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TENKEN 680 Side: A Certain Group of Three 2
「Geez! Sibylla-sama! I've told you not to make a scene, haven't I!?」
「Iyaah~ I didn't expect it to cause such a commotion」
「This is not our country! We're now in a peaceful country, some of the people here have never even fought a magic beast before!」
「Huh? Really?」
「They don't have the same type of training against magic beast as our country after all. What do you think would happen if Sibylla-sama used her intimidation in such a place...」
「Hmm? I'm not intimidating them or anything though, right, Biscot?」
「Yes! You just had a little standoff with the girl from the stall」
「...Why did things become like this when I took my eyes off you for a moment...」
「By the way, you said you were going to check something out, didn't you? What were you doing?」
「A famous adventurer was having a meal with me, so I made some quick contact with him」
「Hee~? What's he like?」
「He's the Iron Claw Colbert, a B ranked adventurer. I just greeted him and had a quick chat with him」
「So, what's your impression of him?」
「He's a very sociable and honest person. I think he was a desirable person to make a request to」
「Adventurers are greedy, untrustworthy, coward, stupid and weak, was it?」
「No matter how many times I hear it, that was just a terrible propaganda. If all of that was true, then why is the Kingdom of Kranzel, which has so many adventurers, flourishing to this extent? I'd like to show this city to the foolish higher-ups who can't tell the difference between fantasy and reality」
「You think so?」
「The size of the market and the abundance of goods available surpass even that of the capital of our country. The food at those stalls is as good as the food of our nobles. It seems that the adventurers work a great part in this. I'd like to tell those fools who say that adventurers they've never seen are no big deal to get a grip on reality!」
「But the problem is, most of the people in our country have never seen an active adventurer before. It's no wonder they'd believe what they're told by the government, right?」
「Yes. That was an unusually sharp thing for Biscot to say」
「Hey, what was that for...」
「It also seems that not only the people, but also a growing number of knights and soldiers are believing the propaganda」
「We are the finest and the most powerful, and we deserve to rule the continent. Other inferior nations that rely on barbaric fools like adventurers should follow our lead, huh? Kukuku, was it the Southern Duke who said that? That loser pig sure talks a lot」
「But it must be hard to even doubt it when they've been taught that since birth, the propaganda was promoted about 20 years ago to recruit soldiers and has spread throughout the south after all」
「The story goes that this accelerated the tendency to look down on the Kingdom of Kranzel, and the Southern Duke became unable to control his army well because of that... Well, he got what he deserved」
「However, if the Southern Duke were to start a war with only his momentum, there is no telling how much damage it would cause to our country. We need to assess the power of the adventurers during this visit」
「But you know what? Wouldn't it be their worst nightmare if we were to abandonーー」
「Biscot!」
「Y-yes」
「Tell me what we stand for」
「Y-yes! The symbol of the red sword must be wielded only to protect the people! No one can harm it, no one will be harmed by it, for it is the evil and the wicked that we will destroy!」
「That's right. Our job is to protect our people from magic beasts and bandits. We don't want to get involved in something as trivial as an invasion. Of course, it would be a different story if Kranzel or Belios were to invade. Don't misunderstand that part」
「Yes! My apologies!」
「The only exception would be the dispatch to Gordisia」
「The Sixth Order's movements seemed to be a little suspicious too. There is a possibility that they are cooperating with the Southern Duke」
「Tsk! Those bastards! They've been crushed once and they still haven't learned their lesson?」
「It looks like their commander has been replaced since the previous one was defeated by Sibylla-sama」
「Well, we don't have many achievements there yet, so we tend to get underestimated, and in the first place, the southern territory is our main battlefield after all. Can't they just refuse the Southern Duke's request?」
「I don't know what to do if the Red Knight Order were to be driven by the personal greed of those in power. How deplorable!」
「The Sixth Orderーーthe current Order of the Crimson Flame has been hit hard by that necromancer. In order to redeem their honor, they seem to have a strong desire to make a move」
「Aside from my house, I wonder if the other houses are okay? Perhaps we might even need to rein in once and for all」
「The Red Banner and the Scarlet Eye will not be a problem. The Red Rain's headship has just been taken over by its successor, but seems to be stable. The Bloody Knights are still the same, and they don't seem to be willing to venture out of the country」
「So, the only problem is that Crimson Flame brat, huh? Well, I'll just crush him when the time comes」
「Their new commander seemed to be weaker than Sibylla-sama」
「It's a pity. Their previous commander had a rotten personality, but his fighting skills were top-notch」
「It's not every day Sibylla-sama can find someone who can compete with her after all」
「That said, I'd love to say that I'm looking forward to this trip, but... The adventurer you came in contact with, how was his skill?」
「From what I can tell, he was a very skilled man. I don't know if I can beat him for sure」
「Really? For someone like Clicker to say that much of him...」
「Yes. Biscot might be able to defeat him, but it won't be an easy fight」
「Hou? Well, that's quite something, isn't it? And he was just a B ranked adventurers, right?」
「Yes. I haven't made contact with any of them, but there are A ranker and S ranker on top of that」
「I was told that there is a lot of A ranker and former A ranker roaming around in Kranzel... Oh right, the beastman girl from the stall! What about that one?」
「Big sis sure is having fun, huh? I didn't expect the girl who was selling food at the stall to be so strong. To be honest, I would have preferred if she hadn't made a face」
「Kukuku. That one was a real deal; I'd love to have a match with her」
「Even Sibylla-sama talk that much of her, huh...?」
「At least it'll be more fun than dealing with that Crimson Flame's brat. That's for sure. That's what they call an A ranked adventurer, isn't it?」
「I see, that makes sense. I've heard that adventurers are all about capability. That B ranker is one of the few people I've met since entering this country who seems to be stronger than me」
「Yup yup, what do you think, Clicker?」
「...Unfortunately, you're wrong. The young beastman girl in that stall would be the adventurer known as the Black Lightning Princess. It is said that she is strong, but she's still a B ranker」
「...Even with all that strength, she's still a B ranker?」
「Judging from what Biscot and Sibylla-sama say, she must be stronger than that Colbert guy. But she's really just a B ranker」
「F-for real... Hah! Then, what about the old man from before!? What about him!?」
「That soup shop owner huh? That one looked strong enough to make me shiver. In terms of power, the Black Lighting Princess is the stronger one. But in terms of sheer creepiness, it was the old man from the soup shop」
「Soup shop... they called that shop the Dragon Restaurant, wasn't it?」
「Yes, it has such a name!」
「Whether it's a lie or not, they said they were using a dragon for ingredients」
「Then it must be the store's owner, Fermus the Dragon Hunter. He's a former A ranked adventurer」
「He's a, former?」
「Yes」
「Umm, let's see, doesn't that mean an active A ranked adventurers were stronger than the Black Lightning Princess or the Dragon Hunter? Seriously...!?」
「Kukuku! This is making me even more excited to see more and more A ranked adventurers」
「I-I'm starting to get a little intimidated. I mean, far from being an inferior country, they're country of monsters」
「I beg of you! Please don't cause a scene here!」
「I know I know」
「Haa-h... I wonder whether we can safely return to our country in one piece...」