The 176th day of summoning the other world [Decisive Battle] Part 4:

Lupis stared at the face of the man who appeared in front of her.

Black hair and black eyes.
Medium height and yellow skin.
Except for the difference in height, he is a man with features very similar to Mikoshiba Ryoma.
I've seen people with some of the characteristics before, but this was the first time I've seen someone with all of them.
Yes, except for Mikoshiba Ryoma.

'Don't stare at me so much, you're embarrassing me.

The man's tone of voice is too careless for the princess, but the look on his face convinces me that his tone of voice is convincing.
He is a man who wears such an atmosphere.
I'm not sure if it's a good idea to be a middle-aged man or not, but I'm not sure if it's a good idea to be a middle-aged man, and my belly seems to be sticking out a little bit.
He was in his 40s when he was in his age?
However, his neck and arms were clearly thick and hard, and he looked like a warrior of long standing.
Contrary to the shattered tone, Lupis re-invigorated her relaxed caution.

I can't even stand up when I'm old...

With that said, Sudo sat down in his chair without waiting for Lupis' response.

''I'll ask again, who are you?''

Lupis thrusts his sword at Sudo's throat as he sits in his chair.

''My name is Sudo Akitake.

What do you want?

"We are negotiating with Her Royal Highness Princess Lupis.

How did you get in here?

I swam into the camp from the upper reaches of the Thebes River. Well, that's Mikoshiba-san, the commander over here. You're excellent. The water moat side was completely alerted and made me swim for my age.......well, well, well, well.

Sudo lets out a carefree laugh when he says that.

It's certainly not impossible for someone who knows how to swim.
And while there was a certain amount of security, it's also true that the security was less than the front side.
The question is why did Sudo go to such lengths to sneak into the camp?

'What do you mean? Negotiation is....

But first, could you get rid of all this nonsense? After all, I'm a small-minded person and I can't talk calmly with the one you call the Princess General holding a sword to my head.

I'm not sure if you really think so or not, but Lupis doesn't understand the person in front of him or her.
It's not too much to ask, though, to keep a sword to the person who claims to be here to negotiate.
I'm not sure how many times the other party has snuck into the princess's tent in the middle of the night, no matter how suspicious he is.
Hesitantly, Lupis sheathes her sword.
I'm not going to be able to say that I'm not going to be able to do anything about it, but I'm not going to be able to say that I'm not going to be able to do anything about it.

''Fine ... now we can negotiate without worry.

'No need to say anything else. Just cut to the chase.

Princess Lupis's gaze pierced through to Sudo.
But Sudo's expression still remains aloof.

''As you may have guessed, I am a servant of His Excellency Duke Gerhardt. ........Well, it's not exactly the same, but please understand that.

Lupis decided to ignore the words that seemed to eat people.
The reason being that if I went along with Sudo's light-hearted talk, I wouldn't be able to get into the main topic no matter how much time passed.
I'm not sure if he sensed her intentions in Lupis's gaze, but Sudo tightened his expression.

''So.... ........To put it bluntly, Duke Gerhardt wishes to show his reverence to His Highness Princess Lupis.

Reverence? It's a mistake to surrender, isn't it?

Lupis rephrased Sudo's words.
She has no experience, but as a member of the royal family, she has a certain amount of education and knowledge.
If Sudo was ordered to do something by Duke Gerhardt in this situation, he thought it would have to be either a request for surrender or her assassination.

''No, His Excellency Duke Gerhardt has shown his reverence to Princess Lupis.

Lupis frowned at Sudo's words.

''You? Do you know what's going on? Why should I not accept Gerhardt's reverence now?

Surrender and reverence have very different outcomes.
In the case of surrender, Gerhardt is held responsible for the war and is usually beheaded.
His territory would be confiscated and his property would be uprooted.
In contrast, in the case of reverence, unlike in the case of surrender, they cannot kill Gerhardt.
Also, the territory can be reduced, but it cannot be completely destroyed, and it will be necessary to guarantee a certain amount of property.
It's not possible to make a very strong demand if you don't actually fight the surrender that comes as a result of a black-and-white decision in battle, but if you are reverent in leaving your resistance forces intact.
But if the forces are at parity, this is not a situation where Princess Lupis needs to pay attention to Gerhardt.
You'll be able to get a good deal more information on the subject.

Even without that, Gerhardt is a rebel who used Radine, a bastard child of unknown origin, as a shield against the will and installed her as queen.
From Lupis' point of view, Gerhard is the originator and mastermind of everything.
There was no way she could have saved his life.
Until she heard Sudo's words.

''Are you familiar with the knight named Mikhail Banasch?

Lupis's complexion changed.
The name of the person who had been mourning as dead until now came out here.
It's impossible to tell them not to be upset.

''Eh? What... what does that mean? .... no way!

The name of the dead man was uttered by the emissary of the enemy who had come to negotiate.
It brought up one possibility in Lupis' mind.

''No way........Mikhail.......''

At that moment, something was thrown into the tent as if to interrupt her words.

Swoosh!

chuff-chuff

Something slashed the sky again and stabbed into the chair Sudo was sitting on.

''Huh?''

Lupis was speechless.
The figure of Sudo, who should have been middle-aged and had a blunt-looking body, had disappeared from the chair and stood up.
Her eyes couldn't catch when Sudo got up from his chair.

Dangerous, isn't it? Isn't it awful that you would attack me without warning, no matter how suspicious I am?

Sudo pulled out the warring ring stuck into the chair and held it in his hand.



As if to answer Sudo's words, the Warring States Ring 《Chakram》 is thrown at Sudo again from the entrance of the tent.

''Oops, you're ignoring me........''

Sudo prevents the flying battle wheels by using a chair as a shield.
The tone of the man named Sudo remains light as ever.
I'm not going to be able to say that I'm not going to be able to do anything about it.

''Will you please show yourself enough? Wouldn't I feel like an idiot if I was talking to you alone?

With the voice, a hand-held warrior's wheel, the Chakram, is released from Sudo's hand towards the entrance of the tent.
However, Sudo has not the slightest idea that it will hit Ryojin.
He just provoked it.
Sudo's tone of voice is the same as always.
I'm sure you'll find that your eyes are on the entrance to the tent.

I didn't know that this was Ryojin's plan.

''Your Highness! This way!

Slashing through the tent, Mertina jumped out from behind Princess Lupis and ran inside.
Since it was a tent made of cloth, it could easily be sliced through with a sword.

''Mertina!''

'Your Highness! Now hurry up!

When I stepped out of the rift and out of the tent, I was surrounded by knights.

''I'm sorry, Your Highness! I'll be sure to make this blunder later!

'Yes,' exclaimed Mertina as she bowed to Princess Lupis.

''Mikoshiba-dono! His Highness is safe!

As if in response to his words, the knights around him stepped forward with torches in their hands.

'Do it!'

A torch is thrown towards the tent at the sound of Ryoushin's voice.

''Wait! You can't kill him! ...please Mertina! We need water! Turn it off!

Lupis strained his voice.
(Still no! (The way Sudo talks........maybe Mikhail.......)
Such thoughts occupy her mind.

But Lupis's cry is too late.
The torches thrown in all at once burn the tent mercilessly.
Moreover, in anticipation of Sudo jumping out of the way, the drawn-out knights are waiting for her mercilessly.

''Your Highness! What are you talking about? By him you mean the assassin?

I'm not sure what the situation is, even for Mertina.
I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on, but I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on.
It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're going to do with it.

I'm just saying. Help him!

But ... this is not going to work...

The tent made of cloth has been engulfed in fire.
If he's in there under these circumstances, he'll either run out of oxygen or be burned by the fire.
It's not possible for Sudo to survive either way.
However, a cheerful voice rang in Mertina's ears.

''Whoa! This guy,

'Spearmen! Forward!

Listen! Don't let him get away!

The voices of the knights come from the other side of the tent with Mertina and the others.

'Mertina!'

Ha!

You'll have to be very careful not to get caught in the middle of a situation, but Princess Lupis doesn't want to kill the assassin.
I'm sure that's why Mertina has decided to do what her lord wants her to do.


It's a terrible thing to do, isn't it? Aren't you being a little too merciless?

Sudo appeared in front of Ryoma.
His clothes were burned in places, but he had no noticeable external injuries and his voice was firm.

''You.........human.......?''

Even Ryojin would have to be surprised if he walked out of the entrance of the tent surrounded by fire with an imposing gait.

''Oh! Finally, you're opening your mouth! I'm so happy.

But Ryoma ignored Sudo and silently drew his sword.

''Oh........are you stonewalling again? There's no way I'm being completely brusque...

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Ignoring Sudo's words, Ryoma took a moment to close the gap between them and cleave his sword at once.

Jalin.

Red sparks flew between them with a dull metal scraping sound.
The dagger was in Sudo's hand before he knew it.

''Considering the difference in prey, shall we say that the decision will be made at a later date?''

Ryouma, who was trying to push it off with force in one fell swoop, said those words while fighting it with his dagger.
Are you serious or not?
It's not a matter of whether or not you can afford it.
It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you want to do.

Doga!

Ryoma's right foot stomped hard on the earth.
It was the result of Sudo pulling his foot back to avoid stomping on the back of his foot.
Sudo takes advantage of Ryoma's momentary lapse and leaves a wide berth.



Ryoma wordlessly raised his sword above his head and gathered strength in every muscle in his body.
The clear killing intent in his eyes is a dark light that intimidates Sudo.

''Upper level, a fire stance...........''

Words that resembled resignation escaped Sudo's mouth.
The raised sword, with all its forged strength and nearly twice the weight of an ordinary person, attacks Sudo.
There is no way for Sudo, who has only a dagger, to prevent that desperate strike.
Even if you prevent it from happening, you'll be pushed to the limit with force.
(Disgusting........I can't die here.......)
The word death appeared in Sudo's mind.

But his fate was not yet exhausted.

''Wait! Mikoshiba-dono!

Mertina waded through the knights and finally emerged in front of them.
She seemed to have run screaming, her chest rising and falling violently.

''What do you think you're doing? ...why stop?

Ryoma asked Mertina without undoing his stance.
His gaze remained on Sudo, and he was not caught off guard at all.

''I don't know! But your highness has given me an order!

'His Highness Lupis? ...Is it true?

Oh. Yeah. I was given a direct order.

Ryoma exhaled loudly and lowered the sword he was wielding.

''I understand. But there's nothing we can do without knowing the situation. I'm sorry, but you must bring your highness here.

I'll be right here.

Lupis wades through the knights to reveal himself.

''........Could you please explain?''

I'm not going to be able to get rid of it.
I'm not sure how many times I've been in the same situation.
It's not just a matter of time before Sudo won't turn on you.

''All right.......Sudo, I have a question for you as well! Would you mind if we could talk in a different location?

Yes, that's fine. I'd really like to continue our discussion.

Sudo nodded without hesitation at Princess Lupis' words.

''Then, Ryoma, please prepare a new tent for me. Mertina, go get Elena!

Okay.... but you should be very careful.

After saying that much, Ryoma obeyed Lupis's orders and left the place, though he was not at ease.

Sudo made a doubtful face when he heard Lupis' words.

''Your Highness? Why do you collect people? As for me, I would have liked to speak directly with Your Highness?

Looking at Lupis' response, it looks like there's plenty of room for negotiation.
Besides, the fact that he didn't have himself killed means he's interested in Mikhail's safety as well.
And yet, I'm gathering people together.
Why?
As Princess Lupis, this is a story that is caught up in personal feelings.
Sudo read that she shouldn't want people to know too much about it.

''When you decide on the importance of the country, even a king can't make decisions on his own. Or do you want to talk about it only alone with me?

Sudo understood that he had underestimated Princess Lupis.
...I wondered how much of a man he was when he said he killed Lord Jesus... (That's certainly a nasty one)

Sudo desperately suppressed the black killing intent that was rising in his heart.
Now is not the time to get involved with Mikoshiba Ryo truly.
Because Sudo has a mission that he was ordered to do.
(Even if he were to kill her in any case, it might not be a simple matter.......is it dangerous to force his hand......well, whatever. Let's just put the mission first for now.)

Sudo did some quick calculations and bowed to Lupis as a gesture of approval.