My Childhood Friends Are Trying To Kill Me - Chapter 152

It was a very friendly smile that made her feel uncomfortable.

“Griffith…”

Griffith came closer and looked at her with a worried face. His hand gently caressed her cheek. It was a hand with warmth. As warm as his friendly voice.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, why are you so skinny?”

“…”

It was difficult to understand this situation properly. Was she dragged by the paladins? After fainting? Lelia seemed to know Griffith’s intentions, yet at the same time it seemed like she didn’t know at all, so she became confused.

“Where is this place?”

The question that had barely flowed out was cut off. Griffith looked at Lelia’s cheeks from side to side and replied, “Ah” casually.

“It’s the neutral zone.”

Neutral zone? If so, it was not far from the last location. Lelia asked again, trying to stay calm. “… Why did you bring me here?”

“Oh, haven’t you heard the rumors yet?” Griffith answered as his brow furrowed slightly.

“… I barely heard. Why did you do that?”

She couldn’t figure out why he made the situation that way. She was a saint. It was a nonsensical story, so she didn’t even feel a sense of reality. Griffith scratched his temple with his index finger as if in trouble.

“Let’s sit down and talk. I have a lot to tell you.”

Lelia looked at Griffith, who was strangely calm, and nodded her head for the first time. After a while, Lelia sat down opposite Griffith, drinking tea brought to her by the priest. As the warm tea seeped into her body, her mind seemed to clear. Her mind also began to calm down. As if noticing Lelia’s change, Griffith brought out the story at the right moment.

“I started distributing the medicine you made… There was nothing I could do.”

“What?”

“The high priests didn’t believe I made it.”

“…”

“That’s why I had no choice but to confess. I have no talent for lying.”

Lelia wrinkled her eyebrows.  He was not good at lying? How ridiculous.

“Anyway, when I started talking about you, they all started speculating in the same way, didn’t they? God is the only one who can cure the disease. I don’t remember the details because it’s a religious story. Anyway, we were making a fuss by ourselves…”

“…”

“That means you may be a saint.”

Lelia felt more and more blood rushing to her head.

“That’s all. I’m just being honest with you. I told you something they don’t know, and I have tremendous power.”

“…”

“I don’t know exactly what it is, so I think they thought it was sacred power. Well, aren’t they alike? Didn’t you cure it anyway?”

Griffith shrugged.  Lelia was amazed at his brazen attitude. He even hacked the game system and thought it was similar to divine power? He spoke in a shameless manner, yet if she looked closely, even the sloppy story seemed plausible.

“Oh, more than that.”

She turned her attention back to Griffith as he had something more important to say.

“About your mother, I heard you found her. Congratulations. I’m glad she is alive.”

“…”

“I heard she didn’t wake up,” he said. “If you need my help, just tell me.”

Her mother’s story made Lelia’s expression even more wrinkled.

“Can you wake her up? Rather, how did you know?”

“How do I know? I’ve heard the news here and there… It’s news about you, how can I not know?”

“…”

“Shall I go and see her? If I go, she might be able to wake up soon.”

Lelia remembered that Griffith’s excellent divine powers had recently brought her grandmother back to life. Griffith’s divine power may really awaken her mother.

“Then I’ll ask you…”

She had a lot of things she wanted to argue about, and it tickled her throat, but for the first time, her mother came first. Lelia didn’t believe Griffith’s words that he couldn’t do anything about the rumours, but in the middle of her mother’s story, she was hesitant to mention that again.

She wasn’t sure… First of all, she didn’t want to create a new complication. After all, she had no intention of becoming a saint, or something like that. Oscar and her mother were already at the limit of the problems she could handle.

“Then we will go back now.”

“… Huh?”

As Lelia raised her head and spoke, Griffith blinked his eyes as if he were talking. Then he stroked his chin as if in trouble, he spoke.

“Oh, I didn’t say something really important.”

“… What?”

“Lelia, I brought you here. So… you have to belong to the temple now.”

“What do you mean?”

“I told you before. It couldn’t be helped. Everyone believes you are a saint. That’s what I admitted…”

“… You know best that it’s not.”

“Yeah, but so what… Is there anything bad about it? Saint, that’s a nice word to hear. It looks special.” Griffith spoke in a very light manner, as if he were talking about people.

Lelia sighed deeply. “Griffith, I’m busy right now. I don’t have time for this.”

“I guess you don’t understand the situation well, Lelia.”

Griffith tilted his head and stood up.  Thanks to this, Lelia, who was looking down at Griffith when he was sitting down, had to raise her head. All of a sudden, Griffith felt  huge. Exacerbating this, Griffith was wearing his priest’s suit. The white uniform matched dazzlingly well. His face, seen over his broad shoulders, seemed so noble and holy, like a saint. Even his voice had a unique divine power.

“You are now a saint of Kreutzism. We need to be quiet and prosperous here.”

But the words uttered in such a voice were overbearing and authoritative. Now, he felt like a thug. Griffith looked at her with joy as her eyes trembled in confusion.

“Oh,” and his eyes shone as if he had remembered something. It was to confuse Lelia.

“Lelia, Emperor Perseus is here now. Did you know?”

“What?”

Lelia’s forehead wrinkled at the name she didn’t want to hear.

“It seems that he was on vacation at a nearby estate. It seems that he just heard about you being here… He was in trouble because he was being violent.”

“… Violent?”

“Well, of course, it’s also a neutral zone, and even the emperor can’t take it lightly, so he can’t be arrogant… You are running rampant saying you can never become a saint.”

“……”

“You say you are not a saint, but a princess of Auraria. They will take you right away, and you will beg me to let you out.”

She couldn’t believe he wanted her to beg him to take her away! Lelia was furious with anger.

“By the way, Lelia.”

“……”

Lelia turned her gaze again to face Griffith.

“Does Emperor Perseus know? The news that your mother is alive. It seems he doesn’t know yet.”

“……”

At that moment, it felt as if she had been hit in the head with a blunt weapon. Griffith looked into Lelia’s swaying eyes and smiled.

“Let’s talk again, calmly for a moment. I have a lot to say, Lelia.”

***

Her hair was dirty and she wanted to wash it first, Lelia said. Griffith went out to find someone, and after a while a female servant came in. It was she who changed her clothes, the servant said. The servant handed her more clothes to change into, and as she went out she indicated to call if Lelia needed anything.

Lelia roamed the all-white space before approaching her window. Outside her window were priests walking around holding a bible. It was a very peaceful landscape, and a certain bell rang in the distance. The neutral zone she lived in as a child.

This place seemed to be inside the Great Hall. Lelia went into the bathroom inside the residence and washed up. As she poured cold water on herself from head to toe, her mind began to clear. Oscar, mother, Emperor Perseus. A number of issues were intertwined.

[… It looks like Oscar is really gone.]

It was clear that he hadn’t been watching her as he had yesterday. He wouldn’t have left her stunned and taken away by the paladins if he had been watching.

[I don’t even know… ]

If Oscar continued to not appear, she thought of jumping into the fountain. For a moment, she was shocked and emotional. It was a strange feeling, both sad and wild.

Her whole body was weakened by her sense of helplessness. Lelia shook her head.

[It can’t be the last time.]

For some reason, she was worried that that might’ve been the last time seeing Oscar. It was an unfounded fear. She denied that conclusion. She will definitely see Oscar again. There’s no way he would disappear forever. If she was not completely convinced, there was a way for her to go directly to the Hraesvelg Empire. She calmed herself down by biting her fingertips. Now it was her turn to bring up the issue of her mother.

[You can ask Griffith.]

Griffith’s divine power might be able to wake her mother up. For her, awakening her was the most important thing. Getting her mother’s memory back was a matter she can handle later.

Returning after 20 years, her heart is impatient as she thinks of her family that will burn with joy as they see her mother awaken. If she were Griffith, she would do him the favor. She thought that even though he did something odd the last time, and had said naughty things… Still, he was her friend. It’s not his nature to be a bad child, so he will help her.  And since he brought it up first… However, she didn’t know what he would ask for in return.

It was really too difficult to deal with the sneaky Griffith. Lelia swept her hair away, clearing her complicated mind. After pouring cold water on herself for a long time, Lelia wiped the water with a soft towel and changed into the prepared clothes. It was a white outfit similar to the one she wore earlier. Standing in front of the mirror, she felt like she was really in neutral territory.

Around that time, the door opened again and Griffith came. Griffith looked Lelia up and down, who had washed up and changed into new clothes, and laughed.

“I thought it would look good on you.”

He looked very satisfied with her white cloak. Griffith, wearing the same color of clothing, came closer. From a distance, the two dressed side by side in white clothes looked like a couple ahead of their wedding. Griffith sat leisurely across from Lelia.

‘Oh, it’s fun.’

A hum came out of his heart. It was even more fun to see Lelia’s expression without knowing anything. He felt a little sorry for her. Unfortunately for Lelia, it was his turn to corner her.