Ayato_kanzaki

  The road snaking between the hills finally brought them into view of Raelera, a rge coastal city, easily four or five times the size of Colrac, surrounded by a thick stone wall. Two major ndmarks dominated the eastward side of the city. The first was a steep hill, upon which sat Lion's Castle, the main residence of Marquis Lianf. It would be John Barton's residence for the foreseeable future, as the marquis had officially adopted him. As his identity as a hero was somewhat taboo, his official cover story was that of a barbarian from the northern steppes adopted by the marquis.

  The second was Stormgarde Academy, a huge, mostly ft expanse with a handful of rge buildings and plenty of green spaces. One of the buildings was a VIP dormitory, and Marquis Lianf had sent a few messages by pigeon to have it assigned to Chisato and her group, as well as Edelys.

  "And we're here at st." grinned the tter, extending her head thought the window for a few seconds. "I don't want to travel by carriage for a while now, any more of that and my butt would start growing roots!"

  Edelys's grin disappeared as she saw Chisato's expression.

  "Hey, what's wrong?"

  Chisato took a deep breath.

  "Edel, I… I'm sorry. I need to tell you something. It's going to be hard to hear. Noah told us a few things that you would eventually have discovered on your own. And now that we're getting close, I have to tell you."

  "About what?" asked Edel.

  "Well, two things. The first is that you friend, Alote Astel, right?"

  "Alote Chastel. Is she here? Has anything happened to her?"

  Edelys was very worried. Alote was her closest friend. And at times, more than a friend.

  "Alote suffers from leprosy. But don't worry, we can fix that. We'll heal her as soon as you can lead us to her. That isn't the bad part. The bad part is that there are a lot of scum, among the local nobles and teachers. Rapists. You need to be very careful about accepting a drink from any of them."

  "Understood. I'll be careful... Does that mean that I would have fallen from it, if not for you telling me?"

  "John would have saved you, but only after you drank the aphrodisiac and damaged your reputation. But that part isn't the worst. It's about Aezeti. That woman is pure evil."

  Edel flinched in shock. Aezeti was her mentor. She had taught her about a lot of things. Especially things males were ill-equipped to understand. She was almost a second mother to her. She liked Chisato a lot, but she wouldn't tolerate her besmirching Aezeti's honor without a proof.

  "She told you she was some kind of elven ambassador or diplomat, right?"

  Edelys nodded.

  "That hasn't been the case for over a century now. Aezeti was sentenced to permanent exile from the elven territory. They discovered in the basement of her house, pets. Human pets…"

  "W-What? That's impossible! She would never do something like this!"

  "…And for a long time, she's been obsessed with you, Edel… What happened to your mother, Aezeti is behind it."

  Edelys shook her head in denial, her expression showing hurt like someone was twisting a bde in her guts.

  When Edelys was eight, she and her mother were attacked by goblins. Aezeti, who happened to be in the area, saved Edelys, but her mother disappeared. When Aezeti found her ter in a goblin den, weeks had passed, and her mind was long gone. She had been reduced to... a corpse that still breathed.

  Afte being rescued, she had entered the Church, and Edelys never heard from her again.

  "I'm sorry, Edel." said Chisato. She couldn't truly imagine the pain she had just caused her friend, but she needed to know.

  So she would understand why Aezeti would die.

  Darkness, who was sitting near Edel, passed an arm around her shoulder in an awkward hug.

  Edelys was calming down a little, brooding, reviewing all of her interactions with Aezeti with a critical eye. Now that she had more experience, she could recognize that there were a number of occasions where Aezeti's behavior had been, strange. Back then, she hadn't paid it any mind, chalking it up to instances of miscommunication, or misunderstandings with someone who never had children and maybe didn't quite knew how to raise them. Instances where Aezeti seemed overly patronizing and demeaning.

  "You do not have any evidence, right?" asked Edelys in a measured voice.

  "I don't." said Chisato as she shook her head. "I discussed this with Noah a few days ago, and he told me that if you wished for it, he would be able to revive your mother. But before you get your hopes up, there are two things you need to know."

  "What? Revive? You mean necromancy?"

  "No. True resurrection, with a living body and you mother's mind and memories intact. He works for a Goddess after all. A goddess much stronger than those worshiped in this world. But there are two issues. If Noah were to revive her now, you mother's mind would still be as she was just before her death, after she went to the Church."

  "Noah will one day have his power of resurrection improved by the Goddess, to be able not just to resurrect people, but also select a moment in time to use as an anchor of sort, meaning that he will be able to revive your mother as she was before the fell into the Goblins' hands. But that improvement will be a reward for a mission he has yet to receive."

  "As for the second difficulty… if he revives her, she will be living on his world, and she will not be able to return to this one."

  "You mean that if I want to see her, I will need to accompany you on your travels and will be unable to return."

  "Yes."

  "…Chisato, you said you had the ability to detect lies, right?"

  "Darkness, Sakura and Medusa can. I will eventually."

  "Yes, I can discern truth from lies." nodded Darkness.

  "Please teach me."

  "That isn't possible." sighed Darkness. "Only Akeno can create the Soul Contracts necessary for other people to share Noah's abilities, and this one is part of them."

  "Wait…" suddenly said Chisato. "I may not be able to share those abilities. Heck, I haven't even gotten them myself yet. But I have access to my store, and surly there is…"

  Edelys frowned as she saw Chisato's eyes seemingly gze for a moment. Eventually, she blinked and looked at Edelys with a smile. A thin golden ring appeared in her hands.

  "This is for you, Edel." said Chisato as she gave her the ring.

  "Is this a magic item?" asked Edelys with suspicion.

  "Yes. It is called the Ring of Truth. It allows the wearer to see through illusions, and it will vibrate whenever a lie is said."

  "And you will give something so valuable to me?"

  "I'm not sure yet. I may need it ter. But I do not mind lending it to you for a while, at least. Make sure to test it before you confront Aezeti, and you will know."

  "Yes. Thank you, Chisato." nodded Edelys.

  …

  With the atmosphere in the second carriage muted by Chisato's allegations, the convoy finally went through Raelera and stopped in front of the gate they would have to pass before ascending the hill. Chisato, Edelys, Darkness and Nero left their carriage on their own.

  "Welcome, Lady Edelys. It is a pleasure and an honor. Shall I inform your father?" asked the captain of the guards, sucking up to her. House Gilend was one of the major local nobles.

  "Please don't. I want to surprise him." replied Edelys.

  "Lord Guion would like to greet you personally. Would you be willing to follow me, Lady Edelys?"

  Edelys wasn't interested, and Chisato's warning was at the forefront of her mind, but she couldn't refuse without insulting the noble and bringing shame to her own house, so she agreed, but asked her friends to accompany her. Chisato whispered a few words to John, and he decided to follow with Ava as well.

  The Captain tried to object, but Edelys insisted, and he had no choice but to lead them into the gatehouse. Inside a rge room furnished with a firepce, desk, table, chairs and a couch. Behind the desk was Lord Guion, a bck-haired man in his te twenties.

  He rose to his feet as he and Edelys greeted each other and started exchanging pleasantries. As their spoke, the captain filled two cups with wine and offered them to the nobles. Edelys took it with a nod of thanks, but didn't bring the cup to her lips.

  She carefully observed the faces of Lord Guion and the Captain as they kept chatting and detected some increasing frustration behind their facades.

  Finally, Lord Guion lost patience.

  "Lady Edelys, what to you think of this wine? I got it from an Aquecian merchant. He cimed it was regurly served to the four heroes and after getting a taste of it myself, I would almost believe him."

  "Really? I heard that the heroes didn't drink alcohol."

  "I heard those rumors at first, too. But it seems that after they took over and repced the emperor by one who would follow their orders, they started drinking, and more."

  "I would love to hear more about the heroes." said Edelys. "But before that, I have to ask. I started hearing some vile rumors about this pce. Rumors of women being drugged, and taken advantage of. Do you know anything about it?"

  "O-Of course not, Lady Edelys. There is no way anyone would stoop so low." replied Lord Guion with a stiff smile.

  The ring on Edelys's finger vibrated.

  "That's a lie." said Darkness, gring at the two men.

  "Is there something besides wine in this cup, Lord Guion?" asked Edelys, her eyes cold.

  she had switched hand to hold the cup, freeing her sword hand, and Lord Guion and the captain both paled as they vehemently denied it. The ring vibrated again. The two guards standing beside the door started trembling as they understood that their lives might end within the next few minutes.

  Chisato turned to them.

  "You two, you will gather every guard outside and bring them here. Do not try to flee, of I will track you down. Now go."

  "W-Who are you?" Asked Lord Guion as he stared at Chisato. He had previously dismissed her as well as Chisato and Nero as being Edelys's attendants, beautiful prizes to devour after their Mistress was dominated, but one of them giving orders and threatening the guards without waiting for Edelys's approval suggested they were more than simple attendants.

  "Does it matter? You served wine spiked with Drytia's Tears to a dy of House Gilend. you aren't leaving this room alive." shrugged Chisato.

  "Drytia's Tears?" asked John.

  "I…Have had it be-before." trembled Ava, staring in fear at the cup held by Edelys. It was that drug that had been used by the first noble who raped her, just before she was sent to the Church to become one of their Oracles. And raped some more. "Expensive. Strong. Can ruin a woman's h-heart."

  John hugged her tightly while he gred at Lord Guion.

  "Chisato, you do it, or I will?" asked John.

  "I have a few more questions to ask. And I want to ask every guard as well."

  "You said it was expensive, Ava." frowned Edelys before she turned back to the wannabe-rapists.

  "Where did you find this?"

  "M-My Lady, p-please!" begged the Captain.

  "Answer the question, or your family will get implicated as well." coldly said Edelys.

  "It-It was… It was Lady Aezeti." confessed Lord Guion, slumping down.

  Edelys sighed, pced the cup on the table, and sat on the couch, looking down.

  Chisato sat beside her and gave her a tight hug.

  "How many?" asked John.

  The two men refused to answer.

  "The adopted son of Marquis Lianf asked you a question!" sharply decred Ava, and the two flinched, but still didn't answer.

  "Looks like we'll have to whip the answers out of them." said Chisato, and her bluff worked.

  "We… we didn't keep count. Over a hundred. Please, have mercy!"

  "Were some of them underage?" asked Chisato.

  "No."

  The ring vibrated.

  "Another lie." said Darkness, walking toward the captain and punching him, sending him careening to the ground beside the desk. His nose and cheekbone was broken, and he spat a few teeth.

  The two guards came back with eight of their colleagues. They all gathered near the door, their faces pale in fear.

  Chisato released Edelys to face them.

  "All of you, I want you to take turns and say the following sentence: 'I did not rape anyone.' If you tell the truth, you can go. if you lie or refuse to say it, you can die.

  "W-Who are you to…" started one of the guards.

  Chisato shot him in the leg.

  The man colpsed with a scream, and the remaining guards stared in terror at the gun in her hand, and at her cold scarlet eyes.

  "I am out of patience. And I gave you an order."

  One by one, the guards repeated the sentence Chisato asked them to, and she turned to Darkness with a nod. Darkness shrugged, formed swords of solidified light, and killed the three who had lied, including the one Chisato had shot. Chisato then killed the guard captain and Lord Guion.

  "The rest of you can leave. And spread the word. We do not tolerate rapists." said Chisato. The guards couldn't get out of here fast enough.

  It wouldn't take long for the rumors to spread, once the soldiers hit various bars and taverns for some liquid courage.

  "Let's go see your friend Alote, Edel." suggested Chisato.

  "I…Yes, I need for something good to happen, after this." muttered Edelys, angrily wiping a few tears.

  Chisato fully agreed with her. Learning that her surrogate mother intended to have her gang-raped, likely to break her into becoming a pet for her, was something she would need time to digest.

  And she, too, wanted to distract herself from what she had just done.