Chapter 531: The end of 300 years
A few days later, Shario visited the temple.
“Andy Smithson. And Neia, the former flash knight. The king has summoned you”
“At last”
“……You talk like you’ve been waiting for it”
“Of course we’re waiting. We have nothing else to do”
Ray and Emma had informed me in advance of Shario’s approach and I was waiting for her to get dressed for the outing. The same goes for Neia, Tetes and Apple.
“Now, what’s the story this time?”
“……You’ve gotten pretty frumpy after not seeing me for a while”
“Now I know there are allies everywhere”
I gave a sideways glance at Ray and Emma, who were in our corner. Shario looked a little reluctant.
“I had expected this, but you are going to oppose Rainer-sama?”
“We are not infatuated with Rainer-dono. I won’t say it again”
“Besides, the rider’s righteousness is not up or down. There is no reason for me or my brother, who have not signed a power contract, to be blamed for helping Rainer-dono or Smithson-sama”
“……Don’t like what you’re saying”
Shario glares at the siblings.
“Why don’t you just stay there? You’ll keep the king waiting”
“…..Humph”
Shario turned her back and walked away.
“……Master, you really look angry”
“I’m trying to get on Rainer. There’s no reason for us to get worked up about something that doesn’t matter”
“……Haa”
Tetes looks up at me as if she is a little surprised. I bow my eyes to the Duke and leave the temple. I take his advice, I pray and I’m ready. Prayer is not about expecting extraordinary help from someone I don’t know. It’s about sharpening my wish and making the determination to go for it. It taught me something I hadn’t been aware of and I think it made me a little stronger.
“Let’s go, guys”
I nodded to my companions and followed Shario’s back.
————————–
The palace is as beautiful as ever and it’s hard to believe that this is the same world as the farming villages and artisan villages I’ve seen recently.
“Thank you for your hospitality”
Rainer, who was standing in front of the audience chamber, said this to Shario and had her stand back behind him.
“Now……”
Rainer then looked at me and Neia in turn and smiled meaningfully.
“About time you made up your mind?”
“……I don’t know what you’re up to, though”
“It’s no big deal”
Rainer says so. But I can’t just grab him by the chest. I push aside my bitterness and walk past them into the audience chamber.
“From what I’ve heard, it seems you’ve been spreading your knowledge about this country”
King Jeddha was the only one in the audience hall. King Jeddha did not make any particular preamble and began to speak without waiting for us to thank him for coming in. I was a little unsure of what to do, so I decided to just go along with the conversation.
“I have seen the village where Neia was born and raised”
“I see, I remember that Neia was found by Faria in a farming village”
King Jeddha says as if he just remembered. He is not suspicious of our behavior? No, if Rainer and King Jeddha have completely different agendas, he may not be aware that he is locking us up. I watch his expression for a while and then connect my words.
“My people have decided that it is possible to improve the soil with magic. If you were willing to do something about it, you wouldn’t be sitting on our hands for three hundred years”
“That may be so”
King Jedha admitted. Easy.
“……If that’s the case, it’s probably your negligence. In a village like that, there are only a few people who can accumulate magic knowledge”
“Yes. You are right. And”
King Jeddha laughs. He shows the same madness and amusement on his lips as that demon god Orn.
“I did it, not through negligence or lack of effort. I told you the other day. I have created a country where death can be enjoyed”
“……You are”
“But is it ever going to reach a hundred……two hundred? ……None of the heroes died without saying that was strange. It’s boring, isn’t it? ……The battle between the chosen heroes and heroes will be fought for the head of this king. I created the system of the Heroes Alliance while imagining such a scene”
“……!!”
I can see Neia shudder. You don’t want to understand. It is a word that makes fun of all the heroes and women who were supported by their pure passion to protect their country, their people and the last of mankind.
“Or perhaps the heroes and women were carrying too much weight. Perhaps it was because of me that they were able to justify their sins of losing their lives by failing to protect or discipline their people. If you denounce me, all those sins you have done for me will become the sins of your dumb self”
King Jeddha, looking at Neia’s trembling face with amusement, continued to blabber on like a trite actor.
“Now, what on earth will you do in the outside world? Oh, I’m enjoying this moment. Dragon riders, the rightful heroes. What will you do? Will you take my head? And what can you do for 30,000 people?”
“You are……”
“Or you, Neia. It would be a beautiful plot to have a fierce former hero condemn the king. After that, how will you guide the people who are useless outside of this valley and who don’t know the language or culture? Let’s see, right? Hahaha, I can feel the urge to kill. It makes me tingle. Oh, I’m so glad you made it. You have arrived at the truth of a terrible, terrible, three-hundred-year-old fairy tale. I had a hunch. I knew you guys would be the finale!”
King Jeddha was getting more and more excited. It was just as the flash sword had said. This king is……. He was touched by the spirit of the devil and left broken long ago and no one noticed it.
“Smithson, san……!!”
“Neia”
“I am……”
“Calm down. Don’t get in”
“Why!?”
“Don’t be so foolish as to commit a crime based on someone else’s plot”
“You are still confused, dragon rider of the outside world! Is 30,000 still too small a sum for you?”
The king’s provocation rang in my ears. Not good. No, it’s not. This is a trap. It is a trap, a trap of the worst kind, one in which he will die and we will fall. If I and Neia kill him because of this king’s revelation, what do you think Rainer will do after that? We would be pilloried. The truth will remain only in our ears and the king’s murder will remain a fact. He would make us the guilty ones and Rainer would be all over us…….
“Well, that’s what you thought”
Suddenly, a voice echoes from behind us. I took my eyes off King Jeddha and turned around to see Princess Stana standing there.
“Stana……”
“I never thought my father was disturbed. I heard something very sad”
What. What does it mean. Why is this woman……. Why is she being so theatrical?
“This is not good for anyone. Father, please go to sleep”
“What do you say, Starna? I’m in the middle of something. Don’t interrupt me”
“No, no father. ……You will rest even if you can’t”
Rainer appears like a shadow from behind Princess Stana. ……You come out here, Rainer.
“Rainer. You?”
“Ha. Excuse me, my king”
Rainer draws his sword slowly. He walks very slowly toward the throne. He walks past us.
“……Something. When I heard that you became a dragon rider, I was excited to see if you would come to the end like him”
“Unable to meet your expectations”
“Totally disappointing, this is boring. This is……”
The king was sitting on his throne, talking continuously, when Rainer, with a hand that seemed to be careless, put his sword into his chest with a thud. Yes, rather than stabbing, it is more appropriate to say insert. It was that easy, that unenthusiastic, but still. A surefire, stabbing death.
“This isn’t a heroic tale……isn’t this a story about the subversion of a parent and child that ends just like any other story?”
King Jeddha said as he was stabbed and ended his sentence.