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Chapter 215: Their choices
Translator: Tseirp
Seeing how the ones among the Valkyrie Paladin Corps who took care of me the most, Lucy who interacts with me like I’m her younger brother and Elizabeth-san who taught me the way to dual-wield swords, were suffering, I couldn’t hide the look of surprise on my face.
Since I never imagined that those two would be going through demonization as well.
If I had actually chosen to utilize Sanctuary Circle on the training ground, they might even have disintegrated.
If that happened, it would probably be hard to maintain the current relationship I have with Lumina-san and the others.
While I was feeling relieved for that matter, I asked Lumina-san about the two of them.
“Are the two of them Human Supremacists or related to people from the Principality of Blange or the Elimasia Empire?”
“Elizabeth did indeed come from Blange but Lucy was born in the Saint Schull’s Allied Nations. Furthermore, I don’t believe they are Human Supremacists. Leaving that aside, why are they suffering like that now?”
Even though she knew that they were in that condition due to the magic I released, Lumina-san asked about their condition without blaming me.
” … Demonization, or they are in a stage close to that. Has there been any possible signs that they are spies from the Executives Department?”
“That’s no way that can be true!!”
It was the first time I saw a distraught Lumina-san but it showed how much she trusted them.
When I checked on Shisho and the others, the Knight Corp Captains looked like they couldn’t digest the situation as they still remained motionless while Shisho and the others also didn’t deal the final blow to the knights who were suffering.
The leader-rank Bulltooth and three other knights were still in the condition to somewhat stand but the other dozens of knights had collapsed in pain similar to Lucy and Elizabeth-san.
“Lumina-san, I have a way to help the two of them. But, I want confirmation that they aren’t spies. Please have them pledge a contract that indicates that they aren’t spies. The punishment should be something that can be seen clearly like falling under a sleep spell if they lie.”
” … All right.”
I felt that Lumina-san glared at me for a split second but humans can change just after a couple of years of not meeting them and it might not be visible to those around them.
I also didn’t want to think that they would betray me but as there’s the fact that the two of them were undergoing demonization, I couldn’t let emotions sway my decision.
However, I prayed that they were not on the side of the Executives Department.
“Lucy, Elizabeth, you heard what Luciel-kun said right? Swear that you are not spies. The punishment for lying will be the freezing of your Paladin job.”
Eh?! It was a much more severe punishment compared to the one I suggested.
That was probably the trust she had in them.
Now that I think about it, the number of members in the Valkyrie Paladin Corps has not changed since five years ago.
There hasn’t been any addition to the squad and there hasn’t been any loss of members either.
They’re quite a resilient group.
“I, I swear.”
“I swear too.”
Not betraying Lumina-san’s trust, Elizabeth-san and Lucy immediately pledged.
Upon those words, their bodies shone for an instant, signaling the completion of the pledge … but, Lumina-san made a huge mistake there.
“Lumina-san, even if they lied for that pledge, since I can’t perform status appraisal, I won’t be able to tell if their jobs are frozen so I can’t judge it.”
“Wha?!”
“Well, it’s alright though.”
While giving a wry smile, I applied the same magic I used to treat Wisdom-dono at Nelldal on the two of them.
” … Are you sure you don’t need to confirm it?”
Lumina-san peeked at me worriedly but the two of them answered instantly after all and moreover, leaving aside Lucy, Elizabeth-san’s face would turn red without fail whenever she tries to lie.
I noticed that from seeing Elizabeth-san and Saran-san interact and Saran-san actually also told me that Elizabeth-san would blush whenever she tries to lie.
Since there wasn’t any need to specially reveal Lumina-san’s blunder to her as well, I just laughed and healed them.
“I’ve already confirmed Lumina-san’s trust in the two of them. Moreover, there’s a suffering guy there who is blatantly telling me that they are undergoing demonization so I can just wrap things up after treating them, don’t worry.”
“Kukuku, it’s futile. Even if you are an S-rank healer, there’s no way you can return a person who has had the demon race factor infused into them back into a human.”
When I began treatment, having heard what I said earlier, Bulltooth laughed mockingly at my futile treatment.
It looked like he really knew that the two of them were undergoing demonization.
In other words, if I could capture him, I will very likely find out who the mastermind is.
I believed so.
“Tch, Luciel-kun please try your best to treat the two of them. I will defeat Bulltooth-sama, no, Bulltooth.”
While I was thinking to myself, Lumina-san was trembling from anger from the words Bulltooth said and she was wrapped in an atmosphere like she was about to snap at any moment.
” … Can you do it?”
“Even though I look like this, I believe that I am quite strong too.”
I wasn’t asking if she was strong or weak but if she understood that our plan was to capture him but going by the looks of it, it was already impossible to stop Lumina-san … oh well, I’ll just go the extra mile.
“Then we’ll do it together after I finish treatment. Also, if possible, I want to get information out of him so please leave him half-alive.”
“No, I can defeat him alone … ? What now?”
“I’m done with the treatment so let’s beat him half to death together.”
“The treatment is done?”
“Yes. The both of you can already get up right?”
After I said that, the two of them checked their bodies and stood up.
Lumina-san was worried about their bodies to the extent of trembling.
“Lucy, Elizabeth, you girls are fine?”
“Yes. My body doesn’t hurt anymore and this past few months feel like a lie.”
“It feels like I was released from some kind of restraint.”
“I see. That’s great. That’s really great.”
Now Lumina-san had dissolved into tears as the two of them spoke about their conditions while smiling.
The other Valkyrie Paladin Corps members defending Catherine-san also gathered.
The knights from the Knight Corps had stood still since just now and it looked like they no longer felt like conducting the arrest as they adopted a wait and see stance, focusing their gazes on Bulltooth.
He most likely knew the cause of the fatigue the two of them felt for the past couple of months.
“The two of them have returned to humankind so although I don’t know what schemes you had, I’ll extract that information from you guys after we defeat you.”
“Im, impossible. Even gathering more than ten high ranking Healers couldn’t dispel it. To do so alone …”
“You tried to dispel it? … If you accept my conditions, I can even convert you back to humankind?”
Bulltooth was severely distraught but he was not the only one.
That’s right. The demonized knights that were beaten up by Shisho and the others were wavering after finding out that it was possible to return to being a human.
I almost couldn’t feel anymore fighting spirit in them.
I tried to give them the final push.
“I am no longer a Healer but a Sage so I might have been able to dispel it because of that. However, I have no intention of going out of my way to treat people who are hostile towards me. Now then, decided for yourselves to be killed as a demon or to return to being human and await Pope-sama’s judgment.”
At that moment, 『Gogogogogo』 the training ground quaked.
An enemy attack in the middle of persuading the enemy? Just as I was about to send a cue to Shisho and the others, I found the culprit who caused the earthquake.
“Dolan, what is Paula doing?”
“She thought of creating the strongest Golem if we were going to fight demons.”
“Demons are human-sized right? Then can I just crush it?”
Paula asked with her head tilted but she appeared in a golem that far surpassed the 5-meter class golem I once saw in the labyrinth, she was in a 10-meter class golem.
If something gets stepped on by that, they would definitely meet an instantaneous death.
While feeling like the serious atmosphere had been blown to god-knows-where, I composed myself and gave Bulltooth and his accomplices their final notice.
“Decide if you will return to humankind or depart from this world by getting stomped by that golem. Everyone from the Knight Corps too, clearly decide if you will follow the Executives Department or Pope-sama.”
After I said that, the golem stepped forward a few steps.
In the midst of the earthquakes from each of its steps, everyone was forced into their decisions.
Author’s note:
Thank you for reading.
TL: Hahahaha so the most intimidating one is not Lionel or Shisho but actually Paula.
Thank you very much for this! Been enthralled since reading and ended up doing a marathon of the series to this point.
Thank you!!!!!
Thanks for the chapter.