39-039-Village of dissidents

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We've come to the third and final stopover point, near the third village.

If we continue on, we'll probably encounter a masked group of people who call themselves dissidents, but the problem is how to fight them off.

In the world I once saw, Sharon, who was in a bad mood because she kept seeing Kanemitsu and Marinella flirting with each other, lost her temper, and I forced her to solve the problem by hitting her with a single fire tornado....

'If you wiped out the dissident whatevers with Sharon-san's magic, why don't you do the same with Onii-chan's Efreet?

I don't know about shooting summons at people, but since we're here, I'll at least give it a test shot.

Although I had wanted to confirm how powerful the Efreet was for some time, I couldn't expect to see it in the Holy King's Capital if it caused extensive damage, and even if it was used while crossing the mountains, there was a risk of starting a forest fire, so I hadn't had the chance to do so.

We are now in a very large plain, and even if the grasses catch fire, Elena can put out the fire, so it would be just as well for us to check it out.

So, after having Gosama-san park the carriage and descending to the plains, I raised the sealing ring to the empty field sky.

''Summon the Efreet!　Turn the flames down as low as possible!

At the same time as I said my words, a bright light shot out of the ring.

Doggone it, doggone it!

Immediately after that, with a roar that shook the earth, the flames scorched the sky and made a big hole in the floating clouds.

What's more, the horses in the carriage, startled by the sound and the flames, rioted and made a huge mess!

'Wow..... That's before you go easy on this or any of the dissidents.

"Kanata-nii-chan and Elena-neechanechan, you did a great job beating this guy.

Next to the two little guys, who were leisurely and impressed, the three of us, Elena and Gosha-san, were desperately trying to calm the rampaging horse....

◇ ◇ ◇.

As such, I gave up trying to subdue a masked group of dissidents with an Ifrit and said, "In case of an emergency, Elena will handle it with water magic! It was decided that this was the way to go, and we headed to the village.

As soon as I entered the village, I felt almost choked by the indescribably heavy atmosphere, but Jupiter, who noticed something, hurriedly turned back to me.

The first thing you need to do is to get your hands on some of the most important things. A crowd of people in the center of the village!''

Huh!

The four of us hurriedly headed to the center of the village, leaving Gosha to wait at the inn for fear of getting into trouble.

Then, in the center of the village, a group of masked men and knights were confronting each other.

''Those masked guys are the dissidents and that knight's emblem.......the Knights of Platena.

Does that mean they're from the castle?

In response to Satsuki's question, I nodded with my eyes on the crowd.

But in the world I once saw, as soon as I entered the village, I was surrounded by a masked group of people and got into trouble, and I never even encountered the Knights.

Is it different from the 'last time' after all...?

Just as I was thinking that, a man who looked like the leader of the masked group raised his hand and shouted.

''We will not succumb to your threats!

A threat?

"You may be planning to demand our surrender for the explosion that occurred outside the village, but that's not going to happen!

What are you talking about?

Gah!

I have a feeling that this is a very bad thing....

"I knew those people were talking about it...?

Hmmm, I don't know what to do.

It seems that my blasted efreet was brilliantly mistaken for something done by the Knights.

If you think about it calmly, how could the people of the Knights launch a pillar of fire that would pierce the sky, but to the dissidents who didn't know about such a situation, it must have looked like a threat directed at them.

Even if it was just a mere misunderstanding, the atmosphere between the dissidents and the knightly group was just a flash in the pan.

They are about to explode at any moment.

''Um, Kanata-san!

Yeah, what's up?

'Why are the dissidents at odds with each other? Why do we have to fight with people from the same country?'

It is true that in all the times I've traveled with Elena, there have been conflicts due to differences in race and self-interest, but this is the first time I've seen clashes due to differences in ideology between humans like this one.

It's no wonder that Elena doesn't feel like she's in the right place.

''Let's see..... Right now, the continent we live on is ruled by Princess Priscia and His Highness Linus' father, or in other words, His Majesty the King, but I don't like the way he does it~ that masked man.

''You mean they want to take the king's place as a dead man...?

When Elena muttered sadly, the masked man turned to me with a guffawed face.

''No!　We are not here for the throne, or our lives!　Our goal is to demand the elimination of discrimination and equality for other species and the correction of human-centered society...!

That's what Pricia is working on right now, right?

Yeah.

The masked man's eyes darted to the conversation between Satsuki and Yupiter.

'Pricia.........?　Is that about Princess Priscia?

Yeah, I'm a friend. I'm a friend.

The dissidents buzzed at Satsuki's words.

''And Princess Priscia is committed to eliminating discrimination against other races...?

'Yeah. Pricia-chan has done a lot of work for her best friend, the dragon~. She said she wants to work hard from now on and make a world where elves and other races can all get along with each other. Didn't you know that, Uncle?

At the sight of Satsuki saying without a care in the world, all the dissidents fall to their knees.

And then the lead knight who saw the figure says a few words.

''I only came to tell you that...''

◇ ◇.

When we returned to the inn, we were having a meal on the first floor, reflecting on the commotion this time.

''The dissident's ideas and Princess Priscia's ideas match up, so there's no point in confronting them anymore...''

''It's a big deal in the Holy King's Capital, but it's still hard to get across to the local villages, isn't it?

''But I'm glad we only had to talk about it without incident~''

Elena has been going through a lot of trouble lately, but she's smiling for the first time in a long time now that this one has gone off without a hitch.

But in the middle of all this, the entrance to the inn was suddenly opened and I was surrounded by knights wearing the emblem of the Platena nation.

''What, what, what, what!

At the sight of Satsuki's wandering figure, the knight wearing the iron helmet stroked Satsuki's head while laughing vigorously with a gahaha.

................................Oh, could it be!

"His Highness Linus?

"Yes, I'm indebted to you for your help during the last burglary, Kanata. I wasn't expecting to see you here!

With that, His Highness took off his iron helmet, sent his retainers outside the inn and sat down at the bar counter.

It's a good idea to have a few of these people in your life. Even the knight commander was upset.

Ha, ha.

"I believe he said something about us releasing a huge fire to threaten him!

Guffaw!

His Highness grinned at my reaction and secretly gave me an earful.

"Don't be too flamboyant. If you show off too much, you'll attract the attention of the demon king's minions.

Ugh....you knew it was me, right?

"Fool, it's just a bluff. I knew you'd have a hand in this in no small part.

Uh, I'm sorry...

His Highness glanced at Satsuki, laughing vigorously again as I cringed and slumped my shoulders.

Pricia wants to see you," he said. When you return to your country, you can visit her at the castle again.

Yeah!

Hearing Satsuki's cheerful reply, His Highness, who laughed with a gentle face this time, left with the knights as it was.

Then Marinella, who had been watching the series of events in a daze, hurriedly came back to herself and turned her head towards us with Gigi........

''What the hell were those people just now........?

You must be the Knights of Platena.

The one with the dandy beard now...?

"His Royal Highness Linus of Platena.

Marinella froze for a while with her eyes darting, but then, as usual, she jumped at Elena, as per her usual pattern!

Lady Elena!

"What?

'Good job on your ability to be tactful on that occasion and get the reason for the dissidents' actions!

''It wasn't tact, I was really just asking a question...''

And you're so close to the royal family!

"I'm with you, Satsuki!

Elena stormed out!

But we've been roped in!

Well, I'm back, Elena-sama!

"Aaaaahhh, help!

No matter what she does, Elena's pinch continues as Marinella's likability continues to rise in the emergency situation!

........well, it's not like I'm in any kind of trouble.

It's just that it's the same as your record, but slightly different.

Yeah, I was just thinking about that.

In the first place, this incident should have been a frequent source of trouble due to the fact that the entire brave party was cursed by the spirit of the fountain.

-- a bandit attack, a snatching incident, and an encounter with a dissident.

Even though the events themselves were the same, the end result was different if you knew in advance what was going to happen and dealt with it.

Despite this, there is someone who screams each time.

"Could it be that 'Elena' is the only one cursed by the spirit of the fountain.......?"

At my words, Elena's expression, which had been resisting Marinella desperately, strengthens.

''I had a dim feeling that way, but do you still think so too, Kanata-san...?''

Yeah. For some reason, things are conveniently going on every time to make Marinella excited. This is definitely being done intentionally to get Elena in trouble, right?

"What?

Elena let out a strange scream and shouted towards the west as Marinella pushed her down.

'O you fountain spirit!　I'm going to beat you to a pulp for sure!　Prepare yourself for this.

Elena, you've changed.

I don't know about you, but I love the way you look so brave, Lady Elena!

Hmmm, what's going on here?