Published at 16th of September 2019 4:30 pm

Chapter 280: Bonus - Visit to the Unknown - 05 Veldora’s Excuse

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

“-What are you doing, master…?”

Ramiris asked Veldora, who was cooking okonomiyaki with a big grin. She had been the first to return.

As Veldora had gone against their agreement after being left alone for just a short while, it could not be helped that there was a sharpness in her voice.

However, Veldora did not seem to take notice. He kept pouring more batter over the grill and added shredded cabbage on top.

It was a mystery as to where these ingredients were coming from, but he handled them expertly as he mixed them into the batter.

And then he said:

“Kaaa-hahahaha! Ramiris, do you want some too?”

“Yes. But, that’s not the problem!!”

Ramiris nodded to Veldora’s light-hearted response but quickly remembered herself.

I won’t be tricked by food! It was with this strong will that she rained down words of reproach over Veldora.

“We just talked about this earlier. We are supposed to act with caution!”

However, Veldora just snickered at her.

“Ramiris, calm down. If you’re just going to complain about everything, I will just have to keep these spoils of war for myself, won’t I?”

“…What?”

“Look at this. If you put it together like this…”

While waiting for the batter to cook, Veldora quickly assembled a robot.

It was a torso on top of what looked like a tank.

A simple machine with two arms.

However, the left arm was distinctly shaped like a drill.

“Huh. That’s an interesting combination.”

“It looks so cool.”

“I’m going to copy that…”

The children watched it with interest and were clearly impressed.

This only made Veldora more and more arrogant.

“Hehehe. Of course. It should be no surprise that I can create a partner who is both cool and strong!”

He said with a satisfied nod.

And then he glanced at Ramiris and continued.

“What do you think, Ramiris? Will you still pretend to be uninterested?”

He must have been sure of his victory because he said this with a puffed-out chest.

Veldora’s words were more than enough to make Ramiris hesitate.

“Huh? Uh!?”

Ramiris’s head seemed to spin as she began to wonder what to do.

And it was then that a freshly cooked plate of okonomiyaki was put in front of her.

It was an exquisite dish that used lots of shrimp and pork.

Savory sauce, seaweed, and bonito flakes covered it. The smell alone was enough to make her drool.

Ramiris gulped.

“This is for you. Eat up.”

“Uh, aah…okay. I will then…”

That strong will to resist any trickery now disappeared from Ramiris’s heart.

Veldora thought he had won then, but it did not last for long.

“Lord Ramiris. Do not be deceived.”

Ramiris was looking at the okonomiyaki with sparkling eyes when Beretta’s warning reached her ears.

“Huh? What?”

She was clearly shaken as she looked around her.

She looked at Veldora, then Beretta and then back at the plate of okonomiyaki. It was obvious that her heart was not sure.

Ramiris really did want to side with Veldora, but her brain was telling her that it would not end well.

She didn’t know what to do.

Veldora watched her and smirked. Then he suddenly shouted, ‘Rocket Puuuuuunch!’

And then, right in front of Ramiris’s eyes, the newly made robot began to move.

Bang!! There was a loud sound.

And then the part passed the elbow of the right arm fired off like a rocket.

The fist slammed into the wall.

Veldora shouted again.

“And now the deathblow! Drill Break!!”

The robot heard this and started to move again.

The caterpillar groaned and then the string attached to the right arm began to pull the body in.

Once the right arm was back in its socket, the left arm rotated like a drill at a tremendous speed and slammed into the wall.

There was a deafening sound.

And then, destruction.

“WOOOW!!”

The children were greatly excited by this.

And so was Ramiris.

She stood up while still gripping her chopsticks and then shouted excitedly.

“Amazing! That was amazing, master!!”

“Kaahahahahaha! Kaa-hahahaha!! Of course, it is.”

Delicious okonomiyaki.

Children to play with.

A cool robot.

New entertainment.

Everything was here.

And so it went without saying, that Ramiris gave in.

◇◇◇

Ramiris began to happily eat the okonomiyaki. Beretta sighed with exasperation.

However, he had not given up yet.

Ramiris was simple, so he had fully expected her to be tricked by Veldora.

What was important, was when it came to determining who was responsible-and that would happen for sure-was how to ensure that Ramiris would not get in trouble.

Because Ramiris’s mistakes = him being rebuked. Or so Beretta thought.

-You were there, and yet you could not stop them?-

Beretta could imagine Rimuru’s face as he asked this.

You ask too much of me-was how he really felt, but he would never say it out loud.

Beretta took things very seriously.

And so he wondered what it was that they needed.

For instance, what he considered the ideal, was the relationship between Milim and Frey.

As self-centered and forceful as Milim was, she somehow always obeyed what Frey said.

Veldora also could not go against his sisters.

If it was an order from Velzard or Velgrynd, Veldora would have no choice but to quietly listen.

In the world, everyone had someone they were no match for.

It wasn’t necessarily about combat ability, but there was a special relationship that determined who was above who.

(Perhaps if I was trusted by Lord Ramiris more…)

Beretta thought.

Beretta believed that Ramiris would listen to him more if she trusted him.

But Beretta was mistaken.

When it came to Milim and Frey, she also got quite the headache.

It was the same with Veldora and his sisters.

If Veldora really did listen to them obediently, then they would not have had such a hard time with him.

While Veldora did not do much mischief these days, he had been responsible for much in the past.

As for trust…it wasn’t something you gained overnight-and Beretta had gained more than enough of Ramiris’s trust over the last few decades.

It just so happened that she had been susceptible to Veldora’s tricks on this occasion.

Had it only been Beretta and Ramiris here, Beretta would not have had as hard a time.

But Veldora was here too.

And that was the biggest reason for Beretta’s misfortune.

Beretta watched as Ramiris hungrily stuffed the okonomiyaki into her mouth. He sighed once again.

Then he switched gears and talked to her.

“Lord Ramiris. Please calm down and listen to me. If you continue with this, you will become an accomplice to Veldora’s crimes.”

“Huh?”

Ramiris froze in surprise.

Beretta tried to continue on with his warning, but…

“Hehehe. Ramiris, don’t you worry. You already are an accomplice!”

“What!?”

“You can’t make any excuses now that you have taken a bite of the okonomiyaki. We must now walk on the same bloody road!!”

Veldora said with a laugh.

“Lord Veldora, this is no time to laugh. Please stop involving Lord Ramiris in such things.”

“Kaa-ahahahaha! Don’t worry, Beretta. I am not stupid. I have this all thought out.”

I wished you wouldn’t think of so many things, thought Beretta.

He was sure that whatever it was that Veldora was thinking, it would not be good.

Still, Veldora did not listen.

He just laughed, ‘Ka-hahahaha!’ and continued to cook his okonomiyaki and trade them in for parts that the children had brought.

“-Hey, you. What are you doing!!”

Just then, Sharma, who had finally caught up with Ramiris and Beretta, looked at Veldora and shouted.

Next to her, Rindo stood with a shocked expression as he looked at the grill.

Hey, hey. Said Zaza as he sighed.

Beretta knew all too well what they were feeling, but he did not know what to do.

However, Veldora did not look like he cared at all…

“Oh! Do you want some too? I intend to stay here for a while, so there is no need to act so reservedly!”

He said with a blinding smile.

“Now, now wait a minute. What is this you are giving the children…!?”

“Ho-how outrageous. It was one thing for us to have to do it, but to force children to have to suffer as well…?”

Sharma and the others were furious.

However, just like he had been with Beretta a moment ago, Veldora just laughed without a hint of remorse.

“I don’t see any problem. From what I hear, this ‘city’ has natural ingredients, no?”

“No, that’s…”

“-That is only a rumor. We do not know about what happens inside of the city. However, we have heard stories when we were children…”

“But, well, unlike the food production plants outside of the city, the security seems to be very tight there. It would not be too surprising if they had ‘real’ ingredients that were not synthetic.”

Hmm. Veldora nodded.

This enemy that the resistance fought-the Mechanized Empire of Almsbine-he had heard much of them during their last conversation.

But Veldora did not think of such difficult matters such as, which of the two sides was in the right.

He just heard the fact of it and accepted it.

Enemies should be crushed, but this Empire wasn’t exactly an enemy to Veldora.

But they weren’t allies either.

If there was food there, then they should share it with the resistance. That was the idea that flashed in Veldora’s mind. And he did not stop to consider their reasons for a second.

In any case, it was pointless to even expect Veldora to care about their circumstances.

“Is that not right? So we should just take it by force.”

“Are you stupid!?”

“That’s impossible!”

Zaza and Sharma shouted at the same time.

Of course.

Just like the most recent incident, they could attack a food production plant that had the weakest security and still lose men.

As for attacking the ‘city’ itself with all of its tight security, it was practically suicide.

“Ka-hahahaha! What a joke. You cannot think like that and then expect the children to have hope, can you?”

Veldora said as he looked at the young faces that surrounded him.

Then he turned serious and continued.

“I have an idea. I want to show these children that the world is full of wonderful things. This food that changes flavor is not bad in itself, but it is not enough to satisfy the heart. You have to know the heights and then want it. I believe that it is that pursuit that is noble!”

He declared.

“No, but…”

“That will only make the Empire furious. In a way, they overlook us. But they will start showing their true power if we push any further.”

“Indeed. While we call ourselves the resistance, we do not really have the power to overthrow the Empire. Even if we could unite all of the districts, it would still not be enough to take one city…”

The three of them rejected Veldora’s words.

And they were right, judging by the known facts.

Even if the resistance went out in full force, they would be easily rounded up by the city’s defense troops.

They had worked so hard up until now so that did not happen, so it was no wonder that they didn’t agree with Veldora.

However.

“Soft!! You’re too soft! Wasn’t there once a time of prosperity? Don’t you want to get that back? Do you really want these children to have to walk down that same road of despair as you!?”

They all became quiet at this argument, which seemed serious at a glance.

Veldora himself thought that he had said something rather good, and he looked smug.

As he looked around with a satisfied face, Ramiris asked him hesitantly.

“Bu-but, master. This okonomiyaki is delicious, and the children are happy. But what will you do if they don’t have this kind of food in the city? They might know what true despair is then, you know? Beretta is right. I don’t want to get involved and then get in trouble over it…”

Ramiris did not know what to do and her eyes constantly shifted around.

She was afraid that doing something without permission now would just make a bigger mess.

Beretta’s words had made her realize that she was getting too involved.

And while Ramiris was usually the carefree type, this was finally taking things a little too far.

It was here that Veldora suddenly smiled and laughed.

“Don’t worry, Ramiris. I have thought about it. And I have come to a conclusion.”

“…A conclusion?”

Ramiris looked at Veldora and waited for his answer. This time she rearmed herself with a strong will. She would not be tricked again.

Veldora nodded solemnly and said:

“I have decided, that even if everything fails, we can just relax and leave it all to Rimuru!!”

“I see!!”

“Don’t listen to him, Lord Ramiris!!”

Beretta screamed, but his voice did not reach them.

Veldora and Ramiris were already smiling as if the problem had been solved.

“Rimuru would be able to solve a problem like this very easily. We only have to wait for him.”

“That’s true! It would be easy for Rimuru!!”

It was nothing.

If they had trouble, they could just leave it to Rimuru. That was what Veldora said.

And Ramiris had agreed.

There was no worry on her face now. And she bit excitedly into her okonomiyaki.

◇◇◇

These two were hopeless-Beretta lamented.

Leaving a mess for Rimuru to clean up was a good way to make him angry.

But neither of them seemed to want to consider that.

Besides, the original plan had been to return to their world before Rimuru got back, and destroy all of the evidence.

But they must have forgotten this because Veldora and Ramiris were laughing as if they had solved everything.

(They really are hopeless. Lord Ramiris is completely involved now, but she doesn’t seem to even realize it…)

Beretta alone realized what situation they were in.

It was quite simple. Veldora had been sulking and wanted to become popular. And he merely dragged Ramiris into his plan.

And now Sharma and the others were dragged in as well. And they were going to declare war on the Empire.

He just did whatever he wanted.

Unfortunately, even if Beretta knew why Veldora was doing this, he could not do anything to stop him.

While he was quite exasperated inside, he was at least able to steel himself for whatever the angry Rimuru might do.

“So, what will you do? Now that it has come to this, we shall help you with all of our power.”

Veldora said.

Come to this? It is all your fault! Beretta thought. But he kept his mouth closed.

He would just watch.

Sharma was calm.

Veldora could not sweep her off her feet with his talk. And so she did not give him an answer immediately.

If it was yesterday, Sharma would never have dreamed of allowing an attack on the Empire’s city.

She would have ignored it as the laughable idea of a madman.

However, after witnessing the powers of Ramiris and Beretta, she began to wonder if they could use them.

Even if they didn’t attack the Empire, she did not want to lose their cooperation.

-Know the heights and then want it-

Those words burned in her chest.

(You make it sound so easy. And yet you don’t know how much we have suffered because of what we wanted—but, maybe it is the same for him? Perhaps he has also experienced a time of such hardships?)

Sharma realized that those words had really moved her.

Still, she had to be careful.

“Attacking the Empire. Such a thing cannot be decided so lightly. We must contact Light of Dawn’s headquarters and discuss what we should do.”

So she avoided an immediate answer.

Still, within her heart, Sharma was thinking of it in an optimistic light.

Rindo was also thinking.

-Making the children walk a path of despair-

No, that could not happen.

It was a reality that he had not wanted to admit, and therefore looked away from.

It was so hard just living, that he didn’t know if he did it while looking forward to anything.

But this man named Veldora had only come here today, and yet the children had already accepted him and played happily.

Rindo felt jealous.

(Indeed… What had I been looking at all of this time? It was just the adults who were in despair. The children were having so much fun-perhaps true happiness was not something given or taken, but something you find on your own. If possible, I would like to talk to someone from the Empire, just once.)

That is what he thought.

Then something might change.

When he looked at the incredibly confident Veldora, he started to feel that he too could do anything.

“I agree with Sharma. However, I am personally very pleased with your offer.”

Rindo said with a smile. For once, he allowed his true emotion to show a little.

Zaza had a similar opinion to Sharma.

The only difference was that he knew how strong Beretta was in combat.

And so he couldn’t help but wonder; what if?

Beretta’s strength could give them a chance.

(However, it couldn’t be so easy, could it? The Empire was huge. This was like stepping on the tiger’s tail. But…)

Zaza had many years of combat experience, and so he knew first-hand just how the powerful the Empire was.

And that was why he couldn’t agree to it so lightly.

But that wasn’t the only reason…

(What if…)

Zaza has seen a new hope in Veldora and the others.

He had lived desperately in this claustrophobic place for so long, and so in his eyes, the carefree way that Veldora and the others acted was almost blinding.

After thinking about it for a while, Zaza came to a conclusion in his heart.

He felt that this situation would be the catalyst.

It would be the first step to changing the relationship between the Empire and the resistance.

However, one wrong step could lead to a disaster.

And so in order to avoid that, Zaza looked at Veldora with determination.

At the man who smiled with so much confidence.

(Heh. What a strange person. He doesn’t fight at all and leaves everything to Beretta, and yet he acts so importantly. But…)

I do not dislike him. Zaza thought.

In any case, things would only get worse if they did nothing.

They had to make a decision somewhere, or they would just run out of luck.

They did not know how long the energy plant in their hideout would continue to run.

“If we are going to do it, I’ll call my friends too. We can contact all the surviving mercenary troops here. If we do it, we have to go in full force.”

Sharma had delayed her decision, but the time would come soon enough.

It was just a matter of acting sooner or later.

In that case, it would be better to make that decision while they had reliable allies.

And so those were the reactions to Veldora’s words.

They were mostly favorable.

Well, except for Beretta…

(…Well, well. It looks like they have all been fooled. Veldora is not thinking about it very hard at all. He just wanted a reason to cook okonomiyaki for the children…)

—Why?

They had only left him for a short while, and it had turned into this.

Beretta could not understand it.

And now it seemed the world was about to be thrown into a great war.

While Beretta was annoyed at how wrong it all was, he also started to consider what he could do to minimize the casualties.

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