Chapter 23: Guardian of the Blue Holy Tree 2
"By the way, you're Pierre, right?"
Lend me your strength— Christo replied as he looked at the hand that was held out to him. "You may be trying to hide your true identity with that strange armor, but you can't deceive my eyes".
"Pierre? Who?"
Gilsanas furrowed his brows.
Tanis looked at Christo's face.
"Are you acquainted with the White Knight?"
"Perhaps. Is that so, Pierre?"
Christo said so quietly.
The White Knight―― Pierre did not answer immediately but kept his red eyes fixed on Christo from behind his helmet.
“.............Whoever I am, that has nothing to do with the situation at hand.”
"No, it has a lot to do with it. It's a matter of trust."
Christo interrupted with a loud voice and continued.
“After this, you and I are going to have a business discussion. You will tell me exactly what the situation is and specify the job you want me to do. I will compare that job with the compensation you are offering, and I will decide how far I am willing to go with this offer, or whether I am willing to turn it down and sit on the sidelines."
Christo continues.
“Even if you offer me 30,000 gold coins as a reward, it won't mean anything unless you are capable of paying 30,000 gold coins. You may have been able to negotiate with these elves with your face hidden, but that won't work with me. If you want to use me, I need to trust you to tell me everything."
"――――. I understand."
After a moment of hesitation, the White Knight nodded.
He slowly took off his strange white helmet.
From underneath came the face of Piercarlo D'Alessio, a silver-haired young man with white hair.
"White Knight, you look like that?"
"You've got a hell of a pretty face. It's just like some kind of bonbon. Is that why you're that strong..."
(TN: ボンボン [bonbon] - It means a posh man who can’t do anything by himself or doesn’t know how the world works.)
Gilsanas and the others observed him.
Apparently, even though they heard Pierre's name and saw his real face, they did not seem to come across the name Piercarlo D'Alessio, the chairman of the newspaper firm and the legitimate son of Count D'Alessio on the southern frontier.
Even Melvina, who seemed to know a lot about history and the nobles of various places, did not know who Piercarlo D'Alessio was just because Christo said Pierre. She identified him by saying the name Piercarlo D'Alessio.
The elves, who seem to have only the newspaper as their source of information, would not be able to find out.
“Pierre-sama, is it okay to reveal your background?”
The brown-skinned man, the young man, the dog-eared young man, and the reporters, all of whom had disappeared earlier, appeared without a sound from the tree behind the white young man.
Pierre shakes his beautiful white and gold arm armor.
"I don't mind. To use this man, I also have to speak frankly to some extent."
Pierre motioned to the young man, "Map".
The young man takes out a thick piece of paper from his pocket.
"We don't have much time. I will explain the plan. Compare it with the reward and decide whether you want to go along or not. The only thing that matters to you is whether you are safe and how much profit you can make, right?"
"No, I have no small sympathy for your noble ideals――"
"That's fine. Listening to me, you looked like you didn't think about the demons at all."
Christo shrugged at Pierre's point.
As Pierre said, Christo intends to build a country and enjoy life in Christo's way, so he honestly didn't care about the goals and ideals of those present here.
However, since the demon race is one of the few of his own people, he was willing to help them as long as he doesn't lose any money.
"Here is a three-dimensional view of the mountain of the holy tree."
Pierre opens a folded heavy paper.
Inside the paper was an elaborately crafted paperwork, and as soon as the paper was opened, a model of the mountain of the holy tree popped out vertically. He had seen something like this in a children's book in the church, but this one had a model reinforced in places with metal, and a sectional view could be seen by removing a part of the model.
Perhaps a famous dwarven craftsman was paid a lot of money to make this model.
“There are four main paths leading to the summit of the holy tree mountain. The first is an outside trail that leads up to the middle of the mountain, where the archbishop, the hero, and others enter and exit, and from the middle of the mountain up a spiral staircase built into the mountain to the summit. It is the widest path, and no matter which other route you take, you will always end up on these spiral stairs."
"The enemy's main garrison is also deployed along this route."
The brown-skinned man added.
"On this route, [Demon Burial] and two other guardian knights will be deployed. According to the communication, [Demon Burial] and the others will soon leave the royal capital."
Pierre opens his mouth again.
“Two of the four roads are old tunnels. This tunnel is one of the two. The tunnel was used before the collapse of the spiral staircase on the mountain of the sacred tree. It is dangerous if you are not careful about your footing. Especially where it joins the spiral staircase, it is quite high. If we use it on the way back, the problem is how to get up those steps."
Pierre pulls Gilsanas and Tanis in front of the map.
As they were looking at it from some distance away.
"The old tunnel here leads to the upper level of the spiral staircase. The way to get there is this way, so there is no doubt about it. But there are some collapsed sections inside. If you hit a collapsed section, you have to clear the debris."
"Rubble. That's troublesome. What about the other tunnel?"
Gilsanas asks.
“The other tunnel leads to the lower level of the spiral staircase. ――Look at the three-dimensional map. The mountain of the holy tree has a vaulted structure starting in the middle of the mountain, with the trunk of the sacred tree growing straight up...... The one that leads to the lower level is structurally separated from the spiral staircase and connects to the upper level by a different route. It's a road that has become a distorted structure due to phased development. It is now used as a bypass road."
"That's the most haphazard route......"
Gilsanas said so and frowned.
Pierre nods.
"Yeah. If you run into the enemy, you have to fight them, being careful not to fall into the stairwell. If you fall, it's unlikely that you will be saved, even if you're an elf."
“But the enemy will use this route as well. The route here will be used by the hero Setanta, his bride Patricia, and Kat. The guardian knights [Sei-shoku] and [God's Eye] seem to be using this route.
The brown-skinned man explains.
The dog-eared young man who was listening next to him with his arms crossed opened his mouth.
"Oops. They're distributing their forces. It might be better to defeat them before they join upstairs, nihihi."
"Hero Setanta and his two brides will be there, you know?"
Gilsanas' eyes widened. "It would be suicidal to fight such a monster in such a small place. These guys are coming up another route, aren't they? We'd better steal the holy sword and get out of here before they meet up at the top."
"The last route is the escape route. It's a route, or rather an air route. It takes the form of a high-speed glide south from the mountain of the holy tree to the border with the D'lessio Frontier Count's territory. Once we cross the border, my people will let us escape to the [Night Empire]."
(I see)
Christo nodded his head.
Here's a quick summary:
Route 1:
The main route. Spiral staircase. Very wide. It has a stairwell. Many knights of the kingdom and church, including Yufimia, are deployed there.
Route 2:
The route using the old tunnel. Enter through the closed tunnel. It may be blocked by debris. In the end, you will exit at the upper level of the main route.
Route 3:
The route using the old tunnel. The entrance is on the opposite side of the mountain. First, you will reach the lower level of the spiral staircase. There is a structural disconnection from the spiral staircase, and you have to go up another narrow staircase. Setanta's party (excluding Gwendolyn), the guardian knight [God's Eye] who was saying "myo, myo", and [Sei-shoku] will use that route. It's a small, elite detachment. If you want to destroy them individually, it is better to push them down the stairs.
Route 4:
Air route. From the top of the mountain of the holy tree, glide at high speed. Before being sniped by [God's Bow] or some other projectiles, you can get through the southern part and reach the border of D'lessio Frontier country. Basically, this route is for escape.
That's all.
"We will take route 2―― through this old tunnel and go out to the upper level. We will go to the top of the mountain before Yufimia comes up from below. If we didn't make it in time, I will hold off the enemy knights, including Yufimia. While I'm pushing them back on the spiral staircase, steal the holy sword."
Pierre says so.
He will hold them off by himself.
Christo had thought that this man would only use the elves, but it seems that he also intends to put his body on the line.
"You're not planning to escape on your own, are you?"
As Christo said this, the young man let out a tremendous snapping sound from his temple.
"Of course not! Who do you think you are!"
"Are you Pierre?"
"That's right! No, I'm not!"
“Luciano, it's fine. Get back."
"……Yes."
"Then? We're going to stop the hero from passing through Route 3, but what are you going to do? Christopher Soderholm?"
The dog-beastkin young man asks.
"I don't know, but it seems like I have no role to play."
"There is. Do you want to kill Yufimia with me, or do you want to go with Luciano and the others to fight the hero in the bypass route, or follow Gilsanas and the others and help them steal the holy sword?"
"I see."
“The reward is a magic book and a catalyst for [Dragon magic] and a studio for alchemy and other uses. ――The place is located in the west district of the city. Behind the large bathhouse in the entertainment district. The contract is here."
"I'm troubled. If I was contracted for illegal activities, the High Court would not recognize my rights, would it? I would like to have a smelting workshop, but I don't want to pay a lot of taxes. The contract alone doesn't tell me what the building actually looks like, and we can't even go there to inspect it. If it was a workshop outside the walls of the royal capital, I would give it positive consideration. Nine out of a hundred. It will fail."
“Are you really the son of the Demon King of Chaos!? You're nothing but a complaining, selfish bastard!"
“Luciano, shut up. ――So you're going to settle everything with money from the beginning? It's not easy to get a smelting workshop there. Whichever conclusion you come to, make it quick. We're running out of time."
"Money. Let's call it money for now."
"Then choose which job you want. If you kill Yufimia with me, you get 30,000 gold coins. If you want to stall the hero, you get 8,000 gold coins. If you want to protect Gilsanas, you get 3,000 gold coins. What do you think?"
"Hmm……"
"If you don't like it, say no. In that case, I'll do it all myself."
"Wait. Let me think about it."
When Christo said that, he quickly thought while looking at the three-dimensional map of Holy Tree Mountain.
"Is Patricia there?"
"……? Yeah."
"Kat is there too."
"Yeah, she will be there too."
"And there's the [God's Eye]. The one who's been looking at me, saying [myo, myo]."
"You want to go to the bypass route?"
"I'm going to the bypass route."
Christo nodded.
He has business with two of the people coming to the bypass route.
Three, if you include Setanta.
One of them is a piece that he had wanted for a long time.
It's not something he can buy with money.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance catch.
(Honestly, I don't want to go with these guys. Route 3 is a good bet.)
If the job is done and it doesn't look good, he can retreat quickly.
The conditions are favorable to Christo.
"I'll help you guys. ――However, no money as a reward."
"What? Then what do you want?"
"Let's discuss that later."
"You're going to be working for free, you know?"
"Are you going to make me work for free? Then I won't help you guys. On the contrary, I'm going to kill Gilsanas and the others here."
"Why is it so!?"
It's because it's a hindrance―― He swallowed the words.
Pierre shook his head.
"On my pride, I will repay you for your work."
"Well then, we have a deal. I'll go to the bypass route by myself. Your subordinates will work with you to repel Yufimia and the others. I don't need them."
"You want to go up against the hero by yourself? That's suicide."
Christo shrugs his shoulders at Gilsanas, who widened his eyes.
"I was moved by Pierre's ideals and his willingness to not abandon his friends. If I fight Setanta, I'm sure I'll be killed. I am prepared to die. I am so noble that I cannot stop shaking. But I will fight as hard as I can for the sake of the demon race."
"If you were killed in an instant, it would be troublesome for us, you know?"
The dog-eared man gave him a quizzical look.
Christo replied.
“Didn't you see the duel between me and Setanta? I can fight pretty well. Even if I die, I'll put up a good fight and keep him at bay."
"Leave it to him."
Pierre says so briefly.
The white young man turned to Gilsanas and the others.
"The sword should be wrapped tightly in the cloth I had prepared for you. When you see the sword, your nose may bleed a little and your head may get dizzy, but that is due to the purifying effect of the sword. It will not kill you, so don't worry about it and wrap it in the cloth. When you have finished wrapping it, hand it to my subordinate waiting outside. I trust you. This is a job only you can do! Please!"
He speaks passionately.
Receiving Pierre's trust, the elves nodded with serious faces.
"Then, let's get started. Everyone, let's go!"
The people there nodded.
Christo tapped Pierre on the shoulder.
"This is an amulet. Take it."
"What is it? ...A horsehair brush?"
"Yeah. In my hometown, horsehair is said to ward off misfortune."
It's the amulet he got from Gwendolyn before.
He felt good about it when he got it, but recently he realized he didn't need it and was thinking of giving it to someone else.
(It's the amulet that Gwendolyn gave me. I would be cursed if I kept it.)
"Right. I'll take it gratefully."
"It's an item that contains my wish. I'm sure it will bring you blessings."
"Haha, a devil's blessing. Interesting."
Christo patted Pierre on the shoulder again, smiled, and pulled away from him.
Then, while Pierre was appraising the horsehair brush quizzically, he spoke to Gilsanas and Tanis.
"Oi."
"What?" "……?"
"Three holy swords are being kept there."
Christo smiled with his dark eyes.
He whispered low in their ears.
"Don't make the mistake of stealing the other sword."
Tftc.
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