“Will you save them? Or will you continue this fight?”

Of course, Kuzon knew the answer he would receive wasn’t as clear-cut as his question posed.

He also knew just how cruel the Midas Empire was. Even though it was taking her a long time to decide, Gloria’s eventual decision would be to do everything in her power to capture him.

‘However… that brief moment of hesitation is all I was after from the very start. It’s checkmate, Gloria. I win!’

The moment Gloria got distracted by the choices presented to her, torn between her responsibility to the Empire and attachment to her siblings, the ripe opportunity emerged

And that was…

“W-what is… this?!”

… A bomb!

“I’ll use… urgh… the last bit of my power for this. Guh… take thiiiiissssss!!!” Kuzon coughed, hoping his performance was convincing enough.

Falling from the sky, and heading straight towards Gloria, was a massive golden ball of light.

It was also approaching at a terrifying speed that seemed impossible to completely dodge when one measured it’s range of impact.

“Bastard! You think I’ll let you kill yourself?!” Gloria dashed towards him.

“Hehe. It’s much better than being captured by the Midas Empire. It’s regrettable that this is as far as we go, but…” Kuzon grinned, almost sadly.

He held Maya very tightly at this point, and his face showed how prepared he was to face death.

It left Maya clearly confused and panicky. His acting was enough to make her doubt the words and instructions he had given her through Telepathic Magic.

“Eeeeehhhhhh!!!” Her scream was accompanied by the loud eruption of the bomb.

And then…

>BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!<

*

*

*

The brilliance of the explosion finally died down, leaving Gloria dazed as she rubbed her eyes.

A downcast expression formed on her face as she rose to her feet and clenched her fist.

‘So… it was a flash bomb, after all.’

She felt like crushing someone’s skull just based on the rage she was feeling.

‘They managed to escape, didn’t they? To think that man made this elaborate scheme to plot their escape.’ Gloria was both impressed and disgusted.

‘Should I chase after them? They should still be weakened, so maybe I have a chance…’

The loud coughs and painful groans of her siblings made it very difficult for her to think straight, though.

‘Well… it’s not guaranteed that I can catch them. From experience, these kind of people are extremely difficult to capture, especially when they’re on the run.’

And so, rather than risking it all by giving chase, it was better to go for the one with the guaranteed result.

Saving her siblings.

‘If I end up giving chase, and these two die… if I end up failing to capture him, it will.be double jeopardy.’

Playing it safe, this was the most reasonable choice.

“Geri, Jeri… let’s get you both treated.” She smiled at the weakened Royals.

“Y-yes…” They answered tiredly.

“Thank you big sister.”

It seems their teleportation badges had been destroyed thanks to their earlier fight with the imposter.

That meant she had to use hers for them. But, this meant she had to return to the Teleportation Chamber.

By the time the whole process was complete, it would be too late even if she returned immediately after.

The trail would have gone cold by then.

‘Oh well. It can’t be helped…’

Even as she approached her siblings a d prepared to teleport back to their base, Gloria couldn’t help thinking about the irregulars—specifically the Midas Imposter.

Her face turned red in fury and she clenched her fist in obvious rage.

‘I swear, I’ll kill him with my own hands!’

*

*

*

“Whew! That was a close one, wouldn’t you agree?” Kuzon smiled, seated beside Maya on a mountain.

There were a bunch of mountains that peaked a short distance from the forest. From their current position, they could faintly see the scene where they fought, and could clearly see the rest of the massive forest.

“Could you have defeated that Midas Royal, though?” Maya asked.

“Is that even a question? Of course, I can. At this rate, I’m beginning to think even the First Prince isn’t that big a deal.”

“I wouldn’t advise you to underestimate him, though. I heard that one time, he and the rest of his siblings trained. Only he stood against all of them and defeated them. He’s that strong.”

“Oh? Where did you get that information from?”

“W-well… the people in my village. I suppose.”

“Have you ever been to the Midas Empire?”

“Uh, no.”

“Seen the Royals train?”

“N-no, but…”

“So, a bunch of guys in the slums told you the story and you just took it at face value? Don’t you know the meaning of exaggeration?”

At this point, Maya was red in the face. Her puffed up cheeks showed she was pouting.

“I was just trying to help, you know? You should be careful about those people!”

“I hear you. Haha, it’s just that… I have no reason to doubt my strength or overestimate my opponents.” Kuzon grinned.

“So far, it seems they’re all too weak.”

Anyone hearing this would think he was being conceited. However, since he had pretty much gotten the memories of Midas Royals, he could say as much with confidence.

‘Maya is right, though. That First Prince did defeat all the Royals. It seems he has some sort of hidden power. I shouldn’t be too careless…’

He needed more information, but not necessarily related to the Midas.

‘I’m still at square one when it comes to the mysterious man. Plus, my pawns are currently asleep in the infirmary, so I can’t use them currently.’

It was better to leave then that way, so as not to garner suspicion.

‘I used my Marionette Worms to secrete energy that interfered with their Mana flow, causing some Mana Shock, intense fever, coughing among other things.’

It mimicked poison perfectly.

Fortunately, he could hide his Worms, so they wouldn’t be detected through Magic; at least, not the kind that he knew the Midas Empire used.

‘Once they’re up and well, I’ll use them properly. For now, though… there’s one thing on my mind.’

He stared into the forest, finding himself deep in thought and slight confusion. His eyes were capturing the image of a particular person amid the trees.

‘Who the hell is that?’

*

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[A/N]

Here’s the link.