Gilbert climbed onto the dais of the great hall and took a seat on the couch at the back. Beside him sat an adorable black-haired girl with cat ears along with two young knights, followed by monsters and members of the demon race taking their seats in turn.
—Is that truly my son, Gilbert?
That was Edward's honest reaction upon laying eyes on him.
Gilbert was no longer wearing the tacky, ostentatious noble garb he used to favor. Instead, he was dressed in sharp black clothes beneath a beautifully embroidered jacket. Coupled with his commanding, dignified presence, he genuinely looked the part of a sovereign monarch.
Before undergoing Kai Heinemann's trial, Gilbert had given off the impression of an immature child who couldn't shed his naivety and spoiled nature. He was never the kind of person who could carry himself like that.
"Now then, I, Inea, shall be presiding over the founding ceremony of Fiesta."
When Inea, the former Chief Headmaster of Babel, stood on the dais and dropped that absolute bombshell, the entire hall erupted into a cacophony like a swarm of roasting cicadas.
And understandably so. Inea Renren Lorelei. Former Queen of the Lorelei Nation, and former Chief Headmaster of the World Academy City of Babel. A living legend who had achieved countless grand feats over the centuries.
Yet after meddling with Kai Heinemann during Babel's entrance exams, she had been summarily forced into retirement. Since then, intelligence reports indicated she had been quietly devoting herself to research at a prime estate in Babel.
For Inea to suddenly take the role of master of ceremonies for Fiesta's founding carried immense weight.
To the Lorelei Nation, Inea was a legendary hero. Causing a scene at this ceremony would drag her name through the mud, and at worst, it could even cost them the goodwill of their own people. That was almost certainly why the current Queen Avery's smile had been cracking for a while now.
Likewise, King Kai of the Dwarf Nation, Dvelb, and Musashi were also Babel graduates and former students of Inea. Furthermore, the hero of hunters, Ralph Excel, who was in attendance, was Inea's direct disciple.
The same held true across major nations and great organizations alike. Quite a few influential figures from smaller nations were undoubtedly her former students as well. In other words, with Inea running the proceedings, nobody could afford to make a reckless move. Causing trouble would guarantee turning practically everyone in the room against them.
In this vast world, only one person could possibly convince Inea to preside over a ceremony like this: Kai Heinemann. That monster had likely used the venue itself to muzzle any dissenting opinions regarding monsters and the demon race. Well, knowing how freakishly sharp Kai Heinemann was, he might have had other motives beyond Edward's wildest imagination.
"First, I would like to call upon Hero Mashiro to deliver the opening address."
"—What?!"
A commotion broke out, far greater than before. Edward himself had to stifle a sudden burst of laughter. Having Mashiro, who harbored a visceral hatred for the demon race and monsters, deliver the opening address at a time like this was sheer madness. If anyone could devise such an outrageous choice of speaker, the list of suspects was exceedingly short.
When Edward shifted his gaze toward the likely culprit, the man was watching the scene unfold with a wicked smirk. There was no mistaking it. Johannes was the one who had orchestrated this.
"..."
She probably hadn't even been told in advance. For a moment, Mashiro simply stood there with a blank, stunned look on her face, before glaring at Gilbert and his retinue as if they had murdered her parents.
"Bwahaha! My stomach hurts! I don't know who came up with this, but that's a damn hilarious pick!"
Beside him, Knut clapped his hands and roared with laughter. His usual doll-like, painted-on smile was gone; he was laughing straight from the heart. Edward couldn't fathom what kind of nerve it took to laugh in such a volatile powder keg, nor did he care to find out.
"..."
Wearing a look of pure fury, Mashiro stood frozen with her arms crossed. When Hijiri and Isaac whispered something into her ear, her expression grew even more severe. But after shaking her head, she stood up and headed for the dais.
Stepping onto the platform, she slammed both hands down hard against the small lectern. And then—
"Go ahead and found your nation or whatever! I don't acknowledge the existence of monsters or the demon race! And I sure as hell will never acknowledge this country called Fiesta! If we deem you to be even the slightest threat to humanity, we will wipe you out with everything we have! Down to the very last one! That is all!"
Having shouted lines that were, in a sense, entirely predictable, she marched right down from the dais.
Amidst the bizarre silence settling over the great hall, Inea stepped back onto the dais without a hint of agitation, not even twitching an eyebrow.
"That concludes Lady Mashiro's address. Next, we will hear from Gilbert, General Chairman of the Fiesta Nation, which officially comes into being today."
At Inea's words, Gilbert rose. As if Mashiro's outburst had fallen well within his expectations, he took the stage with a calm smile.
"Huh..."
Knut, who had been rolling with laughter just moments ago, had let his smile vanish and was now watching Gil with a dead-serious gaze.
Edward understood Knut's feelings all too well. That sheer composure... It was impossible to believe it came from the immature Gilbert of old. To begin with, it felt as though this wasn't an issue on the simple level of ideological conditioning.
"To everyone gathered here today, thank you very much for attending the founding ceremony of our nation, Fiesta. I am the General Chairman of Fiesta, Gilbert Loto Amelia.
Just now, we received such gracious words of encouragement from Hero Mashiro, but I, too, have something I must share with you all."
Gil paused, sweeping his gaze across the room. And then—
"In our nation of Fiesta, the Human Race, the demon race, and monsters can all live freely without distinction. There is no useless, unproductive social hierarchy like an aristocracy, nor are there twisted doctrines like those of the Central Church, the very incarnation of bigotry. It is a place where everyone can live in peace and with smiles on their faces. We will never deny entry to anyone, nor will we reject or cast them out. However, if any of you attempt to take that from us, we will fight with all our might. Even if the entire world becomes our enemy."
He made the declaration deliberately, letting every single word sink in.
After a brief silence, as if the assembly had finally processed Gil's statement—
"Stop spouting nonsense! Do you dare declare our pride worthless?!"
"Prince or not, this cannot be forgiven!"
"Does this mean you are an enemy of the gods, defying our God Ares?!"
Furious shouts erupted one after another from the nobles of the Holy Amelia Kingdom.
Amidst the tempest of vitriol fiercely rejecting Fiesta, the attendees on Fiesta's side remained completely unperturbed, their expressions never wavering despite the enraged roars. They had clearly anticipated this reaction from the start.
"Quiet! Please be quiet! Order in the—"
Inea's stern voice rang out, but the jeers and furious roars showed no sign of dying down.
"You little brats! I said shut up!"
Slamming her right fist down and shattering the lectern, Inea's voice boomed through the hall like a cracked bell, instantly silencing every last noble. It was likely because none of them had ever dreamed of hearing such coarse language come out of her mouth.
"To reiterate, we have no intention of picking fights with any of you. That much I can promise."
Despite having been showered in all that abuse, Gil merely gave a slight nod with his smile intact, stepped down from the dais, and returned to his seat.
"That was the address from Gilbert, General Chairman of Fiesta. Next, King Edward of our sovereign state, the Holy Amelia Kingdom, will conduct the official sanctioning rite for the founding of Fiesta."
Inea shot a meaningful glance toward Edward.
Once they got through this, the worst would be behind them. At the very least, things wouldn't degenerate into a civil war or armed conflict. They had somehow managed to weather the storm.
Just as he heaved himself up and prepared to walk toward the dais—
"I submit an objection!"
A burly nobleman with short hair and scars covering his entire body sprang to his feet and roared at the top of his lungs.