Manowa - Chapter 397

「My daughter is being attacked?!」

In the throne room, Audin, who was getting ready to go to bed up until a short while ago, shouted that in a voice like a scream. That was because Blue Flame Ao, who had already arrived at Royal Castle Griffonias, suddenly requested a meeting, and the moment they met, he told him about an attack on the White Party.

「That’s right. It appears to have occurred on the highway between Jiran City and Torda Hot Spring Town.」

「Is that true?」

Reigel, who was next to the throne where Audin was sitting, asked that. It was an impolite act, but if a person suddenly appeared at night and made a clamor about the princess being under attack, Reigel would consider that questionable, so it couldn’t be helped. Even if it was said by someone who had supported Tsuvara ever since its founding.

「Yes. I possess a method to communicate with Kazane-san and the others. It seems Kazane-san is currently in a different location, but Princess Tiara along with Yumika and the others accompanying her are currently battling Ghouls.」

Audin was vexed for a moment when he heard that Ao was able to communicate with Kazane, but without letting it show on his face (or so the person himself thought), he frowned and looked at Ao. Right now, his daughter was in a pinch. He had no choice but to set his personal feelings aside.

「Reigel, notify Jiran. Tell them to immediately lead soldiers to rescue the princess.」

「Certainly.」

In accordance with Audin’s words, Royal Knight Head Reigel was about to leave that place. However, Ao detained him.

「Please wait. At present, it seems Yumika-san and the others aren’t in a normal space.」

「What do you mean?」

「It seems they’ve been imprisoned in a barrier. A high-ranking sorcerer will likely be necessary for the search.」

「What?! That is… how skilled is the enemy sorcerer?」

Space magic was extremely advanced magic. Sorcerers who could handle Space magic were known for manufacturing things like Mysterious Bags that could fit more items than their appearances suggested, and since there were few people who could handle it, they were all famous.

「However, if the sorcerer is defeated, the problem will be solved, and with Jinrai-dono and Louise-dono, that’s possible, isn’t it?」

The two who were formerly in a party with Mefirus were currently with Tiara. Audin understood that that was more heartening than dozens of soldiers. However, Ao’s face didn’t clear up.

「I’d like to hope for that, but the opponent seems to be quite skilled. There may be some kind of deception, but it seems the created space is big enough to see distant horizons without any visible divisions in the world.」

「That is……」

If it was to that extent, it was hard to think of it as the work of a human being. Audin had heard that some monsters could create a space that they controlled in order to keep their enemies from escaping. Kazane called it a Boss Space.

「The aristocrats who made the assassination request were killed, so I was hoping that it had been settled…」

「Things don’t go that smoothly.」

Audin so replied to Reigel’s words. At that point, Ao cut in.

「I heard about the suspicious deaths of the aristocrats, but you know their manners of death, correct?」

After those words, Audin instructed Reigel to explain, and Reigel did so. The names of the aristocrats were concealed, but when Ao heard their causes of death and that all the residents of their mansions were massacred, his face became grim.

「Does anything come to mind, Ao-dono?」

After Audin’s words, Ao nodded.

「It’s a tale told to the west of here, near my village.」

With that preface, Ao continued talking.

「They say that in the Numa Republic, in a place called the Taihaku Mountains, there exists a mountain elder. You know of the god that is called the ruler of『Night’s Repose』, don’t you?」

After Ao’s words, Audin nodded.

「A god worshiped by assassins. If I remember correctly, I’ve heard there is a leader of those who believe in that god who gives instructions to the Assassin Guild.」

The details Audin gave in his answer was only one of the established theories; Audin and the others didn’t know whether or not it was actually true. However, Ao nodded after those words.

「In general, that isn’t wrong. However, it seems some people are given assassination requests directly from the mountain elder instead of that leader. Among them, there’s a particularly famous group called the『Borgiana Clowns』that uses peculiar techniques.」

「So they killed the aristocrats?」

Reigel leaned forward and asked.

「Decapitation, crushing, poisoning, exsanguination. Those are particularly similar to methods used in suspected past Borgiana Clown killings. And it’s said that they also kill their clients.」

Audin was startled by those words.

「If that’s the case, doesn’t that mean no one would make requests of them?」

「Well, thinking normally, a person hoping for an assassination probably doesn’t make the request themself. It seems they usually have a subordinate investigate and make contact. And the subordinate who makes contact is killed to destroy the evidence. Therefore, the original client doesn’t learn anything. Despite the fact that they’ve been around for hundreds of years, there are still no known methods of making contact with the Borgiana Clowns.」

After Ao said that much, Audin and Reigel gulped.

「Of course, it’s also possible that they’re not the culprits, but the fact that Yumika and the others are currently in a different space makes me worried.」

「What do you mean?」

「The people targeted by the Borgiana Clowns suddenly disappeared without any evidence of moving, then were discovered a few days later with an appearance like they were suddenly slaughtered. Considering they were taken into another world this time, that makes sense, doesn’t it?」

After those words, Audin and Reigel’s facial expressions became even more clouded. Then Audin instructed Reigel to summon Tsuvara’s Space sorcerer and mobilize the Griffon Rider unit before he himself set out to contact Mefirus through the Ruby Griffon contract.

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

「Achoo. Somebody has the nerve to talk about me.」

In the dark night, a man was riding through the grassland on a white skeleton horse wrapped in a pallid flame-like aura. And ahead of him, a flame was visible. It was the flame of a bonfire. As the man approached that fire, a slender man sitting in front of the bonfire called out to him.

「You’re late.」

「Sorry, Boss. Those guys are faster than I expected.」

The person who said that was Ijika, the man who once fought Yumika and was defeated by her. Ijika had been hiding in Torda Hot Spring Town, and since he hadn’t been able to keep up with the speed of the crystal horses and Indestructible Carriage, he arrived later like this.

「But it’s not over yet, right?」

Ijika asked the slender man.

「It’s only the likes of Ghouls. Well, with that said, it’s been three hours. It seems they are taking turns to deal with them, but they can’t avoid accumulating fatigue.」

Ijika knew that from the beginning. After the slender man spoke, the corners of his mouth simply rose into a smile.

「I, beautiful flowers, want to make bloom.」

Those words were spoken with a chuckle by a huge mass of meat sitting in front of the bonfire.

「Hah? Before that, I’ll rot everything.」

A petite man sitting slightly away replied that way to the being who looked like a mass of meat wearing clothes.

「GURuU」

A huge person wrapped in a cloak growled after those words

「Ah, no. Understood, Master Gora. I’ll properly leave a portion for you.」

The petite man replied to the big man named Gora with a fearful expression. Then, the growling stopped.

「Mobaro, don’t joke around too much. If you say things like that, our long-awaited enjoyment might be snatched away by you.」

Mobaro shrugs after the words of the slender man who seemed to be the central figure of this group.

There was a round red orb in the slender man’s hand. And on the surface of that red orb, the figures of people fighting approaching Ghouls in a wilderness somewhere were projected.

「Madoru. I, quickly, want to splat. Smash beautifully, make more beautiful.」

「I know, Marie. There are many to make beautiful this time. It seems there will be various things we can enjoy for the first time in a while.」

The slender man named Madoru replied to the mass of meat named Marie.

「Now that Ijika has arrived, shall I divide them up? The target this time is Tsuvara’s princess, but we also have the Fang Spear Soldier, Bloody Berserker, and devil hunter’s Massacre Princess as guests.」

At those words, the looks in the eyes of everyone present changed.

「Eat well, make an uproar, kill well. The mountain elder also desires that.」

「Now, the party begins.」

Then, in the moving wilderness displayed on the red orb in the man’s hand, cracks appeared on the ground…

Name: Yuihama Kazane

Occupation: Summoning Fighter

Title: Ogre Killer, Dragon Slayer, High Beast Summoner, Rea King, Liberator, Guardian

Equipment: Staff 『White Blaze』, Draghorn Tonfa x2, Dragon Eating Ogre Army Armor (True), Indestructible Cloak, Mysterious Pouch, Crimson Saint Coffin, Heroic Spirit Summoning Ring, Circlet of Wisdom, Aim Bracelet, White Magic Accumulator (Revised) ×2, Rainbow Necklace, Rainbow Dragon Ring, Angel Bracelet

Level : 39

Health: 155+20

Magic Power: 363+520

Strength: 78+45

Agility: 80+39

Endurance: 44+20

Wisdom : 75

Dexterity : 53

Spell : 『Fly』『Torch』『Fire』『Heal』『Firestorm』『Healer Ray』『High Heal』『Golden Dusk「Dragon Exclusive」』『Mirror Shield』『Rabbit Speed』『Flare Mirage』

Skill : 『Kick Devil』『Kick Decapitation Wave』『Warrior’s Memory: Lv2』『Night Vision』『Crushing Blow』『Dog’s Sense of Smell: Lv2』『Golem Maker: Lv4』『Aegis Shield』『Fire Principle: Third Chapter』『Healing Principle: Fourth Chapter』『Air Jump: Lv2』『Killing Leg: Lv3』『Fear Voice』『Invisible』『Tiger Eye』『Wall Walking』『Intuition: Lv2』『Cheat Death』『Nimble』『Charge』『Material Shield: Lv2』『Information Link: Lv2』『Optical Camouflage』『High Dash』『Bloodsucking Blade』『Dragonization: Lv2「Dragon」』『Regenerate』『Soul Breaking Blade』『Stealthy Hand Placement』『Thunder Chariot: Lv2』『Sturdier Teeth: Lv2「Dragon」』『Crystallization: Lv2「Dragon」』『Devil King’s Intimidation』『Stone Minotaur: Lv2』『Mega Beam: Lv2』『Space Expansion』『Pseudo-Silver Creation』『Poison Claw』『Fireball「Dragon」』『Cuticle「Dragon」』『Arms Creation: Black Flame』『Ingredient Connoisseur: Lv3』『Dragon Pheromone「Dragon」』『Boost』『Monkey’s Strong Arm』『Two-sword Style』『Boobies Plus』『Living Armor』『Alarm』『Six-sword Style』『Mental Attack Complete Protection』『Spider Web』『Wire Cutter』『Flexible』『Magic Power Absorption』『Red Body Transformation』

Kazane: 「There’s a message from Ao-san. It’s possible that the enemies are the Borgiana Clowns. It seems they’re dangerous guys…」

Naoki: 「Yumika and the others are still okay, but it seems they’re getting fatigued.」