Chapter 54
Chapter 54
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: What Happens When a Sword Gets Serious? Black! Hahaha! (6)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Bishop Orchid approached with calm footsteps and came to a halt a short distance away from me.
“Last time, I was quite rude.”
“Ah…”
I quickly pulled myself together and replied to Bishop Orchid, feigning composure.
“I can’t say there weren’t any issues. We’re still repairing the Duke’s Castle, after all.”
Even so, it had let me confirm Dalia’s hidden magical prowess. It had also given me a chance to put the Crown Prince in my debt.
So that whole fiasco hadn’t been entirely bad.
“Don’t worry about it too much. It’s fine. Really.”
[What’s this? What’s this? What happened? Tell me! Hahaha! I’m so lonely. Is it because we’re back at sea? I feel even emptier~ Come on, talk to me.]
I shook the sickle this way and that before casually leaning it against the pillar beside me. I couldn’t just abandon a weapon, but carrying this noisy thing around was enough to drive me insane.
“That weapon…”
Bishop Orchid cautiously touched Lagia. It vibrated as if tickled, then burst into frivolous laughter once more.
[This thing’s got holy power radiating from it? Sierra, you’re incredible. You only keep the most amazing people around you. Must not be ordinary skill. And I can sense… two totally different magics sharing a single body.]
Surprisingly, Lagia had seen right through it. It had figured out that Orchid Libido and Orchid Destructudo were sharing one body, just from their magic alone.
Looks like I’d gotten my hands on a decent weapon after all.
Bishop Orchid poked at Lagia a bit more before nodding at me. His eyes suggested he knew something.
“It’s an Ego Weapon. You’ve acquired quite the rare tool.”
“It’s as rare as it is noisy.”
“Ego Weapons have no finite lifespan—they’re fated to endless battle. When it comes to combat, no one can match them. If an Ego Weapon has chosen you, then victory is assured.”
[This guy knows a thing or two, huh?]
Bishop Orchid continued.
“This magical beast subjugation won’t be too difficult. We’ll only need to handle the ones ferrying back and forth across the strait… I’ll keep providing combat support personnel, so there’s no need to worry.”
“I’ll place my trust in you, Bishop Orchid.”
“But…”
Bishop Orchid trailed off cautiously. What was this? Some unexpected problem?
Lagia fell silent, apparently curious as well.
Then Bishop Orchid explained in a low voice.
“The mermaids’ reactions are far from normal. Word is, the time has come for their king’s line to change. These transitions are always chaotic. Mermaids are a belligerent race. They don’t crown their kings through consensus.”
[Yeah, that half-human with the holy power’s spot on.]
Lagia chimed in.
[Mermaids always make the strongest of their generation king, no exceptions. The weaklings all die in the brutal fights. Enbi is…]
The moment Enbi’s name came up, I shoved Lagia far away. Bishop Orchid kept a perfectly straight face as he reined in his emotions, while Lagia threw a noisy tantrum.
[Hey! What’s the big idea throwing me like that? I was just getting to the important part!]
“Sorry, sorry. My hand slipped. I’ll pick you up soon. Any minute now. Just not right this second.”
I laughed awkwardly, positioning myself to block Bishop Orchid’s view of Lagia. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to pay it much mind. Instead, he gave me a solemn warning.
“Even with an Ego Weapon at your side, stay on your guard. Mermaids are a dangerous species.”
With that, he departed.
I belatedly scooped up Lagia and brushed off the dust. It trembled with rage.
[Is this how you treat a comrade? Fine, I’ll let it slide since you said it was an accident.]
“I’m really sorry. Total accident.”
Of course, it wasn’t, but my poker face for lies was flawless these days. No pangs of conscience whatsoever.
“But promise me one thing. Don’t spill the details about the mermaid king to anyone else. Everyone’s on edge before the battle as it is—imagine the panic if they heard that. We’re here to fight magical beasts, not pick fights with mermaids.”
It was best not to leak anything about Enbi. I couldn’t exactly broadcast to the world that I was out to screw him over, could I?
Lagia bought my words at face value.
[Sierra, you’re such a considerate guy. Alright, I’ll keep it zipped. But you seem awfully curious about Enbi yourself, don’t you?]
“Busted, huh? Then whisper it just to me.”
I gripped Lagia and asked cautiously.
“Where’s Enbi right now?”
I wanted to set up magical beast subjugation weapons where he might show, or… basically lay some sabotage.
Lagia quivered thoughtfully before giving a disappointing answer.
[I dunno.]
“And here you were acting like you knew all the secrets.”
[But what can I do? Mermaids roam all over the place. This time of year, killing rivals matters, but snagging the king’s proof is a big deal too.]
“The king’s proof—you mean the Halo from before?”
[Yep. The crown bone of Sea Dragon Halo.]
That was when someone abruptly spoke up from behind me.
“I can tell you about that. Crown Prince Thymerus is gunning for Sea Dragon Halo too.”
I jumped in surprise at the unexpected voice and whipped around. A familiar face was grinning ear to ear. It was Gerbera Pride.
“Gerbera…”
“Hahaha! You look like you’ve seen a ghost. What, not happy to see me?”
Gerbera approached with a cheerful laugh, clearly interested in Lagia.
“A talking sickle, huh? I overheard your chat with His Highness earlier. It looks more like a spear than a farm tool, though? Pretty cool.”
[For real? Hahaha! Now that’s a lady who gets it!]
I turned to Gerbera and asked.
“Is it true His Highness is after Sea Dragon Halo?”
“Yep. Halo’s one of the higher-tier magical beasts. Huge roaming range, inflicts massive damage on humans. No clue why, but none of this generation’s mermaid king candidates have bagged it yet. It’d be great if it stuck to the hermit’s territory, but there’ve been recent sightings off the Noamaz Empire coast.”
“For safety reasons, then.”
“No helping it.”
Gerbera propped her chin on her hand, lost in thought for a moment before releasing it.
“But it’s such a weird custom. Why do mermaids hunt a sea dragon every generation? Is there some special reason the king has to kill one? They’re mysterious beasts—nobody even knows where they come from.”
[That’s a sharp point, actually?]
I stood up before Lagia could elaborate on the king’s proof. Gerbera unexpectedly followed suit.
“With Lady Gerbera Pride at my side, I won’t have a thing to worry about.”
“You know naval battles put me at a disadvantage, right? Fire mages hate water. But I’ll do what I can.”
“Haha. I believe in you.”
I put on a carefree grin, but inwardly, I was unsettled.
The Crown Prince targeting Halo too… Things were getting messy.
I couldn’t let him take down Halo. It wasn’t just about stopping Enbi anymore.
“Does His Highness plan to kill Halo?”
Gerbera shrugged.
“Who knows. If there’s a decent trophy, he might snag it. But that’s still up in the air.”
For now, Gerbera didn’t know it was the king’s proof. There wasn’t much interaction between mermaids and humans. The king’s proof “Halo” was an item never even mentioned in the original story. It was a stretch to think the Crown Prince had prior knowledge.
“Bishop Orchid said we’d run into packs of beasts on the way to the strait… How tough do you think the fighting will be?”
“A real headache. Their numbers. If there are too many, we might have to step in ourselves. The Crown Prince’s forces are strong, sure, but they’re regular folk without magic. We’ll end up having to fight eventually.”
“Hmm…”
A ton of magical beasts wasn’t a bad thing.
What if the Crown Prince tired himself out before Halo showed? I could have Pippin deal with Halo, then swipe the king’s proof for myself.
Now I could use Lagia to open a small Death Gate wherever I wanted. The “Death Gate” Lagia described was a technique that sliced through space and reconnected it. Used right, I could funnel beasts straight to the Crown Prince.
Wear him down with the small fry. Then I’d handle Sea Dragon Halo myself and claim the spoils. Solid strategy.
“Looking forward to His Highness’s performance.”
“Me too, Sierra. It’s been ages since I last saw him fight.”
My heart settled into cold resolve. Time to use my head.
From the status window, the Crown Prince’s trait was Subjugation. I’d seen it in action with Desiderium—it wasn’t to be underestimated. I still didn’t know if it could suppress everyone at once or one at a time, but either way, it was impressive.
‘The key will be how many times he can use it…’
But the more targets, the more mana and stamina it’d drain.
In the end, I had no choice but to go for it. If I spaced out and let him snag Halo, he might hand a legendary item to the heroine. If she started making waves in this world, Dalia would end up in a mess of tearjerkers. I had to stop that.
Villainess Dalia living happier than the heroine—that was my little sister’s dying wish, and now my purpose.
“I’m worried. What if tons of beasts show up?”
Gerbera glanced worriedly in the direction where the Crown Prince was resting.
I prayed silently. Please, let the path be crawling with magical beasts.
***
As if my wish had been granted, an enormous swarm of beasts appeared not long after we set sail. The ship’s atmosphere turned chaotic the instant they showed.
“Everyone, battle stations!”
“No slacking—move it!”
“You all wanna die? Get in formation, now!”
The beasts swarming us looked like basketballs with fins. They massed in a black cloud around the ship before suddenly bouncing high into the air.
Just like that, the beasts rained down onto the deck. Everyone, me included, ducked behind cover or fended them off with wooden planks. Not only were there absurd numbers, but each one weighed a ton.
I’d seen these in gameplay before.
Right—trash mob Botri. They traveled in packs, harassing subjugation efforts. Weak individually, but a nightmare in groups. Area-of-effect magic could wipe them out, but otherwise, it was one by one.
“So many Botri bastards! Damn, way more than usual!”