I Was Reincarnated As The Older Brother Of A Villainess Destined to Die, So I Want To Change The Future By Raising My Younger Sister With My Own Hands. I Am The Strongest In The World, But My Little Sister Must Be The Cutest In The World - Volume 4 Chapter 9.1

Beyond Freedom

To report the series of events, I made my way to Wymrei’s private chambers within the royal castle. After giving a comprehensive explanation, he let out a small sigh.

“So, the closest aide to the Holy King is a traitor. It’s a painful truth to bear.”

“Indeed, the unvarnished truth can be a bitter pill for anyone.”

“Absolutely right.”

He sighed once again and glanced over the compiled documents I had prepared.

“So, this ‘Witch of the West’ lent a hand to Count Cusipos. And there’s a high possibility that this witch was the one who cursed me.”

“More likely than not. It’s hard to believe that there were multiple witches cozying up to the royal faction. Well, we are operating under the assumption of the existence of multiple individuals, but still.”

“Can’t you capture the ‘Witch of the West’ yourself?”

“We managed to trace back to her hideout by reverse-tracing the cursed artifacts owned by Count Cusipos, but the witch herself was no longer there. It seems like she narrowly escaped, which only adds to my frustration.”

It was fortunate that a considerable amount of evidence was left behind, suggesting she had fled in a hurry.

According to the gathered documents, it appeared that the goal of the ‘Witch of the West’ was to accelerate the resurrection of the Demon King by intensifying the concentration of curses permeating the world. This witch seemed to hold a high position within the Demon King’s cult.

During the assault on the Demon King’s cult assembly prior to this incident – the attack on the local chapter of the church, Foranada – I had tried to gather information about the ‘Witch of the West,’ but it was a dead end. The witch rarely showed her face even to the members of the cult.

There was a possibility that Count Cusipos might have known something, but considering the case with Count Putepe, it was dubious whether someone so deeply tainted by curses could be effectively interrogated. Moreover, there were residual traces of perplexing magical energy on the body, indicating a high likelihood of a trap set by the witch. Even if Count Cusipos had been kept alive, it seemed highly probable that our efforts would have been in vain.

Therefore, as things stood, there was no information leading to the ‘Witch of the West.’ With zero information, capturing her was impossible.

However—

“There likely still are collaborators among the royal faction who support the witch.”

“Is that so?”

Wymrei squinted his eyes.

I nodded quietly.

“Although most of the documents had been destroyed, there are indications of another collaborator. I think the possibility is quite high.”

“I see…”

With a solemn expression, Wymerei began to contemplate. Being told that there were individuals within their own ranks aiding the natural enemy of humanity was a weighty revelation. His reaction was only natural.

After a while, he lifted his face that had been lowered.

“Let’s set aside the matter of the witch for now. We need to consider what to do about House Cusipos.”

The current situation regarding House Cusipos was that its head was considered missing. Because the body was concealed by my ?Phase Concealment Cover Texture?, no one thought that he had died. The fact that he had been a formidable figure, having served as the commander of the Royal Guards, was also a contributing factor.

“Those who collaborated with the witch should ideally face the death penalty by association… Zex won’t desire that, right?”

“That’s correct.”

Considering the resealing of the Western Demon King that the Saintess was going to perform, it was undesirable to diminish her combat forces too much. I understood that this was a conversation that came rather late in the game, but it was something I wanted to avoid as much as possible. The more her forces diminished, the heavier the burden on me would likely become.

“Then, let’s keep the truth of this incident between you and me. That way, it will be treated as a mere case of the head of the household going missing.”

“I apologize.”

“I don’t mind. After all, you and your group were the ones who resolved this. I want to respect the opinions of those who played a central role as much as possible.”

This adaptable nature is one of Wymrei’s admirable traits, in my opinion.

Grateful for my friend’s kindness, I added one more point.

“Apologies for the additional request, but there’s one more thing. I’d like to share the truth with the headmaster as well.”

“Ah, Count Cusipos was involved in the kidnapping too.”

Being perceptive, he quickly grasped my intention.

Count Cusipos had also been involved in the kidnapping of academy students. The headmaster, who had been investigating that case, had the right to know the truth as well.

Wymerei nodded.

“Understood. I can trust her not to disclose it.”

“Thank you.”

“I’ll say it again, it’s no problem. I’m relying on you more than usual. This is nothing.”

Afterward, we continued to discuss the post-incident measures.

However, now that we had decided not to make the truth public, we didn’t arrive at a particularly difficult conclusion. The Wymrei faction would offer some modest assistance to the troubled House Cusipos. That’s all.