I Can't Just Let You Go Like This
I couldn't just let you go like this.
“Sorry, but I can't just let you go like this.”
At those words, all three pairs of eyes snapped toward me at once. Lana stared at me with her eyes wide open in shock, while Julia gazed at me with a blank, unreadable expression. Finally, Alice glared at me with eyes full of wariness that seemed to say, 'I knew it!'.
Faced with their varied reactions, I quickly added, “It's not for any bad reason. It's all for your sake.”
“……”
Alice didn't say anything, but her face asked the question clearly enough: What the hell are you talking about?
Yeah. I get it. If our positions were reversed, I'd probably react the same way.
But unfortunately, this wasn't nonsense.
Because—
“Someone is targeting you.”
The first thing I did after deciding not to kill them was to search the bodies of the dead men.
Was I after the money in their pockets? Hardly.
I had a hunch about something, so I checked. And sure enough, I found exactly what I expected in their belongings.
The Reverse Pentagram Pendant.
At this point in time, not many people would recognize what it was, but I knew its true identity.
It was the symbol of the Dark Cult.
The Dark Cult. Any player who had properly experienced Elion would know this group. To put it simply, they were the root of all evil.
Most of the major and minor incidents that occurred in Elion were orchestrated by the Dark Cult. And that included the Three Villainesses as well.
Whenever those girls committed all sorts of atrocities in the game, the Dark Cult was always by their side, supporting them.
That's why I had suspected these men were likely affiliated with the Dark Cult, and my guess had been spot on.
But getting the right answer didn't make me happy. Instead, I felt utterly devastated.
Because—
“The group those men who were holding you belonged to… they'll be coming after you.”
It meant the Dark Cult would be targeting these children.
This wasn't just a gut feeling. There was solid, physical evidence to back up the suspicion.
It was the document I'd found in the corner of the carriage.
The document contained information about the girls. Or rather, it would be more accurate to say it contained information as well. If I had to describe the nature of that report-like document in one word, it would be a research log.
From that document, I learned everything about them—how the cult had captured the three girls, what their purpose was, and why they were being transported.
To summarize, the reason the cult had taken them was for research. In other words, experimentation.
The person who wrote the log had been looking for humans who met certain conditions. That's how they had discovered the girls and kidnapped them. It wasn't that they'd recognized their potential at first glance; it was more like they'd gotten lucky.
They'd been searching for children who could be taken without causing too much trouble, and these three had fit the bill.
Anyway, the cult had captured the girls by chance. Before beginning full-scale experiments, during the stage of evaluating their aptitude, the researcher realized that their qualities were far from ordinary.
So they made a decision. They would transfer the girls to the upper echelons—a facility where more serious research could be conducted.
Originally, it seemed they had planned to wait until personnel from the upper levels arrived for the transfer. But then an unexpected incident occurred.
A highly wanted fugitive had slipped into the city where their laboratory was located, and the Empire's special forces unit pursuing him had entered the city.
The special forces began searching the city thoroughly. Feeling the pressure, the cult couldn't wait for reinforcements and hastily began the transport.
And that's how they ended up running into me.
After reading the document, I became certain. The cult would definitely come after them.
Unless the information hadn't reached the higher-ups of the cult, but by now, it almost certainly had.
Tap.
I placed the document on the table. Naturally, all three pairs of eyes turned toward it and began scanning the pages busily.
After some time passed, their pupils began to tremble.
They must have read the part about their information reaching the organization's leadership.
I'd wondered if children would have trouble understanding it, but it seemed they had grasped it completely—what that document truly meant.
Looking at the girls who couldn't tear their eyes away from the papers, I spoke.
“That's why I can't let you go like this.”
At the crossroads of choice, I had chosen the path where I didn't kill these children.
Therefore, I had to take responsibility.
I had to prevent them from becoming villainesses. I had to stop the future from flowing down its predetermined path.
Simply rescuing them from the carriage wouldn't change the future.
The Dark Cult was persistent. They weren't a soft organization that would meekly give up on something they'd set their eyes on.
If it was the cult I knew, they would undoubtedly pursue these girls by any means necessary.
That's why I couldn't release them like this. If I did, they would surely be captured by the cult again and end up becoming the embodiment of evil, just like the girls I knew from the game.
If they had parents, or any family at all, the situation might have been different.
But according to the document, they had no family. I didn't know the exact circumstances, but they were orphans. They had no family to return to, no hometown.
Therefore, I made my choice.
I would protect them myself.
“Of course, I'm not saying I'll keep you locked up forever.”
For the time being, I'd have no choice but to keep them with me, but once they became capable of protecting themselves, I planned to set them free.
It wouldn't take that long.
Considering the talent they'd shown in the game, their potential was anything but ordinary. They would probably be able to protect themselves within a few years.
So—
“Until then, I'll protect you.”
“…What do you think?”
The girl, Alice, asked the other two.
This was their room. The room the man had assigned to them, saying they could use it temporarily. It was a bit cramped for three people, but none of the three cared about the size of the room. It was far better than the environments they'd lived in until now.
“No matter how I think about it, it's suspicious.”
Alice didn't trust the man. The years she'd lived through hadn't been easy enough for her to simply accept his words at face value. Even though he'd saved them from danger, she believed she couldn't blindly trust a man she'd only met today.
What he'd said had sounded quite convincing, but that could be part of the act. There was a possibility he'd made up a plausible story to keep them tied down here and eliminate any thoughts of escape.
“Don't you think so too, Lana?”
When no answer came, Alice singled out Lana and pressed her. Lana flinched slightly, then glanced at Alice before carefully opening her mouth.
“I… I don't really know……”
It wasn't an evasive answer. To Lana, everything was genuinely confusing.
The man seemed suspicious, but at the same time, he didn't. She knew she shouldn't trust anyone after what she'd been through, yet he didn't feel like a bad person.
“That's because you're too naive, Lana!”
Alice's eyes widened as she leaned in close. Lana jumped back in surprise.
“N-now that you mention it… it does seem that way……”
In the end, Lana agreed with Alice's opinion. It was a familiar sight. The timid Lana often yielded to the strong-willed Alice.
The three of them hadn't known each other originally, and they hadn't spent that much time together, but they got along quite well. Having suffered similar tragic circumstances and happening to be the same age, it would have been strange if they hadn't become close quickly.
“See? I knew it!”
When Lana agreed with her, Alice's face lit up. Lana had only reluctantly agreed because she was afraid of arguing with Alice, but Alice didn't notice that part.
“Should we just run away right now? There aren't any shackles, and the door isn't even locked!”
Yeah. What if they ran away like this?
When they'd been held by those strange men before, escape had been impossible, but this place was different. Their bodies were free, and the door wasn't locked. If they wanted to, they could escape anytime.
That's right! It's totally possible!
Though she'd said it on impulse, Alice thought her idea wasn't half bad.
But—
“…I'm not going.”
A calm voice suddenly poured cold water on the idea.
“…Julia, what are you saying?”
The owner of the voice was Julia. She was lying on the bed as if she didn't have a single ounce of tension, staring peacefully at the ceiling.
“It's suspicious! Who knows what he'll do!”
Alice tried to persuade her, but—
“…He doesn't seem like a bad person.”
Julia wasn't swayed. Instead, she said something that sounded like she was defending the man.
“What?!”
Alice's face crumpled at Julia's words.
“What do you mean?! What exactly are you looking at to say something like that?”
Alice pressed her for an answer, but Julia didn't respond. She simply continued staring at the ceiling with that blank, unreadable expression.
“Um… Alice, I don't think we should run away right now…… It's raining really hard too……”
Lana, who had been watching the situation, added cautiously. Alice was momentarily at a loss for words, and Lana took that chance to lie down next to Julia and pull the blanket over herself.
“You two……”
Seeing the scene, Alice couldn't continue. Their completely carefree behavior left her speechless.
However, if the other two were acting like this, she couldn't just run away by herself. In the end, Alice gave up on escaping for now.
But she hadn't given up entirely. She simply decided today wasn't the right day.
I need to get a grip…!
With that firm resolution in her heart, Alice buried herself in the bed.