Arua Raven turned around. Even after taking her eyes off him, she still felt the man's lonely and pitiful gaze on her shoulders. He felt like a blade was stuck in his chest.
Why are you looking at me like that? I was the one betrayed...
The evil spirits deceived the entire world. That was what she had been taught since she was little, and what she had heard in countless stories growing up.
Did you save me because I was in danger? That is not possible...
Raven shook her head, but it took more effort than it should. Ignoring the protests in his heart, he tried to get it into her head: he was saying what she wanted to hear. I must have had some interest. He couldn't be fooled. With that in mind, he began to take heavy steps forward.
In fits and starts.
However, with every step he took, memories of the expeditions he had made with him came to mind. It began with their first meeting at the Bloody Citadel.
«What the hell is that? Why is there a Vampire here?».
«Better run instead of complain, dwarf».
A Vampire had appeared as the guardian of the first floor Rift. The man naturally took charge of his group and launched into battle before achieving final victory.
The holy water he used at the end... He only knew because it is an evil spirit.
Ultimately, that's how it was. Behind every precious memory, she found moments when she was deceived and deceived. How stupid and easy it must have seemed.
Walk.
Of course, after all, he had ended up owing his life to that man from the Bloody Citadel. However, Raven assessed the situation rationally.
That doesn't mean he sacrificed himself to save us.
If he hadn't done what he did, he would have died too. That is why that man had risked his life in that combat.
Walk.
The next scene that came to mind was the time they were trapped in the Crystal Cave on the first floor. The knights and great clans had discarded them as a bad hand and had escaped through a portal, leaving them in a desperate situation. That was the same day that man became known as a hero in the city.
«So what do you want me to do?!»
«I repeat! Let everyone stop!»
The man had been determined almost to the point of exaggeration, and in response, the adventurers who had been pointing swords joined forces. Then progress began.
«Damn, this is getting on my nerves».
«I can not go further. I'm sorry.»
While warriors who must have crossed the boundary between life and death countless times before hesitated and lost courage, that man continued forward.
«¡Behel-ahhh!»
That man took on the most dangerous role and fought more desperately than anyone else. However, Raven made a call.
That... was also to save himself... That's all...
He took a step.
Walk.
Each step took her further away from the steel bars. The things he had experienced with the man inside, big and small, and all the help he had received from him passed through his mind. And every time they did, Raven thought to herself:
That wasn't even that difficult... He didn't risk his life that time... I gave him at least as much help in return.
Most of them were things I could overlook with thoughts like that, but...
«Did you come here for me? Through that fire?»
«I was taking a walk.»
What happened the day the royal capital was burned...
«What are you doing? Aren't you thinking about lifting this whole ship...?»
«Ahhhhhh!»
How he sent everyone away from Farune Island and stayed behind to fight the enemy.
«You... eee-back...!»
Even the way he blocked the spell flying towards her with his body...
Was that for his own good...?
Raven soon realized that no matter how hard she tried to deny it, she found it increasingly difficult to do so.
It's... impossible...
Although he had been in mortal danger at the time, he could still remember it clearly. That man, still writhing from pain so intense that the veins came out of his neck, had endured it all while he hugged her carefully so as not to crush her. There was no point in continuing to lie to herself.
«Raven, it was because you were in danger. That's why I saved you».
Although she tried to refute him several times, he had been telling the undeniable truth.
***
Crujido.
The door at the other end of the hallway, beyond the steel bars, closed.
«Is gone».
«Sí...»
Finally, Raven left. Now he had to give up hope that she would come back and open this cage.
«Evil spirit.»
¿Eh?
When I looked to the side, I found Erwen. His head was bowed and the only thing I could see were his eyes, which were fixed on mine. «...Were you an evil spirit?»
Yes, I was wondering why you were quiet.
As I thought, I was shocked by this news. And it made sense that she was angry. He probably assumed I didn't tell him because he couldn't trust her.
«Erwen, calm down. I'll explain...»
«This woman already knew it. So I was the only one who didn't know.»
«About that, I...»
«I told you I didn't care. I told you... But why did you cheat on me? Why couldn't you trust me? What does it take for you to trust me?»
I think this is the first time I've seen her so angry...
I looked to Amelia for help, but she just shrugged and avoided my eyes.
Are you trying to say that this is karma and that I have to fend for myself? But on the bright side... She doesn't really seem to care that I'm an evil spirit.
Was it because he just saw Raven leave with his own eyes, unable to accept the fact that I was an evil spirit? While on the one hand I felt dizzy from all the killing intent that Erwen radiated, on the other I felt relieved and grateful.
However, this and that are two different things. How can I calm her down?
I didn't have to think much.
«And Raven, what's wrong with her?! You hid it from me so thoroughly, but only because that woman was in danger...! Protecting her at the expense of your identity is...!»
Grifo.
Before Erwen could get even angrier, I ripped her wrist out of the air. «Erwen, I would have done the same if you were the one in danger». Every word I spoke was sincere. I definitely would have done the same for Erwen.
But was that hard for her to believe? «L-Liar... N-You didn't even tell me in advance... P-You think she's more trustworthy than me».
«What...? Why the hell do you think that?»
«Because... I... I am like that... Because I only took those kinds of essences... They treat me like an unstable bitch...»
Huh. I didn't know you had thoughts like that about yourself.
It seemed like Erwen had been secretly feeling a lot of shame about her condition. «Erwen, that's not true.»
«So... why did you only hide it from me...?»
Wow, that's why I told you I'd explain it to you.
Sigh for my entrances.
«Because I wanted to protect you». For some reason, the answer came from Amelia's mouth, not mine. «That's reasonable, isn't it?».
What was this girl talking about? I ignored her and studied Erwen, who paused as she took it in.
«...Eh?» His shoulders shook and began to shake after a while. «I?»
Okay, it looks like he's calmed down a bit...
Just in case I had misunderstood something, I hurried to explain it to him. «You saw it too. Raven questioned Amelia».
Even though he had the gift of Auril Gavis, he couldn't stop the magic of truth from being used against other people. That was why I wanted to keep the number of people in my secret as small as possible. Of course, this decision also benefited me, but it was not made solely for my own benefit.
«I wanted to give you a way out in case you ever got in trouble because I'm an evil spirit. If you didn't know, you would only be seen as a victim. But if you knew and still helped me, you would be treated as an accomplice».
«So it's because you care more about me than Rainwales...? Since you hid it from me on purpose. To... protect me...»
«Hey...» My eyes naturally wandered to Amelia. She giggled that seemed to ask me why I was stressing, and then nodded.
I think she's telling me not to worry about her and to take care of this first... Ugh, she's so trustworthy.
«Yes, that's why I hid it from you».
«I knew it!» When I agreed with him, Erwen was very happy and clenched her fists. He then looked towards Amelia, his shoulders straight and the corners of his mouth curved.
«...This is a little annoying», Amelia said, frowning.
Erwen ignored him and turned her attention back to me. «Sir, I appreciate it, but... don't do that again. There is no way I would want to abandon you to your fate». Erwen looked beyond the bars, in the direction Raven had left. «I am different from that woman, who knows no shame even after you saved her life several times».
Are you ...?
«So trust me! Okay?»
«Sí...»
Once that was almost resolved, Amelia stepped in and changed the subject. «Anyway, what are you going to do now?»
Oh, that... I should start preparing.
«Let's pack our things first.»
«Things?»
«We can't leave the team behind».
I crouched over the items I looted from Guardian of the Lighthouse. I picked up the equipment on his outstretched robe, wrapped it like a bundle, and then tied it tightly around my neck, in barbaric peddler mode. I would take it like this for now and then put it in subspace when I had the chance.
«If you already have everything, tell me now: what are you going to do? I'm sure you have something planned». As Amelia asked again, I shared the Plan B I had been cooking up in my head.
Then, I waited patiently for the moment to come. A long while later, the doorknob at the end of the hallway began to turn, before slowly opening with a creak.
Rattle. Touch.
Raven appeared again, without anyone accompanying her.
«She's alone», Amelia said.
«What are you planning? You must have already informed your superiors».
Amelia and Erwen looked into the cage, wielding their weapons as if they were on guard. At that moment, Raven shuddered and stopped.
«Why are you alone?»
«To check something», Raven responded quietly.
The exchange took place at a distance of six meters. Maybe it was because of the way our voices echoed in the hallway, but every inch that separated us seemed wider than ever.
«Check what?»
Raven didn't answer me. He continued walking and shortened the distance.
Step step.
The closer Raven got to the bars, the more she could see his expression without the darkness obstructing her. He had a complicated look, which could not be summed up in a single emotion. But one thing was obvious at a glance.
«...Haven't you reported me?». I asked, and Raven answered once again silently.
Step step.
His feet continued without pause, and it wasn't long until the only thing between us were the steel bars. Raven stared at me through them with her clear blue eyes, and I looked back at her without saying a word. I wasn't sure how long it was before that...
Clunk.
Raven took the keys out of her pocket without saying a word. What kind of change of mind had he had? Before, the walls surrounding his heart had been so high that nothing he told him worked.
Could it be... an attempt to deceive us?
That was plausible. Our combat power would have been included in your report. Since it would be problematic to become enemies while we were on the ship, she might have been pretending to help us for now only to arrest us later in town.
«Why are you doing this all of a sudden?» I asked bluntly. «As you said before, what you are going to do now will betray everyone who placed their trust in you».
As I spoke, I focused on Raven's eyes. I was convinced that her poor acting skills would tell me if she was telling the truth or not, but Raven just giggled.
«Why are you laughing...?». It didn't sound like a joke. Rather, the laughter seemed more self-deprecating, more tinged with sadness. But why?
«This reminds me of before».
¿Eh?
«If I didn't know you were an evil spirit, you wouldn't have even asked that».
«Ah...» For a moment, I was speechless. It seemed like Raven had made her decision before she even came here because there was no hesitation in her moves.
Slip.
The key slid into the lock and turned. The steel bars between Raven and I shone in the light of the torches and reflected our images like mirrors. For some reason, I felt nervous. To be honest, I had thought it was finished, and that's why I came up with plan B.
«...My answer is the same as yours. If you stay here, you will be in danger, Mr. Yandel. I have decided to help you for now, no matter what happens next. So...» The key finished turning with one click. «Leave quickly. I also need to hear what you plan to do next».
The tightly closed door had opened.