Chapter 1285: Chancellor and the Boy

A droid appeared out of nowhere and slew a huge fiend right in front of us.

But more importantly, was this our enemy or ally?

The face of the droid turned towards us, and we braced ourselves without knowing what was about to happen.

Its singular eye stared intent at us, as if scanning us for something.

Immediately after, a voice echoed from the machine.

「Sibylla of the Red Sword? Is that you?」

「This voice… Chancellor!」

Sibylla reacted to the elderly voice coming from the droid. Chancellor? Seriously? If he’s currently fighting fiends, then that proves he isn’t dominated by the Evil God Fragments.

「What branch are the others from? I do not recognize them.」

「Before answering that… What’s the current situation?」

「…Hmm.」

In response to Sibylla’s question, the Chancellor fell silent for a moment. There was a tense wait before he responded with a somewhat tired voice.

「His Majesty is currently aboard this droid. I cannot allow suspicious individuals to approach us.」

「His Majesty? So the king is unharmed?」

「Indeed.」

Sibylla turned our way. She hesitated, unsure of how much information she should reveal about Fran, Amanda, and the others. We simply nodded at her in response.

「Feel free to tell them.」

「This is a good chance to make allies, so it’s best to clear up any suspicions.」

「You’re right. I’ll do that.」

We don’t know where the Chancellor and King stand, but showing hostility and snuffing out the possibility of cooperation is clearly counterproductive.

Sibylla approached the mech, raising her voice.

「They are adventurers from the Kingdom of Kranzel, who have come to fight the Evil God Fragments on the verge of revival! We are currently cooperating with them!」

「From Kranzel…? Can… can they be trusted?」

「They can! Much more than those shitty dukes at least!」

There was a moment of silence before the droid began slowly moving. It knelt down on the ground and positioned its hands to support the main body.

Then, the chest split open from the inside.

This revealed a slender and elderly man seated on the metal chair inside the cockpit, wearing a thin robe more fit for an administrative official than a mage. He must be the Chancellor.

Sitting on his lap was a small child-sized figure. Due to the thick robe, we could only see the child’s face, but he seemed to be male.

A ladder extended from the cockpit to the ground. The Chancellor descended the ladder while skillfully supporting the unconscious boy with one arm.

There were various things I wanted to ask, but we never got the chance.

The man collapsed as soon as he set foot on the ground. He had been severely injured and was bleeding all over the place, including the head. The fact that he held the boy up in that situation conveyed how important the boy was.

「Chancellor! Are you okay!?」

Sibylla exclaimed in surprise at the Chancellor’s condition, but the old man simply breathed a sigh of relief.

That said, there was no time to administer treatment. A black shadow leapt out from the forest.

This entity was a small creature, about 150 centimeters tall, covered in pitch-black evil energy.

It walked on two legs, somewhat bow-legged, resembling a walking chimpanzee. The sight reminded me a bit of a goblin.

No wait, was it actually a goblin? Upon closer inspection, I realized it was simply a goblin wearing a cloak of evil energy. If so, maybe that large fiend from earlier was actually a minotaur after all?

Perhaps they had been enhanced by the fragments.

「I’ll handle this black creature! Fran, you heal the Chancellor!」

「Nn!」

Sibylla took on the goblin to protect the two, as Fran began invoking healing magic.

「Gigigigi!」

「Shut up! Ora!」

「Gigah…」

While surprisingly agile for a goblin, it was no match for Sibylla. She slew the fiend a single stroke, and its body crumbled away into nothingness.

Like I thought, this was no ordinary goblin.

While we’d love to question the Chancellor, healing him was a priority. Fran and I stepped closer in order to use our magic. However, the Chancellor covered the boy in his arms and gave Sibylla a doubtful glance.

「Chancellor, they can be trusted.」

「…Very well.」

Despite his words, he refused to let down his guard. It seems he doesn’t trust us as much as he says. Or rather, the boy was so important to him that he could not be entrusted to others.

If what he said earlier was true, that boy was the king of Raydoss.

『Fran. We use area healing to heal them both. Targeting them individually might only make them more suspicious.』

（Got it.）

Since only the boy’s head was visible, we didn’t know the condition of his body.

I attempted to use Appraisal, but it was repelled. Well, it’s only natural for a king to equip tools for inhibiting appraisal.

All I could tell was the boy was wearing sturdy armor under the robe, and that his complexion didn’t look so good.

Now that I’ve gotten a closer look, I noticed a resemblance to someone, but who? It seems Fran also felt a sense of deja vu. She tilted her head while applying healing magic.

（…I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before.）

『You too?』

（Nn.）

〈There is an 88% chance that he is related to the girl Carna, whom we encountered in the Belioth Kingdom.〉