#052 Doubt
#052 Doubt
After hiding the Sandworm's core—that is, its Mana Stone—inside a golem and absorbing it.
We first took care of the seriously wounded.
Lucius and Rosemas ran around on foot moving the critically injured, while I used the golems to handle the bodies.
No matter how much the Azure Moon Goddess's blessing protected them.
No matter how quickly we tried to get the situation under control.
In that first moment of hesitation, the number of people who died was beyond counting.
The bodies visible to the naked eye alone numbered nearly fifty.
The survivors numbered in the hundreds, but many of them were seriously injured.
Most of them, men.
"......."
The women were unharmed thanks to the Azure Moon Goddess's blessing.
Though some were injured, when looking at the proportions, it was an undeniable fact that far more men were hurt.
'If I ever get the chance to meet the Azure Moon Goddess, I'd like to ask her.'
Were you like this five hundred years ago, too?
I didn't particularly want to pick a fight over it, but I was genuinely curious why a goddess would make the world this way.
From an efficiency standpoint.
'Giving blessings to both sides of humanity would be more efficient for increasing faith.'
If she just granted her blessing to men and women alike, men would willingly risk exposure to believe in the goddess.
Look.
"In the name of the Azure Moon Goddess...."
"......."
The Azure Moon Goddess's priests had hurried out from beyond Normance and were treating people, but could anyone say the expressions of the wounded looked good right now?
Not at all.
I didn't think so in the slightest.
It's not like giving a disease and then the cure—if she'd just granted her blessing fairly from the start so people wouldn't get hurt, wouldn't there be no complaints at all?
After the recovery efforts were mostly finished.
"Master."
Lucius approached me with a somewhat weary, tired face.
"If you're tired, how about going inside to your lodgings and resting?"
"You look more tired than I do, though?"
"I'm not physically exhausted. There's a bit of mental strain, but that's bearable. But you, Master...."
"I have been resolving things through considerable effort, it's true."
Moving the golems all runs on my mana—that is, my life force.
What a good kid, this Lucius.
Worrying about his master's life force—truly admirable.
"At least drink this. It's a beverage the priests over there brought."
"Thanks."
"The taste is...."
"Does taste matter? My throat's parched, so this is perfect. Heh heh."
I downed the water Lucius handed me in one go.
The water inside the wooden canteen was quite cool and refreshing.
"In a situation like this, just drinking water is a good thing. It feels like washing away mental fatigue."
"Is that so?"
"It is. Where's Rosemas?"
"She's casting healing magic on people. She'll be here soon."
"How kind. Rosemas too."
Even if she seemed to have done nothing when we dealt with the Sandworm, she must have built up considerable fatigue while helping with the recovery.
The elves I knew absolutely loathed humans and didn't even want to touch them, but it seemed that was no longer the case after so much time had passed.
Or perhaps Rosemas was a bit unusual, or she was going around healing people to look good in front of Lucius, a fellow human.
'Is that being too harsh on Rosemas?'
If it was the latter, Rosemas was far too cunning.
It's definitely not the latter.
Her character isn't that wicked.
"I'll say more when Rosemas arrives, but... an investigation will begin soon."
"An investigation?"
"Yes. An investigation into our identities."
Lucius froze for a moment.
"Why are you so scared? Don't worry. I'll handle everything."
"Master, you seem full of confidence right now."
"Of course I am. Because I have nothing to be ashamed of."
It wasn't so much that my conduct was confident—it was because the power I held was sufficient.
After finding the Sandworm's Mana Stone and making it mine, I now possess enough mana to survive for about half a year just by sitting still and breathing.
Thanks to that, my mana reserves felt like they'd expanded a bit too.
"Stand tall and be confident. We're people who deserve to be."
"...."
"Did we commit a crime, or do something wrong?"
I had nothing to be ashamed of, so there was no reason not to be confident.
"Hah, hah. Sorry. Ah... Witch."
Rosemas came carrying three water bottles in her hands.
I felt a little embarrassed, but staying quiet at a time like this isn't consideration.
"Perfect timing. Rosemas, can I have a bottle of water?"
"Yes...."
"Thanks. I was thirsty. Phew, I feel alive again."
I drank a bit of the water Rosemas handed me.
For courtesy's sake, but I made sure to drink half to clearly show I was thirsty.
That way Rosemas wouldn't feel embarrassed either.
"Lucius. Rosemas. I'll tell you in advance—I'll lead the conversation. People will definitely come to investigate us."
"...Looks like there won't even be time to discuss anything."
Lucius pointed behind me with his eyes.
There, a bald man with a stiff expression was approaching me.
"Indeed. Still, it's fine. Leave it to me."
Dealing with a man like that was a piece of cake.
I stood still and waited for them to arrive, and the bald man strode up until he was close enough to look down at me.
"Are you the Crimson Witch?"
I knew who the bald man was.
He was the branch manager of the Normance Adventurers' Guild.
"How rude. Speaking down to someone you've just met."
"......."
"Talking with someone who lacks even basic courtesy is a waste of time."
"I apologize."
The bald man bowed with a polite posture.
I didn't particularly mean to put him in his place, but that Belphegor creature inside my body couldn't tolerate the casual speech.
Honestly, when has he ever seen me to use casual speech?
"The one who defeated the Sandworm is 'Arthur Lucius' back there, and I've heard that you are Arthur's master. Is that correct?"
"Who did you hear that from?"
"I heard it from Morgen. She oversaw your rank promotion examination, after all."
"......."
The information passed through Morgen isn't particularly threatening.
Because Morgen didn't know about the Holy Sword.
The truly dangerous thing was this incident itself.
"Crimson Witch, I...."
"If you have something to say, don't beat around the bush—just ask. How urgent do you think things are right now?"
I pointed north.
"Monstrous birds should be attacking the north right now, so we need to go deal with them immediately. Do we have time to argue here?"
"You needn't worry about that. The Flame Hero, Bareness, has cut them all down."
"......."
Something suddenly made me deeply irritated.
'My Mana Stones.'
If I'd caught those things in the sky, extracted their Mana Stones, and fried up the bodies in oil, I could've made crow fritters in no time. But since Bareness had already dealt with all the monstrous birds, I couldn't collect the Mana Stones.
"That's a relief. The Hero has certainly put in the effort."
"Yes. So, I ask this just in case, but...."
The bald man asked me with a serious face.
"Are you, by any chance, colluding with the Demon King Army... with Acedia?"
"......I'm so dumbfounded I genuinely can't find words."
I was truly dumbfounded.
"We're colluding with Acedia? What kind of nonsense is that?"
"May I take it that there is no such possibility?"
"Of course. If anything, it's the opposite."
It wasn't as though I were a guilty thief giving myself away.
I might have been a Demon King, but in this world I was simply a witch who had awakened from a seal to eliminate a Demon King that had resumed activity after five hundred years.
"Why are you suddenly asking such an unpleasant question?"
"Because there is someone who harbors such suspicions. In fact, something like this happened five hundred years ago as well."
"Something like this... Ah, I see. I understand why you're misunderstanding us."
To deceive the enemy, first deceive your allies.
I, the Great Demon King Belphegor, gained the trust of the human forces even while directly attacking my own allied units.
"You're worried that we'll pretend to be allies, win your favor, rack up achievements, and then betray you at the most critical moment, is that it?"
"Yes. I'm sorry, but that is correct."
Ah.
So the karma from five hundred years ago was coming back to me like this.
"There are certain individuals the Adventurers' Guild must be most wary of. In particular, there's one long-standing tradition passed down from five hundred years ago."
"A powerful person who suddenly appears one day has a 70% chance of being from the Demon King Army?"
"You know of it."
"I read it in a guild book."
I understand.
Five hundred years ago.
It was quite entertaining to act weak, save a party in a dangerous situation to earn their trust, then lure them into a dungeon where everyone but me got paralyzed and wipe out the Hero Party.
Those admiring eyes looking at me when I revealed just enough of my power.
Those despairing eyes looking at me when I revealed my true identity.
It was a kind of prank, but it drove humans mad.
"We also sincerely want to believe in you, Crimson Witch. You and your disciple acted like true heroes. But precisely because of that, it is harder to believe. After all...."
"Because we encountered someone connected to Acedia during the promotion examination?"
"...I am not the one, but someone is harboring such suspicions."
"Hah."
They really did worry needlessly.
But.
"First, the attacks by the monstrous beasts in the north are all over, right?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"Then we're safe for a while. Fine. If you need to verify our identities through something other than actions, I'll comply as much as needed. However...."
I glared at the bald man while releasing a faint trace of killing intent.
Specifically, with the will to burn off every remaining strand of hair on the sides of his bald head.
"Can you handle it?"
"......."
It was an impertinent question, but it wasn't meant to make things difficult for the bald man.
It was a question meant to be considerate of Lucius.
When the Holy Sword was revealed, all the residents of Lucius's hometown were massacred.
The reason he tried not to reveal the Holy Sword wasn't just because I regularly drained off his urge to use it in empty dungeons. More than that, he worried that anyone who learned of the Holy Sword's existence would suffer great harm.
"...Even if I cannot handle it, I must know. That is the role of the branch manager responsible for the Normance branch."
The bald man's resolve was firm.
His will not to back down was strong, and I realized he would not yield any further.
"Fine. But I have a condition. Let's talk somewhere with no people around, just the two of you."
"What?"
Lucius was more surprised than the bald man.
"Master?"
"What's wrong?"
"No matter what, talking alone is...."
"The one talking alone isn't me—it's you."
"......What?"
I lightly tapped Lucius's stomach with the back of my hand.
"You just need to talk with that old man alone."
If he sees Lucius's big, hard Holy Sword, he'll immediately understand why we're trying to hide our identities.