Episode 12
Past the area where the guard barracks are, deeper inside.
A large building, briefly visible from the training ground, was guarded by several security guards.
There was no problem.
"deception."
By the time I got here, my magic had fully recovered. Because my absolute magic power was low, I couldn't maintain it for long, but I could use it frequently and briefly.
“…When did you say you were coming?”
“I don’t know. Did you say next week?”
“Then from then on, this city will grow quite large.”
"Velibe is becoming a tourist town. I hope those tourists don't cause any trouble."
As I passed the guards who were yawning and chattering, I entered, and the humid, unpleasant air was suffocating.
-There aren't any windows, so it's a pretty unpleasant space.
I walked forward without hesitation.
It was thanks to the path not being that complicated. The guards outside the door, too, didn't seem to have any intention of intruding.
'Well, I guess that's not necessary.'
Those trapped here are not nobles or knights, but simple… .
As I walked along the torchlight, I gradually felt the presence of people.
Snoring, shivering, sobbing.
I covered my face and walked slowly, muffling the sound of my footsteps, examining the people locked in the holding cell.
Dozens of cells were more than half empty.
But even in a single small holding cell, dozens of people were trapped. Elderly, men, women, and children were all locked in without distinction. As a result, the number of people trapped in this small building was estimated to be over a hundred.
The sight looked like that of a slave waiting to be sold.
That appearance, just like before. Before meeting the master… .
-Why? My feet stopped.
"…no."
I forced myself to suppress the disgust boiling up inside me.
Now, I walked through the prison as if drawn by something, without even knowing why I had come.
And finally, we reached the end of the prison. Among the empty cells in the deepest part, we discovered a room that wasn't empty.
Something so dark that it's almost black, a deep gray.
-Wow… I found something rare.
“Something rare?”
A crouching figure.
It had human form, but it wasn't human. It wore no clothes, had no hair, and had no facial features whatsoever.
-It's the soul.
“A soul?”
The original form of the soul was something akin to a sphere emitting light. The recently discovered fragment resembled black filth. However, it belonged to neither of those.
-To be precise, it's a gathering of souls. A group of spirits. It's not easy to create artificially, but who would have thought to see it in a place like this?
“Military order….”
"I see. The execution ground was located near here. It wasn't intentional, but it seems to have become a ritual in itself."
The Demon King muttered happily and then warned me.
-You'd better not even think about absorbing it. Judging by its size, it's probably at least hundreds of souls fused together. It's incomparable to absorbing a few scraps.
Even without the Demon King's warning, I wouldn't have considered absorbing it. Its ominous aura was palpable, and absorbing it would likely lead to a bad outcome.
but.
“Here, shall we come in?”
-I guess it's possible to keep it for a while.
As I opened the lid of the soul file I took out of my bosom and held it out to the commander, the commander, who had been flinching slightly, was quickly pulled into the soul file.
I quickly closed the lid, but the Soul File vibrated as if it were about to burst. Upon inspection, I saw that it had been cracked.
At that moment, a familiar voice came to my ears.
“Haam… Do I really have to patrol?”
"You should go back after shift change, Inma. But it's better than standing guard at the gate during the day, right? You can just make one shift and rest."
“That’s true.”
Why am I hearing that voice now?
I gritted my teeth as the suspicion I had been trying to deny gradually became a certainty.
Hearing approaching footsteps, I put the Soul File in my bosom. Instead, I took out an old sickle.
I gritted my teeth and looked in the direction where the sound came from.
“There’s no one here, why… Huh?”
“Who are you!”
And I confirmed it.
A face I'd been seeing for the past few days. It was the face of Johnny and the youngest soldier.
* * *
They used deception to quickly escape, but in the meantime, the city was in chaos.
An intruder discovered in prison. This incident carries a different level of significance than the incident where a thief broke into the security guard's wife's store.
Naturally, an investigation team was quickly dispatched, and it seemed that traces of magical power that had not yet been erased were discovered.
“It’s a black magician! A black magician has approached the demon’s minions!”
“Guard the gates! Don’t let anyone escape!”
As I was running away to find a place with few people, I naturally arrived at a slum.
I sat down in front of the collapsed building and looked at the military orders contained in the soul file.
-It's a little early, but it's time to teach you a new magic.
“….”
- An advanced course in soul magic. This is spirit magic. It can be seen as similar to spirit magic, which controls and manipulates souls.
I sat silently and let the Demon King's explanation slide.
-It won't take as long as last time. This is purely an advanced course. It's about applying and modifying what you've already learned.
My head was complicated.
If it weren't for Johnny's face at the end, could it have been simply dismissed as suspicion?
Even though it was a little uneasy, I thought that I couldn't help it because I was a soldier, so I could just end it.
Was it a mistake to hide in prison and go to Amy's store?
-There's no need to overthink it. All the clues are given.
The Demon King said.
Now that the Demonic Crusade is over, it's only natural that people will flock to this nearest city. They'll probably feel a pity for the vast land occupied by the poor.
The guards guarding the prison spoke. Their voices, though burdened by the expected increase in travelers, were filled with pride.
"But even if they're poor, they're still the people of the land. Executing a large number of people without any justification will provoke a backlash. But there was a name that was just right for exploitation. Who wouldn't believe it if a priest from the religious order vouched for it?
The image of a priest performing the execution while calling out the name of the goddess came to mind.
-Plus, the labor efficiency of the residents enjoying the festival will increase… The lord of this city seems to be quite clever.
I remembered the faces of the people who enjoyed the execution every day and greeted me with smiles the next day.
but.
"That's not what I wanted to know. The people being executed were innocent. I wanted to know if the guards, if Mr. Mike, knew... and if so, why they did it!"
It is clear that they were involved in some way.
The soul fragments that filled the barracks and the general store must have been because they touched the property of the slum people in the process.
But I wanted to know what was going on behind those words. If it was just about punishing the wicked and amassing wealth, then it was like an adventurer exploring a dungeon…
“I was just wondering since you weren’t in the room. Were you the one who broke into my wife’s store?”
A voice was heard from not far away.
“The reason is simple. Because I was ordered to do so.”
Because I was so preoccupied with talking to the Demon King, I didn't notice at all.
"It doesn't matter whether they actually worshipped the Demon Clan or not. If the Lord has spoken, we simply believe and follow."
Suddenly, Mike appeared, fully armed. His expression was the same as usual. But his eyes were colder than usual.
I hoped it wasn't true.
At the very least, I hoped they knew that they were truly demon worshippers.
But was that really an issue that didn't matter to Mike at all?
“Then why to me….”
“…because you were not the subject of the order.”
The Demon King added as if explaining, his voice barely audible.
-If you were an ordinary person, you would have been unable to find work after entering the city and would have ended up infiltrating the slums.
So, before long, I'd be locked up in prison and on the scaffold. Does that mean you anticipated that and offered me a helping hand?
“What do you mean, you helped hundreds of innocent people die…!”
“Well, what does that matter now?”
-Humans are inherently complex creatures.
Mike's answer and the Demon King's mutterings were heard intertwined.
“The only thing that matters now is that the person I was with was a warlock who terrorized the city.”
-There is no law that says we shouldn't feel compassion for someone who harms others without hesitation, and conversely, even heroes who save hundreds of people are bound to be consumed by selfishness and jealousy.
A voice that is endlessly heavy and a voice that hums like a song.
"Surrender, Jude. I'll let you go without pain, without having to go to the executioner."
-What are you going to do? Are you going to run away?
I wanted to run away. But how could I run away?
The deception magic could only hide him for about ten seconds. It wasn't enough time to dodge Mike and escape the castle.
"He's a city guard captain. He may not be comparable to a knight, but he's far stronger than the peasants you've been dealing with. If you stall, other soldiers might rush in. It's a disadvantageous fight."
Even if they managed to escape, the aftermath was obvious. They would be pursued and hunted by the city's soldiers and the cult's inquisitors.
How did this happen? Where did it go wrong?
I just wanted to live in peace, without fear of my life being threatened. But since the hero showed up, everything has been a mess.
I sighed and looked up to meet Mike's face.
Perhaps because his thoughts had been sorted out, he felt a complex emotion in his eyes, which had previously been cold.
Perhaps it's out of compassion for me, regret over the choice to help me, concern about the responsibility I'll have to bear in the future, or perhaps a sense of betrayal.
“I won’t surrender. I don’t want to die.”
It was nothing to worry about.
-So, are you thinking of running away?
I didn't even think about that. With the Demon King's help, I might be able to survive somehow, but I didn't want to spend my entire life being chased.
“I have no intention of running away.”
A beat late, Mike adjusted his grip on the spear he was holding and took his stance.
It was a pose that hadn't been easy no matter how many times I practiced it. It was a pose that seemed several times more solid than Johnny's.
Facing him, he took out a sickle from his bosom.
-Let's see, good. Your consciousness is responding properly.
The Demon King burst into laughter. His voice was more joyful than any I'd ever heard it before, as if he'd been holding back for this moment.
-Then, destroy the sinner.
It was only then that I realized. This whole situation seemed to have been decided from the moment I witnessed the execution, on my first day in the city.
- Prove your courage by confronting the giant.
I put strength into my hand and broke the soul file.
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