The Hero King, Reincarnate to Master the Art of War

「It’s probably an imitation!」

「Imitation?!」

「T-, that thing is?」

「Even though it looks so similar?」

「It doesn’t look similar, it is made to look similar.」

And, obviously, there was a reason why someone would make such a thing. The alleged Prisma that had destroyed Lekrea, turned out not to be a Prisma, not even a Magic Stone Beast. Ian said in his last breaths that the whole thing had been set up from the beginning. Which means it was what it was.

「Wh-, what do you mean, Glis?!」

「You’ll know if we get close enough. Let’s go!」

「Well, you certainly look happy, don’t you!」

The decisive question was not whether the thing was a Prisma or not. It was whether it was strong or not. And, whether it would fight Inglis or not. In that sense, the latter was probably not a problem. Ever since Vufailbane was no longer playing with her, she was in a sore need of a sparring partner. This was perfect timing.

「Sure, sure, let’s go full speed! Accel mode!」

The Star Princess unit accelerated, approaching the enormous rainbow-colored figure. As they got a closer look, Rafinha and the other two shouted

「……Wait, there are machine parts like the Flygear here and there?!」

「But there are also parts that look like flesh and blood!」

「However, I cannot find the gems that should have been the characteristics of Magic Stone Beasts?!」

「It is in the shape of a dragon, after all! My guess is that it is Highland machinery built into a flesh-and-blood dragon. Let’s take the example of Mr. Ian, his was a machine built into a human, I do think this thing is similar to him.」

Its surface was adorned with paint in colors similar to those of a Prisma, and they even embedded luminous elements to make it closer to one.

「……! Glis! Then, that means this thing belongs to the Highland?!」

「Wait a minute! The one that attacked the former Lekrea was this one for sure, right?!」

Inglis nodded to Leone’s question.

「I think it is. It is disguised to look like a Prisma. This country hasn’t relied on the Highland as much, so the people here wouldn’t have the necessary knowledge! It is no wonder that they thought they have been attacked by a Prisma.」

「……No way! So you’re saying that the destruction of Lekrea was a ploy from the Highland?!」

「Yeah. Perhaps, it’s Lord Abel’s ploy. That’s why Mr. Ian said that everything was set up from the beginning. I guess he figured it out along the way.」

「……That’s cruel! Ian put his life on the line! What he did was harmful for Charalia, but it doesn’t change the fact that he gave his everything to get into a body like that so the same tragedy wouldn’t happen again in Alucard! And yet, all of it was…」

Taking into account that a Prisma appeared in Alucard, and the town of Lekrea was decimated by it, the Kingdom pursued a policy of increasing national defense through the help of the Highland.

However, there were never enough crops to offer to Highland to trade with Artifacts and Hyrule Menaces. Therefore, the country decided to follow Highland’s strategy of breaking off their close relationship with Charalia in order to have Venefique and Alucard pinch it from two sides.

Ian had literally sacrificed his body and soul to this mission for the sake of Alucard. And the impetus of his action is the very fact that Lekrea was attacked by Prisma. That turned out to never be a fact to begin with. Ian’s will and spirit had been twisted from the beginning, most probably, at the hands of Abel.

「Unforgivable! Where is Abel, where is that brat!! I don’t know why or how, but he’s still alive, right?!! I’ll make sure he won’t rise from the dead for the second time!!!」

Rafinha even shed tears, enraged on Ian’s behalf. For better or for worse, her purity and kindness are true working factors. It could also be said that this immaturity stemmed from her youth. However, as a guardian watching over Rafinha, this sight was both endearing and smile-inviting.

「Rani……」

Before Inglis could calm her down, someone else responded to her shriek.

「HAHAHAHA!! Stop with the jokes! As if the likes you can do that!」

The boy’s clear voice had a haughty sound to it that didn’t match his immature tone. The voice came from the head of the dragon-shaped fake Prisma. Before they knew it, a boy with heterochromia, one eye red, and the other blue, was standing there.

「Abel!」

「Th-, that guy is…?! He’s really just a child!」

「Which means the whole thing has always been set up by the Highland!」

「B-, but what’s the meaning of this?! He looks exactly the same as I saw him before! He couldn’t have survived through that!」

「Must be because he is the same as Mr. Ian!」

「Glis, you mean…there are multiple of him?」

「Yes. I believe that is the case!」

The one difference with Ian was that Abel appeared to be nothing more than a complete living being, not even mechanized. If they had the technology to duplicate living beings like that, then it seemed possible to duplicate Inglis as well. By all means, she would like to use this technology to secure the most perfect sparring partner for herself.

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