[Quest: Keep Siegfried Hertlocker alive for 5 minutes.]
[Difficulty: ★★★☆☆]
[Reward: 5 shop coins]
Of course, the quest popped up at the worst possible moment.
It was already clear.
I knew something was going on.
—I was observing with observation magic! At first, I thought he was being attacked! But then I realized Trie was attacking Mr. Hertlocker!
“Exact location… No.”
I didn’t need to hear the location from Erica.
The commotion was loud enough to echo across the entire desert development area.
I was just running towards the source of the sound.
—Huh, what happened? Is there some mental interference going on?
“Erica. Calm down and listen to me. Can you deploy a barrier remotely from there?”
—It’s too far to make a semi-permanent barrier… Especially one strong enough to trap those two.
“If you can just block one or two attacks, that will be enough.”
—I got it. I’ll try it when you give the command.
How could I not have predicted this?
No, I did predict it.
I had predicted it a long time ago.
Yet I did nothing.
I just turned a blind eye, optimistically envisioning the future.
How could I understand how to solve it?
It was already a problem unresolved in the original story.
I thought, “Surely they won’t be talking about war times,” and left it be.
The result was this mess.
“Hi… What a disaster.”
As soon as I arrived on scene, I couldn’t help but sigh.
The walls of the arena building were completely smashed.
Thanks to the ruckus caused by their brawling, the traces of their movements were clearly left behind in the ruins.
When I hurried to catch up—
“Trie! You seem out of your mind! For now—!”
“I’m totally sane!”
*Boom!*
I spotted Hertlocker running for his life with Trie hot on his tail.
Trie was definitely not sane.
She was swinging her sword as if she actually intended to kill him.
Plus, she seemed completely oblivious to her surroundings.
So far she had been lucky, but if this continued, innocent civilians would surely get hurt.
“Erica. It’s time. Trap Trie!”
—I got it!
Just as Hertlocker was about to fall backward to dodge her sword, Trie quickly moved in.
In that split second, I thought Hertlocker was going to get split in half, but Trie’s sword froze in midair.
*Ka-thunk…!*
“Huh?”
With a clear and vibrant sound, Trie was suddenly knocked back.
Just like that, I bought myself one second.
A second was enough time for me to approach.
I immediately released the barrier and lunged at Trie from behind.
“Ugh?!”
Trie sensed my presence and glanced back, but it was already too late.
My fist, powered by the strength stat and “Selection and Concentration,” was flying toward Trie’s abdomen.
She couldn’t dodge it, not with such a late reaction, even if she was Trie.
Of course, I controlled my strength.
*Bam!*
“Cough…!”
With a dull thud, my fist clouded with ringing echoes.
The bones in my fingers broke through the armor and sank in, sending Trie flying up.
I held her up so she wouldn’t fly away, but soon enough she came crashing down.
*Gag cough! Gag cough! Ugh…!*
“………”
Trie, lying face down, started to cough dryly, then soon began to heave.
I guess it hit her insides just right.
Considering I did try to control my strength, I hoped I hadn’t ruptured any internal organs.
I handed her a low-grade recovery potion as she struggled on the ground.
“Ha… ha…”
Trie looked up at me for a brief moment before eagerly snatching the potion and chugging it down.
As soon as she recovered, I worried she might rush at either me or Hertlocker, but fortunately, she didn’t seem to plan on doing that now.
She appeared to be calming down a bit.
[Quest completed]
[You are rewarded with 5 shop coins.]
I had managed to keep Hertlocker alive for five minutes, but it didn’t mean Trie had lost her murderous intent, so I couldn’t relax just yet.
“Schlus. That guy… that guy killed my father.”
“Trie. You can’t kill Hertlocker just for that.”
“What? Why aren’t you shocked?”
“………”
“You knew. You knew everything all along.”
I messed up.
I should have asked how she was so confident about that instead of letting her spill everything.
Now, it looked like I was admitting I knew everything.
My head started to ache, but I couldn’t take back what I had already said.
I had to figure out how to fix this now.
“Why didn’t you tell me? No, that’s not important now. Just let me kill that guy with my own hands. Okay? Please, let me have my revenge.”
“You know I can’t let you do that, Trie.”
“Why? Why exactly? You got your revenge. You killed the guy who killed your mom. You butchered the soldiers of the kingdom who killed your father! But why can’t I? Why can’t I do it?”
“Trie…”
I had no words.
I shouldn’t have told Trie about Schlus’s past.
Now everything I said sounded completely hypocritical.
I would be the hypocrite who accomplished their revenge while stopping someone else from getting theirs… talking about how revenge breeds more revenge, so cliché and dull.
“The circumstances are different, okay? The revenge I took was during a time when lives were being taken. Right now, we’re in a partnership with the intelligence agency.”
“Partnership? That doesn’t matter to me… I can’t see that guy’s face anymore. Just seeing him makes me want to lose my mind.”
“Hang in there, Trie.”
“I can’t hang in there.”
“No. You need to. If you can’t hold it together, then just leave.”
“………”
Trie’s eyes widened.
She seemed quite surprised, momentarily stunned into silence.
When I glanced over at Hertlocker, he was standing there with his hands clasped as if he were a sinner.
“It’s me, that guy! Make a choice, Schlus.”
“What…?”
“Choose. Do I leave, or does that guy leave? I’ll follow your decision.”
“………”
When I went strong, Trie responded even more fiercely.
Hertlocker or Trie.
It was a tough decision.
Considering the potential for the future, it would naturally be right to choose Hertlocker.
Even after I’d taken all the enlightenment, he had grown into a monster all on his own.
If he could survive Trie’s madness, give him a little more time and he’d be strong enough to face a Majin.
But there was another variable.
That was, I could softly persuade Hertlocker, but once Trie leaves, she wouldn’t come back.
If I dismiss her now, she really wouldn’t stand by my side ever again.
So the answer was clear.
“Hertlocker.”
“Yeah.”
“Go back to the institution. Go lead the intelligence agency.”
“Right now?”
“Yes. Right now.”
“Understood…”
Hertlocker looked into my eyes as if he wanted to protest, but then bowed his head deeply.
He seemed to completely grasp my intent.
He understood that right now, it was best to disappear as a sinner.
I was immensely grateful to Hertlocker.
When big brother returns safely, Emilia will be super happy.
“What on earth is happening?!”
“I’m sorry. There was a minor commotion.”
“A minor commotion?”
At that moment, a carriage approached, and Damien rushed down and came over to me.
How should I even explain this…
My head started to throb even more.
“This is a minor commotion, is it?”
“I’ll cover all the repair costs.”
“No, that’s not the problem! Can you please share how this happened—”
“It was a minor dispute from within. You can rest easy knowing this won’t happen again.”
“No, but what on earth…?”
The surroundings were chaotic.
With the police and people gathering around, Trie was standing frozen as if she were lost.
I pushed past Damien, who was relentlessly questioning me, and pulled on Trie’s wrist.
I had to get Trie out of here.
I grabbed a carriage and we rushed back to the residence.
There wasn’t a word spoken between Trie and me all the way.
Just an awkward atmosphere lingering.
Once we arrived and got off, Erica was there to greet us with a worried face.
“Trie! Is your stomach okay—”
“I’m fine. No problems.”
“Oh.”
“Erica. Please step out for a moment. We need to talk privately.”
“Okay…”
I led Trie into the residence.
She hadn’t said a word but came along without any resistance.
First, I needed to check Trie’s belly.
There might be shards from her shattered armor stuck in there.
“Lift up your arms.”
“………”
She was obedient.
As I unfastened the armor and took it off, pieces and dust fell off with a clatter.
I then lifted her sweat-soaked undergarments to examine her abdomen.
“Oh no…”
She had a bruise.
A huge, blue bruise…
Seeing that made it hard for me to look at Trie’s face.
When I poked at her belly a bit, Trie winced in pain and flinched away.
With my hand resting on her lower abdomen, I used observation magic to check inside.
My technique was still clumsy, but it was enough to ascertain that there was no significant damage to her insides.
“Okay. You’re not seriously hurt. I’m sorry, Trie. I had to resort to this method to stop you back then.”
“Sniff… Huff…”
“Trie?”
I heard a sniffle.
When a tear hit the floor, I quickly looked up, and Trie was on the verge of crying.
I panicked and suddenly stood up to grab Trie by the shoulders.
“I’m such a troublesome girl, aren’t I… right?”
“No.”
“Why are you apologizing? I’m the one who should be sorry. I’m sorry, Schlus. I really am… Really, I’m sorry. I messed everything up… I ruined your plans… I’m so sorry…”
“It’s not ruined yet. We can manage without Hertlocker.”
“You know… Hmm. The truth is… I might not be so angry after all. What I really… was scared of… was you choosing Hertlocker instead of me… that’s why I acted this way…”
“Anyone who admits they’re acting clingy like that isn’t actually clingy.”
“No. That’s not how it is…”
“It’s really fine, Trie. Honestly, I was worried about the lack of personnel on the intelligence agency side, so I was considering sending Hertlocker back. Honestly, it’ll make things easier for defenses if fewer people are here. You’re not a bother at all.”
“I’m so sorry… Really, truly sorry, Schlus…”
Trie finally burst into tears.
I wrapped my arms tightly around her and patted her back.
I realized that I had been too indifferent.
I had assumed Trie would always be strong and wouldn’t show her personal feelings.
But Trie was a person too.
Seeing the face of the one who killed her father casually chatting and eating in front of her could naturally evoke anger.
Asking her to erase those feelings in a single day was a harsh order to give.
Especially to a girl who had just become an adult.
So, today I decided to give Trie some consideration.
Let her pour out her frustration at not being able to kill the man who murdered her father.
To let her shed the façade she had to wear as a knight, to let her be just a girl in this moment.
Thus, I let her cry for a long time.
Unlike last time, I was grateful that I could hold her this time.
“Ugh… Schlus.”
Eventually, Trie stopped her sniffles and looked up at me, taking deep breaths.
When I wiped her tear-stained eyes with my hand, she gave me a faint smile.
“Schlus. Schlus…”
“What is it?”
“About me… well…”
For a long time, Trie rubbed her face against my chest and mumbled.
When she finally faced me again, it was with a determined, resolute expression.
“I love you, Schlus.”
That was completely unexpected.
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