HPL 31

chapter 31

Roy went rigid. When I moved my face closer, his pupils trembled ever so slightly.

When I exhaled slowly, Roy flinched — my breath must have brushed his face.

While Roy was unusually embarrassed, I reached out with my left hand and pinched Nene’s cheek. Nene, who’d been holding her breath, jumped at my touch.

When I squeezed her soft cheek, Nene opened her eyes wide.

That should be enough of a Rodite experience for them.

I lowered my hand and gave the two of them a friendly warning.

“If you don’t want to be tormented like this, don’t call me Rodite anymore.”

Nene blinked for a while as if still surprised, then shyly wiggled her fingers and said, “I… I still like it, though.”

Oh, really? Well, Nene follows me well — maybe she felt complimented.

But Roy was a different story.

See? He’s still frozen. Maybe he felt my gaze, because his red eyes subtly shifted away.

Roy finally came back to himself when I brought late dinner from the kitchen.

After we ate together, we returned to our separate spaces.

No sooner had I lain down than a tide of fatigue washed over me.

When I came to, it was already the next morning. Even though I should have been used to it, the way my consciousness simply vanished during rest still felt strange.

After a quick breakfast, Roy and I headed to the Red Scorpion headquarters.

When we arrived, Wayne was leaning against a large tree. Seeing us, he raised his right hand in greeting.

“You came? But you can’t go in right away. They said we’ll have to wait a bit.”

Is that so? Then we’ll wait.

We walked over and leaned against the same tree beside Wayne. The tree’s firm, rough texture against our backs gave a strange sense of stability.

After a long wait, Tom and Jack finally emerged from the building, but their expressions weren’t cheerful.

Doesn’t look like they brought good news.

As expected, the two said that Riel — the woman — still wouldn’t speak, so we’d have to wait longer.

“When there’s no progress, you shake things up another way.”

I strode toward the building and Roy and Wayne followed without a word.

“This doesn’t look good.”

“Tom was right.”

Tom and Jack hurried over and tried to stop us, but I waved them off as if to say not to worry.

“Don’t sweat it. We’ve seen a lot of ugly things by now.”

“Hmm, still…”

Jack trailed off, and Roy finally spoke up.

“If there’s been no progress since yesterday, doesn’t that mean repeating the same method won’t help?”

“Roy’s right.”

Wayne — unusually — took Roy’s side?

Anyway, with those two agreeing with me, Tom and Jack gave up trying to stop us.

Inside the building, the members’ mood was sharper than the last time we came. It must be because of Riel.

As soon as we stepped onto the stairs down into the basement a musty smell hit us. The smell grew stronger the deeper we went.

In the basement, we saw Riel and Marker’s group.

Riel, seated in a chair, was a mess. Her once-lush hair was tangled, her face puffy. Both wrists were bound with thick ropes so she couldn’t do anything reckless.

Marker’s people ringed her, exuding a murderous aura. Still, Riel’s spirit hadn’t broken.

When we showed up, Marker’s group was fairly taken aback. But when they saw our unflinching faces they looked surprised.

I’ve lived long enough to have seen it all. Roy probably experienced plenty of horrors when he lived as a slave.

It looks like they roughed Riel up pretty well; maybe it’s best to try persuasion.

My eyes landed on Wayne — the one who seemed most likely to charm the other side.

Wayne caught the meaning in my look and winked. Then he walked up to Riel and dropped to one knee.

“Does it hurt?”

When Wayne spoke gently while looking at her, Riel’s hostility flared even more. She wasn’t an idiot.

Even though she wouldn’t give in easily, Wayne didn’t care.

“How could you treat someone like this? It’s cruel.”

Wayne gestured toward the Red Scorpion members and spoke softly.

Riel kept her lips pressed tight and glared. Wayne put on an expression of pity.

Wayne, with his sinfully beautiful looks and a sweet scent about him, slowly began to chip away at Riel’s solid defenses.

“Do you think they’ll be grateful for that kind of loyalty? The Black Dog crew is famous for abandoning captured comrades without mercy.”

Riel flinched and bit her lip.

She didn’t retort with “What are you talking about!” — a crack in her armor had started to show.

Seeing the opening, Wayne didn’t miss it.

“Those who capture other races are already harshly punished. But if they cut off ears and tongues and killed them… what then? Maybe dying here would be better.”

Wayne reached out and tucked a lock of Riel’s blonde hair behind her ear. When his fingers brushed her ear, Riel shuddered.

“Ah, if you’re going to die anyway, dying like the ones you killed wouldn’t be so bad.”

Wayne’s voice grew even softer and sweeter than before, but there was a chill inside it that far surpassed his previous tone.

“Shall we start with the ears? What should we cut them with? A sword? Scissors? An axe? A saw?”

Of course — Wayne knows exactly how to mix carrot and stick.

When Wayne smiled and gazed at his own ear, Riel hurriedly spoke.

“I — I didn’t touch those other-race people.”

“Then who did?” Wayne asked, letting his hand drop from her ear.

Riel ground her lips together.

“If I tell you, the other members here won’t leave me be. Either way, I’ll be killed!”

So the problem is that if she gives information she’ll be labeled a traitor and killed. Solve that part and we might get what we need.

“I’ll send you somewhere their hands can’t reach.”

When I stepped forward, everyone’s eyes turned to me. Riel stared at me and snorted.

“Even if you send me to another place, they’ll chase me. There’s nowhere that’s safe.”

“Those in danger — come to the temple.”

When I lowered my voice, Riel looked at me as if I’d started spouting nonsense.

Others tilted their heads, unsure what I meant. Only Tommy seemed to get my intent and whistled.

{You’re using the temple very well.}

What’s wrong with a god using the temple?

I flashed Tommy a grin and turned back to Riel.

“Why would I say that? The temple has many secret places. That’s why royals and nobles often seek help from temples first when they go into exile.”

“You mean hide in the temple? The temple wouldn’t protect a criminal like me.”

I stepped forward as Riel snapped at me.

Wayne, curious about what I’d do next, stepped aside with an interested look. I stood where Wayne had been and stared at Riel.

“I’m very close to the temple. If I say there’s someone who wants to atone for their sins by working for the temple, they’ll help.”

“But I have no holy power.”

“The temple isn’t only priests. There are people who support the priests’ lives, too.”

At my words, Riel bowed her head and blinked quickly. She was thinking — a sign she was considering it.

A little more persuasion and she’d come around.

In the gentlest voice I could manage, I recited words Riel had said earlier.

“Sinful child, even if the whole world blames you, I will not let you go. So take my hand.”

Riel was startled and looked up at me.

When I had once pretended to be a priest and spoken that line, Riel’s face had been very bitter — as if something she’d lost had resurfaced.

If it had been a line learned for acting, she wouldn’t have shown such an expression.

She must have believed in and relied on the god when she was young, then drifted away — but a shard of lingering faith remained.

I touched that lingering faith.

“Didn’t you say before, if you’d die anyway, you could try the hand of the god one more time? If it fails again, then abandon the god completely.”

I said nothing more and simply watched her.

Riel’s eyelashes trembled several times. She stared stubbornly into my eyes, as if trying to read something.

A while later, Riel very slowly nodded. She agreed to try what I suggested.

This didn’t mean she’d regained faith, nor that she truly repented. It meant only that, since she might die either way, she decided to play along and try my plan. If it went wrong, death would be the same.

But “playing along” can sometimes bring big changes. Maybe it would for Riel too.

I spoke softly, but with authority.

“Then tell me everything you know, from now on.”

Riel hesitated a long time even after agreeing.

While she wavered, I waited quietly. Sometimes waiting hits harder than pressure.

After a long time, Riel steeled herself and bit her lower lip.

When she finally spoke, an imprint remained on her lower lip from where her teeth had been, but she didn’t care and began to spill the secret.

“I’m just a low-ranking member, so I don’t know how they treated the other races. But I know where the leaders kept them.”

When I raised my hand, Riel flinched reflexively.

I placed my hand on her head and used divine power. A warm, gentle light wrapped Riel and then faded.

Riel’s wounds vanished and her eyes widened.

“If you commit wrongdoing you’re punished, but if you do good you are rewarded.”

Riel opened her eyes wide and began to speak, but then froze mid-sentence as if startled, and fell silent.

I could guess what she’d been about to say — relief showed in her eyes.

When Riel revealed the place where they’d imprisoned the other races, I turned to the others.

“If you investigate that place, you’ll learn who the Black Dogs were acting under.”

No one answered me. They stood frozen like statues, staring blankly.

“What’s wrong with everybody?” I asked, narrowing one eye. Wayne sighed.

“I learned something.”

“So did I.”

As Roy nodded, the Red Scorpion members whispered among themselves.

“The lady is scary these days.”

“She’s even a noble.”

“What? A noble lady acting like that — when did the world get so frightening?”

Tom and Jack puffed up as their comrades chattered.

“See? I told you Dayna is like a big sister to all of us!”

“If she moves into our line of work later, she’ll be terrifying, right?”

What did I do to deserve that? I didn’t slap anyone — I got cooperation by talking them into it. Isn’t that enough?

I was a bit dumbfounded by their reactions, but then I forced a bitter smile. The shocking thing, really, was the location of the Black Dogs’ secret hideout. I hadn’t expected it to be there.