TL: Zimmings
Mina looked at me stiffly.
âCanât you trust me?â
âGet out of my way. I donât have time to argue with you.â
âI-!â
Mina shouted as she looked at me.
âI trusted you. I trusted you even if you made money for those who might harm your friends, even if you helped those who kidnapped us, I believed in you.â
âDidnât you hear what I said?â
âIf we go on like this, weâll be in danger again to save you.â
âWhoâs the reason weâre in dangerâ?
âWhat?â
âFrom the beginning, I was making another plan. I told the mercenary guild that had a deal with Kuhelm to inform the academy and Dubblede of our location! If you had endured one more day, we wouldnât be in this situation.â
The students who heard me were surprised, including Mina.
âIf you had discussed your plan with us, no, if you had told us, we would have waited. But you handled everything on your own.â
âDo you want me to believe you, who always provokes the chief with useless words, and confide in you?â
ââ¦â¦.â
I burst into laughter.
âWhy donât you be honest? Do you trust me? No, youâve been doubting me from the beginning.â
âNo, Leblaine. Iâmâ¦â
âYes, a few words would have comforted the children. But you were the one who didnât trust me. So you will put the children in danger either way.â
ââ¦â¦.â
âRight? Youâre just a foolish hypocrite.â
ââ¦â¦.â
âIf each and every personâs lives were precious, how could you leave Emeline there!â
âI didnât mean to leave her. Iâ¦â
âIâll talk to the chief and go back with Emeline.â
ââ¦â¦.â
âOdis risked their honor in this battle, but we risked our own lives. Youâre going to trade it with justice and cause?
I continued to talk, staring at the students.
âAlan, can you prioritize morality over your mother? Sandra, can you think of humanity before your younger brother?â
Alan and Sandra failed to respond.
Mina gulped, and I glared at her.
âDonât pass the blame on me. Itâs all because of your stupid judgment that those children are in danger.â
I stopped and looked at Alan. Then I strode towards him and smacked his cheeks.
Alan, whose cheeks were flushed red, licked his mouth and said,
âYou, you, what are you doingâ¦!â
âYouâre the one who decided to trap Emeline, arenât you? Mina, who agreed with your plan, thought it was the right thing to do. Arenât you both very foolish?â
âYou crazy-!â
I kicked his calves.
âAlan Guster. Iâll remember your name.â
âWh- what do you mean?â
âDidnât Adrian say this? My nickname in the empire is crazy dog. I wonât let go if you bite me.â
ââ¦â¦!â
âWhereâs Emeline?â
âN-near the prison.â
âTell me exactly.â
âThere was a place behind the prison that looked like a warehouse. Full of jarsâ¦â
I gritted my teeth and pushed Alan.
Behind Alan, who turned pale, I could see students with helpless expressions.
âThis is the last warning. If you want to live, shut your mouth and stay here.â
Sandra, who was out of breath and grabbed her chest, asked.
âWhere are we?â
âWhere? Itâs still the Kuhelm tribeâs village.â
âI beg your pardonâ¦â¦?â
âThere are double and triple boundaries at each entrance to the village, so how can we run away with a teleportation scroll? Iâll be able to withstand it. Because I had sacred power, but you guys wouldnât have made it through.â
ââ¦â¦.â
âIâll say it again. This is the last warning. If youâre agitated and moved foolishly again, Iâll never save you.â
ââ¦â¦.â
The students stepped back as I rushed out.
The place where I moved was to the altar of the Kuhelm tribe.
The place where I heard Booneâs voice.
âKuhelm will never know weâre still in their territory.â
They would have been searching elsewhere by now. If so, there is still time.
Even if they had captured Emeline, they wouldnât have killed her straight away.
I went to the stairs connected to the stable.
It was quiet inside the stable, but it was noisy outside.
Kuhelmâs warriors were running around in a hurry.
I hid on the stable and grabbed my etwal.
âPur.â
A light surrounded me and a deer appeared.
âDraw their attention to you. In the meantime, Iâll bring Emeline.â
âEven if you bring her safely, that doesnât mean you can escape.â
âIf we hold on, weâll get support from Odis. I asked Hannibal to give them the location in the ledger I gave him.â
âYouâre already exhausted because of me. How are you going to protect those fools and endure it?â
âIâll take care of that, so hurry up and draw their attention.â
âWhatâs wrong with youâ¦. I wonât let you go if you die. Iâll chase you to the depths of hell and kill you again. Soâ¦â
I stroked Purâs head and smiled slightly.
âYes, Iâll never die.â
Pur, who lowered its head, soon disappeared. And shortly after, a shout came from afar.
âItâs a monster!â
Pur seemed to be attracting attention.
I hurried out of the stable and headed to prison.
âQuickly⦠I have to hurry.â
My physical condition was getting worse. Blue veins were bulging from my wrist and it quickly went to my forearms.
I had experienced something like this three years ago, when two new devils were called out at the same time.
This was a sign that my divine power was about to run out.
If the blue vein went to my neck, I would probably die or go completely crazy.
âPlease hold on. Please⦠⦠.â
I took a short breath and entered the back of the prison. There was a building that looked like a warehouse, like Alan said. When I went inside, it was full of dark reddish brown jars, and I checked the inside by looking at the lids one by one.
âEmeline⦠Emelineâ¦â¦.â
Rustle.
I heard a rustling at one of the jars.
As soon as I opened the lid toward the centre of the sound, I could see Emeline, who was gagging with her wrists and ankles tied.
The jar was so deep that I couldnât reach Emelineâs ankle.
After tilting the jar, I reached out to Emeline and released the gag.
âAlan, you jerk. Iâll kill you⦠hey, are you okay?â
âLetâs go.â
When the cloth tied to her wrist and ankle was released, Emeline crawled out of the jar.
âWe donât have time. Letâs go to the stable. The childrem are on the underground altar of the stable.â
Emeline grabbed me by the wrist. She saw the blue veins on my hand and bit her lips.
âYou called out the devil. Right?
âLetâs go.â
âYou fool⦠how could you save me with this condition?â
âIâll get scolded after we get back to school safely. So please letâs go.â
ââ¦â¦Stupid.â
I grabbed Emeline and left the warehouse. I was going toward prison, but I heard footsteps.
âTheyâre not here!â
âTry the warehouse. Itâs the perfect place to hide, so search carefully.â
Under the command of the young man, the warriors were heading towards the warehouse.
âWe canât go to prison.â
I looked around quickly.
There was a small road opposite to the road connected to the prison.
Before the warriors came, I quickly went out onto the road.
The road was headed to the square, and the square was full of people.
At a glance, I could see the light surrounding Purâs body.
Pur was struggling under the mana chain of the Kuhelms mage.
The chief was looking coldly at the scene.
âThatâs your devil. How did it fall to their hand?â
âItâs because my divine power barely maintains it. I consume a lot just to make him appear, so it canât attack or defend itself.â
âWhat are we going to do? We canât even go out to the square.â
I bit my lips and looked around.
There are chiefs and numerous mages in front of us. Opposite us, there are many warriors of Kuhelm, led by the young man.
âWhat do we do?â
If we get caught like this, the chief will not treat me nicely like before.
Far from being nice, he can immediately overpower me and use mages to brainwash my mind.
If so, I will not be able to escape their control and become a puppet the moment I lost all divine power.
âIâll get their attention.â
I frowned at Emelineâs words.
âIâm here to save you, do you want me to use you as bait? That doesnât make sense, right?â
âThen what are you going to do? Thereâs no way out.â
ââ¦â¦.â
âIâll buy you time, so share your mana with the children. You said you can share some of your divine power to them.â
âBut-â
Just then,
âSo you were here. You worms.â
ââ¦â¦!â
I heard a creepy voice behind my back.
The young man went towards us with bloodshot eyes.
âI found them, chief.â
When he shouted, the attention of the Kuhelm tribe was on us at once.
***
Me and Emeline were seated in front of the chief and had to watch the students being dragged by the Kuhelm warriors.
The students were beaten up, perhaps struggling with the warriors at the altar.
âDamn it-!â
Alan, who looked somewhat fine compared to other students, spat out abusive language and shouted at me.
âDid you sell us, Leblaine?!â
Emeline turned her head and stared at Alan.
âNo, I did it.â
She was right.
The chief asked me where the students were, and I didnât answer. Emeline shouted when his mages aimed at me.
âSay it! Are you going to die like this?â
âEmeline.â
âLeave Blaine, Iâll tell you. Theyâre in the basement of the stables.â
âYou-!â
âYou tried to run away from me, and you betrayed Leblaine. What kind of loyalty should I give to you?â
When Alan opened his mouth as if to shout something, the young man near him kicked him in the knee.
Alan, who faltered and collapsed, stared at Emeline with a pale face.
Even the students knelt down in front of the chief while being tied with a rope.
The chief, who looked at me with a cold face, said.
âYou bad girl. You take our kindness for granted.â
âItâs not me.â
âDo you want me to trust you again?â
âIf you have a brain, youâll know it. We were communicating. Iâm the one who got betrayed.â
âHa! To say that without fearâ¦â
The chief, who grabbed me by the collar, pushed a knife at my neck.
Feeling with the cold knife, blood began to drip from my neck.
âYes, I donât need two children of fate. Wouldnât a strong girl be more useful even if she was stupid than a girl who was smart?â
The chief smiled and looked at Mina behind me.
âYes, kill me, kill me.â
As I said with a snort, the chief was confused.
âWhat?â
âKill me, you rascal!â
If I regress this time, I will find you and kill you first.
âItâs okay. I can meet my family again later. I can do it.â
âGo to hell first.â
I closed my eyes tightly.
At that moment, an arrow passed by me.
I turned my head slowly.
And I saw the person aiming the bow on the mountainâ¦â¦.
His black cape fluttered in the wind, and the Dubblede symbol was engraved on his armor. The man who aimed the bow at the chief said,
âLeblaine.â
In an instant, my eyes become red.
The truth is, I really wanted to live.
I called him with tears in my eyes like a child.
âDadâ¦..!â
Dubbledeâs knight filled the mountain. Next to them was dad, Johann, and the chairman.