What should he do?
Sion was troubled over this.
If this continued it would be bad.
He knew, he couldn’t go along with the flow like this.
Even if the whole world was mad, but if Roland messed up its steps too, its ending would be destruction.
If they used force against force, the ending was only destruction.
Power…
Progressing only by depending on power…
This way…
Attacking Runa, gaining power, but it was still not enough.
Attacking Nelpha, gaining power, but it was still not enough.
Using the power of the relics to head to Cassla, and continuing to progress, destroying everything before them…
And in the end clashing with Gastark.
And after Gastark…
What was there?
There was nothing.
Even if it were to gain victory, they would definitely find nothing.
Leaving only his father… mountains of corpses caused by when he was the previous king of this country.
And Sion was lying on top of these bodies…
But, was there really no other route to choose?
Even if he used the relics, wasn’t there a better method…
As Sion walked from the throne room to his office, he was along that large and cold black corridor, thinking furiously.
“What…what other methods is there…”
But he thought and thought, he thought and thought, but he couldn’t see another way.
Like this corridor…
The huge corridor without an end in sight.
No matter how many things were gained, he still couldn’t see what was ahead.
The king of Gastark already had a large power, and was starting to use it in war… But, just only this wouldn’t make him feel satisfied.
Once they had a large power, they would want to use this power.
He was very clear on this, men were these kind of creatures.
Having a large power, how was it to be used? All developments were closely linked with this…
But…
Sion stopped thinking.
“……How should that power be used? ……. But, if the king of Gastark is planning to use that power to save the world, then what would it become? If he had such a large power, then planned to use that power to create a peaceful world without conflict? Am I going to go against that power? Then…”
Then, everything really could not be saved anymore.
That was the real joke.
It was so hilarious that it made Sion unable to resist having a stiff smile.
Having the same thoughts and feelings, but killed each other?
And gambling on several tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of lives.
“Something this funny…”
Something this funny…
It was seen easily on this world.
It was already helpless…
Bang—immediately there was a sound of hitting something.
Sion banged the wall forcefully…
“Is it really helpless?”
Blood seeped out from his fist.
But, he didn’t feel the pain, he could only feel anger.
Anger towards himself, and towards the world.
The world was mad.
He wasn’t so naïve that he didn’t know this, because he had always seen this along the way.
Seeing people treat his mother like she were no better than a dog; seeing the people desperately wanting to live, but, meeting the terrible end of being stepped on like rubbish.
And his companions…
Seeing the appearances of Ryner, Kiefer, Tyle, Toni and Fahl struggling in pain.
No matter whether it was the murderers, or the victims, they were almost going mad from struggling in pain…
So, he had sat on the position of the king.
To change everything.
To change this crazy world.
As of today, he had become the king after much difficulty…
But they now told him, it was already hopeless?
“……Don’t joke with me…….”
He muttered as if groaning.
It was hilarious.
If that was the case, then there wasn’t a need for a king.
If he were to stop here now, there wasn’t any need for a king.
If that really was so, then let Froaude be king.
There was no change needed to be made.
No, just choose a useless noble who could be seen anywhere, and whose rational was clouded by lust to be king.
But…
The king was Sion Astal.
If that was so…
“If that is so, then change!”
He shouted, hitting the wall again.
There must be a path that could be taken.
Things couldn’t turn out as what Froaude said.
To reach this goal, he would still need a minimum amount of power after all? Enough power to be able to go against Gastark…
But, people who could use power were unsure about the ways of using power.
How to use such a large power, affected the whole situation.
He didn’t want to do something in the name of righteousness.
But, he wanted to find a path that could reduce the number of hurt lives as much as possible.
Even Gastark was stopped the invasion in order to conquer the southern continent at an astounding speed.
There should be a path that could be taken.
To reach this goal, completely securing Estabul was the first step.
In the recent days, he had to go to Estabul’s territory, to deal with the nobles…
This move had its own risks.
In Roland, even if it were Gastark assassins who were using relics, they were unable to harm Sion.
Because Lucile was there.
As long as he was in Roland, no matter what kind of monster, it was hard for it to even think of approaching Sion?
But… once he left Roland, and entered Estabul’s lands… he would lose Lucile’s protection.
Would Gastark let go of this good chance?
But if he wanted to completely take hold of Estabul, Sion still needed to head to that country’s land…
This was a kind of bet.
But, it wasn’t without its own winning chances.
Claugh was there too now. As long as he was there, he shouldn’t be in danger because of a few small matters…
Uh, in that case, he had to start thinking of who he should leave in Roland to be responsible for the work now…
As he thoughts moved forward again, he momentarily felt as if everything could progress smoothly.
Sion settled a few problems in his mind, as he thought of the plan to go to Estabul, he walked to his office.
There was a small door in the middle of the corridor.
It was a simple, undecorated door.
This was the door to his office that he spent nearly all his time in.
People who didn’t understand Sion’s true character, would probably be very surprised if they saw this simple room… In contrast, he was not accustomed to extravagant, gaudy rooms.
Was this a retaliation against his father who used to bully the people and live in great comfort…
Or was it the influence of his mother who had a respectful pure soul more than anyone else, but had been played around by father and stepped upon for her whole life?
Anyway, the room was large enough for him to work in, and sleep in.
When he had implied, to choose this room for his main activities, even Fiole said:
“If Your Majesty wants to rest in this sort of place, then wouldn’t I only be able to sleep at the side of the road?”
Sion reached out to touch the door handle and smiled when he heard that.
At that time he was still dreaming, Fiole had dreams for him, and trusting him unwaveringly could allow him to respond to all his dreams…
“…I have probably… become weak too…”
Since young he had always thought that he could do anything.
Even if it was something that seemed impossible, even if it seemed like it couldn’t be impossible.
Why did everyone say that was impossible?
Wasn’t that very easy?
They just needed to move forward.
He had thought.
Wasn’t it an easy matter to let everyone live in a world where they could laugh happily and live…
But now— “…”
He had a slight sad smile on his face.
Was it helplessness towards himself?
Or was it despair towards being unable to progress as expected in the world?
But, he was already unable to stop.
He touched the door handle. Then, he made to open the door…
“Eh…”
But, at that moment Sion stopped.
It felt a little difficult to open the door. Not only that, there was a human presence inside.
An assassin?
Sion narrowed his eyes.
But, where was the assassin from?
How many were there?
He concentrated, attempting to feel the presences in the room.
But he shook his head, an assassin that was able to infiltrate the city of Roland, could not be unable to erase their presence.
At the moment he could only feel the presence of one person… But, that was probably a trap?
Unless the other party’s plan to was make him mistake there was only one, and be off guard…
Or, the other party took him as an idiot, thinking that a relaxed king of one country, would be unable to find their presence?
No, it couldn’t be like that?
This presence was deliberately displayed to make him find it.
But, then what was the answer?
Should he walk in directly? Or go to find reinforcements?
“……Uh.”
If he found that this presence itself was a trap, then the other party’s intention was to make him call for help, and not enter the room…
But, at this moment Sion had a slight smile.
“Lucile… are you there?”
He asked softly.
“…”
There was no reply.
But, he was there.
He was that kind of person.
Unless it was necessary, or else he definitely would not appear… But, he was there.
“I thought so.”
Sion smiled bitterly.
…No, perhaps he really wasn’t there.
Only, if Lucile really wasn’t by Sion’s side right now, then that probably meant he didn’t think that the person in the office could threaten Sion too much?
This was Roland—Lucile had assigned Sion as king, as long as he did not feel that Sion was not suited for the position, then in this country, Sion would not fall into danger.
This was that sort of place.
Sion asked again.
“You want me to face this myself?”
“…”
There was still no reply…
Sion said when he saw this:
“Don’t overestimate me. Compared to you, I’m very weak?”
Although he said that, but Sion seemed a little happy, injecting strength in his body.
A real battle… How many years had he last had it?
Although he hadn’t stopped training his body, but… that was something that was when he was sixteen years old.
At that time he was with Ryner and Kiefer and the others, living in the Special Royal Military Academy…
“I don’t know how dull I’ve gotten.”
The presence still remained.
The other side should have discovered the current situation—
He should have found that Sion was standing in front of the room, but not entering.
The other side had already prepared a few traps, and was sitting in there and waiting for him?
Sion was even more excited.
“Very well, let me test out my strength!” Then, he lightly breathed in…
“Phew!”
He breathed out forcefully, at the same time he opened the door and walked in.
In a moment, the presence came from above.
Sion raised his head. Immediately, a book fell towards him from above…
The book was placed above the door ledge. Like in the school in the past, the pranks that they evil brats played on the teachers, pranks that pulled on people’s legs…
Sion saw this.
“Tch!”
He frowned, his expression tightening.
The fact that his attention had been turned to this matter, he himself had completely fallen into the other person’s trap.
If this were a real trap, what fell should be a knife spiked with poison?
But, the other side was clear, he wouldn’t fall for that kind of trap.
The other person’s intention was to pull Sion’s attention to that direction.
And to reach this goal, a book was sufficient.
And that book was a book placed in Sion’s room…
“…It seems it’s for real?”
He settled into a defensive position.
The next attack would follow closely? As long as he could receive the next blow, he could think of a way to retaliate…
Sion tensed his body, his left hand protecting his head, his right hand clutching his chest, preparing to fight.
As long as his fatal points weren’t hit, the situation could be improved.
But……
“……”
The blow did not appear.
He looked around.
There wasn’t even an enemy in sight.
He only saw the mountains of documents, and chairs, tables, shelves, and a half-open door that led to the adjacent resting room.
And the presence was coming from behind the door…
“……”
Sion stared in that direction without speaking.
As a side note, the ledge above the door to the resting room had a book too, and it was a thick dictionary…
“……”
Sion was still silent.
He slowly stepped forward, walking to the adjacent resting room.
Following that he took down the dictionary from the door, and continued to walk on.
The resting room was a narrow room with a single bed in it.
As long as he stood in the doorway, he could see the entire room. There was no place to hide. No, if they wanted to hide under the bed, perhaps they could still barely hide there…
There couldn’t be anyone who would hide in such a laughable place?
That meant, the person giving off that presence was of course…
“…………………”
But, Sion was still silent.
The scene before his eyes was too hilarious.
There was indeed an assassin—in the resting room.
But, that assassin…
That assassin wasn’t hidden under the bed.
He was even on the bed.
If that was so, at least he should have hidden under the covers?
But he didn’t know how he did it, the blanket had actually flown off the bed, into the corner of the room.
And that assassin…
Had black hair that was so messy that it could not be messed up any further because of his bad sleeping habit, added on to completely shut, making people suspect that those eyes would never open. Saliva drooled out from that open mouth, wetting Sion’s pillow…
The assassin’s appearance was very annoying…
“……………….Huh…….”
Sion sighed with a surprised expression.
Following that, he saw that he had a dictionary in his hand.
Sion saw that.
“Oh?”
He had a mischievous expression, then he lightly threw the dictionary from his head, allowing that dictionary to follow a beautiful parabolic motion.
“Oh~~”
That dictionary directly landed on the assassin’s head….
“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh?!”
“Hey, Ryner! What are you shouting about! Get up quickly, or else you’ll be late for lessons!”
Sion shouted, Ryner said with a surprised expression:
“Eh? Eh? Sc-school? Eh? Are we having lessons today? Eh…”
He looked around in confusion with half-opened sleepy eyes…
Considering…
Considering…
At last, he finally saw Sion with a stunned expression.
“……………..Ah, Sion, morning.”
“Morning.”
“…This is that place, right? It’s Sion’s room, right?”
“Eh.”
“……………… Eh? That, I already don’t need to go to school……Ah, I remember. That’s right, that’s right…….”
“Ah, you’re finally awake? Then, the things…”
“……………..Ah, but, it doesn’t matter now. That’s that.”
Saying that, he closed his eyes again, entering dream land.
Sion saw that, hummed, nodding, leaving the resting room.
Then he took down a book that was at least ten times the size of that dictionary from the shelves, it was a ridiculously large book. It was the largest book in Sion’s room…
The heaviness of that book made Sion tremble unconsciously.
“I, I didn’t think it would be this heavy? If I’m not careful, I might become a murderer here… but, I can’t stop, I can’t stop here.”
As he said, he used trembling hands to lift that large book up…
Ryner opened an eye slightly. Looking at Sion with lethargic eyes…
Following that Ryner’s eyes widened, and trembled because of extreme shock.
“You, are you an idiot?! Thr-throwing such a heavy thing here… Don’t throoooooooooooowww!!”
As he shouted, he desperately leapt clear of the bed.
His movements were incomparably quick, Sion whose movements had dulled much… No, perhaps even in the past Royal Military Special Academy, Sion who had had been called a genius was unable to be the opponent of him?
It was a completely difference in levels.
If he were the enemy, it would be a challenging opponent…
“You, do you want to kill me?!”
Ryner shouted, Sion smiled when he saw this:
“Ah, morning.”
“Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat morning! I was nearly killed by you!!”
Ryner yelled.
Sion shrugged upon seeing this:
“But, didn’t you want to kill me? Ne, didn’t you put that book above the door!”
Ryner heard this, picking up the normal sized dictionary by the bed, saying with a slightly depressed expression:
“………Next time, I’m going to dig an empty hole in the dictionary, and place a snake… or a frog or something like that in it…”
For some reason, his thoughts seemed to be focused on the trap above the door.
Uh, let’s not talk about this for now.
Sion surveyed the room, then asked:
“When did you come back?”
Ryner was as if a different person from just now, but Sion sat back on the bed with an extremely familiar lazy movement.
“Today morning.”
“Then?”
“Eh? Then? Then I felt very tired, so I slept. The end.”
Saying that, Ryner made to lie down again, Sion had a surprised expression at this.
“I say… You spent a few months going to find Heroes’ Relics. You returned after much difficulty, and you only tell me, ‘I felt very tired, so I slept’, something like that? Don’t tell me you don’t have any report? After all if there is any information about the other countries or relics, and the details of the Gastark killers you dealt with… Uh, talking about which, you should have been in Iyet Republic before, why did you appear there, don’t these need reports?”
“Yeah, that makes sense.”
Ryner nodded simply after he heard that, crossing his arms as if thinking.
After thinking for a few seconds, perhaps he finally had a cohesive answer? He hit his hands together.
“Oh yes, I discovered an amazing truth recently.”
“A truth?”
“Yeah. Talking about which one day, I was met some difficulties at sea, and had fainted… when I woke up, I was already on a very comfortable beach.”
“Oh. A beach?”
“Yes, a beach. I heard, that is the beach belonging to the Eris family…”
“Eh? Ferris’s family?”
“Yes. Ferris’s family’s. That beach was very comfortable… I had an afternoon nap there. If I had to describe how comfortable it was, let me tell you, the sky was so blue, and so high. I could hear only the sound of the waves and the cries of the sea birds…”
Ryner’s expression when he described it was so comfortable, it made Sion try to imagine that sort of scene…
“Yeah… It sounds pretty comfortable.”
The scene really seemed to be comfortable in his imagination.
The image of him and Ryner lying on the beach, and taking the chance when Ryner was sleeping soundly, to place a hermit crab on his face appeared in his mind…
“It seems very fun.”
But, Ryner of course did not know that a hermit crab had been placed on his face.
“I said so?”
Ryner said:
“Lying on such a comfortable beach, wouldn’t it let people want to have afternoon naps?”
“Eh.”
“In the end, many thoughts appeared in my mind. Like, can my life continue like that? Why did I end up like that? The sea was so big, but why did I have to be so busy every day…”
“Ah, I understand I understand.”
Sion involuntarily nodded hard in agreement.
Ryner continued:
“I thought, why do I have to be so busy? Who is the culprit? Then like this, I slept and thought, then slept and thought.”
“Uh-huh.”
Sion nodded again.
“So, I finally realized! It’s that person! It’s that person’s fault! Everything is the fault of that tyrannical Roland king, Sion Astal!”
“I see.”
He nodded even harder, as if there wasn’t something that made more sense than this.
Then Sion stared at Ryner.
“Then, you want to kill me?”
“Yup.”
“Using a dictionary?”
“Using a dictionary.”
“This is the truth you spent a few months to discover?”
“Don’t you think it’s amazing?”
Ryner said with confidence.
Sion pressed his forehead when he saw this.
After a while…
“…………………Yeah, it’s amazing, it’s really amazing…”
He couldn’t help but laugh.
The expression he had at this moment would definitely not be shown to his subordinates.
It wouldn’t be seen by the nobles.
It wouldn’t even be seen by the civilians…
And, even Fiole had never seen it…
It was the smile of a youth who didn’t think that anything in this world was impossible, or couldn’t be done…
But, that smile immediately disappeared.
Sion looked at Ryner with sharp eyes as if he could see through him.
“But, Ryner, you’re too impatient. After all I am a king of a country? And I am the Hero King that is praised everywhere… Attempting to kill someone like me is a serious crime…”
“Ah, you said it, you finally said it! You just said you were the Hero King? How embarrassing. I always suspected, where is your confidence from?”
But Sion raised his chest with a serious expression.
“It’s that~~ Because I am someone who is born to be king.”
“Ah, let me ask you, don’t you feel embarrassed saying that?”
“It’s the truth, it can’t be helped? The glow I give off is different from normal. How should I describe it? It’s that pure, sacred glow from a pure soul…”
“Noo~~oooo! I don’t want to hear anymore. Even if you don’t feel embarrassed, it’s awkward for the listener. Anyway, I have to kill you. Finally, I will bring peace to this country.”
But, Sion did not give up. He beamed and said:
“Ah, I want to say more. I want to say more things in your ear, so that you will want to escape because of embarrassment.”
Saying that, Sion attacked Ryner who was lying on the bed…
“Ah! You, don’t… Save, save me~~ Someone wants to rape me~~”
As Ryner said, he unhesitatingly caught Sion’s attacking hands, then pushed back, attempting to push Sion to the bed.
“Oh? I won’t admit defeat. Look at my counter wrestling… Ah?!”
But, he didn’t know how it was done, Sion’s body flew in the air, his whole body landing directly in the middle of the mattress.
In a moment, the ceiling appeared within his sight……
“………..”
After he stared at that empty, white ceiling in surprise…Sion turned to his side.
“Eh, are you going to take advantage of me now? As expected of the pervert in the legends.”
He said that…
Ryner stared at Sion’s face with half-lidded sleepy eyes. Following that he sighed, then sat on the bed again.
Then—
“Sion.”
“Eh?”
“…You must be very tired…”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. Very tired.”
Sion stared at the ceiling again when he heard this.
The white, empty ceiling.
The softness of the mattress was very comfortable, it nearly made him lose consciousness in an instant.
Oh yes, how long had it been since he had lain on this bed?
He tried to recall, but he couldn’t remember.
Thinking about it, he had mostly dozed off at his office table, he rarely used the bed.
But, the reason why he was tired wasn’t because of this?
He frequently worked without sleeping for several days.
The real reason was…
Sion said softly:
“……Yeah, perhaps……perhaps I’m really exhausted. But, it’s not a problem.”
“Eh? Why?”
“Because I’m lying on the bed now.”
“Ah? You can resurrect because of this? If it were me, I would sleep fifty hours in a day.”
“Fifty hours in a day? That is a high leveled technique…”
Ryner replied smugly when he heard this:
“How can you blame me for being a professional?”
“Oh, professional. It seems quite cool. Can I do it too?”
Ryner simply replied:
“You can’t.”
“……I thought so too? But, let me dream for a while longer.”
“Then temporarily put down all your work.”
“……No, if I do that…….”
“Then it’s impossible.”
Ryner was as simple as ever.
Sion laughed wryly, then said:
“Hearing you say that, I’m slightly hurt.”
As he said that, he raised his head slightly to look at the ceiling.
“Is there something?”
“The ceiling.”
“Ah, the ceiling? Uh uh. You must indeed be tired.”
But, Sion heard this…
“Alright, I’m resurrected!”
He sat up in one breath, arranging his messy silver hair, breathing out loud.
Then he told Ryner who sat from across him:
“Ne, let’s talk about work now?”
“Ah? You, you… can’t a monster… Ah, you really seem like you’re not tired…”
Ryner looked Sion’s face, scowling.
Sion laughed and said when he saw this:
“I’m very capable, right? I don’t usually go back to normal so fast……It must be an effect of Ryner sleeping with me.”
“Ah! What an annoying effect…”
Ryner’s frown was even more severe than earlier.
Sion said:
“Perhaps? I felt regret after saying that.”
He laughed.
But…….that was the truth.
Because of Ryner’s blessing, he was saved.
He really thought so.
For this period, perhaps he had overworked.
But, it would be fine.
He could already remember his past self.
Even if the whole world was crazy, there wasn’t need to trouble himself.
Because, there was definitely a path that could be taken.
Because, he could remember his self who had believed in this…
Before Ryner, Sion laughed genuinely.
And Ryner looked at him who had regained a little strength with an unhappy expression…
Sion increasingly regained his energy, he looked at Ryner with an expression that said he was up to no good.
“Then, about work…”
“Ah, didn’t I say, I’ve been overworked this past few days, I’m almost dying of overwork, so let’s not talk about work…”
But Sion completely ignored his protest, continuing to say:
“That’s true, it’s rare for Ryner to return to Roland, there’s a lot of work to be done.”
“There’s no such thing…”
“Oh yes, where’s Ferris? Since you’re here, it means Ferris has returned too?”
“You… At least listen to other people speaking…”
Ryner said depressingly, then said:
“Ferris that person is like that~~ She told me like usual, ‘I’m not as free as you. I have to go somewhere. Go on ahead to Sion’s room first to prepare the assassination plan, I will head over later’, she clearly told me that, but she’s late… In addition, you weren’t coming either…”
Sion nodded, then continued for him:
“So, as you waited, you grew sleepy, and fell asleep?”
“No, I immediately fell asleep.”
“Ah… I see. Then Ferris went to buy dango?”
Ryner scowled again when he heard this.
“Ah, what is this! What is this! Ferris = dango. Ryner = afternoon naps. A simple equation like this must have appeared in your mind, right?”
“Eh? Is there anything wrong?”
Sion asked. Ryner thought about it for a while, perhaps he had thought it through?
“…No, it should be dango.”
“Then can we continue?”
“Yeah. It sounds negative, but it doesn’t matter.”
The topic of the two finally reached an agreement, Sion nodded, continuing.
“So, pushing this kind of job to you when you’ve just returned, makes me feel like not doing so…”
Ryner immediately replied when he said this:
“Then don’t push it to us.”
But, his protest was ignored.
“I want Ferris and Ryner to accompany me to Estabul.”
“Eeeeeeehhh?! We just returned? Are you a ghost? It’s too troublesome, I don’t want to.”
“Yes, I’ll need to explain the situation of Roland as of now…”
“No, what was the meaning of your ‘yes’ just now? I clearly said I’m not explaining, why are you starting to explain?!”
Sion still did not acknowledge that.
“Anyway, I will need bodyguards. Because the area outside Roland is too chaotic. Now that you have returned, I can relax. Didn’t you say it often? You said, ‘For Your Majesty, I can sacrifice my life, and take a shot for you!’”
“Who?! Who said that?!”
“It’s now!”
“You…”
“Of course, if you don’t listen to me, I will use the authority of the king’s power to make you do things you don’t like.”
Sion said firmly. Ryner heard this.
“………………You, you’re saying cruel things deliberately, right…….?”
Ryner said with a trembling voice because of fear.
Sion’s state of energy was the best he had seen recently.
In contrast.
“……………Ah……”
Ryner’s energy was greatly decreased…
Sion laughed when he saw this.
“Ne, anyway we don’t have to leave immediately today or tomorrow, so you can rest for a while.”
“………………..Ah…….”
“Ah, that’s right, you wanted Iris to bring back the two children called Arua, they seem to be in the land of the Eris family, they seem to be getting along well with Iris, will you go to visit him?”
Ryner had a little reaction after hearing this.
“…The Eris Family? You’re saying Ferris’s house? Arua is there? Then I’ll go visit him…….”
“No, help me first…….”
Ryner immediately stood up when he heard this.
“Ah! That, that’s right? I need to find Arua! Then, then it’s like that, good bye, Sion.”
Saying that, Ryner walked away shakily with an unenergetic appearance.
After watching him leave, Sion stood up to……
“There’s still another matter……”
He only spoke half of his sentence…
But, he stopped.
He turned to look at the ridiculously large book on the ground……
“Ah, Ryner~ I only wanted you to help me pick this book up before you left.”
He said.
☆
Before this.
The place was in the military institution in Estabul.
Although it was called that, but in actuality, the army of Estabul had been dispersed long ago, scattered around the country, to prevent the main force from raising a revolt…
Anyway, the place was in the military institution of Estabul.
The facilities of the Roland army were buildings with black as its main colour, and the Estabul’s facilities had many decorations. Some places were pictures with words, and others were made with a few square pictures.
Seeing this pictures, the mind would naturally evoke the feelings of ‘obedience’ and admiration’…
Looking at the picture hung on the wall in the hall of the military headquarters—
“……Can these pictures evoke feelings… of ‘obedience’ and admiration’?”
The man asked doubtfully.
He had flaming crimson hair and sharp eyes.
His body was as solid and endurable like metal and he wore Roland’s military outfit.
Anyway, everything about that man gave people a sharp impression.
Although, he was the current Field Marshal of the Roland army…
But in Estabul, this name was probably more famous than the title of Field Marshal?
The Crimson-Fingered Claugh Klom.
In this region, this name’s meaning was no different than calling him a demon.
In many battles, the demon whose hands were stained red by the enemy’s blood…
Claugh was now entering Estabul with a squad under Sion’s orders.
Their mission was to reform the Estabul army, if there were hopeful talents, then they would arrange for them to have suitable positions in the Roland army.
Sion said, if they were really capable talents, he could even give them the position of the Field Marshal.
So now, he was interviewing people who seemed to be talented in Estabul…
“Ah, but I still don’t see anyone suitable to be a Field Marshal……”
Claugh, shrugged, then spoke behind his shoulder.
Behind him, a girl stood up.
She was a beautiful girl with deep blue long hair that was rarely seen in Roland.
A serene beautiful look with a pair of expressive, intelligent blue eyes that didn’t make her seem like a seventeen year old.
She was the princess of the previously known Estabul, Noa Ehn.
She had felt sad about the Estabul nobles who had lost control of their actions and taken the people as hostages, single-handedly going against them, squashing the rebellion. And she successfully minimized the number of casualties through surrendering and negotiating, and was seen as a hero that saved the country, becoming a noble of Roland, she was literally a talented girl…
That was what was spread on the surface, but…
It wasn’t that truthfully.
Noa had done that to protect the Estabul people who had fallen into Froaude’s plan and had misunderstood… She clearly knew that she would be criticized by people, but she became a noble of Roland unhesitatingly.
And criticisms appeared.
Some people said she was a traitor, others scolded her for protecting her own life and stance, leaning towards Roland…
Claugh looked at Noa and said:
“Speaking of which, your dark blue hair is very special after all?”
Noa had a surprised expression when she heard this.
“Eh? Is it special? I feel that among the noble girls of Estabul, blue hair isn’t so outstanding… After coming to Estabul, hasn’t Klom-sama seen a few people?”
“Eh? Is that so?”
“Yes.”
Claugh tilted his head skeptically again, then said:
“Is it? But, I don’t remember seeing other women’s hair being as pretty as yours.”
In an instant.
Noa’s face was stained red…
Her embarrassed look was indeed incomparably beautiful.
Claugh thought in his heart when he saw this.
That beautiful intelligent appearance, those evil comments weren’t enough to stay on her heart…
At this moment, a voice spoke from the front door of the hall.
“Is Claugh Klom here?”
Hearing that, Claugh laughed.
“Ah! I’m here!”
“I heard you’ve been teasing our princess Noa, is that the truth?!”
Claugh laughed when he heard this shout.
“If it’s real, then so what?”
“Of course I’ll kill you!!”
Yes.
No matter how many evil comments there were outside, Noa was still loved by the Estabul people.
From the beginning, it was Noa who introduced the talented people in the Estabul army and nobles to Claugh…
At the same time, this kind of people would appear from time to time before Claugh and the others.
These people were genuine idiots.
They would shout at the Crimson Fingered Claugh Klom that all Estabuls recognized.
“Diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeee! Go!”
They shouted, rushing over with a terrible stance.
They really were genuine idiots…
Then—
“Ha, it seems they have their own uses.”
Claugh was also an idiot.
Noa could only shakily say from behind them:
“Ah, ah, be careful, Your Excellency… You too, actually challenging Field Marshal Klom… Ah, really…”
Noa said helplessly, not knowing which side she should support.
In that time, Claugh and the Estabul youths had already started fighting.
They had the same dark blue, curly hair. And probably had not reached twenty years old? This youth was chanting the magic of Estabul—the magic using glowing words…
But, Claugh saw this—
“Nooooooooooooisy!”
He leapt out at an amazing speed, kicking the youth’s face…
“Ah?!”
The battle ended like that.
Blood spurted out of the youth’s nose, and he flew away. Noa saw this—
“Ah, blood…”
She was still terribly fearful.
And, Claugh didn’t notice this, he shouted:
“If you’re thinking of beating me with that sort of skills, then you’re early by a hundred years!”
And the youth got up, staring at Claugh.
“Too, too amazing, the Crimson Fingered Claugh is amazing indeed!”
“No, well, but you have your good points too.”
In a moment, the youth’s eyes gleamed.
“R-really?!”
“Yeah. What’s your name?”
“Namhen.”
“Then, Namhen, from now onwards, you are a Second Lieutenant.”
“S-second Lieutenant?! Of where?”
“Of course it’s Roland.”
“It, it can’t be?”
“Really.”
“But, I-I am an Estabul person?”
“So what? This is the order of the Roland king. He said, as long as they are capable people, then they can be appointed. He also said, if they have the ability, they can even become Field Marshals.”
“L-liar!”
“I’m serious, you’re very stubborn. Ne, listen carefully, go out to talk to the one in charge. Then you’re a Second Lieutenant. Besides this, tell this to the others, just say Claugh that person said: ‘I’ll take you on any time!’”
Namhen nodded vigorously when he heard this, then said:
“S-second Lieutenant… He’s good, the Roland king is really good!”
Saying that, he left the hall.
From morning till now, Claugh had already sent a few people flying in this fashion…
Noa looked at this with an uncomprehending expression.
“I-is this method really suitable…”
“Eh? It shouldn’t be any problem? And that kid is quite strong too.”
“Using power to determine the job, is that suitable?”
“It doesn’t matter. And although that kid looks a little foolish, but he has quite the spirit… I made this person’s status higher than Luke that person, and use this opportunity to tease that person who is a sergeant and is wandering freely outside the country happily.”
Claugh laughed bitterly with a depressed expression and said.
Noa seemed to feel troubled when she saw this, her eye brows forming aへshape.
“Why is it like this… Ah, but now thinking about it Klom-sama has always mentioned Sergeant Luke Stokkart in the past? When it was the revolution in Roland…”
Claugh nodded.
“Yeah. We were allies since that time. How should I say it? Listen to me…”
“Eh? Ah, yes…”
“That person, is an extremely energetic person? Because he is usually in charge of secret movements, so he is rarely in public… In truth, his successes are way more than mine.”
“And that person is now a sergeant?”
“Yes! It’s weird, isn’t it? I became a Field Marshal, and I’m sent to handle boring military administration tasks, and that person can carry out very important secret mission in parts of the world, how can there be something so unfair?”
Noa became silent in an instant after she heard that. Then she said:
“………..Klom-sama likes dangerous missions?”
“Yeah, well, because it suits me more than boring desk jobs.”
Then Noa nodded with an expression as if she understood.
“Then, I must thank Astal-sama indeed.”
“Ah? Why?”
Claugh turned back to ask.
Noa gave him a gentle smile when she heard that, then she bowed her head a little awkwardly.
“Because… I don’t want Claugh to go anywhere too dangerous…”
Noa suddenly said something so straightforward, Claugh heard that—
“Wha…….You, you…….”
In that moment.
“………………Tsk!”
An abnormally loud cluck of a tongue that had a mocking sound to it rang in the hall…
“Ah?”
Claugh turned his eyes to the entrance of the hall.
He saw a man wearing an Estabul uniform.
But Claugh immediately saw that this man was different from the previous challengers.
He seemed about twenty five years old, about the same age as Claugh?
Wavy tea-coloured hair, and same tea-coloured eyes, his eyes were filled with hate, and glared viciously at Claugh. There many wrinkles squeezed between his eyebrows, his mouth was twisted mockingly too.
An expression that he clearly hated Claugh.
Although he was not as tall as Claugh, but he was considerably tall, his back was very straight, and he wasn’t losing out in the looks department, it could even be said that he looked like a good youth, but…
This person was glaring fiercely at Claugh, his expression was contorted, Claugh’s first impression was so bad that it couldn’t be any worse.
Claugh couldn’t help but ask:
“You, do you hate me that much?”
The man heard this.
“…………………….Tsk!”
He clucked his tongue again.
But Noa called:
“Colonel Ba-Bayuuz…”
“Eh? Noa, you recognize him?”
Noa nodded.
“In Estabul, there isn’t a single person that doesn’t recognize Colonel Bayuuz. Although he isn’t as… famous as Crimson Fingered Claugh, but he is an extremely well known soldier…”
At this moment suddenly—
“Your Highness. I am honored that you still remember my name, I, Bayuuz White… am too touched, perhaps I will be unable to fall asleep tonight?”
As if he were a different person from earlier, he said that with an expression that made him look younger. Then he held his hand in front of his chest with a movement as elegant as a noble, bowing his head to express his gratitude.
Claugh couldn’t help but say:
“Your, your attitude…”
But, his words were interrupted again.
“…Tsk!”
The youth’s expression twisted again.
“………..”
It seems, he really hated Claugh. Claugh shrugged when he saw that.
“…….Ah~~ Forget it, it doesn’t matter if you hate me… Ne, you’re here…”
But, Bayuuz ignored Claugh, talking to Noa:
“I heard Your Highness was here to select officers…?”
“You, you…….I’m talking now……”
“…………….Tsk!”
“What are you tsking about! Are you an idiot? Talk properly…”
But, Bayuuz glared at Claugh even more unhappily, replying:
“Lowly pigs should keep quiet!”
“Pig?! I waited for you to open your mouth with much difficulty… You are very daring…”
Claugh’s expression seemed to slowly become more threatening, Noa hurriedly stopped him.
“Ah, ah, Field Marshal Klom-sama……And Colonel White……Ah, no White-sama, the two of you please…”
Claugh and Bayuuz both said at the same time:
“But Noa!”
“But Princess!”
Then they exchanged glares.
Noa revealed a helpless expression when she saw that.
“That, that, Bayuuz-sama…”
At this moment, Bayuuz suddenly knelt.
“Please call me Bayuuz, call me directly by my name Bayuuz, Princess. There isn’t any need for you to use formalities to address me.”
Claugh nodded when he heard this.
“Yes, Noa. Dealing with someone like this…”
But, he was interrupted immediately again.
“You useless maggot, no one is talking to you! Not only does an unremarkable maggot not know its place, it even calls the princess by her name directly without feeling embarrassed! How dirty, filthy!”
“You, you said I’m a maggot… You’re really pushing your luck, do you want to fight! You want to fight! Then fight! Noa, step back. I want to beat this guy up.”
“Eh? Ah, that…”
“Oh? A maggot can actually fight? That’s fine, I’ll play with you then. Ah, Your Highness, I am going to squash a pest, please move away, to prevent yourself from being harmed unnecessarily.”
“Ah?! Ah, that…”
But, the two men didn’t care how panicked Noa was, the situation couldn’t be stopped.
He had already rolled up his sleeves, revealing his arms, a few tattoos of magical structures could be seen on his arms…
This was the reason why Claugh was called the Crimson Fingered Claugh.
When the tattoos on his arms glowed, Claugh’s surroundings would become a sea of blood.
It was a very famous saying.
Claugh glared at Bayuuz with a serious expression.
“Come, start! Aren’t you a very famous person? Let me have some fun.”
Claugh said, preparing himself.
But Bayuuz remained at his position, not making any preparations for battle.
“Ah, don’t be so urgent, Claugh.”
“Why are you calling me by my name suddenly?”
“Eh? Or you want me to call you Field Marshal Maggot-sama?”
“…………………………………….No, it doesn’t matter, let me send you flying with a kick……”
Saying that, Claugh heightened his senses, seeming to be able to fight any moment. But, Bayuuz stopped him with a hand.
“I said wait, you idiot.”
“……..You, you……”
But Claugh’s words were ignored, Claugh mildly said with a steady expression:
“Firstly let me state the reason why I am here. Honestly speaking, I am here to be a Field Marshal.”
Claugh’s pose relaxed slightly when he heard this, his eyes narrowed too.
“Oh? To be a Field Marshal?”
“Yes. As long as they are talented, they can become Field Marshals, isn’t that so?”
“If they are talented enough. Then, are you saying that you are very talented?”
Bayuuz nodded with an expression as if this were to be expected.
“You can tell right? Or are you blind because your eyes were eaten by insects?”
“…………..Aaaaaaaaaaaah, I really want to kill you……”
Because Claugh could tell with one glance that this man wasn’t just an underling, so it made him even angrier.
Presence, feet movements, the movement of his gaze…
It fulfilled all the conditions.
If he didn’t have this kind of personality, Claugh would really celebrate that he had finally found someone who was able to take up such a huge responsibility, but…
But, Bayuuz continued:
“On the other hand, I have already gathered many Estabul soldiers. Uh, actually speaking of which, even if I don’t open my mouth, they will gather over automatically. I am quite popular.”
“…………………….Oh.”
“We have enough people to start a revolution. But, I don’t want to do that. I… No, my only wish is to protect Her Highness.”
Saying that, he had a different expression when he went against Claugh, bowing his head towards Noa…
Claugh said when he saw this:
“I’m just curious, you… do you usually use the attitude you are using towards Noa, or the attitude that you are showing me to gather the other Estabul soldiers under you?”
Bayuuz simply replied when he heard this:
“Don’t ask such foolish questions. Other than you, do I have to use such foolish attitude towards other people! Ne, move further away from the princess! The stench from your body will stick to the princess’s body!”
“Ah, is that so…”
Claugh replied.
Things were like that.
Noa’s presence in this country was popular enough to view her as a god, so it wouldn’t be surprising that such a person would appear, but…
“So, because you are popular, you want to be a Field Marshal?”
But Bayuuz had an expression that said ‘are you an idiot’ as he replied:
“Why would I have to undergo your interview? I’m here to interview you. I want to see, what sort of person is the Field Marshal of Roland?”
“Then, you still want to fight?”
Claugh prepared himself again after he spoke, but Bayuuz shook his head.
“No, I know it just by looking. If I fight you face to face, I cannot win you. But, if we don’t use magic or weapons, and fight just with our physical bodies…”
“Oh? You mean, your physical fighting skills can win me?”
Bayuuz nodded.
“I am here today to let you know that.”
“Heh. Then let’s fight?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m coming?”
“Come.”
Then, the battle started.
Claugh leapt away from his original position like a bullet.
And, Bayuuz had an even faster reaction, no wonder he dared to say that with so much self-confidence.
Bayuuz leapt back forcefully, causing the distance that Claugh had shortened to reduce to its original distance.
Then he reached behind him, pulling out a knife, throwing it over in one breath…
“We agreed not to use weaaaaaaaapons!”
Claugh couldn’t help but shout when he saw that. As he shouted, he flicked the approaching knives in an instant.
But Bayuuz’s attacks did not stop.
He started to write glowing words at an amazing speed in the air…
It was a pressurizing speed.
His speed and familiarity in writing magic, were both different from Namhen.
Bayuuz’s fighting ability on magic couldn’t be compared to Claugh?
If he allowed the other party to finish chanting his incantation, then there would be a limit to how he could defend…
Then, at this moment Claugh picked up the fallen knife that Bayuuz had thrown earlier…
Suddenly—
Bayuuz stopped the magic for some reason, shouting angrily:
“Stop! Put that knife down, Claugh Krom! You’re too underhanded!”
“Who’s underhaaaaaaaanded!!”
Claugh couldn’t help but yell again.
The battle suddenly stopped like that…
Bayuuz spoke, and without changing his expression.
“Like that, we’re tied.”
“How are we tied? You clearly said it was a battle depending on physical abilities… Uh, speaking of which, on the battle ground, words are a type of weapon too. You must be thinking that the person who fell into this worded trap has problems with himself?”
“Uh…”
Bayuuz was momentarily speechless when he heard this. Claugh seemed to have guessed what he was thinking.
Claugh sighed when he saw this, throwing the knife back to Bayuuz.
“But, you are not wrong. Because trickery it the basis of fighting. I could tell with one look, you have a strong ability. You know that I have a strong power, even so, you still dared to challenge me with a plan. Not bad. I acknowledge your ability.”
“Is that so? You finally understood? Uh, but, I will not acknowledge you just like that…”
“What do I have to do to gain your acknowledgement…”
But in that moment, Bayuuz’s expression changed.
He had a completely different serious expression as he said:
“Didn’t I say it? I have many Estabul soldiers gathered under me, and I am their representative. Claugh Krom, what are you here for? To reform the Estabul soldiers? Then, what do you need to do?”
Claugh smiled when he heard this, staring at Bayuuz.
“…What do you want me to do?”
Just as he asked that.
A voice suddenly spoke from the entrance to the hall.
“Colonel Ba-Bayuuz! That person again…”
A young man wearing the same Estabul military uniform as Bayuuz, ran over as he panted. From the badge, he was Second Lieutenant?
“That person… That person has again…”
He seemed to be similarly conflicted.
Bayuuz nodded slowly when he heard this.
“…Calm down, Pasuur.”
He said with a low and calm voice, sharp eyes staring straight at the young officer.
With that sentence, the officer named Pasuur closed his mouth shakingly…
Claugh saw that, and remembered something.
The meaning of the words and pictures on the Estabul military facilities’ walls.
Obedience and admiration.
The eyes that Pasuur were looking at Bayuuz were filled with these two feelings. Obedience, and admiration that was stemmed from worship.
It was a person that people didn’t think of.
Was this the real image of Bayuuz?
Soldiers willingly chased after him.
Bayuuz still used a calm voice to say:
“…Then, he’s appeared? How many people have died this time?”
Pasuur revealed an expression that was conflicted and trembling because of fear and said:
“Th-that… The Belt village in the east has been nearly destroyed…”
This conversation made Claugh narrow his eyes unconsciously.
From the contents of the conversation, it seemed like something like bandits had appeared, attacking the village……
Was it like that?
The former Estabul officer had came to report this, that meant the Estabul soldiers that Bayuuz had gathered, were moving to maintain Estabul’s peace.
But, this matter seemed bad.
Estabul that was swallowed by Roland, was responsible for maintaining Estabul’s peace. But……now it was taken up by Bayuuz’s militants, it proved that there must be quite a number of soldiers under his command?
Perhaps what he said about having enough people to start a revolution wasn’t nonsense.
And, Bayuuz did not trigger a revolution, instead he found Claugh.
That meant, he didn’t want unnecessary bloodshed.
And that meant he thought, if peace could be maintained, it didn’t matter if they were engulfed by Roland…
But, it wasn’t being engulfed for nothing.
If he wanted to reform the army here and hand it to him to handle, he would display a similar sincerity, right?
Was that what Bayuuz was saying?
Of course it wasn’t the formless ‘sincerity’ that the nobles always hung by their mouths.
It was true sincerity.
What they were asking from Claugh was the guarantee that Roland would protect Estabul’s peace and dignity.
The burden was unbearably heavy.
And, how would this prove his sincerity?
Claugh said to Bayuuz:
“The village is being destroyed… that means, it’s quite a large force of bandits? Alright, I’ll let you see our sincerity. I’ll take my troops to defeat those bandits.”
But, Bayuuz glared at him viciously when he heard that.
“You’ll defeat him….?”
Saying that, he scoffed at Claugh.
“Impossible. If you can defeat him, we’ll follow you forever.”
He said.
Claugh revealed a suspicious expression.
“…Ah? This bet is heavy. It’s only bandits, if I can defeat them, then you’ll follow me for the rest of my life…? Uh, talking about which, what is it about ‘him’? Are those bandits led by someone you know? That means, it’s a deserter from the former Estabul army…”
But, Bayuuz interrupted him, telling Pasuur:
“Is it really him? That…”
Pasuur nodded immediately and replied:
“It isn’t mistaken. Everyone in the village has been bitten to death…”
“Ah?!”
Claugh couldn’t help but shout when he heard that.
But Pasuur continued:
“And someone witnessed… that, that black hair… black clothes… and, and…”
Pasuur started to tremble suddenly. As if he were fearful of an unknown monster…
“And his eyes… in his black eyes, there was the cursed red image…”
Claugh finally understood after he heard that.
He understood what they were scared of.
He understood what they were fighting against.
The cursed image in the red eyes.
It was hated and feared by everyone, the evidence of people who bought ill omen to everyone.
It was hated and feared by everyone, the evidence of people who bought bad luck.
The evidence of an Alpha Stigma bearer.
If it were a normal Alpha Stigma bearer, although not easy to deal with, but as long as they moved the army, there was nothing to be expected.
Claugh had once led a team, to kill an Alpha Stigma bearer who had lost control and was killing people.
But, Bayuuz and the others were so scared…
Claugh thought of another matter.
It was a thing that happened very very long ago…
It was something that had happened a long long time ago, when Claugh had just entered the Roland army…
When Claugh saw the Alpha Stigma bearer, it wasn’t a normal Alpha Stigma bearer.
He couldn’t forget it now. The unlucky red pattern that was glowing in those eyes…
And that person was laughing as if crazy.
As if taking everyone, everything as fools as he laughed.
When going against that person, Claugh’s squad had been eliminated in a moment.
Claugh had nearly lost his life.
Even so, he had crawled on the ground, attempting to escape.
As he cried in the sea of his companions’ blood, he had desperately tried to escape.
That person laughed.
That person laughed.
He didn’t mean to kill Claugh.
He only laughed continuously.
He only continuously laughed without stopping.
Claugh cried as he escaped.
That person saw this, laughing as he said:
“Ah……. Your slim arm……looks very delicious?”
Then—
Claugh lost his right arm.
No, it should be said that half of what was under the joint of his right shoulder was eaten.
His tendons were bitten off, his shoulder was unable to move because of this, it could no longer move.
But that was no longer important.
Claugh could only cry continuously.
Because of pain and fear.
And that person laughed happily…
That was a memory of the distant past.
But, Claugh’s arm…
He touched the tattoo on his right arm that was the center of the part that had been bitten off.
Bayuuz said:
“The situation is terrible. He’s not a normal Alpha Stigma bearer, he has already awakened. Can you defeat him?”
Claugh had a stiff smile.
“……………….Who can fight with that kind of mad monster……”
He softly muttered.
What should he do?
Sion was troubled over this.
If this continued it would be bad.
He knew, he couldn’t go along with the flow like this.
Even if the whole world was mad, but if Roland messed up its steps too, its ending would be destruction.
If they used force against force, the ending was only destruction.
Power…
Progressing only by depending on power…
This way…
Attacking Runa, gaining power, but it was still not enough.
Attacking Nelpha, gaining power, but it was still not enough.
Using the power of the relics to head to Cassla, and continuing to progress, destroying everything before them…
And in the end clashing with Gastark.
And after Gastark…
What was there?
There was nothing.
Even if it were to gain victory, they would definitely find nothing.
Leaving only his father… mountains of corpses caused by when he was the previous king of this country.
And Sion was lying on top of these bodies…
But, was there really no other route to choose?
Even if he used the relics, wasn’t there a better method…
As Sion walked from the throne room to his office, he was along that large and cold black corridor, thinking furiously.
“What…what other methods is there…”
But he thought and thought, he thought and thought, but he couldn’t see another way.
Like this corridor…
The huge corridor without an end in sight.
No matter how many things were gained, he still couldn’t see what was ahead.
The king of Gastark already had a large power, and was starting to use it in war… But, just only this wouldn’t make him feel satisfied.
Once they had a large power, they would want to use this power.
He was very clear on this, men were these kind of creatures.
Having a large power, how was it to be used? All developments were closely linked with this…
But…
Sion stopped thinking.
“……How should that power be used? ……. But, if the king of Gastark is planning to use that power to save the world, then what would it become? If he had such a large power, then planned to use that power to create a peaceful world without conflict? Am I going to go against that power? Then…”
Then, everything really could not be saved anymore.
That was the real joke.
It was so hilarious that it made Sion unable to resist having a stiff smile.
Having the same thoughts and feelings, but killed each other?
And gambling on several tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of lives.
“Something this funny…”
Something this funny…
It was seen easily on this world.
It was already helpless…
Bang—immediately there was a sound of hitting something.
Sion banged the wall forcefully…
“Is it really helpless?”
Blood seeped out from his fist.
But, he didn’t feel the pain, he could only feel anger.
Anger towards himself, and towards the world.
The world was mad.
He wasn’t so naïve that he didn’t know this, because he had always seen this along the way.
Seeing people treat his mother like she were no better than a dog; seeing the people desperately wanting to live, but, meeting the terrible end of being stepped on like rubbish.
And his companions…
Seeing the appearances of Ryner, Kiefer, Tyle, Toni and Fahl struggling in pain.
No matter whether it was the murderers, or the victims, they were almost going mad from struggling in pain…
So, he had sat on the position of the king.
To change everything.
To change this crazy world.
As of today, he had become the king after much difficulty…
But they now told him, it was already hopeless?
“……Don’t joke with me…….”
He muttered as if groaning.
It was hilarious.
If that was the case, then there wasn’t a need for a king.
If he were to stop here now, there wasn’t any need for a king.
If that really was so, then let Froaude be king.
There was no change needed to be made.
No, just choose a useless noble who could be seen anywhere, and whose rational was clouded by lust to be king.
But…
The king was Sion Astal.
If that was so…
“If that is so, then change!”
He shouted, hitting the wall again.
There must be a path that could be taken.
Things couldn’t turn out as what Froaude said.
To reach this goal, he would still need a minimum amount of power after all? Enough power to be able to go against Gastark…
But, people who could use power were unsure about the ways of using power.
How to use such a large power, affected the whole situation.
He didn’t want to do something in the name of righteousness.
But, he wanted to find a path that could reduce the number of hurt lives as much as possible.
Even Gastark was stopped the invasion in order to conquer the southern continent at an astounding speed.
There should be a path that could be taken.
To reach this goal, completely securing Estabul was the first step.
In the recent days, he had to go to Estabul’s territory, to deal with the nobles…
This move had its own risks.
In Roland, even if it were Gastark assassins who were using relics, they were unable to harm Sion.
Because Lucile was there.
As long as he was in Roland, no matter what kind of monster, it was hard for it to even think of approaching Sion?
But… once he left Roland, and entered Estabul’s lands… he would lose Lucile’s protection.
Would Gastark let go of this good chance?
But if he wanted to completely take hold of Estabul, Sion still needed to head to that country’s land…
This was a kind of bet.
But, it wasn’t without its own winning chances.
Claugh was there too now. As long as he was there, he shouldn’t be in danger because of a few small matters…
Uh, in that case, he had to start thinking of who he should leave in Roland to be responsible for the work now…
As he thoughts moved forward again, he momentarily felt as if everything could progress smoothly.
Sion settled a few problems in his mind, as he thought of the plan to go to Estabul, he walked to his office.
There was a small door in the middle of the corridor.
It was a simple, undecorated door.
This was the door to his office that he spent nearly all his time in.
People who didn’t understand Sion’s true character, would probably be very surprised if they saw this simple room… In contrast, he was not accustomed to extravagant, gaudy rooms.
Was this a retaliation against his father who used to bully the people and live in great comfort…
Or was it the influence of his mother who had a respectful pure soul more than anyone else, but had been played around by father and stepped upon for her whole life?
Anyway, the room was large enough for him to work in, and sleep in.
When he had implied, to choose this room for his main activities, even Fiole said:
“If Your Majesty wants to rest in this sort of place, then wouldn’t I only be able to sleep at the side of the road?”
Sion reached out to touch the door handle and smiled when he heard that.
At that time he was still dreaming, Fiole had dreams for him, and trusting him unwaveringly could allow him to respond to all his dreams…
“…I have probably… become weak too…”
Since young he had always thought that he could do anything.
Even if it was something that seemed impossible, even if it seemed like it couldn’t be impossible.
Why did everyone say that was impossible?
Wasn’t that very easy?
They just needed to move forward.
He had thought.
Wasn’t it an easy matter to let everyone live in a world where they could laugh happily and live…
But now— “…”
He had a slight sad smile on his face.
Was it helplessness towards himself?
Or was it despair towards being unable to progress as expected in the world?
But, he was already unable to stop.
He touched the door handle. Then, he made to open the door…
“Eh…”
But, at that moment Sion stopped.
It felt a little difficult to open the door. Not only that, there was a human presence inside.
An assassin?
Sion narrowed his eyes.
But, where was the assassin from?
How many were there?
He concentrated, attempting to feel the presences in the room.
But he shook his head, an assassin that was able to infiltrate the city of Roland, could not be unable to erase their presence.
At the moment he could only feel the presence of one person… But, that was probably a trap?
Unless the other party’s plan to was make him mistake there was only one, and be off guard…
Or, the other party took him as an idiot, thinking that a relaxed king of one country, would be unable to find their presence?
No, it couldn’t be like that?
This presence was deliberately displayed to make him find it.
But, then what was the answer?
Should he walk in directly? Or go to find reinforcements?
“……Uh.”
If he found that this presence itself was a trap, then the other party’s intention was to make him call for help, and not enter the room…
But, at this moment Sion had a slight smile.
“Lucile… are you there?”
He asked softly.
“…”
There was no reply.
But, he was there.
He was that kind of person.
Unless it was necessary, or else he definitely would not appear… But, he was there.
“I thought so.”
Sion smiled bitterly.
…No, perhaps he really wasn’t there.
Only, if Lucile really wasn’t by Sion’s side right now, then that probably meant he didn’t think that the person in the office could threaten Sion too much?
This was Roland—Lucile had assigned Sion as king, as long as he did not feel that Sion was not suited for the position, then in this country, Sion would not fall into danger.
This was that sort of place.
Sion asked again.
“You want me to face this myself?”
“…”
There was still no reply…
Sion said when he saw this:
“Don’t overestimate me. Compared to you, I’m very weak?”
Although he said that, but Sion seemed a little happy, injecting strength in his body.
A real battle… How many years had he last had it?
Although he hadn’t stopped training his body, but… that was something that was when he was sixteen years old.
At that time he was with Ryner and Kiefer and the others, living in the Special Royal Military Academy…
“I don’t know how dull I’ve gotten.”
The presence still remained.
The other side should have discovered the current situation—
He should have found that Sion was standing in front of the room, but not entering.
The other side had already prepared a few traps, and was sitting in there and waiting for him?
Sion was even more excited.
“Very well, let me test out my strength!” Then, he lightly breathed in…
“Phew!”
He breathed out forcefully, at the same time he opened the door and walked in.
In a moment, the presence came from above.
Sion raised his head. Immediately, a book fell towards him from above…
The book was placed above the door ledge. Like in the school in the past, the pranks that they evil brats played on the teachers, pranks that pulled on people’s legs…
Sion saw this.
“Tch!”
He frowned, his expression tightening.
The fact that his attention had been turned to this matter, he himself had completely fallen into the other person’s trap.
If this were a real trap, what fell should be a knife spiked with poison?
But, the other side was clear, he wouldn’t fall for that kind of trap.
The other person’s intention was to pull Sion’s attention to that direction.
And to reach this goal, a book was sufficient.
And that book was a book placed in Sion’s room…
“…It seems it’s for real?”
He settled into a defensive position.
The next attack would follow closely? As long as he could receive the next blow, he could think of a way to retaliate…
Sion tensed his body, his left hand protecting his head, his right hand clutching his chest, preparing to fight.
As long as his fatal points weren’t hit, the situation could be improved.
But……
“……”
The blow did not appear.
He looked around.
There wasn’t even an enemy in sight.
He only saw the mountains of documents, and chairs, tables, shelves, and a half-open door that led to the adjacent resting room.
And the presence was coming from behind the door…
“……”
Sion stared in that direction without speaking.
As a side note, the ledge above the door to the resting room had a book too, and it was a thick dictionary…
“……”
Sion was still silent.
He slowly stepped forward, walking to the adjacent resting room.
Following that he took down the dictionary from the door, and continued to walk on.
The resting room was a narrow room with a single bed in it.
As long as he stood in the doorway, he could see the entire room. There was no place to hide. No, if they wanted to hide under the bed, perhaps they could still barely hide there…
There couldn’t be anyone who would hide in such a laughable place?
That meant, the person giving off that presence was of course…
“…………………”
But, Sion was still silent.
The scene before his eyes was too hilarious.
There was indeed an assassin—in the resting room.
But, that assassin…
That assassin wasn’t hidden under the bed.
He was even on the bed.
If that was so, at least he should have hidden under the covers?
But he didn’t know how he did it, the blanket had actually flown off the bed, into the corner of the room.
And that assassin…
Had black hair that was so messy that it could not be messed up any further because of his bad sleeping habit, added on to completely shut, making people suspect that those eyes would never open. Saliva drooled out from that open mouth, wetting Sion’s pillow…
The assassin’s appearance was very annoying…
“……………….Huh…….”
Sion sighed with a surprised expression.
Following that, he saw that he had a dictionary in his hand.
Sion saw that.
“Oh?”
He had a mischievous expression, then he lightly threw the dictionary from his head, allowing that dictionary to follow a beautiful parabolic motion.
“Oh~~”
That dictionary directly landed on the assassin’s head….
“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh?!”
“Hey, Ryner! What are you shouting about! Get up quickly, or else you’ll be late for lessons!”
Sion shouted, Ryner said with a surprised expression:
“Eh? Eh? Sc-school? Eh? Are we having lessons today? Eh…”
He looked around in confusion with half-opened sleepy eyes…
Considering…
Considering…
At last, he finally saw Sion with a stunned expression.
“……………..Ah, Sion, morning.”
“Morning.”
“…This is that place, right? It’s Sion’s room, right?”
“Eh.”
“……………… Eh? That, I already don’t need to go to school……Ah, I remember. That’s right, that’s right…….”
“Ah, you’re finally awake? Then, the things…”
“……………..Ah, but, it doesn’t matter now. That’s that.”
Saying that, he closed his eyes again, entering dream land.
Sion saw that, hummed, nodding, leaving the resting room.
Then he took down a book that was at least ten times the size of that dictionary from the shelves, it was a ridiculously large book. It was the largest book in Sion’s room…
The heaviness of that book made Sion tremble unconsciously.
“I, I didn’t think it would be this heavy? If I’m not careful, I might become a murderer here… but, I can’t stop, I can’t stop here.”
As he said, he used trembling hands to lift that large book up…
Ryner opened an eye slightly. Looking at Sion with lethargic eyes…
Following that Ryner’s eyes widened, and trembled because of extreme shock.
“You, are you an idiot?! Thr-throwing such a heavy thing here… Don’t throoooooooooooowww!!”
As he shouted, he desperately leapt clear of the bed.
His movements were incomparably quick, Sion whose movements had dulled much… No, perhaps even in the past Royal Military Special Academy, Sion who had had been called a genius was unable to be the opponent of him?
It was a completely difference in levels.
If he were the enemy, it would be a challenging opponent…
“You, do you want to kill me?!”
Ryner shouted, Sion smiled when he saw this:
“Ah, morning.”
“Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat morning! I was nearly killed by you!!”
Ryner yelled.
Sion shrugged upon seeing this:
“But, didn’t you want to kill me? Ne, didn’t you put that book above the door!”
Ryner heard this, picking up the normal sized dictionary by the bed, saying with a slightly depressed expression:
“………Next time, I’m going to dig an empty hole in the dictionary, and place a snake… or a frog or something like that in it…”
For some reason, his thoughts seemed to be focused on the trap above the door.
Uh, let’s not talk about this for now.
Sion surveyed the room, then asked:
“When did you come back?”
Ryner was as if a different person from just now, but Sion sat back on the bed with an extremely familiar lazy movement.
“Today morning.”
“Then?”
“Eh? Then? Then I felt very tired, so I slept. The end.”
Saying that, Ryner made to lie down again, Sion had a surprised expression at this.
“I say… You spent a few months going to find Heroes’ Relics. You returned after much difficulty, and you only tell me, ‘I felt very tired, so I slept’, something like that? Don’t tell me you don’t have any report? After all if there is any information about the other countries or relics, and the details of the Gastark killers you dealt with… Uh, talking about which, you should have been in Iyet Republic before, why did you appear there, don’t these need reports?”
“Yeah, that makes sense.”
Ryner nodded simply after he heard that, crossing his arms as if thinking.
After thinking for a few seconds, perhaps he finally had a cohesive answer? He hit his hands together.
“Oh yes, I discovered an amazing truth recently.”
“A truth?”
“Yeah. Talking about which one day, I was met some difficulties at sea, and had fainted… when I woke up, I was already on a very comfortable beach.”
“Oh. A beach?”
“Yes, a beach. I heard, that is the beach belonging to the Eris family…”
“Eh? Ferris’s family?”
“Yes. Ferris’s family’s. That beach was very comfortable… I had an afternoon nap there. If I had to describe how comfortable it was, let me tell you, the sky was so blue, and so high. I could hear only the sound of the waves and the cries of the sea birds…”
Ryner’s expression when he described it was so comfortable, it made Sion try to imagine that sort of scene…
“Yeah… It sounds pretty comfortable.”
The scene really seemed to be comfortable in his imagination.
The image of him and Ryner lying on the beach, and taking the chance when Ryner was sleeping soundly, to place a hermit crab on his face appeared in his mind…
“It seems very fun.”
But, Ryner of course did not know that a hermit crab had been placed on his face.
“I said so?”
Ryner said:
“Lying on such a comfortable beach, wouldn’t it let people want to have afternoon naps?”
“Eh.”
“In the end, many thoughts appeared in my mind. Like, can my life continue like that? Why did I end up like that? The sea was so big, but why did I have to be so busy every day…”
“Ah, I understand I understand.”
Sion involuntarily nodded hard in agreement.
Ryner continued:
“I thought, why do I have to be so busy? Who is the culprit? Then like this, I slept and thought, then slept and thought.”
“Uh-huh.”
Sion nodded again.
“So, I finally realized! It’s that person! It’s that person’s fault! Everything is the fault of that tyrannical Roland king, Sion Astal!”
“I see.”
He nodded even harder, as if there wasn’t something that made more sense than this.
Then Sion stared at Ryner.
“Then, you want to kill me?”
“Yup.”
“Using a dictionary?”
“Using a dictionary.”
“This is the truth you spent a few months to discover?”
“Don’t you think it’s amazing?”
Ryner said with confidence.
Sion pressed his forehead when he saw this.
After a while…
“…………………Yeah, it’s amazing, it’s really amazing…”
He couldn’t help but laugh.
The expression he had at this moment would definitely not be shown to his subordinates.
It wouldn’t be seen by the nobles.
It wouldn’t even be seen by the civilians…
And, even Fiole had never seen it…
It was the smile of a youth who didn’t think that anything in this world was impossible, or couldn’t be done…
But, that smile immediately disappeared.
Sion looked at Ryner with sharp eyes as if he could see through him.
“But, Ryner, you’re too impatient. After all I am a king of a country? And I am the Hero King that is praised everywhere… Attempting to kill someone like me is a serious crime…”
“Ah, you said it, you finally said it! You just said you were the Hero King? How embarrassing. I always suspected, where is your confidence from?”
But Sion raised his chest with a serious expression.
“It’s that~~ Because I am someone who is born to be king.”
“Ah, let me ask you, don’t you feel embarrassed saying that?”
“It’s the truth, it can’t be helped? The glow I give off is different from normal. How should I describe it? It’s that pure, sacred glow from a pure soul…”
“Noo~~oooo! I don’t want to hear anymore. Even if you don’t feel embarrassed, it’s awkward for the listener. Anyway, I have to kill you. Finally, I will bring peace to this country.”
But, Sion did not give up. He beamed and said:
“Ah, I want to say more. I want to say more things in your ear, so that you will want to escape because of embarrassment.”
Saying that, Sion attacked Ryner who was lying on the bed…
“Ah! You, don’t… Save, save me~~ Someone wants to rape me~~”
As Ryner said, he unhesitatingly caught Sion’s attacking hands, then pushed back, attempting to push Sion to the bed.
“Oh? I won’t admit defeat. Look at my counter wrestling… Ah?!”
But, he didn’t know how it was done, Sion’s body flew in the air, his whole body landing directly in the middle of the mattress.
In a moment, the ceiling appeared within his sight……
“………..”
After he stared at that empty, white ceiling in surprise…Sion turned to his side.
“Eh, are you going to take advantage of me now? As expected of the pervert in the legends.”
He said that…
Ryner stared at Sion’s face with half-lidded sleepy eyes. Following that he sighed, then sat on the bed again.
Then—
“Sion.”
“Eh?”
“…You must be very tired…”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. Very tired.”
Sion stared at the ceiling again when he heard this.
The white, empty ceiling.
The softness of the mattress was very comfortable, it nearly made him lose consciousness in an instant.
Oh yes, how long had it been since he had lain on this bed?
He tried to recall, but he couldn’t remember.
Thinking about it, he had mostly dozed off at his office table, he rarely used the bed.
But, the reason why he was tired wasn’t because of this?
He frequently worked without sleeping for several days.
The real reason was…
Sion said softly:
“……Yeah, perhaps……perhaps I’m really exhausted. But, it’s not a problem.”
“Eh? Why?”
“Because I’m lying on the bed now.”
“Ah? You can resurrect because of this? If it were me, I would sleep fifty hours in a day.”
“Fifty hours in a day? That is a high leveled technique…”
Ryner replied smugly when he heard this:
“How can you blame me for being a professional?”
“Oh, professional. It seems quite cool. Can I do it too?”
Ryner simply replied:
“You can’t.”
“……I thought so too? But, let me dream for a while longer.”
“Then temporarily put down all your work.”
“……No, if I do that…….”
“Then it’s impossible.”
Ryner was as simple as ever.
Sion laughed wryly, then said:
“Hearing you say that, I’m slightly hurt.”
As he said that, he raised his head slightly to look at the ceiling.
“Is there something?”
“The ceiling.”
“Ah, the ceiling? Uh uh. You must indeed be tired.”
But, Sion heard this…
“Alright, I’m resurrected!”
He sat up in one breath, arranging his messy silver hair, breathing out loud.
Then he told Ryner who sat from across him:
“Ne, let’s talk about work now?”
“Ah? You, you… can’t a monster… Ah, you really seem like you’re not tired…”
Ryner looked Sion’s face, scowling.
Sion laughed and said when he saw this:
“I’m very capable, right? I don’t usually go back to normal so fast……It must be an effect of Ryner sleeping with me.”
“Ah! What an annoying effect…”
Ryner’s frown was even more severe than earlier.
Sion said:
“Perhaps? I felt regret after saying that.”
He laughed.
But…….that was the truth.
Because of Ryner’s blessing, he was saved.
He really thought so.
For this period, perhaps he had overworked.
But, it would be fine.
He could already remember his past self.
Even if the whole world was crazy, there wasn’t need to trouble himself.
Because, there was definitely a path that could be taken.
Because, he could remember his self who had believed in this…
Before Ryner, Sion laughed genuinely.
And Ryner looked at him who had regained a little strength with an unhappy expression…
Sion increasingly regained his energy, he looked at Ryner with an expression that said he was up to no good.
“Then, about work…”
“Ah, didn’t I say, I’ve been overworked this past few days, I’m almost dying of overwork, so let’s not talk about work…”
But Sion completely ignored his protest, continuing to say:
“That’s true, it’s rare for Ryner to return to Roland, there’s a lot of work to be done.”
“There’s no such thing…”
“Oh yes, where’s Ferris? Since you’re here, it means Ferris has returned too?”
“You… At least listen to other people speaking…”
Ryner said depressingly, then said:
“Ferris that person is like that~~ She told me like usual, ‘I’m not as free as you. I have to go somewhere. Go on ahead to Sion’s room first to prepare the assassination plan, I will head over later’, she clearly told me that, but she’s late… In addition, you weren’t coming either…”
Sion nodded, then continued for him:
“So, as you waited, you grew sleepy, and fell asleep?”
“No, I immediately fell asleep.”
“Ah… I see. Then Ferris went to buy dango?”
Ryner scowled again when he heard this.
“Ah, what is this! What is this! Ferris = dango. Ryner = afternoon naps. A simple equation like this must have appeared in your mind, right?”
“Eh? Is there anything wrong?”
Sion asked. Ryner thought about it for a while, perhaps he had thought it through?
“…No, it should be dango.”
“Then can we continue?”
“Yeah. It sounds negative, but it doesn’t matter.”
The topic of the two finally reached an agreement, Sion nodded, continuing.
“So, pushing this kind of job to you when you’ve just returned, makes me feel like not doing so…”
Ryner immediately replied when he said this:
“Then don’t push it to us.”
But, his protest was ignored.
“I want Ferris and Ryner to accompany me to Estabul.”
“Eeeeeeehhh?! We just returned? Are you a ghost? It’s too troublesome, I don’t want to.”
“Yes, I’ll need to explain the situation of Roland as of now…”
“No, what was the meaning of your ‘yes’ just now? I clearly said I’m not explaining, why are you starting to explain?!”
Sion still did not acknowledge that.
“Anyway, I will need bodyguards. Because the area outside Roland is too chaotic. Now that you have returned, I can relax. Didn’t you say it often? You said, ‘For Your Majesty, I can sacrifice my life, and take a shot for you!’”
“Who?! Who said that?!”
“It’s now!”
“You…”
“Of course, if you don’t listen to me, I will use the authority of the king’s power to make you do things you don’t like.”
Sion said firmly. Ryner heard this.
“………………You, you’re saying cruel things deliberately, right…….?”
Ryner said with a trembling voice because of fear.
Sion’s state of energy was the best he had seen recently.
In contrast.
“……………Ah……”
Ryner’s energy was greatly decreased…
Sion laughed when he saw this.
“Ne, anyway we don’t have to leave immediately today or tomorrow, so you can rest for a while.”
“………………..Ah…….”
“Ah, that’s right, you wanted Iris to bring back the two children called Arua, they seem to be in the land of the Eris family, they seem to be getting along well with Iris, will you go to visit him?”
Ryner had a little reaction after hearing this.
“…The Eris Family? You’re saying Ferris’s house? Arua is there? Then I’ll go visit him…….”
“No, help me first…….”
Ryner immediately stood up when he heard this.
“Ah! That, that’s right? I need to find Arua! Then, then it’s like that, good bye, Sion.”
Saying that, Ryner walked away shakily with an unenergetic appearance.
After watching him leave, Sion stood up to……
“There’s still another matter……”
He only spoke half of his sentence…
But, he stopped.
He turned to look at the ridiculously large book on the ground……
“Ah, Ryner~ I only wanted you to help me pick this book up before you left.”
He said.
☆
Before this.
The place was in the military institution in Estabul.
Although it was called that, but in actuality, the army of Estabul had been dispersed long ago, scattered around the country, to prevent the main force from raising a revolt…
Anyway, the place was in the military institution of Estabul.
The facilities of the Roland army were buildings with black as its main colour, and the Estabul’s facilities had many decorations. Some places were pictures with words, and others were made with a few square pictures.
Seeing this pictures, the mind would naturally evoke the feelings of ‘obedience’ and admiration’…
Looking at the picture hung on the wall in the hall of the military headquarters—
“……Can these pictures evoke feelings… of ‘obedience’ and admiration’?”
The man asked doubtfully.
He had flaming crimson hair and sharp eyes.
His body was as solid and endurable like metal and he wore Roland’s military outfit.
Anyway, everything about that man gave people a sharp impression.
Although, he was the current Field Marshal of the Roland army…
But in Estabul, this name was probably more famous than the title of Field Marshal?
The Crimson-Fingered Claugh Klom.
In this region, this name’s meaning was no different than calling him a demon.
In many battles, the demon whose hands were stained red by the enemy’s blood…
Claugh was now entering Estabul with a squad under Sion’s orders.
Their mission was to reform the Estabul army, if there were hopeful talents, then they would arrange for them to have suitable positions in the Roland army.
Sion said, if they were really capable talents, he could even give them the position of the Field Marshal.
So now, he was interviewing people who seemed to be talented in Estabul…
“Ah, but I still don’t see anyone suitable to be a Field Marshal……”
Claugh, shrugged, then spoke behind his shoulder.
Behind him, a girl stood up.
She was a beautiful girl with deep blue long hair that was rarely seen in Roland.
A serene beautiful look with a pair of expressive, intelligent blue eyes that didn’t make her seem like a seventeen year old.
She was the princess of the previously known Estabul, Noa Ehn.
She had felt sad about the Estabul nobles who had lost control of their actions and taken the people as hostages, single-handedly going against them, squashing the rebellion. And she successfully minimized the number of casualties through surrendering and negotiating, and was seen as a hero that saved the country, becoming a noble of Roland, she was literally a talented girl…
That was what was spread on the surface, but…
It wasn’t that truthfully.
Noa had done that to protect the Estabul people who had fallen into Froaude’s plan and had misunderstood… She clearly knew that she would be criticized by people, but she became a noble of Roland unhesitatingly.
And criticisms appeared.
Some people said she was a traitor, others scolded her for protecting her own life and stance, leaning towards Roland…
Claugh looked at Noa and said:
“Speaking of which, your dark blue hair is very special after all?”
Noa had a surprised expression when she heard this.
“Eh? Is it special? I feel that among the noble girls of Estabul, blue hair isn’t so outstanding… After coming to Estabul, hasn’t Klom-sama seen a few people?”
“Eh? Is that so?”
“Yes.”
Claugh tilted his head skeptically again, then said:
“Is it? But, I don’t remember seeing other women’s hair being as pretty as yours.”
In an instant.
Noa’s face was stained red…
Her embarrassed look was indeed incomparably beautiful.
Claugh thought in his heart when he saw this.
That beautiful intelligent appearance, those evil comments weren’t enough to stay on her heart…
At this moment, a voice spoke from the front door of the hall.
“Is Claugh Klom here?”
Hearing that, Claugh laughed.
“Ah! I’m here!”
“I heard you’ve been teasing our princess Noa, is that the truth?!”
Claugh laughed when he heard this shout.
“If it’s real, then so what?”
“Of course I’ll kill you!!”
Yes.
No matter how many evil comments there were outside, Noa was still loved by the Estabul people.
From the beginning, it was Noa who introduced the talented people in the Estabul army and nobles to Claugh…
At the same time, this kind of people would appear from time to time before Claugh and the others.
These people were genuine idiots.
They would shout at the Crimson Fingered Claugh Klom that all Estabuls recognized.
“Diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeee! Go!”
They shouted, rushing over with a terrible stance.
They really were genuine idiots…
Then—
“Ha, it seems they have their own uses.”
Claugh was also an idiot.
Noa could only shakily say from behind them:
“Ah, ah, be careful, Your Excellency… You too, actually challenging Field Marshal Klom… Ah, really…”
Noa said helplessly, not knowing which side she should support.
In that time, Claugh and the Estabul youths had already started fighting.
They had the same dark blue, curly hair. And probably had not reached twenty years old? This youth was chanting the magic of Estabul—the magic using glowing words…
But, Claugh saw this—
“Nooooooooooooisy!”
He leapt out at an amazing speed, kicking the youth’s face…
“Ah?!”
The battle ended like that.
Blood spurted out of the youth’s nose, and he flew away. Noa saw this—
“Ah, blood…”
She was still terribly fearful.
And, Claugh didn’t notice this, he shouted:
“If you’re thinking of beating me with that sort of skills, then you’re early by a hundred years!”
And the youth got up, staring at Claugh.
“Too, too amazing, the Crimson Fingered Claugh is amazing indeed!”
“No, well, but you have your good points too.”
In a moment, the youth’s eyes gleamed.
“R-really?!”
“Yeah. What’s your name?”
“Namhen.”
“Then, Namhen, from now onwards, you are a Second Lieutenant.”
“S-second Lieutenant?! Of where?”
“Of course it’s Roland.”
“It, it can’t be?”
“Really.”
“But, I-I am an Estabul person?”
“So what? This is the order of the Roland king. He said, as long as they are capable people, then they can be appointed. He also said, if they have the ability, they can even become Field Marshals.”
“L-liar!”
“I’m serious, you’re very stubborn. Ne, listen carefully, go out to talk to the one in charge. Then you’re a Second Lieutenant. Besides this, tell this to the others, just say Claugh that person said: ‘I’ll take you on any time!’”
Namhen nodded vigorously when he heard this, then said:
“S-second Lieutenant… He’s good, the Roland king is really good!”
Saying that, he left the hall.
From morning till now, Claugh had already sent a few people flying in this fashion…
Noa looked at this with an uncomprehending expression.
“I-is this method really suitable…”
“Eh? It shouldn’t be any problem? And that kid is quite strong too.”
“Using power to determine the job, is that suitable?”
“It doesn’t matter. And although that kid looks a little foolish, but he has quite the spirit… I made this person’s status higher than Luke that person, and use this opportunity to tease that person who is a sergeant and is wandering freely outside the country happily.”
Claugh laughed bitterly with a depressed expression and said.
Noa seemed to feel troubled when she saw this, her eye brows forming aへshape.
“Why is it like this… Ah, but now thinking about it Klom-sama has always mentioned Sergeant Luke Stokkart in the past? When it was the revolution in Roland…”
Claugh nodded.
“Yeah. We were allies since that time. How should I say it? Listen to me…”
“Eh? Ah, yes…”
“That person, is an extremely energetic person? Because he is usually in charge of secret movements, so he is rarely in public… In truth, his successes are way more than mine.”
“And that person is now a sergeant?”
“Yes! It’s weird, isn’t it? I became a Field Marshal, and I’m sent to handle boring military administration tasks, and that person can carry out very important secret mission in parts of the world, how can there be something so unfair?”
Noa became silent in an instant after she heard that. Then she said:
“………..Klom-sama likes dangerous missions?”
“Yeah, well, because it suits me more than boring desk jobs.”
Then Noa nodded with an expression as if she understood.
“Then, I must thank Astal-sama indeed.”
“Ah? Why?”
Claugh turned back to ask.
Noa gave him a gentle smile when she heard that, then she bowed her head a little awkwardly.
“Because… I don’t want Claugh to go anywhere too dangerous…”
Noa suddenly said something so straightforward, Claugh heard that—
“Wha…….You, you…….”
In that moment.
“………………Tsk!”
An abnormally loud cluck of a tongue that had a mocking sound to it rang in the hall…
“Ah?”
Claugh turned his eyes to the entrance of the hall.
He saw a man wearing an Estabul uniform.
But Claugh immediately saw that this man was different from the previous challengers.
He seemed about twenty five years old, about the same age as Claugh?
Wavy tea-coloured hair, and same tea-coloured eyes, his eyes were filled with hate, and glared viciously at Claugh. There many wrinkles squeezed between his eyebrows, his mouth was twisted mockingly too.
An expression that he clearly hated Claugh.
Although he was not as tall as Claugh, but he was considerably tall, his back was very straight, and he wasn’t losing out in the looks department, it could even be said that he looked like a good youth, but…
This person was glaring fiercely at Claugh, his expression was contorted, Claugh’s first impression was so bad that it couldn’t be any worse.
Claugh couldn’t help but ask:
“You, do you hate me that much?”
The man heard this.
“…………………….Tsk!”
He clucked his tongue again.
But Noa called:
“Colonel Ba-Bayuuz…”
“Eh? Noa, you recognize him?”
Noa nodded.
“In Estabul, there isn’t a single person that doesn’t recognize Colonel Bayuuz. Although he isn’t as… famous as Crimson Fingered Claugh, but he is an extremely well known soldier…”
At this moment suddenly—
“Your Highness. I am honored that you still remember my name, I, Bayuuz White… am too touched, perhaps I will be unable to fall asleep tonight?”
As if he were a different person from earlier, he said that with an expression that made him look younger. Then he held his hand in front of his chest with a movement as elegant as a noble, bowing his head to express his gratitude.
Claugh couldn’t help but say:
“Your, your attitude…”
But, his words were interrupted again.
“…Tsk!”
The youth’s expression twisted again.
“………..”
It seems, he really hated Claugh. Claugh shrugged when he saw that.
“…….Ah~~ Forget it, it doesn’t matter if you hate me… Ne, you’re here…”
But, Bayuuz ignored Claugh, talking to Noa:
“I heard Your Highness was here to select officers…?”
“You, you…….I’m talking now……”
“…………….Tsk!”
“What are you tsking about! Are you an idiot? Talk properly…”
But, Bayuuz glared at Claugh even more unhappily, replying:
“Lowly pigs should keep quiet!”
“Pig?! I waited for you to open your mouth with much difficulty… You are very daring…”
Claugh’s expression seemed to slowly become more threatening, Noa hurriedly stopped him.
“Ah, ah, Field Marshal Klom-sama……And Colonel White……Ah, no White-sama, the two of you please…”
Claugh and Bayuuz both said at the same time:
“But Noa!”
“But Princess!”
Then they exchanged glares.
Noa revealed a helpless expression when she saw that.
“That, that, Bayuuz-sama…”
At this moment, Bayuuz suddenly knelt.
“Please call me Bayuuz, call me directly by my name Bayuuz, Princess. There isn’t any need for you to use formalities to address me.”
Claugh nodded when he heard this.
“Yes, Noa. Dealing with someone like this…”
But, he was interrupted immediately again.
“You useless maggot, no one is talking to you! Not only does an unremarkable maggot not know its place, it even calls the princess by her name directly without feeling embarrassed! How dirty, filthy!”
“You, you said I’m a maggot… You’re really pushing your luck, do you want to fight! You want to fight! Then fight! Noa, step back. I want to beat this guy up.”
“Eh? Ah, that…”
“Oh? A maggot can actually fight? That’s fine, I’ll play with you then. Ah, Your Highness, I am going to squash a pest, please move away, to prevent yourself from being harmed unnecessarily.”
“Ah?! Ah, that…”
But, the two men didn’t care how panicked Noa was, the situation couldn’t be stopped.
He had already rolled up his sleeves, revealing his arms, a few tattoos of magical structures could be seen on his arms…
This was the reason why Claugh was called the Crimson Fingered Claugh.
When the tattoos on his arms glowed, Claugh’s surroundings would become a sea of blood.
It was a very famous saying.
Claugh glared at Bayuuz with a serious expression.
“Come, start! Aren’t you a very famous person? Let me have some fun.”
Claugh said, preparing himself.
But Bayuuz remained at his position, not making any preparations for battle.
“Ah, don’t be so urgent, Claugh.”
“Why are you calling me by my name suddenly?”
“Eh? Or you want me to call you Field Marshal Maggot-sama?”
“…………………………………….No, it doesn’t matter, let me send you flying with a kick……”
Saying that, Claugh heightened his senses, seeming to be able to fight any moment. But, Bayuuz stopped him with a hand.
“I said wait, you idiot.”
“……..You, you……”
But Claugh’s words were ignored, Claugh mildly said with a steady expression:
“Firstly let me state the reason why I am here. Honestly speaking, I am here to be a Field Marshal.”
Claugh’s pose relaxed slightly when he heard this, his eyes narrowed too.
“Oh? To be a Field Marshal?”
“Yes. As long as they are talented, they can become Field Marshals, isn’t that so?”
“If they are talented enough. Then, are you saying that you are very talented?”
Bayuuz nodded with an expression as if this were to be expected.
“You can tell right? Or are you blind because your eyes were eaten by insects?”
“…………..Aaaaaaaaaaaah, I really want to kill you……”
Because Claugh could tell with one glance that this man wasn’t just an underling, so it made him even angrier.
Presence, feet movements, the movement of his gaze…
It fulfilled all the conditions.
If he didn’t have this kind of personality, Claugh would really celebrate that he had finally found someone who was able to take up such a huge responsibility, but…
But, Bayuuz continued:
“On the other hand, I have already gathered many Estabul soldiers. Uh, actually speaking of which, even if I don’t open my mouth, they will gather over automatically. I am quite popular.”
“…………………….Oh.”
“We have enough people to start a revolution. But, I don’t want to do that. I… No, my only wish is to protect Her Highness.”
Saying that, he had a different expression when he went against Claugh, bowing his head towards Noa…
Claugh said when he saw this:
“I’m just curious, you… do you usually use the attitude you are using towards Noa, or the attitude that you are showing me to gather the other Estabul soldiers under you?”
Bayuuz simply replied when he heard this:
“Don’t ask such foolish questions. Other than you, do I have to use such foolish attitude towards other people! Ne, move further away from the princess! The stench from your body will stick to the princess’s body!”
“Ah, is that so…”
Claugh replied.
Things were like that.
Noa’s presence in this country was popular enough to view her as a god, so it wouldn’t be surprising that such a person would appear, but…
“So, because you are popular, you want to be a Field Marshal?”
But Bayuuz had an expression that said ‘are you an idiot’ as he replied:
“Why would I have to undergo your interview? I’m here to interview you. I want to see, what sort of person is the Field Marshal of Roland?”
“Then, you still want to fight?”
Claugh prepared himself again after he spoke, but Bayuuz shook his head.
“No, I know it just by looking. If I fight you face to face, I cannot win you. But, if we don’t use magic or weapons, and fight just with our physical bodies…”
“Oh? You mean, your physical fighting skills can win me?”
Bayuuz nodded.
“I am here today to let you know that.”
“Heh. Then let’s fight?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m coming?”
“Come.”
Then, the battle started.
Claugh leapt away from his original position like a bullet.
And, Bayuuz had an even faster reaction, no wonder he dared to say that with so much self-confidence.
Bayuuz leapt back forcefully, causing the distance that Claugh had shortened to reduce to its original distance.
Then he reached behind him, pulling out a knife, throwing it over in one breath…
“We agreed not to use weaaaaaaaapons!”
Claugh couldn’t help but shout when he saw that. As he shouted, he flicked the approaching knives in an instant.
But Bayuuz’s attacks did not stop.
He started to write glowing words at an amazing speed in the air…
It was a pressurizing speed.
His speed and familiarity in writing magic, were both different from Namhen.
Bayuuz’s fighting ability on magic couldn’t be compared to Claugh?
If he allowed the other party to finish chanting his incantation, then there would be a limit to how he could defend…
Then, at this moment Claugh picked up the fallen knife that Bayuuz had thrown earlier…
Suddenly—
Bayuuz stopped the magic for some reason, shouting angrily:
“Stop! Put that knife down, Claugh Krom! You’re too underhanded!”
“Who’s underhaaaaaaaanded!!”
Claugh couldn’t help but yell again.
The battle suddenly stopped like that…
Bayuuz spoke, and without changing his expression.
“Like that, we’re tied.”
“How are we tied? You clearly said it was a battle depending on physical abilities… Uh, speaking of which, on the battle ground, words are a type of weapon too. You must be thinking that the person who fell into this worded trap has problems with himself?”
“Uh…”
Bayuuz was momentarily speechless when he heard this. Claugh seemed to have guessed what he was thinking.
Claugh sighed when he saw this, throwing the knife back to Bayuuz.
“But, you are not wrong. Because trickery it the basis of fighting. I could tell with one look, you have a strong ability. You know that I have a strong power, even so, you still dared to challenge me with a plan. Not bad. I acknowledge your ability.”
“Is that so? You finally understood? Uh, but, I will not acknowledge you just like that…”
“What do I have to do to gain your acknowledgement…”
But in that moment, Bayuuz’s expression changed.
He had a completely different serious expression as he said:
“Didn’t I say it? I have many Estabul soldiers gathered under me, and I am their representative. Claugh Krom, what are you here for? To reform the Estabul soldiers? Then, what do you need to do?”
Claugh smiled when he heard this, staring at Bayuuz.
“…What do you want me to do?”
Just as he asked that.
A voice suddenly spoke from the entrance to the hall.
“Colonel Ba-Bayuuz! That person again…”
A young man wearing the same Estabul military uniform as Bayuuz, ran over as he panted. From the badge, he was Second Lieutenant?
“That person… That person has again…”
He seemed to be similarly conflicted.
Bayuuz nodded slowly when he heard this.
“…Calm down, Pasuur.”
He said with a low and calm voice, sharp eyes staring straight at the young officer.
With that sentence, the officer named Pasuur closed his mouth shakingly…
Claugh saw that, and remembered something.
The meaning of the words and pictures on the Estabul military facilities’ walls.
Obedience and admiration.
The eyes that Pasuur were looking at Bayuuz were filled with these two feelings. Obedience, and admiration that was stemmed from worship.
It was a person that people didn’t think of.
Was this the real image of Bayuuz?
Soldiers willingly chased after him.
Bayuuz still used a calm voice to say:
“…Then, he’s appeared? How many people have died this time?”
Pasuur revealed an expression that was conflicted and trembling because of fear and said:
“Th-that… The Belt village in the east has been nearly destroyed…”
This conversation made Claugh narrow his eyes unconsciously.
From the contents of the conversation, it seemed like something like bandits had appeared, attacking the village……
Was it like that?
The former Estabul officer had came to report this, that meant the Estabul soldiers that Bayuuz had gathered, were moving to maintain Estabul’s peace.
But, this matter seemed bad.
Estabul that was swallowed by Roland, was responsible for maintaining Estabul’s peace. But……now it was taken up by Bayuuz’s militants, it proved that there must be quite a number of soldiers under his command?
Perhaps what he said about having enough people to start a revolution wasn’t nonsense.
And, Bayuuz did not trigger a revolution, instead he found Claugh.
That meant, he didn’t want unnecessary bloodshed.
And that meant he thought, if peace could be maintained, it didn’t matter if they were engulfed by Roland…
But, it wasn’t being engulfed for nothing.
If he wanted to reform the army here and hand it to him to handle, he would display a similar sincerity, right?
Was that what Bayuuz was saying?
Of course it wasn’t the formless ‘sincerity’ that the nobles always hung by their mouths.
It was true sincerity.
What they were asking from Claugh was the guarantee that Roland would protect Estabul’s peace and dignity.
The burden was unbearably heavy.
And, how would this prove his sincerity?
Claugh said to Bayuuz:
“The village is being destroyed… that means, it’s quite a large force of bandits? Alright, I’ll let you see our sincerity. I’ll take my troops to defeat those bandits.”
But, Bayuuz glared at him viciously when he heard that.
“You’ll defeat him….?”
Saying that, he scoffed at Claugh.
“Impossible. If you can defeat him, we’ll follow you forever.”
He said.
Claugh revealed a suspicious expression.
“…Ah? This bet is heavy. It’s only bandits, if I can defeat them, then you’ll follow me for the rest of my life…? Uh, talking about which, what is it about ‘him’? Are those bandits led by someone you know? That means, it’s a deserter from the former Estabul army…”
But, Bayuuz interrupted him, telling Pasuur:
“Is it really him? That…”
Pasuur nodded immediately and replied:
“It isn’t mistaken. Everyone in the village has been bitten to death…”
“Ah?!”
Claugh couldn’t help but shout when he heard that.
But Pasuur continued:
“And someone witnessed… that, that black hair… black clothes… and, and…”
Pasuur started to tremble suddenly. As if he were fearful of an unknown monster…
“And his eyes… in his black eyes, there was the cursed red image…”
Claugh finally understood after he heard that.
He understood what they were scared of.
He understood what they were fighting against.
The cursed image in the red eyes.
It was hated and feared by everyone, the evidence of people who bought ill omen to everyone.
It was hated and feared by everyone, the evidence of people who bought bad luck.
The evidence of an Alpha Stigma bearer.
If it were a normal Alpha Stigma bearer, although not easy to deal with, but as long as they moved the army, there was nothing to be expected.
Claugh had once led a team, to kill an Alpha Stigma bearer who had lost control and was killing people.
But, Bayuuz and the others were so scared…
Claugh thought of another matter.
It was a thing that happened very very long ago…
It was something that had happened a long long time ago, when Claugh had just entered the Roland army…
When Claugh saw the Alpha Stigma bearer, it wasn’t a normal Alpha Stigma bearer.
He couldn’t forget it now. The unlucky red pattern that was glowing in those eyes…
And that person was laughing as if crazy.
As if taking everyone, everything as fools as he laughed.
When going against that person, Claugh’s squad had been eliminated in a moment.
Claugh had nearly lost his life.
Even so, he had crawled on the ground, attempting to escape.
As he cried in the sea of his companions’ blood, he had desperately tried to escape.
That person laughed.
That person laughed.
He didn’t mean to kill Claugh.
He only laughed continuously.
He only continuously laughed without stopping.
Claugh cried as he escaped.
That person saw this, laughing as he said:
“Ah……. Your slim arm……looks very delicious?”
Then—
Claugh lost his right arm.
No, it should be said that half of what was under the joint of his right shoulder was eaten.
His tendons were bitten off, his shoulder was unable to move because of this, it could no longer move.
But that was no longer important.
Claugh could only cry continuously.
Because of pain and fear.
And that person laughed happily…
That was a memory of the distant past.
But, Claugh’s arm…
He touched the tattoo on his right arm that was the center of the part that had been bitten off.
Bayuuz said:
“The situation is terrible. He’s not a normal Alpha Stigma bearer, he has already awakened. Can you defeat him?”
Claugh had a stiff smile.
“……………….Who can fight with that kind of mad monster……”
He softly muttered.
