Chapter 147 : Zeke's Request

TL:SummerPeanut

====================================

I was surprised by the suddenness of the happening. Zeke suddenly lowered his head. Then Ike.

“Father. Please raise your head. We will do whatever we can to help you."

Zeke was apologetic at Ike's words.

“I need everyone's help...with the defense of this place too, but most importantly Almeria and Irgusia. With myself and Van coming here and missing Red Wings currently, there are only Black Tri-Stars and Azure Fang(excluding Van) that are able to dive into the 2nd floor of the labyrinth. Maria is also unable to move much after giving birth...and there is also Leena. I think she'll be fine, but I can’t help but be worried..."

So the other one is born already...

“Father-in-law. Is it a boy? Is it a girl? What's the name?"

Clarice asked a little excitedly, and Zeke looked a little embarrassed.

“It's a boy. His name is Cain. Cain Bryant is a good name, isn't it?"

Everyone agreed with Zeke's words.

“Well then, esteemed father, how about something like this? I and brother Ike will stay here and help defend West Rimurgarde. Clarice, Ellie, and my sister-in-law will go to Almeria.

The reason for this division is that I and brother Ike are already B-rank adventurers. So I thought the two of us could stay here. And mother will need more females around her. A female slave is fine and all, but I think she also needs a woman she can lower her guard to...or rather a woman she can trust.

And I think it would be better for me and Clarice to be separate in terms of combat. Esteemed father will understand why. And I think it would be better for myself and my sister-in-law to be in a different team too. Because my sister-in-law can do certain extent of appraisal.”

When I emphasized that I'm referring to the senior glasses as sister-in-law, Clarice also said.

“If it's me, Ellie, and sister-in-law, we can dive to the second floor of Almeria.”

She agreed. And Ellie.

“...I...Clarice...sister-in-law... okay..."

We blurted out so. Zeke heard what the three of us said and chuckled.

“Have all three of you been enticed already? ... No, Ike, Edean. I'm really sorry about the other day... I didn't think Ike would turn down a royal marriage proposal... I thought a royal marriage would be the happiest thing for Ike… I became agitated too..."

He said above to Ike and senior glasses.

“Does that mean you approve of our relationship!? Father!?"

Ike asked Zeke very happily.

“I will consider it positively. I'm not against it by any means, okay? We have to properly talk it over with Edean's parents later.”

The five of us were overjoyed at these words, and even the senior glasses was crying. She must have been very anxious... Ike was hugging senior, even though he was in front of everyone. Tears were also spilling down Ike's cheeks.

“I'm really sorry. I've caused you two a lot of pain. When I heard about it last year, Maria was all for it, but I couldn't help thinking that a royal marriage would be better for Ike. No... Thinking about Bryant family played a small part and with the rise of the court rank, I went ahead of myself. However, Maria, the now-missing Red Wings, and even Van said to let Ike follow his heart...

That the child's happiness should be decided by the child... I felt like I got a cold wake-up call when they told me off as such. Not to mention, I was like that too when I was younger..."

Zeke spoke, sounding a little depressed, and Ike replied.

“Thank you. For thinking of me...but I believe that there’s no one else for me other than Ede."

He said while hugging senior glasses. I feel like he’s saying something good, but with his current pose... Zeke heard his words and looked a little uncomfortable.

“I'm going to change the subject, but are both Ike and Mars really B-rank adventurers?”

Ike was still hugging the senior glasses, and I would feel bad if he’s being disturbed too much so I answered in his stead.

“It's true. In terms of ability, I think Clarice and Ellie are also B-rank adventurers. Hence, I think you don’t need to worry about Almeria either.”

“I see! That’s good... and Miss Edean... no, Edean has Magic Eyes?”

The senior glasses shook Ike off when Zeke asked him a question.

“Yes. I have Magic Eyes known as the Binding Eyes. By the way, I am an Earth magician like Lord Zeke."

“I see... You're a personnel of great talent. ...tell me more about yourself later. I feel like Ike introduced you, but I'm ashamed to admit that I don't remember much..."

The senior glasses nodded happily at these words.

We decided to stay in West Rimurgarde today. Tomorrow morning, Ike and I agreed to drive the three girls to safety.

I suggested it, but I was still sad to be suddenly separated from Clarice and Ellie who had been with me since six years old.

It seems that the two of them are the same, so instead of immediately heading west today, we decided to take their time and spend some time together today.

After the six of us, including Zeke, talked for a while, when Van that had just left came into the house and said

“Lord Zeke! They're here again! We think there are about 100 of them this time too."

On receiving Van's report, Zeke said.

“Again huh... For now, we'll defend ourselves as usual. Let's fire magic from the rear and then hit them when they're weak. No one should get hurt. I don't want any casualties."

Ike heard Zeke’s instructions.

“Father! Let me and Mars do it! We want to show you that we've grown up a little!”

He said to Zeke in a loud and slightly excited voice. Ike is very enthusiastic.

“...as expected, it's not safe for the two of you... That's a no.”

Well, it's not unreasonable. Not many parents would let their son run into a crowd of magic beasts with a threat level of B or C. Even in the labyrinth of Almeria, there were never a hundred of them fighting at the same time, so Zeke must be worried too.

“Father-in-law. How about we keep watch at the lookout too? I think the five of us killed nearly 100 magic beasts earlier, so we can be prepared in case of an emergency, do you not think so?”

Clarice said to Zeke and he nodded reluctantly. Soon we were out in the city and the adventurers were on their way to their posts.

“Guys! Listen up a bit! These two are going to fight the magic beasts now! Don't move until they're in danger!”

Zeke said to the adventurers, and they answered back with, "You're going to kill them!", “Who are those two?!”, “I can't take those orders!” The adventurers expressed their opposition to Zeke's order one after another. Well, it's not a good wake-up call if someone dies in front of you...

“They're both my sons. I heard that the two of them defeated those magic beasts earlier! I can't believe it myself, so I'm going to ask them to do it just to confirm it! If the two of them can defeat them, then the future defense battles will be a lot easier! Of course, if they’re in danger, we'll help the two of them! I don’t accept any refusal to my order!"

He exaggerated a bit... Earlier, we fought with five people after all... but the 50 adventurers or more nodded reluctantly at Zeke's words.

I lightly appraised those 50 and more B-rank adventurers, but not a single adventurer who could actually be called B-rank (Recca, Sasha, or Ryner’s level of adventurer) was here.

If I appraise their special abilities more thoroughly, there may be some, but even so, I think it's a bit unreasonable to call them B-rank adventurers. ...moreover, there are hardly any magicians, and even if there are, they are only magicians from the Kingdom of Balkus, and their MP is really low.

“Well, we’re off! Watch over us!"

The two of us jumped down from the watchtower on the outskirts of the city and went out of the city after Ike shouted above to Zeke and the adventurers.

A short distance outside West Rimurgarde, in addition to the death knights and death armies mentioned earlier, there was also a pitch-black dog(?) known as death hounds. They drool and have a somewhat creepy appearance.

Name: -

Title: -

Race: Death Hound

Threat: D

Condition: Good

Age: 1 year old

Level: 2

HP: 20/20

MP: 1/1

Strength: 14

Agility: 26

Magic: 8

Dexterity: 5

Durability: 12

Luck: 1

Details: Very weak against Holy magic.

From the current Ike and my point of view, they are just dogs though. Around 10 death knights, 80 death armies and 40 death hounds huh... Ike and I were discussing on who to defeat which of them, the adventurers came from the watchtower in West Rimurgarde and said

“For death knights, it will take both of you or you'll lose!”

“For death armies, try to make it a one-on-one situation and aim to take one down each minute!”

“Death hounds are small, quick targets anyway, so watch out!"

They are desperately sharing advices.

After a discussion with Ike, it was decided that I would take down the death knights and the enemies led by them, while Ike would take down the others.

“It's been a while since I've seen Mars draw his sword.”

“Not much has changed since the old days.”

I pulled out my Thunder Sword and Salamander Sword in response to Ike's words. Ike saw this and said.

“Why did you pull out two swords?"

Ike asked curiously. Perhaps Ike has never heard of the term 'two swords style'?

“Right now, I have a style of fighting in which I use two swords at the same time. It took me a while to get used to it, but once I did, this is easier to fight with.”

“I've seen people holding two daggers before but not this...I'll look forward to it...”

Ike was surprised by my words. We waved at Zeke and the adventurers who were cheering us on from the lookout, and when they responded to our encouragement, the two of us plunged into a crowd of more than 100 magic beasts.

====================================

Author’s note:

I think it’s about time to write a bit about the summary of the characters by now but I can't write it since it would inevitably contain spoilers...

<<Prev 

Next>>