Chapter 130
Stay Put
Translator : PolterGlast
「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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