Chapter 196: Wolf, Alexander, Mobius (2)

Petunia’s face was deathly pale. She was an elf with naturally fair skin, but now her face was as pale as a wax figure. Her eyes darted around, trying to deny reality, while her chest rose and fell ceaselessly as she attempted to compose herself.

“…..No.”

This was the one word she uttered after a long period of suffering.

Petunia Titi shook her head as if denying reality, shouting.

“This can’t be happening!”

Tears welled up in her eyes. Elves and humans have different ecosystems; if she had been a shut-in, she would have no way of knowing about the petty corruption in the human world. Perhaps Petunia Titi truly didn’t know about her colleagues’ blatant corruption, her eyes turning red as she yelled at me.

“You’re trying to trick me, aren’t you? I know everything! I remember! Huh? It’s true Alexander was a womanizer! Rumors even circulated in our forest about a saint who liked women! I heard he took some bribes too! But it should have ended there, right? The Alexander I knew wasn’t this much of a piece of trash! Something’s wrong! It’s a misunderstanding!”

Her standards for morality seemed quite low, as she considered a saint who took bribes to still be a saint.

However, Saint Alexander’s path was so stained with corruption that it couldn’t even meet her ridiculously low moral standards. Over ten families had been purged to strengthen his and Wolf’s political power; dozens of women had been taken from those purged families to be used as playthings; and nobles whose sins were absolved using the church’s authority were too numerous to count on both hands.

Petunia Titi shouted.

“Liars! That’s impossible! Even if Alexander was a bit chubby and annoying! He wasn’t this low-life scum! He knew how to care for his comrades! He was the one who reliably protected us from the front lines when things got dangerous!”

Milia silently spread out other documents. Next to Alexander’s files were overflowing documents about Mobius. There was evidence that Mobius had systematically removed or stripped the mage qualifications of specific factions, imprisoning them.

There was also evidence of him luring slaves with promises of freedom, only to subject them to human experimentation and discard them.

It also mentioned him stealing research results from smaller magic towers and forcibly shutting down any tower that protested. Petunia Titi shouted again.

“Mobius too. He wasn’t like this. It’s all lies…! It’s all lies!”

Her face was contorted with rage. Was it anger towards us? Or anger towards her colleagues who were walking the path of utter depravity? A fierce vortex of emotions, incomprehensible to us facing her, raged within.

“I don’t believe you.”

She shouted defiantly. Despite her limbs being tightly bound, the fighting spirit emanating from her was like that of a wild beast. Isabel, who had returned after making her explanation, flinched and stepped back, while Rat Trap drew her weapon, breaking out in a cold sweat.

“They’re my comrades. My trusted companions from our adventures. They aren’t the kind you can slander with your pathetic forged documents.”

There were no pathetic forged documents. The heinous deeds, unworthy of the name ‘Heroes’ party’, were purely a collection of facts. No matter how much she screamed that it wasn’t true, the facts remained: Alexander lusted after women, Mobius acted tyrannically in the magic towers, and Wolf slaughtered people to seize power.

“Untie me.”

Petunia Titi glared fiercely at us. Even while suspended in mid-air, she stood tall, reaching her hands towards us. She yanked fiercely at the sturdy chains, as if intending to break them immediately, and the sound of chains scraping against her body echoed eerily.

“Untie me, now!”

Petunia Titi’s face was more contorted than ever. Tears streamed down her face. She actually knew it too. That her arrival at this mansion was mere coincidence. That it was impossible for us to have prepared fake documents for such a situation. That the wicked rumors she had pretended not to hear were all true.

“And if I untie you, what will you do?”

I asked. Leaning back against the chair, I looked up at her. A teardrop fell from a height above me. She wiped her tears and said to me.

“I… I’ll check for myself. I can’t believe it unless I see it with my own eyes. I’ll check myself! Untie me now! Stop playing games with these stupid documents and untie me!”

“And if I untie you, and we’re right?”

I asked her again. At those words, Petunia Titi froze as if turned to plaster. Even as her body stiffened, the tears flowing down her face wet the floor. She blinked and took a deep breath. She had momentarily lost sight of the core issue.

The important thing wasn’t the corruption of the Heroes’ party. It was whose side she would take upon witnessing their corruption.

Would she betray the hero Wolf?

Or would she, like a hero, slaughter the demons?

“…..Untie me.”

Petunia Titi did not give a definitive answer to the crucial question. She looked me straight in the eye and reiterated her demand. I actually thought that was a better answer. If she had easily agreed, I might not have untied her. People who answer weighty matters nonchalantly are nothing but irresponsible liars.

Sophia and Milia were both waiting for my decision. She loosened her fingers, ready to release the chains at any moment, while Isabel scanned the surroundings. Sophia trembled, glancing nervously at me, while Elena hid behind Rat Trap with a tense expression.

“Alright. I’ll untie you.”

My words echoed, and Sophia’s legs gave out, causing her to collapse. Elena squeezed her eyes shut and hugged Rat Trap. Taffy moved to my side, ready to protect me, and Milia released her grip. The chains that bound her tightly dissolved into the air. As soon as the chains were released, Petunia Titi staggered and stood on the ground again.

Taffy looked at Petunia Titi with distrust, but somehow, I felt I could trust her. She checked herself over, glancing nervously at us. We had released her out of trust, yet within this strange dynamic of mutual suspicion, Petunia Titi picked up her bow.

Taffy spread his wings, and Milia, pretending to be relaxed, subtly moved behind Taffy. Petunia Titi tucked her bow behind her back and held up her empty hands.

“…..Are you really letting me go?”

“You said you wanted to check, right? Go and check. See with your own eyes who needs to disappear.”

“…..You’re letting me go because of that?”

There was one more reason for letting her go. In fact, there were various ways to make her our comrade. Milia and I could have combined forces to turn her into a subordinate, or we could have bashed her head in and brainwashed her.

But I didn’t want to do that. Was it because of the love and justice I shouted like a joke? It seemed an absurd idea had popped out due to believing in something non-existent. Objectively speaking, I was letting her go for an irrational reason.

“…..You were Fabian’s comrade. I saw you lay a wreath at his funeral.”

Petunia didn’t laugh upon hearing that reason. She just nodded, recalling that moment, and let out a deep sigh.

“…..So you were there too.”

Petunia’s hand dropped. She rubbed her arm and turned around. Hesitating like a wanderer in front of the door, she seemed to make up her mind and grabbed the doorknob. Pulling the tightly shut door, she said.

“…..I won’t tell anyone what happened here.”

And she opened the door. She left without saying she would return or where she was going. She slowly pushed the door open and left. As the door closed, her figure receded into the distance.

I exchanged glances with my family and Milia. Now that the storm named Petunia Titi had passed, it was time to properly sort things out around the house. As soon as the door closed, Milia whined.

“Hey, Evan. I’m just a guest here. Can’t I rest a bit on the second-floor bed? I’m so tired.”

“Don’t do that, let’s…”

Crackle!

Startled by the sudden tearing sound, we all turned back towards the entrance. Petunia Titi, holding onto the door with an embarrassed look, said.

“Ah, um… well. This isn’t me breaking it on purpose to provoke you guys, it just… it shook during the fight earlier and fell off, you see?”

“…..It’s fine. Just go.”

As we waved her off, Petunia Titi’s face flushed red as she scratched her head and hurried away. She kept glancing back at us, but we decided to just pretend we didn’t see it.