Chapter 63 : Chapter 63
Chapter 63
Betty Pollard was born with the power of [Insight].
She had the ability to see through to the true nature of her target.
It was only natural that she had amassed wealth early on. Thanks to placing talented individuals in the right positions, building her power was something that happened in an instant.
And Ganesha Edropin appeared when Betty began to run the group called Redfoot.
A powerful healing mage.
If the Floran Imperial Academy saw her, Ganesha had the talent to be treated with the utmost respect and immediately recruited.
Thus, Betty extended a hand to Ganesha.
Asking her to join hands. Offering to be her guardian. Promising not to spare any support until she became a mage.
What came back was a refusal.
The reason for the refusal was that she did not want to get involved with a criminal organization like Redfoot.
Goodwill morphed into a twisted emotion.
Ganesha's life was ruined, and yet she remained in Romain.
“No, it’s scrolls. Pull the kids back. Until all of Ganesha's scrolls are used up.”
Betty said so, recalling the distant past.
Outside the window, explosions were constantly occurring.
The building collapsed and the ground shook, but even in this situation, she did not lose her reason.
The tower she had painstakingly built had partially collapsed, but she could just rebuild it again.
“Yes, I will give the order.”
Sanderson, who received the order, rushed out in a hurry.
He was someone who knew what to do in such a situation.
Because he was that kind of person, he had been able to serve by her side for so long.
And then she heard a strange sound.
Shink. Thud.
It was the sound of something heavy falling to the floor.
The sound that followed was familiar.
Gasp, gack, it was the sound of someone's last breath.
As the queen of Romain, Betty had heard that sound many times.
Sometimes it was the groan of an arrogant challenger dying, and sometimes it was an unfortunate traveler who had fallen for her pranks.
‘Sanderson’s been had.’
Her tense gaze turned to the door.
A sound came from beyond it.
Screech.
The door opened slowly. The person who then appeared was looking at Betty with a nonchalant expression.
“Knight.”
This was the first time she was seeing his face.
She had only heard descriptions of his appearance from Otis and others.
But she knew instinctively.
[Insight] rang an alarm bell in her head. Saying that the knight before her possessed overwhelming power.
‘If I fight… no, there’s no chance of winning.’
It might be different if Sanderson were alive.
He was an unreasonably strong enemy for Betty to face alone.
Gulp.
Faced with a threat to her life for the first time, Betty opened her mouth.
“What you want is the Magic Stone, right?”
“Where is the warlock?”
“I’ll hand everything over. The Magic Stone, and the warlock. I’ll surrender and won’t resist, so please spare me.”
“I’ll ask again. Where is the warlock?”
Betty needed time.
Time until the contracted warlock noticed the anomaly and rushed to dispose of this righteous knight.
“The warlock is…”
“No, no. This is so frustrating. There’s no one watching anyway. Right?”
“What?”
In an instant, the knight’s atmosphere changed drastically.
From a steadfast, righteous knight who, as such, had not an ounce of flexibility.
“This act is killing me. It’s not easy to be so serious all day long.”
To an endlessly lighthearted one.
A demeanor that was more fitting of a street ruffian than a knight.
“Hey.”
“Ye-yes.”
Betty was so flustered that her lips trembled as she answered.
This was a side of him that even her insight couldn't see.
Even at this moment, Betty's senses were telling her that the knight before her was just strong and righteous.
“If you don't want to die, just spit it out, will you? Where did the bastard you contracted with go? The warlock of Morganes.”
“Th-that is…”
“You think he’ll come to help? Huh? You think he’ll suddenly pop out from somewhere and save you because his contractor is about to die?”
“That's not what I was thinking! I will surrender, and for my sins…”
“No. Forget it. Bitdori will find him anyway. It's just that the Morganes guys are notoriously hard to find once they hide.”
Betty's eyes darted back and forth.
The situation had gone beyond her expectations. It went beyond, and then beyond again.
Nothing that her [Insight] had read was turning out to be correct.
‘What is this…’
The alarm bell in her head rang loudly.
At this rate, she might die.
The man in front of her was not a knight.
If he had come for the Magic Stone, it would be impossible to persuade him with gold coins.
‘Die? Me?’
Romain was her domain.
This mansion was the queen's castle.
Then what was this ominous intruder before her?
“If you kill me!”
Betty shouted as she sat down.
Her hands, planted on the ground, were tense. Her straightened fingers dug into the carpet.
“If I kill you, what?”
“You-you won't be able to find the location of the Magic Stone. I hid it in a place only I know… Don’t come here! I said don’t come!”
Thud.
The knight was approaching.
Blood dripped from the tip of his lowered sword.
Betty's face turned pale. Death was drawing near.
“S-save me! I said save me! I-I'll give you treasure! The Magic Stone, and…”
“Hey.”
The knight said.
With a glimmer of hope, Betty looked up.
The knight had a look of disbelief on his face.
“You think that’s gonna work?”
A flash of the sword.
And.
Betty Pollard's consciousness was cut off.
***
[You have executed ‘Betty Pollard’.]
[The effect of ‘Justice’ has been enhanced by your righteous choice.]
*Stat increase per stack +3
In front of the fallen Betty, Reinhardt checked his rewards.
[Justice] had been enhanced by 3.
Considering there were still enemies left to be dealt with, it wasn't too bad.
‘Catch the warlock, catch the mayor. I should be able to get a decent amount.’
The more rewards, the better.
The type of reward didn't matter.
Whatever it was, a moment to use it would come as he lived in this world.
“Peeep! Pee-!”
Bitdori was yelling something at the fallen Betty. It seemed to dislike her quite a bit.
Reinhardt looked out the window.
It was still noisy outside.
Hundreds of scrolls that Ganesha had hidden away were being torn one after another, and attacks equivalent to natural disasters were striking in succession.
‘There’s no need to move hastily.’
Unlike Reinhardt, who had secretly entered through a shortcut, Ganesha's party was breaking their way in from the main gate.
To reach the main building, they would still have to go through several more battles.
Of course, he had no intention of going to help.
The longer they fought, the more time Reinhardt had to loot Betty Pollard's belongings.
“Bitdori. The Magic Stone?”
“Peeep. Peep!”
Bitdori pointed to a picture frame on the wall.
When Reinhardt lifted the picture, a hidden space behind it was revealed.
It was a place decorated like a dollhouse.
In its deepest part, a separate safe was placed.
Click.
Whirrrr.
After turning the pink and yellow combination lock a few times, the tightly closed safe door opened.
‘The password is still the same.’
Up three times. Down two times. Up again six times.
Turn to the right twice, and finally, to the left seven times.
It was a password he had solved many times in the game.
And.
“There it is.”
“Peep.”
The first thing that caught his eye was a large Magic Stone.
If the Sealing Stone was an ominous red, the Magic Stone had a color similar to a clear lake.
Blue and clear.
It was only natural, as it was like the purest lump of mana.
“Let’s grab this first.”
Clatter.
Starting with the Magic Stone, Reinhardt swiftly swept the contents of the safe.
Accessories and expensive jewels disappeared into the [Inventory] in an instant.
Not stopping there, Reinhardt began to frantically search all over.
The rabbit dolls he threw flew through the air.
Only after completely stripping the carpet and checking for secret spaces inside the walls.
‘The effort was worth it.’
Reinhardt was satisfied.
This was as good as having taken all the valuables Betty Pollard had collected.
‘Not the warlock yet, huh.’
Reinhardt, having regained his composure, looked out the window.
The dark red demonic energy was still gathered in the air.
But that was all.
It didn't seem like the warlock was taking any additional measures.
‘Ganesha is almost here too.’
Reinhardt looked at Bitdori.
“Bitdori. Can you find the warlock?”
“Peep! Pee-ee-eeep!”
Bitdori raised one arm and answered vigorously.
The fellow was like a competent sniffer dog.
It probably wouldn't find him by smell, but anyway, there was no one better than Bitdori at finding a warlock who had hidden somewhere.
“Send a signal when you find him. You know what to do, right?”
“Peep!”
“Good. Let’s go.”
“Pee-ee-eeep!”
Bitdori disappeared somewhere into the air like an arrow.
Reinhardt could only guess the direction from the trail it left behind.
‘Should I wrap things up here first?’
It was time to inform Ganesha.
That her revenge was complete, and that a person named Betty Pollard no longer existed in this city.
***
Betty Pollard's mansion.
In the completely ruined garden.
Ganesha Edropin looked around with an anxious expression.
The battle was in a lull.
Her colleagues were panting with bloodshot eyes, and it wouldn't be strange if they all collapsed after a few more battles.
“Doctor!”
“...Ellie.”
“There are too many of them. If the barrier opens, we’ll all die! Look at those bastards!”
Ellie, her face splattered with blood, pointed outside the mansion and shouted.
A kind of barrier had been set up at the mansion's entrance.
That too was the power of a scroll, and on the other side, it was filled with guards glaring with murderous expressions.
The soldiers sent by the mayor were Ganesha's enemies.
The reason a city-corroding criminal organization could build such a powerful force was, after all, because they were in league with the mayor.
“What should we do? Should we run now?”
“No, it's alright.”
“It’s alright? Okay. I’ll get ready to enter the mansion!”
At Ganesha's single word, Ellie ran forward as if relieved.
She checked on the condition of her colleagues and led the situation more passionately than anyone else.
Seeing that, Ganesha felt a sense of guilt.
‘I’m sorry, Ellie. It’s not alright.’
Saying it was alright was a lie.
It was just a lie told because there was no way to escape from here.
‘There aren’t many scrolls left.’
The hand clutching the scroll was damp with sweat.
A tingling sensation spread throughout her body. It was a sensation created by the intertwining of extreme tension and a sense of release.
‘The barrier won’t last much longer either.’
The reason they had been able to push through so overwhelmingly until now was all because they had poured out these scrolls without restraint.
But this alone was not enough. Ganesha had a feeling.
Because the most powerful enemy still remained.
‘That knight…’
The knight had certainly promised to move with Ganesha.
But he didn't show up.
Even though they had pushed all the way to Betty Pollard's mansion, the promised knight was still nowhere to be seen.
‘Was I deceived?’
But it was too late to back down now.
Even if it was a predetermined failure, moving forward was the only path Ganesha could choose.
Ganesha Edropin steeled her resolve.
A sense of guilt towards her colleagues welled up, but she forced it down.
She had to push through.
Just as Ganesha was thinking that and about to tear the next scroll.
“...!”
Thud.
At the sight of the man walking out from inside the mansion, Ganesha's eyes widened.
Reinhardt, the knight of Taton.
The man who had suddenly appeared and urged her to take revenge was looking at Ganesha with a noble expression.
And.
Right after the knight took a deep breath.
“I, Reinhardt, a knight of Taton, declare!”
A heavy shout echoed around the mansion.
The fierce battle stopped for a moment. Still with their swords crossed, people turned to look at Reinhardt.
“Betty Pollard has been executed! Those who wish to live, throw down your weapons and surrender now!”