Chapter 81
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Chapter 81
Baron turned to look at him, opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it upon seeing Yurien's face. Yurien couldn't tell what expression he wore or what state he was in. His brain felt like it was boiling, turning to steam that clouded his entire vision.
"What about Echinacea Loaz? What happened to her?"
"She appears to have been swallowed by the Nodule."
"Where did the Nodule go? Has it already separated?"
"Yes, it just separated."
There was no way to enter a Nodule that had already separated. Yurien looked around the empty ground.
For a Zenith like Echinacea Loaz, situations that could threaten her life were nearly nonexistent. Yet the Nodule was the worst of the few circumstances that could endanger her. It was a space where normal laws didn't apply, so no one could know what might happen inside.
In fact, during the time she was gathering Giosa, she had brushed with death multiple times inside Nodules. She'd barely managed to kill all the demons, only to be poisoned from eating demon meat when there was nothing else to eat. She couldn't always be lucky. This time, she might not survive. She might not return. I might never see her again.
Was it because I coveted her? Was that why tragedy was approaching in a different form than before? His breathing quickened as if he were drowning in water.
[She must have had something to believe in when she entered. If she were the Demonic Sword Owner, she could have avoided anything, but the fact that she was swallowed suggests otherwise.]
The Holy Sword's consoling words were his only comfort. Yurien clung to that as hope, using it to support his reason.
They conducted a personnel check of the Suppression Unit and held a meeting about what to do. Since those swallowed might return, they decided to stay until the Nodule was released. They brought supplies from a nearby fortress, set up a makeshift Camp, reorganized the unit members, and proceeded with demon subjugation as planned.
Yurien didn't go out on the subjugation. He remained in the Barracks, continuing to watch the empty ground. The regular unit members didn't know his condition well, but Baron and Dietrich, who had known him for a long time, quickly realized Yurien wasn't in his right mind. He barely ate and didn't sleep, staring at the empty ground whenever he had a moment—there was no way he could be sane. Even Baron, who had lost Baraha Islaf, was gloomy, but not to this degree.
"Hey, does your doing this change anything? You need to eat, don't you?"
Dietrich, who had brought the meal in place of the missing squire, was irritated. Yurien didn't even respond. His face was drained of color, his lips parched, yet his blue eyes burned with intensity. He looked like he might dismember anyone who made a wrong move, and at the same time, like he might crumble like a sandcastle if touched. What was most unsettling was that he was still dutifully handling the essential tasks of a unit commander.
Dietrich had never seen Yurien like this. If Echinacea Loaz truly didn't return, or if she returned as a corpse, the Yurien he knew might cease to exist. He would become an entirely different person. That was the intuition he had.
'Damn it, he really did like her.'
He hadn't shown jealousy and seemed indifferent, so I thought he didn't. I should have trusted my instincts more. Dietrich stared at his friend uneasily.
He wasn't the type of madman to act like this. Except for his obsession with the sword, he lived like a monk, so he was mad in that way. They say the scariest thing is when a docile person goes crazy. His straightforward and honest friend had now become a Nodule that could rupture at any moment without warning.
* * *
The Nodule appeared and separated in the White Raven Gorge on the evening of May 13th. From the evening of the 13th to the afternoon of the 15th—roughly two days. Those were the longest two days of Yurien's life. As time flowed, anxiety rose and tightened around his throat.
If she didn't return, what would he do? He might commit the acts he had refrained from for fear of bringing harm to her and her family. He would draw his blade against the father and brothers who had toyed with the Demonic Sword. If she couldn't find happiness, shouldn't he at least take revenge on her behalf?
The Holy Sword, which had initially tried to calm him, gave up not long after.
[I might soon become something you can't hold. Let me say goodbye in advance. You were quite a decent master. Live well from now on.]
"...."
[Wait, if you let me go, you'll forget everything about the Demonic Sword Owner anyway. Much better. I'd rather not be punished by the next master's hand while my former master rages in madness.]
"...Has that happened before?"
[It has. That one was also for love. At least you won't become like that. I'll forget everything. That would be a better outcome for you too.]
Echinacea doesn't return, he despairs and takes revenge, and as a result loses all memory of her and lives in peace? Part of the Barracks pillar Yurien was gripping crumbled. He had imagined her running away, but he had never imagined her dying.
All his covetousness became meaningless. He even fell into the delusion that the Nodule had appeared because of his own greed. If he could no longer approach her, that was fine. If she eternally rejected him, that was fine. He wouldn't covet anymore, so please—just let him watch over her. No, even if he couldn't watch over her, that was fine too.
So please, God, let her not fail to find happiness in her second life, she who had suffered so much.
Late afternoon on May 15th. As he prayed thus, watching the empty ground, his eyes caught sight of the Camp returning.
Echinacea Loaz had returned alive. That was enough.
Yurien momentarily lost control of his emotions. His shattered mind was pushed back by her presence and recovered slightly, then fully returned thanks to Baraha Islaf's intrusion.
Echinacea and Baraha Islaf appeared to have grown closer inside the Nodule. Light banter, familiar contact.
He had just said he wouldn't covet anymore. Yurien suppressed the surging jealousy and turned away. As long as Echinacea lived and was happy, he could endure his own desires. No, he had to endure them. To calm his unruly heart, he forced himself to think practically.
'What happened to Ian Peletro?'
If the inside of the Nodule had been as uneventful as Echinacea said, Ian Peletro would have survived too. His swordsmanship was quite excellent. If she had lied, she must have somehow demonstrated her skill to save Baraha Islaf. Then what about Ian Peletro, who had been dragged in with them?
Yurien heard the details from Baron about the situation in which Echinacea had been swallowed by the Nodule. She had fallen and been swallowed, and Ian Peletro had stumbled and touched the Nodule immediately after, or so the report went. Since he hadn't witnessed it directly, he kept in mind the possibility that it was truly an accident, but the moment he heard that report, he had considered the possibility that she had 'intentionally' dragged Ian Peletro in with her.
In the end, she returned safely with Baraha Islaf, but Ian Peletro did not.
'There's a high probability he was deliberately dragged inside. If that's the case....'
The unit members had all gathered around her and Baraha Islaf, who had returned alive. Yurien de Harden Kirie walked alone between the tents of the Camp.
They said the point where they were swallowed by the Nodule was right in front of Echinacea Loaz's tent. When he went there, he found her tent burned and collapsed. After confirming no one was nearby, he searched inside. There was no need for a thorough search. Upon discovering the charred corpse of a man, Yurien de Harden Kirie examined it.
Though the body was blackened by fire, it wasn't reduced to bone alone, so a wound on the chest remained visible. He carefully examined the wound and the traces around it. Any Knight Instructor would recognize this as a stab wound from a blade.
'It's impossible to identify or punish her based on this. But suspicion will remain.'
No evidence, yet circumstantial suspicion arises. Whether Echinacea Loaz thought otherwise, he had no intention of leaving it at that. After all, if she hadn't killed him, he would have.
[Did the Demonic Sword Owner kill him?]
As the Holy Sword muttered with displeasure, Yurien de Harden Kirie furrowed his brow.
"Wasn't he someone who deserved to die? In your view, was Ian Peletro's survival justice?"
[The process wasn't just. Justice is revealing guilt and passing judgment. This isn't justice—it's revenge. You know that too.]
"So you're calling her evil?"
[That's not it, but... Master, even I don't pursue a binary of good or evil. In my view, that's an outdated way of thinking. There are far more things in this world that are neither good nor evil.]
Yurien de Harden Kirie listened to Rangiosa's grumbling as he picked up a piece of burned cloth. Then, wrapping the corpse with it, he asked.
"Then, is this an evil act?"
[What are you trying to do?]
"I'm going to burn it completely. Until only bone remains."
[It's an evil act, of course! Stop this instant.]
"Is that your opinion, or a judgment you're making as Rangiosa?"
[....]
"Ian Peletro committed murder. If Echinacea Loaz hadn't intervened, he likely would have succeeded. Does the justice you hold deem burning such a man so evil that you would lose the Holy Sword?"
[... No.]
The Holy Sword denied reluctantly. The Holy Sword's justice was the justice most people universally upheld. Few would call it evil to execute someone by fire according to Imperial law. More people would say such a wretch deserved to burn.
Yurien de Harden Kirie silently wrapped and lifted the corpse. Without being detected by anyone, he left the Camp and ventured into the Inner Gorge, burning it until only bone remained. The remaining bones he returned to the inside of the burned tent. After that, he began working in secret to ensure no suspicious words about her would surface.
The information Wedge had sent contained considerable evidence of what Ian Peletro had done so far. Ian hadn't left evidence in the Dormitory, but in his room at the Peletro family's Loaz Mansion, he had left evidence behind. And Wedge had obtained it. His track record was more extensive than expected and more despicable than expected. If you counted what he hadn't left evidence for, it seemed far greater.
There were relatively trivial matters like inciting animosity between Clubs and Cadets, or spreading false rumors about other Cadets. On the other hand, there were matters worthy of punishment within the Knight Order, such as manipulating the ranking tournament bracket to his advantage or embezzling funds.
The worst was cases where he tampered with equipment or swords, leading victims to injury or death. If this came to light, it wouldn't end with punishment within the Knight Order.
Yurien de Harden Kirie brought some of the evidence to Ian Peletro's room. So it would be discovered naturally while tidying up. He used the other evidence to silence the Peletro family. Those who had been demanding an investigation—questioning whether the second son's death was truly an accident and insisting on bringing the survivors who had entered with him—realized that investigating would unearth far more charges and chose silence instead.
In exchange for their silence, Ian Peletro was officially processed as an honorable fallen soldier. However, due to evidence discovered within the Military Academy, rumors gradually spread by word of mouth.
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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