Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka? (LN) - Volume 16: Ch 3 - Shun 1 (2)

S‎h‎u‎n‎ ‎1‎ » “‎N‎o‎w‎ ‎h‎a‎n‎g‎ ‎o‎n‎…‎”‎

“Now hang on…”
“Ba-ha-ha! That spider dame did us wind dragons a solid not long ago, see! I was never too keen on goin’ up against her in the first place! So how can I say no to jumpin’ on this crazy train?!”
Despite Nguyen’s attempts at placating him, Hyuvan heaves himself up like a drunkard, jumps across the table to land behind me, and throws his arm over my shoulders.
Does this person (?) have any concept of personal space?!
“Perhaps I shall join you as well, then.”
Another unexpected voice chimes in.
It’s Nia, the lovely, languid-looking woman who called herself the chief of the ice dragons.
“Nia?”
Iena, the water dragon, addresses her with a prickly-sounding tone.
“Why, I owe a debt of gratitude to the ivory god as well, dear elder sister.”
“You just don’t want to fight if you don’t have to.”
“It’s nothing of the sort, I assure you.”
Iena fixes her with a frosty gaze, which Nia handily avoids.
Maybe my initial impression of Iena as a gentle-seeming soul was wrong.
“Hang on. Hyuvan, Nia…do you realize what you’re saying?”
“Hell yeah I do! No takebacks!”
“Well, whatever will be, will be.”
At their responses, Nguyen puts a hand to his forehead as if fending off a headache.
“You would disregard our lord’s decree?”
Iena’s voice grows icier as she addresses the pair.
“Sure! No regrets here!”
Hyuvan responds cheerfully, without an ounce of ill will.
Iena is the first to react.
She stands up slowly from her chair, anger rolling off her in waves.
“Iena, wait.”
“No, I shan’t.”
“But if we fight among ourselves, our enemies on the ivory god’s side will reap the benefits, wouldn’t you say?”
Reise, the chief of the dark dragons, manages to talk Iena down.
She returns to her seat with a click of her tongue.
…Iena, who looked like the gentlest of them, might actually be the most combative.
“Why don’t we just let Hyuvan and Nia do as they please, hmm?”
But Reise’s next words cause Nguyen to stand up instead.
“Reise!”
“At this point, they’re bound to leave whether we allow it or not anyway. Even if we make them stay, they’ll be no use to us if their hearts aren’t in it, now will they? I doubt they’d go as far as to stab us in the backs or anything, but it’s probably best not to have worries like that in the first place by keeping them here.”
Reise shrugs.
“Besides, I must say I sympathize with Hyuvan and Nia. I don’t want our master to die, either.”
“No, but…”
Iena’s expression clouds, as do those of the other dragon chiefs.
Looking at them, it seems clear that they’re all deeply devoted to the ebony god.
“At a time like this, we oughtta decide for ourselves what we wanna do for once instead of blindly following orders like usual, don’t you think?”
The other ancient dragons look conflicted as they contemplate Reise’s words.
“Well, like I said, I’m throwin’ in my lot with these kiddies.”
“As am I.”
Hyuvan and Nia refuse to change their minds.
“…I shall carry out our orders, nevertheless.”
“…Me too.”
Iena and Nguyen won’t budge from the other side.
“I dunno what’s goin’ on, but we gotta thrash Ariel, yeah?!”
Gohka, the chief of the lightning dragons, is apparently sticking with the pontiff, too.
(How does he still not know what’s going on, though…?)
All eyes turn to the last of the chiefs, Reise.
“Tell me, Hero.”
For some reason, Reise is looking at me.
“Just how passionate are you about chasing this ideal of yours?”
“Passionate?”
“Oh yes. Do you intend to make it happen no matter what the cost? Or are you just vaguely hopeful that you might manage somehow? I want to know what’s going through your mind.”
I think for a moment about their question.
“To be honest, I have no way of knowing whether we can make it happen or not. If anything, I’m sure the odds of us failing are much higher than succeeding. It’s probably just about impossible. But personally, I don’t think that’s a good enough reason to give up without even trying. So as unlikely as it may be, I’m going to give it everything I’ve got.”
I can tell even as I’m speaking that I’m not explaining myself very eloquently.
But these are my honest feelings.
Reise’s eyes close for a moment.
“All right, then.”
Then they open their eyes and look at me again.
“I’m going to join up with our hero here, too.”
Iena and Nguyen stare at Reise in surprise.
Judging by their reactions, he must usually be really faithful to the ebony god’s orders.
“I’m in the mood to roll the dice on all his talk about giving it everything he’s got, that’s all.”
As Reise says this, they pierce me with a stare so sharp that it sends a shiver down my spine.
It’s like a signal that I’d better not go back on my word, or else.
I resist the urge to flinch and stare right back instead, trying to prove that I truly meant every word.
“…It appears I shall have to rethink my entire strategy.”
The pontiff sounds exhausted.
From his perspective, he’s just lost three of his strongest fighters.
That must be a headache all right.
“…It is much too late for me to change our direction now. But do know that I am in full support of your endeavor. I wish you the best of luck.”
You too, Pontiff.
I didn’t say that response out loud.
I can’t join forces with either the ebony god’s or the ivory god’s side. I won’t.
But I don’t want either of them to die, either.
So in my heart, I prayed for the pontiff and his people to be safe.
Please, let there be a way for this to end without a single sacrifice.
Even if it is a fantasy that’s too good to be true, I’ll search for it all the same.