The Hero King, Reincarnate to Master the Art of War ~And Thus, I Became The Strongest Knight Disciple (♀) in The World~

Chapter 461: 16 Year Old Inglis and the Highland on Distance Sea (70)

Leave a comment

“Wha…! What’s with you Glis? I can’t see anything!”

“It’s nothing, and you don’t need to see it.”

Disregarding their antics, Special Envoy Theodore nodded at Inglis’ earlier statement.

“You’re right… We might just have to wait for the right opportunity.”

“It almost seemed like we had a lot of their informants within the Holy Knights and the Academy, but they all ended up turning into magic stone beasts in the battle of Arlman…”

Principal Miliera spoke with a complicated expression.

Every member of the Ironblood Chain Brigade seemed to possess Prism Powder when they infiltrated the battlefield, including Maurice, and that overreacted with the Prisma and caused them to be the first ones to transform into magic stone beasts.”

“It’s kind of ironic. To think it’s Prisma that not only exposed the moles, but also eliminated them.”

“There’s a possibility that they’ve planted new moles into our ranks, but if we go around hunting them down to force information on their base, it’ll only make them more hostile.”

Besides, the Ironblood Chain Brigade is an anti-highland organization. It is simply against their very purpose to overlook and leave Mais and the other Highlanders unharmed.

Even if they managed to get Black Mask to agree on the ceasefire, that doesn’t mean his subordinates will follow suit. It all depends on how the other side would take action, but in the worst case, Inglis might have to move to eliminate the entire Brigade.

“You have a point. Hunting them down wouldn’t be a wise approach if a peaceful negotiation is what we want.”

“In the end, our best option might be to catch them in the act when they make a move against Illuminus’ Highlanders.”

“…not that we’ll let them, though.”

“Ugh, if only they would just sit still.”

Both Theodore and Miliera made a troubled look.

"In any case, I’ll do my best to guard the Highlanders."

"Yes, please do."

"No… It’s also because I want to meet the leader of the Ironblood Chain Brigade again."

Hearing Inglis' response, Rafinha stared at her intently.

"Wh-What, Rani?"

"You're not saying you want to meet him again because he's your type, right!? That’s a no-no!"

"N-No, no! That’s not it!"

"Then… is it because you want to fight him again?"

"Y-Yeah, of course!"

"Then that’s fine, I guess…"

But the truth was, that wasn’t entirely correct either. Yes, Black Mask was one of the strongest warriors Inglis had ever encountered. He was an opponent that made her want to cross swords with him over and over again.

However, the fact that he bore the appearance of Inglis’ past self —the young King— meant there were countless things she wanted to ask him. So first, she would ask him everything she needed to know. And after that, she would enjoy their duel to her heart’s content.

"Come on, let’s head further inside. Miss Eris and Princess Meltina should be that way." Inglis called out to the group.

As they moved forward, cylindrical devices—just like the ones that had held Yua and Cystia in the space’s memory—began to appear in rows.

"Oh. This one's real." Yua tapped the surface of the device with her palm.

"But it's empty." Rafinha also patted the device in a similar fashion.

There were dozens of these devices, but most of them were indeed empty. However, not all of them were.

"There's something inside this one…?"

"Which one, Senior—EEEEK?! I-, is that a skeleton?!" Rafinha let out a startled scream.

"…I guess if things had gone wrong, I might’ve ended up like that too." Ripple wore a complicated expression as she looked at it.

"Apparently, the success rate of a Hyrule Menace transformation can be assessed in advance nowadays, so those with high mortality risk could avoid it, whilst the procedure was done much more indiscriminately in the past. It’s one of Professor Vilkin’s achievements."

"…He’s not a complete baddie, you know. He was worried about Miss Vilma, and he made it so that the risks can be judged beforehand, which means fewer failures and casualties."

"Rani, your impression of him is totally influenced by Lord Abel."

"Yeah… You're right about that. I need to reflect on it a little."

Rafinha let out a small sigh.

"But I don't think it's wrong to call him a villain either. Dr. Vilkin orchestrated the downfall of Illuminus, and Special Envoy Theodore’s father, the Duke of Art, was rendered immobile because of him…"

"Ah—R-, right! I-, I'm so sorry…!"

Rafinha quickly bowed her head deeply toward Special Envoy Theodore.

"No, it's quite alright. Your heart is pure, and your perception is just… If that is how you feel, then that is what matters."

Theodore remained as calm and gentle as ever.

"N-no, I'm really not… I'm just a child who blurts out whatever I think…"

—This is bad.

Sensing an unsettling atmosphere, Inglis swiftly stepped in front of Theodore, blocking their line of sight. She cleared her throat once and changed the subject.

"By the way, would it be acceptable for us to retrieve and properly bury the remains left here? I didn’t have the chance to do so before. I believe that would bring some peace to Miss Ripple and Miss Eris as well."

"Yes, of course. Please do so," Theodore replied with a firm nod.

"Inglis, thank you, okay?" Ripple smiled happily. Her beast ears and tail twitched slightly—perhaps a sign of her joy.

"Not at all. I've always been grateful to you, Miss Eris, and Professor Arles."

As they talked, two occupied capsules came into view. One held Eris. The other contained Princess Meltina of Venefique.

"Eris! Thank goodness… She seems unharmed, for now at least…!" Ripple rushed toward the capsule containing Eris. Suspended in the liquid inside, Eris appeared unconscious, her eyes peacefully closed.

"This must be Princess Meltina," said Miliera, looking at the capsule beside Eris.

"I wasn't sure what to do with her… so I'll leave that to you." Inglis turned to Special Envoy Theodore.

Even during her training here, she had occasionally checked on them, but since there were no visible abnormalities, she had left Eris and Princess Meltina as they were.

Now, she wanted Theodore to assess their condition while also using this as an opportunity to study Highland technology herself.

"Understood," Theodore replied with a nod, reaching toward the control panel attached to the capsules.

• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
• More

• Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window)