32 – Mein Sophia
"No. No, no, no...!"
Mein gagged and started shaking all over. "That's not... it wasn't... THAT ISN'T ME!"
Was it the mental dissonance from being forced to a 'proper' state of mind?
Mein clearly still had all of Malty's memories. No, she still WAS Malty.
But now she couldn't hide behind that sadism, the manipulative persona that could discard and use people on a whim.
Because the system and I had viewed that as a negative status condition, it was removed.
Healing could be used to remove someone's negative traits like surgery as well.
And I had done just that.
Mein gagged and then threw up on the floor. At the same time, her fingers twitched like she wanted to scrape her skin off. "Not me... it wasn't me... this isn't me. I'm not HER. I'm not that witch...! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"
Mirellia's eyes widened. "Malty...?"
Mein froze. Then she rolled over to stare at her mother. Mein's emerald eyes welled with genuine tears. "Mother... No, no, no." She started hyperventilating. "I... I...!"
"Okay." I walked over and then untied Mein. After that, I covered her with my mantle and said, "Breathe, Mein."
Mein tensed. Then she let out an anguished scream and leaned into me. "What did you do? What did you do to me? I hate it. I hate her. I hate ME. Why? Why am I like this?" She looked up at me, her emerald eyes clear with self-loathing, anguish... but not hate towards me. Because she never hated me to begin with. "Yuusha-sama... Is this because I hurt you? Lied that you violated me?" She teared up and said, "...It would have been kinder to just kill me."
"I know." I smiled at her. "But it's crueler to have you live like this. So live. You're 'Mein' now."
It was a pun, a blessing, and a curse all at once.
Mein tensed. Then she lost all fight and leaned against me. "...Okay. I'm Mein. Mein Sophia. ...Let us work together from now on."
The same words she said to me at the start. The 'lie' she wove, now spun as the truth.
Sylvia walked over, her hand still hovering over her sword. "...Master?"
Lia approached too, still holding her sword. She wrinkled her nose at the mess that Mein made and then looked at me. "Goshujin-sama. Are you... keeping her?"
"Well. Despite her past, Mein IS competent."
Her personality was the decisive factor.
If she had 'only' been Mein like how she was at the start, then it would have been fine.
So...
I looked at Mein and said, "Let's start from here, Mein. No, from zero. Got it?"
Mein stared into my eyes. Then she let out a trembling smile. "...I knew it. You ARE a villain. A terrible, terrifying villain. You're making me turn my lie into my life. Aren't you? Turning me into that kind-hearted party member who offered her hand to you when no one else did..."
"Yep. So get used to it."
I wasn't that sadistic healer who brainwashed that manipulative princess for punishment. And I wasn't THAT wronged by Malty either.
...Well, she pissed me off. And she was a terrible person. She also threw a false accusation of the worst kind against me...
Okay, maybe I was brushing it off a bit much.
But either way, it was something that didn't impact my life 'that' much. Not as much as the real Naofumi.
At the same time, I also couldn't let her run rampant.
So this was a test. A sort of hailmary that managed to work.
But those status effects... [Thrall of the Goddess of Betrayal] and [Soulbound to the Army of the Waves]...
'So it's similar.'
That Goddess at the end of the NovelFire still existed in some form. And the Army of the Waves was a major player in the background it seemed.
Mein leaned against me, murmuring, "This really is cruel, Yuusha-sama. If you had just brainwashed me, it would be fine. But you... 'fixed' me. Didn't you? It hurts. I hate it. Hate me. All of me." She shivered and whispered, "I feel like I want to rub my skin raw with soap. But it's not enough. It won't ever be, will it?" She swallowed a gag and covered her face.
Mirellia stared at me with mixed emotions. And a HEAVY dose of caution.
I mean, fair.
If Mirellia wasn't concerned, *I* would be cautious. Because that meant her judgment and discernment was questionable.
Melty looked at me with mixed emotions too. But she was more looking at her sister. "...Sister?"
Mein flinched. "...Don't call me that. I don't... I can't... Not after I killed...!" She swallowed again, suddenly looking nauseous.
Seeing that, I said, "How about we cut this short for now. What was the last point you wanted to talk about, Queen of Melromarc?"
Mirellia blinked and said, "...I wanted to say that the Anti-Demihuman faction is being rounded up and killed as we speak, so that if Sir Naofumi had any particular targets you wanted to eliminate, let me know now before it's concluded. But that is a tertiary concern."
"Right. Then for now." I scooped Mein up. "...We're going to head to an inn. Our latest companion needs proper rest-"
"Idol." Lia quietly spoke up. "Idol of House Rabier. A fat man with a belly. Balding with blonde hair." She looked at Mirellia and said, "Please keep him somewhere. For me, please?"
I paused and looked at her. "...Lia?"
Mirellia paused. Then her violet eyes narrowed with understanding. "...I see. Understood. I will send word to keep that one for you."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Lia did a deep bow. "...It means a lot."
...Okay. It seems like I needed to have that talk with Lia in the near future.
But later.
Sylvia's ears twitched.
I glanced at her and said, "While we're at it, Sylvia..."
"I am fine, Master." Sylvia gave me a vacant smile. "...I would rather not. It is better that they die in a ditch somewhere not seeing me."
"...Got it."
Mental note: bring up the topic of slavery with Mirellia again in the near future. Specifically, emancipation and countermeasures to fundamentally bar it. As well as harsh punishments AND deterrants.
Like public executions.
But anyway.
I nodded and said, "Well then." I glanced at Mein who looked on the verge of passing out still. "...We should be off."
Lia pursed her lips, looking like she wanted to protest Mein being dragged along. But after a bit, she sighed.
Sylvia sighed too and said, "Yes, Master. We should go..."
Lia nodded. "...Let's leave, Goshujin-sama." She paused. "...Can we at least get good food?"
Sylvia's violet eyes sparkled. "Can we visit that nice old lady again for the kebabs?"
Lia's crimson eyes lit up too. "Yes! Those would be nice!"
Mirellia laughed. "Well, do not let me keep you." She paused. "...I also have much to discuss with the other heroes."
"Right." I nodded. "Then we'll be on our way."
After that, I left with Mein in my arms, Sylvia walking on my left, and Lia on my right.
===
Mirellia watched Naofumi leave.
Her Shadows appeared without prompting to clean up the mess that Malty- No, that 'Mein' had left behind and then vanished, leaving just her and Melty in the throne room. And a quiet signal from another Shadow confirmed Idol Rabier would be set aside for later, as Miss Lia requested.
Melty was quiet for a bit. Then she said, "Mother. What Sir Naofumi did..."
"We tell no one."
Melty paused. "B-But, Sister..."
Mirellia set her fan down and massaged her temple. "...We will say that the Church of the Three Heroes used a cursed artifact to bewitch her and your father. The truth will die here. Understood? This too, is something you must learn to do."
Melty pursed her lips. But she took a deep breath and nodded. "I understand, Mother. But..." She glanced back to where Naofumi had left. "That was Sister. Before, I mean. The kind sister I remember from when I was small."
Mirellia paused. Then she nodded, mixed emotions on her face. "...It was. Somehow, someway."
It seemed to be brainwashing.
It seemed to be mind alteration.
...It would be easier to say it was that.
But Mirellia could sense it.
What Sir Naofumi had used was healing magic.
And from how Malty reacted, she didn't forget ANYTHING. In fact, it was probably too clear in her head.
The wrongs she had done.
The sins she committed.
The fact that she had given her body away to others just for a bit of attention, praise, or fancy items...
All of that hit her at once just now. Enough to make her loathe her entire being.
Enough for Malty to reject that name and being entirely, actively choosing to be 'Mein Sophia' instead.
Cognitive dissonance on the level of separating her past self as another identity... but at the same time not being allowed to attribute it to a different identity.
Because Malty had chosen those actions.
And Sir Naofumi had simply forced her to face reality. Somehow.
Mirellia let out a deep sigh. "...It is good that Sir Naofumi at least appears to be favorable towards us..."
It wasn't to the level of being unconditional allies. And it wasn't like he favored Melromarc either. He was simply 'favorable to' Melromarc.
But that was sufficient.
Mirellia had managed to get a read on the man's character... and it was definitely a cut above other men in her country and the others she had visited. He was clearly rational and knew where to draw the line. He also didn't take the clear offer of her body. Neither did he take Malty as a vessel to slake his lust when it was more than within his rights.
So for now...
'Yes. It is sufficient.'
Sir Naofumi wanted to discuss more with her, but he was considerate enough to allow Mirellia to rest.
So she would put it off for now.
The immediate fire of that man's revolutionary intent was temporarily quelled. At least, Mirellia didn't think he would immediately set off to rally the citizens of Melromarc against her.
And if she read Sir Naofumi wrong... well, he WAS justified in doing it regardless, so Mirellia had no qualms. That man wasn't the sort to hurt children at least, especially with how he reacted on hearing what the King of Four Bray intended, so Melty would be safe.
If the price was Mirellia's head, so be it.
...But still, that was just a hypothetical. And something that was unlikely.
So instead of worrying about that worst-case scenario, Mirellia turned to another pressing matter she had to deal with. Namely...
"Your majesty, I dare say." Her personal shadow appeared again, bowing. "The three heroes have arrived, I dare say. And they have questions, I dare say."
Mirellia sighed. "I understand." She flicked her fan and activated an enchantment etched in the floor, hiding Melty from view. "Melty. Just watch this time."
"Yes, Mother."
After that, Mirellia composed herself.
Because now she had ANOTHER tangled mess to unwind...
Like the fact that all of the Bow Hero's companions were terrible people who planned to manipulate him.
Like the fact that Lesty, one of the women in the Spear Hero's party, was similar to Malty and plotting to sell the other two, Elena and Rino, to slavery.
As for the Sword Hero...
'Well, at least one of them has true companions...'
Mirellia mused about it for a brief moment.
But then the doors opened and she composed herself.