CH 412

“Look, Ryuuze, at the gate!”

“He’s ……!! Move!”

“Gugyahhh!”

Jack pointed to where a large number of people wearing the robes of the Gospel’s Descent were gathered at the gates of the city. Among them, he saw a robe holding a burlap sack containing Tilia standing there with an air of arrogance.

Ryuuze and the others tried to open the way, kicking away the oncoming goblins and monsters, but they were overwhelmed by the numbers and were unable to make any headway.

“W-We’re being surrounded ……! At any rate, what are they going to do with Tilia-chan?”

“I don’t care what some weird religion thinks …… No, Tilia-chan is cute like Verna-sensei, are they going to sacrifice her for the resurrection of some unknown god!? Ebuh!?”

“Don’t say something so scary! Nevertheless, they’re not decreasing ……!”

When Jack shouted with a pale face at Luciel’s words, Luciel pushed him in the head with an impatient look.

“You! Ryuuze, should I freeze these guys?”

“…… Let’s see …… Okay, collaborate with Jack and end it quickly”

Ryuuze takes Naru’s suggestion. The moment Naru and Jack tried to hold hands, a fireball fell from the sky!

” ” “Gyaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!?” ” “

Two or three more fireballs rained down, and the goblins near Ryuuze and the others died out, opening up a path. When the goblins looked up at the sky, they saw–

“Sarge, look! Tilia-chan!”

“Sarge! …… You’re freaking out seeing a dragon, huh! Now! [Fire Sword]!”

“We’ll follow Ryuuze!”

“Yes!”

Seeing an opportunity, Ryuuze used his magic sword skill to create a wall of fire, blocking the goblins from following the path that Sarge had created. Shortly after, he hears Hauzen’s voice from behind him.

“This seems to be the place with the most monsters, let’s take them all down, everyone!”

“Yeah! Mizuki-san, let’s go!”

“Seriously, it would be nice if you were always that brave. Taaaahhhh!”

Without looking back, Ryuuze and the others were relieved that they were no longer worried about being attacked from behind, and arrived at the entrance of the gate, which for some reason was not swarming with goblins. Sarge and Aina also land in front of Ryuuze and the others.

“…… I didn’t think anyone would make it this far.”

“I’m sure you’re disappo–.”

“Give us back Tilia-chan!”

The moment Ryuuze was about to answer, Aina pointed her finger at him and spoke first, and Ryuuze lowered his shoulders and looked at Naru. But Erekhim didn’t seem to mind, and answered Aina. 

“You’re a friend of this girl? I’m surprised you have a dragon with you, but I can’t do that. We need her to take control of this town, after all. Of course, we can’t let you escape from here too. If the Royal Capital finds out about this, it will be troublesome.”

“So he’s after this town …… the same way as Retzel.”

“…… Yes, I’m making up for Retzel’s failure. And now, we’ve got the key.”

“Why–“

“Why did you kidnap little Tilia-chan!”

“Whoa, don’t move or you’ll hurt your friend’s pretty face.”

“Uhhh ……”

When Jack tapped Ryuuze on the shoulder with a wry smile, Ryuuze nodded and waited for Erekhim to speak. Then Erekhim said something outrageous.

“This girl …… you don’t want the lord’s daughter to lose her life, do you? We will ask the Lord to accept us into this town and make it our base of operations as a Reflexion branch of the Gospel’s Descent.”

“What ……!?”

“What did you say!?”

“Huh!?”

Ryuuze and the others were astonished by Erekhim’s words. When Erekhim saw this, he smiled with satisfaction, and Aina stepped forward and became enraged.

“No matter what happens to Aina, my dad will never help you do anything bad!”

“Kuku …… is that so? I heard that in Retzel’s time, when his eldest son almost died, he gave up his property and his position as lord. If that is the case with the eldest son, he must be even more doting on his daughter. I’m sure he’ll do as we say.”

“Aina will tell Dad to not do that!”

“Haha, there’s nothing you can do about it, even if you tell your father.”

“E-Err ……”

“Ohhhhh, so that’s how it is ……”

When Luciel and Jack muttered in confusion, Sarge opened his mouth to speak for them.

“So you can talk …… It may be small, but it’s still a dragon. What misunderstanding?”

“Kuku …… Are you trying to confuse me by saying that? I have seen her in the Lord’s house, with her mother. With my own eyes.”

Erekhim replied with confidence, and everyone in the room was confused. Wondering what the hell was going on. Then, as if slipping in, Dedite intervened.

“Is everyone okay! …… Was Tilia-chan kidnapped?”

“Sorry, Dedite-san.”

“No, I can see how that would be difficult with the amount of goblins here. Guild adventurers have been deployed here and there, so the town is probably safe. Now all we have to do is capture these guys.”

Dedite drew his greatsword and stood beside Aina as he continued.

“You are …… the man who came to take Nora’s father, aren’t you? You seem to think that Tilia-chan is my sister, but she is not. Aina here is my sister, and she’s the daughter of a teacher at the academy.”

“So you’re the son of the lord. What happened to the Ogre? Did you kill him? Even if you try to trick me–“

“So you were the one who sent the assassin …… Nora’s father is human again. And when you came, Aina was certainly not there. It’s true that Tilia-chan was there, but she’s not my sister. You’ve got it all wrong. She’s a family friend, and she is attached to Mom, so it’s not surprising that she looks that way.”

“……!?”

Erechim can’t hide being agitated when Dedite, the son of the lord, clearly told him about the two facts. In response to this, Luciel and the others muttered in their hearts, “Well said,” and nodded their heads in agreement.

“Did you make a mistake, Uncle? Aina’s big brother is my Dedite-niichan.”

“You have many brothers, Aina. Now, why don’t you just give me back Tilia-chan and I’ll let you live in jail?”

“Kuh …….”

“E-Erekhim-sama ……”

The members of the Gospel’s Descent looked at each other to see if the mission was a failure. After that, Erekhim opened his eyes and took a dagger from his pocket, and placed it on Tilia’s neck. 

“It can’t be helped, let’s retreat from here. Don’t move there, okay? If you move even a little, she’ll get a deep cut on her neck.”

“Stop it! It’s not too late, hurry up and give Tilia-chan back!”

“What nonsense! If I give her back, you’re going to capture us, aren’t you?”

“No–!”

Just as Ryuuze was about to speak up, a figure jumped out from behind the gate and twisted Erekhim’s arm.

“Hah …… Hah …… You, what are you doing to my daughter? Is that it, liking little girls? Ah?”

“H-Hiiiiii!?”

The person who twisted his arm up in the air was Tigre, the passionate teacher at Oblivion Academy.

And the faces of former students are tainted with despair, “He’s dead now”.