◆ Near the Castle Gate of Avangarde Royal Capital ◆
I wondered who was shouting so loudly, but it didn’t take long to find out. Just a little further down Central Street, near where Eeks and the others were fighting, someone stood atop the tallest building.
“Hey, you’re putting on quite a show!”
“Captain!”
“Captain!”
“I apologize, Captain. They turned out to be tougher than we expected, as you can see.”
Finally, the leader of the Comet Wolf Brigade made his appearance. It felt almost too easy, which was unsettling. He might have used Shadow Entry like the others to appear out of nowhere.
As for his appearance, it was a complete mess. He had a square face with goblin-like eyes devoid of eyebrows, and a chin that resembled a butt. His hair was tied up in three tufts like a pineapple crown, while the back was left slightly longer, and the sides were braided. With his hands shoved into his pockets, he watched the battle scene as if he were whistling casually.
“What’s up with you guys? I thought this would be over by now, but you seem to be struggling!”
“If you give me a super deep kiss, it’ll be over in no time!”
“I might be able to finish it too?”
“Now, now, that’s not something you should be doing in front of all these humans. There’s such a thing as morals, you know?”
“Since when does a thief talk about morals?!”
Unable to hold back, Eeks jumped in as the knight and Luke threw themselves at the captain. Watching them nuzzle against that bulky captain and alternate kissing him made me feel a bit nauseous.
“I am Vattel, the captain of the Comet Wolf Brigade.”
He introduced himself while pulling the two closer, looking down at the crowd from his high perch. It felt as if he was looking down on everyone, his lips pursed in a mocking manner as he shook his shoulders.
“Vattel, do you really think you can get away with causing this much chaos? Your forces are practically nonexistent outside of this place!”
“No way! We still have the second, third, and fourth squads! Dedrov should be at the port!”
“I took down Dedrov myself.”
“Huh?! Are you kidding me? Who the hell are you?!”
“That’s the Flash Strike Girl Lua, who has been a thorn in our side.”
Even from the vantage point of the Kurinka Dragon, we looked down at the captain, but his expression remained unchanged. He had a face that was infuriating, with a mouth like an octopus and a furrowed brow.
“That?! She’s just a little kid! There’s no way someone like her could take down Dedrov! Without him, the Comet Wolf Brigade wouldn’t even exist! It’s because he supported us that we’re here now!”
“What do you want by forming a gang like this?”
“What do I want? Well, it’s to destroy the present, of course!”
I couldn’t exactly criticize him, but Vattel seemed incredibly dim-witted. His elongated speech made it hard to believe he was smart.
“Destroy the present? Don’t joke around, thief!”
“Exactly! Do you even realize how many lives you’ve taken?!”
“In the end, you’re just a bunch of kids throwing a tantrum because you don’t like things!”
“Say that after you’ve lived a proper life!”
With my arrival, everyone had grown emboldened, hurling jeers from all directions. I thought the captain would brush it off, but something seemed off. He suddenly started to fidget.
“W-wait, calm down. I understand how you feel. Some of you have lost important people. That’s terrible… If it’s my subordinates who did it, then it’s my responsibility. I’ll tie up the ones who did it and let the families take their revenge. I don’t mind if they torture them to death. I’ll pay whatever it takes to help you live on without those emotional scars. So, can you listen to me?”
His unexpected reaction silenced the crowd. Soon, murmurs began to rise, creating a strange atmosphere.
“These two were slaves in a certain country. Since they were little girls, you know? Those filthy old men did terrible things to them, and their hearts are just like this. Their bodies have long since lost their femininity.”
“Ha! What do you mean by ‘like this’? Hahaha!”
“Am I cute?”
These two were the knight and Luke, whom Vattel held on either side. They clung to him, groping his chest.
“The country doesn’t do anything for them. Only those born into proper families, given food and shelter, are protected, while the rest are left to fend for themselves. That’s just unacceptable, right?”
“You’ve been spouting your nonsense, but no one is going to support the inhumane acts you’ve committed.”
“Shut up, hero! Not everyone is as strong as you!”
“That kind of thinking is why monsters like the Phantom exist!”
“Ugh… that’s unrelated!”
“You always say the citizens are treasures or whatever, but that’s just too much, isn’t it?”
This wasn’t like Eeks at all; he was being swayed by someone like that. But I didn’t know what to retort with. Even if I did, I’d just get shot down again. Plus, in this atmosphere, attacking would lead to something bad happening. Everyone was hanging on Vattel’s words.
“This is how your hard-earned money is being spent. Look!”
As Vattel raised his hand, a stack of papers suddenly appeared. They scattered like a whirlwind, fluttering down to everyone. I wanted to question what kind of skill that was, but the bizarre things kept coming, making me uneasy. Vattel was definitely acting strange.
I thought Dedrov was stronger, but there was something about Vattel that even Dedrov acknowledged. It was slowly revealing itself.
“W-what is this?! Why do we have this?!”
“This lord of the southern region! Isn’t there something wrong with the accounts?! It can only mean he’s pocketing part of the taxes collected!”
“This Saxiu Border Baron is even worse! He’s using taxes meant for road maintenance and construction to hire adventurers as mercenaries! The Kaiser Dragon extermination failed, leading to total annihilation… The heavy debts in the west are still weighing down the entire population… So that’s what the excessive taxes were for!”
“Has the country really overlooked such corruption?! They should have realized it was clearly wrong immediately!”
“Well, obviously, it’s because it’s a hassle, right?”
With all this evidence of corruption, I wondered how he had gathered it. No one seemed to question that. Instead, they were captivated by the content, as if it didn’t matter. The paper Elmera picked up detailed abuses based on racial discrimination by a certain noble and how they recklessly demolished villages. The displaced villagers were left to wander in forests teeming with monsters.
Just reading this was enough to ignite my anger. The king and the ministers had let this slide while now claiming they would establish a republic. They oppressed those who couldn’t resist, doing whatever they pleased.
“…Is this really true?”
“It seems to be. This is why I start to hate humans. But Lua, don’t get swept away. That guy probably has Divine Nature.”
Wait, what? Before I could ask, Elmera dropped a bombshell. It was hard to believe that Vattel possessed some kind of Divine Nature, but if Elmera said it, then maybe it was true.
The crowd, fueled by anger, seemed to forget that they were dealing with the captain of the Comet Wolf Brigade. The one who had been causing chaos until now was now directing his weapon towards a strange target. That’s how it felt.
“Hey, hey, hey, this feels weird, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah, it’s strange. Rather than how he gathered all that information, this is just odd.”
“We can’t just sit here.”
Eeks jumped onto the roof, positioning himself to match Vattel.
“Everyone, don’t be fooled! Sure, this information might be real! But don’t take the words of someone who caused this much damage to the Royal Capital at face value!”
“But this seal of censorship is way too realistic to be a forgery, right?”
“The collapse of the Comet Wolf Brigade’s royal authority… I can’t say I don’t understand after seeing this.”
“It’s strange for just a select few privileged classes to continue ruling indefinitely.”
“I feel like there’s a chance for reconciliation here. If we keep fighting, the damage will only increase!”
The mood that had welcomed Eeks so warmly had shifted, and now people were looking at him with suspicion.
“Eeks is right; this is strange… Elmera, do you think his Divine Nature has something to do with this?”
“Oh, for a musclehead, you’re quite sharp! You’re on the ball when it comes to fighting!”
“I can’t believe how many words you have to say…”
“I analyzed it just for you, Lua! That guy’s Divine Nature is… ‘Plunder.'”
“P-Plunder?”
“Hey, you guys. Are you happy right now? While you’re risking your lives and sweating it out, those high-ups are just sitting back and watching, right? Then they come out later, complaining about how the damage has gotten out of hand. Isn’t that ridiculous?”
I suddenly realized something terrifying. I hadn’t connected Plunder with our current situation, but seeing the lifeless eyes of my comrades jolted me. Why were they taking Vattel’s words at face value? It was all because of Vattel’s Divine Nature.
“Ah, my heart has been stolen away. Well, I’m devoted to my big sister, so I’m not swayed by something like that.”
“Then it seems everyone is starting to trust him…”
“See, this is why Divine Natures can be so annoying. Most importantly, he doesn’t even realize he has such a Divine Nature.”
“I finally understand why that guy was able to build such a large band of thieves, Lua-chan.”
“Everyone has been drawn to him, huh…”
Not everyone, but almost everyone was on the verge of giving up the fight. Except for Eeks and Tiferia, nearly everyone else. Plunder—this meant that the hearts of the people here had been taken. I thought that Knights and Luke, along with the other thieves, must have been affected by this too.
“I-I won’t be stolen away by someone like that!”
“Me neither!”
“You two are all lovey-dovey, huh? Maybe only people like you who have something to love are safe.”
“We have to defeat him soon…”
“Ah, maybe it’s better to stop that.”
“Why?!”
“Just look at this situation.”
“See? It’s clear now, right? We’re not doing anything reckless.”
Some people even started to put away their weapons. Soldiers, adventurers, and even those three sisters were hesitating. I watched as Mai, who had her hand on her bow, slowly lowered it.
“Damn it, I knew it was rotten, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad. He really was right.”
“The reason we transitioned to a republic was because this country’s strange experiments came to light, right? What do they think we are?!”
“Exactly!”
I understood what Elmera was trying to say. If I attacked him now, the blame would surely fall on me. It was unbelievable, but in this situation, it made sense. I finally grasped why Dedrov held him in such high regard. He could steal hearts, something Dedrov couldn’t do. He could take everything from the nation’s corruption to the hearts of people. That was Vattel, the leader of the Comet Wolf Brigade. It wasn’t just strength; I was almost impressed by this kind of power.
“What should we do?”
“How about I use my Imagination Magic to knock everyone out, and in the meantime, we take him down? Normally, I could erase their memories, but since it’s influenced by his Divine Nature… my Imagination Magic might not reach that far.”
“…What if I could restore their feelings?”
“Hm? What do you mean?”
“If ‘Plunder’ can steal hearts, then maybe my ‘Restoration’ can do something about it too.”
“I don’t quite understand what you’re saying.”
I didn’t either. But right now, that was all I had left. Even the earthquake from earlier—
“Whoa!”
Another strong tremor. It felt like someone was shaking the ground from both ends.
“Oh, it’s almost time.”
“Leader, the Shadow Entry will soon be complete.”
“Hey, listen up! A big one is coming from below. Even if we estimate lightly, this whole area is in danger.”
“Oh, this is bad.”
Elmera noticed something and landed on the ground. After staring intently at the ground, she crossed her arms and began to think.
“You guys are doing something brutal. Even I could barely sense it from this distance, so it’s no wonder the others didn’t notice.”
“Elmera, did you figure something out?”
“Well, their underground fortress is coming up from below. They usually move using Shadow Entry, so it’s thanks to that that such a large group can move without anyone noticing.”
“So, what does that mean?! What is this underground fortress?!”
“It’s our secret hideout! It’s called the Gran Baena.”
The increasing tremors meant it was getting closer to the surface. Everything connected in my mind. They had come up here using Shadow Entry from there. It was something even Elmera hadn’t noticed, and now it was about to emerge with the fortress intact. How much destruction would this cause? I had to stop it, but if I provoked it carelessly, the town would be in danger.
“I see, that’s why the Comet Wolf Brigade’s hideout has remained undiscovered for so long. Tiferia, is there anything we can do for this S-rank job?”
“It’s difficult, really difficult. Even for me, something that large… Lua, can’t you do something about it?”
I was thinking too. A way to stop that fortress without anyone dying. I was thinking, just thinking hard.
“Hehe, Leader. Look at the confusion of the so-called strongest Flash Strike Girl… it’s quite a sight.”
“Isn’t it sad? They really are doing something brutal.”
“The one who came up with this plan, Cancel, deserves a medal. To think he anticipated what would happen after he was taken down, that man is terrifying…”
“Well, what about it? Anyone here want to be saved? I’m not looking to massacre everyone indiscriminately.”
A few hands began to rise. Wanting to be saved by someone who was about to cause such a disaster? Everyone was acting strange.
“If we lose this Royal Capital, those rotten nobles will be left with nothing. Then we can all beat them up together, right?”
At that moment, hands shot up eagerly, an unbelievable sight. To trust a thief like that? It was truly hard to believe.
“Elmera, can’t you do something with your Imagination Magic?”
“I can!”
“Then stop it! Please!”
“About half of it.”
“W-What?”
“Even if I cancel Shadow Entry, the fortress is still moving due to a different power source. Plus, I don’t even know what shape that fortress is in. I could crush it with Earth Magic, but that would definitely affect the surface, right? If we want to stop it without any damage, I’ll need a bit more time.”
In the end, neither Elmera nor I had found a breakthrough.
“Leader! That girl looks super frustrated! She’s about to cry! Hahaha!”
“How pitiful.”
“The destruction of the Royal Capital is unavoidable; this is also a revelation…”
“I told you, didn’t I? We’ve won.”
Hitting that guy with the octopus-like lips wouldn’t solve anything. In times like this, I needed to calm my mind. I had done that in the Abyss Cave. When nothing could be done, I would think. And so, I closed my eyes.
◆ Shin Report ◆
So, let’s quickly take down those three and then think about it.
Even if it’s meaningless, for my mental health, it’s absolutely necessary.
It’ll feel better.
Elmera’s Imagination Magic can see through things,
It seems like she can do anything, but not really.
Lua, showing weakness at times like this, makes her underestimate herself.
Is that okay?
You are invincible.
How did you take down the Twelve Demon Lords?
Remember it.
Plunder?
Shin is always devoted to the Demon Lord.
If something can steal this pure heart, then let it try.
Ah, is it stealing?
Is it stealing?
Leader, is that what it is?
Well, whatever.