In the heavy silence.
Clink – As Ser brought the coffee cup to their lips, Rubia’s trembling breath escaped.
“Then…”
“Of course, no matter how big the order is, they can’t just barge into a city like Ursphere or Cartia indiscriminately.”
Sirin continued while nudging the documents she had brought.
“So, they’ll likely use another method.”
Clunk – Setting the coffee cup down and peering at the pile of papers, Ser smiled faintly.
“Oh my, Sirin, what brings you to prepare all this?”
“I’m quite capable when I need to be.”
“Then why didn’t you plan a bit more thoroughly when you stormed the Mage Tower? You caused a ruckus, and it’s made things awkward for me.”
“Against those despicable magic users, that was precisely what I needed.”
Whoa… “magic users”? In front of the Mage Tower master… Wow… so bold…
“So mean…? Well, how could a mere flock of sparrows understand the will of a phoenix? It’s only natural that earthy beasts swinging their ignorant bodies around can’t grasp the intentions of a great mage making miracles happen.”
Wait…? Crawling on the ground? Ignorant?
“Ha! Hiding behind brave warriors and firing magic like cowards is what you call a miracle? And do you know how much blood the warriors shed while foolish mages prepare their so-called great miracles?”
Y-yeah! True!
Of course… I’ve never fought alongside a mage.
But… I kind of get what Sirin’s saying.
Oh, by the way, isn’t Rubia also a mage?
Hmm… um… Rubia’s casting is a bit slow, isn’t it?
“Yes. I’m aware. But without the aid of great magic, the bravery of those warriors becomes recklessness. Is it bravery to die pointlessly at the front with no backup? That is what we might call foolishness. Thus, warriors ought to support and revere us mages.”
What? Recklessness? Foolish?
Ha, this is ridiculous.
Seriously, I’m really getting mad… My mind is buzzing with counterarguments…. I have no idea how to express them. Hmm…
“Facing a known defeat and still fighting to overcome is what it means to be a warrior, and that’s the romance of it! You guys, always calculating and choosing only fights you can win, are acting like cowards!”
Wow, exactly! That’s what I wanted to say! That’s… that’s the romance!
“Truly foolish. Why would you charge in knowing you’ll die? Did warriors take so many head blows that their brain cells have died off? Or does inhaling dust make one foolish? Even a ten-year-old mage with less intelligence wouldn’t do something so idiotic.”
…Imbecile? Hey, hey! Ser! That’s going a bit too far, don’t you think?! Huh?!
Sirin! Get me back! You know what I want!
“The end of magic. Those who die dreaming only of that nonsense don’t understand anything! To live this life means to meet people, confront, fight, and grow together. It’s not about holed up in a room staring at worn-out books; that’s not living, that’s decaying.”
Wow. Seriously… so cool.
If I could, I’d want to cheer right now.
I will, you know, secretly tell Sirin how awesome she was once she wins for sure.
Right now… um… they’re having a heated debate. Yup, totally not because I’m scared or anything.
I’m not scared of those despicable magic users… uh, cough.
“Coexisting with humans. Why do that stressful thing? Humans are foolish. Stupid and brash. They’re selfish beasts that only care about filling their own pockets while robbing others. You know this, right? What they’ve done to me, the things they’ve caused in this world—”
“So I killed them. All of them.”
Suddenly, Sirin’s remark, laced with a frown, cut off Ser’s heated speech.
“…What?”
In an instant, Ser’s usual calm expression cracked.
“Ser, I couldn’t stand seeing you struggle. I became short-sighted.”
What? What’s going on? Huh?
Why is the atmosphere suddenly so… soft?
“Is… is that true?”
Stumbling over words, Ser lowered their head and summoned a water spirit, fiddling with it in their hands.
“I-I actually knew all along. I am a genius. A genius knows… everything.”
Then, with a cheeky smile, they glanced at Sirin.
Sirin, under that gaze, awkwardly cleared her throat and took a sip of coffee.
Meanwhile, Cartia, who had been listening with great interest, thought,
[What a damn annoying bunch… No, no, these idiots are driving me nuts. Have I been keeping myself alive just to see this? Nowadays, there’s not a single normal kid around. No, Sirin isn’t one of those kids either, so why is she acting like this? Sigh, old and outdated, I should just hurry up and die. What am I even living for? Tsk.]
Wringing out her thoughts, she faded into the background.
“Ahem, I don’t know how the conversation turned this way, but Rubia, you should also take a look. It’s a summary of what they might do based on careful consideration.”
“Ah… okay.”
Rubia, who had been blankly observing all this, suddenly jumped and lifted me gently to place me in a chair nearby.
“Um… I’ll explain Noah to you later. For now… I’m sorry.”
“Really? Ah… okay. Don’t worry about it.”
“Thank you.”
With a bright smile, Rubia gently ruffled my hair, then quickly began reading through the documents.
“Here, this part… is this method the most promising?”
“Probably.”
“Even when considering the position, it seems the easiest, most comfortable, and quickest method. However, how to organize it is the issue. The ideal method would be to summon a few masters from the order to organize it. That way, the order’s prestige would increase, and the incapable residents would crave the power. They might end up basically volunteering for the task. No, it will definitely turn out that way.”
Ser, returning to her usual demeanor, nodded in agreement.
Hearing that, Rubia let out a heavy sigh and looked at me.
“It suggests summoning the Monster of the End in the middle of the city.”
“Y-yeah…? How?”
“Among the Monsters of the End, there’s one trapped in a dimensional rift.”
Rubia’s grip tightened.
“Death Knight, Valoran.”
“…Ah.”
“The materials to open the dimensional rift… namely human lives and my divine power, seem sufficient, but the strength of Valoran remains unverified… that’s my concern.”
“…I see.”
Death Knight, Valoran.
A raid-level boss you meet for the third time in the game.
The distinct feature of Valoran is that he rides a horse.
An exceptionally fast one at that.
Truly, a nuisance throughout the game, darting around here and there.
Valoran wields a heavy great sword while riding.
Also, there are five phases to face.
Normally, each boss would use new area attacks whenever the phase changes, but Valoran uses a total of five different area attacks starting from the introduction cutscene.
It’s downright bothersome. So irritating.
In the final phase, there’s… what was it called again?
Anyway, there’s a death curse lasting 25 seconds.
Any player hit by it instantly dies just from grazing Valoran’s attacks.
Ridiculous instant death.
I don’t know how it will go here.
But I think it’ll be similar.
Besides, the fifth phase would probably be meaningless.
After all, one hit from such a monster would mean instant death anyway.
But if you summon such a boss in the middle of the city…
“Isn’t that a huge problem?!”
“It is. Plus, whether it’s Ursphere or Cartia, that’s the problem too. We can’t concentrate our forces or allow for a smooth evacuation.”
“O- oh…”
There was such a serious issue at hand, yet the warriors were going on about this and that regarding mages?
“What does Lady Sirin think?”
“What about?”
“Do you think the three of us can subjugate the Monster of the End?”
Unlike usual, Ser, who had sent the elemental back without harming it, looked at Sirin.
But three of us? There’re four of us in total.
“I also don’t know Valoran’s power precisely, but… if we come fully prepared, I’d say 60% chance.”
Sirin’s gaze shifted between me and Rubia.
“If you two don’t go through a trial, it’s only a 20% chance. However, we don’t have enough time to undergo a trial right now, so I’d estimate it around 20%.”
Rubia’s hand gripping mine suddenly grew cold, and beads of sweat began to form.
“20%… that’s going to be a tough fight.”
Wait, is Sirin backing out of the subjugation?
Why…? Is there some secret I don’t know about?
But still, Rubia and Ser are accepting that it’s natural for Sirin to sit this one out.
Did they talk about it separately while I was knocked out…?
“If we can gather another subjugation team, that might be good, but in that case, Noah wouldn’t be able to participate. They officially designated you as a heretic in Erden.”
“…Huh?”
Me? Huh? A heretic? Oh no, no way…?!
“I’m a heretic?! I’m not a heretic…?!”
“Those wearing the armor of Erden came looking to kill you.”
W- why suddenly?
“Isn’t Rubia by your side?”
“She is, right?”
“That’s the reason.”
“Wuhhh…?”
What is this… even about…?
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