Vol 13 Chapter 246 (1/2)

Jules Parswall

… On the move in Porter

Aria was in a bit of a good mood

As she brought a drink to Clara, the driver, Clara looked at her as she accepted the canteen, and spoke

“You’re in high spirits today”

“Ah… yep”

Clara felt Aria taking a bit of distance from her She presuive that Clara had taken up Ludmilla’s proposal, and joined the faction

Clara put her mouth to the canteen, and noticed at once it was tea brewed by Monica The scent, and the easy-to-gulp-down temperature and flavor, Monica was able to prepare tea with a level of perfection unthinkable from a machine

But her hospitality to anything besides Lyle was lacking, and as long as you didn’t specifically specify what tea you wanted, she would only ever ready Lyle’s preferences

Travelling down a path with no road, Porter could proceed down any terrain with its large wheels On a little of a sway, Aria grasped a nearby handrail

Clara was sitting in a seat Monica prepared, wearing what she called a seat belt, so there wasn’t a proble as she had her staff in hand But a spot of hot tea spilled from the canister, and fell onto her lips

As she wiped her mouth, Aria posed a question

“Could I ask so?”

Clara responded as she operated Porter

“If it’s about Lud it out It’s not like she’s trying to pull you in no matter what And It would be better if you didn’t join a faction, Aria-san Or perhaps you could raise up a faction of your own”

“P-perish the thought!”

Being told to start her own faction, Aria opposed But Clara response to the exact reaction she expected froe

“Why are you s?”

“I’, Aria-san If you’ve got three friends together, that’s already a faction And I have a co Shannon-chan into her faction Then that leaves Gracia-san, Elza-san, and Vera-san… to a greater or lesser extent, all of them are backed by House or country”

Aria didn’t see at

“It’s true that my family is…”

“I’m pretty much the same But even if you lent a hand to one of the others, considering character and sponsorshi+p, the options are limited Gracia-san and Elza-san won’t serve under another They have their own countries’ interests in mind Miranda-san is weak as a sponsor She’s in a state close to isolation So I chose Ludmilla-san”

Aria looked like she couldn’t accept that Clara saw her as an honest person, and felt a little jealous They two of them were almost polar opposites

“So?”

“… To be honestly, I don’t think you have to serve under a wo like that at an i to me”

Clara capped the canteen, and looked a bit up

“It’s precisely because it’s an important time To oppose Novem-san and Miranda-san, I think I need Ludmilla-san And at the same time, I can keep watch of her from up close”

“You, couldn’t be…”

Clara pushed up her glasses, let theht, and smiled a bit

“The one with the greatest power right now, is Ludmilla-san Not as an individual, she can support Lyle-san with aid on a national level I thought it best someone keep watch over her”

Aria looked at Clara, and covered her face with her right hand

“You’re surprisingly wicked”

Clara chuckled

“Oh, I’m sure Perhaps this is all I’”

What Clara was going to say at the end…

(But I can’t think Novem-san hasn’t taken Ludet the feeling Miranda-san sent Shannon-chan over to keep watch When you think of it like that, the faction war has already begun…)

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『H Aria-chan Good for you If you lost her, it’s certain your future would be bleak』

“D-dude… if you plan on talking to et off of my back”

Within the Jewel In my room ofon my back

He had a child’s body, but it felt as if I was being pressed down by a massive boulder

『How gallant It looked like poor Lyle was in trouble, so she co, so she wanted to lessen the burden… well, after leaving the est relation you have next to Novem She really is necessary』

I put power into my body to try and stand, but LYLE looked on rin And he continued on

『You both need each other, really That’s how it is Even so, if you’ve decided soh to the end After kissing her soto pull out is just terrible』

“G-Goddammeht!”

I soot power into my ars, and shi+fted his body

My power application shi+fted, and I fell onto the ground again

“Fugah!”

『Hah, e’re almost back home in Bahnseim, are you sure you’re okay like that? Hey, do your best You can’t train your body in the Jewel Try to do so with your Mana』

“Mana… come to think of it, you called Mana poison a little while back, didn’t you?”

I got e to find a way to stand up If he said to do so with Mana, the easiest ould be to make an explosion nearby, and use the blast to remove him

And when I thought it, I remembered his words In the past, he had said Mana was poison

『So you remembered Well, it’s not poison for now Or rather, poison andas you kno to use it, it can becoht of as medicine, so when it was mistakenly used as one, it caused quite a stir』

I gathered round to use the explosion to rise But a sabre stuck through my hand as if to nail it to the dirt

『Yep, no good Self-destruction acts can’t be put to practice at a ain』

“Y-you damn brat!”

Within the Jewel, I continuedable to defeat the child me

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Entering Bahnseim from Cartaffs, we put Porter away in the Box Skill, draped over robes, and travelled acting as an adventurer party of five

Entering a town close to the border, we found a nuathered

We were about the only ones who knew Cartaffs wouldn’t take any action due to Lud tension

Shannon walking beside ht hand, and looked around

Scary faced mercenaries and adventurers On top of the soldiers, it was an ihtened

“W-why does it look so dangerous There were folks carrying around weapons in Beim, but it never felt this bad”

The reason for Shannon’s fear lay in the fights breaking out wherever you looked And with the sun high in the sky, there were drinks being served, and nuain, an ill-natured town

“I’h because it’s so close to the border And those here have experienced war a nuh”

It was an occupation where you never knehen you’d die For now, they were just desperate to live And as we traveled like that with the five of us, a reaction came up on the Skills

A group aware of us changed their signals from yellow to red, and tried to approach From the feet visible beneath the robes, they likely discerned ere mostly women, and tried to call out

I spoke to everyone