CH 283

The encampment next to the ruins of Lekrea—1　

Abel, a Highland Archlord, kidnapped2 the Dragon God Vufailbane and transformed him into a Mecha Dragon God. Apparently, his attempt to manipulate the Kingdom of Alucard into invading Charalia was a mere afterthought for him, for his main goal was the Dragon God and he returned to the Highland without showing any sign of further involvement.

The Dragon God’s presence was a temporary relief to the food shortage, but his ungodly power was a problem that Lahti and the people of Alucard could do nothing about.

Now that he was gone, along with Abel as the one who pulled the strings, everyone could breathe a sigh of relief and call it a closed case. Only Inglis, who had failed to fight the Mecha Dragon God, was left to grieve all alone, but there was more to the situation…

Two urgent reports came to the encampment—

First, the Alucardian army that had been waiting on the border was approaching Lekrea. Second, the Prisma that had been enshrined near the border between Charalia and Venefique had resurrected and caused the collapse of Charalia’s army and its defeat.

It was said that the Prisma was advancing towards Chiral Royal Capital. Upon receiving this news, Rafinha commented that her brother, Holy Knight Raphael, and the Hyrule Menaces Eris and Ripple would surely be fine, thereby their platoon must stay in Alucard and do what they could here first.

In other words, she prioritized dealing with the incoming Alucard forces.

Inglis, however, couldn’t agree with Rafinha’s opinion. It was exceedingly rare for Inglis to express disagreement against Rafinha, especially at such an important time.

Rafinha was startled, her eyes fixed on Inglis.

「I can’t believe it! Glis, you picked the fight with fewer opponents?! Don’t tell me that you’re afraid big brother Rafa would defeat the Prisma sooner than you arrive?! That’s no good! I already told you, we’re the only ones who can protect these people, so they’re our first priority! Okay?!」

「No!! It’s not okay, Rani. It’s not okay at all.」

「Glis? You always told me to decide, so why— D-did I do something that ticked you off?」

「No, you didn’t. However, Miss Eris and Miss Ripple are waiting for me. I have to hurry.」

The messenger Knight didn’t say that Raphael had fallen in battle. If he did, the news of his death would be blown out of proportion, and Inglis would’ve surely received that information by now.

This meant that Raphael was still alive. And yet, the Prisma was on the move, heading towards Chiral. If Raphael wielded a weaponized Hyrule Menace and challenged the Prisma to a battle to stop it, Raphael would still become nothing but a name on a tombstone regardless of the outcome.

Either the Holy Knight dies in battle, stopping the Prisma with his life, or the Holy Knight dies in battle, failing at his mission to stop the Prisma. The outcome will be either of these.

Since neither reached Inglis’ ears, she deduced that Raphael hadn’t fought the Prisma yet.

The deeper the Prisma progressed towards Chiral, the more damage it will cause. Raphael had matured much more than when he sacrificed himself during Inglis’ first-year infancy, but even so, he was fundamentally not the type to stand idly by and watch.

Inglis could practically see Eris and Ripple doing their best to keep Raphael under control.

They were minimizing the damage caused by Prisma as they waited. They are waiting for Inglis to rush into the scene and defeat the Prisma of her own accord. That way, Raphael wouldn’t need to lose his life. The girls were betting on that glimmer of hope.

Inglis, personally, regarded Raphael as her cherished family. Above all else, she knew Rafinha would be saddened if something were to happen to Raphael. His death would burden her with grief that would be so great, she would never be freed of it. Inglis simply couldn’t let her sweet Rafinha suffer like that.

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「Waiting for you, you said… Why would they? They need to take down the Prisma fast or else the damage will worsen!」

Rafinha wasn’t convinced.

「Are you saying that Lady Eris and Lady Ripple are avoiding to fight the Prisma? Why?」

「But, now that you said it— when the juvenile Prisma appeared in the Royal Capital, both Lady Ripple and the Principal hindered senior Silva when he requested to wield their weaponized form. Even Leone’s older brother did it too. In the end, Miss Inglis jumped in and ended everything, however…」

「Right, I was surprised that the first thing Inglis did was knock him out… Don’t tell me, Inglis, was there more to it than trying to monopolize the fight?!」

Prudent as they always were, Leone and Liselotte immediately brought up reasonable questions.

「GLIS?!! Are you hiding something from me?! What is it?」

「It’s—」

Keeping Rafinha in the dark would be pointless now. Above all, Inglis pondered whether knowing this secret would significantly impact Rafinha on her decision or not. If she knew, she wouldn’t be able to fully prioritize dealing with the Alucard forces led by Prince Weinsel, Lahti’s brother, that was inching closer to Lekrea.

If Rafinha decided to stay and defend Lekrea nevertheless, then Inglis would simply follow her, though. Either way, she wouldn’t make a proper judgment without knowing exactly what was going on.

She needed to know all variables before she could make a proper judgment.

「Yup… I’m sorry. I should’ve told you about this, Rani. But, before that…」

It would be better to just spill the beans, just in case. Inglis turned her attention to a corner of the new residents who crowded outside the Knights’ encirclement under Lahti’s order.

「—My apologies, Mister Leon. I will be telling them the truth about Miss Eris and Miss Ripple.」

「「「「EEEEeeeehhhhh?!!!」」」」

Startled by Inglis’ declaration, Rafinha and the others raised their voices.