“Fuh~… Breakthrough!”
Silence him.
『Quite so. Even though he was once my subordinate, he was still unpleasant… and frolicked a little too much…』
Tre’ainar nodded at my words as he stood by me…
『Now, on to the counterattack. Tis time to silence him and put a twitch in that smile.』
Listening to all those reliable words, I catch my breath, and clench my fists to check the sensations in my body.
No problems. Shinobu’s treatment worked and I’m back in form.
In addition…
『Well then, child. To begin with…』
“Right, Shinobu, Kron, Princess, Rebal, and Fu. It’s a bit dangerous, so I need you all to go to the corner of the room. Take everyone who has collapsed with you.”
“””””Eh!?”””””
“I’ll take care of him myself.”
The first thing I had to do was to keep everyone away.
『I believed that maid, Machio, the ninja girl and Kron would be a hit, but the child would be distracted should the others be attacked… therein lies the problem. That being the case, it would be best if they were not there in the first place.』
That’s what he said.
Yes, that’s the reason I was poisoned in the first place.
I was distracted by the fact the bald guy, who was an enemy, turned out that way.
With the current group, even if I’m told, “don’t react no matter who gets hit on your side,” it’s impossible.
Then, according to Tre’ainar’s judgment, it was better to fight alone from the beginning.
Well, losing Shinobu’s Ninja Arts and Kron’s Daybreak Eye was unfortunate.
“Hold on, wait, Earth! What do you mean?!”
“Earth… we should work together here.”
“That’s right, Earth! We also…”
“Honey, we die together.”
“I’m with you… I said that, didn’t I?”
However, the princess and the others didn’t seem to back down at my words.
Well, that’s a natural reaction.
These guys would say “let’s fight together”.
『You must persuade them somehow. In this sort of situation… they will slow you down. Tell them so.』
Yeah. Can I say “you guys are in the way, so you should back down”… like that!
Shinobu, Kron, and… the past that I’ve already cut off… but, after all, they were childhood friends who used to be good friends in the past, and now, even if it’s awkward, I can’t say that so plainly to the guys who have chased me all the way here. I can’t be that coldhearted…
“…… And we… no…”
“Hmm?”
“Hey, Earth…it’s ‘something like that’… right?”
Fu, who was about to refuse to back down with everyone, seemed calm but with a somewhat sad expression…
“We are… holding you back…… rather, we’re a liability… it’s that sort of thing… isn’t it?”
“Fu…”
“We can’t help Earth… is that what you’re saying?”
I didn’t say it, but it seems that only Fu has guessed what I really meant.
“I thought we caught up today, but… you’ve already gone a lot farther than us… is it?”
Speaking of which, it’s been that way since I was a kid… this guy…… unlike the princess, me, and Rebal, he always took a step back, appeased everyone, read the air…
“Wh… what’s that? W, we…”
“We’re… holding him back…… is it?”
The princess and Rebal looked shocked by Fu’s words.
“Honey… kuh… urg…… is that so? Honey.”
“Well… is that what you mean? Earth.”
And Shinobu and Kron had regretful expressions.
“Princess, let’s go.”
“Wh, at… Fu…… why…… I…”
“You too, Rebal. Let’s keep the injured out of the way.”
“Wh, h, hey, Fu! What are you saying?! You can’t let Earth fight a Six Supremacy alone… we have to work together…”
“We’re weak. As we are now, we’ll only be a nuisance to Earth…”
“”Eh!?””
I don’t want to admit it. Such thoughts appeared on everyone’s faces, but Fu put his hand on the shoulders of the princess and Rebal and pulled them away.
Seeing this, with a complicated expression, Shinobu nodded with a sigh.
“If that’s… what it takes to beat this monster… I’ll quietly withdraw so as not to bother Honey.”
“Shinobu…”
“Honey. Someday I’ll be the woman who stands by your side. So for now… I’ll silently be watching your back.”
“…… Oh.”
On the other hand…
“Earth… I….. I’ve just been relying on you…”
While convinced by Fu and Shinobu, Kron had a somewhat apologetic expression.
Then… finally……
『No, there is no time for that, child. The enemy is not so good-natured, but a brute.』
「…… Hmm…」
『Well, if possible… without change, pretend to be unaware and go for the counter. In four seconds.』
I nodded to Tre’ainar in my mind and looked at Kron…
“Kron… then…… can you give me a shot?”
“Y, yes!”
When I suggested that she at least help me a little, Kron nodded happily and opened her magic eye—
“Hihaha. How long, will you goof ar――――”
“【Great Demon Sonic Corkscrew】!”
“Huh?!”
Just as Kron was about to strengthen me with her magic eye, Paripi thought he caught me off guard and attacked the front with a sharp claw like a fiend to take me by surprise.
But, having heard it from Tre’ainar beforehand, and without panicking, I unleashed the counter shockwave on the right from the front.
“Earth… ah…”
“Shinobu! Take Kron with you!”
“Okay, Honey! Good luck!”
“Fu! Rebal … Princess!”
“…… y, yes, Earth! Come on, Rebal! You too Princess!”
From here on, I will concentrate only on Paripi.
I’m not going to think about anything else but working with Tre’ainar to take this thing down.
So, stay back.
“Eh… forgive me…… I’m…… just weak… Earth.”
Fu pulled with a strong tone, and maybe Rebal finally understood, I heard a voice full of humiliation and frustration, but his presence was moving away from me.
“Uh … ugh … gu…”
And….. tears? Princess? Was it that frustrating? I haven’t seen tears from that princess since we were children… no, that doesn’t matter now.
“Come on, you Black Weirdo!”
『Now, relax those muscles that have stiffened after resting, and get into the zone!』
Right now, I’m just going to smash this guy.
“Hihaha it doesn’t matter if I’m a weirdo or a sage… but hey, don’t get all cocky thinking you can take me on alone!”
Now, it’s time for a repetition.
Same as when I fought Jamdi’el, two-on-one, with the help of Tre’ainar.
『Here he comes. But given his claws, avoid infighting ‘for now’. Concentrate on the outfight. That is where it begins. If he cannot catch you, loses his temper and attacks Kron, I am sure to notice that first. At that time, think of it as a chance and hit the Great Magic Spiral. In other words, you have nothing to worry about!』
“Osu! 【Earth Misdirection Shuffle】!”
The only difference was that this time the opponent had no hesitation in killing me.
But that makes me more nervous.
That tension invited me into a deeper sea of concentration.
『And here is the point. If he does nothing superfluous, but attempts to anticipate your movements and capture you on his own… change gears.』
Then, as I tried to focus with the small movements of my feet, Tre’ainar…
『To finally end him, you must have an infight at some point. However, as you lack poison resistance, a scratch of his claws will be fatal. To avoid that, there is something that must be done first. That is――――』
“Huh?”
I felt a little conflicted inside, but… but…… he came up with a plan that seemed to appeal to me somehow, or one that was going to bring me to tears.