A Brief Rest - 13
"Who are you?"
"We're both just slum trash anyway. Does it matter who I am? What matters is what we're going to do, right?"
"Since when is there a 'we'? Do you even know me?"
"No. I only met you today. But in a slum where you ought to thank the gods if someone alive today is still breathing tomorrow, that kind of thing doesn't really matter, does it?"
"Yeah. Fair enough."
"Hey. Why don't you work with me? You're pretty good. Let's work together."
"……."
When he forced his heavy eyelids open, the same scenery as always unfurled before him.
Everyone carries memories that cannot be erased. No matter how shabby, no matter how wretched, there are recollections that linger in the mind far longer than anything stimulating or beautiful ever could.
Alex sat up.
"Things I have to do… Right. There was a lot I had to do."
He clenched a fist and let out a small sigh.
The World Tree had been revived, and the Hero, Olivia Reinhardt, had broken the Curse of the God of Death. The mana nerves and flesh damaged by that curse would not have healed yet, however — it would be a stretch to call her at her peak. Even so, there was no denying she remained a formidable force.
He might have been better off killing Olivia even if it meant pushing himself past his limits. But two Demon King Army Cadres and a unit of wyverns should have been more than enough. If both cadres drew on the God of Death's power and fought at full strength, they would be Demon King-class. Together, defeating an Olivia who was dying from the Curse of the God of Death should not have been difficult.
But Alex had underestimated the individualism of monsters. He had never imagined they would operate separately in Elvenheim and be picked off one by one.
Calm down. There's definitely a problem. As long as Olivia Reinhardt is alive, she will come to interfere with me.
Rayna was dead.
She hadn't been useful to the very end. The Geas contract burning to ash meant the person it had been placed upon was dead, so he knew Rayna had died. That said, he had gained something from it as well, so it wasn't all that bad.
"Why is she just sitting still?"
That was Alex's greatest question.
She had broken the Curse of the God of Death. She already had power enough. If she were going to accuse him, doing so while her body had yet to fully recover would actually leave the stronger impression. And yet quite some time had passed, and she had done nothing.
Is she just stupid? …No. If she were stupid, she would have gone around making an emotional racket trying to denounce me.
If that happened, Alex could no longer sit quietly either, and the volume of blood spilled would change dramatically — but at least the response would have been simple. Olivia, however, was doing nothing. She was simply watching.
Had she decided to wait and see, because she couldn't predict what Alex might do if she accused him?
No. She's not the type capable of that kind of intelligent behavior.
Olivia wasn't stupid, but she wasn't someone who thought deeply, either. Outside of combat she often seemed dull, or simply lacking in knowledge — as if every scrap of her innate intelligence had been poured into fighting. When it came to battle, though, her judgment was rarely wrong. Sometimes that judgment was reckless, but it always led to the same result: Olivia Reinhardt has the power to pull it off.
The conclusion, then, was this: her head itself wasn't bad, but she didn't think deeply enough to actually put that head to use.
Is there someone advising her? An elf, for instance.
Rayna had never given him that information in the end. When asked whether someone else had been with Olivia, she had deliberately cut the question short and ended the communication. He probably should have added a condition to the Geas: You must not ignore Alex Reynolds' words.
The fact that Rayna hung up on purpose means there was definitely someone with her.
If it had been Olivia alone, there would have been no need for that kind of reaction.
Someone was there. Someone was with Olivia. And that someone was probably quite sharp — a companion who could think in Olivia's place.
And without a doubt, a moronic do-gooder.
An idiot who wanted to put that good head to good use. Otherwise there would have been no reason to not only save a dying Olivia, but to travel with her all the way to Elvenheim.
"What a headache."
That isn't the real problem, though.
At the voice that seemed to ring through his skull, Alex let out a small sigh and began to dress.
"I believe I asked you not to address me while the sun still shines upon the kingdom."
The Hero Olivia Reinhardt has survived. The Curse of the God of Death has been broken. You cannot possibly fail to understand how serious this is.
"I would have preferred she died as well. This goes beyond things getting troublesome — depending on the circumstances, I may have to abandon this identity of mine."
For Alex Reynolds, status was not a necessity, but it was convenient. This authority. This trust. All of it lent him power, so there was nothing to be lost in keeping it. It was not, however, more precious than his life, and he would discard it if he had to.
What mattered was winning in the end, and obtaining everything. Everything that happened along the way was of no consequence. Even if he had to grovel in the dirt to claim victory, a victory was still a victory.
"She's already alive, and there's nothing to be done about it. You should know that getting emotional over the fact won't produce any answers."
This is a major problem.
"Oh my. Could it be that you're afraid of Olivia Reinhardt?"
I'd rather ask you that.
The voice ringing through his mind answered his mockery.
Are you not afraid? That overwhelming power — you saw it from closer than anyone, and you feel no fear? In Olivia Reinhardt's eyes, you have already become evil.
"……."
It means you are a target for extermination, no different from the monsters.
Olivia Reinhardt was strong. Absurdly strong. It was not a human kind of strength. She might even surpass the First Hero, who had been called the strongest Hero of all.
"That's quite a frightening thing to say."
"……."
Even when she fought the Demon King, she had room to spare, and her body had not finished developing. In the worst case, she will become a powerhouse capable of facing the entire world alone.
"That may be. But regardless, she was afflicted with the Curse of the God of Death and spent quite some time gravely wounded. She will be weaker than she was around the time she slew the Demon King."
She is the Hero precisely because she transcends such common sense. You monster who, despite being human, believes in humanity's potential even less than we do.
"……."
Alex's brow furrowed for an instant.
"Let's not say things that will hurt each other's feelings."
Yes. That was a slip of the tongue.
"It's fine. In any case, even if Olivia isn't at her peak, the fact that she's powerful is undeniable. So why not use even that fact?"
What do you mean?
"She is the Hero. No matter what happens, she is the Hero. No matter how far she falls, how much she suffers, how disappointed she becomes in humanity — in the end, she is the Hero."
"……."
Alex believed in human malice.
He believed people would prioritize malice over goodwill. He believed that in a life-threatening moment, they would look after themselves before anyone else. He believed that the instant they stood to lose something, they would choose a lie that favored them over a truth that did not.
That was why he had never been able to see eye to eye with Olivia. She believed in human goodwill — and despite being twisted herself, those eyes of hers were far too upright.
In that case, it would have been better to assassinate her the moment the Demon King died. In the Monster Realm, no one would have come to save her.
"Easy to say. To make her drop her guard, I needed to dull that sharpness of hers somewhat."
In the Monster Realm, Olivia had remained somewhat sharp even on the journey back, and she had distinguished poison by instinct. In humanity's territory, however, that sharpness seemed to have faded. Perhaps she had let her guard down after completing what could be called her greatest duty as a Hero — hunting the Demon King — and returning to the lands of mankind.
Alex had been certain that moment was the only opportunity. If he failed, Olivia might have slaughtered them all on the spot, so he had to be careful. Even after being poisoned, she had possessed the vitality to resist and make it all the way to Elvenheim.
With those wounds. With that poison. It was impossible to tell who the real monster was.
I take it you have a scheme?
"I have methods, yes. What concerns me more right now is the collaborator at Olivia Reinhardt's side."
We'll look into it from our end.
"I'd appreciate that. Ah, and one more thing."
What is it?
"Please refrain from unilateral actions like the last incident at East Port. A large-scale assault after the Demon King has already been slain?"
We attacked Elvenheim to capture the Hero as well, did we not?
"That was an operation based on certainty that the Hero was there. The assault on East Port was clearly not part of the plan."
"……."
Olivia had been at East Port, but they had ultimately failed to catch her. If they had known she was there, they would have attacked far more thoroughly. With a large-scale assault unfolding after the Demon King had already been slain, anxious voices were beginning to stir among the citizens.
News of the Elvenheim assault had not reached them yet. That old elf might be plotting something again.
Understood. I'll pass along the warning.
"Please do."
And with that, the voice vanished as quickly as it had come.
Paranoid old man.
Come to think of it, Lilith had headed for Elvenheim as well. To be precise, she hadn't said she was going to Elvenheim — but there was a high possibility she had. If she had run into Olivia and heard the truth…
The collaborator is Lilith… No. Lilith only started moving after the demon invasion of East Port. Then who is it? What kind of idiot…
A knock sounded at the door. Alex cleared his throat.
"It's open. Come in."
"I-it's me…"
Velita, was it. Alex relaxed slightly.
"What is it? Visiting me first thing in the morning."
"L-Lady Rayna is…"
"Yes?"
"Was she killed by Lady Olivia?"
"……."
Killed by Olivia. The possibility wasn't zero. If Rayna had come at her with that guilty-party-sues-first attitude, it could have happened. But he considered the odds low. Alex judged it unlikely that Rayna would have turned around and tried to pin the blame on Olivia.
However.
She's trembling. …I should stoke that fear.
Unlike Rayna, Velita had no Geas, so he needed to apply a little pressure to that fragile heart of hers.
"That's quite likely, yes."
Velita sucked in a sharp, strangled breath. Alex smiled, wearing the mask of a kind expression.
"We're accomplices, aren't we? We ought to… get along, at least among ourselves. Especially you — you have your family to protect."
"……."
Velita trembled.
What do you call someone who only has the desire to be loved by others, and none of the courage to be hated by them?
Truly wonderful.
Because they're easy to control.
In that regard, at least, he could say he liked Velita more than Rayna.