***Arc 5 The One Who Obstructed, Chapter 97 Spiral of Light and Dark***
It was at the public square in Kielzaran.
There, people form a circle with a distance between them, and in the center were five people wearing black-painted armor and a girl with silver hair.
They hoisted the flag of the crescent moon skull high as if showing their authority, and simply stood on the elevated platform that had been hurriedly constructed in the center.
Baron Cornal, the chief of the city of Kielzaran, a lean man with a figure-eight mustache, was present, and in front of him a pale-faced old man, the somewhat gaunt First Legal Officer Else, brandished a letter and gave a powerful speech that sent his spit flying.
In his hand was a letter Roland sent to the Hilkintos army.
A merchant who put business first and valued profits more than honor should not have power, and should be a neutral entity that cooperates with those in power only through contracts----at least, merchants were treated that way in the Kingdom's laws.
It is not permissible to pretend to be a collaborator and betray the enemy, and that is why the lowly merchant Roland, who broke it, would be executed here. Else desperately screamed out the words he's been thinking about without sleeping since last night, as a 'righteous guardian of the law'.
It was Krische that he occasionally glanced sideways at as if to see what her reaction was.
Indifferent and tedious.
She looked at Else with her inorganic purple eyes, not moving her beautiful face.
It was difficult to know whether she was satisfied with Else's words or not.
Witness----for Else, who had received some kind of bribe from Roland, he understood that it was just an example to himself.
It was his role to inform the people that this execution was not a result of Christand army's violence, but a justified execution, and he feared that he might suffer the same fate, depending on how well he delivered his speech.
And even Baron Cornal, who witnessed his desperation up close, was afraid of the Christand's young lady, who stood next to him----the Cursed Child, Krische.
He was aware that Else was at the place where the torture took place as a witness, but his behavior was not normal.
But he could at least understand that a great deal of fear must have befallen him.
Cornal has ruled Kielzaran for a long time, because of his position.
He had a close relationship with the merchants of this city, and Roland was naturally no exception.
Naturally, it could not be said that there was absolutely nothing shady going on there.
He knew that there were various 'businesses' being conducted by corrupt merchants like Roland, such as slave trading and smuggling, etc., and that he, who had tacitly approved and accepted bribes, was in the same position as Else.
If the Christand were to triumph and Princess Kreschenta were to sit on the throne, there was a fear that his head would fly because of the single mental image the Cursed Child have about him.
He had thought that he would be as irrelevant as possible in this civil war as long as he was not required to claim neutrality, but he changed his mind.
He turned his attention to his own assets and wondered how much he could give to them.
He turned his thought only to that question.
"----Therefore, from now on, under the name of the blood and the spirit of the heroes that are connected to the kingdom, by Kielzaran's first legal officer Farkus Else, the execution will begin!"
There was a frenzy in the square.
Most of the people who came here were simply people who came to watch the execution.
They only listened to Else's words as half-truths, and people just wanted to see the heads fly off.
There were some who had a grudge against Roland, but that was only a small percentage, and most were simply looking forward to the execution as mere entertainment.
----What is fun about executions?
Listening to Else's long and loud (noisy) talk, Krische tilted her head and bit her lip holding her yawn.
Having been woken up by a head butt, she wanted to go home early and get a good night's sleep.
Her lips pursed and her eyes narrowed sleepily.
It's finally over---she frowned sullenly to overcome her drowsiness.
Cornal, who saw it sideways, felt danger and took a step forward.
"I am Fanaktoa Elbekir Cornal, the custody of Kielzaran. I would like to explain once again what happened----"
Just when Krische thought it was finally over, Cornal's speech began.
Krische was left astonished.
'Isn't it over yet?' Krische glared at Mia, Mia looked troubled, and whispered, 'Probably just a little more.'
The rest of the group, except for Krische, could generally tell from Else's and Cornal's appearance what was on their minds.
Krische was the only one who was angry at the length of the speech.
And so, after Cornal's speech, which lasted for half a koku and was filled with flowery word to Christand and Krische, finally the cage that was placed behind------its blanket was removed, and a man was taken out.
Rolando screams as he was lifted from both sides by black-masked men.
Krische has not h
armed him in any visible.
Wearing slacks and a jacket, On the surface, Roland appeared unscathed, but even his thick clothes were spotted with spots where blood was slowly seeping out.
His hands and feet were tied tight at the base to stop the bleeding, and his gouged torso was tightly wrapped in styptic and bandages.
However, it was dying breath------his face was sweaty, and his eyes were hollow.
His face was pale, and his breathing was somehow strange.
Krische, who saw that, smiled in relief that Roland was alive, and Else and Cornal who saw that smile became even more frightened.
Else, for example, had seen Krische when she tortured Roland and had recognized her as a deranged pleasure killer.
He prayed to God that he would not bear the brunt of it.
Roland, unable to walk on his own, was dragged up the stairs to the execution platform where Krische and the others were.
Their gazes crossed for a moment as they passed each other.
Roland's eyes were clouded with fear, regret, and despair.
Krische inorganic purple eyes narrowed a little as if she was happy.
And then they passed.
His upper body was placed on the platform that was set up there, and Roland let out a scream and exhaled like a pig.
The drifting smell of blood and feces.
Everyone there frowned, and Krische was the first to left.
During an execution, it was a place reserved for the guilty and the executioner.
Krische was no longer interested in the dead Roland.
A few moments later, she hears the sound of the executioner slamming the blade and a mad cheer, and she leaves the place as it is, with the black-clad soldier in tow.
Her steps were light, and Krische's mind was already on what for lunch.
A smile appeared on her lips.
Everyone who passed by Krische stared at her with frightened eyes.
"Hmm, it's looking good."
Evening, after finishing various chores.
Roland's mansion----in the kitchen.
Krishce smiled as she put the pie in the oven, and then begins to work on the next task.
Elvena, who was watching, handed her a hand towel and thanked her for the help, cleansed her hands, and stirred the pan to see what was happening.
"...Thank you very much, Krische-sama."
"It's been the fourth time since yesterday, Elvena. And unlike the other slaves, it's not that the debt has become nulled, it's just that the owner has changed... The story was a little complicated and difficult."
After the execution, they had lunch and went to see Elvena's owner.
When she brought up the talk about credit to the man who looks frightened, the man who had heard the rumors prostrated himself.
He took the initiative to say that he would give away the debts for nothing.
Although the merchant owned the credit, Roland had already purchased the slave named Elvena.
The credit was only a formality for him, as it was purchased by Roland as a business convenience or discount, etc.
Of course, since the credit itself exists on paper, he could use it to make money from Krische, but seeing Roland, who was executed in the blink of an eye, he loses his gut.
First Law O
fficer Else.
Baron Cornal, the noble who manages the city.
As long as the two were completely submissive to Krische, he, a merchant, did not have the courage to do such a thing.
If Krische used Roland's back ledger and put effort into it, she would be able to judge many of the merchants in this town who were associated with Roland by the law.
It was easy to imagine that such a move would cause a great deal of confusion, and since she did not have the time or money to devote to it, she decided to leave it to Dagris, but that did not mean she couldn't do it.
For him, Krische was the kind of person who can easily cut his head off if she gets into a bad mood, and of course, he has no intention of going against her.
In fact, he would have jumped up and down if he could have been pardoned with a single credit.
However, the opponent was Krische----things don't go as the merchant expected.
If an unscrupulous merchant were to give something away for free to a noble like Cliche, it would be a bribe.
The difference between a gift and a bribe, in particular, was a very complicated distinction in the laws of the kingdom, and it was probably a problem that this is the area in which Krische, who hates ambiguity, was most bad at.
----I will hand over the debts, so please be considerate', since he had said things like that, Krische recognized it as a bribe from the standpoint of a royal noble.
The result was that the Krische dismisses the credit as something that has monetary value, saying that as a noble, Krische naturally had to pay compensation.
That said, the merchant was also desperate.
At that place, a merchant was trying to hand over the credit to Krische by any means.
While Krische was trying to pay him by any means as part of the business transaction, and so the chaotic discussion ensued.
The man, though a merchant, did not try to extract concessions from others, but simply repeated his concessions.
Other than Elvena----he said he's going to try to talk to the other slave credit holders from, and make the term as favorable terms as possible, and cooperate with the Christand to transfer the credit, but Krische did not nod her head, saying that it would be a bribe either way.
What the man had was despair.
He felt as if his future on the executioner's block was inescapable.
----The one who saved him was Dagris, who was accompanying her.
As expected, he also had some slight understanding of the person named Krische.
The merchant who was so desperate that he was willing to expose himself----there was no doubt that Krische would kill this man if things continued as they were.
Considering the fact that he was going to get the city, he wanted to minimize the chaos in Kielzaran as much as possible.
For his own benefit, he decided to offer his help.
'Krische-sama, it seems that the two of you are not on the same page. Can you leave it to me to clear up some misunderstandings?'
'......Huh? Well, that's fine but.'
Tired of repeating the same questions and answers over and over again, Krische let him handle it.
Daglis approached the man and told him that his methods were bad.
He told the man to that it would be fine if he helped with the logistics of Christand army, and that there would be no problem as long as he deducted the slave's credit from the amount.
The merchant was so intimidated by Krische that he perceived Krische's refusal of a bribe as a request for further concessions, not realizing that the problem lay in something much simpler.
In short, it was a problem because it was a method that looks like a bribe.
You just have to make a deduction with the price of another transaction and make it like Krische bought it on the surface.
Dagris explained that on top of that if the price was cheap, and if the merchant did the concession he said earlier, then she would be satisfied.
The discussion, which was extremely confusing, came to a conclusion.
The man suddenly said that he had always wanted to be of service to Her Royal Highness and that he was a merchant burning with lofty ideals who wanted to cut off lawlessness from the country.
He then told her that he would take care of everything regarding Roland's slave.
He defended himself, saying that although he could not go against him because of the power relationship in business, he was deeply distressed by such slave treatment, and in fact, he had been forced to have Elvena serve him there.
He then quickly drew up a contract and approached Krische, saying that Elvena's credit would be deducted from the price of the military logistics support.
Krische was perplexed by the change, but the price of the contract for logistical support of the army----arranging food for the soldiers, etc., was remarkably cheap compared to the market price.
There was nothing wrong with the contract he had quickly drawn up.
The question was that the price was so cheap that the price of Elvena's credit seems to be not included in the bill, The merchant replied, 'I want to do my best for Her Highness, so I'm willing to do business that barely cover the cost.'
Naturally, the merchant did not consider Elvena's credit on the bill.
Even with that, he set the price that it was still really cheap.
The merchant was desperate not to be killed.
'Hm... well, if mister merchant wants to work for Her Highness so much, then that's fine with Krische too.'
In theory, this was not a bribe or blackmail.
Krische was not threatening or offering favors, but he simply voluntarily spend his own money to help.
Krische nodded after thinking for a moment about whether there would be any legal issues.
The reduction of the price or the offer of money for the support of the military action is simply a donation and cooperation as a citizen and does not constitute a bribe in the first place.
Either way, it was a bargain for tKrische who needed to make such deals with the merchants of the city.
As long as there were no legal problems, it did not matter to Cliche whether the merchant was a bad person or not, as long as she could purchase Elvena's credit through legal procedures on paper.
The only problem was that the credit was personally transferred to her, who was a noble.
Then, by completing Elvena's credit purchase procedure and the contract for the transport relationship in writing at the same time, the man was finally released.
The man, who did not want to go through any more hellish negotiations with Krische, showed his deepest relief----and Krische who was remembering that, tilted her head while holding a ladle in her hand.
"But, as expected, something seems strange..."
In any case, according to the merchant, all of Roland's slaves would be released as a result.
The merchant is very emphatic that he will take care of it for her, and although she didn't know why, he said he'll do his best.
Krische grumbled that perhaps he was as good a person as he.
It's fine to think of that as a happy thing, but compared to the girls who are supposed to be released free of charge, it seems that only Elvena, who in a sense remained in debt, suffer a loss.
For Krische, this was a result that was somewhat unconvincing.
However, when Kalua and Elvena heard this story, they both just laughed and expressed their gratitude.
Krische sighed saying she didn't quite understand it, and Elvena chuckled.
"I was a little worried about the fact that I was the only one who could be saved... so I am very happy. I am grateful to Krische even if it's just purchasing the credit."
"Is that so? Though that's more important than anything else."
"...I'm sure, the others will be grateful to Krische-sama too when they learn the truth."
They didn't tell the other slaves about this.
Krische could not be certain of its release anyway, so Elvena explained to Krische that it would be better to keep quiet because it would be painful if they were not released due to some mistake.
Anyway, the idea was that if they were truly freed, they would naturally find out why.
"In that case, Krische feels like yhey should be grateful to the merchant, not to Krische..."
"I... wonder about that...?"
Elvena laughed as if she was troubled.
The owner of the debt----Elvena, who personally knew the merchant, was clearly a villain, but even so, she didn't bother to explain such a thing to this girl.
It would only be like complaining to a child.
To Elvena, the girl seemed very precious, so she did not want to do anything that would tarnish it.
"Hmm, well whatever."
She sipped at the ladle of soup and smiled.
"... Really, Krische sure likes cooking."
"Yes. When Krische is on the battlefield, Krische doesn't have many opportunities to cook things properly like this, so it's fun."
'The kitchen utensils are also very well equipped' and she stroked the kitchen knife.
"Aside from that, is it okay? It's dangerous to accompany Krische and the other, you know?"
"Yes, if Krische-sama would allow me. I have nowhere to go, and in that case, I would like to return Krische-sama's favor even if just a little."
"Half of it was payback for Kalua, so Elvena doesn't have to worry about it. Kalua, has done a lot for me Krische after all."
She stroked Krische's head, who said that as if she was troubled.
Then she bends her back slightly and matched her gaze, Elvena said.
"The kindness I received from Krische-sama is so great that I will never be able to pay it back."
"Ehehe, Elvena is exaggerating."
"Even if it's trivial for Krische-sama, that's just how it is."
"Is that how it is?"
"That's how it is."
Elvena laughed and run their fingers through Krische's silver hair.
The Krische she saw in her room last night looked horrifying, but when she saw it the other day, and today----her figure was endlessly adorable.
She was a twisted, strange, and simply a beautiful girl.
"Elvena looked a lot like Kalua after all, but somehow, Elvena looked just like Bery."
"Bery..."
"Um...Krische has said it before, it's Krische's favorite servant."
"ah I see"
"Fufu... When Krische did this, it reminded Krische."
Krische leaned her over to Ervena, narrowing her eyelids just a little.
And she had a somewhat lonely expression, Elvena strokes her head.
"... Then, I have to make sure that Krische-sama doesn't feel lonely. Fufu, though I don't think I can replace that Bery-sama."
The girl nodded a little bit happily.
She was a girl, younger than she looked.
She could see why her sister liked her so much.
She had a weakness for little girls like this.
"Shall we take a bath together today? I'll wash Krische-sama body away just like before."
"Yes, because Elvena was good at it. Ah... but."
Krische thrust her finger and said with a serious face.
"You can't play pranks like before okay, really."
It was a figure that somehow made her relax (her strength leaving her).
Like her sister, she might be weak to her, she said wryly.
"Fufu, if Krische-sama said not to do it, it just makes me want to tease Krische-sama more."
"Muu..."
It was a little strange, but she was grateful for the fortuitous encounter.
