're so smart!"
Rico throws a big smile at Eryl, who is in Linos' arms.
"Linos, tomorrow is Eryl's birthday! Let's celebrate in a big way! Tomorrow, I'll do my best to cook a meal for you!"
Leave it to me. I'll make more than just Sukiyaki! Peiris! Ferris! Luara! Sidi! Soleil! Come here for a minute!"
Seeing Rico getting excited by himself, Linos smiles bitterly.
"I didn't expect Rico to be even more excited than I am. Eryl is amazing, by the way. Isn't he speaking at the age of one? I wonder if Alyria will be speaking soon? They're both growing up so well. Hey Rico, what are you going to cook in that big pot? This is... I think we should invite not only Ziwan, Roni and the others, but also Lafayence and Knogen and the others tomorrow."
Linos held Eryl and Allyria in his arms as he thought about the members he would invite tomorrow.
The meadow was covered with a silver world. A tent village has suddenly appeared in the middle of it. Two lodges stand at the center, surrounded by tents not only in the meadow, but also in the forest beyond the river. The sight of thousands of tents lined up in the snow was a strange one. In addition, buildings resembling similar lodges are being constructed here and there.
In one of the rooms of the lodge in the center of the tent city, a heavy silence has been prevailing since a few minutes ago. At a table, several bishops are sitting in a row, and a girl and a boy are sitting in the chair at the far end of the table. Their eyes are fixed on a man standing just at the entrance of the room. The man's clothes were worn out, his feet were covered with mud, and his face showed the color of fatigue.
"I can't believe that those who are anchored off the coast of Garbee can't come to Agartha..." he said. What does that mean?"
It was Vieille who spoke the words. He was smiling as usual, but there was a hint of anger in his voice.
We can't land in Garbee. Therefore, the ships from Sil'enai, Naraybutz, Katwatarlo, Höheins, Zakari, and Geylang have been ordered to return to their home countries.
The eyes of Vieille and the other bishops widened. One of them, Bishop Koffresi, swallowed his spit and opened his mouth.
Why? Why are you pulling them out without our order?
"There was a flash flood in Garbee. After that, the water in the river rose so high that we could no longer come up the river. This is the reason why supplies from Garbee have not been able to reach us. I had to make a big detour from Ramalon to get here, but the Irbezi was swollen and I had to spend a lot of effort to cross the river. It is impossible for believers to cross that river. And even more so for a cart full of supplies to cross.... Besides, the oracle has come again to King Agartha..."
"An oracle?"
It seems that there was an oracle that said we must not gather a congregation. We believe that the flash floods in Garbee were caused by a failure to heed the oracle."
Vieille's face is frozen. Then Cassel speaks up.
"I think this country is still under the influence of the Great Demon King..."
No wonder Cassel thinks so. As a matter of fact, all the plans that Vieille and the other Crimiana cultists had initially made had been foiled, and they were now in a situation where there was nothing they could do.
They had originally planned to establish a settlement near the capital of Agartha, where the immigrants from the Church of Crimiana would gather. With an overwhelming amount of material resources, they quickly built a city in a few days, demonstrating the national power of the Church of Crimiana. And with the abundance of food and money, they were going to buy up all the food in the city of Agartha and create a temporary food shortage situation.
The Irbezi River rises in spring. If this happens, even temporarily, the distribution of food in Agartha will be delayed. If they could take advantage of this time to buy up all the food, they could cause anxiety among the people of the city, even if only temporarily. The people of Agartha have experienced the hardships of the civil war once ruled by the Great Demon Lord. The Church will provide food aid to the people of Agartha, taking advantage of their fear that such a disaster may happen again. The Church of God provides especially generous support to the believers in order to raise the people's interest in the Church of Crimiana. After that, if they propagate the religion of Klimiana, they will be able to gain many followers. The plan was to increase the number of believers throughout the land of Agartha and eventually take over Agartha.
This was, in a sense, the usual method of Crimiana. By taking advantage of people's insecurities and solving them, they increase the number of believers. He was willing to cause disasters and disturbances for this purpose. Thanks to this, the cult of Klimiana steadily increased its followers and grew into a nation with bases all over the world.
Agartha, however, was different. In the city of Agartha, where they first went to proselytize, the Krimiana cult was not taken seriously. They had enough food, a strong army, and plenty of money. Above all, the people of the city trusted their king, Linos. Whenever the bishop stirred up various fears, such as a great demon king or a plague, the people always responded in this way.
"Don't worry, Linos is here.
"They are all good people in this country, so don't worry.
One bishop, for example, was blackmailed in the middle of winter by a man wearing a loincloth and a half-cloth, who was horribly underdressed.
"You idiot! Believe what you want, but don't lure people to your god! Have you no sense of discipline? You!"
The fact that a large amount of supplies on board a ship anchored off the coast of Garbee never arrived. Furthermore, Rinos heard an oracle from Lady Klimiana that he must not gather a congregation. What awaits Vieille and the people of Klimiana is an event that could be described as a disaster, but Vieille and the others do not know it yet...