Chapter 218
"Then, please take good care of Asha."
"Of course. I promise High Elf-sama will want for nothing."
The chieftain gave his emphatic assurance.
I hesitated a little over whether to return to Dragonkin City with Asha to retrieve the "boiled-egg detector." But when I suggested taking Asha along, they prostrated themselves and said, "We will all accompany you," so I really wanted to be spared that. In the end, I decided to go alone.
I wondered if it was wise to trust the Dark Elves so completely, but we had already done the same in Dragonkin City, and it was hard to imagine the Dark Elves putting on an act to deceive us.
"It is... necessary, isn't it...?"
Asha asked, apparently still uneasy.
Her golden hair shone beautifully in the morning sunlight.
"Yes."
I didn't know what kind of Talent 【World Alliance】 was, but since it bore the name of an "alliance" concerning two worlds, I felt certain it would be useful somehow.
While I was away in Dragonkin City, Nock-san and the other Dark Elves would search for traces of La-Fitza. I was grateful.
"Then, I'm off."
"Take care."
I turned and jumped down from the branch.
I dropped to a nearby branch, then made my way down from one to the next—and finally landed, slowing my fall with 【Wind Magic】.
"Take care!"
Asha's voice came from above.
I looked up and waved.
(I still... haven't told her. That I can use Talent Gems up to sixteen stars. But Asha trusts me... She trusts me from the bottom of her heart.)
My conscience pricked me a little.
"All right. To live up to Asha's trust, I should get back as soon as possible."
I steeled myself and started running.
My destination was Dragonkin City.
It was a little awkward to have left only a few days ago and already be heading back.
★ Underground City ★
"I've gotten to the point where I think even the alcohol I pour over you would be a waste."
"..."
"You good-for-nothing! You lout! Hurry up and find a six-star one!!"
"Yes, ma'am."
The marshal gave Salme, head of the Urume main house, a deep bow and took his leave.
More than half a month had passed since the earth-shaking incident of an intruder appearing in the Underground City.
Neither he, the Dragonkin he had taken with him, nor Sumeria could be found.
Most likely, they were in Dragonkin City, but no one knew where Dragonkin City was.
(Damn, Salme's really unraveling.)
The Underground City's greatest strength was that no one knew where it was. Yet someone had found out. Salme was consumed by fantasies of the Dragonkin invading at any moment.
(If she thought about it calmly, there was no reason for the Dragonkin to invade us. Besides, did she really think they would launch an expedition from so far away that they didn't even know where our city was?)
Recently, the marshal had felt that Salme's emotional instability had gone too far. Even the young men she always kept around sometimes had blue bruises on their faces, so Salme was probably beating them.
(Even so, they won't stop currying favor with Salme. It's the only way they can survive...)
The marshal returned to military headquarters, scorning not only Salme but also the people swarming around her like insects around sweet honey—only to find a female military staff officer and a timid engineer still there.
"Oh, Marshal. You don't smell like booze today."
The staff officer said teasingly:
"She told me even pouring alcohol over me would be a waste."
"Oh no... So it really is a six-star one?"
The marshal nodded.
What pushed Salme's emotional instability over the edge was the disappearance of the Talent Gem 【Insane Blade★★★★★★】.
The other military personnel had seen the marshal receive the Talent Gem, and he had placed it in the vault. But the Talent Gem was gone by the next day.
Naturally, someone had stolen it.
Salme suspected the marshal first, but he had no idea who could have taken it. He conducted a thorough search, but it was nowhere to be found. After seeing that, Salme still harbored a faint suspicion, but provisionally cleared the marshal.
The thief was the staff officer standing here.
"Well, when something is that powerful, you'd want to keep it, wouldn't you?"
She gave a flippant smile, the same one she always wore.
That time, too, she had smiled like that as she swiftly produced the Talent Gem from inside her clothes—whenever he remembered it, the marshal still reacted involuntarily. He trembled and nearly collapsed at the knees.
(What the hell had she done?)
At the same time, though,
(Was she telling me to use it?)
He found himself thinking that, too.
It was a Talent Gem of truly immense power. With it, the marshal could carry out the coup he had envisioned.
The marshal was keeping the Talent Gem hidden.
"Salme's reached her limit. When the centurion returns, we'll put the plan into action."
Today, the marshal made his decision.
The usually nonchalant staff officer's expression grew serious, while the engineer began trembling even more nervously.
The centurion had led a unit into Dark Elf territory. Salme had ordered him to bring back more Talent Gems, worried about what they would do if the Dragonkin attacked.
"Engineer. When will the centurion be back...?"
"If things go as usual, probably the day after tomorrow."
The marshal nodded at the answer.
"Identify people you can trust. Even if the centurion doesn't come back... we'll carry out the operation."
"The centurion said he was going to use 【Insane Blade】."
"Then I'll use it."
Both the staff officer and the engineer caught their breath.
They understood the drawback of this Talent Gem as well.
——I absolutely do not recommend using 【Insane Blade】. The reason is that using the Talent causes memory loss. If this progresses, I believe it will eventually interfere with daily life and lead to death...
Sumeria's case bore out his words.
"B-but, Marshal, if you disappear, who will take care of the Underground City once Salme is gone...?"
"I'll see things through as far as choosing a successor."
The marshal smiled at the engineer and gave him a firm pat on the shoulder.
"Come on, let's hammer out the plan. We need to devise a route that will corner Salme and leave her absolutely no way to escape."