"Well, even if my sword were taken, I could retrieve it," he added casually.
"I understand that you don't trust the royal family… I'm ashamed to admit it, but your criticism is based on fact," Heath replied.
"No, no. You're slightly mistaken, Your Highness."
"?!"
"I don't just distrust the royal family; I trust no one other than myself."
"Platanus…" Heath stood in front of me, his back to me, so I couldn't see his expresshion. But I could guess he was hurt by Platanus's blunt declaration that their years as tutor and student meant nothing, that there was no friendship or trust between them. Perhaps Heath had seen Platanus as a strong, wise, and reliable older brother figure.
"So, because you trust no one, you tried to kill Crow?"
"It's not about trust. It's just that the exploitation of the hero, humanity's greatest treasure, by such a person was too egregious to ignore. Isn't it time for you to reconsider, Your Highness? If you leave that man be, it could bring great misfortune to your family."
"I don't mind."
At that moment, Heath replied nonchalantly, surprising even the composed and smiling Platanus.
"What do you mean by 'you don't mind'?"
"You're suggesting that having Crow, who has the Hero's backing, would be an obstacle to me becoming king in the future, right?"
"Exactly. It's unlikely that you'll become the next king smoothly if things continue this way. If there were no Hero, just possessing a saintly sword would have been a significant backing, but now, even with a saintly sword, it's not a great force compared to the Hero."
"So what? I don't mind if Crow becomes the next king."
"…What?"
Platanus looked at Heath as if he were seeing something incomprehensible."Originally, our family ruled this country simply because we are descendants of the Hero. Regional lords take pride in their slight blood connection to the Hero through marriage. That authority is just riding on the coattails of our ancestor’s great deeds. Such a thing, I can give away anytime," said Heath.
"Give away? To such a man, who has...," Platanus began.
"Yes, he has that value."
No, no, no, no! I don't have that value! I graduated at the bottom of my class at the officer's academy!
The atmosphere was serious, and Heath seemed to be talking about something crucial.
"Why did you try to kill Crow?" Heath continued. "I understand why. You, who trust no one, thought it was presumptuous to use the Hero for your purposes."
"That's correct. I respect those clearly superior to myself. I don't consider myself better than you, fellow saintly sword users. However, I can't tolerate someone clearly incompetent exploiting others. It's vile."
That's harsh... Here I am, having worked hard, and this is what I get. The world's gone mad.
"Don't lie, Platanus. You wanted to kill Crow because he was a nuisance, incomprehensible even to you."
"…"
"I've been there. I understand how you feel. He was an eyesore at the academy."
Why does everyone always have something bad to say about me? I'm such a good person.
"Platanus, you used to write opinions and petitions daily after graduating from the academy. Proposals for military and political improvements."
"…"
"You almost ignored them, and you were desperate about your future. Realizing that following Crow's advice would make all your opinions accepted, you got angry. You realized that everything would work out if you just followed someone overwhelmingly inferior to you."
"…"
"You just hated succeeding with others' help. You wanted everything to be a result of your effort. That's just arrogance."
"…"
"Platanus, whatever the reason, it's a fact that without Crow, the Holy Light Sword wouldn't have reached the Hero. It's natural for him to gain the Hero's trust. It's better that Crow found the Hero than the current power-holders or someone arrogant like you."
"…"
"You'll never gain the Hero's trust. You wanted to control the world as the Hero Shion's guardian, but such…"
Suddenly, a loud exploshion resounded.While Heath was speaking, Platanus's Thousand League Sword glowed intensely and then a tremendous exploshion sounded inside the room, blowing us away. The windows shattered, and cracks ran across the walls. Iris and Cattleya clutched their ears, crouching down in pain.
"Heath!" I instinctively screamed.
Heath, who was closest to Platanus, was now lying on his back, bleeding from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. It looked like a severe injury, as if he were on the brink of death.
"Don't speak so knowingly. I don't need the Hero's backing," Platanus coldly remarked.
"You! Don't you dare harm my student!" Cattleya shouted with a fury as if she was about to spew fire, raising her Blazing Sword to strike at Platanus.
"I am technically your student as well," Platanus commented.
"Shut up!"
Cattleya attacked with her sword ablaze, but Platanus effortlessly parried her attack with his Thousand League Sword.
This was bad. It was clear that Platanus had the upper hand in close combat. Facing a spear with a sword is practically suicidal, even more so against a spear like Platanus's. It's common knowledge that you need to be three times stronger than your opponent to win against a spear with a sword.
"This room is a bit cramped. Shall we change the venue?" Platanus suggested.
He kicked Cattleya in the abdomen while in a clinch, then blasted another explosive sound from his sword. The sound, almost rupturing our eardrums, and the shockwave struck Cattleya.
"Gaah!"
Blown away, Cattleya fell to the floor, writhing in pain.
What was that? Just a sound causing such damage?
Ignoring the fallen Cattleya, Platanus dashed toward the wall of the room, slicing through it with his sword to create an opening and leaped outside.
Iris, who had minor injuries, and Cattleya, still burning with fighting spirit, got up.
"Crow! Go get a doctor! I'll deal with him," Cattleya ordered.
"Don't follow us, Crow!"
Leaving these words behind, they both leaped out through the hole created by Platanus."Really, you're so useless," Holly chided me.
"You're one to talk," I retorted.
"What!? How dare you speak to the perfect beauty, Holly, who enchants everyone who sees her?"
"You're only visible to me and Shion, you know..."
Sighing, I turned my attention to Heath, who lay injured on the ground. He looked in bad shape, but it seemed his life wasn't in danger. Despite getting injured often, he's tough.
"...Crow..."
"Ah, sorry. I'll get a doctor right..."
"Please... save Platanus..."
"What?"
"Don't... let them kill him..."
"Why would you say that after all this?"
"He's not... a bad person..."
"He's necessary... for this country..."
"Please protect Iris and Teacher Cattleya..."
"And... protect Platanus too... Crow..."
Why would he ask me for such a thing? I'm the weakest among us.
Then I found myself saying, "Alright, leave it to me."
Why am I saying something like this?
"What are you planning to do, Crow?" Holly asked as we hurried along the castle corridors.
"Let's call Saffron. Her Vacuum Sword can block any sound, making it the perfect counter to Platanus's Thousand League Sword."
"Always relying on others, aren't you?"
"The problem is whether Saffron will cooperate..."
"What do you mean?"
Before I could answer, I saw Platanus.
In the courtyard usually used for Shion's training, Platanus was effortlessly holding his own against both Iris and Teacher Cattleya.
Three saintly swords of the Divine Sword, glowing red, blue, and green, clashed and sparked, drawing different colored trajectories in the air.
Observing the scene from a distance, I couldn't help but admire the beauty of these weapons. Like Shion's Holy Light Sword, these were made and used for killing humans and monsters, yet their beauty was mesmerizing.
Handling such weapons effortlessly, these people truly lived in a different world from me.
I'm constantly reminded, painfully so, that there's nothing I can do if I step in.Just watching from the sidelines would only be a hindrance to Iris and Teacher Cattleya. I wondered if I should just stay out of it and quietly watch from the corridor. As I pondered this, Saffron suddenly leaped down from the roof of the castle.