Chapter 19 - Defection

🚀 Want Early Access & Bonus Content?

"Loving this story so far? You can read ALL chapters RIGHT NOW by joining my Patreon!

✨ Unlock instant access to the full completed novel

✨ No waiting for daily updates

✨ Support your favorite degenerate author (that's me!)

Only $5.99 for the full experience!

🔗 Check my profile for the Link!!

Free readers - don't worry, I'll still be posting daily updates here. But Patreon members get the VIP treatment!

Your support helps me create more wild stories like this. See you on the dark side! 😈"

================

"Welcome back, Aldias... How did it go?"

"aletia, huh... For now, there probably won't be any immediate conflict."

aletia rushed to Aldias, who had just returned to the entrance of Ferbergen via teleportation after his encounter with the Haulia tribe.

"I personally have no intention of hostility... but it probably depends on Hajime."

"Hajime... You mean the one Aldias fought?"

"Yes, he was quite the talent. It seems the Haulia tribe has sworn absolute loyalty to that boy, so bringing them under our direct control would be impossible."

"I see. Is it okay to just leave them be?"

"For now... By the way, what's Altina doing?"

"!"

Once the conversation had settled, Aldias asked something that had been bothering him. Altina, who had been shrinking herself as much as possible, clinging to aletia's small back, and peeking over her shoulder, flinched when Aldias called her name.

"Y-you remembered me!?"

"Yes, of course, I remember. Your attitude, even as a child, of earnestly learning the ropes to become the next chief was a good reference for me."

"N-n-no way!? I'm still nothing!?"

When Aldias and aletia visited Ferbergen in the past, they stayed there for several days until the mist around the Great Tree cleared. During that time, Altina had only managed to converse with Aldias a handful of times. While Aldias spent most of his time training during their stay, Altina, despite her declaration to aletia, didn't know how to approach him and simply watched from the shadows, letting time pass. This time, she had resolved not to make the same mistake, but when the moment came, she hesitated and hid behind aletia.

However, the joy of being remembered by him and realizing that the person she admired had noticed her efforts made Altina's cheeks flush, and she emerged from behind aletia.

"I too have strived by taking Aldias-sama's example! I'm so thrilled to be able to meet you again!!"

"Eight years since then, huh... You used to give off such a cute impression, but now you're a splendid adult woman. Honestly, you've changed so much."

"H-h-hyaaa!? N-no such thing...!"

Altina's face turned beet red in embarrassment at Aldias's praise. For Altina, being complimented on her appearance wasn't particularly rare. Due to her personality, looks, and birth, she received many marriage proposals, and words praising her appearance and inner self were, in a way, familiar to her. However, she never expected it to be so different when spoken by the person she admired.

"M-more importantly!? You must be tired!? I've prepared a room for you, so please get some rest!"

Altina, fanning her face with her hand to hide her flushed cheeks, somehow managed to suppress her agitation and tried to take Aldias's hand to guide him to the room.

"...aletia?"

"Hm... What is it?"

aletia instantly cut in between Altina and Aldias, grabbing Aldias's hand.

"What's wrong? You're going to guide us, aren't you?"

"Yes, of course. However, we can't just leave the Emperor of the Empire waiting forever. The room I'm guiding him to is the one we were in just now, and aletia, you know where it is, right? Let's join him later."

"...I forgot."

"...Oh, really?"

Altina, with a sweet smile, and aletia, with a faint smile, exchanged glances. For some reason, Aldias thought he heard crackling sounds, as if electricity was discharging. Seeing the two of them, Aldias tilted his head.

(When did these two get so close?)

He had seen them secretly whispering before, but he didn't remember them ever being this close. Thinking such thoughts, Aldias told Altina with a slight hint of apology.

"Sorry, Altina. We have to hurry. We plan to leave after greeting Ulfric and the others."

"Eh!? You're leaving already!? At least for a little longer..."

"I appreciate the sentiment. Freed... I received a message from my subordinate, and it seems there's been some movement in the Kingdom."

"Really? Aldias, you predicted they wouldn't be able to move properly for a while, though... Are they surprisingly capable?"

He had expected that it would take a considerable amount of time for the Kingdom, and by extension, the Holy Church, which had prioritized Ehit for hundreds of years, to restore their original order. However, it seemed the Holy Church wasn't entirely devoted to Ehit after all. aletia voiced this thought, but Aldias shook his head, refuting it.

"No, it doesn't seem that way. The Holy Church has declared the Heroes, the Apostles of God, as heretics."

"...Why?"

"I don't know."

Perhaps unable to immediately comprehend the content Aldias revealed, aletia tilted her head in utter confusion after a momentary pause. Aldias seemed to agree with her on that point. The Apostles of God... especially the Heroes, were just children who weren't even prepared to kill. Even if they stood as Aldias's enemies, they posed no threat. However, though mentally immature, their abilities were certainly real. According to Cattleya, they even showed movements surpassing her own physical capabilities. Surpassing Cattleya, an elite unit of the Demonfolk. Even if they couldn't kill an enemy, they possessed the power to do so if they chose. That alone could serve as a deterrent. Even if they couldn't maintain the will to fight "humans" to the very end, they could simply fight monsters. Given the current lack of forces, treating the Apostles of God as heretics should be like strangling themselves, but...

"Now that Ehit is gone, the Holy Church must have made its own judgment... Freed is verifying the information. We're returning to the Imperial Capital too."

"Mm, understood."

"So that's how it is. Sorry for the rush."

"...No, Aldias-sama still has things he must do, doesn't he? I can't possibly hold you back. Please, proceed on your path of conquest. However..."

Altina's face showed genuine disappointment. She had finally reunited with the person she had yearned for for eight years. It was understandable that she would be disheartened by such a quick farewell. However, unlike when she was a child, she now understood the immense weight Aldias carried. That's precisely why she didn't want to hinder his progress with her own selfishness.

With that change of heart, Altina readily spoke words to send Aldias off, then slowly approached him and...

"After everything is over, I won't hold back either. Please be prepared."

Altina, on aletia's other side, grabbed—no, hugged Aldias's free hand, looking up at him as she said this. Her expression was incredibly captivating, possessing both the youthful charm and elegance unique to a woman on the cusp of adulthood. If any of Ferbergen's men saw her, their hearts would easily be stolen. aletia, too, couldn't help but let out a soft "Mmph."

"...Alte—"

"Whoa—!? I-I'll go inform my grandfather and the others first, okay!? Aldias-sama, please come quickly!!"

The moment Aldias, who had been staring at Altina, opened his mouth, Altina cut him off with a loud cry and ran off at an incredible speed. Altina probably thought she had hidden her face well, but her long, beautiful blonde hair revealed her forest elf ears, typically long and pointed, were dyed bright red all the way to their tips. She had mustered her courage to make her move but then became embarrassed and fled... that was probably what happened.

"...Coward."

"...aletia. I want to ask you something... Why does Altina have such strong feelings for me? I can't think of any reason why she would feel so strongly about me..."

"...Other girls notice immediately, so why just me?"

"Hm? Sorry, I didn't quite catch that..."

"...I don't know."

"?"

To the ever-oblivious Aldias, aletia turned away and puffed out her cheeks.

In a Holy Church Cell

A dark, damp, and dusty room. A wooden desk and chair that looked like they could easily break. A built-in bed as hard as stone, and an exposed toilet. In a room that looked exactly like a prison cell for confining criminals, they—the Apostles of God—were present.

This was a prison located within the Holy Church of God's Mountain, used to hold criminals awaiting punishment. Naturally, there was no single cell large enough to accommodate everyone, so they were divided into several groups. Still, they could hear each other's voices through the steel bars. However, most of them were slumped on the ground, or hanging their heads, clutching their heads in despair.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

"I'm not wrong, I'm not..."

"Mom..."

"I want to go home... I want to go home..."

When they received the notification from the Holy Church, they vehemently protested its utterly unreasonable decision. The ones who particularly voiced their displeasure were the "minor villains"—Kondo, Saito, and Nakano—who often associated with Hiyama. However, no matter how much they tried to explain themselves, the priests merely frowned and showed no sign of changing their minds. Kondo and the others finally began to even show signs of casting magic at the priests. Just as their classmates were about to intervene, thinking that was going too far, Kondo, who was closest, had his head severed by one of the waiting Temple Knights.

After a moment of silence, screams echoed from those who comprehended the situation. The priest, frowning at the sudden uproar, was about to give further instructions to the Temple Knights when the voice of one of their classmates, Nagayama, interrupted the priest's command.

"—Okay, we'll do as you say. So please, stop harming us any further."

Saying that, Nagayama raised both hands, showing no intention to resist. Nagayama seemed to have understood in that instant: that they had no hesitation in killing them. In fact, the Holy Church was prepared to slaughter all the Apostles of God on the spot if they didn't comply. If they all revolted, it might not be impossible to escape the Kingdom. They possessed that much power. However, to say that they could exert that power just by possessing it would force one to shake their head no. Besides, where would they escape to, when they had no place other than this country?

Perhaps understanding Nagayama's thoughts, Endo and his party members, followed by other classmates, then indicated their surrender, and no more blood was shed in the royal castle. However, witnessing their classmate being killed right before their eyes left a deep wound in their hearts. This wasn't the first time they had experienced the death of a classmate. In their first labyrinth exploration, Hajime had fallen into the abyss. Sonobe and the others, who served as Aiko's guards, had even witnessed Shimizu being shot dead by Hajime.

They were used to such things, but this time it was a beheading. It was different from Hajime, whose body they never saw, or Shimizu, whose death by gunshot still felt somewhat unreal. The cross-section of Kondo's neck as it fell with gravity. The spurting blood. The agonizing expression on the head rolling across the floor. That sight remained etched in their minds. "Are we going to suffer the same fate?" Just thinking that made their bodies tremble uncontrollably. In this situation... usually, Suzu, the class's mood-maker, would encourage everyone, but even she was dejected this time, more than anything...

"Eriri... I wonder if she's okay..."

"Suzu..."

Her mind was completely preoccupied with her best friend, Eri, who hadn't been seen since the night before the Holy Church's announcement. The Temple Knights showed no hesitation whatsoever in killing them. Perhaps Eri's absence meant she had already been killed. Such thoughts continued to swirl in her mind.

"Eri will surely be fine, Suzu."

"Shizu-Shizu..."

"Knowing her, I don't think she'd do anything reckless without thinking ahead. Of course, there's still danger, but..."

"...Yeah, you're right. She'll surely be fine!"

Suzu's expression brightened a little at Shizuku's reassurance. However, someone appeared to dampen their spirits.

"What's 'fine' about it... She probably just abandoned us and ran away alone."

It was a different cell from Shizuku and her group's. Though his figure couldn't be seen from their position, judging by his tone, it was Nakano, one of the "minor villains."

"What?! That's not true!!"

"Who knows? You can't tell what someone quiet-looking is thinking behind their back."

"Eriri isn't like that!!"

Suzu's angry shout echoed, but Nakano snorted, showing no sign of changing his mind. However, hearing Nakano's abusive words, the surrounding classmates didn't remain silent.

"What do you mean, talking so high and mighty! Do you realize that because you idiots provoked them, we were all put in danger too!?"

"Yeah!! Besides, Hiyama isn't here either! Didn't he run away!?"

"We're fed up with you four! Isn't it because of your bad behavior that we're being declared heretics!?"

"What did you say, you bastards!?"

The arguments gradually heated up, turning into an ugly exchange where everyone just vented their own frustrations. However, a man appeared who put a stop to them.

"Everyone, calm down!!"

At kouki's voice, the class leader, those who had been spewing insults fell silent. kouki, confirming that the situation had calmed down, began to speak to reassure everyone.

"It must be some kind of mistake that we're called heretics. I'm sure the misunderstanding will be cleared up soon, just be patient until then!"

Even without seeing his face, his classmates could easily imagine kouki wearing his usual smile. That powerful smile that had led them, full of anxiety, since coming to Tortus. It made them believe that kouki would surely do something... that kind of expression... at least, until now.

"—Don't."

"Huh? Sorry, what did you just—"

"Don't screw with us?! It's all your fault, isn't it!?"

"...Huh?"

kouki's eyes widened in shock at the insults from his classmates.

"That's right! What do you mean 'I'll protect everyone'?! You haven't protected anyone!!"

"Hey, why did you say we wouldn't fight the Demonfolk? You must have known what would happen if you said that...!"

"kouki-kun, you're the one who said we'd participate in the war, right!? Take responsibility and fight!?"

In reality, it wasn't that they didn't have grievances against kouki. Of course, some might have blindly trusted him, but certainly not all. His declaration to participate in the war. His tacit approval of Hiyama's excessive bullying of Hajime. The war with the Demonfolk... and their defeat. Because no one around them openly opposed him, no one could voice their dissatisfaction themselves. That accumulated dissatisfaction, pushed to its extreme, finally exploded.

"Hey, you guys, calm down!?"

"That's right! It's no use blaming kouki, is it!?"

"Everyone, just calm down a little!?"

Unable to bear it, Ryutaro, Shizuku, and Suzu stepped in to support kouki, but it wasn't enough to stop them.

"What kind of Hero are you?! You can't do anything, can you?!"

"Useless!!"

"...Incompetent... You're incompetent!!"

kouki couldn't even reply to the heartless insults from his classmates.

(Why... why are they saying such things...? I just wanted to protect everyone... to help the people of this world...)

It was natural to want to help those who were suffering, and he, who had more power than others, had to protect everyone. The same went for the Demonfolk. No matter the reason, killing someone was wrong. So, refusing to fight was natural...

(I am... I am...)

Amidst the flying insults, kouki simply stood there, stunned.