“…Which is?” prompted Adlet.
“Cargikk, Dozzu, and I have a contest to see who can kill the most Braves of the Six Flowers. The first one who kills three of the six wins, and the winner will make the remaining two submit to him, becoming the sole ruler of all fiends.”
“A contest?”
“Two hundred years ago, we made a contract through the Saint of Words. The contract was simple: The first to kill or cripple three of the Six Braves would become the leader of all fiendkind. The remaining two would swear allegiance to the victor in perpetuity. Any who defied those terms would die. Obviously, if Nashetania kills all of you, that would mean points for Dozzu. Furthermore, if Dozzu’s scheme causes a falling-out among your group and results in a death, that would also be a point for him.”
Rolonia moaned. “A game…points…It’s just like…”
Tgurneu’s beak shook, and it sneered. “You’re quick on the uptake, Rolonia. You’re exactly right. This battle is not between you and me. It’s a contest for the seat of leadership between myself, Cargikk, and Dozzu. Your party is nothing more than a pawn in our game.”
“That’s bullshit,” said Adlet. Fremy was trembling in rage, while Rolonia’s eyes widened in shock. Adlet’s humiliation was deepening.
“Is that enough to convince you?” said Tgurneu. “This is the reason I will side with you. To be clear, the situation at present is overwhelmingly in Dozzu’s favor. At this rate, Chamo will die. Dozzu probably also has a plan to kill the rest of you. It seems to me like you have no choice besides joining forces with me.”
“What will we do, Addy? Are we really going to…?” Rolonia trailed off.
“I’ll promise you this,” said Tgurneu. “I will not attack any of you until Dozzu is dead. I’ve also ordered the seventh I sent to you to do everything in their power to save her. I haven’t actually accomplished anything to obstruct you so far, have I?”
“Who are those fiends waiting to kill Chamo?” asked Fremy.
“Those are from Dozzu’s faction. Though until yesterday, they were mine.”
“…Give us a little time to think about it,” said Adlet. He doubted that Tgurneu’s entire story was the truth. But at the same time, he didn’t think it was all fabricated, either. Only a fool would craft a lie that was pure falsehood from beginning to end. Lies were most effective when quietly slipped in among truths. Part of what Tgurneu was saying must have been true. But how much was false, and how much wasn’t? That, Adlet couldn’t determine.
“One thing about this doesn’t make sense, Tgurneu,” Fremy said. “Why did you enter a contract that stipulates the one who can kill three of the Braves becomes the ruler of all fiends? Aren’t you and Cargikk and Dozzu enemies?”
Her question ruffled Tgurneu, just a bit. It looked away from her and said, “…An error of youth, I suppose. I was foolish back then. Never would I have guessed Dozzu would play as dirty as he has.”
“Don’t evade my question.”
“It would be a long story, Fremy. I don’t think you or I have that much time left.”
“…True.” In any other situation, they would have liked to press Tgurneu for detail. But at this point, the fiend was right.
“Come, what will you do? Decide, Adlet.” Tgurneu urged him for a response.
Silently, the boy mulled it over. Was it really true that the traitor Dozzu opposed the other fiends? If not, that would mean that Fremy had lied to them, which was a possibility Adlet refused to even consider. She was an important ally.
There was a chance the fiend they called Dozzu didn’t actually exist. So far, they hadn’t seen Dozzu, not even once. Tgurneu could have produced a fictional enemy and then pretended to be on their side in order to approach them. That option could hold water.
But they had just seen those fiends’ corpses, and they’d also witnessed signs that Nashetania had fought someone besides the Braves. It was pretty clear that their enemies were experiencing some internal conflict, and chances were high that this traitor Dozzu was real. So what about Nashetania? Was it true that she wasn’t Tgurneu’s, but Dozzu’s?
“If you’re slow to decide, Adlet, your chances at victory will escape you,” said Tgurneu.
“Shut up, Tgurneu,” said Fremy. “Do you want to die here and now?”
Adlet considered further. There was a clear contradiction in what Tgurneu had told them: Goldof. Nashetania and Tgurneu’s seventh were on opposite sides, and the fiend commander had said that the seventh was doing everything they could to save Chamo. So then what was Goldof?
After a long silence, Adlet spoke. “I think your idea of working together is not a bad one, Tgurneu.”
“You’re joking, right, Addy?”
“Don’t be stupid!”
Rolonia and Fremy were both shocked. Adlet ignored them and continued. “But you still haven’t told me the most important part. Is Goldof one of yours?”
“Yes, that’s the problem, isn’t it?” Tgurneu stroked its beak. “I only know one thing about him. Goldof is not the seventh I sent you. That is all.”
“…In other words?”
“I don’t know who Goldof really is, either. I used to think that he was one of the real Braves of the Six Flowers. But Goldof was Nashetania’s loyal retainer, so why didn’t she reveal the truth to him? That part is a mystery to me.” Tgurneu paused for a moment. “I can think of three possibilities. The first is that he is a second impostor, sent by Dozzu. If he is, then we don’t know where the remaining Brave is, do we? The second possibility is that he is a real Brave, and Dozzu is controlling him somehow. I believe that’s most likely.”
That’s not it, thought Adlet. When they’d fought, the look in Goldof’s eyes had not been that of a man being controlled. He was fighting of his own will and making his own judgments.
“The third possibility is that he’s a real Brave
