Ch.135135. Alicia’s Bizarre Adventure (1)

However, despite Alicia’s anxiety, the Royal Guard was summoned, and the Queen informed the cabinet and the Lord Protector that she would personally lead an expedition to subjugate monsters.

The cabinet expressed doubts about the Queen being an Awakened, and surprisingly, the Lord Protector approved of the Queen’s expedition.

“That’s clearly hoping the expedition fails so I die along with the Royal Guard who follows me!”

[That’s right.]

“I hate this! I want to go back to yesterday! I want to go home! I don’t think I can be responsible for the lives of the Royal Guard!”

She was openly hoping for the expedition to fail so she could die there.

The Lord Protector’s expression upon seeing the Queen preparing for the expedition was one of mockery, openly ridiculing Alicia’s childish behavior with a “How dare you?” look. Alicia could tell that the Lord Protector wanted her dead.

So when the expedition first began, Alicia’s expression was the very picture of misery, looking as if she might die at any moment. However…

“Haha! Monsters are just germs to be disinfected! Hunting trash monsters that don’t run away! Incinerating all those pathetic monsters that try to flee!”

Once the actual battle began, she focused on monster hunting more than anyone else and was clearly enjoying it.

It was only natural to enjoy the sight of those terrifying monsters with frightening appearances exploding with a “pop” when Alicia pointed her finger at them.

In this apocalypse, when anyone who awakened properly was confined and subjected to humiliation and persecution by the Lord Protector, it wasn’t strange that her pent-up emotions would explode like this.

“T-to think Her Majesty was this powerful…!”

“God must be watching over her.”

To the Royal Guard, it was nothing short of a miracle.

The Queen was incredibly strong—too strong, even.

The Royal Guard currently protecting Alicia had also awakened as Awakened to match this apocalypse, gaining levels by participating in battle. They could be considered elite among elites, matching the global average. Yet the fighting prowess Alicia displayed left even the Royal Guard in awe.

After all, the moment the Queen pointed her finger at a monster, light burst from her finger joints, causing the monster to shatter into pieces.

“Overwhelming.”

It would be strange not to feel reverence at such an overwhelming sight.

“Yuna Death Beeeeeam! Ah, since I was told to use my name—Alicia Death Beeeeeam!”

Of course, Alicia was simply firing Yuna Death Beam, the secret magic she had learned from Yuna, without much thought.

Without aiming or holding back, she was simply hunting monsters and gaining levels by using all her power with the holy magic that had now become the Alicia Death Beam.

In this apocalypse, level numbers could translate directly into political power, so Alicia’s top priority in this expedition was to raise her level as much as possible.

No matter how much of a puppet the Queen had been treated as, with a high enough level, she could command respect from anyone.

“Hahaha! These monsters are like garbage! So this is the power of an Awakened! This feeling! I’ve never felt anything like this before! It’s so much fun!”

But for Alicia, more than leveling up, she enjoyed watching monsters fly away like trash when hit by her magic.

Yes, she was in a very good mood.

Unlike the days when she lived in fear of being killed by the Lord Protector, cowering like a weakling, she was now overjoyed that she could fight for herself.

She couldn’t help but smile, even laughing with excitement at her powerful abilities.

“But it’s scary.”

“Frightening indeed.”

The Royal Guard protecting the Queen found the scene somewhat terrifying.

It wasn’t that the sight of her wearing splendid armor, pointing her finger, and firing beams to hunt monsters wasn’t noble and impressive—it was.

And if she had maintained a silent, dignified demeanor, it would have continued to be an impressive sight. But the Queen couldn’t maintain a serious expression for even ten seconds, laughing like a child and clearly enjoying the monster hunt.

It was her childlike innocence that seemed to instill fear in the Royal Guard.

“But in this apocalypse, wouldn’t a lord with strong powers be more trustworthy?”

“The Lord Protector is like that. Others betrayed the Queen because they were captivated by the Lord Protector’s strength.”

This meant that while some might feel fear seeing the Queen like this, others might develop goodwill, trust, or even pledge loyalty to Alicia personally.

If the Queen was this strong, she would be worthy of loyalty in this apocalypse.

In fact, hadn’t the Lord Protector also seized control of the Royal Guard by proving his strength in this apocalypse? Despite the failed coup, he brazenly wielded authority because of his strength alone.

Since strength itself represented political power in this apocalypse, more and more people were beginning to trust the Queen because of her strength.

“A sadistic young Queen… Wait, that’s actually good!”

And for guards with certain preferences, they could only shed tears on the spot and marvel at what they considered a true Queen.

“Looks like we’ve caught one idiot.”

“Oh no!”

Such an idiot was reported by his colleagues and received disgusted looks, but what could be done?

Personal preferences were personal preferences, and they could only move on thinking it was just a joke to lighten the mood.

Surely it couldn’t have been serious? Right?

“With this power, I could stand against the Lord Protector! Wow! Was monster hunting always this easy?”

“That’s because Your Majesty is strong. Ordinary monsters are no longer a match for you, Your Majesty.”

Alicia thought that with her current strength, it might truly be possible to stand against the Lord Protector.

She knew well that the British community and parliament were always lamenting and sighing over monster countermeasures.

Yet she could hunt and dispose of monsters so easily.

She was able to demonstrate strength that impressed the Royal Guard and establish her authority.

“Hehe. I want to show this sight to the Lord Protector and the cabinet. They’d surely make faces like they’ve eaten dung!”

Alicia wanted to show this scene to the Lord Protector and witness his frustration firsthand.

Of course, she had no intention of directly mentioning that the Queen could fight, as she didn’t know what the Lord Protector might do once he learned of her strength.

Rather, regarding this matter, more than Alicia…

[Actually, when I first proposed this, his expression was like ‘you’ve fallen right into my trap.’]

Bahamut was going to be the main character.

Bahamut mentioned the Lord Protector who attended the expedition council meeting, saying that the Lord Protector wanted this expedition to fail more than anyone else.

“His face said ‘Someone like you can’t possibly do this!’ That bastard Lord Protector! If he thought I was still the powerless Alicia from before, he’s greatly mistaken!”

“Well, before the contract, Your Majesty couldn’t be a threat to the Lord Protector.”

“That fact hurts too much! I’m against violence!”

Indeed, before contracting with Bahamut, this expedition would have certainly failed for Alicia.

It was her own failure, so how could Alicia succeed?

Even if the Queen awakened through this expedition, the expedition would surely fail, and the royal family’s prestige would fall further—there must have been such political calculations.

Until now, Alicia had maintained her position as Queen thanks to the prestige of the previous Queen and sympathy for the royal family’s tragic end.

But if the royal family embarked on an expedition and failed miserably, London citizens’ expectations and sympathy for the royal family could all be discarded—such calculations were entirely plausible.

[By the way. I heard about it, but I didn’t expect so many loyal Royal Guards to remain.]

“Are you surprised?”

[In this apocalypse, the logic of power strongly dominates. I thought they would follow the powerful Lord Protector rather than a powerless Queen.]

And if there was a pleasant miscalculation, it was that there were more Royal Guards following Alicia than expected.

He had heard that three regiments had pledged loyalty to Alicia, but seeing it in person was a different feeling altogether.

The Royal Guards who responded to the summons were escorting and following the Queen without any complaints despite the arduous expedition.

“That’s all thanks to the previous Queen. The loyalty directed toward the previous Queen is now directed toward the current Queen.”

[Indeed. The legacy of the previous Queen.]

“I’m truly grateful to my great-grandmother. But despite all her hardships, she couldn’t rest in peace.”

It could essentially be seen as a legacy left by the previous Queen.

As the head of state, she couldn’t leave nothing to Alicia, so the previous Queen passed down loyal Royal Guards as her legacy.

Considering the necessity of military power in this apocalypse, she had unintentionally bequeathed an appropriate legacy to Alicia.

“By the way, what kind of monster couldn’t the Lord Protector subjugate?”

“It’s a massive monster. Estimated to be well over 43.7 yards.”

“That’s… the size of a decent apartment building? It’s enormous!”

But the small talk was brief.

When Alicia asked about the monster the Lord Protector couldn’t defeat, the maid replied that it was a massive monster well over 40 meters tall.

“Yes. Due to its enormous size, it was quickly discovered, and when the Lord Protector tried to subjugate it…”

“He failed and fled shamefully, right? Good. I’ll subjugate it myself!”

Before setting out on the expedition, Alicia had despaired, thinking she couldn’t defeat it, but having gained confidence from engaging monsters, she boldly declared that she would subjugate the monster herself.

Yes, now she could defeat the monster the Lord Protector couldn’t and gain recognition from many people.

Alicia vowed to make even the detestable Lord Protector acknowledge her, and the Queen’s party began heading toward the location of the giant monster.

“Your Majesty. I can feel the ground trembling. We will soon arrive at the area where the giant is located.”

“Good. Then I’ll! I’ll… I’ll…?”

Upon arriving at the monster’s location, sounds like an earthquake began to be heard, suggesting the monster was moving.

Alicia thought, “Finally, it’s appeared!” and looked up to where the monster might be, but her expression quickly turned pale.

“Impossible. Impossible. Impossible. Impossible. IMPOSSIBLE!? That thing is bigger and more disgusting than I imagined! Someone like me will be caught in those giant claws and eaten!”

“And that’s the being Your Majesty must subjugate.”

“Why are you so calm, Mary!? There’s a giant bug right in front of us! Isn’t it disgusting?”

“It’s magnificent. The rhinoceros beetle.”

“Huh?”

It was enormous and massive.

The monster, running across the ground with numerous legs, had a huge, majestic horn and sharp forelegs.

The monster, resembling what’s commonly called a rhinoceros beetle, seemed to have no natural predators due to its massive body and sharp horn.

“You have quite unique tastes! More importantly, aren’t you scared? It’s so huge!”

“Well, I believe in Your Majesty. And the Royal Guard here is also expecting great things.”

“E-expecting?”

Alicia quickly became frightened by the unexpectedly large bug and its imposing presence, but the maid and Royal Guard were looking at Alicia with expressions full of expectation.

After all, they hadn’t come all this way on expedition simply following the Queen’s orders without hearing anything.

The maid had given them information to reassure them, allowing them to come this far believing in the Queen.

“I told them in advance. That Your Majesty… had contracted with a great being.”

“Huh? What? What?”

Yes, the maid had informed the Royal Guard that the Queen had contracted with the Dragon God.

Alicia looked at the expectant maid and Royal Guard with a bewildered expression, but they simply smiled slightly and addressed the Queen.

“Now, show us here. Prove that the royal family still has the Mandate of Heaven in this land.”

They were confidently asking her to demonstrate clear evidence that Alicia was not yet finished.

“Ugh… I have no choice but to do it!”

Alicia couldn’t refuse their gazes and reluctantly prepared to demonstrate the summoning magic she had learned from Bahamut.

‘Calm down. Just calm down. I prepared for this before coming here. I even practiced.’

She had already practiced before coming here.

If she proceeded as practiced, she thought there would be no problem, but at that moment…

‘Wait? So, what was the incantation again? Um, uh, uh, uh?’

She forgot the summoning incantation because she was too nervous.

How to summon, what incantation to recite—her mind went blank and she forgot everything.

There was only one thing she could do:

‘Oh whatever! Let me just make up something cool!’

She had to maintain a high degree of flexibility and respond with improvisation!

After all, since it was magic activated using magical power, Alicia’s will was more important than the incantation.

“According to the sacred contract. Follow me. Ancient dragon! Come forth. Great being who will vanquish the giant god, destroy great evil, and create an epic saga! Appear here and eliminate my enemies!”

So to form a clear image, Alicia loudly shouted an incantation that came to mind… or rather, what was essentially ad-libbed nonsense.

‘How embarrassing! I just blurted out whatever came to mind. Will this really work!?’

Of course, all that embarrassment was Alicia’s burden, and if the summoning failed, she would feel like dying.

But she must have been lucky, because Alicia successfully formed a massive magic circle in the sky with a feeling of exhaustion. Soon after, the magic circle shattered like glass, and from within, the Dragon God Bahamut appeared and began falling toward the ground.

Just before colliding with the ground, he changed direction, made a sudden stop, and landed with a tremendous noise…

‘H-how cool! This child has good sense!’

‘I want to go home. I hate bugs. If this is a dream, I want to wake up.’

Bahamut was greatly satisfied and pleased with the incantation Alicia had recited.

In truth, only Alicia was embarrassed about blurting out whatever nonsense came to mind—the content itself was substantial, cool, and praised Bahamut himself!

Delighted to have contracted with a compatible contractor for the first time, Bahamut descended to this land in the form of a Dragon God through Alicia’s summoning magic.