VS Justice

“A dangerous one?! W-where?! Please rest assured! I, the First Knight, Stolu Pula, will not fall behind any dangerous one!”

The young female knight who had fallen from the sky.

Seeing how she overreacted to Tooyama’s murmur, Tooyama became certain of his premonition.

Ah. This one was an idiot. A troublesome idiot.

“…………Lazaar, please, take over the conversation. My head hurts, and I feel nauseous.”

“Sorry, Naruhito. I am thinking of a new bread recipe right now……”

“You chose words that make it subtly hard to push this onto you.”

Lazaar, whom he had asked for help, looked up at the sky and turned his face away. Damn him. His ability to detect landmines was genuine.

“So! Where is this dangerous one…… Fwo?! No, no, that will not do! I was almost carried away by skillful speech and became friendly with a murderer in the act! I may not look it, but I am clever! I will not be taken in by the tongue of an evil person like you!”

“Ah, okay.”

Tooyama quietly replied to the girl, who proudly wagged her finger with a tsk-tsk-tsk.

“Th-the First Knight?! Did she just say First Knight?! The greatest fighting force of the Angel Church, the strongest knight of the Knight Order?!”

The grating scream came from the last one on the kill count. He was one move too late. Now then, how should Tooyama dispose of him?

“Mm, fufufufufu! You there, you seem to be quite a good person! Yes, that is correct! I am indeed the strongest knight of the Angel Church Knights! The First Knight, Stolu Pula!”

The girl laughed proudly with her hands on her hips. She was short, with a small stature of around 150 centimeters or perhaps less. However, from the armor she wore and the way she carried herself, it was easy to judge that she was no ordinary person.

“Wow, all of that was information we already had. This person is introducing herself with things we already know.”

“Naruhito, I understand how you feel, but it would be best not to provoke her too much. ……She is on another level.”

“……Yeah, she is. If there’s a god or something, why do they always like giving power to idiots?”

But her brains were probably that. He could already sense no intellect from the words she spoke or the way she spoke them.

“Mm? Did you just call someone an idiot? That is no good! It is wrong to call people idiots! Now, apologize for calling that person an idiot!”

Could the word “idiot” itself not reach an idiot?

Tooyama suddenly began feeling tired.

“No, by idiot, I didn’t mean him. Well, I suppose the fact that he couldn’t understand the difference in strength does make him stupid……”

“First Knight!!! I-I’m going to be killed?! Those murderers are going to kill me! P-please save me!!”

Contrary to Tooyama, who was acting relatively carefree, the last survivor shouted desperately.

“Huh?”

Lazaar was taken aback by those careless words.

“Tsk, so it turns out like this.”

Tooyama clicked his tongue softly.

In this situation, it was true that at a glance, it was not impossible for Tooyama and Lazaar to look like the perpetrators.

“Mm, mmmmmm, you there! Explain in detail! Muo?! But now that I look, there are four corpses! Mmmmmm?! What happened to you? Are you all right?!”

“Ah, yes, knight, knight-sama! Listen to me! M-my comrades were killed by them! Even the ones who begged for their lives, and w-women too! Women were killed too! Ah, also, that’s right! F-family!! They threatened to kill my family too. I, I……!”

“Ahh, what!? Truth! It is the truth! You are not lying! Mm, mmmm! You there! Lizardonian and black-haired-san, please do not move! Right now, you are under suspicion! I will exercise the right of law enforcement granted to me by the angel and His Imperial Majesty!”

Just as expected, the idiot who did not listen to people turned hostility toward Tooyama and Lazaar.

In every world, the bigger the bastard, the louder his voice, and the more of an idiot someone was, the more they believed that voice.

There were far too few people who knew that truly important words and correct words dwelled in small voices.

“Law enforcement. You know some difficult words, huh.”

“Naruhito! Now is not the time for jokes. Ah, yes, understood. However, knight-dono, will you listen to our side as well?”

Lazaar admonished Tooyama as he muttered quietly. Lazaar directed his calm voice toward the young knight.

“Mm, that is true as well…… Why did you—”

“It’s a lie! Knight-sama, they are lying!! You must not believe them! Th-they are people who can kill others this easily! It’s a lie, a lie, lielielielie!!”

He shouted and shouted and shouted. The last survivor was yelling in a voice nearly equal to a scream, spit flying from his mouth.

He was desperate. He had likely decided that this was the critical point. He intended to get through this by having the knight protect him.

“………That tongue moves well. Shall I pull it out for you?”

His overly optimistic, short-sighted, and shallow thinking irritated Tooyama. He quietly turned his killing intent toward that man once again.

“Hi?! Y-you heard him, right, knight-sama!! Those terrifying words!! P-please save me, save meeee. Look, an arrow, I have an arrow stuck in meee. I’m going to dieee.”

The man began crying, and even Lazaar clicked his tongue at the sight.

“Ah, w-wawa, i-it’s true! Wh-what a terrible wound!! Um, um, there it is! I found it! ‘Angel’s Tear’! I will pull the arrow out!”

But to the girl, even that shallow attitude probably sounded like the words of a weak person begging for help.

To fulfill her duty as a knight, the girl began treating that man.

The arrow Tooyama had fired was deeply embedded in his thigh. She grabbed it carelessly—

“There we go.”

And yanked it out all at once. Blood began overflowing as if a plug had been pulled out.

“Eh, higgi?! Aaaaaaaaa…… H-huh? I-it doesn’t hurt?”

He let out a voice of agony at the crude treatment, but it soon faded.

The young female knight took a glass bottle from her breast pocket, tilted it, and let about two drops of medicinal liquid fall onto the wound, drop, drop.

With only that, the wound that the arrowhead should have gouged open began closing.

“Phew, good. It is not as good as the Chief Saint’s healing, but it should have sufficient healing power. With this, you need not worry about the injury.”

“……Lazaar, what is that?”

“……A secret medicine of the Angel Church. Its manufacturing method is unknown, but it is an item said to be so effective that there were even rumors during the Great War that it could reconnect severed arms and legs…… This is my first time seeing the real thing.”

“Hm. Now then, what should we do?”

A knight who possessed something like that. She was probably powerful and had a fairly high position within the organization.

In other words, the idiot before them was not just an ordinary idiot.

“Now then, once again. Do you have anything to say in your defense? Even if this was a dispute between adventurers, if you committed such a terrible act without reason, then as the sword of the Angel Church, I must fulfill my duty.”

After finishing the man’s treatment, the knight stood and looked again at Tooyama and Lazaar.

Her atmosphere was beginning to change slightly. Tooyama and Lazaar sensed that sharply.

“Th-there is no need to listen to their defense! Knight-sama, my comrades were killed! P-please hurry and kill them! How could you allow beasts like that to run wild—”

However, that guy noticed nothing of the sort. He made a fuss like a child throwing a tantrum. He had probably always done this. Whenever he had a problem, he would shout loudly and make a scene.

It must be nice for trash to live easily. Tooyama merely stared quietly at the man before him.

“Mm, certainly they killed this many people. This is indeed evil……”

The idiot began reacting badly to that trash’s voice.

“Naruhito.”

Lazaar quietly called Tooyama’s name. Tooyama understood what that meant too.

Unfortunately, trash’s words could reach someone. But right here and now, this was bad.

“Ah, damn it. Why do I always get into trouble with people I can’t beat? ……Ah, Knight Stolu-dono, may we have the chance to explain ourselves?”

To somehow defend himself, Tooyama clearly called the knight’s name.

“Mm, mmm. That boldness, on the contrary, interests me. Yes, permission granted.”

The girl began listening to Tooyama’s words—

“Permission?! Ridiculous! Knight-sama, are you going to listen to the words of criminals like them?! The Angel Church is sheltering murderers—hii?!”

But the trash shouted loudly again. Because that was the only method left to him.

And that loud voice touched on words that must not be said.

The sharp killing intent, which even trash could understand, did not belong to Tooyama or Lazaar.

It came from the young female knight.

“Adventurer, if you insult me, well, that is fine. However, if you continue and demean the Church even slightly with that filthy mouth, I will separate that head from that body…… I will.”

It was a heavy, cold voice. None of the chaotic atmosphere she had shown immediately after appearing remained.

The words of the First Knight of the Angel Church stopped the foolish adventurer’s mouth.

“Ha, ha, hahii.”

“……She is not just an idiot, then.”

Troublesome. Tooyama heightened his vigilance toward the young female knight before him even further.

“Thank you for waiting! Estimated murderer-san. Now then, please tell me your crimes! I regret to say that the moment you tell a lie, you will be made to atone, so please be careful!!”

While saying a concerning word, the girl’s atmosphere brightened again.

Without lowering his guard, Tooyama turned his mind and chose the best words for this situation.

“…………Does your law say to show compassion even to robbers?”

“Mmmmm? Robbers…… No!! Imperial law, created based on the angel’s will, respects individual property! Robbery is, in other words, wrong! I may not look it, but I am clever! Hanging!”

“Hm. Then let me ask: what do you think about disputes between adventurers? For example, if someone kills people who try to steal prey they struggled to hunt, is the one who killed them in the wrong?”

“Mm?! No! There is no way! Fundamentally, the adventurer profession is self-responsibility! All negligence and failures that occur during an adventure are the responsibility of the person involved! Stealing another person’s achievements is outrageous! Though it is difficult for the Guild to grasp and therefore difficult to prove as a crime, there is absolutely no problem with striking back…… Hm? Mmmmmmmm?! Could it be that the prey loaded on that cart is……”

“Ah, hey, wait.”

She moved as if hopping, approaching Tooyama and Lazaar’s cart.

And when she saw the spoils loaded there, her eyes widened.

“Titanos Mare!! Oyo-yo-yo! I am surprised! There are not many adventurers who can hunt this monster! Yo-yo?! And there are two of them?! Mm, mmm. Two people, five people, bows and arrows…… Ah! I have realized it! You merely punished robbers! Fufufu, it is only natural to be surprised that I guessed the situation. I may not look it, but I am clever!”

“Ah, yes. Actually, I was saying that from the start…… No, never mind. That is basically how it was.”

Saying anything would be pointless. Tooyama decided to nod obediently.

And then the girl laughed. The knight, who had correctly recognized all the facts, laughed cheerfully.

“Weefook!! So that was indeed the case! Mm, I can see it now! I can see it! In other words, these poor corpses lying here, and the person I just kindly treated—

They are evil, yes?”

Her face turned with a sharp glare while still smiling toward that guy, who was still sitting on his backside and doing nothing but making noise.

The fool who had, with luck, tried to sic the knight on Tooyama and Lazaar.

His fate was about to end.

“Hii?! N-no! No, no, no! Knight-sama, they are lying! It is all nonsense! It’s a lie, a lie, lielie! They are lying!”

There was no longer any logic or meaning in the man’s words. It was nothing but nonsense spewing emotion.

“This guy really never shuts up.”

Tooyama finally reached the limit of his patience. He was about to step forward to silence him, but Lazaar’s hand stopped him.

“Wait, Naruhito. Something is strange.”

“Huh?”

“……A lie, you say. Are you saying that they are lying?”

It was a quiet voice. A small voice.

The words the young female knight directed at the man were small.

That was why the man likely perceived them as words he could control. He probably mistook them for weak words that he had always overwritten with his loud voice.

“Ah, y-yes! That’s right, exactlyyy. They did it, they killed them! My comrades! Even though we hadn’t done anything, anything at alllll!”

He widened his eyes and appealed as much as he could.

“I see, I see. It is true that they have killed people. Yes, yes. You have lost something, have you not?”

“Y-yes, that’s riiight! Knight-sama, judgment! Please judge those murdererssss!”

Without shame or appearances, the man clung to the knight. The sight of a grown adult clinging to a girl who should still be called young was nothing but harmful.

However, the quietness that the man judged to be easy to control looked entirely different to Tooyama and Lazaar.

“Lazaar……”

“Yes. Let us stay quiet. Right now, this is bad.”

The quietness of a carnivorous beast, a predator, just before killing its prey—

“Hmm. I see, do I? Very well. Both you and they have your own claims, I suppose. Yes, I understand! I shall accept all of those claims! As the justice of the Empire that follows the law established by the angel, I shall ask you about justice!”

“Ah, yes! Thank you very muuuch, knight-samaaa…… Ask about justice?”

“Yes! It is unfortunate, but even I, clever as I am, find it difficult to see through people’s lies! Th-ere-fore! From here on, I shall ask ‘Justice’! Please rest assured, victim-san! What you have to do is simple! Answer my questions honestly! That is all!”

Cheerfully and brightly, those words were announced.

“………Eh, heh? K-kill? Y-you are joking, right?”

The man with a runny nose reacted late and tilted his head. He wore a thin smile as if trying to curry favor.

“No! I dislike jokes and liars! Now, let us begin!”

And with a smile, she cut down that thin smile and thrust reality at the man.

“……Lazaar, she’s kind of dangerous.”

For example, it was like seeing a road late at night, where the streetlights suddenly ended partway and the path was swallowed by darkness—

“……Tsk, this presence…… The worst. She is a Sacrament bearer.”

Lazaar’s murmur sounded strangely clear.

“Sacrament: Execute. Decide, Justice.”

It began. The angel’s knight, and the reason she had been chosen. The proof of one chosen by this world, surpassing skills.

“Huh?”

“Hey, seriously?”

“……Angel Church, First Knight. So that is what it means.”

Everyone except the young female knight widened their eyes.

An anomaly.

It suddenly appeared behind the girl.

Broken wings, and many unworldy arms.

It looked like the statue of a goddess, but its form resembled a forced patchwork of statues of all kinds of designs.

“Thou shalt state the truth.”

Justice awakened.

“Ah, eh, eh?”

The man could not understand the situation. No, he had abandoned trying to understand.

It had always been like that. This man had never thought about the essential things. He had lived trying to move through life easily and conveniently.

He had lived by preying on those weaker and more foolish than himself.

Everything he had gained from that way of life would now be tested.

“‘Question. Thou, did you attempt to take their cargo? And as a result, were you attempting thievery?’”

“Ha, ha, ha, ye, y…… Wh-what is that?”

He did not even have the ability to answer the question. The man merely asked.

Even at this point, this man still did not understand. What position he was in now.

He no longer even had the right to ask questions.

“‘Next. If you do not answer the question, it will be regarded as a lie. Thou, are you evil? Thou, did you attempt to steal from them?’”

“Ah, hah, hah, hah, hah……”

The man breathed heavily. He did nothing but breathe heavily. The fact he did not want to acknowledge, the truth he did not want to accept, nevertheless steadily approached him.

This man had not thought. That was why even now, when he truly had to think and answer, he could not think.

“‘Answer.’”

And once again, he chose the easy path, just as always.

“I-I did nooot…………… Apyo, u, vvvvuvuvuvuvu?! Vvuh, weh……”

A lie.

What happened to a sinner who lied before Justice? Such a thing was decided.

The man began scratching at his throat. He gagged, choked, touched and pressed his own neck, then collapsed to the ground and began struggling.

“‘Thou art a sinner.’”

Justice’s judgment had been passed.

The knight continued quietly looking down at the man, who kept thrashing his arms and legs and foaming at the mouth.

“Vuh, eh, egu, e……”

And then, after continuing to scratch at his throat, the man stopped moving.

“……How unfortunate. Goodbye, liar-san.”

“……What village’s syndrome is this? Hey, Lazaar, did you understand how she killed him?”

“……Not at all. However, for an instant, she seemed to touch the sword at her waist……”

“Now then.”

Justice looked toward the next place of judgment.

“?!”

“……….”

“Weefook! Please do not be so wary! No, really! I apologize for taking your time! We have determined who the liar in this place was, so you are innocent! Disputes between adventurers and counterattacks against illegal acts in hunting grounds are properly recognized by Imperial law, so please rest assured!”

Her face laughed cheerfully. The knight wore a girlish atmosphere and rich expression.

Just looking at her appearance, she was merely a cute girl, but to Tooyama and Lazaar now, it felt as tense as having a man-eating lion before them.

She was probably weaker than Drako or the saint. He understood that. But she was certainly stronger than him and Lazaar.

If she felt like it right now, he would probably be killed. That premonition weighed on Tooyama.

The strange statue that had appeared behind her had vanished, but he did not understand the logic. The bastard who had foamed at the mouth while scratching at his throat and died. He did not understand what mechanism had killed him.

That was the greatest fear of all.

“Then, I apologize for taking your time! Those are splendid hunting spoils! I offer the greatest respect to your technique and strength! And may the angel’s blessing be upon the honesty with which you did not lie!”

The girl smiled brightly. There was no malice at all on her face. Even though it was right after she had killed someone, that face, without any cloudiness or shadow, was so creepy he could not stand it.

“Ah, yes, thank you. Knight-san, please do your best with your work too. ……Let’s go, Lazaar.”

“Y-yes, indeed. Our proud knight, may the light of the angel dwell in your sword.”

“Oyo-yo! Lizardonian-san, you are knowledgeable about the angel’s faith! Fufu, those are words of honor for a knight! Thank yooou!!”

The girl waved. The two adults began pulling the cart while breaking into cold sweat.

“…………Dangerous. She is dangerous.”

“Shh, she will hear you. Let us leave this place quickly.”

Roll, rumble, the wheels turned.

Quickly, quickly, get away from here. Please, please, do not look this way.

Tooyama and Lazaar silently continued pulling the cart, desperate to get even a little farther away from that place, but without rushing.

“……………Hmmmmmm. Huh? On second thought, could you wait a moment?”

Of course. I knew it. Tooyama cursed god in his heart. If such a thing existed, it definitely had a bad personality.

It had to be the type of rotten bastard that enjoyed watching people struggle.

Tooyama and Lazaar looked at each other and stopped.

“Lazaar, we were called.”

“Naruhito, you are being called.”

They were stopped before they had even walked a few meters. Since they were pulling the cart, no, even without the cart, they likely could not escape.

“Yes, yes. You two. May I have a little more of your time?”

They obediently stopped as told.

“I’d rather you didn’t.”

“Naruhito, you still have a surprising amount of leeway.”

“………Hmm, hmm, hmmm. You two are strange people. Even though people died before your eyes, your hearts did not move at all.”

“……Well, this is the kind of job we do.”

“Yes, of course. I am aware of that. ……Excellent at hunting, cold-blooded, and full of resolve…… Ah, you are both good adventurers, are you not?”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I am currently pursuing a murderer. The murder of gate soldiers that occurred at the East Gate. All of them should have been people with some confidence in their skills, but just a short while ago, we confirmed that they were wiped out.”

“The gatekeepers? Wiped out……”

Tooyama’s all-out acting. Calm your heart. Forget, even if only for this instant, the fact that you disposed of them.

Speak little, and look into the other person’s eyes.

“………………”

Lazaar maintained silence. There was not the slightest change in his expression.

“Yes, it is lamentable. The corpses were terribly damaged, their bodies torn to pieces, and their expressions dyed with fear. ……I can only pray that peace comes to those devout people who served the angel.”

“……That’s unfortunate. Ah, so that’s why you were looking for the culprit with a big jump…… Jump?”

“Fufu, I may not look it, but my body is also slightly specially made. For the battle with the dragon that shall come someday—no, ahem! Never mind! So, according to my colleague Cradea, the culprit is terrifyingly cold-hearted and unwavering.”

“Is that so…… Amazing. There is someone who can tell that?”

“Yes! Cradea, loved by the familiars of death, the Sixth Knight, can smell the scent of ‘death’! The scent left behind by the culprit was such a scent. A killing based on resolve and conviction………………You are also terrifyingly cold-hearted and unwavering, are you not……?”

The girl’s eyes, her pale-blue pupils, stared at Tooyama.

Then her beautiful face, her mouth, formed a crescent-like smile.

“Justice.”

It appeared.

The distorted statue, the form of Justice, was exposed before greed.

“……!”

“Please do not make such a frightening face. Yes, this will not take long. Yes, all you have to do is answer my question honestly.”

This was bad. He was completely suspected. He had no regret about disposing of those gatekeepers. No regret, but he had never imagined that he would be suspected in this kind of way.

The scent of death? What the hell was that? Fantasy? It was fantasy.

Tooyama reflected.

He had still been acting based on modern common sense. Since there were no security cameras, satellites, or drones, he had thought that if he disposed of all witnesses, he would not be exposed, but clues were beginning to emerge from an unexpected direction.

“……What is that?”

Trying to gain even a little time, Tooyama pointed at the statue standing behind the girl before him.

That strange existence that possessed both sanctity and horror.

“It is a Sacrament. As adventurers, you know of them, yes? The extreme height of human talent, altered in form when skills given to chosen humans are joined by the angel’s miracles…… Well, that is what Cradea told me……”

Her eyes were cold. That high-tension tone had now vanished, and her moist voice carried a sensuality that chilled his spine.

It felt as if her IQ had risen quite a bit.

“Now then, adventurer-san. In the name of Justice, as the First Knight of the Angel Church, I shall question you.”

Bad. This was very bad.

The principle was unknown, but this woman could probably “detect lies.” That adventurer who had scratched at his throat and died over there had proved it.

Whether his cause of death and lying to this woman were equal was unclear, but at the very least, lies would be exposed.

What to do? Kill her? Here?

No, that was no good. She was too strong. If Relic Blade caught her, he could probably kill her, but the wind was strong, the space was open, and there was no time to set anything up.

Tooyama turned his mind. He could not dispose of her by force. In the first place, Tooyama somehow lacked the motivation to kill the woman before him.

If he started killing people simply because he was suspected, he would become a real murderer in no time. For Tooyama, who was aware of himself as a cultured member of society, that was a situation he wanted to avoid as much as possible.

“What is wrong? Your complexion seems poor. Please do not worry. All you have to do is answer my question honestly.”

“Thou shalt state the truth. Thy falsehood shall be exposed beneath the light of Justice.”

The female knight tilted her head. Behind her, dimly floating like a heat haze, was a strange statue. Something in terrible taste, with broken wings, like a Buddhist statue and goddess statue joined together, towered behind the female knight.

He had no choice but to steel himself.

He made his resolve. The weapon to wield here was not the claws and fangs for killing monsters—

Ping.

The ↓ pointed at the female knight and her tasteless statue.

“Eh, 1?”

“Huh?”

“Naruhito, what are you……”

A stream of messages appeared all at once. Tooyama, who read all of them, accidentally voiced the sad truth declared by the status of the young female knight before him.

“Ah, no, it’s nothing!! No, excuse me, I was a little nervous.”

“……Well, that is fine. I may not look it, but I am clever. I understand why you are nervous. I am the First Knight, after all.”

Intelligence 1 nodded with a knowing look.

While Tooyama felt a little sorry for her, he renewed his recognition that the being before him was a monster.

The big jump that descended from the sky, and the incomprehensible monster-surpassing number of STR 12–100.

A monster. He must not fight her without preparation. Except for being weak in the head, she was a first-rate enemy.

“Now then, I shall ask you a question, in the name of Justice.”

That question was weighed on the scales of Justice. If he lied and was deemed evil, he would be judged by inhuman power.

“Thou shalt state the truth.”

What Justice sought was the destination of that sword. Justice’s enemy was decided by Justice.

“Did you kill the gatekeepers?”

Her low intelligence, however, contained nothing unnecessary and asked the truth simply and quickly.

Did the absence of unnecessary things lead to beauty?

The young female knight staring at Tooyama was filled with functional beauty similar to a sword.

“………………”

In the name of Justice, the power of judgment was thrust at Tooyama’s neck.

If he lied, Justice would expose him and hang him. If he told the truth, how pitiful and unfortunate, he would be a criminal. He probably would not reach his dream.

“What is wrong? ‘Thou shalt answer.’”

Powerful Justice stood in Tooyama’s way. Fangs and claws could not be used here. They would not reach Justice.

“………………………”

His breathing grew slightly rough. A tightrope he could not fail, a choice he could not mistake.

Fear, tension. Everything negative that stopped a person’s steps now weighed down on Tooyama.

“……If you cannot say it, ‘Silence is falsehood.’ I will take it that way.”

The knight’s hand moved to the Hanging Sword—

“Gatekeepers.”

Even then, the tongue and brain of the greedy man did not stop.

His was a life of being constantly taken from. A life full of enemies. Most humans living in this world were trash, and it was full of bastards constantly trying to take something from others.

Tooyama Naruhito knew that.

“Gatekeepers. Dead gatekeepers. Ah, those guys. Those guys.”

His tongue did not stop. His mind spun.

In a life full of trash, however, Tooyama Naruhito had never stopped doing that one thing.

“What are you—”

The young female knight, the Church’s sword who was not swallowed by Justice because she was foolish, held her breath. She saw the face of the man before her. She saw the face of a human.

Tooyama Naruhito had never, in any moment or any situation, stopped “thinking.”

The wonder of the human body: the more one used those things, the more optimized they became. How should obstacles to living be disposed of?

“Ah, gatekeepers, Knight Stolu. The Angel Church, the pride of us in the Empire.”

The brain and intellect of Tooyama Naruhito, who had continued thinking about that since childhood, grew sharper even in danger.

“The gatekeepers possessed by those institutions. The proud people who guard key points in the adventure city.”

Now, let it boil, the brain that makes a human human.

Now, spin, the tongue that moves human hearts and crosses through a world full of trash.

If he failed, he would only die.

“They were surely all good people, right? Innocent people who were faithful to their duties, serious, offered prayers to angels, and lived their days, right?”

Before he knew it, greed was the one doing the questioning. Justice did not notice. It did not notice that the conversation had started shifting at some point. Because it was foolish, it could not notice.

“Eh, yes, of course. Though they were at the very bottom, they were soldiers of the Angel Church. They were good people who lived each day for this city, the Empire, and their faith.”

And those words slipped out.

She said them.

“Ah, yes. ‘Good people.’ That’s right.”

His tongue spun. His brain boiled. Even if claws, fangs, and beastly weapons did not work, Tooyama Naruhito had this.

Intelligence and malignancy. This was this man’s true essence.

Let the adventure begin. Claws and fangs were that man’s domain. Intelligence and evil were Tooyama’s domain.

—Woof!

Behind his ear, somewhere that was not here, he felt as if something barked once in satisfaction.

“I swear to you, knight-dono. Neither I nor Lazaar here killed any good people, any gatekeepers who were faithful to their duties, serious, offered prayers to angels, and lived their days as innocent people.”

Tooyama declared it. He had not told a single lie.

Because he had not killed any good gatekeepers.

This was adventure. This was adventure. The adventure that had not begun then.

Cunning wisdom that even “Justice” could not catch. Claws and fangs that could slaughter even dragons.

With an amusing shadow as his friend, becoming a place for orphans, monopolizing the dragon’s gaze.

He was in the middle of a fun adventure. The enjoyable time had finally begun.

Mere Justice should not get in his way.

“Thou, all is truth. Thou art not a sinner.”

Justice vanished. There was no blade to thrust at an honest person. Before the truth declared by the greedy man, Justice lost its role.

“……Mm, mmmmm, ah, wawawawa.”

The knight’s eyes spun. Her own compass, Justice, loudly declared the innocence of the man before her.

Her intuition had indeed reacted to the evil before her. Even so, even so, her intelligence was insufficient.

Her Justice could not reach greed’s tongue.

“Wawa, wawawawawa?! I-I-I-I-I am sorryyyyy!! I-I completely, completely suspected you, ah, this is bad, ei!! Ei! Hanging canceled!! A-are you all right? Your neck, does it hurt?!”

The girl’s dangerous, cold beauty as a function was nowhere to be found. She began making a fuss with the unreasonable restlessness branded with Intelligence 1.

“I’m glad you believed us. No, no, nothing hurts at all. Knight-san, I’m sorry, but the freshness of the prey will drop too, so we should probably get going…… Right, Lazaar?”

“Ah, yes. That is true. First Knight-dono, respect to your proud duty. We shall be going now—”

“Ah, ahh?! I-I am sorry, sorry, sorry! I am trulyyyyy sorry! I-I completely got in the way of your work! U-uuu, right after you were attacked by bandits, I came charging in. Was that not completely me jumping the gun?! Weefook! To have gotten in the way of good Imperial citizens and excellent adventurers would disgrace the name of the Knight Order. The captain will scold me!”

The girl stood there with teary eyes, starting to panic.

The dead-fish eyes from just a moment earlier had vanished as if they had been a lie.

“N-no, no, those words are too much. Please, truly, do not worry about it. Right, Lazaar?”

“Ah, yes, exactly, knight-dono. Ha, hahaha.”

Lazaar and Tooyama wore dry laughs. They truly wanted to leave this place quickly.

Intelligence 1 began scratching her head with a groan. She was undoubtedly a good person.

She could be ashamed of her mistake and apologize. It looked obvious, but how many people were there who could not do that?

“……Lazaar, can we just go already?”

“Y-yes. If we stay here any longer, something may happen to my heart.”

The two stealthily began pushing the heavy cart.

“I have realized something!”

““Huh?””

Tooyama and Lazaar, who had been trying to secretly leave this place, found Intelligence 1 cutting in front of them with sparkling eyes.

“I truly caused you trouble this time! A-as an apology, I will responsibly carry this cart to the city’s East Gate entrance! Ah, and I will also escort you to the city! P-please rest assured. I may not look it, but I am not only clever, I am strong!”

The young female knight struck the chest of her silver armor with a thump.

Tooyama and Lazaar could only freeze with straight faces at the sight.

“Well, it’s true that she’s strong, at least.”

Before Strength 12–100, who snorted proudly with a “mufufu,” Tooyama could only murmur weakly.