Combatants Will Be Dispatched - Volume 7 - Chapter 3.5

5

“...And so the feline monster kidnapped one of our companions to use as a hostage and escaped back into the woods. As for the all-important sorcery stone...”

Alice and I point our index fingers at the kowtowing Adelie.

“She shattered it.”

“I’m very sorry! I’m very sorry! I’m truly, very sorry!”

Requesting a meeting with our employer, we’re then brought into a receiving room...

“Oh, I see! One of my brother’s collaborators destroyed the sorcery stone...? Oh my!”

"Mrrrrgh.”

As Lydia smiles triumphantly at our report, the prince is holding back a groan of frustration.

Lydia, who is in the middle of a struggle for succession, must be overjoyed that the rival faction has committed such a costly error.

“See, I tried to tell you, Prince. This woman’s nothing but trouble.”

“Yo, why are you so damned useless?! Apologize, dammit! Say you’re sorry for shattering the sorcery stone; say you’re sorry for being born!”

“I’m sorry I was born! I’m sorry, Mom, for being such a bad daughter despite all your work in giving birth to me! But listen! I was only trying to save the boy in the clutches of the monster! I had no idea this would happen...”

Adelia saw Russell being tied up and thought that we were in trouble because the feline monster had taken a hostage, then she used the stealth features of her power armor to stage a surprise attack.

Though this did result in us failing to persuade Tiger Man, Adelia ended up taking the blame for shattering the sorcery stone, so we’ve come out ahead.

“U-um! I’ve heard that this country can’t run without the sorcery stone, so isn’t this situation pretty dire? Instead of assigning blame, shouldn’t we focus on figuring out what to do about the lost sorcery stone...?”

Rose changes the subject, her conscience evidently unable to take any more of Adelie’s wailing apologies.

Hearing that, Adelie raises her head as though she’s found her savior.

"Th-that’s right! The most important thing now is the sorcery stone! Princess Lydia, Prince Madia, you have my sincere apologies for destroying the previous stone. I will immediately send a messenger to Hiiragi and have them prepare a replacement...”

“The sorcery stone our country requires needs to match certain requirements. Can you really provide a replacement? What we need is a red sorcery stone with the highest level of mana conductivity. The only way to obtain one is to slay a superior dragon.”

At Lydia's response, Adelie looks over pleadingly at us.

“Superior dragon, it seems...”

“Why are you looking at me? We’re not helping you. We accepted this assignment because the request was to eliminate the feline monster and take back the sorcery stone.”

“Yep, we even struggled with the lesser dragons that attacked our Hideout City. Anything bigger isn’t worth the risk. You break it, you buy it.”

Adelie slumps her shoulders at our cold response but perks up when she seems to remember something.

"That’s right, this is Grunade. The kingdom at the foot of the Midgard Mountains! Which means there should be an ancient ruin close by!”

Lydia and the prince exchange quizzical glances at Adelie’s sudden exclamation.

“Yes, there is an ancient ruin. But it’s already been thoroughly excavated.”

“And since it’s been neglected for many years, it’s now turned into a hive for monsters...”

As the two seem to be asking why anyone would want to go there, Adelie responds with a smile.

“There’s a hidden door in those ruins that only we, the world’s guardians, can open. A red sorcery stone of the highest quality should be stored behind it.”

At Adelie’s confident attitude, I can’t help but ask:

“Why is there something like that stashed away there?”

I mean, I also want to know why she knows about it, but...

“That’s related to the founding of this country. It’s a long story, but if you want to hear...”

“Oh, never mind, then.”

Adelie looks crestfallen. I guess she wanted us to hear the tale.

The prince then smirks and brightens up.

“Dame Adelheid, whom I hired, will bring us a replacement sorcery stone. That’ll be the sort of achievement that puts the succession question to rest.”

Hearing that, Lydia slams her hand down on the table and stands up.

“What?! She’s the one who broke the sorcery stone in the first place! It’s no achievement to merely make up for your own mistake! It just evens out to zero.”

“That’s right, it evens out to zero. Whereas you, dear sister, still have to make up for having the sorcery stone stolen in the first place!”

I glance over at Alice as the two begin the ugliest of sibling squabbles.

“Guess we’ll be going, then.”

“I’m sorry we couldn't fulfill your request. The results would’ve been different if the Hiiragi Agency of Order hadn’t interfered. Hey Adelie, you owe us for our operational costs for this assignment. Here’s the bill.”

“What? This is a huge amount! W-wait, I don’t have that kind of cash...!”

Adelie trembles at the amount on the invoice Alice places in front of her.

“Wait. We’re not done yet.”

Lydia stops us as we get up to leave.

“Er, there’s nothing else we can do. You're not going to ask that we go hunt a dragon, are you?”

“No, of course not... But there’s something else you can do, yes? For example, you could simply go and obtain the sorcery stone before she can.”

Lydia smiles at us, prompting a gasp from the prince.

“Sister! Are you trying to encourage them to steal the sorcery stone from Dame Adelheid?! If the people find out you did such a thing, they will never support your reign!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m just saying I don’t care how they do it. So long as they bring me a sorcery stone, they’ll get their payment... Besides, even if they were to take the sorcery stone by force, how would you prove it?”

Lydia lightly fiddles with her nails as she glances sidelong toward me.

“You are, in fact, a witch, sister! If that’s how you want to play it, I have plans of my own!”

“There are times when royalty needs to be cunning! Look at the Grace Kingdom! They were a minor power, but now that they have a crafty, treacherous princess on the throne, they’ve grown by leaps and bounds. We don’t need the ruler to be quite so treacherous, but the country doesn’t need a king who can only offer platitudes and kindness!”

Hey, Tillis, they’re having a free go at you over here.

“The young lady leading the negotiations—Alice, was it? Think carefully. It will be quite useful for you in the long run if we owe you a favor. Besides, given that you’re mercenaries, reputation is everything, isn’t it?”

Technically, sending out Combat Agents for hire is just a secondary occupation that allows us to obtain local currency and information about the local countries, but Alice does make a show of considering Lydia’s proposal.

She’s probably not pleased by the prospect of simply letting Adelie play kingmaker for the prince, and if that were to happen. Grunade's ties to Hiiragi would likely grow stronger.

“A-Agentsix? W-we technically have a cease-fire, don’t we? You’re not going to accept, are you?”

“Well, yeah, you’re pretty strong, and it’d be kind of a hassle, so I’d rather not take it, but...”

Adelie lets out a sigh of relief at my reply.

“If you don’t accept my proposal, I will tell all the neighboring kingdoms that Kisaragi is a weak mercenary company that abandons its responsibilities and runs away at the first sign of trouble. I’ll do whatever I must to take the throne!”

“L-Lydia...”

Hey, Princess, your brother’s totally recoiling at your machinations.