I Kidnapped the Hero’s Women

The conference room had a solemn atmosphere.
Under the dim lighting, one by one, robed mages entered.
Without a word, they quietly gathered around the round table.

"..."

Soon, the mages removed their robes, revealing their faces.
Each one was a renowned archmage, recognizable by just their face—figures of immense importance in the military, academia, and the papacy.
The key figures who controlled the military, the academy, and the papacy were all gathered in one room.

"Shall we begin the meeting?"
"Yes, let's."
"The first agenda is, as expected..."

Documents were handed over to the mages.
When the mages saw the text at the top of the page, they all nodded in agreement.
'Countermeasures against dark mages.'
It was indeed a timely and pressing matter.@@novelbin@@

"By dark mages, you mean Count Vermont, right?"
"Yes. There are no other real dark mages around."
"Does this mean we need to address the fact that Vermont Territory has powerful dark mage forces?"
"Yes. Exactly."

This was something all the mages gathered there could agree on.
Up until now, Vermont Territory’s military strength had been increasing exponentially.
No one had raised any concern when the territory amassed forces like a necromancer commanding an undead army, a dark knight wielding a cursed sword, and even acquiring a Swordmaster.
Though the territory was the only one with such a diverse force, each individual force, in its own right, was powerful enough to threaten anyone else.

However, the situation was different when it came to dark mages.
A force that no one else in the world possessed, a unique power only Vermont Territory had.
With things having escalated to this point, they could no longer just stand by.

"Certainly... If we continue like this, it will be a disaster..."
"Yes. If we keep falling behind, Count Vermont will be the only one standing tall, and that’s a serious problem."
"Exactly. Archmages? Mages? They’re too common now. The trend nowadays is dark mages. Soon enough, not only regular mages but even archmages will be seen as outdated."
"..."

The archmages’ eyebrows twitched in discomfort.

Outdated?
Why had I sacrificed my youth, my love, and my family to become an archmage?
Because, as an archmage, when I wore a robe, a pointed hat, and wielded a large staff that had no real purpose, people would look up to me.

To look cool.
It was for this one purpose that I bent my back, turned my beard gray, and dedicated my entire life to magic.

"From now on, the military will allocate additional funds to train dark mages."
"The academy will establish departments of dark magic in every academy and prepare educational programs."
"As for the papacy, we will send priests to be trained in the dark magic departments."

For once, the conflicting interests and constant bickering between them were set aside as they united.
No one disagreed.
All the archmages here had spent their lives devoted to magic to the point of sacrificing everything. Their goal was the same.

"But if we conduct our own research and begin by nurturing educational institutions, it will take quite a bit of time before we can cultivate a dark mage with real skill...?"
"It doesn't matter. Even if I die before I get there, if I can die holding that black haze in my hands, I’ll have no regrets."
"Imagine an old man with a white beard, nearing death, casting dark magic... Wouldn’t that just be incredibly cool?"
"I agree... If he were to die after casting dark magic, it would be fine to hang a print of that scene in the funeral hall."

Though Count Vermont had already clarified the basic theories and mechanisms of dark magic,
the methods of learning and mastering it had not been fully disclosed.
Since they couldn’t just wait for Count Vermont’s kindness forever, the archmages decided to pool their resources and invest in research.

It would take astronomical amounts of money and time, but they didn’t mind.
For the archmages, time was an insignificant concern.
They had already thrown away their lives for style, so now they could afford to spend all their time on it.

"Count Vermont warned that dark mages will always be possessed by evil gods, so we should be cautious. However, he was unable to systematize it as there’s no scientific way to prove it..."
"Unbelievable. An unknown being that cannot be explained by mankind’s tools of perception? That sounds incredibly cool just to imagine."
"Then we must find a way to observe the evil gods..."
"No! We can't observe them! The fact that they can’t be perceived makes them even more amazing! If we clarify and logically define them, they’ll become pathetic!"
"Ugh! What should we do then?"

The clash between the scholar’s duty to uncover all mysteries and the archmage’s desire for coolness caused the meeting to stagnate.
How should they handle the evil gods?

After a lengthy discussion, the debate remained unresolved.
One of the archmages collapsed, clutching his neck, and was taken to the hospital.
After the heated debate, the mages decided to temporarily suspend the meeting for the safety of the participants.

"Since we can’t reach a conclusion, we’ll address the evil god issue later as a new agenda. Let’s move on to the next topic."
"Alright."
"What else is left? I think we’ve covered the important issues."
"The next topic is the safety of the world."
"Wait, what?"
"Yes. It seems that a crisis that threatens the very existence of the world is approaching."
"…!"

The mages immediately recognized the gravity of the situation, and the atmosphere in the room froze instantly.

A crisis threatening the existence of the world.

"What’s the basis for this?"
"We don’t have concrete evidence. It’s more of a strong feeling."
"I agree. Let’s look at the cycles of past crises. 240 years, 180 years, 330 years, 280 years... No, there’s no pattern. It’s just that the last 300 years have been unusually peaceful, so it feels like the time for a crisis is coming soon."
"Who brought in a conspiracy theorist?"
"This isn’t conspiracy theory; it’s based on psychology and social science facts..."
"Hey, hey! The old guys are losing it! Get them out of here!"

The meeting had dragged on for so long that a few of the archmages lost their sharpness and started showing signs of dementia.
They were quickly sent to a nursing home, and the meeting resumed shortly after.

"Of course, the claim that the crisis will come soon is somewhat forced. But it is true that this peace has lasted unusually long. And it’s the first time that the position of the warrior has been vacant for so long. Therefore, to prepare for the crisis, we should urgently find a warrior."
"Ah. There was someone nominated as a warrior. It was the first nomination in 100 years after Calista’s death."
"Who was it!? If someone was nominated, why is the warrior position still vacant?"
"Well... It was Charlotte, one of Count Vermont’s slaves. She rejected the nomination..."
"So the warrior appointment was canceled?!"
"Yes. She said she didn’t want to do it, so there was nothing we could do."
"..."

The mages were left speechless.
The title of 'warrior' was not something anyone could just get.
No one who had ever been nominated for the role had ever rejected it before, making this a truly unprecedented event.

If someone didn’t want it, then what could they do...
It was impossible to force someone who didn’t want it...

In this unprecedented warrior nomination rejection situation, the atmosphere in the conference room quickly turned to despair.

"Well, if we can’t find the warrior, then how about we look for the saint first?"
"That’s right. If we find the saint, the warrior will follow. Let’s focus on finding the saint."
"How is the saint appointed?"
"First, we use a crystal orb imbued with the Holy Spirit’s power to find potential saints. But it only activates when we find a truly suitable candidate..."
"That glowing one! Is it activating?"
"…!?"

At that moment, the crystal orb in front of the Pope started to glow.
The light within the orb began to gather, slowly forming a more defined image.
The mages gathered around, filled with anticipation, and began focusing intently on the orb.

The Holy Spirit had found a candidate for the saint after so long.
Who could it be?
Surely, it must be someone noble and dignified?
...or so they thought.

"Isn’t that a thug instead of a saint?"
"Huh. That’s my student! Why is Yuria there?"

The scene reflected in the orb showed countless thugs, lying sprawled on the ground, drenched in blood.
And in the center of it all, stood a girl, her fists covered in blood.