Arifureta After III Brutal Hero Shia Arc But I Refuse! Desuu!
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It was a majestic red dragon. Wind could be seen faintly whirling around its body that was sized as big as a house.
『This is the first time we met since the conference of the three countries isn’t it, youngster of Balted.』
The voice sounded like it resounded from the bottom of the dragon’s stomach. The jaws that were lined up with sharp fangs didn’t move, but the vibration of the air could be felt so apparently the words themselves were transmitted normally.
Shia thought ‘The way he talk is different from Thio-san huh’ while judging that the dragon wasn’t an enemy and put a brake on Schutaif.
She confronted the red dragon midair on a bike that had a carriage attached.
「I’ve told you every time, please stop calling me youngster, Gruelle-dono. I am the king of Balted.」
『Fuh, forgive me. I am completely unable to forget the you at your youth.』
His majesty Eric who leaned out from the window asked the dragon to correct his words with a bitter face.
Apparently his majesty Eric and his majesty Gruelle were old acquaintance. Their countries were neighboring each other without any particular quarrel between them, in addition their two countries were fellows surviving countries among the three remaining countries, so it was only natural.
In contrast with the dragon’s fiendish appearance, it seemed his majesty Gruelle had gentle disposition. Shia thought so from his voice and atmosphere.
The dragon eyes of his majesty Gruelle moved toward Shia. And then, his breath was taken away. He looked at Shia once more from closer and he seemed to have something in his mind from the way he was staring fixedly at her.
『……I’m surprised. I presume that you are the hero. To think that the hero is a fellow tribe member and a girl who is this beautiful.』
「Er~r, nice to meet you, king of the beast tribe. My name is Shia Hauria.」
Shia kept sitting on Schutaif, but she bowed her head briefly just in case. However, she somehow got an unpleasant premonition and her lips were subtly twitching.
『Pardon my rudeness.』
His majesty Gruelle said that and the next instant, he was wrapped in light. Then, a beat later he transformed into a red haired dandy handsome man. His appearance looked like someone whose age was at the late forty. An attractive middle-aged man who was overflowing with dignity and youthful vitality. There were only dragon wings growing from his back.
His majesty Gruelle then lightly flew to Shia’s side and,
「I am the king of Tinted Beast Kingdom, Gruelle Dullac Tinted. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, o beautiful hero of fellow beast race.」
He said that and smiled while taking Shia’s hand and moved his lips toward the back of her hand.
First thing first, Shia swiftly dodged. It might be a typical greeting, but even if what she did might be rude, she couldn’t tolerate a kiss from the opposite sex. She also couldn’t help but sensing an ulterior motive from how he excessively stressed the part of “beautiful” and “fellow beast race”.
「Im sorry, I’m not used to this kind of greeting. Besides, right now we are in a hurry.」
They were marching with uncommon speed and also travel method, so it wasn’t like they didn’t have some leeway, but Shia spoke that excuse in order to avoid any troublesome matter.
「I see, that was really rude of me. It’s really unbecoming of someone of my age to be this high spirited after witnessing your loveliness.」
「……Is that so. Thank you.」
‘Somehow it feels like many of the kings of this world seems to be playboy……’, Shia thought while exerting herself to prevent her expression from spasming. Whether it was the demon king or the beast king, Shia was extremely troubled whether she should called them as idiot who couldn’t discern the situation, or whether she should consider them as composed king who was unperturbed in any kind of situation.
As someone who knew Tio’s grandfather――Adol Claus who was also a red dragon who was the very picture of honesty and sincerity, she was unable to hold a good impression about the king of dragon man in front of her no matter what.
While she was thinking that, his majesty Eric timidly got down from the carriage and stood on the sky road that was made from barrier. He walked toward Shia while sending a helping hand.
「It should be fine to postpone the formal introduction for hero-dono who was successfully summoned after we overcome the danger that is occurring right now.」
「Hmm. Danger is it?」
「Yes. For you to be here, it means that you also received request for assistance from the demon kingdom just like us correct? In that case, we have to hurry right now.」
He said words that sounded like a citation of Shia’s words. His majesty Eric glanced at Shia and nodded.
Shia also nodded while grinning with feeling of gratitude at the helping hand from his majesty Eric.
His majesty Eric, was shot. His cheeks blushed and his hand covered his mouth while he looked aside. Inside her heart Shia made a tsukkomi 「Are you a maiden!」.
「……I see. Although the strength of Louis Lector was needed for the summoning ceremony, as I thought apparently it’s a mistake entrusting this to other.」
Such small whisper was carried away by the wind. It was only picked up by Shia’s excellent rabbit ears. Shia could somehow understand what the meaning of that whisper was from how his majesty Gruelle was looking alternately at his majesty Eric and Shia.
(Even though it’s our first meeting, what’s with this? Certainly there is merit in winning over the hero but……I can sense a sentiment that is more than that……)
From the conversation of his majesty Eric and others on their way here, and how the way they looked at Shia was identical with how his majesty Gruelle and his majesty Arogan acted, she couldn’t say that it was just her imagination.
(That Erst, did she put a curse of charm or something when I defeated her?)
Shia’s popularity period was so amazing to the degree that she had such doubt. Perhaps, Shia was an article of the finest quality for the sensitivity of the people in this world.
「I was waiting here due to that matter of reinforcement request.」
Shia was taken aback by the words of his majesty Gruelle and she returned back from the vortex of her thought.
「What do you mean? Do you mean that you wish to match our pace in heading there as reinforcement?」
There was a small forest below if they looked down. The figures of beastmen could be seen here and there down there. Most likely they were elite force that was the royal guard of his majesty Gruelle.
His majesty Eric and others couldn’t help from frowning.
The location of the three countries from each other was positioned like a triangle. Which was to say, the route to go to the demon kingdom from Balted Kingdom wouldn’t overlap with the route from Tinted Beast Kingdom.
The success of the hero summoning along with the degree of the hero’s strength had been conveyed to the beast kingdom before dawn using flying dragon as messenger. The reinforcement request should be coming to the beast kingdom at around the same time with that.
Then, it could be surmised that the best way to be reinforcement was to fight together with the demon kingdom to buy time until the hero arrived rather than intentionally flying to different direction and lying in wait like this.
Furthermore his majesty Gruelle shouldn’t know about uncommon transportation method like Schutaif, so he should be under the impression that Balted Kingdom would be coming using the flying dragon his country lent to them. In other words, he must be planning to wait here for one whole day.
Furthermore, he quickened only his departure so he would be able to intercept Balted Kingdom in this route with certainty.
If the intention from such act was compared with the way of thinking of his majesty Gruelle that they knew well then……
「No, I came here to stop you all.」
「As expected huh.」
It was like that. His majesty Gruelle was waiting here in order to stop the reinforcement from Balted Kingdom. He prepared a powerful card of the king personally coming to stop them courteously.
「Eerr, what does that mean? We cannot go to help? Is the people of beast kingdom in the same position with the celestial people?」
When Shia asked her question with perplexed feeling, his majesty Gruelle smiled wryly and shook his head.
「No way, the celestial people consider us as enemy. There is no way we can join hand with them. But, we are simply thinking that we shouldn’t reach out to help the demon kingdom.」
In other words, it was something like that. There was no need to go as far to fight a divine spirit to protect the demon kingdom. Rather, they had no intention to go against the divine spirit by not getting involved. ‘Please help yourself to the sinner, judge them as you please, that is the expression of our remorse’, they wished to convey that by doing this.
Apparently the king of the beast kingdom was abandoning the demon kingdom.
「Your majesty Gruelle, that’s no good. That is no different from what we have done until now. The sincerity that human should display shouldn’t be something like that!」
「You are really young, Eric-dono. As the king of a country, I cannot praise such thinking that is making light of the benefit for your own country.」
「That way of thinking is what invited this situation!」
「There is no guarantee that we will end up safe by opposing divine spirit. You are getting carried away due to the hero’s power, young king.」
「There is no point seeking any guarantee at this late hour-. Why won’t you understand that the only path left for human is to advance forward!」
「It’s you who are the one who won’t understand. You cannot call yourself a king without being able to make the decision to obtain benefit.」
It was a thorough rationalism. His majesty Gruelle shrugged in exasperation and behaved as though he was talking with a little kid.
Next he asked Shia「Won’t you come to me rather than staying under this kind of immature king?」 with his gaze. Shia didn’t really change her expression and simply looked back at his majesty Gruelle with a fixed stare. She looked like she was trying to ascertain something.
His majesty Eric couldn’t control himself from the attitude of his majesty Gruelle that was like that and spoke roughly.
「Who will listen to an opportunist like you-」
「……I won’t stay quiet if you intend to mock me you know?」
「I spoke the truth. You completely ingratiated yourself to demon kingdom’s technology supremacy ideology, but when the divine spirit started to act you immediately turned around to the plan that our country carry out. And yet, even then you still acted subservient to the demon kingdom and wouldn’t give any satisfactory help to us until Oros-sama attacked!」
「Watching for opportunity is also the role of the king. What is bad from ascertaining the feasibility of an absurd plan?」
「Feasibility you say? Then, why did you suddenly become cooperative after Oros-sama attacked the demon kingdom? That’s unrelated with the plan’s feasibility right? You simply abandoned the demon kingdom and turned side toward us!」
「Good grief……I don’t come here to listen to a child’s temper tantrum.」
His majesty Gruelle shook his head with a wry smile and this time he directly offered his hand toward Shia.
「Shia-dono, although you are someone who has defeated even a divine spirit, surely this action isn’t something that is completely not dangerous for you. There is no need to head to a meaningless battlefield. Won’t you come together with me to the star tree? If the demon kingdom is judged, the star tree too should understand that there is already no more bad people among the humans.」
「Your highness Gruelle-, you are really-. Now it’s the hero you are currying favor to-!?」
「This isn’t currying favor. I hope that you will see this as me possessing the eyes to perceive the tide of the time, or perhaps even the destiny. Unlike you.」
His majesty Gruelle was completely unperturbed. He didn’t give any glance at his majesty anymore and simply preached the rational and beneficial path to Shia. He offered his hand implying that taking his hand was the best course of action, that it wasn’t Balted Kingdom, but Tinted Beast Kingdom that would welcome her as honored guest.
Shia looked at his majesty Eric. His majesty Eric was looking at Shia with pleading gaze.
Shia smiled wryly and looked at his majesty Gruelle. His majesty Gruelle smiled kindly. He invited Shia with eyes that believed the survivor would be those who could ride on the tide called destiny skillfully.
「I am a commoner, so I don’t understand about how the king think. That’s why, I also cannot deny the way Gruelle-san think. To always side with the advantageous direction for the sake of one’s own country’s benefit……perhaps that is a correct decision that is only natural for the king.」
「Shia-dono is truly wise.」
「Shi, Shia……」
The smile of his majesty Gruelle deepened. Shadow of despair colored the expression of his majesty Eric.
The next moment,
「But I refuse! Desuu!」
Shia’s expression changed completely.
Her smile crumbled and the bewildered king Gruelle asked「Why?」.
「I’m unable to like such thing.」
「……What do you mean?」
Shia proudly answered toward the dubious expression and words of his majesty Gruelle.
「There is also a person of dragon clan in my family. That person is always sincere. She is unshakeable. She honor righteousness, she would stake her life for the sake of benevolence, even if it’s a stupid choice, she will never take back what she has decided.」
「……」
「She who is like that hold the pride as the protector. We too proudly consider her as the one and only protector. Even though normally she is always fooling around, when the time comes, when it is necessary, she will always show her back to us. A back that is worthy for the princess of the dragon clan, a great, noble, sublime, and the most beautiful standing figure.」
Even though her voice was quiet, for some reason a terrific pressure could be felt from it. His majesty Gruelle lowered his hand from the pressure.
「For me, that is the kind of person a “dragon race” is.」
That single sentence spoke the story more eloquently than anything. His majesty Gruelle couldn’t even be compared with “her”.
No, more accurately if Shia’s feeling was to be expressed, it would be “what a miserable state”. Her feeling would be ‘I’m amazed that someone like you is the same “dragon race” like “her”, furthermore you are even introducing yourself as king’.