Caesar shook his head with a sigh. Rikka and Jalter closed the distance without lowering their guard. The Heroic King remained still, gazing at the moon.
"But, as I expected, you've appeared. Your objective is this—these moon-viewing dango."
"Is it embezzlement, then? Emperor," Jalter taunted.
"Indeed. I successfully 'embezzled' these from a certain demon-like Rider, but..."
(He admitted it was embezzlement... He's guilty as charged!)
(He's a total career criminal!)
(Perfect. Now I don't have to feel bad about burning him. —Rikka. Leave this fat man to me.)
(Do you have a plan?)
(Yes. A brutal fight with no rules is exactly what I'm looking for.)
Unaware of Jalter's wicked smirk, Caesar continued his grandstanding.
"There is a legitimate reason for this. Tell me, King and company, will you lend me your ears? No, of course you will! Anyone would be enchanted! This is my speech, after all—a speech worth a thousand pieces of gold!"
"Wow, I'm sooo looking forward to it~" Rikka deadpanned.
"Then let me speak. Allow me to introduce myself. I am the famed flower of Rome, the crimson swordsman—Red Saber!"
"—Pffft!"
Ea burst out laughing at the sheer absurdity of the claim. Compared to Nero, Caesar's "roundness" and "mellow" vibes were in a completely different dimension. Comparing the two was, frankly, a tragedy for Nero.
"IMPOSSIBLEEEE!!!"
Even through his madness, the Nero-fanatic Caligula roared his denial. He condemned Caesar's deceptive claim on the spot.
"Hmph, no good? I thought I could pull it off. And Caligula... 'Et tu'?"
Caesar slumped, looking even rounder than before.
"Very well. Let us continue. I encountered a delicious aroma in this fertile land. And so—"
Normally, the battle would have been decided here. Once you let Caesar start talking, your fate—and your signature on a contract—is usually sealed.
"————"
But since the Heroic King had shifted into "spectator mode" to enjoy Jalter and Rikka's struggle, he didn't intervene. On the stage of dialogue, the protagonists had no chance of winning.
It was a battle already lost. However—
~
『Listen. Caesar is going to try to talk circles around you with his smooth tongue. It's the same whether he's being hostile or friendly. Before you know it, you've lost. But because of that, there is one simple, unchanging truth.』
Rikka recalled Olga Marie's words.
『That unchanging truth is—』
~
"Oops, my flames slipped—!!!"
"Accidentally" letting her power flare, Jalter ignited Caesar in a pillar of hellfire. "The Flaming Saber!" He burned so brightly he could have been the morning sun.
"WHAAAAT?! Impossible! This was supposed to be my 'Scam Time'—!!"
"Kuku... fuhahahaha!!"
The King laughed out loud at the sight of the table being flipped so spectacularly. He roared with mirth as Jalter kicked the "Negotiation Table" into the stratosphere.
Indeed, Jalter had zero intention of listening to a single word. The goal was the dango—a simple matter of ownership. There was no room for debate.
Just as Olga Marie had advised:
『His eloquence is entirely focused on 'his gain and your loss'! If you have no intention of talking, then kick the entire table over!』
Jeanne Alter had successfully forced a breakdown in negotiations. And she was confident she was the only one who could do it.
Why? Because—
"Sorry about that. It was an accident. A total accident. The flames just overflowed from my hand. I feel so bad about it."
She was an Anti-Hero, a spirit of vengeance. An Avenger who only listened to Rikka's words!
"Ooooh, it burns! It burns! My fat is melting! This is nothing like the diet Cleopatra suggested! Is weight loss truly accompanied by such agony—!!"
As Caesar rolled around on the ground, Jalter gave him a middle finger and a playful tongue-poke. The flames were low-intensity but persistent; he'd be out of the fight for a while. With Caesar neutralized, only one remained—
"ROASTED FATTY!! ROLLING FATTY!!!"
Only the (possibly) mindless, raging Caligula...!
"Stop howling and put me out! Fight! Help me! This high-speed digestion is bothersome! Truly, truly bothersome!"
"UOOOOOH! REAP WHAT YOU SOW! UOOOOOOOH!"
"Caligula, 'et tu' too—!!!"
They were both a mess, but Caligula at least moved to fight. Jalter, having anticipated this, dropped into a combat stance.
"It looks like this fight is finally coming to an end. It's been a long journey. —Ready, Rikka?"
Rikka gave her a wink, as if to say there was no reason to stop her. The Heroic King was busy painting his dango with gold leaf, while Fou was stuffing his face like a hamster.
"—Here I go!"
Righteousness was on her side. Jalter charged straight at Caligula—!
"UOOOOOOOH! THE GODDESS DIANA HAS FORGIVEN ME! EAT UNTIL YOU DROP! UOOOOOH!"
Caligula's madness-infused limbs lashed out—fists and kicks capable of rending flesh and crushing bone.
"Shut up already!!"
Jalter locked onto his fist and threw a cross-counter. Her Strength A+ power, backed by rational technique, sent Caligula flying into a rock face.
"Gah...!"
Jalter spat on the ground and raised her banner. A smirk crossed her face—the look of certain victory.
"I'll show you the Jalter Strategy for all classes. This is the Berserker Version."
She shook her banner and brought her left hand to her mouth. In her palm sat—
"—Is that ash?" Ea watched the battle with curiosity, while Gil and Fou continued to eat.
"Now, appear! [The Pierre Cauchons]!"
With a sharp breath, she blew the ash into the wind. Stamping her heel into the earth, she seemed to awaken the drifting particles. The ash began to take shape—
"NUUU!?"
"Is that—!?"
Human figures formed from the ash, surrounding Caligula. Flames burned within them, manifesting as pathetic, shambling corpses.
[[[[[[ HELP ME... HELP ME... HELP ME... ]]]]]]
They were the ash-puppets of Pierre Cauchon, the bishop who had tormented and burned the original Jeanne d'Arc in the fires of Purgatory!
"Now, go, my Pierres! If you don't want to be burned by me again! If you don't want to fall back into hell with me!"
[[[[[[ HELP MEEEEE!!! ]]]]]]
Driven by the Dragon Witch's roar, the "Pierres" swarmed Caligula as if begging for salvation.
"This is—!?"
"A convenient technique to defeat an enemy without moving a muscle. Watch, Rikka."
Jalter dropped into a delinquent-style squat to watch the show. Just as she said—
"RAAAAAAH!" Caligula swung with all his might, striking down two Pierres.
"—You fell for it."
Jalter's cruel smile triggered the trap.
[[ HE— HELP— ]]
The ash of the struck Pierres reacted to the crimson mana.
"Ngu—!?"
-------------------------
If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.
Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
[email protected]/Greyhounds
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"