strictlysupreme Chapter 1020 The Last Routine 199
Chapter 1020 The Last Routine 199
Chapter 1020 The Last Routine 199
Sure enough, after Kobayashi confirmed, Claire explained, "After an unknown creature with a shimmering, jade-like light intruded, the next instant, Lady Alice turned into this..."
Whether she was nervous or excited, Claire was very happy about Alice's changes.
Aqua leaned closer to Alice, sniffed the air repeatedly, and nodded uncertainly, saying, "This fluctuation... um, it's very much like the guidance of the earth."
“Absolutely right!” Hearing her say that, Mikami Hibiki nodded seriously and said, “It’s that guy I sealed away! It suddenly interfered with my sword duel with Lady Alice and turned Lady Alice into this state! Damn it!”
He looked very unwilling, as if he was expressing that he had failed in his duty to protect the princess.
However, seeing his appearance, Aqua asked with some surprise and curiosity, "Um... who are you?"
"What kind of expression is that when we first meet, Aqua-sama!" Mikage Hibiki seemed to collapse, her eyes widening in disbelief as she hurriedly shouted, "It's me, Mikage!" But then, as if remembering something, she said, "Ah, could it be because the equipment is different!?"
He seemed somewhat resistant to the bright gold armor he was wearing, as if considering returning it to the noblewoman who had given it to him. Kobayashi, however, patted Mikami Hibiki on the shoulder, indicating that he didn't need to be so sad.
"Hasn't it always been like this... fake sword?"
"It's Mitsurugi!!" Mitsurugi Hibiki glared at Kobayashi with hostility. This was the second time he had introduced himself, and he was clearly doing it on purpose. However, he quickly felt ashamed and lowered his head, saying softly, "But, with me here, it's really embarrassing..."
He was the third-ranked adventurer in the kingdom, yet he failed to properly protect the princess when danger struck. This was an indefensible lapse in judgment, and it wouldn't be impossible for someone to use this incident to convict him.
But Alice clearly didn't think so. She didn't shift the blame onto others, but shook her head and smiled gently, saying, "That's not true. Everyone else is fine except for me, all thanks to Mr. Yujian's guidance in taking refuge. On behalf of myself, I would like to express my gratitude for your contribution!"
"How could that be? I didn't do anything praiseworthy!" Yu Jianxiangye showed no arrogance or complacency. Although his personality was a bit problematic, he was essentially a good person and wasn't saying this on purpose to claim credit for himself.
"Anyway," Claire had already approached Kobayashi, her expression serious and her tone somewhat accusatory, "that guidance from the earth must be related to you, right? Explain to me why it turned out this way."
"I want to know too!" Kobayashi also expressed his dissatisfaction with her question, loudly refuting while complaining resentfully, "I finally came up with a business idea to get that guy's help, but for some reason the seal suddenly disappeared... Damn it, and it caused such a big commotion, it's really annoying."
He clicked his tongue as he said this, and out of the corner of his eye, whether it was his imagination or not, Huihui's body suddenly twitched slightly, a subtle but strange movement.
"I say, did you not do a good job with the seal, Mitsurugi?" Kobayashi frowned slightly. "You didn't slack off on this kind of thing, did you, or did you agree to some unreasonable request from Aqua?"
"What do you take me for!" Mikami Hibiki retorted loudly, a smirk playing on her lips, and added, "The seal shouldn't disappear so easily. There must be a reason."
He had great faith in his sealing abilities. To be honest, Kobayashi only trusted Aqua's sealing abilities. He should have let her do it back then, instead of letting her refuse because she thought it was too much trouble.
Claire had already switched to interrogation mode, leaning close to Kobayashi and staring at him intently, saying, "Kobayashi... you untied it, didn't you!?"
Considering that the Earth's guidance was sealed in Axel, and that only Kobayashi and her group were in that town at the time, she had reason to be suspicious. But suspicion aside, how could Kobayashi, who wanted to use it to make money, so easily let it go?
"I told you I didn't know!" Kobayashi complained, adding, "If it were me, I wouldn't break the seal but would use it! You'll believe me, right?"
He'd already said all that, so it wouldn't be good if they still didn't understand. Therefore, Kobayashi looked at Aqua and the others, hoping they could cooperate as teammates.
However, Yūken Kyouya gave a somewhat disbelieving smirk and said, "Who knows? Sometimes I just find something troublesome and do it on a whim. It seems like there are times like that."
“Yeah, Kobayashi might do it.” Aqua nodded in agreement. “Maybe he did it just to satisfy his own perverse sense of humor, who knows?”
"I'm sorry, but I can't deny that this could happen..." Darkness was also a little embarrassed, but she still gave the same answer as Aqua and the others.
"Hey—!" Kobayashi felt the trust between his companions had completely vanished, and their friendship had capsized in an instant. He clenched his fists in frustration and said, "Damn it! If that's the case, I absolutely have to find the culprit who broke the seal!!"
Then, for some reason, Huihui suddenly became nervous. She quickly raised her right hand and shouted, "I...I object!!" Just like in Ace Attorney, she uttered that very famous line.
Kobayashi looked at her strangely, and the little red demon girl quickly said, "Now is not the time to find the culprit who broke the seal. Shouldn't we follow the guidance of the earth first?"
It must be said that what she said made a lot of sense; after all, if the guidance of the earth were misused, it would definitely cause even greater turmoil. However, Kobayashi looked at her even more strangely, his expression becoming even more peculiar.
"Huihui...?"
The suspicious look on her face made her extremely nervous.
At this moment, Alice nodded in agreement and said, "I think Ms. Megumin is right. I can feel how powerful this force is. The guidance of the earth has just escaped... If bad people get this power, a great tragedy will occur!"
“Indeed…!” Claire said nervously. They didn’t know where the Earth’s guidance had gone. It was fine if it was within the kingdom’s borders, but if it had run away, or even to the Demon King’s army, it would cause them a lot of trouble.
"That's right, that's right!" Hearing the two say this, Huihui chimed in, "Alice is right, we should go find the Earth's guidance first. If something bad happens by accident, the consequences would be unimaginable!!"
So suspicious.
Kobayashi squinted, remaining outwardly calm, but he began to think. It seemed that Huihui was hiding something... He didn't know if it was just his imagination, but he felt that it was related to the guidance of the earth.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Mikage Hibiki didn't stop professing his loyalty, saying, "Lady Alice! Let me, Mikage, be the princess's hands and feet. Please give me your orders."
"Master Mitsurugi...!" Alice looked at him with deep emotion. After all, it wasn't quite right to say it like that, but Mitsurugi Hibiki was so concerned about these things that it made people suspect that he had ulterior motives. This made Kobayashi extremely excited. He ran between the two of them to block their view and slapped away the hand that was holding Alice's hand.
"Aaaaah!! Fake swords! Haven't you had enough? Show a little respect to your brother who misses his sister!!"
"So everyone says it's sword riding! By the way, aren't you Alice's brother? Your delusions are really too ugly! Can't you have a little self-awareness?"
"None of your business! But you, with your cheerful demeanor, have seduced quite a few girls, haven't you? What, you want to get your hands on Alice too? As long as I'm around, you won't succeed!!"
The two immediately gripped each other's hands tightly and confronted each other, neither willing to give in.
"Hey, you two...!" Darkness shouted as he saw them arguing, "What are you doing? This is in front of Her Highness Alice, in the palace! Don't do anything reckless!!"
As she spoke, she rushed forward, forcefully intervening to try and separate the two. However, neither Kobayashi nor Mikami seemed willing to give in; neither of them backed down first, instead exerting even more force.
"Hehe." Alice laughed happily when she saw the two arguing. "I always feel more energetic when I see everyone. Okay, let's go if we're ready."
“That’s right, that’s right.” Claire nodded in agreement and said, “Besides, it’s not good to keep dressing like this. We need to find a way to change back… I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but the aura emanating from Lady Alice is getting brighter and brighter. I have a bad feeling about it.”
Like Aqua and Darkness, Alice was surrounded by what appeared to be special effects. However, Darkness and Aqua used their power back then, so the special effects seemed somewhat dim. Alice's special effects, on the other hand, became increasingly dazzling.
Hearing her say that, Darkness also felt a little uneasy, and nodded, saying, "It's faster to rely on the earth's guidance and ask it for the reason directly. Alright, go and gather eyewitness information."
"Let's restore Alice to normal and find out who broke the seal!" Aqua seemed to have remembered this as well, and then happily gave a thumbs up and said, "Ah, for the thank-you gift, a bottle of rum will do."
Upon hearing this, Megumin froze, both in expression and body, until Darkness and Aqua dragged her along, at which point she reluctantly followed.
Based on eyewitness accounts, Kobayashi and his group brought Alice to the forest near the Scarlet Devil's Village. To ensure they could successfully grasp the earth's guide, they readily sought help from the Scarlet Devil Clan. Upon hearing this, Yuu-hui and the others readily agreed. Yuu-hui, in particular, was currently struggling to find material for her novel.
"...I can feel it, the remnants of magic." You Gou stared at the Crimson Demon Forest in the dead of night and said, "This must be the prelude to the destruction of a world."
"Forget about chuunibyou (middle school syndrome)." Kobayashi was speechless at her sudden outburst, and said with a pout, "Hurry up and take us to the place indicated by the earth. We were seen around here, right?"
“I understand your anxiety, but we should still proceed with caution.” Youyou didn’t want to rush things. She explained, “Before coming out, I asked everyone in the Crimson Demon Village. In this area, some people have witnessed many strangely powerful monsters…”
"The guidance of the earth can also enhance the power of monsters."
"We must find it and punish it for causing Lady Alice such sorrow!!"
After Alice said that, Claire shouted her loyalty.
Alice, who was about to witness the dramatic change, said with some disappointment and regret, "He's already become so handsome, why go back to the way he was? What a waste..."
After all, the Earth's guidance precisely aligns with Megumin's standard Red Demon aesthetic, so it's natural that she would also find this outfit very attractive.
“That’s true.” Mikami Hibiki shook his head with some difficulty and said, “Lady Alice is, after all, a princess of a country. This outfit is probably inappropriate.”
This concerns the image of the kingdom and cannot be neglected in any way, not even if one likes it.
Looking at Alice, who had previously studied with the Red Demon Clan, Xiao Mi asked curiously, "Golden-haired sister, do you want to change back?"
"Yes," Alice nodded, saying with a hint of regret but firm determination, "It might cause trouble for everyone, so we need to change back."
"I see..." Xiaomi nodded, and as Alice affectionately patted her head, she suddenly said out of the blue, "I'm sorry, it's all my fault."
"What, it's Xiaomi's fault?" Aqua asked, puzzled.
Huihui shouted excitedly, a little nervously, "Xiaomi, we clearly said we had to keep it a secret!!"
"So you were hiding something after all!!" Kobayashi was a little angry, and at the same time, he grabbed the stiff-bodied Megumin to prevent her from escaping. "Come on, explain yourself properly!"
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
Before the earth's guidance was unsealed, Huihui took Xiao Mi to see it, and Xiao Mi said, "You, make your sister handsome too."
She knew very well that her older sister wanted to become handsome, so she thought she could help her.
"Even if you say that, I'm sealed away..." the Earth's Guide said listlessly, "Besides, even if you gave power to a ridiculous mage with a screw loose, it wouldn't necessarily make him handsome, you know?"
"What did you say, a comedic mage!?" Huihui said excitedly.
The earth's guidance said indifferently, "No matter what you become, especially you, you'll fall after one strike, it's meaningless. I don't want to give you power, go back."
"Hehe, hehehe...!" Huihui was furious, her eyes turning dangerous. "Well then, you'll have to experience this ridiculous magic for yourself!"
Then she used the Explosion spell.
(End of this chapter)