Chapter 304 - Episode Four
About two weeks after the battle with Kudor, Mea and I received a visitor at Lark’s mansion in Fage territory.
“Abel-chan, you’ve been going to strange places with Mea-chan again, haven’t you!? Geez …… really, Abel-chan, geez …… what can I say to make you understand!?”
A green-haired tail dangled helplessly over Shame’s head as she lay slumped over her desk.
The benefactor from some time ago, a lively girl with a ponytail, was Shame, an F-class adventurer.
I owe Shame a great debt of gratitude for helping Me and Mea find a place for us to run to while we were in a panic, pursued by our pursuers back home.
If it hadn’t been for her, Mea and I might have been drawn back to our respective villages.
And I was being lectured by this great benefactor.
I couldn’t say anything back to her, so I just shrank back in my chair.
“It wasn’t the first time, was it? I’ve said it before, haven’t I? If you keep doing this, Abel-chan will be fine, but you never know what will happen to Mea-chan.”
“Yes ……”
“You know, Abel-chan. Abel-chan may be a magical creature who miraculously retains human form, but Mea is a normal girl, and you should take better care of her, okay? Don’t take her to the die, okay? Really, I know it’s a little late to say this, but…”
“I-, I’m not such a monster. ……”
“That’s what the alchemists said? The sky glowed reddish-black when it started in the east, and then Abel-chan came from the east, blurting out, “Can we win next time?”. Did you know that? In the easternmost part of the Dinrat Kingdom, there has been a massive deformation of the topography and undersea faults that have changed the ocean currents, and the royal family is trying to cover it up. Abel-chan did it, right!? It’s definitely Abel-chan, right!?”
Is it the Abel saw!?
The Abel saw cut through the ocean floor!?
At that moment, I stopped thinking about everything and focused only on how to ensure that the damage to Kudor was done.
I didn’t think about the effect on the surroundings at all.
If the Abel ball was a blow of a fist with all one’s strength, then the Abel Saw was a flash of a sharpened blade.
The pseudo-amplification of magic power to raise the output of magic power and the multiple warding techniques to hold the mass of energy into shape were inherited from the Abel ball to the Abel saw, so it can be said to be a derivative magic of the Abel ball.
If I didn’t have to worry about the Abel ball’s energy diffusion upon impact or its fire attribute, the Abel Saw would have been almost a superior replacement for the Abel ball. However, compared to the Abel ball, which quickly dissipates energy and disintegrates, the Abel Saw’s ability to slice through the air may have a slightly greater negative impact on its surroundings.
But if the royal family is involved …… then it’s most likely Peter.
It seems that Peter was able to put pressure on the royal family before it developed into a problem.
As expected of Peter. He did a good job when I returned the ring.
The only problem is that it seems to have led to a misunderstanding that the Dinrat Kingdom’s royal family has been experimenting with magical weapons, taking them out of the country, and secretly testing them without the people’s knowledge, but that’s none of my business.
“When I first met you I heard that you threw your achievements at Gaston and somehow he became a hero and took you to the capital, and I thought you were crazy, but …… every time I see you why do you keep bringing up this big problem? It’s my fault for recommending this territory, but ……”
“Shame-san, that’s not true! I said I wanted to go! Besides, this time, it wasn’t supposed to be so dangerous at first!
Mea hugged my sagging left arm and glared at Shame as she spoke in my defense.
“Okay, Abel is absolutely not at fault, you know?”
Mea looks at me as if she’s peering into my face.
“Mea……!”
Tha-That’s right.
I just did a little bit of writing in the Great God’s Treasure Book, a book that could kill you all over the world just for having it, pushed forward with the analysis without telling the church, and went to the destination indicated by the treasure book out of curiosity.
It was supposed to be just a sightseeing tour of the ancient cathedral, but we were harassed by the Balancer of the Scale of Time and Peter, and ended up in such a situation because of Kudor’s quarrels.
So to speak, I was their victim.
There was nothing I could do about this mishap.
I’m confidently proud of myself.
“I heard that after you went to the …… witch’s tower, you got carried away and blew the tower down.”
I covered my ears softly.
“Me-, Mea’s been next to Abel all along! I’m grateful to Shame, but I don’t need to be told what to do here!”
“Are you sure? If you stay with this kid, Mea-chan, you might not be happy, you know? Abel-chan is a little off, so you’re going to have a very hard time, you know?”
I watched the exchange between Mea and Shame with an unsettled feeling.
Please don’t judge me in front of me.
“I don’t care if I’m unhappy, as long as I’m together with Abel!”
The words returned from Mea caused Shame to fall silent for a moment.
Then she let out a sigh and shook her head in exasperation.
“To be honest, I thought Mea-chan would say that …… I don’t want to ask you what you were fighting, but it’s not likely to be more dangerous than this, so why not?”
Shame said in a dumbfounded manner, letting out a sigh.
I want to say that I’m meddling, but the fact is that Peter’s betrayal put me and Mea in danger.
If Kudor hadn’t changed her mind, there’s a good chance that Mea would have been killed by Kudor.
I’ve almost killed Mea twice due to my lack of caution and simply my lack of ability.
In the end, Kudor is not as cruel or short-tempered as the myths make her out to be, as she missed Peter twice when he was standing his ground so well.
She was probably just acting that way as a check on her opponents.
There is a high possibility that I would have been overlooked even if I had lost easily.
But on the other hand, it seems that her intention to harm Mea was genuine.
The ancient cathedral of Kudor may have been the last place in the world that Mea and I should have gone.
Shame must have only the top bits of information, but what she said was terribly plausible.
She spent a lot of time and money on arranging the destination, gathering information, and after-care for us, and even came to check on us, even though we were only acquaintances.
I was overwhelmed with gratitude and apology.
I kept my forehead on the desk and felt small.
“I’ll leave it at that for Abel-chan’s sermon, I came here because I had something else I wanted to say to you …… A friend of mine saw a group of Doom tribe and a group of Marren Tribe in the Asshim city.”
Shame lowered her voice and told me in a serious tone.
“The-They’re already there!?”
I raised my head in panic.
Mea’s expression also frozens
This is not good. It’s not like I’ve come all this way under some kind of disguise.
The Marren tribe and Doom tribe are still eye-catching.
Once they get to Asshim, they can continue to gather information and they’ll hear all kinds of things about Fage territory.
We chose this place because it was originally a closed country estate on the frontier, but since Nalgarn’s subjugation, circulation has been revived.
In addition, Nalgarn’s scales are being sold in large quantities to other territories.
Furthermore, it seemed that they were planning to create, refine, and synthesize the phantom copper Orichalcos, which was supposed to be kept in secret by Altamir, with Lark’s permission while I, the leader of the alchemist division, was absent, and to establish it as the main business of the alchemist division.
There was no excuse for this, and I could only assume that Altamir was trying to destroy my position with her backhanded methods. Following Rinoa and Icarus, the second alchemist faction war between me and Altamir was finally about to begin.
I should be prepared to defend myself and crush Altamir’s plan with the blade of justice, but I’ll think about that issue later. Anyway, the problem is that the rumor of the phantom copper Oreycalcos has already leaked out, and the fage territory is getting attention.
The Asshim city is a key distribution point, and the fage territory uses Asshim as a major distribution point for negotiations and business with other territories.
“If they’re in Asshim, they’re sure to hear rumors about me in fage territory …… We’re running out of time ……”
“Not really, I asked my friend to spread false information, but It seems that both sets of people went there without doing much research. If we’re lucky, we might get a break here.”
Shame’s hardened expression broke down at once and she laughed.
Mea and I both breathed a sigh of relief.
The Marrens, who had been raised like naive indoor dogs, could not be helped, but I did not think that the Doom would be so easily caught and left stranded.
They may be quite similar tribes.
“But it’s better to be cautious, so I thought I’d let Mea-chan and the others know.”
“O-, okay. You came all the way over here to give me that advice?”
“Hahaha, You don’t have to worry about that! It’s what I like to do.”
Shaym winked and moved her right hand in a deceptive manner.
I’m not sure why the Doom tribe are so intent on chasing after Mea, who the whole village snubbed and kicked out.
If it’s the same reason as Kudor’s, then we have to find out from Kudor no matter what.
In some cases, we could ambush the Doom tribe and beat them back.
However, I have no idea how to deal with the Marrens.
I’m not going to unleash my magic on Shibi or my father Zelrut, but I’m not going to unleash my magic on Gizel, who escaped after I single-handedly hurt her.
If she cries out, she may have to be swept away and go home.