Act 5: Chapter 35: Greed's Mansion and The Reaper
I looked around desperately as soon as I broke into the mansion.
The wreckage of the golem scattered around the spacious hall.
Then I saw Yozakura, a woman clad in kimono, seriously injured.
The man wearing goggles, Damia, was nursing her.
There was Mitsuru, another otherworlder I met in Peach Dragon Village, kneeling in the front, heavily wounded.
Lovis, whose body was drenched in red blood, suddenly performed a sliding dogeza on the floor.
I had no idea what was happening here.
「Er… What's happening here?」
Lovis' shoulders twitched hearing my question.
He didn't raise his face, maybe he was pondering about what to explain in this situation or trying to make an excuse.「Lovis-san?」
「N-No, it's a trivial matter…」
「No matter how I look at it, this isn't a trivial matter.」
There were three mortally wounded people, including Lovis.
「I just heard that Greed is the source of the problem in Polorock, that's why we raided his mansion to defeat him. Unfortunately, his army of golems blocked our path.」
「I see…」
At a glance, it was a sound explanation.
But something was amiss.
I looked around the hall.
「So Greed's golems can bleed, eh.」
Hearing my remark, Lovis threw his scythe as he shook his head.
Color drained from his face.
「This is, I can only say that things happened!」
「You seem to be mortally wounded, are you alright?」
「Y-Yeah, my body is quite sturdy. It's an honor to have you worrying about me…」
「Do Greed's golems use edged weapons?」
Lovis was completely dumbfounded upon hearing my question.
「… Will you believe me if I say they are?」
Lovis asked back a few seconds later.
「Hardly… Well, I'm in a hurry right now, can you tell me about the situation?」
Though Lovis' situation was weighing on my mind, Philia's safety was my top priority.
I thought hearing from another person was a better choice, but Mitsuru frowned seeing Lovis acting like that.
Maybe even he had no idea about this situation either.
Anyhow, for now, I'm sure that Lovis fought against the golems, met Mitsuru, then something happened that caused everyone to be seriously injured.
「Y-Yeah… In fact, we were entering the mansion while defeating the golems… Then we met that person over there who mistook us for one of Greed's lackeys.」
Said Lovis as he pointed at Mitsuru.
「Yeah, yeah, we're not entirely innocent, so we won't make a fuss over something like that. But that guy is the one who started to provoke us first…!」
「… And that led to this situation?」
「Yes! I'm quite surprised too. I don't know what would have happened if we had kept Greed on his own device!」
「No matter how selfish Mitsuru-san, doing that is…」
「Since Kanata-sama came here, you must've known the situation. The kingdom knights have been fighting outside of this mansion, they're struggling against the golems! That guy ignored all of that and came straight to the mansion! He's just a selfish battle junkie!」
「Does that mean you passed that place too?」
「It broke my heart to do that, but I decided to hit the general first. That golem… Greed might have an ace in the hole. He deployed enough force to cope with the Kingdom Knights.」
Though there was nothing wrong with what he said, depending on the situation, I might need to alter my plan.
「That's why I'm letting him off. He was trying to kill me… Yet I, on the other hand, am only aiming for Greed! Right? You also agreed that we were being provoked first, right!?」
Asked Lovis while sending a pleading gaze at Damia and Yozakura.
「… Does your leader have a dual personality or what? Ain't he just speaking nonsense since a while ago?」
「I-I…」
Mitsuru and Damia said something.
Yozakura, who was being held by Damia, was keeping her silence with a pouting face.
Honestly, I didn't really care what was happening here, nor did I want to know either.
「Damia! I've told you to finish the fight and give proper treatment!」
「Y-You did say that, but in the end…」
「I've said it!」
「Yes, you are…」
Damia muttered quietly.
「I thought you were dead since I heard the rumor in Manarak that you were killed by the 《Blood Cup》 during the 《Red Authority Cane》 riot… It turned out you were alive.」
「W-Well, that's actually…」
Hearing my remark, Lovis' face suddenly beamed as if he recalled something.
「Er, yeah, the truth is, I met a Goddess during that riot! That's why I turned over a new leaf… Disbanded my organization, and on the journey of redemption. That's why they were not wrong with the news that the 《Black Reaper》 is dead.」
「Goddess?」
Could it be that this person… Got mesmerized by a shady character?
「Yes, the white Goddess with red and green eyes. She's the reason why I decided to undergo the journey of redemption.」
「L-LUNAIRE-SAN!?」
「Yes, she goes by the name of Lunaire-sama.」
「You're… Acquainted with her.」
「Eh, ah, yes!」
Lovis nodded vigorously.
I would like to hear more if he had met Lunaire, but I had no time to do that now.
「I'm not sure what's going on here… But I understand the gist of the situation. This is an emergency situation… And I'm rushing toward Greed since he kidnapped one of my acquaintances.」
「I see! Then you shouldn't waste your time with us! It's an honor to be able to assist you despite the lack of my ability… But the weak me can't hold you back forever, Kanata-sama. Please don't worry about us.」
「Y-Yeah…」
I moved my line of sight from Lovis, who was bowing politely, and looked at Mitsuru, who was sitting in a separated place with a frown on his face.
「Uhm… Since Lovis-san seems to be able to move, you should bring Mitsuru-san to leave this place too. Something seems to have happened between you two… But I can vouch that Mitsuru-san isn't a bad person…」
「… The way you call him since a while ago, is he by chance your acquaintance?」
「Well… Yes.」
The moment he heard that, color seemed to drain from Lovis' pale face, his cheeks twitched non-stop.
「Y-Yeah of course! D-Don't worry Kanata-sama, I'll escort your friend to safety! Let's go Damia, Yozakura! Let's escort Kanata-sama's friend!」
「… Y-YES!」
Damia replied at once.
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