The Revenge of the Soul Eater

Don't be silly, I'm not gonna let you do that!

I will kill Miroslav.

Hearing my request, Lars' first words were an angry voice that made the walls shake.

My right hand reaches to my waist and grabs the empty space. This is where the hilt of my sword would normally be.

The real anger of a sixth level adventurer, anger that pierces the heavens.

If it were me before, I would have been trembling. I would have cowered and pissed my pants.

But to me now, the man's anger in front of me was no more than a gentle breeze.

'What are you mad about?　Now you've said it yourself. You told me to do what's in my best interest.

'There are limits!　Why does Milo have to be killed!

Why?　That's because that woman tried to kill me, of course.

You're alive!　You're alive!　Then Milo doesn't even have to die!

f*ck you, man.

What?

"Since you saved your life as a result, you want me to let the 'Murderer' over there go free?　I owe my salvation to my own strength and luck. The Murderer, you and the others had nothing to do with it. Why should I lessen your sins?

"Don't call Milo a 'Murderer'!　Don't make me say it again, you're alive!　Milo didn't kill anyone!

A sigh escaped me.

He turns to Lars, who stands up to snort, and explains to him to bite and include.

'Like ... well ... yeah. Let's say one day I stabbed your heart in the back.

...What are you talking about?

Just listen to me. After being pierced in the heart, you naturally die. But a priest who happened to be able to perform the miracle of resuscitation happened to walk by and healed you. You were saved, so you're going to charge me with a crime, right?　You're calling me a murderer.　And I say to him, "You're not dead. "You're not dead. You're not dead, and I didn't kill anybody!　Don't call me a murderer! You know. Well, what do you think of that?　Are you convinced that you're right?

It's...!

Do you understand how unreasonable you are?

Lars shakes his fist and shuts up as he chokes on it.

Ilaria interrupted Lars to back him up.

It's a technicality. Lars, don't be deceived. In the current story, it wasn't the heart that Miro pierced, but his arm. Of course, that's a crime, but that doesn't make it any less of a crime to take a life, does it?

''Yes, you're right. I told you that Milo's magic hit your arm, you said, Sola!

'People who bring up metaphors, you know, usually tweak the story to suit themselves. Like this man!

Ilaria glares at us, saying, "If you can talk back, talk back.

Lars, empowered by Ilaria's words, regains his natural color.

Seeing that, I couldn't help but sigh.

Two more idiots, hey - no, maybe you really haven't noticed?

Lunamaria is still silent. Miroslav, the ringleader, is hiding behind Lars, so I don't know what he's thinking, but.......oh well. For goodness sake, I'm getting tired of this sterile conversation and it's time to settle the matter.

''It wasn't the heart that Milo pierced, it was the arm. You do realize, Ilaria, that's far more cruel than killing, right?　You're a C-ranked party, and you don't even know what to do with the prey the Lord of the Flies caught?

Hearing this, Lars raised his eyebrows dubiously, and Ilaria shushed him with a face that looked like he'd been drinking vinegar.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lunamaria shaking her shoulders with a freak out.

'What do you mean by that?'

You really don't know? You're still not very good at learning, Lars. Come on, Ilaria, show him what you always do. Neatly and clearly.

...it's

Hey, hey, Ilaria, what's going on?

To feed the larvae....

'What?　Then, then, Sora....

As you can see, I was fed to you alive. Oh, I wish I could share one hundredth of that despair and fear with you guys!

I laughed at him mischievously and spoke to Ilaria in a coquettish voice.

You said something earlier, Ilaria?　Even attacking an arm is a crime, but that doesn't mean it should be equated with the crime of taking a life, right?　Here, tell Lars again. That if the Lord of the Flies catches you, you'll be eaten alive, but it's still less of a crime than killing you on the spot!

.....

Well, well, well, you won't say anything when it's inconvenient. Are you going to exercise your right to remain silent like a priest of the God of Law?　'Murderer' and 'Silent', well, you're a good match, boys.

'Sola!　No!　If you make any more fools of my people, I won't let you!

And the leader was 'Grumby'. And while we're at it, Lars, you don't think it's a coincidence that your party was attacked by the Lord of the Flies and escaped to me, do you?

What do you mean?

'Ilia knew about it. Naturally, both Miroslav, a sorcerer, and Lunamaria, a qualified sage, would have known about the habits of the Lord of the Flies. Even if they fought, they would not win. If they lost, someone would be eaten alive by the demon. The most dangerous one was you, the one who fainted. The three of them, who love their leader, thought to themselves. Is there any way we can help the leader? Couldn't there be a way for us to help ourselves if we could and then it occurred to them. They remembered that we met before we went into the forest. That wasn't a coincidence. They ran to where I am on purpose.

.....

''Why do you think Miroslav, who is good at fire magic, used wind magic just then?　That's because it's too powerful for his specialty, fire magic. Knowing the habits of the Lord of the Flies, Miroslav knew that demons were only interested in living people. It would be a waste of time if he accidentally killed the decoy. That's why I used wind magic that can limit its power. To hurt me enough not to kill me and to make me raw food for the demons.

It's bullshit!

It's not just a matter of time before you'll be able to get your hands on a new one. Among them, Miroslav disliked me more than anyone else. He even tried to isolate me by spreading bad publicity and driving me out of town. Still, I wouldn't leave the city. Even if I was expelled from the guild, I would stay. And then the Lord of the Flies attacked me...

"...Hey Sora, you're not going to...

He thought it was a great opportunity. And, Lars, we can help you in any way we can in the name of saving your life. And if I'm accused of a crime, I can always claim it's an emergency evacuation. I can't believe I just said "emergency evacuation". I mean, it's a premeditated murder with a demon.

f*ck you!　You gotta be kidding me, man!　How dare you bring this to someone who was one of us...

Friends?　'He's not our problem anymore,' - that's what you said to me when we met in the woods?

G.........

''Well, I honestly don't know if I was thinking that far ahead as far as Ilia and Lunamaria are concerned. But, Miroslav, that guy was the only one who absolutely knew everything and acted accordingly. Of course, he was the one who was leading the charge when we escaped from the Lord of the Flies. What do you think, Ilaria, Lunamaria?

I asked the question, but no answer came back.

There was no voice of affirmation, but there was no voice of denial either.

Ilia, as a priestess, cannot lie, and Lunamaria, an elf, considers falsehoods to be an abomination. And Lars, who had fainted, had no way to deny it.

As Lars turned to Miroslav in a panic, the wizard shook his head buzzing with the momentum that made his proud red hair level.

'Ugh, it's a lie, it's a lie!　Lars, please believe me. I did indeed attack that man. We did so in order to save ourselves!　But it was a spur-of-the-moment thing to do!　There is no such thing as a malicious intent to kill!　Absolutely not!

Miroslav is hanging on to Lars. The scene was a rehash of the previous day.

I scoff with the resentment I've had for years.

'Well, that's what you usually say. No woman would ever say, 'I tried to viciously get rid of someone who was in my way' in front of a man she loves.

"Shut up, you rude bastard!　Hey, you just spewed that bullshit all over the place.　Do you think you can get away with this for free by making an enemy of me, the daughter of the Sauzaar Trading Company!

Miroslav's eyesight was tinged with a heat and a curse that could kill a person by itself.

It is said that there are some wizards who use the evil eye or the demonic eye, and perhaps Miroslav will wake up to it. I don't really care about that at heart.

I exaggeratedly raised my hands and turned my attention to the guild's receptionist, who had been a record keeper until then.

''And the young lady of the Sauzaar Chamber of Commerce says. I'm not going to retract my opinion either. So I propose to the Adventurer's Guild.

...a proposal, sir?

Yes. Get me a priest to work on Sensei Lai. Let him examine the woman's words and everything will be clear. If I'm wrong about this, I'll drop the lawsuit. You will be punished for calling an innocent man a Murderer. I swear that I will never again enter this city, let alone the guild. Even for the other side, there should be no reason to refuse since the truth will be revealed quickly - as long as they don't lie.

I look at Miroslav meaningfully.

If my suspicions were truly misplaced, Miroslav would say, "I hope so! He would have returned it to me.

But I did see it. I saw the hesitant light in the wizard's eyes.

Perhaps the receptionist saw it too. The next words she said sounded terribly mechanical.