Chapter 73 The Flower Of Friendship Blossoms From The Spark
Thea was first taken to a small villa-like place a short distance away from the port.
Since they didn't know the circumstances of her captivity, they considered it best to find a place that felt as liberating and calming as possible.
The plan was to assess the situation here before deciding whether to transfer her to a proper hospital or to call a doctor here.
At the same time, the members of the council were considering asking for her circumstances here if possible... however, they thought that having too large a group might intimidate her, so it was decided that Jamielee, who is of the same gender and has plenty of life experience, would be the one to talk to her.
In exchange, the content of the conversation here was being shared with the members of the Beast Council through communication magic.
"Now, there's no need to hold back. Please, make yourself comfortable."
"...Thank you very much."
Though she spoke in the gentlest tone possible, Thea's response was dull.
Her hesitation to even touch the tea set before her indicated a strong sense of caution.
(It's no wonder──she went through something terrible due to betrayal by her own kind. I can't exactly tell her to trust me just because we're of the same race.)
It's sad that she can't trust her, but saying that won't change anything.
For now, we must take it slow and build rapport──this is what Jamielee thought.
"Um..."
"What is it?"
It was therefore somewhat surprising to Jamielee that Thea had initiated the conversation.
Moreover, she wasn't just throwing out requests, but was looking at her with sincere eyes.
"You wanted to know what happened to the Blue Wolf tribe, that's why you called me, right...? I'll tell you everything, so please listen."
"...Is it okay? I definitely wanted to ask, but there's no need to push yourself. You can take your time to rest and calm down first, you know?"
"No... I'm fine, really."
As she said this, Thea began to recount what had happened to them.
She had been deceived by a man from the golden fox tribe and ended up distributing poisoned dumplings with sleeping pills to the people of the blue wolf tribe.
She was separated from her family and sold alone to the noble Neithardt in the Ortria Kingdom.
And... the inhumane experiments that took place there as well.
"They said they would implant the power of a monster into people, creating non-human soldiers. They couldn't use regular humans because they wouldn't be able to endure it, so they used beastmen instead... that's what they said."
As she spoke, perhaps the painful memories began to resurface.
Thea's shoulders started to tremble, and her voice was laced with fear.
"Every day, every day, my body was manipulated... strange injections were given to me... my arm was cut off, and I was made to suffer every day because of the arm they attached in its place. On top of that, during performance tests, I was even made to kill people with that arm...!!"
Thea's breathing became more and more erratic.
Her fully dilated pupils no longer reflected Jamielee's figure in front of her; instead, they were filled with the fear and despair she must have experienced countless times before.
──It was content that was far too heavy to listen to while remaining sane.
"That's enough, Thea...!! You don't have to say anything more...!!"
Jamielee stood up and wrapped her arms around Thea.
How could this be happening, Jamielee thought.
Thea is still a small child, barely ten years old and not even an adult yet.
Yet, they used her for cruel experiments just because she is a robust beast girl, forcing her to commit undesired murder.
What did this child do?
No matter what sins she has committed, there should be no justification for such inhumanity.
Not only Jamielee, but even through the secretly set up communication magic tool, she can sense her companions raging with fury.
They can't let those who committed such atrocities live.
They will storm into Ortria and make them aware of the weight of their sins right now.
Even Jamielee, who is usually moderate, was almost swallowed by such emotions at that moment── but then.
Thea stopped trembling, and the light returned to her tear-filled eyes.
"But Yumie helped me... she really did."
"Yumie? Who is that..."
"She was the girl in the wheelchair who was with me. Even after being rescued from that hellish place, I suffered for a long time... and she told me to live, that's what she said..."
From there, Thea just kept talking about her memories with Yumie.
How she patiently talked to her when she was feeling down.
No matter how much she rejected her, Yumie never gave up on her, always smiling gently.
"Even though her body was less capable than mine, she worked so hard for me... this dress, my hair, you know? Yumie thought of all this for me?"
Thea, touching the hairpin with affection, looked so cute in Jamielee's eyes that it eclipsed any concern about her discolored skin from repeated experiments.
She sincerely regret the comrades who are not here right now, only able to know the situation through communication.
"To say that she loves this body of mine... to say I'm cute... just hearing Yumie say goodnight to me makes all the bad dreams disappear completely..."
"...It sounds like that Yumie is really precious to you."
"Yeah... I love her so much."
Jamielee exhales with a "I see" at those words filled with deep emotions.
The intense anger she felt just a while ago has completely faded away.
No, the anger towards the traitors who turned Thea into a slave and the associates of Neithardt who exploited her for cruel experiments still smolders within.
However... the foolish thought of indiscriminately expanding that anger towards "the people of Ortria" had long since disappeared.
(In any country or group, there are both good and bad people... that's just common sense.)
Realizing she wasn't as calm as she thought, Jamielee inwardly self-mocks, trying not to show it on the surface.
And while she watches Thea continue her love talk about Yumie with a smile, she decides on the contents of the report to Seius.
──What should be directed towards the Kingdom of Ortria is not anger over comrades being harmed, but gratitude for rescuing them.
The Ortria envoy, led by Yumie Granbell, should be treated with the utmost respect as state guests.
In this way, Yumie's actions, unbeknownst to her, managed to extinguish the sparks of war that were beginning to flare up within Euphemia, allowing a greater flower of friendship to bloom.
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