Volume 4 Chapter 42 The Enemy General is the Pope, But――
We used Suzu's magic to weaken the few Romanov soldiers on the east side, and with Ai in the lead, we slipped into the town.
If we go straight, we should reach the altar, but unfortunately, that path has many enemies.
So, we take a winding road instead.
Sometimes, we see soldiers hiding or using magic to get past, but we just keep heading toward the center.
"There are a lot of enemies."
"Seriously, the Romanov soldiers sure are numerous."
"Well, most of them used to be Guant soldiers."
While I complain like this with Miloslaf, we keep moving forward.
"...Stop, everyone."
When we reached the exit of an alley, Ai whispered for everyone to halt.
I could hear some voices nearby.
They must be Romanov soldiers.
"What does His Holiness the Pope think... If we turn the workers of this town into Mana Crystals, we will lose both productivity and value."
"Sure, in the short term, we can send more to supply lines, but in the long run, this town will die. Can we somehow get him to reconsider?"
"When the two aides were here, they were stopping him, but Lady Emerada has died, and Mr. Miloslaf has run away... We might be left out by His Majesty the Emperor."
..........
I couldn't help but turn to Miloslaf, who was casually picking his ears.
"W-What? You ran away?"
"Uh...? I don't remember..."
They were pretending not to know, but it was definitely the members of the organization talking.
It must be true.
"If that's the case, just say it! You could have done something about getting the prisoner back or whatever!"
"Shut up! I was done with that annoying work from that guy Rudolf! I just wanted to cause some chaos!"
I couldn't help but snap back, arguing with Miloslaf.
My sisters were giving me painful looks, but I couldn't stay quiet.
"H-Hey, you guys! Be quiet!"
"──Hey! Is someone there!?"
Ai's shout and the Romanov soldier's question snapped us back to reality.
Oh no.
"Everyone, stay still! I'll handle this!"
I hurriedly whispered to everyone and focused my Magic Power into one of the magic stones at my waist.
Then, a Romanov soldier appeared from the alley.
"...Hmm? No one is here... Did they go deeper!? Hey, let's chase them!"
The Romanov soldiers ran off without noticing us, heading to the other side of the alley.
It seems we managed to get through for now.
"Papa, what did you do?"
"I used the <Magic Stone of Auerele> to create an illusion. They must have only seen an empty alley."
I sighed in relief as I answered Ai, showing her the <Magic Stone of Auerele>, one of my gifts.
I'm glad I realized how useful this magic stone was just in time.
Just then, someone poked my waist.
I turned around to see it was Suzu.
"What is it?"
I asked, but my little sister had a blank expression, yet somehow looked a bit exasperated.
Did I do something wrong?
"...Big Bro Ryuuji. If you had used that from the start, we could have walked boldly from the main street to the altar, right?"
"......Ah."
I felt everyone's eyes piercing into me, making my big body shrink in on itself.
* * *
I used the <Magic Stone of Auerele> to move to the center of town.
There were many Guant soldiers, but they didn't notice us.
Even with Miloslaf's heavy armor, there was no sound at all, thanks to Suzu's silence magic, <Silence>.
Soon, we arrived at the center, and there stood a large altar facing north, just as Ai had said.
The design was familiar to me, from the Abnella faith in the port town of Quechua, <Chupa>.
In front of the altar, a person dressed in ceremonial robes was offering a prayer.
...No, it wasn't a bishop.
This guy was probably──
"...Oh? I smell the new gods?"
The person──Pope Rudolf of <Gualerto>──stopped praying as if he noticed something and turned to face us from the east side.
"When <Godslayer> activates, the <Magic Stone of Auerele> will lose its effect. Minori and Miloslaf, let's strike all at once. Ai, protect Suzu. I'll provide support from here."
At my words, everyone nodded.
Minori and Miloslaf dashed toward Pope Rudolf.
The moment they did, the illusion effect vanished, but their momentum didn't stop.
In the meantime, I pulled out the Alchemist's Gun from my magic bag.
Of course, I aimed for──the pope's forehead.
"Nya!?"
"Gwoah!?"
I heard Minori and Miloslav's screams, as if they had hit something and were thrown back.
It was probably the Pope's magic barrier.
The Pope was laughing at us from high above, watching like it was a show.
But I've dealt with that kind of thing before in Ferron.
That's why I have the Alchemist's Gun in my hand.
"Take this!"
I said it short and pulled the trigger.
In an instant, the Pope Rudolf's forehead was shot through, and his body jerked back.
The shock of losing their commander made the noise around us stop completely.
"...Huh? What the hell is this?"
Miloslav quickly noticed the strange atmosphere around us.
I realized it a moment later.
No, this isn't just a shock causing silence.
Looking around, I saw something shiny gathering from the soldiers towards the altar.
This is probably the same thing Emerada did in Lene's village.
That means──
"It's turning into a Mana Crystal! Everyone, run outside the town!"
I quickly grabbed Suzu's waist and dashed toward the South Gate.
There was no one left to stop us.
Everyone──was already dead.
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