Episode 71 – A Welcome Reunion (2)

*

,I was wrong. I was wrong. I was wrong.”

,Hoo,”

,I was wrong. I was wrong. I was wrong.”

Disappointingly, Jennifer broke down quickly.

I only repeated torture and recovery a few times, and she only screamed with rebellion for the first two or three times. Now, she was pulling her hands hanging on the wall herself, bowing her head to the ground.

She seemed to think that the pain of her wrists being cut by the restraints was nothing compared to what I was giving her.

It was disappointing.

Honestly, I thought Jennifer would last a little longer.

,How long has it been?”

[It’s only been 36 minutes]

,Only?”

[Hey, Ed. Do you know that you’ve refreshed Jennifer’s body twenty-two times during those 36 minutes?]

,Yeah,”

I chuckled and kicked Jennifer’s head with my foot.

,What is this, Jennifer? The twenty years of happiness and honor you gained by killing me were only enough to succumb to less than an hour of torture? You should have held out a little longer.”

,I was wrong. I was wrong.”

,Hmm,”

I squatted on the floor and tapped the top of Jennifer’s head with my index finger.

It was very funny to see her flinch every time my finger touched her.

,Now, let’s continue the story. You said I was wrong?”

,Ah, ah, no. No. I was wrong.”

,Hey- don’t do that, tell me?”

,Ugh, please stop now.”

,Then, shall I kill you now?”

,Heu…heueuk, eueuk,”

Jennifer was terrified and began to sob, breathing irregularly.

I turned my head when I smelled a strong stench from somewhere, and I saw liquid pooling under her legs, which were constantly convulsing.

,Seriously, pissing her pants at forty-two.”

,Eu… heuk, eueuk,”

,Tsk, how dirty.”

Jennifer bowed her head further in shame and shed tears.

I looked down at Jennifer and said.

,Why did it turn out like this? Us.”

,…Eueut, heuk,”

,I trusted you and Robin. Jennifer. You know that.”

,Eu… eueuk,”

,But you betrayed me and deceived Mela for something that’s only this much? To fill that pride that crumbles with just a little pain?”

,…Heueua…eu, I’m sorry. I was wrong.”

,Ha,”

I picked up my dagger that had fallen on the floor.

As if proving the hellish time that had happened to Jennifer, the dagger, covered in blood to the handle, was slippery and difficult to hold tightly.

,Aaaaaaah!”

I grabbed Jennifer’s hair and pulled it, roughly wiping the blood and fat off the dagger.

In the process, her hair was cut off haphazardly, becoming an unsightly, jagged mess.

Jennifer was simultaneously feeling the shame rising in her body, burning hotly as if her stomach was turning inside out, and the fear chilling her body as she realized what I was capable of doing.

Just thirty-six minutes.

In just that time, Jennifer threw away Daniel’s grudge, the honor of the Archmage, and begged me for mercy, bowing her head to me.

The sight was so miserable that my anger was somewhat relieved.

I nudged Jennifer’s head and said.

,Jennifer. I’ll ask you just one thing.”

,…”

,Why did you do that?”

,…What… what are you talking about.”

,Don’t use honorifics. It’s disgusting.”

,Ah, …”

,Hoo… Why did you do that? Why did you betray me?”

,That’s…”

,If you say Robin told you to, or Villard told you to, I’ll really kill you. I’m just purely curious.”

,…”

,I honestly liked our party. I enjoyed the time we spent together so much. But I still can’t understand why you did that to me.”

,…”

,Was it because Robin coveted Mela? Or was it because you wanted to seize power? Or did you just hate the sight of me from the beginning?”

,…”

,…Answer me, Jennifer. If you tell me the truth, I promise I won’t hurt you anymore.”

,…Re… really?”

,I’m not a psycho like you, so I don’t enjoy torturing people.”

[…]

[…]

,Why, what. These guys are noisy even with their gazes.”

A light of hope flickered in Jennifer’s eyes, who had been unable to say anything due to fear.

Jennifer raised one hand, trembling.

It was the hand that had been freed from the restraints after I grabbed her wrist and pulled it out.

Jennifer began to wave her trembling fingers in the air.

It seemed she was trying to draw a magic circle.

However, the restraints attached to her other arm were still relentlessly sucking away her magic power, so she couldn’t draw the magic circle properly.

Since it didn’t seem like she would be any threat to me even if she used magic, without even a staff, I asked her in a gentle voice.

,Need help?”

,Yes? No… with what?”

,You want to use magic, right.”

,Th… that’s right, but, no, don’t come closer! No! Kyaaaa!”

I stepped on her arm, firmly pressing it against the wall, and brought the dagger to her wrist.

Jennifer shook her head violently from side to side, begging me to stop.

Of course, I had no intention of granting her request.

,You should be used to it by now, right?”

,N… no! Ed, please. No, please!”

,N. N. N. No.”

I mimicked Jennifer’s stutter as if mocking her, and then moved the dagger up and down as if sawing, pushing the dagger into her wrist.

Jennifer, who had been struggling madly once again, began to scream in a terrifyingly painful way that the entire city could hear.

I mischievously shook the dagger from side to side on purpose, maximizing the pain she would feel.

Like tasting foie gras made by fattening a goose’s liver, artificially inflating the pain was a very sweet taste.

,Endure it, I’ll reattach your wrist, at least your wrist can be reattached, but my life that you took away won’t come back, right? So shut your mouth and endure it.”

,Keuek, euwoooeuk”

Jennifer couldn’t bear the intense pain that seemed to burn her brain and vomited.

It wasn’t the first time she had vomited because of the pain, and since she couldn’t have been provided with enough food in prison, her vomit only spewed out blood clots and yellowish gastric juices.

Tuk,

Finally, the arm that had lost Jennifer’s hand due to the severed wrist slipped out of the restraints and fell to the floor.

I looked at her severed hand with satisfaction.

,Ho, you got a nice wedding ring. This jewel is expensive. I saw it when I was stealing in the past. My predecessor was caught trying to steal this and came to this prison, he said.”

,Keua…aaaa…”

,Now, pick it up and position it.”

I threw Jennifer’s wrist at her face.

Jennifer, who had been staring at her palm, which had slapped her face and fallen powerlessly to the floor, with lifeless eyes, slowly picked it up and brought it to the severed end of her wrist.

Blood trickled down from Jennifer’s tightly closed lips.

I used divine power to completely heal her again.

,Now, both hands are free. What are you going to do now? You’re not thinking of attacking me, are you,”

,Ah… no. If I did that… I’d really die this time…”

,Now, let’s see what you’re up to.”

Jennifer drew a circle in the air with her trembling hands.

Several lines appeared inside the crooked magic circle of magic power drawn by her trembling fingers, taking shape.

[This is a covenant magic.]

,Covenant?”

[It seems she’s struggling to live.]

Having finished drawing the magic circle, Jennifer placed both hands neatly under her knees and looked up at me, saying.

,I, I’ll explain everything that happened… why I did it, why I had to do it. So… please don’t kill me.”

,Yeah, you’re going to put a restriction on me with magic.”

,…”

,Why don’t you trust me? You’re the one who betrayed me.”

,…Please. Ed…”

,Sure, why not.”

I brought my hand to the magic circle floating in the air and said.

,If Jennifer tells me the truth, I swear I will not kill or harm her. Is this okay?”

,Yes… Th, thank you…”

The magic circle slowly dissipated in the air, leaving a sensation of Jennifer’s magic power flowing into my body before disappearing completely.

Perhaps it’s a magic that explodes Jennifer’s magic power inside my body if I don’t keep my oath.

In fact, I could just recover from that explosion, but Jennifer didn’t seem to have the composure to make that correct judgment right now.

I put the dagger in the leather pouch behind my waist, crossed my arms, and opened my mouth.

,Now, tell me.”

*

,Actually, our party was composed of the Hero Robin and the women who would become his brides from the beginning.”

As I listened to the explanation that started with such dogshit, I found it difficult to suppress the anger boiling inside me.

Back when this place wasn’t an empire yet, the Kingdom of Sioland and the Kingdom of Valguir, which bordered each other, were the first to realize that the Hero Party’s expedition was an opportunity to absorb the surrounding kingdoms and become an empire.

However, since the most important Hero was from Sioland, Sioland was closer to the position of Emperor.

The anxious Kingdom of Valguir came up with a plan.

The plan started with forming the party members, excluding the Hero, entirely of women.

And among them was Jennifer, a mage from Villard.

She received an order from Villard, the king of the Kingdom of Valguir, to seduce the Hero and make him her ally.

Robin, who was just a naive country bumpkin before he grabbed the Holy Sword, had no choice but to open his heart helplessly to Jennifer’s seduction, who was pushing her voluptuous body.

After that, Villard, along with Jennifer, who had become his lover, met Robin and persuaded him to support him.

In return, what Robin would get was a firm position and honor within the empire that Villard would rule,

And he would help him marry all the female members of the Hero Party.

The offer must have been very sweet to Robin, who was from a humble background in the countryside.

Robin, who had been spending time with nobles in the royal palace thanks to becoming a Hero and was subtly feeling inferior about his status, readily accepted the offer.

Robin, armed with a handsome appearance and extremely kind manners, easily gained favor from Mela and Lara, and if he defeated the Demon King as planned, everything would proceed according to Villard’s plan.

However, the problem started in an unexpected place.

The party’s journey was not going well because of the stronger than expected resistance from monsters and demons.

,So I was belatedly put in.”

,That’s right. But that was also for political reasons.”

,…What?”

,The king of Sioland, who is now on the throne as Emperor, had already noticed Villard’s plan.”

I was shocked as if I had been hit on the head by that statement.

I realized everything with just that one statement.

What was the reason why the king of Sioland trained me, a thief with no background, and put me in the Hero Party?

Until now, I had thought it was because he valued my desire to be with Mela.

But it wasn’t.

The position of king.

And the thoughts of someone sitting in the position of Emperor do not revolve around such romantic ideals.

Ellie’s father, the Emperor, knew.

That I loved Mela, and that Mela also had feelings for me.

Moreover, since my hometown was also Sioland, the more the Hero Party’s activities grew, the closer Sioland would be to the position of Emperor.

Haha, damn politicians.

In other words, I was an obstacle that the Emperor had planted in the Hero Party from the beginning to ruin Villard’s plan.

And I became Mela’s lover, promising a future together, as if to show off.

Just as he had expected…

,Villard couldn’t stand to see things starting to go wrong because of you suddenly appearing. So…”

,He told you to kill me.”

,…”

Jennifer was watching my reaction.

I know why.

There’s no mirror here, but I could still tell clearly.

How angry my face must be right now.

Jennifer turned her eyes away from my expression and started rambling nonsense.

,E… Ed, so, it wasn’t my personal feelings or anything like that at all. I was just following orders.”

,…”

,What could I do? So please. Please, ease your expression. I’m scared… It was too painful and agonizing… Please stop that now.”

,Why? Are you afraid I’ll kill you? Are you afraid I’ll strangle your neck, thinking the covenant magic is useless? You only think about your own safety until the end. Even once!”

,Hi… Iik!”

,If you had ever thought of me as a real colleague, a friend, you should have told me. Me!”

Jennifer, who had turned pale at my outburst, closed her eyes tightly and shed tears.

Then, she crawled towards me and grabbed my leg, licking my shoes and begging.

,Heueup…. Please. Ed, please… I, I’ll help you, are you going to kill Robin? Or Villard? I’ll help you with everything, so please, please save me…”

,Lara is already helping me, so I don’t need you.”

,Ah… no, please Ed!”

,Don’t worry too much, I have no intention of breaking the oath.”

,…Really?”

,Yeah. I.”

As soon as I finished speaking, a dark aura began to fill the room.

Jennifer was able to quickly recognize what this aura was.

It was the magic power that filled her laboratory.

Jennifer said in a tearful, trembling voice.

,Ed…? Wh… what are you doing?”

,Jennifer, in the conversation we had today. There was someone you didn’t mention from your mouth, strangely enough.”

,…Who, who is it…?”

,Don’t you know…? There’s someone who wants to kill you as much as I do.”

,…Who is it…? Lara? Or… that princess?”

,Hahaha,”

My dry laughter collided with the magic power filling the air and scattered.

And at the same time, a green-haired woman passed through the ceiling of the prison headfirst and appeared in front of Jennifer with a thud.

The woman slowly, with grotesque movements, stood up very slowly and looked down at Jennifer.

Like a ghost.

I opened my mouth.

,Your daughter, I mean.”

.