Never Betray That Glory!

"Aaaah!!!"

Shards of glass scattered before her eyes, and wind howled in her ears.

The unfamiliar experience made Hina shut her eyes and scream.

Then, with a thud, Dill landed safely with both girls in his arms.

Not daring to pause for even a moment, he raced toward the harbor.

During the earlier struggle, he had already figured out the nature of this group of Dills.

Machines given an absolute order.

No reason, no intelligence.

If he sailed out to sea, these people would only swim after him.

Once they were aboard a ship, they would be safe!

"Dill, up ahead!"

Robin gave a quiet warning. On the road ahead, a crowd of townspeople charged toward them carrying things like frying pans and folding stools.

"Aaaah!!"

"Raaaar!!"

"Waaah!!"

Their faces twisted, they shouted meaningless slogans.

Dill's heart sank, his expression turning grim.

If everyone in town had become like this, there was no way he could reach the harbor.

These townspeople were nothing to fear, but the harbor guards had not only guns, but cannons.

"Robin, use your power to secure yourself and Hina."

"I'm going to be making some bigger moves next."

Dill had no intention of splitting up with the girls. After eating the fruit, he could run far faster than either of them. Surely he couldn't steal a ship only to have to wait for them?

Of course, if they truly faced certain death, he would still throw the girls clear.

Better for him alone to die than for everyone to perish.

Especially Hina, the rich girl dragged aboard their pirate ship.

"Right, Hina, those guys are after me. Do you want to leave?"

He didn't ask Robin's opinion, because he already knew what she would say.

"No, Hina wants to stay with you two."

A trace of panic showed on Hina's face, but her eyes were firm:

"Robin, hurry and do what Dill said!"

Robin nodded hard, activating her power and silently adjusting their positions.

The taller Hina was moved onto his back, where she wouldn't block Dill's view.

The shorter Robin moved to his chest.

Several arms secured them firmly to Dill, sandwiching him between them, one in front and one behind.

This freed Dill's arms, allowing him to exert himself and coordinate his movements better.

He changed direction, avoiding the crowd and racing toward a small three-story building.

Then he leaped, using a jutting sign as a foothold to reach the roof.

The town's buildings followed a regular pattern: the closer they were to the castle, the taller they were, and vice versa.

This orderly arrangement let Dill travel across the rooftops without facing the chaotic crowds.

"Aaaah!!!"

The townspeople in the streets continued following relentlessly.

One brown-haired middle-aged woman even flung her frying pan at him.

"Have you got no civic decency?!"

Dill twisted aside to dodge a projectile and couldn't help shouting down:

"Which bastard threw their underwear at me?!"

Quite a few townspeople were throwing things like that woman. Fortunately, this place was far from the forest, so there weren't any Hunter Dills shooting arrows.

There were, however, plenty of things like eggs and rotten cabbages.

Combined with their earlier experience of being escorted through the streets under guard, this completed the full public-parading experience for all three of them.

Hina, who had felt humiliated earlier, was excited this time instead.

"Look ahead, Dill!!

The townspeople over there look normal!"

On the street ahead, quite a few townspeople had spotted the crazed mob racing down the road and were fleeing in panic.

"Great!"

Delight appeared on Dill's face. Now that was how normal people reacted!

Since these townspeople were safe, the harbor soldiers farther away were surely safe as well.

He stretched his long legs and raced from rooftop to rooftop, every leap stirring a rush of wind.

Hina screamed a couple of times during the first few jumps, but as they kept jumping, she grew used to it.

"Hina, get a black spear ready. It'll be hard to steal a ship empty-handed."

"Mm-hmm!"

Soon, a half-meter-long black spear was passed into his hand.

Dill took the black spear and casually swung it a couple of times. It felt quite handy.

It really was well suited to being a children's toy. No matter how it was hit, it wouldn't break. No wonder the weapon shop owner wanted to buy it.

Right, he had forgotten to collect the rest of the money.

Their bags and things seemed to have been taken to the castle...

The smile on Dill's face suddenly froze. His white hair streamed in the wind, making him look rather forlorn.

"My custom pocket watch!!!"

Robin & Hina: "..."

"All troops, on alert!"

Harbor guard Dill looked utterly serious as he shouted at the soldiers before him:

"We've received word that some of the town's residents have suddenly gone mad and are heading toward the harbor;

Whether they want to jump into the sea or steal things;

Whatever the case, we absolutely cannot let them harm the normal people nearby, much less breach the restricted zone!"

He raised his right fist and declared solemnly:

"We will never betray the glorious mission bestowed upon us by His Majesty the King!!"

"We will never betray the glorious mission bestowed upon us by His Majesty the King!!"

The guards in white uniforms roared in unison, their expressions impassioned, drawing repeated glances from the outsiders within the restricted zone.

They formed ranks outside the restricted zone, the flintlocks in their hands ready to rout the crazed townspeople at any moment.

Before long, they spotted a two-meter-tall, white-haired man with two little girls hanging from him.

"Don't fire! He's normal! He's seeking protection!"

The captain raised his hand, stopping his subordinates.

The man's shouts confirmed his guess.

"Help! Everyone in town has gone mad!!"

Dill raised both hands high and pleaded:

"Please, at least protect my two little sisters!"

"What are you saying, you idiot?!"

The captain swept a large hand behind him and rebuked him:

"Are you trying to make me betray the glorious mission bestowed upon me by His Majesty the King?!"

"Get behind me with your sisters! I'll hold off the townspeople!!"

Whoosh~

Like a gust of wind, Dill raced past without looking back, leaving only a word of thanks in the air:

"Thank you so much! You're a really good person!"

The captain was about to stop him. Townspeople were forbidden from entering the restricted zone.

Unfortunately, the crazed townspeople had already caught up, so he had no choice but to direct his subordinates to begin holding them off.

While gunfire erupted over there, Dill leisurely picked out a ship over here.

First, he ruled out the red ones.

Since people couldn't go ashore to sightsee, almost no passenger ships stopped here, only cargo ships bringing goods to trade.

Without much hesitation, he selected a small cargo ship.

The larger the cargo ship, the more guards it carried.

He only wanted to leave, so naturally, he would take whichever option was most convenient.

Climbing the rope ladder to the deck in a few quick movements, Dill took the black spear Hina handed him and demanded fiercely:

"Who's the captain?!"

The only five sailors on deck fell silent at once, then burst into laughter.

"Brother, you brought your two daughters along to rob us?"

"Look at that twig he's holding. That's hilarious."

A man in a striped sailor shirt wiped away tears of laughter, drew the flintlock tucked into his belt, and said swaggeringly:

"If you want to rob someone, you need at least one of these. Know what this is? It's called a gun. Say it with me..."

The man's voice gradually faded as an enormous shadow slowly engulfed him.

Dill snatched the flintlock, brought it to his mouth, and ate it without expression.

Crunch~ crunch~

The sound of teeth crushing steel made the man step back involuntarily, a little fear entering his eyes.

Swallowing the unpleasant-tasting flintlock, Dill opened his mouth and breathed a jet of flame, giving the man before him a new set of curls.

"Now, can you tell me who the captain is?"

Bang!

The cabin door was kicked open, and a burly woman in plain cloth clothes emerged, her face full of impatience:

"I'm the damn captain! Which blind bas-

Oh~ handsome boy, what brings you aboard my ship?"