Episode 72
"Perloche! Wake up!"
"......."
"Perloche!"
I shook Perloche for a while, but there was no sign of her waking up.
Thanks to that, I was breaking out in a cold sweat for quite some time, when I suddenly heard the rough breathing of the children who had collapsed beside her and muttered with a worried expression.
"Hmm... should I move the children first?"
"You stay still! I'll move them myself!"
Then Irina, who was beside me, hurriedly sat me against the wall and began lifting the unconscious children.
"...Perloche, answer me. What on earth does this mean?"
After watching her for a moment, I turned my gaze back to Perloche and asked in a low voice.
However, what returned was not Perloche's bright voice, but only the sound of regular breathing.
"Strange... on the outside, she just looks like she's sleeping..."
Wondering if she lacked life force, I checked with the Hero's power, but that wasn't it either. Then why on earth is Perloche sleeping so deeply?
'Still, there's definitely something about Perloche. That's certain.'
Lacking accurate medical knowledge to make further judgments, I turned my thoughts to the message she had left.
Looking at the word 'Remember' densely written on the last page of the diary, it's clear that she intentionally left the message 'Half is the Demon God.'
Then, how exactly was Perloche able to leave such a message?
'Strange. Even if it was in the past, the current her... is definitely a fool, right?'
For a moment, I speculated that all her actions might be an act, but there were too many aspects that were too natural, so I soon shook my head.
'In the first place, having acted for a long time myself, there's no way I wouldn't recognize someone else's acting. So, there must be a different reason.'
While thinking and thinking again, a situation similar to the current one suddenly crossed my mind.
'Come to think of it... Perloche mentioned the Demon God at the orphanage too.'
At this point, it seems certain.
Perloche definitely knows something about the 'Demon God.'
And she's indirectly revealing that fact.
Since there's still not much information, I can only deduce this much, but I feel good having found a clue about this world's secrets.
"...Heave-ho."
Having flipped through the diary Perloche left for a while, I realized there was nothing more to find and stood up.
"Frey? I told you to stay seated!"
Then Irina, who had already taken several children outside and was coming back into the underground storage, started to stop me.
"You're hurt a lot too, Irina."
I gave her a short answer, picked up Perloche, and left the underground storage.
"...Ugh."
Walking slowly out of the mansion while emitting star mana, I heard a faint groan from near my feet.
"What, he wasn't dead."
Wondering if there was still a student I hadn't saved, I looked down, but the leader of the assassination group was lying on the floor groaning.
"You... who on earth are you..."
When I looked down at him blankly, he asked in a strained voice.
"Tell me whose poison pill that is."
"Grr...!"
When I stepped on his fingers and asked in return, he started making sounds like boiling blood in his throat.
"...He committed suicide."
Then he suddenly started vomiting blood and went limp. Seeing that, it seems he bit into a poison pill he had been hiding in his mouth.
"Foolish bastards."
Currently, the assassins employed by the Moonlight family carry out missions worshipping only 'orders,' not a sense of justice or mission.
That's why, when they enter a mission, they become more cruel than anyone else.
'I don't know what the sub-plan from earlier was... but if it had been executed, it would have been a disaster.'
Those who know the true identity of the Moonlight family, who have been assassinating for a thousand years, are limited to a few noble families of the marquisate, the three ducal families, and the imperial family.
Of course, this is also because they have firmly controlled information... but the biggest reason is probably their rule of not leaving a single 'witness' who witnessed the assassination.
Such a terrible and heartless Moonlight family, but surprisingly, until recently, they were quite a righteous group.
For a long time, they only killed those who were corrupt or a threat to the empire, and honed their skills to minimize unnecessary slaughter.
That's why their rule of 'witness elimination' never came to light for a long time.
They eliminated only targets with overwhelming skill before witnesses could appear, and even if caught, they used discretion to deceive or wage information warfare.
However, as the imperial family declined, everything changed.
Because the support of the imperial family, which had been covering up information and cleaning up after the Moonlight family, was cut off, there were limits to conducting information warfare with only their discretion.
Still, the Moonlight family somehow walked a lonely path, but when the current 'Secret Lord' seized power and fully implemented the 'witness elimination rule,' they eventually started to run wild.
Those who had advocated for the ideals and justice that the Moonlight family originally had were all purged, and the assassins who worked with justice and a sense of mission were also all eliminated.
Eventually, the current Moonlight family declined to the level of the Secret Lord's private soldiers, and only those who were greedy to become executives, bloodthirsty, or psychopaths loyal only to 'orders' remained.
And the biggest problem is that this crazy group will soon move for the Secret Lord's personal greed and lust for power.
At least at this point, there is the 'Council of Elders' with some pretext, so they are targeting corrupt people... for example, people like me.
But in a few years, the Secret Lord, who will have taken over even the Council of Elders, will use the family's assassins at will to seize power.
'But that ends today too.'
Serena's close associates and assassins she personally selected... and some conscientious people who still remain are currently in hiding with her.
So if the operation launched against the Demon King's army today succeeds...
"He, he's coming out!"
"Perloche!!"
As I walked out the gate thinking about the Moonlight family, the children started running toward me urgently.
"...Oops."
Afraid my identity might be discovered, I quickly put Perloche on the ground and started walking into the smoke.
"Um... who is that person?"
"That black outfit, that's what the people who attacked us were wearing, right?"
Then I heard whispering, so I focused star mana on my ears to listen to the conversation, and quite interesting exchanges were going on.
"No, that person is the one who saved us. Earlier, that person saved us who were hiding under the dining table."
"That's right... we were being chased by two strangers too, but that person blocked them and sent us to the exit."
"They're covered in blood... they weren't like that earlier. I wonder if they're okay?"
Stopping in place to eavesdrop on their conversation, I realized no one recognized my identity and breathed a sigh of relief as I started walking inside.
"Hah... hah..."
"...Irina, are you okay?"
"Ah, I'm still okay... this much is..."
Soon I found Irina walking while supporting two children, and I chuckled and asked.
"Aren't you lacking exercise?"
"N, no... this much is... not hard at all..."
"...You, go outside. I'll take over here."
I was bursting into laughter watching Irina answering while sweating profusely, when someone behind me spoke to me.
"It's dangerous here, so you should go outside..."
"I can use protection magic, so there's no problem at all. I'm stronger than him too."
Surprised, I turned around and tried to send Ariane, who was standing with a stiff expression, back outside, but she was adamant.
"You seem seriously injured, you need to receive treatment. Please go outside quickly."
"No need. This much injury..."
As Ariane said, the injury is serious, but I can carry the children one by one as much as needed. So...
- Zzing!
"Please get treatment. You'll die like that."
Ariane blocked my path with a protective shield and spoke with a worried expression, so I eventually nodded and had no choice but to leave the mansion.
"Um, who are you?"
"Are your injuries okay?"
After leaving the mansion and sitting down in the yard, the students started gathering around me one by one.
"Thank you for saving us."
""Thank you.""
Watching them and maintaining silence, the students started bowing and thanking me.
'...I don't deserve thanks.'
But no matter how I think about it, I don't deserve their thanks. After all, wasn't it me who got them involved in this incident?
"Cough! Cough!!"
Thinking that, I slowly stood up and started leaving the place unsteadily.
"W, wait a moment!"
Some students shouted from behind, but I didn't stop walking.
"Hah..."
After walking and walking for a while, I arrived at the playground where I had laid down with Serena and looked at the sky, and I sat on the swing and started sighing.
"...This will definitely be the second trial, right?"
Muttering like that and looking up at the night sky where stars and the moon were shining, I suddenly felt a presence behind me.
"Frey."
"You startled me!"
Startled, I got up from the swing and found Irina standing behind me with a stiff expression, and I smiled.
"Why did you come here too."
"That's... well..."
Looking at me like that, Irina hesitated for a moment, then sat carefully next to me and spoke.
"...The Princess and the Professor have arrived."
"Really?"
"Yeah, the Princess is checking on the children with a pale face... and the Professor is looking at the mansion with a stiff expression."
"Then the Imperial Guard will come soon too."
Saying that, I sighed and started swinging.
"Stay still. It's dangerous if you move now."
"...Ah."
Then Irina urgently grabbed the swing and spoke in a worried voice.
I wondered why she was so worried, but seeing the swing covered in blood, it seems I really shouldn't overdo it.
"...Frey, when do you think the second trial will come?"
While thinking that, Irina asked me in a trembling voice.
"Hmm... it will be after this incident is completely resolved."
"I... see."
Answering her with a calm expression, Irina's eyes started trembling.
"Well, this trial is really nothing..."
"...How is that nothing?"
I made a relaxed expression to reassure her, who had been overly worried about the trials since long ago, but Irina raised her voice cutting off my words.
"You're experiencing exactly the situation you never wanted to experience, right? And you say that's nothing?"
Irina's hands were shaking as she spoke.
"It just shows a branching point. Since it didn't actually happen, there's no problem."
Holding her hand and speaking gently, Irina, who had her head down, slowly raised her head.
"Frey, I have a favor."
"What is it?"
"Let me be part of your trial too."
Saying that, Irina held my hand tightly.
"In the first place, it's my fault you're receiving the trial. So..."
"What are you talking about, Irina. It's not your fault."
"...Frey."
Soon Irina opened her mouth with difficulty, but when I firmly cut off her words, tears finally started falling from her eyes.
"I'm sorry... I'm really sorry..."
"Goodness, why are you like this..."
No matter how much black magic power is in her body, Irina is mana-depleted, so it's quite burdensome for her to use magic.
Despite that, she did her best today to protect the students.
Things turned out this way because the assassination unit that went out of control committed the crazy act of attacking the mansion, not because of her fault.
But she seems to be taking too much responsibility for this incident.
Is it because I asked her to take good care of the children this morning?
Or is it just because her nature is too kind?
I don't know well, but first I need to comfort her.
"Irina, you really..."
"Frey, I have a confession to make."
While thinking that and gently patting her back, Irina, who had buried her face in my chest and was crying, suddenly stopped crying and muttered quietly.
"A confession?"
"...Yes, a confession I must definitely make to you."
Irina raised her head and started speaking with a face covered in tears and guilt.
"Honestly, I was too afraid to tell you. So... I haven't been able to say it until now."
"...Is that so?"
"Yeah. If you hear my confession, you'll probably end up hating me terribly."
Hearing her words, I wondered what on earth Irina had done to me to say such things, and I started to persuade Irina in bewilderment.
"Um... Irina? Whatever you did to me, it would have been a justified action. I at that time would have been someone who deserved to die. So you don't need to feel guilty."
"But... but Frey..."
However, despite my words, Irina, who had been chewing her lips, spoke with difficulty with a pale face.
"...The one who cast the 12 o'clock curse on you was me."
Having finished speaking, Irina moved slightly away from me and started glancing at me with eyes full of fear.
"Pffft!"
"F, Frey?"
She was so cute that I burst out laughing without realizing it. Then Irina, who had been watching my expression, started looking flustered.
"I already knew that. Did you think I didn't know?"
"W, what do you mean...!?"
Hearing my words that followed, Irina asked back with a pale face and a trembling voice.
"You used it on me at the freshman welcome party. That."
"Ah, ah..."
When I frowned slightly as if joking, Irina started trembling all over.
"F, Frey... I... that..."
"So, is that all you have to confess?"
"...Huh?"
When she tried to stammer out something, I cut her off with a calm expression, and she started looking blank.
"I get assassination attempts every day. It's just one curse."
"But! That curse is...!"
"Of course, it's a curse with a 100% fatality rate. But I successfully blocked that curse, and thanks to that, I'm alive like this... ouch!"
While saying that and patting my chest, I accidentally touched my wound and let out a short scream.
"You... you knew about that curse after all..."
*Ahem*, anyway... I'm alive and well, and you got mana depletion from the backlash, right? So let's call it a draw."
"Frey, but..."
"Enough, stop talking about that. Don't feel any more unnecessary guilt toward me. I thought it was something else."
Continuing to comfort Irina, I found a familiar creature flying from far away in the sky and firmly ended the conversation and reached my hand forward.
"Coo!"
Then a white owl that naturally landed on my hand tilted its head and started glaring at Irina beside me.
"Ah, ow! Ouch!"
"Let's see... what letter came this time..."
Watching the white owl that started hunting Irina for a moment, I quietly turned my gaze to the letter it placed in front of me.
- Please reply that you're alive. Please.
"...She must have been very worried."
Seeing that it was written in a mess, unlike Serena, and came in the state of letter paper without even being put in an envelope, it seems she's very worried about me.
"...Hey, give me a pen."
"Coo! Coo!!"
"Stop tormenting the kid and give me a pen."
Smiling slightly and looking at the letter, I grabbed the owl that had been pecking at Irina and took off the pen attached to its leg.
- Safe. Escaped safely.
Having written that reply on the back of the letter paper Serena sent, I hesitated for a moment, then added a short message.
- I love you.
Writing that and smiling for a moment, I held out the letter to the owl that was sitting on my head and staring intently at the letter paper.
"Coo!"
Then, as if it understood the content, it patted my head with its wings with a satisfied expression, then took the letter paper in its mouth and started flying far into the sky.
[The System's second trial has begun!]
"...Oh no."
And at that moment, a system window appeared before my eyes.
It seems the trigger for this incident to conclude was the letter I just wrote.
"Frey? What's wrong?"
"...It seems the second trial has arrived."
".....!"
Hearing my words, Irina started making a terrified expression. I gently patted her shoulder and spoke softly.
"It's okay, as I've been saying... it's not reality anyway. It's just briefly experiencing a possibility that we've already successfully prevented."
"Frey! I want to be with you too...!"
Whether she heard my words or not, Irina shouted urgently and reached out her hand to me, but...
"...It's started."
Soon she withdrew her hand and opened her mouth wide, then closed it.
- Shuuuuu...
And from that point, everything started going backwards.
The owl that had flown far into the sky turned around and flew back, sat on my head, then attacked Irina.
Soon Irina, who had been opening her mouth, stood up from her seat and walked backward.
And before I knew it, I too stood up and started walking backward toward the mansion visible in the distance.
Continuing to walk backward, coughing, staggering, and even experiencing the rare experience of blood that had fallen on the ground reattaching to my body, I eventually found myself back in the mansion's yard.
"It's getting faster?"
And from that moment, everything started whizzing by.
The students who had been bowing to me straightened their backs, and before I knew it, I was in the underground storage.
Looking at the collapsed Perloche, the leader of the assassination group I had killed earlier suddenly blocked my way.
Continuing to go further and further into the past, I realized that the scene that had been rewinding had stopped.
- Therefore, this operation is cancelled. And from now on, the sub-plan is initiated.
"Ha, so this was the branching point."
When the radio transmission that had definitely been cut off earlier came through without interruption, I hardened my expression and started looking around.
- From now on, we will set fire to the mansion.
When the transmission came from the radio again, I frowned and clicked my tongue.
'I did well to kill them all.'
It's time to watch the bad ending of this world.