第６２掘：空気は読まない (Part1)
**Dig 62: Reading the Room? Never Heard of Her**
**Side: Mauve**
The world is full of unreasonable things.
But the absolute pinnacle of that unreasonableness is standing right in front of me.
"Ah, yeah, yeah. Can I get a word in?"
That’s what Yuki said to the hardliners who had just stormed the office of Alstaire—the current Saint.
Right now, the hardliners are all but wiped out.
It seems that after Yuki had the Ritea soldiers we captured provide their "confessions" (a gentle way of putting it), Alstaire had already used fast horses to investigate the masterminds behind the assassination attempt on Rurua.
The evidence was found easily enough, and Rurua herself testified that she had survived the attempt.
With the massive achievement of securing a future friendship with the Fairy race—a deal brokered through Rurua—there was no one left who dared to lay a hand on her.
After all, harming Rurua would immediately sour relations with the Fairies.
The profit-hungry nobles had switched sides to Rurua’s camp without a second thought.
And so, the surviving hardliners, pinning their last hopes on a desperate gambit, had stormed the place to eliminate the two Saints.
The young man leading them shouted the reason for their actions.
"Your policies can’t even save the citizens of this Holy Nation!! Do you even know!? Do you know that there are children who don't have a single scrap of food to eat today!? That people are forced to just watch their families die because they have no money!? The current faith can't save the things that matter—we don't need such a thing!! What 'largest city on the continent'? You gather people you can't even feed, and then just wring money out of them in the name of faith!! Do you have any idea why they donate!? It’s not so you can make your meals more luxurious!! It’s not for your decadence!!"
The young man in front of me screamed.
Well, I can’t say he’s wrong...
But we, the ones caught in the middle of this, are the ones suffering for it.
"……I understand your grievances. However, you attempted to assassinate Lady Elju and Lady Rurua. Because of this, Roschur and Gartz are nearly at war. Even if things have calmed down for now, have you any idea how many hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands of lives have been lost because of this?"
"……I understand that. But it’s still better than you continuing these policies forever. If we cause a conflict here and take control of Ritea, we can save not just Ritea, but lives that would have been lost in other countries as well."
"In other words, you believe our methods take more lives than starting a war?"
"Exactly!! As things are now… no, even now, I’m sure there are many children starving to death in this castle town. Do you know? The food meant for distribution barely ever makes it to the public. Some idiot is hoarding it all in their own pockets. You can’t even clean up your own country—don’t you think it’s time for the leaders of such a nation to go?"
Ah, this guy...
"You know? My big sister, who scrambled desperately to find food for tomorrow, who sold her body to strangers and even ended up pregnant, still raised me with all her love—she died of exhaustion along with her child just because the donations weren't enough!! My sister was crying!! She was crying because she couldn't even save her own child!! I scrambled just as hard, but I was just a brat, and no one would give me any work!!"
……It’s a story you hear everywhere. A common tale.
And he had been fighting with everything he had.
The two Saints were staring at him, eyes wide with shock.
Well, they were raised in a greenhouse, after all.
"When I was clinging to the corpses of my sister and her child, crying, people in the same situation as me gathered and gave them a proper burial. Yeah, it wasn't the 'splendid' funeral you people talk about. But to me, it was far more dignified than anything you could offer. But those kind, gentle people... they dwindled in number with every passing day. Do you understand? There was no food."
"……"
"Don't go silent on me!! What were you doing back then!! Don't you dare tell me you were 'polishing your talents' and 'devoting yourselves to study'!! We didn't even have food to share!! Don't mess with me!! I don't need your apologies or your reforms now!! I’m going to take your heads and lay them before everyone’s graves. And then I, we, will build a country that is truly for everyone!! Otherwise, there’s no meaning to why my sister and everyone else died... I’m the only one who survived."
There’s no stopping him now.
I step forward.
"I sympathize with your circumstances. But I’m also someone who lost family because of you. I don't know about the ladies behind me, but you don't mind if I try to kill you, right?"
"…Yeah. But I can't afford to die here either. There are things I have to do. So many things. Unlike those other guys, I’ll make sure to build you a proper grave."
We both draw our swords and take our stances.
I see. This is impressive.
I have a hunch that this guy is stronger than me.
He must have fought his way here with a desperate, death-defying intensity.
But I have my own reasons for not backing down.
As we both waited for an opening...
"Ah, yeah, yeah. Can I get a word in?"
I nearly tripped.
You bastard.
Why are you so casual in an atmosphere like this!?
"In other words, if you could save the refugees currently in Ritea, there would be no need to fight here, right?"
No, that’s impossible, which is why we’re in this situation...
"That is impossible. Even if the Saints here made an appeal, two or three months would be the limit. That’s all the reserves this national treasury has. What we… no, what I want is a country where we can starve safely and live happily. I know it’s an ideal. But I can manage it better than the current situation."
Oh, he’s actually answering seriously.
Stop it, talking to Yuki only leads to chaos.
Alstaire over there looks like she has no idea what’s going on, and Rurua is on the verge of fainting.
Raiya and Curse are staring out the window, trying to escape reality.
Whoa, my hand holding the sword is starting to shake, you know?
"You, what’s your name?"
"Calling a kid 'you'? Well, fine. I am Crack. And the partner beside me is Dest."
The man who had stormed in without a hint of hesitation bowed his head slightly for the first time.