Return of the Fallen Volume 1 Chapter 73
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Author: Blue_Rat
ch73
Danny began to pry with some questions.
“First of all, why was the information officer, Itsu was it? Why was he following you around at all? Second, why were you trying to buy something illegal and what was it exactly? And I know it might be weird for me to say but if Itsu was going to arrest a hero over it then it can’t be anything good. Usually, if someone important does something they shouldn’t, most of the time it can be overlooked and swept under the rug but you were still arrested and taken not to a regular prison but a special one in the sky. Which means either you were trying to buy something that is highly taboo and so they placed you in this hidden prison or maybe they didn’t want others to know where you were being held or that you were a prisoner in the first place.”
Everyone leaned in thinking Danny had more to say but he cut himself off there and waited for Kazuki’s reply. All heads turned and everyone’s eyes focused on Kazuki. With a laugh, he rubbed his head shyly and explained.
*Haaa*
“Haha, that guy was off his rocker that’s for sure. He was probably just upset that I had snuck out of the palace when we were supposed to stay in our rooms and when he saw me buying something I shouldn’t have, haha, I guess he decided to teach me a lesson.”
The room fell silent and everyone’s expressions vividly changed from concern to anger. Asuna who sat right next to Kazuki clenched her fist tightly in front of him as though she were ready to strike. Waving her fist in front of Kazuki she warned.
“Ryuta, enough of the games. You’d better give us a proper explanation right now or else.”
Everyone felt that their concern had been for nothing. They knew their friend had been locked away but now here he is making light of things.
Kazuki’s smile slowly faded and he became a bit more serious.
“The truth is I was trying to buy a weapon.”
Nunully and Lamia exchanged a small glance while everyone else seemed both confused and interested.
Asuna’s hand slowly unclenched and she asked.
“A weapon, why?”
“All the events that happened today in the Mirian swamp and you ask me why I wanted a weapon. Tell me, if we had a way to properly fend off those Lodian wasps and kill them then and there, couldn’t we have backed Alice up. Or rather since we know it was Rust who killed her if we would have been able to slay those Lodian wasps, we would have returned to her side and Rust wouldn’t have dared kill her with us as witnesses. All I’m saying is we were woefully unprepared entering that swamp and if we had a slight advantage in the field, some people may have been saved.”
Everyone thought about Alice’s awful fate and found Kazuki’s statements made sense.
“I don’t know why I was being followed but maybe it had to do with the fact that the greatest hero this country has ever known was framed so easily. Maybe Itsu was just watching out for me since I’m supposed to be another hero and when he saw I wasn’t living up to a hero’s standard and buying something illegal, he probably found that it would be better to take me in and straighten me out before I went down the wrong path. As a matter of fact, I believe he truly was just trying to look out for me.”
Kazuki rolled his eyes inwardly as he continued to spout nonsense.
“The only reason things became violent when he tried to arrest me, is because I resisted and injured a few soldiers that were just trying to do their job. I’ll admit right now he gave me the option of just following him back but I felt like I didn’t need to listen to him. He was just an information officer while I am a hero.”
Kazuki shook his head in bitterness.
“It was all my fault. I also didn’t want Nunully here to get into trouble but I acted too rashly and she got arrested alongside me. But then things took an unexpected turn. Nunully can you take off your mask.”
Nunully hesitated for a moment but her mother Lamia gently held her hand reassuring her.
Nunully slowly lowered her mask and at first, everyone was surprised at how beautiful Nunully was but as soon as they caught sight of her pointed ears, their expressions warped.
Nunully’s ears wiggled a bit and started to take on a shade of pink due to embarrassment and she quickly put her mask back on.
“Once Itsu and the other soldiers saw her ears they knew what she was and her life was now forfeit. We all have only been in this world for a small amount of time and yet we know clearly how the people of Treia feel or at least how the higher-ups in Treia feel about different races and species. Nunully had only been helping me and yet once it was known what she was, she was sentenced to die.”
Everyone’s expression’s turned grave. They knew how different races and species were supposed to be terminated, wiped from existence, that was the sentiment spread by not only Garn but nearly anyone they had spoken to about it. Everyone thought about elves and other fantasy type beings when they came to this world but once they found out about how other creatures were seen in people’s eyes, Asuna and the rest hearts sunk and they felt a bit of bitterness for this country.
Kazuki continued on.
“While we were inside the prison, the first thing Itsu did was break Nunullys nose before he had her dragged away to another cell. If I didn’t escape when I did I fear she would have suffered much more. I as well was repeatedly shocked as Itsu questioned me over and over again.”
Kazuki decided to change a few details to fit his narrative better. It was true that Itsu questioned him but the only reason why he was electrocuted was that he kept moving in the chains. The way he spoke of it though, it made it seem like Itsu was the one harming him, which in turn painted him in a very bad light.
“At first I thought Itsu only had my best interest in mind when he was following me but after the way, he treated both me and Nunully, It seems I may have been mistaken. So, in the end, no I don’t know why he was following me but the fact is he took me and Nunully and tortured us just because I wanted something better to defend myself with.”
Everyone seemed to be going along with the story even Nunully but some things still weren’t adding up for Danny. He couldn’t just call Kazuki out though, otherwise the others may see it as him going overboard and the last thing Danny wanted was to be hated by these people who were his only friends. So he just asked Kazuki to continue.
“What happened after that, how did you guys escape and end up back in the palace?”
Kazuki let out a long sigh.
*Haaaaaa*
“Itsu let his guard down and I…I…I killed him.”
Kazuki started to shake and his hands trembled.
“I didn’t want to, but…but I couldn’t let them kill Nunully for my mistake. I couldn’t let them kill her just because she’s different. I had to do something or I would feel guilty for the rest of my life.”
Kazuki looked terrible, his serious attitude faded and he was left looking vulnerable and on the verge of tears. From everyone else’s perspective, it was clear to see that Kazuki was shaken up over the whole incident.
Hearing that he killed Itsu, no one really knew how to feel. On the one hand, Kazuki had killed a person but on the other, he was being tortured and Nunully’s life was on the line just because she wasn’t fully human.
Asuna though knew Ryuta’s heart and gently held his trembling hands. Kazuki looked at her and waited for the expected words.
“Ryuta, you did the right thing.”
Kazuki, the perfect actor, forced himself to cry on the spot and he buried his head in Asuna’s chest as he sobbed gently. Asuna rubbed his back while whispering softly in his ear.
“It’s ok, everything is going to be ok.”
Shin though couldn’t help but laugh.
“Hehe, I say it serves the little old bastard right.”
Everyone turned and looked at him but Shin felt there was nothing wrong with what he said and continued.
“We need to all remember that this is a different world and the same rules and morals don’t apply here. Kazuki was tortured, the only expected retribution is for his torturer to die. We can’t walk around like this is still earth. Hell anyone who isn’t human in this world is considered humanity’s enemy and the thought after that is that they should be wiped out. I don’t know this beauty over here but pointy ears are no reason for someone to die. They were going to kill her, and who knows but I bet they weren’t gonna just let Ryuta up and leave from that prison. He’s considered a hero and yet they had no qualms of locking him up and torturing him. If he were to be released from there and talk about what he experienced, not only those with power in Treia would have seen Itsu’s head roll but I bet there might even be outside pressure from other countries that value us heroes. In the end, if Ryuta didn’t come out of there with his own power, he most likely would have never left that place at all, at least not alive. So I say good riddance, to a scumbag like that.”
Shin continued to chuckle to himself and no one refuted his words.
Danny was still curious about Kazuki’s escape and was just about to ask for more information when the door was suddenly thrown open violently. Everyone was caught off guard and was slightly frightened but when they saw that the person immediately knelt down, their worry eased a bit.
The man who just burst in and knelt down was the burly doorman with the special eyes.
He gave a salute to Lamia before, without waiting for his boss’s reply, urgently reported.
“Boss, we have a problem. There are soldiers roaming the street searching for Nunully and hero Ryuta. I asked a few what was going on and they have a recording of the two killing guards and escaping the sky prison. The news is late because of the situation at the palace but it seems they are both now wanted. Not only that b…”
*BOOM!*
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