Chapter 225

My body was burning hot. It must be the aftermath of the circuit recovery. My whole body felt like a ball of fire, so I threw off my top and headed to the central plaza. It seemed like the commotion had calmed down somewhat, but there might still be a need for additional support.

However, the scene before my eyes was as expected. My lovers aside, with Brother Zick, Brother Melchior, and Sister Melissa here, any ordinary force would only be able to buy time.

Brother Zick sat atop the corpse of a monster over 30 meters tall and turned his gaze toward me.

“…….. She’s dead.”

“Brother, did you know…?”

“No, all I knew was who her mother was and the fact that she had put her daughter to sleep for a while. I only had a vague idea of her purpose. Not until I received a letter from her yesterday. And….”

He climbed down from the monster’s corpse and placed his hand on my head. He didn’t stroke it, just left his hand there in silence, not showing his face as he spoke.

“I’m sorry. That’s all I can tell you.”

“…… Why didn’t you say anything?”

“That guy sent me a separate warning yesterday. [Revealing the twist of the play is a misstep. I hope you won’t spoil the play’s intrigue by revealing its contents.]”

“Ha… Sister’s theatrical tone is still as mismatched as ever.”

“…. Werner. I’m sorry to say this, but I work for your mother. That’s why there’s a lot I couldn’t tell you, and still can’t.”

“Then let me ask one thing. How long have you known all this…?”

He said nothing. He stubbornly maintained his silence to the end.

“I’ll take that silence as your answer.”

“……Right.”

“One last question. Did our mother plan all this? Did she sacrifice those people without any guilt…?”

“She… merely placed souls on a scale. She grieves when innocent souls are sacrificed meaninglessly… but she doesn’t hesitate to remove the side she deems lighter through weighing.”

Something inside me stirred at those words. Not only did she disregard my wet nurse, but she also didn’t care about the death of that woman’s daughter.

“But this time, she shed tears. I heard she even got into a fistfight with one of her apostles over sacrificing her. But even that apostle stopped fighting the moment they saw your mother’s tears. That’s how precious those tears are. I won’t tell you to forgive. At least, direct your arrows of hatred at me.”

“Enough. There’s no need to argue further. If there was no malice… I can endure it. If there was malice… I would have thrown myself at her, mother or not, and killed her.”

“Werner, just remember this. Your mother cares for you more than anyone…”

“I said that’s enough. I understand. But I don’t have to empathize, do I? Don’t force emotions on me. Even if you’re my brother, if you cross that line, I’ll take it as a challenge to fight.”

“….. Fine. Head to the fountain. Everyone’s waiting. I’ll go check if there’s anyone still caught up or hasn’t evacuated yet.”

He turned his back bluntly. He knew from the start. That’s why everyone in the party vaguely felt he was keeping his distance from us. Even with his blunt attitude, he was upright and strong, someone we could rely on. But… I didn’t want to lean on him. Everyone probably felt the same. You could trust him with your back, but you couldn’t rest your head on his shoulder. That attitude of his, acting like he was separate from us, felt particularly resentful today.

Heading to the fountain plaza, many people had already evacuated to temporary shelters with the knights, and most of the Black Round Table soldiers and monsters had been killed or captured. Some were trapped in blood ice, others bound by tree roots.

“You’ve arrived. The battle… you’ve worked hard.”

Glacia, who knew my relationship with Sister Squar, quietly comforted me. She hugged me and patted my back.

[Wow, did you do all this? Our kid, no, the youngest has grown up. I, who specialize in firepower, would have struggled to take down such a big monster.]

It’s my memory. No, it’s not my memory. It is my memory. I’m not sure. I just choked up and couldn’t say anything.

Camelian Peony approached me and quietly stroked my head.

“Don’t be too hard on yourself. You… don’t need to feel guilty for your actions. There’s still much to do.”

Her fingertips were warm. The warmth from her fingers unconsciously loosened my heart.

[If you’re a man, never regret. The moment you regret, you become a half-hearted person who can’t do anything. Reflection is important, but meaningless regret ruins people. The most important thing is what you’ll do next… that’s it.]

Sigh… This is troublesome, I keep thinking of my sister without realizing it. She was someone I didn’t pay much attention to. I just remembered her as a kind older sister. But as soon as I learned she had been working hard for me behind the scenes, all the favors I had taken for granted felt different. Words I had overlooked suddenly came to mind. Unlike Media, who acted on the surface, or Camelian Peony, who saw me as her younger sibling, she truly saw me as her younger brother.

“Master, how did you hurt your hand….? We need to treat it immediately…”

Airi worriedly touched my hand. The night was quite chilly, but the warmth from Airi’s hand melted mine. Even though my hand was burned and a finger was missing, I could still feel that warmth.

Damn… Come to think of it, Sister Squar also bandaged me whenever I got hurt. Even if it seemed trivial, it was a pure favor directed at me. Damn, even surrounded by so many women, I still think of others… I might really be trash. I let my benefactor die, and I killed her daughter with my own hands. At this rate, I might not be any different from those Black Round Table bastards.

“Don’t treat it. Even if the finger can be reattached, leave the burn.”

It was to whip myself. So I wouldn’t forget today’s helplessness.

“Airi… I’m sorry, but I think I won’t be able to hold back unless I kill your mother.”

“Go ahead then.”

“What?”

“Honestly, my parents were just names to me, and my illusions about my father… have mostly faded, and my mother is no exception. If she’s causing you trouble, just kill her. Or I can kill her for you….”

“No, that’s going too far. And I’ll be the one to kill her.”

What a talented disciple in the art of filial impiety.

“By the way, where’s Lorcha?”

Then, a cold voice came from behind.

“I’m here.”

She was holding captured or surrendered Black Round Table soldiers in a magical water prison. Of course, she was maintaining just enough oxygen for them to barely stay conscious while continuing to water torture them.

“So, did you get any information? Like their base or something.”

“Roughly, yes.”

There was a map passed down by Camelian Peony’s father, Lancelot, no, the former Spirit King of Darkness.

“Ah, really? Then we don’t need these anymore.”

“No, what are you…”

She clenched her outstretched hand, and a giant mouth appeared inside the water prison, chewing up the Black Round Table soldiers alive.

“Stop crying and tell me when the next fight is. Ah, thinking about it, I should have played with them a bit more before killing them.”

“……. You’ve changed a lot. So suddenly.”

When she was young, she couldn’t even kill a bug properly. But even if the enemies are trash, is there a need to kill surrendered ones so cruelly? No, I would have understood her actions until just now, but now it’s different.

“I’ve always been me. It’s just that my perspective and actions toward them have changed.”

“Isn’t that what change is?”

“… So what are you trying to say?”

“……. You’ll grieve a lot. No, you’re already grieving a lot.”

I had accepted the power left by Damian last time. The power lingering in his soul… roughly, I absorbed about 30% of the power he left behind. But in a corner of my chest, I could feel that he was grieving. This isn’t just my personal feeling.

“Don’t speak as you please.”

“Think what you want. And… most black sorcerers don’t end well. I recommend quitting now.”

“……. It’s my choice. And I know better than anyone how black sorcerers end badly.”

I didn’t want to see her fall into hell. At least, I hoped there was some way when a faint voice echoed in my head.

“Sigh… You foolish guy.”