Chapter 105
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: The Path for Saving Pure Love
After capturing Celine as a prisoner, I locked her away in the detention camp here at the outpost.
When she was in her cell, I confiscated her weapons but released her restraints, and I made sure to provide regular meals so she wouldn't face any discomfort in her daily life.
Since Linian could detect any movements, there was no need for extra guards, and with her reinforcing the camp's walls and bars with magic, Celine had no way to escape.
Ravi, who had just delivered Celine's meal, returned looking dejected, her ears drooping as if she'd heard something harsh.
"What did Celine say?"
"She called me a filthy whore hanging around with criminals and told me not to come near her... I tried steering the conversation to our academy days, but she wouldn't listen. Same with Elfin and Lenis..."
It was only natural, but even after more than a week in captivity, Celine still showed no sign of listening to us—not even a fingernail's worth.
It was understandable that Celine, unaware of the truth, saw us as criminals and acted hostile. We all knew that was coming. But hearing such vicious insults from a friend still left Ravi, Elfin, and Lenis visibly downcast and depressed.
If I kept having the three of them deal with her, they might all end up with depression, so I decided to step in next.
As I approached the detention cell, Celine spotted me and sprang up in a fit, rushing over to grip the bars tightly.
"Alvis, you bastard...! Open this door right now! I'll kill you!"
"You think I'd open the door for someone threatening to kill me?"
"Fine? Then I won't kill you—open it!"
"Are you seriously thinking about trying to escape?"
She hadn't expected me to actually release her, so she huffed in frustration, slammed the bars once in a fit of anger, and sat on the not-so-plush bed in the cell, glaring at me as she asked,
"What did you do with my squad members?"
"That depends on you."
"Don't mess around! I saw my squad getting shot down with arrows right in front of me in those mountains! What happened to them? What about the rest? You didn't just massacre them indiscriminately like always, did you?!"
"Who knows? Maybe it's better if you don't know."
"You murderer... I don't know how you tricked Ravi, Elfin, and Lenis into becoming criminals like you, but you've ruined their lives too! They're criminals now because of you! They weren't like that back when we graduated from the academy! Now they're so low-class, they even enjoy being groped like whores in front of everyone..."
Celine saw me purely as a vile terrorist.
It was a natural assumption, but since the truth was different, I decided to start by clearing that up with her.
"So, you think we're murderers, terrorists sparking wars between nations—just like the rumors say. Right?"
"It's not just what I think—it's the truth!"
"What exactly makes you think that?"
"What? You call that a question?! You assassinated kingdom nobles! You destroyed the entire city of Aldebaran! You even terrorized the border between Carrot Duchy and Pratea Kingdom! And everyone knows you tried to frame our squad vice-captain for that Transen Mountain church attack!"
It seemed the Underground Vermin had spread rumors blaming us for all the atrocities they'd orchestrated through the Ebony Shadow Mercenaries, since we'd been thwarting their plans.
I had claimed to be the Ebony Shadow Mercenaries myself at the Carrot Duchy border incident to save the duchy, but...
Clearing up these misunderstandings would clearly require a long, drawn-out conversation.
Fortunately, ever since I'd absorbed Luna, I had a solid new tool to prove my innocence.
Absorbing the goddess herself had greatly enhanced my Eye that Pierces Truth, allowing me not just to see illusions myself, but to project them for others to witness as well.
"You mean the assassination of kingdom nobles like this?"
I activated the enhanced ability, and the illusion of our battle in Vector's territory replayed before our eyes.
Vector's grotesque transformation and the overwhelming power that left the three of us helpless; Ravi caught in black smoke, begging me to cut her down with it; me enduring agony but overcoming it to slice through Ravi's body with my sword and strike Vector down.
Actually, watching it again pissed me off.
The "backlash" I'd suffered mid-battle was due to the Underground Vermin's lingering thoughts.
Not falling for it had let me follow the true goddess's will and grow stronger.
Just thinking about the ordeal I'd gone through back then...
I inwardly fumed as the illusion ended, and Celine, who had stared blankly at it, snapped her eyes back into a fierce glare.
"You think you can fool me with some magic trick like that? I'm not falling for it!"
"Do you really think I can wield magic properly?"
Magic was an advanced discipline that only the sharpest minds could master.
Among us, only Lenis had pursued it from the start, so she was the only one who could use it. The rest of us—me, Ravi, Elfin—had mana but no knowledge of spells.
"Fair point."
Celine conceded immediately. Meaning she thought I was too dumb for magic. Infuriating.
After that, I showed her the scenes she'd mentioned.
In Aldebaran, how I'd resolved the mercenaries' tough requests and earned the title Mercenary King; how, upon my return, the real Ebony Shadow Mercenaries had already sacrificed the city to the Underground Vermin.
And Sophia and O'Brien, the true culprits, disguising themselves as imperial troops at the Carrot Duchy border to stage a false flag, giving the empire pretext for conflict.
Celine called the illusions fabrications but watched them play out quietly—until the clash with Robert at Transen Church, when she finally exploded.
"Enough! No one's believing your fake illusions! So that's where those suspicious rumors about Vice-Captain Robert came from—you guys!"
"Oh, so those rumors did spread? Looks like the Levendale priests worked hard to get the word out."
"What? Levendale's faithful spread those rumors...? That's nonsense!"
"Think it over slowly, remembering what you've seen today."
Dumping all the info at once would overwhelm her, and she wouldn't believe it anyway, so today's revelation ended there.
I left Celine hurling insults from inside her cell and stepped out.
Ravi, Elfin, Lenis, Linian, and even Luna—the five of them had just finished distributing meals to the Sword of the Goddess squad members detained separately from Celine and were on their way back.
"Alvis, how's Celine doing?"
I shrugged at Elfin's question.
"Doesn't seem ready to listen yet."
"Ugh, that stubborn..."
The others, knowing the full truth, were frustrated by Celine's intransigence but understood it was natural from her perspective, so they just grumbled about her stubbornness without harsher criticism.
Except Linian.
"Why drag this out so boringly and pretentiously? Beat her till she's shitting blood, break a few fingers, rip out some nails, and she'll spill everything."
"...Even if you did that, she wouldn't break. And you're absolutely forbidden from talking to Celine."
"Why!"
I ignored Linian, who was oblivious to her own faults, and asked the others,
"How are the prisoners holding up?"
"Everyone's doing fine. They don't get why we're keeping them alive, but since we are, no one's complaining much. Plenty gripe about the cramped cells, though..."
Celine had no idea, but her entire accompanying force was alive and imprisoned in another section of the base.
We hadn't attacked to kill in the first place, and Linian had healed the injured, so they were all unscathed—merely deprived of freedom.
We hadn't told Celine about their survival yet, keeping it as a card to sway her.
As I pondered how to play my remaining hands, Lenis called out to me.
"Oh, right, Alvis. Have you seen the newspaper? Linian picked it up this morning in the city. There's a weird article—you should check it out."
"Today's paper?"
I took the newspaper and read the front page.
It featured a rather baffling headline.
The imperial press maintained close ties with the church, so rather than dry facts, it leaned toward an editorial infused with church influence. Still, the message was clear.
Brayden was abandoning Celine's rescue and heading to the opposite direction—the northern front—for civilian relief.
On the surface, it seemed like noble sacrifice, swallowing tears for the greater good, as the paper claimed.
But Luna, who knew Brayden's true nature inside out, gazed at the paper silently before speaking.
"I've never met him personally, but I know him well. The man who ultimately brought destruction upon his own lineage. Not an innocent victim, by any means. His arrogance—that being praised by the masses was his due; his elitism, believing himself superior stock; his greed, willing to commit any cruelty to preserve his privileges—those sealed the traitors' plans."
Ravi, Elfin, and Lenis—who'd never heard Luna's direct take on Brayden—tilted their heads.
"Among the many branches of ruin I've witnessed, this was common. He didn't make a noble sacrifice. He feared the backlash: scornful eyes, negative judgments, reviving rumors about his blade's dullness if he went to save his lover. He simply valued his privileges over her."
"No way... Brayden's really like that...?"
"Goddess, is that... truly the case?"
"Even so, how could he abandon Celine—his lover—for such an absurd reason...?"
The three were stunned.
Ravi had once returned to her homeland, met Brayden and Celine, argued emotionally, and come back—but she'd never imagined he was this bad.
I hadn't expected Brayden to ditch Celine so easily either and was a bit shocked... but thinking it over, this was actually an opportunity.
Brayden had personally set the table to break Celine's heart and claim her fully for myself.
If he'd abandoned her for such reasons, there was no turning back now.
"Linian. You could fly to the northern front in an instant alone, right?"
"Duh. I could reach the opposite end of the continent in under a day. If my body's intact, I could teleport there in one shot..."
"Then I have a favor to ask. From now on, fly around the empire—nearby northern villages included—and spread what I tell you."
"?"
I explained my plan to Linian.
The way to steal Celine away as my lover... ahem, to free her from the fate of ruin.