Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 137

The shouts of ‘Whale, whale!’ were filled with the confusion and sorrow he felt. People covered their ears, shrugging at each other, seemingly at a loss for a clear judgment. Then, the captain, looking slightly relieved, calmed everyone down.

“Alright, alright, everyone, calm down. He says it wasn’t Endil. Wouldn’t he be telling the truth if he’s saying it like this?”

“But, Captain.”

“Endil might be a bit rough around the edges, but he’s not the type to hurt people. I can vouch for that.”

At the captain’s words, the atmosphere shifted somewhat. Just moments ago, they had been certain Endil was the culprit, but now they seemed to be reconsidering, even if just a little.

“Well, even if it’s Endil, surely he wouldn’t do something like that….”

“Are we arresting the wrong guy?”

“We need to look into this more thoroughly….”

As a more favorable mood began to form among the onlookers, the crew members also softened their stance, loosening Endil’s restraints. Of course, this was just to match the atmosphere; they hadn’t completely dismissed their suspicions. One of them crouched down to meet Endil’s eyes.

“Okay, Endil. You’re really saying it wasn’t you?”

“That’s what I’m saying!”

“Then what about the criminal’s testimony? He named you as an accomplice. Why is that?”

“How would I know what that crazy bastard is thinking! I’m completely innocent!”

“So, it’s not true that you received money from him?”

“……That’s…!”

For the first time, the voice that had been incessantly protesting faltered. Receiving the money was the truth. The crew members, who had been intently watching Endil, didn’t miss this opening. The onlookers, who had been wavering, hardened their expressions again and glared at Endil. It was at that moment.

“I found it!”

A crew member shouted as he ran out of a cabin at the end of the hallway. In his hand, he held a heavy-looking leather pouch. I immediately recognized what it was. It was the money pouch that Mu had forcibly thrust into Endil’s arms at dawn. He hadn’t found the right moment to return it and had just been carrying it around, and it seemed they had found it while searching the room. Perhaps Mu had been aiming for this situation all along. Sure enough, the crew member shouted exactly what I had expected.

“We found it in Endil’s cabin! Just like he said! It’s a money pouch with an eagle seal!”

“……!”

The atmosphere had turned icy beyond repair. ‘I knew it,’ everyone’s faces seemed to say. Even the captain, who had been trying to mediate, looked at Endil with a devastated expression, his gaze filled with betrayal over the broken trust.

“Endil, how could you do something like this….”

“N-No, I can explain everything! What happened was….”

Endil, who had been frozen, desperately shook his head. But the people, already on edge, weren’t willing to listen to him at all. They began to drag Endil away mercilessly.

“We don’t need to hear any more, you con artist! How dare you try to deceive us?”

“Drag him to the storage room right now! As soon as we reach the settlement, we’ll hand him over to the security forces along with that criminal!”

As people began to take action, Endil seemed to grow desperate as well. He resisted the hands pulling him, shaking his head wildly.

“Wait! I really didn’t do it! That bastard just forced it on me! I didn’t want to take it! I was going to return it!”

“Who’s going to believe that now? You should have returned it sooner if you were going to. The fact that you kept it with you means you’re done for, you idiot!”

“I’m telling you, he forced it on me! I just didn’t have a chance to return it! That bastard set me up to frame me!”

“Hmph, save your innocence for the courthouse. If what you’re saying is true, you’ll be acquitted. Then we’ll believe you.”

“Courthouse? You’re sending me to a courthouse now?”

At someone’s words, Endil muttered like a man possessed. The crew members assumed he was scared, and sneers spread across their faces.

“What, are you scared of going to trial? We’re not the ones sending you; the security forces will. Since you’re so adamantly denying the charges, we have no choice but to open a trial. Barbarian alien races might give immediate punishment when you commit a crime, but we humans, who live under the law, have procedures. We go through a formal trial for guys like you who claim innocence. The higher-ups listen to the circumstances and determine what’s right and wrong.”

“A trial….”

“Yeah, so don’t waste your energy here and say everything you want to say there. If you’re really innocent, you’ll be released anyway, so what are you worried about? But if you’re proven guilty, you’ll be locked in an underground prison for the rest of your life, you vile bastard.”

“That will never happen. But how long will it take?”

“What?”

“The trial. How long will it take to get a verdict?”

“Well? The courthouse is only in big cities, so it’ll take at least two or three months.”

“That won’t do!”

At that moment, a sudden scream erupted from Endil, who had been listening calmly. Startled by the sudden noise, people frowned and glared at him. But this time, he didn’t back down, widening his eyes in defiance.

“Two or three months! I don’t have that much time to wait! I need to buy herbs as soon as we get to port and go back home!”

“That’s your problem. Who told you to do such a heinous thing? Even if you’re blinded by money, how could you even think about killing someone….”

“I told you I didn’t do it! I didn’t!”

Endil shook his head, his face looking like he was about to cry. He looked sick of the endless back-and-forth. But the people didn’t care and started dragging him away again.

“Alright, don’t resist and come quietly. If you keep resisting, you’ll get beaten even worse.”

“Please believe me! I need to go back right away! I have a sick sister!”

“Bullshit!”

“It’s true! She’s in danger if she doesn’t take her medicine every day! There aren’t many herbs left at home! If I don’t buy medicine and go back right away, something really bad will happen!”

Endil began to plead as he was dragged away. Tears streamed down his bruised and battered face. Some of the people turned away, looking distressed at his pitiful appearance. Among them was the captain.

“Please! Cecil! It wasn’t me! Huh, why doesn’t anyone believe me! Gods! Are you listening? Please, someone help me! Cyciel! Water King Elquines! It wasn’t me! Believe me! It wasn’t me!”

Ah.

I couldn’t just stand there and listen to his desperate cries any longer. When I came to my senses, I was already pushing through the crowd and stepping forward. Blocking the passage, a crew member who had been dragging Endil glared at me unhappily.

“What, who are you?”

Endil, who had been crying, also raised his head blankly. When I felt his gaze meet mine, his eyes widened like lanterns. Even in the midst of all this, he still had the strength to recognize me.

“You……!”

At that moment, Endil, I don’t know where he got the strength, broke free of his restraints and rushed towards me. Surprised by the sudden turn of events, the crew members could only stammer, ‘Uh, uh,’ and failed to catch him as he bounced off them. Endil clung to me almost desperately, like a man out of his mind.

“You, you’re that guy, right? The one I met at dawn? You know everything, don’t you? You saw that bastard force that money pouch on me! Right? Please, tell these people! Huh? You know too. I didn’t want to take it. I refused that bastard’s offer back then. Please, believe me…….”

Seeing him up close, he looked even worse. His eyes were completely dark under his eyes, as if he hadn’t slept properly for days, and his gaunt cheeks had prominent cheekbones. I was sure he hadn’t even fully recovered from the internal injuries he sustained during the reverse summoning. He had already been weakened, and now he had suffered physical violence, so there was no way he could maintain his sanity. I sighed lightly and patted his trembling shoulder.

“Okay. Okay, calm down. You’re too agitated right now.”

“I, I, really didn’t do it! Really! I really tried to save that kid! Really!”

“I know.”

“Re, really? You believe me?”

“Yeah.”

Because I saw everything. I just swallowed the truth I wanted to add.

Endil widened his eyes in disbelief. Even as he asked, he probably didn’t think I would actually say yes. His dazed eyes flickered with a hint of joy, then twisted again as if in pain. He didn’t even think about wiping the tears streaming down his face, as if he wasn’t even aware that he was crying.

“Th, thank you, thank you! Thank you so much! I, I……I…….”

I quietly patted him again as he sobbed. The surroundings were filled with murmuring. In any case, a witness had appeared to prove Endil’s innocence. The crew members looked displeased with me for suddenly appearing, but they couldn’t treat him as harshly anymore. Then, the captain, representing them, stepped forward with a troubled face.

“You saw what happened at dawn?”

“Yes.”

“Can you tell us in detail?”

Since I had come forward with that intention, I immediately began to explain. I told the story of how I had happened to see the two men meeting at dawn, and how he had forced the money pouch on him and disappeared, just as I had witnessed. I didn’t forget to emphasize that Endil had refused the offer outright when he first received it.

“Did you know about the details of the deal?”

“Roughly…….”

“Hmm, why didn’t you report it right away?”

“Because Endil refused. Besides, I couldn’t act rashly without solid evidence. The man didn’t even tell me who the target was at the scene. So, I was going to find out separately and later give a word to the person involved or report it to the guard.”

Actually, it was because I was too lazy, but it was true that I was trying to stop Mu, so it wasn’t a complete lie. The captain seemed somewhat convinced by my words. But then, someone among the crew members shouted with a look of realization.

“Huh? Wait, aren’t you the guy who had the necklace back then?”

“Pardon?”

“That’s right! The hood he’s wearing is dark, and his clothes are all the same. The necklace that almost killed the young noble this time! You had it and submitted it as evidence. Am I right? Where did you get that?”

“Ah, that’s…….”

Oh, no, I didn’t expect anyone to remember that. It was a mistake to think that I wouldn’t stand out because there were many people wearing hoods besides me. I hesitated to answer for a moment because I couldn’t bring myself to say that I had gone directly into the sea to get it. Then, for some reason, the crew member’s gaze suddenly turned cold. I was genuinely taken aback by the words that followed.

“Are you perhaps in cahoots with that guy?”

“……Excuse me?”

“The person who had the evidence knew about the murder plot in advance? That’s a bit strange. Were you actually all on the same side, but you pretended not to know and backed out because the plan failed and you thought you’d get caught? You were planning to put all the blame on one guy. Am I wrong?”

“What are you talking about?”

“What, are you feeling guilty?”

“Wh, what?”

“Thinking about it, it’s really suspicious. In the first place, you witnessed a murder contract, but you were going to report it later? It’s normal to report it before something happens.”

That’s different for everyone. Not everyone has the same way of thinking, you know?

But his one-sided argument quickly influenced the others. I frowned at the suspicious gazes pouring in from all directions. I had been prepared for this since I jumped into this, but I had a feeling it was going to be much more troublesome than I had thought. I calmly explained, trying not to get angry.

“I think you’re seriously misunderstanding something. I just happened to pick up the necklace that was lying nearby. As I said, I knew that man was planning something, so I was keeping an eye on him. When that man was looking for something, I instinctively knew it was that. It was right after the victim, the boy, mentioned the necklace.”

“What about reporting it later?”

“I already told you that too. It’s because I didn’t think an accident would happen. Because Endil said he wouldn’t do it.”

“That’s exactly what’s suspicious. How can you trust Endil?”

“……What did you say?”

I frowned, wondering what nonsense this was. But the crew member said even more arrogantly.

“If you know Endil’s usual behavior, it doesn’t make sense to believe what he says. There are people you can trust, but not Endil of all people.”

“How can you say that now?”

“Why can’t I? You’ve seen how much that guy loves money, haven’t you? He’s crazy about money. There’s no way he would refuse an opportunity to make a lot of money. He’d probably be the first to volunteer.”

“That’s right, that’s true.”

“He’s definitely capable of that.”

“…….”

As the crew members began to add their own words, the onlookers also nodded along. Feeling the already loud murmuring grow even louder, I sighed deeply.