Ch.
168 A Certain Brave Man’s Story

First and foremost, I must listen to Adofu’s circumstances.
Although I had asked the ball rabbit to release Adofu multiple times, it still hasn’t lessened its grip.
Ah, I give up, let’s just proceed like this.
Thus, the quiet interrogation by the ball rabbit began.

“Pefu”

「Who are you?」

Adofu remained silent.
I guess it won’t be as easy to get information out of him as we thought, so the ball rabbit asks again.

「Speak in mind, I can hear」

It doesn’t seem like Adofu was attempting to resist, but was probably trying to figure out how telepathy works.
However, if he does so then I won’t be able to hear it.
I can always hear the story later from the ball rabbit, but there will likely be some discrepancies.
Telling me at the same time will be a waste of time and MP after all.

The ball rabbit can use [[Telepathy]] as easily as it is able to use its mouth to talk.
Has being the translator for the conversations so far made it a natural at it? Since it’s like that, is it possible that [[Telepathy]] is even greater than being able to translate all languages?

Adofu who received the thoughts of the ball rabbit, looked at me surprised.

“You….
you can understand my words?”

“Guru”

I nodded.

“….I am Adofu Ahrens.
There was a report of a dangerous monster being sighted, so as I returned from my temporary release from prison, I was to go and subjugate that monster… I am still a prisoner.”

Those last words sounded painful for him to say.
I had thought that there was something strange going on.
So he is a prisoner.
 Looking at this old man, it must be troublesome….That blond guy probably has something to do with it.

「Another question.
Why were you two fighting?」

Adofu’s face tenses up.
He bites his lips to suppress his anger as some blood begins to drip.

“I was deceived, I-I had put too much trust in that demon.”

He says so as he strikes the ground with his fist.
Adofu proceeds to talk after that.

According to Adofu, apparently that man is considered a Brave man, a ‘Hero’.

My name, Irushia, originated from a flower, and I have certainly heard that one of the meanings of that flower can mean ‘Hero’.
Although I have some objections, that name certainly has some connection with us.

Once every five hundred years, the king of monsters, known as the Demon King, gathers the monsters and threatens the world of Man, as told in stories from Haranae.
Everytime the Demon King appears, a man with the power to defeat it appears in the Holy land of Haranae.
Therefore, that man is considered a Brave man.
The Hero is found by the church’s jewel, and then raised in the church from childhood to receive special training.

It’s a story that repeats every five hundred years.
There seems to be few people who believe in such a story, but the church does indeed foster them to be heroes.
It seems that the story up to there was fine, but the church who received these heroes quickly rose in power.
As such, the amount of supplies coming from other countries increased.

The church which continued to receive support, quickly became corrupted.
As the interests of the Hero were enforced, the church grew in size as the priests consolidated inside.
Although the amount of supplies received should have enriched the land, the amount distributed to the people was meager.

It is said that growing up spoiled was a symbol of being a Hero.
As Adofu realized the faults, he, as the Knight’s leader, tried to do something about it, but there were many obstacles in the way which kept him from doing anything, ultimately leading to his current situation of bearing a deep-seated grudge.

After some time, it was decided that a mock duel was to be held between him and that man in front of a crowd.
This was four years ago, and at that time Adofu had won.
After the duel, the Hero followed the legends and traveled with several female attendants.
It seems he came back about a year ago, with all the attendants having either died, married off somewhere or run away, unable to bear the journey, or so it was told by Irushia.

Regarding the circumstances surrounding Adofu, it appears that he was told by the priest not to face off against the Hero, “At that time, nobody doubted him, but thinking about it now, all those who ventured with him were probably killed.” When they were chosen by the Hero, the women had all been pleased.
It also seems that a popular daughter from the city of Haranae was also chosen, and she left while receiving the blessings of many acquaintances.

The Hero steadily grew in fame wherever he went and was greeted with cheers when he came back.
When Adofu had believed that the man had changed after traveling around the world, an incident had occurred where Adofu’s brother and fiancée were killed.
Adofu had called for the improvement of regulations by the church at the time.
Unfortunately, the church did not investigate the matters concerning the deaths, as it was tailored for Adofu to take the fall.
So he was imprisoned on false charges.

While he was in prison, the Hero came to visit.
It seems that he wanted to reunite with him after four years.
As Adofu had suffered, the Hero had talked to him as a friend and had promised to ask the church to investigate into the matters more closely.
Adofu had thought that he was much different from how he was four years ago and therefore had trusted his words.
Although the price of such a promise was that he would go out to subjugate a plague dragon, he had already been betrayed from the start and thus that fight occurred.

Also, once the hero returns to Haranae, Adofu will be treated as an escaped prisoner, inciting the church to hang all his relatives.
It’s a terrible story.
While listening, I stomped on the ground and growled in anger.

Although the content seems a bit outrageous, it doesn’t seem like it’s a lie.
Also, with how long they were talking, if any of it were a lie then it would have been picked up by [[Telepathy]].

By the way, Adofu doesn’t know why the Hero wanted to take advantage of me.
If the dragon were to wreak havoc in the city, then it would be the Hero’s’ name which would lose reputation.
That’s something to think about, but it may also be a cruel act.

I wonder what will happen to Nina in Haranae.
That man is in a place where he is regarded as a hero so he likely won’t be killed.
Also, who would suspect him of murder? It’s something he had secretly handled and disposed of.

I have to go and save Nina somehow, but that man definitely has a plan.
He said to come at noon in four days time.
That time frame is certainly suspicious.

It is dangerous to obediently venture to Haranae, as I can’t grasp what the other side’s intentions are.
It’s funny when I think back to the time when I had wanted to travel there in the beginning.
There are probably more people there than in Miria’s village.
This will become quite a commotion.

Should I launch a surprise attack and get there early by using [[Roll]]? Or should I attack from outside until they bring out Nina? That Brave man said that it took two days to get to Haranae from here, but maybe with [[Roll]] I’ll be able to get there in half a day.

He had seen my status, but he probably hadn’t noticed the usefulness of the skill since I hadn’t use it front of him.
A surprise attack is possible but I’m not too sure about it.
Whether I can bring Nina out of there alive or not is questionable.

However, to begin with, there is hardly any chance for me to win, even if I use [[Roll]] to run away.
It would be good to raise my level, even a little bit, to slightly raise my chances of winning before going to the city.

I also want to help Adofu’s relatives if possible, but it will be difficult to do.
Just getting Nina and escaping is already hard enough.
Even if I can defeat the Brave man, there’s a chance that Adofu’s relatives are already done for.

It is necessary to not only to deal with the Brave man but to also ruin his reputation.
Such a feat won’t be easy though, as long as the story is heard by the church then they will stop the rumors.
No matter who I talk to, there won’t be much help.

No, that Brave man is convinced that Adofu is dead.
Is there a possibility to lower that man’s reputation so far that even the church can’t overcome it by using Adofu? If the timing is off then it will only be a death sentence, but if the cards are played right, then it could be our trump card.

「What do you think, of these four days」

The ball rabbit asks Adofu for his opinion while its ears still wrapped around him.
Ball rabbit, think it over, as far as I’ve heard, that old man’s completely a victim in this.

“…F-four days!”

“Pefu!!”

The ball rabbit holds Adofu down as he’s about to get up.
Adofu lowers his head and sits back down.

“Guuoo?”

What’s happening in four days?

「what’s going on, in four days?」

The ball rabbit translates it this time.
Although the words sound a little arrogant, it can’t be helped.

…You didn’t do it on purpose, did you?

“Ah, I’m sorry.
That pegasus of his can reach home in one day.
If Irushia were to quickly prepare the church…then maybe, my relatives would receive capital punishment in four days, or maybe five, so I got a little carried away.”

In four or five days? Didn’t that man say such a thing as well?

“Five days…… No, it’s better if it is earlier.
Four days, yes, that is just nice.
After four days, straight North from here, there is the country where I was born.
Can you come four days later in the afternoon? From here it will take two days to arrive if you hurry.”

He’s even thought of the possibility of the date being delayed.
Does this, by any chance… No, it can’t be, that guy…..

“Maybe Irushia… is going to keep the church from executing that slave girl for that long, since in Haranae, discrimination against beastmen is deeply-rooted, it’s not an impossible guess.”

As Adofu says that, he drops his gaze to escape my line of sight.