When the murmurs finally subsided and silence filled the room, all eyes turned to Sophian, who spoke with a serious expression.
“The Saintess Haruka wishes to return to her original world. Based on what she told me yesterday, it seems she is an ordinary individual in her world, living a life much like ours.”
The weight of his shocking words brought a heavy silence over the meeting room. But soon, a prince from one of the kingdoms broke it.
“…This is different from what we imagined, but it’s certain that she possesses the powers of a Saintess, correct? If she’s just an ordinary individual, she’ll be easier to control than a god-like entity. Ignore her wishes and force her to obey.”
“Indeed,” another person agreed. “If sacrificing one individual can save all the people of this world, it’s a cost we should accept.”
“I concur.”
“So do I.”
As voices of agreement to force Haruka into erasing the miasma swelled, a certain princess declared in a firm voice:
“I oppose. What if we force her and she ends up taking her own life? The only option is to win her over. Really, just give her some beautiful dresses, jewels, or handsome men, and she’ll happily comply, won’t she?”
“Indeed. There’s no need to provoke her unnecessarily.”
“I agree with that approach as well.”
As the majority shifted to support the princess’s proposal, the prince who had first suggested coercion spoke again, now with a slightly disgruntled tone.
“Certainly, that would be the easiest solution if it works. But if persuasion fails, we’ll resort to force, agreed?”
“True, if it comes to that, we’ll have no choice,” she replied.
With this, the discussion quickly progressed toward their stance on Saintess Haruka, leaving no room for Sophian or Martina to interject. Hearing these exchanges, Martina suppressed her growing anger.
(No one here sees Haruka as a person…!)
Struggling to swallow her frustration, she watched as Sophian interrupted the conversation with a firm tone.
“Everyone, may I first present a proposal?”
As the facilitator, Sophian’s voice compelled everyone to reluctantly quiet down. He spoke with more authority than usual.
“Based on my conversations with Saintess Haruka, the most meaningful reward for her would be research into a magic circle to return her home. She doesn’t seem interested in dresses or jewels. In fact, she showed almost no interest in the luxurious dresses prepared in her guest room.”
At this, the princess who had earlier proposed persuading Haruka looked astonished and shook her head in disbelief.
“The Saintess is quite an unusual woman.”
Sophian brushed off the comment lightly and continued.
“Therefore, I believe our best course of action is to sincerely apologize for summoning her suddenly, promise to devote all our efforts to researching the return magic circle, and earnestly request her cooperation. Along with that, we can offer additional rewards. Your Majesty, would this be acceptable as our nation’s stance?”
“Hmm, no objections. It seems we should seek the Saintess’s cooperation in a positive manner.”
No one offered strong objections to Sophian and the King of Luxaria’s proposal. Since their nation, which had direct contact with Haruka, insisted this was the best approach, there was little grounds for immediate rejection.
“…Very well. Advancing research on the magic circle would indeed be beneficial, so I have no objections to this plan,” a serious-looking man finally said. Even the prince who had earlier advocated for coercion nodded in agreement, though not without an unnecessary remark.
“I’m fine with this approach. But if we fail to gain her consent, we’ll resort to force, correct?”
While Martina and others had anticipated this reaction, they couldn’t vehemently oppose it. After all, humanity’s survival hinged on Haruka’s powers.
No matter how much guilt they felt for summoning her against her will or how much they tried to argue ethics, the dire reality weighed heavier on the scales.
Moreover, there was no viable alternative, such as proposing another summoning. The risks of failure in summoning were immense, and even if successful, it could only create another victim like Haruka.
“…We hope to prioritize respecting Saintess Haruka’s wishes as much as possible, but if it proves utterly impossible, we will accept the alternative,” Sophian said hesitantly, his expression grave.
Satisfied with this assurance, the prince fell silent.
Hearing this exchange, Martina bit her lip in frustration, feeling the depth of her own powerlessness.
“Then, shall we proceed to formally apologize to the Saintess and request her aid tomorrow morning?”
No one objected, and with the future course decided, the meeting concluded.
