Chapter 107 Revealing Reginleif
"Haa, haa...!"
In the pouring rain, Rose was running, breathless.
"Why!?"
The screams mixed with the sound of the rain were almost like shrill cries.
Why? Why?
The question marks in her mind couldn't be wiped away no matter how much she thought.
"Nothing... nothing happened..."
The tragedy she had imagined never occurred.
Until the final curtain fell, none of the audience transformed into something monstrous.
Not the townspeople of Joosa. Not the 5 elders of the Inquisitorial Council.
Even though she had seen them drink the god's poison right in front of her.
"This is not how it was supposed to go..."
While she was in a daze, she was pushed offstage.
By the time she regained her senses, the curtain call had already passed.
Her mind went blank. She brushed away Marcus's concerned hand. Dressed in her stage costume, she fled Joosa's town.
Before she knew it, she was now in a rain-soaked forest.
"Why is this happening?"
Crushed by her unresolved questions, Rose stopped in her tracks, leaning against a large tree, and collapsed.
"Was I... deceived?"
That wine, wasn't it the god's poison?
Her faint whisper was almost drowned out by the heavy rain.
But from beyond the curtain of rain, an answer came back.
"Oh. Interesting monologue."
"!?"
Startled, she looked up to see a gray-haired Valkyrie looking down at her.
Eshurareze Midgard. A beautiful girl, draped in the dignity befitting a hero knight, was pointing a sword at Rose.
No, it wasn't just her. Beside her stood another girl in a distinctive military coat, Lyam Neshana.
"...Hiiro."
"Yo, you twisted broad! You look straight-up gutted."
Unintentionally feeling a sense of fondness, she almost reached for that annoying life just to shake it off.
Hiiro Merifar.
The man wore a defiant smile as he faced Rose.
"Spill it, already! Whaddya think ya pulled with that stinkin' swill, eh? You're messin' with Joosa's! What kinda idiotic plan you cookin' up here?!"
* * *
Honestly, I was super freaked out.
Having dinner with a beautiful actress turned into a life-threatening situation──no joke. Last night, I froze when Ruthless casually dropped that bombshell on me.
That wine shealmost made me drink? Apparently, it was seriously dangerous stuff.
──(Poison? ...Hmm, not too far off. You know, Master, the human body stores the most Magi in the [blood], right? So, this is like a super potent drug made from the Magi dissolved in that blood... you get what I mean?)
──(I don't know the exact recipe or ingredients, though. But, it feels like they took all kinds of negative emotions, forced them into a solid form, squeezed them tight, stretched them out, and turned it into wine! Haha. At least whoever drinks it, whether human or not, is definitely going to lose it.)
──(You get it, Master? I suddenly got splashed with that stuff! Even I would feel terrible in that situation, right?)
For some reason, Ms. Ruthless was going on and on about what I almost drank, throwing in some snarky comments.
Seriously, I was sweating buckets. Messing with the Magi in my body? What kind of crazy drug is that? What was she trying to make me drink?
Was she trying to kill me? ...Was that really her intention?
Maybe Ruthless was just lying to mess with me. But if that's not the case...
I couldn't think of any reason or clue. But I couldn't just ignore the truth either.
So, I decided to immediately report this incident to the squad.
'Whoa, whoa, whoa... H-H-Hiiro! Go over there! Don't come near us!'
'Eek... s-sorry! ...But, I feel this really... bad vibe coming from Hiiro!'
As soon as I got close, the Neshana sisters jumped back with a loud "Zshaa!" I later heard that their Magi sensing is super sharp. It was like a cat jumping at the sight of a cucumber. Yeah, it really hurt.
But their obvious reaction made Ruthless's words feel more real. Plus, when Quollio checked the surface of Ruthless's ring with White magic sensing, he detected a clearly abnormal Magi reaction. Everyone's expressions turned serious all at once.
Then, some info from Shura ramped up the sense of danger.
'Oh, by the way, this evening when I was wandering around alone, that guy called out to me.'
'That guy?'
'Marcus. It was just some random pickup line, but he said something that caught my attention. He mentioned that Wagner usually serves wine before the show.'
'Before the show? Wait... are they planning to make the Joosa people drink that poison?!'
'Ugh, that's definitely bad! Even I can tell that drinking that won't end well! We have to do something, Captain!'
'I know. So calm down, Sham Neshana.'
Why does Rose have such a dangerous thing? Why did she try to make me drink it?
What does it mean? What's the purpose? The questions just kept piling up.
But one thing was for sure: a terrible tragedy was about to happen.
'If the weapon is wine... then maybe there's a way to deal with it.'
'Got a scheme, Quollio?'
'It's more of a brute force approach than a plan, though.'
'Spill it, I need something decent. Your ideas usually knock it outta the park.'
'...You really know how to push me.'
To stop the visible tragedy, we sprang into action.
'For now, Hiiro.
Can you make a run to the Joosa liquor store?'
* * *
"No way... you switched out all my wine?! When did you even do that?!"
"Woke up this mornin', saw your stash piled up backstage during rehearsal. Didn't fit the plan, so I knew somethin' was off."
"...Honestly, I should have interrogated you last night, but since I didn't know if it was a solo act or if the whole theater troupe was involved, I couldn't just go in hard. So, I've been waiting for the right moment."
"If the theater had been built like the Inquisitorial Council's storage room, it would have been a real hassle, but luckily, everyone from the theater troupe was busy with rehearsal, and since it's a tent, I could sneak in from places other than the entrance."
Thanks to Captain Shidou's orders, I had been keeping an eye on the theater troupe's movements since before dawn.
Now that I knew where they were, it was time to act.
I had Sham, acting like a radar, identify the poisoned wine among the bottles, and then Captain Shidou and I carried it out. Then, with Lyam's blue magic, we cleaned the bottles and quickly switched the contents to the regular wine we gathered last night, and returned everything to the storage.
Well, it wasn't as easy as it sounds.
"That wine is the same stuff they sell at Joosa. There was a chance someone who knows their wine could notice the difference, but... it's before the show. Looks like no one made any rude comments."
"Just as Quollio said, we dodged a bullet, plain and simple."
"Yeah, but there's always that one idiot with bad luck... I felt like we'd manage somehow."
"That's one too many words from ya."
But it really was a tightrope walk.
We had barely enough time, information, and people. It was true that we had to rely on luck to some extent. We had to do the switch without being seen in town, and if any theater troupe members came back to the storage and noticed the bottles were fewer, we'd be done for.
I was well aware I was crossing a dangerous bridge.
"But... our bad luck managed to completely kill the tragedy you were trying to create, Rose?"
"Ugh."
Even if it felt like walking on thin ice.
If we made it across, it would be our win.
"Ruthless."
The curtain call for the performance had long since ended.
Then let's go for the final push.
I brandish the Ruthless, now out of its ring state, and declare.
This is checkmate.
"Now, let's hear it. What's your goal?"
"Ugh..."
...
But.
──Clap, clap, clap.
In place of an answer, I received a shallow applause that stood out even in the rain.
"Hmm. Hmm. No, truly a magnificent display of confidence.
As expected from the renowned Einherjar Knights squad, I must first commend you."
"Wha── Who're you think you are?"
It was a cold voice from the man, sending chills as if crawling beneath the words.
"──Director Drodo!"
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