Author: SS Samurai	Original Source: Syosetu
Translator: rm31439	English Source: Re:Library

“What happened, Sakura?” Kyrian exclaimed, as she rushed up to the girl.

Behind her was a crowd of soldiers and several of the kingdom’s higher officials.

“Miss… Kyrian…”

Sakura turned her head to look at the woman, seemingly about to burst into tears at any moment.

Kyrian and the others had come here after hearing laughter and the sound of explosions from the throne room, but the current situation was so far out of their expectations, it left them baffled. There was a large hole in the wall, and the throne was drenched in water from the melted ice. The room was a mess, as if a storm had passed through, and there was ash scattered here and there. And most importantly, several people who should’ve been here were nowhere to be seen.

The higher officials and Kyrian had learned from the argument between Kanata, Dace, and Loukis about the latter’s plan to use the Black God, regardless of the danger this would pose to the country. This exactly had been Kanata’s goal, and when Dace suddenly summoned the Black God and then disappeared, it turned into unshakeable truth in their minds.

As a result, everyone in the castle already knew that Dace was no longer here. They also knew the Black God was possessing Loukis, so they had prepared to oppose him. They further knew that four people – Kanata, Shuu, Sakura, and Rir – were facing off with him. However, presently, it was just Sakura sitting in the middle of the throne room, all on her lonesome.

“S-Say, Sakura?”
“…Uh… yes?”
“What… happened?”

While the shock of being left behind by her boyfriend still remained, Sakura decided to follow the boy’s request and inform everyone about what happened.

“To begin with-”

Sakura started her explanation from scratch, seeing some of the people present hadn’t been given the information Kyrian and the higher officials already had.

How Kanata had exposed Loukis’ intrigue. How Dace broke Gungnir and disappeared after setting the Black God loose on them. How the Black God had possessed Loukis. How Rir made him temporarily powerless with Ice Magic. How said method of rendering him powerless proved ineffective, and how he had killed Rir in a manner which made resurrection impossible.

From that point on, Sakura’s explanation diverged from the truth. She quickly modified the chain of events in a way, so the Black God killed Loukis without leaving a trace before possessing Shuu. She feared that, should they succeed in subjugating the Black God, Shuu might be charged with Loukis’ murder. Consequently, she decided to tell them that Shuu’s possession happened only after Loukis’ death.

It brought Sakura considerable relief, when she heard the officials, who had been urged by Shuu to flee after the Black God’s appearance, exchange comments like “The king brought this on himself” during her telling of Loukis’ death.

Shortly after, Sakura brought her explanation to a close with the possessed Shuu and Kanata leaving her behind to fight in some uninhabited place.

“In other words, Sage Kanata is fighting the black god right now to separate him from Sage Shuu and seal him… did I get that right?”
“…Yes.”

Sakura nodded at Kyrian’s question.

“Then… there’s… nothing we – the army – can do… is there?” Kyrian wondered, posing that question to the higher officials, too.

They merely nodded.

“In that case, Sakura, we can but wait for Kanata and Shuu… You needn’t worry, I’m sure your boyfriend will find a way.”
“…You’re right!” Sakura agreed and walked up to the woman.

The soldiers who rushed here could only put their faith in Kanata, but they still returned to their posts, so they could sortie at any time, should the worst happen. The higher officials likewise prepared to communicate the crucial situation to the populace and their neighboring nations.

A single servant among them contacted another country.

[Your Majesty, Your Majesty! I am contacting you due to an emergency.]　
[…Right now, we¹ are having tea with our lovely wife… what is it? Seeing you contacted us directly via message, something crucial must have happened. Are they finally making their move?]　
[N-No, Your Majesty, they-]　

The servant, no, the Mephilad Kingdom’s informant relayed the particulars, including the story he had heard from Sakura, to King Mephilad via messages.

[The Black God… has come back to life?]　
[Indeed, that’s how it seems. There were numerous eyewitnesses, so I don’t think it’s false information.]　
[It would be an issue, if he came to our country… in which case, only that girl might be left.]　

The servant got curious about “that girl” the king had mentioned, so he asked for details.

[Who do you mean by… that girl, Your Majesty?]　
[Alim Nariwei, you likely heard of her. She is truly incredible, you see! She could probably destroy that Black God in a flash… We believe what you told us is the truth. From now on, we will need to take various measures.]　

TL notes:
And now we know how the king found out so fast. Although, when you compare it with the events in chapter 341 to 343, it would seem the author forgot that the king was only informed about Surtr’s resurrection at first, and the events leading to Loukis’ death a bit later. So, the informant should’ve contacted him right after the events of chapter 350 and then again now, but it sounds like this was his first direct message.

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Footnotes:

The king uses the 我 (ware) personal pronoun here, so I’m having him use the majestic plural. Usually, he either uses わし (pronoun for old people) or 俺 (when in adventurer mode).