“Watch out!” Fremy cried, and her bullet shattered the tree trunk.
Mora ignored Fremy, focusing exclusively on Adlet. Her attacks were relentless, and every single blow was powerful enough to kill him instantly.
Fremy cut in between the two of them and said to Adlet, “I’ll hold her back. You run.”
“No, you run. Mora is dangerous,” he said. There was a high chance that Mora was the seventh. It would be dangerous to allow her and Fremy to fight alone.
“You’re in my way, Fremy!” bellowed Mora.
Fremy intercepted her charge. Adlet stalled Mora and tried to come up with a way for him and Fremy to get away together, but that was when he sensed a bloodthirsty aura approaching from his side.
“Fremy, move!” commanded a feminine voice. Fremy jumped aside. Adlet rolled away, too. Countless white blades thrust up from the ground where the two of them had been standing.
“You’re late, Princess,” Mora muttered.
In the forest, Nashetania stood with her slim sword raised, a smile on her face. When Adlet saw that look, he thought, She does smile a lot…but there’s something different about her now.
“You understand, right, Adlet?” Fremy said. She aimed her gun at Mora and a bomb at Nashetania. Adlet understood what she was trying to say—that right now, Nashetania was not their ally.
For some reason, after dealing that one attack, Nashetania didn’t move. She stood there, stock-still, with her pasted-on smile. Adlet noticed Goldof behind her. He was watching Adlet, waiting for his chance to strike.
“It was fun, Adlet—those ten days we journeyed together,” Nashetania began. It was as if she had forgotten they were on a battlefield. “I used to think I knew so much, but really, I didn’t know anything at all, did I? I didn’t know how fun it would be to set out on a journey without my coachman or maid. I didn’t know the fear of my first real battle. I didn’t know how confident it would make me feel to have someone beside me to encourage me,” she continued. This was the calm Nashetania he hadn’t seen for so long. Ever since she had found out that there was a seventh, she had been nothing but confused, frightened, and troubled. But now, her expression was bright and clear. “I am grateful for that. Thank you.” A shiver ran down Adlet’s spine.
“So now that I have expressed my gratitude, I’ll be killing you, all right?”
“Run,” whispered Fremy. “Once you get the chance, run as fast as you can. Nashetania is not acting normal right now.” She, too, was afraid of Nashetania. “Listen, Nashetania,” Fremy said, “Hans is safe, and Adlet is not our enemy. Mora is lying.”
“She does not speak truth, Princess,” countered Mora. “Adlet is our enemy. Hans has been gravely wounded. Fremy is merely under his spell.” She sounded uneasy.
“Calm down, Nashetania,” said Fremy. “We still don’t know who the seventh is—but it’s not Adlet.”
“Do not fall for his wheedling. Adlet is a clever liar,” insisted Mora.
Both Fremy and Mora attempted to sway her. Adlet said nothing, just watched Nashetania. He didn’t want to fight. He was wounded and exhausted. The gash he’d gotten from Hans had begun to ache again. The burns he’d suffered during his battle with Fremy hurt. He didn’t have the energy to fight Nashetania.
“You’re listening to this, aren’t you, Goldof?” asked Nashetania. “Don’t attack them just yet.” Her reaction was, in a way, the least desirable one. “Be careful. We cannot know what Fremy might do.” Nashetania had ignored every word.
Mora chuckled, and Fremy gave up trying to convince Nashetania. Adlet prepared himself to fight again. He thought Nashetania might go for another sudden attack. But she just gazed at him, smiling. Mora seemed confused by Nashetania’s lack of action.
“Adlet, what do we do?” asked Fremy.
He was unable to reply. If they could meet up with Hans and Nashetania found out he was okay, she would reconsider. But was Hans really okay? What if Mora was the seventh, or Chamo? What if the seventh had set up another trap for them?
“You can’t think of anything?” Fremy pressed.
“Let’s head to the temple,” said Adlet. “If Hans is okay, we’ll be able to regroup there.”
“But if he’s not okay…”
“We can’t afford to think about that.”
There was one other option—to prove his innocence immediately, right there. If he could reveal the seventh’s entire plan, then this fight would be over. But Adlet still couldn’t deduce where the fog had come from. Think, Adlet told himself. It’s just one last thing to figure out. If he could demonstrate how it had been done—or even if he couldn’t prove it, but could argue something convincing enough—they could avoid a fight.
“I’m trying to think, too…but I don’t have any ideas,” said Fremy, frustrated. He couldn’t blame her. He couldn’t think of anything, either.
“Adlet, I’m waiting,” Nashetania said suddenly. Her cheerful tone was absolutely dissonant, considering the situation.
“For what?” asked Adlet.
“Your confession and penance,” she said as she pointed the tip of her sword at him. “I know that when you catch someone who has done wrong, before they die, they confess and repent, right? I think that’s what the head maid said.”
Sounding exasperated, Mora chastised her. “Princess, you are somewhat ignorant in the ways of the world. Not every criminal confesses and repents.”
“Is that right?” Nashetania seemed puzzled. She tilted her head and pondered the situation. “Then I may kill him, right?” Instantly, blades popped up all around Adlet.
“!” The young warrior failed to dodge the attack entirely, and his shoulder was sliced open. The blade had been so sharp he hadn’t even felt any pain. One moment she’d been waiting patiently, and the next she’d gone straight for the kill with zero hesitation. He couldn’t read her. He couldn’t imagine what she might throw at him.
“Here he comes!” Fremy shot at Goldof, who was charging at her, spear raised. The
