Chapter 55: Aftercare (1)

Thus, the long day of the Anatolia first-year girls finally came to an end.

Along with the collapse of the Infernal Hell that had secretly swallowed the screams of people for 500 years.

However — despite the fact that if this were to become known, it would immediately be featured on the front page of newspapers, and the entire continent would be thrown into chaos — the truth about Tartarus was kept a secret for the time being.

There were a few reasons for this, mostly due to the complex interests of those who survived and escaped the forest.

The first reason was due to Sion, the protagonist.

As previously mentioned, she did not want to get too deeply involved with the Demon King’s army. After all, it was her old workplace(?) and she still held some attachment to it.

If possible, she didn’t want to take the initiative to eliminate them. That was her honest feeling.

The use of the bloodstone bomb to bury Tartarus was partly because of that. If she could disguise the collapse of the base as an accident, she wouldn’t have to make any enemies.

The second reason was due to Princess Isabella.

She had forced this outing, despite her brother’s opposition, under the guise of helping a poor student.

However, Beryl, the person she was supposed to help, (at least on the surface) had died, and Isabella herself nearly lost her life, with her arm torn apart in the process.

If her father, Gasantius, found out about this, being permanently confined to her home wouldn’t just be a dream.

Thus, Isabella, though for a different reason than Sion, actively agreed to conceal and downplay the incident.

Lastly, there were the prisoners who had luckily survived without being burned and managed to escape.

If the truth about Tartarus were revealed, their existence would also be brought to light. Naturally, this would draw the attention of various nations.

It wouldn’t just end there, though — being exposed could lead to them being targeted by the Demon King’s army. They could be kidnapped, tortured, and forced to spill everything they knew.

To avoid such a future, the most efficient way was to hide the very existence of the escapees.

Thus, with everyone’s circumstances aligning, they agreed to keep the story of Tartarus a secret.

The official reason being to prevent the world from falling into chaos. But the real reasons were as described above.

Of course, whether the rumor will truly stay suppressed is something to worry about later.

However, even if they keep it confidential, there were still people who needed to be informed.

After all, the remnants of the Demon King’s army had been confirmed, so the human side needed to come up with countermeasures.

Measures led by competent and trustworthy individuals.

And in this case, there was only one person Sion could turn to.

…Indeed.”

After hearing the entire story, Mana made a gesture of contemplation.

“So, you went deep into the Salangs Mountain Range to gather Sacred Herb, and there, by chance, you encountered remnants of the Demon King’s army lurking underground.

But they were kidnapping people and turning them into magic stones, so you defeated them and rescued the prisoners.

Then, you disguised the site’s destruction as an explosion. Did I get that right?”

“That’s correct.”

“Hmm.”

Mana looked at Sion with a suspicious gaze.

“Was it really just a coincidence?”

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

“I’m asking if you really encountered them by chance, or if you went there knowing what you’d find.

It’s just too convenient. The first place you go for a quest happens to be where a secret organization that hasn’t been revealed for 500 years is located.”

“Hah…”

Sion feigned a hurt expression.

“Are you doubting me? Do you think I would lie to you?

How tragic. I never expected our trust to be so broken between us…”

“But Sion, you do have a history. Eisenberg Gorge.”

“Ugh.”

That incident really keeps coming up.

Though, if she were in their shoes, she’d probably never forget it either.

Sion sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

“Even so, this time it really was a coincidence.

If I had planned the trip, why would I have brought the kids along? They’d only get in the way when I needed to use my full strength. It would’ve been much better to handle it alone.”

“Well, yeah, that’s true.”

Mana finally conceded.

To be fair, it wasn’t entirely a coincidence.

The fact that the area she visited happened to be where a secret base was located was chance, but the reason she realized it was there wasn’t.

If Sion hadn’t used the monster-attracting scent, the Giant Death Worm wouldn’t have escaped to the surface, and Karma wouldn’t have come after them.

Of course, there was no need for Sion to share that detail with Mana.

“And here, these are the bloodstone samples and the [Eye of the Ruler] I brought back from inside.

You could say these are the biggest trophies of this journey.”

“Hmm…”

Mana carefully examined the items Sion pulled out.

A gem with a pulsating red glow swirling inside, and a staff with a black gem embedded at the top, resembling obsidian.

Both radiated an overwhelmingly ominous aura.

“This is the magic tool that can manipulate people’s minds, the one you mentioned… Have you identified the victim?”

“No, unfortunately not.”

Sion shook her head regretfully.

It wasn’t that she hadn’t thought about finding the list of victims.

While planting bombs throughout the base, she’d also looked around for any useful documents.

Unfortunately, the security seemed tight, and there wasn’t anything obvious lying around that would serve as a clue.

As for Karma, who could’ve testified, his head had long been cleaved in two by Tarkus’ axe.

Mana sighed softly.

“Well, if there’s nothing, then there’s nothing we can do. I’ll have to investigate from here.

Anyway, that’s that, but…”

She leaned forward toward Sion.

“I heard one of the people who went with you this time died. Is that true?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Here it comes. The topic of Beryl.

In the end, I knew Mana would inevitably ask about this. Especially since it’s her, of all people.

She knows my true identity.

“It’s a bit strange. Even if you were restricted from using your full abilities, you should have been able to protect your allies while fighting.

So, how exactly did someone end up dead?”

Mana said this as she stared directly at Sion, her emerald eyes gleaming like they had absorbed the deep green of the leaves.

That calm gaze, quietly demanding the truth, made Sion clear her throat and reply, feigning nonchalance.

“It’s nothing. The enemy I faced this time was unexpectedly powerful, which caused some collateral damage.

If it’s a legion commander-class enemy, even I can get caught off guard once in a while.”

“Really?”

“Of course, really.”

“….”

Sion declared without a hint of hesitation.

But Mana knew better.

She knew that Sion was the kind of person who could lie smoothly without flinching, even with a knife to her throat.

If she set her mind to deceiving someone, there wouldn’t be a trace of suspicion on the surface—truly the king of all liars.

And yet, there was no one left to gather testimony from, since the legion commander she fought and all other witnesses were buried deep beneath the earth.

In the end, there was only one way to find out the truth.

“Exia, is what she said true?”

Mana turned her attention to Exia.

Unlike Sion, Exia was naturally terrible at lying.

No matter how hard she tried to act shamelessly, it would always show on her face.

By asking Exia, Mana could easily discern the truth just from her tone.

Of course, Sion had already anticipated this.

‘Haha, too soft, Mana! I already placed a silence spell on Exia in advance!

Now, all I have to do is mimic her voice with a sound-creation spell and get away with it—’

“Ah, wait a minute. Just in case, let’s use Anti-Magic Field.”

“!?!”

But Mana was one step ahead.

With a quick incantation, the entire room filled with an anti-magic aura, dispelling all spells in the area.

Naturally, the sound barrier over Exia was also lifted.

Mana, having completely blocked Sion’s scheme, calmly turned her gaze back to Exia and asked once more.

“So, Exia? Is what Sion said true?”

“Uh, ummm… th-th-th-that…”

Exia stammered miserably, her trembling voice already serving as an answer in itself.

Sion covered her face with her hand. This is bad.

“Sion?”

“Wait, wait a moment, Mana. Give me a chance to explain.

It’s true, I might have hidden something from you, but it’s not what you’re thinking. I swear.”

“…..”

Facing Mana’s sharp, narrowed eyes, Sion hastily scrambled for an excuse.

“I swear by the goddess Lafrei, I did not kill her. Nor did I intentionally allow her to die.

The body I brought was just a fake, and the real Beryl is alive and well, roaming somewhere on the continent.

It’s just that there are… complicated circumstances, so she had to pretend to be dead. Please, try to understand.”

“What are these ‘circumstances’?”

“Th-that… is literally difficult to explain…”

“….”

Silence.

Mana stared at Sion, saying nothing.

That gaze, devoid of any emotion, was simply a direct stare.

But the pressure it emitted was enough to make Sion cry out in desperation.

“It’s true!! Please believe me!! There’s a really good reason for all of this!

Again, I swear I didn’t harm Beryl’s body in any way! It’s true! I’ll even bet all my honor on it! If you don’t believe me, ask Exia again!”

“….”

It wasn’t a lie. As far as Beryl’s ‘body’ was concerned, Sion hadn’t caused any harm.

She had only thoroughly scrambled her mind.

Mana, who had been staring at Sion as she justified herself, finally let out a small sigh.

“If you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to. I’m not going to force it out of you.

Though, I am a bit hurt that there are still secrets between us.”

“Um, I… I’m sorry…”

Sion muttered an apology, glancing at Mana with a bit of guilt.

It seemed that she was slightly upset. Even though there wasn’t much change in her expression, Sion could tell.

I’ll have to buy her a gift later to make it up.

Meanwhile, Mana closed her eyes for a moment, lost in thought, before speaking again.

“You’re mentally mature enough, so I don’t plan to interfere too much in what you do outside…

But there’s one thing you should know. You have more weaknesses than you think.”

“W-What?”

Sion swallowed nervously, her face twitching slightly.

“Since you’ve brought it up, I’ll ask out of curiosity. What weaknesses do you think I have?”

“….”

At her question, Mana opened her eyes and gazed at Sion before speaking slowly.

“In short, you’re too competent. That’s your problem.”

“…?”

What?

That’s a weakness?

“I don’t understand. Isn’t being competent a strength, not a weakness?

Are you saying I need to become even less competent?”

“That’s not what I’m saying. It’s just…”

Mana paused, carefully choosing her words.

“Because you’re more capable than necessary, you tend to calmly carve out a ridiculous path forward.

You have the ability to force things that make no sense into reality with your sheer skill.

On top of that, you have an exceptional creativity for coming up with such absurd methods.”

“It still sounds like a compliment…”

“Most of the time, it is. Being able to think outside the box is undoubtedly one of your strengths.

But the problem is, because of that, when things go wrong, the consequences spiral out in ways no one could have predicted.

In such cases, it becomes impossible to manage things with standard methods.”

“….”

That… struck a nerve.

After all, this whole Beryl incident had come about because she’d tried to pull off an unprecedented switch.

Mana glanced at Sion briefly before continuing.

“And this is an even more fatal flaw… You’re so competent and rational that you have trouble understanding people who aren’t.

You unconsciously assume that others will act as logically and strategically as you would.

And that assumption always leads to disaster. That’s your greatest weakness.”

“No, I’m more than capable of considering people’s emotions—”

“You’d like to claim that, but I’m confident you don’t.”

Mana’s voice was calm but resolute, her words firm and unyielding.

“No one behaves exactly as you expect them to, Sion. There’s a saying that goes, ‘You can know the depths of water, but never the depths of a person’s heart.’

Someday, you’ll realize this.

Humans are fundamentally different from demons in how they act and think.”

Mana’s eyes gleamed with a deep conviction as she spoke.

In those eyes, there was no doubt. Just certainty.