Volume 2 - CH 470

10-56. Participation Implies

Everyone blinked in response to my words.

It might have been abrupt, but this should be fine.

However, saying a thing without any context might have been a mistake.

I was smacked on the head by Houen.

“Go where again?!!”

“What are you saying, Ouren! Do you intend to go to your death? Did you even listen to what was just said!?”

“I did listen… I mean, isn’t the voice over there? I confirmed it using Haze Manipulation, so there’s no doubt about it. I want to go now because I’ve found a way to win.”

“A way to win!? What did you suddenly realize after all this time you’ve been asleep!”

“Oh, come on, don’t get mad…”

“That’s right, Houen-kun. Let’s calm down a bit.”

Bart held back Houen’s spear, which seemed like it was about to attack again. It was fortunate because he seemed like he would come at me again if left unchecked…

Well, Houen must have had a lot going on these past three days. He must have been trying to figure out a way to help the Garott Kingdom’s citizens, and he must have been considering future strategies as well. He probably had countermeasures against the voice with a low chance of winning.

He must have been anxious when he heard that the devil’s territory was collapsing. It’s not hard to understand how stress can lead to anger. Especially when I, who had been asleep all this time, claim to have a solution. Yeah, I can see why he would be angry…

“Mhhm mhhm. First, let’s listen to what he has to say.”

“But…”

“If you let your emotions get the better of you, you won’t come up with any good plans. Besides, we’re already at a dead end here. We’ve mobilized soldiers and adventurers to ensure the safety of the citizens, and just managing them is all we can handle. It’s a fact that we can’t even handle them.”

“Sigh… I’m sorry, Ouren. I got a bit too emotional.”

“No, I was reckless too, even though I understand the hardships you’ve been through. I’m sorry.”

After apologizing, Bart nodded in satisfaction. Those who were watching seemed quite uneasy, but it felt like the heavy atmosphere had lightened a bit.

Now then, Bart clapped his hands together and looked at me. With a face that seemed to be expecting something, and at the same time, a bit doubtful…

“Ouren-kun, what happened while you were asleep?”

“…I don’t know if you’ll believe me, but I met Hiwa.”

“Hiwa!!?”

Everyone except Asure and Bart exclaimed simultaneously. Alena and Reizen, who were close to me, tightened their grip on my arms and questioned me further.

“What, what’s going on!? I thought he had disappeared!”

“That’s right! How!?”

“Ouch… um, well… Hiwa used a skill called ‘Ouryuu’s Judgement’ to ensure that he could help only in case of an emergency. The conditions for his appearance are the manifestation of the Voice, and when I go to sleep. It seems there’s no problem even if it’s in the form of unconsciousness. In fact, I met him that way and had a conversation.”

It might be a hard story to believe suddenly, but this is the truth. Some accepted it because we met in a dream, but it seemed that Dacia and Mana weren’t completely convinced.

“Ouren, do you have any proof?”

“Is this enough?”

“!! That is!”

“Why is it here…!?”

I showed them the katana that Hiwa had, ‘Hinowazen’. It was the katana that disappeared along with Hiwa and was the first of its kind made in this world. Since it couldn’t be reproduced, this became the most convincing evidence of Hiwa’s encounter.

Although it was handed to me in a dream, I had no idea why it was in my possession. Probably, this is one of those things where I’d lose if I thought too much about it, so I decided to keep quiet.

I also showed them the Resentful Fan. However, it seemed this was something they had never seen before and couldn’t be used as evidence. What a shame…

“But I heard that Renma, Urushima, Amaka, and Awase’s souls are in here.”

“I can’t believe that part… but if it’s true that you met Hiwa, then it’s a plausible story…”

“Well, I’ll leave that part to you. So, I met Hiwa, had a conversation with him. It was only for a short while, but he helped me recover my magic power. That’s how I woke up.”

“…What are the conditions for magic power recovery?”

“It seems so. If Hiwa hadn’t restored my magic power, I would have remained asleep for another three months. So… I talked to him about a way to defeat the Voice. And he wished me luck.”

“That moal of a bastard…”

Dacia looked surprised, her face showing unexpected emotion. Her era must have been different, judging from her way of speaking, and her thoughts seemed different too.

…Hiwa erased their memories of the battles. After all, the Voice wasn’t known to others. Erasing memories of battles alone was enough.

But this time, he erased something different.

“Dacia.”

“…Alright. I’ll take you to the devil’s territory.”

“I appreciate that. And… I want everyone’s cooperation, is that okay?”

I looked at everyone in the room.

Reizen and Alena, who were still sticking together, nodded vigorously.

“Of course!!”

“Sniff… let’s do it!!”

“I appreciate it. Also, Reizen, you need to back off.”

“Ow!”

I pushed Reizen away. He’s strong, and it hurts.

Next to me, Houen let out a heavy sigh and tapped the ground with the tip of his spear.

“Let’s do this.”

I nodded as I met Houen’s eyes. That was all that was needed.

Dacia and Mana drew their weapons. They didn’t reply verbally, but their actions made it clear that they were ready to cooperate. Following them, Uchikage stepped forward.

“Can we seek revenge on our enemies?”

“We can.”

“That’s a relief.”

Lize, who had hesitantly approached, raised her hand slightly.

“Um, can I be of any help…?”

“The Voice on land seems to use a large number of monsters.”

“If it’s area attacks, leave it to me!”.

Lize suddenly became energetic, which was a bit amusing.

Next, Asure stepped forward.

“We may not be able to be of much help, but we’ll be waiting for your return.”

“Asure, let’s come up with a plan.”

“Right, let’s do that.”

“Ouren, what’s your ideal approach?”

“To draw out the Voice of Heaven and use Ouryuus Judgement right in front of it.”

“That’s quite a challenging request. But we’ll figure something out. Asure.”

“I understand without you saying it, Bart-sama.”

Asure immediately started to work and took out a map of the devil’s territory from his magic tools bag. He spread it out on the table. The map was incredibly detailed and easy to understand.

Dacia and Mana were wide-eyed as they looked at the map.

“How intricately detailed…”

“People need maps this neat, or they’d get lost. It might be different for you since you can fly. Now then! Let’s get a little serious!”

Bart placed the pieces he took out on the map with a snap.