"I am truly very sorry."
After learning about what had happened to Moso Shizuka and Kentou Kanami, the blonde girl lowered her head and apologized to the two of them.
"I never imagined something like this would happen… this is all my fault."
"So then, what else do you have to say?"
Duanmu Huai crossed his arms and coldly stared at the blonde girl.
"Attacking merchant caravans, taking children hostage, even attempting to assault women you captured—if you tell me you aren't mountain bandits, I wouldn't believe it."
"This…"
Hearing Duanmu Huai's sharp and biting words, the blonde girl frowned and bit her lip tightly.
"Actually, we really aren't mountain bandits. We are a resistance organization…"
"A resistance organization? An anti-government armed force?"
Hearing this, Duanmu Huai immediately understood.
"Oh, so that's the reason you launched these attacks."
"No, I didn't give such an order. I'm afraid they acted on their own initiative…"
"If the top beam isn't straight, the bottom ones will be crooked. Since the underlings are this kind of trash, the people above them probably aren't much better."
Although the blonde girl in the wheelchair was very pretty and beautiful, and even had a kind of sickly, illusory beauty to her, Duanmu Huai would never look at her differently because of that. Warp demons and Chaos cultists disguised as beautiful women were far too common. Even if it were a little girl, once confirmed to be a demonic xenos, Duanmu Huai would wipe her out without hesitation—let alone a pitiful-looking young beauty. Dead was dead.
"You—!"
Hearing Duanmu Huai's mockery, the blonde girl lowered her head, while the old doctor glared at him angrily, clearly wanting to say something. However, Duanmu Huai's gaze shot toward him like a blade, leaving him unable to utter even half a sentence.
"P-please, listen to me!"
Seeing that Duanmu Huai was about to act at the slightest disagreement, the blonde girl could no longer remain silent. She clenched her hands tightly, raised her head, and stared straight at Duanmu Huai.
"Please listen to me, sir! In the Kingdom of Seth, there is extremely severe persecution! Just because they are not mages, people are cruelly treated by mages. It's because we couldn't endure this kind of treatment that we formed the resistance organization, trying to change all of this! I admit that there are many rough and violent people within our organization, but they too were bullied by mages…"
"So they go bully children and women instead?"
Duanmu Huai snorted in disdain.
"What, don't have the guts to go after the regular army, so you bully children and women to show your courage? What difference is there between you and the mages you hate so much?"
"That's not it!"
The blonde girl desperately shook her head.
"The existence of Iceflame is to help those who suffer under the absolute rule of Seth's mages!"
"Ahem, um… Inquisitor?"
At this moment, Moso Shizuka hesitated for a moment, then coughed lightly and reached out to tug at Duanmu Huai's clothes.
"Hm? What is it?"
"Well… what she says isn't completely without reason. We did indeed see some things inside Seth that… how should I put it… are really hard to justify."
"Oh?"
Seeing Moso Shizuka nod somewhat awkwardly, Duanmu Huai was rather surprised. Then he looked toward Kentou Kanami.
"And you?"
"Ah… indeed, just like this lady said, we did see… um, how should I say it… it really was excessive…"
Kentou Kanami hesitated for a moment, then nodded as she added her words.
"I see."
After hearing both of them, Duanmu Huai raised an eyebrow.
"So you're not planning to pursue this further?"
"Yes, and we weren't seriously hurt. Those people were also all killed by you, sir. And I can somewhat understand their way of thinking…"
"Alright."
Seeing that both Moso Shizuka and Kentou Kanami said this, Duanmu Huai shrugged. He hadn't personally witnessed it himself, so he didn't really know what the situation inside Seth was like. After all, after arriving in Seth, Duanmu Huai had taken a special carriage directly to meet the king. After that, he'd been teleported away to learn the techniques of being a monster tamer. Naturally, he didn't know as much about Seth's internal affairs as Moso Shizuka and Kentou Kanami did.
Since both of them said they wouldn't pursue it, Duanmu Huai let it end there.
"Fine then. Since the victims themselves say they're dropping the matter, then it's settled. Let's go."
After saying this, Duanmu Huai turned around to leave. However, at that moment, the old doctor suddenly spoke up.
"Please wait!"
"Hm?"
Duanmu Huai turned his head to look at him. The latter stared at Duanmu Huai and asked.
"May I ask… are you the hero who slew the Demon King and the Majins in the Kingdom of Rance?"
As he spoke, the old doctor took out a newspaper—there was even a photo of Duanmu Huai on it.
The technological evolution of this world really was a mess.
"So?"
"So… could you please help us? Help the people of Seth who are suffering under the oppression of mages?"
The old man stared at Duanmu Huai, while the blonde girl also looked at him in surprise.
"Hmm…"
Hearing the old man's request, Duanmu Huai fell into thought.
Strictly speaking, the scope of the Inquisition's duties also included upholding justice and saving the oppressed. This wasn't because the Inquisition was a righteous organization, but because if large-scale civil unrest occurred, people might, in despair, choose to turn to warp demons or Chaos gods, thereby triggering disasters on a planet or in a settlement.
Thus, Inquisitors would also, to a certain extent, ensure stability to avoid large-scale uprisings or rebellions.
Even some cases of daemonic infiltration.
Of course, this had nothing to do with justice or evil. The reason Inquisitors did this was more like a person exercising—after all, exercising reduces the risk of illness, and for Inquisitors, what they did was similar.
As long as the emotions of most people were stabilized, the risk of corruption could be reduced.
On this basis, maintaining social justice and order was a means, not an end.
"So then, what are your political demands?"
Duanmu Huai looked at the blonde girl again and asked. She froze for a moment.
"We hope… to establish an equal country, where people won't be looked down upon because of whether they can use magic. Other countries shouldn't have this kind of thing, right?"
Moso Shizuka and Kentou Kanami both nodded. Indeed, whether in the Free Cities or in Rance, there didn't seem to be any notion that mages were inherently superior.
"So what specifically?"
Duanmu Huai didn't care about slogans at all. Slogans were empty—methods were what mattered.
The Inquisition also hoped for world peace with no conflict. The best way to do that would be to issue an Exterminatus and destroy the entire planet.
Once everyone was dead, conflict would no longer matter.
"That is… helping people who are being unjustly treated escape, and hiding them…"
"...…You call this a resistance organization?"
This was a charity organization.
What, were they also going to hold up signs saying "Muggles' lives matter" or something?
"W-we also occasionally carry out some… resistance actions…"
"So basically, you have no way of changing this country at all, do you?"
Duanmu Huai directly interrupted the blonde girl. In his view, this group was nothing more than an ineffective resistance organization.
"...…"
Perhaps because Duanmu Huai had hit the nail on the head, the blonde girl dejectedly lowered her head and said nothing.
"Alright, let's go."
Duanmu Huai shook his head and turned to leave. However, at that moment, there was a "thud." Everyone turned around, only to see that the girl who had been sitting in the wheelchair had fallen to the ground, now looking up at Duanmu Huai.
"Please, I really want to change all of this, but with my strength alone… I truly can't do it…!"
"Hmm…"
Looking at the blonde girl crying bitterly, fists clenched tight, Duanmu Huai nodded, then subconsciously glanced at the system, planning to check the quest details…
The quest?
Why was there nothing at all??
Staring at a completely blank system interface, quiet as if the network had been disconnected, Duanmu Huai was utterly baffled.
This wasn't right, was it? Normally, at a time like this, shouldn't a quest pop up directly?
Why was it so quiet?
What was going on?
"I say…"
Just as Duanmu Huai was about to open the system to see if he had disconnected, Kanami carefully poked his waist.
"Sir, if you can help them, then please help them. The people of this country are really pitiful."
"Nonsense. There are plenty of pitiful people in the world. Can we help them all?"
Duanmu Huai rolled his eyes irritably.
"And have you thought through the consequences?"
"Consequences?"
"Yes. We came to Seth holding Princess—no, Queen—Lia's letter of introduction, meaning we're representatives of Rance. And now you want me to help Seth's resistance organization? If the king of Seth finds out, he might even think this is Rance pulling strings behind the scenes. When that happens, how many mouths do you think you'll need to explain it clearly?"
"Ah… uh… this…"
Hearing Duanmu Huai's words, Kentou Kanami was immediately rendered speechless. Just as Duanmu Huai said, they entered Seth as official representatives of Rance, which was why they were warmly received. If they helped the resistance organization cause trouble, Seth might think Rance intended to overthrow their rule—at that point, it would escalate into a diplomatic issue!
After hearing the exchange, the blonde girl also lowered her head in disappointment. Duanmu Huai didn't care either and turned to leave. However, at that moment, another small hand reached out and grabbed him.
"Olgis?"
Seeing Olgis, Duanmu Huai was momentarily stunned.
"What is it?"
Looking at Duanmu Huai, Olgis gently shook her head.
"I think it would be better for Master to stay."
"You rarely voice your own opinion like this…"
Looking at Olgis, Duanmu Huai was quite surprised. After all, it was rare for Olgis to openly oppose him on matters like this.
"Hmm…"
If it were just Kentou Kanami and Moso Shizuka opposing him, Duanmu Huai wouldn't care. But now that Olgis had also joined in, he had to think about it.
Wait—thinking carefully, from the very beginning of this journey to here, wasn't everything guided by luck? In other words, was this unseen good fortune guiding him here, waiting for him at this point?
Thinking of this, Duanmu Huai looked at TuTu again. She still looked curious, standing to the side and glancing around, clearly not listening to their conversation at all.
And the fact that there was no quest activation even when there clearly should have been a commission was also very strange…
"I understand."
At this thought, Duanmu Huai's eyes flashed, as if he had realized something. He then looked at the blonde girl.
"Let me think about it first."
(The chapter ends)