Project GB is an official initiative by Re:Library.

A day after they arrived at the Sacred City…

Setsuna was doing most of the reconnaissance, but Crim did not enjoy just sitting in the inn twiddling her thumbs.
So she put on the most inconspicuous clothes she could find, amassed as many potions as possible, and headed out.
She followed the main street, which went from the front gates to the main cathedral, and stopped around the halfway point, in a square with a water fountain.
Many shops and stalls surrounded the fountain, and she made rounds on them, trying to avoid the gaze of other players, enjoying the scenery, and trying to eavesdrop on any conversation that could be valuable.

“Hey, young lady, are you a pilgrim too? It must have been a harsh journey for someone so young.”

One of the shop owners suddenly called to her.
She turned around and saw an NPC beckoning her, a middle aged woman with a toned body, inviting Crim to check her wares with a friendly smile.

“Ahahah… Actually I’m 15 years old, I might look like this but I’m actually an adult already.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry for that. But would you like to buy anything?”

Going along with her, Crim checked the contents of the various baskets in the street shop.

“Ohh…is this all fresh fruit? That’s pretty rare in this city.”
“Well, it’s all thanks to my girl here.”

Saying that, the lady leaned to the side and scratched the back of a large animal lying next to her.
The Sacred City was at a high altitude, too extreme for most edible plants to thrive, so fresh fruit was a rare sight there. Bringing food up the mountain was also unrealistic, so most of it came as dry fruit for ease of transport.
The only way to make it possible…was just as she indicated, air transport with a well-trained beast, with the head and wings of an eagle, and the body of a horse…a Pippogriff.

“Can…can I touch her..?!”
“Ahahah go ahead, she’s really gentle and friendly!”
“Alright then…”

Without a second thought, Crim reached for the Pippogriff’s neck, just under its eagle head. Obviously there were plenty of feathers there, but they were all smooth and nice to the touch.

“Wow…woahh…amazing…hya?!”

As she continued petting the Pippogriff, it also seemed to demand more from her, leaning its head against her hand.

“Ahahah I think she likes you!”
“Maybe hahah…but I’m sure she’s only this friendly because you’ve taken good care of her, ma’am.”
“Aw you know how to brighten my day.”

In the end she bought a good number of fruit, apples which were the staple produce of the northern region, and with one in hand, she sat at a nearby bench to continue talking with the lady.

“There’s been a lot of murders..?”
“Yes, it wasn’t so long ago that some drifters showed up, and began going after all the Yalcha higher ups. They just killed them one after another, it was horrible. The young nuns managed to come out unscathed, but some of them got so traumatized they’re afraid of going anywhere.”

Those drifters…they were the players of the Holy Kingdom Schwertrot, who had gained control of this area.

…There were multiple ways to gain control of a city like that.
One option was to befriend the inhabitants, gain their trust, and eventually be elected as their leader of their own volition, just like had happened in Nebel…or if you had enough manpower, brute force could also yield results.

As Crim pondered about that, the lady continued talking.

“But you know… I don’t think the people of the city really care about it. The throne has been usurped so many times the last few decades that everyone just sighs and says there they go again.”
“That sounds rather depressing.”
“It is… And just between the two of us…those religious guys are always bleeding us dry, they demand ‘donations’ before they do anything, and if we don’t pay, they take our young daughters to serve them.”
“Ahh, that’s harsh…”

It was a fact of life that whenever a certain group maintained control for long they would eventually devolve into tyranny, especially in a city that focused on their own religion instead of the wars out in the world.
And if even the main religion of the land degenerated in that way, then it was no surprise to Crim that Belial would end up snapping like she did…

“And what about the new king now? How’s life in the city with him?”
“The new king? Hmm…”

The lady had to think about it for some time, carefully picking her words.

“At first it was the same, different king, same story. Actually, back then there were a bunch of guys strolling around looking all strong and mighty, like they owned the place. It wasn’t really a good time for the city.”
“Ohh, but I don’t get that feeling now. Everyone looks a lot happier.”

As far as Crim could see, the streets looked peaceful, there were guards in glittering armor stationed every few corners of the antique city built with white stone, while the citizens and pilgrims moved around without concern.

“Now yes. You’ve probably heard how the king drove away those awful lot? We haven’t had to pay anything to the church since, and the guards became a lot more kind. It’s really nice this way.”

The lady was quite happy to share the improvements to the city…though her countenance suddenly became somber.

“Don’t tell anyone I said this…but the surviving Yalcha higherups don’t really like him.”
“…I can see that.”

The citizens had welcomed all the changes Theodolite brought, but the other second server players, and those who used to be in power previously from the church, did not really like losing their power and authority.
On top of that, the situation had changed considerably since the time when the second server players were in control, and since Theodolite stopped being merely a figure.
He had persecuted those players, finally gaining proper authority as a king, and rebuilding his image as that of a just ruler for the player and NPC population, gaining their trust, and making it harder to believe that he would also become a tyrant.
Or maybe…Theodolite had just been waiting for others to get rid of the Yalcha higherups, anticipating the best moment to act.
Either way, once they had Theodolite as their figurehead, while terrorizing the Yalcha higherups and citizens, they decided to declare war on Crim and the Lua Cheia United Kingdoms.
That was the moment when Theodolite felt the need to act…or maybe he could no longer bear sitting back any longer.

“Thank you so much for telling me all of that, it was really interesting. And the apples were delicious!”
“I’m glad to hear that, enjoy the rest too! You can usually find me around here if you want more, so feel free to drop by any time.”

With that, they parted ways…Crim heading into a small alley away from the main street, taking out another apple from the little bag she carried, which she threw up.

“Thank you, Master.”
“Keep up the good work, Setsuna.”

Setsuna landed from above, the thrown apple in her hand, and once she bit into it she exclaimed “Ah, this is so tasty!” which brought a smile to Crim’s face…and then it was time to discuss why she had returned from her scouting mission.

“So, didst thou learn anything yet?”
“Yes, of course. King Theodolite always goes to the outer rampart to watch the city from afar when he logs in.”
“I see, thou always had a knack to gather information.”

If that was the case, then it was only a matter of finding the right moment to make contact. Crim thanked Setsuna for finding that out so quickly and patted her head.
She giggled for a moment…and then snapped back to a more serious look.

“And since you’re so kind to me, I’ll let you in on something else. Apparently they’ve triggered a bad event flag with the NPCs of the huge cathedral.”
“Oh..? Mind telling me more about that?”
“Yes, of course!”

The information she revealed next…proved to be exceedingly troublesome indeed…