Chapter 157
Chapter 157 The Three Heroes
“If food is no good, does that mean it wants to play? Look, this is an interesting ball!” (Ashley)
The blond young man, Ashley, tried to attract Hokuto’s attention, but he realized that Hokuto wasn’t interested in meat at all, so that guy took out an object like a ball. It wasn’t a bad way to play together, but in case of Hokuto, it was a Frisbee rather than a ball. To add to that, he wouldn’t play unless I told him to do it freely, so what Ashley was doing was almost pointless.
“…Woof.” (Hokuto)
“Is this no good too!? If I touch you without permission, you will surely run away, so I need to look for your owner–…” (Ashley)
“What are you doing there, Ashley?” (Sanger)
“Hmm? Ooh, it’s Anija and Aneja. Look, this is a Hundred Wolves! Don’t you think it is amazing!?” (Ashley) (TLN: Anija = Aniki/Oniisan & Aneja = Aneki, Oneesan)
“Hmm, it surely is a wonderful wolf! I have heard that it is called as the messenger of God, but I am convinced now why it is called as that.” (Julia)
“Will you calm down, Julia!? You too, Ashley. Come here quickly!” (Sanger)
When Ashley came to our direction after being called by his brother who had a dissatisfied expression, Hokuto let out a breath of relief. I thought he would disperse if that guy made a fuss, but I supposed he kept patience for a long time. I stroked the head of Hokuto who ran over while looking tired.
“Woof…” (Hokuto)
“There, there. You endured well.” (Sirius)
There were two pair of eyes… no, there were three pairs of eyes who seemed envy to us. One of them was Emilia as usual, but since the other two were Ashley and Julia, it made me feel uncomfortable. By the way, since Reus was a man, I didn’t think that he felt jealous even though he was pleased if I stroke his head.
“Kuhh… I also want to touch it like him!” (Ashley)
“It must have a different feeling compared to dragon. But I would like to touch it too.” (Julia)
“Both of you…” (Sanger)
Regardless of Julia, Ashley was no longer a big child. Since the excitement of these two people didn’t settled, there wouldn’t be any conversation unless the intention was diverted for a bit. I signaled with my eyes and asked permission from Hokuto. Then, I called the Sandor siblings who had glittering eyes.
“If it’s alright, do Julia-sama and Ashley-sama want to touch Hokuto? He says that he doesn’t mind.” (Sirius)
“Are you sure!? It doesn’t mind even if I embrace it!? (Julia)
“Well, as long as you don’t bother him…” (Sirius)
“Is that so!? Let’s do it quickly!” (Julia)
As Julia heard my reply, she ran over to Hokuto with dazzling eyes. On the other hand, Ashley came to me, and after shaking my hands to appreciate, he…
“Well, the Hundred Wolves is your Beast Companion, so but it’s like a adult man. It seems it goes along well with you!” (Ashley)
“I’m honored, but you are a bit too close…” (Sirius)
“…As I expected, I was right about who you are, Nii-san.” (Ashley)
He spoke with a voice that couldn’t be heard by the surroundings. From what he already knew about me, there was no mistake that the man before me was the young information seller that I met last night. As the question of what a prince of the country doing in that place at the same when he confirmed that the focus of his brother and sister wasn’t on us, he talked to me with a slightly serious expression.
“I’m sorry, but can I depend on you not to tell them about my appearance last night? It will be a too much of hassle when it involves them.” (Ashley)
“Well, I also receive information as compensation. I’ll try not to say anything as much as I can.” (Sirius)
“It really helps me if this discussion ends fast. Well then, will you let me touch the Hundred Wolves as promised?” (Ashley)
“Please do it in moderation. By the way… Julia-sama is going to him with a tremendous vigor. Will it be fine to leave her like that?” (Sirius)
“I’m sorry, but please let Ane-ja does as she pleases. She likes pretty and cute things.” (Ashley)
Julia was unusually excited. It seemed that she hadn’t had enough touching animals even if she was interested. Apparently, the animals were afraid by the intimidating air she released naturally, and all sorts of cute animals and monsters were running away from her. Incidentally, Ashley explained about that part of his sister too. Then, he came closer to Hokuto with equal momentum as the sister.
“Finally, this time has arrived! Would you like to start from the forefoot first?” (Ashley)
“The fur is excellent than I expected! How about this, will you be my feet and run through the battlefields with me?” (Julia)
“I told you both, calm down! They are my guests!” (Sanger)
“I understand how you feel… Sanger-sama.” (Zilard)
Sanger held his head to his siblings who kept behaving recklessly, and Zilard closed his eyes to sympathize his poor lord. I didn’t think that they had a problem with the next successor because of the sight of a helpless brother taking care of his difficult sister. Rather, I couldn’t see anything else but an amiable family.
As I expected, the cause of the disturbance wasn’t because of the successors themselves. It might be due to the aides and the influential people of the castle. When I was thinking so, the two… no, three people including Karen were getting closer to Hokuto.
—
Later, when the Sandor siblings were satisfied with touching Hokuto, we broke up with Fort, who let out a sigh, and then, we were led to the dining hall of the castle by Sanger. There were multiple dining halls in the castle. The hall where we were led seemed to be a special place the royal families used, but Sanger told us not to worry about it.
“The preparations are ready. Then, Sanger-sama…” (Zilard)
“Aah! Come now, these are the dishes that our proud Sandor chefs have prepared. Don’t hesitate to eat!” (Sanger)
Just as Sanger replied with full confidence, the large table was put with plenty of dishes, and Karen’s eyes were starting to shine, together with the glutton siblings. I became interested because there were quite a few dishes that I had never seen before, but with the information heard beforehand, I was also considering the possibility of something was mixed in the dishes.
“…Sirius-sama. Is there something?” (Emilia)
“Me too. Eat it quickly, Aniki.” (Reus)
“…Sure.” (Sirius)
Although they weren’t as good as Hokuto, the nose of the Silver Wolfkin siblings had excellent sense of smell, and it seemed there was no abnormality found. So, I tried couple of dishes to test for poison. It might be strange for me to do poison testing when I had attendants, but I was the most qualified since I was familiar with these things. To begin with, they wouldn’t start eating unless I ate first.
I ate the meals while activating [Scan] on my body, but the result of the examination showed no harm caused to the body at the moment. Just to be sure, I tasted Karen’s portion after asking her permission, but then, Sanger was directing an astounded gaze at me.
“Oi, oi, are you eating the portion for that kid?” (Sanger)
“Sanger-sama. Adventurers are people who don’t know when they will trip.” (Sirius)
“Aah-… I see. Certainly, either royal families or adventurers must exercise cautious.” (Sanger)
“I’m sorry for offending you. But it is my nature to–…” (Sirius)
“It’s fine. It’s enough for me to find that you have such a courage to be careful that much in front of me, hahaha!” (Sanger)
Although it was necessary, it was very impolite to do poison testing in front of them. Actually, I also had an intention to provoke and expose the nature of people over there, but Sanger was heartily smiling and saying that it was worth inviting us. By the way, Princess Lifell got caught by the influential people of the castle while on the way, and since she was going to eat together with Ashley, they weren’t here. It would be bad for her mind if she refuse it, so Melt went together with them.
Then, everyone started to eat after me. As we smacked our lips feeling the taste we had for the first time, Sanger opened his mouth in good mood while receiving a wine from Zilard.
“Zilard. Please bring one more bottle of this. You told me the beautiful Elf-san over there loves wine, right?” (Sanger)
“But, isn’t this a rare product? Sanger-sama’s portion will decrease though…” (Zilard)
“It’s alright. I don’t want to be a close-minded king who can’t spare such a wine.” (Sanger)
“It can’t be helped then. I’ll arrange the additional order later.” (Zilard)
“I’ll leave that to you.” (Sanger)
Although these two were in lord-attendant relationship, I felt like they were close friends from that conversation.
“The two of you are friendly, isn’t it? Do you know each other for a long time?” (Sirius)
“Yes. Because of this guy, I was able to look back at the surrounding people.” (Sanger)
“No. If I wasn’t recruited by Sanger-sama, I would disappear in a corner of the town without no one knew.” (Zilard)
“Look, don’t be concern about us. Leaving that aside, you guys can drink this too. This is my favorite wine.” (Sanger)
“Well, I’ll accept your offer…” (Sirius)
“I’ll be happy if I can have that wine.” (Fia)
Since Sanger had offered the wine he was drinking, I decided to have it only with Fia. The other three didn’t like liquor much, and Karen was still underage. When the wine arrive, the taste was enough to make us admired unexpectedly.
“This is… a very good wine.” (Sirius)
“Yes. I’ve been drinking various wines, but this one is enough to compete with the first or second place.” (Fia)
“This wine was made a year ago. It is a product that a few of it can be made in a year due to rare materials used. But, don’t hesitate to drink it because it’s already opened.” (Sanger)
“…Are you sure?” (Fia)
“Oh yes. If it’s Fia, there should be no problem, right?” (Sirius)
I nodded to Fia who wanted to drink some more. While I drank the remaining wine, I was thinking about Sanger.
Sanger, who was the first in line of Sandor’s next successor, wasn’t someone arrogant and used the power of his authority, and I had a feeling that he was ‘balanced’ because of the calm Zilard. Although he was a young person who entrusted things to others naturally, I thought that if he grew up, he would have enough abilities to stand up as a king.
However, why were there many people who couldn’t admit him? Well, this was a place where many talents gathered, so there was no mistake that complicated circumstances jumbled out either on the surface or behind the scene.
“I have a feeling that this meat is different from ordinary meat, but it is really delicious!” (Reus)
“The fresh meat is probably better, but it’s purposely fermented. If you dry it, the taste condenses, and it becomes delicious.” (Zilard)
“This fish has a strange taste, but it is also delicious.” (Reese)
“It is a fish ordered directly from fishermen in a city that is a bit away from here. We pay attention to the conservation in order to maintain its freshness.” (Zilard)
“I would like to have some more.” (Reese)
“Is there honey?” (Karen)
“Of course, there is. Please wait a moment, I will bring more as soon as possible.” (Zilard)
The meals were delicious, and the wine that Sanger drank was also delicious. From my intuition, I couldn’t at least smell a plot from Sanger, so it should be fine if I didn’t be more alert any further. While watching the disciples enjoying their meals leisurely, I also enjoyed the dinner party.
—
The dinner ended after a while. Then, Sanger said that he would introduce his other vassals… in other words, the remaining heroes, but I cut in even though it was a bit rude.
“I am glad if you introduce them, but may I talk to Lifell-hime before that?” (Sirius)
“You can do it later, though?” (Sanger)
“Sanger-sama. He would like to report to Lifell-oujo whom he met again after a long time. It is a natural behavior as imperial guard, and this is the place where one can show the might of his vassals.” (Zilard)
“…That can’t be helped. I will greet you later.” (Sanger)
“In the meantime… Since there is a possibility that you will get involved with the people earlier, please don’t go anywhere except when he guides you.] (Sanger)
After parting with Sanger and Zilard, we were returning to the room at once. We were introduced to a soldier who led us to the room where Princess Lifell was staying. Anyhow, we arrived at the room without problems. When I knocked the door after seeing the soldier saluted and left us, Senia opened the door while giving a reply.
“Everyone, we’ve been waiting.” (Senia)
“Senia. Have you finished your business?” (Reese)
“Yes, I’ve come back earlier. Since Lifell-sama had just returned, will you all comfort her?” (Senia)
When we came in while wondering about what she said, we saw Princess Lifell slovenly fell prostrate on a table placed in the center of the room, and Melt was reproving her. We were a bit lost on how to react at the appearance that one wouldn’t expect coming from a royalty.
“Hime-sama. Please be more concerned about your appearance.” (Melt)
“Hmm–… if it’s them, it’s fine, right? Hey, how long you all want to stand there? Please feel at home.” (Lifell)
It seemed that fatigue had been accumulating until that degree, and I couldn’t see Melt trying to stop her seriously. Since the person herself said so, we decided not to mind about her and came to the table. Then, Senia immediately prepared tea. As Princess Lifell remembered the nostalgic taste of tea which was different from the tea prepared by Emilia, she finally lifted her face and looked at us.
“Aah-… I’ve had enough! These people clearly have ulterior motives as usual. It was difficult because Ashley-ouji asked in details about Hokuto!” (Lifell)
“Say, Nee-sama. Please calm down… alright?” (Reese)
“Fuhh… but in the case of Ashley-ouji, he is like a child, and he doesn’t seem to look tired at all. Anyway, how was it for you guys?” (Lifell)
“We were having a relatively calm dinner. But I was tired mentally because he recruited us no matter how many times I refused.” (Sirius)
“However, the meals were delicious, right?” (Lifell)
“Yes. The wine was great as well.” (Fia)
“The honey was also tasty!” (Karen)
“…It looks like you were having fun.” (Lifell)
Despite some mental strain, Princess Lifell was smiling with a complicated smile when looking at the disciples who innocently enjoyed the dinner party. In the meantime, she reached for the tea.
“You seem haven’t met the troublesome people yet. You should try not to meet them as much as possible because it will be bad for your mind.” (Lifell)
“No. Although we weren’t aimed, we actually met them before the dinner.” (Sirius)
“Somehow, these people look extremely haughty.” (Reus)
As a matter of fact, we met several nobles and influential people of the castle who didn’t feel comfortable with Sanger while on the way to the dining hall. We were told by Zilard beforehand. Although they didn’t aim at us, I didn’t feel good about them.
[Are you inviting strangers again? You have to stop this, Sanger-sama!] (??)
[The king has fallen sick, so as a royalty, should you consider about this some more?] (??)
[Good grief. There is no need to use that dining hall for these adventurers especially when they came out of nowhere.] (??)
In a glimpse, it sounded like they were rebuking Sanger for acting arbitrarily, but I understood well that they didn’t recognize Sanger as a king from the bottom of heart. There was also a possibility of vassals using harsh words purposely in order to teach manners since he was the next successor, but… from the people I met, I could feel the arrogance as if they were stronger and better than Sanger.
Of course, it was because they had been working in the castle and had suitable abilities, but it felt like these people casually looked down on other people as if the other side didn’t have even a slightest dignity at all. Even though it was irrelevant, it made me want to worry whether these people could really preserve the country. I wondered what would the successors and the sick king think about this situation.
Although it was relatively short time, when I told Princess Lifell the various questions raised by the observation I had so far, she deeply nodded as much as to say that her intuition was wrong.
“I see… you guys also think the same. Actually, even from my point of view, I think that the people in this castle are too imbalanced. I understand the ideal of supporting by evaluating outstanding people, but the balance is not there if they only have strong people.” (Lifell)
“But, isn’t it a good think to gather outstanding people?” (Emilia)
“It may be nice if you think as an individual, but what if it as a country on the whole? No matter how many you gather them, there is no meaning if you can’t control them.” (Lifell)
Although these people supposed to cooperate and support the country, they were those who stick to others people’s legs only to make themselves look great, and those who had extremely strong ambition to rise in power. It was the king who gathered and managed these people, but that made Princess Lifell thought about the situation since the king had fallen sick and couldn’t do anything.
“When I looked up, there were many changes in official position and social status recently, and it seems that there are quite a few who have left the castle.” (Senia)
“Because of that, there are several factions in the castle now.” (Lifell)
There were a faction waiting for the king to return from illness, factions that support each prince and princess, and factions that planned to obtain the authority of a king themselves. Therefore, the Sandor castle right now was in a quite chaotic situation.
To add one more to that situation, it was also a problem that the situation looked normal on the surface. Since it wasn’t visible, it was hard to notice that the foundation was loose and the roots were rotting.
“I don’t really understand the country, but to put it simply, it is in a very troublesome situation, right?” (Reus)
“If you want to put it in that way, yes, you’re right.” (Sirius)
“For the time being, you’re not involved yet in this situation, but these people may questioned you arbitrarily, so don’t just agree with them, alright. Well, I think it’s fine if you want to believe Julia…” (Lifell)
“Aniki, I also think it’s alright to believe Julia-oujo. She had intense eyes, but her sword was beautiful and honest.” (Reus)
“Is that so? That kind of intuition is hitting the right spot.” (Sirius)
Julia also felt Reus’ sword and believed in us, so it should be alright if we weren’t too cautious about her. It looked like Reus felt that it was necessary to be alert in a different meaning. Although this was a problem of another country, Princess Lifell was concerned about protecting herself and Julia who had became her friend. Their friendship seemed to be deeper than I thought.
“Well, we should still be alert at Sanger-ouji, but what about Ashley-ouji? He is like a playboy, and he is not someone who we can ignore, right?” (Lifell)
“He seems to have personal circumstances, so I think there is no problem if we proceed in a logical manner. He will give information if there is compensation, so let’s go along with him moderately.” (Sirius)
“That’s fine. He at least has a minimum degree of courtesy despite his appearances, but I think he will not say something unreasonable.” (Lifell)
Even if Ashley was interested in Hokuto, he wasn’t fascinated by Fia. The person himself had explained his intentions, so at least the wives wouldn’t be aimed. This talk was well understood if I maintained his secret, so I should befriend him if I was going to associate with him.
“There are many things you need to be careful of, but please be patience until we leave Sandor. Just don’t let your guard down.” (Lifell)
Anyhow, we had received many warnings, but all we could do was be safe until we left Sandor when Legendia had been concluded. Hence, we had to find a way to protect ourselves and plan for countermeasures. Subsequently, we tried to get into the subject of why we came here, but before that, Princess Lifell wanted to take a break for a while. If it was about taking a break or anything, I was wondering that we were resting at the moment, but then, Princess Lifell looked at Karen and called her.
“Karen, come here.” (Lifell)
“Hmm? Alright.” (Karen)
Karen probably had already understood that she would be fine with Princess Lifell. Therefore, she obediently nodded, and rushed over. Princess Lifell was breathing out in satisfaction after placing Karen on her knees, and the shoulder of Reese who was sitting next to me.
“Haa… it’s a pity that Hokuto is not here, but my tiredness disappear if I do this.” (Lifell)
“I hope can eat honey at that time. I usually eat honey if I’m tired.” (Karen)
“Aren’t you also eating honey when you aren’t tired? (Sirius)
“Ahaha, child rearing seems tough, isn’t it? Leaving that aside, sweets… huh?” (Lifell)
Since I was directed to a stare like appealing from Princess Lifell, I took out a cake from the bag I had with a bitter smile. After that, Senia promptly cut it according to the number of people here, arranged it on the table. Princess Lifell, who saw that, began to have glittering eyes. Reese also had similar eyes, and she was exactly like her sister.
“This is it! Sandor has a lot of sweets, but there is no cake here.” (Lifell)
“The workmanship has become more refined than before. In Elysion, there are only a few who can make products at this degree.” (Senia)
“I haven’t had cake for quite some time. I really appreciate it. Let’s eat it.” (Lifell)
Then, all of us started taking a fork and eating the cake…
“Yup… it’s delicious. Plus, the taste is somewhat nostalgic. Reese, next time I want the cream part to be more, alright.” (Lifell)
“That can’t be help. Yes, open your mouth.” (Reese)
“I also want to eat the strawberry!” (Karen)
“Yes, yes. Here you go.” (Reese)
Princess Lifell fed the cake to Karen while Reese fed it to Princess Lifell. They were doing it at full throttle, but I guess it was all good because they looked like having fun.
“We also can’t lose to them!” (Fia)
“Although Reese has been taken, Fia-san and I are good enough to obtain the victory. Come!” (Emilia)
“You don’t have to compete.” (Sirius)
The wives were starting to raise the sense of competitiveness. That enthusiasm reminded me of the married couple who managed a restaurant. Since a strange game would begin as it was, I finished eating the cake the change the discussion, and I talked to Reus who was overlooking the room.
“Oh yes, Reus. I forget about this because of Julia-ouji, but apparently, Albert is coming here, you know?” (Sirius)
“Eh… Really!?” (Reus)
“Yes, I heard from Lifell-hime a while ago. By the way, where is he?” (Sirius)
“I’m sorry if you expect him, but Albert is not in the castle now. He is going to the front line base with Tou-san and others.” (Lifell)
“…Is that so? I wanted to see him after a long time. It looks like it’s going to be a while. Aniki, can we also go to the front line base?” (Reus)
“Let’s ask Sanger-ouji later. I’m personally interested with that place.” (Sirius)
“I also talked a bit with his sister. That girl was nervous along with her brother when they came here, but she supported her brother well.” (Lifell)
Albert should have a wife by now, but it seemed that she didn’t come here. Since it wasn’t a big country, we were told that the number of guards brought was minimal. While she said so, Reus turned a sharp look from the wives.
“Reus. This is a reunion after a long absence, so the beginning is crucial.” (Fia)
“Yes, that’s right. Just like when you escort her that time.” (Reese)
“As Sirius-sama’s disciple, you have to keep that in mind, you know?” (Emilia)
“O-ouu!” (Reus)
“Hehe, it was written in Reese’s letter. The girl is Reus’ lover, is it? Please tell me more about what kind of encounter you had.” (Lifell)
After that, when I finished eating while explaining the romantic encounter between Albert’s sister, Marina and Reus… I noticed a strange presence approaching here. As the sign came in front of the room, the door was knocked strongly. Senia quickly approached the door.
“Who is it?” (Senia)
“Ooh, is this the voice of the attendant of that Nee-chan? I am coming to greet you, so open the door.” (??)
This was a voice I heard for the first time, but Princess Lifell and others, who had been staying in the castle for quite some time, seemed to know immediately who the person was. However, since the air of vigilance spread around these three, it seemed that that person wasn’t someone they welcomed.
“Nee-sama, is it bad?” (Reese)
“The one coming here is a man called Heavenly Sword. He is called as a hero in the public, but to me, he is just a fool who follows too much of his instinct.” (Lifell)
“His name is Hilgan, but I also don’t want to see that man as much as possible.” (Melt) (TLN: The name in raw is ヒルガン)
“If you don’t want to meet, you don’t have to open the door, right?” (Reese)
“It would be more troublesome if I plainly turn him away. No matter what I think, that man is a hero in this country.” (Lifell)
Compared to Dragon Warrior who had various mysteries, there were many information about this Heavenly Sword. Based on the information gathered, I heard that he was an with equal strength and sword techniques with Strongest Sword, but I heard from Ashley that he had extreme itch for women. If he wanted someone, he was like a child who couldn’t stand if he couldn’t get what he wished for, and he would persistently chase after them if he was ignored.
Furthermore, since there were more small voices from surroundings to ignore him being a hero, it wouldn’t be weird if they pretended as if they weren’t in the room. Then, Senia, who nodded at the instruction from her master, opened the door. There was a man in twenties who had a sullen look. That man, Hilgan or something entered the room.
“Oh god, you take so much time even though I’ve come.” (Hilgan)
“I’m sorry. We’re talking something important.” (Lifell)
“You don’t have to be alert. I just want to see the guests invited by Sanger.” (Hilgan)
I couldn’t imagine that he was a hero when he was wearing simple shirt and pants. His burning red hair extended to the back, while his forged muscle and body size seemed to be equal to Lior-jiisan’s. Together with an apparent intimidating feeling and sharp eyes like a best, it was understood that he was a man comparable to Strongest Sword, but to tell the truth, I didn’t have a very good feeling. Although it was said to be the first meeting, he didn’t try to hide the gazes painted with desires on my wives at all.
“Heh… I heard about beautiful women, but this is more than I expected. Moreover, let alone a human, there are also an Elf, and… a Silver Wolfkin. You have quite a taste, isn’t it?” (Hilgan)
“These ladies here are Sirius-sama’s wives. Since they are not Hilgan-sama’s, those words are rude, you know.” (Senia)
“Huh? Such a skinny guy… is he, Sirius, the one who won the Fighting Festival?” (Hilgan)
The heed by Senia seemed didn’t enter his ears at all. He was very surprised to see me. Hilgan was more like a insolence man when looking at the way he acted as he pleased even though this was the room of Princess Lifell, who was also a guest of the castle. The behavior of saying that every woman was his was like a monster that lived on instinct. Anyhow, when I stood up to protect my wives, Hilgan stared at me glaringly.
“Oi, if you stand there, I can’t see the women.” (Hilgan)
“If that is so, would you stop looking at my wives with such a gaze? I can see it as nothing but targeting preys.” (Sirius)
“No, no. I just want to get closer to them. I just want to shake hands for a while, so take me there.” (Sirius)
He came closer while smiling, but it was a smile that couldn’t be trusted at all. Since I didn’t think that it would end with just handshakes, I quietly increased vigilance while staring at him. In other words, I was displaying an attitude of resisting him. It seemed that he was also aiming for Reese, so there was no way I could allow him to cause disturbance to Princess Lifell.
Hilgan probably lose patience since I wasn’t moving even though he displayed bloodlust. So, he ignored me, went around and extended his hand. I immediately tried to brush of that hand, but… it didn’t seem necessary.
“…Nice to meet you.” (Reus)
At the same time, Reus interrupted from the side and held Hilgan’s hand. While praising him on the inside with that impeccable timing, Hilgan, who was trying to give a handshake, narrowed his eyes in displeasure.
“Oi, what are you doing?” (Hilgan)
“What do you mean? It’s a handshake. You came to say hello, right?” (Reus)
“I don’t have a hobby of shaking hands with man. Release me immediately.” (Hilgan)
“Me too, I will not allow you to approach Nee-chan without Aniki’s permission.” (Reus)
“Haa!? Do you feel like comparing yourself with me? Let me tell you how things work.” (Hilgan)
While smiling fearlessly, they both began to load strength into the hands, and a squealing sound of meat that I couldn’t imagine coming from a handshake began to echo. Normally, Hilgan looked stronger because he was one size bigger than Reus, but the strength of Reus, who trained by swinging sword every day, was higher than it looked. If Reus gripping seriously, it was possible to crush the opponent’s hand, but… Hilgan’s smile never collapsed.
“Ku…uh!?” (Reus)
“Your strength is that good, huh? By the way, I heard before that the runner up of the Fighting Festival was a Silver Wolfkin. Was that you?” (Hilgan)
“Yes… I am.” (Reus)
“Oh really? If I was there, I would definitely be the champion.” (Hilgan)
The strength of Hilgan was as it looked–… no, it seemed to be higher than that. Although Reus expression was distorted in agony, it was because Hilgan could afford to look relaxed. Since we gradually heard a slightly bone-creaking sound, I extended my hand to stop Hilgan, but he released his hand first.
“Do you understand that well? If you do, move away.” (Hilgan)
“I still… haven’t lost yet.” (Reus)
“Reus, you can stop.” (Sirius)
“Yeah. Come, show me your hand.” (Reese)
While Reese was examining Reus, who moaned frustratingly, I stared at Hilgan who had a smile of victory. I commended that strength that surpassed Reus, but it looked like it was necessary to educate that personality for a bit.
“Then, next is–…” (Hilgan)
“Hilgan. Stop it right there.” (??)
“Cheh… the noisy one has come, is it?” (Hilgan)
Far from extending my hand for handshake, Zilard, who came to check our situation, came into the room. Unlike the gentle expression I’d seen so far, Zilard revealed his anger. He came before Hilgan while shouting.
“I should have told you to stay quiet until Sangel-sama call, but… why are you acting on your own?” (Zilard)
“I can’t help with it. The guys in the castle are gathering as well to see these women.” (Hilgan)
“What happened to her? That woman should have visited you this morning.” (Zilard)
“If it’s that woman… she has already returned. Seriously. It’s troubling when women can’t accept my love.” (Hilgan)
“Haa, is that again? No women will come to you if there are bad rumors about you not being gentle, you know?” (Zilard)
“They are finding fault as usual. You too, you need to embrace women more!” (Hilgan)
The exchanges between the two began to get hotter to the point where Hilgan became angry and grabbed Zilard’s collar, but he replied without being disturbed.
As I was wondering whether I should stop them, Hilgan eventually withdrew while sighing as if he gave up with the opponent’s persistent. By look, Hilgan seemed to be more domineering, but I felt that there was a clear hierarchical relationship between both of them.
“Damn it… I’ll stop, alright! Now, I don’t have the mood.” (Hilgan)
“That’s good. I was going to introduce you later, but since this is enough, please return back to your room. Goodness… I haven’t introduce them to Luca yet…” (Zilard)
“Yes, yes, I got it! I will withdraw today.” (Hilgan)
After confirming that Hilgan had already left the room while cursing at the same time, Zilard deeply bowed his head to us while sighing.
“I am very sorry that my colleague makes you feel uncomfortable.” (Zilard)
“It’s not use even if you apologize now. I want to say many things, but from now on, I want you to be careful.” (Lifell)
“We will do our best. He would be given punishment soon because he attracted many attention recently. Hopefully, he will grow up a bit.” (Zilard)
“No matter how I look at it, he is stronger than you. Do you think you can control him?” (Lifell)
“I have been with him for a long time. I am older than him, and I also know his weak points.” (Zilard)
Although there was height difference of approximately two heads, Zilard was older than Hilgan. Zilard told us with a distant eyes about how he first met him. At that time, Hilgan was a straightforward and ambitious person. Then, he slightly coughed, as if he remembered the purpose of coming here, and looked at us again.
“By the way, have you finished talking? Even if it isn’t finished yet, Sanger-sama is waiting for you.” (Zilard)
“We are more or less about to stop, but…” (Sirius)
“We can do it later. You can go with him for now.” (Lifell)
I tried to look at the complexion of Princess Lifell, but it seemed there was no problem since she was nodding. The original purpose to came here was to protect Princess Lifell, and to find the identity of the incongruity feeling she felt inside the castle, but first, I probably should say directly that I wanted to see the inside of the castle. Since there was no objection, we parted with Princess Lifell and wandered around the inside of the castle again.
—
We left Princess Lifell’s room, and we were walking led by Zilard. For some reason, we went outside of the castle through the back door on the other side of the main entrance.
“Eh? Are we going outside the castle?” (Reus)
“Is there something here in this place?” (Sirius)
“In the back of the castle, there is a hut for dragons managed by us. My companion is there.” (Zilard)
For him to mention a dragon, I could guess who would be there. It seemed that hero were hiding for some reason, but I wonder what kind of person is it.
“Is there a dragon? Does it know As-jii?” (Karen)
“Well… I don’t think there is a high rank dragon, so it may be either middle rank or lower rank dragons.” (Fia)
“Karen. I want you to be careful not to talk about your hometown or Asrad-sama.” (Sirius)
“…Alright.” (Karen)
Karen, who was walking a bit behind, looked interested when she heard about dragons, but with Zilard’s sharp intuition, it was highly likely for him to notice that she was a winged person by accidental behavior. As I was walking while reminding Karen, there was a big hut before us where we had to look up, and there were dragons relaxing inside.
“Hee… I thought that it was mostly lower rank dragons, but most of them are middle rank dragons.” (Fia)
“Even so, they are big. If it’s like this, there wouldn’t be any problem if there were some people riding it.” (Sirius)
The low rank dragons could only fit one person each. In fact, it was rare for dragons to be familiar with people. But here, there were also three medium-sized dragons that we had seen in Karen’s hometown. For starters, dragons should be known for its ferocity. Despite that, they were docile. It meant that they might be brought up properly.
“Sirius-sama. There is a figure of a person over there, but…” (Emilia)
“Yeah. But… eh?” (Reus)
As we walk and looked up at the resting dragons, Emilia and Reus found a person walking around a dragon, but they were tilting their heads together. That was because… the person was a child, and similar to Karen. From the appearance of walking around the dragons casually… could that child be…
“No, no. That child is a child from nearby town. She was hired as experiment for the dragons. The last hero… I mean the real Dragon Warrior is Luca. Look, over there.” (Zilard) (TLN: The name in raw is ルカ)
When I turned to where Zilard pointed, there was a young woman standing. Her upper and lower clothes had small amount of clothes as much as underwear. On top of those clothes, there was something like a white color robe. Her dress was completely like a scientist. Her skin was a dark brown skin. She was a beautiful girl with charm that attract men naturally, but I was concerned about something else.
“Oh my… you’ve brought many people today. Who are they?” (Luca)
The woman was smiling as she confirmed the appearance of Zilard. However, there were horns that looked like dragon horns on her head.
—
Extra/Bonus – Let’s Meet Hokuto
“Ooh… is this really the sensation of touching a legendary degree!?” (Ashley)
“What a pleasant fur! This is also good for plush toys, but it’s obviously has different feel and warmth… I can’t endure it!” (Julia)
“Woof…” (Hokuto)
“Hokuto’s tail is also strong. If you want to hold it, you have to lift it up.” (Sirius)
“What!? I’ll do it without fail!” (Ashley)
“Are you a fool!? That will be me!” (Julia)
“Woof…” (Hokuto)
“To make Julia, who always serious, to be like this… as expected of Hokuto, isn’t it? However, as a royalty, you should be a bit more modest.” (Lifell)
“No, weren’t you also like that when you meet Hokuto-san for the first time, Lifell-ane?” (Reus)
“Was it so?” (Lifell)
“Moreover, since you felt comfortable with his ears, didn’t you occupy his head for nearly an hour?” (Emilia)
“I have no memory of that.” (Lifell)
“And since you were feeling good, you tried to take him to the castle and having him sit on a chair during a government affairs meeting, am I right?” (Emilia)
“Someone else did that.” (Lifell)