Chapter 88: The Decisive Battle Meeting

「I see. In other words, Tsurugi-san’s ability is moving through space? 」

「Actually, it’s a bit different to be exact. I can instantly move wherever I can recognize the place. However, there is a limit to the number of people I can move, and it is impossible to move to a place where my perception is inhibited.」

「To sum up, there are barriers in the Emperor’s castle that hinders your perception, that’s why you can’t rescue the hostages directly, am I right?」

「That’s right. As expected of Kyou-san’s little sister, your brain is fast. 」

「Guh, guh, guh, this is the basic of the basics. 」

For the time being, it had been proven that Amines and Tsurugi had not been brainwashed, so I was having a strategic meeting with them.

According to Tsurugi, the main unit of the Emperor’s army would invade the Demon King’s Castle in about a week after the previous advance party’s withdrawal.

Because of that upcoming attack, to put it the other way around, the defense of the Emperor’s castle would be weakened, and Tsurugi said we could take advantage of that and take down the Emperor’s castle at once.

「Well, of course, the emperor found out about my betrayal, so I think they also left their main forces in the castle with that intention.」

「The main forces, do you mean…the remaining Seven Great Heroes, huh?」

「Emperor Hero Rostam, his older brother Zahack, Brave Hero Ferid, and… 」

「Lily. 」

Most likely, none of them would be a half-hearted force. On the other hand, Amines was the only one of the Seven Great Heroes who was a fighting force.

Tsurugi said that she wouldn’t lend a hand in this battle, but conversely, since she didn’t take the emperor’s side either, it was enough for us.

「Even so…I didn’t expect that Ferid was one of the Seven Great Heroes. 」

I now knew of his existence and muttered.

He was a mysterious young man that Lily saved before. He became a nuisance to me for a while, but at that time we became good friends through casual conversation.

To be frank, I thought he was one of the few male friends I had since I came to this world, but I never thought he was one of the Seven Great Heroes, and moreover, he was on the emperor’s side.

「…I wonder if he was also brainwashed by the emperor. 」

The person I knew, Ferid, was a nice young man who fit well with the words of “hero” and “brave”.

He was probably more suitable for the position of the main character than me.

There was no other reason for him to be working under that emperor.

That’s what I thought.

「I wonder about that, you know. I think the Emperor would rather not use his abilities on that type of people.」

「Sorry? 」

Tsurugi suddenly said a line that I didn’t understand.

However, there was something about that line that caught my attention.

「Tsurugi-san, what do you mean by that? 」

「Well, it looks like he uses his ability a lot, but what he really wants is to work hard to get Ferid and other’s obedience without brainwashing them with his abilities. In a way, he denies his brainwashing ability since it is not that noble.」

I didn’t understand why he would deny himself and his own abilities.

When I thought about that, the question that had been stuck in my chest seemed to come out of my mouth.

「…Certainly, there are many parts of his actions that don’t make sense. Amines, did you say that he was launching an attack against your country from way before?」

「Yes, correct. What’s wrong? 」

「I thought something was wrong. With his ability, it should not be necessary to do such a thing in the first place.」

Yes, Rostam’s ability was probably the only one among the abilities of the Seven Great Heroes that could control the strategy itself.

With that ability, it should be possible enough to extend control and brainwash the whole country without bothering with war.

「Indeed. But I’ve heard about the Emperor Hero’s temperament that Tsurugi was talking about earlier. Maybe that’s part of it, but I think he just enjoys creating conflicts. There is a true sense of accomplishment that can only be obtained by defeating enemies with one’s own strength, rather than using one’s special ability to attack easily. That’s why he won’t use his ability for that purpose…」

「If that’s the case, another contradiction arises. It is regarding Lily. 」

Yes, if he really wanted to advance the battle with only his own strength, brainwashing Lily would rather deviate from what he wanted to accomplish, right?

…No, that was not true.

When I remembered Lily’s secret I’ve heard from the other day it led to a certain answer.

「…But he tried to deviate from his plan when he tried to brainwash Amines. That’s enough for us. Let’s just blow him away.」

Yes, I didn’t know about Amines, but at least he crossed the line that no human being should cross to me.

To be honest, until I attended that meeting, I felt that I was a stranger to the Emperor Hero.

Even if he was Amines’ enemy, I had little idea that he was my enemy, and I had no reason or motive to harbor hatred towards him.

However, after that meeting, the things he did were enough for me to recognize him as an enemy and give me a reason to punch him.

If it was just me, it would’ve been fine, but he hurt my precious companions. That alone should never be tolerated.

「Well, at this time, I don’t care about his intentions. The point is; I just need to defeat him. 」

Everyone gathered in here agreed with Amines’ remarks. However, there were still elements that could not be ignored.

「The problem is not only the emperor himself, but Lily’s combat ability and…The abilities of the remaining two heroes are unknown.」

Yes, at the moment there was a difference in strength. Moreover, it wouldn’t be surprising if they showed a trump card when facing us.

Be it Lily, Amines, or Rostam, the abilities possessed by the Seven Great Heroes greatly exceeded the abilities of any individual. If the remaining two had strong abilities, it would be dangerous to rush into enemy territory without a proper plan.

At the very least, if we knew what our opponents’ abilities were, we may be able to take countermeasures.

When I muttered those words, Tsurugi replied lightly next to me.

「I know what Ferid can do, so should I tell you? 」

「Eh? Seriously? 」

「Yes, yes. 」

No way, this person spoke about it as if it were no problem at all.

But she didn’t say anything about herself.

She didn’t tell me why she kissed me earlier, or who she really was.

Well, when I asked her why she kissed me, her face turned bright red and I could tell through her robe that she was panicking. I thought that was cute.

「His ability, in a word, is evolution. 」

Eh? What did that mean?

「In other words, the more he is pushed, the more his abilities and skills will improve and awaken. In other words, it is the privilege of a hero itself.」

Eh, what a convenient skill. He truly sounded like the main character.

Was that what it meant? Even if the enemy were about to kill him, something strange would happen and he would “wake up” and turn the situation around in one shot?

The more he fought, the more he evolved.

「That ability is so convenient for a hero. It’s a foul. 」

My sister, who was familiar with it, immediately jumped in.

Hmm. Surely, this was a foul. It was an ability that the enemy shouldn’t have.

There was no way to beat it. No, to be precise, even if we tried to defeat him, we would be going around in circles after a convenient power-up, right? That was no good.

「I see. If that’s the case, I’m the only one who’s suitable for him. 」

One person who had heard this story so far raised its voice.

Ah you.

「Lord Kyou. Can you leave him to me? 」

Hell and I met face to face with that confident person, but after that, we quickly understood.

I see. Certainly, if that was the case, then this person would be the only one who had the potential to compete with Ferid.

If you specialized in crossing instead of defeating, then we could have a chance.

「Okay. Then I’ll leave that guy to you. 」

That person quietly nodded at my words.

The rest was Zahack’s ability as the elder brother of the Emperor Hero, but Tsurugi didn’t say anything about him.

She probably didn’t know, or there was a reason she couldn’t tell.

In any case, if we were to rush into the Emperor’s castle, it was important to know who was in charge of which opponent.

Jack and I, and of course, I wanted the Four Heavenly Kings to come together.

「…What is Isu-chan going to do? 」

Isu-chan, a snow witch, was one of the Four Heavenly Kings, but she was originally not good at fighting.

For that reason, she did not participate in the battles between humans and demons until now, and stayed away from that chaos by living in the snowy mountains.

From Isu-chan’s point of view, it was a completely irrelevant situation, and there was no need for her to get involved in the fight. But.

「…I…I’m also…going… 」

Isu-chan whispered in a small voice while trembling, but her eyes were filled with a look of determination that had never existed before.

「Fitis-san…promised me that she would have a cooking contest with me again….Ah, that person is…my, my friend…! That’s why it’s enough of a reason for me to go help my friend…it’s not an irrelevant fight…so I’m going with you…!」

Isu-chan’s eyes showed a strong determination that she wouldn’t regret jumping into the battle she feared in order to regain her lost friend.

That’s right. This girl had acted desperately for her friend Dryad before.

It was enough reason for her to act. It was all for the sake of her friends.

「Yes, I understand. Then, let’s go together. 」

After saying that, Isu-chan and I held hands as we unfolded the final stages of the decisive battle strategy for the Emperor’s castle’s invasion.

Previous | Next

😉