People in Xumi: I am really not the Dragon King

Chapter 486 Ying: Rebellion Leader? Who? Me?!

"Dear Miss Ying and Ms. Paimon, the rebels have been waiting for you in the Lower Valley for quite some time."

???

"Huh? A resistance army? Really?"

"Hikari and I have become this famous already?! We haven't even reached Umijima yet!"

With its mouth agape in disbelief, the white fluffy creature glanced at "Gu Zhong," who bore a striking resemblance to the "Yuan Shang" gentleman, rubbed its eyes, utterly astonished by the resistance's efficiency.

—They had just separated from the magistrate's men and hadn't even figured out the direction of Umijima Island yet after arriving in the war zone.
They were worried about whether the resistance would accept them, but in the short time they stood there, they were found by the resistance.

"—Oh! Miss Paimon, there's no need to doubt it. Your reputations are now soaring, you're practically household names throughout Inazuma."

"This mysterious foreign duo, even with only one of them fighting, were able to exchange blows with the General several times without being defeated."
As the final, powerful figure to stabilize the battle, a legendary figure like you is someone we, the "Rebel Army," have been eagerly anticipating for a long time.

"—This isn't a good place to talk. The team members are nearby. How about we move to another place together? Once we get there, we can hold a banquet and welcome you two heroes with delicious food and wine."

Looking earnestly at the "white floating breakthrough" in front of him, he emphasized "banquet" and "food" with particular emphasis. Having done a lot of research beforehand, Tanaka's expression was earnest and his tone was full of sincerity.

"."

"The final powerful figure? Are you talking about Paimon?!"

"—Hehe, you guys have good taste. But Paimon isn't actually that amazing; Luminous also contributed a lot."

Since embarking on the journey, no one has ever been able to recognize the importance of himself as the "core of the team" as quickly as Mr. Tanaka.
Slightly embarrassed, Paimon scratched his head and turned to look at Luminous beside him, conveying his thoughts through the void:
"—Hehe, Ying, I feel like this Mr. 'Yanaka' is a really good person, and the resistance is much more reliable than I thought!"

"We've been traveling for so long, and since he said there will be a banquet and delicious food, how about we go there together now?"

With a "strategy guide" provided by someone, perfectly timed compliments, and the temptation of delicious food, the white fluffy dumpling was easily won over.

With his eyes shining with anticipation for the upcoming banquet, Paimon was already eager to urge Ying to come with him.

fluorescent:"."

No? Is he really a good person? Why do I always feel like something's not right?

And Paimon, aren't you a little too easily fooled? You completely believed someone after just a few words.
It felt like everything was too coincidental. The speed at which that Mr. Gu appeared here was almost as if he was afraid that someone else would beat them to it.

"."

After a brief silence, he racked his brains but couldn't figure out who would impersonate the resistance fighters, given their proven track record.

Having met for so long, I haven't sensed any obvious malice from this person in the valley.

Seeing that Paimon was clearly beyond help, the blonde girl shook her head and finally decided to go with him to the valley to see his team members.

"This is the village entrance. His parents perished in the war long ago, and he is now all alone."

"This is Watanabe. He's a quiet young man who enjoys reading. He has a few minor quirks, though; he sometimes fantasizes about being a member of some secret organization."

"This is Harden. He practiced swordsmanship in his younger years and taught several very skilled students. Although he is getting old now, as the instructor of our resistance army, he can still hold his own against three or five Shogunate experts at the same time."

"."

After reuniting with the others, the two "reinforcements" introduced several of the squad members, who resembled Inazuma, to the two women. Meanwhile, Yui and Paimon headed towards their temporary camp.

For some reason, apart from an old man with a full head of white hair but muscular build, the names of the other members were surprisingly illegible, even giving the impression that they were pseudonyms.

But the faces of Inatsume people can't be faked; when talking about the pain of losing loved ones, the hatred on the faces of these team members was exceptionally genuine.
Ying, who had initially been slightly skeptical, looked at these "resistance members" who, though not very talkative, had pure eyes and seemed to genuinely welcome her, and her doubts finally dissipated somewhat.

"Come on, you two, please don't be shy. These are gifts that everyone specially prepared to welcome you. They are just a small token of our appreciation."

"You two must be tired after such a long journey. Have some food to relax, then rest for the night. Tomorrow I'll take you to see our 'Rebel Army' camp."

At the junction of Bayun Island and Haiqi Island, there is an unnamed fortress.

Led by "Harden," a swordsmanship instructor said to be very experienced in guiding people, they traversed the combat zone along a very treacherous path.
After traveling for most of the day, at the edge of this group of nameless ancient ruins, Ying and Paimon met all the participants who had come to pick them up.

There weren't many people; only about a dozen had arrived. It seemed most of them were still at the "resistance camp" and hadn't come over yet.
But just as the valley said, everyone here was very excited when they saw them, clearly having heard of their deeds and had been looking forward to this moment for a long time.

"—So much food! There really is a banquet?! Hehe, thank you all, Paimon then."

I could already see two long tables filled with various kinds of food, and I could smell the aroma emanating from the air.

After receiving the invitation from these "resistance members," the white fluffy ball was just about to start eating when...
But after seeing the rice ball on his shoulder, Paimon seemed to remember something and suddenly hesitated before asking:
"Speaking of which, are the supplies alright? You're treating us to so much stuff all at once; I heard the resistance's equipment isn't very plentiful."

Somewhat surprised that Paimon could think of this question, Ying, who was originally about to pull her guide back, paused slightly and also cast an inquiring glance to the side.

"Please don't worry about it. While other supplies are indeed not plentiful, food is not among them."
Many of our members are skilled hunters and fishermen, so the food for a feast will be gathered quickly. Please enjoy yourselves.

Before Gu Zhong could reply, the old man Harden who had led the way for them waved with a smile.

Seemingly to prove his point, he pointed to the prey hanging on the wall next to him, indicating that this was the source of food for the feast.

"Thank you, then we won't be polite."

A glance revealed that there were indeed many fish and beasts there, and the rebel members present all possessed an air of battle-hardened "elite".

It's clear there's a reason the resistance was able to hold out against the shogunate for so long; at least some of their squads were truly highly skilled.
She politely thanked him, and because of what she had seen and heard, she gained a lot of confidence. Ying was also looking forward to seeing what kind of person the leader of the resistance army, named "Coral Palace Heart Sea," would be.

"."

"."

"General Goro, are you sure this is the place? Strange, why haven't we arrived yet?"

Following the instructions of Lord Coral Palace, the Swordfish Squad, a special operations group, came to greet the blonde traveler and her companion.

But he was initially excited about participating in this top-secret mission.
But so much time had passed, and it was already completely dark. Neither the teams sent out to meet them nor those waiting there had found anything, as if the traveler had mysteriously vanished.
"Wait a moment. Let me look through the brocade pouch."
Let me see, page 178, third column, fifth item: "What to do if you can't find the person?"

He skillfully pulled out a thick "secret pouch" from his person. Inside was a summary of Lord Coral's deductions for various situations. Although there might not be enough time to flip through it at the last minute, it could perfectly solve problems in most cases. Faced with his subordinate's question, Goro, who was also getting a little impatient waiting on this "inevitable path," twitched his ears and tail and carefully studied the provisions in the secret pouch, wanting to know exactly where the problem lay.

The following evening, at the easternmost point of Haiji Island, at the Water Moon Pond.

After successfully intercepting the person and resting for a night, they traveled by small boat to this sparsely populated ruin.

Seeing that the plan was more than halfway to success, the support team exchanged a knowing glance and prepared to take the "princess" behind them to their "resistance camp".

"Uh, where is this place? So this is the rebel camp?"

"But Paimon remembers that the rebels' headquarters should be in a place called Coral Palace. Could we have come to the wrong place?"

After wandering around for a while, we finally arrived at a dilapidated ruin filled with broken walls and crumbling walls.

Watching the team members ahead navigate the deepest part of the ruins with such ease, Paimon felt that something was amiss.

"Coral Palace? Ah, of course it's in the Coral Palace."

"Don't worry, we haven't gone to the wrong place. This is just an entrance for everyone's convenience."

Turning around, he greeted the two people beside him with a smile, explaining that his headquarters was located in a similar position to the Coral Palace, and his tone was full of certainty.

"."

"—Look, this is the special device we're going to use, an ancient remnant from this site."

"As an accidental discovery during a previous exploration, once this teleportation device is activated, the two of you can easily reach our base camp."

Pointing to something that looked like the entrance to a secret realm, the brown-haired youth dressed in local Haiqi Island clothing began to explain.

—As the only valuable item in the ruins, the members of the cult had already begun construction on it.
After several adjustments, the teleportation point here has now been changed to the Yuanxia Palace directly below Haiqi Island, which is the base camp they will prepare for the princess.

"There should be a limit to how many people can use the teleportation device at the same time. Is it really okay for so many people to be using it together?"

Among the colleagues I met, no matter how I observed them, I couldn't detect any malice towards me.

Having dispelled most of her wariness, Ying was surprised that the residents of Haizhi Island could use a teleportation device, but she still focused more on practical matters.

"Ah, as expected of you, you even know this kind of knowledge. I am truly impressed."

"But rest assured, the teleportation device here is somewhat special and different from the usual situation."

"Although the process is somewhat slow and we can't reach our destination immediately after starting, but rather have to traverse a section of the secret realm, there shouldn't be any problem getting us there safely."

As he spoke, he invited the two people beside him and the other team members to stand in front of the secret realm entrance.
It has been confirmed that the "princess's" trust has been successfully gained through their interactions.

After everyone was in position, the valley leader smiled and activated the teleportation, beginning the long-awaited final step.

A moment later, inside the secret realm.

Walking through a winding corridor, I felt a bit curious about this method of teleportation.
Paimon, floating in the air, looked around in astonishment, his tone tinged with disbelief:

"Is this also a technology mastered by the resistance? How amazing, no wonder they were able to fight against the Shogunate army for so long."

"Although I've heard that your leader is very wise, could that Coral Palace Heart Sea also be a very accomplished scholar or inventor?"

Putting aside a few special cases, this is the first time we've seen someone other than Ying use teleportation.

Paimon couldn't help but exclaim, increasingly convinced that Coral Palace Heart Sea was a formidable individual.

"Hmm, Lord Coral Palace?"

"While she is indeed very intelligent, she is not our leader."

fluorescent:? ? ?

Paimon:? ? ?
"—Huh? Aren't you the rebels? Isn't Coral Palace Heart Sea the leader? Has something happened on Sea Spirit Island?"

Realizing something was amiss, Paimon's eyes widened, and he reflexively asked a question.

"."

"Ah, I'm sorry. It was my fault."
I'm so excited to see you both! Then I suddenly remembered there's something important I forgot to mention. Please forgive me.

After a slight silence, as if he had truly forgotten, the brown-haired youth pointed to his colleagues around him and began to explain earnestly:

"—Actually, unlike the original resistance on Haizhi Island, we are a newly formed 'resistance army.' We were originally scattered throughout the wilderness, but after hearing about your heroic figures facing the lightning, we spontaneously gathered here."

"As loyal worshippers of the two of you, we guessed that you might come to Haiqi Island. Because we were so eager to see you, we have been patrolling and waiting in that area."

"We are already many people who have lost everything and are filled with despair. The fact that we are standing here together right now is because of your presence."
If you don't mind that our members are only slightly better than ordinary people, and have nothing but loyalty, then we humbly request that you listen to the plea of ​​us followers:

"Miss Ying, please lead us!"

"—We swear to the authoritative god of that distant land that, in return for guiding us to gather here, we will place all your commands above our lives."

"."

As the words fell, many members turned their gazes in sincere admiration, their expectation and respect utterly genuine.

Even when swearing an oath to the gods and mentioning their willingness to give their lives for the mission, these members remained calm and composed.

fluorescent:".??"

No way, there really is a second resistance group?
And even though they're all supposed to be his admirers, why does this fanatical atmosphere give me the illusion that I've accidentally stumbled into some evil organization?
The situation was so unexpected that I didn't know how to react for a moment.

He glanced at the white fluffy ball beside him, who was clearly in a daze, thought about what Paimon had eaten, and looked at the eyes of the people in front of him.

Feeling a heavy sense of expectation and responsibility, Ying blinked, somewhat puzzled, realizing that she seemed to have inexplicably become the leader of a rebel force.

(End of this chapter)