NABC Chapter 197 : Chapter 197
Chapter 197 : Chapter 197
I let the princess into the bedroom.It sounded a bit dangerous, but for now, that's what happened.
The princess, whose expressionless face nonetheless conveyed her dissatisfaction. I had her sit down and sat in front of her as if it were familiar.
Because it was actually familiar. It was the princess who was meeting the Fifth Son for the first time; for me, she was a familiar face.
That subtle difference gifted her with an unknown discomfort.
“...What's with the composure?”
She asked the Youngest Son, who had been smiling from the moment he opened the door.
But the corners of his mouth only went up a little more, showing no intention of coming down.
“I'm pretending to be composed. Just having the princess in front of me makes it difficult to maintain my composure.”
“……”
The princess knew by the instinct engraved in her blood. This was a blatant lie. This man was only full of thoughts of teasing her right now.
The princess narrowed her golden eyes.
“You came to the empire as an envoy. Isn't the east busy right now?”
“Is it just the east? The world is changing rapidly, isn't it? In a world like this, it's harder to find someone who isn't busy.”
It was a subtly off-topic answer. He knew what she was asking but gave an answer that was far from it.
Then, the Fifth Son, who had smoothly turned the conversation to himself, asked.
“May I ask now? Why did you knock on my door?”
“I just wanted to see for myself. The face that so shamelessly cries for peace after melting the peace that was as hard as steel with his own hands.”
“So, what's your review?”
“You are a more shameless person than I thought.”
The Youngest Son smiled faintly.
“Then, instead of asking, may I try to guess now?”
“...What.”
“The real reason why the princess is glaring at me so fiercely.”
“……”
An arrogance that only a dragon would harbor filled her golden eyes, a characteristic of the Imperial Family.
“Are you trying to read the heart of a royal with Millesdusk's sorcery right now?”
“It's not something like sorcery. Sorcery that reads another's mind, if there is such a thing, I would like to learn it. I am simply.”
The Youngest Son leaned his body slightly towards the princess.
“Just reading what is written on the princess's face.”
“That's laughable.”
And yet, her lips did not move at all. Her features were expressionless. The only outlet for her emotions was her eyes.
Only in her eyes could it be read that she was looking at me like an insect.
Although that was usually the look a dragon race gave a human, the royal family naturally looked down on the same human.
A human above humans. That was the royal family and the imperial household.
“Read it.”
“Will you give me a reward if I get it right?”
“I will let you live.”
“That's enough.”
In reality, letting me live was not a reward.
What I wanted was the princess's attention. That was the real purpose of this gamble.
“I interfered, didn't I? With the princess's hobby.”
“What are you talking about?”
The princess's face, as hard as a statue, remained the same. There was no movement at all, so my bloodshot eyes couldn't catch any change, but my pale ears heard it.
The princess's voice, which trembled ever so slightly.
“Escaping the boring and suffocating imperial palace and admiring the cool sky was the princess's only pleasure. And I took that time away from you.”
“Are you done with your delusions?”
“There's a next part. Shall I tell you?”
“...It's not an envoy, but a bard who has come. To speak of one's delusions without batting an eyelash.”
The Youngest Son laughed silently. It once again caused a ripple on her stiff face.
“What's so funny?”
Even though it was a gamble that was sure to be won, it was still a gamble. How could I not laugh?
Her eyes still looked at me as if I were trash, and her mouth dismissed it as a delusion, but she was still quite talkative.
If it had been a wrong answer, she would have left without any reaction at all.
It meant that even if the dice didn't land on a 6, it was above a passing score.
The Youngest Son shook his head slightly and said.
“Living in a place where formality is entangled like vines, like the imperial palace, I thought you would want a place as free as this sky. I guess I was too self-centered.”
“……”
“Am I going to die now?”
“...How can I kill someone who has come as an envoy? If you're going to act like a bard, you should at least know how to take a joke.”
The princess stood up from her seat. I spoke to the back of her platinum blonde head.
“I am Dante Black Millesdusk.”
“What do you want me to do about it?”
“I thought it would be nice if you remembered. Since I know the princess's name too.”
“A face I will never see again. It is right to pass by like this.”
“Then if we meet again next time, we will properly introduce ourselves then.”
Thud—
The princess disappeared without a word.
[You got completely ignored. That's a rare thing for you.]
“Ending up being ignored like this is also not like me.”
I released the tension in my waist and leaned back against the backrest.
The VIP room was not called a VIP room for nothing; looking out the window, it was comfortable, unlike the speed I felt.
But this comfort would soon be a thing of the past for the east.
“Wisdom will be on the move by now. They'll be close enough for the frontmost defensive line to notice.”
[So they've taken the first move.]
“The Imperial Family is still backing them for now. So they flew straight here without any hesitation. It's not a full-scale advance, so they're even faster.”
Just enough offensive power to confirm the opponent's strategy. They would have put in enough force to be annoying.
“Let's see what kind of mischief they've been up to.”
I looked at the defensive line through the eyes of the Clone Son.
The first move of Wisdom, as confirmed by the Clone Son, was golem mages.
***
To put it nicely, the meeting could not be called nutritious.
Because nothing useful would come out of a meeting that was all about conflicting opinions.
Emma, who was watching the meeting proceed, held her throbbing forehead.
‘Is the family really planning to fight Wisdom with just these blood relatives?’
Furthermore, listening to what they were saying, it was by no means just a simple exchange of blows that was going to take place.
“I have the most undead private soldiers. So, move with me at the center.”
“Those slime-like ghosts? You don't call that a large number, you call it a motley crew~. If you just put my giants at the front, you can sweep them away.”
“They'll be swept away by magic bombardment. My spirit legion is immune to magic.”
“A motley crew is the same for spirits and giants. If you motley crew draw their attention, I'll ambush them with my cavalry from behind.”
“Are they going to crawl on the ground~? They'll fly in somehow at first, so the Black Giant Castle, which has anti-air measures! I'm the important one!”
The conference hall was noisy. The problem was that it was unnecessarily noisy.
In this chaos, the only ones who were quiet were the Third Daughter Melaine and the Fifth Son's clone, who was identical to the main body.
The Third Daughter was originally taciturn to the point of being almost silent, but the Fifth Son was different.
Although she hadn't had many conversations with him, she immediately felt that he was a fluent speaker.
But now, at the 15th gateway, he just continued to watch from the sidelines among his siblings.
As expected, the most unprepared situation erupted.
“Co-commander. An urgent report from the Eye of the Polar Night.”
The giant telescope installed at the 30th gateway, the Eye of the Polar Night.
One of the treasures that protected the frontmost defensive line, it allowed them to know of danger in advance and prepare. Today was no different.
“A blue airship is approaching in the direction of the 17th gateway…!”
“One~?”
When the Fourth Son asked back, the soldier nodded vigorously.
“Ye-yes! Bu-but there was something unusual about it. It was one, but its size was larger than a normal ship, and it resembled a merchant ship….”
In front of the Millesdusk blood relatives, the voice of a mere soldier gradually trailed off.
But that alone was enough to convey the meaning, and the Fourth Son chuckled.
“These bastards are testing the waters~.”
“Yes. Otherwise, they wouldn't have just gotten a merchant ship and made it look the part.”
But since it was a merchant ship, its cargo capacity would be large.
What was contained in the airship that had come like a gift box was now about to be unveiled.
“Clone Youngest Son~. What will you do? Will you follow us? You're not good at combat, are you?”
“I'm not so much of a burden that you have to worry about me.”
“Right. Since it's the Youngest Son's clone, it should be fine~.”
The First Son, who had been leaning his sword against the table, tied it to his waist and said.
“It's still too early for the Skeleton Giant Horse to arrive. With our current forces, we won't be of much use, so I will sit this one out.”
“I'm not particularly drawn to the outside on the first day either.”
Nod.
Following the First Son, the ghost sisters also withdrew from the front line. In the end, only the Fourth Son remained, and he became the main character as he wanted, but not in this way.
“Hey! You're just dumping this on me!”
“You said you were confident earlier. Go on. Go and bring back the first victory.”
“Agh!”
Just as the overly excited Fourth Son was about to continue speaking, the necessity of the Fifth Son shone through.
“I will go with you. If I, the clone, see it, the main body will also know, and since I will assist you, it's practically the same as fighting with the main body.”
“Sigh, this is good. Let's go, let's go!”
“Tsk….”
The Daughters didn't seem to have much thought, but for some reason, the First Son clicked his tongue.
After the Fourth Son and the Clone Son left, the First Son sent a messenger ghoul with a pressing message to his chief secretary, Luda.
***
The red-blooded griffin, with the Fourth Son on its back, arrived at the 17th gateway and advanced with it at its back.
If they went in this direction, they would encounter the blue ship sent by Wisdom.
Although it was his first battle with another great family, the Fourth Son was only cheerful, without any sign of it being his first time.
“It's been a long time since I've fought with the Youngest Son, hasn't it? It's the first time since we caught that crazy elder, right?”
“That is correct.”
“It's a little disappointing that it's a clone! But what can you do!”
“I can see it now.”
“I'll leave the steering to you?”
The corners of the Clone Son's mouth rose slightly.
“Of course.”
Whoooosh—!!
The griffin spread its wings wide and instantly gained altitude.
It quickly closed the distance with the blue ship that was flying above the dark clouds.
At the same time, Wisdom's ship reacted with a speed unbelievable for a merchant ship.
Kuuuuuuung—
Kuuuuuung—
The doors used for loading cargo all opened, and the gifts packed inside shone.
Kugugugugugugugung—
Blue bombardments that could not come from ordinary naval cannons aimed for the griffin.
The rate of fire, as well as the accuracy that could not be seen in the sky where the wind blew wildly.
“Wisdom brought golems.”
“Aah~. Those rock piles?”
“The golems are firing their charged magic like cannons.”
As could be seen from the size of the ship, their number was considerable, and the griffin moved busily.
It turned not only forward but also to the side, but the modified merchant ship also had portholes for the golems.
“The only blind spot would be under the ship.”
“But wouldn't it be too hard to break through there right now?”
“That is correct.”
“Then leave it to this big brother and charge straight ahead!”
The Fourth Son held up his forearm and flexed, but there were no large muscles to be seen.
But the arm of the undead that hand would summon would be extremely thick.
“Here we go.”
“Let's go!”
The griffin folded its wings.
Instead of an acrobatic flight to avoid the bombardment, it charged straight ahead like a thrust.
Its speed gradually increased and it outran the bombardment, but it was only a matter of time before it was caught.
However, the slight gap created like that was enough time for the Fourth Son, who was called a prodigy before the Fifth Son.
“Watch carefully! This is the path I have walked!”
The Fourth Son stretched his hand towards the sky.
At the same time, a spatial artifact opened. It was a spatial artifact a little larger than a normal one.
However, the space opened for the summon grew larger. It did not stop and grew larger, larger, and even larger. It was large enough to swallow even the bombardment pouring towards the griffin.
“The name of the sorcery is 「Skeleton Colossus」.”
――!!
A massive bone hand emerged from the immense spatial artifact and covered the ship.
It was a hand large enough to freely handle a ship larger than a normal size.
The bone hand then clenched into a fist and pierced through to the bottom, and opening its palm, it crushed whatever it could grab.
“I'm showing you in advance, so be prepared~.”
The colossus's bone hand gave a thumbs-up.
The background was a collapsing ship, like scattered puzzle pieces.