121 Episode 121: The Identity of Doubt

Today's game was over and I was strolling around town to change my mood.

The town of Tatsutron, where the ritual of Princess Ryu and the ritual of Emperor Ryu are held, was busy as if it were a festival, combined with the many shops reserved for visitors.

Or is Princess Ryu's ritual itself a festival in this town?

"Mm-hmm. That's a busy city festival."

The village festival in my hometown was small and whispering.

Perhaps it would be nice to come out into the outside world just to be seen this sight.

"But it's not good that I honestly can't enjoy it"

I walk into an alley with a familiar feeling on my back in my previous life.

◆

"... not here!?"

The shadow that came in the alley panicked that there was nowhere to see the person who went in first.

"Yes, please don't move."

As soon as I entered the alley, I jumped onto the roof of a nearby building and hid, landing soundlessly behind the person I followed and shoving a sheathed knife on its back.

"Huh!?...... when!?"

Um, it's a detour for a killer.

I thought you were a resident of the backyard that attacked us in connection with the 800 Century Game.

"Why were you following me?

……

Are you not willing to answer?

Then nothing. No.

"Okay. Then we'll stick it out to the guards."

"Huh!? ma, wait!

The guard tells me to stick it out, and I rush to look back here, but I gently press the knife on my back to threaten him.

"I told you not to move, didn't I? If you're doing something backwards, I'll stick it out to the guards. If not, explain why."

"No, I'm not doing you any harm."

Um, then I'm talking about why you were following me.

"I am of the Dragon Emperor who came to protect His Majesty the Dragon Emperor."

"Dragon Emperor"?

Uh, sure, when you say dragon emperor, you were a nobleman in this country who had contact with Mr. Liliera, weren't you?

You're just not very strong as a faction.

When I leave the tailman I named the Dragon Emperor, I give him permission to turn around.

Dragon Emperor people look back slowly to avoid stimulating this one.

Yeah, you're surprisingly young.

I guess the tail was sweet because of the lack of talent of the weak aristocratic faction.

I mean, this guy looks familiar...

"Ah, someone who has been in contact with Mr. Liliera during this time"

Yes, this is the one who has mistaken Mr. Liliera for Princess Dragon and said he wants to meet the Dragon Emperor.

"Yes, my name is Bakin Wappage. The title is Knight Sir."

"Sir Knight?

Huh? I didn't think you were noble. ⁉

This kind of thing is what ordinary ministers do...

Sir Knight is the lowest of the nobles, but still, it's not like he doesn't have a minister.

I can't believe our Lord himself was tailing us on purpose.

Maybe the Dragon Emperor is a pretty weak faction then...

"Uh, why would a nobleman tail you better?

Yeah, I'm getting anxious about the boulder.

"I'm ashamed that by the time I came to this town of Tatsutron, my comrades and men had fallen off because of the anti-dragon imperial obstruction. I'm the only one who got there."

"Isn't that civil unrest anymore? ⁉R"

No matter how much factional strife, it's nothing but civil strife to kill all the nobles in your country.

I mean, there's no such thing as factional strife anymore. ⁉

"Oh no, there are no dead on the boulder. If there are a large number of dead in the nobility, albeit lower ranks, there is a possibility that those from other countries will intervene in the name of cooperating in the reign of His Majesty the Dragon Emperor. Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever,

I see, because you like the fact that the Dragon Emperor is not here, you mean that you don't do too much and on the contrary make it easier for the Dragon Emperor to reign.

"Nevertheless, we, too, do not want to make a debt to another country for the reign of His Majesty the Dragon Emperor. The bigger it is, the weaker it will be in later inter-state negotiations. Well, because of that, there was a common interest between the two sides, and it was only ironic that I was able to get to the town of Tatstron."

Mr. Bakin laughs masochistically when he is sad that he was lucky enough to get to this town because of his weakness.

"So Bakin... Dear. Let me get back to you, why have you been following me?

You're going back to this topic after all, aren't you?

I know because Mr. Liliera is mistaken for Princess Ryu, because I'm just one of them.

Mr. Bakin also looks at this one with a correct posture.

"Then again, Lord Rex...... no, Master Rex. I'd like to ask you something."

Master Rex? You?

Why would a nobleman take on me?

I'm getting a bad feeling about this...

"Dear Lex, are you... aren't you the Dragon Emperor? ⁉ ●"

"... ha!?"

yeah ⁉ why ⁉ why do you do that? ⁉

If you know I could have followed the Golden Dragon, Mr. Lune, why would Mr. Bakin come to such a conclusion?

"Yeah...... why does that happen?

I try to calmly ask Mr. Bakin why. [M]

"Yes, that's because Lord Rex is not joining the Dragon Emperor's ritual"

"What? Huh? Why do you think I'm the Dragon Emperor?

Yeah, I have no idea.

I know why the Dragon Emperor joins the Dragon Emperor's ritual to let him know he exists, but the Dragon Emperor because he's not? Why not the other way around?

"Dear Lex, all the escorts of His Majesty the Dragon Emperor, starting with Princess Dragon, are participating in the ritual"

"Yeah, that's right"

But you're not the only one in the ceremony.

"That's sort of an alley. If everyone is participating in the ritual, there is a danger that they will not be able to deal with it when something happens."

"Yeah, that's what I thought too"

Then why?

"After Princess Long refused to see me with His Majesty the Dragon Emperor, I decided to look for His Majesty the Dragon Emperor on my own."

"Oh, really?"

Well, I guess that's natural.

You can't just give up because you can't let me see you.

"But searching the town for the dark clouds did not meet His Majesty the Dragon Emperor."

Yeah, there's no dragon emperor in the first place.

"So with all due respect, I decided to keep an eye on you. I was wondering if you and His Majesty would make contact."

Um, that's also well... you know what I mean. Even though we don't know who the Dragon Emperor is, it doesn't necessarily mean the Dragon Emperors believe it.

"But there was no contact at all with His Majesty the Dragon Emperor."

Yeah, I've told you many times, there's no contact between the Dragon Emperor and us in the first place.

But there was one person who couldn't even explore the information.

Huh?

"That's you, Master Rex."

"Uh, didn't that just get out of hand because I'm looking into it by myself?

'Cause it looks like Mr. Bakin's people are retiring for interfering with the anti-dragon imperial.

"Yeah, so we hired low-ranking adventurers in the Adventurers Guild to place them as undercover detectives all over town"

"Eh ⁉"

I hired Mr. Adventurer. ⁉

"Even though it's low rank, it's fine if you just let them keep an eye on you all over the city."

Shit! I didn't think you'd ask the adventurers to keep an eye on you!

I mean, I wanted to try that request, too!

Sounds cool, like the story of Big Swordsman Rygaard's bread and milk!

I'm talking about the Big Swordsman Rygaard sticking around for days to grab the tail of a leaping villain, but it's kind of plain content, so popularity is a bad idea.

But in the story, Rygaard seems so delicious eating bread and milk.

There's a lot of sinister, plain, but enthusiastic fans of Rygaard's line, "It's not just the adventurer's job to fight with the sword, kid," when you catch the killer.

... No, I'm not, I'm not.

"In a report from an adventurer, you confirmed that an athlete can't get out of the inn only when he plays a game. But for some reason, multiple adventurers have confirmed that you are dining with the dragon princesses."

……

And, shit. Ah!

I messed with this.

Did you find out when you rendezvoused to dine with everyone after the game?

Mm-hmm. This is trouble.

"Master Rex, aren't you in disguise and participating in the ritual of the Dragon Emperor?

Not good, Mr. Bakin totally mistakes me for a dragon emperor.

We have to do something to deceive this.

◆

"Well, that's troublesome."

After that, I managed to escape Mr. Bakin for a reason, and I was gathering everyone to explain the obvious.

"I never thought Mr. Bakin would suspect me for that reason."

"Nevertheless, you certainly don't know where Mr. Rex is, but you can't help but suspect him"

"Why don't you just tell me who your brother is disguised as?

"I think it's pointless. Even if we reveal who Rex is now, we suspect that Rex is hiding his identity and participating."

Gyro, I reject your suggestion that Mr. Megli is pointless.

"On the contrary, do you want me to tell Lex that's the way to get everyone's attention?

"That's now too, isn't it? Then why didn't you tell me first?"

Um, it's not going to work.

"Then the next best thing to do is for one of us to disguise ourselves as Mr. Rex and take part in the game, right? If all the other masked players go to the game in a situation where Mr. Rex is there, I think that guy will admit that Mr. Rex is a siro too"

I guess that's all I have.

Then everyone will have to know who I'm disguised as in order to replace the game.

"Then we'll have the gyros disguised for Tyran's game."

"Yeah, it's nice to meet you... ⁉ How do you know ⁉?"

"" "" What now "" "

Er, ⁉maybe my disguise, ⁉⁉R

"Er ⁉ Did Tyrann mean my brother? ⁉"

Good, Gyro, you didn't find out.

I'm very surprised you found out about the disguise, but with all this, I think I'm going to manage to deceive Mr. Bakin.

... I thought the prospect had collapsed slightly.

"No, I can't play this game because it's my next game."

"I was in the game before that, so it's impossible to replace it."

Oh, my God, Gyro, you and Mr. Norb have found it difficult to disguise themselves in relation to the game back and forth.

"Then you want the lilieras to join you? Exactly. I'm a wizard, and I'm about to lose my temper when it comes to the melee."

Mina tells me that surrogacy is difficult because she is a wizard.

"Well, I can't take Tyran's armor because I can grab his chest."

"Well, I guess I can't either."

and Ms Liliera resigns that it is difficult to replace her due to problems with the structure of the armor.

"Damn, this is the one who was given it!

"Can I be jealous, Princess Ryu? ⁉

For some reason, Megli and Lune stare at Mina and Liliera with a tremendously murderous look.

"I can't schedule it either, though"

"Shh, excuse me. I can't seem to do it either, and I was wondering if it would be difficult with my master because of his height."

Oh, my God. Megli and the others also found it impossible because of the game schedule issues.

"Cuh!"

and then Moffmoff pulls the hem of my pants.

"Cucumber!"

Moffmoff snapped, pointing at himself as if telling him to leave it to himself.

"No, you can't."

"There's nothing short of the length of your hands and feet."

Uh, yeah. It will, won't it?

"I guess Moffmoff would fit in a cub at best"

"Why don't you just put your armor on a hippo and drag it?

"Isn't that just a mystery? If you get pulled by a turnip and your armor crawls, a town monk will turn undead with a total mobilization."

"I was just wondering if it would be possible for you to recognize that as a masters disguise..."

"... No, there might be"

"" "" "" "" To?

Yeah, I think Mr. Megli has an idea.

"Thank you, Mr. Megli. I think I can use it."

"Huh? Seriously?

"Yes! I mean it!

All right, then we'll get ready!

"I have a feeling something terrible is going to happen..."

"I will..."

◆ Bakin ◆

I was confused.

I am now in the audience at the venue where the Dragon Emperor's ritual is performed...

The problem is you're sitting next to me.

"Tyran's game is about to start."

"Yeah, yeah."

Yes, there was a Lex next to me.

But in my investigation, Tyran's identity should be Master Rex.

Or is it that Tyran's identity wasn't Master Rex!?

"" "Ohhhhhhh!

The surrounding audience speaks up.

If you look at it, there are three shadows in the match venue.

One is the referee, and the other two are the two players who are going to play the game.

One is Katyn, a longswordsman, and the other is Tyran, who wears black armor.

"Wow, we both look strong. Which one will win?

Master Rex, sitting next to him, is looking forward to the game that is about to begin.

The reports of the adventurers on the lookout confirm that the dragon princesses are in the depot or in another seat.

Therefore, it is impossible for them to be replaced by Tyran players.

……

"Now, let the game begin!

While doing so, the match starts between Tyran and Katin.

And the game came to a close.

The result is Tyran's overwhelming victory.

Tyran turned behind the opponent in a streamlined motion as if dancing, shedding consciousness with a single blow as he avoided the Katin attack he had headed for.

Everyone on the playing field was unaware that the battle had been decided too naturally.

Even the referee still looks at the sight without realizing it.

……

Tyran slowly approaches the referee, pointing to Katin, whose shoulder he pounds and knocks down.

"Ha!?"

And as soon as the referee returns to me confirms Katyn's condition, he waves.

"Katin's Unable to Fight Wins Tyran!

"" "Ohhhhhh!?" "

For a literal instant kill, the venue springs up.

Unlike the palpable anomalies of previous Tiran players' games, this match was an extremely ordinary one, but thus its awesomeness was remarkable.

It's literally a battle of different statuses.

It's not just strong, that would undoubtedly be the crystal of technology piled up by those who have risked their lives on martial arts.

30...... No, 40 years, huh? It would be so beautiful to train with so much passion, and no, that technology cannot be described in such cheap terms.

Nature, yes. Nature.

As if walking, reaching out, moving naturally as if the weapon were part of the body.

Nor is it the perception of the user of the weapon, that the eyes of the other looking at it could not recognize the weapon as a weapon.

"Is this the extreme of martial arts..."

I see clearly.

Lord Rex is not a Tyran player.

I guess Lord Rex is stronger than he is acting with Princess Ryu.

But Tyran... that Mitsujin was different in strength.

There's no reason to belittle Lord Rex.

It's just that the amount of time you've been piling up weighs different.

No matter how talented you are, there are things that only mature by time.

"Your Majesty, the search for Dragon Emperor is over."

But I was sure.

The identity of His Majesty the Dragon Emperor was not Lord Rex.

My gaze is drawn to a black armored warrior sitting on the game stage.

Those who become dragon emperors are the strongest dragon knights in this country.

And in order to become a Dragon Knight, you have to defeat the Dragon and make him recognize its power.

The strongest, powerful enough to defeat the Golden Dragon.

"That strength, for sure. You were the Dragon Emperor."

Yes, I was strongly convinced that Tyran was the one, Your Majesty.

◆

"So, what the hell did you do with that? Did someone even hire another adventurer?

After the game, I was stuck with Lilliera and the others telling me who Tyran was.

Um, before the game, Mr. Bakin stuffs me, and when the game is over, everyone stuffs me...

"Who the hell is that awesome way of fighting, brother!?"

"I've never seen that vibrant way of fighting. At least you can't be an A-rank adventurer."

"Are you an S-rank adventurer?"

Mr. Lüne raises his surprise at Liliera's speculation.

"Sure, if you say S-rank adventurer, you're convinced."

Somehow everyone mistakes Tyran for an S-rank adventurer.

Well, I'm an S-rank adventurer in a way.

"No, I didn't ask someone to replace me."

"Huh? But Mr. Rex was with Mr. Bakin to clear his suspicions, wasn't he?

"Yes, you're right"

"Then I knew Tyran wasn't someone else. Who the hell is in that armor?

Um, I guess this would be quicker for you to take a look in person.

"Everybody look behind you."

"Behind you?... What, eh ⁉"

Everyone who looked behind me, prompted by me, turns a blind eye to the sight there.

"Tiran!?"

Yes, there stood a black armored tiran.

"When will you be in the room!?"

……

To everyone who is surprised, Tyran is silent.

Well, there's no way we're gonna talk.

"Take off your helmet."

When ordered to do so, Tyran reaches for his helmet silently.

And seeing Tyran's face emerge from inside, it hardens everyone to much of a surprise.

"" "" "" "Eh!?" "" "

There was nothing on Tyran's head.

Instead, I didn't have a head, as the word goes.

"Huh? No head? Huh?"

Look at the head of the body, everyone's eyes are round.

"What the hell is this?!?"

"Mr. Liliera, look in Tyran's armor"

"In armor?

I prompted Liliera to approach Tyran. [M]

"Huh!?"

And as I was told, Mr. Liliera, who saw it in his armor from his neck, rests again.

"Hey, what's going on, Lilier...... La?

Everyone flocked to Tyran's armor wondering what the hell was going on, and looked inside and froze as well.

"From... Po?

Yes, Tyran's contents are empty.

"What's this all about?

Liliera asks for an explanation as she alternates between me and the empty armor.

Everyone looks at me and seems to agree with Mr. Liliera.

"Uh, this Tyran I was magically manipulating."

"" "" "" Magic!? "" ""

I find out I was manipulating you magically, and everyone circles their eyes.

"Yes, it's called a papet avatar. It's a magic that moves the subject the way the operator wants it."

"Is this working magically...?

Mr. Liliera observes Tyran's armor from various angles as incredible.

"Yeah, like this."

"Wow!?"

Take my will and Tyran's armor will dance alone.

"The contents are empty but it's moving..."

Mr. Megli sends a surprise glance at Tiran's smooth-moving armor.

"And well, here's the thing."

When you stop sending magic to the armor, Tyran's armor loses its bond and falls to the floor.

"... hah, I can't believe I was magically moving it"

"Surprised. I can't believe you can move armor so naturally with magic. It was like there were people inside."

I sigh as Mina and the others stare at Tyran's armor, which fell to the floor.

"I can't believe we're using this magic as well as normal magic... how much magic can we use?

"No, no, it's not that big of a deal about the magic of moving armor. Anyone can do this kind of work, wizard."

"" "" "" No, that's absolutely impossible "" ""

"It's unlikely I can reproduce that S-rank adventure-like movement."

"Hey."

Why would everyone give up?

I think Mina and the others will be able to handle the magic of the operating system if they train properly.