Ch.93The Ascetic of Kapila (6)

Capilla’s Ascetic (6)

Finally, the two parties crossed paths.

And the gazes of two people intersected.

Then instantly, both gazes scattered in different directions.

Now, suspicious glances from each party focused on one spot.

“Wait a minute!”

Extra shouted.

“It’s a misunderstanding!”

Esmeralda shouted too.

However, neither could escape the suspicious glares from their respective companions.

‘Good heavens, this is absurd. Am I being punished?’

Extra had encountered the Hero’s party while leading the way to a restaurant.

What an impossibly low probability. From Garnet and Lug’s perspective, it would seem like Extra had sold them out to the Hero’s party.

True, Extra had repeatedly shown skepticism toward Lug’s plans from the beginning. Moreover, he had openly displayed discomfort regarding Garnet.

In such circumstances, could meeting the Hero’s party truly be considered coincidence?

Extra had been meticulous.

“This was absolutely not a place where the Hero’s party would come!”

He had chosen a location with minimal attention both geographically and in people’s awareness to keep Garnet confined.

And through personal reconnaissance when finding a house, he confirmed this village was truly extremely ordinary.

But in the end, he was still a demon.

The problem was his lack of deeper thought. He had made decisions based only on surface observations.

Yes, he failed to question why a place with impossibly perfect conditions existed.

The Hero’s hometown was being manipulated by three major groups and the Empire. The place he thought was just right had been cultivated into exactly the form those powers thought was perfect.

‘No, what the hell is this ridiculous…!’

Extra felt wronged.

Though he had essentially brought this calamity upon himself, he failed to realize it and could only curse inwardly.

And there was one more person cursing internally.

‘No, if that idiot was going to run away, why not go somewhere far? Why come here and do this?!’

That was Esmeralda, playing the role of the fool among idiots and fools.

While Extra was becoming history’s greatest trash for supposedly betraying his comrades, she had become a traitor trying to smuggle Lug away behind her companions’ backs.

Esmeralda was already under such suspicion.

That’s why she was being monitored even now after returning to her hometown.

And of all places, she encountered Lug in her home village.

‘You damn demon bastard. You should’ve gone to the demon realm, why are you here!’

She showed the most anger toward demons since becoming a Hero.

There was no excuse now. Her shady party members, who had been dragging out these forced suspicions, wouldn’t let this incident slide.

Yes, she would already be considered guilty among her party members.

“Wait! I can…!”

Extra shouted.

“…explain this!”

Esmeralda shouted too.

Each desperately prepared to persuade their own allies, not the opposing side.

It seemed that for both of them, something was more important than the fact that the Hero’s party and demon party had encountered each other.

Well, isn’t a knife that might fly from behind more frightening than a potential enemy?

But unfortunately.

“……”

“……”

Neither could make excuses.

What excuse could they possibly make? This was an unprovable issue.

There was no evidence that they weren’t culprits or informants.

In this courtroom of mere suspicions, both were left speechless.

“Don’t worry, Colonel.”

However, even in this situation, there was someone who believed in Extra.

Yes, it was Lug, who had an unusually high opinion of Extra.

“I’ve always been told I trust people too easily.”

Said Lug, the foolish, idiotic god who had been dragged down from his divine position after being deceived by a joint human-demon scheme.

“But trusting people is extremely difficult. Doubt is easier than trust. But isn’t it good to have at least one person? Someone who always trusts people, fails, doubts, and gets stabbed in the back. Someone who repeatedly fails amid countless instances of trust.”

Lug wore a benevolent expression, but Extra’s face soured more and more as he listened.

“That’s me. So I will forgive your betrayal, Colonel.”

“…No! This bastard is confirming I’m guilty and then talking about forgiveness!”

That’s right.

Lug didn’t doubt people.

He tries not to as much as possible. He believes it’s okay for at least one person to show unconditional trust.

It was because he was such an idiot that humans had dragged him down.

Similarly, this time he simply believed Extra was guilty.

After all, isn’t this also a form of belief?

“I knew this would happen. Would it be difficult for someone who’s backstabbed once to do it again?”

“Lug, thank you for forgiving me!”

Though the situation was infuriating, Extra quickly bowed his head upon seeing Garnet spewing fire behind him.

It was a head that had bowed dozens, no, hundreds of times on his way to becoming a colonel. Extra’s perfect-angled head bow had planted forgiveness in the hearts of numerous people.

“I told you we should just abandon that bastard or kill him here.”

Of course, Garnet was the one who had made Extra bow his head hundreds of times. This much didn’t make her bat an eye.

“Garnet, didn’t you promise me? That you wouldn’t fight until we left this village.”

“Isn’t this situation a bit different? And you’re subtly dropping honorifics, do I look easy to you too?”

Garnet complained like someone entering menopause.

Considering her actual age, it wouldn’t be strange if she’d gone through menopause ten times.

“Let’s deal with this situation first. Fortunately, we have the Colonel, myself, and Garnet. Isn’t this enough to escape from the Hero’s party?”

“I was imprisoned until this morning, remember? Do you think my strength has returned after just one meal?”

“Then…?”

“Honestly, I’m not confident. And… these guys don’t look like they’re planning to let us go.”

Sha-sha-shak!

While Lug and Garnet were whispering, the Hero’s party had taken their positions.

It seemed capturing the fleeing Lug took priority over punishing Esmeralda.

Esmeralda, with an expression like she’d bitten into a bug, stood alone blocking Garnet’s path, as if she’d been given a penalty game. There was even a sense of determination in her appearance.

Yes, she was taking on the most difficult task with future consequences in mind.

If she wanted amnesty, she needed to achieve something significant, even if the crime didn’t exist.

“Huh?”

Garnet let out a disbelieving laugh at the sight.

She was already in a skeptical state.

She had been considering abandoning all cooperation with Lug and escaping alone.

And now Esmeralda was blocking her path.

All by herself.

“Just because you once defeated my doppelganger, do you think I’m that much of a joke?”

“I didn’t think you were a joke.”

“No, you did. The fact that you’re trying to face me alone proves it!”

Whoosh!

The battle finally began.

Garnet, who had the least justification to fight among anyone present, was the first to lose her temper and swing her sword at the Hero’s party.

Weakened strength and stamina from long imprisonment, and the depleted stacks of Carbuncle Soul needed for summoning doppelgangers before her imprisonment.

Considering all this, Garnet’s current level was at best around 800.

The reason she had been obediently following Lug’s words was partly because she didn’t want to shoulder immediate risks.

But she was a woman with a fiery temper who couldn’t stand being underestimated.

Especially at such a low level.

While Hero Esmeralda and Garnet swung swords at each other,

others also began to engage.

“Mister. Look at me. You know me, right?”

“I-I don’t know you.”

Tina initiated an attack using her connections first.

Don’t you know me? Really don’t know? I think I know you? You know who I am, right? Want to tell me which organization you belong to?

A quiet madness swirled around Tina as she recited these workplace bullying techniques.

“Ha, you’re going to keep pretending not to know? Fine, then today I’ll leave with your name.”

Click!

Tina nocked an arrow to her short bow and soared into the air.

With her emotions running high, her draconic features—wings, horns, and tail—emerged, enhancing her physical abilities.

And as if negotiation was out of the question, the arrowhead pointed directly at where Extra’s heart would be.

“Does everyone have a grudge against my heart?”

With the phantom pain of his now-absent heart, Extra finally drew his hidden dagger. Unlike Esmeralda or Garnet, he had no means to summon weapons remotely, so he had no choice.

‘I need to stall for time and hold out.’

Extra suppressed his desire to abandon Garnet, who had started the fight on her own, and engaged in battle.

But if he really abandoned her and left, Garnet would burn him to ashes before Lug could persuade her otherwise.

Would Garnet be merciful enough to spare someone who had betrayed her twice? Extra knew he had to hold out until Garnet came to her senses and cooperated in escaping.

And Lug, who could be considered the cause of this whole mess.

“Uh, shit. Wait a moment.”

“Lug. I was really worried about you since you’ve been gone so long.”

“I told you. If you run away again, I’ll cut off your ankles.”

He had been assigned the worst possible matchups from the Hero’s party.

“You never said that…?”