Chapter 77

Chapter 77

Otherworld Cheat Harem.

Episode 77: Betrayal (1)

Bzzz. Only the quiet sound of insects crying echoed through the silence. Orion slowly reached for the hilt of her dagger.

Tap tap, the familiar grip slowly awakened the memory of her body. Although she hadn’t faced anything human-shaped in the past few months, the experiences imprinted on her body over decades hadn’t rusted away in just a few months.

“Leader, what did you just say?”

“I asked what happens if you betray the Great Forest.”

It was certain. He realized that she was a spy for the Great Forest. How? Could there be a traitor among the high command?

There was no need to find out the details here and now. She needed to take him back to the World Tree. If she could do just that, the problem could somehow be resolved.

Orion swiftly drew her dagger and leapt forward. With the special footwork unique to Rangers, she approached Dojin with such nimble movements that even shadows couldn’t follow.

Just as she reached Dojin, Orion halted; her dagger stopped mid-thrust.

“…What are you doing, Leader?”

“If you want to stab, then stab. If you want to talk, spare a moment.”

Dojin stood with his arms wide open, waiting for Orion to approach. Orion barely managed to stop herself, having learned to subdue resisting opponents but never to stab a civilian standing still.

“…How can I trust you?”

“Don’t trust me; I’ve never forced you to. But, Orion…”

Dojin slowly lowered his hand and approached her. She hesitated to be wary of him approaching her. The distance was already too close. A distance more favorable to a dagger than a sword.

Even if he tried something, she was confident she could stop him.

“I may be a green rookie compared to your kind… but there’s one thing I do know.”

“…What is it?”

“Do what your soul tells you to do.”

Even humans who’ve lived only a dozen or so years carry a whole slew of mental scars. So what about elves who live for thousands?

Dojin hoped that even if she ended up stabbing him, it wouldn’t become a scar for her.

“Are you ready to talk?”

“…I’m sorry, Leader.”

Orion swung the dagger. Then, Dojin fell.

When Dojin opened his eyes, he found himself lying on the floor, completely bound. Orion, confirming he was awake, slowly spoke from a place out of his sight.

“Awake, Leader?”

“…Orion.”

“I’m sorry for being so aggressive. But please try to understand my position too. I can’t have a conversation on equal footing with a Level 3 Adventurer.”

A tiger and a human can’t have a conversation barehanded. You can only have a sincere talk once the tiger is caged and the human is armed.

Similarly, Dojin slightly tugged at the chains binding his limbs. They didn’t budge. His limbs were tied in a way that prevented him from using his strength, and even if he tried anything, Orion was in a position to stop him faster.

“Alright, thank you for being willing to talk.”

But in other words, she had vowed not to harm him. If she had intended to harm him, she would have been pressing a hot iron against him by now.

“First, Leader, I’d like to hear about your identity.”

“Identity? What identity?”

“From one to ten. All of it.”

“…20 years old, from South Korea, birthday is October 26th, blood type O. MBTI is─”

“All useless information I’ve never heard of. Not that. Okay, why did you come to this city?”

“I didn’t come because I wanted to. When I opened my eyes, I was here.”

“Leader, I’m not in the mood for jokes.”

“I’m serious.”

Haa. Orion let out a light sigh. She didn’t want to harm him either, but Dojin still seemed to have a relaxed mind.

There was no other choice, she brought out the spirit stone she had hidden in her attic. A magical tool that encapsulates spirits living in the World Tree within mana stones, allowing even elves with no aptitude to easily handle spirits.

When she brought something out, the slightly frightened Dojin asked again.

“What? Are you going to torture me?”

“…No way, do you think we elves are some kind of barbarians?”

“Considering I’m tied up, it’s enough to think so…”

“This is just a self-defense technique we created to protect ourselves from truly savage and greedy humans… Anyway, don’t even think about lying now.”

Orion said so and infused her mana into the mana stone. Then the spirit sleeping inside reacted to the mana and awoke.

As it is known, spirits dislike negative things. They also dislike the negative reactions that occur in a person’s mind when they lie.

Thanks to this, no species could lie in front of a spirit. They would inevitably be caught.

“Now, let me ask again. Leader, why did you come to this city?”

“I told you before, I didn’t come because I wanted to.”

“…Ah, it seems you’ve been trained to avoid ‘lies’ in that way. Alright, let me ask differently. What’s your purpose for coming to this city?”

“None. I came to this city without any purpose.”

Orion glanced at the spirit. The spirit, trapped inside the mana stone, burst into laughter upon hearing Dojin’s words.

Seeing the spirit so delighted, it wasn’t a lie. That fact made her even more uneasy.

“No purpose… Then, why did you create the newspaper?!”

“I just made it…”

“Lies! It’s a tool that can easily incite people! Surely, it was made to justify the Empire’s conquest of the different species…”

“No, there was no such purpose. Absolutely not.”

Kahaha!

The spirit began to run wild. The spirit strangely took a liking to Dojin. Rolling around, the mana stone tumbled off Dojin’s back and fell to the floor.

Thud. Picking up the mana stone that had fallen to the ground, Orion asked Dojin one last question.

“…Then, the traitor. Who is the traitor?”

“Traitor?”

“Someone within the alliance… someone who’s in contact with the Leader, right?”

“No one.”

“…Then how on earth did you know and write such information?”

“What information…?”

“The things written in the newspaper…There was very important information that only a few noble families within the Elf tribe knew. It’s something that can’t be explained unless there’s a traitor among us.”

“…I just used an ability.”

“An ability?”

Hearing Dojin’s words, Orion stiffened. A skill holder. A very precious existence with only one or two in each country.

Does Dojin have such an ability? It was dangerous. It would have been better if he were a spy. If he had such abilities, she either had to kill him or confine him for life to be a puppet that only uses his abilities.

“What kind of ability is it?”

“It’s not such an outstanding ability. Just the ability to know secrets that everyone else knows.”

“Is that… the ability you used just now?”

“No. That wasn’t the one.”

Phew, Orion let out a sigh of relief. And then immediately felt a strong sense of disgust. Feeling relieved for not having to kill him made her an unqualified spy.

“…Why are you telling me this?”

“Why? Is there any reason I shouldn’t tell you?”

“I-I… as the Leader said, I’m a spy. I’ll pass all the information you give me to the Alliance, and they might send someone to kill you. No, it would be better if they just killed you; they could kidnap you and make you suffer for life.”

What could be the reason he spoke to Orion, even while taking the risk of throwing his life on the line? She was curious about his thoughts.

What made him move? She was so curious because what she lacked seemed to be present in him.

“I thought you would leave if I didn’t tell you.”

“What?”

“I’m not a spy, and there’s no such thing as a traitor. If the mission drags on… I thought you might disappear someday.”

“What do you mean…?”

“I just thought it would be better to risk my life than to see you disappear from in front of my eyes. That’s all.”

Crack. The mana stone in her hand finally shattered. The spirit sealed inside joyfully flew to Dojin and playfully entertained him.

The moment she saw it, she was convinced. Dojin wasn’t lying. Everything was true.

‘To someone like me…’

Despite being of little help, seducing with her body, and possibly an elf spy who could become an enemy of humans.

He considered her precious. More than his own life.

“…Fool.”

“Huh?”

“Leader, you’re a fool. This is why humans… are too stupid.”

“Wh-what all of a sudden?”

Orion suddenly started to criticize Dojin. However, the intensity was low. It seemed more like self-reproach rather than actual scolding.

“And… I’m a fool too.”

“Why?”

“Because… I’ve come to like humans.”

One day, the time would come when this choice would be regretted—when there would be a desire to take it back. But time moved only forward. It could never be undone.

If that was the case, then they would create memories beautiful enough to eclipse the regret. They would gather enough happiness to last a lifetime.

With a click, Orion unlocked the chains binding Dojin. After helping him up, she asked cautiously.

“Would you like a drink?”

“…If it’s just one.”

“Hehe, I mentioned it before, right? That I prepared a drink that can even make elves drunk.”

There was no time. Even now, they were already rushing ahead. Every single moment felt too precious to waste—there was so little of it left to gather the firewood of memories that would warm the rest of their life.

After Dojin left, Orion rummaged through the hidden space, her face flushed. She pulled out a crystal orb from inside and called the higher-ups.

Despite the late hour, the other side responded quickly. Indeed, there was nothing more disgraceful than missing a spy’s contact because of oversleeping.

─Contacting first, that’s rare. Did you succeed?

“…Yes.”

─Your face is red, did you use it?

“Hehe, I did use it.”

Hiccup. Orion forced herself to stay conscious as she carefully gathered her thoughts. She couldn’t afford any mistakes. She couldn’t show a single crack.

Fortunately, the other party seemed to mistake her state for drunkenness and showed no particular reaction.

─So, any results?

“I haven’t found the traitor yet. The guards were tougher than expected.”

─…Then why did you contact me?

“Instead, I’ve gained the ability to use the newspaper.”

─The newspaper? How?

This was the key that Dojin had handed over. Her job was simply to insert the key into the appropriate place.

Fortunately, it seemed the first step had been taken correctly.

“I told him that I’m so captivated by him that I’ll do anything.”

─Haha, that’s quite a monkey-like behavior.

Crackle. Orion momentarily fell silent, suppressing the sudden surge of anger. Once she calmed down, she explained the utility of the newspaper as Dojin had described.

“…How about using the newspaper for special operations?”

─Oh, what do you mean by that?

“We can publish codes in the newspaper. Since it has a physical form, it won’t be detected by magical detectors, and it’s easily accessible anywhere, making it even better.”

─Hmm, I see. But is there a need to rely on their newspaper? We could just start our own newspaper company.

“Who would suspect that our code is hidden in a newspaper published by humans?”

─That’s true. Alright. You should continue to stay there. Wait for further orders.

“…Understood.”

─Well then, that’s all.

The communication was cut off. Orion immediately placed the crystal ball into the sealed box and lay down on the bed. It really worked. She had really pulled it off. Just like Dojin told her, she’d eased their suspicions while also securing a reason to stay close to him.

“Phew…”

Her heart was pounding. Was it really this nerve-wracking to betray one’s country? No, it wasn’t the tension from being caught betraying.

‘Dojin…’

As the Leader’s face came to mind, her heart began to beat even faster. This was the pulse that arose when feeling love.