CHAPTER 39:……………………………………
Questions and Excuses
The conference room where the captains had gathered was a temporary space converted from a large room in the inn. In other words, it was ordinarily nothing special. Yet, perhaps because of the expressions on the captains’ faces, the room itself seemed to exude a certain grim intensity.
“…….”
At the center, Lowell sat, trying hard not to bow her head under the oppressive atmosphere. She had tensed her neck so much that her shoulders felt stiff.
“You probably already know since you came, but I asked you here because I have something to ask.”
Ravia Karaja, the First Order Captain sitting at the far end of the table, broke the solemn silence.
“Ah, yes.”
All eyes immediately turned to Lowell, and she had to stiffen her posture even more under their scrutiny.
“It’s nothing serious, so don’t be too nervous.”
Karaja closed her eyes briefly and gave a somewhat kind smile.
“…….”
In response to that kindness—or perhaps consideration—Lowell gave a small nod.
The questions began pouring in immediately after.
“What’s your reason for coming to the battlefield? You even used a magic stone to get here.”
A blonde woman sitting to Lowell’s right furrowed her brows as she asked.
“Uh… my husband is at the battlefield, so I was worried and missed him too much?”
Lowell spoke, trying to make it sound natural. Despite the rather awkward answer, the captains’ expressions didn’t change. All her efforts to lighten the mood seemed to evaporate instantly.
“Hmmm, I see. Well, it makes sense for newlyweds.”
“Ha ha. Yes, well….”
Feeling embarrassed, Lowell forced an awkward laugh.
“Then why did Princess Heinstein follow you? I heard she didn’t even know you were chasing her.”
“I missed the chance to return and wandered around, and happened to find the princess, so I followed her. I thought she might help me get back to the capital.”
Lowell recited the answer she had prepared. Fortunately, this one came out naturally.
“Regardless, none of that matters, does it?”
At that moment, a man with blue hair raised his voice, cutting through the barrage of questions. The older man, arms crossed, looked distinctly displeased.
“You… how exactly did you attack the ruler of the demons? It’s suspicious that you even have magical power, and yet you executed an attack that ordinary knights couldn’t even manage, throwing yourself into it like that.”
“I—I didn’t even know he was the ruler of the demons. I just… I had read a book in the library about demon-slaying techniques before, so I acted in a hurry.”
Lowell’s voice trembled differently than before.
She wanted it to look like she had defeated the demon army purely by chance. And indeed, she had never dreamed he was the ruler.
“Actually, I’m possessed. So as a possessed person, I have magical power. Amazing, right? And yesterday’s attack was just because he had a reincarnation spell. As a possessed person, I even knew that. Haha.”
There was no way she could reveal that here.
What she wanted was for the words “ordinary” or “by accident” to appear before the title of “hero” that had already been affixed to her.
“But you’re a commoner. What is the source of your magic? How could you wield such tremendous power?”
The blue-haired man furrowed his brows more deeply and leaned forward.
“That is….”
“Why can’t you answer immediately? Hesitating like that makes me think you gained your magic through a pact with demons. If that were the case, no matter what achievements you made, we couldn’t just overlook it.”
His gaze, fixed on Lowell, was icy cold.
“Starting with a commoner appearing at the battlefield uninvited and using magic… in my opinion as the Fifth Order Captain…”
“You talk a lot for someone who did nothing but drink when the ruler actually appeared.”
The scolding words were abruptly cut off by Leon.
“…W-what did you say?”
“The ruler of the demons approached the forward base and attacked the key personnel, the princess. Did anyone here even notice that?”
Leaning back, arms crossed, Leon spoke casually.
“If she weren’t my wife, that demon would have leveled the forward base long ago. Yet instead of thanks, you hear accusations…”
His gaze was fixed on the Fifth Order Captain, but the words were meant for everyone present—a warning that none of them had the right to speak further.
“…….”
The atmosphere dropped instantly. Soon, Lowell thought, I’m doomed. Trying to argue in a situation that was hard to justify…
“Hmmm, I see. Leon is right. Your wife stopped what could have been a huge loss for both the Order and the Empire. If it sounded like we were interrogating or blaming you, I apologize.”
At that moment, the Third Order Captain, Lanistan, spoke to Lowell.
“Yes? Ah, yes…”
Lowell flinched slightly at the sudden apology.
“You all know that the ruler of the demons was fatally wounded and disappeared. That means there was no magical collision, so it is inappropriate to suspect that the author’s magic came from the demons.”
Lanistan glanced at the other captains seated around the table.
“Ha ha.”
Once again, all eyes turned to Lowell, and she smiled as innocuously as possible. Seeing most of the knights nod, she realized they largely agreed with that.
“Then I think that concludes the questions.”
The First Order Captain summarized the discussion. After observing Lowell and Leon impassively, he smiled kindly once more.
“We’ll finish the meeting and leave. You two should go ahead.”
“Yes.”
Leon’s reply came even before the captain had fully finished speaking.
“Let’s go.”
“Huh? Ah, yes.”
It was only after Leon placed his hand on the doorknob that Lowell realized his fingers were fully intertwined with hers.
Perhaps because of the ticklish feeling between their fingers, she didn’t hear anything behind her.
“Wow, the atmosphere in there is intense.”
Lowell and Leon decided to walk in front of the inn for a while instead of going straight back. They didn’t want to run into the curious knights again.
“Should I have just shown them my magic? Last time, I saw that demons or those contracted with demons have their eyes turn red when they use magic…”
“My magic flow is still unstable, why would you even use it now?”
Leon sharply cut off Lowell, who was rambling ahead. Then he quickly caught up to her, the distance closing in an instant.
“Uh… that’s true.”
Lowell’s voice trailed off as Leon suddenly appeared right in front of her.
Swish.
At that moment, Leon’s hand went over her neck. In the blink of an eye, their bodies were pressed against the wall.
“…Ah.”
Startled, Lowell flinched, but Leon didn’t care and pressed further.
“Your pulse is racing. Your heart hasn’t calmed, yet you plan to disturb your magical flow too?”
Leon spoke, then withdrew his hand.
“Has all the magic I stored in the suppression stone run out? My magic should have calmed your rampant flow…”
His words trailed off. His eyes were fixed on her neck, and he noticed the necklace he had given her was gone.
“Ah, that….”
Lowell quickly raised her hand to cover her neck.
Tap.
But Leon caught her hand before it reached her.
“Where did you put the magic suppression stone?”
His voice was low, firm, and cold.
“…….”
A thousand excuses ran through Lowell’s mind—should she say it broke during the last battle, or that it fell off a cliff?
“…….”
But she didn’t want to lie. Perhaps it felt foolish because the man in front of her was looking at her so intensely.
“…I exchanged it for a magic stone with a teleportation spell when I came to the plains. I can’t teleport here myself, and I had to hide that I had magic at the time.”
Lowell spoke deliberately, syllable by syllable, keeping her eyes on him. Her gaze blurred slightly despite her effort, stinging from the intensity.
“Huh.”
Leon turned his head sideways, irritably ruffling his hair, then fixed his gaze on her. His eyes were filled with the indifference he had been showing recently.
“…Let’s go first.”
His cold words settled around the still-standing Lowell.
