Vol 1 Chapter 40 – Biriel’s End【Vol 1 – Spoiled Princess Arc】

“Whoa, you’re a mess… Are you really alive?”

“Yes, of course.”

Debora, who had dismounted next to Erik, looked up at him as if she were seeing a ghost. Erik, though covered in blood and looking ready to collapse at any moment, offered a grin.

Seeing that smile, Debora let out a small laugh herself.

“But you did great! Leave the rest to us!”

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!!!”

A great roar rose up, bolstering their fighting spirit as if in response to Debora’s words. It came from the path Debora had cleared, from which scores of knights now emerged.

They were the Knightly Order of the Kingdom of Vilemse. Stationed nearby by Orace’s command, they now fell upon Biriel’s private soldiers. The morale of these knights, having heard from Alfred and the others that Erik was holding the rearguard, was a sight to behold.

“Eek! Eeeeeeeek!!”

“It’s no use! Run for it!”

But Biriel’s men didn’t even try to fight back; they broke and fled all at once. The terror of facing the anomaly that was Erik had been held in check only by their absolute numerical superiority.

Now that advantage had been overturned by the arrival of the knights—knights who were not only highly trained but whose morale was also abnormally high. There wasn’t a single soul among Biriel’s private army with the grit to risk their life against such a foe.

“D-Don’t you run!! Why are you running on your own?! Are you kidding me?! Fight, damn you!!”

Biriel roared, but not a single person paid him any mind. Even his own aide was scrambling to get away.

“Grrrr!! A-And this is all your fault! Because you refused to kill the Hero!!”

“Kyaa!?”

Biriel’s directionless rage turned toward the girl who was standing nearby. He drew the ornamental sword he had never properly wielded.

It was a sword typical of a non-combatant noble, prioritizing appearance over its ability to cut, but it was still capable of slicing through the non-muscular frame of a young girl at least once. Though he hadn’t trained with a sword in decades, Biriel swung it at the girl with all his might.

“I don’t think so.”

Erik, who had been gazing ardently at the girl who had sent him flying, didn’t miss the brutish act. He borrowed a sword from the hand of a dead private soldier, drew his arm back, and…

“Hmph!!”

…threw it.

He put his strength into the throw, and blood spurted from his wounds.

But it was worth it. The sword flew with terrifying speed, its aim true, and it shot toward Biriel…

“Ugh, ugyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!! M-My armmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!”

Biriel’s arm was torn apart. A fine, sharp blade might have been able to cleanly sever the arm of a man as fat as Biriel, but the one used by the private soldier must have been a dullard.

Though nearly torn off, the arm dangled by a single strip of skin, swaying back and forth. If anything, this was more painful.

“Now’s your chance.”

“Y-Yes!!”

Following Erik’s words, the girl wiped Biriel’s blood from her cheek with an annoyed look and ran to his side. Erik had meant for her to escape somewhere, but… well, she’d be safe with them, so he didn’t say anything more.

“Ah, ahhhhh! I-It hurts! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!? W-Why do I have to go through this!!”

Biriel cried, clutching his arm. Having never subjugated monsters or bandits, nor even properly participated in military training, he had not a shred of pain tolerance.

“Well, isn’t it because you tried to kill us?”

“Eek…!!”

It was Debora who spoke to him. Her eyes, as if looking at a stone on the side of the road, reflected no emotion at all.

“Erik is way more beat up than you, you know? But he’s not crying and screaming like you are… Pathetic, aren’t you?”

“U-Urrggghhhhhhhhhh!!”

Laughed at by Debora, all Biriel could do was groan. Seeing that he had no retort, Debora looked at him with an air of boredom as mana began to converge around her.

“I was hoping you’d give me a thrill… but it looks like you’re not the one.”

What Debora seeks is the heart-pounding thrill of an adventure story. For that, she doesn’t mind if her own life is in danger.

That’s why she wasn’t particularly angry that he had tried to kill her. But if this was the only result he could produce, she had no use for him.

“After all, Erik is the one for me. That ‘Beginner-Slayer’s Chamber’ thing was super thrilling!”

I’m so glad I made him my Knight of Fealty.

As long as I’m with Erik, I’ll never stop having these thrills.

I don’t have to go back to my boring life in the castle.

“You’re the one who beat up my toy. You’re prepared for what comes next, right?”

The reason Debora would kill Biriel was not because he attempted to assassinate her. It was because he had tried to take away and break her interesting toy, Erik.

“Eek! N-No! I don’t wanna die by explosion!! Your Highness, I beg you to reconsider…!!”

“Well then. Bye-bye.”

Perhaps because of her childish innocence, the sight of a grown man begging for his life with tears and snot streaming down his face didn’t resonate with Debora at all. The mana converged at once around Biriel’s fat stomach and exploded.

“――――――!!”

Whatever Biriel was saying was drowned out by the roar of the explosion. But he must have been assaulted by the fierce pain of his body being blown apart; his expression was truly comical as he spun through the air, scattering tears and snot.

“The rebel leader is dead!! Victory is ours!!”

As Orace raised his sword and shouted, the knights raised a cheer. And so, Biriel’s rebellion came to a close.