Chapter 213: The Limit of Rational Thought

It didn’t take long for Blue to regain consciousness – probably thanks to the strong Dragon life force.

The warriors and Dīnō, though not attacking me anymore, are still on their guard.

Chiquiata, whose face showed great joy and relief at Blue’s revival, finally came to her senses and wiped her teary eyes.

“H-hmph. Hope you’re proud of yourself, reviving someone you just killed…”

“Whatever… I just hope you’ll make good on your promise.”

“Promise? Whatever are you talking about, hmm?”

Even Dīnō showed a blatant sign of doubt toward Chiuata’s words, but the next sentences out of her mouth reminded me just how this person named Chiquiata operated.

“I’ve been forgetting a lot of things lately, you see. Don’t even remember what I was supposed to do for House Douglas anymore…”

Looks like she just doesn’t want to come off as being in debt.

Regardless of the reasoning, what she’d just said caused an uproar among the surrounding warriors.

Not that I’d blame them. The person who’s supposed to be in charge of them just essentially made the declaration to split from the Douglas household, their current employer.

Dīnō groaned up its nose, but made no further comment.

“You guys… Say whatever you want to ‘Louie’. But if you’re gonna hunt me down, I won’t show you any mercy.”

With Blue fully recovered now, Chiquiata stroked its neck, then climbed onto its back.

“Dīnō.”

“What?”

“You take good care of Myans.”

“Heh, don’t even need to tell me. She’s my Master, y’know.”

Huh… so she’s actually separating from the rest of them.

Not doing that would be setting a bad example for the others, I suppose.

I chuckled as I turned around, then began to walk towards the Teleportation Spell Circle.

From behind, an unfamiliar voice entered my ears.

“Poer, I offer you words of appreciation in my Master’s stead. Thank you.”

A high-pitched… yet soft, motherly voice.

A female Dragon… So that’s what Blue sounds like.

Unsure whether or not to reply, I did not turn around and only raised my hand to wave at them… okay, being awkward might’ve compelled me to do that last bit.

Well, Chiquiata seems to be okay with this, and I doubt she’ll be bothering us again.

Besides, I would consider this fight ending in our favor, what with it costing the enemy a skilled mage of her level.

“Oh, here it is. As expected of a Philosopher – landed the Spell Circle exactly where I wanted it!”

I stroked my chin, singing myself praises, and was just about to step into the Spell Circle when I heard a voice in my head.

[“Now, here’s a piece of advice for you, boy.”]

It’s the voice of… Blue’s Master, whose thanks I just received via proxy from the Dragon.

[“…What is it?”]

[“The faster you get back to Kugg Village, the better. You see, the Reformist Faction has been in a hurry as of late. I came to this town because I’d been told to ‘target Bright while he’s here’ – you know what that means, don’t you?”]

[“…! Thanks! I appreciate that!”]

[“Hmph, just do your best back there.”]

And so she cut off the Telepathic Call, her attitude unchanging to the last moment.

Anyway, I better hurry.

‘Target Bright while he’s here,’ she said… Bright. Here. So the enemy must be targeting someone else over there.

But of course. The Adams house, with Polco being absent from it until moments ago, only had Guile’s security team as its defense.

Well, them and the tomboy princess, who had returned to the village yesterday. Their target must be Ferris.

And even now that the battle has ended on this side, there has been no Telepathic Call from Pochi. Something must have happened back in Kugg!

I got on the Teleportation Spell Circle and watched my body faded away, a myriad of thoughts spinning around in my head.

“Let us hurry, Master Leon.”

“Aah-ooh!”

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

Once I arrived at my room in the Adams house, I was welcomed by my wolf companion…

“HE’S BACKKKKKK!!”

…With a voice so loud and sharp that blocking my ears did nothing to help.

“We’re in trouble, Master! Oh, and welcome back! Ferris’ been kidnapped! And here I thought we’d all come back safely, but you just HAD to mess something up, Master! Wait, now isn’t the time! Master Polco got super angry and ran out of the house with a scary face, like he’s a monster! By the way, are you hurt? Oh, no! You look even more stupid than usual, Master! Oh, wait, but you ALWAYS look like that! Thank goodness! Right now Bright is riding on Chappie and searching from the sky, but they’ve found nothing so far! You know, it’s impressive how big Chappie has grown, Master! He isn’t scared to be separated from us anymore! It’s nice and all to see a child grow up so fast, but it’s also a bit sad, you know? Oh, no! Now isn’t the time for that, Master! Can you not interrupt the important talk, sir?! The kidnapper is Jetta – you know, that one maid from the Fulbright household who came along with us! She’s been working with us for so long, too… even Bright couldn’t hide his shock! Really, you can never be too careful, sir! Oh, by the way, I’m starving! But I know it’s not the time for eating! At first I considered going out to search for Ferris with everyone else, but then I figured it’d be more efficient to wait for you first! Well? Isn’t that great?! Feel free to praise me, sir! And what in the world happened over there, anyway?! Oh, wait, you can just tell me on the way! Also, Bright has apparently contacted Lady June already! Really! Why are you just standing there? Let’s get a move on, Master! We need to find food and get some Ferris to eat! Oh, wait, no! I mean find FERRIS and get some FOOD to eat! Master?! Are you even listening to me?! We’re in big trouble here, so let’s get it done as soon as we can!”

“Ferris kidnapped. We chase. You tried. After this, food. Let’s go.”

“That’s right, sir! FOOD!”

Pochi raised her front legs up in joy.

I, without stopping to wonder where all the Sushi she’d gobbled down had disappeared to, jumped out the window and landed onto the back of the gigantified Pochi.

Then I made Telepathic Calls to various people, and eventually found Guile and his security team, all out of breath.

I could not connect a Call to Polco, Bright, and Chappie. Could those three have gotten themselves into a battle?

Well, maybe not – according to Pochi, Polco’s lost his cool so badly that he turned into pretty much a monster, so it’s no wonder he didn’t pick up.

“…Heh, hah – whew! Hey… good to see you back, Poer!”

“What’s the situation, Guile?!”

“Master Polco’s found a trail! They’re heading straight to Regalia! Sorry, but please go help him! And take Young Master Bright with you!”

“Got it!”

Everyone’s drenched in sweat – Polco must’ve been going pretty damn fast.

Although he’s a mage, he’s still got powers almost on the level of the Holy Warriors, so it’d gotta be hard for the guards to try and catch up.

We headed in the direction Guile pointed at, eventually catching sight of Chappie flying above us.

“Man, he’s flapping his wings like crazy!”

“Which means… Master Polco must be just up ahead, sir!”

“C’mon, Pochi!”

“AWOOOOOO!!”

Pochi’s howl notified Bright, who was still riding on Chappie’s back, of our arrival.

Bright pointed in the direction he was going.

Looks like those two aren’t going to catch up.

Not that I’d blame them – they’re up against Polco, after all.

We passed underneath Chappie and Bright, chasing after Polco, who we’re currently seeing as a pea-sized silhouette.

He looks so damn menacing. Even from behind, from this far a distance.

“Look, Master! He’s so… scary!”

“I can feel the rage in his arcane energy… a whole lot of it!”

“Well, his daughter’s been kidnapped! Of course he’d get like that!”

“Ngh-! Past Master Polco, there’s Jetta! Can you see her?!”

“Yes, I can! She’s carrying Ferris over her shoulder!”

Jetta, head maid of the Fulbright household, working alongside the audacious old Alfred as the leader of the household’s servants.

June trusted her a great deal, too – why would she do this? Or has she been brainwashed? Or has she been replaced by someone else in disguise?

I looked at Jetta as she ran away, wondering for what reason she could be pulling this stunt.

“Master Polco!”

Pochi shouted as she caught up and ran alongside Polco.

“KAHHHHHH!!”

Polco shouted, his voice quite eccentric, while constantly facing ahead.

“”……””

Pochi slowed down slightly and turned her head towards me.

“I-I thought he was a monster for a second there…!”

“Man, that was scary. It’s like… he’s lost all rational thought. We shouldn’t disturb him-“

“Ah-!”

“Hey, be quiet- ngh-?!”

I was about to poke Pochi in the head when I noticed a pair of red eyes, full of arcane energy, glaring at me.

“…Shit.”

“…He’s DEFINITELY out for blood, sir.”

“KAHHHHHHHHHH!!”

“”AAAHHHHHHHHH?!””