Chapter 57

Having won the duel, I naturally intended to make sure the promise was kept.

However, Pierre was surprised.

"Y-You mean the promise?"

"That's right. Didn't I say it? Bring it to me—bring it to me in front of me."

When Pierre seemed to realize something, he appealed to Fernand.

"That's right. He won the duel. The owner of that ship is him, so I'm not at fault. The one at fault is him!"

To Pierre, who was stubbornly shouting, I replied with a smile.

"Hey, hey, didn't you hear me clearly? I said... bring it to me in front of me. Come on, return it quickly. I want to sleep in Einhorn's bed for the first time in a while. I'm so sensitive that I can't sleep with a different pillow."

It was a lie.

I could fall asleep within the day even with a different pillow.

I watched Pierre's face turn pale with a smirk.

"What's wrong? Bring it over quickly."

Fernand intervened.

"Your Excellency, I'm sorry, but your airship is out of control. It's impossible to bring it here immediately. If possible, I would like your cooperation to stop it."

I widened my mouth in a crescent shape and declared as if I had been waiting for this moment.

Yes, I had been waiting for this moment.

I had bought time for this very reason.

Thanks to Pierre's overconfidence in his own, or rather, the Holy Tree's power and the performance of the Arrogants, things had gone smoothly.

All for this moment!

"It doesn't matter!"

In response to my words, Pierre burst into tears.

"Oh, you finally realized? That's right, you broke the Holy Tree's vow. After losing the duel, you didn't return Einhorn to me—what kind of punishment will the Holy Tree give you?"

Then, a red magic circle appeared beneath Pierre.

Fernand and the others moved away from the magic circle as if by reflex, looking very frightened.

I stood on the magic circle, looking at Pierre.

"N-No, I don't want this. Please forgive me! I'll do anything, please forgive me! I don't want to lose the blessing. I don't want to lose the blessing!"

As Pierre cried and tried to run away, tree roots emerged from the ground and entangled his body.

Pierre was grabbed by the ankles and fell, then the tree roots entangled his body and lifted him up.

Vines from the tree roots entangled his right arm.

"Please, stop! I beg you! I won't do this again! I'm not at fault! He's an outsider! Please forgive me!"

Approaching the crying Pierre, I spoke to him.

"You said you'd do anything, right? Then, you can become 'blessing-less.'"

Blessing-less—this is what the nobles who possess the Holy Tree's blessing fear the most.

It was written in Marie's notebook.

As Pierre's face turned to one of despair, the crest on the back of his right hand glowed strongly and was enveloped by the vines. When the vines released him and the tree roots returned to the ground, the crest on the back of his right hand was gone.

Pierre sat down and didn't move from the spot.

He was crying, looking at the back of his right hand.

I approached such a Pierre and smiled at him.

"Breaking a promise is not good, you know. If you learn from this, you should live seriously from now on."

I had known everything from the start.

I had imagined what Pierre feared the most and decided to definitely erase his crest.

After consulting with Luxion, we decided to teach the Arzels a lesson.

When the red magic circle floating on the ground disappeared, Fernand and the others slowly approached, looking somewhat shaken by the sight of Pierre losing his blessing.

"Blessing-less. Seeing someone lose their blessing... they seem a bit shaken."

"...Pierre."

Fernand, who directed a sympathetic gaze at Pierre, was indeed one of the six great nobles.

He was sympathizing with Pierre, who had lost his crest.

This guy didn't need a blessing.

It made people unhappy just by having it.

Most importantly, this guy had challenged me.

That was the most unforgivable thing.

An event? The protagonist and the target of affection were already emitting a sickly sweet atmosphere, so there was no need for an event to become friends.

This is real... if it's a hindrance, it's better to eliminate it. I can always support the protagonist later.

Patience is toxic to the body, you know.

If this guy hadn't meddled with us, I would have watched over him... but he crossed the line. When he kidnapped Noel and Carla, I decided to treat him the most cruelly.

I gently whispered to Pierre.

"How does it feel to lose the Holy Tree's blessing? Tell me, you fake noble."

With a smirk, I listened, and Pierre turned to me with a face that was hard to tell if he was angry or crying.

...I wanted to see that face!

"Come on, tell me. How does it feel to lose the only thing you had going for you? Scared? You must be scared... after all, you've been acting so high and mighty, but now you've lost your blessing. Everyone will probably seek revenge on you, won't they?"

Looking at the audience, the students of the academy were looking at Pierre with cold eyes.

It seems that even nobles are treated coldly by society when they lose their blessing.

Pierre squatted on the spot and burst into tears.

"Why... why me?!"

"Because you challenged me. Be prepared. It's not over yet. And this is your own doing. Well, it was a good show, Pierre."

I placed my hand on Pierre's shoulder.

"You were a good clown."

As Pierre cried and screamed, Fernand and the others looked at me in shock.

...No, I'm the one who should be shocked.

What's the deal? The one who was inconvenienced is me.

I scratched my head.

"Well, I should go pick them up soon."

I was worried that Luxion might have gone too far.

That guy always talks about destroying the New Humans, so he's a hopeless case.

◇

The Arzel Republic's airship fleet was deployed.

Behind them was the Holy Tree Temple, and advancing any further would endanger the Holy Tree.

The admiral on the flagship shouted.

"Sink him at all costs! Ignore the safety of the crew!"

Over fifty ships aimed their cannons at Einhorn.

It had destroyed the Feve family's private fleet and advanced, destroying the Feve family's territory.

The Republic's airships fired their cannons simultaneously.

The cannons lined up on the sides of the ships were accelerated by magic to increase their power.

Amidst the bombardment, Einhorn charged forward.

It deployed a shield and deflected all the cannonballs.

The admiral had a face like he had bitten a bitter bug.

"...Is it a monster?"

In the history of the Republic, they had never been pushed this far.

For a republic that worships the Holy Tree, retreat was not an option.

More airships rose into the sky and joined the fleet, but Einhorn ignored them and continued to bombard.

The Republic's airships had their shields penetrated by magic and were hit.

One by one, the allied ships were hit.

"What kind of accuracy is this? Is this the kingdom's airship?"

The admiral shouted.

"Maximum engine power! Even if we have to ram this ship, we'll sink that one!"

Judging that it was disadvantageous to engage in a firefight, several ships, including the flagship, prepared to charge. Einhorn watched their movements silently.

"Crush it!"

The admiral was also concerned about Einhorn's movements, but

'Ha ha ha! We're the strongest!'

'Long live the Feve family!'

'Hey, get out of the way!'

The voices of drunkards came through the communication, and he dismissed their incomprehensible actions as "drunkards' doings."

"Charge!"

The airships deployed thick shields at their bows and charged at Einhorn.

Crew members fled from the airships one after another, and the admiral, who had boarded a small boat and left the scene, was shocked when he saw outside.

"...No way."

After sinking the charging airships with cannon fire, Einhorn rammed into the flagship... a ship over a thousand meters long.

The flagship was crushed and split in two.

Einhorn emerged unscathed from the flames and smoke caused by the explosion.

The admiral clenched his fists in frustration.

"There's nothing we can do."

There was a lack of preparation, but fundamentally, it wasn't even a fair fight.

From the small boat, he watched Einhorn.

The knights of the Republic, riding in armor, tried to attach themselves but were either shot down or knocked off by legless armor-like things.

The admiral collapsed to his knees.

"In my generation, the Republic will lose..."

The invincible legend was about to end.

Then, one of his subordinates pointed to the sky.

"Admiral!"

"What is that...?"

A large piece of armor, unknown even to the admiral, descended from the sky toward Einhorn, knocked down the legless armor, and landed on the deck.

A young man descended from inside.

"A student?"

The student—Leon—held a shotgun and boarded Einhorn, and then the Droye family's airship explained to all the ships via communication.

"Don't shoot! The young man is on our side!"

Following the words of Fernand Toara Droye, one of the six great nobles, the fleet ceased firing.

However, the admiral, with his hands on the ground, shed tears.

"...What's the point now?"

The ground where the Holy Tree stood was littered with the wreckage of numerous airships.

In effect, the Republic's fleet had been defeated by a single foreign airship.

◇

Inside Einhorn.

It had been quite ransacked, and I muttered, holding a shotgun in both hands.

"I'll charge extra for the repair costs."

Then, Luxion appeared in front of me, flanked by guard robots.

"I have been waiting for you, Master."

"Were you lonely?"

"Yes. I have grown to understand that not hearing your playful remarks is also lonely. However, if you had come a little later, I could have destroyed that temple."

...This guy is still not cute.

Clare, on the other hand, sends me pictures of Ange's underwear.

As I walked, Luxion floated to my usual position on my right shoulder.

The robots also took their positions to protect me.

"Well, where are the scum?"

"A few are hiding in a room, trying to escape reality. Many are trying to escape from the hangar in various ways."

"Guide me. And make sure to thoroughly deal with Pierre's issue."

"...Understood."

Holding my shotgun, I searched for Pierre's cronies with a smile.

While looking at the ransacked Einhorn and receiving reports from Luxion, one thing caught my attention.

"Isn't the vow to the Holy Tree a contract?"

"No, it's not. Strictly speaking, it's different. The Holy Tree doesn't handle such detailed responses. The concept of a contract is an application of the vow to the Holy Tree. Originally, the vow to the Holy Tree is used to borrow greater power. However, this application method was discovered recently."

"Is that why you didn't directly take it or curse us and command us?"

Pierre could have easily taken Einhorn from us without any discussion.

That's why he resorted to the roundabout method of the vow to the Holy Tree.

There was a reason for it.

"After investigating, it turns out that the Holy Tree's crest has ranks. The top is 'Guardian,' followed by 'Priestess,' then the six great nobles, and then the other nobles. The higher the rank, the greater the benefits."

"Was it impossible for Pierre to simply take it or curse us?"

"Yes, that's why he used the vow to the Holy Tree. He probably reported to the Holy Tree that Einhorn belonged to Marie and the others. From the Holy Tree's perspective, Pierre, who has a blessing, is our superior."

I laughed softly.

"For a tyrannical Holy Tree, the sapling was effective."

"Those who possess a sapling cannot act as a superior. I inferred this from Marie's notebook, and it turned out to be correct."

A bargaining chip.

And as a precaution, the sapling served its purpose well.

"Still, the Holy Tree abandoned Pierre so easily."

"The Holy Tree likely judged that someone who makes a vow and then loses or breaks it is an inadequate guardian. By making a vow to the Holy Tree, one borrows the power of binding and curses, but if they fail, it's meaningless."

In other words, the six great nobles are not just one-sidedly using the Holy Tree.

The Holy Tree is also using the six great nobles to protect itself.

"Pierre was reckless. If this information were to leak to the kingdom, what would happen?"

"Nothing would change unless Master takes action. In reality, the kingdom doesn't have the power to attack and destroy the Republic. The Republic's defensive advantage remains unchanged. However, it would make the Republic's weaknesses apparent, and in the long run, it would be beneficial information."

As we talked, we arrived at the hangar.

Pierre's cronies, who had given up and were sitting on the ground, looked at me as I entered.

"Hello, traitors—time to die!"

Pulling the trigger of the shotgun, a shell was fired, and the buckshot scattered.

It's for use against people, but it's incredibly painful.

I shot one after another, and they fell, writhing in pain.

I stepped on the head of one of Pierre's cronies. This guy was the one I saw when Pierre challenged me.

"Well, you're about to be judged as traitors... how do you feel?"

Pierre's cronies, writhing in pain, had pale faces.

They smelled of alcohol, but they seemed to be sobering up.

"Do you understand who you challenged?"

Everyone was trembling, and I loaded more shells into the shotgun.

"You guys. You said something about attacking the kingdom... you were going to be our opponents, right? What a great spirit. I might buy it."

Seeing the situation outside, everyone bowed their heads.

One by one, they said,

"I, I didn't mean to."

"That was Pierre—Pierre said it."

"Besides, we didn't do anything!"

Pulling the trigger of the shotgun, I silenced them and laughed.

"It doesn't matter! Your crime is challenging us—no, me."

With the protagonist and the male target of affection becoming friends, and the event no longer necessary—there's no need for me to hold back.

Well, next, I'll make the Arzel Republic take responsibility.