…Seeing Lydia’s face take on a look of complete despair, Belial nods approvingly. “Lydia of the Grunade Kingdom, was it? I’m going to give you a good, hard smack now.” “Why?!” Belial lands a follow-up blow, even as Lydia reels from having all of her soldiers taken out in a single blow. Oh, right, I told Belial about the fact that Lydia basically tried to blackmail us. Belial hates it when people disrespect Kisaragi, so I guess she wants to exact a price for that. Alice and Rose go to recover the pair of prisoners who got caught in the blast, as Belial cracks her knuckles, approaching Lydia, who remains cowed on the ground. Just as things seem to be at their worst for Grunade, I hear a familiar voice ring through the air. “That’s enough!” The person who appears at the top of the cliff like a hero saving the day is— “Diiiiiie!” “Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!” —Adelie, who tumbles from the cliff before she can identify herself, losing her footing when Belial destroys the ledge she’s standing on with a jump kick. Belial is, of course, ridiculous for shattering a solid-stone cliff face with a mere kick, but Adelie’s also pretty ridiculous given that she stands up and dusts herself off like nothing happened after falling from that height. Adelie herself probably wasn’t expecting to suddenly be attacked before she could say anything. I mean, both she and Lydia at least deserve to finish their lines. Despite not taking much in the way of physical damage, Adelie still seems to be recovering mentally as she looks around blankly before pointing her finger at me. “I-I…I don’t know why I get treated like this, given I’m the victim this time, but anyway… That’s enough, evildoers!” Adelie stands there ignoring Alice as she drags the pair of unconscious prisoners along the ground, waiting for our reaction. “That was pretty unfair, Lady Belial! You’ve completely thrown her for a loop. Remember that we’re not supposed to attack superheroes when they’re showing off after their arrival, transforming, or in an emotionally moving situation.” “Well, Adelie’s not technically a superhero, so it’s not a violation of Kisaragi’s rules of engagement. But she sure does time her appearances like a superhero, which makes me want to attack her.” “Please, at least listen to me!” Adelie somehow gathers her wits and glares at us. “Agentsix, look what you’ve done! You’ve got a heck of a lot to answer for! But first, say you’re sorry! Sorry for trying to frame me for that tiger beastman’s crimes! Also, while interfering is part of all elections, I think you guys went too far!” I exchange glances with Belial as Adelie shouts at me. I’m pretty impressed that she’s got the guts to lecture us in this situation, but does she really understand what’s about to happen to her? “I know that look you’re giving me! It’s the pitying look you give to an idiot! Even I’m not so reckless as to face you guys alone,” Adelie says with a triumphant look, but it doesn’t really fit someone who fell off a cliff before she could get off her heroic pose. “The prince is already on the way with his troops after hearing your broadcast earlier. I just came early to slow you down until they can arrive!” Belial and I exchange glances again at Adelie’s comment. True to Adelie’s statement, Prince Madia arrives with his troops in tow a little while later. The moment he sees us, the prince’s blood pressure appears to spike, and a vein pops on his forehead as he shouts at us. “Thanks to your meddling, our kingdom’s facing a terrible crisis! First, you will hand over my followers! Then, we’ll crush the mercenaries of Kisaragi with the help of Hiiragi!” He doesn’t have as many soldiers as Lydia, but it’s still a pretty big group. However… “…Hm? W-what’s going on here…?” It seems he’s finally noticed the mess around him, realizing that the lumps buried under the gravel are soldiers. A look of troubled confusion spreads across the prince’s features. “M-Madia…” At first he struggles to recognize the tremulous voice addressing him, but then he furrows his brow as he realizes who’s addressing him. “L-Lydia?! How did this happen?! Aren’t your personal soldiers on par with the royal army…?” The prince is clearly taken aback when he sees Lydia slumped on the ground, tears welling in her eyes and the fight sapped from her expression. “Excuse me, Your Highness. Do you mind looking over this way for a moment?” When I call over to him, Adelie, who’s been tied up with steel wire and lying on the ground at my feet, pipes up. “I-I’ll never bow down to evil! Your Highness, please do as your conscience says you must!” “Y-you villain… You utter bastard…! You weren’t satisfied with just tearing down my sister, but you’ve also reduced Dame Adelheid to such a pitiable state…!” Seeing his sister and Adelie in their current state, Madia incorrectly assumes that this is all my fault. The prince’s voice trembles with rage and his cheeks flush with anger as he yells over at me. Wait, I thought he and Lydia didn’t like each other. “…Fine. We’ll allow you to return to your lands. In exchange, you will not lay a finger on Dame Adelheid.” The prince seems to be under the impression we’ve taken Adelie as a hostage, but he’s mistaken. Having already recovered Snow and Heine, we don’t actually have any need for further hostages. “No, we’ve only tied her up because she said she was here to keep us busy.” “Yep, she’s been causing a racket. We’d be real grateful if you’d take her off our hands.” The prince looks a bit confused at our words. “Just what are you lot after? You ally with my sister, only to turn around thoroughly to break her will to resist; you take my followers as hostages, but then say you’ll return Dame Adelheid to us. Honestly, I can’t even begin to comprehend what your goals are.” “Well, it’s not like we’re doing this because we want to. This whole to-do is a result of our mutant, Tiger Man, going off half-cocked on his own, so…” “Yep. We’ve both had a lot happen, but a good chunk of it’s just because we weren’t reading from the same script, never mind being on the same page. With the Demon Lord Realm gone, you guys are our neighbors now. It might take a while, but why don’t we work on finding an arrangement that works for all of us?” At Alice’s proposal, we hear the sound of something hitting the ground echoing from nearby. We turn to face the source of the sound to find Lydia, who’s somewhat recovered her wits, throwing her fan down against the ground. “I can’t let things end as they are! That’s because I need to become queen! We definitely can’t let my little sister Nadia take the crown! And…I can’t let Madia do it, either!” “L-Lydia…?” At her sudden change, everyone stares at Lydia in slack-jawed amazement, before the princess, having gotten everyone’s attention, continues. “Do you know how our kingdom came to be? …No, I suppose none of you have any way of knowing. What the sorcery stone is used for, or what happens as a result!” There’s a desperate intensity to Lydia’s exhausted features. As everyone falls silent at her intensity, the princess begins to explain in a tone of abject despair: “Once, this land was overflowing with monsters. That was because this country had water in greater abundance than others… And in that world, the people were forced to choose. To live in lands that had ample water, but were swarming with monsters, or lands with relatively few monsters, but which were harsh, arid wastelands. Both choices were death sentences in their own right. But the artifacts from the distant past made it possible to survive…” <Evil Points Acquired> Just as Princess Lydia gets to that part, and everyone is caught up in listening to her story… I hear the Evil Point acquisition announcement go off, and the ground suddenly bursts upward, throwing everyone into the air other than the Kisaragi personnel. As dirt and screams rain down once more, Belial says without the slightest hint of remorse: “I’m tired of all these convoluted stories! Summarize, dammit! Summarize!” “I’ve been thinking this for a while now, but Lady Belial, you really need to work on your patience.” 4 We leave Snow and Heine with Rose and head to Grunade castle. For some reason, Adelie’s tagging along with us. As for everyone else, both the royals and the soldiers look like they’ll be out for a while. Rose called over for some officials as she was carrying Snow and Heine back to town, so we decide to just leave the soldiers to them. Adelie’s probably not going to try anything. Belial’s already showed her how futile it would be to resist… “Hey, Agentsix, what are you planning to do by breaking into the castle? If you’re planning something evil, I can’t just stand by and let it happen…” “We’re going to make the person who caused all of this unpleasantness—the tiger beastman you’re familiar with—take responsibility for what’s happened. I mean, in the end, it’s all his fault.” Belial confidently leads our procession, neutralizing the soldiers who notice us and turn their weapons on us without the slightest hesitation. Adelie watches as the soldiers attack, only to be taken down one by one, and says to me in a trembling voice: “…H-hey, Agentsix. I feel like I’m witnessing some terrible villainy.” “You’re no bystander, either. We’ve come too far to just let you walk off.” “You came uninvited; the least you can do is stay. If Tiger Man resists, you’re pitching in.” Adelie, knowing Tiger Man’s strength, doesn’t look pleased at that prospect, but it seems her innate sense of righteousness wins out in the end, as she follows us without complaint. Princess Nadia is probably on the very top floor. For whatever reason, the rule seems to be that kings and heroes just seem to like being in high places. Just as we’re about to reach the top floor, Belial, who’s been leading us, stops. When I look, there’s a single man standing in front of a giant, ornately decorated pair of doors that appear to lead to the throne room. “You’re in the way. Move.” The man pays no heed to Belial’s command. There’s an aura about him, as his body easily carries the weight of full-plate armor, and his stance exudes confidence. I doubt he could beat Belial, but he’s probably one of the stronger individuals on this planet. “He’s at least as skilled as Snow in terms of swordsmanship. And he’s got the strength and endurance to easily move around in heavy armor.” “Oh? He must be pretty good to be rated so highly by you. This might be entertaining.” Adelie nods in agreement after Alice and my exchange. “He’s this kingdom’s greatest knight, and a true warrior that even I treat with caution. I’m sure you’ve all at least heard his name. His name is—” The man doesn’t even have a chance to speak as Belial punches him without a word, sending him flying. He slams into the wall and lies there unmoving. Alice glances down at him as we walk past. “Tell me the name of the man even you treat with caution, eh?” “Your partner rated him highly, too! He fought me to a standstill when we sparred! H-hey, keep up, Miss Belial’s going to leave us behind!” Adelie says this in a rush before Belial opens the doors! “Mr. Tiger, say ahh.” “Hey, my mouth’s not wherrre you should ssstore prrrrudding. Make sure Rurrsssell gets srrrome, too.” In a room where a lavishly decorated throne sits atop a luxuriantly rich carpet, Tiger Man is lying on the floor with his head in Russell’s lap, being offered a spoonful of pudding by a little girl. “…Well, I don’t dislike pudding. But I can eat it myself.” With that, Russell holds his hand out to the girl, freezing as he turns his gaze toward us. Tiger Man, noticing Russell suddenly go rigid, follows Russell’s gaze and freezes himself when he sees us. The little girl, seeing Tiger Man, Russell, and our group all staringly blankly at one another, shyly looks up at us. “Hello…” “Well hi there, miss. We have business with Mr. Tiger, so can you follow this nice lady and play with her for a bit?” “Huh? M-me?! Ahm, errm, okay! Heroes are also friends of children! I’ll teach you my ample repertoire of cool poses!” Adelie panics for a moment when we push the child onto her, but she seems to catch on and accepts. Based on how close she is with Tiger Man, I’m guessing this little girl is Princess Nadia. As Adelie takes her by the hand, she looks back multiple times toward Tiger Man before leaving the room. After making sure the door has closed behind them, Belial lets out a slow breath. “Now…” “I have one concern about dying. May I ask a favor of you?” Tiger Man, sitting respectfully, says without purring or meowing. Belial nods as though offering a final bit of compassion to the mutant, who seems to have made his peace with his own death. “All right. Say it.”
Chapter 101
12 min read