Chapter 256: Fiona’s Purpose for Bandit Subjugation

The Royal Spada Academy’s Knight Cadet Shenna was amidst her dreams.

「Auh……Eddy is seriously……an idiot……」

Judging from her sleep-talk, the contents of her dream were too blissful.

Like that, after sleep-talking for some more, her consciousness finally awoke..

Normally Shenna would not have a good wake-up start, but today she was in a good mood upon waking up, probably because of the good dream.

「Ugh, it is morning already」

The bright sunlight coming from the window was interrupted by a white curtain, and illuminated the room as a gentle light.

Shenna understood from it that it was morning, but at the same time she felt uneasiness.

「Hm, Hmmm, Huh……」

The first uneasiness was the spaciousness of room.

Looking carefully she realized that this room was not the room she used to sleep in, in short it was not a room in the girls’ dorm of Academy.

「Huh, where……is this?」

Upon realizing that she was sleeping in an unfamiliar room, Shenna’s consciousness completely woke up.

「M-My glasses——」

The first action she took was to search for her glasses, which had been her partner since the enrolment.

The instant she tried to touch her surroundings reflexively,

「I’m sorry, but there are no glasses」

She heard the voice of an unfamiliar girl coming from just besides her.

「Who is it!?」

She raised her voice which almost seemed like a scream and turned to face her side, there was a girl in the ‘witch’ costume sitting on a chair while looking at her.

The light blue hair peeking out of her three-cornered hat, and the shining gold eyes were both impressive. She was a beautiful girl, to the extent that Shenna, being a girl herself, couldn’t help but be charmed by her.

Maybe because she was being stared by those all-seeing golden eyes that Shenna was able to question the witch while retaining her calmness.

「Who are you? And why am I here…?」

The witch replied without hesitation as if she had already predicted that question.

「I’m Fiona Soleil. An adventurer affiliated with Rank 3 Party『Element Master』. This place is a mansion located near Isckia Village, there is no danger so relax」

Shenna heaved a sigh of relief hearing the words of Fiona as she understood that she won’t cause harm to her.

「I’m Shenna, Royal Spada Academy’s Knight Cadet. A second year student」

If other person names themselves, then according to Knight’s manner, it is needed to name oneself also.

「Well then Shenna-san you might be surprised but still hear it by being calm. You were attacked by bandits on your route back during quest, and were abducted. Currently we have saved you and others」

「Eh, abducted……eh?」

Shenna had no knowledge of the information she was just told about.

However, as if she also saw through it, the witch continued.

「It’s natural that you have no memories of this. You have lost your memories of past few days, can you tell me what is the last day you remember?」

It was probably a question for confirming, hence Shenna tried to desperately search her memories.

The last memory she had was her going in the bed of her dorm.

That evening was just a day before she was to go with her childhood friend, Eddie’s boys’ party and her own party on a joint quest.

She was checking her potions, items and other things just before going to bed.

Although Eddie was the leader of boys’ party, but after this long time of friendship she knew that he is careless in many places. Hence, she was doing her checking work of her equipments.

Like that she went to sleep, and upon waking it was the current situation. Just this memory flows in Shenna’s mind.

According to her memory, yesterday’s date was,

「E, err……20th of Red Flame month」

「Today’s date is 3rd of Platinum Month」

According to Shenna, today must be 21st of Red Flame Month.

However the day Fiona told was the date which was over ten days, even the month had changed.

「Eh, no way……that’s a lie, right?」

「Looking at you, it seems like the memories are completely gone」

Gone or not, she had absolutely no recollection of that. For Shenna it was more realistic to think that this witch was deceiving her.

However she couldn’t think of a reason someone would want to trap a normal Knight Cadet, and if it was someone’s prank then this was the shittiest one, and complicated too.

If she were to believe Fiona’s words, then the quest she was about to go on is something she had completed, and during that they were attacked by bandits——

「Eh, then, I, no, what about others!」

Shenna was not a child, although she was a student but according to her age she could be considered as an adult, a splendid adult that could fight against monsters,

Hence there was no way she would not know the meaning of being captured by bandits.

「The bandits captured you all for selling you all slaves. All four of you just had minor injuries; They all also should’ve recovered completely by now」

Hearing those words, Shenna reflexively threw off the futon covering her body and looked for bruises.

At this point she realized that she was completely nude, although it was embarrassing, but luckily there was neither a bruise on her body nor did it hurt anywhere.

It can be said as complete recovery, but to Shenna it felt like it was only natural that there would be no bruises on her body, as she slept yesterday just like this.

「Umm, my girls’ party had four people, but there was a boys’ party of four together with us」

「We have just rescued the girls present here, so we don’t know any details about the attack」

Shenna’s face immediately paled. Thinking properly, the male would be killed if attacked by bandits.

「It would be good if you don’t think much about it, in some times someone from Guild will be coming here, at that time you may thinking, right?」

「Ah, yes….. you’re right, sorry…..」

First she needed to confirm the truth, but because she had no memories, hence would need to confirm the information at Guild.

「I’m sorry Shenna-san, excuse me」

Fiona abruptly stood up.

Of course, she had no reason to stop her and so she looked her going out.

However, Shenna sighted a faintly shining crystal fragment in Fiona’s hand.

「Is that……transmission machine?」

There is Magic Item for talking from large distances, but it is high-class item that Knight Cadets can never get a hold of.

A diligent girl Shenna was acquainted with not just magic but also Magic Items, hence she knew that using that crystal fragment as an intermediary she would be able to talk to her friend, someone who has Telepathic ability.

In that case, it was plausible to think that a party member from『Element Master』had called her.

In less than five minutes, Fiona again opens the door and showed her face, and,

「Shenna-san, from now on my comrade will be coming in this room to sleep, sorry but can you look over her. Oh, the other girls’ might also wake up soon so please brief them on the current situation」

She threw all of her work to Shenna.

「Eh? Wait a minute Fiona-san!?」

「My comrade is a fairy who just looks cute and is called Lily-san, so you can be relaxed. The other girls are sleeping in adjacent rooms, the doors have not been locked so you can enter as you want」

「Eh, as I want, that is——」

「In that case, I leave it up to you」

Fiona left after giving all the power to her.

「Eh, Eeeeeeh……! I’m the side under protection, right……?」

.

Fiona opened the door of cellar room. Lily had blown the whole knob and now the door opens with just a light push.

「Ugh……Uuuuaaaahhhrrrhhhhgghhhh~」

Inside the room those sounds of groans could be heard, moreover it was not just a single person but many people, hence the room was quite noisy.

「They look just like zombie」

The ruffians who were bandits yesterday night, right now had changed into people raising completely non-understandable groans in the jail cell.

Zombies are a type of inferior unintelligent Undead Monsters. However Fiona’s guess was accurate to the extreme.

「Yeah, they all are disgusting, so dispose of them」

Lily spoke in a manner as if wanting the extermination of bugs in a garden. Although it was her who made the bandits into crippled zombies, but in that part she had got no guilt feelings at all.

Fiona didn’t seem disgusted on Lily’s attitude, after all if their positions were to be changed, she would’ve also done the same.

Although she also thought it was cruel, but an emotional reason couldn’t become a perfect reason for her to stop, after all, both Lily and Fiona were aiming for supremacy without any wavering——yes, all for being helpful to Kurono.

「So… should I say thank you for your good work?」

Fiona moved towards Lily sitting on the bed-type table completely normally, as if she never saw the men squirming inside the jail cell.

「I’m seriously tired, next time I will do it only if I have enough time」

「Less than twenty people in a night, that is quite a lot of people」

The men inside the jail cell were all in crippled state, and this alone showed the fact that no one among them was able to escape from Lily’s devil hands.

「But, it was a meaningful experiment, it can also be called successful」

「Successful? This?」

「Yeah, now I somewhat understand the way to use this」

Lily held a white ring, the deadly weapon『Angel Ring』. It was the thing that turned the men into crippled zombies.

This『Angel Ring』makes it possible to control people at will, but the true effect doesn’t work by just wearing it.

Lily’s objective was to learn how to use this devil’s device.

She had to put it on humans head and test the extent of its effect. In short, human experiment was an important factor that would prove itself useful.

And, though she hesitated to do it in public, a chance like this bandits subjugation where they wouldn’t be blamed even if they killed all suspects was the best chance for performing the human experiment.

The reason she raised both her hands to agree with Kurono when he proposed the idea of bandit subjugation was only because she would get ‘guinea pigs’ in large numbers and nothing else.

「But, can you use it already?」

「Unfortunately it is impossible, for using it, I need to reform it, but well, if I do this couple of times more, then I will be able to use it completely…probably」

Fiona guessed that they she might have to yet again go on a bandit subjugation or a quest with similar conditions.

「Well then, I leave the rest to you」

Lily had just finished her work, so she jumped down the table and headed towards the door.

「Ah, Lily-san, one girl woke up」

「Is that so, how was it?」

「She seems to have lost all the memories after 20th of Red Flame month. This is quite a splendid measure」

Fiona honestly praised Lily’s skill.

According to Lily, if they didn’t do the after-care, it would become the same situation as with the survivors from Alsace.

And more than anything, if it went as nothing happened then Kurono would also be happy. She didn’t want him to shoulder any more responsibilities.

Along with that, there were somewhat ‘fairy-like’ feelings in her, like she wanted their love to bear fruit. However, she never said this from her mouth.

「20th of Red Flame month, eh. It’s good that it went fine」

In truth, it was also a gamble for Lily as to how many days of memory would be lost.

At the time with Cyprus, she did it without any mercy and hence it ended without taking minute factors into consideration.

It was quite difficult to remove precise amounts of memories, if it went wrong then she might’ve poofed her several years of memories, or even all of her memories.

However, she wouldn’t say it from her mouth. Now that it went fine, Lily said it as if she expected that result.

「Ah, that’s right, you were…..Robert, right? Thank you for the cooperation, you can go now」

Just before Lily opened the door, she turned back as if she remembered something and said that to the three co-operators.

「Hiiii……T-Thank you very much……Lily-san……」

Robert spoke in a wavering voice as he stood up tottering.

They were made to do the work of affixing the ‘experimental subjects’ on the table, in other words, they were made to watch their comrades screaming in anguish, and it also meant, they had taken part in their despair.

These three were completely defeated mentally, they were basically broken in their mind now.

However, even so ,they somehow mustered up strength to walk now that they have endured the suffering and finally got hold of their freedom.

To the current them the smiling Lily standing in front of door might not seem like daughter of devil but rather a gently angel blessing their new departure,

「Ha, Haha……I did it……I fucking did it, with this I am——」

Maybe he tried to speak “I’m saved”.

However that muttering was interrupted by an abrupt scorching heat.

「Ah, Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!」

The scream of three men echoed in the cellar room simultaneously.

「Aaaaaaaahhh, w-whyyyyyy, am I bbbbbuurrrrrrrnninng! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!」

Around the time he realized that, his feet were coiled with bright red flames and were being tormented by unbearable high heat.

Of course they wouldn’t be able to walk, hence Robert and the two fell on the floor, and tried an useless attempt to remove the flames by flapping their legs.

「Don’t ask me why, I said I will let you go, but that doesn’t seem the same with Fiona」

Lily said while still smiling like a cute lovable child.

And with that he understood that she didn’t had any intention of letting them return from the start.

「N-No way, save——」

Lily and Fiona both didn’t wanted to hear any more than that.

Although the pleads for life and abusive words reach their ears, they didn’t even enter their memories, let alone reach their hearts.

「Even so a ‘sacrificial ritual’, so you finally do something witch-like, eh?」

「I didn’t had any intention to do it, but——」

Fiona now held an old-looking book that she took out god knows when.

The size and thickness was similar to dictionary, and the black covering over it made it seem just like a box rather than a book.

「I resolved myself to become a power for Kurono-san」

This book was the one Fiona had been searching in the library ever since the first day she went to the Academy.

She predicted that the book she was searching for would be in here, because she knew Spada country had a quite long history along with the fact that it also had a magnificent library.

And, her guess hit the right mark.

「Haha, wanting sacrifices for giving Divine Protection, eh. Indeed there are evil gods out there too」

「If that wasn’t the case it wouldn’t have been banned and marked as forbidden」

The book Fiona took out of the forbidden sealed area of The Great Library was a Spell Book called『The Guide to Ten Thousand Demon Palace』.

The content in it were the evil acts needed to done for gaining the divine protection.

And that was something that would provide Fiona the ‘power’ she needed currently.

In this bandit subjugation, if Lily’s objective was human experiments, then Fiona’s objective was to offer sacrifices to God.

That was why she didn’t want Lily to kill the bandits, changing the point of view, it meant she could anything with them but not letting them die.

「Is it fine to take it out without permission?」

「It’s fine, when I get done with it, I will return it back」

Thinking back, she remembered faintly that a skirt-chased prince of Avalon called Nero or Ero or whatever, who accused Kurono of false charges, did warn her to not go in there.

However, again re-thinking upon it, there doesn’t seem to be any problem with it.

After all she borrowed the book without being noticed by anyone and was going to use in the right way.

「In that case, let us finish before Kurono-san comes back」

Like that, Fiona looked at the sacrificial sheep with unimpressed despising golden eyes, turned over the rotten hard cover of book, and started the forbidden ritual.

「I offer to thy god of all evil——」