Chapter 59
Erika seemed to swallow either a "You're joking, right?" or a "No way," but I couldn't tell which.
It was something that bothered me, but at least Erika didn't outright dismiss my words.
"Why do you think that?"
What came out instead was a perfectly reasonable question.
"Because she's the only one who could do it."
Erika rolled the words "she's the only one who could do it" around in her mouth.
"Didn't you find it strange, Erika? Why are there so few monsters here? When we first entered the forest, there were so many of them."
"Well, yes, I did wonder about that."
"The reason is that thing. They fled from it."
I pointed at the lump of magic stone fragments that used to be Oganight.
"That thing isn't a monster that should be showing up in a place like this."
At my words, Erika tilted her head slightly.
"If that thing appears in the middle layers of the Demonlands, only rarely encountered by adventurers who happen to wander in..."
I hesitated a little to continue.
What if Erika thought I was just an arrogant human?
"Right now, Hekatai can't even stop the forest's expansion. There's an overwhelming lack of strong fighters."
What am I even saying, someone like me? Bracing myself for her to think that, Erika spoke.
"Is that your assessment?"
I felt inwardly relieved that there was no trace of contempt in her voice.
"I've been observing since I arrived in Hekatai. There are strong people, and some you wouldn't even notice. But their numbers are far too few. At the very least, there aren't enough to prevent the middle layers, where someone might randomly encounter an Oganight, from spreading."
"I see. That's your assessment. I'll trust it. It seems I have a habit of misjudging people's true worth."
Erika responded with a hint of sarcasm in her jesting tone.
"So then, where did that thing come from?"
"From deeper in——"
"Yes, from the deep layers."
Riding the momentum of Erika's words, I continued the conversation.
"Why did we run into a horde of monsters right after entering the forest? Because the monsters from the middle layers were fleeing to the shallower areas. Why didn't we meet other adventurers in the middle layers? Because they're too busy dealing with the monsters spilling out of the forest."
It's all circumstantial evidence. When it comes to monsters, if someone says it just happened by chance, I can't refute it.
"Why did this happen? Because someone lured that thing out from the deep layers. Why drag a deep-layer monstrosity, likely at the cost of many lives, all the way to the middle layers? Because today, there was someone they wanted it to kill."
I thought Erika already understood what I was getting at, but I said it all to the end.
"So, who knew that the person they wanted to kill would be here today?"
I didn't say everything because Erika answered before I could.
"The Church, and the only one who was closest, who was with us until just before, was Shara alone."
Erika let out a breath that resembled a sigh.
"As a noble, I thought I was used to deception and being deceived. But feeling nothing about it is still difficult."
As a noble who's a failure in that regard, I had no words to comfort her.
Because if I'm deceived, I get angry, and I can't accept getting used to betrayal as a good thing.
So, when I noticed that presence, the slight stiffness in my face—whether it was directed at myself for lacking comforting words or at the anger toward those assassins—I couldn't quite tell.
Before I knew it, a human with a masked face stood beside the magic stone fragments of Oganight.
The golden hair spilling from the robe covering their entire body reminded me of Shara, who wasn't here now.
"Useless."
The masked figure said that and kicked the magic stone fragments.
The voice, distorted by the mask, made it impossible to discern their gender. It was likely the same kind of magic tool used by the initial attackers.
But the body wrapped in the robe had noticeable curves, making it clear this was a woman.
"How many of my comrades do you think died to bring this thing here?"
The voice was in the form of a question, but that question wasn't directed at us.
I could feel a firm intent in their voice, as if they didn't even consider us worthy of conversation.
It was a monologue.
The volume of their voice, clear enough to be heard as if speaking to someone, made it all the more eerie.
"Thanks to this, I've been forced to use my last resort. Really, what a hassle."
"What a hassle, what a hassle," they muttered.
A voice, as if something terribly important was missing, struck my ears.
Kill it now, right now, cut off its head.
Don't think of it as human; it's a kind of monster. So strike first, cut off its head—that's what the adventurer in me screamed inside.
But I couldn't move.
Because Erika was holding my hand.
My right hand, gripped weakly, could have been shaken off easily if I wanted to.
But to me, it felt heavier than any iron chain.
"We have to acknowledge it, don't we?"
A frail voice.
Ah... please.
"With circumstantial evidence, and now the person themselves right before us. There's no way to avoid acknowledging this, is there, Shin?"
I could tell from her tone—Erika said she was used to deception and being deceived, but even so, she had believed, she had wanted to believe.
Please, let her be crying.
I wished for that as I turned around, only to be betrayed.
Erika wore a smile akin to a bitter smirk.
It was the smile of a strong person.
A smile only the strong are allowed to wear.
Because they can trample over any hardship with sheer strength, because they are capable of doing so.
A smile only allowed to the strong, who can resign themselves to the unreasonable hardships that befall them as a matter of course, who are used to it.
More than her frail voice, that smile tore at my heart.
For Erika, who doesn't cry, who can't cry, for the world that made her this way, for those who still obstruct her shining future, a selfish anger welled up in me.
Fine, I'll kill that thing.
"That thing is different, Erika."
I was surprised by the gentle tone that came from my own throat.
"That thing isn't worth you lifting a finger. It's just an insignificant enemy, not the kind of thing you're thinking of."
Erika's hand let go.
"You're bad at lying, Shin."
I pretended not to hear her voice.