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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Reunion Preparation Work - 2
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At the word "false accusation," Trail let out a groan.
The guy was pretty quick on the uptake, so he seemed to grasp what I meant.
Before my regression, Kaild had shown his unique flair from the moment he recruited party members.
He cunningly figured out their weaknesses or traumas, then approached them with a warmth that healed or resolved those issues.
Everyone fell for it hook, line, and sinker.
It was the only thing that didn't work on me, so he tried something else... but whatever, that's not important now.
Anyway, his approach to Neril wasn't much different.
'You cleared the false accusation pinned on Neril, right?'
She didn't burst into ugly tears about it or anything.
That wasn't her style.
But she did say she felt a strong curiosity toward Kaild because of it.
I recalled what she said to me in the carriage on the way to a quest location before the regression.
"I've never met anyone like that in my life. Everyone just ran away in shock at my notoriety, never bothering to check if it was true. No one ever offered to clear my name."
"Yeah."
"Well, with hundreds of false accusations tied to my name, clearing one wasn't a big deal. But his approach was so completely different—it was intriguing."
"I see."
"You're reacting like a total brick."
He really was an odd one. Neril, I mean.
Despite my curt attitude, she always initiated conversations with me first.
[Seeing how oblivious you are, were you single your whole life before the regression...?]
'...'
[No. Never mind.]
This jerk always switches to polite speech when he's at a disadvantage.
'Anyway, shall we get started?'
[With what?]
'What else? Using that grandly named ability, the Eye of Omniscience or whatever.'
[Uh?]
'Neril's no pushover. If I just say I'm on her side, she won't even snort at it. I need a card to play too.'
[Ah. Want me to reveal a secret between her and someone?]
I recalled a memory from before the regression.
Specifically, the Blood Letters floating above her head.
-Sinned against May Enerica and 287 others.
'May Enerica.'
[Alright. Let the majesty of my Eye of Omniscience engrave itself upon you.]
I ignored him.
Soon, a screen appeared.
[Used Eye of Omniscience.]
[Current Eye of Omniscience level is 1. Can view secrets up to D-rank.]
[Selection condition: 'Secret between Neril Slaine and May Enerica.']
Alright.
What adorable little secret was our Witch of Atrocities hiding?
Let's take a slow look... Huh?
[Error. 'Secret between Neril Slaine and May Enerica' is B-rank.]
[Requires Eye of Omniscience level 3 to view.]
The Eye of Omniscience can go freeze itself.
'...'
[...]
'Wanna repeat what you said earlier?'
[I have no excuse.]
He replied in a deflated voice, then immediately countered.
[No! Logically, this isn't my fault. It's because your level is too low.]
'I didn't say anything, so why are you getting defensive on your own?'
[...]
'No helping it. Come to think of it, it'd be weirder if a hero party member's secret came spilling out that easily.'
To peek at high-rank secrets, I need a high level, huh.
'Looks like I can't access Kaild or Bion Kunze's secrets either.'
[Probably not.]
Nothing to be done.
I racked my brains, trying to recall memories from before the regression.
There had to be some hint in the party members' conversations, attitudes, expressions, or glances.
[You really remember all that?]
'My memory's top-notch. Almost superhuman.'
[Do people usually boast about that out loud?]
'Sure, there are plenty of useless memories too. But thankfully, my intuition's superhuman as well.'
[...]
Sometimes, there's this random zap of lightning flashing through my head.
Yeah, like a metaphor for...
Like when I saw Father's name floating above Mother's head.
...
A useless memory popped up. Not important right now.
Anyway, instead of recalling past conversations or actions first, I focus on the moments when that lightning struck.
Then, I zero in on the memories from those exact times.
Soon, a flashing memory hit me.
It was during a trip for a quest before the regression, at an inn we were staying in. I woke up in the middle of the night needing to pee.
As I headed down the hallway to the first floor, I spotted Neril at the inn's dining table, exuding a pretty menacing vibe.
Kaild sat across from her with a serious face.
I instinctively silenced my footsteps and presence.
The other comrades—and even Kaild—already knew that if I really tried to hide myself, they wouldn't detect me.
"Calling me out for a midnight chat? Where'd your manners go—did you sell 'em, hero boy?"
"You're awfully sharp with me, Miss Neril."
"It's not just you. I hate everyone."
"..."
"So? What's this about?"
"It might be rude to bring up suddenly, but you were that famous Witch of Atrocities, right?"
Kaild dropped formal speech with all party members, but not with Neril.
She was older, after all.
"And?"
"When I recruited you, I did some digging. I know most of those notorious deeds piled up before you aren't real—they're false accusations."
"You used that line when you recruited me, remember?"
"But some of them really happened. Like the atrocity you committed right before meeting me."
Neril crossed her legs and stayed silent.
Kaild continued.
"Quelk Territory, was it? You brutally murdered the tool shop owner there."
"He deserved to die."
"No one deserves that."
The guy who'd deceived 148 million people looked like a saint.
"Even if someone did, was that tool shop owner really 'deserving'? He was just an ordinary guy selling herbs and farming tools in the territory."
"What do you know."
"I don't. So teach me."
"No."
"You're my party member, and as leader, I need to manage them. If you keep causing 'atrocities,' it'll be hard to stay together..."
"Hah."
Neril shot up from her seat.
"Don't worry for now. No more atrocities. After this demon king subjugation, I'm gone. I've finished what I came to do."
"Finished what you came to do?"
"No need to tell you that far. Point is, I'll be a quiet, good hero party member, so relax."
"Miss Neril. As a comrade, I seriously want to understand your heart!"
Neril let out a huge sigh.
Then she glanced up the stairs.
Honestly, I thought I'd been caught and freaked out.
But she wasn't looking at me.
"The party members' faces when they learned I was the famous Witch of Atrocities were hilarious. I'd introduced myself as just a rogue mage at first."
"..."
"All sorts of expressions. How could they bring a witch like that? That monster to kill? That freak."
"..."
"But one was super nonchalant. Like, 'Doesn't matter what she is, as long as she does the job right.'"
"...Maide, huh."
"Most ideal attitude. Next best is to be wary or afraid of me. The absolute worst is..."
She glared coldly at Kaild.
"...poking around my insides, pretending to comfort or soothe me like you."
"..."
"You think I joined because you cleared my name? That I was moved or owed you a debt?"
"..."
"I just needed a final spot. Nothing fits a last stand like battling the demon king."
Kaild's eyebrow twitched.
Neril yawned once, then waved him off.
"I'm heading up. Night."
I snapped out of the recollection.
[Ho. So that's what happened.]
'Yeah. ...? Are you peeking into my recollections now too?'
[But how do you know if this memory helps? Don't give me vague 'intuition' crap.]
'Neril said she'd finished her task, stopped atrocities after the Quelk Territory tool shop owner incident, and jumped into demon king subjugation to find her final stage.'
[Ah. So causing an atrocity on that tool shop owner was her task.]
'In other words, revenge. No idea why a great mage like her would hold a grudge against a mere tool shop owner.'
I counted on my fingers.
'Timing-wise, she hasn't contacted the tool shop owner yet. Her final atrocity was a week from now.'
[Then?]
'Exactly.'
Time to intercept.
I'll snag her revenge target first.
Then use it to blackmail... er, negotiate.
With that certainty, I grinned.
Trail yapped uselessly in my head.
[Hey, you sure about this? Think again.]
'What's wrong with this perfect plan?'
[It's infuriating! Threatening her with the revenge target she hunted so hard for? Of course she'll flip!]
'I said negotiate.'
[Why not try calm persuasion instead? Talk it out, unite our strength to beat the demon king and save the continent.]
You don't know Neril at all.
Short for Nedal.
The carriage raced another three days to reach Quelk Territory.
The coachman, after the long trip together, was now buddy-buddy enough to sling an arm around my shoulder.
"Thanks for the long haul. Here's the rest of the fare."
"Aw, thank you. Need a ride back?"
"Haven't planned that far yet."
"Next plans?"
"Nah. Anyway, Quelk's a decent size, so you'll find return passengers quick. Put in extra just in case."
The coachman bowed deeply once more.
As we entered the territory, Trail spoke up.
[You're surprisingly polite.]
'What'd you expect?'
[Figured a wandering mercenary would be rough around the edges.]
'More polite than you, blurting it out like that. Don't worry.'
[More importantly, how're you finding Neril? Place is big, like you said.]
'Pull up a map.'
[...]
Trail grumbled something, then displayed the screen.
A full continent map spread across it.
But I shook my head.
'Just the Quelk Territory map.'
[What am I, your secretary?]
'Oh, if it feels that way, sorry. Thought a guy who can do anything would find this easy.'
[Hmph. Of course. Piece of cake.]
Soon, an enlarged Quelk Territory map appeared.
...
Easy guy.
Anyway, I scanned the screen carefully and said.
'No need to hunt for Neril directly. The hint is that her next atrocity target is a tool shop owner.'
[...]
'From roaming the continent, tool shops are usually between villages and residential areas. Gotta serve both travelers and locals.'
[Ah.]
'So they'll be clustered here. Let's head that way first.'
I set off.
Quelk Territory had ten tool shops total.
The first owner's Blood Letters showed sins against only five people. A diligent young man.
No Neril in there.
Second: twelve people. No Neril.
Third: nine. No Neril.
Fourth... thirty-nine? What the hell.
From experience, anyone sinning against over twenty is no ordinary person.
Anyway, no Neril, so I turned with a bewildered laugh.
The fourth owner said.
"What. Leaving already?"
"Yeah. Nothing I need."
"Come on, pick something. Kack, ptoo."
He spat phlegm on his own shop floor.
"Business sucks ass. Buy that dagger at least. You look like a merc."
"Sigh. How much?"
"How much you got?"
"..."
Slap! Thwack.
Creeeak.
I dusted off my hands lightly and left the fourth tool shop.
Just then, an adventurer was heading in.
I kindly warned him so he wouldn't waste his time.
"Shop's closing early today."
"Huh?"
"Owner's exhausted. Needs a nap or something."
I left the adventurer tilting his head and headed to the next shop.
Felt refreshingly good for some reason.
A bit more searching led to the seventh tool shop.
Its owner's head bore this Blood Letters:
-Sinned against Frank de Levan and 89 others.
Expanding the view, a familiar name appeared fourth from the top.
This guy's victim he wanted to hide most.
-Neril Slaine.
Found you.