Once I returned to my spirit form, the shape of a small yellow humanoid, I felt a strange pull.
("This sensation is...?") [Solace]
It was familiar. Sothing that hasn’t happened since my earlier days of entering this world.
("...Fina’s calling .") [Solace]
I turned invisible using the inherent ability spirits were born with before heading towards Fina’s direction.
("She’s far, but not too far.") [Solace]
I felt the pull continue past the classrooms, past the hall of heroes, past dorms, all the way to a secluded building still on campus.
("I’ve never seen this place before.") [Solace]
It was a small, but sturdy looking building. It looked kind of like a large pillbox, or just a rather large square building reinforced with a special type of brick. There were many four people standing guard on each side of the building, plus the others patrolling. There were small gaps in the walls to peer into the building, or to be able to peer outwards. Dunno which it was for.
("For so, it’s just a peephole. For , it’s ease of access.") [Solace]
With my small size as a spirit, I slipped in through the holes to find the building to actually be so kind of jail. There were around four cells, in which only one was occupied. Naly, it was Fina.
("...This is how they’re treating her?") [Solace]
The interior design of the building was incredibly basic. It was just a hallway with two cells on each side. Just like the design of the layout, the cells were also basic. A bed, a stone desk embedded into the wall, a chair, and a curtain in the corner. I can only assu that it hides the toilet. In any case, at least the place was clean.
("There are guards here too, huh.") [Solace]
Two guards stood in front of Fina’s cell, which is a little odd since there were several guards patrolling the building for no reason whatsoever.
("They only have one to watch for. Why are they even patrolling?") [Solace]
Well, not my place to judge. I just slipped through the bars before floating towards Fina, who was laying in bed staring at the ceiling.
("She looks understandably bored.") [Solace]
The only good thing about this was that Fina seed unhard. She didn’t seem to be in any ntal distress, but that could be because she’s used to more stressful situations.
("This must be mild compared to our journey.") [Solace]
Fighting monsters, fending off bounty hunters, facing Jukhan, a demon necromancer, a demon who can stop ti, eting the first hero, infiltrating Lithik, and fighting a feerae. Between those and being locked in a cell, it isn’t even a comparison.
("I can sense her calling for , but is it even a good ti to appear?") [Solace]
Tempting as it was, there was a pretty good chance that the guards would see appear. Would it be unnatural for Fina’s spirit to pop up? Would the guards take action or sothing? As I pondered my options, I could hear a commotion outside.
"What do you an by that?! Visitors have always been allowed!" [???]
It was a familiar voice. One that was familiar specifically when loud. I ignored Fina’s call to summons and left the jail to see what was going on.
"Isn’t that...?" [Solace]
To my surprise, I found Leynha, Fina’s best friend, arguing with the guards stationed out front. One of the guards was clearly struggling to converse with her, while the other one didn’t really care.
"Please, ma’am. Our orders are to not allow anyone inside. Even visitors." [Distressed Guard]
"Bull. Shit. What did Fina even do to receive this kind of treatnt?!" [Leynha]
"She caused the murder of the hero Edwill and death of a |Divine Beast|. This punishnt is already light considering her cris." [Distressed Guard]
Leynha scoffed.
"You’re just pulling shit out of your ass. She wasn’t even the one who did it. If anything, bla Alt since he’s the one who actually killed them." [Leyhna]
Way to throw under the bus.
"Look, lady. Nothing will change even if you yelled your heart out at us. Just go ho." [Nonchalant Guard]
That seed to piss Leynha off even more.
"Do you even know who I am? Do you know who my parents are? I will RUIN you." [Leyhna]
The guards seed to straighten up after hearing that.
("Right, her mom’s one of the knight captains.") [Solace]
After threatening the two, Leynha let out an annoyed grunt before taking her leave.
"...She’s just going to leave like that?" [Nonchalant Guard]
"Shh...! Don’t provoke her...!" [Distressed Guard]
I decided to follow Leynha, planning to reveal myself when there were no witnesses. It took a hot minute though because she had to walk through crowded areas before reaching her dorm room. Once inside, Leynha quietly closed her door prior to punching her wall in frustration.
"Fuck!" [Leynha]
The wall cracked, but seed to nd itself within seconds. As expected of a noble’s dorm room. In any case, I stepped out of my invisibility and took on my human appearance. ...Clothed this ti. I never forgot to use |Wardrobe| after the last ti I was left naked after transforming.
"Hey." [Solace]
"Ah!" [Leynha]
Eyes widening with shock, Leynha threw a punch out of reflex. Though sothing of this level might’ve hit back then, I now ended up catching it easily.
"Calm down, Leynha. It’s ." [Solace]
Her expression turned from shock, to realization, to rage.
"You...!" [Leynha]
She retracted her fist and attempted a spin kick on . Like her punch, I caught it.
"Leynha, listen." [Solace]
"You caused this!" [Leynha]
Pulling back her foot, she set her body ablaze. I can see that in the ti I haven’t seen her, Leynha’s proficiency with |Fla Enchant| has grown.
"Leynha, please." [Solace]
She ignored my words.
"|Blazing Fist|!" [Leynha]
This ti I just let it hit. She struck at my solar plexus with all her might, causing my feet to dig into the floorboards. Even so, I didn’t flinch. I just t her eyes and waited.
"...What, too good for now? Is that it?!" [Leynha]
She continued to strike at , each blow becoming weaker as her form slowly began to break. I could see tears start to form in her eyes as she lashed out, allowing to feel that my actions reached beyond just the hero’s party.
"Why?! Just why?! Answer !" [Leynha]
Leynha exhausted herself to the point the flas that wrapped her sputtered into embers. Eventually, she was just hitting weakly without any |Skills| at all.
"...I have no excuses." [Solace]
She grabbed by the collar, tears in her eyes. Her legs buckled as if she couldn’t bear the weight of her own sorrow, yet her eyes burned with so kind of emotion.
"Why did you do it...?! Just... why...?!" [Leynha]
"The |Divine| beast was nothing more than a wild dog that needed to be put down. And Edwill..." [Solace]
mories of my ti with Lemin and Belrick flashed in my mind.
"Edwill killed a friend of mine. ...I’m sorry." [Solace]
Leynha placed her face into my chest and sobbed.
"Is-Is Fina not your friend?! Sh-She’s the one s-suffering right now be-because of you...!" [Leynha]
Her voice cracked and was interrupted by constant hiccups. However, that didn’t stop her from voicing her feelings.
"She is. I’m trying to figure out a way to help her." [Solace]
"I-It’s impossible..." [Leynha]
She continued to empty her tears into my shirt, not once speaking after uttering that sentence.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
It took around fifteen to maybe thirty minutes to get her to calm down. Once we were able to have a civil conversation, I took the chair while Leynha sat on her bed. I also had to change my shirt since it was... soaked in tears and snot.
"...You better not ntion any of this to anyone." [Leynha]
Is what Leynha said while blowing her nose into a tissue.
"I don’t want to think about this mont any more than you do." [Solace]
Who would I even tell this to?
"So? What’s your plan? You said you’re trying to figure sothing out for Fina." [Leynha]
"You know about the contents of the trial, right?" [Solace]
"If you’re talking about there being two trials, then yes." [Leynha]
"Do you know what the first trial will be about? I get the general idea, but it’d be better to have the specifics." [Solace]
I was thinking along the lines of helping Fina pass the trials without my direct interference. If I were to do that, the specifics were absolutely necessary.
"I heard it would be the Lord of tus, one of the gods’ apostles, and a few others would act as judges. They’ll ask a series of questions to Fina and debate what punishnt to give her." [Leynha]
Hearing that, it seed that punishnt was unavoidable.
("Guilty until proven innocent, huh.") [Solace]
"Is there a calling to witnesses for this?" [Solace]
"Usually the defendant can call on witnesses, but I’m not sure about this one. Besides, people almost never call on witnesses in general." [Leynha]
Connecting the dots wasn’t hard. That must an the judges tend to assu things without any evidence. This is going to be hard.
("I’m going to need so backing.") [Solace]
That settled it. For the first trial, I’m going to need to find Raon and Wilharrow. Other than Leon, these two could testify for Fina’s innocence. Plus, I think Raon ca from a ducal household. With a hero and duke’s heir, their word should have so sway.
("The problem is how to find them.") [Solace]
"Leynha, do you know where Wilharrow and Raon are?" [Solace]
"...Are you talking about the hero?" [Leynha]
"Yes, the hero and Raon." [Solace]
Leynha scratched her chin.
"...Is Raon soone I know?" [Leynha]
Right. I don’t think they’ve t.
"Nevermind, just tell where I can find the hero." [Solace]
If anything, I’ll just ask Wilharrow where Raon is.
"If I rember correctly... He should be staying in the local church." [Leynha]
Here’s my cue.
"Thanks Leynha." [Solace]
Knowing that, I took my leave.
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