Ignorance Is a Sin
The Hero Rayna Forest first laid eyes on left her with the impression of a little girl.
She was of age — an adult, by the numbers — but she was young. Whatever she did, she was emotional, impulsive. The logic behind her actions was always eccentric, and she never once considered the wreckage she would leave behind.
Frivolous.
Undignified, Rayna had thought.
And yet she harbored an absolute hatred of evil — a hatred that sometimes looked like a curse, tightening around her own throat.
At first, Rayna had pitied that Olivia.
But then—
That's supposed to be human strength?
Olivia had grown powerful — so powerful that even she could no longer keep herself in check.
Slay all evil.
To her, the wicked were not people. To her, there was no such thing as an evildoer with circumstances. Whether the opponent was a noble, a nation, or the entire world, she did not discriminate. She was something like a grim reaper, executing justice and nothing else.
A guardian of justice.
It suited the name of Hero — but she was extreme, and she was terrifying. That power of hers could make her childish ideals into reality. She had even executed people she had laughed and spoken with only the day before, on the grounds that they were criminals.
The way she switched was so chilling that Rayna had thought she, too, might die like that if she ever failed to meet Olivia's standards.
But that was as far as it went.
The fear was real, but it was only that much. She was somewhat frightening, yes — but she was still a righteous person, and not entirely without flexibility. At least, that was how Rayna had judged her.
For all her talk of slaying all evil, she showed a measure of leniency when it came to misdemeanors that had not risen to murder. A child who had stolen food because they had no money, for instance — Olivia would scold them, then share whatever coins she had on her.
Rayna had been genuinely surprised. She had half expected Olivia to report the child as a thief and brand them a criminal for life.
And so, frightening though she was, Rayna had not disliked Olivia. Once you got close to her, her wariness dropped away with surprising ease, and you could talk with her like a normal person. She was a bit high-strung, and you had to adjust your approach depending on her mood, which was a hassle — but that was personality. A flaw everyone had, at a level you could write off.
And yet.
"Well then, Rayna — would you care to play a little game with me?"
The world.
Ah.
The world.
Ignorance was a sin.
Punishment is visited upon the ignorant, and Rayna's judgment was surely drawing near. Perhaps she had sensed it in the very moment she betrayed Olivia.
She had never believed in anything so quaint as karmic retribution. And yet in that moment, she had known — there would be no proper ending waiting for her.
"You want to talk?"
"Yes."
"What conversation? What the hell could you possibly have to say to me?! I betrayed you!! And you came here for revenge! And now I have the gall to stand in front of you and try to kill you again — what is there to talk about?!"
She was right.
Rayna deserved to be punished. But whether that punishment should come as my personal revenge, or as a sentence under the law — that was something that needed thought. I was wrestling with that question now, and I meant to find the answer by talking with her.
If it had been the old me, what would I have thought? As the Hero, would I have simply killed her as a villain? Or would I have accepted the present situation — my former companions deciding the world no longer needed me, and trying to kill me — and resigned myself to it?
What answer would the old me have given?
I couldn't know, and it didn't seem to matter much to the person I was now. What mattered now was only the opinion and the feelings of the present Olivia Reinhardt.
"You're right."
Rayna's eyes flew wide.
"You… No. Not just you. Alex, Velita, even the kingdom itself committed a crime. All of you have to be punished. Even if I look too wretched now to still call myself a Hero, that much hasn't changed."
No — it must not change.
Perhaps my tone had gone a little cold, because Rayna's body trembled for an instant. Had killing intent leaked out? I hadn't meant it to, but perhaps the bloodlust buried deep in my heart had slipped free. Unconscious killing intent was surprisingly common among those who had fought a great deal.
"Why did you do it?"
She said nothing.
"Were you that afraid of me? Did you think I might… go beyond that, and kill the elves? Is that why you did this?"
No answer. Rayna only fidgeted with her neck.
"I can't say."
"Since when were you targeting me?"
"I can't say."
"Alex was the one who led this. Where did he get something like the God of Death Poison?"
"I don't know that."
Hmm. What was this? There was a subtle difference in the answers. Why had she given a different reply instead of the same one?
No. Never mind. It didn't seem like an important issue.
"You said it yourself a moment ago. That I came here for revenge."
"Y-yeah. So what?"
"Which is another way of saying you understand the weight of what you've done. Rayna, I thought highly of you. I don't think you're enough of a fool to do something like this over a delusion of what might happen."
She was silent.
"Alex's loyalty to the kingdom is so strong he'd throw away everything else for its sake."
That didn't make it defensible — but it did mean Alex had a motive, and a temperament that was, at least, understandable.
"Velita — I hate to put it this way, but she's weak-willed. She's used to living by someone else's orders, and she has no backbone. Frankly, she's the kind of person who's easy to deceive, and who can become dependent on whoever she latches onto."
And it wasn't just anyone saying this. It was me.
Velita was fundamentally timid. If she had been swept up in the atmosphere, or threatened for some reason, of course she would have cooperated. Her life had been a passive one. Whether the person was good or evil didn't seem to matter — she always looked like she was searching for someone to depend on. So I could believe Velita might have done it.
But Rayna wouldn't have.
Once, in the past, when Rayna had been separated from the party, she had taken down a fairly powerful monster by herself. Her arms and legs had been broken, and she had still swung those broken arms and beaten the thing to death. A berserker, in every sense of the word. That was probably when I had started thinking so highly of her.
"But you — you may have grown up only in Elvenheim, ignorant of the ways of the world, but you were never weak-willed. You weren't the kind of person who'd fall for Alex's silver tongue, were you?"
Still nothing.
"Ordinary circumstances, maybe. But there's no way you would have agreed to a plan to cast aside the Hero who saved the world."
"You're mistaken."
"Mistaken?"
A trembling voice. Unsteady breathing. No matter how you looked at it, she was not in a normal state. The way she shook — as if she were ill, the way I myself was — looked like she was feeling terror. I frowned, unable to understand. Rayna, who had beaten a monster to death with a broken arm, was afraid.
"I was just that kind of person. Olivia, you misread me again, that's all."
"Do you want to die?"
Rayna seemed to think for a moment, her expression complicated, and then she spoke.
"If you kill me, you won't get the World Tree Sap. So don't kill me…"
"You can't solve everything with force."
"What?"
"Doesn't it seem strange to you? That I haven't killed you — that I haven't even attacked you? If I attack you, the elves who already think poorly of me will think even worse. Even if I forced my way through, got the sap, and survived — how would that be any different from the past?"
I don't like it, so. They're in the wrong, so. So I kill them with force. Fellow human beings. No questions asked. Slay all evil. I had thought that understanding the other party's circumstances was meaningless.
That thought hadn't changed even now — but I knew now that dealing with an individual and dealing with a nation were entirely different things. There would be innocent people inside that nation. People who had done nothing bad enough to deserve dying, caught up in the chaos.
"I told you. I came here to talk."
Rayna's eyes went wide. She lowered her head.
"You've changed, Olivia."
"I used to think a Hero existed to protect unchanging values. But the person who saved me was someone I had judged to have no value at all."
Following my gaze, Rayna glanced at Lois for a moment, then looked away.
"This is the last time. If I punish you privately and tell the elves everything, a great deal will change. I'd prefer you speak for yourself, and come forward to a place where you can receive your punishment."
"But that's my selfishness, I suppose. If you have a reason you can't, then I'll be the one to pass that judgment — not you."
"That part of you hasn't changed."
"Of course not. If people who do wrong aren't punished, isn't that too unfair to the people living their lives properly? Circumstances might be grounds for a reduced sentence, but you can't just pretend it never happened."
That was the foundation of who I was. If you do wrong, you are punished. Crimes that crossed the line into murder, especially, could never be forgiven.
"All right. I'll ask you one last time."
There was no telling how long Lois's barrier would hold.
"Why did you do this? My choice will change depending on your answer. Will I be the one to punish you — or will the law?"
"I can't say."
"I see."
It was a shame. A genuine shame. If only she had said she would take her punishment properly. Killing someone who had once been a companion certainly wouldn't make for a good memory. If only Rayna had been the kind of person I could take pleasure in revenging myself upon.
The moment I slowly rose to my feet, Lois approached.
"A moment, please. I have something I'd like to ask."
"Lois? …Right. You're the one who made this opportunity."
This time Lois stood before Rayna, and she looked up at him.
"Of all people, you're helping Olivia. Why did you save her?"
"Is there supposed to be a reason for saving someone?"
"Right. If you'd been the one who stayed in the Hero's party instead of me, maybe something would have been different. So what do you want to ask me? The elves aren't weak. Don't assume your barrier will hold forever."
Lois regarded Rayna in silence, then spoke.
Rayna went rigid.
"Around the time I was expelled from the party, you didn't wear clothes that covered your neck. You used to say you hated hot places — you'd even go around like that in the dead of winter."
Rayna's expression changed in an instant.
"And for a while now—"
"Stop."
"You've been touching your neck a great deal. That's a habit you didn't have when I was still in the party. Livia, do you know anything about this?"
Oh. The question's suddenly on me.
Hmm. Uh.
"I don't know when it started, but she just started doing it all of a sudden."
"So it isn't an aftereffect of fighting monsters, then. In that case, something occurs to me."
"Would you show me your neck?"
A deep, grinding rumble tore through the air. Lois's barrier had begun to collapse.
"Rayna. You don't mean—"
"Ghk—!!"
Rayna moved fast, snatching up the sword I had discarded. Before anyone could even think to react, she stabbed her own shoulder, yanked the blade free, and flung it to the ground.
Blood sprayed. In that interval, the barrier came crashing down.
"Lady Rayna!"
"Lady Rayna's been attacked!"
"Talk? I knew it — humans can't be trusted! We should have known the moment they brought a half-breed!"
"Rayna."
Wounded, Rayna met my eyes.
Emotions were exploding. Even if I told them the truth here, they would not believe me. If they investigated thoroughly, they might discover that Rayna had stabbed herself — but they had no reason to investigate that far.
The moment the subject of her neck had come up, Rayna had become unstable in an instant and started acting strangely.
What was this?
But the agitated elves would not be talking.
No choice, then.
It was a somewhat rough method, but as long as I didn't kill them, there would still be room for conversation.
"That's enough."
The moment I resolved to fight, a voice I had heard before rang out.
Everyone froze at once and looked in the direction of the voice. I was no exception. Every elf's eyes went wide. Then they dropped to one knee, assuming a posture of loyalty toward the figure who had appeared.
"T-Titania! Why have you come all the way here…!"
Titania glanced toward Sylphy for a moment, then turned her head and looked at me.
Frankly, it was not an attitude I cared for.
Titania continued to look at me. It appeared as though she were focusing on me — but to my eyes, it looked as though she were making an effort not to let her gaze fall on a certain half-elf.