episode_0052

“First, let’s watch this video rather than talk!”

After bringing Rai and Ariel into the Hero’s house, Ariel’s stubborn insistence left us with no choice but to watch the video stored in the magic crystal first, before any conversation.

*Wham! Pow! Thud!* The video, playing on the table and scattering blue light, showed Ariel straddling the fallen Rai and wildly throwing punches.

“Wow…” No one among us had expected her violent and rough actions. We were speechless, staring at the video with small gasps of admiration and bewildered expressions.

-Haa… haa… You crazy bastard… Ariel, still panting as if she wasn’t satisfied with just punching Rai’s face, got up and picked up her staff that had been leaning nearby.

“No… that’s a bit much…” I couldn’t believe it, but Ariel grabbed her staff with both hands and swung it with all her might towards Rai’s head.

-Thwack!! With a loud crash, Killua and I couldn’t bear to watch the horrific sight and turned our heads away.

Fortunately, the staff Ariel swung with all her might seemed to be quite old; instead of shattering Rai’s head, it broke cleanly. Still, it seemed to be enough of a blow to create a large bump on Rai’s head.

-Are you even human? Not only did you fail to help the benefactor who saved your life, but you even tried to kill them!? Still fuming, Ariel hurled the broken staff at the bleeding, fallen Rai.

-Uh… I couldn’t help… -Shut up, you trash! Rai tried to offer some excuse, but Ariel kicked him in the stomach, silencing him as if she didn’t even want to hear his voice.

-Before I tell the villagers and have you publicly executed, let’s go meet our benefactors. Strip naked, wrap yourself roughly in a robe, and come out!

-Ah… no, that’s… -Damn it!! Just shut up and do as I say!! The moment Rai tried to protest Ariel’s unreasonable demand, Ariel, still irritated, grabbed a wooden bowl and threw it directly at Rai’s face.

The wooden bowl hit Rai directly near his left eye… and it seemed to be the cause of his swollen eye.

“Alright… now we’ll take some time to hear the excuses of Rai, this beast who doesn’t know gratitude!” As the video ended, Ariel, still smiling sweetly with a seemingly amiable expression, retrieved the crystal from the table.

Then, she looked at Rai, who was still only wearing underwear and cowering beside her, and said, “This is your last chance to speak freely. You trash bastard. This is your final excuse, so think carefully before you speak.”

Rai’s complexion turned pale at her harsh, cold, and menacing tone, which made us, listening nearby, flinch.

Pushed to such a limit, Rai had no room for other thoughts or lies. With trembling lips, he painstakingly began to speak.

“Because of my selfish attitude… I was afraid that the enraged White Mage-nim… would take revenge… So… so, to protect the peace of the village, I thought the moment the Mage-nim expended her power was… the only chance… and I attacked…”

After finishing his words, Rai bowed his head deeply, looking at the ground, as if he didn’t even have the courage to face us. Following the tip of his nose, tears, whether of regret or remorse, dripped one by one.

“First of all, the villagers don’t know this fact. This abominable bastard roughly covered it up as a disappearance due to a large magical explosion.” Ariel then briefly informed us about the village.

Having roughly grasped the entire situation through Ariel’s explanation and Rai’s excuse, I slowly nodded as if I understood.

“So, what should we do with this beast of a bastard who couldn’t even be human?” Ariel glared at Rai once, then looked at Killua, who had almost become the biggest victim of this whole situation.

Killua, who had been calmly listening to Ariel and Rai without any answers or reactions, steadily gazed at Rai, who was bowing his head deeply, with composed eyes.

“Can I talk to Rai alone for a moment?”

Unlike me, Killua’s questions about Rai’s actions hadn’t disappeared, so he requested to speak with Rai alone.

“Of course! Should we step out?” “No. Rai. Let’s go to that room over there.”

As Ariel readily agreed to Killua’s request, Killua pointed to a small storage room used for drying herbs and stood up. Rai, who had been watching Ariel nervously, also weakly got up and limped after Killua into the storage room.

“Heh heh… Well, that solved the problem then! I still need to finish my hoeing! See ya!” The Hero also had a large wound on his shoulder from blocking the arrow Rai had shot, but he didn’t seem to hold any strong feelings about it. He stood up abruptly with a bright smile.

And before I could stop him, he picked up the hoe that had been leaning nearby and cheerfully dashed out.

“Hmm~ For someone who looks clumsy, he’s surprisingly quick-witted and agile~” As if pleased by the Hero’s swift actions, Ariel gave a mysterious, eye-crinkling smile and looked at me.

“Uh… is your… body alright?” To break the awkwardness of being alone with Ariel, I first asked the most common question.

“Oh, me~ I’m perfectly healthy thanks to your sacrifice and Mage-nim’s efforts. Although my body was half-dead, my senses were still alive, so I could roughly guess what was happening outside.” Ariel answered, subtly leaning her upper body towards me, as if to emphasize her ample chest.

I somehow managed to redirect my gaze, which was involuntarily drifting towards her cleavage, back to her face and offered an awkward smile.

“Rai has a lot to apologize for to Mage-nim… and I have a lot to thank you for. The fact that I can sit here and talk with you is also thanks to your bold choice, isn’t it?” Ariel’s words brought to mind the moment I was buried in the slime.

Ariel had manifested a fire magic with immense magical power in my hand, telling me to evaporate the slime along with herself to save Killua. However, trusting Killua’s will and potential, I shattered the fire magic she had manifested and clumsily mimicked Killua’s magic, the white light, delivering a surprising blow to the slime.

“That choice was incredibly moving… but on one hand, I was terribly jealous. The White Mage Ariana… no, she’s the *real* White Mage, isn’t she?” An unexpected word slipped from Ariel’s lips as she looked at me with a faint, eye-crinkling smile.

The White Mage.

“Could it be…”

“The White Mage-nim who disappeared five years ago, whom the Empress officially announced dead four years ago… she was alive after all.” My face turned pale at Ariel’s words, as she had accurately discerned the true identity of Killua, the White Mage.

And instinctively, my wariness towards her intensified.

“Calm down! I have no intention of threatening or intimidating benefactors, unlike Rai, who has no common sense or decency!” Seeing my pale face and wary expression, Ariel waved both hands as if to calm me down.

“I was just very surprised and impressed! To think that loyalty and faith towards her remained even after Mage-nim lost all her power…”

“She’s a person with the abilities and character befitting such loyalty and faith.” I calmly replied to Ariel’s words.

However, Ariel gave a strange, meaningful eye-crinkling smile, as if she couldn’t believe my words.

“Hmm~ I think differently, though? Rather than loyalty and faith… it’s more like personal feelings… affection, perhaps? Am I wrong?”

“No. It’s just simple loyalty.” At Ariel’s mention of romantic feelings, I reflexively and firmly denied it.

The White Mage-nim was a captivating being in herself, but too noble for me to covet. Knowing very well that a normal person like me loving her would only result in terrible deprivation and hurt, I had no choice but to deny her words.

“Oh! Is that so?! That’s a relief!” At my firm denial of the relationship between the White Mage-nim and me, Ariel rejoiced, even lightly clapping her hands as if delighted.

Just as I was about to ask what was so relieving…

*Creak…* The closed door of the storage room opened, and Killua and Rai walked out.

“Are you done talking?” As the two appeared, Ariel immediately turned her head towards them and spoke, as if our conversation hadn’t just happened.

“Yeah. Mostly done.” Killua returned to his place beside me and sat in a chair.

Rai also stumbled back to Ariel’s side and sat in a chair. Only then could I confirm that Rai’s bruised face had been completely healed.

“Huh…? Did you heal him!?” Seeing Rai’s completely recovered face, Ariel’s eyes widened in surprise as she stared at Killua.

To her question, Killua calmly nodded and replied.

“You should hate the sin, not the sinner. And he seemed to have reflected deeply on his actions.”

At Killua’s words, Rai meekly bowed his head deeply, as if he had no face to show her.

“So, what should we do with Rai now? Should we tell the villagers the truth? Or…” Ariel’s voice trailed off slightly as she waited for Killua’s answer with eyes full of a slight expectation.

Killua, who had been quietly watching Ariel, let out a small sigh and said,

“Considering Rai’s efforts to protect the village by doing all sorts of dirty work until now… let’s quietly bury this incident. Tell the villagers that the Hero fortunately saved us when we were caught in the explosion, and that we were recuperating at the Hero’s house for a while.”

“Oh~ Really!? That’s a relief! I was worried I’d lose my only childhood friend like this!” At Killua’s answer, Ariel smiled brightly as if genuinely relieved, and clapped her hands happily.

Then, Rai, who was beside her, also slowly nodded his head while still bowing, as if expressing sincere gratitude for her decision.