Magic Gems Gourmet

Chapter 218

TN: Please read my translations only on my website since I never give my permission to any site to host my translations. And if you like my translations, please support this site on Ko-fi and Patreon to read several chapters ahead!

Enjoy~

ED: LonelyMatter

Chapter 218 – Retreat To The Battleship

Meanwhile, after parting with Cain, Sylvia stood alone on the road leading from the port city of Roundheart to the royal capital.

“I wonder if it was us who made him suffer this fate.”

Sylvia could see the World Tree of Gluttony growing larger and larger in the direction she was looking.

It had spread its roots deep into the royal capital, entwining itself with vines and wafting a sweet fragrance.

It was sweet, savory, bittersweet, and yet it exuded a delicious taste that made one salivate.

If someone were to ask what it smelled like, it would be hard to find an answer, but one could immediately tell that it was full of dangerous charm.

“Hurry! Retreat to the battleship immediately!”

“Wait, Your Excellency! The Heim soldiers are in the way…”

Then, the army of Ishtalika came from the direction of the royal capital. Lloyd and Majolica were at the head of the line.

They rode their horses at great speed, taking all the surviving knights with them as they retreated to the battleship.

However, the path they took was blocked by the Heim soldiers who had gathered there, and they were unable to maintain their course.

“Hmm… I wonder if these adventurers from this continent are wearing Heim armor…?”

Murmuring with pity, Sylvia took out a magnificent staff from nowhere and tapped the ground twice.

Then, a strong wind blew around her, and the Heim army noticed Sylvia’s figure.

“Who the hell are you…!”

“Nice woman. Hey, first come, first served, right?”

The Heim soldiers raised their voices in an obvious manner and stared at Sylvia with eyes like hyenas.

However, Sylvia, who was on the receiving end, was probably used to the men’s leering eyes because she didn’t seem to mind their stares.

“…W-who is that woman? Everyone, hurry! Hurry and save that woman…”

The army of Ishtalika continued to retreat―Lloyd, who was riding at the front of the retreating army, noticed Sylvia and sped up his horse.

“That boy is… That marshal boy, huh? Yes, yes. Then I must help him.”

Even though they were on a battlefield with clouds of dust rising, the area around Sylvia was calm.

She gave everyone the impression of being elegant and refined as if she were holding a tea party.

However, there are always boorish people, and the Heim soldier, who had been seduced by Sylvia’s charm, pushed aside his base desires and attacked her.

“Hey, lie on your back like a whore! Ah… what?”

But the strong arm he had raised lost its feeling, and the sensation of moving his fingertips disappeared.

Without understanding why, the Heim soldier looked down at his arms and then,

“Oh, how beautiful… Will you show me more?”

The Heim soldier’s fingertips crumbled into shining sand… sand that looked like glass.

This continued, gradually spreading to his elbows and shoulders… and then,

“What’s the matter? You’re so scared.”

Sylvia turned with a smile on her face.

“Hyiii… hey, don’t come near me! Stop… stop…”

“…You asked for a woman yourself, so isn’t it rude to make that face?”

The end of the Heim soldier was hard to describe.

Just as Sylvia reached out to touch the soldier’s cheek, he turned to sand and disappeared, blown away by the wind.

The sight of the sand flying away was impressive, like a snowy landscape reflecting the light of a midwinter sun.

This scene surprised not only the Heim soldiers who were all around them but also Lloyd, who was trying to help Sylvia.

All were uniformly horrified by the sight, which they had never seen before.

Then, unaware of the fear they felt, Sylvia began to speak cheerfully.

“Peddlers ply their trade, healers cure the sick, warriors fight battles, and the king rules over them all. So what do witches, who live forever, do?”

As she spoke, Sylvia waved her hand in a charming gesture, and the Heim soldiers nearby turned to sand.

However, no one answered, and they simply moved away from Sylvia in fear.

She looked at the Heim soldiers with a sad expression, and then, prefacing her question with “Well then,” she asked again.

“And what will the Heim soldiers do here? Will they destroy the enemy, Ishtalika? And will they cross the sea and attack with high spirits?”

…Of course, no one answered.

The only thing the Heim soldiers could do was to prepare for battle by keeping their weapons at the ready.

For them, Ishtalika’s army retreating was also a terrifying sight, and gradually, a look of confusion spread across their faces.

“I see. You are fools.”

Then Sylvia became discouraged, and with a cold look in her eyes and a sneer on her face, she let out a voice that seemed to say she had had enough.

“If you had known that you were fools, perhaps you would have had wise men among you―but there is no salvation for the unconscious fool.”

The wind was blowing.

A strange wind blew around Sylvia, both cold and warm, dulling the senses.

“To the fools who cannot speak, the wise will show them.”

Sylvia tapped her staff wearily.

She tapped the floor gently.

She wasn’t doing anything conspicuous, just creating a beautiful scene.

“Isn’t it wonderful?”

That was all she could say.

However, everyone understood that Sylvia was serious, and the Heim soldiers were driven by even more fear and attacked Sylvia without thinking.

“I love beautiful scenery―I love it. So all you have to do is help me…see, it’s easy, isn’t it?”

To the Heim soldiers, Sylvia’s words and actions could only be described as those of a madwoman.

But Sylvia was completely serious. There was not a hint of deceit in her eyes.

“W-what on earth is that woman?”

Lloyd was the one who showed the most confusion.

This was because everything Sylvia did was only done to the Heim soldiers, and the Knights of Ishtalika were not harmed in any way.

He could not decide whether she was friend or foe, and the situation left him in a state of confusion that he could not ignore.

Then Sylvia turned to Lloyd, who was riding his horse in a state of confusion and looked at him with eyes full of feminine kindness.

“Hurry. Run to the battleship as fast as you can!”

“L-Lloyd-sama! That woman is dangerous! There is a possibility that that woman is the trump card that the Red Fox left behind…”

“It doesn’t matter! That woman is probably… no, that woman is almost certainly not our enemy!”

“Even so, what in the world could have caused such a sudden change of heart?”

Lloyd’s sudden change of heart left the royal knights stunned, but they continued to ride their horses beside Lloyd, although they were still shaken.

“I felt the same kind of love and affection that my late mother had.”

Did the war drive him mad?

With all due respect, the royal knights felt this sense of crisis toward Lloyd.

Yet Lloyd’s eyes remained as heroic and fierce as ever.

In the end, the royal knights believed Lloyd and continued to retreat.

…What the army of Ishtalika did next was simple.

They rushed to the port city of Roundheart, and while they watched the Sword King rampage, they boarded the battleship where their allies were waiting.

Then, after taking the two members of Grand Duke Augusto’s family they had rescued to a safe room, Lloyd boarded the Leviathan, the sea dragon battleship.

＊＊＊

Though he had nearly died, Lloyd’s body was nearing its limit as he hurriedly rode the horse.

But without even a moment to rest, Lloyd strode to the wheelhouse.

He rushed there with several of the royal knights to check the information.

“We have returned to the ship. Someone report the current situation―hey, Lili. Is it okay for you not to rest?”

Then Lloyd’s eyes caught sight of Lili.

She seemed to be deep in thought, standing by the window with her hand to her mouth, but when she heard Lloyd’s voice, she rushed over to him.

“Lloyd-sama! You’re safe… I’m so glad…”

“I’m only safe because I was saved. I might as well have been dead, but I want to ask you how things are here. And that woman we met on the way… and that knight who was rampaging over there… what was that all about?”

When Lloyd mentioned that place, he pointed in the direction of the port city of Roundheart.

“Ah, um, that woman… is she the one in the black robe with the incredible sex appeal?”

“W-well, yeah, something like that.”

“So, the knight who was rampaging is the one with the incredible silver hair?”

Even in a state of emergency, Lili seemed to be confused as well.

It wasn’t a very appropriate choice of words, but Lloyd also agreed without a second thought.

“They’re probably just the two people you’re imagining.”

“After all, we don’t seem to know either.”

“…Huh?”

“I don’t know how to explain it, but if I leave some things out, it would be like this…”

And so Lili began to talk.

She told them how she had gone to treat Chris after returning to Leviathan and how Dill had arrived later.

Then, when she was resting because she was tired, a huge Kraken suddenly appeared, and she wondered what to do when…

“Then those two guys came, and the silver-haired guy defeated the Kraken with a single blow, and then they ran off to the port city.”

“I see. I understand―I don’t understand.”

“A-ahaha…”

Lili laughed dryly at Lloyd’s answer.

But Lloyd also had a memory of the two of them.

“But now that I think about it, I think those two were related to Ain-sama…”

The timing was too good.

Starting with the appearance of the Living Armor named Marco, the army of Ishtalika received a lot of help to get this far.

Even those who were waiting in the battleship received help in defeating the Kraken.

“People related to Ain-sama?”

Then Lili revealed her doubts at Lloyd’s words.

“Where is Ain-sama? And what happened in the royal capital?”

“Ah, I think the Red Foxes were defeated.”

“So we won…!”

When they were told that the matter of the Red Foxes, who had been the main target, had been resolved, Lili and the crew members let out a loud cry of joy.

However, when she saw the contrasting expressions of the royal knights, Lili’s face suddenly darkened.

“Lloyd-sama. Where is Ain-sama?”

Lili asked the same question again.

Her voice was harder than before, and she asked as if she was interrogating Lloyd.

When this happened, Lloyd bitterly revealed his fear with an expression that looked like he was about to cry at any moment.

He clenched his fists tightly, and the royal knights all bowed their heads.

“…Lloyd-sama!”

Lili walked over to Lloyd, put her hand on his shoulder, and shook him.

Considering their positions, this was a very disrespectful thing to do, but no one would blame Lili for it now.

However, a woman appeared in the control room.

“…Ara? What’s wrong? Why do you look so scared?”

“Ah, you’re the one from earlier!”

The one who had come was Sylvia.

From Lloyd’s point of view, she had just helped him, and from Lili’s point of view, not much time had passed.

Sylvia entered the wheelhouse as if it were her own and reassured Lili, who looked upset.

“I’m sure you have a lot of questions, right? Don’t worry, I’ll tell you everything, okay?”

Sylvia’s words were like a drug.

When they seeped into Lili’s brain, they made her feel like she had to obey her voice without thinking.

“Wha… D-don’t touch me so suddenly! Who the hell are you anyway…!”

“Me? My name is Sylvia. Nice to meet you.”

“Oh, yes, thank you for your politeness―but who are you, Sylvia?”

No matter how politely she was greeted, Lili’s doubts were not dispelled.

Her mood also soared as she continued to be disappointed.

However, without paying any attention to Lili, Sylvia turned around and called out to the crew.

“This is an order from your Crown Prince. As soon as the knights have boarded, you must leave Heim immediately and retreat to the royal capital of Kingsland at full speed. Now, get to work.”

“…Ha!”

“Understood.”

After giving her orders, Sylvia turns around and looks at Lloyd and the others.

Lloyd and Lili, on the other hand, objected to the order.

It’s impressive that the crew members listened to her so obediently, but right now, it was more important to question Sylvia.

“What right do you have to give such orders? We can’t go back to the royal capital if Ain-sama hasn’t returned yet…”

“So you were related to Ain-sama after all… Still, you helped us earlier, but that’s another matter.”

“So? This is an order from the crown prince, Ain-kun.”

“…Are you serious?”

Lili asked.

The sharp emotions gradually disappeared from her heart, and she spoke to Sylvia with a somewhat calm attitude.

“I am serious. Now, can you prepare a room for us? I’ll tell you both in a quiet place.”

Then Lili and Lloyd looked at each other and thought about it.

After a short hesitation, Lloyd remembered the power of the other dimension that Sylvia had shown him.

It was hard to believe everything that had to do with Ain, but they decided not to provoke Sylvia here.

“Lili, let’s go to another place. I’m sorry, but there are so many things I don’t understand…”

In the end, it was Lloyd who gave in.

When he suggested that they calm Lili down, she sighed heavily and agreed.

At the same time, the Leviathan began to move, heading towards Ishtalika.

“Hey, come to think of it, isn’t that silver-haired person who was with you coming?”

“The silver-haired person… you mean Cain? Don’t worry, he’ll be here later.”

Sylvia answered Lili’s simple question with a friendly expression.

However, her answer gave rise to a new question.

“Even if you say he’ll come later, if the battleship leaves the area completely…”

“It will be fine. He said he’d swim or catch some fish and come back.”

Lili and Lloyd were stunned but quickly recovered and led Sylvia into another room.

If you like my translations, please support me on Ko-Fi and subscribe my Patreon to read several chapters ahead!