Chapter 314
Well then, after receiving the urgent report that Duke Boldorinde had escaped, more days passed. One might have thought daily life would be chaotic during this time, but...
"Surprisingly peaceful, huh!!""Yeah.""I thought I'd be much busier.""That's because I'm making sure it doesn't happen."
Contrary to expectations, it's been quite relaxed.The other day, the stripping of Duke Boldorinde's title was officially announced to all nobles, he splendidly fell from grace, and his northern territories were confiscated.
You'd think His Grace the Duke would be incredibly busy, but while my position is somewhat strange, being a commoner allows me to take time like this to face Nel, clashing weapons while conversing and training.
After all sorts of things happened, the original members have gathered in a corner of the training ground for the first time in a while.
Lady Esmeralda and Ingrid were here until just a moment ago, and Claudia too. But Ingrid and Claudia are leading Clarice's group, and Lady Esmeralda is leading the Ducal House's private soldiers.
Kon is in contact with his home country; negotiations seem to be ongoing, but there appears to be some progress.
Normally, Amina would have gone with them, but Claudia said Amina's buffs are too strong and it wouldn't be proper training. So, it was decided to introduce buffers to both Clarice's elf team and the Ducal House's private soldiers for their operations.
But, well, it's easy to forget, but song skills and dance skills are directly influenced by the user's own technical ability.If you're just an unskilled enthusiast, unfortunately, you can't even draw out ten percent of its potential.
So, we held a singing contest once where the private soldiers and elves intermingled, and there were a few skilled singers among the elves, perhaps because they have opportunities to sing regularly at festivals and such.However, the Edelgard Ducal House's private soldiers mostly only have chances to sing in a pub-party atmosphere, so... you can imagine the state they were in.
I've reported that point to Duke Edelgard, so he'll probably do something about it.Earlier, the three of us – Amina, His Grace, and I – discussed it, and it led to Amina offering to teach them, but...
"Liberta back then was, like, thinking of something bad! Just like Father! He was!!""Hmm, I can't deny that. As someone who knows the joy of scheming, it can't be helped that I make that kind of expression."
I skillfully dodge Nel's attacks, which are slicing through the air with a *whoosh*, sometimes parrying them, while frequently adding small attacks to disrupt her onslaught.
My current stance is allocated as 2 parts offense to 8 parts defense, so even for Nel with her stamina-leaning stats, it shouldn't be easy to finish me off.
That said, I'll just ignore the private soldiers of the Edelgard Ducal House and the elf warriors watching us with looks as if they're seeing something abnormal.
"But Liberta-kun is amazing. It's like you know what they're thinking and prepare countermeasures in advance."
You might gather from Amina, who participates in the conversation in her clear, carrying voice even from a slight distance, that she is an ultra-intuitive type.It's amazing that she improved her singing to this level self-taught in the first place.It's an event on par with a master diamond cutter polishing a raw talent into a 500-carat diamond through her own unique efforts.
Because of that, even if we wanted to ask Amina for instruction, she has no teachable methodology.The conclusion was that while one might try to imitate by watching Amina, one cannot seek her teachings. So, the process of finding a singer who can fight was added to His Grace the Duke's workload – a charming flaw, I suppose.
"That's right! But it's *because* it's Liberta!""That's true. In the end, it's because it's Liberta-kun, isn't it?""Well, yeah. You're not wrong."
Thanks to all this, my daily life is peaceful enough that I can even take a slight break from collecting Nel's skill scrolls, you know?
I think I can live such daily life precisely *because* I knew what was coming and executed what I could.
If you were a student and knew the test content beforehand, you'd study accordingly, right?If you were a baseball player and knew the type and location of the next pitch, you'd swing the bat with all your might aiming for that spot, right?In that sense, prior knowledge is undoubtedly a very powerful weapon.
The flaw is that it tends to be limited in its timing, but it's so effective otherwise that it's not something to worry about too much.
And so, by making full use of my original story knowledge cheat, I completely predicted Duke Boldorinde's movements.And true to the saying 'after victory, tighten your helmet cord,' I'm not being careless and remain vigilant in pursuing him.
During the mock battle, Amina suddenly cried out. Before Nel's attack, which couldn't be stopped immediately, could gain momentum, I stepped in, locked blades in a close-quarters struggle, and halted the attack.
"Liberta-kun, Dark-san said the person they're chasing made contact with bandits hiding out on the western highway and is going to cause trouble on the southern highway. Here, a map of where those bandits are.""Ooh, thanks, Amina. Well, well, I knew he was heading north via the west, but trying to poison the water source up ahead... he's really becoming desperate, isn't he?"
Amina, who is currently relaying communications from Dark-san on the tracking mission, caused us to temporarily pause the mock battle.I approached Amina and took the map. I could see a small dark spirit hiding in her shadow right beside her.
I thanked the spirit and, taking a cookie I intended to eat as a snack from the magic bag I'd left with Amina, gave one to it. It happily started eating.
I have a general grasp of Duke Boldorinde's behavior patterns.The difficult part is that I must act carefully because there are too many options, and making the wrong choice could result in significant damage.
However, that doesn't mean I'm powerless to deal with it.
By comparing it with the current situation and predicting the opponent's actions to some extent, I can narrow things down. Having spirits, who have a wide range of capabilities, as allies is an unexpected boon, to say the least.
In fact, even now, the magic tool that was Duke Boldorinde's body double is executing diversionary tactics all over the place.It's only because Amina is relaying the monitoring of all that, and the spirits who can reinforce at any time are handling the cleanup, that our actual damage is zero.
Furthermore, within the royal capital, the covert operatives of both the Edelgard Ducal House and the Royal Family are thoroughly investigating whether Duke Boldorinde has any other sabotage plots, so it's best to assume there's no immediate personal danger for now.
"They said NO GOOD! Everyone was ANGRY.""The spirits said they were super angry.""Well, that figures. Those who pollute the natural environment are unquestionably enemies to the spirits. The water spirits' anger probably looks particularly nasty."
It seems the dark spirits are also angry about Duke Boldorinde's water source destruction; I heard complaints that sounded like protests about how awful it was.
I wonder what kind of poison he threw in.Thanks to that, the former Duke Boldorinde is currently incurring the wrath of the spirits. If either Amina or I were to take the lead in finishing off Duke Boldorinde, even without messing up, the spirits would probably actively lend their power, wouldn't they?
If it's for pioneering or things necessary for people to live, the spirits watch over it with tolerant hearts. But acts of malicious environmental pollution like this time are not overlooked.
There are more of those kinds of stories on the Western Continent, but Duke Boldorinde crossed the line that provokes the spirits' anger.
I feel no sympathy.
"YEAH! The KING is ANGRY too.""Ah—, yeah. I'm *really* curious what kind of poison he dumped."
I feel no sympathy – I thought it twice because it's important.The Spirit King is angry? What on earth did he do?
Well, now, thinking calmly, a poison harmful enough to affect people wouldn't be in small quantities, right?If he dumped a massive amount of a potent poison into the water source, then yeah, the spirits would be furious.
"So, Liberta, what happens after this?""If you mean what the former Duke Boldorinde will do, I can imagine a few things, but there's no guarantee he'll choose any of them."
Boldorinde continues to commit acts that one can predict will become troublesome later on.
If that's the case, it's clear he will bare his fangs at us in ways not present in the original story.
"But what I can say for sure is that his final trump card is undoubtedly Azidahaka.""Is that okay? Azidahaka is supposed to destroy the world, right?"
With the mock battle temporarily over, Nel wiped her sweat with a towel, then took the water pitcher from a nearby table, poured lemon water into two cups, and handed one to me.
"It's *not* okay. To control him, we need stats higher than our current ones and a taming item made from materials of a Class 10 monster inhabiting the Dreamscape of the Central Continent."
I took a sip, moistening my mouth, and explained the method to control Azidahaka. Nel and Amina exchanged glances.
"That means...""If he tries it based on thinking it's okay just because he knows from literature or documents, it'll lead straight to self-destruction. Or, with a 'if I die, I'm taking everyone with me' mindset, he'll revive it prepared to self-destruct, leading to total annihilation. That's the outcome awaiting Boldorinde."
I know this because I'm aware; controlling Azidahaka is no ordinary feat.Even in FBO, there was a player specialized in it who subjugated the Four Calamities of the four continents, but using them simultaneously was nearly impossible.
The cost for each one is outrageous, the skill required to control them is immense, and if they're defeated, the revival cost is also brutal.
They are strong, yes, but among the strong builds, it's positioned as a gimmick build.
"But it was sealed before, right? Couldn't we use that sealing facility to manage it?""We can't. A seal is just a seal. An item that can seal a weakened Azidahaka cannot control a revived Azidahaka."
Precisely because I know this, I say Azidahaka is an uncontrollable nuclear bomb.
Those in power often perceive their power as dominance.That itself isn't wrong, but I think it's questionable to think of things as an extension of controlling people.
For example, let's say among the people you rule, there's a Tamer who says they can control monsters.That person reports being able to control Class 3 monsters, but from above, they don't think 'Class 3 monsters' but 'can control monsters.'
And what's needed isn't something anyone can do, but something unique.If you can tame monsters, a person in power would say, 'Then make it so you can control Azidahaka too.'
"Boldorinde, being talented himself, is the type who thinks it's strange that others *can't* do things."
And as for Boldorinde's own ability, in the original story, he was actually a Class 6 powerhouse.
If you can reach that level, it's not strange to think you could control Azidahaka, but it's better not to assume that all effort bears fruit.
"...... He'd be a horrible boss to work under. That means you can't say 'I can't do it,' right?""Exactly. He's the kind of noble lord I'd absolutely never want to serve under."
In that regard, the current Duke Edelgard takes into account what can and cannot be done.That part doesn't change even in his 'Dark Duke' state.He just adds the stance of heavily favoring only those who *can* do things and discarding those who cannot.
Well, well, the Northern Hero will be here soon. I wonder how things will turn out.