Linda ran through the poison mist and threw herself into my arms.

"Hehe. Devil, did you find me?"

I stared at Linda's face for a moment. Behind her, I could see the men who had died writhing in agony. Linda's bright, innocent face contrasted with the men's tormented expressions.

What was this gap? It was a bizarre scene.

How could she be so cheerful after killing people like that? Her expression was no different from that of a child who had been playing house and came running at their parent's call.

"...Get off."

I pushed Linda away, then immediately activated Floating Step, summoning wind all over my body.

Hwoooong!

Then I gathered the wind into my right foot and stomped down.

Hwoong!

The wind spread across the floor.

"Hup!"

Then I raised my hands from bottom to top, forcefully lifting the wind that had settled on the floor.

Hwoooong!

A swirling updraft blew the poison mist up above the alley. The green poison mist flew up into the dark night sky and then mixed with the air and scattered. Beyond the scattered poison mist, the stars twinkled.

Linda clapped her hands.

"Wow! Amazing!"

I said in a somewhat subdued tone.

"Linda."

"Yeah?"

"Shut your mouth."

Only then did Linda seem to notice that my tone was unusual. Her eyes widened, and she clamped her hands over her mouth.

I examined the fallen men in the alley. A total of six. Men in their early to mid-twenties. Judging by their appearance and attire, they weren't much different from the guys who had ganged up on Linda in the previous town. Especially the fact that they each held a short weapon in one hand.

The only difference was that those guys had run away in fear, while these guys, far from running, were no longer moving. Every one of them was foaming at the mouth with a look on their face as if they had wandered through hell. She had poisoned them all in that short time.

"Haa..."

I clutched my forehead. The guards would be on our trail now. The place I was in was, after all, one of the vassal states belonging to the Holy Empire of Hilka. In the worst-case scenario, a paladin from the empire could be dispatched. Of course, the possibility of that was extremely low. There was no way an imperial paladin would be dispatched just because a few thugs died.

But in any case, with six casualties, the guards would launch an investigation. I had no choice but to get out of here as quickly as possible...

As I was organizing my thoughts, Linda timidly tugged on my arm.

"Devil. Are you mad? Why?"

"What do you mean, why? After doing something like this—"

Just as I was about to lash out in anger, the words I was about to say got lost when I saw Linda's face. Linda was looking up at me with a face on the verge of tears.

"Did I do something wrong? I just did what you told me to, Devil..."

"...."

This girl. She's serious. This girl genuinely didn't know what she had done wrong.

"...Ha."

I laughed in vain. You damn psychopath.

***

First, we returned to the inn, woke up the sleeping Neyman, and immediately left the town. A midnight escape was better than getting entangled in some unnecessary incident and wasting time.

Clip-clop— Charrrr—

We rode the carriage in the middle of the night. Fortunately, it was a bright moonlit night, so we could pick up speed.

Neyman, still with a sleepy face, asked.

"What on earth happened? I was sleeping soundly, so why are we suddenly making a midnight escape?"

I answered his question simply.

"Because someone was killed."

Neyman's expression hardened.

"How many?"

"Six."

Neyman let out a low groan.

"How did it happen?"

"I'm curious about that too."

I tapped the shoulder of Daryl, who was driving the carriage.

"Explain. Why were you suddenly sightseeing in the town when you were just going to the stable right next door?"

Neyman's and my gazes turned to Daryl. But Daryl himself still seemed to be in shock, with a dazed expression.

Neyman shook his shoulder.

"Hey, aren't you going to snap out of it?"

"Huh? Ah, right. What did you say?"

"I asked how it happened."

Daryl swallowed hard and then explained the situation.

"Was her name Linda? As I said during the meal, I taught her how to put on and take off the harness at the stable. She was surprisingly good at it, following my instructions smoothly. So we finished quickly and were leaving the stable... when she suddenly ran out into the street, saying she had to buy beef jerky. Something about being in charge of food..."

"Hmm."

I had praised her for buying the beef jerky well the day before, so that must have been the reason.

"So I quickly chased after her, but she was too fast and I lost her. I had no choice but to call her name and look for her, and when I heard a strange sound and went to check, that was the situation."

"...."

Of course, no one would be selling beef jerky at this time of night. They would have all closed up and left long ago. So, the image of Linda wandering around looking for beef jerky, entering an alley, and innocently asking, 'Hey, do you sell beef jerky?' automatically came to my mind.

Of course, the guys hanging around in an alley at this time of night couldn't be decent guys.

Daryl glanced at me and asked.

"That girl. What's her identity?"

"I don't know for sure either."

I patted Daryl's shoulder and then approached Linda, who was crouching in the corner of the carriage, hugging her knees.

Shushruta was in the middle of nagging Linda, with her hands on her hips.

"What kind of stupid thing did you do! If you're going to kill them, you should do it in a place where sight and sound are blocked. Is it okay to be so careless!"

"Uuu..."

"This is the most basic of basics. Even though assassination by poison can be carried out so secretly, why did you foolishly spread a conspicuous poison mist?"

"Sowwy..."

"Is killing with poison something to brag about? If you were going to use poison, you could have handled it quietly by just applying a little to the tip of a needle. What on earth were you thinking? You idiot. I can't believe it, I really can't."

...What is she talking about now?

Of course, Shushruta wasn't wrong, but right now, we needed to think about it from a slightly different perspective. We needed to focus on the 'why' rather than the 'how'.

Linda, who had been completely dejected by Shushruta's nagging, raised her head and looked at me as I approached.

"Devil. I'm sorry. Don't hate me... Don't leave me alone..."

Seeing the tearful Linda, a sigh escaped me automatically.

I told her not to kill, and she got beaten to a pulp. I told her to use poison rather than get beaten up, and she created a poison mist and killed them all. How can there be no middle ground?

Of course, I have no regrets about those guys dying. Guys who are still doing such childish things even after they're over twenty deserve to die. It's one thing when you're a kid, but when you become an adult, you should think for yourself a little. Guys who live only by inertia. Trash-like guys who only know how to live by tormenting people.

What I'm trying to say is something a little more fundamental. It's about the 'line'.

There are good people in this world. Even if they are not 'good people', there are those who try not to cross the line.

Compared to them, what about Linda? There is no such line. She just kills impulsively as she pleases. This girl is just saying sorry because I'm angry.

...Where should I even start with this?

I had a hunch that this wasn't something that could be solved by simply scolding or reprimanding her. In fact, it was something I should have talked about a long time ago, but I kept putting it off, and it eventually led to this situation. It means that I am also responsible for this incident. Even if it wasn't now, it would have blown up in some other way someday.

I can't bring such a dangerous element into the mercenary corps.

I sat down heavily opposite Linda and said.

"Linda."

"Yeah."

"Let's hear your story."

"What story?"

"Your past."

Linda scratched her head.

"...I don't remember well."

"Just tell me what you remember."

"Okay... I will."

Linda was lost in thought for a moment.

Clip-clop— Charrrr—

In the dead of night, the horse and carriage ran, and the cool night wind rustled my hair. I waited patiently without rushing Linda to organize her thoughts.

And so, when the night wind had scattered Linda's green hair several times, Linda's mouth opened.

"It was a dark room."

It was a very calm and subdued voice, unlike her. For a moment, I thought Shushruta had spoken and met her eyes. Shushruta's eyes were also wide.

"I was trapped. The teacher tied us to chairs and then fed us or injected us with poison. It hurt so much."

"...Teacher? Who is the teacher?"

Linda slowly shook her head.

"I don't know. We just called him teacher."

"Hmm."

"The teacher said that poison and medicine are only a fine line apart. That's why we were eating poison. To make medicine. He said that we had to overcome the poison well for it to become medicine, and that if we made the medicine, he would give us a sweet cake."

I had many questions, but I listened silently for now.

"We promised to endure it well and eat the cake together. So it hurt so, so much, it hurt like we were going to die. But we endured it well. But the other kids couldn't endure it. They would scream and twist their bodies, and then suddenly become quiet. We had promised..."

Linda's voice trailed off.

"Every time that happened, the teacher would sigh and drag the quiet kids outside. Every time a friend died, new kids would come into the room. They were crying, so I comforted them. Because the teacher doesn't like crying. I comforted them by saying that if we ate the poison and endured it well, the teacher would give us a cake, and that we should all endure it and eat the cake. We endured it by thinking about the cake. Even when we were tied to the chair, swallowing poison and being injected, and it hurt so much that our vision blurred, we thought about the cake."

"...."

"One day, the teacher was drinking and gathered us together and complained. He said he had a daughter our age. He said that his daughter was very sick, so we had to endure it for her. I wondered what his daughter being sick had to do with us, but the teacher looked so sad, so I just said okay. The other kids seemed to have said okay because they were scared."

Linda continued her story with her gaze lowered.

"As time went on, the poison became more painful and stronger. The friends who were left also became strange. They would talk to the empty air, suddenly bang their heads against the wall, and there was even a kid who scratched her face, saying that bugs were crawling under her mask and it wouldn't come off. Of course, she wasn't wearing a mask."

Her voice gradually grew smaller.

"And so, one by one... they became quiet, and in the end, they all died. No more new friends came. Did the teacher know too? That even if he brought them, they would all die without lasting long anyway. We had promised to eat cake together..."

Linda closed her mouth. For a while, only the sound of the carriage cutting through the darkness could be heard.

After a short silence, Linda opened her mouth again.

"...They're too weak. They all die. I was left alone. I was tied to a chair alone and kept eating poison. At some point, it didn't hurt to eat the poison anymore. I was left alone and ate all the poison that the other kids had eaten. But it was okay. Because I was alone. When will he give me the cake?"

Linda muttered as if talking to herself.

"The teacher sighed a lot more. One day, the teacher was crying and got angry. He said his daughter had died. He said his daughter had died because of me. He kicked and hit me. When I asked when he would give me the cake, he just screamed and hit me harder. He said there was no cake. He said the cake was a lie from the beginning. Then why did my friends die like that?"

Linda laughed.

"I killed the teacher. It was funny. He kept feeding us such strong poison, but he died right away, trembling, after eating just a little. Hehe. It's funny, really."

Linda shrugged her shoulders and laughed for a moment. Her laughter was mixed with self-deprecation.

"After the teacher died, I was hungry, so I ate the poison in the room. You know, the poison that was so bitter now tasted delicious. It was even more delicious when I mixed it with other things. My vision would blur for a moment and I would feel dizzy, but I liked it every time. Because I had a dream. In it, I wasn't alone. The teacher was smiling and gave me a pretty cake, and I ate it with my friends. ...It was sweet."

Linda raised her head and looked at the empty air. Tears were streaming down her face.

"And so, I ate the poison in the room, mixing it... and when there was nothing left to eat, I opened the door and came out. It was originally locked, but I found the key in the quiet teacher's clothes and opened it. I don't know why I didn't do this sooner. Then my dead friends could have lived and eaten cake with me. Right?"

"...."

"I went up the stairs. When I went up, it was so bright. The place we were in was the basement. Above was the teacher's house. I was looking for something to eat and was wandering around the house... and there was a room where the sunlight was particularly bright. A girl was lying neatly on the bed. Was she the teacher's daughter? She probably was."

"...."

"I carefully approached and spoke to her. 'Hello, I'm Linda. Are you sleeping?' There was no answer. 'Did you die because of me? Or did my friends die because of you?' There was no answer."

"...."

"So I put my ear to her chest."

Linda grinned.

"...It was quiet."

"...."

"Hehe... hehehe... hehehehe."

I looked at Linda, who was laughing with tear-streaked cheeks, for a moment...

Slap!

I slapped her cheek.

Linda, who had been slapped, looked at me with wide eyes.

I said in a calm voice.

"Get a grip, you crazy bitch."

(End of Chapter)