Chapter 30. Lies
To get straight to the point, Shane already had a good idea of how this expedition would end.
On the surface, everyone was working together to explore the Great Forest, but this was nothing more than a temporary alliance of convenience.
When people shared the same objective despite pursuing different purposes, conflict between them was inevitable.
One moved unknowingly toward Corruption.
Another sought honor.
Another wished to break free from their suffocating circumstances.
And another sought liberation at the end of an unbearably long wait.
As for Shane—
He intended to reap every possible benefit from the conflict between them.
That meant Shane needed to clearly distinguish who truly stood on his side.
He had already decided who was an enemy, who was neutral, and who was an ally.
There was only one person whose position remained ambiguous.
“Still…… I don’t understand. Swinging my sword without thinking……”
Shane fell into thought as he watched Aneis mutter to herself.
Recently, Aneis had often seemed troubled by the small realization she gained while subjugating the dungeon during their preparations before departing for the Cradle.
Her blue eyes, visible between strands of white hair, were clouded with so many thoughts that it was difficult to tell what was going through her mind.
Shane was difficult to read because he maintained an expressionless face and never allowed his composure to break.
Aneis, on the other hand, was difficult to read for the opposite reason.
She thought too much.
‘Iron-Blooded Justice, Aneis.’
In Shane’s previous life, Aneis had been one of the few individuals powerful enough to pose a genuine threat to the Organization.
At the same time, however, she had also accelerated humanity’s downfall.
Shane believed there was one reason for that.
She saw everything solely in black and white.
There was no middle ground in Aneis’s justice.
No—
More precisely, while there might have been degrees to justice itself, she made no distinction between ally and enemy when passing judgment.
In Shane’s previous life, Aneis had been a woman who cared nothing for whether a criminal was her friend or family.
She concerned herself solely with judgment.
If punishing a criminal brought severe consequences upon human society, that was none of her concern either.
All that mattered was carrying out justice.
Because of that, from the time Shane first joined the Organization until he became a Legion Commander, Aneis personally executed countless evildoers.
Sometimes, she killed those who committed crimes in the name of a Necessary Evil.
At other times, she executed members of organizations that threatened humanity.
That was how she earned the epithet Iron-Blooded Justice.
And everyone learned to fear committing a crime in her presence.
That was precisely why Aneis remained an ambiguous existence to Shane.
The Shane of the present intended to become a ‘Necessary Evil’ for humanity.
If the Aneis before him were already identical to the Iron-Blooded Justice Shane remembered from before his regression, there would have been nothing to consider.
He would simply have classified her as an enemy.
But the current Aneis had not yet been driven that far.
Perhaps, unlike in his previous life, he could still steer her in another direction.
And so, Shane continued quietly observing Aneis while waiting for the opportunity that would eventually arrive.
—
By the time an entire month had passed since the expedition into the Mezaia Great Forest began—
The rain falling from the sky finally began freezing the trees.
At long last, the rain had begun carrying an attribute.
The vast forests of the Mezaia Great Forest slowly transformed into a pure-white canvas beneath the rain.
From this point onward, unlike near the outskirts, they could no longer move simply because the rain had stopped.
Shane had prepared a countermeasure for that as well.
[I leave it to you.]
[Understood.]
Orca, the Elf from the Mezaia Great Forest, was one of those preparations.
Ever since entering the Great Forest, Orca had been accumulating Elven Mana.
Now she released a portion of it into the interior of the enormous tree where the expedition was resting.
The tree trembled faintly.
Then a passage slowly began opening beneath it.
“Wh-What is this?”
“My goodness…….”
Astonishingly, the space revealed beneath the tree was a proper passageway.
Not a single drop of rain leaked inside, and even lights illuminated the interior.
“What is this place?”
James answered Adam, the Knight Commander from the Kingdom of Hiel.
“It appears to be a space constructed by Elves. I had only read about such places in ancient texts. I never imagined they actually existed.”
Very little was known about Elves, an ancient race.
However, James belonged to Raviata, one of the greatest Adventurer Parties in the world, and therefore possessed relatively extensive knowledge about them.
“It seems they foresaw some great catastrophe that would befall them…… Not Akasha’s Great Seal, but rather weather phenomena like those occurring in the Mezaia Great Forest. I once read an ancient text claiming that before the Great Seal was carried out, the Elves hurriedly disappeared from the world and constructed environments like this for themselves.”
“Urgh…… If only we’d known something like this existed sooner.”
The others nodded as though sharing Adam’s thoughts.
They could certainly be grateful that they had discovered it now.
But an entire month had already passed since they began exploring the Mezaia Great Forest.
They had not gone that entire time without casualties.
It was only natural that such words would escape him.
“That was why I attempted to find an Elf originally from this region as well, but unsurprisingly, it was not easy.”
Just as James said, Demi-Humans who had escaped Akasha’s Great Seal and continued living in the present era were exceptionally rare.
Even among those who had escaped, many suffered so severely from the aftereffects of the seal that they struggled to wield Mana anywhere outside the dungeon in which they had originally lived.
Orca herself had only regained the ability to wield Elven Mana after entering the Great Forest.
If anything, Delilah was the unusual case.
“I originally brought her here so that we could communicate with the Elves of this region. I did not realize she possessed an ability like this as well.”
Shane had no desire to attract unnecessary attention, so he brushed the matter aside with that explanation.
In any case, just as it seemed their exploration would finally accelerate—
“Well, looks like even this place isn’t going to remain peaceful.”
At Raviata’s words, numerous monsters appeared ahead.
Most were insect-type monsters that lived by burrowing underground.
Among them were even Great Wood Parasites like the ones they had encountered before.
“That is certainly no small number…….”
Even Dominic let out a low groan.
There were enough insects to count in the ‘hundreds.’
They clung to the floor, walls, and ceiling alike.
The moment they noticed the expedition, they exposed their teeth.
“To think a place filled with monsters like these existed…… I cannot begin to imagine what the Great Forest must have been like before the current era.”
The members of the expedition infused Mana into their exhausted bodies and prepared for the battle ahead.
—
“Damn it!”
The battle had barely come to an end.
While everyone finished tending to their equipment and rested, Adam’s voice rang out from one side.
He had lost another knight during the battle.
Of the fifteen knights who had entered with Adam, four were now dead.
Casualties were naturally unavoidable in battle.
What made the losses more bitter was that no one among the other groups had died yet.
That did not mean the others had escaped unharmed.
The Imperial Guard Knights under Dominic also carried injuries of varying severity.
One man’s injuries were serious enough that nothing remained below his left elbow.
Because of that, the expedition decided to establish a Base Camp here and first survey the surrounding area.
Until now, the nature of the Great Forest had made setting up a Base Camp impossible.
Their slow progress had only made matters worse.
But now that they had found a means of sheltering from the rain, there was no longer any need to rush the expedition forward at all costs.
Once the Base Camp had been established—
Dominic made a proposal to the expedition.
“Continuing as we are will take far too long, and I doubt our remaining supplies will last. How about this?”
Dominic suggested dividing their manpower and searching the passageways beneath the tree.
The danger would naturally increase somewhat.
But rather than prioritizing combat, their objective would be to search for supplies.
“Would that not delay us too much?”
Adam frowned at the proposal.
Dominic gestured toward his subordinates.
“We have too many injured men. If we continue the expedition in this condition, I fear our losses will only increase.”
“Urgh…….”
He was right.
The expedition was considerably exhausted.
There had not been many individual monsters because of the Great Forest’s climate.
But for that very reason, monsters trying to survive the same vicious climate often gathered together in large groups.
Furthermore, the expedition repeatedly had to force its way through those monsters within limited windows of time.
Their urgency had led to a considerable number of injuries and deaths.
“I agree for now. These passages are made of wood, so I can’t exactly use my magic however I please in here.”
Raviata, who had played the largest role in eliminating monsters thus far, cast her vote in favor.
The others soon nodded as well.
“Then I believe this would be best. First, the Kingdom of Hiel has suffered the greatest losses, so I ask that they guard the Base Camp. The rest of us will explore the surrounding area. Naturally, since the purpose of our presence here is to obtain information, we should mix members of different affiliations into each group.”
“What’s this, old man? You’ve been pretending to be friendly all this time, but you still don’t trust us?”
“Hoho. Whatever we do, it is best to be thorough, is it not? If anything, I am merely concerned that accusations might arise afterward.”
Like the seasoned knight he was, Dominic offered a flexible proposal.
After a brief discussion, everyone accepted it.
“To ensure fairness, we should rotate the teams as well.”
The search operation began.
Raviata and the others divided into groups and explored the passages.
Several days later, they achieved a visible result.
More precisely—
Orca revealed yet another secret of the Mezaia Great Forest.
A wall that appeared to be formed from ordinary tree roots opened, revealing numerous edible plants growing inside.
To expedition members who had eaten nothing but Military Rations until now, it was like rain after a long drought.
The searches continued several more times.
On that particular day, it was Aneis’s turn to search alongside the Imperial Knight Order.
“Hoho. So the pride of the Imperial Family has joined us today. Come to think of it, I believe this is the first time we have properly spoken. Is that fellow Daniel doing well?”
“……You know our Commander?”
The search operation began.
They walked along the route they had become familiar with over the past several days, and Aneis answered Dominic.
“Of course I do. How many years do you think that man and I have spent serving the Imperial Family? Did you know? Before Daniel officially joined the Imperial Family, he spent several months training under me. Together with your former Commander, Robert. Those two were remarkably close. ‘Childhood friends’ suited them perfectly.”
“…….”
One.
“Robert’s death was truly unfortunate. I cannot even imagine how deeply Daniel must have grieved at the time.”
Two.
Three.
“They were such close friends. Still, knowing that you are carrying on Robert’s legacy puts my heart at ease as well. Daniel, the current Commander of the Judgment Knight Order, must surely be delighted by that fact too. Hoho.”
Four.
Five.
“In particular, the Judgment Knight Order and our Imperial Knight Order carried out many operations together. The Judgment Knight Order fought for justice, while our Imperial Knight Order ensured that the malice of our enemies never reached His Majesty. And even now, that has not changed.”
Again.
Six.
Seven.
“That is why I would like to make you a proposal. For the Empire, for the Imperial Family…… and for justice.”
Finally—
Eight.
Aneis stared at Dominic with eyes as blue and transparent as the sea.
Within that brief conversation—
She had counted eight lies.
[How should you deal with someone who lies to you? Hmm. At first, lower your head and endure it, Aneis. Then become strong. Keep doing so until you possess the strength and certainty to strike down that lie.]
Just as her adoptive father had once told her—
“Yes. If I can be of help.”
Aneis bowed her head with a heart of steel.
—
‘This is not good.’
Shane had concealed the Dark Spirit within Aneis’s shadow.
Through it, he listened to the conversation between Aneis and Dominic and reached that conclusion.
Aneis’s justice was dangerous.
She unquestionably wielded her sword with good intentions rather than evil ones.
But humanity was not yet prepared to bear the weight of her justice.
She might be fine for now.
Someday, however, she would reach a state bordering on rampage.
Even now, she was gathering clues one by one, little by little, sharpening her sword in preparation.
Her ability to recognize the lies of others was gradually determining whom she would eventually need to eliminate.
‘I need to identify the cause before that happens.’
Even in his previous life, Shane had only witnessed Aneis cutting down criminals as though she had gone berserk.
He had never learned what had driven her into that state.
Still, there were several things he could infer.
The first concerned the target upon whom she passed her first judgment in his previous life.
‘The Judgment Knight Order.’
The sharpest sword of the Imperial Family—
Would ultimately be shattered completely by the very Aneis they themselves had raised.
