Chapter 362 - Interrogation (4)

Allua Raven turned her back again. Until the very moment she looked away, the man was still watching her, his eyes unbearably lonely and forlorn.

"..."

It felt as if something sharp were digging into her insides.

'Why are you looking at me like that...? I'm the one who was betrayed...'

Evil spirits were beings that deceived the entire world. She had been taught that since childhood, and had seen countless examples as she grew up.

He had saved her because she was in danger?

'... That can't... possibly... be true...'

She forced herself to shake her head, ignoring the cry within her heart, as if trying to engrave the answer into her mind.

He had merely said what she wanted to believe. He must have had some ulterior motive. She mustn't fall for this.

With those thoughts, she took a heavy step.

THUD.

With every step, moments from their explorations together flashed through her mind, beginning with the Blood-Tinted Castle, where they had first met.

["What in the world is that thing?! Why is there a Vampire here...?"]

["Run instead of whining, dwarf."]

A Vampire had appeared as the Guardian of a first-floor rupture. The man had naturally taken charge of the group, literally throwing himself into the struggle until he won them victory.

But...

'That holy water he used at the end... He must have known about it because he was an evil spirit.'

It always came back to this. Examining each cherished memory revealed another image beneath it: herself, being fooled and deceived.

How stupid, how easy to manipulate, must she have seemed to him?

THUD.

Of course, she ultimately owed him her life at the Blood-Tinted Castle. But Raven assessed it coldly.

'... That doesn't mean he sacrificed himself to save us.'

He would have died himself if he hadn't acted. That was why he had fought with his life on the line.

THUD.

The next scene to surface was when they had been trapped in the first-floor Crystal Cave. A desperate situation, with the knights and major clans using them as expendable pawns before fleeing through a dimensional gate.

The day that had made him a hero of the city.

["Then what the hell are we supposed to do?!"]

["I'll say it again! Everyone, stop!!"]

He had stubbornly made his voice heard, and the explorers who had been pointing their blades at one another had united.

Then the breakthrough began.

["Fuck, this is insane."]

["I-I can't go any farther. I'm sorry."]

Even as warriors who must have crossed the brink of death countless times crumbled and lost the strength to advance, he had kept going.

["For Behel—raaaaaa!!"]

He had volunteered for the most dangerous task in the most dangerous place and fought more desperately than anyone else.

Yet Raven reached her judgment.

'That, too... He had to do it to survive... That was the only reason...'

She took another step.

THUD.

With every step away from the bars, she recalled the things that had happened with him. More precisely, all the help, great and small, he had given her.

Each time, she thought:

'That wasn't particularly difficult.'

'He wasn't risking his life.'

'... I've helped him just as much as that.'

Most of them she could dismiss by repeating those things to herself.

But...

["Don't tell me... you came all this way for me? Through those flames?"]

["I was out for a walk."]

What had happened on the day the imperial capital burned.

["Wh-what are you doing? You're not trying to lift this entire ship...?"]

["Aaaaaaaargh!!!"]

How he had sent his companions ahead on Parune Island and stayed behind to fight the enemy.

And what had happened just a short while ago.

["Your... b-b-back...!"]

How he had blocked the magic hurtling toward her with his entire body.

'And... that was for his own sake...?'

Before long, Raven realized that however desperately she tried to deny it, doing so was growing harder and harder.

'That can't... be true...'

Despite the urgency of the situation, she remembered it clearly. Even as he writhed in pain so intense that the veins stood out on his neck, he had endured, carefully holding her beneath him so she wouldn't get hurt.

There was no point deceiving herself any longer. However many times she had tried to deny it...

["Raven, you were in danger. That's why I saved you."]

Those words were undoubtedly true.

* * *

CREEEAK.

Beyond the bars, the door at the far end of the passage closed.

"She's gone."

"Yeah..."

In the end, Raven had left. That meant I had to give up any hope that she might return and unlock the cage—

"An evil spirit."

Huh?

I looked beside me to find Erwin with her head hanging low, her gaze fixed on me.

"... You were an evil spirit?"

Right. I'd wondered why she'd been so quiet. So she'd been shocked by this after all.

I supposed she had reason to be angry. It would look like I hadn't told her because I didn't trust her.

"Erwin, calm down. I'll explain every—"

"This woman knew, but I was the only one who didn't."

"That's, well—"

"I told you I could understand anything. I told you...!! Why did you only lie to me?! Because you don't trust me? What do I have to do to make you trust me?"

Whoa, I didn't think I'd ever seen her this pissed...

I glanced at Amelia for help, but she merely shrugged and looked away.

Was she telling me this was my own mess to clean up?

'At least... she really doesn't seem to care that I'm an evil spirit...'

Was it because I'd just watched Raven leave, unable to accept that I was an evil spirit?

Even as Erwin's murderous presence made my head spin, I felt relieved and grateful.

Well, that was one thing, and this was another.

'How can I calm her down...?'

I didn't deliberate for long.

"And what's so special about that woman, Raven?! You hid it from me so c-completely! But because she was in d-danger, you even revealed who you were to protect—!"

Before Erwin could work herself into any more of a frenzy, I caught her wrist.

"...?"

Then...

"Erwin, if you'd been in her place, I would have done exactly the same thing."

I meant it with all my heart. After all, I certainly would have done the same if it had been Erwin instead of Raven.

But perhaps she found that hard to believe.

"Y-you're lying... Y-you didn't even tell me beforehand... You thought she was more trustworthy than m-me."

"What...? Why on earth would you think that?"

"Because... b-because I'm like this... Because I only absorbed Essences like those... and people treat me like a crazy bitch..."

Oh. I hadn't known she'd been thinking that.

From the look of things, Erwin had agonized over her own condition and felt a great deal of self-loathing...

"Erwin, that isn't true."

"Then... why were you hiding it only from me...?"

Phew. I'd told her I would explain.

Sighing inwardly, I said,

"Because I wanted to protect you."

For some reason, the response came from Amelia.

"Recycling. How practical."

What was she talking about?

I ignored her and watched Erwin, who reacted after a brief pause.

"... Uh, what?"

Her shoulders gave a delayed shudder.

"M-m-me?"

Okay, her voice sounded a little calmer now...

I hurried to explain before she could jump to another conclusion on her own.

"You saw it too, didn't you? Raven questioning Amelia."

Even with Auriel Gabis's gift, I couldn't stop it from being used against me that way. That was why I'd wanted as few people as possible to know.

Of course, that was partly for my own sake, but I hadn't made the decision purely for myself.

"If my being an evil spirit ever got us into trouble, I wanted at least you to have a way out. If you didn't know, you'd be a victim. But if you helped me knowing the truth, you'd be treated as an accomplice."

"..."

"Th-then you did it because you care about me more than Reinweils, that woman...? You deliberately kept it from only me. To... protect me..."

"Uh..."

Without thinking, I shifted my gaze to Amelia. She gave a little smile and nodded, as if wondering what there was to hesitate over.

She seemed to be telling me not to worry about her and just get things under control...

Whew. How could she be so dependable?

"Yes. That's why I kept it from only you."

"... I-I knew it!"

At my confirmation, Erwin clenched her fists in delight. Then she ostentatiously squared her shoulders, stared in one direction, and curled her lips into a smile.

Right at Amelia.

"... Now that's a little irritating."

Amelia frowned, but Erwin paid her no mind and turned her attention back to me.

"Mister, I appreciate the thought... but don't ever do that again. Leaving you behind and escaping on my own? You know I could never want that, don't you?"

As she spoke, Erwin glanced past the bars, where Raven had left.

"I'm not like that ungrateful woman, who's been saved over and over and still doesn't know how to repay a kindness."

Uh, you're not...?

"So just trust me! All right?"

"Right..."

Once that was more or less settled, Amelia, who had been watching, joined in and changed the subject.

"More importantly, what are we going to do now?"

Ah, that...

Time to start getting ready.

"Let's gather our things first."

"Our things?"

"We can't leave the equipment behind, can we?"

I went over to the pile of items looted from the Lighthouse Keeper and crouched down. Gathering the equipment onto the spread-out robe, I wrapped and tied it into a bundle, then wound it around my neck and secured it firmly.

I called it Barbarian Peddler Mode.

Just in case, I'd carry it like this for now and put it into subspace when I got the chance.

"If you're done packing, tell me. What now? You must have come up with some sort of plan."

When Amelia asked again, I shared the Plan B I'd worked out in my head.

We waited, staying alert until the time came.

How long had passed?

CLUNK.

The handle of the door at the end of the corridor turned, and the door slowly creaked open.

Then, with a soft footfall, Raven appeared again.

Without anyone accompanying her.

"She's alone."

"What's she plotting...? She's had enough time to finish reporting to her superiors by now."

Amelia and Erwin gripped their weapons warily and stared beyond the bars. Raven flinched and stopped on her approach.

"Why did you come alone?"

Raven answered my question quietly.

"To make sure."

We were speaking from about seven meters apart. Perhaps because our voices echoed through the passage, the distance felt all the more pronounced.

But...

"Of what?"

Raven didn't answer my question. She merely resumed walking, closing the distance.

THUD. THUD.

As she drew closer to the bars, her expression emerged more clearly from the darkness. It was too complicated to define with any single emotion.

Still, one thing came through clearly.

"... Don't tell me you didn't report us?"

I asked to confirm it, and once again Raven answered with silence.

THUD. THUD.

Her steps continued without pause. It didn't take long before only the bars stood between us.

"..."

Raven gazed at me through the bars with blue eyes so clear they were almost transparent. I met her gaze without saying anything more.

How much time passed like that?

CLATTER.

Raven silently took a key from inside her clothes.

What on earth had changed her mind? Just a little while ago, the walls around her heart had been shut so tightly that nothing I said could get through.

'Could this... be some kind of lure?'

It was a plausible theory. Our combat strength would have been reported too. Making enemies of us aboard the ship could put them in a difficult position, so perhaps she intended to pretend to help us for now and have us arrested in the city.

Which was why...

"... Why are you suddenly doing this?"

I asked her outright.

"What you're about to do would betray everyone who follows you. You said so yourself."

As I spoke, I focused on Raven's eyes. Whether she told the truth or lied, I thought someone with so little talent for acting would surely give herself away...

But Raven merely gave a little smile at my behavior.

"Why are you smiling...?"

It wasn't a mocking smile. Rather, it was self-deprecating, tinged with bitterness.

Then what was the reason?

"I just thought this was similar to what happened earlier."

Huh?

"If I didn't know you were an evil spirit, Mr. Jandel, you wouldn't even have asked that question."

"Ah..."

For a moment, I was at a loss for words.

But Raven seemed to have returned with everything already settled in her mind. There was no hesitation in her movements.

The key slid smoothly into the lock.

The bars between Raven and me gleamed in the torchlight, reflecting us like a mirror.