Chapter 142 : Chapter 142
Chapter 142: Not Like Us (5)
Since the bluff I pulled was so large-scale, the difficulty of making them believe it was inevitably very high.
--
⚃ / ⚅ / ⚀
Well, it was a difficulty that meant nothing to me at all.
--
Great Success
“…….”
In the end, the soldiers collectively lowered their weapons.
They had agreed to the ‘negotiation.’
***
The number of prisoners trapped underground was exactly 2,500.
It was certainly a large number to send back through the harsh storms of the Krom area.
However, the means to safely take them to Tiaria had been prepared here from the start.
Submarines, to be precise.
That submarine was originally developed to ‘safely’ transport military forces—about the number of the prisoners, and ultimately more than that—to the continent.
And by the time we arrived, their invasion was already imminent.
In short, the number of submarines capable of transporting around 2,500 people had been secured long ago.
“Once I confirm that every single person has arrived in Tiaria, I will hand this guy over.”
Thus, I pointed to Kain, who was bound in chains and had a mask placed over his mouth to prevent him from drinking Glume, and spoke.
“After that, well, whether you fight for power again or whatever, you resolve it amongst yourselves.”
And so, the submarines originally prepared to invade the continent were boarded not by Dark Elf soldiers, but by prisoners returning to the continent.
The prisoners, who had been suddenly captured and dragged to Krom for reasons unknown—forced to languish in the underground prison for weeks, months… or even years—first showed a reaction of confusion at the sudden freedom that arrived.
At the story that every single person would be allowed to return home, everyone initially suspected it was some kind of trick or a dream, and generally did not believe it.
“Rest assured, everyone. We came with Kapers. Stout and Daian are also with us. We have come to rescue you from this place.”
But, just like in the arena, when I showed the ‘proof’ and used [Persuasion], the confusion was quickly settled.
As a result, having accepted that this was reality, they quickly surrounded our party and began to express their gratitude.
“Thank you…! Thank you so much…!”
“I thought I would never return home… Thank you, truly…!”
It was certainly a pleasant thing to be praised as a hero by people.
It was, perhaps, addictive.
“You are heroes…!”
Since this was also a kind of ‘attention,’ for me, the 「Attention Seeker」, their laughter and tears were all simply exhilarating.
“You’re welcome.”
It was for this very feeling that I couldn't quit being a hero.
Although they probably weren't having the same mercenary thoughts as me, the other Companions surrounded by the rescued prisoners and receiving their thanks all seemed to be in a good mood as well.
However, it was not everyone.
When those who had initially been wary of her—a Dark Elf, like those who had imprisoned them—soon began to sincerely express their gratitude.
“……Well, yeah.”
Ibi wore a very awkward expression, avoiding their gaze as if she couldn't possibly look them in the eye.
But it looked a little different from the bashful way she usually reacted to such responses.
Even if she didn't know the full details, her expression showed that she wasn't sure if she deserved such fervent thanks—she, who had almost sacrificed them.
So.
“Everyone.”
I took a large step toward the struggling Ibi and wrapped one arm around her in a sort of shoulder embrace.
“It was thanks to this friend that we were able to save you all from here. Please praise this friend more.”
To tell her in front of everyone that she absolutely deserved this kind of treatment.
It was no exaggeration; we truly couldn't have saved them without Ibi.
Thus, I was only stating a fact.
“Wha—what are you doing, suddenly!?”
Of course, Ibi got embarrassed and immediately slipped out of my embrace, pushing me away.
But at my words, even those who were still afraid of the Dark Elf appearance and hadn't approached Ibi eventually came forward one by one to express their thanks.
In the end, all the Companions watched with warm satisfaction as Ibi, completely surrounded by them, looked utterly bewildered.
Of course, I was the same.
It was a sight that naturally brought a smile to my face.
However, I didn't particularly want to say, ‘That’s the Ibi I know.’
I couldn't, in the first place.
Because ‘Evelyn Midrashi’ was also her.
Even if she seemed like a completely different person, in the end, both were the same person.
I had no intention of denying that fact.
I simply preferred Ibi—surrounded by ordinary people and treated as a hero, as she was now—rather than Evelyn Midrashi, surrounded by machine-like soldiers and treated as a hero.
I preferred seeing that Ibi, and being by her side.
“…!”
Then, Ibi, who had been shyly averting her gaze, suddenly widened her eyes.
“You are……”
It was because her eyes had met those of a prisoner who, like her, didn't know where to look.
“…….”
Simultaneously, the prisoner whose eyes met Ibi’s also showed signs of great agitation.
He was a Dark Elf Half-demon, like Ibi.
“……Evelyn.”
And he was once a member of Ibi's ‘family.’
Strictly speaking, he was the ‘Family.’
That is to say, he was the ‘Boss’ of the gang—an organization composed of Dark Elf Half-demons—that Ibi had temporarily (and virtually forcibly) belonged to before she was taken in by Don Paulo.
Ibi looked somewhat flustered by the encounter with a person she had never expected to meet here.
The Boss seemed to be in the same state, simply avoiding Ibi's gaze with an expression that suggested he had nothing to say.
“Why are you……”
But upon reflection, it wasn't particularly surprising that he had been captured and kept here.
All the prisoners confined here had been captured by Don Paulo’s subordinates.
And that ‘Boss’ was someone who had continually picked fights with Don Paulo's cartel.
Wouldn't Don Paulo have thought that throwing him to be a slave to the most ‘cruel beasts’ he knew was a crueler punishment than simply killing him?
Also, incidentally, he could have vented a minor grudge against the ‘Dark Elf’ race that had once enslaved him.
The catalyst for Ibi being taken in by Don Paulo, and consequently—attracting the attention of Kain, who had previously been unaware of Ibi's very existence—was virtually created by that man.
Because he abandoned her.
As a ‘sacrifice’ to Don Paulo, who was hunting him.
Despite their loud boasts about protecting their own kind and such.
Yet, tragically, (and he probably didn't know this fact,) the one who was almost made a ‘sacrifice’ by Kain had been rescued by none other than Ibi.
Of course, he couldn't lift his head.
It wouldn't just be embarrassment.
He would have nothing he could possibly say.
Ibi, on the other hand, must have had a lot she wanted to say.
Since he was a being who, along with Kain and Don Paulo, was one of the major culprits who created ‘Evelyn Midrashi.’
But.
“──Ha.”
Even so, Ibi ultimately said nothing.
Instead, she let out a scoffing laugh, offered only a slight nod, and then simply turned her head away.
As if to say, I don't particularly want to look at you now.
As if to say, I will no longer be bound by the same ‘past’ as you.
Perhaps that was why.
Ibi's expression, as she turned her head, seemed much more relieved than before.
***
“There's no one left, right?”
“Yes. I checked everyone one last time.”
Since we had confirmed that all the prisoners had boarded the docked submarines without exception, it was now truly time to return to Tiaria with them.
“Don't try anything foolish, Kain.”
“…….”
Toric, dragging Kain—who was still bound in chains and fitted with a muzzle disguised as a mask—boarded the submarine along with Miki, who was holding him from the side.
In truth, for the Dark Elf soldiers here, Kain was no longer an object to be protected with their lives.
(Though it was a fabrication) there was no reason left to follow the disgraceful warrior who had been shamefully defeated and even begged for his life.
But even so, there was only one reason why they made receiving Kain ‘alive’ one of the conditions of the negotiation.
Because they had to kill him themselves.
Although he had been defeated by an outsider, Kain was still, for the time being, the master of Krom.
Therefore, if a person from Krom—not an outsider like us—killed him directly, they would be able to ‘legitimately’ usurp the position of master.
In short, once the prisoners were safely taken to Tiaria and Kain was handed over, all that remained was for them to tear him apart like hyenas who had been waiting for that very moment.
Consequently, for at least several decades, chaos would not cease in Krom.
At least until that chaos was quelled again, they wouldn't even dare to covet the other cities on the continent.
And so, I was about to follow Rine and Lily onto the submarine with light steps.
“──?”
Until a ‘weight’ felt along with a warm sensation from behind suddenly stopped me.
There was no need to turn around.
The one who tightly hugged me from behind was Ibi.
“……You said it was empty.”
For a moment, I wondered what she was talking about, but.
“My back.”
I immediately recalled the words I had said a long time ago.
─ It's still empty.
─ What?
─ My back.
Yes, I had definitely said that.
It was after the battle with Luce, when three people had been clinging tightly to my front and sides after I returned alive.
It seemed she remembered the joke I had made to Ibi, who was keeping a distance unlike the others at the time, and had come to belatedly claim her right to the spot.
“──Thank you.”
Along with a single phrase she truly would never have uttered in normal circumstances, especially not while facing me.
“For letting me keep being me.”
As if she absolutely had to convey these words, she buried her forehead against my back, ensuring I couldn't possibly see her face even if I turned around.
“I mean it.”
But knowing that even that was an incredibly brave action for Ibi, a smile inadvertently spread across my face, and I gently held onto her arms where they wrapped around me.
“You said it. That I don't know at all how you lived your life.”
“That was, in the heat of the moment…”
“No, Ibi. You're right. I don't know. And I probably never will. Because I haven't lived your life.”
I told her that all I could do was just keep trying to understand.
I said.
“So keep telling me. How you lived your life. How you want to live your life from now on. Then I will listen.”
Of course, given Ibi's personality, revealing her true feelings while looking me in the eye would certainly not be easy.
“So I'll always leave my back empty for you.”
Then why not just do it like this?
So that even without facing each other, we both definitely know we're side by side.
“──Hah.”
At my suggestion, Ibi soon let out a laugh.
Then, she gave me a light shove, pushing me away with a ‘Tuk,’ and.
“Keep that promise.”
She strode past me and smiled before I could even turn around.
“Otherwise, next time it won't be a forehead, it'll be a knife.”
After giving that menacing(?) warning in her usual carefree tone, Ibi giggled once more and then subtly jutted out her chin.
“Let's go, I'm sick of this place now.”
Saying that no matter how nasty it was, the smell of Tiaria's sewers was still much better for her than the stench of malice.