Woman with a Secret
"If any monsters try to escape outside, let me know immediately."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Tia ordered her squad members to keep watch around the area, then got down on her hands and knees, feeling along the ground. The knights found her behavior odd but thought, 'It's Vice Captain Tia, so she must have a reason for it,' and didn't question her further.
'Was it around here...?'
What Tia was searching for was the A manhole that White Flame Knights Squad A—where Glova and Syr were—had infiltrated. Strangely enough, no matter how hard she looked now, she couldn't find it. No one else was paying any attention to the manhole covers either.
In the midst of all that, only Tia, with her sharp eyes, noticed the anomaly. She ran her fingers lightly over the spot where the manhole cover should have been.
On the surface, it just looked like ordinary floor tiles, but if she focused on the sensation in her fingertips and caressed it gently, she could feel the difference. It was a tiny discrepancy, one you had to suspect and probe very carefully to detect.
This tile was actually the Tentacle Monster's flesh, disguised as flooring.
'Chokgoe is amazing as always...♡'
Flesh Transformation. Having shared her first nest life with him, she was intimately familiar with his methods.
Even before she was certain that the creature lurking underground was Chokgoe, Tia had theorized based on the way people were going missing. What if it's disguising itself as a manhole cover and swallowing them whole?
Tia paid close attention to the profiles of the missing people and confirmed they all matched Chokgoe's tastes... She also noticed that the missing women were all low-level, mostly civilians.
'...Women who are totally not Chokgoe's type, ugly ones.'
...The photos Tia glared at daggers at featured only quite pretty women for civilians.
She knew how much her darling preferred high-level females, and since she saw herself as a motherboard worthy of that level, her judgment of other women's looks was naturally harsh.
'If he picks up just anything to eat, he might get a stomachache...'
...Of course, Tia's standards were this strict precisely because she loved her darling so much.
'Chokgoe can't move easily from his current position right now. He's at the point where he has to scavenge whatever he can.'
Blinded by love though she was, Tia had accurately gauged her darling's physical condition. A miracle born of love, one might say.
From Tia's perspective, there was no concrete proof that the monster lurking underground was Chokgoe, but she'd pieced together tiny clues and arrived at this conclusion.
Overflowing with love and devotion.
For eight long years, Tia had never once forgotten her darling. Even compared to the other motherboards' mental states, hers was a bit off. Considering she'd fallen for a pitch-black monstrosity that saw no light, it was understandable.
'I can return to Chokgoe's side again. I can return to Chokgoe's side again. I can return to Chokgoe's side again.'
Overwhelmed by a euphoria and excitement she'd never felt in those eight years.
Tia's cheeks flushed as she smiled lewdly. Anyone who knew Vice Captain Tia would have recoiled at the sight.
In fact, one Seongyul Knight who was watching her closely spoke up.
"...Tia. Did something good happen?"
Tia hurriedly schooled her expression and stood.
"The enemy has hidden the entrance. If we let the White Flame Knights know, it'll be a huge help."
"The entrance?"
Boni quickly felt along the spot Tia had indicated.
"I don't really feel anything. You sure it's not a mistake? There might be a manhole cover around here somewhere..."
"Look closely, Boni. There's nothing like that anywhere."
"......"
Tia was right. Rubbing at it suspiciously and persistently, even Boni could sense something off.
'...Phew.'
Tia never beat around the bush in situations like this. Instead, she spoke the truth. She'd learned from her time with Chokgoe that it was sometimes the most effective way to hide what you really wanted to conceal.
She'd endured her tightrope spy life thanks to remembering her darling's warmth and teachings. Deep down, that's what she believed.
But even for Tia, who'd risen to vice captain, the situation wasn't safe. If anything, it was more dangerous than for Chokgoe.
Her boss was Riana, the eccentric everyone knew about.
"Nice find. Impressive. As expected of you, Tia."
"Check what the White Flame Knights are up to."
"Got it."
Eight years. Even if she hadn't become vice captain right away, Tia had walked barefoot on the blade's edge of suspicion for years.
She'd been under Riana's watch even before becoming vice captain, and even now, after years as colleagues, nothing had changed.
Of course, no one could read Riana's true thoughts.
If asked if she trusted the captain 100%, Tia could confidently say 'No.'
And the proof was standing right in front of her: this woman.
Boni Peyuri. Blonde short-cut hair, sharp eyes. She was Tia's senior and the former vice captain of the Seongyul Knights.
That alone hinted at the complexity of their relationship. A former boss becoming a subordinate, and a former subordinate becoming the boss.
Tia knew that whenever Riana was absent, Boni became the captain's eyes.
She was still under suspicion. Maybe the mastermind behind the Chokgoe incident eight years ago... Not that specific, but something like that.
'Captain Riana... she's a scary person.'
That was the only fact Tia had gleaned about the captain in eight years. Riana had an uncanny nose for secrets. Whether it was curiosity or instinct, Tia didn't know.
She'd crossed treacherous bridges countless times. The knights weren't her allies. Tia was still deep in enemy territory, acting with the mindset that she absolutely couldn't let Boni catch even a hint of her tail, no matter what.
'That smile just now... she won't think it's weird, right?'
Boni narrowed her eyes, watching Tia's back as she gathered the squad members.
'...Something's off.'
She couldn't put it into words, but she felt a sense of wrongness. Tia had always been all smiles, but that smile just now... it was something like...
She'd never seen that expression on Tia's face before, or so it felt.
'Am I overthinking it?'
Boni's heart ached. She felt abnormal for constantly suspecting Tia. After years of sharing meals and living like sisters, pretending to be close while harboring doubts? Only a psychopath could do that.
Boni recalled a conversation with the captain from long ago.
Outsiders painted her as bathing in virgins' blood as a hobby, a torture machine for political prisoners, the star of every conspiracy theory. But capable people in high positions were usually machines that processed boring, shitty work with terrifying efficiency.
The Riana that Boni had seen was mostly hunched over paperwork at her desk.
"You wanted to see me?"
"I thought we should talk, Boni."
"......"
That day was when Tia had been promoted to vice captain... and Boni, injured and demoted.
It came right after they'd slain the wyvern Lunafon, a monster that even gold-rank adventurers struggled against.
Tia had shone, but Boni had fought with everything she had too, even getting her arm injured. Yet Captain Riana had placed Tia in the vice captain spot at the worst possible timing.
The knights had been abuzz. Riana was definitely strange. She viewed the world through sensibilities ordinary people couldn't grasp.
But Boni was a loyal knight with a pure heart, thinking of her captain without a shred of doubt.
"No. I just follow Captain Riana's decisions."
"Really~~? You have nothing to say~?"
"......"
Sparkle sparkle sparkle. Riana's blue eyes glittered like starlight.
Boni knew the captain wanted to hear certain words in moments like this. Matching her weird chatter was tough, but...
"...Tia."
"Yes, Tia?"
"Tia is a really good friend, Captain."
"Oh my."
Boni, praising Tia instead.
"I've watched her for a long time, but I don't understand why you're suspicious of her. She's passionate about her work, devoted to helping people... a great friend to her comrades, and I respect her too."
"You've certainly watched her a long time. Because I assigned you to keep an eye on her."
"...Urk."
Boni's face twisted in agony. The pain of forcing herself to doubt someone she trusted. That was Boni's torment.
Due to the nature of her secret mission, she couldn't confide in anyone, but if people knew, they'd pity her as the poor woman suffering under a captain with bizarre thinking.
"Do you think there are monsters pretending to be human, Boni?"
"You scouted Tia yourself... Doesn't that mean you dropped your suspicions?"
Boni still couldn't understand. Why suspect someone she'd brought in herself for years?
Riana continued without dropping her beaming smile.
"How could a person be like that?"
"Pardon?"
"How could someone be passionate, devoted, a great friend to comrades, and respected... all at once?"
"That's because... Tia is a good person..."
As Boni started to answer, the captain's gaze turned cold.
"No one stays sane living like that."
"...C-Captain?"
"Right? Everyone has flaws. The more perfect they seem on the outside... the bigger the hole somewhere."
"...If you put it that way, maybe... But do you still think Tia is connected to 'Chokgoe'?"
"No. Chokgoe is dead. Even the Demon King would struggle to survive a direct hit from White Flame."
"Then why..."
"Isn't it intriguing?"
Boni couldn't follow. Her eyes spun. What was intriguing? What was the problem? It just felt like harassing a good person behind their back.
"Even after Chokgoe died, Tia is still hiding something."
"Something...?"
"A secret. A huge secret."
Riana smiled prettily.
"I have to uncover what she's desperately hiding. I do."
"Captain...! This is just... malicious bullying. It must hurt you too."
"See? You can't handle the stress and are yelling at me."
Boni flinched.
"S-Sorry."
"If that's what you call humanity, then Tia is too far removed from it."
"Removed from... humanity...?"
"When we first met... I prodded her on purpose. To test her humanity."
"Was it weird?"
"No. Perfectly normal. But..."
Riana dropped her smile for the first time.
"...what about now? I can't even imagine her getting angry or rattled."
That must mean she's that good of a person. If it were casual chat with friends, she'd have let it go, but Riana's words had a power that demanded attention. Aura.
How many major crime plots had been thwarted while Riana sat as captain? Her suspicions had reason.
"Boni, people don't change easily. Her adventurer records paint a simple, kind-hearted woman. No big ambitions, always looking out for those around her..."
"...Captain. You even checked her adventurer records...?"
"I did. And now she's like... a hero of the nation. Charges into life-or-death battles without blinking. Sometimes even I get scared."
"......"
Tia's growth was indeed abnormal. To the point where you wondered how she'd lived anonymously this long.
"I heard she went through a major crisis when captured by monsters. Anyone would change after something like that..."
"You think anyone turns out like that? You're joking, right, Boni?"
"......"
"They break. People who've been through that."
"...Yes. Most do, but..."
Strangely, Boni couldn't continue. She felt like she'd seen someone like Tia before, but nothing concrete came to mind, so she just hemmed and hawed.
"I know what kind of person turns out like that."
Riana muttered while flipping through papers.
"...Someone baptized by a god. A martyr."
'Why is my conversation with the captain... coming back so vividly right now?'
Snapping out of it, Boni Peyuri was stroking the dagger hidden in her thigh sheath.
Riana's final words... echoed in her mind.