I Became the Strongest With The Failure Frame - Chapter 305

Erika Anarveil’s familiar.

Upon realizing what this bird is, I invited it inside the mansion.

[Eeeehhh!? This bird is Anuel-sama’s familiar!?]

After a brief explanation, Munin raised a disarrayed voice.

[The great benefactor of the Faraway Country, Anuel-sama…… Even though it’s through a familiar, I never thought I’d see the day when I could talk to her. Amazing…… This is amazing.]

“Hawawa”, looking quite excited, Munin’s hands waved about.

The familiar was now on top of a table in the room.

I’ve already had the letter board prepared.

[I’ve got some information I want to share with you. Regarding the matter with the Faraway Country———–, ……Hmmm?]

The familiar stepped on the letter board as if she couldn’t wait for me to finish my words.

Just like that, the familiar hurriedly moved around the letter board.

Yes, the familiar could verbally speak.

But if it does that, the burden on Erika would be so heavy that she will be bedridden for several days.

So, we communicate with each other using this letter board, which was made in reference to Kokkuri-san.

[You have something to tell us first? ……Got it.]

The familiar moved around again.

It still takes time because we’re communicating through a letter board.

However, being able to convey information makes the time worth it.

[———-The Takao Sisters huh.]

[When you say Takao Sisters, you’re talking about those high-ranking Heroes……]

Seras also knows about the Takao Sisters.

Eve has even met them face-to-face in the Golden Demon Zone.

As for me, I haven’t seen her once since I was disposed of.

[They failed to eliminate Vysis and fled to the Golden Demon Zone huh.]

”
”

I have already heard about what the Takao Sisters did from Oyamada.

However, all I got was that they failed in their rebellion and fled.

I see.

After that, they tried to get the cooperation of the Witch of Taboos.

They almost died, but they somehow managed to meet their goal, Erika.

Seras was surprised at the coincidental meeting between the sisters and Erika.

[By the way, do the Takao Sisters know what happened to Sogou and Kirihara?]

I asked, to which the familiar moved.

[Both sisters don’t know what happened to them huh.]

What happened to Sogou and Kirihara is also informed to me by Oyamada.

I heard from Oyamada that Sogou had been one step ahead of the Great Demon Emperor, driving them to their end.

Kirihara saved the Great Demon Emperor and then betrayed the others.

However, the Takao Sisters don’t know this.

After escaping, they must have entered the Golden Demon Zone in a hurry to avoid pursuit.

Erika also seems to have just heard about Sogou and Kirihara’s story for the first time.

She apparently hadn’t been able to gather much information on the Alion area recently.

Anyway, she said her priority was to find us first.

Erika’s report continued.

Meanwhile, Munin prepared drinks for us.

When the opportunity arose, she gave water to the familiar as well.

Eventually———– Erika’s report came to an end.

We learned a good amount of details about the rebellion of the Takao Sisters.

The Great Demon Emperor suddenly appeared at the castle, and Vysis was weakened by the Tyrant’s Miasma.

The sisters saw this as an opportunity and attempted to eliminate Vysis.

”
”
However, they were beaten back by Vysis, empowered by a mysterious dark ball.

After that, the sisters decided to seek help from the Witch of Taboos and headed for the Golden Demon Zone.

And it seems that Vysis really had no intention of sending the Heroes back to our former world.

According to the elder Takao, that is.

[So…… The younger Takao doesn’t seem to be willing to share any more information than that huh.]

For example, she wouldn’t talk about their Inherent Skills and other such stuff.

“I can’t tell anything more until I checked with my sister.”

“I’m an idiot, so I don’t know how much I can reveal.”

And then, she finally said.

“I can’t tell you everything…… Even though you saved us, I’m sorry.”

She apologized.

She’s leaving the important decisions to her sister’s judgment.

That’s just like the younger sister.

Takao Itsuki really trusts that twin sister of hers…… on a worship-like level even.

[However…… She seemed to be deeply grateful to Erika for saving them huh.]

I mean.

Poison……

Poison huh.

That sh*tty goddess even uses poison huh.

It’s fortunate that Erika was able to make an antidote against her poison.

[From the looks of it, it doesn’t sound like Vysis sent them there to assassinate Erika.]

“The sisters aren’t assassins sent by Vysis.”

I agree with Erika’s speculation.

If this is one of that Goddess’ tactics, her risk management is just too rough.

Even if the older sister could dispel that poison through that unknown Inherent Skill of hers……

Holding out through that poison and taking the risk of going blind, no matter how I think about it, is too much.

It’s too reckless to go into the Golden Demon Zone without a map.

The probability of Eve and Erika finding the sisters in the Golden Demon Zone itself is too low.

[…………………..]

It’s just, remembering how they had taken the risk of going blind, there’s one question I had in mind.

[I’ll ask just in case…… Any possibility that they’re brainwashed?]

“None.”

Erika simply denied it.

If that’s the case from Erika’s point of view, I guess I can assume there is no possibility of that.

At that moment, seemingly having thought of an idea, Seras spoke.

[Ummm, Touka-dono…… With this———-]

[Yeah.]

I’ve also thought of that idea.

[A joint battle with the Takao sisters…… might be something to consider.]

It was an idea brought up by the Mad Emperor and Asagi before though……

There was originally a proposal to persuade the Heroes over on our side.

Moreover, even though they failed, the sisters still rebelled against Vysis.

The difficulty of persuading them has dramatically dropped.

The fact that the elder Takao hasn’t yet regained consciousness is a bit of a bottleneck though.

Erika herself doesn’t seem to know when she’ll regain consciousness.

And so, Itsuki won’t make important decisions———- she can’t make important decisions.

That being the case……

Even if I were to suggest fighting with them, that would be after her sister wakes up.

I told everyone about that.

Seras, who had finished listening to my opinion, groaned.

[However, if we can fight together, we will gain quite the force on our side……]

[If the older sister really becomes blind, she might not be able to participate in combat. However, I think that the older sister would still be dependable even outside of combat. Well…… They may also be a bit different.]

Speaking of which, I wonder if those sisters have changed in any way since they came to this world.

[Whatever the case, just the fact that one S-Rank and one A-Rank being out of the Goddess camp is good news for us.]

Other than that———- There’s also the Great Demon Emperor huh.

It was said that Sogou was one step away from cornering the Great Demon Emperor.

We can view it that the Great Demon Emperor is deeply wounded.

Even if not, his vigilance towards Sogou should have been considerably strengthened.

“I can’t win by going head-to-head against Sogou Ayaka.”

They should have understood that.

In that case——— What would the Great Demon Emperor do?

Overwhelm her by sheer numbers?

If not, they would have no choice but to brawl with Sogou to defeat her.

From the information we have, the previous surprise attack by the Great Demon Emperor wasn’t carried out on a large scale.

In other words, a surprise attack by a large group should be possible for their side.

If that’s the case——— Then perhaps, they will conduct a frontal attack, moving south again from the Root of All Evil’s Land.

With an army in tow.

————-That is what we predict, but it seems that they had lost a lot of their forces in the last major invasion.

As a result of these comprehensive considerations, Vysis should have determined that there will be no invasion from the north in the immediate future……

And that’s why, she was able to send the White Wolf Knights to Jonato in the west.

That makes sense now———- It all fits into place.

……Even so.

Sogou Ayaka……

She now has power surpassing the Great Demon Emperor huh.

According to Oyamada, she should still be in Alion……

She may end up becoming an increasingly troublesome wall.

If Sogou were to become an enemy here……

I want to avoid fighting her as much as possible. Persuade her to our side.

If we can’t make her our ally, we need to neutralize her.

But if it’s possible, I would like to go with the persuasion plan.

I do have some cards in hand that I could use to persuade her.

Especially, this information acquired by the elder Takao is very important.

“That the Goddess has no intention of returning the Heroes to our former world.”

It was that elder Takao who said that.

”
”
I heard it was just her opinion, but I think she’s almost certain about that.

[…………………..]

Persuasion plan huh.

If she’s as brainwashed as Oyamada, persuading her would be difficult.

However, if the other Heroes aren’t particularly brainwashed……

That would mean that sh*tty Goddess can’t do that unless certain conditions are met, right?

……I guess I’ll ask Erika about that.

[Erika, I want to ask about Vysis’ brainwashing ability, but do you know anything about that?]

I got a YES back.

I suppose that’s to be expected of Erika.

It seems like she knew about it.

She used to work for that sh*tty Goddess for a while after all.

”
”
From her explanation……

[Their spirit———- Their mind must be broken beyond a certain point huh.]

Oyamada had been brainwashed because his mind was broken.

[However, if the brainwashing fails, there’s a risk of them becoming useless huh……]

The Goddess would be troubled if a Hero, her trump card against the Great Demon Emperor, turns out like that.

Putting it in another way, that means it doesn’t matter for her if Oyamada becomes useless or not.

In that case, I guess I don’t have to worry about Sogou being brainwashed now.

Pondering about this for a moment……

[By the way, Seras…… Regarding the surprise attack by the Great Demon Emperor that we were talking about earlier, has there been a precedent where the Root of All Evil used some kind of Teleportation ability in the past?]

“No, not to my knowledge.”

It seems like Erika doesn’t know about it either.

[And so, this was an unexpected move, even for Vysis huh.]

Is that teleportation a one-time ability of theirs?

If not, we would have to be on the lookout for a surprise attack from the Great Demon Emperor.

A situation may come where they would suddenly intrude during the decisive battle against the Goddess.

I guess I would have to assume that this is an uncertain factor for now huh……

[Even so…… That’s quite well-played by Eve.]

She found the Takao sisters in the Golden Demon Zone.

That’s a fine play if you ask me.

[Vysis must be thinking that she dealt with the Takao sisters with her poison. With her judging as such, she will act under the impression that Takao Hijiri is “dead”.]

Yes, just like how she’s under the impression that I’m dead.

At that moment, the familiar started to move again.

“I didn’t tell the sisters about Touka and the others. Both your connection with the Fly King Squadron and Touka’s true identity.”

That was what Erika had apparently decided.

[That’s a good decision.]

Upon my words, the familiar looked quite smug.

“I’m also not going to reveal the connection between Erika and the Fly King Squadron yet.”

We decided to continue with this policy.

[Well then…… I guess I’ll share the circumstances on our side too.]

Just before we entered the Faraway Country, we found a dead familiar.

Contact with Erika had been cut off since then.

Erika said that after that, she tried to make contact with another familiar who was nearby.

However, that familiar was shot dead by Alion’s cavalry.

Because of this, she didn’t have any more familiars nearby back then.

That was the reason for the delay in our contact.

In other words.

”
”
Erika is almost entirely clueless as to what happened in the Faraway Country.

Erika also told us how she found us.

While she was gathering information with her familiar, she had heard how there was apparently some kind of commotion going on in Mira.

And around that time, she heard the name of the Fly King being brought up.

So, she moved her familiar who was near Mira.

And so, based on the information she got from her familiar’s ears, she arrived here……

It seems that the situation regarding how the Fly King is working with Mira is spreading little by little.

Such a thing being common knowledge was as we had expected.

I told Erika what happened in the Faraway Country.

I also told her about the Forbidden Curses and the information about the Kurosagas.

While I’m at it, I also introduced Munin to her.

[Ah——— I- I serve as the Chief of the Kurosagas, bearing the name of Munin! It’s a great honor to meet you, Anuel-sama! I’ve heard a lot about you…… Ah, but I guess it would be difficult to say that “I’ve met Anuel-sama” when we’ve talked through a familiar, right? Errr…… I- I’m single!]

The way she nervously introduced herself to a little bird with her sparkling eyes……

It would be a strange sight if the onlookers didn’t know she was talking to a familiar.

Also…… I don’t really think the information about her being single or not matters at all.

What kind of thought process did she have that she decided to say that, seriously.

Well, with that, Munin finished her introduction.

[……Haahhh…… I was so nervous. Eeehhh!? I- I- I- I mean, we’re talking about the legendary Anuel-sama, you know? Listen here, okay? If she had lived in the Faraway Country, she would have been something like a mythical figure to everyone! She’d be a living legend!]

[I see.]

[Touka-san, isn’t your reaction too lacking!? We’re talking about something important, you know!? This is a really big deal!]

[No…… For me, Erika is simply a reliable companion. I admit that she’s a great person, but I think of her as someone much more easygoing.]

Having said that, I happened to glance at the table.

And the little bird somehow looked happy.

It might just be my imagination though.

After Munin’s self-introduction, I changed the subject.

The matter of Heroic Sword being the culprit who massacred Eve’s parents and comrades.

This is something that needed to be confirmed.

I told Erika about those bastards first.

I think I need to convey this to Erika first.

[About this matter though…… I think it’s best not to tell Eve about this yet. From what I’ve seen, she’s not that obsessed with revenge.]

When I told her this, Erika agreed.

[Eve is now living a peaceful life with Liz, which is something they longed for. I don’t think we need to go out of our way to stir up her emotions in that direction at this time…… The same goes for Liz.]

On that occasion, I also told Erika about Liz——– the Sixth Cavalry’s matter.

[Maybe we should tell her about this someday. But for the time being, I think they should just live their simple, happy life. You see, those two…… don’t seem like the kind of people who would be happy after getting their revenge, do they?]

What happened to those two in the past is certainly nothing short of tragic.

One’s past can’t be changed.

However, the two of them aren’t attached to that past.

That’s what it looked like to me.

They aren’t caught up with their past———- unlike me.

Well…… There’s that.

When talking about revenge, there’s that theory that is often quoted about.

“Instead of spending your life stuck with someone who did terrible things to you, the best revenge is actually to forget about such a person and seek your own happiness.”

—-or something like that.

Yes.

That was originally the right thing to do.

That’s the right way to take revenge on others.

Therefore, the revenge that I’m trying to take———- must be bad.

However, that doesn’t matter. I’m just going to do it.

I’ll accomplish my revenge directly against her.

As for the rest……

It would depend on whether or not I’m ready to take on everything that happens as a result of my revenge……

[Well…… That’s why I’m not going to reveal the matter regarding revenge to Eve and Liz.]

I don’t see any objections coming from her side.

It seems like Erika was about to bring the conversation to a close.

“Well then, we’ve finished sharing our information with each other. Ahh, also……”

The familiar moved around on the letter board.

Erika sent out what seemed to be a closing statement to the information sharing.

“Thank you for saving the Faraway Country, Touka.”

This is a country she was involved in founding.

She must have been concerned about it.

[It’s not like we did it for you. You’ve helped us more than we’ve helped you. Well, being thanked by the great “Anuel-sama” isn’t so bad.]

“Just as usual, even though you look like you’re not being honest, you’re actually quite the honest child.”

[Well, thanks, I guess.]

Next, Erika asked for instructions.

My plans for the future——— Mainly how to handle the sisters.

As for how I would respond to their existence in Erika’s place……

[If you have any further questions about the Takao sisters in the future, ask them through your familiar. I didn’t expect this situation with the sisters either, so I’m still undecided on how to handle this. I’ll give you more instructions when I’ve made up my mind.]

Incidentally, we decided to have the talk about the attack on the Imperial Capital again later.

It seems like Erika was also quite tired.

For the time being though……

“Slei was badly injured, but it seemed like she would be alright.”

I told her so.

And now……

[I think we need one of those things…… something we can use as a birdcage.]

After Erika stopped operating her familiar———- when she took her consciousness away from it, the familiar would revert to a normal animal.

This being the case, this little bird could fly away somewhere.

We don’t want it to be shot or preyed upon by something somewhere like before.

Hmmm?

Speaking of which……

[Wasn’t there an empty birdcage…… in one of the rooms in this mansion? I think I saw one when we first looked around this place.]

Seras put her index finger to her lips.

[Errr……]

She blankly looked in mid-air, as if she was searching for her memories.

[If I remember correctly, it should be in the back room on the second floor……]

I immediately went back to that room and brought the birdcage.

Thereupon, I put the familiar in it.

It looks like Erika is still operating the little bird but……

I guess I’ll have to arrange for feed and other stuff later.

At that moment……

[Hmmm?]

The doorbell rang.

It was the sound of the doorbell installed in front of the entrance of the mansion.

It seemed that someone had come to visit.

Taking the opportunity, Erika said she would stop operating her familiar for the time being.

I thanked her briefly and put on my Fly King mask.

[Just in case, Seras and Munin, you should also come with me.]

We all went downstairs.

Before going to the entrance, I did check the entrance first from where I could see the visitor.

The visitor was———–

[The Mad Emperor huh.]

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And so, this marks the start of Volume 10.

For Volume 10, we will again be in your care.