The Hero King, Reincarnate to Master the Art of War ~And Thus, I Became The Strongest Knight Disciple (♀) in The World~-Novel

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Inglis walked up to him briskly.

「I am painfully aware! That is why I suggest you to take a break.」

「……?」

「Rani! Can you please bring it here?」

「Y-, yeah! Hang on!」

What Rafinha brought… was a skewer of deliciously grilled Dragon God meat.

「This is the flesh of a Dragon God. Lies hidden within it is a life force so strong, it can be an elixir to cure all kinds of illness! Behold.」

Inglis turned around, and what lay before her was the sight of King Charleas sitting against a wall as Redas and other Knights took care of him. He had been wounded nearly to death, and yet he recovered enough to regain consciousness.

The flesh of a Dragon God, not only was it tasty, it had healing properties too.

People said that good medicine was bitter, but that wasn’t exactly true when it came to the flesh of a Dragon God.

Inglis could expect no less from the meat of dragons, beings that came from outside this world, and Dragon God was the highest of all. Common sense of this world simply didn’t apply to them.

「……! So, I failed to take the head of your general…」

「I won’t say anything conclusive just yet. So, here you go. Please help yourself.」

「What, you want to offer me mercy… and in return, you’d ask me to stop fighting and surrender?」

No, she didn’t have that intention, not the slightest bit…

Rochefort’s golden shield then began to glow white before taking up a humanoid silhouette.

What appeared was a beastfolk woman, with beast ears and tail, much like Ripple. And she looked to be about the same age as her as well, at around early twenty at most.

The impression she gave was one of maturity and ladylike grace. This person must have been the Hyrule Menace. She appealed to Rochefort with a frantic look.

「ROSS! Let’s, let’s stop all this! If you can be saved, then I’m…!」

Rochefort then glared at her…

「「Who said this fight—!!」」

His words overlapped with Inglis’.

「CAN BE STOPPED?!!」

「Should be stopped?!!」

While they differed in the end, what they said was essentially the same.

「E-, Eeehh?! A-, aren’t you trying to save Ross?」

Ross was someone the Hyrule Menace knew long and well. She had expected him to not listen to her when she appealed, but Inglis practically saying the same things word by word was outside her expectation.

「I am, why?」

「If so, then shouldn’t we stop fighting? You offered to save his life in exchange for his surrender, don’t you?」

「And what is the purpose of doing that?」

「Wh-, what do you mean what? You’ll win, and the fight can end without endangering yourself!」

Inglis wordlessly shook her head.

「Why should I want something like that?」

「……?! S-, so, why did you offer it?」

「I am offering this so that we can continue fighting. Surrender is simply outrageous. I’d rather not have you resort to that…」

「……! You……?!」

「Showing mercy to your own enemy— is that it?!」

Even as Rochefort moaned those words, his voice was riddled with pain. Something needed to be done fast or else it would be too late.

「No, no. I don’t mean any condescension whatsoever. Giving mercy means that I’m not expecting anything in return, no? I am expecting something in return; the pleasure of fighting the two of you at full power with my heart’s content!」

There was nothing weird about offering payment for an experience, it was a common practice.

It was the same as paying tuition to receive an education at the Knight Academy.

In this case, the one Inglis paid was a Holy Knight and a Hyrule Menace from an opposing country, and the experience they offered was the opportunity to fight them to the best of their abilities.

「So, please take it. You will be up and running in no time.」

「HAA HA HA! You’re batshit insane, aren’t you?!! You could have just killed me no problem, and yet you’d rather deny a dead man from his grave just so that you could hit him all over again! That lunacy could be the downfall of your country, you know?!」

「As long as it works out in the end, who’s to blame if I have a little bit of fun on the side? I am sure it’ll be all fine.」

As long as she won, then there wouldn’t be a problem. She had no intent to lose either way. It would be fine. Inglis answered with a gentle smile.

「—I really wish that’s what going to happen, haa…」

Rafinha heaved a deep, deep sigh.

「Ah, Rani… I-it’s not a no, right? I can do it, right? Look, isn’t it pitiful if he just died after he ran out of power? Like, I’m giving him a warrior’s mercy or something…」

「……This is hard. I mean, I do feel bad that he’s sick, but… you know? I still think that it’s best if you just give him the meat and ask him to surrender in return.」

「I-, I am of the same opinion……」

The enemy Hyrule Menace nodded her head to Rafinha’s words.

「We can’t do that, Rani! That’s bad!」

「Arles! Don’t say something stupid!」

Rochefort rebuked the Hyrule Menace, whose name was Arles before he grimaced and wiped his blood-stained mouth as he answered Inglis.

「Kukuku! Fine, I like it! I’ll eat that! Give it!」

「Here you go~ It’s good, isn’t it?」

Rochefort took the meat and attempted to bring it to his mouth, but… His hands were shaking so badly, the skewer almost slipped out of his hand.

For a man with a big mouth, he was no longer as strong as he used to be.