Chapter 533 – Siblings and the Family

000

Rattle! At the same time as the sound was heard, Cleon’s body collapsed backwards with a strong impact.

“Kuh…!”

A voice full of pain that jumped out as he hit his head on the ground, but more important than himself is the state of Caliburn and Galatea, who tried to fuse once again.

Somehow, when I got up as quickly as possible and looked around, there were two people who had returned to human form before they knew it, lying face-to-face on the bed.

“Galatea, Caliburn!”

As she approached them, calling them by name, Galatea struggled to lift her arms and stir them.

“Oh, it’s okay… Wake up…”

“I’m just incredibly weak…”

The two of them answered in that way, as if it was difficult to move their bodies or speak.

“Anyway, the fading of consciousness due to fusion can be prevented, but it seems that the magic consumption and physical exhaustion that returns when fusion is canceled are unavoidable…”

“It’s okay, I won’t do that in the future.”

Cleon tells Caliburn’s weary voice not to worry, but Galatea grabs Cleon’s arm with her raised arm.

“No. This is a new possibility that Cleon and we have discovered. …If an enemy appears that we cannot do anything with, just the two of us. At that time, do not hesitate and use this power.”

Hearing Galatea’s voice her asking Cleon to do so with her meager physical strength her, Cleon looked at her.

“That’s if it’s to protect Cleon’s body his.”

At the same time, she grinned as if nothing was wrong, and Cleon had no choice but to nod her head while showing her bitter smile Her as well.

Just then, there was a knock on the door from outside.

“Cleon-san…? Are you okay? I heard a terrible noise just now…”

Hearing Sasha’s worried voice, Cleon moved away from the bed, approached the door, and opened it.

Then, there, her visit her will be her Sasha her looking up at her and-

“Hurray.”

He saw Sophia, who was looking at him with her hands raised and smiling.

“…Sophia?”

“I came here while you were doing this and that. Maybe the timing was bad?”

Cleon glanced towards the bed at Sophia’s words her.

Galatea and Caliburn were already lying quietly as if they had fallen asleep.

“No. It’s just over. Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“Really. To keep Lady waiting, you’re done being a bad boy, Cleon.”

“You’re the one who came without contact…”

Cleon complained so much about her Sophia’s jokes about her, and he followed her out of her room.

And the place to go is, of course, the living room where people can gather and talk.

When Amelia, who was already there looking through her encyclopedia her, meets her eyes her, Amelia looks into her own encyclopedia with her face blushing.

“…?”

Cleon felt something ominous about Amelia’s attitude to her, then turned to Sophia.

“Did you say something to Amelia?”

“Huh? Ah. How is it?”

Sofia shrugs her shoulders with a whistling expression.

When Cleon, convinced that he absolutely said something useless, turns to Sasha-

“Ah, that’s… The story of how Sophia-san took away Mr. Cleon’s first experience… A little…”

Sasha, like Amelia, blushes and puts her index fingers together with a slightly apologetic expression.

After hearing her answer her, Cleon, of course, looked back at Sofia slowly, with tendons sprouting from his forehead her.

“…Sophia.”

Cleon slowly looks back at Sofia while making an expression like a messenger from hell.

Seeing Cleon like that, Sofia isn’t embarrassed at all. Rather, she smiles as if she’s having fun, and she stretches out her hand toward Cleon and pulls him toward her chest her.

“Don’t be so upset~ I’m just talking about what everyone has to go through someday anyway.”

“There’s such a thing as the right time…”

Cleon, too, seems to be treated as a child by Sophia’s behavior her, so when she blushes and sheds her horsetail, Sophia replies with a small smile.

“Huh, at the right time.”

Then, after letting Cleon go, he shrugged her shoulders and talked to her again.

“Cleon has grown up too. He can speak like that.”

“It seems like you’re always free.”

When Cleon spat out a reply as he rubbed the spot where Sophia was held, Sophia shut her mouth for a moment, then she replied with a grin and grin.

“That’s right. I’m the continent’s only great sage. No matter what I do. No one can say anything.”

“…Ha ha. Yes, yes.”

Amelia, who was looking at the two people talking like a bad friend-or, really, like her brother and sister with an expression of wonder as well, she couldn’t hold back and opened her mouth.

“You two… Are really close…?”

To Amelia’s question, Sophia looked back at her Amelia and answered with a look that seemed like she was asking something obvious.

“Hmm? That’s right. We were a ‘family’. The 4 heroes of the kingdom, Cleon, and- the cute dragon lady. A family of 6.”

“…It’s amazing. Something. I can’t imagine the appearance of Cleon living with them…”

“At that time, Cleon… There was this and that. This and that.”

Sophia answers Amelia’s question like that, but Cleon clears her throat and blushes a little.

“Th-the story about that time is okay now. More than that, Sophia. Tell me why you came here so suddenly without contacting me.”

“Ah. I did.”

As Sofia said, she took something of her own her from her bosom her and placed it on her desk her.

It was a crystal-shaped crystal that shone brilliantly in a small glass bottle.

What is surprising is that despite the fact that it is shining so brightly, there are several layers of sealing techniques applied.

“…This.”

As soon as Cleon saw it, he felt something stir in his heart her.

“Isn’t this the perfect decision…!”

And when Ruben, who raised his voice, occupied Sasha’s body her and jumped out her, raising his alarmed voice her, Cleon could n’t help but look surprised when he heard the story.

“The Perfection Crystal, Eustes should have handed it over to Ishtar… In exchange for curing the poison in my body.”

“Ah. Is that so? Somehow, I heard that you feel a little bit of your presence in this decision.”

While saying that, Sophia muttered, “Phew, I’m back at the right time…”, At a volume that others couldn’t hear.

“…No way, did you steal it from Ishtar? Sophia?”

“Huh? Ahh. That’s right. A few days ago. There was a guy who tried to jump with something like this, so I caught him.”

Hearing those words, Cleon let out a sigh of relief as if he was really lucky.

If Ishtal succeeds in descending Demiurge with the Crystal of Perfection, the continent will fall into great chaos again.

I didn’t see any sign of that yet, so I thought he was being cautious.

I never thought Sofia had a decision.

“But, why are you here? You can return this to the original owner – Eustes.”

“There’s no such thing as chasing the original owner, but it’s dangerous to bring it to the royal capital now. Adam is aiming for it.”

Cleon listened to her, and she acknowledged that her judgment was correct and nodded her head.

“…Definitely. Even with such a strict barrier, you can still feel the reverberation of magical power. …If Eustes gets it again, those who aim for it will constantly target it.”

“Well. That’s it. That’s why, as much as possible, keep it away from the kingdom… And leave it to someone you can trust.”

“No. But, if it’s something like that, Sophia, even if you have it…”

Cleon said that, but Sophia shook her head as she let out a sigh.

“I want to do that too, but I live in the rift of another dimension. If the Crystal of Perfection is corrupted by the mana of the rift, you don’t know what kind of disaster it will cause.”

“That too… Is that so… “

As if he had lost his way of responding to Sophia’s words, Cleon let go of her words her once more.

Because even Cleon himself knew what the rift in another dimension was like.

The many monsters I saw there and popped out.

She shook her head as if she didn’t want to imagine.

“So. I’ll leave this to Cleon. Friends with the original owner? Same thing?”

“That’s right. They are companions who fought together with the demons of the capital.”

As Cleon said, he looked at the crystal she placed on her desk her.

Eustes was told that he had passed this crystal from his body to heal himself, and that since it was gone, he would no longer be able to return to his original gender.

However, if the decision is reversed in this way, she may be able to use him to return Eusthes back to her original body.

“…Okay. We’ll keep this.”

“Good. If you refuse, I was going to destroy it.”

Sophia shrugged her shoulders and continued.

“To tell the truth, that object shouldn’t exist in this world. As you know, the moment the ‘crystal of perfection’ and the ‘fruit of life’ come together, something that overturns the laws of this world will happen.”

What revived in Cleon’s mind were the visions he had seen in the ruined kingdom of the desert.

“Well. So, take care of me. The only thing I can trust with this is Cleon.”

“…Ah. I’ll try.”

To repay Sophia’s trust, Cleon nodded her head.

Then, Cleon looked at Sofia for a bit before carefully opening her mouth.

“Sophia. I want to ask you something.”

“Oh. Cleon asked me a question. What is it? If there’s anything I can answer, I’ll answer anything. Because I’m a great sage. There’s very little I don’t know?”

Sophia talks to Cleon with burning enthusiasm.

Seeing Sophia like that, Cleon asks her a question, thinking she might have the answer.

“──What happened to Esca-san?”

“…”

At Cleon’s question, Sophia, who had been laughing, shut her mouth for a moment.

“Eska … Is not the Esca we used to be like her family her.”

Somewhere, her sad face Her answer like that.

“…Lesia’s expulsion left a deep scar on all of us. All of us were left out. Talcheck didn’t stop pursuing even if my body was destroyed. As a great sage, I obtained knowledge close to taboo. Lutios, whose wings were broken after signing an unequal contract…And Cleon, who was still young.”

As Sofia spoke, she continued her words cautiously, as if recalling her distant past her.

“And – Esca, who valued our relationship more than anyone else. No, it was already close to an obsession. As for Esca, she was more eager to get her family back than anyone else. She was almost maniacal.”

“Esca-san, that much…?”

The Esca that Cleon knew was a kind person who was gentle and showed no major emotional fluctuations than anyone else.

The fact that she was frantically trying to get Lecia back was something Cleon couldn’t imagine.

“But… Why does that lead to the attack on Amelia?”

“I told you. She has a maniacal obsession with getting her ‘family’ back. Cleon. You are one of them. She will not tolerate being taken away by someone else.”

Cleon had no choice but to open his eyes wide at Sophia’s answer her.

“So… You must have been planning to eliminate all the people next to you. Targeting Amelia was just the beginning. There was a golden stage and opportunity called the victory march.”

“Then… Amelia was attacked because of me…”

Cleon couldn’t close his gaping mouth at that fact and slowly turned to Amelia.

Amelia, too, had a surprised look on her face her, but as soon as she saw Cleon’s guilty face her, she got up.

“K-Cleon! No…! It wasn’t Cleon’s fault that I was being targeted…!”

“Yes. It’s not Cleon’s fault. It’s like an accident that happened because of Esca’s runaway. …If we find the cause, it’s Talcheck and I who didn’t respond properly until Esca did.”

As if to comfort Cleon, Sophia spoke.

Cleon looks at Sophia and Amelia without saying anything.

“Esca, you wouldn’t have expected that your actions would create a situation where Cleon’s life could be taken. Right now, the Kingdom’s Great War is closed, and contact with the outside world is extremely limited.”

“Then… What about the healing of the kingdom’s citizens’ injuries, and the believers’ worship…? The Order of the Protection of the Saints is an indispensable existence for the kingdom’s people’s lives.”

At Amelia’s question, Sophia looked at her with her wry smile.

“…Even though that happened, you still worry about the people. You.”

“…”

Cleon also looked at Amelia, but Amelia did not respond to Sophia’s words of her, so she just waited for her answer of her.

“Of course there are complaints. Thanks to that, the kingdom’s councilors and pagan healers are prospering like never before. Probably, to the extent that there will be no more in the future. Even so, it will be difficult to completely replace the role of the church.”

“Then…”

“However—even the Great War has been closed down and something is being prepared. … That’s for sure.”

“Something?”

Cleon asked Sophia if she felt uneasy about her words her.

“I, as a great sage, do not know that much. There is a wall built in the kingdom’s Great Hall and its basement, so that my eyes cannot reach it.

After Sophia said that, she carefully continued her words with her hand on her chin.

“There are ruins in the basement of the Great Temple. It’s not just a ruin, it’s a place like a laboratory of something. Considering that the Popes of the Church have been experimenting on something there for generations… Esca, too, is highly likely to have inherited it. .”

“There are ruins like that in the basement of the great temple.”

What Cleon thought of at the mention of the kingdom’s laboratory was something related to the dark giant.

They are homunculus.

They are also beings hiding in the kingdom.

If researchers from the Empire were to study and resurrect them in the Kingdom, they would have needed a place inconspicuous.

‘…No way. No-but…’

Escatology who defeated the empire, did that?

The series of unimaginable facts made Cleon feel as if something was being pushed out of him, and he covered his mouth hers.

“… As for Esca, be as careful as possible with her. And—if necessary. Point her sword at her. ‘

“…”

After Sophia said that, she got up from her seat her.

“Okay. I’ve told you everything I need to tell you, so I’ll go now. Cleon. Take care of yourself.”

“… Ah.”

As Cleon said, he answered Sophia as if somehow squeezing her voice her.

After staring at Cleon for a while, Sophia stretched out her arm and pulled the idle Cleon to her chest her.

Then, while stroking Cleon’s back and her head, he spoke quietly.

“…Sorry Cleon. If only we could treat each other a little more… Like a real family. We could keep the roads from falling apart.”

“…”

To Sofia’s apology, Cleon held her hand her.

Young Cleon could not stop them from drifting apart.

Resentment at the helpless self and the irrational reality that made Esca that way.

It seemed like those things were piled up in the bowl of emotions and overflowed.

“To protect what needs to be protected. Cleon…The current family. Don’t become like us.”

After Sophia said that, she kissed Cleon on the forehead.

“Can you do well?”

“…I don’t know. …I’m not a great sage, a swordsman, a saint of miracles… I’m not a ‘hero’.”

Cleon said so, but Sophia smiled and replied.

“It’s okay with that. Cleon. Since it’s not us, Cleon can do what we couldn’t do. I’ll look forward to it, my kind little brother.”

Sophia winked at her as she said that, then shook her hand and disappeared from the spot.

Knowing that her body was made of her magical power her, Cleon was n’t too surprised, but her consolation her seemed to ease the heaviness in her heart her to some extent.

After Sofia disappeared, there was a bit of silence in her place.

Sasha, after rolling her eyes for a while in order to somehow manage the heavy atmosphere-

Soon, as if I remembered-

“Well, come to think of it… Go, I know who Gonzalez’s father is!”

That’s what he said, a little haphazardly.

As Amelia sees Sasha like that, changing the topic is important, but the timing is a bit…! Although she makes the same expression.

Cleon sighed and looked at Sasha, then showed her kind face her.

“…Gonzalez’s father? Isn’t that the griffon?”

“Yes! Griffins don’t have the ability to transform into humans. My mother is the griffon that fought with us, but I think my father is a different beast. Sophia-sama told me that.”

Saying that, Sasha nodded her head.

“Really? So, who is the witch?”

When Cleon asks a question expectantly, Sasha shuts her mouth for a moment as if raising her anticipation of her, then she speaks.

“It’s a slime! I think it’s a ‘Magic King Slime’, a mutant species that can use magic, to be exact!”