Chapter 199

Once the mouth opens, it’s smooth sailing from there.

The fox kept talking non-stop, sweating so much that his clothes were soaked. At the end of every sentence, he begged for his life and confessed everything he knew.

“I’ve seen a few wolf-eared statues in Her Majesty’s palace. Maybe those aren’t the ones you’re looking for… T-that’s all I know.”

“Don’t talk nonsense, you fool. You’re trying to lure us into a trap, aren’t you?”

“No, not at all! Her Majesty once moved a few well-shaped statues to the courtyard. She said they were for decoration.”

The fox clasped his hands together, pleading desperately.

“I-I’m not lying at all. This is solid information!”

“Are you really saying Epirna is in her palace? This is like walking straight into the tiger’s den!”

Lady Kisea jumped up again. Sir Leon responded lightly.

“We’ve already plucked the tiger’s whiskers, so what?”

“What? What are you talking about? What on earth is going on?”

“That lady unleashed such intense energy that it shook the surroundings. The priest over there even got soaked. You don’t expect Epirna not to notice this commotion, do you?”

Roka’s face turned slightly red. It wasn’t entirely her fault, but the root cause was provided by Lady Kisea’s kin.

When we explained the situation to Lady Kisea, she groaned for a moment. She glanced at Roka and sighed at her kin, who were acting like honey-struck mutes.

“Actually, our tribe is a bit exclusive. We don’t like humans much, and we don’t like other races either. I was like that too until I changed after working as a mercenary.”

“So, no fault?”

Roka, who had been glaring at Lady Kisea with sharp eyes, interjected.

“N-no, that’s not it!”

“Those people called me a dog-like woman. Do you think so too, sister? Is that right?”

“I-I’ll scold them properly later! They’re just not worldly enough yet. Of course, I don’t think that way! I’m a woman who’s even received a barony from the Empire!”

Hearing this, the wolves just blinked. But this time, no one called Lady Kisea the Empire’s lapdog or said she had surrendered to humans.

No one mentioned the shame of the tribe. After all, Lady Kisea was the daughter of their chieftain. In the end, Roka just seemed like an easy target.

“What’s wrong with being dog-like?”

The dog grumbled, but everyone politely pretended not to hear.

“Dogs are perfectly fine.”

“So, mister. What about my sword?”

“There’s no forge, no hammer, and no time. How am I supposed to make a sword? Out of clay?”

Roka looked sullen.

“We’ll think about it after we get through Epirna’s business.”

“This guy is completely useless. He doesn’t know anything.”

Just then, Sir Leon returned, having grabbed Pedro by the collar and shaken him for information.

“What’s wrong with being useless!”

“…He didn’t even know Epirna’s true strength. He couldn’t provide any useful information other than that this place is a museum.”

The gentleman also politely ignored the dog and spoke.

“But I did hear that the tiger is in his palace now and the distance between here and the palace. It’s not surprising even if we had come earlier. Within the next few minutes, Epirna will definitely come.”

“A few minutes? We’re completely doomed. There’s nothing we can do!”

The cat-person Anna scratched her head with her tail and lamented. But even in that short time, there were things we could do.

My eyes met Sir Leon’s. This time too, it seemed our thoughts were aligned.

“There’s something we can do. Negotiation. I want to negotiate with your group and myself.”

Ah… no. We were thinking differently.

If we really don’t have much time, there’s something we need to do first.

If the spring water can undo petrification, then perhaps the water from the baptizer’s bottle can too.

I quietly handed a few bottles to Lady Kisea. It doesn’t take a whole bottle to undo one person’s petrification, so the amount should be enough.

“What, what is this? What did you give me?”

She looked at me in surprise.

“Wait, what is this? What did you give me?”

“Go.”

“Go? Where?”

“To Epirna’s palace. If she’s coming here, then it’s empty now. Go quickly and save your parents, then come back.”

“Ah, so this is…!”

Lady Kisea finally realized the purpose of the bottles and carefully tucked them into her embrace. Then, with a slightly trembling voice, she whimpered.

“You, you’re a good guy after all!”

“Hurry up. There’s no time. If we miss this chance, we don’t know when the next one will come.”

Suddenly, I thought. Maybe the Phylogenetic Seedling recommended enhancing Lady Kisea’s abilities as a thief because it foresaw this very moment.

Even though it’s an empty house, it’s the heart of the Beastman Kingdom. Without decent infiltration skills, you’d be caught immediately. Indeed, the gods always see further than humans.

“Are you sure it’s okay if I leave? Epirna is coming here!”

“It doesn’t seem okay.”

Sir Leon answered with a stern face.

“There’s a big difference between having three masters and four.”

“I’ll be back soon. Then it’ll be five, right?”

“Well, if you can bring Robo back quickly…”

The lion scratched his cheek with his claws and replied.

“But can we trust the wolf? You’re not just going to take your parents and run, are you?”

“My kin are still here. A wolf might abandon other races and run. Yeah, I admit it. But I won’t abandon my kin. Never.”

“Sigh, we’ll have to trust you.”

Hearing the situation, I understood why he was acting that way.

“Once, a bear, a lion, and a wolf allied to fight a tiger. Fight? The wolf ran away first. Thanks to that, our two races suffered greatly.”

“Did that really happen…?”

“You wouldn’t know. You were just a child. Go save Robo and tell him. If you do that again, I’ll kill you before Epirna does.”

Lady Kisea’s face turned red, and she nodded once before leaping away. I told her to go, but she really disappeared quickly.

The lion still didn’t stop grumbling.

“That one looks like she’s going to run away no matter what.”

“By the way, Sir Leon. About that negotiation earlier…”

“Ah, it’s simple. Princess Ardein. I will personally defect to the Empire. In return, if a fight breaks out, lend me a sword.”

“Really?”

The Princess’s eyes widened.

“Is this not just a way to avoid the current difficulty?”

“Anyway, we can’t live here until Epirna is dead. Humans are better than tigers. The Empire wouldn’t mind having one more master, would it?”

“In that case, even if a diplomatic dispute arises, I have something to say to His Majesty…”

Indeed, she seemed convinced. Turning one master to the Empire’s side is a great achievement.

Especially in times like these when the Death God is rising.

“But I have one condition. These people here will defect to the Empire with me. The Empire is vast, so there’s no way there’s no land to accommodate us, right?”

“That’s not a problem. If that’s the condition, I’ll gladly help, but you must keep your promise.”

“A lion always keeps his promise. We’re not wolves.”

“What?”

Roka, who had been insulted just for being a wolf, puffed out her cheeks.

“Let’s negotiate too. Your power is explosively strong, but your technique in using it is still lacking. I’ll teach you a few useful skills in that regard.”

“In return, if a fight breaks out, lend me a sword?”

“Right. Will you accept?”

“You’re really going to teach me something useful, right? I don’t trust you.”

Instead of answering, Roka grabbed her sword. That alone was enough of an answer.

“If you help Leon and protect us, I’ll gladly forge weapons for both of you. The Dragon’s Sword doesn’t need much work, but I can enhance it a bit. Your sword needs to be completely remade, but I’ll do it for free.”

“I’ll keep my promise!”

The child, energized by those words, drew her sword and her eyes sparkled. The Dragon’s Sword also trembled and emitted a dark light.

[Oh ho, I remember. Let’s see how much more you can enhance this body.]

Not just the dog, but Sir Leon was also quite surprised. The Dragon’s Sword suddenly spoke, so it was natural.

“An ego item? No, something’s different. Who are you?”

[No need to know. More importantly, isn’t it time to focus on this body now?]

I could see it. The dragon inside the Dragon’s Sword, Azahadaka, smiled.

[Actually, while you were doing this, I sent a beetle to scout the surroundings. I see something coming through the clouds. You better get ready.]