Chapter 54

“You can see Celes is a demon. Do you still want to go with us?” Fey nodded without pause. “A-at first, I was a little scared, but during this whole conversation, I realized she wasn’t all that different from humans. Besides, she’s traveling with Arian the Red, a hero, and this really kind girl.” She glanced at Arian and Rino with a relaxed smile. It might be fine with her, but it was still going to be a problem for Shinichi and the others. If she lets it slip that she saw the hero traveling with the dark elf who has been assisting the True One, the unholy priest, things could get bad. He reached the conclusion again that killing her would effectively keep her mouth shut. It would be the quickest option. But it just wasn’t a real option in front of Rino. Plus, she had the map. It would be the safest choice to take her with them. But that’s exactly why I’m so reluctant… It was like there was a paved road laid out in front of them, but he couldn’t get the image out of his head that it’d take them to the edge of a cliff. “The best trick in the book isn’t to read your opponent but to construct a situation where they play right into your hand. Is that what someone’s trying to do now?” Shinichi asked Celes. “And what’s the likelihood that you’re overanalyzing things because your own personality is twisted?” “Well, I won’t say it’s zero.” He flashed her a wry smile. When it came to judging another person, there was only one set of standards that you could reasonably apply: your own. That meant a liar would be incapable of trusting others, and a strategist would drown in their own schemes. Shinichi suspected Fey had a dirty plan because he had used the same strategies to defeat the heroes. Only an idiot blindly trusts others… Fey looked up at Shinichi, tears about to fall from her eyes. She must have been starting to feel uneasy with the silence. “W-won’t you let me come along?” “Shinichi…” Rino did the same to Shinichi, begging him. He felt reluctant to say yes, but he couldn’t come up with any other ideas, and they didn’t have time to waste. “Fine. Come explore the Elven Tomb with us,” he said grudgingly. “R-really?! Thank you so much!” cried Fey. “I’m so happy, Fey!” Rino leaped with joy as Fey bowed deeply to Shinichi. He forced a smile on his lips and sent a telepathic message to Arian and Celes. “Bring her down if she does anything even remotely suspicious. I’ll take the blame from Rino.” “Okay. I don’t think you need to worry about Rino,” replied Arian. “I agree. I think you underestimate her,” added Celes. The two accepted the distasteful task, telling him not to worry and vouching for Rino. Shinichi thanked them and took another look at Fey’s face. “By the way, I have one last question,” he said. “Wh-what is it?” she said. “How old are you?” Her small frame and baby face made him think she was only slightly older than Rino, but since she was traveling alone, he was inclined to think she was at least the same age as Arian. But then again, she had made that comment about her age earlier, which implied there was a chance she was even older than Celes. Fey blushed bright-red and pressed a finger to her lips. “Th-that’s my little secret! ”