Chapter 94: Fist
With the preparations for the magic airship complete, we finally set out for the [Orchestra].
Excluding the crew members operating the airship, only six of us would actually infiltrate that mechanical palace: me, my elder sister Luche, my elder brother Roberto, Sophie, Noel, and Princess Marietta.
The rest would remain on the ground. Since that place served as the base for the [Children of the Six Emotions] who manipulated miasma, only those capable of countering the magic power of the [Sixth Attribute] could be counted on as combatants.
“Nenel, Elline. Take care of Makina.”
“Yeah, leave it to me… though it’s weird for me to say that.”
Makina was still asleep. According to Sophie, who had been monitoring her condition, her life was not in danger, and she would eventually awaken. However, she was physically quite fatigued, so she would need to rest even after regaining consciousness.
“Brat prince. Take this with you.”
“This is… the [Royal Garment Ring]?”
“I had it made for Charl a while back.”
The highest-ranking ring, the [Royal Garment Ring], cannot be crafted by just anyone.
For an ordinary craftsman, there was even a risk of shattering the magic stone. That was why the role of [Court Jeweler] was established.
“But where did you acquire such a high-ranking magic stone?”
“……That’s Netos’s heart.”
Netos was the name of a young girl who had once spent time with Elline, contracted the [Petrification Sickness] that turned her entire body to stone, and lost her life. Her heart had been preserved as a magic stone… and now, thanks to Elline’s efforts, it had been reborn as the [Royal Garment Ring].
“Charl made me realize something important. If I were to entrust Netos’s magic stone to anyone, it would be this child. …So make sure you give it to Charl.”
“…Yeah. I’ll make sure to give it to her.”
Feeling the weight of the entrusted object, I pocketed the ring.
That weight seemed to push me forward, as if Elline was indirectly encouraging me in her own way.
“Clifford! The rest is up to you!”
“Do not worry about the evacuation of the civilians on the ground or any other tasks. Your only concern should be fighting with all your might and achieving victory. There is no need to look back.”
“Hahaha! As reliable as ever!”
“I swore to make you a king. To support your path to conquest, I Clifford serve you as devotedly as an angel serves God, no matter how cruel it may seem.”
Although the [Orchestra] was silent now, according to Sophie’s assessment, it was simply allocating resources to something else. If that ‘something’ was completed, an attack on the ground would not be surprising.
Therefore, our actions would be a race against time. We had no choice but to entrust matters on the ground to the remaining personnel.
“Ross. Feel free to mobilize all [Shadows]. I’m leaving the ground to you. Coordinate well with Clifford.”
“Understood.”
“And… take care of Makina as well.”
“…Yes.”
If something were to happen on the ground, the sleeping Makina would be defenseless. I could only entrust her to Nenel, Elline, and my subordinates.
“……….”
Looking up, the mechanical palace floated ominously still in the middle of the blue sky.
“…Wait for me, Charl. I’m coming over there now.”
☆
“It seems they are infiltrating.”
In the King’s Chamber where the jet-black cocoon slumbered, Lucille sensed the approaching reaction.
After awakening Makina-Orchestra, Lucille had absorbed all the manifestations of this palace, now grasping most of its functions.
And currently, she was pouring most of the [Orchestra’s] resources into the growth of the cocoon. While she could activate the interception system and shoot down the approaching airship, Lucille had no intention of doing so.
“It’s unlikely they’ll simply let themselves be shot down and end it there. Mother wouldn’t be satisfied with that, either……”
Merely killing them would not be enough. Their screams twisted by terror, their hearts grating with despair and agony – that was what needed to be offered. Otherwise, she could not wipe away the lingering unpleasantness of the defeat once tasted by the [Night Witch].
“……More than anything, it would be boring for me.”
Lucille felt the sensation of the airship docking at the mechanical palace.
The actors had taken the stage. The final curtain was rising.
“The human heart is wonderful. The human heart is marvelous – but love is meaningless.”
Lucille activated the palace’s system, releasing all the stored coffins.
The uniformly modified bodies of the Orchestra’s knights. Their lives and actions were now entirely under Lucille’s control.
“Love is ugly. Meaningless. Worthless. Please prove that to me.”
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
☆
The magic airship’s journey was surprisingly uneventful. After rising into the air, we reached the [Orchestra] without any interference.
“……Anticlimactic. I even left some of my secret prototypes on the ground to lighten the ship’s load, and I prepared so many weapons.”
“It’s a good thing we arrived safely without any losses, ain’t it?”
“…I suppose. But I wanted to collect some aerial combat data.”
While agreeing with my words, Sophie seemed a bit dejected.
“Hahaha! Even after infiltrating the [Night Witch’s] headquarters, you’re still thinking about experiments, development, and research! I’m always amazed by your greed, my dear sister!”
Perhaps it was that very greed that made Sophie a prodigy. I remember Leo once calling her not a prodigy but a ‘monster’. Now I can somewhat understand what he meant.
“But about this headquarters…”
Following Luche’s gaze, before us was an entrance as large as if a monster had opened its maw wide.
A single corridor extended endlessly inward from there.
“…It’s clearly a ‘come this way’ kind of path, huh?”
“Well, at least we’re unlikely to get lost.”
“I’d usually be wary of traps, though.”
It was understandable to be cautious. However, since this was the enemy’s headquarters, it would not be surprising if something jumped out at us from anywhere. This time, we were completely the away team.
“…That said, I don’t think Lucille would use any traps meant to directly eliminate us.”
“Oh? And why can you say that with such certainty, Alfred?”
“Up until now, she has always used methods to toy with people’s hearts. With Leo, with Nenel, with Makina. She deliberately went through the trouble of playing with other people’s hearts… So if she has set something up, it’s likely something meant to unsettle and manipulate our hearts.”
“I see. Indeed, that would be even more troublesome. The enemy’s actions become unpredictable.”
“Yes, if that’s the case, it would be easier to predict if she simply intended to eliminate us outright…”
“…It doesn’t seem like we have time to ponder it, though.”
With a terrifying degree of uniformity – no, without the slightest disarray – countless footsteps overlapped, and a group of knights appeared from who-knows-where. Wearing identical armor, identical physiques, silver hair, and identical faces, they instantly surrounded us, backing us against the entrance.
“They all have the same face… Could it be…?!”
“…Artificial humans. As expected, Lucille has taken control of the [Orchestra’s] authority.”
“What keen observation, little lady.”
The one praising Sophie’s insight was a knight with hair like molten gold, standing at the center of the group of knights… While the others had silver hair, this one alone had a different color.
“The authority of this [Orchestra] has been transferred from Princess Makina-Orchestra to Lady Lucille. Therefore, following Lady Lucille’s orders, we shall eliminate you.”
At the golden-haired knight’s command, the remaining silver-haired knights drew their swords in unison.
“Hahaha! Then I shall remain here! Alfred, take the others and proceed further in!”
“Brother Roberto!?”
“We cannot afford to needlessly expend our combat strength here! If the battle is to hold off these overwhelming numbers and defend this entrance, then as the most durable among us, I am the most suitable candidate! Moreover… the others have adversaries with whom they must settle scores, do they not?”
“…..!!”
Elder Sister Luche had Lady Loretta. Noel had his fiancés.
And I had to retrieve Charl from Lucille.
“I too am of the royal family, yet also a warrior of humble origins. I can understand the desire to settle matters with one’s destined opponent personally. Such a fist raised against fate is essential in this battle.”
My elder brother Roberto stepped forward,
his large back completely concealing the countless knights closing in from our view.
“…Roberto. You’d better swiftly scatter them with a lightning strike and catch up with us soon, you hear?”
“Hahaha! If it is an order from you, Sister, I cannot disobey!”
The number of opponents was not just ten or twenty. There were so many lined up that counting them all would be impossible, and facing them single-handedly while defending this entrance was clearly foolhardy. However, even in such a dire situation, my elder brother Roberto laughed heartily, not showing a shred of fear.
“—Thank you, Brother Roberto!”
“Indeed!”
None of us objected to my elder brother’s resolve to stay behind here and face the horde of knights alone. Without looking back, we chose to run forward, keeping our eyes fixed solely on the corridor extending endlessly inward.
☆
Confirming that Alfred and the others’ presences were gradually receding, Roberto focused on the enemies before him. Even if they had been on guard, the fact that the enemies did not make a move until Alfred’s group had advanced further likely meant Lucille had given orders to that effect, Roberto deduced.
The enemy had anticipated from the start that Roberto would remain here… No, they had arranged the pieces precisely for this outcome.
Lucille’s intentions were transparent. He had knowingly played along.
To confront and shatter such petty, evil schemes head-on was Roberto Berg Leuville’s way of life.
“Now then! Knight with the golden hair! You appear to be the commander!”
“Affirmative.”
“I am Roberto Berg Leuville! State your name!”
“No individual designation has been assigned. Manufacturing number is CT-7110.”
“C.T…. Hahaha! That’s quite difficult to remember all at once! If you could write it down on paper or something, that would be helpful!”
“Why would that be necessary?”
“Because I have decided!”
Roberto clenched his fists and let his overflowing magic power surge through his body, activating it.
“I shall engrave in my heart the names of those I crush with these fists!”
Also check out my friend Localizermeerkat for more LN translations!
BUY THE SOURCE MATERIAL TO SUPPORT THE AUTHOR !!!
Kindly click on the green button above and contribute to filling the green bar if you’re interested in having another LN from the request page translated. Also, every donation is being used to purchase the source material and to fund more English translations.
Please consider joining my Ko-Fi membership. By becoming a member, you’ll also gain access to 2-10 additional chapters of all of the novels from this site translated into English. Last but not least your support will also assist me in upholding the translation quality and speed. For more information, please follow the link.
Donation for faster release is always welcome
Additionally, I am now accepting translation requests.
.