บท 176: Shameful Dispray
It takes around a day or two for the remnants of King Gramont's army to get cleaned up and ready to return to the capital where most of the troops lived. Princess Henrietta stayed for the majority of it, making it incredibly annoying for Michael as he intended to follow her back... Even then, after everything was done she hops atop a Dragon Knight's mount and flies off with him, making following her almost impossible... Sure, Michael could run fast, but not fast enough to outrun a dragon in flight... Not yet at least.
With that venture proving to be a futile one, he returns to the capital instead, intending to wait for the Princess to return, and bring Louise with her. With that haphazardly decided, he make his way back to their inn where Tiffania and Ralf were waiting, the duo continuing their magical studies during in absence.
Sadly, he didn't really have anything to bring back to them, despite him paying a visit to the Academy's library. As he'd unfortunately found, the majority of the place was heavily enchanted to prevent theft. As soon as he touched a book with the intent to steal, an alarm started going off, alerting literally everyone in and out of the Academy.
It switched off when he put the book back, allowing him to escape unscathed, but it was clear he wouldn't be making any gains in that place specifically.
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Michael walks down the street of Tristania with Tiffania and Ralf as a large group of commoners drag a noble from his home. The reason for this? The man had sided with 'King Gramont' during the civil war, and had inadvertently led to the deaths of thousands of innocent soldiers and people.
The man wasn't even able to get off a single spell as the angry commoners snap his wand and drag him towards the gallows that'd previously been used to stem any disloyalty towards King Gramont's rule... Only this time, they'd be used to satisfy the masses.
"Do you guys know what the guy is even guilty of?" Michael asks, wondering if Tiffania or Derflinger had heard anything.
Tiffania nods, "That is Baron Plukard, there were rumours that he was abducting young boys and girls for his 'amusement'." she says, looking mightily sick just mentioning it.
Michael nods and crosses his arms, "Can't say I blame them for being angry then." he says as he watches them hoist up the rotund man and prepare him for hanging.
"Stop! I command all of you! The war is over and Princess Henrietta will reclaim the city! You will be punished for killing me!" the Baron shouts, but the commoners just angry shout various insults and rationalisation at him. One even loses their temper and pulls the level to the gallows early, dropping the man and breaking his neck as he's hung.
"What about you Derflinger? Think his death is justified?" Michael asks, curious of the sword's opinion on the sanctity of life.
"If they deserve it, let them die. You lot value life far too much, I think. You don't care if a pig is slaughtered for pork, why care if the same is done for a human?"
"That's awful thinking, Derflinger..." Tiffania mutters, as she watches the Baron's corpse sway from the rope.
"No, what's awful is thinking that your lives are worth more than something else just because you can rationalise it." the sword retorts and Michael cuts them both off before they can get into a full-blown argument.
He should've expected that. Don't blame a sword when it fails to see why humans value each other's life more than a simple beasts.
The duo continues watching the post-war chaos caused by King Gramont's defeat until it's time to return to the inn room.
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"So, yeah. It all ended a bit, uneventfully..." Michael says, finishing the tale of the Tristain civil war for Riki who listens with his legs dangling over the side of a rooftop.
Riki chuckles while his tail sways with unbidden amusement, "Better that than some dramatic free-for-all deathmatch. Trust me, I know."
Michael nods, "I guess... Any idea on how I'm gonna steal that book though? I doubt they're gonna let it go easily."
Riki shrugs, "Sounds to me like you and that girl have a lot to talk about regardless, just lie and say you're going to borrow it. It isn't like she'll be able to follow you once you leave."
Michael rolls that thought around in his mind before eventually nodding, while he felt that stealing from Louise was an incredibly selfish thing to do, especially since his introduction to this world prevented Saito's, he couldn't really bring himself to care either.
Was he morally bankrupt at this point? Or just didn't care for the consequences of his actions. Perhaps Karma would come and bite him in the ass further down the road, but for now escaping this world was his top priority. Hopefully he'd be able to leave before this world war got into full swing...
"Alright," Riki says as he gets to his feet, "Let's stop wasting time and begin with your next lesson... Mid-air manoeuvrability." he laughs as he punts Michael right off of the tower roof, causing him to begin plummeting to the cobbled road below.
"I fuckin haaate yooooooouuu!" he yells as he falls, immediately employing techniques that Riki had taught him in past lessons to alleviate his momentum slightly as he tries to find a good place to land.
Riki just laughs at his situation and jumps off the roof as well, his tail mimicking a monkey's as it assists him in manipulating his descent, allowing him to kick and slide off of different rooftop ornaments. "Just remember what I taught you-Oof!" he mutters as he watches Michael hit the floor, his form immediately dispersing into particles due to the fact he hadn't inhibited his momentum enough, causing him to die as he hit the floor.
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