78. Divide, Reunite
A long and wide hallway. On the polished obsidian floor, a pair of feet moved hurriedly.
Wheeying—.
Flinch. A man walking down the hallway shuddered at the dreary sound and the chilly air. Because the hallway was so wide, it would sometimes make this dreary sound when the wind blew into the hallway.
“Whoa….”
The man gave his arm a sweep, then moved on.
At the end of the corridor that seemed endless, a large door appeared in front of me. The man took a deep breath, then reached out and pushed the door open.
Koo Goo Goo Palace….
A large room appeared. The man rolled his eyes and captured the scene in the room.
The chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and the candlesticks placed throughout the room were shining softly, but it was not enough to dispel the chill of this soggy and gloomy demon castle.
Around a round table in the middle of the room, three figures were sitting. The man walked over and sat down on a chair as far away from them as possible.
“You’re a little late. Agato.”
To Urgan’s low, heavy voice, Agatho answered, fixing his clothes.
“Hmm. I mean, I’m busy these days.”
“Yes. Now that Argyle is gone, he must be busy.”
Urgan groped his nose and groped on the table. Then, Ash, who was sitting next to him, helped Urgan by picking up the cookies that were lying on the table.
“You idiot. It’s right in front of you, can’t you see it?”
“Kreurreung…. I’m sorry.”
“Ugh, bloody smell.”
“Wrong wow…. We’ve just come from the front line slaughtering our enemies. Do you like it?”
Grrrung. Urgan cried in a low voice, and Ash grabbed her face and slapped Urgan on the shoulder.
“Do you like it? Ugh… I’m really disgusted to death. Can’t you treat it a little more elegantly? Do you really need to soak your body in blood to feel cool?”
“Sorry, but this is our clan instinct.”
“Tsk. Guess who isn’t a beast….”
“Hmm. By the way, looking at it like this, there are quite a few empty seats.”
At Urgan’s words, Ash and Agato looked around the round table made of obsidian.
There are a total of nine seats, including the seat of the chief of staff. Five of them were vacant.
Agha To opened his mouth with a wry smile.
“What… Certainly, too many have died.”
“Too many died. Huntly, he didn’t even know the subject and attacked the hero…. Tsk.”
As Urgan grunted, showing his teeth, Ash continued, looking up at the ceiling with his arms crossed.
“Sheesh…. I’m thinking about stepping down from this position. The hero broke through his limits. Now I can’t compete with you alone.”
“Ash. Don’t you have an idol of oblivion left?”
“Is an idol a child’s toy? It takes a hundred years to make one. I lost one last time, so now I only have two left.”
Ash and Urgan chatted for a while, and Agato intervened in their conversation, clapping their hands together.
“Now, quiet everyone. Even though Galan and Huntly died this time, that’s not the only reason we’re here.”
As Agato showed signs of getting to the point, Urgan banged the round table! He slammed down and exposed it.
“Kleureung…. Okay. The gathering this time was also because of the Demon King’s order. Hey Agato. I should know by now What the hell is the demon king up to?”
“That….”
“Even though Gigant died while moving on his own, Callas was killed by the Knight of the Stars following the order of the Demon King. The same goes for Galan and Huntly. Argyll may be alive or dead.”
A heavy tension settled in the room where everyone was gathered. Urgan glanced at Monta, who was sitting alone at a distance, and continued.
“I participated in this war with the promise of the revival of my clan. However, now I wonder if the Demon King has any intention of keeping that promise. Do you know how I feel about pushing the few remaining warriors of my clan to the frontline, who remain at the main base and discuss tabletop discussions with the staff?”
“… Do that Urgan.”
Grrrung. As Urgan’s hair stood out, Agato’s body stiffened.
“Are you going to do that? Are you kidding me right now? Four of the corps commanders are dead, and one is missing! Half of the monsters they led were scattered! Now it’s hard to keep the wires up! Does the Demon King have any thoughts to leave Galan and Huntly to die in the midst of such hard times?!”
“Yes! Two of them died this time! If they’re both weak, does it make sense that Galan and Huntly died like that? No matter how great a man named Demon King is, I need to know soon! What is the identity of that demon king?”
As far as Ash looked at Agato, Agato seemed to have his hair painted white. Agato said, trying to catch his spirit and correcting the twitching of his tongue.
“Ahahahaha…. Guys, calm down….”
“Agato. Don’t be silly, answer the questions.”
Urgan grunted low, baring his teeth.
“The Demon King. How. What do you want?”
Gulp. Agato swallowed heavily, and met Urgan’s eyes.
“… ….”
“If you don’t want to answer….”
Sureureung—.
At the sound of the blade being pulled from the scabbard, Urgan, Ash, and Agato turned their heads toward the source of the sound.
“… I would have said.”
Monta’s sword blade, shining bright blue, came out of the scabbard and showed its sharp edge.
“If I doubted him, I would not stand still.”
The back-chilling murder covered the room. Urgan grabbed the large ax that was slung on his back with both hands.
“Kreurreung….”
“… Are you going to try it?”
A brief exploration. Urgan and Ash glared at Monta’s sword, which had been pulled out of its scabbard and was still frozen.
“Wait a minute! Stop! Stop stop!”
Shh!
The moment Agato stepped in, something cut through the hair on the tip of Urgan’s ear.
A fleeting moment. His sword was nowhere to be seen. Urgan’s fur quivered as he recalled the murder that tried to overtake him. If Agato hadn’t stopped him, he’d probably be the one lying on the floor.
“That, hahahaha…. Let’s do this for today, let’s meet again next time! Got it? Ash, Urgan. You guys, slowly start doing what I told you about last time. The preparations should be finished, so we can go straight to Mettelheim.”
“… ….”
As Urgan and Ash passed through the gate in silence, Agato sighed softly.
How long will this precarious relationship last?
‘As expected… Freeing Argyle was the right choice.’
Agato smiled bitterly at the thought of Argyle living a new life.
* * *
“Ehehehe… Austin.”
“… Why do you call Warrior.”
“Chii…. Can’t we talk a little bit more now? Why do you keep talking respectfully….”
“It hasn’t been long since we met. How do you speak rudely in the first meeting?”
“That…. See… I don’t know!”
“Okay, could you please move away?”
“Ah~. This much is fine.”
“No, some.”
If I continue to be like this, I feel like Robin, who is staring at me like he’s going to kill me right now, will do something.
Originally, 5 people except for the driver’s seat were riding in a carriage with a warrior party, so they had no choice but to sit close to each other. Pushing away the hero who kept clinging to me, I turned my eyes to the rapidly changing scenery outside the carriage.
Speaking of the conclusion, I accepted the apologies of the warriors and thugs. This tough evil relationship dragged on for too long, and it wasn’t that they didn’t act so meanly because they wanted to in the first place, so should I say extenuating circumstances?
That said, I had no intention of staying in Harman. Apart from reconciliation in the first place, there was no reason for me to move with the warrior party.
I frowned a little at the hero’s words that he would come with us, but he said he’s going to get a bounty renewal because he’s running out of money for the trip. What can we do? Fortunately, Gahlran’s bounty was offered to us, so we have no choice but to accompany him.
As I continued to stare out of the wagon, the warrior pouted his lips and stabbed me in the side.
“Can I look this way?”
“Oh, really. Are you going to keep bothering me from earlier?”
Unbeknownst to me, short words came out. When I threw away the honorifics, the warrior looked at me with a wry expression and a crooked smile.
“Hee hee…. Are you finally talking nonsense?”
“No…. Hey, sh*t. I don’t know either.”
As I tried to look out of the wagon again, the hero grabbed my trouser hem and asked,
“Austin is… I didn’t want to see us… ?”
“… Uh. I didn’t want to see What is this?”
“Huh….”
Even though I decided to forgive them, it was impossible to attach affection in an instant. We had a back-and-forth fight yesterday, but the next day we can’t go on as if nothing happened. That’s what being a person is.
Still, it was a great improvement just by not swearing and swearing at the front door like before. I wouldn’t have wanted to make eye contact before.
As I continued to quarrel with the hero, Maya and Gracie, who were sitting at the back of the carriage, looked at me strangely.
“What. Do you have something to say?”
“… It is nothing.”
“… Never mind.”
Adrien was already in a deep sleep. Because of me, she stayed up all night for two days.
It’s been a while since the carriage started, so it wasn’t unreasonable to fall asleep soon. It was because Luna and Princess Alexis were already sleeping soundly.
Royman was driving the carriage as usual, and Sylvia’s strong request to sit in her driver’s seat led her to sit next to him. Seeing that she couldn’t hear any words, it was probably that Sylvia was also asleep.
“Senior.”
“… Why.”
“You haven’t forgotten, have you?”
More than friends, less than lovers, is that what you mean?
“I can’t forget. Know who I am.”
“… That’s it.”
The warrior who didn’t understand my conversation with Robin gave me a disapproving look, but she lightly ignored me.
“Whoa…. Robin. Give me a map.”
“Map…. Umm…. Oh, here.”
“Thank you.”
After opening the map, we estimated our location.
It’s been about three hours since we left Harman, so maybe….
“Maybe… About this.”
The map clearly showed a large Y-shaped tree nearby. I stuck my head out of the carriage and looked around.
On a hill in the distance, an old tree with a Y-shaped split stood tall.
“Yes.”
“Wow…. Austin. How can you tell where we are just by looking at the map?”
“No, it’s all on the map.”
“Yeah, that’s right….”
It seemed that the hero wanted to talk to me somehow, but he didn’t bother to talk further.
“Royman. Let’s go all the way here today and stop. The sun will probably set by then.”
“Um…. All right.”
As I pointed out a map to the driver’s seat window and pointed out a candidate for a campsite, Roiman lowered his head and looked at the map.
I handed the map to Royman as it was, and closed my eyes while leaning against the carriage.
“I’m going to take a deep breath, so you guys should get some rest too. He said he stayed up all night because of me.”
“Oh, yes! That… good night… !”
It’s a lot more awkward than before, but time will solve this. After a few days… We will be able to live together as innocently as before.
I hope so too.