Volume 7, Chapter 39 – Questions

“Here it is!”

Sara-san used Muscle Magic—no, I mean Earth Magic—to punch and destroy the wall once again. Beyond it, a hollow void lay open.

“According to my divination, it seems we can get out if we go left here.”

“As expected of you.”

Relying on the light of Purification Magic, we advanced into the darkness.

There were traces of excavation, so it seemed to be an artificial passage.

The ceiling was low, so it must have been quite difficult for the tall Shizuku-san, Chris-san, and Sara-san, since they had to stoop as they walked.

As we continued walking down that narrow path, stairs came into view in the distance.

“Is that the exit?”

“Perhaps.”

We ascended the stairs slowly and cautiously. I strained my ears, but I couldn’t hear anything from either above us or behind us.

“It seems we are safe.”

“Yes.”

Once we finished climbing the stairs, we emerged inside some kind of building. The surrounding walls were all made of sun-dried bricks.

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“It appears we have emerged outside the town.”

Huh? What does that mean?

“Fiene-sama. I suspect the passage we just traversed was an emergency escape route for the President or the Emir.”

“I see. Divination really is amazing.”

“No, usually it is not this accurate. Um, for some reason, only the divinations intended to be of help to Saint-sama are frequently correct.”

Eh? What’s that supposed to mean? Is that bald old man pulling something again?

“It likely means that Fiene-sama is that much more beloved by the gods.”

No, the love of that bald old man is a bit…

Well, I mean, it helped, but still.

I don’t know, I just can’t seem to like the guy.  I’m sure he doesn’t have a good impression of me either.

“Fiene-dono. Something strange is happening with the Luma.”

“What do you mean?”

I reflexively asked Shizuku-san, who had returned after checking outside.

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“There is no danger outside, so you should come and see for yourself.”

“Right.”

Urged by Shizuku-san, I stepped outside the building.

Ah, uh, yeah. Why has the number of people increased so much?

Right. The Barrier I’d put up with what should’ve been plenty of room to spare was now packed full of Luma.

I mean, sure, I made it so only the Luma could pass through it, but where on earth did all these Luma come from?

Soldiers had surrounded them. Some seemed to be attacking in an attempt to break my Barrier.

“Um, what should we do about that? As I thought…”

“Fiene-sama. To us, they look like mere dots. What exactly is happening?”

“Eh? Ah, that’s right.”

I explained the situation to the three of them, since they couldn’t make it out from here.

“Good heavens… So that’s what’s happening.”

“For now, is there no choice but to go there? Surely abandoning them isn’t an option.”

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“You’re right. I’d like to settle this peacefully if possible, but…”

“That will likely be difficult…”

“I imagine so.”

Shizuku-san and Chris-san wore grim expressions at my words.

“Eh? Why don’t we just take them all out?”

“Lu-chan, that’s a bit much…”

“Eh? Why? They were forcing Elf women into slavery, and they’re doing horrible things to the Luma people too. If it’s okay to kill monsters that do bad things, why is it not okay to kill humans that do bad things?”

“That’s…”

True. From Lu-chan’s perspective, humans and monsters were both simply other races.

Moreover, Lu-chan had her father killed, was forced into slavery, and had her family torn apart.

Um, what should I do?

While I was at a loss for an answer, Sara-san answered in my stead.

“Lumia-sama. For a human to kill another human is considered a sin by the gods. More importantly, as long as humans live together in a society, that society cannot function if killing other humans is condoned. That is why we humans have rulers, and only those who stray from the proper path are executed.”

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“Eh? Then is it okay for humans to kill Elves? Humans killed my father!”

“No. That is not what I mean. As long as one lives within human society, one must follow human rules.”

“But those people killed the Luma people and stole their land, right? Why is it okay for them?”

“That is because Eibra now has a new ruler, and new laws have been established.”

“Then should the Luma kill the people of Eibra, become the new rulers, and make their own laws?”

“That is…”

Unusually, Lu-chan was stubbornly persisting. Perhaps she was overlapping the plight of the Luma with the situation the Elves were in.

“Lu-chan. If we kill the people of Eibra now, it will only create unnecessary grudges, and the people here weren’t even born when Bartolo-san was alive. First, let’s make it our priority to take the Luma people and escape.”

“Muuu. If Onee-sama says so, I understand.”

Lu-chan still looked unconvinced, but I too felt a sense of helplessness and didn’t know what the right answer was.

Still, I wanted to make sure as few people as possible got hurt… and that no blood had to be shed.

With those thoughts in mind, we hurried toward the Luma.