Chapter 75 – Friends, Allies, and Enemies (21)

Friends, Allies, and Enemies (21)

Chloe burst out from the bushes behind me.
She glared at me as if she could bore holes through me. That look in her eyes, as if she would pounce at any moment, was one she often showed to Troka.
She seemed to be burning with anger. There was no murderous intent, but she was threatening nonetheless.

More importantly, why the hell is she here?
Since Chloe was pretty much demoted, does she live around here too?
If I think about it, it’s not strange. After all, the places where the demoted ones live are all the same. Still, she used to hold a significant position. She’s managing to live quite well in a place that’s not properly maintained.

“…Did you open the letter?”

There’s no need to provoke her.
Whatever her purpose, my urgent task is to meet Rahi. After that, I need to meet and persuade Chloe. If I encounter Chloe first, nothing will work out. The sequence is wrong.

“There’s no way I would.”

She approached with a face flushed with emotions.
I tried to stealthily back away, but then I stopped.
There’s no reason for me to run. Internationally, I might be considered a criminal, but in the current situation, I could be seen as the victim.
I took a heavy blow to the gut, a really big one. But I haven’t hit back.
Not yet.

Well, if she had come charging at me to detain an international criminal for the safety of the citizens, I would naturally have run away, but it doesn’t seem to be for that reason.

“You know something, don’t you?”

She looks even more serious now.

“Either explain so I can understand, or get out of the way. I’m in a hurry.”

When I first saw Chloe, I thought it would be easier to find her place. If she followed me, I could figure out where she lives without Cecilia’s help.
That thought lasted for a second.
Exactly until I took a closer look at her expression.

Approaching someone with that kind of face only leads to trouble.
For example, getting pinned to the ceiling, or being struck on the back of the head with a throwing knife and collapsing without even having a chance to react.

Could I win if it came to a fight?
The terrain is different from the Aeon incident; it’s surrounded by trees. The visibility is poor because of the trees.
It’s a coin flip.

The holy sword would be obstructed by the trees, and I wouldn’t draw the demonic sword unless I was near death.
I can’t recklessly throw my daggers either, even though they’re surprisingly my main weapon.

“What did you do to Rahi?”

“…What?”

“It’s clear you’ve pulled some trick. She wouldn’t say that otherwise.”

While I hesitated, Chloe had already come up close.
My hand naturally reached into my pocket.
I blinked and opened my Mind’s Eye.
She might not look threatening at the moment, but she could turn on me at any time. It’s better to be prepared.

But what the hell does she mean by ‘trick’?
I was just about to pull one, but I haven’t done anything yet.

“Can you speak in a way I can understand? I’m busy, you know.”

Saying that, I glanced past Chloe at a certain house.
I felt a familiar sensation from the direction I was looking. I began to remember, little by little. Rahi lives right over there. I have no evidence, but I’m certain of it, instinctively.

“Rapi betrayed us, she said. She claimed Rapi opened the gates of Myluman.”

“So what?”

“And you’re the one who revealed that crime.”

“And then?”

“Troka covered it up and killed Rapi.”

“…You know everything, huh?”

What the hell. She knew all along.
That should speed things up.

“You think I’d believe such lies?”

Or not.

“Do you have any evidence to think it’s a lie?”

“Do you think I’d believe such words so easily? It’s obviously a lie, this kind of thing.”

“Well… I’ve got nothing to say.”

She won’t believe it without proper evidence. That’s the situation.
I brought some evidence just in case… but will she believe it even if I show her? She might accuse me of fabricating it instead. Yeah, that’s even more likely.

“……”

“……”

Chirp, chirp,
The birds begin to sing. The sunlight, previously hidden by clouds, starts to invade the surroundings. The slightly damp greenery sparkles with dew.

The conversation has stalled, and I wanted to leave, but I couldn’t just say ‘Let’s part ways now, go our separate ways.’ The moment I move, I feel like something bad will happen.

“If you think it’s a lie, why are you reacting like this? If you knew this fact from the beginning and were going to react like this, you shouldn’t have published the newspaper at all. What’s the reason for doing all that and then acting this way now?”

So I changed the subject.
If she knew everything, why bring it up now?
I said it in that way.

“…First, tell me all about your movements.”

“Suddenly asking about my movements? I’m a secretive person, I can’t just casually talk about that.”

Sssk, a sudden ominous sound reaches my ears.
I only move my eyes toward the source.

Chloe had drawn a dagger from between her thighs.
A sword is already in her right hand.
Is this a show of force?

Well, no problem.
At this distance, I won’t lose.
Probably.
At least, I can say I won’t die.

“……After we parted in the passage, I stayed only at the inn. After that, I stopped by a bar once, and then I ran into you by chance. That’s all.”

That doesn’t mean I’m looking for a fight.
When I fought with Aeon, it was an exceptional situation, but to fight these guys, I’d need to be prepared to use the holy sword at least once or twice. However, there’s no reason to harm myself that much right now.

But looking at Chloe’s reaction, it seems she didn’t know the truth beforehand. Plus, since she’s not telling me everything, it looks like she only realized it recently. If she had known from the start, she wouldn’t have shown such a reaction at the bar.

Hmm, the high-ups in Myluman… they obviously wouldn’t want to die, so they kept their mouths shut.
Rahi isn’t the type to talk about that crap. At least not to Chloe.

I’ll think about this later.

After pondering for a moment, I look at Chloe, who has been sending me a rotten look for a while.
Of course, she’d be suspicious of me.
What kind of madman stays holed up in their lodgings for days on end?

“What’s your purpose here?”

“Just wanted to see a familiar face.”

“…There’s only Rahi here, no, never mind. It doesn’t matter.”

Chloe seemed slightly calmed down, putting away her dagger. At least she won’t be lashing out.
Maybe she’ll let me go without a fuss.

But she could be feigning calm.
It’s better to stay alert.
I can handle a frontal attack, but I’m still vulnerable to a strike from behind or an unexpected ambush.

It might be a pointless fantasy.
Chloe’s twisted face was gradually relaxing.

Since there hasn’t been a journey without a fight for the past five times, my mind is always prepared for battle. The slightest twist in the situation and I fall into such fantasies… It’s quite a hassle.

“I think that’s a sufficient answer. How about we part ways now? Let’s each go our own way.”

I slowly lift my foot.
Rustle, the sound of a few branches breaking could be heard.

This isn’t the time to talk to Chloe.
My previous statements proved my innocence, but that doesn’t prove anything about Rapi and Troka. The only sure thing is Rahi’s testimony. Chloe’s statement, being a relative and blood-related to Rapi, serves as sufficient evidence.
Without it, what’s the point of talking?

I hope Cecilia remembers Chloe’s house.
If not, that’s just too bad.

Slowly yet surely.
I quicken my pace.
When I sneak a glance at Chloe, her lips are quivering slightly. Her pupils are dilated, eyes moist. She looks incredibly upset.

Well, it’s none of my business.

And so, I move towards Rahi’s house.

More precisely, ‘I tried to move.’ That’s probably more accurate.

I had barely rounded the corner and taken a few steps, no more than ten seconds had passed since I had walked past Chloe.

Someone grabbed my wrist.
There was no sound of someone running.
Suddenly, they appeared and held me with a strong grip.

It had to be Chloe.

Turning around, there she was, the woman with a somewhat ambiguous expression. Her eyes were unreadable, almost uncomfortably intense to look at.

Indeed, it was Chloe.

“Weren’t you on your way out? It doesn’t seem like we have anything more to discuss… not right now, anyway.”

Even if she hadn’t grabbed me, I would have been the one clinging desperately soon enough.
But since she doesn’t know that, I guess it can’t be helped.

I tried to peel off her fingers one by one from my wrist. But they clung to my skin, refusing to let go. The more force I applied, the tighter her grip became. It felt like an octopus or squid had wrapped its tentacles around my arm.

“You might want to let go?”

“…I’ve heard everything from Rahi.”

What,

I almost blurted out instinctively.

If she’s heard it, then it must be the truth.
So Rahi told her?
What got into her to open her mouth? And to Chloe of all people, she’s not one to talk directly.

The reason she was lingering around here, even though her house wasn’t nearby… that explains it.

“When did you hear it?”

“Yesterday.”

I see.
Well then, that’s something the newspapers could do.

If Chloe has heard the whole truth, there’s no need to rush to Rahi right now. All I need to do is present the evidence, and it would be over. The look on her face right now suggested she would accept the evidence immediately.

“Do you feel anything?”

“…Of course. I’ve had a conversation with you and made up my mind.

If I handle this now, I can restore Troka’s worthless honor to some extent.
It was all a lie~
Even if it’s not to that extent, I could release a statement saying there was some misunderstanding, or that a lunatic impersonating Chloe said those things. At the very least, I could prevent the newspapers from spreading outside Myluman.
I don’t know why she brought it up now, but it was a significant opportunity.

“Whatever Rahi told you is a lie. The reason you’re loitering here is to keep an eye on me while we talk, after having threatened Rahi. Now I’m starting to see the pattern. I don’t know what you’re trying to pull by deceiving me like this…!”

And such opportunities end badly.
It’s a pattern.
Not five times, but six times in a row.

Sigh,
I had somewhat expected this, but it’s still frustrating every time I see this kind of reaction.

Chloe pulled out the dagger she had stowed away once again. Now, she was exuding a sufficiently threatening aura of murderous intent.
There was no avoiding the fight.
I had to show that I was prepared for it too.

“…Well, I still have to capture you and interrogate you. That would be the fastest way. If you’re restrained, Rahi will be able to speak the truth more comfortably.”

Slowly, Chloe advanced.
In response, I drew my secret weapon from within my coat. White, pure, and of an unblemished color. A secret weapon adorned with beautiful black lines.
The powerful third ace up my sleeve was a piece of paper.
Just an ordinary piece of paper.

Even as she approached menacingly, I didn’t move but extended my arm to present it to her. Chloe, puzzled by my unexpected behavior, snatched the paper.
And then she kicked at my chest.
This time my body was more responsive, and I guarded with both arms. I didn’t go flying like before.

Chloe, undeterred by my guard, slowly read the contents written on the paper.

Unless I had handed her the wrong document, the first sentence would read:

-Myluman Report
-In charge, Nerati.

And the last sentence would go like this:

-Suspect, Rapi

The content in between, well, there’s no need to explain that.

Oh, right.
The title is Myluman Special Military Operation.
If abbreviated, it could be called the Opening of Myluman’s Gates.

“……What is this, what is this?”

What came back from the third ace up my sleeve was a trembling that seemed as if it would dissipate pitifully, a wretched voice begging to please deny what she had seen.

I responded to her,

“The things Rahi said and everything you know about.”

I answered briskly.

“The evidence.”

All the truth had come to light.
Now, only the cruel reality remained.