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39. Wolf’s Hidden Village (12)

「Decide what to do with her. That is my question to you.」

Mello Brandy, a scout and an elite soldier of Duke Abik.

She is a member of the party that arbitrarily entered the dungeon adjacent to the Wolf’s Hidden Village and tried to destroy the village as a pretext. Her three other companions died in the dungeon, and she was the only one left alive.

Half a bell (about 30 minutes) passed after I asked the werewolves how they would decide her fate. The debate was still ongoing.

「It’s obvious, isn’t it! She should be severely punished!」

A young black-haired werewolf raised his voice. There were many who were angry at the extent of the damage they have suffered for the selfishness of a single party. A few agreed with him, but a man in his prime years stopped them.

「That’s the lord’s soldier. If we do that, we’ll start a war. Why don’t we trade her custody for the village’s autonomy?」

Some people agreed with the opinion that the situation should be dealt with wisely and calmly. However, a middle-aged woman objected.

「Why would a feudal lord keep such a promise? Rather than that, we need as many workers as we can right now. It would be better to have her do labor under us.」

She was someone who wanted to make sure the village benefited. She seemed to be the head of the women in the village, and many of the women voiced their approval.

While expressing their opinions, all of them were still conscious of me in some way. Each of them poured out their feelings and frustrations while searching for “the answer that Marge Siu seeks.” The situation was transforming into such.

「……」

The chief, Asagi, listened intently to the discussion in silence.

I am sure he understands that this is not a question with a correct answer. To gain something, you have to give up something in return. How they choose will determine whether we can walk together.

As the discussion started to get complicated, a young woman from the back shouted loudly.

「Kill her!!」

Everyone turned around and remained silent.

Because a motionless child was held in her arms. The child had already died by the time I arrived.

「Why is my child dead and she still gets to live? Give him back to me! Hey!!」

Seeing the poor woman crying her heart out, Mello, who was still in the cage, could only lower her eyes.

「There’s nothing I can do…」

She whispered. I was probably the only one who noticed it, and it was a powerless statement.

However, seeing that this was an opportunity for something, I called out so that only Mello could hear me.

「If there is something you can do, will you?」

「A voice? W-Where’s it coming from?」

「I’m just using [Space Jump] to make my voice jump through the surroundings directly to you. More importantly, will you do it?」

The principle is the same as when I was camping and set up “Space Jump” around the tent to flick approaching monsters far into the sky and drop them to their deaths.

「…Yes. But there’s nothing I can do.」

「I’ll lend you [Seraph’s Grace]. It’s a healing skill that can revive someone shortly after death.」

It was possible even when Tina had [Angel’s White Wings] when she supported it with other skills. Now that the skill has evolved, the success rate will be even higher.

However, there has never been an event of this being put into practice.

「Does such a skill even–!?」

「If I lend you this, you’ll lose two things. One is your skills.」

The evolved [Seraph’s Grace] is made up of a huge amount of skill points. Even 10% interest is likely to eat up other skills.

「What is the other thing?」

「Your lifespan. Resurrection reduces the user’s lifespan.」

「Huh!?」

Mello’s breathing clearly became heavier.

「I don’t know how many months or years it will take. There was no way to verify it.」

That’s why Tina didn’t use it, and I can’t use it easily either.

You can be aware of the general effects of skills when you acquire them. However, you won’t know the details until you actually use it, and since there are no pioneers for unique skills that are particularly rare, you will need to verify them yourself.

How much lifespan will be reduced by this skill? You won’t know until the day you die finally comes.

「If I had asked openly, you wouldn’t have had the right to veto it in front of the villagers.」

「……Yes.」

「Besides, this is just an act of returning what was stolen, so to speak. It’s completely different from atoning for your crime, and it’s possible that your death sentence will be decided after the resurrection.」

「Yes.」

「I’m asking you this secretly so that you can make your own decision. If you don’t feel like it–」

Before I could finish my sentence, Mello’s reply arrived.

「I’ll do it.」