After the strike on the local lord, Fumiko's mental health had been declining over the past 3 days.
I don't know what to do in this situation; I can't let Hana handle it alone. I am the one responsible for this, and I need to at least try my best.
"Hana, Fumiko. Do the 2 of you want to get something to eat?"- The 2 of them looked at me. Fumiko had a look on her that said, "Just kill me."
"I don't feel like eating anything"- Both of them responded at the same time. Hana is regretting all of this. I don't know how to even justify this; the more I try to do it, the more I sound like a murderer not caring about his victims and seeing them just like animals; I don't want to become like that. Think Hikaru, think, you need to get a hold of yourself and make things right, I am not going to tell Fumiko about what really happened, but I will try my best.
"Hikaru, I feel like we made a mistake with this decision. I know what King Wieka had told us, that it's better to kill them, but I can't live like this, knowing what we had done to Fumiko; it just feels wrong."- Hana started a conversation over the telepathic network.
"I know, I feel like crap as well. I have to hide; Fumiko will start to suspect that we might be up to no good with this move. We shouldn't let her know about this, at least not for now. She still deserves to know the truth, but now it's not the time to tell her."- I put my left hand on Fumiko's head.
"I won't, but this won't erase what we did. Even though her father was an awful person, Fumiko still loved him. I keep thinking about her." The discussion ended, and we looked at each other.
"Do all political discussions go like this? Are all politicians as corrupt as they were?"- After a few more minutes, Fumiko stopped crying. She asked us, standing up from her seat. She seems somewhat different as if her more mature side is showing. She may stay mature for longer now. Actually, there is a better time to think about this.
"Not all of them. But most do. Politics is complicated, and people are willing to take lives to achieve their goals. It's cruel, but that's the world we live in." Fumiko stopped and thought for a little bit. I still have to tell her the truth about this world and that it's not sunshine and rainbows all the time. I don't know what to do or if this helps her.
"You are right. The 2 of you are the only good people I have met. Thanks for being here for me. I don't know what to do with my life right now. Hikaru, I trust that you make good judgments. What should I do now?"- She trusts me? There are better people than us around here. I hate what I had done; I hate how Fumiko ended up.
"The only solution is to take the place of your father and Lord Ikrel. The two of us will be your guards and ensure nothing bad happens to you. Can you accept this?" Her eyes lit up, and then she nodded. The plan still has to go through, but I need her to take a break first or rest.
"Yes, there isn't any way other than this. With the 2 of you, I am sure I won't end up like my father; I don't want to die."- Hana hugged Fumiko while she was shaking once again.
"Well, I will get some ingredients to see what I can cook up. I promised you either ramen or udon; which do you want? Are you in the mood to eat a bit at least?"- I got some ingredients from my spatial storage and began cooking ramen for Fumiko; I started by preparing the noodles and then the soup. It took me a while; at this time, Fumiko had calmed down a bit, and she could be reasoned with. While cooking, I cut my fingers a few times, a few minor cuts, but I couldn't focus on anything; the guilt was getting to me.
"Sia, can you do anything about this? At least a temporary fix?"- I need to get my emotions in check
!Sure, I can regulate your feelings or numb them. I will use a mix of the two for your case; you will still feel them, but they won't affect you as much.
"Here you go. I hope you enjoy it."- I smiled and put the bowl of ramen on the table. Now that I am calmer, I can reason better.
"Thanks, Hikaru."- Fumiko began to eat out of the ramen bowl. She is still holding back her tears, but I can see that she is getting a bit better, not by a large margin, but with an improvement in her mood nonetheless.
Hana and I went outside, and we could see some of our classmates from Welcia Academy. A third of them were not brainwashed by goddess Ifrit, and the rest were brainwashed. The normal ones were disguised and looked just like the brainwashed ones; they didn't have Ifrit's mark.
"Hello, you two. Didn't you find two people here?" Akatsuki, one of our brainwashed classmates, asked us slowly in a zombie-like tone. I think we should play along with them. Maybe the brainwashing also makes you dumber.
"How do they look? This was almost empty when we discovered it."- This is the fastest answer I could think of. And it was the most logical.
"Almost empty? What did you find here?"- She got closer to us. Her eyes were large and red, and her movements were slow and janky.
"Well, there were 2 corpses, one of a teenage boy and one of a teenage girl; we burned them; I don't remember what they looked like."- She smiled and looked at us. I know we are being searched for, so I made this up.
"Well, then I shouldn't bother any of you anymore."- She and the other brainwashed classmates left.
"Come on, you four. Hikaru and Hana are already dead. Be sure to be at the academy fast." I could hear her from here, and I could see her smiling as well.
"You 2 are really good at deception."- Among them, there was Masamune Hidaka and Hinatsuru; the others, I can't remember their names or if I even saved them before
"Well, you can figure us out, but make this quick; any new information?"- I got closer and whispered to Masamune.
"Yes, if you ever meet Miss Akatsuki again, you must watch out for her skill. I know that it can influence people, but that's it. And one last thing, I got a message from King Wieka before this thing with Ifrit happened. He told me: Tell those two to try and befriend the Kingdom of Admaris and make Fumiko the Lady of Ikrel and Welcia; he also mentioned that there is a nation of monsters that someone has been building up; help that person. Here is more information from Welcia Academy: Some who are not brainwashed and discovered are put in a dungeon. Sorry, but I can't stay here for longer than this."- Masamune and Hinatsuru left quickly along with the other classmates. I relayed the whole conversation to Hana over the telepathic link.
"Sia, what Akatsuki's skill that Masamune mentioned?"
!She has the Legendary skill: Temptation. She can use a mind manipulation skill to twist people's perceptions and make them do her bidding. You are immune to it because you are a demon, and Hana is immune because of her willpower!
#Legendary Skill gained: Mental Attack Nullification#- Both me and Hana gained this skill
After a few minutes, all of them came back. Wait, what happened? We stayed in front for a few minutes, and then they were back? What happened?
"Well, we can't be sure. Maybe those bodies were of someone else. We will stay here and look around." Some of our classmates tried to stay behind.
Why is she back? Masamune left for the trees a few minutes ago and was gone, but now they are here again? What is this?
"You have a point; you may stay here, Masamune. But remember, don't stay behind without my permission. I felt you did something to betray Ifrit's trust, so I decided to turn back. Be a good boy and investigate here."- She spoke in a degrading tone toward Masamune and then turned around and left with the others.
Masamune approached us again; this time, he was alone.
*Use Skill: Lord of Deceit and Lies, Lucifer*- We shed our disguises, and Masamune nodded.
"I am not surprised you can pull something like that. As I said, I can't resist her skill; it's just too powerful for me. She made everyone turn back,"- He whispered, trying not to attract that much attention. Akatsuki might be watching.
"But more importantly, how is the situation on the king's side? I want to know everything there is to know about the king and how he is doing now. Could you offer me this information, Hidaka?" - I leaned into his side.
"Well, everyone has been ripped in a blood frenzy; both Lord Welcia and Lord Ikrel have been killed; it appears that they had ulterior motives for this meeting. It's rumored that Lord Welcia sent some people to invite Lord Ikrel to his place. Still, Lord Ikrel had other plans and decided to kill Lord Welcia. Now, his daughter, Fumiko, is the next in line to take both lordships. This caused some problems for Ikrel's son, who was going to marry Fumiko. Lord Ikrel's son will come in 2 days from now to see Fumiko. This is all I can say about current events. It slipped my mind to tell you the first time. But keeping in mind, the kind wouldn't want Lord Ikrel's son to marry Fumiko. Take care of you two. I can stay here for much longer!" Masamune left after giving us this information.
!I devised a plan where you have two choices: either kill Lord Ikrel's son or make Fumiko hate him. I suggest the second option, as Fumiko already dislikes his son to a great extent. This will force him to retreat from his position and let Fumiko rule without any opposition!
"You make a valid point, Sia. Well, we have to prepare for this in 2 days."
!I suggest you do so in secret and not tell Fumiko about anything just yet.!
"Got it, Sia."