Chapter 183
Chapter 183
Ed Subjugation Battle (6)
“Ziggs.”
Tailly spoke first with a cold voice.
Ziggs Eiffelstein was sitting in one corner of the second floor hallway, quietly waiting for Taily.
He is quite a close friend of Tailly. From the first act, through the duel episode, they recognize each other’s skills and are colleagues who look on with satisfaction as Tailly grows at an incredible rate.
He is a duel master and a talented person who holds the co-deputy position in the 2nd year Magic Department.
At the beginning of the first year, Ziggs had a huge gap with Tailley that he could not even match, but now Tailley has also entered the ranks of the strong in the grade.
Nevertheless, the gap between Taily and Ziggs still remains.
This is because the Sword Saint Ceremony is not completely open, and the duel experience accumulated before entering Sylvania is overwhelmingly for Ziggs.
“Why are you here?”
“For exactly the reasons you imagined.”
Siggs Eiffelstein was completely involved with Ed Rothtaylor.
You can tell just by looking at Ziggs sitting quietly among various weapons.
Ziggs Eiffelstein has no intention of letting Taily go.
We are prepared to use force if necessary.
Ziggs Eiffelstein is a boy who always acts based on common sense and appears to be a dependable first-year student.
I can’t believe that he got caught by Ed Ross Taylor… Tailley’s hand trembled while holding the sword.
“why?”
Seeing Tailley like that, Ziggs spoke casually.
“Do I need to feel strange now? I belong to the student council and receive orders from the president, Tanya Rosstaylor.”
No matter how much he belongs to the student council, Ziggs Eiffelstein is a person who does not do anything he believes is wrong.
Even Tanya Rothtaylor, who holds the authority of student council president, could not completely control Ziggs Epelstein.
It was correct to interpret Ziggs’ actions as having some degree of will.
“Isn’t it any wonder that she is somewhat cooperative with her brother, Ed Rosstaylor?”
“Aayla is captured.”
“know.”
In response to the short answer, Tailly widens her pupils and looks at him.
There is not even the slightest movement of Ziggs, who is sitting casually in his seat.
Even though he knows all the facts, you can feel his strong will as he sits still and looks at Tailly.
Tailly held the sword handle and took a deep breath.
Reason returns to my cold head. They have already crossed swords against Elvira and Clevius.
I made many promises that I would not hesitate any longer. Above all, there is no time.
Some time has already passed since Tailly entered the Elte Company. I don’t know what else is going on inside.
“You’re hurt a lot, Tailley.”
Ziggs, on the other hand, was quite puzzled.
I expected that Tailley would have come from a battle with Elvira on the first floor, but Tailley’s condition was worse than expected.
The sight of Tailly bleeding quite a bit from the scuffle with Clevious… makes him feel like he’s in a state of complete exhaustion due to a duel that puts his life on the line.
No matter how seriously Elvira dealt with it, it’s hard to think that she would get hurt to that extent.
As the situation unfolded, Ziggs began to hesitate. Looking at Tailley’s condition, it seems unlikely that he will reach Ed Ross Taylor’s camp like this.
I wonder if it would be right to deal with it moderately and then let it go… but then I suddenly change my mind.
If you go up to the third floor after this, I don’t know why, but a very angry Yenica Palover is waiting for you.
There is almost no hand-to-hand technique in her elemental arts. It doesn’t even seem like the blood is flowing to my head enough to even do hand-to-hand combat.
If you meet Yenica Palover while injured like that… there’s no telling what will happen.
The reason Ed Ross-Taylor staged an event like this was because he wanted to gauge the level of Tailley’s ability if he showed his sincerity.
I don’t know why I’m curious about such a thing, but I think there must be a valid reason for Ed Rothtaylor to be so proactive.
However, if testing itself is the goal… there is no need for Taily to break through this business building to the end. All you have to do is check Tailley’s power.
Rather, if you send it to Yenika, who seems to be in a dangerous condition for some reason, you may suffer even greater harm.
So, I’m starting to think that it would be better for him to overpower Taily at this point.
At least Ziggs Eiffelstein… was ready to put down his weapon if he thought Taily was in danger.
Thinking like that, I picked up the spear with one hand. And that was the moment I got up from the wooden chair.
– Kaang!
There is no hesitation in Tailley’s sword strikes. Because there is nothing good about wasting time anymore.
With instantaneous reflexes, Ziggs caught Tailley’s sword. The sword, which was trembling and blocked by the spear, gained more strength.
Tailley opened her eyes wide and glared straight into Ziggs’ eyes.
– Woe!
– Kaang!
Just like that, Ziggs kicked the lower part of the spear and spun the spear around, and Tailly’s sword, attracted by the movement, slipped away.
Just like that, Ziggs bent his body and tried to hit Taily’s back with the spear, but Taily was no longer there.
“…?”
Ziggs rotated the spear and took a quick stance, but Tailly was nowhere to be seen.
Ziggs glanced around quickly and frowned. Tailly’s location was momentarily lost.
The location of Taily that Ziggs missed was… above his head.
– Hwaaaaaaa!
– Kaaak!
– Kwaaaaang!
The sudden change in Tailley’s position was difficult to follow with the eyes, but Ziggs was somehow able to react with his animal senses.
He took out a long sword from his waist and somehow managed to get rid of Tailly’s sword.
However, the speed to overcome this human limit… is an ability that could not be found in Tailley.
– Huuuuk Ziggs
held the spear neatly in one hand and firmly held the longsword in reverse with the other hand… and looked into the rising dust.
That speed that surpasses human cognitive ability… According to Ziggs’ memories, it is not Tailley’s power.
Rather, the type that can achieve that kind of transcendental speed is… a different person.
-I feel a sense of discomfort when I see Tailly standing up while scraping the
crispy floor.
It’s like a corpse that has been brought back from the dead… with its upper body hanging down, panting.
That appearance… reminds me of the Nortondale family’s swordsman who freely used blood sword techniques.
Ziggs frowned and adjusted his posture. Only now Ziggs was able to properly assess the situation.
“Ha…”
The first sword master, Luden McLore, is a man who has made a name for himself as a monster among monsters who has mastered the way of the sword.
He is the best in any sword-using skill.
Taylor McLaure’s ability to learn has reached its extreme limit… at a speed that can hardly be considered a human ability.
Basically, blood sword art is a technique that draws out physical abilities by using the magic power of the blood that flows from one’s body. It is also a skill that cannot be imitated unless one is born with the blood of the Nortondale family.
When I saw that Clevius’s movements were almost identical to those without even the magical power of blood… I got goosebumps.
The more one is pushed to the limit, the more powerful and enormous the trials become… the one who somehow overcomes them and moves on to the next level.
That was the person who lived the life of the protagonist and the swordsman of trials.
– Kaang!
Ziggs roughly threw the longsword he was holding on the floor.
??Against Taily McLaure… you must not use the sword. There is a high possibility that it will be eaten as is.
Almost half of the various types of weapons I had carefully organized around me were now useless. Ziggs swung his spear again, adjusted his stance… and waited for Taily’s next attack.
Tailly’s will rising from the dust goes straight to Ziggs.
– Kaaaang!
The sound of spears and sword blades clashing.
Once again, Taylor got close and made eye contact and glared straight at Ziggs.
“say.”
There was a crunching sound and the sound of teeth grinding.
“Where is Ed Rosstaylor?”
*
“Drive the carriage towards the Maxes Bridge quickly!”
Dune Grex escaped through the back door of the Elte Commercial Building and ran out into the streets of the living quarters in the middle of the night.
The situation inside the Elte Chamber building was already out of Dune’s hands. When Sword Saint Tailly bursts in and starts to fight, there is no way to calm him down other than securing Ayla.
It is time to clearly prioritize work.
All the embezzled assets were brought to Lortel’s villa in the camp. So that we can make Lortel an embezzler and high treason criminal.
All of the embezzlement documents explaining the situation had been forged.
From Dune’s perspective, all she has to do is show the imperial convoy the sights of the camp and then have Lortel taken to the imperial palace.
According to the original plan, Lortel would have been held captive in the Chamber’s office, unable to do anything, but with Ed’s intervention and Tailley’s intrusion, the situation became very complicated.
Still, the core remained the same.
No matter where Lortel is right now or what the situation is in the business building, all of that can be taken care of later.
The most important thing is to make Lortel’s embezzlement matter public to the imperial family and bring her down.
There was already a connection with the imperial family. The Princess of Persica used her power to mix the convoy of the Imperial Knights with the bodyguard of the Princess Fenia who was returning home.
From the outside, it appears that as soon as Lortel’s embezzlement is revealed, the imperial convoy shows up and takes her away. It’s too soft, so it feels a bit contrived… but that’s a good thing.
Anyway, the justification is clear. As long as we get Lortel to relinquish control of the Elte Chamber of Commerce, everything else is probably a good situation.
So the most urgent thing is to contact the imperial convoy, explain the situation, and relay the situation in the camp.
Once Lortel’s guilt is clear, Dune can take control of all other situations.
“Quick! Go to the Maxeth Bridge right now!”
Dune got on the carriage and shouted to the workers.
The driver quickly climbed into the driver’s seat of the carriage and grabbed the horse’s reins. Dune stuck her head out the window of the carriage and shouted to the remaining employees.
“Materials manager Brisson! Close all the warehouse doors and make sure the inventory is not affected! Bookkeeper Poel! Gather all the ledger data to be used as evidence and hold it tight! Make sure it is not lost! And… Chief Secretary Rienna!”
Secretary Lienna was startled and quickly answered.
“Yes yes..!”
“Keep your wits about you! We need to minimize damage to the building, so close all doors leading to external facilities!”
“Yes, yes…!”
“Everyone, come to your senses! We’ve already crossed the line!”
Dune shouted clearly out the window of the departing carriage.
“If Lortel Kecheln takes over the management of the Chamber of Commerce again, we are all dead! We have to finish everything within the night! Do you understand?! Not only mine, but all of our lives are on the line tonight!”
All the employees swallowed dry saliva and nodded. Dune slammed the window shut and clawed and ground his teeth inside the carriage.
– Woe!
Anyway, the entrance to Sylvania Academy, which leads to the Maxes Bridge, is located inside the living building. If you ride a carriage, it’s a breeze.
After setting a course of action for all of the remaining employees at the store, Dune reached the entrance building and quickly got off the carriage.
Dawn is now over. The sky is overcast, as if there might be some showers, but I don’t think it will rain for long.
The sun will rise soon anyway. I wanted to control the situation until then.
The entrance building has a neat brick floor and a tree-lined street. The street is usually full of students, but it was late and it felt like a bitch.
Dune, who ran out between them, saw a majestic carriage at the entrance leading to the Maxes Bridge. It looked like they were going through the formalities to enter Aken Island.
‘come…! It’s Princess Fenia’s carriage…!’
Sylvania Academy basically restricts the entry of private soldiers.
No matter how noble the family is, they cannot lead a private soldier around the school. If everything is allowed, the inside of the university will be turned into a mess by private forces.
The only exceptions to which private soldiers were allowed to enter were Princess Fenia and Saint Clarice. No matter what, it is not possible to limit it to the princess of a country and the saint of a saint.
However, even those two people keep the number of escorts to a minimum out of consideration for the school’s school regulations. The only time a small-sized private army was brought in was as a bodyguard unit to protect the princess returning home from school during vacation.
It is a corps of a size rarely seen within Sylvania.
Even for a bodyguard, the number of people was much greater. Most likely, it was a convoy sent from Persica to capture Lortel.
Dune smiled and quickly ran towards the convoy.
“Stop! This carriage is now being ridden by Fenia Elias Cloel, the third princess of the Cloel Empire!”
One of the guards controlling the situation around them called out to Dune.
“My name is Dune Grex of the Elte Company! I have something to tell the guards protecting this carriage!”
“What? Merchant? What did the merchant do to the imperial guard…”
“We’ll take care of it.”
A soldier wearing armor of a different color appeared, stopping the solemn-looking guard.
“I have heard the story well. My name is Tune, a knight under the direct command of Princess Persica, Third Officer of the Rose Palace.”
A woman took off her helmet and spoke with her red hair flowing down. It was the imperial convoy that Dune had been waiting for.
The guards who were trying to stop Dune opened their eyes wide when they saw Tune’s face without his helmet. Since he had been hiding his identity all this while, it seems like he didn’t know that this person was part of the security guard.
Tune is the fourth-highest-ranking member of the Imperial Knights, after the Knight Commander, Deputy Knight Commander, and Senior Trainer.
“I received a call in advance. Princess Persica ordered me to go to Aken Island and find a merchant named Dune Grex.”
“That’s me.”
“I see. However, I didn’t expect you to come to the entrance building to meet me at such a late hour.”
“The situation is urgent. The Elte Company is in chaos right now. Lortel Kecheln must be escorted out immediately.”
Dune spoke to Tune in an urgent tone.
“If you head to the Northern Forest Camp, there is evidence of her embezzlement. If we don’t catch Lortel Kecheln right now, she will run away. Our company has secured new recruits, but there was some kind of incident and she escaped!”
In any case, handing over Lortel to the convoy is the top priority.
Dune tried to convey as urgently as possible that Hansi was busy.
“It’s… it’s definitely an urgent situation. But in order to catch the criminal, we have to check the situation on the ground first.”
“You can check if you head straight to the camp! The situation has already become very complicated. Ed Rosstaylor of the Rosstaylor family took the lead in stealing her away. He too… may be part of the same group! If you just stay like this…”
That was the moment Dune cried out.
– Squeak
Dune’s goal is not Princess Fenia, but the imperial convoy that followed her.
Princess Fenia is just returning to school and has nothing to do with this incident.
However… things start to go in a completely different direction than Dune expected.
“Who?”
Another person’s name comes out of Dune’s mouth… and reaches the ears of Fenia Elias Cloel, the noble third princess of the Cloel Empire.
The carriage door, which was thought to be tightly closed, opens and the princess of a country comes inside.
The academic staff who were processing the procedures and the nearby technicians all kneeled down and bowed their heads.
The authority of Princess Fenia, who slowly descends from a magnificent carriage… is so enormous that all the commoners nearby are not even allowed to raise their heads.
“This is Aken Island. I am now back as a Sylvanian student.”
Princess Fenia spoke in a calm voice.
“It’s okay to not be so polite anymore.”
In Sylvania, the land of learning, etiquette is simplified to some extent due to the disparity in social status.
Nevertheless, the drivers and employees did not raise their heads. It is also rude not to do something right away when you are told not to do it. That is the example of a subject.
Princess Fenia exhaled lightly and looked straight toward Dune. The summer night air swept aside, and her fair skin glowed in the moonlight.
Dune quickly lowered his head and knelt down.
“Meet the glorious Princess Fenia.”
“A familiar name caught my eye. Lortel Kecheln and… Ed Rothtaylor?”
I didn’t expect Princess Fenia to appear here. It was thought that the Empire’s noble third princess would not get involved in a conversation between a mere bodyguard and a merchant.
“Lortel Kecheln…”
Upon hearing that name, Princess Fenia’s gaze noticeably darkened.
Only then did Dune realize that the current situation was an opportunity rather than a crisis.
I don’t know why, but Princess Fenia and Lortel Kecheln have a terrible relationship.
The emotional gap between the two was so deep that it could be considered a friendship.
Not only that, Princess Fenia completely lost her temper with Lortel, who took Selaha’s side at the Rothtaylor Mansion.
If I wanted to support her escort, I would have supported it, but I was in no position to stop it.
This is good news. I have that intuition.
Dune quickly noticed and started playing with his tongue.
“Lortel Kecheln and Ed Rothtaylor got together.”
Lortel Kecheln probably views Ed Rothtaylor as a throwaway horse to be used and then thrown away.
Princess Fenia frowned as she thought about that.
“Ed Rothtaylor stole the imprisoned Lortel Kecheln… and used tricks in the commercial building, causing chaos. We need the help of the guards! Please… help us, Princess Fenia!”
After saying that, Dune lowered her head.
Princess Fenia quietly lowered her head and fell into thought. There was already an unusual feeling regarding the size of the guards’ troops.
In such a situation, as soon as I arrived at Haksa, I asked for help from Elte Trading Company.
It feels like a strange power structure has been formed around Lortel Kecheln. It was time to make a careful decision… but the emotional conflict with Lortel continued to interfere with rational judgment.
Above all, I couldn’t believe that Ed Rothtaylor was attached to Lortel Kecheln.
Did Lortel trick him with his tongue?
However, just because Ed Rosstaylor wanted to deceive, wasn’t he someone who could be easily deceived? That can’t be possible.
“Princess Fenia!”
While I was confused for a moment, Dune quickly added.
Now is your chance. No matter how the situation goes, if you can attract Princess Fenia as an ally, even temporarily, things will be much easier.
“We must capture Ed Rothtaylor and Lortel Kecheln first!”
Princess Fenia is currently a person standing in a relatively neutral position.
Dune, who was shouting desperately to somehow attract Princess Fenia…
…was not aware that he had made the worst move.
“Who are you arresting?”
Wasn’t the imperial convoy carriage permitted only to the imperial family?
However, inside the carriage that Princess Fenia got off… another girl got out.
A small girl passed through the open carriage door and came bouncing down the stairs… She was adjusting her witch’s hat, which was as big as her upper body, and shaking off the fluttering skirt of her skirt.
Dune Grex couldn’t believe his eyes.
Unlike Princess Fenia, a neutral being who cannot decide between Lortel and Ed…
that girl is clearly Ed Rothtaylor’s only ally and has no particular interest in other characters.
Her existence is like a joker in a card game. A terrible variable that can turn the game upside down at will and that no one can control. It’s like a natural disaster.
We need to capture Ed Rothtaylor and Lortel Kecheln.
Dune’s remonstrance as he mentioned the names of the two people.
For a girl wearing a witch hat, the name after that was probably good.
Her only interest is the name in front of her.
The starlight at night is still shining brightly around the carriage in the entrance building.
Under that bluish light, Lucy Mayril squatted down and spoke in a blank voice in front of Dune, who bowed her head.
“Can you please explain the situation?”
Cold sweat began to flow from Dune’s back. Sweat formed on the tip of my nose and fell to the floor.
“You will have to choose your words carefully.”
*Ed got a hammer and a saw and fixed the basement door.
Since I couldn’t get a new lock that was broken, I brought a lock that was used to lock the lumber shed and installed it, and then brought a few boards and nailed them down additionally.
Then, the bookshelf inside the villa was moved to cover the entrance to the basement, and the arrangement of other furniture was changed to completely hide the entrance.
Ed then took the key from Belle and locked the villa door again.
“What should I do? Should I go back to Ofilis Hall?”
“That’s better. There’s nothing good about staying here.”
As it was, he was casually sitting next to the campfire and basking in the fire.
The Elte Company will be in complete chaos, and the princess’s carriage will be approaching the Maxes Bridge.
This side and that side, the target is none other than Ed Ross Taylor. Because he is the one who holds the key to the situation.
Ed took a quick breath and then exhaled loudly.
And then I sat by the crackling bonfire…and quietly waited for the situation to change.
Bell bowed his head, said hello, and left the camp in a humble manner.
On my way to leave, I turned around and looked at Ed, and as always, he was just sitting quietly by the campfire with his head down.
Ed Rosstaylor, buried in the darkness of the night, quietly looking at the bonfire.
The school was full of people running for him.