304 – Bluff
The strategy proposed by Eldina was simpler and clearer than expected.
The only way is to check for yourself whether it will be effective or not.
“Ugh. How long are you going to drag me along…!?”
Veronica, who did not hear what we were saying, grumbled but quietly followed along.
As soon as the train stopped at London Station, we went straight to the hidden secret magic engineering station.
Unlike regular stations that are crowded with people, this is a quiet space with no one around.
A woman was waiting for us there.
With her mysterious purple hair and gorgeous dress, her name is Francesca.
A member of Drakan who pursues beauty to the point of madness.
The reason she wants to meet a dragon is because she praised dragons as the most beautiful beings in the land.
When Francesca spotted us entering the station, she smiled lightly.
Then she was surprised to find me and Eldi behind me, and she couldn’t hide her excitement.
“Ah… “I don’t know who you are, but you are truly beautiful!”
That’s right. No matter how much power she has lost, a goddess is a goddess.
It was natural that she had such a beautiful appearance and charm that she could not be compared to a mere human.
Perhaps she was overcome with awe after seeing the appearance of a goddess, and her hostility towards us was completely erased, and she spoke to us in a friendly manner.
“Ho, if you have time, would you like to have a cup of tea with me?”
Of course, Eldina angrily refused without any hesitation.
“I’m sorry. “I’m a little busy right now.”
Then, she seemed to have decided that if she made the best of this situation, she could easily get over it. Eldina put her hair behind her ear and smiled charmingly.
“Oh, but if you just let us go, it might be okay if we just eat together next time.”
Francesca couldn’t hide her delight at the blatantly revealing suggestion and grinned.
“Really? Of course, you are beautiful, so it’s okay to move on. “If only you would pass over the ugly-looking gentleman next to him.”
It’s an ugly sight. I quickly realized that he was referring to me, but I didn’t particularly get angry or retort.
Depending on how you look at her body covered in bandages, you may feel that way. I agree to some extent.
But Eldi, I guess she couldn’t just ignore those words, so she spoke coldly with a very stern expression.
“Cancel that statement immediately.”
“Yes? “What?”
“You foolish human child. How dare you insult God’s lover? Do you think you can just get over it?”
It was a warning so bloody that even I, standing next to it, got shivers, but Francesca was not at all intimidated and calmly shrugged her shoulders.
“No matter how beautiful you are, isn’t it too arrogant for you to volunteer to be a god?”
“Then what do I look like in your eyes?”
“Hmm. Well···.”
The other person, who was deliberately taking his time by trailing off, answered by raising his hand.
“I guess it’s a gem I want to collect.”
At the same time, a surprise attack arrives!
I, who was raising her guard, immediately launched myself and pushed Eldina as hard as I could.
Only sharp scratches remained on the ground where she had been standing just a moment ago.
It is dangerous. It was an attack with the intention to kill.
As long as it’s beautiful, it doesn’t really matter whether it’s alive or dead…?
Francesca was a very dangerous enemy even within Drakan.
Unlike her personality that pursues visible glamor and beauty, her fighting style was very stealthy and quiet, so it was not easy to even notice her attacks.
Francesca’s magic strengthens the wire. A wire that is so thin and thin that she cannot even see it with her eyes has tremendous cutting power and durability, and ruthlessly cuts through the human body.
Her power is truly ferocious, and she cannot even easily predict where and how she will fly, so if she lets her guard down even a little, her neck may be cut in two.
“Hey, don’t just watch, please save me quickly!”
Veronica, who was next to her, scolded and urged her colleague.
Then Francesca shook her head with a disapproving look in her eyes.
“You have no shame in asking a favor to a subject who has been caught in an awkward manner. “These are not beautiful words and actions.”
“Ugh…!! “Okay, so let’s at least save him!”
With her wire, no matter how careful I am, I will be able to easily cut Veronica’s rope.
There’s only one reason we didn’t do it right away the moment we first walked in.
It’s probably just because the two people are not compatible.
But no matter how bad our relationship is, in the end, we are still like-minded colleagues.
So, despite all the fuss, Francesca will eventually let go of Veronica’s rope.
If you just support Veronica with her mental magic, the battle can end much easier.
From Noble mtl dot com
So, before she could untie her rope, he quickly stepped in and spat out her words.
“Wait a minute. “It would be dangerous if you loose that rope carelessly.”
“What trivial things are you talking about?”
“Did I really bring this guy in without any preparation? “The moment the rope is released, the guy explodes and dies.”
“···Eek!?”
Veronica, who had been listening quietly, stamped her feet in shock one beat later.
On the other hand, she did not feel any sense of crisis from Francesca. She seemed to be interested, and she waved her hand as if asking me to talk more.
“Hoo. So?”
“So what’s so wrong!? Never cut the rope! “Just leave it alone!!”
That’s not what I said. Veronica, who feels her life is in danger, is making an earnest appeal in person.
Of course, the more it happened, the brighter the smile on Francesca’s lips became, and she pretended to worry about what to do, teasing Veronica’s heart.
Of course, everything I said was a lie. In fact, I didn’t have enough magic power left to design such an elaborate trap.
In fact, just standing still like this was my limit. If you forcibly squeeze out her magical power any longer, there is a high possibility that she will lose her mind and faint.
Fortunately, the other person could not see through my bluff. Francesca, who accepted my words without question, nodded her head and withdrew the wire.
“Well, then there’s nothing we can do about it.”
Surprisingly, seeing her obediently agree, I felt a little hope and tried to use her momentum to tell her.
“If you obediently open the way now, I will release your comrades. How is it?”
She snorted and answered immediately without any hesitation.
“Ha. Do you really believe that I would accept such an offer? “I just stopped because I didn’t want to kill my colleagues with my own hands, but it doesn’t matter if it’s for the sake of the mission.”
As expected, this easy method does not work.
If they had a choice between killing or saving, they would just not kill, and the bond of wanting to save their comrades even by giving up their mission was not found among the Drakan members.
If the situation had been reversed, Veronica would have said the same thing.
So even now, I’m just grinding my teeth without even complaining.
“If she’s going to threaten me with her life, it would be better for her to cut the rope right here and make it easier for her.”
Francesca carelessly chooses the heartless option of eliminating her variables by sacrificing the lives of her colleagues.
“Now, wait a minute!! Gu, there’s no need to do that!? “I’ll just stay away!”
Veronica, who sensed the fear of her death, was so shocked that she began to plead earnestly.
“Well, I don’t know. “Of course I don’t want to kill you, but it gets annoying if that vicious man keeps threatening you with your life.”
“Say, save me. Please···.”
Veronica must have decided that it was impossible to persuade her colleague, and this time she looked back at me and knelt down and begged.
She was such a scoundrel that she wouldn’t have even moved when taking someone else’s life, but seeing her beg for her life in such a pitiful manner made her disgust soar.
Without hiding those feelings from her, I looked down at her with my cold eyes and spoke to Francesca in her stern tone.
“We don’t negotiate with the enemy. I say it again. “If you don’t get out of the way, this guy will die.”
“That’s ridiculous. Did I sound like I was bragging? Are you saying you want to fight me? “Did you really think I couldn’t kill that woman?”
“The scope of the explosion is the entire station. In other words, not only this guy but everyone will be swept away.”
I guess she was momentarily speechless by my blunt warning, but she closed her mouth and then burst into laughter.
“It’s not even funny. You’re saying you’ll get caught in the explosion and die too, right? “If you only want to kill one hostage, there’s no way you’d set up such a stupid trap that even gets you involved.”
“No. I also predicted that you would have no sense of camaraderie and would ignore the trap. So, I have prepared an explosion so powerful that you too will be swept away.”
Francesca frowned and asked as she calmly returned her rebuttal.
“Are you telling me to believe that?”
“Then why not give it a try? “Try cutting the rope.”
In the midst of her delicate battle of nerves, she finally opened her mouth.
With an eerie smile.
“It doesn’t matter. “Because you are closer to an explosion than I am!!”
The wire flew with her at great speed, breaking the rope that was binding Veronica.
At the same time, she took up her defensive stance as if preparing for her impending explosion, but there was silence at her station.
I rushed in, taking advantage of that gap.