When the duo showed up, everyone had looks of disbelief.

They had known before hand that the two would be coming, but it was still hard to believe.

That was because these people……the two people in front of them, were not people who should have come to a place like this at all.

Everyone who saw them fell to their knees in reverence.

「Prince Kabajid, Prince Shurus, we could only prepare this much for you in a place like this……I’m sorry.」

Pelfiel voiced her apology as she knelt.

She had been the leader of this army……the one who had executed the plan to destroy the main camp of the rebel army, no, Mercurio’s army now. But, that plan had been blocked by the extraordinary actions of Crimson.

She was currently in command of the army that had attacked the main camp as well as the forces that had blockaded the roads leading to the camp, following the instructions from Noiz.

Naturally, the army’s morale was low, having been defeated, not by an army, but by an individual. Pelfiel had been wondering how to improve morale when the two people arrived.

The first and second princes, Kabajid and Shurus.

Of course, the two of them hadn’t come alone, they had brought almost all the forces they could mobilise with them.

Although there would always be guards and soldiers defending the Imperial Capital, some felt that it wasn’t enough to defend their own mansions, so they had left behind the minimum additional troops and brought everyone else they could.

The final battle.

Those words crossed the minds of Pelfiel and the others who were kneeling nearby.

In fact, Noiz had also said that, but seeing two members of the royal family present couldn’t help but make people feel the reality of it.

The two princes sat in chairs that had been prepared by Pelfiel as Kabajid spoke first.

「Don’t worry about it. Besides, we only came all the way here because we have a good chance of winning.」

「……That is true. The last operation would have been successful if it hadn’t been for Crimson. On the other hand, if we could suppress Crimsom, we would have a good chance of winning. Although, to be honest, I would have preferred it if we had the means to suppress Crimson sooner. If that were possible, our reputation in the Imperial Capital wouldn’t have fallen so far.」

The people who heard Shurus’ response to Kabajid agreed in their minds.

In the previous battle, they had been completely suppressed by Crimson alone. If there had been any way to suppress him at that time, there was no doubt that they would have been able to take control of the enemy camp and capture Mercurio by now.

However, Kabajid shook his head with a small smile at his younger brother’s words.

「Even in the Bestir Empire, there are only a few people who can fight Crimson. We prepared several countermeasures, but even though the magic items were effective, they weren’t enough to stop Crimson. With all that in mind, this was the only option we had……but you have to understand that it is difficult to contact him, isn’t that right, Shurus?」

Shurus couldn’t deny Kabajid’s words.

In fact, Shurus had also thought of various methods to deal with Rei.

For example, starting a battle somewhere else to draw him away……and so on.

However, even if they used such methods, it would only work to draw Rei away temporarily.

If they used the opportunity to attack the rebel camp, Rei still had a Griffon to come back quickly.

To be honest, while Shurus considered Rei’s combat strength to be a threat, Set’s mobility was the most difficult aspect to deal with.

As a flying monster, Set’s mobility surpassed that of Wyverns.

With his speed, he was able to fly freely wherever he wanted, sending Rei where he was needed.

When thinking of someone who had the strength to face Rei, the first person that came to mind was Noiz, who had fought and defeated Rei in the fighting tournemnt.

(However……Noiz is my father’s, the emperor’s, pawn. If we use him in this civil war, it will be a big loss for us, even if we win.)

That was why Shurus was hesitant to use Noiz and, while he was hesitating, Kabajid had simply brought Noiz in.

(But, I wonder what he could have used as bait to get Noiz to come.)

Bringing out someone like Noiz. The reward for hiring an S rank adventurer wasn’t something that even a prince could easily afford.

(This is the difference between me and Kabajid……but, not yet. I haven’t lost yet. Anyway, I’ll win this battle first and then I’ll take on Kabajid.

As those thoughts ran through Shurus’ mind, the conversation continued to progress.

「So, Prince Kabajid. When will the decisive battle take place?」

When asked by Bratta, who was standing behind him, Kabajid smiled faintly as he continued to speak.

「No matter who many soldiers Shurus and I bring, our main force is still the army that attacked the rebel army’s main camp. Considering the losses we suffered in our last defeat, it will probably be a few days before we are ready.」

「A few days, you say? It’s true that many are wounded, but even so, they should have already recovered after using the potions that Prince Kabajid brought in addition to healing from the mages. If we wait, we will give them more time to respond, so why don’t we attack tomorrow?」

One of Kabajid’s subordinates voice their thoughts, but Pelfiel objected.

「We need to wait. If it’s physical injuries, they will be healed by the end of the day. But, many of the soldiers saw Crimson fight up close. If we send them into battle so quickly and Crimson appears again……they might just run away. It would be best to wait until the soldiers’ minds have calmed down if we want to avoid that.」

「But……」

Hearing Pelfiel’s words, the man looked away in confusion.

If he had seen Rei fight up close, he might have understood what Pelfiel meant.

But, the man had never seen Rei fight.

No, he had seen the finals of the fighting tournament, so it wasn’t like he had never seen Rei fight before.

But……that had only made the man’s perception even more different than Pelfiel’s.

「I understand what you’re saying Pelfiel-dono. But if they mentally hurt that badly, would they be able to return to fighting form in just a few days?」

「I don’t know. But I think that at the very least, we’ll have more usable soldiers than if we attack the rebel camp tomorrow.」

As the two argued, the opinions of those present also split into two camps.

Those who had participated on the attack on the rebel army’s camp, including Pelfiel, and those who had seen Rei fight in the Spring War, recommended resting for at least a few days, preferably a week, before planning their next attack.

Those who hadn’t seen Rei fight in person, or had only seen him fight in the tournament, recommended that they attack the next day.

The former held the stronger opinion, but not enough to overwhelm the latter.

Kabajid watched the exchange in silence before speaking to his younger brother in the neighbouring chair.

「I see. I think Pelfiel’s opinion is correct, but what do you think, Shurus?」

「There’s no need to ask. The next battle will be in a few days. Pelfiel is right. However, it’s not good to waste too much time here, so we should decide on how many days to wait.」

「Is that so, how many days do you think would be good?」

Though Shurus was surprised, as Kabajid had never asked for his opinion before, he quickly counted in his head.

Tomorrow was out of the question, but they couldn’t waste too much time here.

As Kabajid’s subordinate had said, the longer they waited, the more the rebel army could prepare to respond to their attack.

And, now that it was deep into autumn, they had to worry about the first snow as well.

(In addition……since Frizione is over there now, I want to end this civil war as soon as possible. I’ve told my subordinates to bring her back without hurting her if they find her, but I can’t imagine what methods Kabajid might use.)

Unfathomable. That was one of the reasons why Shurus feared Kabajid, even before considering his abilities.

Forcing out the anxiety that had arisen in his mind, Shurus spoke.

「Well, I think three to four days is the most we can do.」

「Pelfiel?」

When asked for her thoughts on Shurus’ opinion, Pelfiel immediately responded.

「Yes, I don’t think there’s a problem with that. If we wait for too long, an anti war sentiment may start to spread among the soldiers.」

「I see, that sounds good.」

『-!?』

A voice agreed with Pelfiel’s words.

However, most who heard that voice held their breaths.

They had no idea where that voice had come from.

Some instinctively reached for their weapons, but that was as far as they were able to move.

Nothing in particular happened, but for some reason, as they reached for their weapons, they found themselves unable to move any further.

The same was true for Pelfil, who was unable to make any sounds as she looked around with the only thing she could move, her eyes.

An air of tension could be felt all around.

However, one person spoke without pause.

「Can’t you just leave it at that, Immovable.」

Kabajid’s words made many people look around in surprise.

That was because, at that moment, a person had appeared between the chairs where Kabajid and Shurus were sitting.

There was no doubt that he hadn’t been present just a moment ago.

Most of the people present were confident in their own skills.

That was true of Shurus, Bratta, and Pelfiel.

While not as strong as Rei, all of them had skills which could be considered first rate.

And yet, none of them had noticed anything at all.

That was how skilled that person……Noiz, who had somehow ended up here without any of them noticing, was.

「I guess I surprised you.」

「Considering your abilities, I don’t think they could have noticed at all. ……Now, I think Pelfiel was in contact with you before, but this is Noiz, the Immovable. He is our trump card this time.」

「Trump card, huh? That’s an awkward way to put it. But, I’m looking forward to fighting Rei. During the tournament, it was a fight where you could say neither of us were at full strength. Now we can fight without any restrictions. ……I wonder how good the fight will be.」

Those who had watched the tournament finals gasped at the words that Noiz said.

Even though they had fought so hard, Noiz just said that neither of them had been at full strength.

「This……if Noiz-dono is here, he could completely suppress Crimson.」

「There’s no doubt that he could defeat Crimson. It seems like they weren’t using their full strength, but even if they both did their best, the result will be the same as back then.」

「No, we shouldn’t be too optimistic.」

「Hey. Are you insulting Noiz-dono?」

「No! Of course I don’t think that Noiz-dono would lose to Crimson! I’m just talking about the fighting styles they specialise in! Everyone here already knows this, but Crimson is best at wide area annihilation fire magic. What’s more, if he uses it while riding on his Griffon in the sky, even if Noiz-dono’s strength exceeds Crimson’s……」

What the man said wasn’t wrong.

Rei was better at wide area annihilation magic while Noiz was better at single target combat.

Since that was the case, the better question was whether or not a fight between Rei and Noiz would take place at all.

Even if Noiz wanted to fight Rei, what would happen if Rei just flew away on his Griffon?

Needless to say, it wouldn’t be a battle and the punitive force would end up suffering great damage.

Hearing the man’s words, Noiz just smiled lightly.

That was all he did……just that, but the man who had just expressed his thoughts felt so much pressure from Noiz that he was unable to move.

「You don’t need to worry about that. If I come out, Rei will definitely come out. He can’t leave me alone. That’s the kind of person he is. Above all, if things happen as you say, the losses we will suffer will be great, but there’s no doubt that their force will suffer just as much from me.」

Kabajid smiled and continued on at Noiz’s words.

「Besides, it’s not like Noiz doesn’t have any method of area wide attacks like Crimson. Of course, he isn’t as good as Crimson at it, but he has……how to put it? A skill that allows magic power to become visible. Just charging into the enemy can already cause massive damage……you’ve all experienced that, right?」

Kabajid’s words appeared to remind them of the previous battle where they had been devastated by Rei.

Those who had participated in the previous battle, including Pelfiel, all nodded.

They might have suffered great losses in that battle, but if they had a similar force on their side……

[Previous Chapter] [Table of Contents] [Next Chapter]