Magic Gems Gourmet Chapter 159

Chapter 159

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ED: LonelyMatter

Chapter 159 – The End of the Castle City

Hah… hah… hah…

Lili ess confident in her physical strength.

Even though she was a member of a unit that was mainly involved in covert operations, her swordsmans.h.i.+p was on par with that of the Royal Knights.

Perhaps because she was also involved in the work of the dark side, she had a strength that was also mentally stable.

However, in the castle city of Euro, there was a scene that even Lili found unusual.

While running with all her might, she looked at the castle city in her field of vision and furrowed her brow.

“…Is it rotten?”

A knight of Ishtalika had fallen.

However, unlike the cause of death, several of the victims looked as if they had rotted away.

The fact that the cause of death was inconsistent made Lili feel doubtful.

“Are we there yet?”

Lili asked impatiently as she saw the knight running with her.

“I thought we’d see them soon…! But please be careful, Lili-sama!”

“Hmm. I know.”

Even if she was told to be careful, it was difficult to just walk by without understanding the opponent’s situation.

That was why the powerful Ishtalika Knight had fallen victim.

The least she could do was to strengthen her defense so that she would not be hit by the opponent’s attack.

“――Ki, kiki!”

It was only for a moment.

The rat in question appeared from Lili’s blind spot.

“Lili-sama――!”

The knight notices, but Lili doesn’t look at the rat.

She doesn’t notice the rat’s attack, and if she doesn’t do anything, Lili will be in danger…

At that moment, the rat’s head splits in two.

“…Look at that.”

“Li-Lili-sama…! What on earth are you doing?”

“Nothing. I just threw a knife. Look if the body is still alive even if the brain is dead.”

Instead, she wanted to move on.

However, since the amount of information they had at the moment was close to zero, this rat was just what they needed.

After giving the rat a quick glance when it stopped moving, Lili ordered the knight to do something.

“…W-well done.”

The knight praised Lili’s skill and then hesitantly approached the rat.

He used his sword to flip the rat over and saw that the enlarged magic stone was blinking repeatedly.

“It’s a reaction to the disappearance of the magic stone. It will probably die in a few seconds.”

“Yes, I understand. I don’t know what its biology is, but if you can kill it by crus.h.i.+ng its head, that will be enough.”

It was a double effort to crush its head and destroy the magic stone.

Lili was relieved in her heart that they didn’t have to go through that much trouble.

“I don’t know if it relies on things like sound and smell, but if you aim for the head, you can also destroy the eyes at the same time. If you attack with those two things in mind, I think the danger will be reduced.”

“Ha!”

After saying this, Lili asked the knight to continue guiding her and started running again.

“…Hah. This is troublesome.”

＊＊＊

――Burn it down! Don’t worry about the damage to the houses!

――There’s no end to it! No, we should run through and head for the s.h.i.+p!

“…Oh?”

After that, after running for a little while, Lili’s ears began to hear the voices of the Ishtalika Knights.

The situation seemed to be rather troublesome, but the thought that the person she was looking for might be there somewhat lessened the sluggishness.

“It seems that our side is also engaged in battle.”

“Yeah, but it looks like we’re just in time. We’d better hurry.”

“Ha!”

The reason Lili said she was in a hurry.

It was in the conversation between the knights.

After hearing the words she didn’t want to hear, that there was no end to it, Lili realized that the situation was not good.

“Hmm… what should I do?”

She understands that the knights she brought with her were in a situation that was more troublesome than just struggling.

After all, she heard them discussing the possibility of abandoning the battlefield and fleeing.

Then, Lili considered how to break the current situation.

――Rustling.

She rummaged through her ample bosom and muttered to herself, “I wonder if there’s anything here…”

She has some highly lethal items, but her subordinates and Heim’s people were there.

She couldn’t just throw dangerous items around in a place like that.

“A-ah, this is it, this is it.”

“Lili-sama? What is the matter?”

Then, Lili found one good thing.

She nodded several times as if she had understood and held a spherical object about 5 cm in diameter in her hand.

“I think I’ve come up with a good idea. Well then, what kind of situation is it… Ugh…”

When she arrived at a spot where the situation was easy to understand, she felt sorry for the knight’s cries.

Not only the rats and rabbits but also several types of insects, such as large moths, were spreading and attacking the knight like a wave.

…Looking more closely, the knights of Ishtalika are fighting to protect something.

The knights were desperately defending themselves against the creatures, which seemed to easily number in the hundreds.

“It might be a coincidence, but… Elena-sama, aiming for Euro was the right decision after all. Well, I don’t really understand why that prince is there though.”

The people being protected by the Ishtalika knights were the injured Heim knights and servants, as well as Elena and Tigre.

Even though the Ishtalika knights were powerful, they were clearly outnumbered and struggling, and the battle while protecting them was becoming more and more difficult.

“Well then, let’s go save them right away!”

After checking the situation to a certain extent, Lili took a deep breath.

“――Charge!”

Hearing that voice echoing across the battlefield, the knights all raised their s.h.i.+elds at once.

Then, using their s.h.i.+elds to inflict damage on the rats and create distance, they all raised their s.h.i.+elds forward at once.

From the perspective of Elena and the others, who were being protected, it was as if an iron wall had appeared in an instant.

“…Here you go.”

At the moment the s.h.i.+elds were raised, Lili threw the spherical object she was holding into the gap between the knights and the attacking creatures.

As it hit the ground, it made a loud noise and began to glow, stunning the attacking creatures.

“Hmm… They’re using their eyes and ears too.”

She grinned and confirmed that the effect was high.

If even a distraction like this is effective, dealing with it won’t be a hards.h.i.+p.

The only remaining troublesome thing is that there are so many of those hostile creatures.

“For now, let’s put off the rest. We’ll protect them and head for the s.h.i.+p at once! We’ll put survival first and burn them from behind!”

Hearing Lili’s instructions, the knights all carried the injured people and started running towards the s.h.i.+p.

“…Kuaa…”

“Wh-what happened……!?”

Elena and Tigre also covered their ears and crouched down, perhaps startled by the sudden noise.

“You carry the prince over there, and I’ll carry Elena-sama. Okay?”

“Ha!”

When she called out to the knight who had been showing her the way, Lili carried Elena on her shoulders.

“Who are you?!”

“Yes, yes, it’s Lili, your favorite!”

Even if she answered like that, Elena’s ears were probably numb, and she couldn’t hear her.

Her eyes were also only slightly open, as if the blinding light had hit her directly.

She must be worried. Even after being carried, Elena struggled a little.

The Ishtalika Knight, who was watching the scene, looked troubled and wondered what to do.

When Lili looked at the knight, wondering what was wrong, she understood the reason for his confusion.

“… It’s so comfortable.”

“…Yes. … That’s right.”

Tigre, who was being carried by the knight, was either surprised or his legs gave out.

He was being carried quietly as if he had fainted.

It was a very relaxed appearance, but it was also very easy for the person carrying him.

“By the way, do you have any?”

“Yes, I have three.”

“Then, you can scatter them all nicely before we get to the s.h.i.+p. I’ll take care of this.”

“Yes, I understand.”

When Lili gave this order, she took a red ball out of her pocket.

It was translucent like a magic stone, and inside it, something like red smoke was wriggling around.

After confirming that the contents were like this, she threw it towards the ground.

“Look, Elena-sama. It’s about time you stopped struggling.”

“…Could it be that you――”

――Oh dear, she finally noticed, Lili said in her mind.

Elena’s eyes and ears had recovered, and she sensed Lili’s mood.

Relieved by this, Lili ran towards the s.h.i.+p.

At the same time, a pillar of fire spread out from the ball that had been thrown.

“――Kikia…!?”

“Kiki――kiki!”

It must hurt to get burned, after all.

As the flames spread, the speed at which they were chasing Lili and the others slowed down, and some of the creatures were burned by the flames.

“Don’t hold back, just keep burning them up!”

This might be a very selfish thing to do in a castle city of another country.

But in the end, what was important were the lives of their own people.

After rescuing Elena and the others, Lili used the red bullets to dodge the attacking creatures and make her way to the s.h.i.+p.

＊＊＊

Tigre’s private soldiers were knights who had gone through several selection processes.

Some of them had served as royal guards at the castle, while others had experience as guards.

Without exception, these private soldiers were a handful of knights in Heim.

In terms of skill, strength, and endurance, they were all more capable than the average knight in Heim.

However, they were still human, and several of them had fallen victim to the creatures.

“Take the injured to the appropriate place. Have the survivors wait near the battles.h.i.+p.”

Lili and the others return to the front of the battles.h.i.+p and check the damage.

Fortunately, it seemed to be a blessing that the Ishtalika side only suffered the first casualty, and the rest were only slightly injured.

“Li-Lili? Why are you here?”

“Actually, that’s more of a question I should be asking you.”

Lili replied to Elena, laughing in disbelief.

Elena seemed to have completely regained her senses, but Tigre still seemed to be unconscious, lying on a simple bench.

“I can’t go into details, but I had some thoughts about Heim’s a.s.sa.s.sination. That’s why I came to Euro in a hurry.”

“As I thought, you were also on to something in Ishtalika.”

“――We also, you say?”

In other words, Elena and the others must have thought the same.

Lili understood immediately what Elena meant.

“Well, I’ll ask you about that later. By the way, why were you in Euro?”

“I’m not really sure, but I lost the ability to tell friends from foe. So I acted in a desperate measure like this.”

“What do you mean you couldn’t tell friend from foe?”

She encouraged her with a carefree air and approached Elena.

“The man who is suspected of being the culprit has connections with the Heim n.o.ble family. That’s why I came here to ask about him since I heard he was in Euro.”

She explained without mentioning Ralph or the Bruno family.

The story sounded suspicious, so Lili questioned Elena again.

“By the way, who is this man?”

Considering Ain’s hunch, it was safe to a.s.sume that the man was related to the red fox.

Lili was delighted with the unexpected clue she had received…

…and at the same time she heard Elena’s answer, she gained her conviction.

“His name is Ed, and he’s a spearman. He’s so strong that Logas-dono would lose to him…”

“Oh… Is that the person? I see, I see.”

This information alone was enough to make Lili’s trip to Euro worthwhile.

With that, Lili nodded in satisfaction, having gotten the perfect souvenir story.

“Oh, that reminds me, Lili! Where are the people of Euro and Duke Amour?”

Elena asked Lili in a panic, remembering the devastation of the city.

Since she also had a purpose in asking about Duke Amour, she also asked about his safety.

“Well… there are so many victims that I don’t even want to count them, but Duke Amour is safe. Besides, we are also protecting some of the people from the castle city.”

Elena put her hand to her chest and breathed a sigh of relief.

Meanwhile, Lili replied in the same way and then approached Tigre, who was lying on the bench.

Then she took the water that was next to her and splashed it on Tigre’s face.

“Buh…buhah!”

“Oh, you woke up so easily.”

“Wha…what are you doing all of a sudden?”

“Oh, I’m glad you’re okay.”

Elena was stunned into silence by Lili’s sudden actions.

When she saw that Tigre had woken up, Lili made a suggestion.

“I’m talking about the fact that you came all the way to Euro in a situation where you couldn’t tell friend from foe. That means you left Heim half-running, right?”

“That’s right. So what are you going to do about it?”

The fact that he answered so directly gave a good impression that he wasn’t going to be a bother.

Even though she had woken him up rudely earlier, Lili also liked the fact that the conversation was progressing quickly.

“It’s a deal. A deal.”

“…A deal?”

“Aren’t you hoping to save Elena-sama and your other important subordinates?”

Maybe these were the words Tigre wanted to hear the most at the moment.

Like a fish biting on a hook, Tigre nodded with serious eyes.

“Oops. If you want to negotiate, you should be a bit more persistent. Well, I don’t mind that you’re worried about Elena-sama’s safety.”

Lili replied in a slightly better mood and took a towel from the bench and threw it at Tigre.

Tigre took it and wiped up the water Lili had splashed on him.

“This is the first time I’ve been treated like this since I was born.”

“Everything in life is a first experience. I don’t think you should worry too much about it.”

She brushed off the sarcasm with a light laugh and replied

“Please. I don’t mind, so will you protect the lives of these people?”

Lili also had no idea that the prince would bow.

He bent his back at a low angle to show his sincerity.

“Knowing what you’ve done so far, you bow to us like that? I think it’s a bit much.”

“…I know.”

The castle city nearby was burning in many places due to the red orbs of Lili and the others.

The same was true for the area near the battles.h.i.+p, and hot air was blowing in on the wind.

“So, what are you going to offer us? Show us the benefits of helping you.”

She told Tigre, who had lowered his head, in a strong-willed manner.

After hearing this, Tigre makes up his mind and replies as follows.

“If there is anything I can do…”

――I will do anything.

I’m sure he wanted to say this, but Lili grinned and stopped him abruptly.

“Yes, I have your word!”

“…Huh?”

“No, no. I didn’t mean that. I have your word, so let’s go right now.”

Lili hummed a melody and gave instructions to the knight.

Elena, who had overheard the conversation, couldn’t help but interject.

“Hey, Lili! What was that exchange just now…!”

Even though she didn’t ask for too many details, Lili spoke as if she had guessed what was going on.

First of all, there was no explanation of where they were going.

She could imagine, but were they really going there?

Tigre, defeated by Lili’s atmosphere, stares blankly into the void.

“Yes, yes, we’ll board the s.h.i.+p. There’s no point in staying here any longer, so we’ll go back to Ishtalika right away… Come on, hurry up and come, you lecherous prince.”

For the knights of Ishtalika and Lili, it was time to turn around and leave.

However, the amount of information they were able to gather was more than enough.

By the way, did Tigre get Lili’s last outburst?

“Oh, by the way. I’ll tell you one good thing, Elena-sama.”

“…What?”

She replied with a slightly sulky expression to Lili, who went her own way without listening to her complaints.

Then, because the answer was the content that Elena was also looking for, Elena had to put on a serious expression.

“――You see, Ed-san has been missing for the past few days.”

＊＊＊

Elena gained a strong conviction from Lili’s words.

This conviction was that Ed was at least a person close to the culprit.

But even if that was understood, it did not mean that Heim’s allies and enemies had been identified.

If they stayed in Euro, they would only be waiting for death, and they might even lose their lives on the way back to Heim.

For this reason, Tigre was able to negotiate with Lili and get her to protect them.

Last time, Elena was on a cargo s.h.i.+p from Ishtalika.

This time, however, she is on a battles.h.i.+p, and this is also Elena’s first time on such a s.h.i.+p.

As for Tigre, he was simply amazed by the difference in technology, and he looked like he had already given up on a lot of things.

“Lili-sama, the negotiations with Duke Amour are over.”

“How did it go?”

“As a sign of goodwill, we will pay 10% of the damages. Here is the signature of approval; please check it.”

“…Okay. Then tell the other s.h.i.+ps.”

They are in the command room of the battles.h.i.+p.

Since the operation is also taking place in this room, they are able to see the front view of the s.h.i.+p.

Outside the large window, they can see the castle city of Euro, which has been completely transformed.

“Prepare the main cannon.”

――Ha!

After receiving the report from the official, Lili gives instructions to the crew.

Elena and Tigre look surprised at the ominous-sounding words “main cannon.”

“H-hey, what do you mean you’re preparing the main cannon? What are you going to do with it?”

“Well, those weird creatures are hiding all over the city, so we’re going to kill them all at once.”

Elena thought about the word “negotiate” and came to a conclusion.

“Are you planning to destroy the entire castle city of Euro?”

“You have a good grasp of the situation. According to the report, it seems that only a small number of them attacked you, Elena-sama. If there are a large number of them, then there is no other way to deal with them.”

As they spoke, the center of the battles.h.i.+p opened to reveal a huge tube.

“Prince Tigre. Depending on the outcome of the meeting, we planned to fire the main cannon at the port city of Roundheart later that day. We’ll be firing all three s.h.i.+ps at once, so please take a look.”

The huge tube had a pattern on it that Tigre and the others could not read, but the color scheme was plain and simple.

The entire body was a solid gray, and several supports were connected to it.

“I wish we could use it against sea dragons and such, but we can’t seem to get a clear shot. Besides, the nature of this main cannon doesn’t go well with those things.”

Lili continued to explain matter-of-factly while staring straight ahead.

Elena and Tigre had questions they wanted to ask, but they were so captivated by the sight of the huge main cannon that they just stared at it.

“――Three s.h.i.+ps firing simultaneously. Three, two, one…”

Hearing the numbers being counted, the crew began to work.

It seemed that Lily’s instructions had reached the other battles.h.i.+ps as well, and the three s.h.i.+ps carried out their operations simultaneously.

“――Zero.”

With the last word as a signal, the main cannons of the three s.h.i.+ps were fired.

“…Huh…?”

The words that escaped naturally expressed Tigre’s feelings.

The power of the main cannons fired simultaneously destroyed the fortress city of Euro.

As the waves spread out in an arc, the shock spread out as if the air exploded.

It looked like it had been destroyed by the blast, but it also looked like it had been shattered into particles.

What was truly terrifying was that it could easily surround the entire city and then attack all at once.

The attack lasted for several seconds, emitting blue, green, or purple light.

“It is a weapon that engineers call a ‘Magic Stone Cannon.’ It explodes the magic power of the magic stone and shoots it in any direction. It’s not cheap to use, so it’s not really used much.”

The explanation was short, but its power was enough to scare Tigre and the others.

The city of Euro was not small.

It was about the same size as the port city of Roundheart, or perhaps a little larger.

The castle city of Euro was destroyed in just a few seconds, leaving them with nothing but horror.

――After the light disappeared, all Elena and Tigre could see was a pile of shattered earth and sand on the half-destroyed cape.

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