======[ Friede ]======
Hilde, seemingly dead from the effects of the paralysis poison, lay unconscious with her eyes closed.
As soon as Friede arrived at the scene, she immediately checked on Hilde’s condition.
Inhale, exhale… Heart still beating fine. Phew, just a simple sleeping potion, huh?
In that case, there was no need to worry. She would naturally wake up after some time, even if left alone.
With that relief washing over her, Friede sighed lightly and lifted Hilde, gently laying her on the dry ground that was not stained with the Corpse Giant’s blood.
Hmm, the more I think about it… something definitely feels off.
Friede silently looked down at Hilde’s sleeping face, her large golden eyes filled with doubt.
She was undoubtedly Brunhilde, no question about it.
Her appearance, voice, physique, swordsmanship, even her scent—everything matched the Brunhilde from before.
There was no way a fake could mimic her to this extent.
So the woman lying in front of her was definitely the real Brunhilde; Friede was certain of that.
However…
…she has changed too much. It’s oddly so.
The only thing the same was her appearance.
The change in her personality could be explained by her having hidden her true nature during her time with the hero party…
She’s way weaker. Very obvious.
This new Brunhilde was a far cry from her former prowess.
Friede was convinced of the fact that Brunhilde’s strength had diminished to an unnatural extent.
This conclusion came after observing her struggle against the Corpse Giant for a while.
◆◆
Right after capturing Abyss Priest Hugh Casval and disassembling him completely as per Brunhilde’s request.
Friede returned to the battlefield, holding Hugh’s head to confirm his identity, avoiding detection from her party members by climbing high up on a tree branch overlooking the battlefield.
Returning too quickly would only raise suspicions.
The fact that a mere adventurer from the same group could defeat an Abyss Priest was already shocking enough. And it didn’t even take much time?
Anyone would find that suspicious. Such a feat was not something a simple adventurer could accomplish.
Thus, Friede decided to hide in the tree and bide her time, planning to join back in while also catching a glimpse of Brunhilde’s battle.
With fewer onlookers, will she finally fight properly?
At that point, Friede thought Hilde was hiding her true abilities.
If a mere adventurer showed strength surpassing a knight, it would draw way too much attention.
Being a fugitive in the Kingdom of Rhine, Hilde needed to avoid such attention whenever possible.
So Friede assumed that Hilde’s incapacity to land a hit on Hugh was merely part of her act to feign mediocre skills while probing the enemy’s tactics.
However…
…Why is she fighting like that?
What Friede observed between Hilde and the Corpse Giant was something she couldn’t comprehend.
Brunhilde’s fighting style was lethal, piercing straight through opponents’ vital points and mercilessly tearing them apart with her unique strength.
Yet, Hilde was fighting the Corpse Giant as if she had completely forgotten her old techniques, displaying clumsy and pathetic combat skills.
Nonsensically retreating, granting the enemy opportunities to attack. Striking with too much restraint, failing to inflict a single meaningful wound.
She resembled a rookie who had just earned their knight recognition.
Still playing the part…?! No matter how Brunhilde has changed, that’s a bit too risky…
Her movements were so clumsy that it was hard to believe they belonged to Brunhilde.
If she accidentally took a hit like that, even Brunhilde wouldn’t escape serious injury.
She’s strong, but not resilient.
…Is it because those women are still around?
Friede squinted her eyes in suspicion while glancing at Gerda and Amy, who were assisting Hilde.
Will she fight properly once they’re gone?
She entertained a dark hypothesis that she would never have imagined before.
Of course, this was just a hypothetical thought. It wasn’t like she was planning to ambush Gerda and Amy to eliminate them or let the Corpse Giant finish them off.
Hmm… that seems a bit much…?
Just because she wanted to clear up her doubts, she wouldn’t let her companions die or push them into harm’s way. How could she do that while pretending to be human?
Friede, who had become more frank and faithful to her own desires than before, still retained the bare minimum of conscience. A former hero’s conscience.
If it seems really dangerous, I should help.
So, gripping the great sword she had unsheathed instead of Nibelung, Friede surveyed the battlefield, naturally weighing her timing to join in.
Thirty seconds passed.
Oh, at last, she’s fighting like her old self.
The tide of battle shifted when Hilde, perhaps due to the Abyss Priest’s power running low, finally began her active assault while the Corpse Giant slowed down.
With each swing of her sword, chunks of the Corpse Giant began to tear away, as if her unique strength was finally unleashed without restraint.
After severing the Corpse Giant’s neck and collapsing onto the ground, Hilde gasped for air.
She’s sat down…?
Friede tilted her head slightly as she watched Hilde from afar.
She showed a semblance of her former self, yet there was still something off about it.
Maybe she was just wasting too much energy?
If it were the old Brunhilde, she would have at least saved enough strength to stand and swing her sword.
Not like this, gasping for breath, unable to even stand on her own.
I’ve hardly ever seen her like this before.
It was a sight unimaginable before; failing to distribute her strength and stamina against a mere Corpse Giant.
What on earth is going on…?
As Friede pondered the reasons, she was abruptly interrupted by a sudden action from Gerda, the party’s scout.
“…Huh?”
Gerda swiftly struck Amy down with a dagger and then pointed her dagger at Hilde, tying her up with rope.
How dare she…?!
It was a clear act of betrayal, and flames ignited in Friede’s eyes.
She wiped away all thoughts from her mind, charging through the trees with an angry expression, aiming to drive the great sword she gripped into the traitor’s head.
◆◆
And so now.
Having gained certainty about Brunhilde’s weakness, Friede looked down at her and once again pondered the reason.
Her basic physical abilities seemed intact. Only her fighting skill had dropped significantly. It was baffling.
Amnesia…?
The first hypothesis that popped into Friede’s mind was that something might have gone wrong with Brunhilde’s memory.
If she had lost her memory and was fighting on instinct alone, then her clumsy movements would make sense.
…No, that’s not it.
However, Friede quickly dismissed that hypothesis. When she thought about it carefully, it didn’t make sense.
Brunhilde always wore a helmet, didn’t she?
Wearing a helmet meant she understood she shouldn’t be exposed.
In other words, Brunhilde herself was aware that she had become a fugitive in the Kingdom of Rhine after leaving the hero party.
If she had forgotten enough memories to lose her old skills, then naturally she should have forgotten the memory of her departure from the party too.
The very fact that she had covered her face was a piece of evidence proving her memory was intact.
So she has retained other memories but has forgotten how to fight? Logically, that can’t happen… Wait a second.
As she shook her head in denial of that possibility, Friede suddenly found her mouth slightly open, looking down at her own hands.
Small, slender hands that had returned to her original form after temporarily transforming into a male body.
That was also something beyond common sense. It was the corruption caused by the Holy Sword’s power.
If it’s the Holy Sword; if it’s the power of the Holy Sword, maybe that could make such a thing possible…
If the power of the Holy Sword could leave Brunhilde’s memories intact while stripping her of her strength, that was a sound conclusion.
Then, did Brunhilde’s weakening occur due to the power of Nibelung?
That was a plausible theory.
What kind of interpretation caused her strength to be stripped when they wanted to reunite? It was unclear… but in any case, they could meet again as adventurers from the same group.
Of course, that didn’t mean it could be taken for granted. This was a conclusion that felt like a stretch only based on the resulting circumstances.
Not to mention, it raised a strong psychological rejection within her.
If Brunhilde’s weakening truly was because of Nibelung, it was essentially Friede herself who had cast the worst curse upon her.
…Perhaps it was not Nibelung’s doing after all.
Thus, Friede pushed that theory aside and tried to envision a new possibility.
By coincidence, there was also another sword that could have fallen into the realm of the Holy Sword aside from her own.
Maybe Gunther did something…
Gunther, the hero of the Kingdom of Burgundy, also wielded Dainsleif, a type of Holy Sword.
The true power of Holy Swords remained classified secrets of each nation, so Friede couldn’t know the powers of Dainsleif…
Suspicious.
If Dainsleif was on par with Nibelung, it certainly had some outrageous ability as well. It was worth doubting.
Perhaps that sword had the ability to steal the strength of others.
…Yes, that seems about right. That rogue enjoyed robbing others of their things.
He was so fond of taking things that he even stole members from other kingdoms’ parties; who’s to say he wouldn’t rob their strength?
With that train of thought, everything began to make sense.
Why Gunther, who still had decent party members assigned by the Kingdom of Burgundy, would want to snatch others from different nations.
Why Brunhilde suddenly grew weaker.
Why she, who had given up the hero party of the Kingdom of Rhine, resorted to escaping from Gunther’s party.
And how Gunther had recently been thriving and achieving great acclaim.
Exactly. It’s all Gunther’s doing…!
Everything boiled down to the fact that he had robbed the strength of Brunhilde and the other defectors from their party.
That’s why Brunhilde could only escape Gunther’s party.
Remaining beside him would only reduce her to a status of a slave who offered him her power, after all.
In truth, this was merely an absurd misunderstanding. The decline in ‘Brunhilde’s’ skills was because she wasn’t truly Brunhilde at all…
There’s no doubt…!
It was beyond Friede’s comprehension that the soul of Brunhilde had been swapped out.
Thus, for her, the answer became clear as she nodded and ignited her resentment towards Gunther.
The half-elf looter with rotten human traits who may have robbed not just Brunhilde’s strength but possibly other things as well.
In Friede’s mind, Gunther’s image had solidified into that of an irredeemable villain.
Of course, as she couldn’t defeat him right now, even if they met again, she would have no choice but to escape with Brunhilde for the time being…
Someday…!
One day, she would make him pay. Friede promised herself.
It was somewhat unjust for Gunther, as this resentment was probably a result of his own actions.
