I don't know if I can do this anymore.

I've never acted with malice towards anyone, even though I've acted rashly and randomly, but I was in a situation where I couldn't help myself.
It was all my incompetence's fault. The only thing I could do was to throw away everything I had built up and run away from the capital. ......

After a hellish night, I checked the major newspapers in the capital that Eva had brought me, from cover to cover.
Despite the fact that there had been an intruder at the Gathering of the White Swords (Liz) and that the food had been poisoned (Sitri), there was no mention of them anywhere. It's as if yesterday's events were a joke or something.

Eva, with dark circles under her eyes and a weary expression on her face, said.

'There seems to be a gag order in place. But you can't put your foot in your mouth. ...... Rumors are already spreading.

That's true. The White Sword Gathering was attended by many of the country's top class.
No matter how much prestige the Emperor had, there was no way he could completely prevent the information from leaking out.

In the end, the culprit was not found last night. Even now, the Imperial City must be in an uproar like a hornets' nest.

The reason why I, the most suspicious person by any stretch of the imagination, have been released and am now in the Clan Master's office is because I proved my innocence with the True Tears, a treasure that exists in the Imperial Castle's treasury.

True Tears is a crystal ball-shaped treasure that has the power to expose any falsehood.

It is one of the treasures of the Empire and one of the reasons for the development of Zebrudia.
This treasure exposes all lies of those who are affected by it. It is impervious to all forms of mental contamination, including brainwashing and memory wiping, and no one has ever been deceived by its crystal ball.

It is the most reliable tool in the hunt for criminals, but it rarely appears on the stage. This is because its use is strictly restricted by the laws of the Empire.
To use it, several applications, permissions, and above all, proof are required, and even the emperor, who is the highest authority, cannot use it easily. The former emperor himself had decreed this.

After all, the power is too strong. A man in power can't be pure and innocent. Everyone has a secret or two.
If such a treasure were allowed to be used easily, everyone would leave Zebrudia.

Using a treasure trove is a sign of suspicion in the first place. Even if the person himself is innocent, no one is happy to be probed in the stomach without pain.

Normally, it would only be used by criminals who had committed the ten crimes (the ten most serious crimes in the Empire) for which the evidence was almost complete.
There was no way I could have been allowed to use it on the day of the incident, and I didn't meet the requirements to receive it in the first place, but there was only one way to use it without having to apply for most of the permits.

That's right, at my own suggestion.
I personally proposed the use of that treasure, and received the power of that beautiful treasure of my own will.

Originally, it was considered the greatest disgrace in this empire to be subjected to the Tears of Truth, but in the first place, I had been subjected to the Tears of Truth myself many times in the past, having been poked in the stomach without pain, so it was too late for me.

And as before, True Tears proved my complete and utter innocence in front of the eyes of countless Imperial nobles.
If I had known at that point that Citri had poisoned me, things would not have gone well, but at that point, I was just a good guest.
I will never forget the stunned looks of the nobles at the moment my innocence was proven.

But it made the current situation more troublesome.

I had proven my innocence in a way that was unthinkable in Zebrudia, but if Citri had poisoned me, the story would be very different.

Now, the Empire is scrambling to find the culprit. And yet, only Citly and I know that there are actually two culprits.

The first is the one who put some kind of drug in Lys's drink. The second one is ...... Sitri.

Sitri didn't mean any harm. She put the poison in the food for my sake.

I have no idea who the culprit is, but I'm sure the real culprit is surprised right now. After all, the poison I didn't put in the food was detected.
And the Imperial side of the investigation must be very confused.

Well, in that case, ...... what should I do?

Report what Citri has done? No way. If I did that, it would make him a criminal.
Crime is bad, but I'm on her side. I'd rather flee the country with her than press charges.

The quickest way to do this is to find out who did it.
Citri poisoned me to help me, not to harm anyone. He may deny the poisoning, but no one will believe him.

The incident took place in the Imperial City. It's heavily guarded and there's only so much they can do to get the drug into the liquor.
I can't look for the culprit alone, but I have my friends who can.

The door to my room, disguised as a bookshelf, opens to reveal Liz, revitalized after a night of drinking.
Yesterday, she was in low spirits due to the poisoned alcohol, but now, after a night of drinking, her complexion is extremely good, and she seems to be in better shape than yesterday.
He gave a big stretch and greeted me with a big smile.

'Hi, Cry, good morning! I'm sorry about yesterday.

'Liz, I'm sorry to wake you up so soon, but I need you to go get Luke and the others. We have a meeting. I'll ask Eva to attend, too.'

It's been a while since I've gathered everyone together for a meeting. Maybe we'll have to flee the capital.
I rubbed my polished safe-ring with my index finger and sighed heavily.








The majority of the floor is occupied by Citri's special laboratory, but there are various rooms on the third floor of the Clan House.
In one of these rooms, a meeting space for parties, I had called the members together for the first time in a long time.

Gathered around a large table were the members of the Ghosts of Sorrows.
It had been a long time since I had seen such a serious atmosphere.

He is a disciple of the Sword Saint and one of the best swordsmen in the Imperial City. The swordsman with the nickname "The Thousand Swords". Luke Sykor.
He's a swift thief who leaves not even a shadow behind. Liz Smart.
An alchemist of the highest caliber, responsible for gathering materials and brainstorming. Citri Smart.
The lifeblood of the party. A famous paladin of the Imperial City, responsible for protection and healing. Anthem Smart.
Lucia, who has mastered all kinds of magic and is in charge of charging my treasure.

'...... Eliza's not here again.

'Hmm, I saw her yesterday, but ...... Eliza-chan is a free spirit. ......'

Lizzie, who quickly gathered the party members, crossed her legs and said with an innocent look on her face.
That's just the way it is. The only condition for bringing Eliza into the party was to respect her freedom.

Well, we'll get by without her. The souvenirs from Eliza's vacation were gone.

He nodded broadly, then looked at the uncomfortably shrinking girl next to Liz.

'So, why is Tino here?

'.................. I was kidnapped.'

Tino said in a crying voice. Poor thing. .......

Eva, who was standing next to me, frowned.



'So, why am I here ......, I'm not even a hunter ......'

'Well, well, well: ......'

Sitri stands in front of a blackboard hanging on the wall.

I looked around at Luke sitting there with a bored expression, Lucia in a bad mood, and Ansem who didn't know what to think, and clapped my hands.

'Now, we will begin the thirty-fifth meeting of the Stogli. The topic of discussion is the 'Gathering of the White Swords' that took place yesterday. Applause!

'Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Hahaha!

'Krai-chan is so good! I'll be back!

'......, God!'

Luke and Liz forced me to get excited, and Tino followed fearlessly.
Lucia is glaring at me. I quickly got down to business.

'An incident occurred at the White Sword Gathering yesterday. To be honest, we're in a rather precarious position right now.

'In other words, it's business as usual, Leader.

'All those who know what happened yesterday, raise your hands!

Sitri, Lyss and Eva raise their hands. Luke didn't raise his hand, probably because he was in charge of security.
But there was one other person who raised his hand straight up: ...... Lucia. I don't know how he knows that.

'Yes, yesterday, I received an invitation and went to the White Sword Gathering with Eva. Then, for some reason, I saw Sitri, Liz and Luke there. Sitri was there as a guest, Luke as a guard, and Liz as an intruder.

'Leader, I've already figured that out. Can you please just get on with it?

'...... How does Lucia know about this?'

Lucia frowned at my genuine question. She crosses her arms and gives me a stern look.

'Because I was there, as one of the maids, using legitimate channels.

That's ...... something I didn't notice at all.

When he looked at Ansem, Ansem shook his head. You can't see the expression on his face because he's wearing a full-face helmet, but I'm guessing he's dumbfounded.
It seems that Anthem and Eliza were the only ones who were not there.

Lucia's expression did not change, and she said plainly.

'Leader, it was ...... 'me' who followed up on Liz's intrusion. So I know everything that happened in that place.

'......I was wondering how you managed to get in with all that security.'

'When the leader was disrespectful to Her Imperial Highness and distracted everyone's gaze, Liz, who turned invisible with her Clear Form, entered the room. I'm not sure if you'll be able to find the right one.

I see. ...... As expected, I thought the security was too lax if Liz had entered alone. If Lucia's magic supported her, then it makes sense that she was able to break in.

But why is she in a bad mood? ...... In front of me, bewildered by the rebellious Lucia, Citri wrote on the blackboard in white chalk, "Mr. Cry did not notice Lucia at all.

Lucia stared at the words with eyes as if she were avenging her parents, and snapped her fingers. The words on the chalkboard disappear, and Citly chuckles.

She pretends not to see it. Tino pretends not to see it either. I keep talking.




'As you know, yesterday at the Gathering of the White Swords, a poison was found in the food. It's a secret between us, but the person who put it in was Citri.''

'Go to ..................!

Eva's eyes widened to their limit and she let out a weak cry. Tino is also astonished.

Citry's cheeks flush with embarrassment, and he writes on the blackboard, 'I put the poison in the food. I put the poison in the food, but I didn't put it in the drink,' he wrote in beautiful letters.

'You don't have to thank me.

'So, we have to cover up the fact somehow. It's bad enough that we have both the intruder and the criminal.


Liz said, 'Well, why don't we just leave it at that? It's Sito anyway,' he says with a bored expression. Sitri writes on the blackboard, 'The intruder is my sister. Then Luke, who had been silent until now, clapped his hands as if he had just remembered, and said.



'Oh, I forgot to tell you. I killed three of them. I was really pissed.