Chapter 62
Even after the turmoil passed, everyday life went on.
Still, the turmoil could not be completely concealed.
The events at the Hanson Theater became rumors that spread throughout Saintroix: the frenzied bunny party, the devil worshipers hidden underground, and the truth about the secret auction house.
It was all brought to light by an anonymous accusation.
「The ringleaders, Hanson Deville and director Miller, colluded with devil worshipers. Beneath their lavish banquets, they operated a secret auction house, trafficking in illegal slaves and stolen goods. In the process, they also selected candidates to become new devil worshipers…」
“Devil worshipers?”
“I thought they hid away in some mountain valley?”
As the citizens tilted their heads in confusion,
the Hanson Troupe was eventually disbanded by the Kingdom Guards. Its prominent members were arrested and imprisoned. They were to be handed over to the holy knights dispatched from the Holy Country.
The charge was ‘heretical worship.’
That was the only crime officially proven.
Frenzied parties were so common in Saintroix that it was embarrassing to even call them a crime. And it was difficult to trace the secret auction house, which had operated as a covert network of cells for a long time.
The ‘Triangle of Desire’ also vanished before it could fully emerge into the open. They had operated in scattered groups throughout the gray zone, making it impossible to arrest every person involved.
Moreover, those who had been sold as slaves suddenly came to their senses and disappeared into various parts of the city. It wasn’t as if they could arrest and question every citizen of Saintroix.
The Kingdom Guards were troubled.
‘Forget the devil worshipers. Unless this had escalated enough to reach the royal family… the ringleaders are already dead, so who exactly are we supposed to punish?’
The simplest solution was to downplay the incident.
The kingdom was already in turmoil; they couldn’t afford to cause even more unrest. So they put the ringleader, ‘Hanson Deville,’ to death under torture and wrapped things up by handing the other key members over to the Holy Country.
-Tch. Those rats got drunk on their own indulgence.
-But wasn’t the Inquisitor also supposed to be a devil worshiper? Then who exactly is coming?
-We have enough to do already. I can’t be bothered with this.
That was all it amounted to from the Kingdom of Gallia’s perspective.
Seeing that,
the people of Saintroix clicked their tongues.
-Tch, unlucky for them. They got caught.
-They should’ve known when to stop taking their cut.
-We’d better keep our heads down for a while.
-Let’s be careful, too.
That was all it amounted to from the citizens’ perspective.
No nobles had died,
and they hadn’t been plotting a rebellion against the royal family.
It was hard to openly defend devil worship, but even this struck people as a sort of moral failing.
Selling your soul to do evil, or doing evil without selling it… What was the difference?
And so,
peace returned to Saintroix.
-Let’s get back to our own business.
Everyone returned to the gray zone.
‘…Still, I’d better be careful if those devil worshipers show up. From what I’ve seen, they’re the sort who cross the line. Working with them would be a pain.’
They resolved never to do business with devil worshipers. That small ripple was a mark that would not fade from the calm waters.
Not out of conscience,
but caution born of sheer annoyance.
-Devil worshipers…
-What a nuisance.
-Better not get involved.
-I hear they’re the ones attacking the Hero, too.
-Not my problem, but I don’t want to get mixed up in it.
Their method of slowly infiltrating the gaps in the gray zone had been thwarted.
Those who sympathized with the Black Temple were thrown into confusion.
It was an ironic turn of events: a secret organization had made a name for itself with one of the most striking debuts imaginable. But there was nothing they could do to stop it.
…
Even if they erased all of Saintroix,
they would only draw more attention to the name and its still-fledgling presence.
So they forced themselves to carry on as usual.
‘Who in the world spread the word about this incident?’
They wondered,
*
Lydia and the others didn’t ask one another anything at first. They returned to the inn and rested right away. But each of them had different thoughts on their minds.
‘How much should I tell Arti and the others?’
‘How much have those tagalongs figured out?’
‘Why was she wearing a bunny outfit? And Lydia really is well-endowed… Does Arti like women with bigger breasts?’
‘Why was she wearing a bunny outfit? Could that be Lady Lydia’s taste? Is that a trend among royalty, too?’
‘Why was she wearing a bunny outfit? Damn it, I can’t get that image out of my head…! But I have Aria!’
The night passed, leaving each of them with a jumble of thoughts.
The group gathered again, with Morgan absent.
-I don’t want to get in the way, so I’ll listen after you’ve finished talking to the tagalongs.
-Understood. Thank you.
-Hmph.
In the end, Lydia told Arti and the others about the ‘devil worshipers.’ But she didn’t reveal the whole story, only what was relevant to the situation at hand.
1. There is an organization of devil worshipers.
2. They’re extremely evil and wicked.
3. Running into them here was unexpected.
4. They’re the ones who interfered with the Hero’s exam.
That was all she told them.
She would have liked to tell them more. But if she revealed anything else, she’d have to admit that even the Gallian royal family had been tainted.
They might get frightened and run away.
There had even been an ending like that in the original story.
‘I can’t interfere with the commander’s efforts to keep watch over the royal family, so I should only tell them about the auction house for now. I never expected Arti and the others to suddenly show up there…’
“…And that’s what happened.”
…
…
…
Arti and the others were surprised for a moment, then nodded and accepted her explanation. They’d experienced too much to be shocked by every little thing.
“I see.”
“So that’s why Lydia wouldn’t have gone out for no reason…”
“If you’d only told us, we would’ve helped as much as we could.”
“Even I did not anticipate any of what happened this time. We lacked proper coordination.”
“So there are things even Lydia doesn’t anticipate.”
“Is that not obvious? I tend to deal with things as they arise.”
“At the academy, you practically flew around like an angel of prophecy. I never imagined you like that.”
…
Lydia silently felt relieved.
‘Thank goodness they accepted my explanation, even with so much of the information left out. If they started picking it apart logically, there’d be plenty of holes to point out.’
To put it in game terms,
their trust in Lydia and the party’s level were so high that they passed a Willpower check. They accepted her explanation without even feeling suspicious.
Arti muttered,
“W-well, um…”
“What is it?”
“W-why were you wearing a bunny outfit?”
…
A sudden suspicion that she was a bunny princess.
Aria and Mave seemed to have the same question; they both turned to look at her. Their eyes glittered with curiosity.
‘They seem more interested in this than in the Black Temple.’
…
Lydia considered her options.
If she let them dig into this, it would become a nuisance.
How had she found out about the devil worshipers’ auction? Why had she gone there? How had she known they would be selling such things? The questions would keep coming, one after another…
‘And it’ll all lead back to the Black Temple again…’
But now wasn’t the time.
To stand against the royal family and face the true darkness, they needed to grow strong enough to believe they had a chance even against an entire nation.
Or else,
they’d have to be like Morgan, who had never cared about the state or society in the first place.
…
Since she couldn’t expect that of Arti and the others,
Lydia simply offered an easy solution.
‘It’s embarrassing if they find out, but if you wear it boldly, you can own it.’
“It is my hobby.”
…
…
…
“I sometimes wear bunny outfits.”
…
…
…
Arti and the others’ mouths fell open.
They’d learned about the princess’s secret hobby.
Aria and Mave froze stiff.
But Lydia continued her attack.
“I’ll wear it to dinner tonight, too.”
“?!”
“?!”
“?!”
Arti’s mouth fell open wider and wider.
As it slowly opened, as if in slow motion, shock and admiration showed on his face. He was remarkably honest with his expression.
Lydia nodded.
‘I see. He’s into bunny girls. It’s been a while since he’s acted like an adult-game protagonist. But isn’t he being a little too honest with that look in front of Aria?’
At that moment,
Aria shot Arti a lightning-fast glance. Lydia couldn’t see her face clearly from where she stood, but Arti’s expression slowly stiffened.
Aria let out a quiet growl, like a leopard. Ever since she began wielding the Holy Sword, she’d been showing the rougher temperament of the northern Holy Country more and more often.
“Tsk…”
“!”
“You seem really excited about the bunny outfit.”
“Ah. Ah… I-I mean, well. It’s, it’s…”
“Hee.”
“…It’s…”
“Hmm.”
…
In the end, Arti lowered his head.
“No. I just like the ordinary Lydia better.”
“The ordinary Lydia wearing a bunny outfit?”
“…N-no.”
“You like the bunny outfit, and Lydia is ordinary?”
“Th-that’s not what I meant, either.”
Lydia finally came to Arti’s rescue.
“Then why don’t you wear one too, Aria?”
“Pardon?”
“A bunny outfit.”
“?!”
“Arti would like it, too.”
And sure enough,
Arti’s mouth had fallen wide open.
Aria met his eyes and faltered.
“M-me?”
“…!”
“Um… I mean. Hmm.”
…
“A-ahaha! W-what a funny joke! Hahaha! W-well, I just remembered I have to pray…”
Aria’s face turned bright red. Sweating nervously, she fled. Watching her go, Lydia offered Arti some advice.
“Don’t be too disappointed.”
“…Yes.”
“Maybe next year.”
“?”
“You might get to see it next year.”
“?!”
Arti swallowed hard.
‘H-how on earth would that happen?!’
Mave watched all of this and tilted her head.
“What in the world were you two talking about…?”
*
Beatrice sighed as she looked at the box containing the three weapons. Each of them radiated an extraordinary aura.
But she couldn’t use them.
Unlike in the original story,
she now knew their sinister backstories.
Lydia remained silent.
…
“So these were sold directly by a bishop of the Black Temple… They’ve really turned into a burden. Her Highness must be quite disappointed, too.”
Lydia said,
“…On the way back to the academy, we’ll visit Julien of the Western Caravan.”
“Ah, if it’s that guy…”
A member of the Embers who traveled with peddlers from the Western Caravan.
“He might know where these weapons came from, and what secrets they hold.”