Absolutely Do Not Touch ELdmia Egga – Chapter 148

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
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The mercenary, Gwens, was identified.

Gaendal explained that Gwens had been so eager to cooperate that any attempts at interrogation would have felt pointless.

He’d simply brought him back as he was.

“He’s willing to discuss the rebellion with you. Our objective was to stop the mercenaries, so his fate is your decision.”

Gaendal shoved Gwens towards me.

Maintaining a carefully neutral expression, Gwens walked forward, knelt, and bowed his head.

“My name is Gwens. I’ll tell you anything, if you spare my life.”

He was cooperative, a useful witness, a survivor by chance.

The situation was unfolding favorably, or so I wanted to believe.

But looking at him, I just wanted to kill him.

It had been a while since such a personal feeling had surfaced, but being associated with those who had burned down the village… it was unsettling.

“Your name is Gwens, is it?”

“Yes.”

“I’m starting to doubt you have any information worth sparing your life. What do you think?”

He flinched, clearly tense, but kept his head bowed.

He was likely scrambling for a way to survive.

It was a simple choice, really.

The royal family had been preparing to take down Count Bosha for a long time.

Whether their preparations were thorough or not, I intended to crush him with everything I had.

Keeping Gwens alive might yield useful information, further weakening Bosha, but it might also be a waste of time.

“I always spare those who cooperate. When I caught you, I intended to bring you back to the capital, regardless of your actions, as long as you cooperated. But seeing this… this reminds me of some unpleasant memories. I’m starting to reconsider my initial plan.”

I had spared that mercenary, Fabiera or whatever his name was, the one hired to slaughter adventurers, simply because he cooperated.

My current animosity towards Gwens was purely personal.

Asirye, still embracing me from behind, remained silent.

She wasn’t necessarily respecting my decision, but rather waiting to see what I would do.

If I hesitated, it would be better for my sanity to simply kill him and honor the dead.

“I’m the deputy commander of Hawk’s Talon. I handled all the important tasks. I can testify about everything, from documents to communication with the rebels. You won’t regret sparing me.”

He was too valuable a witness to simply discard.

“Deputy commander? You’re lying. They’re all dead, aren’t they?”

“No, sir. Why would I lie about something so easily disproven?”

From Mongsoon to this, things were falling into my lap too easily.

I couldn’t shake my suspicion.

I leaned closer, lowering my voice so only he could hear.

“The rebel’s name. Tell me.”

“Count Envelde da Bosha.”

Damn it, he was telling the truth.

I tested him with a few more questions about things I already knew, and he answered correctly every time.

An unexpected windfall.

All signs pointed to keeping him alive.

I had to make the best of it.

Once I’d made my decision, I acted quickly.

I hoisted him over my shoulder and carried him to Gies, who had landed the wyvern.

“Gies, can you deliver this to the Ogatorf mansion?”

“Excuse me? What… you’re not suggesting I treat a person like cargo, are you?”

Despite his words, Gies understood.

He adjusted the wyvern’s saddle.

“I’ll tie him up like cargo.”

“I appreciate your understanding.”

It wouldn’t take long to fly there, so there was no need for courtesy.

Gwens, seemingly resigned to his fate, didn’t complain as he was tied up.

“Will you be helping the others reach the gate city, Eldmia?”

“For now, yes. I don’t want to leave them and risk further complications.”

Besides dealing with the mercenaries, my only other plan was to find some magic books and study.

Given the choice between a time-sensitive task and one I could do anytime, the former took priority.

As Gies took off with Gwens bundled like a sack against the rising sun, Asirye crossed her arms.

“I’m impressed, Eldi. Not everyone can make rational decisions when emotions run high.”

“Your praise makes it worthwhile.”

“Sure it does.”

She didn’t seem entirely convinced, but she simply smiled and leaned against me.

Everything that followed went smoothly.

The survivors, despite their grief, quickly prepared to leave for the city under our guidance.

They had fled the demon army, seeking refuge, only to lose their families to humans.

Yet, most of them remained resolute, their eyes clear.

It was remarkable.

“They’re strong.”

“They’re warriors, even without weapons.”

Yekaterina and Gaendal shared their impressions of the survivors, but I couldn’t fully agree.

I sensed something else driving them, not just courage and resilience.

It was madness.

The kind of madness I would have felt if I hadn’t lived a second life.

The madness of revenge.

“Can you offer them any guidance?”

Asirye’s question startled me.

It was as if she had read my thoughts.

“Me?”

“I think you can offer them something unique.”

“…I don’t know. It seems presumptuous for a fifteen-year-old to offer life advice, especially after what they’ve been through. I can’t do this every time I encounter something like this.”

“If that’s how you feel.”

She seemed surprisingly unconcerned, simply leaning against me as we waited to depart.

“Is that all?”

“Yes. I respect your decision. You’ve thought it through.”

She seemed genuinely curious, not manipulative.

Her casualness left me with a lingering unease as we followed Gaendal’s lead.

As we walked through the forest towards the gate city, I continued to ponder the situation.

Even during our rest stops, my mind raced.

I was leaning towards saying nothing, simply escorting them, when a group of women approached me during a break.

“Thank you for saving us.”

It began with gratitude, but I immediately understood their true intention.

Most of them were the ones whose eyes held that familiar madness.

Our break was only fifteen minutes, so I got straight to the point.

“You can’t have him.”

Their carefully constructed composure shattered.

Their eyes flashed with malice.

“…Why?”

“I caught him.”

The woman at the front scowled.

Several others had joined them, creating a tense atmosphere.

Gaendal started to approach, but I raised a hand, stopping him.

“Let’s be clear. You can have your revenge. The one responsible will be dead soon.”

Their madness turned to hostility.

It wasn’t threatening, but it was unpleasant.

I frowned.

“And the one I sent away on the wyvern will testify. He’ll face justice, and go to prison. If you want to kill him when he’s released, I won’t stop you. But that would be a crime. Until then, there’s nothing you can do.”

“What… what right do you have?”

It seemed they had skipped my explanation and assumed I was preventing their revenge.

“What right do you have to deny us our revenge?!”

I wondered if that was a normal thought process, but perhaps grief and madness could warp one’s perception.

I decided to humor them.

“The right of someone who fought and killed forty mercenaries and claimed a witness as a spoil of war.”

It sounded like a joke, but it was true.

Even if the spoil of war was a person, it was still a spoil of war.

Selling captured bandits to slavers was common practice in this world.

“We lost our families to them.”

“I know. I lost everything to the demons, and I’m preparing my revenge. But that doesn’t mean the lives of the demons who burned my village belong to me. If someone else kills them, I have no recourse.”

I spoke as calmly as I could.

Their hostility seemed to waver.

I wasn’t sure why.

Did they believe me when I said I was also a victim of war?

I had expected them to accuse me of lying, but they weren’t that unreasonable.

“And you’re still going to stop us?”

“No. I’m not stopping you. I’m simply informing you that you can’t have your revenge.”

“That’s the same…!”

“It’s not. The ones you want revenge on will all be dead soon. How can you have revenge when there’s no one left to take revenge on? I’m just stating a fact.”

“And you expect us to believe you?”

“You don’t have to. It won’t change the outcome. They were part of a rebellion, and the Itsiel royal family won’t take this lightly.”

The word “rebellion,” spoken in front of everyone, had a significant impact.

Even the women who had been directing their anger at me seemed taken aback.

Everyone else, except Gaendal and Asirye, looked even more surprised.

I had only told Gaendal.

Seeing Ginh’s wide-eyed surprise, I felt a pang of guilt.

“…So, it’s over? We can’t do anything…?”

“It’s less about doing nothing, and more about having it done for you. But yes, it’s over. Unless, of course, that mercenary avoids execution. Then you’ll have your chance to kill him. But that would make you criminals. I don’t recommend it.”

I calmly, indifferently, crushed their hope for revenge.

The women who had approached me sank to the ground, their faces etched with despair.

Other women moved to comfort them, but they seemed unresponsive, lost in their grief.

It seemed our break would have to be extended.

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