BXBX NOVEL Chapter 8.8: World Saviour (8)
Vol. 1 - Chapter 8.8: World Saviour (8)
The main camp.
Away from the tent of the Hero and Noelle.
In a spacious tent that could accommodate up to ten people, Orneo sat facing Marguerite.
"Honestly, what are your thoughts on this, Sir Orneo?"
Marguerite turned her sharp eyes toward Orneo.
"His plan to coexist with the demons------seems like a pipe dream to me."
(Indeed. So Dame Marguerite\'s true intentions are different from what she had just told the soldiers?)
That\'s why she wanted to clear the room and talk alone with him. It is certainly not surprising that Marguerite would think so. Orneo himself used to think like that in the beginning.
Orneo felt that if it truly was like that, he would have to explain the abilities of the Hero to her.
"My thoughts are the same as Lord Suzuki\'s. I think coexistence with demonkind is possible."
Marguerite looked a little surprised, then shook her head lightly.
"Fire and water are incompatible. You can either extinguish the fire by dousing water over it or vaporize water by heating it over the fire. There is only one or the other."
"If you heat tea leaves with water over a fire, you can make a good cup of tea."
"That is a bunch of nonsense."
"Lord Suzuki successfully built a village where only humans could live right inside Leirune---a land that had been conquered by the Demon Lord\'s Army. The coexistence with the demons had already begun."
Orneo spoke carefully about Suzukiland and what the Hero was doing there. Even so, Marguerite\'s expression remained unsettled. Orneo smiled wryly.
"I understand how you feel, Dame Marguerite. Until I met Lord Suzuki, I had never thought of coexisting with a demon.
Orneo looked Marguerite squarely in the eyes.
"According to the divine message, Lord Suzuki is not a Hero, but I do not agree. I believe that Lord Suzuki... is one of the heroes who will save this world."
"Can you really call yourself a hero if you have no combat power?"
"War is not the only way."
Marguerite shrugged. She stood up from her seat as if to freshen up and returned with glasses and a bottle of alcohol.
"Let\'s take a little break. Here you go."
Marguerite poured a glass of wine. Orneo accepted the wine with a smile, smelled the aroma, and inspected it under the light.
"It has a good color. But the aroma is not so good."
Orneo dumped the wine over. A purple stain spread on the ground.
"I smell a sleeping drug. Do you intend to invade Leirune while we are knocked out?"
"You are very paranoid, aren\'t you? I would never do such a---"
"I am certain of my nose. I was also the princess\'s poison tester."
Suddenly, Marguerite\'s expression changed. She turned her cold gaze on Orneo and said, without a trace of apology.
"You should just drink and fall asleep."
Marguerite clapped her hands twice, and her men in armor entered the tent. Marguerite gave orders to her subordinates.
"We will now execute our original plan. Eliminate all demons in Leirune."
The soldiers saluted and left the tent. Orneo said hurriedly."
"W-Wait! There are many humans living in Leirune! If you attack now, they will suffer as well!"
"We have been entrusted by Lord Tartanin with the duty of destroying the Thunder-Lance Charge."
"How can you overlook the fact that there are ways to save lives without spilling too much blood?"
"There has never been a revolution in history without bloodshed."
"Nevertheless! Dame Leelou said it! Lord Suzuki has the potential to do it!"
"Is this about, coexisting with the demons? I am disgusted. That is the thinking of a bastard who has surrendered to the power of demons and lost his dignity as a human being."
"T-That\'s not true! You are mistaken, I assure you!"
"Even Grand Tactician Leelou Dimension has fallen. Such naive thinking cannot save the world. Only by eliminating all the demons will mankind prosper."
Marguerite turned her icy gaze in the direction of Leirune.
"The bastards of Leirune, with their foolish ideas of coexistence and their flattery of the Demon Lord\'s army. They are just as guilty as the demons."
(I-Impossible! You want to kill the people in the town too!?)
"Dame Marguerite! Calm down!! We must work together with Lord Suzuki to find a better way!"
A moment later, Orneo grabbed Marguerite\'s shoulder in an attempt to stop the rampage.
"Don\'t touch me."
Marguerite\'s sword flashed, and Orneo\'s right arm flew through the air, spraying blood.
"You sold out your soul to demonkind."
"Arghh--!"
Orneo fell to his knees due to the intense pain and bleeding. Breathing heavily, he looked up and saw Marguerite with her sword raised in the air.
"I-If you want a truly...... peaceful world...... for humankind......!"
"I don\'t want anything like that."
"Wha......!?"
Orneo saw a vile color in Marguerite\'s eyes. The distorted color of her eyes, which he had seen, so many times in the past, during the struggle for the throne. The color of someone obsessed with self-interest and greed.
(Lord Suzuki... Your Highness...! Marguerite is dangerous...!)
Orneo somehow managed to get out of the tent, but the moment he heard the sound of slashing, he felt a burning sensation on his back.
For a brief moment, memories of chasing after a very young Excella flashed through his mind, but the innocent young lady\'s back soon became more and more distant---until Orneo could see nothing at all.
Do you want more free chapters? CHALLENGES are active. You can participate by leaving us either a rating or a review on Novel Updates (or better yet both). Every time we clear one of the challenges an extra free chapter will be released. Happy reviewing.
