Arciel Knows Nothing
"A doll..."
Rin chewed on Labin's words.
She didn't know.
She had no idea how many scars he had borne, how desperately he had struggled just to become what he was now.
Only after becoming the "doll" Labin spoke of did the porter of the Hero's party stop acting recklessly and focus entirely on his true duties.
Storing the party members' items in his inventory, setting up camp, preparing meals, carrying out every menial chore without a single mistake—and when battle broke out, hiding behind a small shield, trembling. That was his true duty.
He found himself utterly pathetic, but his natural body was far too weak to endure the battles between the Hero's party and the demons.
Barely able to withstand the demonic corruption, the method he had adopted to rationalize his pathetic state and endure it had earned him the label of a "doll" from his old friend.
Even so, Rin remained calm.
No, he had to remain calm.
The human heart was a fragile thing; if he absorbed every blow dealt to it, it would shatter into pieces, leaving behind nothing but endless self-loathing and despair.
Suddenly, Rin's thoughts drifted to Lucy.
Her arrogant behavior had been a flaw, but Lucy had nevertheless shouldered the crushing weight of being the Hero and fulfilled her duties to the end.
Her reward? Betrayal by her fiancé and her comrades.
In the depths of despair, her only way to keep herself intact must have been to rely completely, body and soul, on Rin—the one person by her side.
Just as Rin had killed his own heart to survive, Lucy had chosen to depend on Rin to survive.
Now, he could understand.
Finally, he could accept it.
The fact that right now, Lucy had no one else but him.
Why she acted so affectionately toward him, why she clung to him so obsessively.
He felt guilty for having unconditionally kept his distance from her until now.
If so, shouldn't I accept her until she heals? Wouldn't that be okay? Rin shifted his overly cautious mindset.
Reaching into his coat, he pulled out the softest cloth he had and offered it to Lucy.
However, Lucy, who was quietly shedding tears, didn't notice.
Having no choice, Rin gently wiped the corners of her eyes himself.
"...Rin?"
"You can cry when you want to."
"I don't want to cry."
She was probably embarrassed in front of the thief.
After wiping away her tears with a delicate touch, Rin playfully booped Lucy's nose with his finger.
He smiled, as if reassuring her.
Shyly, Lucy flushed red.
Watching this, Labin flushed red out of sheer frustration.
"What are you two doing right in front of an old friend? Are you dating or something?"
"She's my only comrade. And my best comrade. We have to look out for each other."
Lucy didn't know whether to be disappointed or overjoyed by Rin's words.
"And let's get our facts straight. We might be old acquaintances, but all I remember is arguing with you every single day."
"That's because...! You were under Arciel! Always taking that gorilla bitch's side! I kept telling you to come over to my side! Join our gang!"
"Wow, talk about twisting history. We were pointing blades at each other's throats, and you only invited me like twice at the very end."
"N-No, it wasn't...!"
"And both times were when I gave you a sandwich."
"Ugh...! That... that sandwich was really good, though..."
Labin was the first to back down.
Rin felt satisfied with his victory, but Lucy felt anything but.
They were sharing stories of a past known only to the two of them.
Someone who knew a side of Rin that Lucy had never seen was showing off right in front of her.
Someone who knew Rin before he had lost his spirit was exchanging silly banter with him.
Lucy envied that silly banter like crazy.
Yet, did Lucy realize that there wasn't actually much warmth or intimacy behind their banter?
"So you're really not gonna tell me how things ended up like this, Lee?"
"It's too long a story. Unless you want to talk about the most recent events."
"The most recent?"
Rin sighed inwardly at Labin, who was probing him until the very end.
On the surface, she acted playful, but beneath that exterior, closely observing her opponent and digging up information was Labin's specialty.
Even the arrogant Rinacien had to tense up and carefully weigh every word in front of Labin.
"Labin, you don't know what happened to the Hero's party after the Demon King was slain, do you?"
"On the flip side, I know way more about what's been happening in the mortal realm since then."
"Then we both have information the other wants, don't we?"
If the story progressed strictly according to his memories as Lee the reincarnator, there would be no need for such trivial negotiations.
That damned "detail" that had been emphasized time and again.
In particular, he needed to get at least a rough idea of how much the Empire—which possessed an information network nearly rivaling the Thief Guild's—had uncovered about Lucy and himself.
"The Thief Guild doubles as an information broker, doesn't it? Let's trade information."
"Hmm~ Fine. But you go first, Lee."
"No way. You just gained top-tier information—the Hero's current location."
"I didn't particularly want to know that, though."
As if you didn't want to know. She's one of your highest-priority targets.
Waltercroix was a major hub in Chapter 2.
Rin knew from his memories as Lee the reincarnator that a conspiracy to set the main storyline in motion was already underway here.
"It's nothing that grand anyway."
Since Labin was the one pressed for time, she began spilling her information first.
"Hero Luciena Estelle fought the Demon King to mutual destruction, and the remaining Hero's party brought back the Demon King's single horn in the Sacred Coffin, declaring the subjugation complete."
"Ha."
Lucy scoffed at the absurd lie.
The desire for revenge, which she had forgotten while focusing on Rin, flared up once more.
Yet, uncharacteristically for her, Lucy suppressed it tightly.
Revenge was one of the things she had promised to abandon when she begged the Goddess to save Rin.
Of course, that only applied to actively seeking revenge.
Whether by chance or fate, if they ever appeared before her eyes, she planned to slaughter them on the spot.
For now, winning Rin's heart was her top priority, so she simply stayed quiet.
And Reinhold was an exception.
Given the chance, she intended to beat him to death with her own hands.
"A grand council was held to calculate everyone's achievements and divide the spoils, but strangely, the elf delegation didn't show up. It kept getting delayed. Though the Holy Kingdom arrived immediately."
It made sense for the Holy Kingdom to come right away to secure their holy relic, the Sacred Coffin.
Furthermore, they harbored the greed to use the Demon King's horn inside it to expand their religious influence.
"The grand council was sooooo boring. A bunch of bastards who didn't do shit for the Demon King's subjugation were throwing fits trying to scoop up credit, claiming they did this or supported that. The Empire and the Holy Kingdom argued all day over who performed what achievements and what roles their respective leaders played, without reaching a single conclusion. Ah, seriously, just thinking about it makes me sick. Damned nobles. Hold on, let me grab some water."
Labin put her mouth to the water pitcher by the head of the bed and chugged it down.
"Then, not long after, signal fires were lit. The origin was Epaltelga. The message was that demons had appeared."
The signal fires of Epaltelga threw everything into absolute chaos.
Since demons were discovered less than a month after the Demon King's subjugation, humanity trembled in fear and anxiety once more, pressing the Hero's party into action. They quickly used Tigria's magic to teleport to Epaltelga.
"The ones who moved were three: the Mage, the Archer, and the Saint."
"What about the Shield Knight?"
"He stayed behind, stubbornly refusing to go even after making a complete fool of himself putting on some pathetic play with our high-and-mighty Crown Princess."
"A play?"
Labin smirked as she looked at Lucy.
If I punch that bitch in the cheek right now, could I turn those relaxed muscles straight into rigor mortis?
Lucy thought it was an experiment worth trying.
"They brought out the lightless Holy Sword and the Sacred Coffin, trying to frame it as if the Hero, who died taking down the Demon King, had been corrupted by his demonic energy and was now causing demons to appear."
"Who's corrupted?!"
Unable to contain herself, Lucy sprang up from her seat, but Rin quickly caught her and offered her his shoulder.
"It's not even worth getting angry over, Lucy."
"But... Rin... you know. The truth is, I...!"
"Of course I know. We know. In the near future, let's reveal the truth to the world together."
"I'll do it with you, Rin."
"Of course. We need to prepare first, so let's endure a little longer, okay?"
"Okay..."
Burying her face in his shoulder, Lucy whispered.
"Because as long as I have Rin, that's all I need."
If I nail that Hero's ponytail to the floorboards, would she keep her head up straight instead of rubbing all over Lee?
This time, Labin came up with a new experiment of her own.
"Anyway, suddenly the Holy Sword started glowing with a reddish-gold light again, burst right through the palace ceiling, and flew away. While everyone was standing around gaping, Tigria the Mage quietly declared it: the Hero has returned."
That was a fact Rin had forgotten.
Once Lucy recovered her body, the Holy Sword, sensing its master's resurrection, would naturally fly to her on its own.
In other words, Lucy should currently be in possession of the Holy Sword Hnoni.
...Or she should be, so why didn't she have it?
It was a special bound item that couldn't even be stored in an inventory window.
At his questioning gaze, Lucy averted her eyes for the very first time since traveling with him.
Ignoring the strange atmosphere between them, Labin continued speaking.
"Anyway, so the three members of the Hero's party went to Epaltelga, and the conclusion was that they found the corpse of a demon. Strange, right? Not that they exterminated it, but that they found it. Meaning someone had already killed that demon."
As she said this, Labin stared intently at Lucy.
As if asking, You're the one who killed that demon, aren't you?
Rin, who knew the truth, had no intention of telling her.
"And currently, the slow-ass elf delegation finally arrived at the Imperial Capital, so the Archer returned, while the Saint and the Mage are still investigating Epaltelga to see if there are more traces of demons. That's all."
"What's the public opinion like?"
"They're gripped by anxiety that there might be more demons. Since some imperial citizens saw the Holy Sword soar into the sky, voices demanding that they find the Hero and bring her back as soon as possible are growing louder."
That would be the commoners.
Lucy had been immensely popular among the common folk.
"Ironically, it's public opinion driven mostly by the nobles."
Rin felt embarrassed at having guessed wrong.
"Now that the threat of demons feels real again, they're throwing tantrums to find the only countermeasure and have her protect them. But for some reason, the Crown Princess and the Shield Knight are just dawdling."
Having finished her story, Labin stretched.
Her small yet perky chest stood out.
"Now it's our turn."
Where should he begin?
After pondering for a moment, Rin decided to tell her everything honestly.
The thief was someone who would never betray Rin and Lucy.
Whether by her own choice or otherwise.
"After a fierce battle, Lucy struck down the Demon King with the Holy Sword."
In a calm, even tone, he recounted the history that had transpired not long ago.
From the party members crushing and severing the Hero's limbs one by one, to him rescuing Lucy and leaping off the cliff, walking for days on end to reach Epaltelga, and finally restoring Lucy after overcoming countless hardships.
As she listened to the story, Labin's eyes grew wider and wider.
"What...?"
At first, Labin denied it.
"That's impossible. It's Arciel! People from Gutter Alley fiercely protect their own!"
Rin rolled up Lucy's sleeves.
Only after seeing the white stretch marks and seam-like scars on both arms did Labin accept this uncomfortable truth.
"Conceding a million times over... let's say she didn't recognize you."
Rin agreed.
From the perspective of someone who knew everything, it was easy to treat the ignorant party as a fool, but searching and discovering was naturally far harder than hiding.
"But breaking the arms of a comrade she shared life and death with?!"
Clutching her head, she slumped down and lamented in utter disbelief.
"What was that reward the Shield Knight promised her?!"
Labin, who had been tearing at her scalp and messing up her hair, suddenly froze.
This side isn't easy either.
Rin had only one body, yet somehow all the tangled threads of this world's events seemed to be wrapping around him.
Just what kind of reward had Arciel been promised by the Shield Knight and the Crown Princess?
Labin and Rin could easily deduce it.
However, before that, Labin had to confirm one thing.
"Lee, don't tell me..."
To know the true depth of the hideous sin Arciel, that stupid Saint, had committed, she had to confirm it.
"Does Arciel... have absolutely no idea that Gutter Alley was wiped out?"
Labin had harbored a baseless expectation that, given her position as a Saint, Arciel would at least have guessed it.
It was a self-deceiving wish, hoping that she had at least known that much.
She had thought that meeting Rin or herself would turn Arciel's suspicion into certainty, which was why the porter had hidden his identity.
"Is that why you wore a mask and hid your identity until the very end?"
Rin was under no obligation to answer the question.
However, silence itself was often the finest affirmation.
"Arciellll-!!!!!!!"
Labin roared in fury at the absurd obsession and sin committed by her former rival—someone she had respected and cared for even while aiming fists and daggers at each other's throats.