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Following the confident Brantley, the group made their way through the streets of Copenhagen.

“To be precise, the correct name is København. In the empire, it’s called Kopenhagen, and somehow that spread to other countries… but in the North, København is the proper name.”

“Actually, there are quite a few proper nouns in the North that are known like that.”

“Exactly! Well, it’s all because the Kalmar Union lost influence to the Hanseatic League.”

To be precise, it was a phonetic transformation arising from the difference in the areas of activity between the merchants of the Kalmar Union, who primarily operated around the Baltic Sea, and the merchants of the Hanseatic League, who had a network extending not only to the North Sea but also to the southern Sea of Tethys through the salt trade. However, Sophia chose not to comment further, knowing the almost stubborn sense of ownership the people of the Kingdom of Dane had over the North Sea region.

While others called it the North Sea (北海-Nordsøen), the people of the Kingdom of Dane stubbornly referred to it as the West Sea (西海-Vesterhavet). It was no wonder, then, that they viewed the Hanseatic merchants who frequented the North Sea like their own backyard with a less than favorable eye.

København had a large canal running through the center of the city. The canal connected the port facilities located to the north and south of the city, making it safe to say that the city’s internal logistics depended entirely on this canal.

After disembarking at the northern port and following the canal, one would come across a beautiful palace surrounded by buildings of different architectural styles, centered around a square.

This palace, known as Amalienborg Palace, was none other than the winter residence of the Danish royal family.

The Kingdom of Dane had a tradition of moving en masse, with the royal family, cabinet, and parliament all relocating together at the start of summer and winter. It was more beneficial to stay in the winter palace, designed for warmth and lighting, during the winter, and in the summer palace, designed for ventilation, during the summer, to manage state affairs while also taking care of personal health.

There was also the practical reason of using the opportunity to thoroughly clean and renovate the vacated buildings.

This was the time when the move to Amalienborg Palace was in full swing. People were bustling in and out to refurbish the palace interior and inspect the backup status of materials needed for state affairs. Meanwhile, a drawbridge, assembled for the occasion, spanned the canal flowing in front of the palace.

The group, passing by Amalienborg Palace, crossed the canal via the drawbridge that had just been lowered. On the other side of the canal were the mansions of the Danish nobility, located near the palace. Although not as grand as the royal palace, each mansion occupied a sufficiently large plot and exuded a quaint charm.

The Somz family mansion was located in this very district. The mansion, reflecting the history the Somz family had built in the Kingdom of Dane, was neatly and quaintly decorated. Guided by Brantley Somz, the group made their way to the main entrance of the Somz mansion.

Just as the group arrived at the Somz mansion…

“Stop! This is the Somz family mansion. Excuse me, but what business brings you here?”

One of the guards stationed at the main entrance of the Somz mansion stopped the approaching group.

The group halted at the guard’s command but turned their gaze to Brantley Somz, who had guided them this far. Brantley, undeterred by the pressure of their gaze, confidently stepped forward. Soon, he spotted a familiar face and greeted them with a smile.

“Hey, Jesper! Long time no see. Is Anna still doing well?”

Despite Brantley’s confident approach, the Somz family soldier showed even more obvious wariness, furrowing his brow.

“Who are you to act so familiar? How do you know my name and about Anna?”

It seemed that in this long-awaited reunion, only Brantley Somz recognized the other. However, Brantley, without a hint of embarrassment, smiled.

“It’s me, Brantley. Surely you haven’t forgotten the time we went beetle hunting together in our youth?”

At this, the soldier narrowed his eyes and began to scrutinize the man before him. The name that came from Brantley’s lips sounded vaguely familiar.

As he scrutinized, the soldier’s eyes fell on a familiar cloak knot on the man’s right shoulder. Finally, an old memory began to dust itself off and emerge from a corner of his mind.

‘Brantley… Brantley? Now that I think about it, that cloak knot on the right shoulder…’

How long did it take for the soldier to piece together the information he knew, the old memories from his youth, and the man before him?

Finally, successfully overlapping the man before him with the boy from his memories, the guard’s mouth fell open in surprise.

“My goodness! Young master, is it really you?”

“Yes, it’s me! Haha, it’s been a long time.”

Brantley Somz laughed heartily as his old acquaintance recognized him. Jesper, who had roamed the streets of København with Brantley in their youth, welcomed him with a face full of joy.

“I can’t believe it, after all this time without a word. What brings you back? Never mind, it’s good to have you back! This is no time to stand around, come inside! I’ll inform the household right away!”

After Brantley Somz’s identity was confirmed, everything proceeded smoothly. The veteran soldiers of the mansion, as well as the servants who received the news, were thrilled by the return of the Somz family’s second son, quickly spreading an excited atmosphere.

“Lord Somz, it seems you were quite beloved growing up?”

Karl Hector Meyer remarked, as if seeing something surprising. The Brantley Somz Karl knew was a prickly spellcaster, so the Brantley he saw after returning home was a very unfamiliar sight.

In any case, the group settled into their assigned rooms under the guidance of the Somz mansion servants. The Somz mansion was quite large, so each room was assigned as a private space.

“Hmm. So, what now?”

Sophia, having just changed out of her armor into a monastic robe, sat down to think about the next steps. The situation in København was, frankly, both serious and not.

Half of the people coming and going at the port were actually monsters disguised by illusions, and although rare, monsters had infiltrated relatively close to the city center. Of course, this could be seen as a serious problem, but the effort required to handle it was manageable.

However, if any of the city’s key figures were among those replaced by monsters, the situation would become far from laughable.

Well, if they could get the Somz family’s assistance, that part could be handled smoothly. The response in København would be to assess the situation and act accordingly, but there was another problem.

‘We definitely need to take Malmö.’

The monsters disguised by illusions in København ultimately originated from Malmö across the sea. The monsters hiding in København could be dealt with by the city’s own capabilities if countermeasures against illusions were prepared. On the other hand, leaving Malmö unattended would surely lead to long-term repercussions.

There was plenty of work to be done.

‘So, how?’

The problem started here.

Although Malmö was a neighboring city to København, the two cities were of different nationalities. Unlike København, the capital of the Kingdom of Dane, Malmö belonged to the Kingdom of Svea. If København’s forces were to move into Malmö, there was a risk of it escalating into an issue of armed border violation.

‘The bigger problem is that the Kingdom of Svea isn’t exactly a proper ‘kingdom.”

Generally, the image of the ‘North’ (Nordic) region could be summarized as ‘late to enter the civilized world.’ It was a land where tribal confederations, city-states, or town-states persisted until the latest period on the continent, and it also accepted the influence of the Church Order later than other regions.

At least the Kingdom of Dane had established itself as a proper kingdom and actively embraced the Church Order’s influence, showcasing its presence as a regional power to others on the continent. However, other regions were a bit different.

Take the Kingdom of Svea, which held Malmö as its territory, for example. As the modifier ‘Union’ before ‘Kingdom’ suggests, it nominally presented itself as a feudal system with a king at the top, but in reality, the Svea royal family was merely a figurehead. Its true nature was still closer to a confederation of various tribes, cities, and town leaders.

If it were a unified kingdom, cooperation could be requested from their court, but in this case, the diplomatic process would inevitably become much more complicated.

Moreover, the Church Order’s influence was only just beginning to take root, so unlike continental nations, even if Sophia went over to spread the situation, the local leaders were likely to ignore or scoff at it.

In the end, the only option left was…

‘We’ll have to act strictly as outsiders.’

Sophia quietly sighed inwardly.

In any case, when performing a task beyond one’s station, there was no more reliable method than using official duties as a shield. Official activities with credible justifications and personal activities conducted entirely in the private sphere were incomparable in terms of the obstacles to overcome and the resources available to overcome them.

Even in Aarhus, Sophia had almost no limits in mobilizing resources within the city. Partly because the city’s security had collapsed and was being rebuilt, but more so because the extraordinary authority granted to a Paladin of the Church Order was fully recognized.

However, in the Kingdom of Svea or the neighboring Kingdom of Norge, the story was a bit different. There, the Church was merely a nagging nuisance to the powerful.

So even if Sophia’s group were to cross over to Malmö, it would likely be impossible to exert the same level of influence as before. Every action would probably require consultation with local powerholders.

‘If we have to do that every time, we’ll never keep up with the demons.’

Only humans are bound by human rules. Demons, by common sense, had no reason to be constrained by human political structures.

Demons, who schemed freely without regard for human diplomacy or political structures, and humans, who had to handle annoying matters in advance wherever they went. This would inevitably lead to an endless delay in response.

To be honest, the reason Sophia didn’t refuse the Somz family’s connection, despite being confident she could solve København’s problems within the day if she wanted, was also here.

‘Leave petty issues like politics and diplomacy to the experts.’

The power dynamics around the Baltic Sea were better understood by those who had long been in the thick of it in this region. Moreover, the Somz family held a position in the Nordic skald community, making them the perfect fit for handling the region’s power dynamics.

Having offloaded the troublesome issues, Sophia herself would quickly search the area and respond to the demons’ schemes—a truly simple plan.

However, Sophia was confident that no further plans were needed at this point. Above all…

“You feel it too, don’t you? Gabrielle.”

[…]

Sophia’s gaze turned to the semi-transparent spirit Gabrielle, who had manifested before her. Despite her semi-transparency, the girl’s form still glowed with a milky light—now tinged with a hint of golden and sapphire aura due to Sophia’s influence—and nodded with a solemn expression in response to Sophia’s question.

The foresight that comes with reaching a high level of energy manipulation was warning her of something significant surrounding the Baltic Sea at this very moment. If her actions were delayed, something extremely troublesome would undoubtedly occur.

Just as Sophia’s thoughts reached that point…

Knock knock knock.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door of the guest room assigned to Sophia. Sensing with her Qi Sense, it was none other than the Somz family servant who had guided her to the room. Sophia opened the door, and the servant stated his business.

“Refreshments have just been prepared in the reception room.”

“Hmm, thank you for letting me know. Let’s go then. But before that…”

Sophia, about to attend the tea party, suddenly took out a letter she had written while pondering her next steps and handed it to the servant.

“This is…?”

“Sorry, but could I ask a favor? If it’s not too much trouble, could you deliver this letter to the church here in København? I’ll compensate you.”

“No, compensation isn’t necessary. It’s our duty as servants to attend to the guests’ needs. So, should I deliver it to the church as is?”

“Thank you. And, while you’re at it, there’s something else I’d like you to look into…”

“Please, go ahead.”

With the servant’s permission, Sophia brought up something she had been thinking about since arriving here—the personal details of someone.

 

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