BXBX NOVEL Chapter 108
Prince Sarius, Ririnrara, and Mayor Tonedo were seated around the table.
Behind the prince were two High-Elf guards. The countless sword and burn scars that ran across their graceful elven faces spoke a magnitude of them being veteran marines who have been through fearsome battles.
"Now then, do you bring good news?"
The prince said with a friendly tone but his gaze was as though he was looking at insolent beings who entered his own home.
The mayor frowned slightly from displeasure but his smile did not crumble.
"The thing is, we are facing a strong backlash from the church. After all, there has not been any precedence for this. I hope for your kind understanding. At the moment, we are trying to convince the bishop. I came today to inform you that I believe we will have a favorable answer if we are given more time. The bishop, in reality, understands your situation but he has to show some resistance towards it. Yes, there are no issues. It will all be resolved if we just have more time. The upper echelon of Zoltan wishes to assist Veronia’s Prince Sarius in your request by all means.”
The mayor used a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his forehead after he finished talking.
That was because halfway through the mayor’s speech, the smile on the Prince’s face disappeared and he scowled at the mayor with an expressionless face.
The mayor felt a dull pain in his chest from the rapid beating of his heart due to the pressure but he bit his lips and did not show any weakness.
“I see, the church is opposing it.”
“We are currently trying to persuade them.”
『Tap tap』 The prince’s finger tapped on the table.
The Prince looked clearly irritated.
Ruti observed him while feeling a little curious.
(He should have expected the opposition though. In terms of scale alone, the church holds the greatest power in Avalonia. There was no reason why Sarius, who has been in politics for many years as the prince, would fail to understand that.)
Ruti continuously stared at the prince’s face from within her helmet.
( ... I can’t tell.)
In the first place, she was bad at reading others. She was never able to guess the thoughts of others. “Muu” Ruti frowned.
Due to Ruti’s divine protection of the Hero, she grew up without knowing a number of human emotions and just like that time when she caused Tise to feel terribly threatened, she has an overwhelming lack of experience to empathize with the other party. One other way to put it would be that Ruti was mentally very different from other humans.
Furthermore, Ruti completely disregarded everyone other than her brother and Red performed all the negotiations which required emotional sensitivity so only recently did she actually realize her desperate lack of communication skills.
(It’s fine since I communicate with Onii-chan.)
Having quit from being the 『Hero』 and choosing to live in Zoltan, Ruti felt a need to improve her communication skills but at the moment she felt a sense of happiness (in a no-good direction) because Red could understand her and she tossed the task now to Tise.
(Right right, I understand.)
Tise understood her intention and gave a small troubled smile as she replaced Ruti to observe the Prince.
(He’s showing impatience.)
The Prince who should have the advantage was showing impatience.
It didn’t mean that he was the type who couldn’t control his expressions. Even now, he was keeping up with his appearance on the surface, displaying displeasure to intimidate his opponent. He couldn’t be said to be a master of negotiations but he did possess a degree of negotiation ability expected of royalty. That was Tise’s analysis.
(In other words, the person the Prince wishes to find is that important and furthermore, he has a time limit.)
With just that information alone and matching it to Red’s words yesterday, she could see the picture a lot better.
Now, all that was left to do was to back up what she saw to make sure she wasn’t mistaken ...
( ..... !)
At that moment, a cold chill ran down Tise’s spine.
Ririnrara who was seated in silence had shot a glare at Tise with her left eye.
(Suddenly hitting me with a burst of killing intent. As expected of a former pirate. Well, I guess she is currently an active duty pirate as well.)
Tise felt that the killing intent from Ririnrara’s gaze could be likened not to a honed famous sword but instead to a blood-stained blade that has taken countless lives.
(Well, my first encounter with Ruti-sama was very much more terrifying.)
A thin smirk appeared on Tise’s lips without her noticing when she recalled that day.
Tise quickly noticed and focused.
In the meantime, the meeting seemed to have ended.
Regardless of how impatient the Prince was, he could not brandish his fists and call upon the power of his country there. The opposition from the church was within expectations and the Zoltan authorities offering to persuade the church was more than enough concession after all.
Ririnrara also agreed with the mayor that a minimum of 13 days was needed before they could hold the next round of negotiations so the Prince accepted the proposal despite showing his dissatisfaction.
For the time being, Zoltan had gained the time to search for the person just as Ruti had intended.
As they were alighting from the Veronia warship, a tiny shadow leaped onto Tise’s back.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
Tise thanked her tiny but reliable partner who investigated the interior of the ship alone.
Ugeuge-san gently shook both its arms as if indicating that it was an easy task.
☆☆
The sound of something tapping against the wooden board floor could be heard.
The High-Elf Ririnrara walked restlessly inside her cabin.
“Who was that little girl?”
Ririnrara was a genius pirate with the divine protection of the 『Pirate』. She left her High-Elf settlement, gathered companions from offenders with divine protections that have scattered throughout the land, traveled all over the three Kingdoms of Lugundo, Veronia, and Avalonia, and made a name for herself in bloodied legends.
Within battle, she was proud of her divine protection as the second strongest in the Kingdom of Veronia after Pirate Champion Geyserik.
Ririnrara’s skill “Strong Impression” was a skill that would rob the opponent of their regular judgment through fear by hitting them with killing intent.
She believed that there would not be anybody in this end of the frontier Zoltan who possessed the spirit to endure her skill but ...
“That little girl, not only was she perfectly fine after receiving my skill, she even smiled.”
The gaze she sent out just now was akin to pointing their swords at each other.
However, the little girl who was the mayor’s guard splendidly parried Ririnrara’s prided strike. Faced with no choice but to find her impressive despite her being the enemy, Ririnrara leaked a sigh mixed with mortification and admiration.
“Don’t underestimate this country. That smiled held that meaning.”
Adding in Zoltan’s plan to gain time that they raised up, she had to agree that Zoltan was not as easy an opponent as they thought it would be. Ririnrara felt a need to make a thorough investigation of the heroes of Zoltan and take measures against them.
“I was careless in investigating what kind of treasures the people living here possessed. That is a shameful misstep as a pirate.”
Ririnrara’s lips stretched horizontally. A ferocious smile that Ririnrara has not shown lately spread across her face.
“Bring it on!”
Ririnrara mumbled sharply and started considering which role to assign to whom as she thought of her subordinates that she brought along.