Arc 8: Vincent Vollachia
Arc 8, Chapter 15 "Admiration"
Scratching his head in a laid-back tone, the human beast chewing a golden smoking pipe laughs at him.
He has long black body hair and a friendly face. His gentle manner of speaking is free of any evil spirits, and his loose-fitting stance makes it impossible to be wary of him.
If they forget the fact that this was in a continuous chain-dragon carriage that kept running, in a room where important people from the kingdom and the empire met, and all of them, including the most powerful ones, were unaware of its presence.
"Who's Halibel......?"
So muttered Goz, with a shiver in his stern voice, who issued the strongest warning of his presence and sheltered behind him the lord he was supposed to protect and his allies.
He is himself one of the "Nine Divine Generals", a warrior who is one of the strongest generals in an empire full of warriors. Even Goz could not recognize the hidden form of the beast in front of him.
But that fact is not the only reason for the hardness in his voice.
"--Are you an 'Admirer'? What do you want with the keystone of the city-state?"
Abel, sheltered behind Goz and looking at the beastman--Halibel through his huge body, asks.
What preceded the question was the alias of the wolf man? Subaru gropes through his memory box, which is stirred by surprise when he thinks it sounds vaguely familiar.
Then, Halibel turned his narrow eyes, which looked like a smile, on Subaru, whose eyebrows were furrowed.
"I don't have to think very hard about it. I'm only called that because I'm a complimentary person, and I don't think it's a big deal to begin with."
"Big deal......"
"That's right. It's just that there is no one stronger than me in Kararagi.
Halibel answered matter-of-factly, as if she were talking about the weather.
Subaru rolls his eyes at his words, and the moment his brain connects with the word 'Kararagi', his understanding of what the earlier snag was ignited.
The "Admirer" of the Kararagi city-state, what his alias means is--,
"The most powerful Shinobi of the city-state of Kararagi! Why did you ride in this dragon carriage!"
The next moment, he stepped forward with a force that exploded the floor of the dragon carriage and thrust his own weapon, a hammering spear, into Halibel where Goz was standing.
Goz's weapon is a uniquely shaped hammering spear, like a spiked sphere attached to the end of a long handle for striking. It is similar to Rem's beloved morningstar, but its size and weight lean overwhelmingly toward Goz's.
At any rate, the strongest of the city-states suddenly appeared, and the warriors of the empire put their weapons to the test.
Or so it seemed as if things were going to go right off the rails.
However--,
"I know it's not my place to tell you how much you scared me, but if you don't get so worked up, why don't you sit down and talk?"
"Ngh, guh......!"
Halibel, who tilted his head in a twist, called out to him through the hammering spear that was thrust at him. Goz's powerful arms trembled as his face tightened at Halibel's words.
Gozu's golden hammering spear, with Halibel's own smoking pipe, also golden, against the tip of it. With that, Goz's weapon was unable to make the slightest movement.
"----"
Perhaps Halibel exquisitely controlled the balance of force with the applied flue and held Goz unable to thrust the hammering contraption up and down, left and right, and of course, into the ground.
No matter how Goz tries to move the weapon, it is pushed by the flue from the other side and cannot be moved. It is not simple arm strength, but the ultimate in skill to completely control the flow of force.
"You......!"
Goz, red in the face, gnashed his teeth, which echoed loudly in the room. But Halibel's series of actions were too quiet compared to Goz's gnashing of teeth.
At that point, the rating of this place for the presence of Halibel has been done.
"Don't do it, Goz. If you had any intention of harming us, we would all be decapitated before we could show ourselves off with a round of applause."
"You didn't, so you're not our enemy...... right?"
Abel and Emilia both interrupted this quiet attack between Goz and Halibel.
They were right, in fact, if Halibel had wanted to, everyone in the car could have been killed before they even realized he was there.
From there, Halibel pointed out, his big mouth loosening into a smile,
"That's right, I'm glad you understand. The emperor, however, the half demon child is a good and honest child. He grew up straight and...... must have had great parents, even though he's just as hated as I am."
"Thank you. I, too, feel lucky to have been raised by Puck and my mother."
Emilia thanked him with her hand on her chest, and Halibel nodded and pulled a smoking pipe. Goz was immediately released from his gains, but he could not be so reckless as to hit her as he was.
Regretfully, Goz stared at Halibel, wary,
"If you say the wrong thing, I will avenge you, even at the cost of my life. Remember that."
"No, no. Look, I'm sitting here like this and behaving."
Waving his hands in the air, Halibel pulled a chair beside him with his tail and sat down on it, hugging one knee.
He is as tall as Goz, but when he curls up skinny like that, he looks more like a big dog. It does not seem ironic that he should be so well behaved, though.
"But I didn't expect Kararagi to intervene here. The city states are not as friendly with the empire as they are with the kingdom and the empire. Especially considering the position you are announcing."
"Oh, you all know me? I'm embarrassed because I feel like a celebrity."
"Roswaal, that's the position he's announcing......"
"I'll tell you, Barusu, who is as ignorant as he looks, that 'Admirer' Halibel is a werewolf."
A werewolf, so Ram explained, and for a moment, Subaru's mind and body trembled.
However, it is a tremor not for Halibel in front of him, but because of something else. The fact itself, as Ram tells them, is not so much what Subaru has in mind.
However, Subaru's understanding of the situation was not taken into account, and the conversation proceeded as if common sense were common knowledge.
"You know the attitude of the Empire toward werewolves, and you seem quite a daredevil to have crossed the border and set foot in here."
"I know that, of course, and I don't feel good about it. But the reason I don't hide the fact that I'm a werewolf is because, as you know, no one can kill me. And from the looks of it, there's no Cecilus either."
"--! You know Cessy?"
"Huh? Oh, yes I know him? He tried to kill me before. We had a bit of a fight, and he said, 'It's not time to end it now!' and left."
Although they have strayed from the topic surrounding the werewolf, Halibel candidly answers Subaru's questions.
It's an unexpected answer, an unexpected connection. Cecilus and Halibel fought each other, and from what he just heard, it seems that it was Cecilus's side that sold the fight, but that is also highly convincing.
On top of that--,
"The most well-known and powerful man in the city-state of Kararagi appears in the Vollachia Empire, which has shown a decisive stance against the werewolves. And, awe-struck, in the carriage where His Excellency Vincent resides."
"I might add, you have also learned of the contents of the crucial meeting between our Country and the Kingdom. This is a situation in which we must cut off the head, even if we have to fire up the 'Blue Lightning'."
"......Serena, can you please not endanger everyone here with your bad taste?"
Taking advantage of Berstetz's arrangement of the situation, Serena added her own noisy observations in a good mood. The radical nature of the content was so extreme that Roswaal unintentionally put in a bare warning.
And so, as the initial surprise and enthusiasm for Halibel's appearance fades somewhat, they eventually return to the initial question.
"There won't be a third time. What brings you here, 'Admirer'?"
Even if the other party is overwhelmed by the force of arms in this situation, the word "pandering" is not in Abel's dictionary. Subaru gulped, wondering how Halibel would react to the owner of a dictionary that was intentionally plastered with humility-type words.
But despite the growing tension, Halibel sat down and rested his cheek on the table,
"I told you first if you wanted to talk to me. Wait, let me say hello to you."
"So that greeting, you're going to pull out our hearts in exchange for a greeting or something......?"
"Yikes! You're a boy who thinks of scary things. You can't do that."
"Then would you really say it's just a meet and greet, just for show, I suppose?"
"Yeah?"
Fearfully protesting Subaru's attempt to delve into the Shinobi way of greeting, Halibel answered Beatrice's ensuing question in a matter-of-fact manner.
So far, it seems that there is really no intention to do anything violent on Halibel's part.
"They could have killed us without having to go through the trouble of killing us in the first place, so why would they have the bad taste to take our lives?"
'I've been scared too, but don't pull that kind of opinion out of people's mouths...... but if that's the case..."
"What if it is? What is it, Subaru?"
Swallowing gulps of spit, Subaru has a frightening imagination about Halibel's attitude.
If that is what Emilia was asked by Halibel, and if it is the same persona that Halibel answered--,
"If Reinhard and this guy are decent, then that body of Cessy's is......"
"Stop that, Natsuki Subaru. I asked for your cooperation, but I don't remember allowing you to dig into our country's ugly news."
"What a scandal...... I can't even say that, in the case of General Cecilus."
Not only Subaru and Abel, but even Berstetz agreed on the issue of Cecilus's humanity. Cecilus is being ragged on even though he is not here, but he was convinced that he probably would have said the same thing had he been here.
In fact, from Subaru's perspective, which has the illusion of wanting the strong to behave commensurately, the behavior of Reinhard and Halibel is more ideal.
On the other hand, he is convinced that it would not have turned out well if it had not been Cecilus who was on the Gladiator Island, so we are talking about everything being good or bad.
"So? What's the purpose of this greeting after all? This dragon carriage is moving north, but the border with Kararagi is not far enough...... to cause you alarm, is it?"
"Mm~, I'd rather you ask my employer about that than me. I accidentally made it more complicated by clapping my hands...... but it looks like it's about time."
"About time......"
Halibel lowered the corners of his eyes, but when he noticed something and looked up, Subaru followed his gaze.
The wolf's face turned to the door connecting the car to the one next to it. A knock on the door comes from the other side exactly one beat later.
"--Excuse me for interrupting your meeting. I have a message for you."
A familiar voice reports, and Abel quietly commands, "Come in," and a small, fuzzy-headed man appears through the open door.
As soon as Subaru saw the person he was dealing with, he rolled his eyes.
"Zikr! Thank God you're all right!"
"Yes, you needn't worry. I am glad to see that you are safe and sound, Miss Natsumi."
"I'm surprised you still call me that in this form......"
Subaru was relieved to see Imperial Second General Zikr Osman, the man who smiled at Subaru when they first met and when they parted, who was still in woman's clothing, alive and well.
Then, smiling, Zikr tightened his expression,
"Sir, I have something to tell you...... just on your side."
"Leave that behind for now. Perhaps it is not unrelated to your report."
Halibel in a corner of the room, Abel unkind to Zikr, who was concerned about his presence. But Zikr seemed accustomed to the emperor's lack of words, nodding his head and saying, "Ha,"
"The flying dragon ship of the High Countess Dracroy has returned. She brought with her the dignitaries of the fortified city of Garkla and guests from the city-state."
"--Guests of the city-state."
Glancing around, Abel turns his black eyes to Halibel and murmurs.
Since the destination of this chain-dragon carriage is the fortified city of Garkla, it is natural that the people involved there would come by flying dragons. If someone from Kararagi accompanied them at that time, it would be impossible for it to be unrelated to Halibel.
In other words--,
"Did Halibel come before them?"
"I'm not very good at heights."
Halibel says something cute that may or may not be an answer, and affirms that she is related to the information Zikr brought.
He thinks it is understandable that he didn't get on the flying dragon boat because he is not good at heights, but he doesn't think it is understandable that that is why he arrived faster than the flying dragon boat, but it is no use telling this to the superhumans in this world. Even Cecilus runs faster than a flying dragon boat, so he is just as fast.
In any case--,
"He even went to the trouble of boarding my flying dragon ship. If that's the case, you might expect a very big man to have something important to say to you, right?"
"At least, that's what our dainty guest herself says."
"From the way you're talking, you're a woman."
The straightforward Zikr report, a woman from the Kararagi city-state.
Subaru only tilted his head at the contents of the meeting, but apparently the rest of his people were different. Beatrice's clasped hands grew stronger, and she looked toward Emilia,
"Emilia, we're talking about a guest from Kararagi, in fact."
"Yeah, I guess so. Is it possible that that's--"
"Huh? Huh? You two have some sort of idea......"
Subaru was about to ask if there was.
"--What, you flew all the way to the Empire after all the trouble people went through to get here, and you're being so heartless, Mr. Natsuki?"
"----"
The unexpectedly interrupted tone of voice, hushed, arrives from behind Zikr.
Apparently, the guest was waiting at the coupling with the next car, and he was quite hell-eared to join our conversation. But it's understandable that he has a hell-ear.
Because merchants are always on the lookout for opportunities to make money.
"Sir, what do you want?"
The fact that the voice they heard was listening to them led Berstetz to question Abel's intentions. Abel's glance at the question was directed at Subaru, confirming his expression.
Then Abel looked toward the door where he heard the voice,
"Apparently, I'm not just a tactless, unassuming fellow. Let me see your face."
"Then feel free."
With the emperor's permission, the owner of the voice answers softly. And before long, Halibel, standing quickly by the door, opens the door of the vehicle with his hand and invites the other person in.
The person who appeared smiled at Halibel's consideration and said, "Thanks a lot," and then--,
"I haven't seen you in a while, but I'm glad to see you're doing well."
"Oh......"
"By the way, Emilia and the others are such geniuses to deal with trouble. It looks like they need our help again, doesn't it?"
The woman who uttered such a merciless assessment, with a soft tone and a smile, was a woman with light pigmented purple hair and a fox collar in kimono sleeves--Anastasia Hoshin.
She is accompanied by a young man from Waso as her follower.
"Anastasia and Julius?!"
Subaru was taken aback by the sight of the two, whom he had not expected to see here.
Anastasia laughed with her hand over her mouth at Subaru's upturned voice, and the young man whose name was called--Julius, also looked at Subaru, tracing a fearless scar under his left eye with his finger.
And then--,
"I just wanted to say that I'm glad you're okay, but why do you always have to be like that?"
"Don't talk to me like I'm always causing trouble on a smaller level!"
Such was the outburst of anger instead of joy at the reunion.
△▼△▼△▼△
The strength drains from his knees and he falls forward onto the desolate field.
He didn't even have the strength to support his body, so his face was mercilessly smashed into the earth. There was pain as if his nose was crushed, and blood flowed from his severed lip.
He licked the blood off his tongue and his parched mouth moistened just slightly.
"----"
All the strength in his body, nothing left.
If his energy ran out first, his physical strength would also run out quickly. And since both were exhausted, he would probably end up rotting away here.
Everything and anything was for naught.
All the things he had tried to do, all the things he had breathed a sigh of relief that he must do, all the things he had continued to do out of inertia because he had continued to do them, all of them have been in vain.
After all, he was only himself. Hell was within him.
Then there is no escape. No one can escape. From the hell that is him.
"Damn it......"
A cathartic voice of frustration escaped his lips.
Not even tears welled up anymore. He had neither the heat nor the qualifications to do so.
The whole thing was bizarre. It was out of reach. He made the biggest mistake of his life in reaching for the unreachable, and then he did it again.
There is no reflection. So there is only regret.
He could never like himself, he only dislikes himself, but finally he hates himself.
He can't even continue to love what he loves. Faster, a failure of workmanship like himself--.
"--Oh? If it was a corpse, I thought I'd strip it down, but I didn't know it was still breathing. That's good to know."
Suddenly, above his fallen body, he heard someone's voice.
His body doesn't have the strength to even flinch, but the owner of the voice reaches out and turns him over. Instantly, the glare of the blue sky plunges into my vision, and he let out a grunt, "Ugh".
Tears, which had not welled up with humiliation or repentance, began to slowly seep out.
That was irresistibly frustrating.
Everything, he wondered if this body only works for itself, all the way through.
"What have you got to regret, you deadbeat? Everything in your body is alive and in the blink of an eye."
"How nice to be alive......"
"Oh, you're the kind of guy who's sick of living. Well, that's...... the only way to fight those dim thoughts, as far as a man knows."
"----"
He felt the owner of the voice laugh, and an upside-down face interrupted his view of the reflection of the blue sky. The face was backlit and difficult to see clearly, but he knew the other person was smiling and laughing.
However, it is not a mockery of him, and hence a smile for reasons he does not understand.
However--,
"What do I do?"
If he can't find the answer in himself, he will ask what they think that he doesn't understand.
He asked, cursing himself for still wanting to be saved, thinking that at least he would hear a much more straight answer than he did.
The other person's smile deepens at the question, as if he or she has just gotten his point,
"I know what I'm going to do. --I'm going to drink as much as I can."
Immediately after answering, he is grabbed by the collar and dragged forcefully by his opponent. The man is moving forward slowly in the wilderness with both legs thrown out in a posture.
The man hummed and sang as he dragged him along, taking advantage of his inability to resist,
"Rowan is a stingy ronin. What about you, brother?"
"----"
"Brother, you at least have a name. Telling me won't make it any less important."
He exhales a long breath at the easygoing tone, the familiarity, and the demeanor of the man who introduced himself as Rowan.
He had no obligation to answer, but he had no particular reason to refuse to answer, and he was ready to do whatever it took,
"......It's Heinkel."
So, unaware of each other's position, Heinkel Astrea said his name.
He does not know. --Coincidence and fate are the usual tools that fate likes to use.
Arc 8, Chapter 15 "Admiration"
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Scratching his head in a laid-back tone, the human beast chewing a golden smoking pipe laughs at him.
He has long black body hair and a friendly face. His gentle manner of speaking is free of any evil spirits, and his loose-fitting stance makes it impossible to be wary of him.
If they forget the fact that this was in a continuous chain-dragon carriage that kept running, in a room where important people from the kingdom and the empire met, and all of them, including the most powerful ones, were unaware of its presence.
"Who's Halibel......?"
So muttered Goz, with a shiver in his stern voice, who issued the strongest warning of his presence and sheltered behind him the lord he was supposed to protect and his allies.
He is himself one of the "Nine Divine Generals", a warrior who is one of the strongest generals in an empire full of warriors. Even Goz could not recognize the hidden form of the beast in front of him.
But that fact is not the only reason for the hardness in his voice.
"--Are you an 'Admirer'? What do you want with the keystone of the city-state?"
Abel, sheltered behind Goz and looking at the beastman--Halibel through his huge body, asks.
What preceded the question was the alias of the wolf man? Subaru gropes through his memory box, which is stirred by surprise when he thinks it sounds vaguely familiar.
Then, Halibel turned his narrow eyes, which looked like a smile, on Subaru, whose eyebrows were furrowed.
"I don't have to think very hard about it. I'm only called that because I'm a complimentary person, and I don't think it's a big deal to begin with."
"Big deal......"
"That's right. It's just that there is no one stronger than me in Kararagi.
Halibel answered matter-of-factly, as if she were talking about the weather.
Subaru rolls his eyes at his words, and the moment his brain connects with the word 'Kararagi', his understanding of what the earlier snag was ignited.
The "Admirer" of the Kararagi city-state, what his alias means is--,
"The most powerful Shinobi of the city-state of Kararagi! Why did you ride in this dragon carriage!"
The next moment, he stepped forward with a force that exploded the floor of the dragon carriage and thrust his own weapon, a hammering spear, into Halibel where Goz was standing.
Goz's weapon is a uniquely shaped hammering spear, like a spiked sphere attached to the end of a long handle for striking. It is similar to Rem's beloved morningstar, but its size and weight lean overwhelmingly toward Goz's.
At any rate, the strongest of the city-states suddenly appeared, and the warriors of the empire put their weapons to the test.
Or so it seemed as if things were going to go right off the rails.
However--,
"I know it's not my place to tell you how much you scared me, but if you don't get so worked up, why don't you sit down and talk?"
"Ngh, guh......!"
Halibel, who tilted his head in a twist, called out to him through the hammering spear that was thrust at him. Goz's powerful arms trembled as his face tightened at Halibel's words.
Gozu's golden hammering spear, with Halibel's own smoking pipe, also golden, against the tip of it. With that, Goz's weapon was unable to make the slightest movement.
"----"
Perhaps Halibel exquisitely controlled the balance of force with the applied flue and held Goz unable to thrust the hammering contraption up and down, left and right, and of course, into the ground.
No matter how Goz tries to move the weapon, it is pushed by the flue from the other side and cannot be moved. It is not simple arm strength, but the ultimate in skill to completely control the flow of force.
"You......!"
Goz, red in the face, gnashed his teeth, which echoed loudly in the room. But Halibel's series of actions were too quiet compared to Goz's gnashing of teeth.
At that point, the rating of this place for the presence of Halibel has been done.
"Don't do it, Goz. If you had any intention of harming us, we would all be decapitated before we could show ourselves off with a round of applause."
"You didn't, so you're not our enemy...... right?"
Abel and Emilia both interrupted this quiet attack between Goz and Halibel.
They were right, in fact, if Halibel had wanted to, everyone in the car could have been killed before they even realized he was there.
From there, Halibel pointed out, his big mouth loosening into a smile,
"That's right, I'm glad you understand. The emperor, however, the half demon child is a good and honest child. He grew up straight and...... must have had great parents, even though he's just as hated as I am."
"Thank you. I, too, feel lucky to have been raised by Puck and my mother."
Emilia thanked him with her hand on her chest, and Halibel nodded and pulled a smoking pipe. Goz was immediately released from his gains, but he could not be so reckless as to hit her as he was.
Regretfully, Goz stared at Halibel, wary,
"If you say the wrong thing, I will avenge you, even at the cost of my life. Remember that."
"No, no. Look, I'm sitting here like this and behaving."
Waving his hands in the air, Halibel pulled a chair beside him with his tail and sat down on it, hugging one knee.
He is as tall as Goz, but when he curls up skinny like that, he looks more like a big dog. It does not seem ironic that he should be so well behaved, though.
"But I didn't expect Kararagi to intervene here. The city states are not as friendly with the empire as they are with the kingdom and the empire. Especially considering the position you are announcing."
"Oh, you all know me? I'm embarrassed because I feel like a celebrity."
"Roswaal, that's the position he's announcing......"
"I'll tell you, Barusu, who is as ignorant as he looks, that 'Admirer' Halibel is a werewolf."
A werewolf, so Ram explained, and for a moment, Subaru's mind and body trembled.
However, it is a tremor not for Halibel in front of him, but because of something else. The fact itself, as Ram tells them, is not so much what Subaru has in mind.
However, Subaru's understanding of the situation was not taken into account, and the conversation proceeded as if common sense were common knowledge.
"You know the attitude of the Empire toward werewolves, and you seem quite a daredevil to have crossed the border and set foot in here."
"I know that, of course, and I don't feel good about it. But the reason I don't hide the fact that I'm a werewolf is because, as you know, no one can kill me. And from the looks of it, there's no Cecilus either."
"--! You know Cessy?"
"Huh? Oh, yes I know him? He tried to kill me before. We had a bit of a fight, and he said, 'It's not time to end it now!' and left."
Although they have strayed from the topic surrounding the werewolf, Halibel candidly answers Subaru's questions.
It's an unexpected answer, an unexpected connection. Cecilus and Halibel fought each other, and from what he just heard, it seems that it was Cecilus's side that sold the fight, but that is also highly convincing.
On top of that--,
"The most well-known and powerful man in the city-state of Kararagi appears in the Vollachia Empire, which has shown a decisive stance against the werewolves. And, awe-struck, in the carriage where His Excellency Vincent resides."
"I might add, you have also learned of the contents of the crucial meeting between our Country and the Kingdom. This is a situation in which we must cut off the head, even if we have to fire up the 'Blue Lightning'."
"......Serena, can you please not endanger everyone here with your bad taste?"
Taking advantage of Berstetz's arrangement of the situation, Serena added her own noisy observations in a good mood. The radical nature of the content was so extreme that Roswaal unintentionally put in a bare warning.
And so, as the initial surprise and enthusiasm for Halibel's appearance fades somewhat, they eventually return to the initial question.
"There won't be a third time. What brings you here, 'Admirer'?"
Even if the other party is overwhelmed by the force of arms in this situation, the word "pandering" is not in Abel's dictionary. Subaru gulped, wondering how Halibel would react to the owner of a dictionary that was intentionally plastered with humility-type words.
But despite the growing tension, Halibel sat down and rested his cheek on the table,
"I told you first if you wanted to talk to me. Wait, let me say hello to you."
"So that greeting, you're going to pull out our hearts in exchange for a greeting or something......?"
"Yikes! You're a boy who thinks of scary things. You can't do that."
"Then would you really say it's just a meet and greet, just for show, I suppose?"
"Yeah?"
Fearfully protesting Subaru's attempt to delve into the Shinobi way of greeting, Halibel answered Beatrice's ensuing question in a matter-of-fact manner.
So far, it seems that there is really no intention to do anything violent on Halibel's part.
"They could have killed us without having to go through the trouble of killing us in the first place, so why would they have the bad taste to take our lives?"
'I've been scared too, but don't pull that kind of opinion out of people's mouths...... but if that's the case..."
"What if it is? What is it, Subaru?"
Swallowing gulps of spit, Subaru has a frightening imagination about Halibel's attitude.
If that is what Emilia was asked by Halibel, and if it is the same persona that Halibel answered--,
"If Reinhard and this guy are decent, then that body of Cessy's is......"
"Stop that, Natsuki Subaru. I asked for your cooperation, but I don't remember allowing you to dig into our country's ugly news."
"What a scandal...... I can't even say that, in the case of General Cecilus."
Not only Subaru and Abel, but even Berstetz agreed on the issue of Cecilus's humanity. Cecilus is being ragged on even though he is not here, but he was convinced that he probably would have said the same thing had he been here.
In fact, from Subaru's perspective, which has the illusion of wanting the strong to behave commensurately, the behavior of Reinhard and Halibel is more ideal.
On the other hand, he is convinced that it would not have turned out well if it had not been Cecilus who was on the Gladiator Island, so we are talking about everything being good or bad.
"So? What's the purpose of this greeting after all? This dragon carriage is moving north, but the border with Kararagi is not far enough...... to cause you alarm, is it?"
"Mm~, I'd rather you ask my employer about that than me. I accidentally made it more complicated by clapping my hands...... but it looks like it's about time."
"About time......"
Halibel lowered the corners of his eyes, but when he noticed something and looked up, Subaru followed his gaze.
The wolf's face turned to the door connecting the car to the one next to it. A knock on the door comes from the other side exactly one beat later.
"--Excuse me for interrupting your meeting. I have a message for you."
A familiar voice reports, and Abel quietly commands, "Come in," and a small, fuzzy-headed man appears through the open door.
As soon as Subaru saw the person he was dealing with, he rolled his eyes.
"Zikr! Thank God you're all right!"
"Yes, you needn't worry. I am glad to see that you are safe and sound, Miss Natsumi."
"I'm surprised you still call me that in this form......"
Subaru was relieved to see Imperial Second General Zikr Osman, the man who smiled at Subaru when they first met and when they parted, who was still in woman's clothing, alive and well.
Then, smiling, Zikr tightened his expression,
"Sir, I have something to tell you...... just on your side."
"Leave that behind for now. Perhaps it is not unrelated to your report."
Halibel in a corner of the room, Abel unkind to Zikr, who was concerned about his presence. But Zikr seemed accustomed to the emperor's lack of words, nodding his head and saying, "Ha,"
"The flying dragon ship of the High Countess Dracroy has returned. She brought with her the dignitaries of the fortified city of Garkla and guests from the city-state."
"--Guests of the city-state."
Glancing around, Abel turns his black eyes to Halibel and murmurs.
Since the destination of this chain-dragon carriage is the fortified city of Garkla, it is natural that the people involved there would come by flying dragons. If someone from Kararagi accompanied them at that time, it would be impossible for it to be unrelated to Halibel.
In other words--,
"Did Halibel come before them?"
"I'm not very good at heights."
Halibel says something cute that may or may not be an answer, and affirms that she is related to the information Zikr brought.
He thinks it is understandable that he didn't get on the flying dragon boat because he is not good at heights, but he doesn't think it is understandable that that is why he arrived faster than the flying dragon boat, but it is no use telling this to the superhumans in this world. Even Cecilus runs faster than a flying dragon boat, so he is just as fast.
In any case--,
"He even went to the trouble of boarding my flying dragon ship. If that's the case, you might expect a very big man to have something important to say to you, right?"
"At least, that's what our dainty guest herself says."
"From the way you're talking, you're a woman."
The straightforward Zikr report, a woman from the Kararagi city-state.
Subaru only tilted his head at the contents of the meeting, but apparently the rest of his people were different. Beatrice's clasped hands grew stronger, and she looked toward Emilia,
"Emilia, we're talking about a guest from Kararagi, in fact."
"Yeah, I guess so. Is it possible that that's--"
"Huh? Huh? You two have some sort of idea......"
Subaru was about to ask if there was.
"--What, you flew all the way to the Empire after all the trouble people went through to get here, and you're being so heartless, Mr. Natsuki?"
"----"
The unexpectedly interrupted tone of voice, hushed, arrives from behind Zikr.
Apparently, the guest was waiting at the coupling with the next car, and he was quite hell-eared to join our conversation. But it's understandable that he has a hell-ear.
Because merchants are always on the lookout for opportunities to make money.
"Sir, what do you want?"
The fact that the voice they heard was listening to them led Berstetz to question Abel's intentions. Abel's glance at the question was directed at Subaru, confirming his expression.
Then Abel looked toward the door where he heard the voice,
"Apparently, I'm not just a tactless, unassuming fellow. Let me see your face."
"Then feel free."
With the emperor's permission, the owner of the voice answers softly. And before long, Halibel, standing quickly by the door, opens the door of the vehicle with his hand and invites the other person in.
The person who appeared smiled at Halibel's consideration and said, "Thanks a lot," and then--,
"I haven't seen you in a while, but I'm glad to see you're doing well."
"Oh......"
"By the way, Emilia and the others are such geniuses to deal with trouble. It looks like they need our help again, doesn't it?"
The woman who uttered such a merciless assessment, with a soft tone and a smile, was a woman with light pigmented purple hair and a fox collar in kimono sleeves--Anastasia Hoshin.
She is accompanied by a young man from Waso as her follower.
"Anastasia and Julius?!"
Subaru was taken aback by the sight of the two, whom he had not expected to see here.
Anastasia laughed with her hand over her mouth at Subaru's upturned voice, and the young man whose name was called--Julius, also looked at Subaru, tracing a fearless scar under his left eye with his finger.
And then--,
"I just wanted to say that I'm glad you're okay, but why do you always have to be like that?"
"Don't talk to me like I'm always causing trouble on a smaller level!"
Such was the outburst of anger instead of joy at the reunion.
△▼△▼△▼△
The strength drains from his knees and he falls forward onto the desolate field.
He didn't even have the strength to support his body, so his face was mercilessly smashed into the earth. There was pain as if his nose was crushed, and blood flowed from his severed lip.
He licked the blood off his tongue and his parched mouth moistened just slightly.
"----"
All the strength in his body, nothing left.
If his energy ran out first, his physical strength would also run out quickly. And since both were exhausted, he would probably end up rotting away here.
Everything and anything was for naught.
All the things he had tried to do, all the things he had breathed a sigh of relief that he must do, all the things he had continued to do out of inertia because he had continued to do them, all of them have been in vain.
After all, he was only himself. Hell was within him.
Then there is no escape. No one can escape. From the hell that is him.
"Damn it......"
A cathartic voice of frustration escaped his lips.
Not even tears welled up anymore. He had neither the heat nor the qualifications to do so.
The whole thing was bizarre. It was out of reach. He made the biggest mistake of his life in reaching for the unreachable, and then he did it again.
There is no reflection. So there is only regret.
He could never like himself, he only dislikes himself, but finally he hates himself.
He can't even continue to love what he loves. Faster, a failure of workmanship like himself--.
"--Oh? If it was a corpse, I thought I'd strip it down, but I didn't know it was still breathing. That's good to know."
Suddenly, above his fallen body, he heard someone's voice.
His body doesn't have the strength to even flinch, but the owner of the voice reaches out and turns him over. Instantly, the glare of the blue sky plunges into my vision, and he let out a grunt, "Ugh".
Tears, which had not welled up with humiliation or repentance, began to slowly seep out.
That was irresistibly frustrating.
Everything, he wondered if this body only works for itself, all the way through.
"What have you got to regret, you deadbeat? Everything in your body is alive and in the blink of an eye."
"How nice to be alive......"
"Oh, you're the kind of guy who's sick of living. Well, that's...... the only way to fight those dim thoughts, as far as a man knows."
"----"
He felt the owner of the voice laugh, and an upside-down face interrupted his view of the reflection of the blue sky. The face was backlit and difficult to see clearly, but he knew the other person was smiling and laughing.
However, it is not a mockery of him, and hence a smile for reasons he does not understand.
However--,
"What do I do?"
If he can't find the answer in himself, he will ask what they think that he doesn't understand.
He asked, cursing himself for still wanting to be saved, thinking that at least he would hear a much more straight answer than he did.
The other person's smile deepens at the question, as if he or she has just gotten his point,
"I know what I'm going to do. --I'm going to drink as much as I can."
Immediately after answering, he is grabbed by the collar and dragged forcefully by his opponent. The man is moving forward slowly in the wilderness with both legs thrown out in a posture.
The man hummed and sang as he dragged him along, taking advantage of his inability to resist,
"Rowan is a stingy ronin. What about you, brother?"
"----"
"Brother, you at least have a name. Telling me won't make it any less important."
He exhales a long breath at the easygoing tone, the familiarity, and the demeanor of the man who introduced himself as Rowan.
He had no obligation to answer, but he had no particular reason to refuse to answer, and he was ready to do whatever it took,
"......It's Heinkel."
So, unaware of each other's position, Heinkel Astrea said his name.
He does not know. --Coincidence and fate are the usual tools that fate likes to use.
