A few minutes earlier, when Achilles invited the guard to have a bite to eat and Grey finally felt relieved that he hadn't run into the cultists unprepared, Senior's anxious voice suddenly echoed in his head.
"Kill him!"
"What?" Junior thought he had misheard for a split second.
Why would he do something so reckless? The man was just an ordinary guard, not a member of the Merciful Flame's Cult or even one of their followers. Then why was Senior demanding that he kill him?
"Did you notice something?" Junior asked after stepping into the far corner.
"No! Just kill him, now!" Senior insisted.
"Why? Do you want to make even more enemies?"
"He saw you and your whole group armed to the teeth. Isn't that reason enough?" Senior was growing increasingly agitated and was slowly losing his patience. He tried to seize control of the body. At this distance, he could easily kill the unsuspecting guard himself, but Junior stopped him.
"Quit getting in my way. Just do it. We need to get rid of this guy as soon as possible. We can't leave any traces."
"Calm down," Junior called out. "Have you completely lost your mind? I'm not a butcher. I don't kill every stranger I meet."
"I know," Senior replied. "But we absolutely have to kill this one!"
"Why? Explain everything in detail, or don't even think about interfering," Junior insisted. Still, after noticing how shaken his companion was, he decided to explain his own position as well. "Killing that young guard would be easy. He's sitting only a couple of meters away from us, and he's not going anywhere. But have you thought about the consequences? Kill one guard, and you'll offend the entire city watch. We already have enough enemies. There's no point in making that list any longer."
"You don't understand." Senior almost wanted to clutch his head. It wasn't easy to justify what he was asking.
He agreed with Junior and shared the same concerns. Yet ever since that branch had snapped, he had felt a dull sense of danger drawing closer with every passing second. It wasn't the result of careful reasoning or some clever deduction, but Senior chose to trust his instincts and act without hesitation.
He would rather kill a hundred innocent people than let one potential enemy walk away and become the reason for their deaths.
Even so, Junior refused to budge, so Senior had no choice but to rack his brain and come up with a reasonable explanation.
He remained silent for several long minutes as he tried to figure out where the danger was coming from.
"I figured it out!" Senior exclaimed emotionally. "I know why I've been feeling this fear and uneasiness, like I've already fallen into the enemy's trap and I'm just waiting for them to finally end my life."
"I'm listening," Junior said, focusing his attention.
"Do you remember the winter months?" Senior didn't answer right away. Instead, he asked a question first.
"Of course. Magical beasts that can use mana are incredibly ravenous. They need huge amounts of food just to survive and keep their bodies in peak condition.
That's why every winter, when food becomes scarce, they go into a frenzy and sometimes attack human settlements. I was the one who told you that when I explained the unspoken rules of Eridania. But what does that have to do with the need to kill an ordinary guard?
Didn't he say they were clearing out the nearby forest? That should benefit us as well."
"You don't understand." Senior cut him off and continued, "Ever since we decided to build an organization that answers to no one but us and brought those teenagers to the old estate, I've been planning every step in detail.
A powerful organization isn't defined only by the number and strength of its members. It also depends on a well-planned supply chain, logistics, and outside connections. Weapons, food, magical potions, and every other resource cost a fortune. And even if you have the money, supplying a large group with everything it needs is no easy task.
We don't have many resources, so I've been carefully evaluating every risk. The biggest problem I ran into was this: 'How do we survive the winter months?'
I wasn't just worried about food. I was also worried about defending the estate. It doesn't even have proper walls, unlike a fortified city, and those teenagers are far from strong. So how are they supposed to survive when endless hordes of beasts start rampaging and attacking people?
Back then, I questioned the villagers in great detail about how they managed to survive.
Every single one of them told me the same thing. They stockpile food in advance, lock themselves inside their homes, and don't come out until spring. Even then, many of them fail to survive the winter. Disasters happen all the time. Something as simple as the cold or a wild beast breaking in can wipe out an entire family in a single day.
That's the normal state of things.
And yet, I've never once heard of a city Lord clearing the surrounding territory of beasts before winter. Why?
If this method were really that effective, then the city Lord would have to do it every single year.
Don't forget, every life lost is one less taxpayer bringing him income. Would it really be so difficult to spare a few patrol soldiers and have them eliminate the threat ahead of time?
But he doesn't do it, because it isn't effective.
Thorn's Tabernacles are simply too vast, and the beasts are constantly on the move. Finding their dens is incredibly difficult. So what changed this year?"
The longer Senior spoke, the more certain he became. Before long, his words had turned into an unstoppable torrent that crashed into Junior's mind like an avalanche.
Junior frowned.
"Didn't Dave already answer that? Lord Orpheus is worried about the Ninth Concubine's growing popularity, so he wants to earn a few reputation points..."
"Were you even listening to me?" Senior interrupted. "I'm telling you, what he's doing is pointless! The beasts are going to rampage anyway and keep terrorizing the commoners. So why put on this whole show? Just to look good?
And don't you think the timing of this operation is a little too convenient?
We've been wiping out cultists without holding back for the past two weeks. By now, word has definitely reached the Ashen Shepherd. So why hasn't he done anything? Did he just decide to sit around and wait for death?
NO! We simply failed to see his plan.
I'm certain he struck a deal with the city Lord and convinced him to send his men to hunt us down. I'd bet my soul that something is wrong here. This reeks of a conspiracy.
Of course, the city Lord can't send patrols to search for ritual sacrifices and openly order his men to get rid of a bunch of teenagers. That would be political suicide, and he'd never agree to it no matter what outrageous rewards the Ashen Shepherd offered him.
But if he can come up with a reasonable and honorable excuse for the operation, then everything becomes incredibly simple. The patrols only have to report our movements, and that information will just so happen to reach the cult leader, who will take care of us.
Isn't that a brilliant plan?
That's why we can't take any chances. Kill the guard and return to the estate immediately. Stay even more vigilant!"
Senior let out a relieved sigh after finishing his tirade.
Even he was impressed by his own cleverness. His deduction and analysis today had been nothing short of astonishing. He was ninety percent certain of the theory he had put together over the course of their conversation.
With arguments this convincing, Junior had no choice but to listen.
But Junior once again acted irrationally and started picking apart his reasoning with more questions.
"So you think Dave knows about Lord Orpheus's plan and wants to betray us?"
"Unlikely," Senior answered calmly, as if the question wasn't particularly important. "Most likely only the squad commanders are involved. The ordinary guards have probably just been told to report ANY suspicious incidents they come across while on patrol."
"Then we can't kill him," Junior declared confidently.
"WHAT?! Why not? Were you not listening to a damn word I said? Or do you think there's a flaw in my reasoning?"
Senior wanted to punch his stubborn alter ego in the face.
How could someone be this dense?
Unfortunately, that wasn't an option. Hitting Junior meant hitting himself.
"No. I think your analysis is probably correct. I agree with it."
"Then why?"
"We can't kill him because he's innocent. Dave is just following orders. He has no intention of harming us. He simply got dragged into this mess without realizing it."
"Are you an idiot? Then what are we supposed to do? Serve ourselves up on a silver platter? Maybe we should just walk straight to the city Lord and hand ourselves over to the Ashen Shepherd while we're at it?"
"No. We'll just take him prisoner."
"..."
Senior fell silent for several long seconds, trying to think of a response that didn't involve swearing.
"What the fuck is wrong with you? Are you messing with me? You moron! Bastard! Son of a bitch!" In the end, Senior couldn't hold it in anymore and exploded at Junior, as if he had just said the most ridiculous thing imaginable. "Tell me honestly, are you a masochist? Don't we already have enough mouths to feed? Now you want to feed one more? Have you even thought about how you're going to drag him all the way back to the estate? What if he starts screaming while you're hiding from our pursuers? Did that ever cross your mind?"
Even without control of the body, existing as nothing more than a projection inside their shared mind, Senior was breathing heavily with rage.
He simply couldn't understand Junior's way of thinking.
Why create so many unnecessary problems? Why expose themselves to needless danger? Was he really that eager to die?
Junior didn't react to the outburst at all. He simply glanced at Dave once more as the young guard laughed and chatted with Achilles.
The young man looked completely carefree. He happily gnawed on a roasted rabbit leg, never suspecting that, at this very moment, the question of whether he would live or die was being decided.
"Do you remember asking me to remind you to hold on to your humanity? To keep showing compassion and empathy toward other people's lives. You said you didn't want to become... what was the phrase you used... Right. An emotionless robot... whatever that's supposed to mean.
This is exactly one of those moments."
Senior deflated in an instant like a popped balloon. He didn't even know how to respond.
Junior's words hit him like a bucket of ice-cold water poured straight over his head.
Even so, he couldn't change his mind that easily. His reasoning had been perfectly logical and consistent. Sparing the guard and taking him prisoner was the same as creating endless problems for themselves.
But he couldn't deny Junior's argument either. What he had proposed was undeniably ruthless, even cruel. If he were still on Earth, he would never have agreed with the methods he was now trying to use.
"Think about it carefully," Junior said before rising from the tree stump and nocking an arrow onto his bowstring.
He sprang to his feet the moment Dave shook hands with Achilles.
"Not so fast! Raise your hands. Slowly put your sword on the ground and let my men search you."
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