CH 113

The humiliation for La Veil. For La Veil not being able to fight with [seriousness] against an opponent who is much stronger than her is humiliation. On the battlefield, it is normal to consider such a thing as a naive way of thinking, but for La Veil, the first time she lost in a battle in which she put her whole heart and soul into was the first time she was defeated.

That’s why it was unacceptable for her to have that opportunity taken away from her by someone else. No matter how well she could read the situation and how much she cared for her friends, she was an ancient dragon. She is the closest thing to an apex living being.

“Uh… I’ve used it all morning, but isn’t this the fourth time? Maybe that’s why it’s still better.”

“I’m sorry, Lord. I didn’t mean to overwhelm you this morning.”

“That’s okay, I kind of know how La Veil feels.”

Aidle and La Veil had come down out of La Veil Radd, over the mountains to a snowfield. It was a place they had searched for and found on the condition that it was not a human path and that demons did not come out that far.

The purpose was to train, of course, however the opponent was not Aidle herself, but the countless humanized alter egos she had created, the [Aidles]. Although they are not as strong as the half-body, they are more than capable of fighting.

Aidles (Alternate Body) (-) Lv.1100

Race: Magical Creature

HP 300,000/300,000

MP 300,000/300,000

AK 1,000,000

DF 1,000,000

MAK 1,000,000

MDF 1,000,000

INT 3000

SPD 1,000,000

Unique Skills: {Communication, Fairy Magic (Degraded)}

Skills: Four-Attribute Magic (S), Sword Art (S+)

Even one of them is astounding enough, but there are dozens of them. But it was a request that came from La Veil herself, and Aidle had accepted it without hesitation. There was no one who could stop them.

“Are you sure you want me to defeat them all?”

“Yes, I’m going to be serious to some extent. I will give you some magic power if you become a gem, so feel free to go for it. Of course, you can do it in your true form as well.”

“… No, humanoid form is fine. That’s what we’re here for.”

The humanoid form does not have the same status as the Red Dragon form. As a humanoid, there are no status adjustments like there were with the Red Dragon, so she’s going to be fighting an opponent ten times her own size.

“Is that good?”

“Because I want to overcome my weaknesses. However, if I find that it doesn’t work, I’ll simply fight in my original form, so don’t worry about it.”

“Hmm, okay. Then, I’ll leave you to it, okay?”

Aidle let her alter ego take care of the rest, and she turned into a fairy and flew towards La Veil Radd. La Veil saw her off and turned to the Aidles once more, holding up her now beloved halberd.

“Then let’s go!!!”

With that, hundreds of clashes of magic and sword would echo up from the snowfield.

“I’m back!”

“Aidle, welcome back~!”

When I returned to the inn, I was greeted by Arena in her humanized form. Oh, that’s a lot of kisses on my face, Arena. My face is going to be sticky with your saliva. That’s a reward, though.

“Where are Quad and Mika?”

“They’re gone~”

“Oh, I guess I was a little late.”

The plan for today was that we were going to ask the townspeople what they thought about the Cardinal. So, we used Quad’s [fairy magic] to disguise the faces of the two of them. We are also planning to check the three fake dummies for any flaws as confirmation, and then plunge into a suspicious place found at random.

“Let’s go, then.”

“Yes!”

The two of us left the inn and headed for the castle, buying and eating along the way. Today we bought something that resembled a Doner Kebab. The meat and vegetables were stuffed into a thin loaf of bread, and when eaten together, the gravy and vegetable dressing combined to make a very tasty dish. But I don’t know what kind of meat it is. It’s always the same, isn’t it?

“Well… Ah, it’s not something that feels good to look at, that thing.”

“Aidol~want~to~see.”

“You don’t have to look~”

There were three Haribo Golems strapped to a cross on a platform in front of the castle. And around them, some believers were saying as many abusive words as they could, sometimes even throwing stones. At first glance, they didn’t seem to notice me at all, so I quickly walked away.

This kind of person can’t forgive those that took away the one they adore due to their zeal. It’s true that those who have committed atrocities need to be punished, but to expose them like that is unacceptable and unpleasant. I’m also a pretty naive person, so it will be difficult for me to understand those people.

The people around me walked away quickly, probably offended by the scene. This country has a strong conscience… We have to do it right.

As I returned to the main street and continued strolling around the back alleys, I saw some believers entering a street. They seemed to be paying attention to their surroundings, though.

“They were kind of sneaking around, weren’t they?”

“Suspicious?”

“It seemed that way.”

So I followed them to a dead end surrounded by houses. There was no sign of the believers. Where did they go? I looked around, but there was no place to hide…

“Aidle, swoop!”

“Uh, yeah.”

I stopped when Arena told me to, and to my surprise, she put her ear to the ground. After closing her eyes and spending some quiet time listening, she raised her head and looked at me, as if she heard something.

“I found it!!!”

“… I see, they were underground. Rather, there’s an underground passage in this country…”

Searching the underground with [Fairy Magic], I found a single hollow spot in the ground. Looking closely, I saw that there was a place where I could hook my hand, so I grabbed it and found the entrance. Today, you are a police hound aren’t you, Arena?

—-

“So only a few of the faithful have ever seen the Cardinal’s face, right?”

“Yes, I have. You’re a hero, and you don’t know it?”

“Well, that’s harsh. I’m a junior who just joined.”

We didn’t wait for Aidle, but left the inn first to listen to the conversation. Mika-dono insisted on doing it herself, and I wanted to help her. Mika-dono’s work was very risky, so here I am, listening.

The man I’m talking to now is also a believer who works in the market, and he’s been very helpful in answering my questions. When I bought something from the store as information at the end of our conversation, he sent me off with a smile. It’s a comfortable place to be in the midst of human activity.

“Ugh… Thank you, Quad. I just couldn’t take it anymore…”

“No, no, no, that’s fine, Mika-dono has her own role to play, so why don’t you just do your best there?”

“Yes, yes…”

I stroked the depressed Mika-dono’s hair. Black hair is a wonderfully pure color, and I think it’s a very good thing. It’s the first time I’ve discovered something like this, and I’m glad.

“… Is this what a nice uncle looks like? It’s so cool…”

“Oh, I’m glad to hear that.”

“… No, it’s going to be a big mess, so let’s go, Mr. Quad.”

When Mika-dono caught my hand that was stroking her, she started walking in a straight line. I see, Mika-dono is also a woman, should I refrain from skinship a little more?

“It’s fine as it is!”

Is that how it is?

——

“It’s so dark~!”

“I didn’t expect it to be this long, did you?”

We were going all the way through an underground passage, but it was a simple path with only lights at a certain distance, like a tunnel. It was probably built close to the place where Cielo said she escaped from. The width of the path was so narrow that only two people could pass in a row.

Believers pass by here and there, but since we’re fairies now, no one can see us. It’s the best way for covert action, after all.

Now, after flying for a while, I heard some people talking, so I humanized myself and took a peek. I want to intervene, depending on what they’re saying.

“What are we going to do? I wasn’t expecting this at all.”

“Well, now that Cielo-sama’s back… We’re going to have to revise our plans drastically.”

“Why don’t we just defeat the Cardinal and return as Cielo-sama’s faction?”

“You say that, but we don’t have the strength to do that. The plan is designed for several decades…”

Several men and women, all wearing the robes of the heroic cult, but what made them different from the others was that their emblems were cut up. The atmosphere is uniformly gloomy, but I wonder if their plan is to defeat the Cardinal.

“Whatever it is, even if he is a hero, if Cielo-sama is here, she can take care of Goutani. He’s really in love with Cielo-sama. Maybe she can get him to do what she wants?”

“Are you going to treat Cielo-sama, a national treasure, as nothing more than a woman? Shame on you!”

“But if we don’t do something about the hero, we have no chance, right?”

“Why don’t we bishops take the place of the Cardinal? We’ll take care of the knights afterwards.”

All but one of them were starting to say very dirty things. Wow, Cielo is going to cry when she hears this. I think they might take advantage of our movements and start something, so I need to stop them.

“Arena, be a fairy and stay in the hood. I’m going to have a quick chat with them.”

“Okay~”

“Hello!”

“””Ah!””””

——

A hooded girl suddenly appeared, and the people present turned around at once. The most talented woman among them, Armani, a knight who belonged to Cielo’s guard, was astonished.

(What nonsense! I didn’t feel any sign of her approach!)

But after a moment of astonishment, Armani immediately drew her sword and stood in front of the three of them. The girl did not take any action about it.

“What the hell are you? How the hell did you get in here?”

“We’re the ones who brought Cielo here. We’re still working on an operation, but we happened to find our way here and found the four of you saying some disturbing things. So I thought we should have a little chat…”

“You…. Cielo-sama? Then the one currently strapped to that cross is a member of yours.”

“They were members of our team. Well, I’ve already saved them, and those are just dummies.”

“I can’t believe all this.”

Armani dismissed the whole thing as lies. The girl decided that they couldn’t go on like this, so she took off her hood to show her face. At that moment, everyone’s complexion changes.

“… My goodness, aren’t you the Hero-sama of Galania?”

One man says in surprise while Aidle, for her part, didn’t expect anyone to know who she was in such a remote mountainous country, but apparently it had already been spread around a lot, so she continued talking.

“I’m the one who’s been commissioned by Cielo. You know who the martial arts champion fought in the finals, right?”

“… A hero. I see, that’s a great move to ask.”

The old man scratches his beard in admiration of Cielo’s idea. But Armani did not lower her sword just yet.

“If you’re taking orders from Cielo-sama, then you must have a request form.”

“No, no, there’s no way I can produce it. I mean, it’s a private request, not through the guild, right?”

“Then what did you take it for?”

“Cielo said she saw me in the prophecy. The adventurer who performed a miracle in Haval. I listened and wanted to help, so I took the job. That’s all.”

“…! That’s!

The moment she heard that, Armani dropped her sword and bowed her head.

“I’m sorry! I understand. You are indeed a collaborator of Cielo-sama. I am Armani, and that information is only known to me and the Pope, who was on guard duty at the time. The fact that you know it means that you are trusted by Cielo-sama.”

“So now, can you tell me about you guys?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Armani turned to the other three and received their indication of understanding, allowing Aidle to take a seat and listen to the four of them.