Only a few knew of my unfortunate relationship with the dragon slayer Regal Vagos. Aside from the members of my group at the time, there were some high-ranking members of the Reatlas Church and the leaders of the dragon tribe. Of course, Erwen knew nothing about the vine ring or Reatlas' blessing, only that a wizard named Dwalkie suffered great misfortune in the labyrinth.
Do you also have some kind of quarrel with him?
If so, it's strange. When the marquis shared that one of our missions was to help Ravien kill the Dragon Hunter, she hadn't reacted like that.
...Hmm, in fact, the expression on his face wasn't very good then either.
No, now that he thought about it, the expression on his face had not been good at all. Amelia had noticed that her lips were tight and asked if anything hurt. She said it was nothing and left in a hurry. I hadn't investigated further then.
But I had to check it now.
I couldn't sit idly by watching my partner collapse. I excused myself from Jun, immediately went over to calm Erwen down, and told her the story.
«I'm sorry. For acting like this suddenly...»
«I'm not here for an apology. I'm just worried. Did something happen to that Dragon Slayer shit?»
«Well...» Erwen hesitated for a long moment before finally opening her mouth. «It happened when I was ten years old».
«Ten years...» That was about thirteen years ago. In other words, a year after the war between barbarians and elves ended. Immediately, something came to my mind. «Does this... have anything to do with the massacre?»
There had been a terrorist attack targeting the sacred land of the elves. The author was Regal Vagos, and the number of elves killed that day exceeded a thousand. And if my assumptions were correct...
«...that was the day my parents passed away. In front of me... to protect me, Daria and our little sister...»
«...Ya veo.»
Erwen had lost her parents that day. Their uncle adopted the three sisters and raised them with love, but that gap in their lives could never be filled. Still, Erwen had persevered. It was all thanks to the fact that the eldest, Daria, did everything possible to fill that gap.
«That young woman was born with the greatest destiny after you».
This cruel world had then taken even Daria away from him. Although she hadn't been the Dragon Slayer, coincidentally, she had been Fallen Scholar, another member of Orcules.
«Maldite sea».
«I'm sorry. As soon as I heard that voice, I was scared. That man is clearly my enemy... and I know I have to fight if I don't want to lose more people I care about... But part of me was... afraid that those damn bastards would come and take them from me again...» It was understandable that Erwen was in a state of panic. «It's pathetic, right...? When I'm so much stronger now... I promised myself that one day I would get revenge, but I'm still like this...»
That was trauma: emotion above reason. No, to be more precise, they were the memories of that event canceling each of your thoughts and filling you with fear.
«Pathetic? Of course not. The pathetic one... is me».
«That? Pathetic? It can not be! Sir, do you know how great it is?»
Uh... well, everyone has their own standards, I guess.
He thought he had spent quite a bit of time with Erwen, but he didn't know anything about her past. No, actually, I didn't even try to find out.
«To be honest, I too have noticed... that there is something wrong with me...»
If, when I found out about Erwen's anxiety symptoms, I hadn't dismissed them as a simple side effect of her stats and essences, things would have been different.
«You must have had a bad time. I know... what it feels like to lose something».
When I returned to town after losing Dwalkie, if I had thought deeper into the meaning behind his words of comfort, I would have figured out the real problem sooner.
«Sir...»
Still, it wasn't like me to be so pessimistic. If there was a problem, all you had to do was eliminate it.
«Erwen.»
When I called her name, Erwen looked at me with teary eyes and reached out to pick me up, as if she were holding her breath for what I was going to say next.
So you were expecting me to say this, huh?
«Don't be so anxious. Whether it's the Fallen Scholar, the Corpse Collector, or that damn bastard lizard», I swore quietly, «I will slaughter them all someday».
«…¿Eh?»
...Eh? This is not the reaction I expected.
«What, you don't believe me?»
When I glared at her, Erwen's shoulders jumped. «Of course not! I believe you».
It was a weak response, but it didn't put too much pressure on me. Erwen's eyes, which had been filled with anxiety, were now blank. It seemed like he had managed to calm her down a little.
***
After calming Erwen down and sending her back to the team, I took a moment to put my thoughts in order.
This is strange.
The dragon slayer, Regal Vagos... There were up to four people on my team who had something against that guy. Ravien and I, who was from the dragon tribe, needless to say, but as our conversation had revealed, he was also Erwen's enemy.
Amelia said she was in a similar situation.
Of course, Amelia was on a slightly different boat than the three of us. Theirs was more of a one-sided feud on the part of the Dragon Slayer. Apparently, he found the bastard under a doorway, stole his equipment, and drugged him with a memory loss pill.
«If he has regained his memory, he will be dying to kill me».
If there was a part of his story that had surprised me, it was time. That had been the same day the first vine fell off my ring.
In a way, Amelia helped me then.
The coincidence could only be described as extraordinary. I chuckled and went to find Jun.
«Arghhh!» I heard the scream as soon as I opened the flap of the tent, which had a spell to block out the noise. «You said you would kill me! Arghhh!»
«Because I believed that you had confessed all your sins and that your heart was pure again. But you fooled me».
«I-I didn't lie about anything!»
«Then why didn't you tell me about the Dragon Slayer? Looks like that man is waiting at your base».
«¡E-eso es...!»
«There is still a hint of evil in your eyes-»
«I didn't know! I did not know! Those people never tell me where they are or when! Aghhh! Kill me! Kill me!»
The man, whose limbs were convulsing despite being tied, suddenly closed his mouth. In response, Jun violently grabbed his jaw and opened it. When he did, blood gushed out. The man had bitten his tongue in an attempt to commit suicide.
«Well... it seems that he still lacks virtue to find the light», Jun said in a gloomy tone, and then invoked his divine power to heal the man's wounds in an instant.
«...¡N-Nooo!»
«Don't worry. I will help you regain your purity and find the light one day».
«... Ceremony! Ceremony! Ceremony!»
«...Hm.» Jun's kind smile did not disappear despite the insults, and he calmly picked up one of the awls. «Ah! You're here.» When he saw me, he quickly put a gag into the man's mouth.
«Mm-mmp-!»
«...Did you learn something?»
«Unfortunately, still not enough. Only there are more troops waiting at their main base than we expected».
«Do you have more troops? How many?»
«According to this man, about double what we thought.»
«That? Double?» That was a problem. «Why didn't the others tell us? They lied?»
«No. They didn't seem like the kind of people who would sacrifice their lives for loyalty. It's just that... they really believed they had the right numbers».
Hmm, that makes sense.
«But by that logic, it's possible that this guy is wrong and the others are right.»
«Yes it's true. I can't deny it. But... this guy only realized it after receiving the call. Normally, routine transmissions are sent from the main base, so he realized that if the Dragon Slayer is there, there is a high probability that his unit is there as well. What are you going to do? I'll keep looking for information for now, but if the enemy has twice the strength we expected, the likelihood of our mission failing also increases.»
«And even if we succeed, we will take more damage».
«...Yes, that's right.»
Um, so what should we do? Continue with the original plan no matter how much ruin results?
I deliberated for a moment before making a decision. «Jun, stop the interrogation for now and gather the other leaders.»
«Are you going to hold a meeting?»
«Sí.»
As the saying went, two heads are better than one. You never knew if anyone else might have a good idea.
***
We had held countless meetings of leaders over the course of this expedition. As soon as the information Jun obtained through his interrogation was transmitted, I was immediately bombarded with opinions.
«It is difficult to say that his forces have doubled. Even the Dragon Slayer squad is only a small or medium clan, right?», Kaislan said.
«If you look at it only in numerical terms, that's about twenty additional men, but we shouldn't underestimate them», Akurava warned. «After all, there are only thirty of us too».
«Yeah. Unlike the small fish we encountered in this area, each member of his squad is likely an elite», Jun said.
«So, do you want to abandon the mission?». Kaislan asked.
«Nobody has said that. I say we should consider alternative strategies. I'm sure that's what Mr. Schuitz» called us for, Akurava said.
When my name was invoked as commander of this expedition, Kaislan calmed down. Regardless of time and circumstances, the authority of the powerful was always respected.
«In any case, at this rate, the damage we will suffer will be significant, even if we succeed in the mission. Does anyone have a good plan?». I asked frankly, and several ideas were immediately thrown in.
«Why don't we hide nearby and gradually reduce their number?», Kaislan suggested.
«No. If we do that, we won't be able to meet with the main unit at the scheduled time», Akurava said.
«Furthermore, at that moment, the enemy will realize what is happening, no matter how unconscious they may be. We will lose the advantage of an ambush and it could be even more difficult to carry out this mission, as the enemy will have time to prepare for our arrival», Calla said.
«So, Shut up, do you have a better idea?», Kaislan asked.
«...Why don't we infiltrate their base? If we use that man being interrogated to go undercover, maybe we can do it.»
«But the moment I screw up, everyone will be dead, and the mission will also fail. It's too risky. It would be better...»
From ambush to infiltration, from bait to murder, there were several suggestions. Not a single one was good enough to gain unanimous support, but humanity was based on collective intelligence.
«It would be best to attract some of the enemy forces and divide their troops», Akurava said.
«If we use the enemy's message stone, it will be a piece of cake».
In the end, we put our heads together and made a plan that everyone agreed on. The group soon split up on execution, however.
«I think it would be smart to lure the Dragon Hunter and attack him first. Then we can attack the main base», Akurava said.
«No, we have to attract the troops, but then we have to attack the base first. That is our mission».
Should we take care of the Dragon Slayer first? Or should we prioritize our mission? Both had pros and cons. If we opted for the former and were successful, we could kill two birds with one stone.
«Akurava, this is not the time to obsess over war achievements», Kaislan said. «Do you think these people will be like the ones we've met so far? What will they let us defeat them without asking for reinforcements? Even if they die in the process, they will surely make our presence known».
«Furthermore, there is no guarantee that the ambush will be successful. If they are able to maintain composure and fight us on equal terms, we will receive even worse damage», Calla said.
«Yes, that's what I was trying to say! So even if we win, everyone will be exhausted. How can we attack the main base in that state?», Kaislan asked.
If things went wrong with Akurava's Dragon Slayer plan, the mission itself would fail. But in the case of the other option - attacking the base while the troops were out - we would have at least carried out the mission.
«Calm down everyone. After all, this is decided by Schuitz». Jun intervened as things were getting tense, and all eyes immediately turned to me.
Yes, he chose.
For the first time in a long time, it was not an easy decision. Of course, I knew in my head that choosing the latter was right. If it weren't for the existence of the Dragon Slayer, he would have chosen her without hesitation.
Tap, tap.
As I unconsciously tapped my knee with my fingers, the team leaders swallowed.
«It seems that Schuitz has made his decision».
«He always does that when he has decided.»
Hey... Do I have a tell like that?
It was my first time hearing it, but I didn't have time to worry about it now. I announced my decision. «We will focus on the mission». After all, we didn't have time to dedicate ourselves to the mission as much as the Dragon Slayer.
Kaislan was happy. «Good idea! If the mission is successful, the palace will grant us a generous reward anyway!».
«A reward, huh?». I chuckled.
Did you perceive something strange in that laugh? «Schuitz», Akurava said cautiously, «can we hear your reasoning? I thought you'd be bolder».
He wasn't wrong. If he was alone, he would have chosen to go after the Dragon Slayer. «Because their lives depend on my decision. One less battle means that the number of people who survive will be greater». That's why I had abandoned my greed. That was all there was to my decision. «Now, is that enough answer?»
«...Yes, quite a bit». Akurava nodded complacently and I got rid of the last of my regrets.
The Dragon Hunter, Regal Vagos.
It didn't have to be today. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed, but...
«We will meet again, dragon man».
The promise I made that day would definitely come true.