On the Brink (2)
Only moments ago, the two Heroes had been a single spark away from open combat. Now that murderous pressure was ebbing. Karna, the Hero of the Holy Spear—who until a heartbeat earlier had looked ready to fight in earnest—lowered his weapon as if nothing had happened.
Seeing that, Erinn kept her own sword sheathed. Her hand, though, stayed on the hilt, ready to draw at the first wrong move.
Honestly, the thought of two Heroes actually clashing had left me wound tight as a spring…
Thank god.
I meant it. If those two had truly gone at it, the fallout could have been catastrophic. I was just grateful the others had shown up when they did.
"Are you both all right? You're not hurt, are you?"
Freya, who had appeared from behind us, immediately checked on Erinn and me.
"We're fine. We never actually fought."
"…That's a relief."
Freya said it, then looked at Erinn. Curiosity was written all over her face—she was clearly wondering how we'd ended up face-to-face with Karna in the first place. I considered explaining, then decided against it. Erinn would handle it.
Except…
"Erinn?"
"…Yeah?"
"Why were you alone with Albrecht?"
Why was she asking that instead of the obvious question? That was not the thing to lead with.
I glanced around, half-expecting someone to call her on it. Instead, the others not only failed to object—they piled on.
"She's right. You were supposed to stay home."
"H-hmm… well…"
Even Letisia was treating the fact that I'd been alone with Erinn as the real issue.
"We trusted you with him…"
Clara, too.
You've got to be kidding me…
"…Shouldn't we be dealing with the situation in front of us instead of grilling her about that?"
Only when I said it did the three of them finally glance sideways—toward Karna, still standing opposite us.
"…You're right. We can ask about that later."
Freya turned her attention to Karna.
He remained silent. Clara still had a dagger pressed to the throat of the woman beside him.
And yet the woman with a blade at her neck looked completely unfazed—calmer, even, than Karna himself. She showed no fear of death at all. It was unsettling.
Then Freya spoke.
"Hero of the Holy Spear, Lord Karna."
"…Speak, Saintess of Vita."
"Do you intend to continue? If so, we will meet you with everything we have."
Karna exhaled a quiet sigh. He looked at the woman beside him, then gave a short nod.
"We'll do as you wish. Withdraw the dagger."
"That's not enough. Put the spear down. Away from your hands."
Why didn't she trust him after that? Being careful never hurt, sure—but nothing about his manner suggested he was lying.
Freya didn't budge, though, and in the end Karna had no choice but to set the Holy Spear on the ground.
"Letisia."
"…Yes?"
"Why go that far? He didn't seem like he was lying."
"Ah…"
Letisia explained.
"The Hero of the Holy Spear is that kind of person. Pride means nothing to him. If it serves his purpose, he'll do whatever it takes."
…So that was why Freya had insisted on certainty.
With the weapon itself on the ground, even if Karna moved the instant the dagger was withdrawn… Clara could draw again and put the blade back to that woman's throat faster than he could act.
For someone who supposedly doesn't care about anything, though…
He'd obeyed the moment that woman was threatened. The thought had barely formed when the woman herself spoke.
"Karna. We lost this one."
"…"
"And you heard what they said. The royal family made the first mistake."
Karna let out a long, heavy breath. The fierce pressure rolling off him finally died away for good. Only then did I realize—
That bastard still hadn't given up…
Freya's precautions had been right on the money. He looked normal enough, but the man was completely unhinged…
Once Karna's aura settled, Erinn seemed to ease up as well. She exhaled softly.
"Clara. It's fine now."
"…Okay."
Clara withdrew the dagger. In one fluid motion she scaled the alley wall, then dropped down beside me. She narrowed her eyes and stared up at my face.
"I need an explanation."
"…Huh?"
She meant Freya's earlier question, didn't she. The situation could have looked suspicious, sure—but I still didn't fully get it. It wasn't like I'd gone off with Letisia. It was Erinn…
"It's nothing like that. I went to the martial arts hall."
"…The martial arts hall?"
"Yeah. You know I train. I was going alone, but Erinn said it was too dangerous, so she came with me. I didn't have a choice."
The tension around Clara's eyes softened a little. She seemed to understand.
"…I see."
"Sorry for making you worry."
"Ah… no. It wasn't really a misunderstanding so much as…"
Clara said,
"…I don't have the right to stop you anyway."
"Huh?"
What was that supposed to mean? Confusion was still blooming when Erinn spoke up.
"I'm so glad he has you, Sharti. Without you, talking to this one would be impossible. He's so thickheaded in every possible way~♡"
Turns out she hadn't been talking to me at all—she'd been addressing the woman who'd reined Karna in. The timing threw me for a second.
My conversation with Clara cut off naturally, and I still hadn't sorted out what she'd meant. For now I just watched Erinn talk. The woman called Sharti dipped her head slightly.
"I apologize for our rudeness, Hero Erinn."
"No, it's fine~. We figured you'd come looking for us eventually."
"…So you knew."
"Mm-hmm. But you know what~?"
A hint of steel crept into Erinn's voice.
"I can't just let it slide that your precious prince tried to have us eliminated like we were nothing~?"
"We were only told that Hero Erinn's party had illegally entered the kingdom and killed its people. As you know…"
Sharti's gaze flicked sideways. She looked at Karna with a touch of regret in her voice.
"Our Hero acts the moment he reaches a judgment. I'm truly sorry."
"Why are you apologizing so much, Sharti."
Karna cut in.
"The fact remains that the dragon contracted to them killed people."
"…Maybe you should just keep your mouth shut~? You're only making this worse, you mutt~♡"
"…Did I say something untrue?"
Erinn let out a disbelieving little laugh.
"Then next time someone steals from you, just sit there and take it. Don't you dare hit back. Got it~?"
…She had a point.
Listening to all this, I was just as exasperated. Yes, we had snuck into the Shah Zar Kingdom. And yes, people had probably died when we cleaned out that underworld organization.
But if you traced the cause, every last bit of it started with the ones who stole the Dragon Jade… and if that had been done on the orders of the royal family—specifically the prince who commanded Karna—then the first wrong was theirs, not ours.
"Karna."
Sharti called his name, looking at him in a way that clearly meant enough. He closed his mouth again.
Like watching a dog and its owner…
The thought had barely formed when Sharti turned back to Erinn.
"Allow me to apologize once more."
"You're easy to talk to. I like that~."
"That said, we won't be able to take this matter up with His Highness ourselves. Unless you, Hero Erinn, choose to respond directly…"
"Honestly, I don't love that… but you have your own circumstances. I won't press it~."
"Thank you."
Sharti bowed her head, then looked at Karna. He sighed lightly and lowered his own head.
"I apologize."
Coming from a man who'd shown up ready to kill us, it felt almost absurd—but Erinn herself, the one who'd nearly crossed blades with him, wasn't pushing further. There was nothing left for me to say.
Honestly, I thought this was the best we were going to get. Among the characters in Dungeon in Evil, Karna was famous for being rigid and cold to a fault. Coming from that unnecessarily hard-edged Hero, the apology actually seemed sincere in its own way.
The whole mess seemed to be winding down. That particular awkward quiet that often follows a resolved crisis settled over us. Then Karna spoke again.
"…Actually."
"Hm?"
"There is one more matter."
One more matter?
Erinn let out another incredulous laugh.
"Did I mishear you~? You came here to kill us and now you've got business~?"
"Originally, once I confirmed there was no problem, I intended to raise this."
"Ah~ is that so?"
Erinn wasn't the only one looking at him like he'd lost his mind—the rest of the party and I wore the same expression. But whether his nerves were made of steel or something denser, he continued as if none of it registered.
"I need aid."
The request was so unexpected that—
"…Aid?"
—Erinn and the rest of us could only stare.
Karna laid it out for Erinn's party. He had sought her out for two reasons from the start.
The first was Shah Bahadur's order—the reason they had been facing off until moments ago.
The second was a phenomenon he had discovered and needed resolved. Given Karna's nature, he almost never sought cooperation; he preferred to handle things alone. This time, though, something was clearly wrong.
"While patrolling the front lines with Sharti, I witnessed a strange phenomenon."
"…What kind of phenomenon?"
Erinn asked.
"Nothing like that has been reported to us. The Imperial Court never mentioned anything of the sort either~."
"Of course no report would have reached you. I saw it on the far side of the Demon Frontier."
"…The Demon Frontier?"
The Demon Frontier meant the front line where humanity and the Demon King's army clashed most fiercely. The far side of that line meant the strongholds where the Demon King's forces operated.
"You just wander around places like that?"
"…If one intends to deal with the Demon King, is that not only natural?"
"Confidence or whatever that is…"
It was a little absurd, but Erinn pressed on.
"So~?"
She could feel something off in the air, and so could the rest of the party. Even Albrecht, who knew next to nothing about the state of the war, felt it.
Then Karna's next words turned that uneasy current into something solid and real.
"It seemed the legions had begun to move in earnest."