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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: selkie
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As soon as she entered the interrogation room, Amelda’s eyes fell upon a middle-aged elf man.
Upon recognizing his face, Amelda felt her anxiety, which had intensified upon entering this place, deepen further.
“B… Bishop Brutus?”
“It’s been a while, Amelda.”
He was her mentor, the one who had arranged for Amelda, who was active as a paladin, to join the hero party by establishing connections with the Empire and the tribal alliance.
At the same time, for Amelda, who had returned after failing her mission, he was someone she wished to avoid meeting at all costs.
Thus, Amelda sat in front of Bishop Brutus, feeling her guilt over her failure weigh heavily upon her.
“I’ve heard the story. In the end, this hero has also failed to defeat the Demon King…”
“Y-yes… th-that’s right.”
The bishop spoke in an exceedingly heavy voice.
Seeing this, Amelda responded with a half-diminished voice, gripped by a thick tension.
Bishop Brutus, who had always been strict and valued principles, was someone Amelda held personal respect for, but she also bore a fear of his strictness.
The fact that she now had to lie in front of such a mentor began to instill an even greater burden in her heart.
However,
even in this situation, Amelda struggled to calm her emotions with all her might, trying to soothe herself.
‘C-calm down. No matter how much he is my mentor, this concerns the future of Torare and my companions. I must stay as calm as possible… If I just speak as prepared…’
With that thought in mind, Amelda finally succeeded in steeling her heart, recalling the face of the one she loved.
She then gazed carefully at her mentor before attempting to speak the words of deceit.
But…
“Amelda…”
“Y-yes?”
Bishop Brutus spoke to Amelda in a suddenly softened voice.
His face began to show a deep expression of urgency and concern, rather than the coldness from before.
“Bishop…?”
Amelda began to feel an unexpected confusion at her mentor’s unusual attitude, especially since he was showing such a demeanor towards her after her failure.
Then,
with a voice full of urgency, Bishop Brutus began to speak to Amelda.
“I hope you can tell me the truth… the truth accurately.”
“W-what? I… of course, I will. How could I dare to lie in front of my mentor?”
Although Amelda’s heart still firmly held onto the intention to betray the hero, she spoke those words nonetheless.
However, immediately after…
Holding onto her hands tightly, the bishop began to speak with an even more agitated tone.
“You must… absolutely must do that! If you alone do not tell the truth! If you do not tell the certain reason for why the hero had to be defeated! Our Elf Church will fall into a great crisis!”
“Y-yes?”
Bishop Brutus uttered an unexpected statement.
Amelda’s face began to show an expression of shock in an instant.
“W-what do you mean, mentor? The Elf Church is in danger?”
From her perspective,
it was incomprehensible and shockingly alarming.
In response, Brutus wore a face filled with fear that he had never shown before in front of his disciple, beginning to explain to Amelda the situation regarding the hero’s defeat.
Which had been revealed by the pope’s prophecy, and the crisis faced by the Elf Church and the pope.
And…
“…Th-that… that kind of thing…”
As a result, Amelda began to realize at that moment that she had arrived at a deadly and critical crossroads of choice.
“Quickly… quickly tell me the truth! What is the reason for why the pope’s prophecy has not been realized! What is the reason for the prophecy of Lord Neltoraon being incorrect?!”
Brutus, having completely lost his usual composure, was nearly pleading in desperation.
Seeing him like this…
Amelda found herself in a situation where she could not bring herself to utter the ‘lie’ she had prepared.
If she were to speak the story she had prepared, there might not be a significant problem for her own safety.
However, having heard Bishop Brutus’ words,
Amelda firmly understood that if she were to speak that story, immense harm would befall her homeland, the Elf Church, and her fellow elves.
She was in a position where she had to choose between the safety of her companions and her own well- being, and the safety of her homeland and countless fellow elves.
And in relation to this…
After much deliberation, Amelda ultimately had no choice but to make a decision.
“W-well… the truth is…”
In that moment, she felt a deep sense of guilt and sorrow.
However…
Forcing those emotions deep inside,
Amelda began to speak with difficulty while looking at Bishop Brutus in front of her.
“E-everything was… because of that man… T-Torare… he led us, the female warriors of the hero party, to betray the hero…”
In the end, Amelda chose her homeland and her fellow elves over her comrades.
However, this was not solely due to her patriotism for her homeland.
While that aspect also played a significant role, the decisive factor that led her to change her mind lay elsewhere.
The figure of Terra, which had flickered in front of her eyes at the last moment.
Having been resolutely betrayed for the survival of her comrades, Terra now appeared remarkably similar to the situation Amelda found herself in.
And naturally, this became a decisive factor that led Amelda to feel guilty yet ultimately abandon her comrades.
‘Yeah… In this situation, the other two, excluding Torare, would easily abandon me. Rather than that…’
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Aileen, who was being ‘interrogated’ by a junior she hadn’t seen in a long time.
However, given their relationship, the conversation that had started under the pretense of interrogation soon felt like a casual chat over tea.
“I’m telling you! That hero… no, that Elron guy. He seemed plausible on the surface, but in reality, he was a total loser. He talked about prophecies and such, but when it came to facing the Demon King, he
panicked and couldn’t even swing his sword!”
“I see… I heard rumors about the defeat, but I didn’t expect it to be that bad…”
Nodding slowly while listening to the explanation, Raphael remarked.
Seeing him, Aileen spoke with a dissatisfied tone.
“Damn it… if that pathetic idiot had held on just a bit longer, we could have wiped out the Demon King’s minions and taken down the Demon King ourselves! What good is it to be strong if your mind’s gone rotten and you can’t do anything when it matters?”
“That’s truly unfortunate. I can’t believe we missed the chance to end the war right before our eyes because of the hero’s blunder…”
“Who wouldn’t? I’m ashamed to have been friends with that guy. Honestly, I wanted to see it through even there, but I ended up failing due to sheer powerlessness. Thankfully, I barely managed to escape thanks to a porter using a scroll.”
Aileen knew well that the Demon King’s power was beyond what they could handle.
But regardless of that truth,
She had to make sure that they could elevate themselves and Torare while mercilessly criticizing the hero, as discussed with her party members beforehand, so she was doing her best to exaggerate and embellish the story.
Thus, with her complaints about the hero, she leaned back in her chair, putting on a feigned dissatisfied expression.
Watching her, Raphael nodded slowly, a smile on his face, and began to reiterate what he had heard and organized.
“To summarize, the hero, terrified when he saw the Demon King, fought poorly and was defeated, resulting in the hero party’s warriors having to retreat with the porter’s help. Is that about right?”
“Yeah, that’s right. If you feel any parts are lacking, feel free to call in someone else to corroborate. After all, everyone who was there clearly witnessed that pathetic end of the hero.”
“No, that won’t be necessary. This is precisely the situation we and His Majesty were hoping for.”
“What?”
Raphael made an unexpected remark.
In response, Aileen’s face began to show a puzzled expression along with the strange circumstances that had already been making her feel something was off.
‘Now that I think about it, this whole situation… starting from the meticulous interrogation using a solitary cell is all quite strange. That means…’
While harboring suspicion about the suspicious circumstances, Aileen coldly questioned Raphael sitting across from her.
“Indeed… something is going on, isn’t it? Regarding the failure of this hero party.”
“Yes, there is. And relaying that to you and executing the plan was the role I was assigned this time, but it seems that you can simply speak the truth without needing any manipulation.”
Raphael responded with a level of seriousness far beyond what he had displayed during the earlier interrogation.
Then, immediately after,
He reflexively checked once more to ensure there were no ears listening nearby,
And began to quietly whisper a certain fact into Eileen’s ear.
It was…
“R-really?”
“Yes, as the chancellor appointed by His Majesty, you must already be aware, right? His Majesty is now planning to execute ‘that plan’ at this opportunity.”
“Ah…”
Aileen made a face as if she had expected this from Raphael’s words.
However, just after that, Aileen urgently questioned him regarding a certain fact that suddenly came to her mind.
“W-wait, what will happen to the others who were captured? I can understand about Shude, but what about Amelda?”
Aileen asked, her face filled with confusion.
In response, Raphael spoke with a voice tinged with bitterness.
“The elf knight… it’s highly likely she won’t survive.”
“!…”
Aileen’s expression froze at Raphael’s words.
Seeing her in shock over her comrade’s unfortunate fate… Raphael made a truly regretful expression and spoke to Aileen.
“The elves are not fools; they’ve taken some countermeasures. Bishop Brutus in the interrogation room over there is a result of that. But… that won’t be of much use. We’ve already taken steps to handle the situation on our end.”
“…”
Aileen could easily understand what Raphael meant by having taken steps.
Moreover, she was also aware of what might happen to Amelda as a result.
And as she processed this information,
A single sentence began to automatically form in Aileen’s mind.
‘Great! I never expected that I would have one less competitor in this way!’
Snakes will be snakes.
Bitches…….
Bitches everywhere……..