Chapter 561: Pursuit 2
Accompanied by Corti, I visit Dianne’s place.
“Let’s hasten the pursuit of Rainer. If we can use Corti to confuse Leyla, it should make it less difficult”
“Is Corti persuaded?”
“Only if it will help Leyla”
As for Shario, I tried hitting other silver dragons and asking for information, but I couldn’t find any clues to attack her like I did with Leyla. As for Leyla, I also questioned whether Corti would be able to persuade her to talk to me. The dragons’ argument was that the 「Power contract」 was not something that could be broken by persuasion. Indeed, the 「Contract of power」 is a fact alone that makes the dragons put their lives on the line. No, it is the unique instinct of dragons to search for something worth putting their lives on the line for in that capacity. It’s just a matter of whether the affection of flesh and blood surpasses it……but that doesn’t mean I want to silently take down Leyla, to whom I owe so much. If it weren’t for her, I might have had to just sit in the temple, knowing almost nothing about this country. With the current gap in strength, even in the worst case scenario, we could use the same method as Emma and the others were used, which is to cut them down to the limit of their strength and neutralize them. The best way to do this would be to take your time.
“……But we don’t know where Leyla has fled to. It is possible that she may have fled the continent to escape notoriety”
Dianne pointed out. But Corti denied it.
“They have no where to go with Rainer-sama. Maybe my sister is trying to convince him to swallow that idea right now, but……he’s still close by”
“Do you understand?”
“It’s just a little special skill from a long time ago. I can tell how far apart we are. My sister and I seem to have similar magical characteristics”
The twins are able to feel when something is happening to the other, right? No, since she said it was a magical trait, was she talking on good grounds? It might be similar to Dianne’s 「Sensory expansion」 using a crossbow stock.
“Because of this, it’s as if I invited my sister to join Rainer-sama. Isn’t it inconvenient to have such a partner in another position?”
“I guess it’s 『Abuse』 for the other party to have that kind of sensing right now”
“……That’s right”
Corti looked a little uncomfortable.
“Do you know where you are?”
“It’s just the direction and sense of distance. It’s a hazy thing, so I can’t say for sure”
“Good. Then let’s hurry and get ready. It’s the final battle”
Dianne nodded and Anzeros, Tetes and the others, who had been alerted to the situation, went to inform everyone who was present that they would be going out again.
The selection of people was decided, first of all, Laila and Maia, of course and then Anzeros, Aurora, Tetes, Naris, Almeida and Sharon. Naris was not going to make a fuss this time and was going to go along quietly.
“Don’t make a fuss about not wanting to go, Naris-chan”
“I think this is the last time. And even if there are more of them, they will be full of silver dragons. I’d still rather be near people I know”
“That’s a good idea”
“Right. Let’s do our best with the unity of the Gauntlet Knights”
It’s good to be hassle-free. Of course, Neia will also follow. Before I said that to Beatrice, there was no way I could be at home. In addition, Broll-san and Lado will also join us. If we didn’t have the right number of dragons, we would be throwing away our advantage. We considered pushing forward with more dragons, but it would be difficult to persuade Leyla if we advanced with too many. Dianne’s opinion was that rather than the number of dragons, it would be better to improve the quality of the human force to increase its decisiveness. With that in mind, 100-man special duty commander Becker and General Kingfisher were to accompany us. Their presence will greatly expand our response capabilities.
“I am delighted that you have asked me to join you in the final battle”
“Kua. Amatsushima and Vincent have taken all the good ones”
They are not the most explosive offensive force, but they are much more stable on the battlefield than my female slaves. They were dependable. The rest of the countries offered to join, but Dianne was adamant. Ostensibly, her excuse was that she did not want to use excessive force in the operation and she would be grateful for further deployment if and when it became necessary.
“Captain Dianne is also very careful about heroes from other countries. Unless she has to, I think she’d prefer to use her own personal forces”
100-man commander Becker, told me in a whisper. Well, it’s true, it’s hard to move too many big guys, isn’t it? Dianne would like to move as a field commander herself. She seemed to be very reserved in her approach, but she said she would leave General Vincent and the others behind. Sahul and Bauz are also excluded. They will be sent to move troops to the valley and other countries. Brian will be left in charge of the Kalwin aftermath and they will use the Ace Knight Corps as their immediate limb. ……Well, Brian won’t be able to do anything on his own after the collapse of the state. I mean, after Rainer´s group are put away, how will they roll through the land without the original governing structure? Even if we were to start an agricultural revolution, it’s not something that can be done in a flash. And even if we were to get the dragons to cooperate, I don’t know where to start and how and what to change. Even with only 30,000 people in the world, it is still too big for my mind……. My imagination couldn’t catch up. No, this is not the time to worry about that.
“I’m not worried about that, I’ve got to settle up first. Neia, are you ready for this?”
“Of course. ……No, I’m rather worried about Smithson-san”
“……What?”
“I’m afraid that at the last minute, he’s going to ask me to be merciful to Shario again”
“I wouldn’t say that”
I’m aware of that. Sometimes, the only way to win against an unwavering opponent is to settle with your life. I’m old enough to understand that.
“I am a hero. As a hero, I have sacrificed many lives to protect this country. This is my last job. I am always mentally prepared”
“Neia. That will not do”
As Neia spoke of her readiness, the flash sword rebuked her.
“The Kalwin Kingdom has been crushed and the Hero Alliance is over. We must no longer make the battle an extension of that duty”
“……I agree. ……I denounce him as a warrior who loves his homeland……Smithson-san, don’t you?”
“………….”
“Eh, wh, what?”
“No, you suddenly……say things like that, you see”
She loves Smithson-san, she says. Well, if you look for a reason to fight against Rainer, that’s probably important too. If you suddenly say that kind of thing in spontaneous words. You see. How should I put it? Seeing me suddenly acting suspicious, Neia pulled the brim of her hat and the flash sword seemed to be taken aback by us.
“Why are you so shy now? I don’t understand why you’re so passionate about having children”
“Shut up!?”
“Flash sword!”
Yeah. I know what you’re trying to say. I understand.