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Chapter 551: Blatant Siding

It was at twilight that the war chariot Roel was riding on arrived at the heart of the Mother Goddess’ influence and he beheld one of the greatest constructions of this era.

It was a lofty skyscraper emanating a gentle glow that mirrored the silver moon’s luminescence. It was such a tall structure that Roel could only see its midsection even though they were in the sky themselves. Surrounding this majestic tower was a vast city that extended to the horizon.

“Lord Roel, we’re arriving at our destination soon.”

“Mm.”

Roel quietly nodded, making sure to conceal his astonishment. Adola took out a magic tool to establish communication with the tower.

Moonsoul Tower—this was what the followers of the Mother Goddess called the majestic tower. The name originated from how the tower would glow faintly whenever the silver moon rose to the sky, and rumors had it that the tower itself was blessed by the ancestors of all races.

There was no basis to the rumors, but it would be foolish to think that the Moonsoul Tower was nothing but a beautiful structure. From the moment Roel entered the city, he experienced a familiar tingling sensation.

His Crown’s Stones were pulsating out of joy, as if they had found their place of belonging.

This reaction… Are they nearby too?

Roel narrowed his golden eyes as he naturally thought about the Six Calamities. The knowledge that the Six Calamities also existed in this era gave an insight into the current situation between the two warring parties.

The Savior had many powerful races pledging loyalty to Him, such as the Giants, the Wingmen, the Dragons, and perhaps even the supposedly neutral Angels too. To be fair, the Mother Goddess had an impressive force under Her too, but there was no doubt that She was the weaker one in terms of overall military prowess.

However, it would be a different story if the Six Calamities were factored into the picture too.

The Six Calamities individually possessed abilities surpassing those of the gods, and they were likely to be stronger than ever in this era, when the Mother Goddess was still active and at Her peak. Moreover, the Mother Goddess was on closer terms with the demonic beasts and the evil gods. Even the Savior would have to think twice before making a move against such a force.

Roel was unable to stay calm, fearing that the Calamities would detect the Crown’s Stones and go after him. Adola noticed his grim expression and was confused for a brief moment before realization struck her.

“Milord, you must have noticed the auras of our God’s Envoys. There is no need to be alarmed. They won’t act out of place under our Mother Goddess’ watch,” Adola assured him.

“Is that so…” Roel nodded contemplatively.

The fact that Adola mentioned the God’s Envoys on her own accord suggested that information about the Six Calamities wasn’t confidential, meaning that the Savior and His faction likely knew about them too. If that was the case…

“Adola, your clan seems to have a special tie with the God’s Envoys. Do they fall under your clan’s jurisdiction?” Roel asked in a casual tone, resting his head on his arm.

“…”

Adola’s body stiffened up. She was hesitant to answer the question.

By the rules, she was not supposed to share specific details about the God’s Envoys, especially given how important they were to the Mother Goddess’ faction. However, the person posing the question was none other than Kingmaker Roel. That complicated the situation.

Roel’s importance surpassed even that of the God’s Envoys.

Furthermore, she could tell that even though Roel and the Mother Goddess’ relationship had reached a freezing point, the two of them still cared for each other. The Mother Goddess had been keeping an eye out for him even after they had parted ways, whereas Roel’s decision to not retaliate despite the act of insolence committed against him reflected his wish to reconcile.

Thinking that she had seen through everything, Adola’s guard slowly lowered.

“That’s… not really so. Our clan is responsible for taking care of the God’s Envoys on behalf of our Mother Goddess while She is busy with other matters.”

“I see. Isn’t that dangerous? What if an accident occurs?”

“That’s unlikely to happen. The Mother Goddess has bestowed Her authority upon us. The God’s Envoys won’t hurt us as long as we don\'t direct aggression toward them.”

“That’s good to hear. I doubt that anyone would be so foolish as to harm the God’s Envoys. Those beings know not of death, right?”

“That’s right. The God’s Envoys will never die as long as the radiance of our Mother Goddess shines upon the world,” Adola replied with a confident smile as she looked at the brilliant silver moon in the sky.

Roel slowly narrowed his eyes as he confirmed the conditions to vanquish the Six Calamities. As he acquired this crucial piece of information, the pegasi let out a resounding neigh, and the war chariot made its way toward a landing platform outside the Moonsoul Tower.

Fully armored guards stood in two orderly rows outside the tower as they respectfully awaited the arrival of the Kingmaker. Just like that, Roel’s days of imprisonment commenced.

…

Imprisonment.

This word alluded to danger, evoking thoughts of a sealed room guarded by wardens that kept a watchful eye on the prisoner. That wasn’t the case at all for Roel.

Instead of being locked inside a stifling room inside the Moonsoul Tower, he was brought to a room that was even larger than the presidential suites in his previous world, one that took up an entire half of a tower’s floor. It had all sorts of amenities, ranging from a comfortable bedroom to even a private garden to alleviate his boredom.

Furthermore, Roel was granted full authority over the personnel he wanted to serve him. Just to be clear, this wasn’t a superficial authority where he had to choose from a limited list of people to decide whom he wanted to watch him; if he wanted to, he could completely do away with the personnel and stay in the room by himself.

He couldn’t believe that a prisoner like him could be entitled to such generosity. This showed that the Mother Goddess had softened Her attitude toward him.

In the end, he still chose to keep a few servants with him, including Adola. He wanted to receive updates about the situation outside, and this room was indeed too big for him to stay in alone.

Roel lay down on the sofa and leisurely scanned the room. The excessive usage of jewels in every nook and cranny clearly reflected the preference of the high elves. Now that he was finally out of danger and had some time to himself, he breathed a sigh of relief.

At the peak of the Moonsoul Tower, a black-haired, golden-eyed woman seated atop a throne was eyeing the distant scenery with a worried frown.

“Pardon my insolence, O great Mother Goddess, but the decision You made last night was at odds with our plan. I humbly beseech You to reconsider Your decision,” a middle-aged high elf standing behind Her said with a severe expression.

Behind him, the upper echelons of the other races silently nodded, expressing their approval of the middle-aged high elf’s words.

Micher Sofiat—this was the name of the middle-aged high elf.

He was the chief of the High Elves, who had pledged their undying loyalty to the Mother Goddess. The absolute nature of their Loyal Origin Attribute made them Her most trusted subjects, granting them a high position in her faction. Due to that, he naturally took on the important responsibility of advising Her whenever they had to make important decisions.

That being said, the High Elves would usually unconditionally obey the Mother Goddess’ orders. In fact, this was the first time that the devout Micher had voiced such strong opposition to Her decision, and he was justified in doing so too.

The Mother Goddess was acting on her feelings.

Far from what it seemed, the Mother Goddess’ overwhelming power wasn’t the only reason they were able to successfully intercept Roel last night. In truth, Micher’s intelligence department was the one who had noticed an anomaly in the Kingmaker’s movements and had swiftly dispatched troops to stall him till nightfall.

Prior to the operation, they had already agreed on how they would deal with the Kingmaker, but the Mother Goddess ended up acting on Her own feelings.

Micher had always been deeply concerned about the special place the Kingmaker had in the Mother Goddess’ heart. All of the clues he had uncovered made him more certain than ever that the Kingmaker was going to side with the Savior, but even so, he withheld the information from the Mother Goddess because he knew that it was futile.

Ordinary people couldn’t begin to imagine just how forgiving the Mother Goddess was toward the Kingmaker, to the point where Micher knew that he couldn’t carelessly speak up against the Kingmaker. He would need something more absolute to prompt the Mother Goddess to get rid of that threat, and he believed that it wouldn’t be long before that day came.

He was right.

The previous evening, the Mother Goddess flew into an unprecedented rage when She confirmed that the Kingmaker had betrayed Her. She toughened Her heart and approved of Micher and the others’ proposal to eliminate the unstable variable that could influence the course of the war.

Yet, a night later, Micher received an unbelievable piece of news.

Not only had the Mother Goddess not killed the Kingmaker, but She had even brought him back to the Moonsoul Tower to take care of him.

What the…

Words couldn’t begin to describe just how dumbfounded Micher and the race leaders were. They voiced strong opposition toward the Mother Goddess’ course of action, but for some reason, the latter refused to change Her mind.

In the dimly-lit audience room, Micher shared his point of view and even broke down the pros and cons of this matter. Yet, the Mother Goddess continued to quietly look out of the window, making it unclear whether She was paying attention or not. It was a long time before She finally answered.

“He didn’t retaliate last night, be it against the imprisonment or My seal. Maybe… it was just a misunderstanding.”

“…”

Micher and the others couldn’t believe what they were hearing. They had been absolutely certain that the Mother Goddess would have clashed with the Kingmaker last night, judging by their personalities and their different stances. It was for that very reason they had chosen not to tag along, for they wouldn’t have been able to interfere in a battle of that caliber.

It was hard to imagine that the Kingmaker would surrender just like that.

However, after careful thought, Micher’s expression turned grim once more. The fishy situation only made him even more vigilant.

“O great Mother Goddess, I suspect that his surrender might have been a strategic move for survival rather than a symbol of submission. Furthermore, it doesn’t matter whether he retaliated or not when it is already certain that he has turned his back on us! For the sake of this holy war, we can’t allow such an unstable variable to continue existing!”

Micher’s impassioned words won the approval of the other race leaders. Not even the Mother Goddess was unable to remain unfazed. She had to admit that Micher’s words made sense.

As powerful as the Kingmaker was, he didn’t stand a chance against the Mother Goddess at all, whether he decided to fight or to run. It was possible that Roel’s submission was just a strategic maneuver to survive the crisis.

The Mother Goddess understood that well, but it didn’t hinder her from harboring a small tinge of hope in her heart.

But what if… What if he really repents? What if he truly understands Me now?

The Mother Goddess fervently clutched onto that hope in Her heart. It was a mother’s earnest wish for her child to mature, and such hopes were nigh impossible to extinguish.

Micher panicked.

This was not the first time something like this had happened. The Mother Goddess’ inability to take decisive actions against the Kingmaker had nearly resulted in disastrous consequences for them once, and it looked like history was repeating itself.

“O great Mother Goddess, I’ll willingly shoulder the sins on Your behalf if You are unable to harden Your heart.”

“!”

The audience room plunged into silence. The race leaders quivered in fear as they saw the Mother Goddess’ expression turn cold right after Micher said those words. The atmosphere became so heavy that everyone naturally fell silent.

Yet, Micher refused to take back his words. He quietly awaited the response of his liege, not worrying about the implications of his words at all.

Sensing the obstinate loyalty of the man before Her, the Mother Goddess’ expression lightened up, and Her feelings eventually culminated into a soft sigh.

“…I’ll have a talk with him first.”

With those words, the Mother Goddess rose to Her feet and left the audience room, leaving Her stunned subordinates to wonder just what kind of beguiling potion the Kingmaker had fed Her. Some time later, the race leaders finally regained their calm and left the audience room too.

Meanwhile, Roel had already descended into the land of dreams.