Chapter 657 – Gathering and Cooperation of Spirits

Well then. The discussion between Queen Eldorene and Vera at the Royal Castle concluded without incident.

After we all had lunch, we first sent a Harpy messenger to the labyrinth entrance to contact other Harpy settlements, then I brought everyone to my house. King Melvin and Prince Josiah also came along since we needed to speak with the Spirit Kings.

The Spirit Kings apparently don’t want to manifest at the Royal Castle and risk affecting the balance of the Seal since the resealing is approaching such a delicate period. In that case, it seems best for them to manifest in the domains of other High Spirits in Termwills, like Tephra and Floria.

Since we’ll be heading to the Fire Spirit Hot Spring after the Harpies gather, it was decided we’d have our discussion with the Spirit Kings at my house.

“Oh. Theodore.”

When we all arrived at the house, Tephra had come to visit.

“Hello.”

“Indeed. I’m glad to see you’re well. It seems your spiritual power has increased somewhat. I came at just the right time to check on you.”

“Ah. I’m planning to speak with all the Spirit Kings here at home.”

“Hmm. I see.”

Tephra nodded at my response.

“That’s right. The Spirit Kings have already arrived and are in the Game Room.”

Cecilia informed us about our guests.

“Thank you, Cecilia. Then let’s go to the Game Room first before we talk.”

This was the first meeting between Vera’s group and Tephra, but since the Spirit Kings were already here, I decided to make introductions once everyone was gathered.

When we all headed to the Game Room, we found the Spirit Kings enjoying card games along with Sion’s group, Floria, and Lasnote.

“Oh! This should do it.”

“Ahh, I lost.”

Earth Spirit King Profion smiled warmly as he discarded his last card onto the pile, leaving Wind Spirit King Luskinea holding the Joker. It seemed a game of Old Maid had just concluded.

“Ah, everyone. Welcome back.”

Marl smiled as she looked our way, and the others noticed us and began offering greetings.

“Ah, Theodore. Sorry to intrude.”

“Welcome back!”

“Yes. Sorry to keep you waiting.”

So I began by introducing those meeting for the first time.

After I introduced Vera’s group to the Spirit Kings, Vera immediately expressed her gratitude to them.

“I’ve heard how you exerted yourselves to help my clan’s daughter Dominique return to her homeland. You have my heartfelt thanks.”

As she said this, Vera, Ramona, Dominique, and her blood relatives bowed their heads respectfully.

“Well now, having thanks expressed to our faces like this is rather embarrassing.”

“Indeed.”

Fire Spirit King Rakerd’s words made Profion nod with a gentle smile.

“Thank you very much, Spirit Kings.”

“Mm-hmm!”

“Fufu.”

Lilly gave a somewhat lisped but polite thank you with a beaming smile, making Luskinea nod cheerfully and Marl’s expression soften. Everyone seemed to be relaxing in this warm atmosphere.

Well, while the gathering of High Spirits created quite a cheerful atmosphere, we still had other important discussions planned for today.

Before getting into serious matters, we all took our seats as if savoring the lingering peaceful atmosphere, drinking tea and nibbling on sweets.

Then, judging the timing right, King Melvin spoke up.

“Well then. Shall we discuss the resealing?”

“Yes. Let’s get through the necessary discussions.”

Marl nodded, and the relaxed atmosphere tightened somewhat.

“I’ve heard the ritual procedures from Lord Ignatius. The flow will be placing the Orb at Theoreme Castle, with me performing the ritual in the castle’s sanctuary.”

“Indeed. We will enhance our power deep within the labyrinth—the Spirit Halls—then channel our power into the Orb placed on the altar.”

“During that time, we must remain confined within the Spirit Halls. While High Spirits fighting would normally cause significant effects… the Moonlight Temple, which was our only battlefield where we could exert power, will be difficult to defend now.”

Profion and Marl explained. While they could exert power at the Moonlight Temple with other Spirit Kings suppressing the effects, during the resealing ritual, the Moonlight Temple’s defensive forces would consist only of the Guardians left by the Seven Sages.

In other words, we couldn’t count on the High Spirits as combat assets. King Melvin only needed to perform the final part of the ritual, so his confinement time would be shorter than the Spirit Kings’, but he still couldn’t leave the Royal Castle.

Prince Josiah and Chancellor Howard would handle supporting King Melvin during the ritual.

Prince Josiah himself was nodding with a serious expression at King Melvin’s words.

“As I mentioned before, I believe there’s a high probability that High-ranking Demons will directly teleport to the Moonlight Temple during the decisive battle. For them, this is a golden opportunity.”

“Luceriage and Gardinis… they did directly attack the Spirit Halls before.”

Grace spoke in response to my words. If the Seal is broken, they possess the technology to teleport to targeted locations within the labyrinth. Probably technology inherited from Linette.

And since they wouldn’t have the luxury to methodically eliminate our outer defenses either, we expected they would send their best forces to the Moonlight Temple.

“What about the defenses of the Spirit Halls themselves?”

“Once the ritual begins, activated Spirits will gather. Those with hostile intentions toward us will be dealt with by the Spirits… but the Spirit Halls originally have their own combat forces. They can both counterattack and buy time while waiting for reinforcements.”

“Indeed. Lazaro also said he would respond flexibly to interceptions, not limited to just the Fire Spirit Hall.”

Auria asked, and Rakerd and King Melvin answered. If Lazaro would help defend the Spirit Halls, that was somewhat reassuring.

“Um… Regarding the Gargoyles and Golems at the Wind and Earth Spirit Halls, quite a number were destroyed during the battles with the Demons…”

If necessary, we might need to add more Golem combat forces.

“That’s not a problem. According to Lord Ignatius, other combat forces in the Spirit Halls will also activate during the ritual, and the regeneration of Gargoyles, Golems, and others is progressing. He said he’s currently applying a Technique to accelerate regeneration at the Earth Spirit Hall, and that should be finishing soon.”

…I see. I should properly thank him for that. The reason I didn’t see him today was probably because he was working on that. In that case, Lazaro must be providing escort for that work.

“Hmm. Spirit surveillance would likely be useful. If Lord Marl and the others cannot move, I will take responsibility for having Wind Spirits and Water Spirits monitor the northwestern sea area and listening to their reports.”

Auria spoke. Ah, right. The Spirit Kings would be immobilized by other duties. Even if we used Spirits to cover a wide area, having Auria’s assistance would be reassuring in various ways.

“If we’re having Spirits handle surveillance and communication duties, I think I could be of some use too.”

“In that case, perhaps I could help as well?”

Tephra spoke, and Floria also smiled.

“That’s reassuring. Many Spirits not currently under contract will likely cooperate as well.”

In that case… the surveillance network shouldn’t be a problem. No matter when Beriondora makes his move, we should be able to respond without being caught off guard. Including the evacuation of Termwills residents, we should be able to respond quickly in various situations.

“The remaining matter… is the timing for transporting the Miasma Orb.”

“Regarding that, I think we should move it before the Spirit Kings are confined to the Spirit Halls. We can’t leave it in Termwills where it might affect the ritual.”

“If we place it in the Sealing Tower at the Fortress, we can reduce such concerns.”

Rosemary spoke. I’m not sure if it’s a perfect solution, but… well, we have to do what we can.

We continued confirming schedules and other details. That said, there weren’t major changes from our previous discussions. The expected completion date for the Harpy gathering is in two days, so we just scheduled around that.

“Then, I plan to return to workshop work and training starting tomorrow. I’d like to ask the Harpies and Sirens to help with gathering information about magic tool usability, Cursed Songs, Cursed Melodies, and so on.”

Originally, I planned to develop magic tools and Spell Formulas, and train as much as time allowed, so even with the additional Harpy matters, my tasks remain largely the same.

“Lady Vera has the work of explaining the situation to and persuading the other clan leaders. Would my assistance be insufficient?”

Ramona asked.

“No, it would be very helpful.”

Since Ramona holds a position leading Harpy warriors and seems skilled in both Cursed Songs and aerial maneuvers, I couldn’t ask for better.

“Then as the Siren representative, I’ll help too. Should I come to the workshop?”

“Yes. Starting tomorrow, thank you in advance.”

I nodded in response to Marion’s offer. Yeah, Marion is also perfect as the Sirens’ representative.

Most importantly, since both hold positions of authority within their respective races, deepening their interaction should help mixed unit coordination proceed more smoothly.