Chapter 606 — Arc 9, Chapter 18 – “A Hundred Times More Troublesome”

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――They recounted their lonely struggles, their days of ineradicable remorse.

A tale pertaining to their past, one that they had decided ought not be treated without the utmost respect, gravity, and caution.

Even after letting it all out, their never-let-go and forward-facing mindset was ephemeral.

???: [My compensation, that is.]

They could not help but detest the Witch who expressed the price for leaving this dream world as thus.

With a trace of their red tongue, with a hint of mischief hanging in the air, that vacuous beauty toyed with them, seemingly scheming to guide them as per their will.

Witch: [Alright, I’ve decided.]

The first time, she had demanded that they forget, but what would she decree for this second time?

As if to mock them, as they involuntarily stiffened, the Witch, who exuded the faint fragrance of flowers, brought her fingers to a white handkerchief that fluttered in the wind.

――It was embroidered with a Great Spirit in the form of a gray cat, with gold linings around the white fabric.

???: [The handkerchief Petra gave me when I left for the Sanctuary…?]

To scream out “Stop!” until their throat tore itself apart, they wished.

To scream out “Stop!” until their throat tore itself apart, no throat to do so could be found.

They wanted to throw themselves in front of the terrifying Witch and shout, “Stop!”.

There was nobody there to stand in front of the terrifying Witch and yell, “Stop!”.

Ergo, no matter how much they attempted to shout “Stop, stop it!” in their heart, no matter how much their soul attempted to step in, they could not stop them.

Witch: [The price for the tea party has been paid. From the bottom of my heart, I look forward to your next visit.]

The value of the payment was expressed, and a slight sense of relief and happiness grew.

More than feeling triumphant that they had been the one to have led to that, they were far, far, far, far more terrified that the Witch had taken an interest in them.

Just what their own self had become a part of, they knew not.

???: [Looks like Echidna kept her word. The tea party didn’t get erased from my memories this time.]

The dream world was enveloped by a white light, and they returned from the illusion to a dark, cold space.

Returning to the location where they again had met the Witch―― something odd, they noticed.

???: […Where’s Emilia?]

Their heart growing restless by her absence when she ought to have been present, they were filled with a sense of unease.

An overflowing sense of anxiety and a sense of incongruity seemed to seep out, as for one who had been forced to repeat this over and over again, it was a deviation from a base principle, a deviation that should not exist.

Driven by a sense of foreboding welling up from within, they hurriedly left the Tomb.

And as soon as they stepped outside the Tomb and into the moonlight, what they saw was――,

???: [A shadow…?]

The Sanctuary, shrouded in the darkest of blacks, a tonality mark of a Witch even more terrifying than the Witch who had created said place.

No matter how much they shouted “Stop!”, how much they rejected it, how much they cried, how much they resisted, it would not draw to a close.

After all, this was the history of his unerasable path, that he had certainly tread.

――Amidst all that, did I contribute something?

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――Helmet bastard; that voice declaring so had clearly been aware of Aldebaran.

Yae had sensed the presence of an ambush, and then came the familiar, assertive voice. It was not necessary to think very hard in order to understand that their deliberate act of separating their primary strength in an all-out diversion had ended in failure.

Having understood that, the problem currently awaiting Aldebaran was――,

???: [Oi! That voice just now, it’s that blonde-haired brat! Reinhard’s master! What the hell’s she doing here… wasn’t it supposed to be that nobody could find us!?]

Heinkel’s distraught demeanor thoroughly exemplified the confusion of this situation.

His level of panic was the same as what Aldebaran felt within, but thanks to him disgracefully losing his cool first, Aldebaran had avoided becoming flustered.

Nonetheless, the situation was by no means promising.

Aldebaran: […And I just updated my matrix fifteen seconds ago.]

The regular updating of the matrix was intended to be a prudent measure in order to avoid unnecessary risk in the event of a surprise attack, but it appeared to have backfired here.

Aldebaran would have no chance to retry save for the fifteen seconds back from this current point.

This meant that the opponent’s ambush was no longer avoidable. ――An ambush like this was a far worse tactic for Aldebaran to face than any surprise attack.

Whether through good insight or just guesswork, the ambush had been sprung at precisely the worst timing.

Yae: [If you’re talking about the Sword Saint’s master, could this be the rumored Felt-sama~…? I wonder, is it already time to use Heinkel-sama as a human~ sacrifice?]

Heinkel: [――Hk, if you’re trying to get through this by using me as a hostage, it’ll get you nowhere! Those guys want nothing more than to have Reinhard succeed the headship of House Astrea. Right now, I’m the one in a bad position by being with you guys… If they have a good enough reason, they’ll kill me without mercy!]

Yae: [We~ll… if that’s the case, then wouldn’t that make you even better suited to the role of human sacrifice?]

Heinkel: [I told you this ain’t the time to be cracking jokes!]

Likely, she had not been joking. Heinkel yelled back at her with a dumbfounded look in his eyes while Yae asked, “What should we do~?”, as she shrugged at Aldebaran.

Unlike the two shaken middle-aged men, Yae was calmly reacting to the situation which lay before them. Perhaps being the result of her shinobi training, her well-honed mental strength was admirable.

For Aldebaran, it seemed to be a state of mind he could never reach no matter how many millions of times he died――,

Aldebaran: [In any case, there’s no point in us sending forth the old man.]

If what was waiting for them outside the forest truly was Felt and her allies, then per Heinkel’s grievous acknowledgment, it would be ineffective to use him as a hostage. In fact, if it came to pass that this opportunity was seized to take his life, it would have made quite the punchline for “Here rests the beloved and respected Heinkel Astrea” to be writ upon his grave.

And, the reason why naught but pessimistic pictures came to mind was because he lacked the materials to paint an optimistic picture.

Aldebaran: [Yae, old man, wait here. I’ll go have a look first.]

Heinkel: [Wh… are you out of your mind!? This woman’s a shinobi, isn’t she? If anyone’s going out there first shouldn’t it be her!? You tell him too!]

Yae: [――. Al-sama, that’s the best course of action, correct?]

Aldebaran: [Yeah.]

He gave that answer as he inclined his chin, and Yae readily withdrew, saying, “Ro~ger that.” Heinkel, his face still red with frustration, tried to continue pressing the issue, but,

Yae: [Don’t be so persistent, Heinkel-sama. You don’t need to worry so much; who else but Al-sama could come up with an idea like using the Divine Dragon Volcanica and actually pull it off? There’s no way he doesn’t have a plan.]

Heinkel: [Well, I… I, guess so…]

In response to Yae’s backup, Heinkel reluctantly retracted his words.

As one would have expected, the prestige of the Divine Dragon was effective in many ways, regardless of whether or not the being in question was senile. Even in this situation where they were completely outdone, it gave one unconditional confidence that Aldebaran would not go down without a fight.

Unfortunately, it was now showtime for the lack of a plan that Yae had declared an impossibility.

Aldebaran: [Now, am I walking into an Oni nest or a snake pit?] [1]

He would feel reluctant either way, but Aldebaran hid those uneasy thoughts inside his helmet and headed straight out of the woods, leaving the other two behind.

The information he needed in order to inform his next decisions consisted of the confirmation of the hostile opponents’ identities, and their fighting strength――,

???: [――Heh? You got a lotta nerve coming out so boldly like that, must be fully prepared, yeah?]

His view, obscured by tall trees, suddenly cleared up, and a plain unfolded before Aldebaran’s eyes.

Standing imposingly on the other side of the plain with a smile baring her white canines was a girl of golden hair and red eyes; it was the person he had assumed, judging from the characteristics of her voice and the contents of her dialogue―― Felt.

Aldebaran: [――――]

This was what followed the encounter with Reinhard. That in itself was no surprise.

In addition, Aldebaran had already begun estimating his opponent’s strength as soon as he guessed that the opponent was Felt. ――At the current point in time, her two star players, the Sword Saint and the Gray, had already been dealt with.

Referring back to his knowledge he had acquired from his time in the Watergate City of Pristella, would the other key members of this Camp then be the trio of former thugs, Flam’s younger sister whom he had yet to see, and the old giant who had invaded the Royal Castle? Although Felt’s own capabilities were yet to be confirmed, it was unlikely that she would come close to matching Priscilla’s strength.

Even Priscilla would have been no match for Aldebaran if they were to have fought one-on-one.

Even in the unlikely event that Felt was secretly a very powerful individual, he would have had many ways of dealing with her. ――At least, that was what Aldebaran had been thinking until he exited the forest.

However――,

Aldebaran: […Oioi, what kinda joke is this?]

Aldebaran could not help but give a dry smile at the unexpected sight that unfolded before his eyes.

After all, his original expectation had been for five people, six at most. This was roughly a hundred times that―― a group of over five-hundred people were there to welcome Aldebaran.

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――Felt had grown up in the slums, and even though her position in society had changed, there still existed within her a mindset of poverty.

Although she no longer lacked food, clothing, or a place to sleep, those were things not of Felt’s own possession; they were all attached to Reinhard and the Astrea household.

Indeed, Reinhard was Felt’s Knight, but she was not so deluded as to think that this gave her the right to claim all of his possessions as her own.

Therefore, she had no intention of letting the “cards” she had originally held in her hand go to waste, even if the food she ate was delicious, the quality of her clothes changed dramatically, and she could sleep soundly until morning.

The “cards” in Felt’s hand were, simply put, a collection of traits she had cultivated in order to “live strong”.

Her keen eye for spotting easy suckers and her ability to escape, both honed during her time in the slums, her courage in the face of any situation, and her intuition for when she was in a bind―― all of these had been sharpened further after the incident with the Bowel Hunter that had led to her encounter with Reinhard, and she had continued to hone these skills even during her time spent receiving a higher education in preparation for the Royal Selection.

As a matter of fact, all of these “cards” were now much more useful than before. ――And yet, she had still never been able to shake off Reinhard even once.

In any case, by continuing to hone her old “cards”, Felt’s perspective had broadened to a level that allowed her to see things which had before escaped her sight.

Felt’s confidence did not allow her to overlook the slightest sense of unease which might have bothered her.

――The same applied to when Flam, who had remained at Pleiades Watchtower, sent word of the critical situation to her twin sister, Grassis, in the Royal Capital via the Divine Protection of Mindspeak.

???: [――Felt-sama, I must hasten towards the Augria Sand Dunes at once. I may have to do battle against the Divine Dragon Volcanica there. If the battle reaches beyond the sand sea, the damage would be far too great.]

Felt: [Wait a second… It almost seems like they’re going out of their way to start the battle in that sandy dump to me. I’m pretty sure you were saying something about how that’s the one place in the whole world where you’re at your weakest, yeah?]

Reinhard: [――. Yes, that is correct. I am not very compatible with the Miasma in that location. However, avoiding this is not an option. Flam and Ezzo-dono are in that Tower. In addition…]

Upon hearing the news from Grassis, Reinhard seemed to be driven by a sense of duty as the Sword Saint, to which Felt responded by saying “I know” and scratching her head.

That Reinhard was making that face at this moment was one of the things about him she was not very fond of, but there was no point in bringing it up. More importantly, she needed to get Reinhard to accept her next proposal.

That proposal was――,

Felt: [Reinhard, I ain’t telling you not to go. But, don’t just go off alone. ――Take us part of the way, too.]

Reinhard: [Felt-sama, that is…!]

Felt: [Hey, are you saying that you’re going off to do something reckless, but won’t let me do the same? Don’t be so conceited. You aside, everyone else is still entitled to do everything they can.]

Reinhard: [――――]

Silent remained Reinhard, unsure of what to say in defense, and it was easy to understand what was going on inside his mind from a glance.

After all, not only had their opponent completely defeated Ezzo and Flam, but he also had the Divine Dragon Volcanica accompanying him. This had the potential to be one of the biggest crises the Kingdom had ever faced.

It was truly a colossal task worthy of the attention of the Sword Saint.

Felt: [I don’t get it, though.]

Reinhard: [May I ask what you do not understand?]

Felt: [Even if he didn’t know about Flam’s Divine Protection, people’d still find out about him as soon as he brought out the Divine Dragon. And it’s obvious you’d come flying as soon as that happens. But that helmet bastard did it anyway.]

Reinhard: […So, are you saying that Al-dono is acting in anticipation of that, Felt-sama?]

Felt: [Which is more likely in his case, anticipating that people will come for him, or believing that nobody will?]

Felt posited this with one eye closed, and Reinhard began to seriously consider the possibility.

He must have had some sort of measure in place to deal with Reinhard. In fact, it was quite possible that bringing the Divine Dragon to his side was a part of it.

With the poor conditions of being in the Augria Sand Dunes and the presence of the Divine Dragon, was it still possible for Reinhard to overcome this?

Reinhard: [Even if that is the case… Even so, I must go. Even if the enemy has taken effective countermeasures, I am the only one who can overcome them…]

Felt: [――Reinhard, don’t dodge.]

Upon giving this order to Reinhard, the eyes of the red-haired Knight, who was kneeling so as to speak to her, widened in surprise. When as instructed, he did not move, and Felt placed both of her hands on his cheeks.

Reinhard’s eyes were fixed on her, sullying his beautiful appearance which was the cause of much excitement in the streets.

Felt: [Moron, I told you I ain’t stopping. Just jump on the opponent’s invitation. Unleash your ridiculous strength and go wild. ――I’ll pick up the rest from there.]

Reinhard: [――Ah.]

Bringing her face closer, she said this from a distance where their noses nearly touched, and just as she was watching his sky-blue eyes shimmer with surprise, the door to the room was violently slammed open.

Standing there was a group of familiar faces, gasping for breath――,

Felt: [You’ve come back just in time. How’d it go?]

???: [Haa, haa… T-this is just insane…]

???: [Why don’t we just use one of our own sturdy dragon carriages that we don’t care about breakin’, milady!?]

???: [You idiot, that ground dragon… I thought we couldn’t take Romy with us. The hell’s going on? Grassis didn’t give me any details, either.]

???: [Dragon carriage procurement, complete.]

The trio squeezed through the cramped entrance, shoulder-to-shoulder, with a sleepy-eyed Grassis following behind them.

Reinhard looked around at the crowd of people who had just arrived, and again his eyes widened in amazement. Felt snorted at the sight of that childish expression, one that did not fit his age,

Felt: [Hey, put a little more life into your face.]

Reinhard: [Felt-sama, this is…]

Felt: [Don’t get ahead of yourself and start thinking you can do everything on your own, Reinhard. You can’t even hold the hands of all three of them at the same time on your own, y’know?]

She said that while shrugging her shoulders at him, and Reinhard blinked, his eyes fixated on her. Then, he took a deep breath, and quietly letting the emotion in his eyes slowly begin to settle,

Reinhard: [――Yes. I am the Sword Saint who cannot even hold the hands of all three of them at the same time on my own.]

Finally, he nodded, donning the face of Reinhard, not just that of the Sword Saint.

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After that, it was a race against time, as Felt worked Reinhard as hard as possible.

Carrying the dragon carriage that Grassis and the others had found, Reinhard went from the Royal Capital to the Augria Sand Dunes in a single flight, sending them to the Astrea Domain en route.

Reinhard: [I am leaving now, Felt-sama!]

Felt: [Go make a show of it and beat him down a hundred times over!!]

Truthfully, even with Reinhard’s Divine Protection of Wind Evasion, she had not wanted to experience that emergency trip again, but it had undoubtedly been worthwhile to make the detour.

The helmet bastard’s counters against Reinhard, their viciousness had far exceeded her wildest imaginations.

――The manifestation of the Witch of Envy in the Sand Dunes, which she knew was still keeping Reinhard at a standstill, had occurred shortly after his departure.

???: [Ta think, the Witch of Envy… even in my prime, I wouldn’t’ve considered such a method. I dunno this helmet bastard, but was he really that crazy?]

Stroking his bald head with his large palm, Rom-jii sighed heavily at the distant report.

Rom-jii, who had joined them at the estate, was one of the two main strategists of the faction, along with Ezzo, who was no longer present. However, upon hearing Rom-jii’s report, Felt shook her head in disagreement.

Felt: [From what I saw, that helmet bastard wasn’t that crazy. His appearance and way of speaking were different, sure, but honestly, he was no worse than that cat-eared guy from Crusch-neechan’s side or the black-haired nii-chan from Emilia-neechan’s side.]

Towards Al, who had caused this situation and turned into an enemy, Felt did not have a particularly good or bad impression. ――However, like the other Knights, she had believed him to possess a strong sense of loyalty to his master, despite his frivolous attitude.

That was why――,

Felt: [――When his Princess died, maybe he ended up falling into despair?]

――The death of Priscilla Barielle, caught in the internal struggle of the Vollachian Empire.

The unbelievable news delivered to the Royal Castle of Lugunica, naturally, had reached Felt’s ears as of her presence in the Royal Capital.

To be honest, she had been unable to understand it right away in the moment, and even now she did not feel it in any real sense.

That was how full of life Priscilla had been, so far removed from anything related to death.

Felt: […There’s no such thing as an immortal human. Us bystanders, we can swallow it like that. But, that helmet bastard wasn’t like that.]

Rom: [But, what’s his plan if that’s the case? Accordin’ ta the report from Flam, he’s said ta be commandin’ the Divine Dragon, but is he plannin’ on draggin’ the world into a grand suicide?]

Felt: [I don’t think that’s impossible, but…]

To throw everything away, dragging the world with him to mourn Priscilla’s death. ――Felt thought it was unlikely to be such an outburst in that direction.

If Al’s goal was such an obvious destruction wish, then the biggest obstacle to that would undoubtedly be Reinhard.

???: [Yet, the helmet bastard didn’t team up with the Witch… the Witch of Envy to kill Reinhard. So at least that means world destruction ain’t his goal, for now.]

Felt: [Oh, what’s this, Rachins? Just because Sensei isn’t here, you’re trying to be the voice of reason?]

Rachins: [Don’t mock me. Honestly, if you ask me, I just wanna escape and run. The Witch of Envy showing up? This is beyond what we can handle.]

Exaggeratedly flicking his long tongue, Rachins snapped at Felt.

Beside him were Gaston and Camberley, who both anxiously agreed with Rachins, saying, “Yeah, yeah”,

Camberley: [Y-yeah, that’s right, miss! Even if Reinhard stopped the Witch of Envy, the Divine Dragon’s still runnin’ wild, right? That’s beyond what we can handle!]

Gaston: [Felt understands that much, right? We returned to the Domain to evacuate the citizens on the off-chance that…]

Felt: [Yeah, we’ll need to deal with that one too.]

Gaston: [See? Like I said… Wait, did you say “that one too”?]

For a moment, Gaston’s eyes twinkled with relief at Felt’s response. Seeing his reaction, Felt laughed and nodded, saying, “Oh, I did, I did”,

Felt: [We have to think about the worst-case scenario, but we can’t make a huge fuss. After all, you guys are freaking out just because it’s a Witch.]

Camberley: [Of course we are! And you’re freakin’ out too, miss, ain’t you?! It’s a Witch, a Witch!]

Felt: [Your girlfriend gets called something similar, doesn’t she?]

Camberley: [Toto gets called “Wicked Temptress” but she’s cute in front of me, so it’s fine!]

Rachins: [Stop fooling around! The conversation’s getting off-track!]

Interrupting the spitting match between Felt and Camberley, Rachins sharply glared at them as he said, “Okay?” and placed his hand on the map spread out on the tabletop with a thump.

Rachins: [We won’t get anywhere unless we decide on a course of action. Felt, what’s your plan?]

Camberley: [Hah, if it’s by majority vote, there’s no doubt the answer’s to run. But…]

Rom: [――We all intend ta follow yer lead.]

Seeing Rom-jii’s serious tone, Felt briefly held her breath.

Looking around, Rachins had a skeptical look, Gaston’s face was grim, and Camberley’s legs trembled like a newborn deer, all waiting for Felt’s response without arguing.

Seriously, when did these guys become so reliable?

Felt: [That’s been me all along. I really hated it when something bad happened and people just sat around, waiting for someone else to fix it.]

Rom: [Sigh, such a fiery way of thinkin’. I wonder who she got that from.]

Felt: [Who knows. Ask my foster parent, have him think about it.]

After saying that to her foster parent, who slowly shook his head, Felt stuck her tongue out playfully. Then she turned around with enthusiasm, looking at the group waiting for her words.

And then, she declared.

Felt: [Alright, you guys, time to get off your asses. ――This is someone who made a fool of my Reinhard. No need to hold back on him, so let’s crush him!]

△▼△▼△▼△

――Resolved to fight, Felt and her faction had moved swiftly.

Far away at the eastern edge of the world, the battle between Reinhard and the Witch of Envy raged on.

And Al, the one who had given rise to such a predicament, had left the battlefield, departing the sand sea with Divine Dragon in tow―― they had been able to accurately grasp the opponent’s movements until that point.

The problem was――,

???: [There’ve been eyewitness reports that the Divine Dragon’s goin’ north. Take that at face value, and ya’d assume the helmet bastard’s gotta be accompanyin’ it… That’s ta say, their destination’d be in the north, but…]

Felt: [If that’s at face value, you’re saying there’s a thought pattern that branches another way?]

???: [Mm. Far as I’ve heard, the helmet bastard’s plans were so meticulous that they included countermeasures for even Reinhard. So then, why go out of his way ta stand out at the inn town by the exit of the Sand Dunes?]

Felt: [That’d be, to reinforce the impression that he’s got a Dragon with him, yeah?]

???: [Indeed, he’d wanted ta give us that impression. ――After all, ain’t the Divine Dragon flyin’ at a height such that people can see it headed north with naked eyes?]

Though he had prefaced that it might have branched another way, Rom-jii’s conjecture was certainly unexpected.

Nearly all affairs had a simple way to interpret them, alongside a more twisted way to interpret them, and in the majority of cases, the simplest interpretation would result in the right answer.

However, a faint unease had restrained Felt’s feelings in this case.

Felt: [Deliberately making a show of the Dragon going north, but why?]

Rom: [Naturally, it’s ta conceal his true aims, oughta be. Showin’ the Dragon flyin’ ‘round’s a card he played ta distract us… so with the north and east excluded, I presume his destination should lie ta the west or south.]

Felt: [――. The Princess died in the Empire. If the Divine Dragon opened fire on the Empire, would it kick off a conflict with that country that’s filled with complex relations…? Nah, that probably ain’t it.]

If that guess was correct, it would certainly have yielded a great deal of strife between the Kingdom and the Empire.

However, that would have been in striking contradiction to the sovereign letter regarding the future of diplomatic relations between the Vollachian Empire and the Kingdom of Lugunica, sent back at the time of the news of Priscilla’s death.

Of course, there was also the possibility that, not wanting to get the Kingdom involved, it was a simple act of retaliation towards the Empire.

Felt: [If that were the case, there wouldn’t be much difference to a suicide bombing that drags the entire world down with him. That would mean…]

Rom: [――Mean what?]

Felt: [――My gut’s telling me west. Though, I can’t tell if it’s straight west, northwest, or southwest.]

Rom: [If the Dragon’s a diversion, we can eliminate the possibility of northwest. That narrows it down ta two points. All that’s left is ta――]

Felt: [Yeah, all that’s left is to――]

――Gambling everything on their interpretation, Felt lined up all of her Camp’s military strength upon the plain.

To put it bluntly, the Astrea Domain did not retain much of an army. This too was a malady of Reinhard being far too strong, but she had tasked those few soldiers with leading the evacuation of the territories that the opponent might pass through.

That was fine. Their strength was meant to protect. Right now, what was necessary was not that, but rather――,

???: [――As I thought, there’s something wrong with’cha, girl.]

???: [Nah nah nah, I don’t know about that. She’s got a decisiveness I find desirable. If need there be, she doesn’t hesitate to drag us vassals of violence into it. I can hold my nose high as her supporter.]

???: [And where might that nose of yours be, I wonder? Those tattoos on your face are so vehemently assertive, my eyes are unable to get a complete view of your facial features whatsoever.]

With each speaking in their own respective manner, they were the representatives of the gathered military strength.

One was a large pig-human clad in a thick armor of muscle, of a huge stature that rivaled Rom-jii.

One was an eccentric of queer appearance, his face covered in blue tattoos of balancing scales.

One was a blooming beauty, coquettishly adorned in lascivious clothing unsuited to the situation.

――The Black Silver Coin, the Balance, and the Flower Prison Garden.

Although they were lined up, they showed not a tinge of amicability towards each other, but there was one thing they all had in common. ――That, upon Felt’s beck and call, they had gathered.

They were the big shots that governed over the criminal underworld of the Ground Dragon Capital of Flanders, a city northeast of the Astrea Domain, and since becoming acquainted with them during a previous incident, Felt networked with them.

Each and every one of them were scoundrels with guilty consciences, but at the same time they were a necessary evil who were supporters of Felt―― numbering around five-hundred people in total, they trusted in Felt’s instincts, and had accompanied her in this battle formation.

Felt: [Hah! What a magnificent sight! How’d this many end up gathering here?]

Making a visor with her hand, Felt raised her voice at the lineup of five-hundred scoundrels.

In truth, when she had thought of attempting to borrow strength from Flanders, she estimated that a tenth would have been satisfactory. Unexpectedly, she had gotten ten times that number.

Felt: [Even though I told ’em the opponent was a guy who managed to outmaneuver Reinhard… Geez, I know it’s not the place or time for it, but I wish I could show him.]

It was something she wished she could teach Reinhard, who was not present in this place.

That there were so many people who, instead of turning tail and running from a situation even Reinhard could not overcome, had gathered to clean up after his ass.

Felt: [Well, there are also probably some like Camberley who just can’t back out.]

Muttering so, Felt cracked her neck, and turned around with her allies to her back.

Ahead of her vision, parallel to the lineup of the troupe, the large forest―― facing it, Felt inhaled in as large of a breath that could fit in her small body,

Felt: [――Oi! You can hear me, can’t you? I know you’re in there, helmet bastard!]

Indeed, she unleashed a declaration of war that served to commence the battle.

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――Having had absolutely no idea that such an inconceivable move could have been played, Aldebaran could do nothing but stand still at the sight spread out before his eyes.

Aldebaran: [Oioi…]

To the extent that a dry smile unconsciously emerged on his face, this situation had derailed Aldebaran’s calculations.

A situation a hundred times worse than he could have ever hypothesized, filled him with awe. Truly, this situation filled him with awe.

Lacking a sense of visual cohesion, the troupe was lined up across the plain; however, firmly sharing in the goal to oppose something, they were an army corps of unmatching steel.

Aldebaran: [――――]

Still wearing that dry smile on his face, Aldebaran was at a loss.

The way his mind was abruptly thrown into chaos when things outside his expectations occurred, demonstrated the difference between himself and Yae, who instead stood impressed.

The grounds on which Yae acknowledged him as her superior, too, was nothing more than a fabrication secured by his cheat technique of an Authority.

In any case――,

Aldebaran: [Quite the big shot, ain’t’cha now, Lil’ Miss Felt.]

Right in the center of that astonishment, Felt was the key figure who had gone above and beyond Aldebaran’s expectations.

The atmosphere she exuded that had convinced him so, had grown ever sharper in the three short months he had not seen her. As expected from such an outstanding talent, who had made Priscilla recognize her as a worthy adversary in the span of merely a year.

Her level of importance in the world fundamentally differed to that of Aldebaran. ――Having said that, his resolve was not so cheap that he would back down for that reason alone.

Aldebaran: [Thanks for coming out to greet me. But, is it really fine for you to concern yourself with me? Even now, you guys’ Sword Saint is――]

Felt: [――Sorry man.]

Aldebaran: [――――]

For the time being, Aldebaran was going to attempt to obtain whatever scraps of information he could through a battle of words. However, mercilessly interrupting his words, Felt scratched her head as she closed a single eye.

And then――,

Felt: [Both Rom-jii and I agreed that shutting you up was the first thing that oughta be done.]

Aldebaran: [――Hk.]

That instant, Aldebaran’s body tensed up at a dreadful sensation. But, it was too late.

Before he could even react to that sense of dread, a small shadow that had been hiding in the entrance to the woods leapt out, and delivered a strong blow to the back of Aldebaran’s neck with a slender foot.

Aldebaran: [Kah, kuh…]

The intense impact jolted his brain, and Aldebaran’s knees buckled as they lost their strength.

In the corner of his vision, the one who had delivered that blow landed nimbly on the grass, their two bundles of peach hair swaying as they looked at Aldebaran with sleepy eyes.

A countenance he recognized―― the young girl who bore a striking resemblance to that, her true identity was.

???: [Vengeance for Flam.]

From those brief, matter-of-fact words, he understood that she was indeed Flam’s younger sister.

Crumbling down from the girl’s attack, as he began to lose hold of his consciousness, Aldebaran muttered.

Aldebaran: [Not, dead yet…]

Then, as his consciousness slowly faded down into the abyssal darkness―― by reflex, he gulped down his poison.

Consuming the deadly poison kept behind his molar, was the singular action that Aldebaran had performed the most in his life, an exquisite skill deeply ingrained not just to his body, but to his soul.

This alone was Aldebaran’s one and only special technique that not even the Sword Saint, Reinhard van Astrea, could get in the way of.

After all, there was not a single person in this world better at killing Aldebaran than Aldebaran――,

×　　×　　×

???: [――Oi! You can hear me, can’t you? I know you’re in there, helmet bastard!]

The sensation of his brain being scorched by poison was cut off, and what hastened his immediate recovery was a spirited, commanding voice pregnant with a hearty enmity.

The redefined matrix―― Aldebaran returned to when Felt gave her declaration of war, and brought the count up to one in his head.

???: [Oi! That voice just now, it’s that blonde-haired brat! Reinhard’s master! What the hell’s she doing here… wasn’t it supposed to be that nobody could find us!?]

Giving a sidelong glance to the exchange between the panicked Heinkel and Yae as she soothed him in a manner to provoke him further, Aldebaran went about updating the war situation in his mind based on the information he had just acquired.

An update to the military strength he had previously anticipated for the Felt Camp―― moreover, a substantial update was needed.

After all, his prior expectation had been the three delinquents, the old giant, and Flam’s younger sister, for a maximum of five people. It was approximately a hundred times that―― with what seemed a party of over five-hundred people, they had been waiting in ambush.

Aldebaran: [Really now, they’ve got a damn troublesome brain along with them.]

In a form that differed to his showdown against the Sword Saint, Reinhard van Astrea, this was the worst case scenario for Aldebaran――,

Aldebaran: […Seriously, you’re coming at me with tactics I hate the most, Lil’ Miss Felt.]

――Between Aldebaran and an enemy that came at him with an onslaught of numbers, the unavoidable battle commenced.

Translation notes:

[1] – The expression used, “鬼が出るか蛇が出るか”, is translated literally as thus, with its proverbial meaning being akin to “no one knows what’s going to happen”.