Chapter 93

Helena's gaze captured Leighton, as if questioning him directly.

While seemingly enjoying her gaze, Leighton quietly said,

"He was swallowed whole by the monsters that appeared around this town."

"Lie, that can't be true. Lie, it's a lie."

As if trying to convince herself, Helena muttered. Her dry lips moved fluently.

"Who are you, anyway! You suddenly show up and what? "

"Remember me? I came in the morning."

"I came with you, the explorer, in the morning. I was the one who requested—"

Interrupting Tetr's attempt to introduce him, Leighton loudly introduced himself.

"My name is Leighton. I came in the morning to ask you some questions, and Hedron guided me here."

"But, an explorer. You wouldn't have taken a request to deal with those monsters, right!?"

"Hmm, why not?"

"…!"

Helena was speechless at Leighton's retort.

"There's no request an explorer wouldn't take. There are requests they choose not to take. Requests from people they dislike, or those that don't pay well. Despite harsh conditions, requests with little reward are generally not taken."

Leighton narrowed his eyes and continued, pressing on without letting her interrupt.

"Then, let me ask again. Why can you so confidently say you wouldn't take the request to exterminate the Trench Worm?"

"That... it's just..."

Before Helena could back down, Leighton pressed on.

"You knew, didn't you? The mayor's hand was in the Explorer's Guild. It's a shame. The mayor is dead, and so are the monsters. Your little game is over. From now on, you'll have to interact with people honestly."

"Hey, who do you think you are, this guy, Tetr!"

"…I want an explanation too. What do you mean by 'little game'?"

Tetr's gaze turned to Helena. Sensing the fear in that gaze, Helena started to assume a fleeing posture.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I don't understand."

Saying this, Helena backed away, trying to return to the hut. She closed the door as if to protect herself, like a snail retreating into its shell.

But that wouldn't work.

For this case, there were things only Leighton knew. To make her talk, she had to be here.

I moved to block the door before she could close it. Helena's back hit the closed door.

"What are you doing!?"

"I'm sorry, but we need to know what's going on. Both Tetr and I. So, we can't let you go."

As I said this, Helena, who had been glaring at me, averted her eyes.

"It doesn't seem like we'll get an explanation from Helena. Leighton, can you explain?"

"No way! No way! There's no way Sigann would die! This guy must be crazy! Tetr, say something! Do something about these guys!"

Helena's accusations towards Leighton. Leighton laughed, as if dismissing them.

"Hehe, things you don't want to accept are lies. Your worldview is simple, isn't it? Maybe you really believe Sigann had feelings for you?"

"Eh?"

"Huh?"

Our voices overlapped. Time seemed to stop for us.

"Of course! Sigann and I were deeply in love!"

"Hey, wait, Helena? What do you mean by that…"

Tetr called out to Helena, who was shouting with tears in her eyes. But it seemed she didn't hear, and continued speaking.

"I delivered letters every day, and he would wave at me when he saw me, and he said he liked me and relied on me!"

"Did you ever get a reply to those letters?"

"He's too busy! Unlike you, mysterious slackers, he has important jobs to run the town!"

"…Did you give those letters to the guards?"

When I interjected, her anger seemed to turn towards me, and she answered in a rough tone.

"He's busy! Of course he is!"

"Ah, I see…"

I couldn't say anything.

The unopened letters piled in the room of the men I killed were probably from her.

Her anger didn't subside. She lowered her head, her lips trembling. Ignoring her, Leighton turned to Tetr and me.

"Anyway, that's the story. For Helena, this case was a sweet dream of a secret shared with a man she loved. They probably met around the time of her father's funeral."

"It feels like the scale has suddenly shrunk…"

The scale may be small, but it's a troublesome dream.

Because of this dream, her best friend Tetr was targeted, and several people died.

Does she not care about that?

I wanted to ask her about it.

"…So, Helena. Did you know that Tetr was targeted by the mayor?"

"There's no way. Sigann wouldn't do something like that."

She immediately denied it. What if I showed her the evidence?

I stepped beside Tetr and took her arm.

"Ah!"

"Excuse me."

I rolled up her sleeve and showed it to Helena. The bandage on her arm still had a bit of red blood seeping through.

"This injury was inflicted by Sigann's subordinates. It was a severe internal injury."

Internal injuries sustained by a mage don't heal quickly. Unless from someone like Ember, it would take days or weeks to heal, even with magic.

Tetr's arm still bore the internal injuries from the assassin in the forest.

"So, even if you say it's a lie… Tetr?"

Helena tried to deny it again, but she seemed to care about her best friend's condition. She stopped and confirmed with Tetr.

"Ah, no, …it's true."

Tetr agreed, a bit hesitantly, looking at the arm I held. It must have hurt. I let go of her arm.

"Sorry, does it still hurt?"

"It's not that, but…"

She bowed her head slightly and fell silent.

"What, Tetr is lying too? My monsters wouldn't attack Sigann! What are you trying to achieve by lying!?"

"Well, if you won't admit it, that's fine. You should know the truth tonight at the mayor's house. Or better yet, go to the town now. The mayor's body is there."

"Still…!"

Leighton silenced Helena with a look. His smile was gone.

"If you don't want to believe it, why not show the evidence? Just saying 'it can't be' or 'he wouldn't do that' is just ridiculous."

"…!"

"That's the end of my talk with you. You're free to act as you wish, but I hope you make the right decision as a Stonecutter."

He then returned to a gentle tone and continued to us.

"That's the end of our work here. Are your questions answered, Crow?"

"Ah, yes…"

Helena's sadness was that her beloved had died as a victim of her own monsters.

It was indeed unavoidable, and this was the best measure to prevent future tax evasion by the mayor.

My questions were indeed answered, but with a bitter feeling.

Then, the frozen Helena restarted.

"I don't understand, I don't understand! If I keep dealing with you crazy people, I'll go crazy too! Just go away! Leave the town!"

She shouted and forced open the door, which shouldn't have been locked.

"I was leaving anyway."

"Go away!"

She shouted even louder and slammed the door shut. The sound of the bolt being locked came from inside. She probably wouldn't come out for a while.

The hut, which had been noisy just a moment ago, suddenly fell silent.

What to do with this atmosphere…