CH 179.1

Oh, man, this is really bad. What the hell is Sytry thinking?

I ran through the wide and spacious corridor. The escorting knights seemed to be working very hard, and there were several dead Chilldra lying on the floor.

Among the Imperial Guard, there were also Magi. The Imperial Guard is the  Emperor of Zebrudia elite of the elite, and I have heard that due to the current Emperor’s temperament, only the best of the best are chosen.

They may not be as good as Hunters who go on hunts in Treasure Shrines, but they should be well trained in escorting VIPs.

At the far end of the third floor, in front of the Emperor’s room, a fierce battle was taking place. There were more than ten Chilldra swarming around, and many knights blocked their advance by guarding the door.

However, the enemies outnumbered them. They waved their swords and spears in the air as the Chilldra nimbly dodge them. The cold air released from their body slowed people’s movement and even if their long-distance attacks, their ice breath, was prevented by a shield, the shockwave alone deprived them of their strength.

At this sight, I stopped for a moment and groaned involuntarily.

“Apparently, His Majesty has as much bad luck as I do.” (Cry)

“This is not the time for that, desu!” (Kruz)

My 『Perfect Vacation (Comfortable Vacation)』 has almost zero defensive power, but it was extremely resistant to environmental change. If I get hit by the ice, I will die, but if it is just cold air, then it is easy. I am glad I decided to wear this.

However, I didn’t think there were other men besides me who would be swarmed by Dragons. The Chilldra I have encountered in the past were more numerous and larger, so this time was much better, but I feel a strange sense of intimacy with him.

One of the knights spotted us and shouted urgently.

“You are late! Do something about these monsters! There’s more of them inside!” (Knight)

Even if you say that……

Kruz was already tired and my power level was at zero. You have managed to fight up until now, so I want you to keep doing your best.

With a *haaa, haaa* ragged breath, Kruz pointed her long, twisted staff at them. And at almost the same time, a red blob passed right by me.

“Killkillkill…… !” (Kilknight Version Alpha)

It was truly a scarlet whirlwind. Even if it wasn’t being controlled by the controller, the Kilknight Version Alpha that Sytry had entrusted me with was approaching the Chilldra at a tremendous speed and swung its Great Sword with both of its hands toward the Chilldra who were confused by the sudden intruder.

“Hey, it doesn’t even need instructions.” (Cry)

The knights’ eyes widened at the berserker’s intrusion, but I nodded broadly while being unfazed.

As expected of the one that Sytry entrusted me with. If it was Sytry who sent the Chilldra, it would make sense that Kilknight would be able to overpower the Chilldra.

Kilknight was dressed as a heavily armed knight, but his fighting style was more like that of a beast.

It can pierce through Chilldra’s ice breath and flick off the Chilldra that was coming at him at high speed. Even a heavy warrior with a lot of vitality would be hard-pressed if it had to take on a dragon with its body.

Both Kruz and the escort knights were stunned. The Chilldra were probably stunned too. The Chilldra that had been relentlessly trying to enter the room, changed their target to Kilknight. As they created a large block of ice and struck its armor, the armor around its feet froze up. However, this doesn’t stop it from moving.

No matter how much armor it wears, the cold air must be eroding his body, but it was as if he didn’t feel any pain. What a tremendous endurance.

“W-where the hell did you bring that guy from, desu?” (Kruz)

“Eh? W-Well…… It is thanks to something like my connections.” (Cry)

I will have to give it plenty of raw meat later. The knights who have come to their senses joined KilKnight and carefully cleared away the Chilldra one by one. With just her willpower, Kruz used her fire magic to warm up the air.

It didn’t take long before the Chilldra that had swarmed the room disappeared.

A knight in full body armor came up to me, the only one who didn’t do anything.

In a desperate voice, he said to me who was scared that he might be angry at me.

“Go protect the inside. They are coming from the windows, we will defend this place to our death.” (Knight)

“Eh…… We are, in the end, only substitutes, so――” (Cry)

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“It isn’t the time for this, desu!” (Kruz)

Kruz took me by my arm and we entered the room. 

The room reserved for the Emperor was more than twice as large as the one we were given. There were elegant furniture and bright chandeliers. It was decorated like a nobleman’s mansion, but now it was in a mess.

His Majesty was in the bedroom. He was surrounded by more than ten knights, including Franz-san, and there were dead Chilldra lying everywhere.

The window facing the terrace was broken and was now barricaded by a king-size bed, but the gap wasn’t filled as the window was too big.

When Franz-san saw my face, he said in a loud voice.

“So you are finally here…… What is going on!?” (Franz)

“………… Sorry, sorry…… There were also so many of them outside. I don’t know what happened, but next time you should take an inn with a barrier.” (Cry)

His Majesty seemed to be safe, but he was bathed in blue blood all over his body. He was covering a familiar-looking girl behind him. She was the one who tricked me at the White Sword Gathering, the Emperor’s daughter.

Maybe because he realized that I was looking at her, his Majesty frowned and showed me the sword in his hand.

His sword was wet.

“We1 killed three of them. We haven’t wielded a sword in a while, but it looks like we are still not rusted yet.” (Radrick)

“!?” (Cry)

The Emperor? Killed? A Dragon?

…… You are several times stronger than me. Hey, you are a “Dragon Slayer (Ryugoroshi)”. After all, you don’t need me, no?

The Imperial Guard’s Magi concentrated countless magic on the Chilldra who attacked from the gaps in the barricade. The powerful lightning magic bathed the Chilldra, charring them black and making them fall. As expected of the Emperor’s Imperial Guard, they are quite skilled. After all, you don’t need me, no?

Franz-san asked me in a rough voice.

“Oi, when is this raid going to end! Their numbers are finally dwindling, but is it really over!? It should be impossible for a swarm of Chilldra to appear in a town like this one!” (Franz)

“Ehrm…… Aren’t you cursed?” (Cry)

“Don’t joke with me! As if such a curse existed!” (Franz)

This time it was due to Sytry, but not the previous Crimson Dragon case. If something happens in quick succession like that, I can’t help but think that they are cursed. Or is it just me.

And then, I came up with a good idea. I made a somber expression and nodded plausibly.

“This is the work of the “fox (Kitsune)”2. No doubt about it.” (Cry)

“Huh…… How do they control the Dragons!? With magic!? What happened to 《Still Water (Shisui)》!?” (Franz)

“Calm down. Aren’t their numbers dwindling? It should be over soon.” (Cry)

Even if it is Sytry, it should be quite difficult to gather so many Chilldra in such a short period of time.

Just as I confidently said this, one of the knights who had been watching through the window let out a voice as if he was screaming.

“This is bad…… “Commander (Dancho)” A-A huge number is…… Coming!” (Knight)

“What!?” (Franz)

He approached the windows in a hurry.

There were black dots spreading across the sky. It looked like a black fog, but it didn’t descend on the city and headed straight for us instead.

It was a swarm of Chilldra. And it wasn’t just one hundred or two. Sytry, you have gathered way too many!

Even if a single one wasn’t all that strong, with that many, an inn like this one would turn to rubble in an instant.

His Majesty’s expression was also grim. If it were me, I would have definitely thrown up if I had seen this for the first time, but as expected of the Emperor of a great country, his courage is different.

TL notes:

Thanks for reading!

As always Cry is always right when he says random stuff. The Emperor is indeed cursed!

I’m sure when they discover the curse they will remember what Cry said and think that he warned them since the beginning XD

Now, how will Cry deal with the rest of the Chilldra?

Tchao à plus!

FootnotesWe: The Emperor means himself when he says “we”.Fox: Here Cry is talking about the fox phantom and not the organization, but as the organization is also called Fox, Franz misunderstood.