◇[King of Ulza]◇
The Demon War King Jin clutched his head.
(Ashinto has vanished!?)
The deathmatch fighter Eve Speed had fled Monroy the other day.
Duke Zuan had left the royal capital in pursuit of that leopardkin.
Ashinto had accompanied the duke.
(What remained at the scene… were only the corpses of the duke, his private soldiers, and the hired mercenaries…)
There was no trace of Ashinto anywhere.
(Did that fool Zuan clash with Ashinto…? Guh! I warned him over and over to handle those people with care…!)
Something had happened.
(The only things of Ashinto's left at the scene were a few weapons and pieces of equipment… They probably left behind the heavy gear so they could escape quickly on horseback.)
They must have judged that their prized curses would be enough even without weapons.
Incidentally, there were signs that valuables had been taken.
(From the information I received, there is no way Eve Speed could have done this alone no matter how you look at it.)
Had Ashinto sided with Eve?
But there was no reason for them to join her side.
It was more reasonable to assume some internal conflict had broken out.
(My reading… was off…)
Duke Zuan excelled at managing roughnecks.
Perhaps because he gave his subordinates and hired men appropriate freedom.
Or perhaps because he paid well.
The duke had a tendency to be liked by that sort of people.
Jin had valued that ability of the duke's.
Negotiations with troublesome opponents.
He had left such negotiations to Duke Zuan until now.
The blood arena where strong personalities gathered.
The duke was also involved in its management.
He was used to handling people with difficult personalities.
Of course, Jin was aware of the bad rumors surrounding him.
(But Ashinto seemed especially troublesome. If I was going to entrust that kind of group to someone, it had to be him, so I left it to the man…)
He never imagined it would come to this.
(I wanted to keep the ones claiming to have killed the Five Dragon Warriors as pieces in my hand… as material to show off our power to other countries…)
Even that dragon slayer had eventually become one of his pieces after careful work.
He had thought the same could be done with Ashinto.
(Was my thinking too naïve? Ngu, gu…! Above all, above all—)
What should he report to the goddess?
This was after the meeting at the White Castle of Magical Defense had ended.
Jin had proposed this to the goddess regarding Ashinto.
"Could you leave the matter of Ashinto to this Demon War King? Fufufu… I will definitely uncover whether those people truly killed the Five Dragon Warriors!"
The goddess had entrusted it to him.
The goddess trusted the King of Ulza.
As proof, the other day the emissaries of Vysis had withdrawn to their own country.
The surveillance personnel dispatched to each country had been recalled.
This could be called evidence that he had won the goddess's trust.
Above all,
(That eyesore of a little girl called Nyantan had finally left and I was rejoicing…!)
Her only redeeming features were her beautiful face and figure.
Combined with her attire, she had been pleasant to look at.
But aside from that, she had been nothing but a source of mental fatigue.
She had not a shred of charm.
Those cold eyes that seemed to see through everything.
That attitude lacking any warmth toward him, the king.
She had been unbearably irritating.
But he could do nothing.
He had heard she was special even among Vysis's emissaries.
If he laid a hand on her, there was no telling what kind of backlash would come.
(Gugu… she might be dispatched again, that detestable Nyantan…)
Jin crumpled the report tightly in his hand.
(Whenever she was around, it always felt like I was being watched and I could never relax… ugh…)
There was no choice but to somehow locate Ashinto and negotiate again.
They had completely wiped out Duke Zuan's private soldier unit, including Costello.
From what he heard, many famous mercenaries had been among them as well.
(Regarding the matter of the Five Dragon Warriors' deaths, I had planned to investigate the truth over time…)
There was no longer any room for doubt.
Their power to kill the Five Dragon Warriors was real.
Even if he sent the Demon War Knights, it would be difficult to deal with them.
(That said, calling the dragon slayer back from the goddess at this point would also be difficult…)
"Um… Your Majesty, what shall we do?"
Jin snapped back to himself.
He had forgotten his retainer was beside him.
He hurriedly composed himself and covered his eyes with his hand.
"U-um… I was simply shocked by Duke Zuan's death… but I am fine now."
"And regarding this matter with Ashinto… how shall we report it to Alion?"
Cold sweat broke out.
"I have no choice… it would be worse if it later came to light that I did not report it immediately…"
The goddess was a terrifying existence.
He must not be deceived by her beautiful appearance.
There was no telling what she would do if her mood was spoiled.
He recalled the rumors surrounding the Holy Kingdom of Neah.
Neah had been invaded and occupied by the Bakos Empire.
Right now, invasion of another country on this continent was impossible.
The goddess had effectively forbidden it.
However, during the invasion, the goddess had not intervened.
What was the reason Neah had lost the goddess's "protection"?
One theory said it was because the Holy King of Neah had spoiled the goddess's mood.
Yes, the goddess was absolute.
(That strangely rebellious little brat from the Mad Beautiful Empire will eventually learn how terrifying the goddess is. Everything is in the palm of the goddess's hand…)
Perhaps because of the terror.
Jin suddenly felt dizzy.
He braced his elbow on the edge of the chair to support his swaying body.
"Search… find Ashinto no matter what…"
"Your Majesty, what shall we do about the leopardkin? The dark elf girl thought to be connected to the leopardkin has also disappeared. And the mistress of the White Foot Pavilion who was raising the girl—"
Jin grew irritated.
"Abandon the cowardly leopardkin and the powerless little girl! They will surely die in a ditch somewhere sooner or later! Right now the priority is Ashinto! Pour every effort into tracking Ashinto's movements! Understood!?"
"Y-yes! Understood!"
Jin ground his teeth.
(Gu, guuu… the plan to improve the goddess's impression while using Ashinto as a convenient piece… I never imagined it would turn out like thiiis…)
The seeds of the Demon War King's anguish showed no sign of running out.
◇[Nyantan Kiki-pat]◇
"Hmm, hmm… so that curse-user group killed the duke of Ulza and then vanished. Quite a disturbing story. Scary, scary."
The goddess said while holding the report.
The report had arrived from Ulza the other day.
It concerned the curse-user group that had claimed to have killed the Five Dragon Warriors.
They had gone into hiding.
The report was informing her of that fact.
"But do curses really exist? It's hard to believe. Hmm~? Or is it just that I don't know about them? Do you know anything?"
In the goddess's private room.
Nyantan Kiki-pat stood by the wall.
To the goddess's question she answered shortly,
"No."
The goddess said flatly,
"I see."
She returned her gaze to the report.
"Scary, scary. Hmm~, but if the Mad Beautiful Empire picks up Ashinto, it might become a bit troublesome… hmm~, but sending Nyantan back at this time would be a little difficult… Nyantan has an important role, after all…"
The goddess crumpled the report into a ball in her hand.
Then she let out a sigh.
"Troublesome things have happened at such an important time. It seems the Demon War Knights will also be deployed to search for Ashinto… and if they truly possess the power to kill the Five Dragon Warriors, I cannot completely ignore them either…"
Puuu~
The goddess puffed out her cheeks.
Yet her expression remained a smile.
"I'm really troubled."
"Is there a problem?"
A man's voice asked the goddess lightly.
The owner of the voice was one of the Four Holy Saints, Agito Angoon.
A young man with gentle features.
His black hair covered one eye.
He could be described as a man with an elusive atmosphere.
He had a fluffy, light presence.
However, his actual ability could not be underestimated.
Right now, the people in the room were not only the goddess and Nyantan.
Four men and women summoned from the Dukedom of Yonato.
The Four Holy Saints.
They too had gathered in the room.
The four siblings said to surpass even the Saint of Yonato.
The four carried the blood of heroes.
In other words, they were members of the Brave Blood clan.
The eldest brother, Agito, continued.
"What Vysis should be concerned about is the Great Demon Emperor who carries the evil king element that can even weaken the power of the divine race, and his army, right?"
"Hmm~, that's true, but…"
"Whether it's the Five Dragon Warriors or Ashinto, when Vysis fights them there is no weakening effect from the evil king element. Isn't that right?"
Nyantan understood.
Agito was saying this:
Neither the Five Dragon Warriors nor Ashinto were enemies of the goddess.
With a refreshing smile, Agito said,
"Right now, what Vysis needs to focus on is the army of the Great Demon Emperor that is clearly becoming more active, right? Am I wrong?"
"You are correct, but… when I think there might be Five-Dragon-Warrior-level threats in the background, it becomes hard to concentrate on battle…"
"Hahaha, Vysis is surprisingly worrisome, isn't she?"
"Eh? What is wrong with that? I'm sorry. I know you meant no harm, but the way you said it bothered me a little."
"..."
"..."
Agito smiled brightly.
"Sorry?"
The goddess also smiled.
"No, no, please don't worry~ I'm sorry, I let my mouth slip a little… how embarrassing♪"
Nyantan watched the exchange.
She thought:
The goddess was probably feeling irritated.
This incident where Ashinto had disappeared…
The goddess might actually be quite angry.
More troublesome matters had piled up.
The current exchange with Agito.
It was possible it had happened because the goddess was on edge.
There was a knock at the door.
"Goddess-sama."
"What is it?"
"Lord Bainwolf has arrived."
"Ah, he's here. It seems he arrived quite a bit later than scheduled~"
The goddess rose from her chair.
A large, well-built man stepped heavily into the room.
The large man scratched his head roughly.
"Ah… sorry I'm late."
"No, no, welcome."
The goddess showed her welcome with a graceful posture.
**Dragon Slayer**