Chapter 71: The Only Answer
Over the last three days, the news broke of Arlene Reinvelt’s corruption. It was a rumor that she had been corrupted inside Serenia.
People of the city came to the streets asking to know the truth. When, by evening, there was no response, things got worse.
Forces of the CEF started landing outside the city. Communication lines through long-range crystals between the capital and Serenia were established.
It would have been easy if Adam Reinvelt had come forward and united the people, but unfortunately, that did not happen.
The lord had no choice but to appear in front of the people and hit the CEF back.
A demon’s corpse was displayed in the city, and the communication crystals saw it all. A CEF member was a demon. That alone was enough to put a proper counter back on the CEF.
People thought it would get better, but the CEF then doubled down. Was it their goal from the beginning?
They said two things.
1. The Corruption they thought was still being spread through demons the Witch Queen had let out on the city.
2. If a CEF member could be a corrupt, anyone in Serenia could.
It was enough to make people fall into shock, but then someone called it out for what it was.
Utter bullcrap. A plan to ruin Serenia.
The Gardener Gnome became the voice of reason and unity, unity against the forces of the CEF.
***
"The city of Serenia will have to go to war..." Lord Soren said, sighing. "All of you! People of Serenia. The CEF has shown its true colors completely. They won’t back down."
Soren took a deep breath.
"Genocide. They say that the only way to ensure no corruption spreads anywhere else is to end the city of Serenia itself."
Pin-drop silence spread. Soren lowered his head.
Adam and Arlene, who had stopped, both remained stunned in silence, unable to process it. Were they thinking about what had happened? It was no time to space out like that.
Even if it was your fault somewhere, it was no time to space out and think about that.
"We will resist! We will fight! We will not let our city be burned to the ground!"
The people did not chime in.
A single city at the tip of the north, a city known more for its scenic snowy days and nightlife, going to war against the biggest group of the Empire? It was simply not possible.
For them to cheer, it would take a fight they didn’t have.
"Is it possible..." someone said. I knew that voice. It was Mr. Goldberg, the master of the Kafka Guild’s Serenia branch. "that there really are demons among us? Could any of us turn into a corrupted?"
"No!" said Soren right away. "The demon was captured and killed, you’ve seen it!"
"W-what if the Witch Queen is really behind it?"
"A-and Lady Arlene? She was here during the Festival! What is going on!?"
"Someone should explain it!"
"If she’s corrupted, then what are we doing here?!"
"We should run away! Leave the city behind before they raze it to the ground."
"Damn it, they’ll chase us down and kill us all!"
"They’re lying to us! The gnome and the lord! All of them!"
"Lady Arlene is not corrupted, and is standing right here!"
"Yeah! Wait, what?!"
"She’s standing..."
Confusion started to spread, and people turned to me as I shouted those words out loud. Without sparing a second, I grabbed Arlene’s and Adam’s hands and yanked them ahead toward the stage, screaming once again.
Soren shook on his feet. I didn’t want much attention, so I pulled their hoods off and pushed them onto the stage. Adam looked at me fleetingly, and we shared a nod before he took charge.
"I am Adam il Desmond Reinvelt," he yelled, holding his sword up high. Immediately, Lord Soren fell to his knees, and so did all the other guards.
All the guards except one. One of them was looking right at me.
Nea Alba.
"Axel...?" she said under her breath.
I looked back at her with a wry smile and moved back. Her mind must have been racing. What did she think? That the two of them who had gone to the Witch Queen’s castle had returned with a cure and me, or something else? It could wait.
She decided the same and kneeled down, too. I rushed back to where we were standing. Weiss looked at me, her eyes trembling.
"Butler... It seems we have a lot of trouble, huh?"
"So it seems."
"Hear ye, and hear all! Arlene Desmond il Reinvelt is standing here in front of you."
The people of Serenia looked at her.
Arlene took a step ahead and glanced around, then smiled and proudly said:
"All these CEF bastards who are trying to harm Serenia for us, we will teach them a lesson."
***
The people were mobilized. The speeches ended. As people started to move to perform other tasks, some of the Knights of Reinvelt came over to us.
"Excuse me, I am Knight Keith. This right here is Lady Rachel. You are... Miss Weiss and Mr. Phantom?"
Weiss nodded.
"Please come along with us," Keith said. "I feel like I’ve seen you before, Mr. Phantom."
"You must have," I said, keeping my eyes away.
Weiss finally spoke to me as these people escorted us toward the castle.
"Butler, are you thinking the same thing I am?"
"Of course, my dear Miss Witch. This is quite the messy situation, is it not?"
"Sure is."
"Should we go back home?"
Weiss thought for a few seconds, then shook her head.
"No," she said. Weiss stood in place and looked back over the entire moving city of Serenia, the first city she had come to, the first city she had enjoyed.
When we were here, she seemed happy.
"I like this place a lot," she said. "Let’s save it."
A chuckle left me.
I expected no other answer.
