Chapter 172: Scout (2)

Due to the classic car’s capacity, engineer Caron and Father Luke were left behind at the hideout, while Seiya, Celseus, the Colt siblings and I got into the car.

Eich, Celseus, and I sat in the back seat side by side. Seiya was sitting in the passenger seat in front of me, but he looked at Colt, who was holding the steering wheel next to him, with an unusually worried expression on his face.

「Colt. Did you take proper driving lessons? 」

「Are you talking about car training? No. I have a general feeling of how to operate the car. 」

「Then, that means you’re worse than a paper driver*. Wouldn’t it be better to do our scouting after taking driving lessons? 」

「Why does he have to take car lessons now!! I’ve been noticing for a while now, but you say whatever you want!! My brother is a good driver!! 」

Sensing that Eich was seriously angry, I spoke to Seiya timidly from behind.

「Se…Seiya! It looks like the sun is going to set soon; it will be too late if we don’t go now! 」

Then, Seiya twisted his tongue with his arms folded.

「It can’t be helped. In that case, drive as slow as possible. Preferably around 3km/h.** 」

「Are you an idiot?! It’ll be no different than walking!! 」

「Ah, hahahaha. Okay, I’ll avoid full speed. I’ll drive gently. 」

Colt started the engine. Finally, the car left the hideout and slowly drove through Galvano town.

Seiya was restless for a while, but from what I saw, Colt was driving very carefully. Eventually, Seiya seemed to have calmed down and sat down deeply in his seat while looking at the town from the car’s window. I looked from the window just like Seiya.

Galvano was an unsafe town with trash scattered everywhere and hobos wandering around. Poorly dressed children held hands while watching our car pass by. Were they siblings? They were probably five or six years old…hmmm, maybe even younger. Seeing those skinny little children made my heart hurt even though I knew this was a twisted world.

「…It’s a horrible town. 」

It came out of my mouth unconsciously. Colt said in a heavy tone from the driver’s seat.

「The Principality of Galvano is only thinking about exploiting this town. Most of the income we earn disappears because of the heavy taxes. This is an oppressive place. Countless people die of starvation every day. 」

Colt continued his talk inside the classic car interior.

「Many people will be saved if the Principality’s tyrannical control is abolished. Our methods may not be the best, but we have to resort to rough methods in order to save this world. Someone has to bathe in blood. That’s what I think.」

「But I wonder if killing the mayor alone will change this world. 」

Celseus muttered. Then, Colt explained.

「Of course, killing Mayor Bunos is just a steppingstone. Ultimately, I want to defeat the ruler of the Principality of Galvano…Duke Leon and obtain his Thunder Beast Artema. 」

「Thunder Beast Artema!? Duke Leon!? Could that be…!!」

When I heard Colt’s words, I instinctively jumped out of the backseat. When I heard the word Leon, what came to my mind was the lion beast-man, the Beast Emperor Grand Leon.

「So, the one who rules the Principality of Galvano in this twisted world is Grand Leon!? 」

I screamed in Seiya’s ear. Seiya nodded slightly.

「I don’t know yet, but it’s very likely. 」

「Ugh…We’ll have to fight that Grand Leon again…!?」

Grand Leon was a monster with the same ability values as the Goddess of War, Adenela. The Great Goddess Isister advised Seiya to avoid direct combat with Grand Leon, and taught Seiya the “Secret of the Evil Six-Hexagram”. Celseus showed a puzzled look on his face.

「Lista. Who’s this Grand Leon? 」

「It’s a formidable enemy with incredible ability values. 」

「Or rather, because of you, it has become an even stronger enemy now. 」

「I…I’m really sorry about that…! 」

When Seiya told me that, I turned red and looked down. Even remembering it now made me want to scratch my own chest. The “Secret of the Evil Six-Hexagram” failed because of my mistake. As a last resort, Seiya managed to defeat Grand Leon by increasing his State Berserk to near its limit.

…Ugh…such painful memories…! How terrible would that be if I had to struggle like that again…!

As my heart got quite shaken inside the car, and when I started to feel cold sweat…

「…We’ve arrived. 」

It was already getting dark when Colt spoke. He stopped the car’s engine and went outside. Eich got out of the back seat, and Seiya exited the car, also being cautious. As I was putting Celseus in the wheelchair like a caregiver…I suddenly noticed something.

We were supposed to be on our way to scout the casino. However, the place where I was now looked like the outskirts of that town, overgrown with vegetation. The casino seemed to be on top of a hill, overlooking the town of Galvano.

「That’s Bunos’ Casino. 」

Colt pointed to the hill. It was a huge casino building, rich in colorful illuminations, and could be seen even from a considerable distance away.

「You can see its rooftop from here. Tomorrow there will be a party celebrating the fifth anniversary of the casino’s establishment. Mayor Bunos will have dinner on the rooftop. 」

「…So you want a sniper. 」

Seiya muttered to himself, and Colt nodded.

「That’s right. Mayor Bunos is also a member of the Guiding Rewrite, an elite unit directly under the jurisdiction of the Principality, just like Wolf once were. In other words, it’s the superior with a superior. It’s less risky to kill him with a sniper than to fight him directly. 」

Eich pulled a long-barreled firearm that resembled a rifle from the trunk of the classic car and handed it to Colt.

「I asked Caron to make me a powerful rifle that can break through Bunos’ magical barrier. I’ll use my Wind Vortex to increase the accuracy and use this rifle to shoot Bunos in the head and finish him off. I want Mister Seiya and the rest of you to infiltrate the casino building tomorrow and lead Bunos towards the designated place. 」

I see. It seemed that scouting meant to lure the mayor towards the sniper point. Colt was planning to rehearse right here. In addition, he probably wanted to show Seiya and I where to guide Bunos.

However. When Seiya heard his plan, his response was something they didn’t expect.

「I refuse. 」

Seiya said that word without hesitation. Eich became furious quite immediately.

「Why!! You said you would cooperate with us!! 」

「I said that, yes. But I’ll be the one with the sniper. Colt will infiltrate the casino. You’re going too. 」

「What…!?」

Eich was at a loss for words, and Colt also rolled his eyes. Yes, sneaking into a casino was extremely dangerous! Seiya probably chose the safer option for himself…!

「Why do you want to do it!? If it’s a sniper job, my brother is definitely better. 」

Colt suddenly stopped Eich’s mouth and held up his hand.

「Bro…Brother!? 」

「Mister Seiya. Are you confident in your sniping skills? 」

「Of course. There’s no problem at this distance. It’ll definitely hit the target. 」

「Are you sure? I mean, you can’t go to the sniper point without my brother’s guidance!! 」

Then, Seiya pointed at me.

「This goddess can open gates to places she’s been to before. It’s the only good thing about this goddess. 」

「That’s right. I don’t have a problem with shortcuts. Wait a minute…Why is that my only advantage…! How annoying…! 」

「Lista, Celseus and I will head to this point and snipe Bunos from here. The remaining ones, led by Colt, will infiltrate the casino and lure Bunos out. 」

「You are so selfish…! What do you think of this, brother? 」

Colt thought about it for a while. But then he smiled and handed Seiya the rifle he was holding.

「I understand. I trust Mister Seiya. I’ll leave the sniper job to you. 」

「I wonder if you can really hit the guy…By the way, have you truly held a gun before…? 」

Seiya ignored Eich and held up the rifle he received, looking through the scope and pointing it at the casino’s rooftop as if to take a test shot. Celseus said next to me.

「A sniper shot from a safe position, huh? You’re really starting to look like a terrorist. 」

「Yes. He doesn’t look like a hero at all. But, well, Seiya did a sniper job to defeat the enemy during a previous attack on Exfolia. 」

「Ah, is that so? 」

「Yeah, with a whistle. 」

「…!! Hey, did you just say that he did a sniper job with a whistle!? 」

Celseus was screaming, and Eich was still looking like a Buddha, but inside I didn’t feel any panic. If Seiya said it would be a hit, then it would definitely be 100% a hit. There was no doubt.

And so, Colt was going to guide, and Seiya was going to shoot…thus the plan to assassinate the town’s mayor, Bunos, was going to be carried out the next day.

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*ペーパードライバー (pēpā doraibā) is a word often used to describe one’s inability to drive a car. It indicates inexperienced drivers who haven’t driven for many years or never since they got their driver’s license. They are called ‘paper drivers’ because their driver’s license is utterly useless and nothing but paper (or a plastic card nowadays).

**1.864 miles per hour.

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