Hero’s Downfall Report

57 – Report on the Fall of Humility (5)

As soon as we entered the building, the heat disappeared. Cain’s breath eased in the cool air.

The smell of burning grass and burning meat from outside had gone away, but there was a smell that was much thicker than that and filled my nose and mouth. A bitter, bitter taste rose up in my mouth.

‘Where does the smell come from?’

Cain looked around inside her. Overall, it feels more like a small prayer center or temple than a home.

It was very cool because the roof blocked the sun, and the rays of light reflected from the nearby spring shimmered on the walls and ceiling. It was like a mirage fooling the eyes of travelers in the desert.

Unlike other places blocked by walls, the fact that only thin pillars were standing towards the spring seemed to be aimed at that effect. At the top, hemp was rolled up and tied, and it appears that at night, a tent is lowered to serve as a kind of wall.

The wide, large, and open hall has no decorations, let alone common flower pots, or even furniture such as chairs and tables. The floor is a smooth stone floor and the walls, like the outside, are plastered and white.

However, it seems that there is no private space at all. Because in the deepest part of the hall, a tightly closed double door was immersed in shadow. Cain guessed that if a scented candle was burned somewhere here, it would be in that room.

As the Lady of Humility clapped her hands, men and women gathered. Like the people outside, they were Samaritans, but they looked much neater and more organized, and were wrapped in sackcloth.

There was something that caught the eye of both men and women. The fact that they were a mixture of imperial and western pagans gave them a uniqueness rather than a sense of alienation. Even though they simply washed him well and put him in decent clothes, he looked so different.

When Arianne instructed something, they bowed her head deeply and stepped back. Soon, four chairs, a small table, a teapot, and a teacup were prepared. I clapped my hands again and they bowed their heads and left the hall.

“Please sit down. Sit. They seem to have come a long way, but here… “We can’t allow rumors to spread that the hospitality of guests in Nikapolis was poor.”

Mary sat in the middle, Lily sat on the left, and Cain sat on the right. Soon, Arianne gracefully sat down on her chair and crossed one of her legs. White, straight, and thin legs were revealed.

Arianne was such a thin woman that it was hard to believe she was a warrior of the empire. Even though Maria is on the thin side, the difference is noticeable.

If Maria looked as powerful as a nimble wild horse, Arianne looked as frail and thin as a bare tree branch that had just survived her harsh winter.

A long neck and narrow shoulders that look like they could snap if you apply a little bit of force, and a small face that looks like it could be hidden with the palm of your hand.

However, the reason why I felt strange instead of pathetic was because of her eyes and smile. Her eyes are large, but her pupils are full, and her eyelids are bright red.

Her mouth was trembling and she was laughing, and the smile reached her ears. Additionally, she occasionally bobbed her head up and down. It was like she was thrown naked into the cold.

“First of all, I would like to sincerely thank you for showing me this favor even though you may be in a difficult situation.”

Maria expressed her gratitude politely and clearly. The Heretic Questioner’s gold thread decoration sparkled. Arianne covered her mouth and laughed.

“Ah. What a favor. Brothers and sisters out there helped me with everything. But the people in the west insisted on taking my mother’s body, so a big accident almost happened… “They said it shouldn’t be left in a place like this!”

Arianne smiled and spread her arms.

“How do you like it here? Does it look crappy? Do you look miserable? Is my mother’s delicate body so shabby that even one cannot lie down?

Isn’t it the law that people who died after being beaten by robbers were laid out in the grass, and those who drowned were covered with water as a blanket? Since he was born from sunlight, water, and soil, don’t you think it’s natural for him to die in the same place?”

It was a violent reaction. At the same time, long, verbose rhetoric was the style of Western paganism. An imperial person would express it in a more rough and crude way than that.

Unlike Cain and Lily, who had knowledge, Maria, who had lived in the South for a long time, seemed familiar with this type of speaking style.

“Although I am not a representative of the city or the knights. It is not natural to die by a knife being inserted into the heart. “If there is an injustice that no one in the world knows about, I think it is natural that it should be resolved.”

“You are really fun!” Arianne smiled, bending her back forward. Croak, croak she made a sound and she chirped like a crow.

“It’s fun. It’s fun. It’s even cool. Even if we ignore the injustice of the living, we must somehow resolve the injustice of the dead!”

“The living can testify, but the dead cannot.”

“Aha. “How about a secret burial?”

Arianne clapped her hands and giggled. Cain was puzzled. It was understandable that the reaction was different from that of ordinary imperial people. Because it has been greatly influenced by other cultures.

However, I have never heard anywhere that Western pagans rejoice at the death of their parents. It was like that. Arianne looked really happy. A story came to mind about a person who was so sad that he lost his mind… It was too convulsive to see it that way.

“It means being buried alive under a pit of dirt. No matter how much I scream and yell, all that comes into my mouth is dirt. There is enough air to breathe, but who will listen to the voices of those buried in the ground? If a forgotten person is alive but doesn’t even know he’s alive, is he alive? Or is he dead?”

“Did he do something worthy of that? “We will consider whether it was a just punishment.”

Maria’s expression did not change at all. Arianne leaned her body against the back of her chair, looking tired. Her white silk clothes were loose and her dry breasts were clearly visible.

“Ah. Be upright. Why is such a precious person in a big city, and why do only bad people come to this shabby place?

Those who have good grades and excellent evaluations are in a place where such people are not needed. People who have bad grades and poor evaluations come to places like this, far away. Actually… “A place like this really needs outstanding people.”

A strong wind swirled around the hall. I wanted to see with my own eyes what kind of stranger had come. Then the foul smell of burning Asas grass suddenly hit me.

Cain was confident. The Asas grass is burning inside that double-door room. It was a little more pure, intense, and fishy than what was outside. Maria and Lily seemed to be in charge as well, and their expressions were not good.

Arianne’s body became energized. She looked like she had perked up, dozing off in a chair. She straightened her back again and smoothed out her loose clothes. Her fierce eyes also calmed down a little.

“You showed your bad side. The people who should be blamed are not you. My treatment was unfair. “I ask you to please forgive me.”

Even the way of speaking has changed. It almost made me wonder if she was the same woman who had been going crazy just now. Maria nodded her head attentively.

“No. No. I understand. I can’t fathom or understand that sadness, but it seems like it unnecessarily disturbed my heart. “If you don’t feel like it, I’ll just leave.”

Arianne hastily stopped him.

“Oh. No. No. She’s come a long way, and I can’t let her go like this. Rather, because you are outsiders and have not seen it here… “I have more faith.”

The Lady of Humility took a deep breath. Like a meditator, she smelled the grass deeply and exhaled slowly. My breathing became more stable.

“People in the western district are very prejudiced against people in the east. It was the same for me and my mother, and it still is.

But the people in the eastern district love my mother. She taught us how to live like human beings and how to move forward by relying on and leaning on each other. So… How my mother was found with her stab wounds in the spring. “I just can’t understand.”

Arianne’s fingertips trembled. Maria asked cautiously.

“Then, did you go out somewhere at night, or…?” Didn’t someone come to visit?”

“No one would have come to visit. As you know, people here are very wary of strangers. And there are many people who cannot sleep early in the morning. If I had seen a stranger enter my house at dawn, he would have woken me up by screaming. In fact… ah. It’s a shameful story… “

Arianne looked at the brilliant lakeside from afar. It seemed like she was trying to find the courage to speak up.

“Actually, I often wake up screaming these days. This house has open walls, so if you hear shouting or talking, it leaks out. “So the neighbors were surprised and knocked on my door.”

Arianne pointed to the double doors. As expected, it appears to be the room shared by Shazah al-Dur and Arianne. Maria carefully tried her luck.

“If it’s a nightmare. If… “What kind is it?”

“Unpleasant… It’s a story from the old days. Memories of when I reached the Demon King. As you know. We defeated the devil. They cut his whole body into pieces and buried him in the ground so that he could never recover.

The shadows were scattered, and the sunlight shining down on that wasteland will never be forgotten. But, I dream of those shadows gathering again. His severed body is reattached, and the Demon King rises again from the ground… “

“Since when?”

Arianne traced her memories.

“Well. It was after the grand festival… Three months. “I think it’s about three months.”

Three months ago, it was around the time that Abbot Arius, the first victim, was attacked. What effect did the Swordsman’s Hero and the Shadow’s revival have on Arianne? Cain thought she should find out. Arianne continued.

“Mom said that scented candle would help. As you know, her mother is from a far away place, and she knew a lot about unique scented candles that did not come from the Empire. The smell… It’s a bit unpleasant, but once you get used to it, it helps a lot in keeping your mind straight. “It’s a bit nasty, isn’t it?”

Now I even laugh lightly. It’s a serene yet lonely smile that’s enough to stir a person’s heart. Maria shook her head.

“They say good medicine is good for the body. “I’m not sure if it’s the same for good grass, but I’m glad it helps.”

“Yes. So… As a child, I feel ashamed, but there is nothing I can say. “Because I don’t know.”

Arianne continued her words as if she was truly sorry. But Cain saw. Arianne’s eyes vibrated violently again. Her body keeps trying to get up from the chair. Since the wind was not blowing and she could not smell her incense sticks, she watched Arianne keep swallowing her dry saliva and gripping her chair with her hands.

“I see.” Maria didn’t seem to notice. “All right. Then… “

“… If.” Cain spoke to her. “Could it be that the knight in front of me didn’t hear the sound or see the intruder? As far as I know, they have been guarding this place forever. “If an intruder had appeared, I would have known for sure.”

“I guess so.” Arianne covered her mouth with her hand out of embarrassment.

“And yet… My mother was found in a spring. He’s dressed. The depth of the spring seems to be up to an adult’s waist, so if you fell into the water, you would definitely hear a splash. Yes?”

“… By the way.” Arianne’s expression suddenly changed. Those eyes from before, like hissing snakes, flashed. Her small, pointed tongue skims her lips. Cain decided to press more.

“I have to ask. I wonder if anyone heard the sound of someone falling into the spring. The house is thin. There are a lot of people, and some people don’t sleep. Someone must have heard the sound of my mother falling into the spring. But it seems no one heard anything like that. “It was discovered by a ‘woman who came to fetch water.'”

“What? “What do you want to say?”

Arianne’s face seemed to be cracking little by little. Her face was like a snake trying to break free from its skin.

Cain was confident. She couldn’t have had someone come in from outside. From the Knights of the Holy Grail to the 20,000 people who respect this mother and daughter. The dead woman didn’t even protest. She faced her death with a smile on her face.

If someone had stabbed me from beginning to end in this house, it would never have happened. She was a woman who was even called the Sword Dancer. There was no way she could have been so helpless.

If all possibilities are excluded, there is only one person left. Cain decided to throw her gambling move. She was a gamble that was close to certainty.

“My mother.” Cain slowly relaxed. Arianne’s eyes trembled. “After all her efforts, she barely survived.”

Maria and Lily looked at Cain in surprise. A loud crashing sound was heard. Arianne stood up suddenly. His expression was full of shock and anger.

“No! “It can’t be!”

After hearing her confession, Cain stood up.

Glared at her lady for her humility. Only then did the lady’s face stiffen as she realized all her circumstances.

“You…. You!”

“Lady Arianne.” Cain sentenced.

“According to the Imperial Criminal Code, I am arrested on charges of murder, especially murder of a relative.”