STGB Episode 408

Dilemma (5)

The Dragon Slayer, Regal Vagos.

Only a few people know about my bad blood with him.

Aside from the team members from that time, just a few high-ranking members in the Leatlas Church and the leaders of the Dragon tribe know.

Of course, Erwin knows nothing about it.

All she’s aware of is that a mage named Dwalkie met an unfortunate end in the labyrinth.

“Do they have some kind of bad history?”

Hmm, if so, that’s a bit strange.

When I shared her the hidden mission to help Ravien take down the Dragonslayer, her reaction didn’t seem quite—

‘…On second thought, she did look uncomfortable back then too.’

Come to think of it, she genuinely looked unsettled.

When Amelia asked her if she was sick, she stiffened up and said it was nothing and walked away.

Well, I didn’t think deeply at the time…

‘I should check on this.’

I can’t just stand by and watch a comrade’s mental state crumble.

So, after asking Jun’s permission, I immediately left and calmed Erwin down.

And I listened to her story.

“I-I’m sorry. I suddenly… did that…”

“I’m not here to get an apology. I’m worried about what made you react that way. What’s going on between you and that bastard, the Dragon Slayer?”

“Well…”

Erwin hesitated for a long time before she began to speak.

“It happened when I was ten years old.”

“When you were ten…?”

That’s about thirteen years ago.

In other words, it would have been around a year after the war between the Barbarians and the Fairies ended.

As soon as I heard that, something came to mind.

The terrorist attack that occurred at the Fairy sanctuary.

The culprit was Dragon Slayer Regal Vagos, and I heard that over a thousand fairies died then.

And if my guess is correct…

“…Yes, my parents died then. In front of me… while protecting my sister, me, and my younger sibling…”

“…I see.”

Erwin lost her parents that day.

Her uncle took in the three sisters as his adopted children and embraced them with love, but even so, the void couldn’t be filled.

Despite that, Erwin endured it.

Thanks to her eldest sister, Daria, who tried to fill that void as best she could.

But…

[That young lady has one of the heaviest fates I’ve seen, next to yours.]

Reality was cruel and took Daria as well.

Though it wasn’t the Dragon Slayer this time, the perpetrator was a member of Orcules, the Ruin Scholar.

“Damn it.”

“I-I’m sorry. The moment I heard his voice, I panicked. I know he’s an enemy, and… if I want to protect what’s precious to me, I should be the one to fight him… But I’m scared that they’ll take it all away again…”

It’s no wonder Erwin fell into panic.

“Haha, I’m pathetic, aren’t I? I’m stronger now… I’ve vowed countless times that if we met, I’d get my revenge. And yet, look at me…”

That’s just how trauma is.

It doesn’t follow logic but rather emotion. More accurately, it’s the memories that come rushing back, bringing with them an overwhelming fear.

“You, pathetic? No way. If anyone here is pathetic, it’s me.”

“W-What? No! You’re not pathetic! How could you say that? You’re an amazing person!”

Well… perspectives differ from person to person.

I thought I knew Erwin pretty well after all the time we’d spent together, but I didn’t know any of this.

Actually, it was more like I hadn’t even tried to know.

[“Actually, I know… that I have a problem…”]

When I first found out about Erwin’s anxiety symptoms.

If I hadn’t simply dismissed it as a stat-related issue, things might have been different.

[“It must have been hard, right? I know what it feels like to lose something.”]

When I returned to the city after losing Dwalki.

If I’d thought more deeply about the meaning behind her words of comfort, I might have realized what the real problem was earlier.

But…

“Mister…”

But sulking like this isn’t really my style.

If there’s a problem, then it’s just a matter of getting rid of it.

“Erwin.”

When I called her name, Erwin looked up at me with moist eyes and held my hand.

As if waiting for me to say something.

Yes, you were hoping I’d say this.

“Don’t worry too much. Whether it’s the Ruin Scholar, the Corpse Collector, or that damn lizard bastard.”

“………?”

I quietly muttered as if making a vow.

“Someday, I’ll kill them all.”

“………Eh?”

…Huh?

That wasn’t the reaction I expected.

“What, do you not believe me?”

When I glared at her, Erwin flinched.

“N-no! I-I believe you!”

It was a somewhat weak response, but I wasn’t too concerned.

“…”

“…”

Erwin’s eyes, which had been filled with anxiety, had now calmed down.

It seemed she had finally settled.

***

After sending the now-calm Erwin back to the team.

I took a moment to organize my thoughts.

‘…It’s really strange.’

Dragon Slayer Regal Vagos.

In our team, there are as many as four people who have bad blood with this bastard.

Not to mention Ravien, who is of the Dragon Tribe, and me, and as I just confirmed, Erwin has a grudge with him too.

And…

‘Amelia also has a similar situation.’

Of course, Amelia is a bit different from the three of us.

In her case, it’s closer to a one-sided grudge on the Dragon Slayer’s end.

Apparently, she once found the dragonslayer bastard after he fell through a dimensional portal, took his equipment, and fed him a memory-erasing drug.

[If he’s regained his memory, he’d be burning with desire to kill me by now.]

At that time, I was a bit surprised by the timing.

Because that was when the first vine was cut.

‘Thinking back, Amelia started helping me from that point on, didn’t she?’

It’s an incredibly strange connection.

I smirked and headed to where Jun was.

“Aaaaah!”

As soon as I pulled back the curtain on the soundproofed tent, screams filled the air.

“You said you’d kill me! Aaaaargh!”

“At that time, I believed you had confessed all your sins and regained a pure heart. No, I was deceived.”

“I-I didn’t lie about anything!”

“Then why didn’t you mention the Dragon Slayer? It seems he’s also waiting at the base.”

“Th-that…!”

“I can still see the evil intent in your eyes—”

“I-I didn’t know! I didn’t know! Those people don’t tell me when or where they’re doing things!! Aaaaargh! Kill me! Kill me!!”

Suddenly, the man who was thrashing around while tightly bound fell silent.

Then Jun approached him, roughly grabbing his cheeks and forcing his jaw open.

Blood began to flow.

He had bitten his own tongue in an attempt to kill himself.

“My, my… It seems you still lack the virtue to find salvation.”

Jun clicked his tongue regretfully and instantly healed the man’s injuries with his holy power.

“N-nooo!”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be by your side to help you regain a pure heart and find enlightenment someday.”

“…Devil! You devil! You’re a devil!!”

“…My.”

Despite the insulting words, Jun didn’t erase his kind smile and quietly picked up an awl.

And…

“Ah! You’ve arrived.”

Upon seeing me, he quickly gagged the man.

“Mmph, mmph!”

“…Did you find out anything?”

“Unfortunately, I haven’t learned much yet. Other than the fact that the reserve forces staying at the base are more numerous than we expected.”

“…They have more troops?”

“According to him, about twice the expected number.”

“What? Twice?”

Wait a minute, this is quite serious.

I hurriedly continued.

“Why didn’t we hear about this from the others? Did they deceive us?”

“No. They wouldn’t risk their lives due to loyalty and lie. It’s just… They truly believed what they said.”

Hmm, that does make sense.

“By that logic, isn’t it possible that only this guy has the wrong information?”

“Yes, that’s true. We can’t deny that. But… this friend only guessed after receiving a message. Usually, regular communications come from the base, so he realized that if the Dragon Slayer is there, it’s likely that his troops are there too.

“……”

“What will you do? I’ll continue extracting information, but if the enemy’s forces are twice as high as expected, our mission is likely to fail.”

“Even if we succeed, we’ll suffer more damage.”

“……Yes, that’s right.”

So, what should we do?

Should we push ahead with the original plan, regardless of how much damage we take?

After thinking for a moment, I made a decision.

“Jun, stop the interrogation for now and call the team leaders.”

“You want to hold a meeting.”

“Yes.”

As the saying goes, ‘Two heads are better than one.’ Maybe someone will come up with a good idea.

***

A leadership meeting that had happened countless times during the expedition.

As soon as I shared all the intel from the interrogation, various opinions poured out.

“It’s hard to say their forces are double. The Dragon Slayer’s unit is only mid-sized at best, isn’t it?”

“Even if it’s just an additional twenty people, we can’t underestimate it. We have fewer than thirty people ourselves.”

“Yes. Unlike the small fry we’ve encountered around here, each one of them is likely to be elite.”

“So, are you suggesting we give up the mission?”

“No one said that. We’re just thinking about whether there’s another plan. That’s why Schuiz called us all.”

“….”

When my name was mentioned, Kaislan composed himself.

Authority born of strength is respected no matter the situation.

“At any rate, if we continue as planned, we might succeed, but we’ll likely take heavy casualties. Does anyone have a better solution?”

I asked directly, prompting a flood of ideas.

“What about an ambush nearby to slowly chip away at their numbers?”

“No. If we do that, we won’t be able to meet up with the main force at the appointed time.”

“Besides, by then, unless they’re completely clueless, they’ll know what’s happening. We’ll lose the element of surprise, and we’ll face a tougher battle as they prepare to counterattack.”

“So, Carla, do you have a better plan?”

“……How about infiltrating? If we use the guy we’re interrogating, we might succeed unexpectedly.”

“But if we fail, we’ll all be wiped out. Naturally, the mission will fail too. The risk is too high. In that case, we’d rather—”

From ambush to infiltration, luring, and assassination, various opinions came out, but there was no good plan that everyone could agree on.

But humanity is the epitome of collective intelligence.

“In the end, luring the enemy to disperse their forces seems the best strategy.”

“Yes, using the enemy’s message stone would make it easy.”

After some discussion, everyone settled on a single strategy.

Well, even that quickly split into two branches.

“Wouldn’t it be better to call out the Dragon Slayer and attack him first? We can target the base afterward.”

“No, we should lure out the troops and attack the base. That’s our mission.”

Should we deal with the Dragon Slayer first?

Or prioritize the mission?

Both had pros and cons.

In the former case, if successful, we could catch two birds with one stone.

But…

“Akuraba, this is no time to be greedy for achievements. Do you think they’ll die without even having time to send word to the rear? They’ll definitely alert others to our presence even if they die.” Kaislan spoke

“Moreover, there’s no guarantee that the surprise attack will succeed. If they respond calmly, our damage will increase.” said Carla

“Yes, that’s what I was going to say! Even if we win, everyone will be exhausted and tired. Do you think we can attack the base in that state?” Kaislan asked

If things go wrong, the mission itself could fail.

On the other hand, with the latter plan, at least we could ensure the success of our mission.

“Now, now, let’s calm down. Isn’t it ultimately up to Schuiz to decide?”

As Jun mediated the heated atmosphere, everyone’s gaze turned to me.

‘Hah, this is troubling.’

It had been a long time since I had to make such a difficult choice.

Of course, I knew in my head.

That choosing the latter was the right thing to do.

If it weren’t for the existence of the ‘Dragon Slayer’, I would have chosen the latter without any hesitation.

Tap, tap.

When I unconsciously tapped my knee, the team leaders gulped.

“It seems Schuiz has made a decision.”

“He always does that after he’s decided.”

Wait… I have a habit like that?

This was the first time I’d heard that, but it wasn’t a matter to concern myself with right now.

I announced the decision I’d made:

“We’ll focus on the mission.”

It’s too early to be greedy for the dragon slayer.

“Good thinking! As long as we succeed in the mission, the royal family will reward us generously!”

“Reward, huh…”

I smirked.

But perhaps sensing something odd in that smile?

Akuraba cautiously spoke to me.

“Schuiz, may I ask why? I thought you would be more ambitious.”

She’s not entirely wrong.

If I were alone, I would have done that.

But…

“My decision holds your lives in the balance.”

“…”

“The fewer battles we engage in, the more of us will return alive.”

That’s why I gave up my ambition.

That’s the entirety of my decision this time.

“Now, does that answer your question?”

“…Yes, more than enough.”

As I watched Akuraba nod in acceptance, I let go of the last of my lingering regrets.

‘Dragon Slayer, Regal Vagos.’

It doesn’t have to be today.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed.

[We will meet again]

And when we do, I’ll fulfill the vow I made that day.