Chapter 1288: Four Fragments

We broke into the outpost and repelled the fiends. That went pretty well, but…

There was a subtle tension between the Red Knights and us.

From their perspective, we were the main forces of the foreign nation of Kranzel. Despite that, we came here alongside Sibylla and inexplicably saved them. It was hard to make sense of the situation.

Many held feelings of confusion or anger, especially towards Fran, the one responsible for defeating the most Red Knights, including two captains. They couldn’t simply move on and thank her for saving them.

In the midst of this, the Blood Maiden Captain Roza approached us.

She wore the same dress armor with a red base and purple accents, maintaining her flashy appearance. The huge gauntlet-type relic, Blood Maiden, was attached to her left arm and exuded a tremendous pressure.

As everyone watched with bated breath, Roza spoke with a somewhat stern expression.

「I heard everything from Sibylla. Thank you. You saved us.」

「Nn.」

「…To be honest, my subordinates and I have yet to truly come to terms with this situation. Even so, we are the Red Knights. All of us are prepared to sacrifice our lives to protect this land, so joining hands with a former enemy is easy enough in comparison. We must rescue the civilians that are still alive.」

Roza extended her hand to Fran, who shook it. The atmosphere among the Red Knights shifted.

Of course, they still had reservations about the visitors from Kranzel, but for now, they were comrades fighting together. It seems viewing this handshake reminded them of the fact.

Roza intentionally expressed her feelings in front of everyone, not just for Fran, but also for her subordinates to hear.

This wasn’t enough to unite our hearts and minds, but everyone was undoubtedly facing the same direction. They could now fight together.

With that said, it wasn’t feasible to charge into the capital in this condition. The Red Knights were completely exhausted and could not endure another battle.

Everyone agreed to rest up in the outpost first. Since it was already in the middle of the night, we might as well rest up and fight during the day. Charging in at night would only give the fiends an unnecessary advantage.

Of course, the fiends wouldn’t simply leave us alone, so we divided ourselves into squads for taking turns resting and fighting.

Fran and I were assigned the first watch. We set up a purification magic ward around the outpost to prevent enemy infiltration as much as possible.

This might not be very effective against the high-level fiends we fought earlier today, but shutting out the annoying small fry would make things considerably easier.

Fran and I defeated all the fiends at our post before taking a breather. We were stationed at the entrance to the escape route leading from the royal castle, which was a reasonably spacious room in the basement of the outpost.

Many Red Knights seemed uneasy about having a child guard such a critical point, but Amanda and Forrund gave their thumbs up. They knew that Urushi, Avenger, and I were backing her up.

The rest of our friends were monitoring the four walls of the outpost.

「…」

「…」

Only Fran, Urushi, and Kareid were present in the room. Kareid had volunteered to defend the most dangerous position himself, and Sibylla and Madred only agreed on the condition that Fran was also present.

Silence dominated the atmosphere after the battle. Fran had always been rather quiet, and the young king didn’t seem too talkative either. Moreover, it had been less than a day since they met.

It’s only natural that there wouldn’t be much conversation.

Even so, Kareid gave Fran the occasional glance, before averting his gaze and silently contemplating something, then looking at Fran again. He went through this loop multiple times.

Oh no, Your Majesty. Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for my Fran?

Everyone knows how super cute Fran is, and your meeting was somewhat dramatic, perfect for the suspension bridge effect. It wouldn’t be strange if you developed feelings for Fran!

But no! This won’t do! I can give you a lot of bonus points for your handsome looks, your status as king, and being a divine sword wielder. In fact, I might go as far as to say you’re the most promising out of all the candidates I’ve seen!

That said, the wall between an adventurer from Kranzel and the king of Raydoss is simply too great! Isn’t this exactly like Romeo and Juliet!? The type of story that might be passed down the generations! But no! I won’t allow it!

（Master?）

『N-Nothing. It’s nothing! I’m not thinking about using telekinesis for mischief or anything!』

（?）

As I was fantasizing about what to do with Kareid, Fran asked the young boy a question.

「Do you know anything about the fragments?」

「…Yeah, I do.」

Kareid began telling us what he knew about the fragments. While not very talkative, it seems he can be pretty eloquent when necessary.

「According to the knowledge passed down to the royal family, we sealed away four fragments of the Evil God.」

「Nn.」

「First, the “Evil God’s Tear Gland”, said to spawn an endless torrent of fiends. Second, the “Evil God’s Flame Sac”, capable of spouting flames that can incinerate dragons. Third, the “Evil God’s Blade Tail”, which can cut through anything and everything. Last but not least, the “Evil God’s Malice” which dominates people by twisting their minds. All of them harbor terrifying powers, but my biggest worry is the Evil God’s Malice.」

「Why?」

All fragments of the Evil God contain unimaginable power, so why this one in particular?

Moreover, all fragments had the ability to control others to some degree. It didn’t seem particularly formidable to me.

「…I suspect the Malice influenced the minds of the dukes… I felt some interference myself on one occasion, which Chariot protected me from.」

「I see.」

Perhaps its specialized abilities in domination allowed it to act through the slightest gap in the seal?

The dukes were clearly twisted due to their years of villainy, but it could be that the Evil God’s Malice was what pushed them over the edge.

「It may be capable of controlling anyone without a divine sword.」

「Don’t worry, it won’t work on me.」

「Is that so?」

「Thanks to the power of this super amazing sword!」

「O-Okay…」

「Nn!」

Besides, it’s not like the other fragments were weak. The Flame Sac and Blade Tail seemed completely combat focused, which would make their destructive power unparalleled.

Not to mention the Tear Gland’s extremely troublesome spawning ability. While it specializes in creating fiends, it apparently also has the ability to absorb energy from its spawn to power itself up.

That sounds kinda like the Abyss Eater. It makes sense for it to have a similar ability since the Abyss Eater also contains part of the Evil God.

「All of them must have power beyond our imagination.」

Kareid lowered his head as he spoke. Telling Fran this information had forced him to face the reality of his opponents again. His expression was grim.

Meanwhile, Fran took something out of storage and headed it to Kareid.

「Here.」

「What is this…?」

「Curry. Eating it will make you feel better.」