Chapter 9
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Dragon Slayer
The revolutionary who had raised a banner of rebellion against the Empire for the sake of a new era.
Hysteria de Strange.
In my past life, I had thought of this guy as a madman.
He had killed his father and declared war on the entire family just because he found peace boring. If his brothers hadn't banded together to kill him, how far would his madness have reached?
He was the kind of man who, if left alive, could have plunged the entire continent into peril.
And now, that Hysteria was staring at me with a dumbfounded expression.
"This is hilarious. Do you even know who I am?"
"You're my second brother."
"Then you know why I'm here today?"
"Because of the assassin who infiltrated the castle this time—"
Shing!
Hysteria's sword stopped right next to my throat.
I could have blocked or dodged it, but I didn't move a single finger.
Because the direction of the conversation that would unfold from now on depended on how I reacted at this moment.
He fixed me with a cold gaze.
"Hey, little bro. The reason I came to the castle today isn't the assassin. It's you."
I lowered my gaze to the blade and replied.
"Is that so."
"Yeah, Father ordered me to return to the castle by today no matter what. Thanks to that, I missed out on a fun fight."
"……."
"If you hadn't been here, I wouldn't have had to deal with this pointless meeting. Not only did I miss a fun fight, but I had to run into these revolting collateral branch bastards just by looking at them."
Hoo—
Hysteria let out a long sigh and glared at the chubby collateral branch brother, who was among the battered ones behind him.
He must have had his reasons for keeping him alive, but the guy's state was utterly pathetic.
A rope around his neck like a beast, shackles on both arms and legs.
They called him family, but he was no different from a toy.
Still, I felt no particular emotion.
"Anyway. There's something I want to show you, brother."
"...What?"
"This."
Hysteria looked momentarily flustered at my blunt entry into the main topic without any preamble.
He turned his head to where my finger pointed, saw the yellow cloth on the table, and lowered his sword.
"...What's that?"
"You'll know when you see it."
"I'll know just by looking?"
"Yes."
The conversation ended there.
He glanced at the collateral branch brother with an intrigued expression and jerked his chin.
"Open it."
The chubby one jumped up from his seat and unwrapped the cloth.
Swish.
"Uwaaaah!"
Upon confirming the contents, he screamed and staggered backward.
What emerged from within was the arm of the assassin who had tried to kill me.
Hysteria frowned deeply and asked.
"That can't be... what I'm thinking, right?"
"Yes. It's evidence that will lead to the one behind the assassin targeting me, and something that will give you justification to fight Gunter. The assassin's arm."
A long silence began.
We stared into each other's eyes. He seemed to be pondering something deeply, occasionally lifting his gaze upward then downward.
"...You're no ordinary kid, are you?"
No explanation was needed.
We both understood the situation.
"This much is basic."
"Who told you? That I'm after Gunter."
"No one told me. It's just the answer I came up with."
"You figured it out on your own?"
"Yes, I'm a Strange too, after all."
I smiled brightly and innocently.
Hysteria's face twisted, then bloomed into a grin as he burst into laughter.
-Kuhahaha!
"Well, well, a five-year-old turning out to be such a sly fox? Makes sense why Father is making such a fuss over one assassin."
"Thank you for the praise."
"Praise, huh. Yeah, it could be called praise. Ha... Little bro, but what do we do about this? I'll have to take the gift back."
"Why?"
"I don't need it. I can find plenty of justification to pick a fight with him even without this."
It was true.
Hysteria could fabricate justification to kill Gunter anytime.
However, he would absolutely never start a fight. Or more precisely, he couldn't.
Because Hysteria's sword could never reach Gunter.
But that's exactly why I could make a proposal to Hysteria.
Something no one else could do, something only I could.
I turned my gaze toward the family photo hanging above the conference room door and continued.
"True. You could make justification without this arm. But you won't get a chance to fight Gunter one-on-one."
"...What?"
"I know. You're waiting for the right moment. Gunter always has two powerful Guardian Knights by his side, so you can't approach. Gerno and Giselle. I hear they're collateral branch kin who pack some punch."
For a fleeting moment, Hysteria's forehead twitched.
The only part of him that revealed his 'true emotions.'
I pressed on without pause.
"You can't take on all three alone, so you're preparing to deal with them one by one. But that situation won't come about as you wish."
Hysteria glared at me with a hardened expression. Silence fell again.
The chubby collateral branch guy glanced nervously between us.
This time, I spoke first.
"If you help me deal with the assassin and reveal the backer to Father, I'll create a chance for you to fight Gunter one-on-one."
"Is that possible?"
"Yes, I—"
"How?"
"I'll tell you how once you bring me the assassin's head."
"Are you trying to make a deal with me?"
I smiled brightly and replied.
"Yes, brother. I'm here to make a deal with you today. One that benefits us both. A very important deal."
Hysteria's lip curled, and without hesitation, he thrust his sword into the chubby guy's side.
Krunch!
The sickening sound of breaking bone echoed.
"Kaaaaah! P-Please, spare me. Please... Pleeease!"
He then grabbed the chubby one's hair and yanked it hard.
Thwack.
"A deal, huh. Okay, sure. Sounds fun. But how do I know if I can trust you? Whether you can really create that situation or not. If it's real or fake."
"Whether you trust me is up to you, brother. But if I'm lying now, I might end up dead by your hand later. Would I really do that?"
His lip curled again as he drove the blade deeper into the chubby one.
Krunch.
"Kaaak!"
"Little bro, looks like you don't know me well. Deals or whatever, I could turn you into a crippled pig like this bastard and get the answers anyway. I don't need some deal."
This wasn't just a warning.
Hysteria could really do it.
So without hesitation, I gripped the hilt of the sword at my waist.
"Then this deal is off?"
Hysteria pulled the sword from the chubby one's side and pointed it at me.
Splurt!
"Yeah, deal's off. And you're done for today too."
"The deal might be off. But I'm not done today."
"You think you can beat me?"
"No, but..."
I unleashed my aura and said to him.
Shoooo—!
"If I explode my aura right now, Sister Valentine will come running first and smash your head."
The executor Valentine was still in the castle. If aura exploded, she'd be the first to arrive.
Hysteria's eyebrow twitched.
"And if you and I fight now, who do you think benefits the most?"
"……."
"Probably Gunter. Not only can he pin this assassin incident on you, but he'll get a chance to eliminate his most annoying enemy."
Whoosh.
Siegfried entered my body. I assumed a combat-ready stance and tossed the words at him.
"Brother, let me make one final proposal. Will you join hands with me? Or grab your sword?"
A tall, pale-skinned clown Guardian Spirit juggled as he spoke.
"Hey, why'd you let that guy live? You could've killed him before that Valentine bitch even noticed."
Hysteria kicked the chubby collateral branch corpse.
Thud!
"Should I have killed him? My baby brother?"
"Normally, you'd have lopped his head off right away. That smug face of his was so damn punchable!"
"And suffer the consequences? Didn't you hear what he said? If I kill the youngest now, Gunter's the only one who benefits."
That wasn't all.
In his mind, not just Gunter, but the image of Berddin fused as one with Sword God Siegfried surfaced.
'...Impressive. A kid worthy of being Father's treasure.'
To crush my spirit just by existing.
"But seriously, is that kid really five?"
"Yeah, a ridiculously talented five-year-old. I knew the baby bro was something special, but I never imagined he'd come meet me like this."
"Impressive. How are all your siblings such freaks? We've been here less than half a day, and one girl's threatening to behead you, another risks his life to make a deal. Are these really brothers and sisters?"
"Girl? Oh, you mean Valentine?"
"Yeah, that executor whatever. She warned you not to touch the castle kids."
Hysteria shrugged.
"Leave it. Valentine doesn't covet the family head position anyway. She's harder to deal with than Gunter, so keeping distance is best for now."
"That bitch is stronger than Gunter?"
"Yeah, I might handle swords better, but Valentine's Guardian Spirit is no joke. Bad matchup. You couldn't beat her."
The clown went poof in a puff of smoke, reformed in front of Hysteria, and cackled with a grotesque expression.
-Kyahahahaha!
"Saying it like that hurts my feelings? Makes me sound useless."
"Enough with the nonsense. We need to hurry this time."
"Huh? Why? This is fun."
"Fun can wait. I need to snag that assassin before Gunter hides him."
"Assassin?"
"If he disappears, our baby's gift becomes useless. The deal could fall through."
"...Whatever you say. Shall we start then?"
"Yeah, come in."
Hysteria extended his right arm forward.
The clown Guardian Spirit turned to smoke and entered his body, then spewed countless threads connecting to the assassin's arm.
Papapap!
"Rise, puppet."
Aura flowed from Hysteria's body, taking the form of a doll that attached the assassin's arm to itself.
Squelch.
Once the aura doll was complete, the clown Guardian Spirit shifted from Hysteria's body to the doll.
Shiiiik.
It twisted its joints this way and that to check its condition.
Crack, crack, crack.
It grinned brightly, took a sword from Hysteria,
"Target location confirmed! Distance: about half a day's travel to the east coast cave! As per Master's command, commencing the hunt immediately!"