In the palace of Altfode kingdom.
The king of the country, Leonis, was drinking tea elegantly there.
"Quiet days like these are what make me happy."
Once again he was enjoying how everyone in the palace was working hard but him.
"At least this time there are no women so early."
Leonis responded to Lecia's comment with an overreaction.
"Indeed, it's just as you say. It's sad that everyone is busy today. By the way, have you finished my work?"
She said sad, but he was cheerful inside.
That was the man called Leonis. The scum king who was in a deep hate-to-hate relationship with Rudel and they would exchange many blows with each other within the allowed limit.
"There is a letter from Rudel-kun who is studying abroad. Alisa came to give it to me directly because it mentioned an urgent matter. There's also a letter for you."
"From that brat? Anyway, it'll be full of contempt for me. I don't want to read it, so read it and tell me what it says. Ah, that's right. Tell me if there are any insulting words. I'll send him to the gallows with that justification."
Lecia looked coldly at Leonis after he joked like that.
"Perhaps it will be you who will be sent to the gallows."
"I'll be fine. That brat is too naive. He wouldn't go so far as to send me to the gallows."
Perhaps they were both birds of a feather by the way he could completely guess what Rudel was thinking like this."
"Geez..."
Lecia broke the seal and read the letter. Her expression turned serious as she read.
"So? It's just a trivial matter like I said, right? Obviously that brat has too much time on his hands, that's why he prepared that letter to make fun of me."
Leonis had unilaterally decided what that letter was about, but Lecia's next words immediately made him distressed.
"... Dear, the letter said that there is a dispute with the Herring Household of the six great nobles."
"What!!!"
Leonis stood up from his chair and spilled his tea. Even as he shouted. "Burn!", he snatched the letter from Lecia and read the contents.
"To my beloved king, is there any illness your majesty has caught? As for me, I am in an extremely healthy condition as I pray every day that His Majesty will have to have his most essential part amputated. Now, my purpose in sending this letter is to mention that the second son of Herring Household, Derrick, has picked a fight with me. So I am thinking of taking him up on it. However, I think it will cause several problems later on, so please be careful to deal with the consequences. Greetings, the Hero of the Realm, Rudel."
Leonis' hand holding the letter was trembling.
"That-that damn braaaaat! What the hell is he doing over thereeeeeeeeeeee!"
The letter also continued like this.
"PS: I received a letter from His Majesty that mentions this "Take good care of the troublesome matter", so I will take good care of the troublesome land of arrogant aristocrats. Take care of the consequences (giggles) By: The one who wishes you to work more. Your Majesty."
Leonis tore the letter into pieces.
"That devil! I'll send him to the gallows for real! Lecia, gather the important official servants at once! After that, send people to Aster to investigate the situation. It will become a disaster if we don't stop that brat. Hey, why is your face red?"
"Huh?"
Lecia was surprised by the contents of her husband's letter, so she read the letter that was addressed to her. Her cheeks flushed.
She hid the letter Rudel sent to Lecia.
"... It's a secret."
Lecia said that shyly. Leonis showed a dull face when she saw that.
"Secret? That's cute, but how about you look at your age first before you say that. —Hidebuh!"
Leonis, who said his sentiment honestly, received a slap in the face.
◇
After defeating the dungeon boss we went about celebrating.
After singing victory I took the dynamite out of the vehicle.
I placed all the explosives and we blew up the giant roots.
A large amount of black smoke filled the place.
The black smoke covered the whole room, but then something shone from the deepest part of the place.
That faint light was greenish in color. The black smoke was being sucked into it.
When the smoke disappeared from the surroundings, there was a single sapling there.
I looked at that sapling that was glowing brightly in the darkness.
"...This is undoubtedly the 'sacred tree's sapling', huh."
That sapling was glowing with a sublime radiance from the sunlight falling from the ceiling from the explosion. It was the key object of this game event, the sapling of the sacred tree.
◇
"Look how many treasures!"
Liam was screaming like a child excited by the ridiculous amount of gold, precious pearls and other riches that were hidden here. There were even orbs, large magical stones.
I was scared at first thinking that this place would also have a research center like in the kingdom. But apparently it was just a normal dungeon.
The guys set about carrying everything that could fit into the vehicle.
This place was special for two reasons. The first was that Sara said the Jaggerjack always passed through this area, implying that it guarded it, there were other areas where it could grow a sapling. But the monsters would eat it or it would wither when it came in contact with the outside.
The second was because in the game it was found right here according to the notes.
Seeming to be important to them, I don't care what they want this for.
From my backpack I pulled out a container to hold the plant, it had a small pot inside so I picked up soil from the spot before.
As I approached to pull it out, I panicked and fell backwards.
"Uwahh!"
The reason for my girlish scream was because I found something unexpected.
Near the sapling sat a skeleton. It seemed to be waiting for something as its gaze was focused in the direction we entered from.
I was really scared of this thing. So for some reason I wanted to touch it.
When I did it turned to dust. It was very scary.
Someone not only came in here, but hid in this place.
Does that mean it was hiding?
Probably the one who burned the horn of that thing was this person.
It could be considered a legendary adventurer.
After paying my respects to this person. I uprooted the plant and placed it in the pot. I was a little scared that it might not be the right one, but according to Erselica's notes, it must be.
"Bradford, come on! Let's go take a memorial photo."
Frey was calling out to me as these guys placed a flag of the kingdom on the ground, they had a camera. It looked very old, but it was instantaneous.
That was because in the kingdom there is no such cameras, in Aster there is because they create them. But photography is in black and white. I remember that Alisa had black and white magazines where they sent samples of clothes because they could not show the color.
It makes me want to cry for the precious lost moments we were able to catch in photos, but soon I will create something to save those memories.
"I'll be the one to take their picture. Frey, give me the camera."
"Huh? But we're supposed to take turns getting everyone out."
"It's better for the former crown prince to be recognized as the one who conquered the strongest dungeon in the world. I'm already a hero and I don't want any more old stalkers."
"If that's the way you feel about it..." Liam was saying in a melancholy tone.
I grabbed the camera and these guys positioned themselves to strike a ridiculous pose.
"Fine. Say 'we're idiots'."
"We're idiots!"
When I took the picture, they were annoyed with me. No doubt despite the past danger, it was a good day.
◇
Around that time.
Schwert, who was anchored in the harbor, was accosted by men in fancy suits.
A man in a flashy white suit was the ringleader. He was muscular, with a black beard, sleek hair and a mustache on his face.
Derrick welcomed the man and spoke to him in a friendly tone.
"I-I-It's been a while, Ganpino-san. I hope you've been treated well in my household's territory."
"Derrick-dono, I appreciate all our merchandise you have purchased. Since the trouble months ago with some jerk and now that the republic refuses to buy weapons and slaves from us, I was wondering if this would be the end of the Cashmiro Family."
"It also looks like you've been trying out your new toy, a very strong one this time."
That massive man took off his hat and acted slavishly towards Derrick.
Ixion was watching that scene.
"And who might this be?"
A vassal of Derrick was replying to Ixion who were hidden.
"Ahn? Don't ask every time. These guys are traders. Well, they're handling items that can't be shown publicly."
"I see."
The merchant began to smoke. He instructed his subordinate to give Derrick several leather bags.
"Musik, give them that. Geld, also the new merchandise."
A man with dreadlocks and gold teeth handed a bag to Derrick's vassals. In return, a bald, ear-pierced one handed them a briefcase.
Derrick walked over to see both. The leather pouch held a wad of bills. While the briefcase had many bags filled with a mysterious white powder.
In the game, the event is called "Angel Dust", a mysterious drug that makes you hallucinate if you consume it in excess. It was not dangerous in small doses, but the addiction was very high. The head of the Cashmiro Family, Ganpino, was a nobleman who belonged to a distinguished noble family of a certain country.
But their family fell into ruin and became pirates, as time went by they became strong, but without losing their pride they ended up becoming "the noble pirate family". This was an event of the game that happened in another situation of this same year.
The problem was that after the war, the Cashmiro Family found themselves in a crisis as the Altfode Kingdom discovered that they had secret branches backed by Balzac and Kingsfort.
They were partly destroyed by Rudel and other nobles. In the end, they had to run away to Ereboreas Republic, where they were also hunted down, the reason was that they found out that they worked for their enemy and they disliked that. Their enemy was Aster of course.
So they had to secretly house many members here.
"After some more business we will go to Musashi, there, the head of the Zouken clan is waiting for me to form an alliance."
"Thank you for the goods, my father is happy for the help he has given me. Boys, bring the gifts."
Derrick's vassals brought a large number of orbs and handed them to Ganpino's subordinates.
He was smiling synonymously.
"Thank you for the gift."
"You don't have to. Aster has a huge amount of them, they grow like apples, gyahaha."
Ixion looked at the sphere that was called an orb and began to gather data.
"So, this is an orb. This one contains a lot of energy inside. I heard that there is an item called an orb among the fruits of the sacred tree. So this is the real item... it's very interesting, but the country should be the one managing the use of all the orbs."
Derrick was selling an important item that was administered by the country in a place out of public view. It didn't seem honest at all.
It seemed that Derrick and this merchant had a dark connection underneath the table.
"... And, when will you get the seat of the head of the family, Derrick-dono?"
Derrick smiled sinisterly once again when the merchant asked him that.
He spoke of various things to the merchant, whom he considered his companion.
"Even the old man is interested in this airship. He was very happy when I talked to him about going to war against the Altfode Kingdom soon and taking away their technology to mass produce this airship. I could become the next head without needing to make my brother disappear."
"That's great news! All my investments with you, Derrick-dono, so far are worth every penny. Ah, I hope you won't forget that when that happens, you as the future head of Herring Household will help us have our main headquarters here."
"Of course."
Ixion consolidated the information he heard from the two's conversation.
"Derrick, who is aiming for the head of household seat, joined this merchant by passing him a smuggling orb. Perhaps he is gathering people to become the head of household?"
Ixion would at least evaluate Derrick for his guts in taking down even his older brother to be on top.
After all, that guts was something Rudel lacked.
"If only my former master had at least had that level of ambition. He could have become king and thus not only had those two but also the queen."
But, he could not evaluate Derrick with respect to his choice of friends.
Derrick's vassals were counting the money.
Schwert's interior was full of ruffians who looked like pirates, no matter how you looked at it.
They were Derrick's underlings, but they were all thugs without exception. Some drank alcohol in the rooms, others did improper acts in them as well and mostly obscene graffiti to the robots.
While Derrick was having a pleasant conversation with the merchant, one of his followers suddenly ran towards the ship.
"Derrick-sama, there's trouble!"
Derrick turned to the follower who shouted loudly and frowned.
"Don't be so loud, you idiot. So what happened, has the kingdom started attacking?"
Derrick wasn't taking the interruption too seriously, but his attitude changed drastically when he heard the details.
"That's not it, a sapling of the sacred tree has been discovered! Besides, it's a sapling that hasn't withered yet."
"... Really?"
It seemed to be a piece of information that surprised even Derrick. He listened to his follower seriously.
"Yes. But, it was the foreign students who got it. Also, the guy named Rudel entered the academy with the sacred tree sapling in his hand. He seems to be making a commotion asking them to call you."
Ixion floated in silence.
The head of the Cashmiro Family, Ganpino, made a face of discomfort.
"Rudel, you say, in case... his last name is Bradford?"
Derrick's vassal nodded and that only made Ganpino angrier.
"If you'll excuse me, I have a few calls to make. Bastards we're hurrying home!"
Derrick was making an annoyed expression.
"He´s calling me? But, I want it, I want the sapling from that sacred tree. I want to take it from that guy named Rudel, no matter if I attack the academy."
"A-About that, it looks like Sara is backing him up. So it doesn't look like we can easily move on him."
"Sara is with him, is that wicked looking woman backing a foreigner?"
Derrick pondered a bit after hearing Sara's name.
"... Well. Let's take a look at the sapling of this sacred tree."
Derrick and his gang hurried towards the academy. Ixion dismissed them as he thought.
"They want to obtain the sacred tree sapling even though the sacred tree has already grown? I can understand their feeling of wanting to obtain it, but they look more anxious than expected."
Ixion's red lens glowed mysteriously and even more so because of the following.
"To piss off so many people and make enemies without being present and without even knowing you. Without a doubt you are someone who destroys all existing logic."
◇
I was taken to the reception room when I arrived at the academy.
I was holding the vial with the small sapling of the sacred tree with one hand while I was sitting shamelessly in front of the teachers.
I was putting my leg on the table.
The teachers were frowning when they saw my behavior.
I'm sorry, but right now I'm very happy and my body is expressing it in its own way.
"Bradford, aren't you being rude right now?"
"... That's why all the people in the kingdom are savages."
"Enough about that, please drop the sapling right away, what if you drop it?"
The teachers were showing various reactions.
They were completely nervous in the presence of the sacred tree sapling.
Unexpectedly, it was Professor Malcolm who calmed that situation.
"Let's all calm down. Sara-sama, please give a proper explanation."
Sara, who was standing near me, gave me a warning.
"Rudel-kun, you are behaving very rudely."
"Oh, forgive me for this. After all, I'm just an upstart who was once a wild adventurer. It can't be helped that I'm handling the sapling carelessly because of that."
The teachers inside the room made a sour expression when I spoke sarcastically.
I swung my legs off the table and placed the jar that was with the sapling of the sacred tree- no, my lucky bearer, the little sapling on the table.
You are reading story World Ixion/SAGA at novel35.com
However, my hand did not let go of it.
"More importantly, get Derrick here now, how long do you plan to make me wait?"
One of the teachers warned me in panic about my speaking.
"Stop talking so rudely. You're talking about someone from the six great nobles. Sara-sama, please stop siding with this person."
I directed my gaze towards Sara, but she showed no sign of following the teachers words.
"It's none of your business who I side with."
The teachers fell silent when the princess of the six great nobles said that.
Still, why would this person cooperate with me up to this point?
She didn't even show any sign of trying to deceive me.
Could it be true what Lucy said? Is this girl attracted to me?
I don't think so, rather, isn't she like a certain extravagant senpai who wants to tie me to a chair?
If it's true that she's attracted to me. Sorry, I have girlfriends. I love them very much. If we had met before. Your breasts would be my home now.
Professor Malcolm sighed.
"Looks like he's come."
Suddenly, the door burst open and Derrick appeared there with his followers.
He reeked of alcohol even though the sun was still high in the sky.
He looked irritated at being called here, but his eyes widened at the sight of the little sapling I was holding.
"Is that real?"
His eyes couldn't see me anymore. He reached out to take the little sapling away.
"Don't touch it."
When I lifted the vial, he immediately scowled at me.
"Son of bitch, who the hell do you think you're talking to, huh?"
As the back of Derrick's right hand began to glow, Sara stood in front of me."
"Stop. Derrick, says the daughter of the Rosenberg Household which is superior to yours."
"Step aside Sara, you're going to face me? You've been chosen just as much as I have!"
He must be proud to have been chosen by the sacred tree.
But, Sara did not step aside.
Professor Malcolm also joined in the chatter.
"Derrick, enough of that unbecoming act of yours."
"Even Malcolm-dono, the former heir to Wayne Household, is on this boy's side? Aren't you two mortified that the sapling of the sacred tree has fallen into this guy's hands?
The other teachers were silent at Derrick's behavior.
By the way, I got information for Erselica. Professor Malcolm was the former heir to Wayne Household, to which the capture target Zack, will be the successor.
It would be problematic to keep this, so I went out to speak.
"Stop shrieking, you fucking scumbag. It's irritating to listen to you. Now, you want this don't you? Fine, let's have a duel for this little guy."
"Ahh?"
Derrick's ill-mannered henchmen were also inside the room, but they didn't interrupt the conversation since Sara and Professor Malcolm were here.
Derrick brought his face close to me with a mischievous expression and his hands in his pockets.
"You said you wanted to have fun, that's why you were hunting foreign students, but how about now one of them is going to give you the best fun a dirty rat like you could ever wish for, wait, I'm going too fast. Is this conversation too difficult for you?"
His face immediately turned red after I provoked him for a moment.
"Stop joking, I'll kill you here!"
"Try it if you can. But this thing will wither away then too."
Even Derrick's mouth closed when I showed the little sapling towards him.
This thing was just a key item in this shitty game, but it proved to be useful enough when it was in the real world.
"I'll fight you if you put Schwert up as a bet. As for the method, I'll be fine with a simple duel where you can also use an armed unit. However, my condition is that you can't use the power of the sacred tree, but magic is allowed."
Derrick showed a surprised expression just for a moment when I said that.
He was showing doubt and refused with an agitated look.
"Why the hell are you deciding the rules, huh? That's not fair."
"Not fair? I'm surprised that a cheating bastard like you can say that. Do you want me to prepare a mirror?"
"Kuh!"
He was enraged and immediately tried to rely on the power of the sacred tree, but stopped due to seeing Sara and Professor Malcolm.
"We won't finish talking if we keep going like this, so I'll continue. I'm not like you, coward. I simply suggest that you have a fair duel using an armed unit. I'll ask Sara and Professor Malcolm to be our witnesses. or what? Derrick-chan, don't you want to have a fair fight because you won't be able to win like this?"
Maybe you can't fight without disadvantage~? This guy reacted immediately when I provoked him like that.
"... Alright, go ahead."
Derrick finally plucked up his courage. I then confirmed the conditions.
"Then, let's swear by this sacred tree thing. I'm betting on the sacred tree sapling. I'll deliver this to the country if I lose."
"Fine. Then I'll give you back your ship if I lose."
I made an exaggerated sigh and said "You don't understand~" to Derrick.
"It won't make sense if you just return the airship, but empty everything in it. I'll make you return everything you took from me. You understand that, 'everything'. If you lose to me, you will return everything you stole from me."
I would not allow him to say something like. "I gave back the ship, but I won't give up Battler or Ixion!
That kind of excuse obviously won't let them off the hook!
Derrick corrected his wording with a fed up look after I said that.
"Yes~, I'll give them back. If I, the great Derrick, lose, I'll return everything I took, are you satisfied?"
Derrick wasn't bothered by the details. He didn't seem to consider the slightest possibility of losing.
"Say you'll bring them 'in front of me' properly. You understand, all of them."
"That's just if you defeating me."
I spoke quietly to myself.
"You'll regret saying that." I flashed a slight smile at that.
Sara seemed to look at me as she may have heard what I said, but she didn't say anything.
Professor Malcolm confirmed the conditions for the last time.
"Then, Sara-sama and I will be the witnesses. Will you both swear before the sacred tree and follow the conditions mentioned just now? No problem with the date and time either?"
I nodded with a broad smile. "Yes. It was fine like that."
"Of course."
But Derrick looked displeased.
"Wait a second. Does this guy even have an armed unit?"
How nice of him to worry about me.
"No, I don't have one. I plan to buy a new one from one of the shops here."
Then Sara suggested.
"I'll have my house put one together for you. That's okay right?"
Derrick suddenly objected strongly to that suggestion.
"That's not allowed! I will not allow witnesses to endorse the participant. I won't accept it unless this guy prepares an armed unit on his own."
Sara looked like she wanted to argue, but I stopped her.
"... Okay. So, what if I can't get one?"
"Then fight without one. It'll be a wonderful show. An amazing show of the Hero of the Realm unable to do anything against me, the great Derrick, before crying and apologizing in front of everyone!"
Derrick looked like he was having a great time. I smiled along with him.
"Sounds good to me."
"Rudel-kun!"
Sara was surprised, but Derrick turned his gaze to Professor Malcolm.
"This guy said he's fine with it, do you have a problem?"
"... Derrick, remember that the oath is sacred and you can't insult it."
Professor Malcolm said that and asked Sara to raise her right hand. A magic circle formed on the floor of the room after that.
This was the dueling method of the supreme kingdom which made use of the oath to the sacred tree.
It seemed to have the implication that after the duel ended, the participants would be forced to fulfill their promise. As it hit me that day, I had no idea what was going on.
Professor Malcolm looked at Sara who proclaimed.
"This is a sacred duel under the oath to the sacred tree. Both of you must not forget the significance of that."
Sara must be saying that to imply that no act should be done to ruin the sacred duel.
I carried the sapling under my arm.
"Of course."
After that, Derrick led his minions out of the room.
"I hope you can prepare an armed unit before the day of the duel."
Derrick sneered disgustedly as he said that comment. I replied.
"You don't understand. I already won."
◇◇◇
Derrick returned to Schwert and drank alcohol in a very good mood.
He was in the hangar.
Derrick laughed in front of Battler, who had been decorated to look perverse. He wasn't black either, he was now green like his hair.
"Those guys are really jerks!"
The people around Derrick also agreed with him.
Derrick put the bottle of wine to his mouth and swallowed the whole thing in one gulp. Then he threw the empty bottle on the floor.
No one paid any attention to him, even when the bottle broke.
Schwert's interior was in a very messy condition.
The worker robots were quietly cleaning up the whole mess.
"That guy wants to get an armed unit in this country. There's no way it's going to happen."
A follower handed a new bottle to Derrick.
"Derrick-sama, you are really a horrible person. To make someone go out in a duel without any armed unit like that."
"It's his fault for being tricked."
Derrick and his vassal were getting excited. They were talking excitedly as if they had already won.
"The old man will name me as the heir when he gets the sapling. Then I'll throw my older brother out to live on the street."
Derrick was also thinking about what he would do after he became the head of the Herring Household.
"If I have the sapling from the sacred tree, the Rosenberg Household will no longer be able to act superior. Even that sassy Sara will only be able to do what I tell her to do."
One of the followers worried.
"Will that be all right? There's a rumor that she's going to get engaged to Thomas of the Exner Household."
"I don't mind that one bit. Besides, as long as I have the sapling of the sacred tree, they will be the ones bowing down to me asking me to marry their daughter. As I thought, Sara is the only worthy woman for me."
Derrick stuck out his tongue and touched the front of his pants in a very morbid manner.
"Finally that woman who walks in a graceful manner in front of everyone, shaking that big ass, her silky hair and most of all those firm huge breasts, will be mine!"
The lock was lowered, Ixion appeared at her side.
"I suggest you take countermeasures."
"What are you talking about one eye?"
"I'm saying it would be best to ask for 'help' in case Rudel can find a method to defeat you."
Derrick clicked his tongue and closed his clasp.
"Are you saying I can lose?"
"I never said that. I just said you always have to have a plan B."
Derrick looked thoughtful.
"Yeah. It's true. That guy found a sapling, that means he was able to defeat the Jaggerjack. His strength is not to be underestimated."
"Okay. Hey, someone call Ganpino and tell him we need his help!"
Ixion's eye looked at Derrick very strangely.
"Let's see how you get out of this one, former Master idiot."
◇◇◇
Temple of the sacred tree.
The young head of the family, Linus, was working in the office.
A vassal brought a report, he was also running, and seemed to be choking.
"A sapling of the sacred tree has just been found!"
However, when he heard the report, he stood up from his chair and the pile of documents on his desk collapsed.
"Really? Which house was it?"
"Yes! The foreign student, Count Rudel von Bradford found it in the dungeon. He claims his stolen property and requests a duel if you will."
"Duel?"
"Yes. A duel with Derrick-sama of Herring Household."
Linus pounded his fist toward the desk.
"That idiot boy!"
That was one word for Derrick.
Linus pulled Rudel's report off his desk.
He looked into it a bit as he was curious about the airship Derrick took from him.
(It says he repelled the commonwealth fleet with a single machine and led the kingdom fleet to victory from a crisis situation.)
(I won't dig too much into the story.)
The report's investigator also added. "These are facts. It's true!"
It is a report akin to a lie.
You can't believe it if you show it to someone.
However, the story is different if it is the lost item that made it possible.
(It seems that the lost item was lost in the war against the commonwealth, but you can't say that there is still no hidden replacement. What the hell are you doing picking that opponent, you stupid idiot son of the Herring Household?)
"... He requested the duel to get his airship back?"
"Yes, he requested his airship and his armed unit back."
The airship and armed unit are good enough to make the Herring Household happy.
You don't want to bet those items, but if a sapling comes out of the sacred tree, it's a different story.
The nobles of the supreme kingdom want that, only they know their motive.
"They just have to trade normally. I will try to arrange this with the kingdom's diplomats."
The official nodded.
"Prepare a ship. I'll go to the Acting Chairman first to inform him about this myself."
And so, the event of the sapling and Linus' route was proceeding normally despite the fact that it did not involve one of the capture targets.