Chapter 32

The sky began to lighten.

Yukari, exhausted from crying, woke up with the sunrise.

"Drink this."

I said, handing her a status recovery potion. It's like an energy drink. Thanks to this, I managed to stay up all night. Although last night was a failure...

"......I'm sorry."

I bowed my head to Yukari.

I had put her in danger. It was my carelessness.

"......"

Yukari stared at me silently.

After a moment's hesitation, she spoke.

"I'm the one who should apologize."

"For your attitude until now?"

"Yes. Actually—"

"I know. Brainwashing, right?"

"......!"

Yukari's eyes widened in surprise. The area around her eyes was red and swollen.

"......Why......"

She hesitated, as if still trying to sort out her emotions. After all, she had thought of me as an enemy of her parents. She might still be wary.

"It's okay. We can talk while we walk."

I took an apple and a banana from my inventory and handed them to her, then stood up. Yukari took them and started walking a little behind me.

We walked while eating.

We continued walking even after finishing our food.

We walked tirelessly.

After about two hours, Yukari began to speak softly.

"I have been living as an assassin, a pawn of Duchess Lucia Aichison."

"A pawn?"

"Yes. Duchess Lucia picked me up as an orphan, gave me no name, and raised me to be just an assassin."

"......I see."

I had some objections, but I decided to keep quiet for now.

"I was probably brainwashed. I believed I was happy. I thought it was good to be an assassin for Duchess Lucia. In fact, until the moment I was captured by the thieves and felt despair, I had romanticized my life as a 'shadow.'"

"I see."

"......It was a foolish misconception. No, a cruel brainwashing. The true despair came after the brainwashing was lifted."

Yukari's voice trembled.

"I wasn't loved by Duchess Lucia. I had been deceived all along. I had clung to a false love. There was no noble master, no kind mother..."

Whether she was ashamed, sad, or something else, Yukari continued with tears in her eyes.

"Let me tell you about what I didn't say... no, what I was silenced by brainwashing."

"That's the reason for Duchess Lucia's execution, right?"

"Yes. Duchess Lucia was executed for treason, but that was a complete lie. It was a scheme by the opposing forces. The enemy was the first queen of White Castle... that's what I remember."

"Why do you know this?"

"I am the shadow. I am the hands and feet of Duchess Lucia, the one who takes on the dirty work. I couldn't not know. But—"

"Hmm?"

"If I was brainwashed to keep this information from my new master, it must have been inconvenient for Duchess Lucia, right?"

Yukari looked troubled.

The master who had taken care of her didn't love her. This led to doubt, and eventually, she revealed the information to me. Still, she felt guilty. The roots of the brainwashing were that deep.

"......!"

I had a good idea.

I would use something I had planned to do once the brainwashing was lifted to gain her trust. It would be a kind of deal. I remembered how it worked with Sylvia.

I wasn't sure if she would accept it, so to increase the chances, I would start by sharing my "analysis." It would be a slightly unfair analysis, something only someone who knew the game world of Mevion could do.

"Can I share my thoughts with you?"

I looked into Yukari's eyes and asked.

After a moment of silence, Yukari nodded.

"Your thoughts are indeed on the right track. But, Lucia Aichison—she probably did love you."

"No way... that can't be. I was brainwashed, remember?"

"What if the brainwashing was to protect you?"

"......No, that's impossible. Then why wasn't I given a name, and why was I raised as an assassin?"

"Not giving you a name and brainwashing you to prevent information leaks were to protect you. That way, you were seen as a 'pitiful slave forced to be an assassin by the duchess's brainwashing.'"

"That's not just an image. I lived a harsh and strict life as an assassin."

"But, you were happy, right? You thought it was good to be a slave to the duchess, didn't you?"

"That's because of the brainwashing—"

"Listen carefully—brainwashing magic can only be used once on a person."

The constraint of Mevion's "brainwashing magic." I felt a sense of unease here, which led me to this possibility.

"......Eh......?"

"The brainwashing to make you wary of me was the one use. So, you were actually happy living as a shadow, right?"

"Th-that's... impossible..."

She couldn't believe it—her expression was very clear.

This analysis was half sincere and half a "sweet bait."

It was a sweet, sweet bun that she would want to believe and eat.

Yukari was troubled.

It couldn't be, but maybe... she began to "want to believe." How wonderful it would be if it were true.

And at the right moment,

I put the "something" I had prepared on the table as part of the "deal."

"Yukari, want to break out of prison?"

* * *

I had told her everything.

I didn't trust him yet, but I had no other choice but to cling to him.

Surprisingly, he listened to me in silence.

After I finished, he shared his own analysis.

...I couldn't believe it. That was the honest truth.

However, if what he said was true... I might have been right, my days might have been right, and my affection might have been right. His interpretation was kind and made me think that maybe, just maybe, there would be a day I could be proud of it.

"Want to break out of prison?"

He said it confidently, with a relaxed expression.

"Break out of prison?"

"Yes. I was planning to do it once the brainwashing was lifted... it's a kind of 'loophole.'"

The not-so-good-sounding word made my doubts and anxieties grow.

"To put it simply, you'll become a free person, not a slave, and you won't have the 'no attack' restriction anymore."

"......Is that possible?"

It couldn't be.

"Even if the Maurice Guild targets you, that's fine. There's something more important."

More important than making a powerful guild an enemy?

"Trust me. I want you to be my blacksmith."

......

Ridiculous.

Normally, the priorities would be the other way around.

Besides, it's pointless to say something that can't be done.

"That's a silly joke."

Breaking out of prison... that means freeing me from slavery without the official release of the enslavement magic.

Impossible. It's not possible. Otherwise, the slave trade wouldn't exist.

"Then, if you can break out of prison, will you trust me?"

He smiled provocatively and challenged me.

"......Yes, I will. I'll trust you."

I replied. If you can do it, go ahead.

"Okay. Then headbutt me in the chest."

"......What?"

I didn't understand.

"Headbutt me in the chest. Do it seriously."

"No, I can't do that according to the contract..."

"You can. Just do it. Come on."

He spread his arms and waited for me.

Why is he so confident?

Where does his confidence come from?

...Why am I approaching him?

"I'm going to do it, okay?"

"Sure. Go ahead."

It's impossible.

I thought that, but I closed my eyes tightly and threw myself at his chest.

"Ugh!"

He groaned.

Thud—my head hit his chest, and a dull pain spread.

...It worked. It actually worked.

It wasn't a lie. This was a clear "attack." Why...?

"Success."

Looking up at his face, he smiled and gently put his hand on my back.

"......I..."

I...

Maybe I had a huge misunderstanding.

He never lied to me, not even once, right?

I was starting to realize something.

Various scenes flashed through my mind at high speed.

Thump, thump. I could hear his slightly rapid heartbeat.

Ah, he's just a human like me. I realized that. My heart was also beating faster and faster.

Then, I discovered a "fragment of trust" in him.

When he rescued me from the thieves, his hands were trembling as he untied the ropes.

He was scared. He fought and killed many thieves. He couldn't have been unafraid.

I was the same. After my first job, I couldn't stop shaking.

...No way. No way!

He really was the world's best?

The reason he left me and another person in the dungeon was for training?

He stayed by my side to protect me?

Random teleportation wasn't a lie. 255 km wasn't a lie. The seven-day distance to Peho was real.

Did he persistently argue to break my brainwashing?

Did he stay up all night to protect me?

He didn't assault me. He couldn't, according to the contract.

Was it all my misunderstanding?

Was it all my misjudgment?

He saved me from the thieves.

He listened to me.

He gave me a hopeful analysis that I couldn't see.

He freed me from slavery. He just said to trust him.

All of it, all of it, was to raise me as a blacksmith...?

For me?

For me, just me, he did all this...!

"Can you trust me now?"

At his words, my heart skipped a beat.

"......Yes."

I nodded, wiping away my tears in his chest, and said,

"For now. I will trust you... Master."

Second, the eccentric man aiming to be the world's best.

Maybe, just maybe, I can trust him...

Thank you for reading.