Volume 1
Chapter 72
I Cried
Translator : PolterGlast
【Akana's POV】
Exe...cution...? Does
that mean... Mother and I will die too...? T-That can't be...!"
I stood up.
"Akana-sama?"
I could hear In-san's
bewildered voice as I suddenly stood up, but I was too overwhelmed to care. I
turned my back on her and started walking away.
"I have to
go...!"
I had no idea what I
could do or what I was going to do.
I just thought that if
I didn't move now, I would regret it later. If I stayed here and cried, I would
definitely regret it later! That's what I thought.
But───
"Please wait,
Akana-sama!"
In-san came around in
front of me and tried to stop me by putting her hands on my shoulders.
"───!"
"Where are you
going!?"
"To the capital───to Mother!"
"What are you
going to do when you get there!?"
"In-san! Hurry...
We have to hurry! Mother is in danger right now!"
"───No! It's too
late!"
I was trying to force
my way past In-san and head to the capital, but her loud voice made me stop.
"It's too late,
Akana-sama"
Those were the only
short words In-san told me.───But I understood what she meant.
I understood... but! I
didn't want to accept it, I didn't want to understand it, and my brain───my instincts refused
to accept it.
...But when I looked
at In-san's trembling face───when I saw her trying desperately to hold back her tears, I was forced
to realize that it was the reality.
That meant Mother was
already───.
A sudden feeling of
powerlessness washed over me. I fell to my knees again.
"………The execution will
take place three days after the royal decree was announced───in other words, at
this very hour today. Even if you went there now, you would only cross paths
with your mother's body being transported here after the execution. It's too
late now... everything is too late."
"………"
Although I didn't
respond to In-san's words, I heard them clearly.
And the only word that
came to my mind was "Why?".
Normally, public
executions are reserved for major criminals who have committed hundreds of
murders or revolutionaries who have tried to shake the nation. No matter how
many times there have been problems with overseeing the territory, it's strange
to be sentenced to death just because the people rebelled against you.
Moreover, the country
must know that the famine ten years ago was caused by the sudden deterioration
of the land and the rise in prices in surrounding territories, and not by our
negligence. They must know that even though we were hated by the people, we
still tried our best to develop the territory! Why is this happening...?
It's also unnatural
that there's so little time until the execution.
Normally, executions
are carried out with careful preparation and measures to prevent any
wrongdoing. There's no way that can be done in just a few days.
Yet, it's already
being carried out? It's strange... it's so strange!
Why... Why is this
happening!? Why... why!? Why!? Why!? Why is this happening... I don't
understand! What, who, why!? Why...!!!
My emotions were
raging inside me.
And yet, there was no
answer. ───No, the answer was
lost just now.
"This is a
message from Arie-sama"
Even as I fell, In-san
didn't stop talking. She continued to speak, trying to convey Mother's last
words to me.
[Akana, thank you for
everything. I know that you have worked very hard for us. So please don't blame
yourself. I’m so sorry to be such a useless parent who couldn’t even leave you
a home. But you shouldn’t be involved in this. Pretend you died in this chaos
and live freely from now on. Forget about the shackles of nobility and us. Live
your life as you please. There are still things in this world that you don’t
know. I’m sure you’ll find new goals and dreams. So, don’t give up and keep
moving forward. That’s my last wish. I’m sorry to be such a selfish mother until the end. I
love you even in death───Arie]
I finished reading my
mother’s will written on the paper that In-san had taken out of her pocket.
"Ugh, uu...
uuuu!!"
What was this feeling
that had sprouted within me? Was it regret? Anger? Sadness? Perhaps it was a
combination of all of them───no, maybe existing words weren’t enough to describe it.
I didn’t know how to express those feelings. ───Instead, tears flowed
from my eyes.
I didn’t know how I
felt right now... I didn’t know, but... but...!!
"───!!!"
I shouted at the sky,
letting out all my feelings───I cried.
□□□
【？？？POV】
"Hmm, I’d say
it’s going quite well."
I watched the town,
still in chaos and filled with screams, and nodded, my right hand resting on my
chin.
"The downfall of
the Gilmburg family, who didn't succumb to the Soul Manifestation Religion, the
collapse of the city’s leadership where
faith isn’t very strong, and the
manifestation of Elethea-sama, which I had little hope for───to think I would
actually accomplish this. Well, it was worth cooperating with Hadira."
I chuckled at how
smoothly things were going.
"To divide the
Gilmburg family internally, I leaked information to the adventurers to make it
seem like there was a traitor, and to bring down the city, I cooperated with
Hadira to create weapons of a national treasure level in the current kingdom,
and I leaked information about the upcoming chaos before it happened to get the
king to give an oracle and bring down the Gilmburg family. Well, it was quite a
struggle, but I guess it all turned out well."
I took a breath and
turned my gaze to the outskirts of the town.
"If Hadira’s plan
had gone ahead as planned, he would have been the only one to look good in
front of Elethea-sama, so I had planned to interfere at some point... but I
never thought he would be defeated. I suppose this is no exaggeration to say
that this is beyond our initial plan. ………It’s unfortunate that there’s a human
who can defeat a god."
My gaze sharpened as
it turned towards the outskirts.
"Well, I guess it’s
a matter of compatibility. I don’t think I could be defeated. I do wonder what
it means to be compatible with the [God of Death], one of the top-ranking
gods."
I couldn’t help but
smile wryly at the absurdity of my own words.
"………Well, whatever. It’s harmless to me right now───and most importantly, Elethea-sama
has overlooked it. So it’s not something I should meddle in."
Saying so, I turned my
back on the town.
"Great. This is
getting interesting."
I smiled and began to
return to where I belonged.
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