「N-, no you can’t! That’s too dangerous! Right now, Eris, Raphael, Wayne, Lord Theodore, and many more Knights aren’t even here, you know! With just Academy people available, I won’t allow taking that risk!」
It was Ripple who raised her voice. Perhaps, thinking that way was only natural from her point of view.
Ripple’s normal personality was cheerful and she didn’t seem to be thinking too much about things. But, on the other hand, as a Hyrule Menace, she had a strong sense of duty to protect people, and it was apparent that she made it her raison d’etre with the words she spoke and the actions she took.
「Rather than letting that happen, I would rather obediently be returned to the Highland……!」
She didn’t want the Academy students to fight in a desperate, all-out war. If so, she must have thought that everything would be solved if she sacrificed herself.
「However, Miss Ripple. I don’t think that giving you up will be the most peaceful way to go with this.」 「Eh…… What do you mean?」 「While Mr. Redas didn’t give it much thought, Special Envoy Theodore believes that what happened to you is a form of sanction from the Church’s Union, so do I. If so, that means things won’t end with simply having a substitute Hyrule Menace. Let’s put it this way. Will you give a saving hand to an enemy if they’re in danger? If we prepared a valuable compensation asked nicely while kissing their boots, that would be a different story.」 「Compensation……What would be given to them, Glis?」 「Most likely, a midland territory…Specifically, a town and all the people in it……I think. Think again about the Nova city Lady Cyrene governed, Rani. I assume they will use Levitation Magic Formation to take the whole town away to the sky.」 「……! N-, no way……」
Ripple’s expression tightened.
「T-, that’s even worse! Lady Cyrene said she won’t let it happen, but a person like her is rare……!」 「You’re right, Rani.」 「……I am of the same opinion as Miss Inglis. While Mr. Redas did say he agreed to it out of worry, the top brass must have considered a lot of other factors.」 「If they didn’t, the negotiation will be difficult and huge damage will be bound to happen to the Imperial Guard Order. If things played poorly, it might even endanger the Royal Capital.」 「And that’s dreadful in its own right…… Fundamentally speaking, the right to command Hyrule Menaces falls under the jurisdiction of the Holy Knight Order. It’s entrusted onto Prince Wayne’s hand. If things went south, His Highness must bear responsibility for everything…… And if that happened, just what would happen to Academy after that…」 「The worst of the worst really is that this could lead to a civil war, isn’t it? It’s still unclear if His Highness would stay silent when he heard that a territory was used as a negotiation chip after it was settled. Then, predicting a rebellion in advance, the Imperial Knight Order could mobilize the new Hyrule Menace to stab His Highness in the back. Being pinched by the Venefian Army in the front and the Imperial Knight Order in the back, the Holy Knight Order wouldn’t stand a chance, would they?」
The Special Envoy at the Venefique Kingdom was from the Church’s Union, the faction opposing Special Envoy Theodore’s. If this kingdom’s Royal Faction sided with the Church’s Union, it was all too possible for them to conspire with the Venefian Army in order to attack Prince Wayne and Special Envoy Theodore.
「T-, that’s ridiculous……! Even if he’s like that, my brother will never ever attack an ally from behind……! He is not a bad person at all……!」
Silva raised his voice.
「Then it’s even more dangerous. They only need to put him out of the picture and fill the position with their puppet. People are pawns for a country, they can be replaced at will.」
Responded Inglis calmly.
「……For someone who’s so savage during battles, you’re terrifyingly calm and coldhearted at times …What made you able to figure everything out so clearly?」 「Urmm…? Life experiences, perhaps?」
Answered Inglis with a smile, but Silva’s face only showed bafflement. It was no wonder. He had no way of knowing what Inglis had experienced in her past life.
「I really want to say that it was impossible to happen…… I really want to, but……it’s the truth that His Majesty the King and His Highness Wayne don’t have a good relationship with each other…We should keep that in mind for the possibly worst-case scenario.」 「Yes, Principal. If the circumstance stayed as is, at worst there would be a civil war, at best…… Let me see. The negotiation will be lengthened, plus His Highness Wayne and the Special Envoy will return after settling the matter with the Venefian army before any major incident occurred. As a result, nothing visibly changed from the usual, I guess. However, if things are heading towards the worst possible case, I believe we should see that the coercive method you spoke of before will be most effective.」 「However the die roll, we still have to carefully assess the situation, don’t we.」 「That’s right. Fufufu……」
Of course, personally speaking, Inglis wished that they would be left with no choice but resort to brute force, and she believed that it was very likely to happen too. Just how strong the summoned enemy would be, she was looking forward to it so much, she couldn’t help herself.
From what she felt, the new technique she was currently developing needed a stronger opponent to some degree before it could be valid. She hoped that an opponent strong enough to withhold her new technique would come to her door.
「Come on, Glis. I know what you’re thinking, but at least wipe the smirk off your face.」 「Oops, you’re right. That was improper of me.」
Her expression returned to be serious in a snap.
「……Well, seeing how Inglis acts like business as usual, it makes me feel that everything will be sorted out somehow.」
Leone said with a sigh mingled in her words.
「Agreed…She ruined the nervousness at the end.」
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「A-, at any rate, Mister Silva, please try to postpone the handover period as long as possible with whatever reason you can think up.」 「I see…I understand.」 「In addition, we need to inform His Highness and Lord Theodore about this, so let’s dispatch a messenger as soon as possible. The rest is, as I said before, we have to carefully assess the situation. I’ll also use all the connections I have in hand to find out how the negotiation is going. And then, Miss Ripple. You’ve heard us, so please don’t think that you must sacrifice yourself. Please trust us.」 「Y-, yeah…… I’m really sorry, everyone……」
Ripple hung her head down, her voice was almost a whisper.
「Please, don’t worry about it. In fact, I am grateful for this wonderful chance you gave us.」 「GLIS!! We’re all serious here, so don’t make fun of Miss Ripple!」 「Nyaw, aym sewious nyoo.」 「Yeah, for the fighting!」 「Yesh.」 「Fufufu……Geez. Your group sure has it great, Inglis. Just look at how bold you are, in a good way.」
Seeing the state of Inglis and Rafinha, Ripple broke into a smile.