Apocrypha 8 : The Wandering Three

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『Martyr’s Moon – Day 5 (Morning)』

Anidiat Silverlight, a cold-blooded woman who sometimes doesn’t care about the means to achieve her goals. She is competent and has an animal-like Sixth Sense, and she also has the experience to skillfully deal with crisis situations.

Her day is always busy.

She has to finish the work she couldn’t finish the day before, gather news from the Garrison she is in charge of, or deal with Elders who are not on good terms with her on behalf of her husband, the Lord.

It is no exaggeration to say that Anidiat is in charge of all practical work except for the work that the Lord himself is in charge of, but this morning was different from usual.

“What…? What did Francis do…?”

She heard news about the Avian race Francis Wing, with whom she had a contract for one of her ‘purposes’ that she most wanted to achieve, and she wore a bewildered expression that was unlike her.

Although it was a relationship that started with a contract, she had a good impression of Francis, who was loyal and faithful to his tasks. Rather, she regretted that they could have developed into a better relationship if they had not met through a contract.

“Francis is dead…? And he tried to run away stealing the Territory’s secrets?”

However, what Anidiat heard was Francis’s criminal behavior and his subsequent death.

The Garrison Commander who told her this news did not look good enough to dismiss it as a joke. Anidiat, who had a million thoughts in an instant, was most worried about the contract, not Francis, but she thought she should go to the scene quickly to see the situation.

“First, first guide me to the scene. Right now…!”

Anidiat ruffled her messy hair and hurried to the Garrison barracks where the incident occurred.

“What is all this commotion from the morning…!”

Anidiat firmly believed that all of this was either her auditory hallucination or the Garrison Commander’s mischievous prank, and she arrived at the Garrison barracks sweating profusely.

However, as if mocking her expectations, she checked the scene and faced a horrific crime scene.

“F, Francesca…?”

She muttered Francis’s real name, which she had been trying to hide, and found an Avian race who had a pierced wound on one shoulder and all the feathers on his wings plucked out, lying dead.

Looking at the wounds in various places and the damaged structures around, she could see traces of a fierce battle. What was even stranger was that it smelled of rotten wood rather than a foul smell of blood.

[Oh my♥ Lord’s Wife Anidiat. You’ve come♥]

[Oh, you’ve finally come. Wife♥]

Two people… no, two apostles spoke from behind her, who had lost her words.

“Hiiit…!!?”

She, who was more competent than anyone else and stronger than anyone else, screamed strangely when she heard the voices of the two apostles. It was by no means a scream of surprise.

There was murderous intent in the voice, and it was a scream of fear, like when a puppy stood in front of a tiger, when the weak faced the strong.

Her Sixth Sense, which warned her from all over her body, was shouting not to look back or respond to the answer, and she took an unsightly step back.

In this space that seemed to reproduce the world of the survival of the fittest, the strong personally approached the weak who dared not respond to the call.

[Why are you doing this. Wife♥ We haven’t done anything yet♥ Isn’t that right. Samson♥]

[That’s right. Ranche♥ This is disappointing♥]

“O, oh, ye, ye, ye, yes, yes, yes, yes, that’s right, that’s right……”

At the command of the strong, the weak barely turned around and turned their eyes to the two apostles.

The apostle of the Avian race called Ranche. Her name as an apostle is Francesca Zero Wing. The original of Francis, who died after being pierced by a spear, and the ninth apostle saved by the Goddess.

Next to her was an apostle with healthy brown skin and impressive muscles called Samson. Her real name is Lightly Elaine. Coincidentally, she was transferred from the Empire to this place, and was the first of the Empire’s people to be reborn with the Goddess’s Blessing.

Anidiat, who was not even a pebble rolling on the street in front of them, answered using honorifics without realizing it.

“I, I wonder if I can know what happened in this, this case……”

Anidiat tried to listen to the case while barely squeezing it out without even making eye contact. The fact that she could endure even while a storm of murderous intent was pouring out that would have immediately fainted and passed out if she were an ordinary human being was largely due to the fact that she was an adventurer who had overcome adversity for a long time.

In fact, when she first faced Elaine, her Sixth Sense warned her as it did now, but she pretended to be strong with harsh words so as not to show weakness.

But now, even that was not working, and she was in a desperate situation. Already eaten up by the atmosphere, she couldn’t even think of running away.

[Ah… that, you mean♥]

Francesca looked at Francis’s corpse and spoke without any emotion. To her, that corpse was a lie itself, and it was a Doll that hid the essence of ‘Francesca’.

[He heinously tried to steal the Territory’s secrets and run away♥ So I just made him pay the corresponding price… Is there anything wrong with that?]

The penalty for leaking secrets is death. It is a serious crime that is worth it depending on the era and situation, but from Anidiat’s point of view, the Territory was not so urgent as to raise the level of punishment so high.

[Yes. Those who violate the rules will be given severe punishment… Isn’t that the way of the world, the military law♥]

She could understand to some extent that stealing secrets and running away could be punished by taking one’s life. However, the only thing Anidiat questioned was why she had not been reported to until she had reached this point.

“Still… still, there was no need to kill him for that reason… I don’t think so… Besides, why did you take this, this measure without reporting it to me……!”

Anidiat barely parted her lips in the storm of murderous intent that was constantly rushing in. If there were signs of an incident, shouldn’t she be reported to first? Above all, she groaned again at the scene of the execution, which was too horrific to be called an execution.

[Ah… that’s what you mean. But there was nothing we could do♥ Because… we only noticed the signs last night♥]

[I can only say that there was no time♥ The situation was flowing so urgently. So we decided to take pre-emptive measures and report them on our own]

The two apostles reported proudly, uttering seductive voices even though the situation was serious.

Even though Anidiat was clearly in a higher position, she could not refute this insubordinate conversation for some reason.

If she were a human who knew nothing, she might have protested and shouted at this treatment, but for Anidiat, who had abilities close to those of an animal, it was impossible to resist in front of an overwhelmingly strong person.

Her momentum, which had been releasing anger coolly, came to an end here.

“Ah, ah… th, th, th……”

[We noticed it not long after we returned from patrol. Right. Elaine?]

[That’s right♥ When we returned to the barracks, he had already made a mess. The resistance was so strong that we couldn’t suppress him… Well, the result was like that♥]

Anidiat’s words did not continue.

The resentment left like a lump was only wandering around with nowhere to go, leaving Francis’s corpse horribly damaged.

“Why, why did you make that choice… Francis…”

Faced with Francis’s death, she couldn’t hide her anxiety.

What was her long-cherished desire? Why had she relied on legends passed down to the Avian race to this extent?

“Okay… then I’ll go, I’ll go now…”

[Oh my. Aren’t you going to give separate instructions regarding Francis’s corpse or the aftermath? Anidiat♥]

Francesca blocked Anidiat, who was trying to leave in a hurry. It was as if she was blocking her escape route like the claws of an eagle trying to catch its prey.

Anidiat squeezed her eyes shut and squeezed out what she had to say. A way to escape from here.

“I’ll call someone to take care of the corpse later, so for now, absolutely prohibit entry to this place from this time. And keep this a secret, and I’ll let you know about the selection of the next Garrison Commander later. Wait until further instructions are given… Do you understand, do you understand……”

Anidiat spat out words like a machine gun, turned her back on the two apostles, and left the barracks.

Pretending not to hear the giggling laughter coming from behind her…

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–

“Hoo, hooaa…!! Wh, what, what is it… those two…!”

Anidiat barely came out of the barracks and took a deep breath, recalling the situation just now.

“Ranche… that child’s atmosphere has definitely changed. What was the trigger, what method did she use? I’ve never felt this level of murderous intent in my life…!”

When she first saw her in the unit admission process, she was an Avian race who was extremely weak.

She was only trying to make a tentative contract as insurance in case Francis was unable to function due to an unexpected accident… but in less than a few days, she seemed to have been reborn as a monster.

–Crack…!

The composure she had before was not felt in her as she bit her nails. In addition to the current situation, one more thing was testing her patience.

“It’s strange… it’s strange. There should always be rats or pigeons spying on the barracks… but at some point, I haven’t heard any news at all. The children I placed in the forest or on the street, too…!!”

She made full use of her talent for taming animals, and her specialty was to spread small animals everywhere and wage an overwhelming information war by borrowing their eyes and ears.

But at some point, the news stopped. That became another reason that increased her anxiety.

–Crack…!

“Damn it, damn it…!! Why, why is this happening at this time…!”

The disappearance of the vagrants, the discovery of the Black Market, the gender reversal of the high-level adventurer Lacey, and the divorce scandal of the couple Elizabeth and Myrit, who were once colleagues. The continuous stream of events made Anidiat’s head vibrate again.

Besides…

“I’m already annoyed at what those damn old men are going to say…!”

The slippery old men, this incident must have reached the ears of the Aides she always talked about. If she had anti-inflammatory medicine, she would want to take a handful of it, as she was deeply involved in the selection of Francis.

“Haa, haa… I guess I have to clean up… There’s nothing that can be solved by staying here any longer.”

She calmed herself as much as possible and returned to the mansion. Behind her, only the bloodstains dripping from her nails, which she had been biting for a long time, were left. Without Anidiat herself knowing.

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『Martyr’s Moon – Day 5 (Noon)』

“Yes…? What did you just say…?”

[Ahem… I express my deep condolences for his death. Lord’s Wife]

What was waiting for her when she returned were the Aides. Just as she was about to prepare to close her ears to the Aides’ reproaches and rebukes, thinking that the time had come, what she heard was unbelievable.

[Francis Wing. Leaving aside personal feelings, he was quite a talented person. I’ll talk about the reason for his death later, but first, I express my condolences on behalf of all of our Aides]

“O, oh… ye, yes, I will.”

Inside Anidiat’s office, the saying ‘the calm in the storm’ was appropriate. But the storm did not come even after a few hours. They were just expressing their condolences for the death of the Garrison Commander with pure hearts.

Those slippery Elders who would swallow anything and do anything for their own benefit would never say such a thing…?

She was thinking of criticizing herself, who had hired a Garrison Commander who had committed a serious crime, by spitting on her face as soon as she saw her…?

Such thoughts swirled in Anidiat’s mind.

[But the problem is not this. The position of Garrison Commander has become vacant in an instant, and I think the Wife also knows that this is the biggest problem]

“……That’s right. You’re right. Aide.”

[The Territory people’s anxiety must be great, so I think it is urgent to appoint a new Garrison Commander as soon as possible. Leaving aside the handling of the situation]

Lies… She barely managed to stop that one word from jumping out of her mouth.

The words and actions that seemed to have changed in an instant meant that if the person had not really changed, there was a sinister intention hidden within.

But she couldn’t pour cold water on the words of the Aides who were worried about the Territory, even if it was just words. Especially to those who sincerely mourned Francis’s death as soon as they met him…

Above all, she herself was aware of the vacancy of the Garrison Commander.

“I understand. I will actively accept the words of the Aides and prioritize the appointment of a new Garrison Commander…”

Anidiat said this and prepared to argue again. It was none other than the Garrison Commander. There was no way the Aides wouldn’t have a say in appointing such a big shot…

That was what she thought…

[We will yield the selection of this person to the Wife as well]

“Haa…!? Ah, ahem… I, I’m sorry. I missed what you said for a moment.”

The daze as if she had been hit in the back of the head again. Yield? The selection of the Garrison Commander…?

[However, one thing we ask is… we hope that he will be a righteous person who has strong power and is not swayed by temptation so that the same thing does not happen again as this time. We will step down now. We hope you make a good choice. Wife]

“Ah… yes, yes…”

The conversation with the Aides was very short, but it seemed as if a storm had passed through Anidiat once.

She was exhausted as incomprehensible, unbelievable, and impossible words and events occurred one after another.

She even had the thought that she was like a Doll in a puppet show, and that perhaps the game was already set and she was being played by it.

“The selection of the Garrison Commander is up to me again…”

But it was a golden opportunity for her. Because she could choose the Garrison Commander again.

“Ranche, that child was also an Avian race…”

Anidiat, who had regained her composure, recalled the newly discovered Avian race without even mourning Francis’s death.

She did not rank strength and righteousness. Only the fact that she was an Avian race remained in her memory.

The unsightly behavior of being afraid and even using honorifics until just now had disappeared without a trace, and Anidiat revealed an obsession close to madness, perhaps close to an animal.

“Edward…, Edward… my lovely brother. I’ll see you again soon… This sister will come to pick you up.”

“Sister, sister! Look over there. There’s a pretty butterfly!”

“Edward, run slowly. You’ll fall!”

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『Martyr’s Moon – Day 6 (Noon)』

Around the time the sun was just reaching its zenith, a Witch wearing a hat with a long brim appeared in Anidiat’s office.

–Knock knock…

“It’s me. Herry. Can I come in…?”

The Witch kept knocking on the door, but there was no answer from inside.

“Hoo… I’m just going in?”

The Witch sighed deeply and opened the door that was not closed.

–Clang…!! Crash…!

“Oh… what a mess. This.”

When the Witch entered the office, the inside was a mess. The bookshelves were overturned, there was nothing on the desk that maintained its original shape, and some of the furniture was broken.

“Why, why…!!! I told you to shut up, but you stubbornly spread rumors…!!”

Anidiat, who was extremely angry, was destroying all kinds of furniture as a way to vent her anger. Even so, she was still angry, stomping on the shattered pieces of glass and getting angry.

Still without knowing that Herry had come in.

“Annie. Calm down for a second. Hey, can you hear me?”

“Aaaaaaaack…!! Shiiiit!!!”

“Ah… I guess she can’t hear me at all.”

Herry had expected this to happen before coming to Anidiat’s office.

She was holding several papers in her hand.

[We accuse the Lord’s Wife of extravagance! Is it right to use the Territory people’s taxes for her own satisfaction!! We condemn! We protest!]

[Anidiat Silverlight, her selection is a complete failure!? Garrison Commander Francis Wing’s criminal acts are revealed and he is killed… The Lord’s Wife’s handling of practical affairs is also questionable…]

[Lord’s Wife’s incompetence is eating away at the Territory!! Anidiat Silverlight must immediately cease her indulgences and apologize to the Territory’s people!]

Every single one of them contained nothing but condemnations of Anidiat. She herself had been drinking the milk her servant brought her while working all morning when she saw this paper brought by a guild employee and hurriedly came here.

Despite her worries, Herry watched her destroy everything in sight, unable to stop her, and simply waited for her pent-up anger to subside.

“Haa… Forgery should have its limits. Are they trying to make me look like a complete idiot?”

In fact, Herry herself had thought of her as a frivolous person with a collecting hobby until recently. She had become an adventurer to find her younger sister, and when they first met, she was a newbie who hadn’t shed her aristocratic airs.

At that time, of course, Herry had just started her adventuring career to pay off the damages the academy had designated after being expelled from that hard-to-be-expelled-from academy.

But after hearing about one legend that she had recently asked her to investigate, she began to change her mind.

“Changeling… I thought it was a ridiculous ghost story. I never thought it actually happened. I guess I lacked imagination.”

A legend about fairies switching children. Some call it a legend deliberately created to easily abandon sick babies.

It was generally accepted that fairies certainly existed and that they were harmless to humans. In the first place, fairies were something that could not be interpreted even with human Magic.

Because of this, Changeling was considered a folktale among many scholars and was a defunct theory that was no longer studied. But…

“Annie’s younger sister was kidnapped by a fairy, huh… What a tragic fate. Ah… that was expensive.”

–Crash…!!

Anidiat, still not relieved of her anger, threw expensive porcelain out the window and was now trying to smash the chair and desk.

“Haa… I should stop her a little. At this rate, the office will become a wasteland.”

Herry carefully picked up her Magic gun and chanted a spell. Uttering bizarre rhythms that humans could never pronounce, pink Tentacles wriggled and appeared around her.

“Come to think of it… the Familiars I hid in the forest haven’t been working properly lately… Oh well, whatever! Let’s just cool our heads a little, shall we!? I need to go quickly and finish the milk Trike gave me!”

With the Witch’s signal, the Tentacles rushed towards the angry beast, and it didn’t take long for the commotion to subside…

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『Martyr’s Moon – 6th day (Evening)』

Evening, when everyone is asleep. A lonely wolf was watching over the forest.

“The presence of Monsters has disappeared. All of them in an instant… without a trace…”

The wolf was also aware of the abnormal situation. But the wolf did not come forward easily.

Was it because she possessed the instincts of a beast like Anidiat…? No. It was because he was a wolf, but not an ordinary wolf.

“I never dreamed that the power of fairies would be helpful…”

A fairy and a wolf. What a fresh combination. The wolf bides its time to bare its teeth.

“What are they after… Do they just want everything to become vulgar…”

The wandering Wolf Lord closes his eyes slightly. What was briefly reflected in the darkness was…

[Aaaah♥ More, more♥ Please treat this Yekaterina’s Cunt roughly♥ Everything, everything… is for the sake of ■■■♥♥♥]

In the middle of the Territory overshadowed by the Fire Demon, in front of a collapsing mansion, was only the sight of a silver-haired wolf girl making intercourse with a happy face.

“Kuh…! How vulgar. This is all I’ve been seeing since a while ago…”

What disaster is befalling the Territory? The disaster that even the wolf tempered by the fairy cannot recognize has already deeply and greatly permeated.

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