Chapter 155
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Purume’s ears twitch as she hears my call. Recognizing my voice, her stern expression softens.
「Ichiro… you came.」
She seems somewhat overcome with emotion, but then she notices Orphelia behind me, and—
「Angie, you came too…」
Her face shows a complex mix of emotions as she looks at Angelica, who might as well be her own daughter. I can understand why.
「Puru…」
Angelica whispers, lowering her eyes.
I can’t tell if her expression, hidden by the shadow of her hat, is from guilt or regret.
Angelica never returned to Purume after leaving town. In fact, she didn’t even contact her once.
Furthermore, she committed the foolish act of stealing the Sword of Affirmation and breaking its seal.
Even if that was the result of some interference from Ryūgūin, Purume doesn’t know that.
I can’t tell how Purume feels about Angelica’s recent actions.
「Here it comes.」
Orphelia announces.
In the distance, the Liquid Dragon—which Purume had just sliced in half—liquefies its body and completely regenerates.
「We’ll need to share information to fight this thing. Stay back and wait. I’ll buy us some time.」
As the Liquid Dragon lets out a roar, Purume swings her magic sword from an even greater distance than before.
The glowing blade bends like a whip, leaving behind an afterimage of light, and in an instant, it slices the Liquid Dragon into pieces, rendering it immobile for a while.
My reality isn’t exactly the same as the dream I had. The fact that I’m actually here is good evidence of that.
However, it’s certain that this isn’t the end of the Liquid Dragon.
「It’s been a while, Blue Flame. I came here at Anon’s request to help out.」
「Ah, Orphe… I’ve heard about your achievements many times since then. With you here, we’re a hundred times stronger.」
Surprised that she can use polite language, I give Orphelia a look. She responds with a sidelong glance, asking, 「What?」
「More importantly, Blue Flame called you ‘Ichiro.’」
Oh no! Oh no no no no!!
「Well, you know! Ichiro is a common name! There’s even Suzuki Ichiro, the former Major League player, and there’s this guy named Yamada Ichiro who does rap battles… wait, that’s the same name as me!!」
I’m completely flustered.
Orphelia presses on,
「I only know one person named Ichiro.」
Purume!!
You’ve totally given me away!!
What’s with that expression, covering your mouth like 「Oops, it slipped out!」? You’re adorable, you klutz!!
「Don’t be on guard. I hate rumors. I believe in seeing the truth with my own eyes.」
Her eyes seem to peer into the depths of my soul, not allowing any lies—at least that’s how I feel, so I choose my words carefully.
「You’re right, I am the Holy Knight Yamada Ichiro…
If it’s alright with you, I’ll explain everything after the battle. I’ll pay you whatever you ask. So for now, please lend us your strength without asking questions.」
Orphelia’s voice is filled with determination as she responds to my words.
「Don’t underestimate me. I made a promise to that idiot Anon. I promised to help you all. I never, ever break a promise once I’ve made it.」
She concludes by saying she’ll still listen to the full story after the battle.
I guess I’m lucky. There are so many people who believe in me, even in this situation. And yet—
「Well, isn’t this cozy.」
The Liquid Dragon, which has regenerated behind us, lets out a stupid beastly roar.
「Go back to sleep, you idiot.」
I say as I turn and slash in one motion.
I extend the Condenser on my index and middle fingers of my dominant hand to its limit, slicing the monster clean in half.
If it’s just going to regenerate anyway, might as well cut it to pieces. I swing my arm several more times.
「Orphelia, I’m counting on you again.」
I say, extending my hand to her.
The atmosphere around Orphelia seems to change somehow.
It’s like she’s staring at me intently…
What’s up with that? What’s going on?
Well, anyway—
「For now, let’s provisionally call the four of us—me, Purume, Orphelia, and Angelica—Team ‘Paladin’s Dust.’」
I hear some objections, but I’m not accepting any!
Actually, I kind of like teams.
And even though I just came up with the name on the spot, it’s not bad, right?
「First, Angelica and I will conduct some experiments on the Liquid Dragon when it regenerates.」
I can tell the three of them are listening to my words.
「I know a bit about that monster.
As you can see, no matter how many times we slice up the Liquid Dragon, it just reforms. Not only that, even if we try to attack it with magic, it seems to have a resistance, so we can hardly damage it at all.」
However, there’s no guarantee it’s the same as in my dream.
「We’re going to test whether my knowledge holds true or not.」
I can now do it with an extremely short incantation.
As I start the incantation, I stand in front of them and say,
「Rain.」
It’s my specialty light magic.
I know. This little won’t be enough for a proper experiment.
「So, you’d better be ready.」
The needles of light I release cover the sky and rain down on the Liquid Dragon without interruption.
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