Linda ran through the poison mist and threw herself into my arms.
"Hehe. Devil, did you find ?"
I stared at Linda's face for a mont. Behind her, I could see the n who had died writhing in agony. Linda's bright, innocent face contrasted with the n's tornted expressions.
What was this gap? It was a bizarre scene.
How could she be so cheerful after killing people like that? Her expression was no different from that of a child who had been playing house and ca running at their parent's call.
"...Get off."
I pushed Linda away, then imdiately activated Floating Step, summoning wind all over my body.
Hwoooong!
Then I gathered the wind into my right foot and stomped down.
Hwoong!
The wind spread across the floor.
"Hup!"
Then I raised my hands from bottom to top, forcefully lifting the wind that had settled on the floor.
Hwoooong!
A swirling updraft blew the poison mist up above the alley. The green poison mist flew up into the dark night sky and then mixed with the air and scattered. Beyond the scattered poison mist, the stars twinkled.
Linda clapped her hands.
"Wow! Amazing!"
I said in a sowhat subdued tone.
"Linda."
"Yeah?"
"Shut your mouth."
Only then did Linda seem to notice that my tone was unusual. Her eyes widened, and she clamped her hands over her mouth.
I examined the fallen n in the alley. A total of six. n in their early to mid-twenties. Judging by their appearance and attire, they weren't much different from the guys who had ganged up on Linda in the previous town. Especially the fact that they each held a short weapon in one hand.
The only difference was that those guys had run away in fear, while these guys, far from running, were no longer moving. Every one of them was foaming at the mouth with a look on their face as if they had wandered through hell. She had poisoned them all in that short ti.
"Haa..."
I clutched my forehead. The guards would be on our trail now. The place I was in was, after all, one of the vassal states belonging to the Holy Empire of Hilka. In the worst-case scenario, a paladin from the empire could be dispatched. Of course, the possibility of that was extrely low. There was no way an imperial paladin would be dispatched just because a few thugs died.
But in any case, with six casualties, the guards would launch an investigation. I had no choice but to get out of here as quickly as possible...
As I was organizing my thoughts, Linda timidly tugged on my arm.
"Devil. Are you mad? Why?"
"What do you an, why? After doing sothing like this—"
Just as I was about to lash out in anger, the words I was about to say got lost when I saw Linda's face. Linda was looking up at with a face on the verge of tears.
"Did I do sothing wrong? I just did what you told to, Devil..."
"...."
This girl. She's serious. This girl genuinely didn't know what she had done wrong.
"...Ha."
I laughed in vain. You damn psychopath.
***
First, we returned to the inn, woke up the sleeping Neyman, and imdiately left the town. A midnight escape was better than getting entangled in so unnecessary incident and wasting ti.
Clip-clop— Charrrr—
We rode the carriage in the middle of the night. Fortunately, it was a bright moonlit night, so we could pick up speed.
Neyman, still with a sleepy face, asked.
"What on earth happened? I was sleeping soundly, so why are we suddenly making a midnight escape?"
I answered his question simply.
"Because soone was killed."
Neyman's expression hardened.
"How many?"
"Six."
Neyman let out a low groan.
"How did it happen?"
"I'm curious about that too."
I tapped the shoulder of Daryl, who was driving the carriage.
"Explain. Why were you suddenly sightseeing in the town when you were just going to the stable right next door?"
Neyman's and my gazes turned to Daryl. But Daryl himself still seed to be in shock, with a dazed expression.
Neyman shook his shoulder.
"Hey, aren't you going to snap out of it?"
"Huh? Ah, right. What did you say?"
"I asked how it happened."
Daryl swallowed hard and then explained the situation.
"Was her na Linda? As I said during the al, I taught her how to put on and take off the harness at the stable. She was surprisingly good at it, following my instructions smoothly. So we finished quickly and were leaving the stable... when she suddenly ran out into the street, saying she had to buy beef jerky. Sothing about being in charge of food..."
"Hmm."
I had praised her for buying the beef jerky well the day before, so that must have been the reason.
"So I quickly chased after her, but she was too fast and I lost her. I had no choice but to call her na and look for her, and when I heard a strange sound and went to check, that was the situation."
"...."
Of course, no one would be selling beef jerky at this ti of night. They would have all closed up and left long ago. So, the image of Linda wandering around looking for beef jerky, entering an alley, and innocently asking, 'Hey, do you sell beef jerky?' automatically ca to my mind.
Of course, the guys hanging around in an alley at this ti of night couldn't be decent guys.
Daryl glanced at and asked.
"That girl. What's her identity?"
"I don't know for sure either."
I patted Daryl's shoulder and then approached Linda, who was crouching in the corner of the carriage, hugging her knees.
Shushruta was in the middle of nagging Linda, with her hands on her hips.
"What kind of stupid thing did you do! If you're going to kill them, you should do it in a place where sight and sound are blocked. Is it okay to be so careless!"
"Uuu..."
"This is the most basic of basics. Even though assassination by poison can be carried out so secretly, why did you foolishly spread a conspicuous poison mist?"
"Sowwy..."
"Is killing with poison sothing to brag about? If you were going to use poison, you could have handled it quietly by just applying a little to the tip of a needle. What on earth were you thinking? You idiot. I can't believe it, I really can't."
...What is she talking about now?
Of course, Shushruta wasn't wrong, but right now, we needed to think about it from a slightly different perspective. We needed to focus on the 'why' rather than the 'how'.
Linda, who had been completely dejected by Shushruta's nagging, raised her head and looked at as I approached.
"Devil. I'm sorry. Don't hate ... Don't leave alone..."
Seeing the tearful Linda, a sigh escaped automatically.
I told her not to kill, and she got beaten to a pulp. I told her to use poison rather than get beaten up, and she created a poison mist and killed them all. How can there be no middle ground?
Of course, I have no regrets about those guys dying. Guys who are still doing such childish things even after they're over twenty deserve to die. It's one thing when you're a kid, but when you beco an adult, you should think for yourself a little. Guys who live only by inertia. Trash-like guys who only know how to live by tornting people.
What I'm trying to say is sothing a little more fundantal. It's about the 'line'.
There are good people in this world. Even if they are not 'good people', there are those who try not to cross the line.
Compared to them, what about Linda? There is no such line. She just kills impulsively as she pleases. This girl is just saying sorry because I'm angry.
...Where should I even start with this?
I had a hunch that this wasn't sothing that could be solved by simply scolding or reprimanding her. In fact, it was sothing I should have talked about a long ti ago, but I kept putting it off, and it eventually led to this situation. It ans that I am also responsible for this incident. Even if it wasn't now, it would have blown up in so other way soday.
I can't bring such a dangerous elent into the rcenary corps.
I sat down heavily opposite Linda and said.
"Linda."
"Yeah."
"Let's hear your story."
"What story?"
"Your past."
Linda scratched her head.
"...I don't rember well."
"Just tell what you rember."
"Okay... I will."
Linda was lost in thought for a mont.
Clip-clop— Charrrr—
In the dead of night, the horse and carriage ran, and the cool night wind rustled my hair. I waited patiently without rushing Linda to organize her thoughts.
And so, when the night wind had scattered Linda's green hair several tis, Linda's mouth opened.
"It was a dark room."
It was a very calm and subdued voice, unlike her. For a mont, I thought Shushruta had spoken and t her eyes. Shushruta's eyes were also wide.
"I was trapped. The teacher tied us to chairs and then fed us or injected us with poison. It hurt so much."
"...Teacher? Who is the teacher?"
Linda slowly shook her head.
"I don't know. We just called him teacher."
"Hmm."
"The teacher said that poison and dicine are only a fine line apart. That's why we were eating poison. To make dicine. He said that we had to overco the poison well for it to beco dicine, and that if we made the dicine, he would give us a sweet cake."
I had many questions, but I listened silently for now.
"We promised to endure it well and eat the cake together. So it hurt so, so much, it hurt like we were going to die. But we endured it well. But the other kids couldn't endure it. They would scream and twist their bodies, and then suddenly beco quiet. We had promised..."
Linda's voice trailed off.
"Every ti that happened, the teacher would sigh and drag the quiet kids outside. Every ti a friend died, new kids would co into the room. They were crying, so I comforted them. Because the teacher doesn't like crying. I comforted them by saying that if we ate the poison and endured it well, the teacher would give us a cake, and that we should all endure it and eat the cake. We endured it by thinking about the cake. Even when we were tied to the chair, swallowing poison and being injected, and it hurt so much that our vision blurred, we thought about the cake."
"...."
"One day, the teacher was drinking and gathered us together and complained. He said he had a daughter our age. He said that his daughter was very sick, so we had to endure it for her. I wondered what his daughter being sick had to do with us, but the teacher looked so sad, so I just said okay. The other kids seed to have said okay because they were scared."
Linda continued her story with her gaze lowered.
"As ti went on, the poison beca more painful and stronger. The friends who were left also beca strange. They would talk to the empty air, suddenly bang their heads against the wall, and there was even a kid who scratched her face, saying that bugs were crawling under her mask and it wouldn't co off. Of course, she wasn't wearing a mask."
Her voice gradually grew smaller.
"And so, one by one... they beca quiet, and in the end, they all died. No more new friends ca. Did the teacher know too? That even if he brought them, they would all die without lasting long anyway. We had promised to eat cake together..."
Linda closed her mouth. For a while, only the sound of the carriage cutting through the darkness could be heard.
After a short silence, Linda opened her mouth again.
"...They're too weak. They all die. I was left alone. I was tied to a chair alone and kept eating poison. At so point, it didn't hurt to eat the poison anymore. I was left alone and ate all the poison that the other kids had eaten. But it was okay. Because I was alone. When will he give the cake?"
Linda muttered as if talking to herself.
"The teacher sighed a lot more. One day, the teacher was crying and got angry. He said his daughter had died. He said his daughter had died because of . He kicked and hit . When I asked when he would give the cake, he just scread and hit harder. He said there was no cake. He said the cake was a lie from the beginning. Then why did my friends die like that?"
Linda laughed.
"I killed the teacher. It was funny. He kept feeding us such strong poison, but he died right away, trembling, after eating just a little. Hehe. It's funny, really."
Linda shrugged her shoulders and laughed for a mont. Her laughter was mixed with self-deprecation.
"After the teacher died, I was hungry, so I ate the poison in the room. You know, the poison that was so bitter now tasted delicious. It was even more delicious when I mixed it with other things. My vision would blur for a mont and I would feel dizzy, but I liked it every ti. Because I had a dream. In it, I wasn't alone. The teacher was smiling and gave a pretty cake, and I ate it with my friends. ...It was sweet."
Linda raised her head and looked at the empty air. Tears were streaming down her face.
"And so, I ate the poison in the room, mixing it... and when there was nothing left to eat, I opened the door and ca out. It was originally locked, but I found the key in the quiet teacher's clothes and opened it. I don't know why I didn't do this sooner. Then my dead friends could have lived and eaten cake with . Right?"
"...."
"I went up the stairs. When I went up, it was so bright. The place we were in was the basent. Above was the teacher's house. I was looking for sothing to eat and was wandering around the house... and there was a room where the sunlight was particularly bright. A girl was lying neatly on the bed. Was she the teacher's daughter? She probably was."
"...."
"I carefully approached and spoke to her. 'Hello, I'm Linda. Are you sleeping?' There was no answer. 'Did you die because of ? Or did my friends die because of you?' There was no answer."
"...."
"So I put my ear to her chest."
Linda grinned.
"...It was quiet."
"...."
"Hehe... hehehe... hehehehe."
I looked at Linda, who was laughing with tear-streaked cheeks, for a mont...
Slap!
I slapped her cheek.
Linda, who had been slapped, looked at with wide eyes.
I said in a calm voice.
"Get a grip, you crazy bitch."
(End of Chapter)
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