Chapter 110: Three-Way Battle - 9
Chapter 110: Three-Way Battle - 9
A few days later, in the afternoon.
Jiha sat at a garden table in the barracks, drinking tea.
The same spot where he'd tangled with Yura before.
Now, Asira sat across from him.
"What's this about?"
"Just thought I'd share some light conversation."
Asira gave a charming smile.
The whites of her eyes were stained black, yet the effect was beautiful.
"Ever hear the one about how dining with slaves ruins your manners?"
"You really are merciless... Would it kill you to loosen up?"
"Picture a two-star general eating next to a private. The smile's not really a smile."
Jiha glanced around.
Flowers of nameless colors bloomed beautifully throughout the garden—a pleasant sight for most people.
A sight this beautiful could soften any heart.
"Isn't it lovely?"
Asira seemed quietly pleased by Jiha's wandering gaze.
"This garden was barren before, but Yura tended it herself after she began staying here. She wrote me that she kept it up hoping the Commons might find some joy in it, so I'd been looking forward to seeing it in person."
"You never run out of material to brag about Yura, do you?"
"Because she's that lovable."
"How about a different topic for once?"
Jiha was busy in many ways and had no interest in wasting time.
But he'd accepted Asira's invitation because there was something to gain.
If they were going to sit together, he wanted to make it worthwhile.
"There's something I've been meaning to ask..."
"You're interrogating Koral, aren't you? The wretch insists he'll only talk once his people and his own safety are guaranteed. And he claimed his subordinates are already scattered, so even he doesn't know where they are."
Koral was exercising his right to silence, and Asira had acknowledged it.
"That's not it. It's about Yura."
"Which is why I said bring up a different subject. Your conversation is impoverished."
A dangerous topic. Jiha handled it with composure.
Asira smiled wryly.
"I'll grant that I'm prone to doting on her, but this is different."
Asira abruptly lowered her voice.
"Yura's been noticeably quieter lately, as if something's troubling her. And she's been strangely avoiding time alone with me."
"And you're asking me why?"
Was she suspicious of Jiha and Yura's relationship?
Asira shook her head at his curt reply.
"I can't ask Enril. Yura still has to work with Enril going forward, so if I mishandle this, things could get complicated."
"I thought I was Enril's trusted man. Why ask me?"
Jiha brought up the cover story he'd conveniently spun for himself.
Asira answered lightly.
"Because you're extraordinarily capable. The way you captured Koral the moment this blew up—truly impressive. I've watched many Rare Grade operatives handle matters, but I've never seen anyone work as quickly and quietly as you."
"High praise. Hardly know what to do with myself."
Jiha had clashed with the gnolls long before Asira arrived, gathering intelligence and preparing for the situation.
That was why he'd subdued Koral so cleanly.
"I'm praising you honestly, so no need for modesty. Grades are ultimately just skill with Mana—combat ability, nothing more. High grade doesn't mean you handle matters well. The administrators who keep Waris running, the market officials—all Normal Grade."
"What moves the world isn't grade. It's the people who've been working on the front lines the longest."
This wasn't the sort of thing a high-grade like Asira should be saying.
"You don't hesitate to say some remarkably dangerous things..."
"Lady Cheonho said the same."
Jiha shook his head.
"So what, you're telling me to find out why Yura's acting this way?"
"If it's a worry she can't openly confide in me after a long-awaited reunion, it's no ordinary problem. It might be something she can't discuss with another woman, so I'd like you to look into it discreetly. And of course, keep it secret that I asked."
The problem Yura was hiding was Jiha himself.
An ironic situation, asking Jiha himself to investigate.
"And the compensation?"
"Name what you want and I'll arrange it."
"Hmm..."
Jiha looked straight at Asira.
"How about I sleep with you?"
Asira's face showed surprise, then an awkward laugh, then a shake of her head.
"That joke goes too far. Let's pretend I didn't hear it."
"A joke..."
"Enough."
Asira cut him off flatly.
"I acknowledge your exceptional skill, and yes, I'm the one making a request. But exploiting someone's predicament to satisfy greed is not the way of a knight. Right now, you're making me doubt the judgment that led me to think so highly of you."
She wasn't rejecting him because he was human or a Common. She was objecting to the nature of it—seizing a weakness and coercing her.
Seeing Asira act serious, Jiha tsked.
"You might be a knight, but I'm not. That said, I'll look into the information regardless. But you'll have to move when I say so."
"Fine..."
Asira looked past Jiha's shoulder and smiled.
"Have a seat, Kamain."
Kamain, approaching the table, shot Jiha a brief look of displeasure.
But with Asira present, he couldn't voice it. He delivered his report in silence.
"Last night I located Koral's subordinates. They resisted fiercely and even harmed civilians, so I had no choice but to kill them."
"Using innocent people as shields—those wretches have crossed every line."
"They're rampaging beyond even their leader Koral's control. To stabilize Waris's security, we need to clean this up as fast as possible. I happen to have free hands myself, so I'd like to handle—"
"There are also movements to break their boss out of custody. Just in case, Lady Asira, please remain at the barracks. I'll handle the field."
"Fine, but pace yourself. You've been moving alone the whole time. I'd like to send reinforcements..."
"Few in Waris can keep up with my movements. I work better alone."
Jiha, who'd been listening to the exchange, suddenly spoke up.
"How many gnolls have you caught so far?"
"...Seventeen."
After Koral's capture, Kamain had been tracking down the gnolls who'd scattered and hidden throughout the city.
"Right. Got it."
Jiha's words carried weight. Kamain answered curtly.
"...They're all desperate."
"Good. Then go run yourself ragged."
Kamain shot Jiha an unpleasant glare, then turned and walked away.
Asira shook her head with worry.
"He pushes himself so hard, I'm afraid he'll collapse. So intent on minimizing civilian casualties, he neglects his own wellbeing..."
"Remember the condition from earlier."
Jiha, who hadn't touched his tea, rose from his seat.
He headed for the library.
'Kamain must be deeply unsettled that I was having a private conversation with Asira...'
Disturbing Kamain had been Jiha's whole reason for accepting Asira's invitation in the first place.
Even if Kamain hadn't seen it directly, Jiha had intended for word to reach him. The timing had worked out well.
In a corner of the library, a woman in a modest maid's uniform with no exposed skin was waiting.
Mayan, who'd been drinking tea, lifted only her eyes to watch Jiha as he approached.
No greeting, but Jiha sat across from her without concern.
"Report."
"...Let me reiterate: I serve solely for the young lady's sake. My actions this time were based purely on my judgment that they served her interests."
"Got it. You're a loyal dog, so stop barking every time we meet. You're used to my face by now."
Mayan was silent for a long moment.
She wasn't swallowing Jiha's words—she was recalling an unpleasant memory from not long ago.
"...It was an utterly appalling affair."
Mayan confessed with a sickened expression.
"Kamain tracked down the gnolls and killed them. Even the ones clearly showing no will to resist, the ones shouting that they surrendered—he killed them without exception. And it wasn't just them. The humans who'd hidden the gnolls for money, members of other species—he killed them all without mercy."
"Because word can't get out that he killed gnolls who'd clearly declared surrender."
"...He killed civilians who'd merely taken money to hide them. That's murder."
"Summary execution of Normal Grade individuals who cooperated with criminals. Doesn't a Super Rare Grade carry that much authority?"
Jiha said, looking straight ahead.
"You could do it too."
"...I would never. How can a person do something like that?"
Clear revulsion surfaced on Mayan's face.
"He killed a father begging forgiveness for his wrongs. He killed a child in front of a mother who pleaded to spare the child, then killed the screaming mother. They died for one reason alone—they'd hidden gnolls to earn a few coins!!"
"This is a library. Keep it down."
The enraged Mayan drew rough breaths, fists clenched tight.
Outside of moments when Jiha provoked her, Mayan rarely showed emotion. But Kamain's conduct was so vile she couldn't regain her composure.
"He killed the people involved using the gnolls' own daggers... then collected them. And he staged the scenes to look chaotic."
"The gnolls took civilians hostage. I had no choice but to use lethal force. I couldn't prevent civilian deaths in the process. My apologies. That sort of report."
And Asira, suspecting nothing, merely tsked at how wicked the gnolls were and lamented the loss of life.
"...I can't count how many times I wanted to rush in and stop him. I'd only heard rumors of Kamain, never exchanged words with him, but only now do I know—he's a monster wearing a human face."
Ears pricked upright, Mayan cried out in fury.
"I'll fully cooperate in punishing Kamain. Let's report to the young lady at once."
"Don't. It's pointless."
"What do you mean? We have to expose that bastard for what he is. Wasn't it your order that had me surveilling him from a distance for days and nights?"
Mayan couldn't hide her agitation.
Jiha, having deceived her into believing this was all for Enril, had been using Mayan as he pleased.
Monitoring Kamain's movements was no easy task.
He was Super Rare Grade. No matter how many Common or Normal eyes you set on him, he could shake them off if he meant to.
But Mayan was Super Rare Grade herself.
Moreover, a dog beastman's sense of smell was extraordinarily acute.
Once she'd memorized Kamain's scent, she could track him anywhere within Waris and eavesdrop on what transpired inside.
Mayan was a born tracker.
"What exactly do you plan to accomplish by reporting to Enril? Kamain's already fabricated all the evidence. Even if Enril raises the issue, Asira will block it. If anything, they'll see Enril's faction as slandering her subordinate with baseless schemes."
"So you're telling me to let that cambion keep running rampant?"
Mayan, unable to contain her agitation, bared her teeth.
"Enough barking. Calm down."
Even as Jiha tried to soothe her, Mayan's agitation didn't subside.
Usually a composed and diligent maid, she apparently had a passionate streak underneath.
"If you won't do it, then I'll—"
"I said don't ruin this. Enril will end up in a difficult position too."
Even at the mention of Enril, Mayan's tail stood rigid.
Jiha frowned.
"It ends tonight, so settle down."
"...How?"
Even in her agitated state, Mayan knew Jiha was right.
The civilian killings Kamain had committed were already fully staged to look like the gnolls' doing.
"If a Super Rare Grade claims he summarily executed Normal Grade individuals who aided criminals, you won't get a heavy sentence. At most, a verbal warning, a fine, or if it somehow goes badly, a mark on his future performance review."
"..."
"You really want to let that bastard off with something that small?"
"Then how in the world..."
Mayan asked desperately, and Jiha grinned.
"You do what your enemy hates most."
Everything was ready.
Ready to bury Kamain.