Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers, Vol. 3

by Ishio Yamagata

  “This is a more troublesome obstacle than I expected,” said Mora.

  With a nonchalant expression, Adlet replied, “This Cargikk guy is shaping up to be a pretty tough opponent, too. If you guys didn’t bring the strongest man in the world along, you wouldn’t have a chance.”

  “Oho, meow, it’s been a while since we heard your strongest man in the world spiel,” Hans said with a sarcastic smile.

  “’Cause everyone knows it’s a fact by now, so I don’t need to go out of my way to say it.”

  “You’re the only one who believes that stuff, Adlet,” Chamo retorted with some annoyance.

  “I-I believe it. I believe Addy is the strongest man in the world,” said Rolonia, trying to be considerate and wondering if he would get angry.

  “I believe so, too,” agreed Mora. “Adlet may indeed be the strongest in the world, in a way.”

  “Not ‘in a way,’” protested Adlet. “I am the strongest man in the world.”

  Fremy coldly interjected, “You announce you’re the strongest man in the world whenever you’re feeling anxious, don’t you?”

  She’d hit the nail on the head. Suddenly, he didn’t know what to say.

  “Meow-hee, so his incompetence is what made ya fall fer him, then?” asked Hans.

  “No,” Fremy said flatly.

  “Hrmeow-meow-meow. Then just what about him do ya find so attractive?”

  “…You’re terribly obnoxious, aren’t you?”

  Mora cut into their increasingly acerbic exchange. “We have no time. Let’s just go and find a way to deal with this ravine. Come, Hans,” she said, dragging the man northward.

  Adlet was about to head south with Rolonia and Goldof when Fremy called out to a member of the trio. “Rolonia.”

  “Y-yes? What is it?” She had been startled at the sudden mention.

  Fremy leaned in close and whispered something into her ear. Rolonia nodded and ran up to Adlet.

  “What did she say to you?” he asked as they set off at a run.

  For some reason, Rolonia hesitated. “U-um…she told me to make sure to keep you safe.” When Adlet looked back, he saw Fremy watching him. Embarrassed, Adlet continued south.

  “Fremy is a nice person, isn’t she?” said Rolonia.

  She is, thought Adlet, and he nodded. A little while ago, he’d started getting the feeling that Fremy and Rolonia had become friends. Had Rolonia gotten attached to Fremy, or was it the other way around?

  Meanwhile, about twenty kilometers south of Adlet’s party, fifty-odd fiends were gathered together. They had just emerged from the Cut-Finger Forest into a barren land covered with jagged rocks.

  Steam rose from beneath the boulders, and geysers erupted up around them. The fiends called this region the lava zone. A magma-heated water vein ran dozens of meters underneath the surface of the area.

  One of the fiends there was a massive amphibian with stone-plated skin and a large mouth. Occasionally, a strange-smelling vapor wafted from its body. A monkey-fiend was present, too, human-size but painfully thin. Its fur rustled incessantly, never coming to rest.

  And in the center of them all sat a downright adorable creature. It was small and odd-looking, like a cross between a squirrel and a dog.

  “The preparations are complete, Nashetania,” the cute fiend said quietly. Its name was Dozzu. This was the traitor who had rebelled against the Evil God and left the Howling Vilelands, and one of the three commanders governing the fiends. “We will determine our fate today, right here. Nashetania, no matter what comes, let us never give up and always keep on fighting.” Dozzu spoke very softly, so as to be heard only by the girl sitting beside him.

  “Are you worried about me, Dozzu?” Nashetania asked, and then she smiled. “Relax. I’m not scared of anything. Our victory is clear.”

  “…Nashetania.”

  “Goldof is with us, so we have nothing to be afraid of.”

  Dozzu nodded silently.

  “Then let us fight for our ambitions.”

  “For the sake of humanity and fiendkind’s future.”

  “And for our fallen comrades,” Nashetania said, standing and patting the dust off her bottom. “All right, everyone. It’s time for us to kill Chamo Rosso.”

  And with those words, the wheels began rapidly turning. Nashetania smiled as she watched the fiends around her.

  “Hey, Addy…Goldof…” After about ten minutes, Rolonia called to the other two as the two men stared down the cliff.

  “Did you find something?” asked Adlet. His voice held an edge of impatience. No matter how much they searched, no leads were turning up.

  “No, I haven’t, but…don’t you think this is odd?” she asked.

  “What’s odd?”

  “Why are there no fiends around?”

  Now that she mentioned it, Adlet scanned the area nearby. Tgurneu should have noticed by now that they were out of the forest. Even if Tgurneu hadn’t figured it out, it should have at least posted a scout to the ravine. It was quite odd they hadn’t encountered a single fiend so far.

  Adlet took out the signal flare Fremy had given him. The plan was that if anything unusual happened, Fremy would blow it up from afar to summon Adlet, Rolonia, and Goldof. “I guess this means that Fremy’s and Hans’s groups haven’t run into any fights, either.”

  “That’s weird, too…huh?” Rolonia pointed up at the distant sky. Above, a gigantic moth-fiend was flying toward them from deeper in the Howling Vilelands. Apparently unaware of them, it was streaking full-speed toward the southeast. “There was another fiend flying in that direction a little while ago, too.”

  “Strange.” Adlet looked to the southeast, puzzled. He could guess that fiends were gathering, but he didn’t know why. Tgurneu must have predicted that the Six Braves would head to the ravine. Was there any reason to ignore their party and amass fiends in some unrelated location?

  That was when it happened—Goldof started staggering off toward the southeast.

  “What’s wrong, Goldof?” Rolonia called out to him. But the boy didn’t stop. Slow at first, gradually picking up speed, he distanced himself from the two of them.

  Confused, Adlet followed. Something was peculiar about Goldof. Adlet chased him down—the young knight was running now—and grabbed his shoulder. “Hey, don’t just run off. We’re not doing anything over that way right now.”

  The moment Adlet realized his wrist had been grabbed, he was flipping head over heels. Before he could grasp what had just happened, his back hit the ground, and he had an unobstructed view of the blue sky.

  “Addy!”

  It was only when Rolonia called his name that he realized he’d been thrown.

  “What the hell are you doing, Goldof?” Adlet wrenched himself free and rolled to his feet.

  “…Her Highness…is in danger…”

  “What happened? Did something happen to the princess? Did something happen to Nashetania?” But Goldof didn’t reply to Adlet’s question. He just kept striding rapidly to the southeast. “Wait, Goldof. Explain to me! What’s going on with Nashetania?”

  “Her Highness is in danger…I’m going…to save her…”

  “What are you thinking? Nashetania is the enemy!” Adlet circled around to block his path. Goldof’s fist immediately plunged into Adlet’s gut, driving the breath from his lungs. Adlet’s legs buckled, and his knees hit the ground.

  “Goldof! What are you doing?!” Rolonia cried, running up to Adlet.

  The boy turned around and said to them, “Adlet…Rolonia…I’m…going…to save…her.”

  “W-why now, all of a sudden?!” Adlet couldn’t speak, so Rolonia asked for him.

  “Listen…up. Just…listen. Don’t…get in my way. I’m going to…save…her.” Goldof had been like a dead man ever since they had reached the Howling Vilelands, but now light had returned to his eyes. Deep behind his dark irises lurked a glittering flame. “I’m…going…alone. Don’t…follow me.”

  “Wait,
please, Goldof! What happened?!” Rolonia yelled after him.

  “The situation…has changed. If you get in my way…I can’t let you live.”

  “C-can’t let us…live?” she stuttered fearfully.

  That was when Adlet noticed something surprising. Tears were falling from Goldof’s eyes. He was looking in the direction that the fiend had disappeared, crying without a sound.

  By the time Adlet was on his feet again, Goldof had already turned away from them and set off at a run again. When Adlet tried to follow, Rolonia stopped him. “You can’t go alone. Right now, he’s…not in his right mind.” With a fearsome speed that was surprisingly for his large frame, Goldof headed southeast. Adlet and Rolonia could only watch his receding back as he left.

  Half an hour later, the six were sprinting across the plains after Goldof.

  “What is going on here?” Fremy demanded. The others, who had learned about the situation from Adlet and Rolonia, all expressed similar bafflement. Adlet didn’t know what it meant, either.

  “Maybe he just finally went insane?” suggested Hans.

  Frankly, Adlet thought that was the most likely explanation, too. Goldof’s behavior was incomprehensible. He knew that the knight felt deeply for Nashetania. And now that she had sided with the fiends, it was only natural for Goldof to want her back on their side. Was that what he had meant by “going to save her”? But Adlet couldn’t figure out why he’d run off to do that now.

  Farther down the road, the party discovered the bodies of some fiends. There were three. Adlet approached them, examining their wounds.

  “Was this Goldof’s work?” asked Mora. As far as Adlet could tell from the wounds, it most likely was. Something heavy and sharp had killed all three fiends in a single blow. Strangely, after they died, each one had had its stomach ripped open.

  “It’s like someone shoved a hand into their stomachs and stirred everything around,” said Adlet. “Goldof is looking for something.”

  “Maybe he’s trying to save Nashetania,” Fremy suggested.

  “…Saving Nashetania by ripping open fiends’ stomachs? How would that work?” The probability that Goldof’s sanity was slipping rose even further.

  They continued after their missing comrade. “What’s ahead?” Mora asked as they pressed forward.

  “A little farther and we’ll be back in the forest,” said Fremy. “Beyond that is the lava zone. There’s a magma chamber underground with active geysers everywhere. It’s a dangerous place.”

  “That idiot…What is he trying to do in a place like that?” Adlet muttered while Fremy came to a halt. The others stopped with her. “What is it, Fremy?” But when Adlet met her eyes, he knew what she was going to say.

  “We shouldn’t follow him.”

  “What?”

  “We have to assume that the lava zone is packed with fiends. Goldof is trying to lure us in. I don’t know what kind of trap Tgurneu and Nashetania have laid for us, but to continue would be suicide.”

  “You’re saying that Goldof is the seventh?” said Adlet.

  “I can’t say for certain. But this is extremely suspicious.”

  “B-but, Fremy,” Rolonia timidly protested, “he may have fallen into some kind of trap himself. Maybe Nashetania tricked him and lured him there…”

  “What do you mean?” asked Fremy.

  “He loves her, doesn’t he? If someone told him that Nashetania was in danger, I think he would go save her. The enemy might have lied to him to lure him into the lava zone.”

  “That doesn’t make sense,” countered Fremy. “How would Nashetania have tricked him and lured him in? Neither you nor Adlet saw or heard anything, right?”

  “Well…I…”

  She had a point. Chamo turned to the now-silent Rolonia and said, “Ohhh? Didn’t you suspect Goldof? Why’re you trying to defend him, then?”

  “U-um…I…”

  After a moment’s thought, Fremy spoke again. “You’re sharp, Chamo. Now that you’ve pointed that out, I’ve come to see a different possibility: Rolonia has tricked Goldof and sent him off to the lava zone. Now she’s having us chase Goldof to lead us all there. It’s not entirely unlikely.”

  Rolonia was stunned, unable to say anything as her lips opened and closed.

  “No more baseless speculations. Let’s leave that aside—we must reach a conclusion now on what to do about Goldof. Adlet, what do we do next?” asked Mora.

  But Adlet couldn’t decide. It seemed virtually certain enemies were lying in wait for them, and it was true that Goldof had been acting suspiciously. In his hesitation, he looked at Hans for wisdom.

  But Hans shook his head. “You decide, meow. Someone who don’t make decisions ain’t a leader.” He was right. Adlet was ashamed of himself for trying to leave this to someone else.

  “Frankly, I’m suspicious of Goldof, too,” he finally said. “And just abandoning him right now…Well, it wouldn’t totally be out of the question. But…” He stopped, agonizing for a moment. “I saw Goldof’s eyes. You can’t fake that kind of look. He’s sincerely trying to save Nashetania; I know that for a fact. At the very least, he’s not trying to trick us.”

  Rolonia nodded in response. “So?”

  “I think there’s still a possibility that Goldof isn’t the seventh. And as long as that possibility remains, we can’t abandon him. If we give up on helping and protecting our allies, we’re done for.”

  With cold anger filling her eyes, Fremy replied, “Fine. We’ll suppose that Goldof isn’t the seventh. And let’s say that Goldof has gone off to try to save Nashetania. But Nashetania is our enemy. If Goldof is going to save her, then he’s not on our side. He’s just a traitor. Why are you going to go save a traitor?”

  “He hasn’t betrayed us. He was in love with her. Wanting to protect the one you love isn’t betrayal.”

  “…Are you seriously going to go save Goldof?” Fremy demanded. Adlet nodded. Furious, she grabbed him by the collar. “Stop screwing around!”

  “F-Fremy…” Rolonia was upset.

  “You’re naive!” said Fremy. “Goldof is either the seventh, a traitor, or a lunatic! It’s one of those three! Why do we have to throw ourselves into danger in order to save him?!”

  “Meow. Yer yellin’, Fremy.” But she didn’t even hear Hans’s attempt to calm her down.

  “I won’t abandon an ally. I’ve made my decision, and I’m not changing it,” Adlet said, and he pried off Fremy’s hands.

  “Then I can’t go with you,” she said.

  Then Rolonia said, “Fremy, I think Addy is right.”

  “Why?”

  “I’m hopelessly anxious right now,” Rolonia explained. “I have no idea what kind of traps are waiting for us, and I could fall under suspicion of being the seventh at any time. And even so, we have to fight.”

  “So?”

  “But Addy will never abandon me. He’ll trust me to the very end. That peace of mind is what helps me fight, even if I can just barely manage it. I can join this battle because I believe Addy won’t betray me. And it’s not just me—I think all of us feel that way.” The group fell silent.

  “Fremy, you should yield this once,” said Mora. “I understand your feelings, but…let’s trust in Adlet.”

  “We made the decision to let him lead. Say what ya want, but there’s no helping it neow.” Hans smiled and started walking.

  Fremy looked down, shoulders slumped. “Adlet, I…” She started to say something but then held her tongue. Adlet could tell she’d been terribly hurt, but he couldn’t find any words to comfort her.

  One hour later, the six stepped into the lava zone, watchful of their surroundings. The ground was covered in craggy, dark gray rocks. Some of them were red hot, and Adlet could feel the heat through the soles of his shoes. Occasionally, steam would spew out from cracks between the rocks. The stench of the sulfur was strong enough to bring a grimace to Adlet’s face. The land was utterly lifeless, without a single insect or plant to be
seen.

  Adlet didn’t know anything about the area. Neither the Saint of the Single Flower nor past Braves had visited this place. Even Fremy said that she’d only passed close by here a handful of times.

  “…Not a fan of this terrain,” Adlet muttered. Rows of steep, rocky mounds between five and twenty meters high rose before them. Almost nothing was level. The hills were irregular, making visibility especially poor. Even from a higher vantage point, he couldn’t make a proper mental map of the topography. It was the perfect place to launch an ambush.

  “This doesn’t appear to be naturally occurring,” said Adlet.

  Fremy replied, “I heard it was originally a big volcano. When Cargikk made that ravine, it diverted the lava from here to there.”

  At the top of a nearby rock hill, Hans pointed off in the distance. “Hrmeow. There’s fiend corpses over there, too. Guess Goldof made it pretty far into the lava zone.” They all headed in the direction he had indicated.

  The bodies were in a similar state to ones they had found in the forest. They had been impaled, killed instantly, and then their stomachs had been sliced open.

  “What is Goldof doing?” Mora grumbled. They continued on.

  After about thirty minutes of walking, they crossed a string of small but steep hills. Between the hills, they discovered yet more corpses. Adlet had expected an ambush in the lava zone, but all they had encountered were dead bodies and no living fiends at all. There was no indication they would be attacked, either.

  “No one’s here. Maybe it is a trap,” Chamo suggested.

  Goldof couldn’t have killed them all, Adlet thought.

  When they walked even farther, a large, trapezoidal hill, about thirty meters high, came into view. When they climbed to the top, they found it was hollowed out in the center, forming a flat pit with a radius of about seventy meters.

  When Adlet peered down into the cavity, he gulped. “What on earth…?” Inside were piles of bodies—more than two hundred. The group rushed down the slope into the pit.

  “Goldof couldn’t have done this all alone, could he?” said Rolonia.