Chapter 182
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 182
Chapter Title: Rike's Gentle Counsel
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Rike said that.
A crimson flash erupted, and the heads of the ragged men tumbled down one after another.
Crack—
The sword, unable to withstand the aura, let out a shriek as it split apart and was hurled to the ground.
Clang!
The blade shattered from the aura it had contained, scattering into pieces like shards of flung glass.
At that clamor, the man who had been frozen the longest finally regained his senses.
He spotted Philip helping up Isaac, who was outside clutching his eyes and groaning, before vanishing into the dark alley.
Even as Philip supported Isaac,
he endlessly checked if my gaze had finally left him, scrambling away in panic.
"...".
In this place where the dead outnumbered the living, the silence born from the shocking scene lingered stubbornly.
I was the only one free and in control amid the tension.
The middle-aged man standing dazed at the front of the city guard was someone I recognized.
As I strode toward him, he immediately recognized me and snapped out of it.
"Gasp...! Adventurer! It's, it's been a while!"
"I'm impressed that the capital's guards arrived so swiftly."
There was a reason for phrasing it that way, but it was genuine—no backhanded compliment.
The incident was over, and by the clock, they'd come quickly, not late.
Despite my sincere pat on his sturdy shoulder and praise, he broke out in obvious sweat.
I chuckled lightly and kicked aside the corpse sprawled across the path, shoving it to the corner.
"Some riffraff from who-knows-where were causing chaos in the capital, home to His Imperial Majesty's exalted rule, bullying the weak—so I stepped in."
The guard glanced again at the bodies rolling with their heads severed by a single stroke.
Realizing it wasn't a dream, he sneaked a peek at the black-armored figure behind me,
then flinched at the blood-soaked sight and quickly bowed his head to me.
"...With a Platinum adventurer like you looking after the capital's peace as well, we guards feel ashamed to take our pay with heads held high."
Nothing beat the ease of dealing with familiar faces—no need for long explanations.
"If your investigation turns up any issues, just contact the Adventurer's Guild. It was all my doing, so if the shop needs compensation for my heavy hand, reach out through the guild."
"No such thing will happen, I'm sure... but understood."
In a merchant district sensitive to rumors and quick to tear each other down,
precautions like this were essential for smooth business ahead—mere groundwork to stifle gossip.
"And if any new information comes up, I'd appreciate that too. They might've targeted me, but who knows if they didn't infiltrate with harmful intent toward the Empire?"
To an ordinary adventurer, it would sound like outrageous overreach.
But after I'd mentioned the responsibility upfront, he had no choice but to nod.
Having handled the messy part for him, a sharp-eyed senior guard like this would report up and send papers to the guild with some fitting excuse.
'Won't uncover anything new anyway. Philip... Philip, huh...?'
My suspicions were too firmly rooted for it to matter, but you never know.
I just needed to mobilize every resource to track down any 'Philip' near Isaac.
Once I traced the roots and cut them out, it would be done.
····
Wrapping things up lightly, the two exited through the back door rather than the noisy main gate.
"Chloe. You okay?"
Roman asked as he walked beside her, who looked more mentally drained than physically tired.
"...".
She knew she should answer, but her mouth wouldn't open.
It was her first time doing something akin to a 'knight's duty' in her life.
She'd slain thugs who harassed honest shop clerks and sabotaged operations.
Though the clerks thanked her profusely, her heart couldn't purely rejoice.
It wasn't regret or fear taking root from the killing enabled by her training and knowledge.
'...'
Simply,
she resented those who wasted her precious time so bitterly.
That dark, sticky emotion weighed down her steps.
She felt unworthy of the people's gratitude while harboring such thoughts.
As the two walked the shadowed path back to the mansion,
tears dripped from her blue eyes, even in what should have thrilled her just thinking about it.
"Ugh... sob...! Hic...".
She'd held such expectations, only for the time and chance midway to vanish emptily.
Chloe forgot Roman was right beside her—not alone—and wept bitterly.
Now, the one promised chance she'd set as her mental line, without crossing it, was delayed.
Every meeting with her beloved drew ominous incidents, making her feel like a walking disaster.
As she habitually wiped her flowing tears with her sleeve,
he gently took her hand to stop her, dabbing her eyes with a soft handkerchief.
"Don't cry. They're the bad ones—why are you the one tearing up? Hm?"
His kind, soothing voice only made more tears pour from her eyes.
Her sobs grew uncontrollable.
To stem her sorrow, Roman stroked her hair and pressed her face to his shirt.
"Cry it all out."
It wasn't a tight embrace.
Just her head lightly buried in his shirt—an awkward, gentle contact.
Chloe bawled until his clothes were soaked, finally stopping and lifting her head.
··
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A stretch of time passed—not short, not long.
Much had happened, too much for print.
Rumors swirled of the Floyd family head crumbling under endless probes that dragged in allied nobles, clashing fiercely with church members and imperial officials.
Or the eldest son of some count's house blinded in a freak accident.
And then, as if fated,
soon after, the family head of Count Malroy—his father—was ambushed at night in his mansion by an intruder.
The night visitor was someone cloaked head to toe in black robes.
The lord, blinded instantly upon encounter, remembered nothing clearly.
The assault was swift, with perfect mana-based soundproofing.
Ultimately, they failed to catch the culprit.
No one knew who commissioned it or how they ghosted through heavy guards.
Bluntly, rivals worth targeting Count Malroy numbered easily over a hundred.
In truth,
with the count bedridden, fingers pointed wildly at dozens suspected of commissioning the hit.
The imperial court, crediting him for the gate business success, dispatched hordes of investigators.
Yet professionals found not a shred of evidence against the thorough assailant.
In final mercy, the count was brought to the capital to meet the Saintess,
but even she declared it untreatable upon sight—the wound vicious and vile.
With no resolution despite all this, the court washed its hands.
Thus, tales rocked the Empire: Count Malroy, assaulted by some unknown, had his arms and legs' tendons seared by fire, losing all limb function alongside both eyes.
All agreed,
in some ways, it was torment worse than death.
Wealth overflowed, yet sightless; head brimming with arcane lore, yet armless—proof meant reciting aloud.
The famed magic house's fortunes plummeted in an instant.
Debates raged like wildfire over who would claim the vast riches and count's seat.
Ultimately, such talk buzzed only among the interested.
Chloe paid little heed to Empire society's whispers.
She had changed, too.
From Roman's single affirmation.
Ludicrously, Chloe had learned to love herself.
Yet,
despite such profound personal sway,
Chloe never broke her vow not to cross the line.
No matter how it gnawed her spirit, she held her self-set boundary.
No one could intervene as she withered daily.
Would the elder sister push her lover onto her blood sibling?
Or the sister's lover approach the younger first?
By the Empire's moral code, only one could move freely.
After heavy talks with deeply worried Eclair, Rike decided to speak with Chloe.
The embrace received as solace.
This memory alone would warm her till death's door, even in winter.
Today, too, someone poked the cheek of Chloe, blankly staring out the window, mind adrift.
"Chloe."
"Huh... Rike?"
Rike visiting the Knight Department's classroom outside lunch hour was a first.
No Seria in sight, even scanning around.
"Shall we step out and talk?"
"Y-Yes!"
No reason to refuse, time to spare, so she followed Rike to a quiet spot.
"No dragging feet—let's be straight. First off, I'm not here to yell at you, Chloe."
Seated on an empty bench, Rike dove candidly into the heart.
"...!"
Cornersed on her feelings, Chloe didn't deny, bowing deeply to Rike.
"I'm so... truly sorry to you and Sis...! I promise! I won't do anything more! I know it was selfish to feel this way... I'm sorry...".
Chloe's willpower exceeded Rike's expectations—a stubborn steel.
She seemed set to endure love's mental torment to the end.
Her heart swelling boundlessly while utterly immobile—Rike admired her endurance purely.
"Chloe. Sis and I know well that such feelings aren't controlled by sheer will."
At 'Sis,' Chloe paled, hands trembling.
She'd long dismissed such as excuses in her mind.
"N-No! Absolutely not...! If Sis finds out... I must hide it! Please!"
"What if she does?"
Rike's gentle tone glued Chloe's lips like they'd been coated in glue.
"...".
"Think it'll sour things with Eclair Sis like before? Or she'll blow up?"
Chloe shook her head vigorously in denial.
Precisely because she knew no anger would come—that's why she couldn't speak.
"Sis not getting mad would hurt even more... She endured hard times and finally looks happy...".
Rike, chin in hand, lost in thought, unwittingly mimicked Roman's scar-scratching habit.
Completing her thought, Rike leaned her head lightly on Chloe's shoulder.
"If Sis didn't know your feelings, wouldn't she share her joyful, happy times with Brother—out of goodwill with her little sister, highlighting the positives?"
"...".
Just imagining choked her breath.
But... seeing Sis smile might make it okay.
Brother would be happy with Sis and Rike together, surely.
As Chloe's lips writhed for rebuttal, Rike pressed a finger to them, adding,
"Then later, learning your true heart—what of Sis? Even without malice, might she torment herself for wronging her sister?"
"Just never get caught for life...".
Rike chuckled at Chloe's evasion with impossible words, dodging proper reply.
"That wasn't viable from the start—I found out. Seria's worried lately too... But Chloe, is this really okay for you?"
"...I'm f-fine, of course!"
Chloe's excited, pitched reply ushered silence between them.
Rike's violet eyes gleamed, locking with Chloe's.
Chloe, cornered, eyes misty, held the gaze unflinchingly.
Moments later,
Rike's lips curved softly with kindness and compassion.
"Liar. No such person exists."
Let's make good use of that one remaining chance.
Rike said that.
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