Moving in slow motion.
That was the perfect description of the figure that appeared in the distance.
He’s like a ghost. Illuminated by the moonlight and the adventurer’s torch, the swaying body occasionally stretches out large shadows.
I had a very ominous premonition.
“G-Gideon……?”
Even from a distance, I realized who it was. Thanks to my skills, I can see more at night than usual.
Solana whispered.
『Something’s off about him. 』
I nodded in agreement.
It is clear that he was seriously injured. He is walking while protecting his leg, and his left arm is hanging down limply. I could even smell blood in the night air.
Then Gideon stopped about 10 meters before us.
Stained with blood and mud, his blonde hair and noble attire were unrecognizable. But his eyes were arched like crescent moons.
“Haha, hahaha! The city looks a lot neater now!”
With a hollow laugh, Gideon pulled out something from his bossom.
……A small pouch?
“As expected, it’s marvelous. This ash is really amazing! I even awakened the dungeon……!”
Gideon looked up at the pouch he was holding and his body shook, as if squirming in excitement.
His behavior is really bizarre.
The atmosphere was so gripping that neither Mia-san nor I could move.
『Rion…… Be careful. I can sense a nasty magical power from Gideon.』
Solana told me so.
When I looked closely, I saw black smoke rising from the pouch.
『That pouch must be the same one that fell in the Eastern Dungeon. I can feel the same presence from it. 』
“……T-then, is that Gideon?”
A chuckle echoed in the back of my ears.
『Those ashes—it looks like it was imbued with magical power.』
A god informed me.
When I touch the right pocket of my jacket, I feel the hard feel of the gold coin. The voice came from there.
“A-ashes….?”
『They’re the ashes of a titan. Let me, Lord Loki tell you.』
The words are spoken as if he was singing. Loki is one of the gods who woke up from the seal and saved me. As expected, he too resides in the same gold coin as Solana.
『In ancient times, titans, like monsters, were enemies of the gods. Some were extremely powerful giants who could control fire. But just as they were about to unleash their hatred to the gods and burn the world to the ground, the sealing age happened. 』
Loki continued.
『It was an incomplete combustion, so to speak. The titans have turned to ashes and are still smoldering away —or at least that’s how it seems to me.』
I suddenly felt light headed. I wonder if I’m feeling dizzy because I’m tired, or because the story is so big.
Mia-san supported my shoulders.
“…… Is it Rion who is there? Kukuku, you can’t lay your hands on a noble you know.”
Gideon stopped talking and looked at us.
Me, Mia-san and the other adventurers who defended the city. Even when everyone glared at him, Gideon didn’t lose his attitude of scoffing at the cityscape. The Raven Warriors, who were supposed to manage the dungeons, moved to surround Gideon.
『Flame against the sealed ice. Since the monsters has been resurrected —no need to guess, that pouch has everything to do with it.』
Gideon came in the direction of the castle gate —in the direction of the dungeon. And he indeed said, “I awakened the dungeon.”
“Gideon…… y-you released the monsters?”
My heart froze from that realization.
Gideon laughed manically.
“What if I did it?”
My body grew hot. Really, really, unbearably hot.
My hand that was reaching out for my short sword clenched tightly.
“Gideon!!”
I took a step forward and thunder rumbled.
Gideon’s face turned pale and he slumped down the ground.
“Y-you…… Are you really Rion?”
If he could look so frightened, why doesn’t he understand that other people are scared of monsters too?
Gideon’s mouth trembled.
“W-who’s that behind you……?”
A big hand taps me on the shoulder. When I turned around, I saw a fiery red hair.
『Don’t slash at low lives.』
From his massive body that seemed to be two meters tall, the god spoke to me.
『No matter how renowned a sword is, it is useless if it is stained with the blood of a lowly person.』
……Thor, the God of Thunder?
The God of Thunder appeared only for a moment and he immediately disappeared into the void.
Did he go back to gold coin?
Gideon was so shocked and a warrior has taken a step forward to him.
――There are really kind guys, but there are also really bad guys.
What Mia said to me after the duel was ingrained in me.
If I had been much stronger than Gideon in that place, I wonder if something would have changed.
“Idiot……! What an idiot……!”
Suddenly, there was the sound of wheels and the neighing of horses.
A magnificent four-wheeled carriage appeared and stopped to our left. A group of raven warriors quickly approached the carriage and opened the door. It was a little strange that they seemed to bow to the person inside.
“Gideon of House Warburg.”
As she says that, the woman comes down the carriage.
She was dressed in white. She is wearing a high hat with a staff that is as tall as her height. Because she is going down the steps, her eyes were looking down. But somehow I could tell that she has a very beautiful face.
When she looked up, her green eyes met ours.
“This is the end of your misdeeds.”
Dominance.
Her voice is high, and she may be about 15 or 16 years old. There is a solemnity like the dignity of a temple all over her. With just a few words, she had all the adventurers on their feet.
The woman’s silver hair flutters in the wind.
“Y-you…… No way.”
Unable to get up, Gideon moves his legs and butt and slides back.
The woman walks with her staff hitting on the ground. For a moment, I think she glanced sideways at me and Mia-san.
“……Eh?”
I had a strange feeling.
This person…. it looks like I’ve seen her somewhere.
“There is no nobleman to protect you. With your mismanagement of the Eastern Dungeon, you have lost your source of power.”
The woman said something to the Raven Warriors who were nearby. One of them approached Gideon and snatched the pouch from his hand.
It’s clear that the woman is a comrade of the group of warriors.
“She’s a big shot.”
“……yeah.”
Shaking the chain on her right arm, Mia-san whispered to me.
“Should we should run away?”
“Eh? …… What?”
“I’m just kidding. But it’s kind of suspicious, isn’t it?”
Mia-san, please stop……
Just as she said “Should we run away?”, a group of Raven Warriors approached us.
Then the woman who got the pouch frowns.
“……Ashes. So that’s how they came about.”
“It’s mine!”
Unable to stand up, Gideon puts his hand on his sword.
The woman stretched out her arms towards Gideon. Cold light gathers at the end of her white gloves.
“Skill Seal”
An icy, white, freezing wind swept through the area.
Gideon shudders.
“Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!”
He forcibly pulled out his sword but it slipped out of his hands and fell to the ground.
Clang.
A dry sound echoed out. From the way I saw it, it’s like the sword has escaped from its own accord.
“M-my swordsman skill……?”
“I sealed it.”
The woman hit her staff on the ground.
“If you don’t miss training, your body will remember even if you run out of skills. But it looks like you relied on your skills for everything.”
Gideon turned pale and his head hung low.
“Telling everything you know will at least be a way to make amends.”
The Raven Warriors helped Gideon stand and took him away. As Mia-san and I watched them leave, the woman turned towards us.
“Now then.”
Her face was softened.
“I’m sure I surprised you.”
She placed her hand covered in pure white gloves on her chest and bowed slowly. Her tall hat shook and she quickly adjusted it.
“I haven’t even formally thanked you yet, my name is Pauline.”
The feeling from earlier came again. I really feel like I had met her somewhere before.
“It thanks to you that I was saved in the Eastern Dungeon.”
I looked at Mia-san.
White clothes, pure white gloves, and this voice.
“I-it’s you!”
Mia-san’s mouth opened wide.
“Pa-Parine-san……?”
The rookie adventurer who was running for her life in the Eastern Dungeon. Mia-san was her guide, but it became dangerous, so I helped…….
“Correct.”
Parine—no, Pauline-san nodded.
“I apologize for the delay in thanking you, but please let me introduce myself once again.”
Pauline smiled at us with her jade green eyes twinkling.
“My name is Pauline, the ninth princess of the Kingdom of Asgard and the 63rd Patriarch of the Raven Warriors of the Temple of Odis.”
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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