The Failed Swordsman Who Became the Strongest After Spamming the 100 Million Years Button

177. Allen Cell and Political Marriage [27]

I turned a sharp glare towards Zack, who proposed to cooperate.

「You kidnapped Ria… and you want me to believe you?」

Around August of last year, he abducted Ria and confined her.

He seems to be sheltering us for some reason now, but he’s not someone you can trust so easily.

「Zahaha! What an oppressive, cold, fearsome bloodlust! In the small time since we last met, you seem to have gone through a lot of fierce battles!」

Zack put on a belligerent smile, and replied with his own sharp glare.

And then, just when the atmosphere between us was reaching critical point,

「I think it will be okay.」

「Ri, Ria…!?」

An unexpected person defended Zack.

「Listen, Allen. When I was confined in the Phantom Spirit Laboratory with both hands and feet restrained, there was a researcher who… tried to do strange things to me.」

「…What?!」

This is the first I’m hearing of it.

(Strange things,” she says?)

Judging from her hesitation to say it, I’m sure he was trying to misbehave with her.

(To humiliate Ria who was bound… What nerve!!!)

As blood rushed to my head, murky darkness began to creep out of my body.

「W-Wait, Allen! Some kind of darkness I’ve never seen before is pouring out of you! I appreciate your feelings, but calm down! At that time, his attempt was cut down at the last minute, so nothing happened to me!」Ria flusteredly tried to calm me down.

「Is that so… I am glad.」

As I heaved a sigh of relief, Ria continued her story.

「W-Well, what I’m trying to say is that… Zack saved me from being attacked by that researcher.」

「Zahahaha, I guess something like that happened too. It feels so nostalgic now… Puha!」

Zack opened a second bottle of sake and poured the bubbling sake down his throat.

「I won’t go so far as to say he is a good guy, but I don’t think he’s a bad guy by nature. Even now, he is hiding us, so… Can’t we rely on him now?」Ria suggested, with a serious expression.

「…Hmm, maybe.」

If what Ria said is true, it seems that this guy is just a surface villain.

(Come to think of it, Zack was a『former Holy Knight』, right?)

He didn’t tell me why he defected from Holy Knight to the Black Organization, but… there must be no doubt that he used to be a man of justice.

(As Ria says, accepting his cooperation might be the best case here.)

This room we are in now is the residential quarters for general members; the tenth floor of Belios Castle.

It would be unrealistic to sneak out of the castle without the cooperation of someone on the『inside』.

「Will you hear me out, Zack?」

「Zahaha, of course, I don’t mind! I am very interested in what the『Extraordinary Sparkle』came to the Empire for! Let me hear it!」

So I decided to briefly explain the current situation in order to get the cooperation of my former enemy, Zack Bomber.