Translator: Ranzan Editor: JackOFallTrades
The next day, Master, Shuria and I went up to the entrance of the school.
Today, the lectures at the school begin.
「Okay, see you ladies later. I have something to look for at the library like I told you.」
「See you later, master.」
「See ya!」
「Yeah, do your best, you two.」
We waved and saw master off together.
「Okay, let’s go then.」
「Sure!」
As the guideboard said on the way, we made our way to the room for instruction.
Adventurers of different ages were walking here and there, but as we neared the building there was a very different group that were walking together.
Their outfits were identical, and their ages were about the same as me.
As opposed to outsiders like me and Shuria, these must be Carbonheim’s insiders…and elites as well.
(Well, who cares? It may suck to clearly be looked down on by a group like them, but even if I notice it doesn’t amount to anything.)
It’s one thing for them to be buzzing around your face doing nothing, but if they try to sting me in the town, I’ll crush them until they’re all gone.
They were walking toward the very new beautiful cla.s.srooms on the right side.
And we were walking towards the slightly dirty and old ones on the left.
As we finally entered the building, we stepped into the cla.s.s labeled 『Outside Student Cla.s.s』.
There was a lectern in the front and desks ascending up the cla.s.sroom in steps.
Since we arrived a bit before the teaching began, there were only some students here and there.
「We might have come a bit too early.」
「It’s better than being here late.」
Quiet conversation echoed around the room, so we took our seats on the center level on the right side of the room.
「Oh, good morning! You’re cute today too!」
「Ah, morning. You two are here early.」
Without any time to look around, Leone and Spinne came into the cla.s.sroom.
They entered the cla.s.sroom and waved at us, coming closer and sitting on both sides of where we were sitting.
Someone looking at us from the front would see Leone, me, Shuria, and then Spinne.
「Good morning.」
「Morning!」
「Hmm, ahh, so cute! Let me pet you!」
「Whaaa? S, stop! Let go of me!」
(She really does like children…even if they aren’t like Shuria.)
I remembered our time in the town as Spinne embraced Shuria.
That time she held me, Lusha, and Kellil like that.
Those foolish memories p.r.i.c.ked me one by one like poisoned needles.
「Leone, do you remember? When we were in the village, Spinne did that all the time.」
「…yeah.」
「Do you all go back to there, Leone?」
「No, well, not now…」
「I knew it. I heard what happened there. It’s no surprise seeing as you know that I’m a half-beast.」
「!!」
Just then her face was disturbed by a sad look.
No, that’s not it, Leone. I didn’t want you to make that face.
「Don’t make a face like that. Master saved me from it. I don’t think about the past.」
So, sorry about that.
But there is something I won’t forgive…
「Well, Marris is…」
「My mother couldn’t take the journey and pa.s.sed away. I was almost dead when he helped me.」
「!! Oh, then, um…」
That’s why I said,
「Leone, could you tell me where my village is? I have no idea where it is.」
「So you want to know, so you can get revenge on the villagers?」
「Not at all. I told you, I don’t think about the past.」
「Well, why…」
I used my mother, saying,
「I don’t want to go back there, but I want to check if my mother had left anything behind.」
「…」
「Please, I don’t know if she left anything behind. I want something to remember her by.」
Yes, it was a horrible lie.
☆
A lie.
It didn’t take me using a skill, but I hid that I could feel it.
As a peddler that has to watch people haggling with you, I’m not that easy to deceive with a lie like that.
I understand why she’s thinking of revenge.
However, I don’t think any revenge is going to save Minnalis.
Because, I can see the color of guilt in her that she has to try to trick me to get this information.
The Minnalis I remember was so kind that she’ll do anything for anyone.
If she could return to her former self, I know she’d be the same again.
Even knowing that, I couldn’t keep my mouth closed because of the contract that I had signed.
「…the village is in the north part of Aurolea empire, on the border of Gligar imperial land. From here you should leave the mountain range on the imperial side to get there quicker.」
So, before she pleaded any more, I told her.
I could fool her many ways without have to lie to her.
If I didn’t do this much, I wouldn’t be much of a peddler.
「The north part of the empire…the opposite way from here…」
「If you go to the town of Gagallad before the mountain range, someone will give you the details. To be safe you might want to take the longer way, going through Robelia in this country may be easier for you.」
(I know it’s no problem if I don’t lie. If I give her a completely different village 『thus not lying about which village』then I don’t break the contract.)
Since I also promised not to interfere with their operations, I was saved from having to talk around the subject.
There was nothing I did that 『prevented them from their goal.』
「I see…Thank you very much. However, I’m not going back there for a while.」
I thought this was the end of it, but I wasn’t that lucky.
「…」
(Somehow, I have to keep Minnalis from doing something sad like extracting revenge.)
Just then the door opened and a robed man, the instructor, entered the room.
The instruction began just after this, and I couldn’t concentrate on it because I was pondering about how to save Minnalis, which was filling my mind with thoughts.
Using my skill and peering to the side at her, both of them were burning with the dark fire of revenge, still caught in those poisonous chains that my skill saw.
I knew from looking at them like this that those chains were coming from their own hearts.
I don’t know what psychological interference was affecting me, but there, I could see their true feelings were being distorted by some kind of revolt.
But, I didn’t see any distortion in that revolt they felt against their feelings.
In other words, they wouldn’t change even if they lost those chains around their hearts. So, even if I put an end to that power, those chains would still remain, binding them.
First, I would have to shake them from their intent, and put a doubt in their hearts about the revenge they wanted.
(Somehow, I had to persuade them from the chains that guy had put over them.)
When Geel was messing around with Minnalis and the others, Ukei’s heart seemed to show some emotions other than revenge.
That color of revenge wouldn’t disappear, however, his wanting to protect those two was unbelievably strong.
(The color he emitted was so strongly kind. If he were to change, they would change as well. It’s not good for them to foster feelings of revenge of each other.)
It seems those chains had two powers.
One was a liquid, deep feeling that came from those black chains.
Another one was what they emitted, many colors that were encapsulated in the evil around those chains, mixing within each other and the chains.
All of those evil feelings mixing among themselves, creating that black emotion.
(They’re totally making a mistake!)
I had completely decided.
I would have to bring the girls and the guy back.
Yeah, then all three of them would finally become friends with my party.
With my knowledge and his, we could save even more people.
In this chaotic world, but still, a very beautiful world.
(I have to bring them back on the right path. They’re wrong to keep on like this.)
I would have to bring back all three. To make them happy.
So, that black connection, what I could see within it all, was the color of pained sadness.
In the middle of her heart, the blue color of a long weeping cry of pain.
It was pierced by those black chains, and they connected to that pain, that color.
All of them are still able to cry and laugh.
But their hearts are not dead. Even if the color of revenge disappears, another color can replace it.
That’s why I have to make them abandon their revenge.
My purpose was to make them recognize their mistakes, and give up on their revenge.