CH 211

「How is it?!」

Leone and Liselotte shook their heads in response to Rafinha’s question.

「Not here! I can’t find any clue either, nothing!」

「Same here. I couldn’t spot anything off the mark.」

「Their belongings are untouched, too, and they didn’t take a Flygear with them either!」

Inglis also reported what she had investigated. As far as they could ascertain, there was nothing wrong with the cargo of their Flygear Carrier or the Flygears stationed on the hull, nor were there any tracks leading out of the town.

「What the hell is happening! So they vanished without any sign of leaving at all?!!」

If they didn’t leave on foot nor used Flygears but other means of transportation, that means…

「The most likely scenario is that……someone from outside with their own means of transportation came and took the two away!」

Inglis couldn’t say for sure, but Leone was probably correct. That said, it was hard to tell whether Ian was also a victim who only got involved or not as there was a real possibility that he might have helped the outsider.

「If they’re from outside the town and did something like that…」

「……If you think that way, the only one that pops up in mind is……」

「…Hallim!」

An obvious answer. With the way Alucard was at the moment, Hallim’s was the only force that was hostile to Inglis and her platoon. The Ironblood Chain Brigade hadn’t made an appearance so far whilst Alucard’s official army was gathering near the border to Charalia. The only people that recognized Inglis and her platoon as a threat were probably Tiffany the Hyrule Menace and her faction of Highlanders.

「But, Pullum shouldn’t have met Hallim……」

Lahti was right. Pullum was hiding to avoid being seen when their group encountered Hallim.

「Which means…」

Therefore, it was only reasonable to speculate that Ian, whom they couldn’t locate, be the one who guided Hallim to Pullum.

「……We still can’t say that for now. Perhaps Hallim saw her from somewhere in the sky, or maybe he heard about her from the other Highlanders that we fought in the towns on our way here. It’s still too soon to decide. Isn’t it possible that Ian was trying to protect Pullum, which is why he went with her?」

It was Rafinha who said that. She must still want to believe in Ian despite the situation.

「……You’re right, Rafinha. Besides, all we have to think now is how to find Pullum and rescue her ASAP.」

Leone prompted with a nod.

「With this, our next destination is now reduced to one…」

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Of course, that would be where Tiffany’s faction made their base. Which is…

「……Lekrea. Nowhere else.」

「We have been torn between the Capital and Lekrea all this time, but…now it’s settled.」

「Yeah! We should hurry and head to Lekrea!」

Inglis, who had been watching over the flow of the conversation up to this point, opened her mouth.

「Hold on, if we’re going there, there is something that needs to be considered carefully first!」

「GLIS~ Please don’t tell me you’re going to say you still want to go to the capital first. You are not, right? Look at the situation. If you’re still going to say you want to have a lot of fights or play around in Ebel’s research facility or any other nonsensical stuff, I’m going to get angry, you know?」

Rafinha said while staring daggers at her.

「No, I don’t think you can call it nonsense……anyway, putting that aside, there is still something that needs to be considered carefully first, by Lahti.」

Saying so, Inglis looked at Lahti.

「Eh? Me?」

「Yeah. Say we are going to Lekrea now. First, a battle will be inevitable. Now, say we managed to defeat our opponents, save Pullum, and free the townspeople, wouldn’t that be a huge credit for us?」

「Isn’t that good then? What’s the problem with it?」

Rafinha craned her neck.

「Such a huge credit falling on us, Knights of Charalia. The impact will be huge later down the road. In the eyes of the residents of Alucard, it would mean that it was Charalia who helped them in their time of need while their own country, Alucard, would be discredited for staying silent…… And seeing that rise of favor towards Charalia, it wouldn’t be surprising if someone from Charalia would start raising voices about expanding its territory while saying “That’s what the Alucardians want” to justify their cause.」

「No way, we never intended something like that!」

「Still…Inglis is correct. It sounds plausible.」

「But, that is not what is happening right now, is it? Although, the current situation is just as convoluted…」

「Yes. That is why I think we need to advertise Lahti from now on. If we make it look like it’s Lahti who brought down Lekrea with the aid of Charalian Knights, all the credit will go to Lahti and the people’s favor will stay with Alucard.」

Since it was a Prince of Alucard who went around and saved Alucard, it would be unlikely for people’s favor to go over to Charalia. However, while it wouldn’t be a problem on an international scale, there would be another kind of problem that lay on a personal level.

「Then we can just do that. What’s the problem with it?」

「If we do that, everyone’s gratitude will be directed to Lahti. He’ll be labeled as the Hero and the Savior of the Kingdom. And once that happens, conversely speaking, that means Lahti will no longer be able to escape, you know? It is guaranteed that it will come down to the people wishing to nominate Lahti as their King. Although, if we wanted to avoid this from happening at all, we need to go and talk to Lahti’s Father, the King of Alucard and ask him to appoint someone else to lead the sortie, but……if we continue our way to Lekrea right now, Lahti, you will have no other choice but to stand in the front, you know?」

Moreover, if they did it before they consulted the King of Alucard, that would mean Lahti would take full credits for everything. That would jeopardize the King’s position as a ruler. He would be perceived as a King who did nothing in times of crisis. Even if Lahti had no intention of toppling his father whatsoever, some radicals might attack the King in order to put Lahti on the throne.

In other words, while their emotional need to save Pullum as soon as possible was understandable, there was the political environment, namely work behind the scenes, coordination of manpower, and many others that needed to be considered. Right now, they stood at the literal and metaphorical junction of it. This, without doubt, would greatly affect Lahti’s future life.