Episode 293: Seekers and the Government
Everyone in the room turned their gaze towards Yuma. Yuma himself was tense, left with no choice but to silently watch how things would unfold.
Hans averted his gaze, pressed his temple, and shook his head.
“I’ve heard about the Black Armor. It was said to be rampaging with tremendous strength, but when captured, it turned out to be a young man… It’s hard to believe, but I have no choice but to accept it as fact. I still can’t believe that there are humans who can transform into Monsters.”
Hans glared at Yuma again with a sharp glint in his eyes.
“So, are you serious about fighting alongside us?”
“Of course! Our goal is to subjugate the Monsters in England and receive the White Magic Gem as a reward. We will do everything we can for that!”
Everyone fell silent for a while. During that time, Hans kept glaring at Yuma, and Yuma returned the gaze with a powerful look.
Hans slightly relaxed his face, which was etched with deep wrinkles, and chuckled softly.
“Well, I don’t know why you’re so eager for the White Magic Gem, but more important than that is whether you can be useful as a fighting force. If you can transform into the Black Armor, then show me that power.”
Asked that, Yuma turned his gaze to Rui, who was next to him. Seeing Rui nod, he confidently opened his mouth.
“Understood.”
Yuma put strength into his body with a “Hmph.” His entire body was dyed black, transforming into a grotesque monster covered in steel armor.
The Seekers in the room groaned “Ooh” and seemed to be trembling.
Charlotte and Michael were no exception. The transformed Yuma had a large frame, over two meters tall including the horns.
Seeing it up close, it was no wonder they were surprised.
While many were standing still, Hans crossed the room and picked up a Longsword placed on the shelf.
Returning to Yuma, he drew his Longsword without hesitation.
Lightning ran along the sharp blade, and he swung the Longsword towards Yuma. A full-force blow.
However, Yuma calmly grabbed the oncoming Longsword with his right hand and stood there as if nothing had happened.
The Longsword crackled with plasma in his hand, and Hans tried to push the Longsword in with a fierce Oni-like expression, but the Longsword didn’t move.
When Yuma applied force, the Longsword snapped with a cracking sound.
Hans was taken aback by this and stared at his broken Longsword for a while.
And then—
“Hahahaha, this is amazing! Truly delightful!!”
He burst into hearty laughter. Yuma and Rui were dumbfounded, but Hans didn’t care.
“I see… indeed, it’s as strong as the rumors say. This makes me feel like we can go out and subjugate the Blue King.”
“Then, can you tell the British government about us? That we are Seekers who are useful enough.”
First, it was necessary to get the British government to keep its initial promise. If they subjugated the Blue King on top of that, they could obtain the White Magic Gem, which was their goal.
Yuma thought so and was raising his tension in his Black Armor form, but Hans turned a stern gaze towards Rui.
“What about you? Mitaka, who can transform into the Black Armor? I understand his ability. But do you have enough ability to convince us?”
Yuma nodded, “Ah, I see.” In short, if they were going to fight together, they had to show their ability.
Yuma had nothing to worry about regarding that.
“I see. I’ll prove that I can fight alongside you all as well.”
The next moment Rui smiled—his figure disappeared.
“What!?”
Hans, who was watching in front of him, was dumbfounded. When everyone looked around, Rui’s figure was at the back of the room.
“Would you be satisfied with this? By the way, this is the first button of the uniforms you are wearing.”
In Rui’s palm were seven buttons. When everyone looked at their uniforms, the top button was missing.
Charlotte’s and Michael’s too.
Everyone was silenced by the absurdity of it. They didn’t know what to say to the two Seekers who possessed unimaginable power.
Hans, who was looking at his uniform, shook his shoulders and began to chuckle.
“Hahaha! This is interesting!! If you’re this capable, there’s nothing to complain about!”
Hans laughed loudly and approached Yuma, who had Metallized, patting him hard on the shoulder.
“I understand. I’ll persuade the government folks. If you guys are here, it will be a great asset, and at this rate, the Monsters will only get stronger. Now is the only time to go to war. Charlotte, come with me!”
“Yes.”
Hans left the room with Charlotte.
Rui returned the buttons to everyone, saying, “Sorry,” and Yuma’s Metallization time ran out, returning him to his original form.
Michael and the other Seekers who remained in the room frowned and stared intently at Yuma and Rui.
Yuma, feeling awkward, gave a wry smile.
There was nothing to do until Hans and Charlotte returned. Rui said, “Sorry. I’ll wait here,” and sat down on the sofa in the room with Yuma.
◇◇◇
Hans and Charlotte got into the car and headed to King’s College Hospital, where the government council was located.
The Ice Kingdom refers to a certain area centered around Brixton.
King’s College Hospital was the easternmost part of it, and all government operations had been moved there.
After parking the car in the parking lot, the two got out and saw a magnificent brick building.
They presented their ID cards to the soldiers guarding the entrance, and Hans and Charlotte entered.
They went up to the top floor in the elevator, walked down the corridor, and opened the door in front of them.
It was a large office, and more than ten people were talking. Hans stopped and called out, “Excuse me!”
“Oh, it’s Hans. What’s wrong? What brings you here?”
The one who turned a gentle expression towards him was a young white woman. She wore a crisp dark navy suit, and her upright posture was like a model.
She brushed back her shoulder-length, semi-long blonde hair and stepped forward in front of Hans.
It was Leila Evans, the Prime Minister of England. Hans straightened his posture, looked straight at Leila’s face, and opened his mouth.
“I’m here today regarding the subjugation of Monsters.”
“Oh, that again? That was rejected by the council, wasn’t it? Right now, it’s important to strengthen the defense of the city, not to go on the offensive.”
“Two Seekers have come from Japan. They are extremely talented and more than qualified as a fighting force. I believe that now is the only time to subjugate the Blue King. Please reconsider!”
In response to Hans’s strong recommendation, Leila sighed softly.
“I’ve heard about that. But there are only two of them, right? I don’t think that can be called a fighting force.”
“No, that’s not true. They will achieve greater feats than a combination of many Seeker Clans.”
“I see… but aren’t there other problems besides that?”
“Problems?”
When Hans made a puzzled face, Leila looked at a woman standing in the corner of the room.
Hans didn’t know what she meant, but Charlotte, who was standing behind Hans, recognized her.
—That’s the woman who guided Mitaka and Amasawa, her name was Eliza, I think…
Leila smiled and looked at Hans.
“That Seeker who came from Japan… apparently, he’s a monster called the Black Armor.”