novelDestruction of the Knights' and Princess's Defensive Line (2)
| ← Ch.137 | Ch.139 → |
A maid pulled out and handed her some annoying-to-use stationary made up of a high quality letter set and a quill. The maid continued to hold the ink bottle.
The third princess frowned and hesitatingly moved the quill.
"Yes, I think it was... like this. A mark like this shows where it is. My knowledge of magic is not the best, so I don't actually know what it means."
The stationary she held out held what looked like some kind of symbol and Kamijou had no idea what it meant. It didn't even have the extremely foreign feeling that a magic circle had. It was at the level where he would have believed someone if they had told him it was a rare mark used on maps.
However, one person frowned upon seeing the stationary Villian was holding out. That person was the mass of magical knowledge that was Index.
"What is it, Index?"
"Nothing. It's just odd. Why would they use the 'heart' as a symbol of warning?" she muttered, but Kamijou couldn't quite pick up what she was saying.
At any rate, they had to look around to see if they could find the mark Villian had drawn. Having come to that conclusion, the group split up and started checking the walls and floor of the tunnel. The servants helped too because all they had to do was find the mark.
(The fluorescent lights are enough to walk around, but they really aren't bright enough to search for a small mark. We knew we had to enter a tunnel, so we really should have prepared a light. )
Staring intently in the dim lighting, Kamijou walked slowly along the wall.
Once they found the mark, it would be Kamijou's turn. No matter how strong a spell it was protected by, he should be able to easily destroy it with Imagine Breaker.
Then, the fingers of Kamijou's right hand touched something that felt different.
"?"
Removing his hand from the wall, he stared into the darkness again to find what looked like a poster. It was about two meters tall and one meter across. In the dim light, he couldn't tell what was written on it, but the tape on the upper right corner must have come off because it was flipped up. Kamijou stared at that portion.
(Huh... ?)
He frowned.
He leaned in closer to the poster to see what it said.
(Was this here before?)
And then he saw it.
It was not a poster.
It was a wall.
Something thin the exact same color and texture of the tunnel wall had been stuck there. It was like the large pieces of wallpaper ninja often used to hide themselves with in cheap historical dramas.
"This is... ?"
As soon as Kamijou muttered that, something moved.
He heard a whooshing noise.
Pale beams of light shot from the center of the wallpaper across the height and width of the tunnel wall. A grid of rectangles the exact same size as the "poster" spread out instantly.
"This is... !?"
"Touma!!" Index yelled having noticed what happened, but something interrupted her.
It was the sound of paper rubbing against paper.
One wall of the tunnel seemed to undulate. Just when Kamijou put himself on guard, each of the square portions of the grid flipped up like posters, tore off, and formed a giant aggregation of paper.
A few of those pieces of paper fell to the ground like dead leaves.
They were most likely the pieces he had touched with his right hand or that had been destroyed in a sort of chain reaction from that.
However, the others powerfully floated through the air.
(A magical... barrier. )
Kamijou almost burst out laughing.
The sound of paper being crumpled in the hand of a giant reverberated throughout the tunnel.
"I knew magic went beyond any kind of common sense I would have."
The enormous amount of paper that was spiraling around like a storm in an office finally concentrated on one spot. On top of that, they were all acting in concert.
"But I never imagined a wall would take on the form of a human and attack me!!"
Part 7
When the pieces of paper covering one wall of the tunnel moved away, the entrance to a new half-circle shaped tunnel appeared. To forcibly connect it to the main track, the new tunnel even had a special rail that extended like a fire engine's ladder.
However, a giant made of paper blocked the way.
It was around 3 meters tall.
Paper normally gave an impression of being light, but...
"!?"
The giant swung its fist horizontally crashing straight through one of the tunnel's pillars without losing its momentum and continued on heading straight towards Kamijou's cheek. The fist was covered in masses of concrete each one larger than a school bag, so Kamijou abandoned the idea of intercepting it with his right hand. Practically falling backwards, he managed to avoid the first strike.
He then heard a short, high-pitched scream. He guessed it had either come from one of the maids or from Third Princess Villian. As a giant was currently trying to beat him to death, Kamijou didn't have the attention to spare.
He looked at the paper giant that had destroyed a pillar of concrete in a single blow.
Bundles of paper must have been moving within its body because what almost looked like hard muscles rose to the surface.
(Dammit! It may just be paper, but it gains some actual weight with that much of it!!)
It was a bit like swinging around a bookshelf packed with thick books. The giant's arm could literally pulverize a human or two.
"Touma, get away from it! That's a spiritual item based on the creation of Mökkurkalfe!" Index yelled from a bit away.
Before Kamijou could ask what that was, she explained it.
"Mökkurkalfe is a prefabricated giant from Norse mythology! It was designed to fight against Thor who was known for having top-class strength even among the Norse gods, but the story goes that, at the very, very end, the wrong material was used for the 'heart', which led to poor results. This is an optimized custom model made to protect this location by rethinking the materials from the ground up using British theories! I think the symbol Villian wrote before was the symbol that was newly set for the 'heart'!!"
(Yet another thing with a long history!!)
Kamijou clicked his tongue and the paper giant made its next move.
Kamijou instinctually tried to get some distance between him and the giant, but the giant kicked the ruins of the pillar it had previously destroyed. A soccer ball sized piece struck Kamijou's jaw from below like an uppercut.
"Gah... !?"
Kamijou bent backwards and he tasted blood spreading through his mouth.
However, the paper giant did not stop there.
Using its huge legs, it closed the distance between them with a single large step. All of Kamijou's weight was tilted back leaving him defenseless and this time the giant fist made of paper that held more weight than a bookshelf flew up at him.
It seemed like a hopeless situation, but...
(... This is my chance. )
Kamijou immediately poured strength into his right fist.
When the paper giant made actual contact with him was the best chance for Kamijou to attack with Imagine Breaker. If he missed, he'd be turned to mincemeat, but if he managed to hit the attacking paper fist, he could counterattack.
(Don't chicken out.... Go!!)
Two fists roared through the air.
Kamijou's right fist struck the very center of the huge fist that could easily turn a car to scrap in a single strike. In that instant, the giant fist stopped moving. Whatever was holding the paper together was undone and the giant turned into a flood of paper. Tens and even hundreds of posters flowed down and half buried Kamijou. With an eerie noise, he was swept over to the tunnel wall as if he were caught in a stream of water.
"Gh... !? Fuck, did I do it!?"
Pain ran through his back and head. Kamijou tried to move his limbs, but he felt as restricted as someone wrapped in a futon. At any rate, now that it had turned back into a bunch of paper, the Mökkur-whatever shouldn't be able to function. He could just wait for Index or someone to help him out of the mountain of paper.
But then...
The sound of paper being crumpled up sent a chill down his spine.
"You're kidding, right... ?"
When he looked over, he saw a strange silhouette. A minimum amount of paper had been crumpled up to form strings of paper that created wire-like limbs and a backbone. In contrast to that, its face was just as large as before.
The wrinkles that looked like a human face formed and its right arm moved back like a giant bow about to be fired. It no longer had a powerful fist. However, it now had a sharp stake-like tip.
(Oh, shit. I can't move! I can't get away!!)
With his body restrained by the large amount of paper, Kamijou couldn't even budge.
The paper giant carefully aimed its right stake at the center of Kamijou's face.
Without hesitation, it shot the stake that could likely break through a wall.
(Fuck!!)
That was when a figure suddenly cut in from the side.
It was one of the servants who had come from Buckingham Palace. A middle-aged gardener wearing faded work clothes attempted to grab the paper giant's arm somehow managing to throw its aim off a bit.
Thanks to that, Kamijou's head was not smashed.
The stake arm instead stabbed deep into the concrete wall next to his head.
However, the gardener did not escape unharmed.
He had attempted to restrain the paper giant's arm, but he had been knocked away by the great force. On top of that, the paper giant's body was as tough as layers upon layers of hardened paste, so it was as hard as stone. The gardener's work clothes were torn and he shed a fair amount of blood too.
Kamijou felt more fear for the man's life than he did gratitude for being saved.
"You idiot!! That was completely reckless... !!" Kamijou yelled as he continued to struggle in an attempt to free himself from the mountain of paper that was as heavy as a collapsed bookshelf.
Hearing that, the collapsed gardener smiled. It was the face of someone glad to see that someone else was worried about them.
"... Sorry. I don't know anything about magic, but we can oppose this thing with your power, right?"
With a creaking noise, the paper giant attempted to pull the stake from the wall.
Broken shards fell to the ground from the cracked concrete.
"So please. Do something about that thing. Do something before its ridiculous stake is turned on Lady Villian!!"
Part 8
The servants had protectively stepped forward in front of Villian when the paper giant had appeared. When those servants heard what the gardener said, they seemed to relax a bit.
Villian's body stiffened with a very terrible feeling about what was to come.
She had felt that terrible feeling many times already that night.
A young female servant turned back towards Villian and spoke as if to prove the third princess's intuition true.
"Leave this to us, Lady Villian."
"... !?"
"If we can buy enough time for that boy to recover, we can turn this around. We may not know how to fight, but surely 20 people can keep it from moving by crushing it."
That was definitely the normal way of thinking.
However, Villian knew something despite not knowing very much about magic: the strange phenomena she had witnessed before her eyes had not followed normal laws. Even if 20 powerless civilians charged in, it would use its normally unthinkable strength to destroy them.
The servants were not idiots.
Even if they couldn't calculate out the numbers, the things they had experienced since the start of the coup d'etat should have been enough for them to guess at the truth.
However, they did not say anything about that.
It was as if they did not want to worry Villian.
A certain servant took off his coat in a manner that showed he felt he had no choice. A certain cook took off his tie and wrapped it around his fists in order to protect his hands as much as he could. A certain clothes designer glanced over towards the exit, but still managed to draw out enough courage to look back towards the paper giant. All of their faces had paled and their entire bodies were trembling.
They were of course scared, but they were still choosing to head to their likely deaths.
"Why... ?" Villian asked them without thinking.
"There is no real reason, " said a young female servant with a bitter smile on her lips."The reasons people feel the need to take action are not so special. We gathered here because we wanted to fight for you. That's all there is to it, Lady Villian."
That was when the paper giant made its next move. It must have decided that pulling out the stake from the wall next to Kamijou Touma's head was impossible because the paper making up the tip of its arm fell apart on its own. Having regained its freedom by sacrificing part of itself, the paper giant sharpened the tip of its arm again.
It was going to make sure to kill Kamijou Touma this time.
It was going to eliminate the boy who had a method of resisting it.
Seeing that, the servants began to move.
Then Third Princess Villian placed her hand lightly on a young servant's shoulder.
"I understand how you all feel."
Due to some strong power, she understood how they felt more than she ever had before.
"But that reason does not make it all right for you to die. If that spiritual item is set to eliminate the threats to the barrier that itself is in order of priority, then I am the best option for a lure."
As soon as she finished speaking, Villian ran forward.
The princess who had been hiding behind people's backs the entire time now moved in front of everyone.
"Wait... !!"
The servants behind her yelled out to stop her, but none of them physically tried to hold her back. They likely hadn't been able to react in time to her sudden action. Also, their fear was probably preventing them from using their legs properly.
Of course they were afraid.
Of course they wanted to flee.
Gritting her teeth, Villian ran through the dark tunnel. A large wrench about the size of a mop was sitting next to the wall. It was likely used to manually switch the rails in emergencies. She grabbed it with both hands and ran further ahead. She ran and ran and ran in a direct line to the giant. As she approached, she poured all of her strength into the heavy wrench.
The servant had said that the reasons people feel the need to take action were not so special. Villian wanted to believe that that was true, so she swung the large wrench horizontally at the paper giant's head.
"Oooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!"
As she swung the wrench, Villian let out a yell the likes of which she had never before uttered in public.
In response, the paper giant took action as well.
The spiritual item changed the aim of its arm that was sharpened like a stake and fired the tip at the approaching wrench. With a dull clang, a shock ran through Villian's head.
The stake had not hit her.
The wrench had broken almost exactly in half and one side had struck her in the face.
(To Carissa, this thing is probably a complete weakling that does not even have the same amount of power as her pinky finger. If she saw us struggling here, she would surely ridicule us for our incompetence. )
Villian was knocked backwards to the ground, but her gaze did not waver.
She threw away the remains of the broken wrench.
The Amakusas had said that someone from the Royal Family was needed to open the magical barrier and they had lectured her on the spell needed to do that.
(But if even this tiny power is going to injure those who will stand up to support me and if my sister whose overwhelming power makes this fearsome power seem "tiny" is going to make people suffer... )
She just had to activate it.
Villian acted in order to carry out this magic on her own.
The paper giant itself was the barrier protecting the subway tunnel and the special railway car for Curtana. And Villian knew that the barrier could be controlled by the Royal Family's magic.
That was why Villian decided to charge forward.
She would show that paper giant that she was a member of the British Royal Family.
She was doing it to save the servants who had come with her and to send Curtana Original out of control to save the United Kingdom from Carissa!!
Normally, the third princess might have been shaking from fear and might have had tears welling up in her eyes, but she clearly glared at the paper giant.
(I will oppose you!! I will oppose you to the very last instant no matter what!!)
However, the paper giant aimed its stake-like arm at Villian before she could stand up. The third princess ignored it. In the time she could have spent evading or defending, she quickly and desperately chanted a spell under her breath.
No voice could be heard.
The paper giant was merely automatically eliminating external enemies as a spiritual item.
Its stake-like arm flew.
It was accurately headed straight for Villian's face.
And then...
"C A O! M A R A T T R!! (Alter the trajectory! Move the right arm right!!)"
Index's voice came from somewhere and the stake unnaturally strayed from its route suddenly. It flew right past Villian's face and stabbed deeply into the concrete floor.
Then the third princess's chant caught up.
Strictly speaking, Villian had managed to complete the chant by taking Index's advice partway through and switching over to a Quick Spell.
"O A G P A T A C O T P O T R B!! (In accordance with the order of one who has inherited the proper blood, open quickly!!)"
Along with those final words, most of the paper giant's body started to fall to pieces.
However, its right arm kept its form and attempted to pierce Villian's face with its sharp end as if in its death agonies.
The third princess did not flinch.
Then...
"Thanks. You saved me, Villian."
The paper giant's arm stopped moving.
The boy's hand had forcefully grabbed the giant's upper arm from behind as if he had been trying to stop a fight.
The giant crumbled further.
It turned back towards him even while continuing to lose its original form because it had determined that his right hand was more of a threat.
"Leave the rest to me. This time, I'll end this here."
Kamijou Touma vs. the paper giant.
The fight did not even last an instant.
Imagine Breaker vs. the stake-like arm.
Two strikes that possessed the power to immediately kill the other were thrown without hesitation.
A loud noise rang out.
This time, Kamijou Touma's fist managed to destroy the entirety of the paper giant.
It had been just barely managing to maintain its human form already and the papers scattered about explosively starting with the place Kamijou's fist had struck. The large number of rectangular parchments were blown almost to the tunnel's ceiling and then slowly floated down due to gravity.
"..."
Third Princess Villian stared at the scene speechless for a bit.
She stared at the large number of parchments floating through the air as a result of the first action she had ever taken in an attempt to defeat a clear enemy.
Kamijou had no idea what she was thinking about.
He decided to leave her be for a bit and then he felt his cell phone vibrating.
He didn't recognize the number, but he heard a familiar voice when he put the phone up to his ear.
"Oh, good. It got through!"
"That voice... Itsuwa?"
"Y-yes! Good evening! This is Itsuwa finally completely free of the alcohol!!"
"?"
Kamijou looked puzzled at how energetic Itsuwa was, but she of course had no way of knowing that.
"The plan was a success. Now that you, Lady Villian, and the others have released the lock on the magical barrier, the special railway car's power source can be accessed remotely."
"I see. So you can directly attack Curtana Original now."
"About that... The special railway car for Curtana is heading your way at tremendous speed to move underneath Buckingham Palace! So please get out of the way!!"
Kamijou's expression turned to one of shock and Itsuwa continued speaking.
"A-anyway, we are going to link the center of air fortress Coven Compass with Curtana Original via the special railway car. The reversing of the flow of power will create a large scale release of magic power. Most likely, the knights will detect the abnormality and head there to investigate and there is also a major risk of getting caught up in an explosion if you stay there! Please head back as quickly as you can!!"
Part 9
October 18th, 2:30 AM.
Control of Curtana Original was lost.
An explosion with a radius of 50 kilometers erupted with Buckingham Palace at the center. However, it was a completely magical explosion that the normal people who lived there could not even detect.
The glass vibrated slightly. It appeared to be reacting to sound waves so low humans could not detect them.
Then there was the sound of blood being coughed up.
A mass of blood fell dirtying a luxurious carpet within the palace.
It was Second Princess Carissa's blood.
"... A forced reversal from Coven Compass, huh?"
Even with all of the power from the center of the sky fortress thrown at it, it still hadn't even been a tenth of the power Curtana Original controlled. However, the irregular power being forced in had acted as a stimulus to send Curtana itself in a bad direction. Having lost its stability, fragments of power leaked from Curtana Original. These fragments damaged Carissa's body much like a blade stuffed in a bag tearing its way out.
(This is why I said merely controlling "most" of the major areas wasn't enough. I told them not to let their guard down until we had crushed "all" of them... No, maybe I should be in awe of their cunning tactics. )
Most of the power distributed to the knights with Curtana Original had been lost.
Some of Carissa's own power had been lost, too.
In fact, about half of it had been torn from her.
But...
(I suppressed it. )
Carissa was confident about one thing.
Most likely, they had come up with that plan because they had determined that sending Curtana out of control would act as a foothold in overthrowing her due to loss of Curtana Original during the Puritan Revolution. However, she would not be defeated. That had not been enough to provide fatal damage to Carissa's power.
"L-Lady Carissa, " a knight called out from the other side of the large doorway."The recovery and resealing of the special railway car beneath the palace has been completed. Now the church cannot interfere with Curtana Original anymore."
"Hm." Carissa wiped the remaining blood from her lips with the back of her hand."Then check to see what effect the power scattered around by Curtana Original had on London. Then check over all the spiritual items stored in the palace. It's possible about half of them are now completely unusable."
Carissa once again grabbed the sword with no blade or tip.
"Bring out the tools for working on spiritual items. I need to run another check on Curtana Original. Because of this, I will put the readjustments to and changes in usage of Curtana Original on hold. Rather than worrying about tricks against Curtana, we need to focus on exterminating the remaining pockets of resistance across the country."
"Understood, " said the knight before he left.
At first glance, he seemed obedient, but Carissa had noticed a disturbance in the balance of the scales in his heart.
The knights were a group that obeyed Knight Leader and Carissa had used Knight Leader as a point of contact with the knights. Now that he was gone, a disturbance within the knights was spreading below the surface and a small rift had appeared between Carissa and the knights.
And now she had lost control of Curtana Original.
It had been due to sabotage carried out by the Anglican Church, but Carissa had an idea of what she would see if she could peek in the knights' hearts. They now saw her as someone who could not control Curtana.
They had already lost their direct leader and now she had shown a sign of being "inferior".
If the former queen Elizard and the church conspired together and started a large-scale opposition at this time, she wasn't sure if the knights would be able to stick with it. It had nothing to do with the fact that Carissa's side had a clear mathematical advantage. It was an emotional problem. Would they continue to believe that they could win? Would they continue to believe in Carissa as the head of state?
(Well, if an opposition does begin now, about half of them will probably crack. )
Even after making that blunt calculation, Carissa smiled thinly.
As she smiled, she rested Curtana Original on her shoulder.
(Now then. I have no need for cowards, but having them change sides would be a pain.... Maybe I should take the initiative and strike first. )
Part 10
Tatemiya Saiji of the Amakusa Church held a pair of binoculars.
He was in a plain on the outskirts of London well beyond the range of Curtana's explosion. It was unclear how much was a manmade pasture and how much was land where nature had been preserved, but it was a place with nothing but green undergrowth spreading out in all directions. In a certain spot there, members of the Anglican Church had gathered from various parts of the United Kingdom.
"Well, crap. We did succeed in weakening Curtana Original to a certain extent, but it looks like we weren't able to avoid a reaction from it."
Tatemiya was standing on the type of stepladder that gardeners liked. He was staring into the distance with his binoculars looking a bit like a referee at a tennis match.
The large Ushibuka spoke in a low voice from below the stepladder.
"That's because a large amount of Telesma was emitted in all directions with the second princess at the center. It appears to have had an effect on the spiritual items and facilities within London. And it seems like at least 3 small churches were destroyed."
"If the readings from the observation equipment remaining in St. George's Cathedral are accurate, the Telesma hanging over London is incredibly dense. If magic were used within London right now, there is a risk of causing an explosion enveloping the entire city, " said the small Kouyagi as he wrote some numbers down in a notebook.
Tatemiya nodded while still staring through the binoculars.
"The second princess's control over the knights had already been cracking with the loss of Knight Leader, so their trust in her has truly started to slip now that she lost control of Curtana Original as well. If only we could press in there now. Then we might be able to mentally bring down the knights without actually having to fight them."
The old Isahaya took over.
"... It looks like we can only wait until the Telesma naturally diffuses making London stable before we attack. Is it possible that Curtana Original's power could be restored and the knights could focus their strength on defending Buckingham Palace in that time?"
"I'm not so sure about the knights, but Curtana shouldn't be a problem. The power it uses is simply too strong, so its power cannot be restored so easily after such a catastrophic failure. Given the amount of power it is theorized to control, it should take at least a month."
"Then..."
"Then we both have a short break. But this break will double as a preparatory period for the final battle."
Tension ran across all of them and someone audibly gulped.
And then...
"If you know that, then take your job seriously, " said a woman with fluffy blonde hair, Tsushima, from a short distance away.
In response, Tatemiya and the other guys pouted and objected.
"Quit accusing us of things like that."
"That's right! We're having a completely serious strategy meeting here."
"We need as many opinions as we can get in this critical moment."
"Yes. We need to know for sure we've chosen the proper course of action."
The guys let their unanimous opinion wash over Tsushima, but her attitude did not change. She tapped at her own temple with her slender index finger and shut one eye.
"Then why are those binoculars pointed in the direction of Itsuwa and her apron?"
And so the last supper began.
The Necessarius members who had escaped London, the Amakusas who had arrived on the rescue plane, the former Agnese Forces members that had been rescued from the freight train, and others from various different religious denominations and cultures gathered in that one spot.
The nuns moving about around Kamijou were exchanging information.
"The Theodosia Electra group has arrived. It seems almost all of the Anglican forces from around England have gathered now."
"The Stiyl Magnus group isn't here yet. They had borrowed that transport plane for the Sky Bus 365 incident, but it seems they ended up in a battle at the airport once the coup d'etat broke out. They were bragging about having won out without any help, but it might take them a while longer to get here."
From what he heard, it sounded like almost all of the remaining forces were gathered here.
The Anglican magicians were preparing and fine-tuning the weapons and spiritual items they used while at the same time preparing their bodies (mainly by eating). Due to the commotion caused by the coup d'etat, some had no stamina left because of the long fights and flights while others had skipped dinner assuming they would eat later and missed the chance to eat then too.
And with so many different people gathered, a lot of different types of food were gathered for them to eat.
"O-oh, wow! This soup... This hot soup is spreading beyond my stomach and into my entire body!!"
"U-umm, we're going to be active soon, so you shouldn't eat too much..."
"I can't just eat a light salad at a time like this!! I've gotta have some heavy meat like this that drops into your stomach like a bowling ball!!"
"I'm saying you should only eat until your stomach is 80% full. If you fill up completely..."
"Another!! I'm definitely getting another one of these!!"
"Ch-chew properly. Eat slowly to make sure you don't surprise your stomach."
"Myahh!!"
Innumerable nuns both big and small had entered a very un-nun-like gluttonous mode while Itsuwa nervously darted back and forth in between them wearing an apron. Kamijou felt a bit bad when he noticed that it seemed even his cat was greedily devouring some food.
He stood almost speechless holding a small plate with nothing on it feeling unable to keep up with the rush of nuns and magicians.
Meanwhile, two gluttonous nuns, Index and Angelene, were sitting together at a table a bit away from the commotion. At first glance, they seemed to be happily sitting next to each other eating, but...
"Wah!! Y-you just ate my food, didn't you? Didn't you!?"
"No, I didn't."
"Y-you saw her, right, Sister Lucia!? This glutton just reached her fork over to my plate!!"
The tall cat-eyed nun sitting across from Angelene sighed. (Lucia hadn't seen it because she had been giving a prayer before eating and didn't really care).
"Sister Angelene. You are supposed to love your neighbors and not doubt others."
"Mgh!? W-well, yes... But I could have sworn she just ate some of my food..."
"Chomp."
"Now you clearly just stole my food!! That wasn't just looking for an opening and sneaking it away! You ate my meatball right in front of me!!"
"No, I didn't. Burp."
"You said that on purpose!! S-Sister Lucia, please say something to her!!"
In response to Angelene who was almost in tears, Lucia tilted her own plate over as if she had no choice.
"Then take some of my food. You need to get rid of your triple handicap of wrath, gluttony, and envy."
"Gyahhh!! That's nothing but vegetables and bitter ones at that! Sister Lucia, are you the kind of person that brings her trials and tribulations to the dinner table!?"
Angelene took a timid bite and then started writhing around, so Lucia hurriedly handed her some vegetable juice, but a sip of that only made it worse. While the bent-backed nun with the braided hair was practically convulsing, Index left on a quest for more food.
However, calamity awaited Index as well in the form of the many Anglican nuns near the table lined with meat.
"Oh, how nostalgic!! Do you remember me? It's Rachel. We used to always play together. Oh, right. Do you want a Salisbury steak?"
"Munch munch. Who are you and why are you pinching at my cheek?"
"Heh heh heh. It looks like Rachel has completely forgotten that you lost your memories. I suppose you don't remember me, but that's fine. Are you as much of a glutton as ever? Here, do you want this food?"
"Mgh!? I just ate a Salisbury steak!! Munch munch."
"Ahhh!! She's so cute! She's just too cute with food stuffed in her cheeks like that!! Here, eat my Salisbury steak, too!!"
"... Ughh. I-I don't think I need anymore..."
The silver haired, green eyed nun spoke words that were very rarely heard from her. However, more Anglican nuns added to the clamors of "Me, too. Me, too!" "Eat mine, too!!" "Let me feed her, too!!"
Meanwhile, an emotional crisis fell on the normal girl that was Itsuwa while she provided people with various foods.
A certain boy was quite nearby.
The potato shochu had been completely broken down within her body and she was back to normal.
However, the giant wave of requests for food from the nuns prevented her from doing anything else. That was not something she could bear as a maiden in love. (And her love was not just for show or due to drunkenness. She was seriously prepared to die for him. )
Then rescue arrived in the form of Tsushima, the Amakusa woman with fluffy blonde hair.
"Ah. You're clearly not working very effectively, so I'll switch out with you. Look, I think that boy wasn't able to get any food because of all the starving nuns. If you go bring him some food, you might gain a few points."
"Ah, that's... n-no!! I don't want to do that!! I don't really... !"
"You don't like taking calculated actions? But if you keep saying that, you'll never get any closer to him."
"But after all that fighting I'm all beaten up and sweaty. I can't face him looking like this..."
Perhaps because she was talking to another woman, Itsuwa let a glimpse of her true self be seen in her mutterings.
But then some unneeded guys butted into the conversation.
"Tah dah!! Itsuwa, you need to go with the Cinderella Plan!! It's an advance sale roadshow!!"
"Wh-why are you suddenly jumping in here and talking about a roadshow? I don't understa-hic!?"
Itsuwa hiccupped at the end because her breathing had caught for a second due to intense shock. While letting out noises that couldn't exactly be called words, Itsuwa pointed a trembling finger at what Tatemiya was holding.
Held out in both his hands was...
"Yes!! It's the Great Spirit Revealing Maid!!"
"Wha-cough!? Cough cough!! T-T-Tatemiya-san, why do you have the final weapon!?"
"Heh. I'm well aware that you want someone to give you a push forward. The designer is actually based in London, so I went by to pick it up just after the coup d'etat started. That way, I managed to get it way before its release date."
"How did you have the time to spare to do something like that!? And how did you get my personal information!?"
Itsuwa was freaking out at how perfectly it matched her measurements, but she also saw it as the key to putting on a major offensive towards "that boy", so she couldn't bring herself to just throw it to the ground.
Meanwhile, Kanzaki Kaori was sitting a few meters away having finally recovered her strength. She let out a sigh of relief making sure no one else would hear it.
"(... W-well, about half of my baggage never made it out of the women's dorm, so the Fallen Angel Ero Maid has likely been sent back to the darkness where it belongs. I don't care about the rest because I managed to bring my pet tropical fish and my friend the washing machine onboard the plane. )"
Kanzaki did not realize that she was muttering these things out loud.
Then Tatemiya spun around towards her at a speed that gave her a very bad feeling.
"Don't worry, Priestess!! I made sure to save your precious wedding dress!! I have both the Fallen Angel Maid and the Fallen Angel Ero Maid here, so take whichever one you wish!!"
"Why would you do thaaaaaaaaattttt!?"
Kanzaki accidentally yelled out loud at him upon seeing her nightmares properly wrapped up as if they had just returned from being dry cleaned. Seeing Tatemiya, Ushibuka, Kouyagi, and the others' faces, she felt kind of stupid for having faced and been defeated by Knight Leader so seriously.
"I do not need these things!! And if you had time to enter the women's dorm, then you should have taken my yukata or something out with you!!"
"You don't need the Fallen Angel Ero Maid... ? Y-you don't mean... !! Do you have a Hyper Fallen Angel Extreme Ero Maid that goes even further!?... N-now I regret my effort."
"I do not have anything like that!! Hyper!? Extreme Ero!? That completely loses sight of the original maid basis!! Are you people fine with anything as long as it has the ero part!?" Kanzaki yelled with a bright red face.
However, the Amakusa men had not risked their lives for a mere joke.
The true basis to their actions was...
"(... We've never actually seen the Priestess wearing the Fallen Angel Ero Maid! I can't die happily until I do!!)"
"(... Yes, after the Acqua of the Back stuff, we were injured and writhing in pain on our beds. She cleverly worked it in during our one opening. )"
"(... I thought I was going to cry tears of blood when Itsuwa reported on what happened. I can't believe something that sexy and hilarious went by without us seeing it. )"
"(... Nnh. With a once-in-a-hundred-years opportunity to see a showdown between the Fallen Angel Ero Maid and the Great Spirit Revealing Maid, it was worth risking our lives. )"
It wasn't just the young Ushibuka and Kouyagi. The married Monozaki and the elderly Isahaya were joining in as well. Seeing this, Kanzaki Kaori began to seriously worry that her irresponsible departure had twisted the Amakusas in the wrong direction. Her thoughts were now more motherly than sisterly, but she was still an 18 year old girl.
The effects continued to spread.
After having eaten bitter vegetables at Lucia's insistence allowing her to experience the feelings of a herbivore, Angelene's hands and mouth had stopped moving and she had tears in her eyes. She then started focusing on the infighting (?) within the Amakusa Church.
Angelene's leader, Agnese Sanctis, was sitting next to her having finished monopolizing a huge pizza covered in salami, wieners, and other meats which made Angelene incredibly jealous. Angelene now poked at Agnese's side with her elbow.
"S-Sister Agnese! It looks like that Eastern denomination is having an interesting discussion about wasting excessive breasts! Can we really just ignore that!?"
"Hm. So basically it's a contest to see who is the most mature by seeing who makes the sexiest maid? Since we have 250 nuns at our disposal, we can't exactly keep quiet here, but I also know we don't have anyone with breasts that excessive. Perhaps it would be most effective to decide on one person among our ranks to use as a countermeasure."
Kanzaki and Itsuwa would probably have attacked those nuns while breathing fire if they had heard those words, but that was not what mattered to Lucia. She only cared about the fact that Agnese and Angelene's gazes had turned in her direction.
Lucia had little feminine sexiness (although her breasts were quite large) and she tried to put a stop to what she saw coming.
"That isn't happening."
"I hear there is something called the Little Devil Flirting Maid."
"It seems you are going to attempt this despite my firm statement, but there is simply no way I will do this."
"It's not a devil, it's a little devil. Apparently, that has special meaning behind it."
As they spoke back and forth, their speech sped up more and more.
A bit away, Sherry Cromwell sat silently watching the commotion. Her blonde hair was as wild as a lion's mane and her skin was light brown. Her mostly black gothic lolita dress was worn out and it almost seemed to blend into the darkness of the night.
She had no food.
She had not been hungry.
What weighed heavily in her gut was the intense regret brought forth by self derision and self admonition.
She did not feel inferior to the knights.
In fact, she felt bad that she had been so heavily shaken by such insignificant bastards. No matter how much she mentally tried to deny it, they had eaten deeply into a supporting pillar within her. She felt that had been proven. She felt as if all the experiences and results she had worked so hard for had been snatched from her.
(This couldn't be worse... )
As she internally spat out those words, Sherry lightly rubbed the bruises remaining on her light brown skin.
Sherry had sent out the Golem Ellis in order to crush the knights in London, but she had lost consciousness at some point. She couldn't remember if she had been knocked out by a last ditch counterattack by the knights or by the female exhibitionist magician who had cut in partway through. All her hazy mind could remember was the female magician carrying her away from the battle.
A sluggish helplessness wrapped around Sherry Cromwell's body.
A single figure slowly approached her.
"I have something for you."
"Tch. So it's you."
The nun with the overly polite bearing was Orsola Aquinas. She had originally been a specialist at deciphering grimoires within the Roman Catholic Church, but the two of them had ended up being paired together for analysis work at some point.
Whether Orsola knew what was going on with Sherry or not, she had brought over a sandwich mostly filled with vegetables and was practically shoving it in her mouth.
"It looks like we are going to be busy from now on, so it is important that you eat while you can. It seems stamina could be a deciding factor in this battle."
"... What a pain. Although, I could actually see myself dying for such a stupid reason... Bgh!? Don't shove sandwiches in people's mouths while smiling like tha-mghbgh!!"
Sherry started chewing to avoid suffocating to death and Orsola continued to smile while almost shoving the plate the sandwich was on into her mouth as well.
Sherry violently snatched the sandwich away.
"... I did hear that you were rather late in leaving the women's dorm."
"I was slowly working on something and everyone just left without me. We were told to only bring the bare minimum with us, but that turned out to be an unexpected amount."
"Hah. That does sound like you."
Sherry laughed.
However, there was no scorn or contempt held within it. After a few seconds of silence, she looked back at Orsola's face.
"So one of the objects you risked your life to take out was this?"
Sherry kicked at something sitting on the short undergrowth.
It was a marble statue of a child.
Its pedestal said Ellis.
"A ha ha. So you found out."
"You didn't need to do that..." Sherry said displeased from the bottom of her heart."You didn't need to risk your life for this failed work.... In fact, it would have been refreshing to have this kind of thing disappear."
"There is no reason that you have to force yourself to be refreshed."
"..."
"Wiping away your regrets and denying the dead are not the same thing. I do not think it is right to cut yourself off from your past. There is no reason that people who treasure their memories of the dead should not have the right to have a new life and construct a new home."
"... Don't act like you understand, " Sherry muttered roughly, but she did not add on any other complaints.
She removed her foot from the statue of Ellis and looked at her failed work silently.
For a while, there was no noise.
It was a different sort of silence, a kind silence.
"Oh, that's right."
"What... ?"
"Sherry, your dress seems to have become worn out from the repeated battles, so I prepared some clothes for you. I knew I made the right decision when I took every possible necessary thing from the women's dorm."
"I like this outfit, so I don't mind if it's a little worn ou-... Bghbh!?"
"Tah dah! Apparently, it's called the Goddess Goth Maid!!"
"Don't mock gothic outfits like that!! In fact, this has no connection other than being kind of Western-looking and old-looking!!"
"Oh?" said Orsola looking puzzled.
That reaction had seemed like a rare one for Sherry, but that brown golem user would often (especially in battle) get quite worked up.
It seemed even Orsola had figured out that the Goddess Goth Maid was disgraceful. As she held out the special maid uniform, she frowned.
"How very odd... The Amakusas are famous for being able to blend into every culture in the world and to know what is popular and they were just discussing the Fallen Angel Ero Maid and the Great Spirit Revealing Maid. I was sure that meant these were on the forefront of fashion..."
"Kh. Your sense of fashion is like that one of someone's grandmother, so you're no help at all!!"
"But it would be such a waste to just throw it away... Oh, I know. If no one else will wear it, then I suppose I have to."
"Wait. Wait a second!! Stop that! Do you have any idea what will happen if someone as clueless as you with breasts that big puts on a maid uniform like that!? Just stop, you idiot!"
Part 11
A certain mercenary was in an area about a kilometer from the Anglican campground.
William Orwell stood next to a dairy facility with a small barn for dairy cows and a silo. The house for the farm family was built elsewhere, but it was completely empty.
The 3. 5 meter 200 kilogram Ascalon with its many different blades was more delicate and complex than it initially looked. William checked over each little thing while occasionally taking it apart and adjusting it.
(... My left shoulder is more of an issue than the sword. I've used a bit of healing magic since then, but... )
William suddenly looked up much like a wolf reacting to a distant howl.
That impression was not actually a wrong one.
He had picked up on a magical transmission from a distance.
"Can you hear me, William?"
"... Hm. It seems we're rivals even when it comes to the strength of our bad luck, " he said bluntly as his lips loosened so slightly he didn't even notice it.
The familiar voice belonged to Knight Leader.
"It seems control of Curtana Original was lost within London. It also seems it was artificially sent out of control using the safety device below Buckingham Palace. Were you involved in that? Well, either way, the knights' unity is about to collapse. Of course, that is mostly due to my own defeat, so I'm not exactly proud of it."
"I assume it was the doing of this country's magic specialists." William started rebuilding the sword from the dismantled parts."And wouldn't the knights regain their unity if you were to rejoin the battle?"
"..."
"You're not sure you should, " the mercenary said frankly."In that case, just watch what everyone does. I'm not sure how long you can wait, but it would definitely be better than rashly deciding your fate now."
"And what do you intend to do if I end up choosing to stand before you again?"
"That changes nothing. I will simply defeat you again."
"Tch. I can't stand up to that will of yours."
William could not see Knight Leader's expression, but he was likely smiling bitterly.
William finally finished checking over Ascalon.
"That Spell of Thororm that you use can target any one of the weapons that you are aware of and make it useless for 10 minutes. Could you not destroy Curtana Original by using that?"
"You fool. Everything has exceptions. And any knight that kept an ability sufficient to surely kill his head of state would be guilty of lèse majesté. To demonstrate my loyalty, I made sure the theory behind the spell was constructed so that it could not be used to kill someone in the Royal Family."
"... That doesn't sound like something I would hear from the person who attempted to decapitate the third princess with an executioner's axe."
"I did not use my own weapon on Lady Villian. For her, I was forced to use a 'normal tool'."
At some point, they had returned to their old lighter manner of speaking, but Knight Leader did not pay that fact any heed.
"I will give you one piece of advice before you head off to your death."
"And what is that?"
"At one point in our battle, you were worried that I held the ultimate strike. That I could combine Slicing Power, Weapon Weight, Enduring Solidity, Movement Speed, Attack Range, Special Use, and Precise Accuracy into a sure-fire attack that could not be evaded, blocked, or counterattacked. But in reality, I cannot use all of those at once and can only use one pattern at a time."
Knight Leader stopped speaking for a second there.
Then, he seemed to have readied himself and continued.
"Second Princess Carissa can most likely pull off that strike using Curtana Original."
"..."
"If you truly intend to defeat her, prepare yourself. You must not underestimate her by thinking there is a trick behind her strength or that you can turn around the situation by finding a weakness in her."
"No matter who the enemy may be, what I must do does not change."
There was not even an instant of hesitation before William's response came.
That man did not speak except when necessary, so he did not even attempt to inspire himself with his own words.
"I will slice down the source of this disturbance. If taking Curtana from her, but not killing her will accomplish that, then that remains one of my options."
There was not the slightest disparity between what William Orwell must do and what Acqua of the Back must do. He was the same at that point when he had once attacked the Imagine Breaker boy. Even then, he had given the option of allowing the boy to go back to his normal life after destroying the boy's right arm that (he thought) was at the center of the disturbances. He thought that would stop the conflicts between science and magic across the world and that was enough.
"I do not know where or with whom I will take up my sword in the future, but until we meet again."
"Yes. Whatever the circumstances, I will go all out to-... Nnhhh!?"
The man of few words gave a rare meaningless grunt.
This made Knight Leader very nervous.
"What is it? An enemy attack!?"
"(... Not good. The third princess has sensed my presence and is coming this way! It seems a magical courier is helping her. She is definitely headed this way!!)"
As William whispered, he gathered up the tools used to disassemble his large sword and let Ascalon rest on his shoulder using the reinforced area near its base that was made for that purpose.
"(... And I just finished saying some slightly embarrassing things to her! I was hoping it would help stabilize her mind, but I'm not used to it and should probably have avoided doing it!!)"
"I don't really understand, but you are saying some pretty embarrassing things."
The mercenary ignored Knight Leader's last comment and hurriedly left the area.
The various suppers had ended.
All that was left was to wait for the war that would decide England's fate.
They were all headed to a true battle where the lives of both friend and enemy could not be guaranteed.
However, they all naturally gathered together.
Between the lines 4
Queen Elizard had finally made it to the outskirts of London, but the military horse was completely exhausted. But then, it had run nearly 50 kilometers across asphalt, so it had done quite well for a horse.
"I really am sorry about this. I've been doing nothing but troubling you this whole time. If I manage to get my political power back, I may even make you the first horse in the world to receive a military decoration, " she said anxiously.
The queen held a bucket full of water. She and the horse were on a plain, but it turned into a manmade pasture a little further on. She had stolen the water from a barn there.
The horse continued to point its head in the direction of London as if to say "What are you saying!? I can keep going. I can keep going for quite some time!!", but it truly wouldn't last much longer if it didn't take a rest. The queen gripped the reins rather forcefully to force its head down to drink the water.
The horse was somewhat excited, but the water must have helped it realize how tired it was, because it then folded its legs up underneath itself to sit on the ground. It then started eating the short undergrowth that was growing next to the asphalt.
(... I really am causing trouble for everyone. )
The queen frowned as she thought not just of the horse, but of everyone fighting across the United Kingdom.
She looked down at Curtana Second.
(... I have a feeling this would go faster if I just fully opened up Curtana's power and started running, but I want to avoid doing that for a long period of time. )
And then...
"F-fheee.... Riding a horse certainly does wear you out when you aren't used to it."
The person who had ruined the solemn mood with that comment was a blonde woman bending over and pressing on her back, Laura Stuart.
Elizard looked over at her with a look of scorn that was quite different from her previous expression.
"You sure are weak. And you wore out the horse's stamina by not matching your movements to its rhythm."
Perhaps in response to Elizard's sharp tone, the horse stopped eating the grass and looked over at her. Its kind eyes seemed to be saying, "Now, now. Carrying people and things is my job."
(Even this horse looks more capable right now. )
That was when Elizard heard a rustling noise.
Her sharp gaze rushed over and found a single figure.
"Oh, what a hungry horse. Do you want one of my carrots?" said a soft female voice.
The queen's hand had been gripping Curtana Second despite it having lost most of its power, but she relaxed upon hearing that voice.
"Rimea?"
"Yes, it's me, Mother."
The monocled first princess smiled while holding an orange carrot in one hand.
Elizard looked at her own daughter with a puzzled look on her face.
"What are you doing here?"
"I was waiting for you, mother. From the knights' transmissions I intercepted, I knew where you had disappeared, so I concluded this was the most likely route you would head through to get to London."
"... What do you want? I know you and you aren't just going to join forces with me so easily. In fact, given your thought patterns, you're more likely to try to defeat me here so you can take Curtana Second and use it in some plan to defeat Carissa."
"I did consider such a plan at one point, but fighting using Curtana Second now that it has lost most of its power would be too much of a bother. I would rather use my intellect in order to play a smarter role."
"... So says my daughter with a meaningful smile on her face and rough-looking spiritual items rolling around at her feet. And I'm willing to bet that wire stretching from that thicket over there connects to a Claymore mine. Normal cars might drive through here, so remove it."
In compliance with Elizard's casual-sounding instruction, Rimea removed the wire stretching across the road horizontally, with her tongue sticking out slightly.
"There we go. By the way, is it true that horses love carrots?"
"They are herbivores, so they'll probably eat them, but it isn't like they love them more than anything else. They mainly eat grass."
"Oh, so it's similar to the fact that goats don't actually eat paper. Sorry."
Rimea started to pull back her hand holding the carrot, but the horse stretched out its neck and grabbed the orange vegetable as if to say, "Why? I'll eat anything you'll give me."
"Good, good, " Rimea said with a smile as she petted the horse's head.
Elizard looked on almost in shock.
"You really do show your true face around those who have no political power or interests, don't you?"
"Of course, mother. I do not intend to give my trust to anyone that knows who I am. I want to trust those who treat me kindly despite not knowing I am a princess."
"I will admit that is one important aspect of a leader, but... why are all of my daughters at such extremes? The oldest strategizes everything and does not trust people, the second gets so caught up in fighting that she gets everything around her wrapped up in it, and the third takes others into such high consideration that she barely has opinions of her own."
Elizard scratched at her bangs.
A thin smile appeared on Rimea's lips.
"How unexpected. Are you really in a position where you can preach at us like that? Perhaps the problem lies in your principle of noninterference, combined with that incredibly harsh training you gave us? If you had wanted to, you could have at least given Villian a comfortable life."
"What are you saying? If I didn't let you develop your personalities on your own, it would have just invited you to be dependent on me. And that is especially true with Villian's benevolence. She could easily end up simply relying on others, so I can't just give her easy help like that. If you look at the long term, my methods are not wrong. Unlike you three, I am a sensible person."
"Oh, but who was it that used Curtana Second to teach the politicians a lesson after they tried to use Villian as bait to gain South America ten years ago?"
"D-don't bring that up. There are some actions that a parent must take."
"... No, that kind of thing isn't going to make her go soft, " muttered Laura from the side.
"Oh, right. Speaking of being at an extreme, Carissa's methods this time are rather pointed."
"So you think Carissa is after expanding Curtana's effective area, too?"
"Yes, " nodded Rimea."Curtana Original is a spiritual item that applies the concept of Michael, the leader of the angels, to the head of state within the United Kingdom. But if Curtana's effects could be used outside the country, the Queen of England could become a disaster that overruns all of Europe. She would carry out divine punishment on targets of her own choosing and create more deaths on her own than a hydrogen bomb or the Black Death."
"That sword is like a conductor's baton that controls the massive spell put together geographically by the 4 cultures that make up the United Kingdom. The knights could use all their strength to protect the United Kingdom while Carissa single-handedly uses Curtana to demolish Europe.... That method could actually end up working. After all, it is possible that human magic would not be able to harm her if she fully released Curtana Original's power."
If that happened, it would be almost impossible for anyone to rival Carissa unless a true angel or possibly a Magic God stepped forward.
"... But is that really all?"
"What?"
"I had a spy at the Edinburgh base of New Light, the group used and disposed of by Carissa. Heh heh. Perhaps it is a special privilege of intellectual types to say something clichéd as 'I won't tell you until I have proof. '"
Rimea had said she had a spy, but that did not refer to a magician that served the Royal Family or a military intelligence agent. She especially hated those types of pros and elites that held political power. The person in Edinburgh was likely someone she had formed a bond with without using her political power during one of her frequent trips outside of the palace as someone other than a princess.
(Her self reliance and independence gained under her own power is the best of the three sisters. If only it wasn't rooted in mistrust. Not being able to open up can't be fun. )
Elizard sighed.
When Rimea started to feed the horse another carrot, the queen looked at her suspiciously.
"Hey, where did you get that food?"
"Oh, you didn't know? Just a bit ago, the remnants of the church had gathered around here to have a last supper. It seems they left the tools and cooking equipment not needed for fighting here. I assume they are planning on coming back for it if they win."
"Wha-?"
"Don't worry. I gave a taste of the different foods to my pet and none of it seems to have anything dangerous added in."
The first princess gave three quick clicks of her tongue which was her signal for calling her small indoor dog.
However, there was no sign of a pet coming out at Rimea's signal.
"?"
The first princess looked around to find a calico cat and an indoor dog glaring at each other at close quarters outside of a small cage with a broken door. Their low growls seemed to be saying "Who the hell are you!?" and "This is my country!!"
"Oh, what a cute cat. I've been interested in Asian cats for a while, but they're so much cuter than I expected."
Rimea picked up the cat with a completely defenseless childlike smile and the indoor dog barked seeming to say "Hey! I'm the one that risked his life tasting that carrot!!"
However, that was not what caught Queen Elizard's interest.
"Dammit!! Something that delicious was going on not too long ago!? There had to have been things going on there on the level of pulling a picture of your lover from your pocket and saying you're going to marry her once the war is over!! Am I just fated to miss out on the best parts!?"
"It seems they all proudly headed off towards the center of London."
"And they left me behind!? D-damn. Let's go, horse! I have to get to London as soon as possible!!"
Seeming to say, "Sure thing. Now this is how a queen should be, " the horse stood up.
Elizard easily mounted the military horse and grabbed Laura Stuart with one hand pulling her up onto the back of the horse.
"Hey. How's the preparation of the flag going?" she asked the Archbishop.
"It's probably about halfway done. It was mixed in with the normal displays in the British Museum, so not many people would have realized it was a spiritual item. It should be usable if Charles Conder did what he was supposed to."
"A normal worker, hm? If the knights notice what he is doing, his life could be at risk... I have to show my respect to the gentlemen of this country."
After saying that, Elizard remained silent for a bit.
She thought within her heart.
She thought of the people who had prepared at that campground and headed for London. She also thought of the other people risking their lives to help who could not even use magic.
(... Hm. Carissa gaining the ability to use Curtana outside of the country and attacking Europe while becoming nigh invincible using the position of the leader of the angels is certainly a problem, but... )
The look on the queen's face changed.
Her expression turned grim as she stared in the direction of London.
(Have you forgotten that she already has that power here within the United Kingdom? You are heading off to fight someone more dreadful than a hydrogen bomb and who could easily destroy all of Europe single-handedly!!)
"Those fools! Even if the fate of England hangs in the balance, how can they head off to the final battle with no real trump card and with nothing at their disposal but their fighting spirit and their guts!? It's not my fault if they die!!"
"Heh heh. For what you're saying, you sound rather happy, mother."
| ← Ch. 137 | Ch. 139 → |