Volume 6 Chapter 16 The Aftermath
Hearty gave a hearty call, carrying the bound Wrath and returned to the lord's mansion guest room with Ariadne's thread.
"I've already defeated one of the four heavenly kings."
'What?????'
The person who spoke was unclear, and the others who remained on the scene looked at each other in confusion. All of my party members, Sylvia and Gold from the Frain party were all there. The others had already gone to the battlefield.
By the way, Hearty had been holding his head the entire time after receiving the report, and Wrath was still wrapped in a rope around his upper right, with a greatsword piercing him.
The first one to ask was Ice.
"Uh, Wade-kun, what's going on? Who is that person?"
"Ah, it's Wrath. He was part of the advance team, and after the team was wiped out, he was the only one left, and his characteristics matched. So I fought him and won."
"No way, it's too soon..."
When Toxy makes a joke, I'll play it off with a funny pose. "Don't make a cute pose! You can't play it off!" I didn't play it off.
"As expected of Wade. Let's just call you, AsWade (Sasuga Wade)."
"Sandra, it feels like I'm being made fun of when you call me that."
"AsWade."
"Don't call me by a name like that."
I put the magic sword Gram on the table as a souvenir, and Sandra's eyes widened.
"This is magic sword Gram."
"I thought it was the one Sandra mentioned after Toxy helped me with the Muramasa thing before, is this right?"
"It's true. I didn't think I'd see it again."
Sandra stared at the magic sword Gram. As someone who had experienced a tragedy, she must have had some thoughts.
Then, Gold joined in.
"This is one of the 'Cursed Thirteen Blades of Victory', huh?"
"That's right. You can see it, but don't touch it. Also don't aphorism it."
Sandra gave her permission without asking. Gold glanced at me, so I nodded.
"In that case, please."
"Once again, it's your bad habit, big brother... So, Wade, and Sandra, don't teach him Aphorism. Even if I tell him not to do it, big brother can't help but get involved in blacksmithing."
"O-Okay, got it."
Nodding at Sylvia's advice, I looked at Gold.
Gold picked up the magic sword Gram and started to examine it closely. He was muttering something too technical for me to understand. Anyway, I guess we can leave the magic sword Gram aside for now.
I looked at Hearty.
"So, what are we going to do with this one?"
Hearty gestured with his eyes at Wrath, who was floating in the air with gravity magic. Hearty crossed his arms and answered with a difficult expression.
"For now, we'll put him in a cell and restrain him as much as possible... Wrath is a noble, so we can't treat him unfairly."
"Wait, is he a noble?"
"Well, sort of..."
Wrath started speaking, surprising everyone. Since he hadn't been speaking or moving at all, we thought he was unconscious.
"Wait, are you... are you okay?"
Wrath fell silent in response to Clay's question. Oh, he's just not interested at all.
Since there's no other choice, I'll explain instead.
"Um, yeah. The thing is, Wrath is actually sloth."
"That explanation is too boring..."
"Shut up, it's your fault for not talking, Sloth."
"..."
"Don't be silent."
I turned to everyone and cleared my throat.
"So, as I was saying, he's really not interested at all, he's just silent."
"I-I see..." said Ice. I nodded and continued.
"In fact, when we were fighting, almost none of my attacks could hit him because he's so tough. He's still holding on, so he's probably fine. Right?"
"..."
"Fine, you say?"
"Hey, you are fine, right?"
Toxy was tilting her head. I can't say I blame her for feeling that way.
"A-Alright! That's it!"
Hearty raised his voice to try to bring the situation back under control.
"Wade-dono! You've achieved a significant victory early on! I'd like to praise you first about Wrath. I'll treat him as a prisoner of war, and the reward will come after the war!"
And then Hearty continued.
"Your strength is undeniable. It's immense. I'd like you to move freely around the battlefield and influence the situation as you see fit."
"I understand. I'll make sure to keep in touch with you through the Calling Ring at any time. If anything happens, please contact me."
"Ah, I'm looking forward to your exploits. Then, let's go!"
Hearty took hold of Wrath's floating foot and left the guest room. I watched him leave before shrugging my shoulders and saying to myself, "What's next?"
"Wade-kun, you're free to do as you please...!"
"Ice is still as strict as ever."
Ice's 'freely' meant that, as the leader, I have the responsibility to make decisions. They trust me. No, they've already chosen to trust me.
So, I scratched my head, thinking seriously about what to do next.
Then, I thought it was worth asking.
"Hey, Sylvia, you and your brother didn't go to the Frain party, right?"
"Ah, no. We didn't join this war. We needs to make your sword, Wade."
"And, I have to look after my sister."
"That's true. I guess I'm the one who asked you to do this, so sorry for asking such a stupid question."
"No, it's okay."
If that's the case, then I should calculate from what we should do. Then, it's up to me to decide.
"Okay."
I decided. I decided and transmitted the order to the party.
"From now on, I'll explain the plan. Firstly, our role in the Karditsa defense war is to take out the heroic generals..."
All the party members nodded in agreement. I continued.
"The faster it goes, the better, and the safer it is, the better. I realized that sweeping other soldiers is not our job. It's something we can do if we have the time."
So, I'm connecting.
"So, our job is to 'find the location of the general's group,' 'quickly move under them,' 'gather winning forces, and crush them surely.'"
As I say this, I sit down on the sofa. Then, I address everyone.
"Just so you know, it's probably going to be a tough fight. Wrath was strong. I never got killed fighting Sandra, but I got shredded. That's the kind of top-tier people we're dealing with."
As I say this, I feel everyone's gaze sharpen. Good. It's a good tension. I smile.
"We've definitely gotten stronger. Stronger than any enemy we've faced before. But that's why we need to be even more careful. Gather our forces and do it surely. If we do that..."
"If we do that..."
I laugh at Sandra's response.
"It'll be fun, for sure. We can enjoy this war."
Sylvia is briefly frightened. But no one in the group reacts to it. Everyone's eyes glint, and they smile faintly.
"Yeah...! Let's have fun together...!"
"Yeah, let's have fun. Wade-kun, you should enjoy it too."
"Fine, I'll enjoy it too. This party doesn't need a stopper anymore."
"Wade and everyone else are looking good. All fired up. Let's have fun with all our might."
We laugh heartily. Seeing this, Sylvia clings to Gold, saying "Wade's party is scary, big brother." and Gold doesn't care at all, observing the magic sword Gram.
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