Ch.226The NPC Who Confirms the Butterfly Effect. (5)

Both in my past life and now, the strongest forces that surpass truth and facts remain blood ties, school connections, and “regional connections.”

“W-wait!! I really haven’t done anything yet…!!”

-THWACK!!

“Guhak?!!”

“Shut up. I didn’t ask you anything.”

I’m not sure what kind of figure Ranger Jack was to Ranger Johnson, but as soon as I mentioned that I was the Revolution Jack he knew, he completely changed his attitude. He refused to speak with the terrorist and started listening only to me. Ouch, that must have hurt his solar plexus.

“So, these fellows were trying to collapse the city walls with bombs and have demon followers launch a surprise attack, isn’t that right?”

“That’s correct.”

Seeing that Ranger Johnson had begun to trust my words completely, I simply explained the situation as it was. Originally, I had no intention of revealing to anyone that I was Ranger Jack, nor that while I did come from Natie, I had actually been in Siltra with our beastkin sisters. After I finished explaining how I had apprehended these guys, Johnson truly listened without asking anything.

“Actually, there is one more terrorist…”

“I understand what you’re saying!! If senior needs him, there’s nothing to be done! More importantly…”

-GRAB!!

“Urgh?!!”

“How should we deal with this terrorist who dared to try to deceive senior? Would making him a monster’s breeding stock be appropriate?”

“Cough! Cough! W-wai—”

“Is that okay? Don’t we need to hand over the perpetrators of this incident to the guards?”

“Haha! Didn’t you say there’s one more left? This one seems unnecessary anyway. After you extract all the information you need, could you hand him over to me?”

Wow! I thought not all rangers would be fools like me, but Johnson was truly someone who understood well and was easy to communicate with!!

I nodded with a smile, and proceeded to punish the cowardly Imperial fellow with justified favoritism. He screamed and shouted in protest, but Johnson struck his throat with the side of his hand, crushing his vocal cords, and hoisted him over his shoulder.

“I’ll take this one to a cave where monsters appear. Which inn are you staying at, senior…”

“I’m at the top floor of the inn you recommended earlier today. And, um… please don’t call me ‘senior,’ just call me Jack. There’s probably not much age difference between us…”

“…!! Ah, ah, understood!! Jack!! Then, I’ll dispose of this one and come right away!!”

I gave a slightly bitter smile seeing him blush like a girl who had just become friends with her idol, but Johnson didn’t seem to care at all as he ran off with the man.

Wow. Is it okay to run like that in the dark mountains… Come to think of it, didn’t I do the same when I was in the Ponia Mountains? Who would have thought the day would come when I’d benefit from ranger connections. I really never imagined it.

“Well then, should I head back to the inn?”

I couldn’t sense our girls, and there was no reason to stay alone after Johnson had left, so I turned around and headed back to the inn.

*

“…so your comrade will become breeding stock to replace the monsters that died today.”

“I-I’ll tell you everything!! Just please, not the breeding stock…!!!”

After casually telling him about his comrade’s fate, the terrorist who remained in the inn room with the two beautiful beastkin women opened his mouth with an expression that looked like he was about to cry.

“I said I’ll tell you everything, but I don’t know what kind of relationship exists between the demons and the Chancellor. I only came here a few weeks ago, and the operation started about three months ago.”

“What have you been doing these past few weeks? Where are the bombs you’ve hidden?”

“…Our infiltration team wasn’t the one carrying bombs. We were supposed to sneak in first to scout the surrounding terrain and the situation inside Ponia, and then guide the second infiltration team that would bring the bombs.”

Looking closely, his cheekbones were protruding and his limbs were thin, as if he hadn’t eaten properly for days. He must have been hiding deliberately. The guy started explaining everything in detail.

Somehow, even before rumors spread within Ponia, the Imperial Chancellor knew that a demon would appear in Ponia. He ordered this operation to use the resulting demon followers, demons, and undead-type monsters to disrupt Ponia’s rear.

However, contrary to their expectation that the monsters and demon followers in this country would be on their side, they were simply “evil” in the purest sense—killing and violating anyone human. His comrades were all wiped out by these overwhelmingly strong monsters and followers, leaving him alone.

“Wait, even after suffering like that, you still tried to proceed with the terrorist plan using them? Is your head made of stone?”

“…I had no choice. All my comrades were already dead, and I couldn’t return alone even if I wanted to.”

“That’s bullshit. Wasn’t it obvious that you’d be the ones caught up and killed? You’re willing to betray your country to save your own skin, but you couldn’t figure that out?”

“Sister, are all Imperial people this stupid?”

“I don’t know. If I hadn’t seen the elves in Siltra, I might have concluded that the Empire is full of idiots like him.”

The Imperial terrorist’s expression crumpled like a rotten squid at our scathing verbal assault, but I lightly struck his head to make him straighten his face before continuing the conversation.

“Now, let me ask again. You said the Chancellor knew about the demon’s appearance three months ago. What was that conversation about?”

“Well, I didn’t hear everything, but from what I gathered, he was saying that Ponia is a country abandoned by the gods, and that with the appearance of the Seven Deadly Sins, their rear would collapse. He also said that if the Empire helped a little, we could easily win the war.”

“…Wow. You heard that and still followed the Chancellor’s orders? What, are you a demon follower too?”

“N-no! …I thought it was a strange conversation, but I’m a soldier. It was natural for me to follow orders from above, so I had no choice…”

“You’re really something. There’s no such thing as ‘no choice.’ You had several opportunities to desert the Empire from the moment you survived and entered this place. But you didn’t, and now you’re caught by me. In other words, there was no ‘no choice’—just that your head is too worthless to even use as a helmet stand.”

That was the end of the conversation. Based on the information this terrorist bastard spilled, it was clear that the Empire somehow knew about the Seven Deadly Sins appearing in Ponia. And they tried to use it for the war. And when I started wondering how they knew about it…

“I think the Empire might have people like the Grand Elder who are in cahoots with demons.”

“…Right, I was just about to reach that conclusion myself.”

Chikuyo placed her slender finger on her chin as she voiced the most suspicious conclusion, and Miho nodded vigorously, apparently thinking the same.

Sigh. With Ragni gone, I had thought that demons might appear much later in the Empire or not at all. But the Empire is already colluding with demons to match Ponia’s tutorial situation? How? Why so soon?

Although I no longer equated this continent’s situation with the game [Eight], I couldn’t help getting a slight headache from how drastically things had changed.

“…I’ll need to contact Ragni later. This is as far as my brain can take me right now.”

“R-Ragni? Are you talking about Ragni Bluemoon Ottoman?”

The terrorist bastard heard my muttering and tried to casually drop the formalities, so I glared at him with killing intent, and he immediately reverted to a polite speech pattern.

“What good would it do you to know? You’ll just rot and die in a Ponian prison anyway.”

“…W-well…”

It was already decided that I would hand him over to the guards—no, to Ranger Johnson. However, he must have thought that was better than becoming monster breeding stock, as he voluntarily offered another piece of information.

“Actually, while it’s certain that the Chancellor directed this rear operation, there’s a separate rumor circulating within the Imperial army.”

“What rumor?”

“…T-that this war itself was planned and initiated by the Princess, and that it will be a war that cannot be lost.”

“What?”

What nonsense is that? Doesn’t the Empire know that Ragni is gone? Don’t tell me the Emperor sent assassins but kept it hidden from his people?

I stared at him in disbelief, and though he swallowed dryly, he must have mistaken my attention for an opportunity, as he began to speak desperately.

“This war itself… from what we soldiers heard, there’s talk that the Princess—the royal Princess—started this war to build achievements for her succession as Crown Princess.”

“That’s bullshit. Where did that story come from?”

“…Well, a small rumor spread after some noble-born generals had an audience with the Emperor.”

“And that’s the story?”

“No, not exactly. The rumor was that the Emperor’s health has been deteriorating recently, and this war might be a move to appoint the Princess as Crown Princess.”

“Of course, that rumor was quickly suppressed and died down,” he added, glancing at me occasionally as if he thought he had shared valuable information. But all I could think was that the morally bankrupt Emperor was once again trying to exploit Ragni.

In the end, I had no intention of changing his treatment. And as we waited for Johnson…

-CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

“What’s that now?”

Johnson wasn’t coming, and I looked outside at the loud bell ringing that reminded me of civil defense drills from my past life.

“…Is that… a fire at the barrier wall?”

I turned a questioning gaze toward the bound terrorist, but he just shook his head, genuinely not knowing.

Ugh, damn it. What is it now?!