Ch.761This Is Just a Temporary Alliance.

[[ Krrrrrrrr…. ]]

Having consumed a lot of power, we faced a Nidhogg that had grown even stronger than before. If we weren’t careful, we might all become worm food together.

And… since things had reached this point because of the elves and dragonborn, it was only right and proper for me, an innocent victim, to blame them.

“If you hadn’t been so happily devoured, Nidhogg wouldn’t have grown so big. Right?”

“Grrrgh…!”

Beherikes had no rebuttal and only groaned something like a beast’s cry instead of answering.

He was talking just fine earlier, but now that all the troops he brought had been completely wiped out, he seemed to have lost the nerve to open his mouth.

“Well, as subordinates of a male prostitute, I guess offering your bodies is all you’re good at. I was too harsh. Your subordinates were just following what they learned from their superior.”

“Grrraaagh…!”

Beherikes staggered, clutching the back of his neck. His one remaining eye trembled, and drool even dripped from his crushed mouth.

Has he forgotten how to speak? That’s nice.

Looking at Beherikes, who had started making strange groans instead of using intelligent language, I felt a comfortable sense of security and inexplicable satisfaction.

It felt like the world’s order had finally been restored.

Don’t you think it’s strange when a creature with a lizard head, tail, and wings starts speaking human language?

Lizards should just make lizard sounds like “krrrk” instead of talking.

Ah, Kalix is an exception. It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen him, so I’m not entirely sure, but that dragonborn was friendly to the Empire.

It’s “common sense” that allies can communicate with each other, right?

“…Shall we stop there? It’s not very aesthetic.”

Unable to watch any longer, Makaoros shook his head and interrupted the conversation between Beherikes and me.

“What?”

“Ah, how painful it is to witness a conversation between those lacking the virtue of elegance. It’s so unbearably vulgar that I simply cannot bear to look at such an unsightly spectacle.”

It wasn’t so much defending Beherikes as it was sarcasm suggesting he was annoyed watching both of us and wanted us to stop.

“What’s the pink-scaled bastard saying? What could be more painful to look at than your scales?”

Of course, to me, a pink-scaled lizard talking about elegance just seemed like he was putting on airs.

“What…! To fail to appreciate the aesthetics contained in these scales—you’re as barbaric as you look!”

“I don’t care about that kind of aesthetics.”

A pink mister and a male prostitute duo. I can’t help but think they’re really birds of a feather.

—-

“…So, what are we going to do now? At this rate, we’re all going to be annihilated.”

Tersillius, who seemed to have regained his composure, addressed me in a reluctant tone as I was growling and having a staring contest with the two dragonborn.

“Well…”

I let my words trail off.

Certainly, if we continued fighting among ourselves, all three races would amicably become worm food.

Initially, Nidhogg had persistently targeted only me, but now its eyes had completely rolled back, and it was glaring at both elves and dragonborn, burning with obvious murderous intent.

That made sense—I had only beaten Nidhogg with words, but the others had torn and smashed its carapace to pieces.

Since I’d been fighting using Nidhogg’s carapace as a foothold when I became too burdened to fly with karma, the attacks from elves and dragonborn aimed at me had only struck Nidhogg’s back, breaking its carapace and burning its flesh and nerves.

Naturally, Nidhogg seemed to have interpreted this as a concentrated attack on itself.

A human who spewed parental insults versus other races who poked its back with hot irons. Which would Nidhogg resent more?

The latter, of course. If filial piety were stronger than the ferocity ignited by pain, would it really be a monster? Even spiritual beasts wouldn’t be like that.

That’s why everyone was glaring at each other in a battle of nerves but, unlike before, couldn’t swing their weapons.

Though no one could bring themselves to say it out loud, everyone was probably thinking the same thing.

The only way to survive here was to form a temporary united front to defeat Nidhogg.

The problem was that none of us could readily speak those words.

To be honest, even I couldn’t feel at ease thinking about forming a united front with these bastards.

It was obvious they would strike me from behind in the middle of battle and try to survive on their own.

I’d rather trust and drink the beverage Isabella gave me than fight alongside these bastards.

Well, still…

…I guess there’s no choice. I should at least try talking.

“Haah… there’s no helping it.”

With a sigh, I scratched the back of my head and turned toward Tersillius.

As he said, we couldn’t just keep glaring at each other.

“Neither you nor we have confidence in defeating that thing in our current state, right? Then… isn’t there only one option left?”

“…Are you suggesting a temporary alliance until we defeat Nidhogg?”

“Yeah. That’s what I mean. You understand well, Headless-ius.”

I nodded in agreement with his words.

Our group, the crippled male prostitute, the pink masochistic lizard, Headless-ius, and No-Mother-nesia.

If this much power joined forces, it would be possible to defeat Nidhogg.

What if I get stabbed in the back? Well, that’s…

…What if we stab them in the back first?

—-

“What about you? Are you willing to cooperate? I’m talking to you, one-arm. What was your name… No-Mother-nesia?”

-Crack!

Eirnesia nodded with a ghostly distorted face, grinding her molars.

At fifteen hundred years old, I thought her dentures would have dissolved by now, but thanks to the World Tree’s blessing, her teeth seemed healthy.

“Good. That settles it for you elves… What about our chicken-flavored lizard lords?”

After getting the elves’ agreement, I turned to the dragonborn to ask their intentions.

Well, the answer was obvious anyway.

In a situation where we’d all die if we didn’t cooperate, they surely wouldn’t refuse.

“An alliance with elves…? An excessively naive and overly avant-garde idea.”

…What is this bastard saying?

This pink-scaled bastard was clearly speaking the same Imperial language, but I couldn’t understand what he was babbling about. His affected voice and twisted pronunciation made me doubt whether I was hearing normal words correctly.

“I, Beherikes, have to cooperate… with the likes of you…?”

Beherikes looked full of discontent.

Though we’d met less than two hours ago, he already seemed to hate me intensely.

Judging by his gaze full of anger and hatred based on prejudice, he was probably born—no, hatched—a racist.

I should be grateful I was born in this world. If I’d been born in America, I would have been shot and thrown in a trash can before reaching adulthood.

“What can we do? That’s our only option. Put aside your pride and prejudice and think carefully. If you want to avenge your subordinates who became worm food, isn’t that the only way?”

I tried to persuade him with a light shrug of my shoulders.

“Grrrgh…! How dare you… say such things so calmly…! My subordinates, because of you…!”

Because of me? What nonsense.

That’s because of you.

“Blaming others for your own incompetence is childish. Oh, are you perhaps not old enough to have gone through your coming-of-age ceremony? With that rotten face, I thought you were at least fifty.”

“Kyaaaak!”

Beherikes spread his one remaining wing wide and let out a shrill cry.

It was a roar mixed with bright droplets of blood, as if the frustration in his chest had burst.

And then.

“Seriously, are we going to cooperate or fight again? If you want to fight together, why don’t you shut that rag of a mouth?!”

Apparently dissatisfied with my tone, Eirnesia shouted in an irritable voice.

“Why, does it remind you of your mother?”

“You bitch, really-!”

Ha, what a hothead. Why is an old lady over fifteen hundred years so quick-tempered?

Old maid hysteria?

Or is it her “day of rage” that comes monthly?

Yeah, come to think of it, her legs are covered in blood. It must be her day of rage.

I shook my head and sighed lightly as if I couldn’t deal with her, then looked at her again and answered.

“You ask if I want to fight together? You still don’t get it. Of course—”

The reason why I had deliberately provoked them and focused their attention on me.

“I don’t.”

With a smile that pulled the corners of my mouth up to my ears, I showed them what they had overlooked while being distracted by me.

Pointing with my extended index finger at the golden wave charging toward the hill.

“Astraea Templar Knights! Draw your swords! Protect Lady Astika—!”

A familiar voice I hadn’t heard in months. The faces of the elves and dragonborn who understood the meaning of that voice turned pale instantly.

Yes, now they remembered.

Those who had headed to the Sky Mountains to subjugate Nidhogg…

Were not only elves, dragonborn, and Imperials.

“For the glory of Astraea!”

“Follow Lord Ceylon-!”

The Holy Knights were coming.

With thousands of battle cries, streaming rays of golden holy light.