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Volume 7 Chapter 4 Part 8

Translation by burnt.marshmallows
Editing by Team Foxsunes

Panicking, I wore my coat and went out of the mansion. Just as the butler had said, in front of the main gate, a large number of priests and temple knights had lined up in a row. Even though all they did was line up, they had an undeniable force to them. However, we could not lose here. Together with the Hero and that man, we looked straight back at them.  

Silence enveloped the entire area. It was so quiet that it in turn hurt my ears. Even though we had the 「Hero」and the 「Royal Palace Head Magician」on our side, I was completely powerless and it was just the three of us there. There was no doubt that they had a larger number of people than we could handle, and they were an enemy that had an equally high social status. However, there was no way that we could just retreat right now just because of that. 

We had the butler, lady-in-waiting, as well as the other servants wait inside the mansion. We didn’t want to get all those kind people involved. When it came down to this, it may have been lucky that the Hero’s parents were not here tonight, as they were out inspecting the land. I didn’t want to cause any more trouble for those kind and amazing people. Of course, I certainly  didn’t think that it would be good to cause trouble for the Hero. 

Perhaps it could have been that the Priest and their party came because they knew that the couple who owned the land were not here. They must have gone through a lot of trouble, coming all the way from the Royal Capital.

With that, the one who first made a move was someone from the temple’s side. Quickly, the temple knights and lower-ranked priests opened up a passageway by standing left and right of it. The high-ranking priest of the large temple was a man who was wrapped in a costume that was made of luxurious pure white material. Fluttering the hem of his long robe, he slowly……or to be more accurate, pompously strode in our direction as he walked through the passageway. He was a young man, who definitely was something really young for a high-ranked priest. 

As he finally stood before us, he directed a bow at the Hero, in a similarly extravagant way. He probably had intended it to be courteous and filled with respect, but I couldn’t see his actions as anything but one full of sarcasm.

「Sir Hero. We do not want to do anything violent. Please just obediently hand over Agedilus Von Lancent and his wife, Filmina Von Lancent.」

「I refuse.」

The Hero answered immediately. The priest’s eyebrows twitched. The priest made an expression as if to ask if the Hero understood what would happen to him if he were to go against the Priest. Those bright green eyes glared sharply at him. 

「The Lancent husband and wife have been placed under the care of me, Yulifalet Lila Schtorenvihein under the name of Princess Clementine. Unless you didn’t hear about that?」

There was obvious rage in the Hero’s voice. His voice was cold. So much so that I wanted to ask where that usually warm voice of his had gone. I felt as though I was being shown a classic example of how the calmer someone usually is, the scarier they became when they were angry. 

It must have been quite intense facing the Hero, who was barely suppressing his anger. However, the priest just looked at the Hero undaunted, almost as if with pity. He then shook his head as if with regret. 

「Even though it is under the orders of our priest princess, we are unable to give in to that person’s selfishness this time. How could we possibly leave alone a traitor who convened with a demon and is planning the revival of the Demon Lord?」

「Agedilus and Filmina just placed the demon under their supervision! The two of them have not done anything to betray us! 」

The Hero’s words were exactly the same as in the proclamation given by the Royal Palace. Of course, he knew the truth about why the demonーNoct had stayed in the Lancent mansion. But there was no doubt that explaining that right here was something only a fool would do. The young man sharpened those usually kind and sweet eyes of his and glared angrily at the priest, but as if to make fun of him, the priest just laughed.

「The Hero really is a kind person. However, do you not know that that kindness of yours is at times, suffocating for not only you, but also those around you?」

As he said those words, the Priest raised up one hand. With that as the signal, the Priest Knights moved quickly and surrounded the three of us. And the hands of those Priest Knights were all placed on the swords that they wore around their waists. 

「There, I would like you to hand the two of them over quickly. We have to prevent the revival of the Demon Lord, no matter the means.」

The Priest said convincingly. Glaring at him, the Hero grinded his teeth angrily. The fist that he made with his hand was trembling. 

「What do you mean by the Demon Lord’s revival? Do you have any proof of that……?!」

「Proof? What are you talking about? Does someone with Pure Black magic need a reason to work together with a demon? Just as I thought/ We really shouldn’t have made use of Pure Black magic. Hero, you have misjudged what true justice in this situation is. It’s the same for the Princess, Sir Heathrow, as well as Sir Klanven. Everyone is getting confused by that man.  」

This really is a deplorable situation. The Priest said as he let out a big sigh. Hearing what he had to say, one might think that he was just a capable subordinate who was just being forced to do this because of the foolishness of their incapable superior. But that probably wasn’t the case. I couldn’t help but think that in the Priest’s words, there was just some sort of jealousy or envy. And it seemed that I wasn’t the only one who thought so.

「You’re talking as if you’re different from them. 」

That man whispered softly. With his keen hearing, the priest had heard what he said and proudly nodded. 

「That goes without saying. I will not be confused by someone like you. Don’t talk to me so casually, you foul, black magic user. 」

The Priest spoke provokingly. Hearing that, that man blinked those sunrise-colored eyes of his in an exaggerated manner. The question 「What on earth are you saying」was written all over that good-looking face of his, as he tilted his head conspicuously. His shiny black hair landed smoothly on his cheek. That man brushed his hair aside with one hand and laughed extremely beautifully while saying:「Hm?」.

「You sure do say some weird things. I had no intention of talking to you. I was just talking to myself but…….it seems that the Priest is rather self-conscious, isn’t he?」

「Oh dear Edi, you’re saying stuff like that again.」

Saying stuff that would rub them the wrong way right now was not a good thing. Even I understood something like that. I understood that. That was why I pulled on that man’s sleeves gently and glared at him obviously. 

「That’s not a good way to say things. I’m sure that the Priest is just lonely. That was probably why he went through the trouble of responding to you talking to yourself. I pity the Priest if you put it the way you did.」

「Whaー!」

Normally, I would dissuade that man, but this time, I couldn’t do that. Acting as if I were dissuading him, I was about to follow suit. 

Hearing our words, the Priest’s face turned so red that one would have been able to see it really obviously even under moonlight. He glared at us with a look of shame and anger, but it didn’t bother us at all. 

That man gently cracked a smile, as if to say「That was a bit too much」. The Hero’s rage-filled expression also suddenly changed, and a troubled, wry smile appeared on his face, as he said 「You guys……」. I knew what the Hero was trying to say, but he bore the same sin for not denying what we said.

The Priest was trembling with anger as he glared at us, after witnessing how we acted, as if almost carefree. Feeling the stares of his subordinates around him, the Priest cleared his throat to regain his composure. He then looked at us again, with eyes that didn’t seem to harbour any good intention. Placing faith and not doubting the favourable position he was in, the Priest continued to speak. 

「H-hmph. That’s just the kind of nonsense that criminals say, I’m sure that the Princess, Sir Heathrow and Sir Klanven will quickly realize how wrong they are.」

It seemed that the person who said those words didn’t realize just how much it made him sound like a sore loser. The man beside me completely saw him as a small fry. Ignoring the fact that the situation was turning sour, I let out a sigh of relief. I couldn’t not have been relieved. 

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