Chapter 334
Core No . 666 . The Demon King Faction’s star child—the one who calls herself Aidi, Rokuko’s [Friend] .
Her red valkyrie dress went well with the castle-themed venue .
Rokuko, who should have been in a hostile faction—well, every faction was hostile to hers, but still—greeted Aidi with a smile .
There was none of the ominous traces or hidden intentions in her smile as those that could be found in Haku’s toward Core No . 6 .
“Did you just arrive, Rokuko?”
“Yeah, just now . Did you not?”
“I came with Jiji-sama . ”
Jiji-sama, that is, Core No . 6, the top person of the Demon King Faction . Or perhaps he was the top because of his number? Either way, Rokuko didn’t know .
“By the way, I heard we got some letter from Haku-sama, but did you have anything to do with it, Rokuko?”
“Huh? Mmm…”
Rokuko thought about how she should answer Aidi’s question .
She might have been talking about the letter for the Dungeon Battle . The thing Kehma asked Haku for .
… In that case, it was probably better for Rokuko to say she didn’t have anything to do with it . Having another duel or something would just make the whole issue get confusing . She felt they’d almost definitely lose if Aidi joined in .
“I don’t know what you’re talking about . ”
“Really? Then how about we have a duel?”
Huh? But I said I didn’t know? Did I make a mistake there somewhere?
Rokuko tilted her head to the side in puzzlement .
“… Why’d this turn into a fight?”
“? You’re being weird, friends exist to duel each other . ”
“Maybe in the Demon King Faction . It’s not like that for us . ”
“Really? Then about our duel—let’s have it . ”
“… I’m saying friends don’t duel each other though?”
Although she’d tried telling her that, Rokuko had been alone so long that she didn’t really understand what friends did do together .
I-I have Redra now!
She made an excuse to herself .
… Huh? But come to think of it, I did a Dungeon Battle against Redra too… And Redra’s always on about how she wants a rematch and that she’ll win next time… Huh .
The fact she’d only just now thought about that would remain a secret .
“Friends where I’m from duel each other and have one-on-ones to settle things, so refusing me here isn’t really a reason . ”
“But see? I agree with you . I’m just a pacifist . ”
“Right . Let’s fix that with a fight . If you win, you’re right . If I win, I’m right . Simple and clean . ”
That just makes us have a duel either way though?
Rokuko stared at Aidi reproachfully .
Still though, Aidi was smiling both boldly and in nonchalance . Rokuko could tell she was speaking from the heart there .
“I’ll have you know… this sword is just decorative!”
“Right, of course! I’ll prepare a sword for you to use then . ”
“… Not that, like, I’m saying I have no skill in using swords, okay?”
“Really? Then we really need to do this . You’ll only improve if you practice, after all . ”
So all roads lead to Duel Land, huh…
Rokuko scratched her head .
Orange, who’d been deepening his friendship with the tentacle-friend-thing returned—or rather, accidentally returned .
Seeing Orange return in high spirits, Rokuko instinctively deemed the situation to be dangerous .
“Oooh, Rokuko~ . I did it, I have a true friend! Thank you for having my back, Rokuko~!”
“No . 629, w-we’re in the middle of something right now . ”
Orange was flapping his hears in delight . Rokuko looked between him and Aidi in a panic . Aidi was part of the Demon King Faction and Orange would be having a Dungeon Battle with the Demon King Faction . Anything could end up happening if these two met .
“Oh…? No . 629 . You seem to know my Rokuko?”
“Oh? … . G-Geh!? C-Core No . 666!? I see, kyuu, kyuu’re scoping out the enemy!?”
“Scoping out the enemy, hmm? That’s good, too . Come to think of it, No . 629, you seem to have joined Haku-sama’s faction?”
“Wh-Where did you hear that!?”
“I saw the letter that was sent to Jiji-sama too . You’ll be having a Dungeon Battle against a Demon King Faction core . Against Core No . 564, even… to be honest, I can’t see you prevailing?”
“H-Hmph . I have a powerful assistant! I won’t lose! I’ll turn the tide!”
“Heeh, an assistant… someone in Haku-sama’s faction?”
Aidi glanced over to Rokuko and grinned . Rokuko’s own smile, in turn, cramped .
“I-I have nothing to do with it?”
“Eh! H-How could kyuu say that… aren’t we already friends, Rokuko?”
“Uuu!”
Rokuko was weak to the word [Friend] . Rokuko had been all alone until Kehma came, after all . As a result, Rokuko was unable to deny Orange’s declaration of friendship .
“… Y-Yeah . You and I are friends, No . 629 . We’re in the same faction!”
“Our faction has nothing to do with it! Even if something happens and I have to join another faction, I’ll be friends with kyuu forever!”
“Heeh . You sure say some funny things . Rokuko’s my rivalbest friend, you know? Do you have the qualification to be her friend?”
“Haah, Core No . 666 . Kyuu have it wrong . Friendship isn’t about qualifications, didn’t kyuu know that?”
Aidi was quarreling with Orange, who was standing on the opposite side of Rokuko as her .
Stop, No . 629, a difference in faction is a difference in culture . The Demon King Faction would definitely require friends to measure up somehow .
Rokuko felt her stomach start to turn .
So she was the type of person to feel stomach pain from disputes, huh…
“Hmph . I see how it is, No . 629 . Do you want me to duel you, then?”
“… No, I have a previous engagement, nkyuu . I have to focus on this Dungeon Battle first . ”
“Previous engagement… the one against Core No . 564, then? Oh well . I’ll just have to help you clean up your battle against Core No . 564 so that I can apply to duel you . ”
“Eh?”
“Huh?”
Rokuko and Orange both answered in bewilderment . What did Aidi just say?
“I said that I would apply to duel you once Core No . 564 was put in order . ”
“Not that, I mean just before that! Umm, you said you’d help?”
“Yeah . You’re going to wreck Core No . 564 right? I’ll help . ”
Looks like they didn’t mishear her . Aidi properly said she’d help .
“No no no no, what!? That’s the faction kyuu are in though!?”
“Oh, that’s easy… Jiji-sama said that he wouldn’t care if I crushed some fool that would do something as idiotic as picking a fight against someone of the wrong faction . So I can crush No . 564 whenever . ”
“Eeeh…”
What she said did make some sense . Even if the placement was a bit poor, someone unilaterally deciding to go fight someone of a non-hostile faction without getting permission from above… well, although that would be enough to justify punishment, it even caused the targeted core to join up with a hostile faction .
In other words, Core No . 564 had made a false report saying that he would be fighting against a core in Haku’s faction . Even if it wasn’t intentional .
“Just before this, it was decided that Core No . 564 would not be forgiven unless he managed to either destroy No . 629 or bring him under our control . He should be notified of that decision any moment now, I think . ”
“Nkyuu . ”
Orange let out a weak sound . In other words, his opponent would be taking this very seriously . In that case, the more hands he had around to help, the better . However, Orange didn’t have the authority to seek the help of someone from like a hostile faction such as Aidi .
“… I want to talk to Haku-sama about this, nkyuu . ”
“Right . But I think Jiji-sama will have already talked to her about it, so prepare for that . ”
“Nkyuu . Still though, Core No . 666, why are nkyuu helping me? Kyuu should have no reason to help me?”
“Oh, that’s even easier . ”
A smile slipping its way onto her face, Aidi spoke .
“This means I can legally kill Core No . 564 . A series 500 core . My blood’s boiling . ”
“… … . … . ”
Orange and Rokuko were both reminded right there and then that the Demon King Faction were warlike to a fault .
Say what you might about Aidi, she was someone that lived to fight the truly strong . A battle junkie .
“Besides, my rivalbest friend is your assistant, right? This means I’ll be able to fight with Rokuko . ”
Ah, she found out after all .
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