"The Runa Empire, with Gastark?" "That's ridiculous." "Is this the truth?" "Of course, there has been no official proclamation of joining hands with Gastark." "However, the one who joined forces with Duke Stearied and plotted your assassination was unmistakably Runa." "And?" "Did the king of Runa say he'd like to get along with us, even if only in appearance?" "No, sir." "I was unable to meet with the king." "He has apparently shut himself inside a small castle within Runa's borders." "It seems as though he was coerced by the messengers from Gastark." "A threat so grave it makes a king yield?" "How many people were killed?" "Every soldier protecting the castle, they say." "Further problems are just emerging as well." "According to my information, there are rumors that Gastark used some form of strange magic in its battle with Stohl." "Strange magic?" "Incredibly, one shot of this magic completely negated some very large-scale magic from Stohl, and obliterated troops numbering in the tens of thousands." "I find it hard to believe." "But if it is true, then it would lend significant credence to the rumors that the Runa Empire was forced to capitulate before Gastark's messengers." "Does this mean Gastark has also begun to use them?" "Hero relics..." "If our situation degenerates to the point of every nation competing to gather them and clashing against one another..." "At that point, the world would be..." "Looking up at the door of reminiscence" "The faraway whispering I was listening to" "Guide me, labyrinth of the soul" "To the path of the flakes of light" "The pain that pierces me is an innocent trick" "I want to believe that I'm not alone" "This place is a paradise of wandering" "With wings that dye the heart white" "If I can reach your eyes" "Embrace me with a smile" "Know the meaning behind being born" "Gazing at one another, the destiny legend begins" " Say." " What is it?" "I wonder how Sion's doing these days." "He's probably the same as usual, acting diabolically and using foul means to get what he wants." "Probably." "It's all his fault..." " Want to kill him?" " Yeah!" "Just you wait, Sion!" "When we get back to Roland," "I'll torment you and torment you and torment you until you die!" "So how did we end up like this, again?" "That's because you did your usual thing, getting violent with the female passengers," " and angering all of the ship's sailors..." " I didn't anger anybody!" "Besides, to me, it looked more like you and Milk's group made a mess out of everything, and tore the ship apart." "I was expecting to get a little quiet after sending Arua and Kuku back to Roland, but they came back right away." "Well, they're probably safe, anyway." "Whoa now, are you serious?" "It would appear to be a storm." "This is no time to talk like that!" "Ah, I'm gonna die." "I'm... alive?" "Amazing." "I was convinced I was dead just now." "Ferris!" "Hey!" "Smells like something's cooking." "Oh, Captain Milk..." "While I, Luke Stokkart, was with you, the whole squadron got completely scattered." "Tomorrow, as soon as the sun rises, I'll go out looking for you, so please stay safe until then!" "Oh, no!" "I made enough portions for the whole squadron without realizing it." "Captain Milk, what a shame, when I know how much you love camping like this." "Wherever you are right now..." "Come on, what's this?" "Already in combat mode?" "Delicious." "It's well seasoned and there's no fishy smell." "Meticulous types like this are..." "Ryner Lute?" "!" "You're... with the taboo-breaker squadron?" " Huh?" " Huh?" "I wonder if Luke and the others are safe?" "And Ryner..." "Ryner..." "Listen." "Hold on tight to my hand, and whatever you do, don't let go." "I'll be sure to save you, okay, Ryner?" "She's alone?" "That means that now's my chance!" "Wait for me, Ryner!" " Oww..." " What's this?" "I thought I heard someone, and it's the woman that Ryner tricked and abandoned." "I-I haven't been abandoned!" "You're the one who should free Ryner immediately!" "I know you're using Ryner against his will!" "You misunderstand." "It is I who is being threatened by that man and forced to..." "Ryner would never do that!" "I, too, wish that this was a misunderstanding of some sort." "That man is always after me, and even sinks his poisoned fangs into my little sister, night after night..." "I cannot bear to speak any further!" "You're wrong, you're wrong, you're wrong!" "Ryner's not like that!" "The other day, we entrusted two children to your care." " Those were actually his secret children." " You lie!" "As proof, did they not show respect and emotional attachment to Ryner?" "That's not all." "In Nelpha, he sunk his poisoned fangs into many married women in the capital, and in Runa, he kidnapped village girls just walking down the road, one after another, and furthermore, even their mothers were..." "Yeesh." "Why do I have to share a portion with you?" "You must have it pretty tough." "Even in the military, the taboo-breaker squadron is known as the crummiest assignment you can get." "But because the king is all, "Work for the sake of Roland's future!"" "you can't even skip out on it, right?" "Not so." "His Majesty is always working himself to the bone to improve our nation." "It is our pleasure to work under such a splendid king." "Again with that." "You must have a lot deep down that you want to say." "Like, "Don't work me so hard without a thought!" Or, " Give me a pay raise!"" "Or, "Expand afternoon naptime to over 24 hours a day."" "That would just mean you'd sleep all day!" "I most certainly cannot have the captain become bride to a man like this." "Hm?" "Did you say something?" "Ryner!" " Milk?" "!" " Captain Milk?" "!" "Explain yourself, Ryner!" "All your secret children, your secret wives, your lovers in Nelpha and Runa, and, and..." "Well, you have tons!" "What I seek is thunder!" "Izuchi!" " Whoa!" "Cut it out!" " Please, Captain Milk, calm yourself!" "Captain!" "Hold it right there!" "What's all this, out of the blue?" "!" "Ferris!" "Indeed, the dango freshly made at the Wynnit dango shop are on a different level from others." " The Wynnit dango shop?" " Where'd you even get..." "I bought them, obviously." "After all, this is within Roland's borders." "Huh?" "!" "It is a territory of my family, House Eris, positioned along the Roland coastal region." "How would I know that?" "!" "You can see a manor of House Eris from here." "Didn't you notice?" "There's no way I could see it from below!" "Wait, hold on." "You mean this is all Roland?" "Yes." "All right!" "Then let's go destroy the root of the evil that put us through all that crap!" "Yes!" "On the dawn of his defeat, I shall become ruler in his stead, and I shall make Roland into the Dango Empire!" "Come on, at least make it the Dango and Afternoon Nap Empire!" "Very well, I shall include both dango and afternoon naps at a 9:1 ratio respectively." "All right!" " Wait, a 9:1 ratio?" "!" "Oh well, let's go!" " Yes, let's." "H-Hold on a minute, Ryner!" "We'll make the arrogant bully king, Sion, pay for his tyranny!" "Yeah!" "Long ago, it is said that there existed countless beings with power great enough to envelop the entire world." "They were called demon lords, devils, dark gods." "The world was constantly in danger of being destroyed at their hands." "But, there were warriors, now called legendary heroes." "They would appear, with power far beyond the demon lords." "And they would slay the monsters." "If someone were to find relics of these so-called "Heroes"" "who defeated monsters strong enough to destroy the world..." ""To achieve a world where nobody ever loses anything."" ""A world where everyone can laugh and just take afternoon naps all the time."" "Is it an empty dream?" "Ridiculous." "If it was, then why did I become king?" "To change this out-of-balance world, to change everything..." "To make a world where everyone can live happily with a smile..." "Isn't that why I became king?" "And now it's beyond my grasp?" "!" "You think I'll just accept that?" "!" "I-I'm sorry." "I, um..." "You're cleaning?" "Sorry to scare you like that." "T-Thank you very much." "I-In my hometown, our lord treated us poorly and taxed us heavily." "We were always suffering." "But thanks to you, Your Majesty, everyone's able to live well now." "It is my pleasure to be able to work for you, Your Majesty." "Thank you." "And plus, he's always so chipper on the outside." "That's why everyone gets fooled and treats him like some kind of Hero King." "Even though he's really an arrogant bully of a king!" "Indeed." "Today, we kill him!" "I'll torment that smiling face of his until we kill him!" "Indeed." "He'll be rust on my blade!" "Come on, Ryner..." "W-W-What do we do?" "!" "We can't let him assassinate the king!" "I had him pinned as more than just an ordinary taboo-breaker, but to think he was a fiend aiming to overthrow the royal family!" "Even for an attempted royal assassination, there would be no escaping the death penalty." "W-W-We have to stop them, before Ryner commits even more crimes!" "Fear not, Captain!" "There's no way I'd let anyone try to assassinate His Majesty Astal!" " Lach!" " Pull yourself together!" "What's wrong, Ferris?" "I thought I sensed some deadly intent, but I must have been imagining things." "So, how will we torment Sion and kill him?" "Good question." "How about stealing something he likes and having him go," ""M-My precious thing..." "No, I can't take it anymore, flop!"" "Like that?" "I like it." "So what's something precious to Sion?" "M-Maybe dango?" "That's what you like." "What are you guys doing?" "Claugh Klom?" "I wasn't expecting to see you here, Luke." "Weren't you assigned to the taboo-breaker squadron?" "What are you doing here?" "You two know each other?" "A little, from back in the military." "Weren't you supposed to be sent to Estabul?" "I was." "But there were rumors that someone's trying to assassinate Sion again." "I came back to check it out." " Does that mean?" " Have they already been?" "They?" "What's wrong?" "!" "M-My stomach hurts!" "My stomach..." "I have to go to the bathroom!" " We can't have that, now!" " Ow, ow!" " Captain Milk, the bathroom is this way!" " It hurts!" "You'd better hurry." "Gotta hurry!" " Hey, don't just go off when..." " Come on, let her be." "Putting that aside, I take it Sion's doing no differently?" "He's as much of a workaholic as ever." "If he doesn't take a break once in a while, the guys working for him should beat him up." "Ryner, I'll be certain to protect you!" "Ryner?" "Ryner!" "Milk, get down!" "What I seek is thunder." "Izuchi!" "W-What?" "Pull back!" "Ferris!" "You okay?" "R-Ryner?" "Is this..." "I'm not sure either." "I thought I felt deadly intent." "Are they assassins after Sion or something?" "The king's got it rough." "Separate assassins?" "Then, you weren't really planning to assassinate His Majesty after all, right?" "Oh, yeah!" "Crap." "If I'd left them alone, they could have taken care of Sion for me." "Ferris, hold up!" "You can let those guys do what they want!" "Ryner, you're such a..." "What I seek is thunder!" "Izuchi!" "Izuchi, Izuchi, Izuchi," " and an Izuchi!" " Cut it out!" "To oppose Gastark, a certain minimal amount of power will be needed." "Which means I'll have to prioritize strengthening my hold on Estabul." "Even if I entrust the military to Claugh, I'll have to handle the nobles myself..." "Are you trying to kill me?" "!" "Good morning, Ryner." "Good morning, my ass!" "You could have broken my nose!" "You tried to kill me too, right?" "By leaving something like this over the door." " So, when did you come back?" " Just this morning." "And?" "What are you doing in my bed?" "It's a long story." "Oh, yeah." "I discovered an incredible truth!" "Truth?" "I recently got stuck drifting in the ocean." "The ocean?" "I couldn't see the coast at all." "It was vast around me, and the sky was so high." "I couldn't hear anything but the sound of waves and the cries of seafowl." "I found myself reflecting on a lot." "Things like, can I be satisfied with my life the way it is?" "Or why does it suck so much for me day after day?" "Yes, I know just what you mean." "Then I realized it." "It's him." "It's his fault!" "It's all the fault of that diabolical king of the Roland Empire, Sion Astal!" " So you tried to kill me?" " Yup." " With a dictionary?" " With a dictionary." "That's the truth you reached after your travels all over the place these past few months?" "It's friggin' amazing, isn't it?" "Yes, it's amazing." "Truly amazing." "But Ryner, you acted rashly." "A royal assassination is a serious crime." "Especially when it's a Hero King, beloved by people across the nation." "You're calling yourself a Hero King now?" "I've been wondering for a while." "Where do you get that sort of confidence?" "I'm a man who was meant to be king from the day he was born, after all." "That doesn't embarrass you at all?" "It's the truth, so it can't be helped." "See, my shine is different." "It's the shine of a man of a noble character that comes from a pure heart." "I can't take this!" "I'll just kill you!" "Then I'll bring peace to this nation!" "Hold on, listen to me, Ryner!" "Sion?" "You must be tired." "You think so?" "Yeah, I do." "I'll be fine now." "I just had a chance to lie down." "Just for a second!" "If it was me, I'd sleep fifty hours a day." "Fifty hours a day?" "That's an amazing technique." "You think I could do it?" "Why don't you try quitting all your work just once?" "I could hardly..." "Not gonna happen, then." "You diabolical enemy of all dango, prepare yourself!" "Ryner!" "Snap out of it!" "T-The king has been bitten by the poisoned fangs of the perverted sex fiend?" "!" "No way!" "Huh?" "Your Majesty Astal?" "What is Ryner doing with you?" "So that's how it is." "I'm sorry, Ryner, for not noticing until now." "Even if the winds of society blow coldly upon you, be happy." "What conclusions are you jumping to?" "!" "To achieve a world where nobody ever loses anything." "One that doesn't make that child or Kiefer cry." "One where Tahile, Tony, and Fahle don't die." "One where Sion doesn't have to brood." "A world where everyone can laugh and just take afternoon naps all the time." "Yes... the lynchpin." "So Milk Callaud is Ryner Lute's lynchpin." "The tie that keeps Ryner Lute from leaving Roland, or rather, from leaving Sion Astal." "That is the king's weakness." "His fear of Ryner Lute leaving of his own accord." "Hero relics." "Through them, a peaceful world created without killing anyone." "One that Ryner Lute desires, where no one dies, no one kills, and no one suffers." "An ideal king..." "That is the chain that binds Sion Astal." "But that will break His Majesty." "An ideal king that fulfills everyone's hopes." "Illusions like that break people." "They break kings." "Ryner Lute." "It seems that your removal will be necessary." "Vestiges of that day I had forgotten" "Faint in the direction of the sky" "Our hearts should have been connected" "The trembling eyes don't answer" "No matter how much I believe" "No matter how much I want to convey" "This voice won't reach" "Filaments of light" "Carve everything into my body" "From here where I set out walking" "Memory segments" "Untie the strings of fate that now bind me" "I want to grow strong" "So that when we meet again" "I can give you more protection" "It's no use." "As long as I stay in Roland," "I'll be used and killed by that diabolical, arrogant man!" "I get the feeling that if I don't leave this country soon, it's going to suck worse and worse!" "Okay, Ferris!" "Let's get in gear and set out!" ""Munch""