The 1st of January, 542 in the Era in, only known as the "Day in," had arrived.

  On this day, nearly all nations would hold celebrations, as the entire world would e together to mark the beginning of a new year, a art for the world itself.

  However, this year's situation was somewhat different.

  "You said there’s an emergency?"

  A middle-aged man abruptly rose from his seat.

  He was the King of one of the human kingdoms— the Kingdom of Lidolu.

  After the neighb Delu Kingdom and Endu Kingdom were struck by some catastrophic disaster and subsequently absorbed by the tus Empire, his kingdom was now one of the stro human nations on the ti, sed only to the Empire and the Church.

  "Speak in more detail!"

  "Yes!"

  The messenger in front of the King pced a letter oable.

  "This was received today. It tains a decration about the founding of a nation."

  The King carefully opehe letter before him and began reading.

  "…The Abyssal Alliance… primarily posed of the Demon Rad Dragon Race!?"

  The letter tained a series of shog revetions, and it didn’t stop there.

  "…‘Beasts and monsters share onalities with the Demon Race, and we will offer sanctuary to the oppressed Beasts, monsters, and other minority groups’…"

  By the time he reached this part, the King was still w if this was some sort of high-level prank. However, upon seeing the bottom of the letter, he was certain—the information tained within was absolutely genuine.

  "…tus Empire, the Alliance of All Living Things, the Witch Church—wait, isn't this the Witch by legal name? And now they’ve started calling themselves the Witch's Faith informally? Ugh, what exactly is their naming mess? Sure, they are called the 'Witch Church' in my try, but... but..."

  The King sighed in fusion. This must be some sort of deliberate tactic.

  "Now, now, even the Elven Kingdom, the Demon Empire, the Vampires..."

  Eaame was of a highly signifit power, with the seals of eaation and anization clearly stamped at the bottom of the letter, signifying the reition of these entities for this new alliance.

  "…Hoeople know about this?"

  "Uh… This letter just arrived not long ago, but it should have already spread by now."

  "Tch! Damn it!"

  The King clicked his tongue and sank bato his chair.

  The reason for his frustration was that his nation still had a system of svery for non-human races, with several nobles owning sves from other races. However, acc to the statement, tinuing down this path could brialiation from the Alliance.

  ging the system now was extremely difficult. The nobles would certainly oppose it, and even wheed with irrefutable facts, they might refuse to admit their wrongs or make any ges!

  If the news hadn’t spread yet, he could have slowly worked towards this ge, though it would have taken time. At least, he could still say, "We're w on it." But now that the entire try khe oppressed races, awakened by this information, would surely begin to rise up.

  The King scratched his head in frustration, and, in the process, he actally pulled out a few strands of his own hair.

  "…I… I’m getting old…"

  Of course, it could also be the pressure, since he was still only in his forties.

  He closed his eyes, as if p something deeply.

  "…Which fa do you belong to?"

  "Huh?"

  The messenger looked at him in fusion.

  He was just a low-ranking messenger, how would he know about fas? Those were the s of the nobles. He only cared about keeping his stable job.

  "To put it simply, whiy sons does your superior favor?"

  "Er…"

  "You don’t have to worry. It’s just a casual chat between a middle-aged man and a young man."

  Seeing the messenger’s expression, the King offered a reassuring smile.

  "…It should be the forst prince, I suppose?"

  "Is that so? He certainly has great ambition..."

  ‘And it’s said that he’s ected with some powerful anization…’

  The King fell into deep thought once again.

  "…No word of this should leave this room today. And also, call for my physi."

  ...

  “How are things progressing?”

  Where there was once barren nd, pnts were now beginning to grow. Above the vast chasm that stretched to the horizon, a rge floating building hovered.

  Those sensitive to magical energy would surely notivisible supports beh the structure, extending deep into the abyss below.

  This was a miraculous sight, made possible by the unique spad magical energy between the Abyss and the outside world, bined with a special array of magic circles.

  Ihis "Sky City," Misako sat on a specially elevated chair, listening ily to the report of her subordinate.

  "The decration of the founding has bee out. All the nations on the ti should have received it by now. Our long-time allies were the first to express their support and gratutions. Additionally, the Witch ahem Witch's Faith has said they are iating with nations that are aware of the ins of the great war. In time, they expect to help rehabilitate the Demon Race’s reputation."

  "Mm."

  This was just the first phase. Most monsters lived in isotion, far from humalements, and were nearly cut off from the rest of the world. As for the Beastmen, they had been embroiled in stant internal strife for years, with no cohesive anization to speak of. This had tributed to their long-standing oppression.

  Otherwise, given the Beastmen’s natural strength and reproductive abilities, as well as a few exceptional individuals with special powers, they should have been able to resist the human race. After all, the humans, though not as fractured as the Beastmen, were still not united as one race.

  The ensved Beastmen, monsters, and other raow had the bag of this decration and the reition from various powerful nations and anizations. If it weren’t for some foolish individuals, they would likely be pushing for reforms to avoid being enemies of several nations.

  As for those nations struggling with internal opposition and uo resolve these issues, Misako and her allies would be more than willing to lend a hand, for resg those who had suffered aramount.

  However, how exactly to help and what the oute would be, they still could not say for certain.

  "Monsters are scattered too widely, and most live far from cities, so it will take time. For now, let’s focus on the Beastmen."

  Misako stood up from her chair and walked over to the group of people sitting in the er of the room, including Farkonia.

  "Is it time to go?"

  "Yes."

  They had been here for over a month, assisting in the stru of this "floating city" and guiding the magical energies that caused the barren nd below to begin tee. The grasses, flowers, and trees sprouting on the surface were their aplishments.

  With time, the nd’s regeive abilities would likely transform this area into fertile soil. At that point, neighb nations would likely ment their choices.

  Although that was the case, without their intervention, the recovery would have taken much longer.

  Misako turned back to g her subordinate who had just finished rep.

  "I’m going to visit the Beastmen now. You leave the rest of the work here to others."