/
C31~ Evanescent Truce
The only way I could think of was rather complicated.
Leticia will continue to deceive others as Anju’s imposter.
But we would make her move in such a way that she would be easily recognizable as a fake.
What would happen then? What was the purpose?
The other criminal was bound to contact Leticia.
He might want to make use of her.
Or he might want to stop her since she was coming in his way making it obvoius to the public that she was an imposter and not Anju herself.
Either way, I’m pretty sure that we’ll get in touch with the actual criminal.
At that time, we would have to do our best to expose the other party’s identity …
And he might even be detained depending on the circumstances.
Thus, by doing so, we will gather information and make steep progress towards our goals.
“Hehe”
I thought it would work but…
When I explained what I had in my mind everyone started chuckling.
Sana squinted her eyes in an equal disappointment of her idea being rejected.
“No … was it?”
“Nope, that’s not the case. Rather, I think it’s a really good strategy.”
“But … I was surprised. Haru-san is not only good at magic, but he is also smart.”
For you to say so… I don’t think that’s the case…
Rather it was Sana who first proposed it.
“To think that you could think of such things in such a short time. I respect Haru-sama.”
No.. no you are getting it wrong…
BUt for some reason even Sana followed along with them.
“Master is vwise! I’m proud to be a disciple of master!”
I don’t remember accepting you as my disciple …
Somehow, I felt like I was always being moved around like this as I was.
“Haru is being praised …Fu! That’s so funny.”
Leticia laughed in a mocking tone as she deemed everyone stupid. She was probably the only one today who had thoughts aligned with mine.
But why does she looks like she is in a pinch?
“Well … how about we go along with it for now? You have to prove your innocence right?”
“Yeah …,” Leticia whispered giving in.
After following our conversation, Leticia pondered for a while as she made a mess oru of her hair enterwining them with her fingertips.
It was one of her old habits.
When she thinks hard about something, she often messes with her hair.
…… There are still some things about her that haven’t changed. It makes me recall of the old times.
Somehow, I feel complicated.
“Who could it be stupid enough to try to imposter the saint …,” Leticia whispered to herself.
“You should talk for yourself, right?” Sana asked.
“Ugh …!?”
Sana’s words pierced Leticia leaving her in a daze.
Judging from her reaction maybe it is true that she had tried to defame the saint on a whim?
“Are you okay?” I couldn’t help but ask.
I am not aware of what her motivations are but we needed her for this.
“Yes, Yes I am okay !? More than that, for there to be another criminal! You want to get rid of him, so you want me to cooperate? Is that it?”
“Yes, that’s it. Can you help?” I asked with a soft voice.
No matter our past and her current status, I was the one making a request here. I couldn’t afford to act as if I am entitled here.
“OK”
“Huh?”
“That’s it, I said I am okay with it.”
”” “…” “
Everyone, including me, was equally surprised. For better or worse we considered Leticia to be an enemy.
No way, she would have accepted it so easily … unless..
“Is it raining tomorrow?”
“No, my guess is that it might snow.”
“Lady. There is a possibility that a haze will fall …”
I was confused…
I am not sure why they suddenly started discussing some out of context topic… but smoke seemed to be coming out of Leticia’s head as they continued to ignore her.
“Why !? I already said that that I would cooperate obediently, so please be at least a bit happy there !? What’s with that rude attitude !? Should I stop cooperating !?”
Leticia roared at all of them. All I could do was watch as I wasn’t really too sure about these events.
But then Sana had to drop the bomb…
“I see tomorrow it would snow and also… Leticia will be banished from the guild.”
“What !!!!”
Leticia screamed …
After that she kept barking and barking… I had stopped following their conversation.
I sighed. I was a little tired.
Talk about being lazy.
“Haru, I have some conditions for cooperating!”
“Let’s listen what you have…”
“Keep my crime a secret from everyone.”
“Is that it … is Leticia’s finally feeling guilty of her fraud?”
“That’s it. Let’s blame the other criminal for everything, including my scam, and my fame will be preserved.”
It was certain that Leticia had tried to defame Anju’s name and had committed a scam, albeit only once.
Once it becomes public with enough proof, the loss of her authority is inevitable.
In order to avoid that, she wants to impose all our sins on the bigger criminal.
“… Okay, I have think about it.”
“Hey … what do you mean you would think about it, Haru? Just do that …”
I sighed as I turned to the others.
“Leticia is an important figure in the guild and also it’s not too hard to save her from this. So at this point, let’s compromise a few things.”
I had to ask the others for their confirmation especially Anju…
“Hmm, that’s like Haru! You really understand that you are mine and must heed to my words.”
Leticia continues with her barking as she grinned to herself. while I simply ignored.
“And also, I would like to say that it doesn’t really matter even if we don’t take the strategy you just recommended.”
“What do you mean?”
“Now that I look back at it, I think that I have already been contacted by the actual criminal. It was just that I hadn’t realized it back then.”
“What !?”
I stumbled in shock as I couldn’t help but be suprised.
I didn’t think it had already gone that far. But if that was the case it could be a big opportunity.
“Can you tell me?”
“It’s okay I will tell you but… hmm. What should I do? I want to cooperate, but I want to have some kind of reward. It’s boring to reveal it just as it is honestly.”
Leticia looks down at me with a smirk on her face.
I have seen that kind of smirk many a times during the days that she had tortured me as she looked down on me.
And honestly I can’t help but think that it’s a disgusting smile.
“Well, you want to have a cooperative relationship with me? You want me to tell you? But, you see … is that really the right attitude for you to request something from me? Don’t you understand? You must grovel on the floor and beg me for it.”
I remember now.
When I was trapped with her, I had to grovel for even the most basic things.
My old memories resurfaced as my face turned pale.
“You know what……!!!”
Alice tries to move forward as she howled, but I swept my hand in front of her stopping her from doing anything unnecessary.
I gave her visual signal to leave it to me.
After a hesitant pause, Alice returned to her original position.
“If that’s how you want to play, then I would play along too.”
“Hey … what are you going to do?”
“… Was it during the summer seven years ago?”
”?”
“On that day, Leticia drank a lot of water because it was humid. And she slept as she was … And she woke up in the middle of the night because she wanted to go to the bathroom, but she was too scared and couldn’t go to the bathroom alone. She had recently read a horror story too so the after effect was there.”
“‘What should I do? What should I do, it’s too much? Yes, I should take it out of the window.’ You must have been having thoughts like that … “
“Hey, uh … Stop Stop Stop Uuuuuuu !!”
Leticia’s face turned to a bright shade of red, as she waved her hands in front of me trying to cover up my words with a lid.
She grabbed my collar pulling me around.
“Haruuuuu! What are you saying !? How can you trample on the dignity of a maiden !?”
“That’s because Leticia’s attitude is too bad. She is playing a bad game, so I had to play along. By the way, I still have a lot of stock penting up in my belly. As your childhood friend, I have a lot of privilege.”
“Guuuu …”
“If you are not going to cooperate, then why don’t I keep going?”
“On a cold winter day, Leticia was wearing a skirt, but she her head got stuck into a pile of snow and her p …”
“Ahhhhhhh !? I see, I understand, so stop !? Otherwise, I’ll cast advanced tier magic here !!!?”
Cough Cough
It looks like I’ve gone a little too hard on her. She had almost turned teary.
However, I succeeded in making her to back off on her unslightly demand.
Leticia sits back in her chair and utters some of the best information I could have got, all the while she kept whimpering that she was being blackmailed.
“… Basically, Haru’s reasoning is correct. In this case, the criminal was trying to kick Anju out of the saint candidate. I just happened to have the same timing.”
“How are you so sure?”
“The other person said that way, so … she asked if I could we could have a cooperative relationship.”
“What did you answer?”
“I’ve put it on hold. I told her that I can’t give her an immediate answer because her purpose is ugly.”
“Hmm … Did you hear the name?”
“Yes, of course. The other person’s name is … Rona Falun, the great priest of the church of Arland, that is the one in this city.”
“That …!?”
Anju responded more strongly than anyone else to the name Leticia had uttered.
She was so surprised that she put her hand on her mouth … gasping for breath.
She shook her head in desperation unable to believe it.
Perhaps Anju and Rona were close friends.
At least that was the conclusion I had reached from Anju’s reaction.
However, I cannot help but want to confirm it.
It may be terrible for me to ask, but …
Still, I have to clarify everything.
“Anju … are you acquainted with Rona Falun?”
“……Yes” she muttered in a fanit receeding voice.
Anju’s face had turned blue at this point.
“Rona is … my childhood friend …”