Chapter 96

CHAPTER 4 Vote with a Clear Conscience! 1 I finally finish recounting the course of events that have brought us to using this inn room as our temporary hideout here in Grunade. After emerging refreshed from her bath, Belial sits cross-legged on the bed, placing the sheet-wrapped Rose on her lap and cuddling the chimera like a stuffed animal. Belial nods several times throughout the course of the tale, her features solemn, before closing it out with a final, large nod. “I got it, I completely understand. All right, so on the matter of Tiger Man, I’ll take him out myself.” “Lady Belial, are you sure you’ve grasped the whole situation? I mean, I think the whole thing’s gotten so twisted up complex that it’s hard to follow. Where did you suddenly find a new set of brains?” I’m shocked at the fact that she’s able to understand this convoluted mess of a situation. “To put it simply, whoever obtains the sorcery stone is going to end up the king, right? I’ve always wanted to try my hand at being a king.” I feel a slight sense of relief when it’s revealed that she doesn’t get the situation in the slightest. “Even if you obtain the sorcery stone, Lady Belial, you can’t be crowned king. You don’t have a claim to the throne.” While I try to persuade her with logic, Belial replies with a deathly serious expression. “Kisaragi, people should never use the word ‘can’t.’ Dreams won’t come true if you give up on them.” “Tiger Man’s dream is evidently to become an elementary school–aged kid again. Is this also something that can happen someday?” “No, that’s impossible. Tell him to give it up.” Belial completely contradicts what she said mere seconds earlier, petting Rose through the sheets. The fact that Rose is just sitting there and letting Belial play with her makes the chimera look like some sort of lap dog or something. “All right, let’s head over to those ruins tomorrow. I’ve already drawn up several plans, but as an evil corporation, we should employ the usual method of following the prince’s party and snatching the sorcery stone out of their hands at the end.” Alice, evidently giving up on explaining the situation to Belial, begins to lay out our plan for tomorrow. Ah-ha, it’s the same one we used against Heine and Russell in the ruins over in Torace. “It’s got a pretty good success rate. Since the ruins have been abandoned for so long, they’ve become a monster’s nest. That means we can use them to clear out the monsters along the way.” “—That’s our plan so far. Do you have any objections, Lady Belial?” In a rare move for Alice, she asks for confirmation and approval from her superior, Belial. You don’t see that every day. I mean, Alice usually even ignores directives from her creator. “Sounds good to me. We’ve left the specifics of what to do on this planet to you guys. You just need to think of me as another Combat Agent.” Evidently, Belial’s decided it’s better to have only one commander for the operation and gives a relaxed smile to indicate her approval of the idea. “Really?! I’m pretty important in this world. Can you go out and buy me some bread?” “You go out and buy it, unless you’re planning to use that bread to eat a knuckle sandwich. I want some yakisoba bread and melon bread! Don’t bother coming back until you’ve got them.” I use my Evil Points to order baked goods that are unobtainable on this world to give to my unreasonably demanding boss as tribute. The whole exchange prompts a titter of laughter from Rose as she remains on Belial’s lap. “Boss, you and Lady Belial are real close, aren’t you? You’re like siblings.” “See what she’s saying, Lady Belial? Can I call you ‘big sister’ and have you spoil me?” “I don’t want such a moronic little brother. I want one who’s smarter.” Rose smiles as she continues to watch our little exchange. Oh yeah. Before Belial had her enhancement surgery, she always used to look after me like I was her slow, delinquent little brother. Back then, Belial’s personality was the exact opposite of what it is now. She often was the one who would calm me down when I was about to charge into a group of taunting superheroes or would come to find me when I ended up getting lost in enemy territory. When I got kicked out of my old apartment because they refused to rent to someone related to a known criminal organization, she even let me stay at her house for a bit. When I was staying at her house, I ended up running into her at the baths pretty often, but now that I think about it, those are some nice memories. …No, wait, thinking back on it, I’m pretty sure she kept wandering into the bath just when I was bathing.