Chapitre 56: Union
The only ones who know me as Shawl are Elizabeth and Vol. Seeing as neither of them are likely to have talked, the most likely option is...
"Since when does the council take advice from nuns?"
I guess Vol arrived at the same conclusion. The Cyrene must have sent some of their nuns to Rosewood to rat on me.
"You don't deny it, then!"
The council doesn't look too taken aback. I guess they weren't really trying to hide were they got their information.
"I don't. It's the truth," Vol replies, sternly.
Murmurs run through the crowd. Concern, fear, anger. I guess I can understand where they're coming from. Vol continues in a voice that covers the entire room.
"I promised to help Sebastian with the creation of an artificial mana store, to prevent his immense leaking mana from affecting the world around us. Not only have I done that, revolutionizing mana research forever, but I have also created one of the most powerful mana weapons in current existence," he says, holding up one of the newly created manacasters, strapped tightly to his arm.
More murmurs and hushed discussions.
"Your efforts may be valuable, but that is irrelevant to-"
"However!" Vol interrupts the councilman, "Sebastian and I have equal share in the effort to create it. The creation of both the AM-store and the manacaster would have been impossible without his assistance."
"That's-"
"And might. I. Remind you. Sebastian and Elizabeth are responsible for the permanent removal of two of the worst creatures in existence - the biggest threat to all life - the greater monsters. However much damage the greater monster caused here, it would have been a thousand times worse, had it not been for them."
Technically, Elizabeth is responsible for two and I'm responsible for, like, one and a half, depending on how you count. Vol is pretty damn good at this speech thing, though.
"That said," he says, calming his voice, "If you judge that we should leave Rosewood permanently, I see no reason to object further. If the council has truly fallen so far, I see no reason to stay, regardless."
Jesus, dude. Way to rile up a crowd. The chattering around us is so loud, I can't even make out what people are saying.
The older councilman who had stepped forward to speak is looking back at the rest of the council. I'm starting to get the sense that they were making an empty threat. Thinking about it, how stupid would they have to be to banish the greatest magic researcher who ever lived, let alone one who just invented a powerful new weapon.
I bet they thought he'd stay. I glance over at Vol. I see the corner of his mouth turn up slightly before falling back into a stern expression.
I might be good at manipulating individuals, but when it comes to crowds, Vol really is a master. From what I can tell, a lot of people here are on Vol's side. And even those that aren't seem to have realized that they're about to lose one of their most valuable assets.
"Very well," the councilman says, "You have... argued your case well. Considering your contributions and the eradication of the greater monsters, we have - *ahem* - come to the conclusion that you have sufficiently outweighed your - uh - less... acceptable actions," he finishes quickly.
I guess they've decided to make an attempt at reconciliation. Or maybe they're just trying not to lose face. Either way, it's pretty pathetic and half-hearted.
"Good. Now, if you'll excuse us," Vol says, turning back to the entrance.
The soldiers glance at one another, then slowly part. The council says nothing as we leave, and we don't look back.
"That was very dramatic," Elizabeth says, as we proceed down the main street toward the gate to Tayde.
"Ah-haha, I guess so, huh~" Vol chuckles, looking awkward. "Sorry about that."
"Nothing to be sorry about. That was pretty fun," I say, "I didn't realize you were on the council."
"Ah, it was only for a short time, when I was about 200 years old. I'm the youngest elf to have ever been on the council, so people keep going on about it, even though it was only for a few years."
It's difficult to get a measure of "youngest elf," but 200 does sound quite young, at least in comparison to the others.
"Why did you stop? From what I just saw, you seem like you'd be a pretty good politician."
"Haha~" he laughs, gesturing to a guard to activate the gate to Tayde.
"It was the speeches. They make my voice all hoarse," he jokes, mimicking the voice of the older councilman as he walks through the open gate.
I take a step through it, then nearly bump into Vol's back on the other side. Elizabeth steps up next to me. Together, we look out over the glittering ocean. Our view is obstructed, however.
There, just outside the port, is a ship around the size of a cruise liner. Gold decorations line the polished wooden hull. My eyes fall on the flag flying high from the masts.
The royal crest.
Uncle.
Chapitre 57: Spawn
"What are you doing here, uncle?"
My uncle, the king, stands before me, a full entourage of armored soldiers behind him. The ship feels even more overwhelming now that we're standing at the foot of it.
"We've just received news that a Demon Lord has appeared on the outskirts of the kingdom," he says, a sour look upon his face. "We're at war."
Upon seeing the royal crest, a few ideas had crossed my mind. My uncle's answer confirms the worst possible scenario. I thought we'd have longer. I already have my hands full with the Cyrene and only a few weeks to prepare. My uncle continues.
"We've assembled a fleet of the most skilled magicians and adventurers in the world. It's waiting one the horizon. I've come here to recruit the last known group of A-rank adventurers and..."
He pauses.
"To say goodbye. Just in case."
He's making this all sad and depressing for no reason.
I glance over at Vol, "Thoughts?"
"I think we have time," he shrugs.
"Elizabeth?"
"I agree."
Good. I figured. I turn back to my uncle, who's looking rather confused at our exchange.
"There's no need to say goodbye. We're coming with you."
"What?! No, I can't allow-"
"You said you wanted the most skilled magicians and adventurers in the world?" I ask, raising my arms to the people beside me.
I take some inspiration from Vol's earlier speech and repeat his arguments, modifying them slightly to fit to the kind of person my uncle is. But he gives in faster than I had expected of a king.
"Fine," he sighs, putting a hand to his head, "Very well, very well. We need all the help we can get."
I guess he was already considering bringing me along. All he needed was a little push.
The streets behind us have gotten rather packed, a crowd gathering to look upon the grand ship. Many humans and elves seem to recognize the king, as well. Children pointing and their mothers nodding.
"Eh, excuse me - coming through - sorry!"
From within the crowd, I see a glint of golden armor. Right. My uncle was here for the last group of A-rank adventurers. The blonde-haired head of Jonas emerges from the crowd, followed shortly by the mage, who seems to be clinging to his arm and looking apologetic.
"Your majesty - huh, kid? What're you doing here?"
Dude, finish greeting the king first.
"Helping," I tell him.
"Oh, right, of course."
"Ah, you are the A-rank adventurers, right?" the king asks them.
"Yes, your majesty," the mage says before Jonas can respond.
"You have been informed of the situation, yes?"
"Yes, your majesty."
"Good. You will join us, then?"
Jonas and the mage look somberly at one another. The last assignment their group worked on ended rather poorly. It seems to have weighed quite heavily on them.
"Actually, your majesty..." the mage hesitates, looking somewhat distressed, "I'm afraid we'll have to decline."
"We need them for something else," I interject, turning to my uncle.
I decide to leave out the hard-to-believe parts like the gods and needing the nuns robes to survive in the celestial realm.
Instead, I spin up a story of needing the robes as disguises for an undercover investigation into suspicious church activities. Vol seems to catch on, and corroborates my story by retelling our run-in with the elven council, and our suspicion that they gained their information via the church.
"Hrm, I agree that the church garners investigation. But I would, of course, prefer to have such high-ranking adventurers with us," he sighs, "Well, adventurers have the freedom of choice, so I won't stop you. It wouldn't be right to force you to join the fight, anyway. Not when we might all die in the process."
It sounds like my uncle is expecting a lot of casualties from this battle. We won't get to that point, however.
I'll follow along with the fleet for now, but once we've located the Demon Lord, I'll be the one to kill him. If three of the greater monsters have contained my memories, chances are that Number 12 contained more within the fourth.
Elizabeth gained my memories from the third greater monster. I let that slide because she's my friend, not to mention she saved my life.
But these are my memories. I'm not letting anyone else have them.
---
"You've fought a Demon Lord before, haven't you?" Elizabeth asks me.
It's a few hours until midnight and we've been traveling for around a day and a half. We've secluded ourselves in our grouped cabin.
"Several," I nod.
"What are they like?"
That's an interesting question. I pause to think back on the ones in my past.
"It varies," I eventually say, "One of them had dark, purple skin and long, curled horns. Another had long claws and tentacles like an octopus. They usually take a humanoid shape, though."
"Hmm," Elizabeth makes a humming noise like she's saying "I see."
"Do they scare you?"
I can't really imagine her scared, but then again, it's hard to imagine Elizabeth with any emotion.
"No," she says, "They don't."
Cadeaux
-- Cadeau
reçu État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
200+ Classement
Power Stone 
0 Power
stone 
Commentaire de paragraphe