Chapter 130
Stay Put
「It is a pleasure to meet you for the
first time. My name is Kazuma Hijirikawa, and I serve as the
representative of the Heroes of this country.」
Kazuma-kun wore a perfect, beaming smile.
I wondered if he was perhaps trying to add even the two demons to his harem
roster. Kazuma-kun's path to a harem might know no bounds.
「A Hero-sama, is it... Well,
well.」
Priola-san returned his smile. And behind Kazuma-kun,
Misha, and behind Priola-san, Lirica-san, both wore
similar smiles. But I wonder why; to me, it didn't look like a single one of
them was genuinely smiling.
「Before we get to the main topic, let
us have a light tea break.」
When
Izel II clapped his hands with a pan-pan, a steady stream of
maids entered the room. The fact that they were all so pretty that you'd think
they were chosen based entirely on their looks was probably due to Izel II's
personal taste. They poured black tea, and tea snacks were distributed.
...Perhaps because I'm so used to seeing the offerings at Jin's
Patisserie, these somehow felt a bit lacking.
「Lirica-sama, I shall test for poison.」
「No, it is fine. True friendship
begins with mutual trust.」
Lirica-san stopped Priola-san from
stepping forward and directly brought the cup to her lips. ...She's got some
serious guts.
(...No,
that's not it.)
From
my position hiding in the shadow, which allowed me to peek at the situation
from below, I could see her legs trembling slightly. Thinking about it, I
suppose it's only natural. They had suddenly come to the stronghold of total
strangers of a completely different race. Surrounded by enemies on all sides,
there was no way they wouldn't feel fear. However, Lirica-san was
suppressing that welling fear and still acting resolutely. Just looking at that
one action, I could understand her level of seriousness. Personally, I found
her to be far more trustworthy than someone like Izel II.
However,
reality was cruel.
「Guh... Gah...」
「Lirica-sama!?」
Just
as I thought Lirica-san's body began to tremble after bringing the tea
to her lips, she spat out the tea she had taken into her mouth. Mixed within it
was a faint trace of crimson. Priola-san, who had been cautiously about
to sip her own tea, immediately spat it out and glared at Izel II. And
having watched this sequence of events while sipping his tea, Izel II
and Misha beside him... had smirks plastered on their faces.
T-These
guys... they actually poisoned their meeting partners!? Are they insane!? No, I
already knew they weren't in their right minds, but still!
In
the shadow behind me, I could tell that Alicia sharply gasped. Well,
anyone would be shocked seeing their father and the others acting like this.
「Guh... You bastards! What is the
meaning of this!?」
「What meaning is there to ask...」
「That should be glaringly obvious
just by looking at the situation.」
Misha stepped back and gave a meaningful
glance. Then, as if switching places with her, Kazuma-kun and his Kazuma
harem stepped forward.
「Misha, these girls are...」
「They are minions of the Demon
Lord. If we do not kill them here, they will undoubtedly become our enemies
later... Hero-sama.」
「A-Ah, I understand.」
The
Hero Kazuma-kun, the Bow Saint Aina-san, the Sword
Saint Kotegawa-san, and the Sage Mitsurugi-san stepped
to the front. And following suit, the Black Knight clad in black armor
lined up beside them. Kazuma-kun and the others have definitely grown
stronger than before, and that Black Knight is by no means weak either.
But even so, Lirica-san and Priola-san are unmistakably stronger.
However,
that is only assuming they are in peak condition. Thanks to the utterly
fiendish act of poisoning the tea prepared for the meeting, Lirica-san and the
other are clearly weakened. If a fight breaks out in this state, it would be an
even match... No, it would probably lean slightly in favor of Kazuma-kun's
side.
(Masaru...)
(Yeah, of course.)
Since
Miku tugged on my sleeve from behind, I gave a firm nod. Of course, I
have no intention of letting this meeting hall turn into a bloodbath. If Izel
II and Misha have no intention of negotiating properly... then we'll
just have to turn this place into a proper meeting hall ourselves.
「Haaai everyone, stop for a second,
hold on, just stay put!」
「Wh—, you're... Kazuno!?」
「You've got some nerve casually showing
your face here!」
With
a shing, the tips of the swords held by Kazuma-kun and Kotegawa-san
pointed toward me. Hey there, you two. It's been a while since I took everyone
to the Empire.
「Don't tell me... have you come to
interfere again?」
「Hmm... That's a bit of a tough
question to answer.」
It's
true that I came to interfere with the Grust Kingdom's ulterior motives,
but I have absolutely no intention of ruining the meeting with the demons.
Since things were heading straight towards a battle scenario, I just came to
intervene a little.
「Kazuma-sama, this fellow is...」
「Yeah, Kazuno Masaru... the
very culprit who took Akira and the others away.」
「Men, apprehend that traitor!」
「「「Sir!」」」
At
Izel II's command, the Kingdom's knights, led by the Black
Knight, charged toward me all at once. I don't plan on killing them, so
here, Stun Shock.
「「「Gwaaaaahhh!?」」」
「Railgun.」
「Guh... Please flee, Your Majesty...」
When
I used a coin to blast straight through the chest of the Black Knight
who was trying to flank me from behind, the hall went dead silent. Everyone's
gazes simultaneously darted between me and the Black Knight collapsed on
the ground.
「N-No way, for Beendorf-san to
go down so easily...」
The
Kazuma harem seemed extremely shocked that he was instantly defeated.
Come to think of it, aside from the two demons, I think he had the most magic
power. Perhaps he was some famous knight in the Kingdom or something.
His name does sound pretty cool, too.
「Now then, first things first... Lirica-san,
would it be alright if I cast Light Magic on the two of you?」
「...Please... do...」
Having
obtained consent from Lirica-san, who was clearly in bad shape from the
poison, I firmly activated my magic. Considering this is a poison the Kingdom
brought specifically for this meeting against demons, it's a bit doubtful
whether a regular Cure would heal it. Their stamina also seems depleted,
so I think I'll put a bit more spirit into it and use this one instead.
「Last Heal.」
Using
an AoE casting skill to widen the effective range, I healed both of them at
once with a single spell. With me, every mid-tier single-target healing
spell turns into a high-tier healing spell that restores HP to the
entire party. An area-of-effect healing ability that would even shock a King
Cureslime.
「Wh-, this is...」
...Huh,
they actually healed normally. Honestly, I thought they couldn't be healed with
simple Light Magic. I was completely under the impression that beings
who live in darkness would reject normal Light Magic and could only be
healed with corrupted Light Magic using Holy-Demonic Reversal, so I'm honestly surprised. Perhaps
demons are a race much closer to humans than we think. But if that's the
case... who exactly is that dark-attribute recovery magic meant to heal?
「You bastard... no, who... exactly
are you?」
「Just a passing shut-in.」
I
tried striking a sharp pose with two fingers next to my face, but the hall fell
dead silent. ...There is nothing more embarrassing than failing while trying to
act cool. I decided to pretend I never said that and quickly move the
conversation along.
「Umm, anyway, I'll state my
objective. Personally, I would like the people of the Grust Kingdom to
have a proper discussion with the two demons.」
When
I twisted my body to look to the side, I saw Izel II, whose brain had
completely short-circuited from the continuous stream of unexpected events, and
Misha, whose face was bright red, presumably from anger.
「Wh... What is your goal, you
bastard!?」
「Err, like I said, to have a proper
discussion...」
「You mean to force us to listen to
you with sheer power! You scum!」
「No, I'm saying I want you to talk...」
I
tried to get Izel II and Misha to listen, but they completely
refused to lend an ear. I mean, it might be my fault for suddenly resorting to
force, but it couldn't be helped, right? If they had kept fighting like that,
both sides would have suffered casualties, and a discussion would have been out
of the question.
Figuring
those two were a lost cause, I then turned toward Kazuma-kun and his
group. They had recovered from the shock of that whatever-his-name-was Black
Knight getting defeated. While they were still in a battle-ready stance,
perhaps because they understood that I had no intention of fighting in the
first place, the glares they directed at me didn't seem that harsh. ...Well, Kotegawa-san
next to him was glaring daggers at me, and Mitsurugi-san in the back was
terrified and half-crying, though.
「Kazuma-kun, there's one thing I want to
ask you.」
「...What is it?」
「Do you truly believe it's okay to
poison and defeat people who came here intending to have a discussion?」
「T-That's...」
「Since they properly showed their
sincerity, shouldn't the human side compromise too?」
Since
the ones actually holding the talks are ultimately Izel II and Lirica-san's
group, I doubt Kazuma-kun has that much authority. However, he is still
the representative of the Heroes, and the fiancé of the First Princess, Misha.
If at least he doesn't adopt a sensible way of thinking, the Grust Kingdom
really will end with this generation.
「Guh... But they are demons, the
vanguard of the Demon Lord!」
「But they came all the way here to
talk, didn't they? Furthermore, there is a noble elegance in their clothes and
behavior. They have solid intelligence, and they mustered their courage to come
here thinking that rational dialogue with us might be possible. Trampling on
those feelings and killing them with poison is way too fiendish. Rather than a Hero,
that's already the act of a Demon Lord.」
「Guh...」
Perhaps
he felt guilty somewhere in his heart, because Kazuma-kun fell silent
with a groan. Seeing that reminded me of a video of that "King of
Refutation" I saw on the internet once. ...I messed up. In times like
this, it's obviously better to properly communicate while gently reasoning with
the other party... What am I doing just refuting them down! As expected, those kinds
of delicate nuances are impossible for a shut-in!
(Umm,
as always, it seems there's no room for dialogue with Izel II... and Misha
is glaring at me like I killed her parents.)
Having
his trump card instantly killed and his Hero debated down, Izel II
remained silent, his face flushed bright red. The reason it hasn't turned pale
is probably because he never expects me to actually lay a hand on him. Hmm, but
with the king they rely on acting like that, I can't expect any proper
negotiations... Just as I was wondering what to do, the shadow at my feet
suddenly flashed. It was the signal from Miku that we had prepared
beforehand.
When I dove into the shadow as if running away while bathed in everyone's gazes, it seemed that Alicia had something she wanted to say.
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