What is it?
Why are you suddenly shouting?
Shekina was startled and looked at Nisha, but Nisha remained unmoved. Nisha, her face flushed red, shouted again.
“I told you! He can’t be allowed! Call him back right now!”
“Ah, stop shouting already!”
Shekina covered her ears.
“Why? Why are you doing this? You need to explain why!”
Nisha sighed deeply and dragged a chair to sit down. Her gaze settled on the carpet as she spoke.
“I had asked him to do something before.”
“What?”
“I asked him to go to the western desert and bring back the things I mentioned. He is the Commander of the Intelligence Corps, so I thought he’d bring them back properly.”
“And?”
“He did bring them back.”
Nisha’s gaze slowly moved upwards.
“Though, there were no survivors.”
She then locked eyes with Shekina.
“Those who gave the directions, guided others, or witnessed it, they’re all dead.”
Nisha wiped her face with one hand, taking a deep breath. It seemed like she was recalling the many people who died because of her request.
“That’s what intelligence organizations do. They kill everyone to prevent any information from leaking.”
“………”
Shekina was speechless, only gaping. It was something Shekina had never considered.
“You.”
Nisha looked directly into Shekina’s eyes and spoke.
“Are you sure there are no merfolks left on Merfolk Island? Do you think none of them are still there, ashamed of having been aided by the demons?”
Nisha’s words made Shekina realize that she had the power to cause countless deaths with a single word. Shekina, who had never thought of herself as capable of such a thing, was reminded of her own role in the demon forces.
“That…!”
Shekina couldn’t respond. Shame overwhelmed her, and she couldn’t bring herself to speak. Cold sweat ran down her face. Should she go to Merfolk Island right now? Should she go and stop Calvin? Shekina’s mind raced.
Then, the door suddenly slammed open, and a familiar voice rang out.
“I went there with him just in case!”
“Ta-da! Always here to support lady Shekina, it’s Arthur.”
Arthur entered with a smile, as though he knew everything. In his hand was Calvin, grabbed by the back of his neck.
“I followed him because I thought he might cause trouble again. And, sure enough, he was about to do something reckless. So I stopped him before he could, and brought him back. Good job, right?”
As soon as Shekina saw Arthur and Calvin, she felt her tense chest calm down. It felt like taking an antacid. Shekina let out a sigh of relief and nodded.
“Yeah. Well done. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Arthur smiled at Shekina, then turned to Nisha, who was frowning.
“And lady Nisha-.”
“What?”
“Lady Shekina still don’t know much.”
Throwing Calvin aside, he knelt down in front of Nisha.
“An ignorant child can be taught. You shouldn’t just scold her like this.”
“… I know that.”
“Then why are you shouting like that?”
“Stop nagging. I know.”
Nisha grumbled but quickly stood up.
“I’m glad you’re not dead. Fine. I’m leaving.”
Once again, she tried to leave through the window, but Shekina grabbed her.
“Thank you.”
“What for?”
“Tell me what I don’t know.”
“… You’re noisy.”
Shekina shouted toward Nisha, who was disappearing into the darkness outside the window.
“Next time, come through the door! If you don’t, I’ll really hit you!”
The sound of mocking laughter echoed. Shekina and Arthur both chuckled, leaving Calvin, who was unconscious, out of the fun.
***
“Oh… So this is all Black Spinel?”
Arthur asked as he looked at the pile of dark stones.
“Yeah. I dug all that out with a pickaxe, then got knocked out by you.”
“What nonsense. I saw you digging to kill the merfolks hiding in the mine.”
“We had to kill them so no one would find out we brought this back!”
Calvin shouted, then turned to Shekina.
“I’m being blamed for something I didn’t do. That’s really weird. I chose the best method. Do you understand?”
“Yeah. I get it.”
Shekina replied while rolling one of the spinels in her hand.
“Well, as you said, killing everyone is the right move and all.”
“Right?”
“But that’s not the answer.”
“… Huh?”
Shekina put down the spinel and looked directly at Calvin.
“They should be allowed to live, they’re struggling to survive, and just because they’re there doesn’t mean we should kill them. If someone killed you for just being there, how would you feel?”
“I’d say I’m weak, so it can’t be helped.”
“And what if Arthur was killed for the same reason?”
“Me? Well, I’m pretty strong.”
“I’m just asking you to think about it.”
Shekina looked back and forth between Calvin and Arthur.
“If Arthur were killed for being weak, would you just let it slide, thinking, ‘He died because he was weak’?”
“…….”
Calvin muttered under his breath. He thought about whether he would just accept Arthur’s death due to a ridiculous reason. Could he avoid feeling vengeance? It was hard to decide, and the answer wasn’t coming.
“Ugh.”
Calvin ruffled his hair and sank into the chair.
“People often say demons have no emotions.”
“Yeah.”
“I agree. There are times when I don’t fully understand what emotions are either.”
He gazed at the distant mountain.
“But I don’t know if this is a trait of our kind, or if it’s just something that happened because of the environment around us.”
He recalled the loud voices that had surrounded him since he first started developing a sense of self, shouting that only the strong survive.
Because of that, Calvin had grown stronger. And he had learned that if you’re not strong, you will die. Demons are just like that.
But… is that really true?
For the first time, Calvin doubted that belief.
“What do you think? Lasy Shekina, do you know the answer?”
Shekina shrugged her shoulders.
“That’s something you all have to figure out, why are you asking me?”
She picked up the spinel again.
“Thinking about those things as you grow is normal. Just like how I learn things from you, you should learn from each other.”
“…….”
Calvin shyly turned his head and looked at Arthur. Arthur’s face was so expressionless that Calvin couldn’t read his thoughts, which made him more confused. Was it only him who was struggling with these questions? Why should he be the one to change when everyone else seems fine living the way they are? Maybe just continuing as he was wouldn’t be so bad.
However, Calvin knew he couldn’t go back to how he was before. He had already felt something was wrong. There was something strange about the old beliefs, the old system, and about himself.
As Calvin continued to think, Shekina remained silent, and the atmosphere in the room grew heavy. Arthur snapped his fingers, breaking the silence.
“Alright! Shall we try using the spinel?”
He talked about the original purpose of the spinel—how it could be used to absorb demons and turn them into an energy source. However, Shekina shook her head firmly.
“Not here. The elders might sense it.”
She had made all this effort to hide it from the elders, and she couldn’t afford to let it slip now.
“Then where should we go?”
“Hmm…”
Shekina’s lips curled into a sly grin.
“Where’s the boss?”
***
Lucart stood in front of Shekina, quietly looking down at her with wide eyes.
Shekina was dragging a large bag that was about her size, and Lucart could immediately sense that it contained Black Spinels.
“So,”
Lucart put down the pen he was holding and spoke.
“Are you asking me to send you to the desert?”
“Yes, to the place we went before.”
Shekina recalled the time when she first explored a dungeon together with Lucart. The desert near the village where Dehan had lived.
The reason for choosing that place was simple. Since it was Dehan’s hometown, it was a place that couldn’t easily be erased from the ‘World’s Scenario.’
In other words, even if things went wrong and chaos broke out, the village itself was protected by the ‘World’s Power,’ so Shekina believed there wouldn’t be any big problems if they fled there.
However, such a reason couldn’t be openly shared.
Shekina glanced at Lucart before speaking.
“Going there would keep… well, others from suspecting anything. Anyway, I plan to try making it there first.”
Lucart, who had been staring at Shekina, stood up.
“I’m going with you.”
“Huh?”
Shekina’s eyes widened in surprise.
“No, you can’t go. I can go alone. I just need the magic circle.”
“You.”
Lucart, dressed in a coat, spoke in a low voice, clearly displeased.
“Have you forgotten that you nearly got dragged into the monster’s lair after opening a portal?”
Ah.
Now that she thought about it, Shekina remembered that incident. It had slipped her mind due to how many things were going on.
Shekina scratched the back of her head and then asked, wide-eyed.
“Wait, are you worried about me, Boss?”
