4. Rynella’s fate is decided by Rynella (48)
The voice of the man asking the question was flat without a pitch.
This meant that there was no interruption in breathing.
The man was skillfully driving a horse. No matter how strong the sound of cutting the wind, his expression remained calm.
It seems that he is used to riding horses.
Ian also had a knack for horseback riding, but the man’s skill was more than that.
The more I looked at it, the more it was a person whose origins were unknown.
So it took some time for the man’s question to be answered.
It was an unidentified strong man whose true intentions were difficult to guess.
No one wanted to talk to anyone. Who knows what kind of unexpected situation will happen.
In the end, the person who won the man’s conversation partner was the saintess.
It was because I was in the closest position to the man.
She sighed and asked, raising her voice to avoid being overshadowed by the noise.
“Yeah, how did you kill them?! When we did, it kept playing!”
The man glanced at the saintess.
For a while, he just stared at the saintess’s face in silence.
The saintess was on the verge of having a rather unpleasant feeling, wondering if she was just appreciating it.
Then the man’s mouth opened.
“The power of evil spirits used by the Dark Church is similar to Aura.”
It was the first time I heard it.
It was information that even the saintess, who was said to have the most extensive knowledge of the Dark Church, had never heard of.
It was a story that Yuren, who had to stay in the mansion for escort reasons, would not know, and the rest of the party could not help but hear about it.
The group’s attention was focused on the man.
Eventually, even the eyes of the saintess turned towards him, and the man began to explain slowly.
“Both are the power to distort reality by embodying the user’s image. However, the difference is that the power of the evil spirit can only be obtained through a contract… It was the same with Mitram.”
A man’s voice pierced through the clatter of horses’ hooves.
As time went by, the question toward the man grew deeper and deeper.
It was even puzzling how they had such information.
“This is a guy who has enjoyed his youth by stealing countless bodies. The body I destroyed today is not a ‘body’ in the true sense. However, if the power to regenerate the body and move around is a kind of aura, then the law of destruction is bound to be the same as an aura.”
The saintess let out a faint exclamation, as if she had realized something from the words that followed.
“… … A stronger aura.”
“Yes, a stronger image.”
It was a minor error, but the man dared to correct the saintess’ answer.
It seemed that the man really wanted to convey that fact.
Perhaps thanks to the man talking to them first, the tension in the party had subsided.
In the end, it was Elsie who couldn’t stand it and asked the question first.
“Hey, monster scab!”
The man ignored Elsie’s call.
Whether it was or not, Elsie asked again with a nervous expression.
“When will my master give it back?! Well, will you return it as soon as you return to the mansion?”
The man who couldn’t ignore Elsie until the end sighed as if he couldn’t help it.
He said to Elsie with an annoyed expression.
“… … Don’t say ‘Master’.”
“What? why?”
When Elsie tilted her head, the man tried to open his mouth as if in tears.
It was the first time he had shown such clear emotions, so the group’s curious eyes turned to him. The man finally had to keep his mouth shut.
After a while, the man’s voice returned.
“… … For some reason, it feels like precious memories are getting dirty.”
It was a painful tone.
There was even sadness in that voice. It was to the extent that a pity passed over the saintess’ face for a moment.
Unfortunately, however, the man’s opponent was that Elsie.
Elsie tilted her head again with her eyes wide open.
“… … ? So what, what?”
It was a counter-question why I should be considerate of you.
In the end, the man could only sigh and turn his head in silence.
“wait… As soon as I return to the mansion, I will take care of my business and return it to you.”
A sad look was evident in the man’s eyes as he concluded the conversation.
In addition, many questions were asked to the man.
Mostly it was about whether you really were ‘Ian Perkus’ or what Mitram’s last mentioned ‘plan’ was.
In addition, there were many questions about why Mitram was in the form of Leah.
But the man’s answer to him was the same.
“Ask Leto.”
“We’ll talk about that later.”
“It’s the circumstances inside the Percus family.”
In the end, the party had to arrive at the Percus Mansion without much income.
Even if they asked for half a day, they got the same answer, so there was nothing they could do.
However, judging from the man’s heavy silence, he could only guess that something was wrong with him.
After arriving at the Percus Mansion, the party left the horses in the stable and headed straight for the front door.
It was then that the saintess noticed something strange about the man.
A thin stream of blood was oozing from the man’s stomach.
It was a wound from Mitram.
I thought the first aid was done with the healing potion, but it looked like the part that had been resealed during the battle was torn.
The saintess was taken aback and approached the man.
“Blood, blood… … !”
“Don’t make a fuss.”
However, before the saintess could say anything, the man cut off her words with a knife-like tone.
“It was just a little overbearing… Since the body has not yet been completed, the wounds are bound to burst. Still, killing Mitram to this extent would be beneficial.”
It was an incredibly bold statement.
The appearance of not shedding a single groan even when blood flowed out was worthy of being an example of a prosecutor.
Even so, there was still enough reason for the saintess to raise her voice and protest.
“… … It’s not your body!”
The body now occupied by the man belonged to the man the saintess loved.
Of course, the man had to pretend to be strong, so there was no inspiration. On the contrary, the restless time only prolonged.
The man wouldn’t have known this either. Still, he answered in a low voice.
“If it wasn’t for me, everyone would be dead anyway.”
The saintess looked at the man with an absurd look.
Of course, the man didn’t care at all.
He just moved on and stood at the door of the mansion.
There was already a girl walking around with a nervous expression.
Leah Percus.
Ian’s younger sister, a woman of talent, and a popular bride among the nobles around her.
As much as she was famous for her beauty, her appearance was beautiful.
Seeing her, the party had no choice but to stiffen their bodies.
It was because he naturally remembered Mitram.
The image of a madman who exploded a light source and manipulated the subjects to subdue the party one by one.
Fortunately, Lia couldn’t afford to care about other people’s eyes.
But as soon as he saw Ian, he jumped up and ran towards him.
Leah, who approached the man gasping, had no choice but to cry.
The man’s stomach was reflected in those golden eyes.
The blood that seeped from the open wound was already soaking the top.
“Hey, what is this… I really can’t live!”
Lia couldn’t stand the upset and rolled down to her feet.
Even then, as if her heart wasn’t resolved, the girl even burst into tears.
It was the appearance of a cute little sister who couldn’t help but love her brother.
“That, so… I said it’s dangerous! Why, why does my brother have to go there! I can’t do it, I have to tell my father not to do that again… … .”
It was a scene of a beautiful sibling reunion.
Originally, at this point, a picture of Ian quietly patting Lia and comforting her would have been produced.
The only problem was that the man in front of her was not the warm and kind brother Leah knew.
“… … Leah.”
Lia widened her eyes at the dry voice she heard for the first time in her life.
Those golden eyes stained with disbelief turned to the man.
However, the expression of the man who faced this was so hard that it couldn’t be colder.
“What kind of habit is that to this brother?”
Tears welled up in the girl’s eyes.
Regardless, the man continued his cold scolding.
“Aren’t you in front of a guest right now? But seeing how you treat your brother, I’m worried about how the Percus family will look.”
“Ah, that, that…”
Embarrassed, Leah couldn’t help but stutter.
It was scary.
In the meantime, even when Ian was angry, he didn’t make such a stern expression. Not long after that, he used to soothe Leah with a warm voice.
However, the man who was angry now showed no signs of appeasing Lia.
Even every single word of it was the right theory, so Lia didn’t even dare to make excuses and had to bow her head.
“You’ll soon be an adult, so you have to clearly distinguish between public and private life. Are you going to do something like that when you run the guild in the future?”
“That, that, that…”
When Lia hesitated and couldn’t answer properly, the man let out a deep sigh and asked again.
“……answer.”
“Oh, no…”
The man was still a bit dissatisfied.
The more that happened, the more Leah had to keep her eyes open and sweat on her palms that were gathered together politely.
Lia looked like she was about to cry when she first realized that her brother could be so frightening.
No, I was already crying.
Every time the man scolded her, tears fell from Lia’s closed eyelids.
The man seemed to want to add one more word, but soon stopped.
“…Be careful from now on. Always be vigilant of your surroundings and be alert. Even if the opponent is your brother.”
“Yes, yes. Brother…”
That’s how the man passed Lia with a cold attitude until the end.
A whimper came from behind him, so his gait did not stop.
Upon crossing the front door, there stood Irene, who was guarding Lia from behind the door.
The man said to Irene, who looked bewildered.
“Sir Irene, don’t take your eyes off Leah from now on. Don’t let her leave the house for a while.”
“……Yes, four?!”
“And did you master the technique you passed on last time?”
“Ah, ah! Yes! Su, thanks to Master…”
The man shook his head as if he was satisfied, and tapped Irene on the shoulder.
Irene’s expression became subtle.
She seemed to be in a good mood, judging by the twitching of the corners of her mouth, like a girl praised by her teacher.
The man passed the lobby like that and gave the same unobstructed instructions as before.
“Everyone is waiting in the drawing room. I’ll say hello to the head of the household and my older brother…”
“……Is it necessary to do that?”
Those were Celine’s words.
As the man’s eyes turned to her, Celine hesitated before continuing the story.
“I wondered if it wasn’t too much for Leah…”
“It should have been like this sooner.”
To that, Celine wanted to add a word, but she soon kept her mouth shut.
The expression on the man’s face as he said that looked so sad.
“… from the beginning.”
I couldn’t stop the remorseful voice.
The man turned around without a word.
That figure from the back looks somewhat lonely, Celine thought.