episode_0070

Red eyes, red hair.

Belita, a 12-year-old girl, has realized that the world revolves around the logic of power.

People bow their heads to those who are stronger than them, and bow their heads to those who have more.

There was no human nature involved in it at all. The good and evil she had thought of as truth when she was young were meaningless before the logic of brutal power.

It wasn’t that she was particularly smart or clever enough to come to this dry realization.

It was simply because my parents were murdered by a gang of robbers while I was walking down the road when I was 10 years old. It didn’t even take 5 minutes for my kind and affectionate parents to turn into cold corpses.

After that, she was captured by robbers and sold into slavery. Here, too, she saw a strange scene.

Because even those robbers who seemed like monsters to him bowed down to the slave traders.

The reason was that the merchant had a lot of money. Also, he had many mercenaries around him that he had hired with money.

After all, robbers are people too. If they don’t eat, they die, and if they don’t get a proper place to sleep, they become exhausted.

That’s why the robbers bent their backs as much as possible to earn even just a single penny more.

In this way, Belita’s limbs were handed over to the slave traders. That was not the end.

One day, a nobleman named Biklon came to see the slave trader, and the slave trader bowed down and sold him for a low price.

The reason was that the nobles had power. The merchants had a lot of money but no power.

Thanks to this, Belita learned that power is not just about force. ‘Power’ can be money, power, or something else.

And Belita had nothing.

Maybe that’s why he’s being bullied.

When I close my eyes, scenes I miss briefly pass by my eyes.

Mom was delighted, saying that these potatoes were cooked very well.

My father, who would explain the surrounding scenery every time he went to the neighboring estate to sell goods. And even the comfortable wooden house.

The family she knew was warm and harmonious.

But when I open my eyes…

-Gyaaaah···!

-I was wrong···! Stop hitting me······!

The damp, musty air, the occasional scream, damp clothes and hungry stomachs greet you.

It’s been two years since I came to the basement of Biklon. During that time, many children have died and left, but she is still alive.

She was powerless and knew that she would never find a home like that again. Her fate was no different from that of a child who had died and gone away.

I knew it very, very well.

*

“Let’s just make it up.”

“Are you really in your right mind, warrior?”

“No, I told you that no one knows anyway?”

It seemed like it had been a long time since I had seen the saint trying to swear. That must have been how absurd it was.

But I was sincere.

The rule is that if you don’t get caught, it’s not a crime. Fortunately, this rule, which we learned in the military a long time ago, also applies in society.

It worked in modern times, so maybe it was a little different in the Middle Ages.

But the saint’s thoughts seemed a little different.

“And if you get caught? That’s a big deal. Everyone will suspect you of creating a puppet that no longer exists. And since I can dispel the brainwashing with my divine power, it’s obvious they’ll think it’s strange if I kill them.”

“There is a limit to how much brainwashing can be lifted. If you brainwash too deeply, even if a saint comes, it will be difficult to lift it.”

The most effective way for a puppet master to cause chaos is to brainwash the people in that place.

If the leader makes strange decisions, the estate will quickly fall apart.

“There’s enough excuse to be brainwashed.”

In short, my plan is this.

No, actually, there wasn’t really a plan.

We spread a rumor that the lord has been acting strangely lately, and we sneak in to check on him.

And after subduing the bastard without being able to speak, he spreads the information to the world that the lord has been brainwashed by the puppet master.

Adding to that the fact that the brainwashing had already become so deep that there was nothing they could do about it was like adding icing to the cake.

Truth? What does it matter?

Anyway, if you just believe, that’ll be the end of it.

“Wouldn’t it be better to leave it to Camilla···?”

“Well, of course, since his rank is high, punishment is possible. The problem is that there is a prince behind him.”

So the saintess and I talked about this plan for a while.

The saintess’s position was that this was impossible and that we would be caught, while I was of the opinion that we should carry out the plan as quickly as possible.

“··· Okay, I understand.”

After talking for a while, I ended up winning.

Now was the time to commit an illegal act.

When a small number of people make plans, the tiring part is that you have to convey that to others.

And if there is friction in between, it becomes even more tiring.

After we decided on a simple plan, we immediately relayed the details to the party members.

This and that happened, so I will do this and that.

Of course, there were some fierce objections among them – mainly from Camilla – but the saint’s fervent persuasion won their consent.

However, since they are good people in their own way, I think that slavery and abuse should be corrected.

I agree with that idea, but my perspective is a little different.

If left alone, resentment and hatred will build up among the children. And that power will seep into the Demon King and weaken the seal.

I saw the [Warning!] sign a few days ago, but I couldn’t add more here.

For these reasons and others, their consent was essential.

‘Because I am incapable of agitation.’

I also have a curse related to trust all over my body. That means that even if I appear in front of people, they won’t believe me.

So, it should be them, not me, who advocate the brainwashing of non-clones. Especially those with high credibility, such as saints or wizards.

*

The plan went ahead the next day.

Adele bribed a few people in the back alleys to spread strange rumors about the lord. The rumors had no legs, but they spread like wildfire through people’s memories.

“Did you hear that? That Youngju is acting strange?”

“What? Me too. Is it only for a day or two that they collect taxes so heavily···.”

“No, that’s not it. I’m saying that the Lord has really been acting strange lately. It’s not like he likes expensive things or anything like that, but he’s really strange, right?”

“Huh? What are you talking about···?”

“I heard that they’re gathering children in the basement. It’s like they’re doing some kind of ritual···. Could it be that the lord has become a lackey of the Demon King’s army···.”

“Hey! Shhh, you little guy…!! What are you going to do if you get caught like that!!”

If you tell a story like this, you could be arrested for insulting the nobility. But somehow, stories like this continue.

So a few days later, when everyone in the know had heard the rumors… Camilla made a move.

Boom, bang, bang!

“Open the door!”

“Who are you? Identify yourself!”

“Camilla de Duke Bright, daughter of the Imperial Knight Commander.”

“What, what?”

She is one of the most prominent nobles in the empire.

He is also a famous person who joined the warrior party.

As such, her face was well known, and naturally the security guards knew her well.

“Hee, eek!”

“I’m sorry I didn’t know! I’ll open it right away!!”

To the extent that he simply used his ‘status’ to open the door. It was a completely different appearance from when he had faced the warrior.

It was somewhat natural for a nobleman of this era to behead someone with a single word.

As she goes inside, the lord and the clone run out, out of breath.

“Camilla···?! Why did you come here, my lord?”

“I came here to investigate the rumor that you recently joined the Demon King’s Army.”

“Yes, yes? What the heck! This is a ridiculous accusation!!”

“···It’s noisy. Let’s talk about the details together.”

After saying that, she immediately started to capture the lord.

“Just a minute··· Camilla, let’s talk for a minute···!!”

“Don’t move.”

The lord resisted, but he could not overcome Camilla’s strength. So, the guy had no choice but to move somewhere with his body tied up······.

*

bang!

“Ugh···! Ugh···!”

The door opens and a tied man comes in.

Of course he was a non-clone. The lord of this place whom I had ordered and brought.

The place I’m currently in is a small detention center that the guards use as a temporary holding cell. It’s dark, dingy, and dirty, but it’s the perfect place to lock up a dirty guy.

At times like this, the power of the warrior party was truly great.

This is because most of them come from wealthy families, so if you mix pressure and persuasion, they will open their own way.

Thanks to that, there was only me and him in this building right now.

I stood up and gave a brief thank you to Camilla for bringing him here.

“Wow, thank you! I asked you to do it because the picture would look weird if I dragged it. As expected, you are a nobleman.”

“······ Hey.”

Strangely enough, she looked very upset.

“Huh?”

“This incident was enough trash for the lord of this place to dispose of. I just agreed that we had to quickly rescue the children you showed me in the video. ”

“Yes? Oh, yes.”

When I tilted my head for a moment, wondering what she was going to say, she frowned. Her expression was filled with unconcealed disgust and contempt.

“Never again··· Don’t ever drag me into something like this again. This is the first and last time.”

“Uh, um··· yep.”

It seems that our Lady Camilla was very angry. Well, given her personality, she couldn’t help but feel aversion to something filled with such lies and illegality.

I just did it reluctantly with the help of the saint and the wizard.

Even that would have ended right away if a child had not been involved.

bang!!

Finally, she closed the door and left, leaving the real lord and I alone.

As our eyes met, I saw the guy struggling even harder. I gently removed the gag from his mouth.

“Puhaa···! Knock knock knock···!”

“Wow! It’s been a while. It’s been almost a few days? How does it feel to be brutally tied up and dragged around in front of all the residents?”

“Damn it! What the hell are you doing!! Even if you’re a warrior, isn’t this too much?!”

“What are you doing? You’re catching the poor lord who was brainwashed by the puppet master.”

“···What?”

He tilts his head as if he doesn’t understand.

I continued to speak to satisfy the guy’s curiosity.

“From now on, you are a lord who has been brainwashed by a puppet master. And it is very deep. So deep that even a saint cannot cure it.”

“Wait, wait a minute···.”

“So I had no choice but to kill you. I couldn’t hold you back because your resistance was too strong.”

“I wasn’t brainwashed! You crazy warrior bastard! I’m fine!!”

“Of course I know that. But that’s what the world will remember.”

“This crazy···.”

For a moment, the guy’s face hardens. From resentment to surprise. From surprise to amazement.

After a while, the guy opened his eyes wide and looked at me and said.

“The First Prince is behind me. Aren’t you afraid of that?”

“What, you wouldn’t know anyway.”

“Don’t you think that everyone in the world is stupid? It will come to light someday.”

“It’s okay. It’ll take some time until it’s revealed.”

And since the justification is here anyway, I can’t even touch it properly.

After finishing the question-and-answer session, I immediately raised my sword.

“The conversation has been too long. Okay, that’s all for now.”

“Okay, sleep······!”

Crunch─!

There was a cold, cutting sound as the guy’s neck snapped.

That was the end. I still felt like I had cut off his neck, but I didn’t feel any guilt. I felt like it was too much of a waste to waste my emotions on this piece of trash.

“Hmm··· I guess there’s no need to put it in a blood bag.”

After finishing my work, I leisurely left the place.

Now it was time to rescue the children.