Chapter 55 — The Men Who Hated Leo
Chapter 55 — The Men Who Hated Leo
Translation: Godtl
[Master! <4> Special Affinity targets are approaching within 2m! Complete the Hidden Quest to raise affinity and unlock Special Recipes!(｡•̀ᴗ-)✧]
Wait. What did it say?
Flustered, Lelia blinked and looked at the text again.
Special Affinity targets? Four people?
'And what? Within 2m? What on earth does this mean...?'
That was when it happened.
Somehow, an eerie shadow fell over her head.
"......!"
At the sudden killing intent felt behind her, Lelia's body froze.
At the same time, a low voice pierced her ears.
"Lelia Auraria."
'Who? They know my name?'
Lelia slowly turned her body around.
The moment she confirmed who was emanating such killing intent.
Lelia nearly collapsed on the spot, her legs giving out beneath her.
"Seeing you react to that name, I suppose it's yours."
The man who had been covering his eyes with black cloth spoke with a sneer.
What... what is this....
Lelia looked at them tensely. Before her eyes, large men were looking down at her.
With gazes that seemed ready to tear her apart and kill her at any moment.
And just then.
The man who had been covering his eyes with black cloth pulled the cloth down and asked,
"Was it you? Who killed my friend?"
It was a voice so cold it seemed capable of killing a person with sound alone.
"......"
What did he just say?
"You killed the former Crown Prince, and then lived in comfort as a princess, did you?"
Then the beautiful blonde man asked with a sweet smile. Eyes that looked like they'd kill someone even while smiling.
"......"
Lelia was dumbfounded.
In that instant, a strange sense of déjà vu flashed through her mind like an arrow.
'Wait, surely not....'
That was when it happened.
"Answer me. Why did you kill him?"
The brown-haired man spoke through gritted teeth. His eyes were thick with killing intent, resentment, and hatred.
And behind him....
"I'm going to torture you as painfully as possible before killing you."
Beast-like red eyes gleamed eerily. The silver-haired man drew the sword at his waist the moment he finished speaking.
"Eek—!"
Lelia was so startled she let out a strange scream without realizing it and stumbled backward.
Following the red-eyed man, the others began drawing their swords one by one.
What is this, are they really trying to kill me? Wait...!
Lelia slowly stepped back, then collapsed to the ground.
'N-no, surely....'
They say "surely not" kills people. An inexplicable certainty sent goosebumps racing across her entire body.
The black-haired man with a fierce expression was definitely....
'Kalix.'
That blonde with blue eyes who looked like he'd tear someone's mouth open while smiling—that was Romeo.
And that brown-haired man who seemed to have lost his mind was Griffith.
And finally, those red eyes....
'Oscar...? It can't be Oscar.'
Lelia blinked repeatedly as she looked up at them.
No, even if the others were them.
'Oscar... is it?'
Honestly, the other three seemed to have traces of their childhood appearances. But Oscar... Oscar was....
The image of Oscar in her mind was very small, fragile, and always sniffling like a baby kitten.
Seeing her stare blankly at him, the presumed Oscar spoke.
"No, it'd be a waste to kill her easily. Let's take her somewhere quiet and pull out her fingernails, then cut off her fingers joint by joint."
N-no. That's not Oscar.
Oscar wasn't someone who could say such things.
Lelia thought that couldn't be the case and racked her brain for how to handle this situation.
But then.
A shadow quickly appeared over her head. Lelia was struck right at the pressure point on the back of her neck—*thud*—and fainted.
[Master! Switching to Special Affinity exclusive UI. ୧(•̀ᴗ•́) UI settings can be changed in the environment settings!]
[system: Special Affinity activation complete]
※Notice
If you fail to clear the quest within the time limit, a penalty will be imposed.
[system: The system will be partially modified.]
Lelia slowly opened her eyes.
As soon as she regained consciousness, intense pain washed over her.
Her neck hurt as if it had been beaten.
"Ugh..."
"You're awake."
Lelia let out a painful groan as she checked her surroundings.
In the dark room were the four men she had encountered earlier.
Lelia looked down at herself.
Her hands and feet were tied to a creaking chair.
'Was I kidnapped?'
But something was strange.
'...What is this?'
Things that normally only appeared when she pressed the jewel on her necklace were simply visible.
A settings button at the bottom right, and craft, inventory, quest, and so on.
Small icons were floating before her eyes.
Ding ding.
Just then, the speech bubble that always appeared with alchemy tools floated in the air.
[Optimized for Special Affinity UI Mode, Master! Try raising special affinity by proceeding with hidden quests! ٩(๑•̀ㅂ•́)و When you completely finish the quest, you can receive a special recipe as a reward!]
'...What is this?'
Special Affinity UI Mode?
Ah. But my head hurts so much.
Lelia lightly shook her head and looked up at the men glaring at her.
Then she noticed things that hadn't been visible before.
The images floating right above their heads.
[!]
Above the men's heads floated exclamation marks glittering in gold. It was the image that appeared when a quest was unlocked in the game.
And below that, small letters were written... looking closely, they all said [–999].
Rattle.
Just then, a man dragged an old chair and sat down heavily in front of Lelia. It was Romeo.
"Your name is Lelia Auraria, right?"
"......"
Lelia slowly nodded.
Her heart pounded fiercely.
The fact she couldn't believe until just moments ago started to sink in through her skin.
Friends.
The beings who let Lelia live. Those who had become the final destination of her life, more precious than anything.
Friends were right in front of her eyes.
Recognizing this fact, her eyes instantly grew hot.
She never imagined they would reunite like this.
She was planning to undo the Gold Word Magic and go find them. She never thought she'd see them again this soon...
"Are you crying because you don't want to die?"
Romeo, sitting across from her, spoke mockingly.
With his still biting tone just like in childhood, Lelia felt the tears receding.
No... but then again...
'Why on earth are these guys... me...'
"Looking at the tower you were staying in, it was quite luxurious."
The brown-haired man, Griffith, spoke.
Perhaps these children knew of her existence.
She was confused, unable to understand the situation.
Perhaps her confusion showed on her face, as Griffith let out a hollow laugh and spoke again.
"Before Crown Prince Leo died, he left your name as a message to us."
"......"
"And Leo was poisoned to death. He always urged us. That someone was trying to kill him, that the throne was being threatened."
No, wait.
"Why did you kill Leo?"
"......"
Lelia's expression went blank.
She thought she misheard earlier...
'These guys right now...'
Do they think I killed Leo? How? Why?
"Do we need to wait? If we cut off your fingers one by one, you'll open your mouth soon enough."
Oscar, who was standing in one corner, spoke in a cold voice. Lelia averted her gaze slightly.
It couldn't be Oscar...
"Was there someone who ordered you to kill Leo? Or was it simply your greed to become emperor?"
Griffith poured out questions in succession.
Lelia opened her mouth for the first time with a trembling voice.
"Um..."
"......"
Romeo sitting across from her, Kalix and Oscar with their fierce eyes in the corner.
And Griffith standing next to Romeo.
Their eyes turned toward Lelia.
"There seems to be... some misunderstanding."
The quest marks and [-999] floating above their heads were bothersome, but first, untying the ropes binding her hands and feet was the priority.
For now, they didn't seem to have noticed that she was Leo.
They knew Lelia as her true identity itself.
'If I'm not careful, it won't be my fingers but my neck that gets cut.'
Lelia continued speaking before their patience ran out.
"I... I didn't kill Leo... Leo."
You idiots, right? At that time, she was ten years old. How could a ten-year-old kill someone?
"Then why did Leo send your name as a message before he died?"
"That's..."
That was... just in case...
She thought Romeo or Griffith, who were quick to notice, might figure out her identity.
But looking at Romeo and Griffith's eyes now, it was a huge misconception.
'Now that I think about it, it makes sense to suspect...'
It might have felt like a dying message with the culprit's name. At that time, she was too urgent to even imagine it.
"Lies. You aimed for the throne and killed Crown Prince Leo. You probably didn't calculate that a rebellion would occur. So you ran away."
"Only my friend died unjustly..."
At Griffith's words, Romeo muttered as if responding.
The two people across from her seemed to firmly believe Lelia was the culprit.
That was understandable since Lelia looked very suspicious in their eyes.
Since the day the four first reunited and guessed the culprit, they had determined in their hearts that Lelia was the culprit.
The prejudice that had solidified over several years was not easily erased.
Lelia was speechless seeing Griffith and Romeo, who she thought would be quick to notice and figure it out, acting like this.
'What should I do. I can't tell the truth either...'
Lelia quickly thought. To persuade those eyes full of prejudice...
Shing.
Just then, Oscar, who had been silently watching from afar, drew his sword again and slowly approached.
Lelia instinctively sensed the killing intent. He couldn't hold back and was finally trying to kill her.
Lelia desperately shouted to survive.
"I really didn't kill him! The culprit who killed Crown Prince Leo was executed directly by the Emperor at that time! 'Count Heter' was the culprit!"
"How can we believe those words?"
"No..."
Oscar's blade approached Lelia's neck. Her soul felt like it would be sucked out by the demonic energy emanating from the sword.
"......!"
Just then, a way to escape this situation suddenly came to mind. A sharp pain washed over her neck where the blade touched.
Lelia desperately shouted.
"M-My birthday is the 27th of the month of Celes!"
"......"
The surrounding air froze.
Griffith's expression was particularly distorted upon hearing those words.
The day before the date Lelia mentioned, the 26th, was Griffith's birthday.
And the 27th was the birthday of the person Leo said was 'a very precious person,' a day they all celebrated together every year.