Chapter 131
Lowering One's
Head
Translator : PolterGlast
Since it seemed there was nothing I could do to resolve this
situation, it might be better to just leave it to her. People call this tossing
the ball.
Along with me, Alicia smoothly and silently leaped
out from the shadow. And Miku followed behind her. Since it was already
known that an assassination attempt had failed, there was no need to force
ourselves to hide.
「Wha-!?」
「Why are you... hyaah!?」
If they kept making a fuss, we wouldn't be able to talk, so
I used the Light Magic spell Bind to restrain the two of them.
While I was at it, I healed the Black Knight-san with Recovery Magic
and then tied him up tightly too. It would be troublesome if he woke up, so
maybe I should carefully bind him up completely solid.
「Not only All Heal, but even Shadow
Dive... Just what in the world...」
「What tremendous proficiency, and an
AoE casting skill on top of that. To think you had entered the room without me
noticing... I can only be ashamed of my own ignorance for failing to notice it.」
Seeing my actions, it seemed the two demons had also
realized what I had been doing. Ah, come to think of it, I haven't greeted them
yet. That's no good.
「Excuse me, my introduction was
delayed. I am Kazuno Masaru... Or, to use the naming style of this
world, Masaru Kazuno. This here is Miku Arisugawa.」
「Hello, please feel free to call me Miku.」
「I am Lirica tu Baron.
Understood, it is a pleasure to meet you, Miku.」
「I am Priola tu Rusara. You
have my thanks for using Recovery Magic on us. However, that is some
tremendous healing skill...」
「Thank you very much... And the girl
behind me is Alicia von Grust. She is the Second Princess of this Grust
Kingdom.」
「I listened to the conversation from
within the shadow. I am Alicia. It is a pleasure to meet you.」
Alicia walked
briskly with unhesitating steps and exchanged a firm handshake with Lirica-san.
Her face looked much more mature compared to when I first saw her at the Royal
Castle. The princess who had once self-deprecatingly said she might be
killed was now standing proudly, without a hint of fear, even when facing
demons far stronger than herself. I wonder what changed her so much. Giving us
the role of envoys for the Empire, having various conversations with Miku
and me... Perhaps all those various stimuli shaped the person she is today.
「People close to me call me Alice.
I would like to get along well with you from now on, Lirica-san, so
please, call me Alice.」
「...Yes, understood, Alice. I
look forward to working with you from now on.」
For now, I think we've completely prevented a total rift
from forming between the two countries. But the meeting has still only just
begun. The first thing we need to do is...
「Masaru-san, could you take the gags
of my father and sister?」
「Mhm, sure thing.」
After a light chat with Lirica-san and the other, Alicia
turned to me and smiled. Seeing that smile, I figured it would be fine, so I
undid a part of the Bind to allow Izel II and Misha to
speak.
「Father, do you have no intention of
speaking with Lirica-san and her companion?」
「Hmph, why should I have to deal with
vulgar creatures like demons?」
「Is poisoning them during an official
meeting not vulgar?」
「Since ancient times, Heroes
have used any means necessary to defeat the Demon Lord. And history is
always shaped by the victors.」
Alicia made a
slightly saddened expression before turning her face toward her older sister,
who was beside the king.
「Sister, do you have any intention of
walking together with Lirica-san and her companion?」
「Why do I have to do such a thing
with an inferior race like demons!? Never mind that, quickly undo these
restraints, Alicia!」
Hearing Misha's words, Alicia let out a small
sigh. Just as I thought her eyes grew slightly moist, a flame of strong will
dwelled within them. From what I've heard, she had been told various terrible
things by her sister. However, the current her showed absolutely no sign of
intimidation, even when facing Misha.
「Using strong words to try and
manipulate people is a bad habit of yours, Sister. And I believe it is
difficult for Father, who is unable to change his rigid way of thinking, to
steer this country.」
「What... Alicia, don't tell me
you!?」
「From here on out, the battle against
the demons will surely become even fiercer. At that time, what will benefit the
kingdom is not a person fixated on a single ideology, but rather someone who is
flexible... Someone capable of thinking flexibly enough to join hands even with
demons would be more suited for the role, I believe.」
「Do you even understand what you are
saying, Alicia!?」
Alicia stared
intently back at Misha, who was shouting somewhat hysterically, and gave
a firm nod. She had already made her resolve.
「Truth be told, I have no interest in
the throne whatsoever. I thought it would be fine to die while lending a hand
to Miku and the others; I thought that as long as I could live a quiet
life, that would be enough... However, Father has gone too far. Attempting to
assassinate Miku. And unrepentantly attempting to poison the demons to
death... Besides that, I know you have committed far too many selfish
acts.」
Alicia cast a
brief glance at Lirica and the other in front of her. Then, she turned
her eyes toward Miku and me standing beside her. Miku and I
looked at each other once, then nodded back at her. No matter what choice she
makes, we intend to be on Alicia's side. Currently, she is the only
decent person in the Grust royal family. And if there is a possibility
of joining hands with the demons, I'm sure she is the only one who can make it
happen.
「Therefore, I will... become the king
of this country. To sever the chain of hatred. To truly put an end to the
conflict between humans and demons.」
Alicia swiftly
drew something from her chest. By the time I realized it was a knife with a
sculpted hilt, she had already broken into a run. The soldiers were all
collapsed. And Kazuma-kun and his group, who were a short distance away,
couldn't reach her in time, even if they reacted, due to the distance. Alicia
attempted to plunge that knife... weaving it through the gaps in the Bind,
into Izel II's chest. However, I simply caught the swung-down knife with
my hand. The focus in her eyes, whose pupils had dilated, gradually sharpened
until they locked onto me.
「Masaru-san, what are...」
「Alicia, there's no need for you to dirty your hands.」
While keeping my grip on the knife, I aimed my other hand at
Izel II.
「Hmph, not a commendable intention...
Gyaaaaaaaahh!!」
I fired a Light Arrow, holding back its power as much
as possible. The strike, unleashed at a speed untraceable to the eye, pierced
through Izel II's right thigh, pinning it to the ground. If I used Lightning
Magic, there's a chance paralysis would make him unable to speak, so I'll
go with Light Magic this time. You aren't the only one who has a bone to
pick with this idiot king, Alicia.
「I-It hurts, it hurrrts...!」
「That was for arbitrarily bringing us
to another world without permission. I'm a shut-in, and thanks to you forcibly
bringing me to Aristella, I legitimately almost died, you know.
Actually, if God hadn't saved me, I really would have died.」
「W-Wait! We can talk this out!」
「Nope, talking won't help you
understand.」
「Gyaaaaaaaahh!!」
I fired another Light Arrow, this time piercing
through his left leg. It would be troublesome if he bled out and died from
excessive blood loss, so maybe I should heal his right leg with Heal.
「That was for trying to kill Miku.
If my help had been even a little later, she would have died.」
Even I was surprised by how cold my voice sounded. Looking
at Izel II spurting blood, or looking at Misha whose face had
gone pale watching him, I truly felt absolutely nothing. I continued to drive
in Light Arrows, healed all the wounds, and then repeatedly drove Light
Arrows back into the flesh that had regenerated and bulged up. The robe he
was wearing became riddled with holes and soaked in blood, putting him in a
state that was utterly painful to look at. Revenants, Knights of the
Holy Corpse, and demons. I've defeated beings close to humans many times,
but this is pretty much the first time I've attacked a human like this. In
fictional works, there are often depictions of conflicts over hurting people,
or feeling pain in one's own heart because one knows pain, but in reality, I
felt absolutely no deep emotion whatsoever.
(Ah, I
see...)
Up until now, I've thoroughly disparaged Izel II and Misha.
That was the reverse side of the anger that had been quietly suppressed deep
within my chest. For a long, long time, I have been angry at this guy. Because
of this guy, the lives of everyone in Class 1-1 of Shishikawa High School were
ruined. I was brought into a world of competition, which I had avoided while on
Earth—and what's more, a world where you're compared more starkly as
numerical values because of things called stats. Fortunately, I had the Home
Gift. With that, I got a head start, and even after coming to Aristella,
thanks to the strong game-like aspects, I feel like I was able to get stronger
while relatively enjoying myself. But even so, as expected... although I hadn't
noticed it myself, it seems an unimaginable amount of stress had been building
up inside me.
「This is for doing terrible things to
Alicia, this is for trying to kill Lirica-san and her companion,
this is for trying to kill Mitsukawa-kun, and this is for not counting
me as a Hero and treating me as dead!」
「A-Agya!? Gwaaaaaaahh!?」
Just counting them out like this shows how incredibly messed
up the acts Izel II has committed really are. To begin with, summoning
people to another world is already mass kidnapping. The more I think about it,
the more irritated I get. This guy has gone too far; he should just be executed
normally.
「Ah, come to think of it, there's one
thing I wanted to ask. Do you have a method prepared for us to return to Earth?
If you don't answer honestly, it's going to hurt even more.」
「H-H-No, I don't! That summoning
formula is an incomplete formula that only has a summoning function, so it is
impossible to send you back.」
「Wh-What does that mean!?」
「Weren't we supposed to be able to go
back if we defeated the Demon Lord!?」
At Izel II's words, the Kazuma harem was shaken.
Seeing that, Misha broke out in a profuse sweat. It seems they had been
deceiving our classmates with sweet words. That adds one more crime to their
list. Ideally, I'd like to subject Misha to the same punishment, but...
she is, for all intents and purposes, Kazuma-kun's fiancée. I'll leave
her punishment to Kazuma-kun, and I'll hold myself back with just Izel
II.
「Gwaaaaaaaahh!!」
When I used Light Arrow again, this time it pierced
straight through his belly. The mantle he was wearing had turned into something
like Swiss cheese full of holes, completely exposing his sloppy body
underneath. Looking at that mass of fat trembling while enduring the pain, I
tightly clenched my fist... and slowly exhaled. This should be enough to
relieve my stress. Just taking it out on things or people won't solve the
problem, though. To begin with, this gathering isn't an 'Izel II
Beatdown Party,' but a place for diplomatic relations between the Grust
Kingdom and the demons. Of course, in terms of my personal feelings, there
would be absolutely no problem even if I killed him. Well, but still, I'm not
fiendish enough to murder a real father right in front of Alicia, at
least.
And so, I had Izel II write a written oath of
abdication, and Misha a declaration regarding the renunciation of her
right to succession to the throne. They were reluctant, of course, but when I
drove a Gungnir into the floor right in front of them and blew a hole
through the ceiling of the Royal Castle, they hurriedly moved their
quill pens without saying another word. I made sure they used the Imperial Seal
and the Royal Crest, so it should be practically impossible for them to renege
on it now.
「Alright, with this, the matter is
settled. With this, Alicia will become the Queen, and if she proceeds to
negotiate with Lirica-san and her companion, the worst-case scenario
should be avoided for now.」
「Leave it to me, Masaru-san. I
will handle the rest properly.」
I also didn't forget to give a stern warning to the two in
the back who had completely become part of the scenery.
「Ah, if you renege on this, I'll kill
you. Rest assured, when that happens, I will completely annihilate you without
leaving a single piece of evidence that you ever existed in this world.」
「H-Hiiiiii!?」
「W-Why is a monster like this...」
「Did you say something?」
「I didn't say anythiiiing!」
「Kazuma-kun, make sure you keep a tight rein on her. If she goes
out of control, depending on the situation, you might have to deal with the
consequences too.」
「A-Ah... understood.」
Since I completely have a villainous aura going on, I
figured I might as well push my tyranny as far as it can go while I have the
chance. In fact, right now, while everyone is overwhelmed by the atmosphere, I
could probably get away with quite a lot. I'll take the initiative in this
situation.
「...Hah. For what it's worth, it
seems it's not completely impossible to return. If we're strong enough to
defeat the Demon Lord, perhaps... or so God said.」
I meant to say it as an icebreaker so everyone wouldn't get
too depressed, but my words got a bite from an unexpected direction. It wasn't
the Kazuma harem, who were still overwhelmed by the atmosphere of the
place, but Lirica-san, who raised her hand while looking at me.
「Um, I have been wondering this for a
while now... Has Masaru-san actually met God?」
「Yeah, I got saved when this king
nearly got me killed.」
「To have encountered the Creator
God...」
「Hey, Priola...」
「...Yes, I agree.」
Lirica, with a look
of resolve on her face, smoothly began walking toward me. Then, she stared at
me with a probing gaze... and for some reason, suddenly bowed her head deeply.
「Masaru-san... Please make me your disciple!!」
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