Chapter 57: Aftercare (3)

At the same time, in the royal dormitory of Anatolia…

“So, why did you suddenly want to meet before bed?”

“…..”

The twin demon girls of Sanchina, Therese and Marianne, sat across from each other at a small table.

Therese was dressed in a simple sleeveless shirt and shorts, while Marianne wore a flowing negligee.

Though their styles were completely opposite, neither outfit was something one would wear in front of others. It was the kind of light clothing only worn just before falling asleep.

Marianne yawned, clearly tired.

“I’m exhausted… I’ve been running around all day. I just want to lie down. If you’ve got something to say, make it quick.”

“……”

In contrast, Therese had a serious expression as she sat with her eyes closed.

She looked so solemn, it seemed like she was a statue.

After a moment, she finally spoke in a grave tone.

“Marianne, my one and only sibling, my dearest companion bound by blood…”

“Oh, come on! Stop with the unnecessary theatrics. Just get to the point already.”

“Ugh.”

She really doesn’t know how to appreciate atmosphere.

Grumbling inwardly, Therese finally got to the point, as requested.

“Do you remember the girl the hero brought back this time? The one with the short, navy blue bob haircut, the maid?”

“The one who died with a hole in her chest?”

“Yeah, her. I think her name was Beryl.”

It was a rather crude way of referring to her, but there was no one else in the room to care.

Therese folded her arms and asked, “What do you think about her death?”

“What do you mean, what do I think…?”

Marianne tilted her head, confused.

“What is there to think about? We didn’t even know her.

All I can really say is ‘That’s a shame,’ or something like that.”

Demons, by nature, lacked empathy.

This was true even for hybrid demons who had adapted to life in Elpidion.

If they didn’t know someone personally, even if they were shown a dead body, it was hard for them to feel sympathy.

They’d feel more inclined to mourn the maids who died in their first battle with Karma.

“I heard she sacrificed herself for us, and I’m grateful for that, but… that’s it. Nothing special beyond that. Why? Is it different for you?”

“…..”

At this question, Therese fell silent again, her arms still crossed, as if she were debating whether to say something.

After a long pause, she spoke in a quiet, almost secretive voice.

“What if… she didn’t sacrifice herself?”

“….?”

Marianne frowned.

“What are you talking about? Are you saying the hero lied to us?”

“……”

Therese clammed up again, her lips pressed tightly together.

Marianne felt like she was going to explode with frustration.

What on earth was her sister trying to say that was taking so long? It was so unlike her normally bold and forthright sister.

“Look… whatever it is, just spit it out already.

I’m not a mind reader, you know! I can’t figure out what you mean if you just sit there in silence.”

“…..”

But Therese remained immovable, stubbornly silent.

Just as Marianne’s patience finally hit its limit and she was about to stand up, Therese spoke.

“…I saw it.”

“Saw what?”

“I saw the hero… kill that maid with the bob haircut.”

“…Huh?”

Marianne blinked, her face frozen in disbelief.

Was she joking? What did she mean, the hero killed someone?

But Therese looked dead serious.

“There was a moment, just a brief moment, where I regained consciousness, and I saw it.

I saw the hero fire a laser that pierced that girl’s heart and killed her..!.”

In her mind, the scene flashed back again.

The hero’s wicked smile. The dark red energy beam shooting from her hand.

And Beryl, her eyes wide with shock and horror at the betrayal.

It was an image burned into her memory, impossible to forget.

“I passed out again right after that, but I know what I saw. The one who killed that girl, Beryl, was the hero. I’m sure of it…!”

Therese spoke with absolute conviction.

If she hadn’t seen Beryl’s corpse herself, she might have dismissed it as a dream.

It had been such an unbelievable sight.

But when she woke up again, Sion had shown her the body of a girl that looked exactly like the one she saw.

“And yet, the corpse had a hole right where the laser pierced through. How can I not be suspicious?”

Therese, now restless, asked for Marianne’s opinion.

“So what do we do? Should we just keep it a secret? Or should we at least warn Princess and Lady Salem? What do you think, Marianne?”

“….”

Marianne stared at her sister for a moment before letting out a soft chuckle.

“So, are you done with your little fantasy?”

“Hey!!!”

Therese snapped, raising her voice in frustration.

“This is not a fantasy! I’m being serious right now! I really saw the hero shoot that girl Beryl and kill her!”

“Yeah, sure. Whatever you say.”

Marianne shrugged, clearly not believing a word of it.

Her dismissive attitude was obvious.

“Just to make sure I’ve got this straight: you’re saying the hero shot Beryl with a laser?”

“Yes!”

“Not a sword, not some fire spell, but a laser?”

“…Exactly! Why, what’s the problem with that?”

Marianne sighed, shaking her head at her sister’s cluelessness.

She really doesn’t know anything, does she? Then again, she never studies, so maybe it’s to be expected.

“Listen carefully, sister. There are no ‘laser’ spells in holy magic.

There are a few spells that condense sunlight into purifying flames, but those either ignite mid-air or rain down from the sky.

They don’t shoot from someone’s hand. So, whatever you think you saw, it was definitely a mistake. Got it?”

“W-What?”

Therese’s face twisted in confusion.

But I saw it with my own eyes. It was a laser.

“W-Wait, hold on a minute!

What if the hero developed a new type of holy magic? You know how wizards sometimes come up with new spells…”

“Nope, not possible.”

Marianne shook her head firmly.

“Holy magic doesn’t work like regular magic.

You can’t just research and invent new holy spells. Holy magic is a gift from the goddess that we humbly receive and use as it’s given.

While there are rare instances where a miracle might manifest out of a desperate plea, no mere mortal can create a stable and widespread holy spell on their own.

You’ve heard of ‘custom magic,’ but there’s no such thing as ‘custom holy magic,’ right?”

“Uh…”

Therese was now thoroughly confused.

There was no way Marianne was lying.

As a formally ordained priestess of the Church, her knowledge of holy magic was impeccable. When it came to this, she couldn’t be wrong.

But if that’s true… then why? What did I see?

I know I saw the hero fire a laser.

“Then what was it that I saw?”

“I don’t know. Maybe you were just hallucinating.

You said you were in and out of consciousness, right? Your brain might have shown you something that wasn’t real.”

“No! That’s not it!”

Therese protested, her voice full of frustration.

“Look, if I had known that Beryl girl beforehand, I might understand.

But until today, I hadn’t even heard her name, let alone seen her face!”

“Does it make any sense that I’d dream about someone I’ve never met, before even knowing they existed? Huh?!”

“Hmm…”

Marianne, while twirling a strand of her hair, fell into thought.

Now that she thought about it, it was a bit strange.

It’s not like Therese had prophetic dreams. There was no reason for a dream to precede reality.

In the past week, they had been inseparable, always sticking together, so it was unlikely that Therese knew anything about Beryl that Marianne didn’t.

Moreover, Therese wasn’t the type to lie about something like this.

Sure, she had a flair for the dramatic and was prone to exaggeration, but she wasn’t one to make up slander or malicious rumors that would harm someone’s reputation.

If she was this adamant, it meant that she was certain of what she saw.

But it made no sense for the hero to have used magic.

“And yet, it couldn’t have been a laser…”

“Yeah, I know…”

The two sisters pressed their heads together, both lost in thought.

It would have been nice if they could simply dismiss it as nothing, or laugh it off even if it were true.

But the idea of someone being killed, especially if it were true, was not something they could take lightly.

And if the one responsible was the hero, the symbol of hope for all of humanity, it was even more serious.

In other words, they had to find out the truth, one way or another.

“…Oh, I’ve got it!”

Suddenly, Marianne clapped her hands as an idea struck her.

“Instead of us sitting here overthinking everything, why don’t we just ask directly what happened when we were all unconscious?”

“What? Ask directly? Are you crazy? You really think the person responsible would just tell us the truth?”

“No, no, I don’t mean asking the hero.”

Marianne smiled as she recalled the one person, aside from Sion, who had remained conscious throughout the entire incident in the underground cave.

“We should ask Lady Exia. She was there, and she saw everything.

She’ll know if what you saw really happened or not, especially when the hero was away for a moment.”

Marianne invoked the name of the holy sword wielder, someone who could never lie or deceive.