Chapter 215

Evan D. Sherden, straighten things out. (3)

"If you think carefully, Melonia's fault was a lot bigger in the first place."

Evan put the witches and all the men residing in the Witch Village in their seats and began to blame them for their mistakes. Melonia raised her head, seeing as she was the first to be called out.

"I was just following the witch's tradition!"

"How many people have suffered damage because of his tradition, huh? Didn't you say that Ctheasil's creation of the Devil Rune Monster will cause 'indirect' damage to countless people in the future? If you look at it that way, you have also indirectly helped in creating the Devil Rune Monster!"

"That stupid thing is different! I never tried to harm someone that wasn't involved!"

"There was someone who was hurt by you. As a result, that person had a grudge against you, and this kind of division was its outcome. You see?!"

"That's a deterrence theory! To be held accountable like that, all living beings are at fault......"

Evan's words were clearly compelling, but Melonia's couldn't be 100% confident, so she was a bit dead inside. Evan then turned to Ctheasil.

"And you, did I or did I not tell you that you can't control the Devil Rune?"

"Only if you hadn't shown up, I would have had complete control over him!"

"Look into my eyes and say that again. Did you really have control? After Melonia and other witches die and absorb all runes? Really? Hey, look into my eyes and tell me."

"Oh, no...! I could've control... "

Of course, Ctheasil couldn't look into Evan's eyes. Ctheasil's logic and position were far weaker than Melonia's. It was like beating her up again even after a sign of surrender.

"Look at this, you all have nothing to be proud of. The spread of Devil Rune monsters across the continent is the result of your rotted spirits!"

Evan stressed, tapping the ground. Every time he did, there were small craters on the floor.

"And as for the other witches who are here..."

"Please just call me 'My lovely darling Selune!'"

"What about you? You don't have a clue about this? Why are you just following along with everything?"

Selune replied as soon as she had a chance, but Evan shouted again while ignoring her.

"If you think this is something wrong, then you have to dispute it! The guys here, didn't you think that you would all die together because of the Devil Rune research? If you ever thought about that, you should've tried to stop it!"

They were all silent. They seemed to know for now that neither Ctheasil nor Melonia were normal. Then, one of the men bravely opened his mouth.

"That's because Ctheasil did this all for us...... "

"So if Ctheasil feeds you poison, you would blindly take it? The only man among all of you that took action was Default!"

He was not the main character for nothing. He had the courage to ask outsiders to help the village, even though he grew up as a servant all his life! Perhaps that is the difference between the main character and other side-role characters!

"Ctheasil, do you know how many times Default protected you today? You were raving about making Default into a witch, but you almost got him killed. Don't you know that you are important to Default as much as Default is important to you? Huh?"

"...Default."

"Nuna..."

"Now's not the time to be shy!"

Evan separated Ctheasil from Default. The rational witch that she showed him when they first met was no longer here. As the rune was torn away, it seemed like her sanity was also torn away.

"There are a lot of other things I want to talk about... Anyway, there is only one conclusion."

This should be enough to get started with. Since there was such a fuss, the fear they felt earlier would have been relieved to some extent.

Now it's time to have a good conversation. Evan made a firm declaration, giving attention to the twenty witches and a similar amount of men.

"You all have to take responsibility for your actions. That's what I want as a reward for this quest."

"Responsibility... How the hell are you going to hold our witches accountable!?"

It was Melonia who spoke. Ctheasil, who led a group of young witches, had lost the rune and weakened her position. Even other young witches were now more dependent on Melonia, who was originally the Witch Forest's leader.

Therefore, she naturally became everyone's representative.

"It's simple. I want to break the custom of witches that cause harm. And I feel the need to show you the surrounding world."

"But throughout the years... Ugh, never mind."

If they told Evan that an outsider should not intervene in the witch's works, they were about to get another sermon from him. Melonia shut her mouth before making a mistake.

"I don't want the witch race to perish. So let's put a time limit. 50 years. Just 50 years, follow my directions. Try to experience and then judge which way is better. After that, I won't care again whether you act according to your customs or not. Rather, I will be supportive of your decision."

"50 years...!"

"Since the lifespan of a witch is longer, it's okay to consume 50 years, right?"

Of course, it all made sense. However, Melonia was well aware of the pitfalls of Evan's proposal.

Would witches who have tasted the freedom of living in the human world for 50 years want to follow their tradition and enter this deep mountain again after that much time had passed? There was no way they would.

Now Evan, pretending to be compassionate, was pulling the witches into a trap that they could never get out of. And Melonia was able to read his intention. Well, she should be able to read them...

"Melonia, isn't 50 years doable?"

Herbene was the first to let out a positive voice. What about the others? Even Herbene, who usually followed Melonia's opinion, was speaking so positively about this.

"Are we going out into the human world?"

"50 years makes sense. It must be because the witch's blood flows in you, so you're thinking of us."

"Wouldn't he be reviving our witch race?"

All of the young witches were fluttering their ears at Evan's proposal, and even some of the witches who were older said, "If it's 50 years to pay for our mistakes......" and nodded.

Some of them looked forward to Evan. This was exactly what Evan wanted.

"...Evan, you are cunning."

"Not really. I am pursuing a common interest. No one needs to sacrifice their happiness for others to be happy. Don't you think I'm doing a lot better than you?"

Melonia and Ctheasil both bowed their heads as they felt guilty. But the silence did not last long. Melonia raised her head and asked Evan.

"I can't decline anyway, but let's hear your proposal more clearly."

"First, come out of the Witch Forest and make your base in the outside world. I will also designate a place for you guys to stay. There are two places: the dungeon city of Sherden and the Menaton Estate."

"Master Evan!?"

Anastasia, who was listening quietly, was startled and spoke. Evan shrugged.

"This is what I first thought of when I met the witches. I thought it would be nice if the witches could become stronger by clearing the dungeons in the dungeon city, and at the same time, we also need strong elite troops in the Menaton Estate. And one more thing, we need mercenaries to protect the wagons of the Brotherhood Corporation going back and forth between the Menaton Estate and the dungeon city."

"Master, that's great."

It was a proposal to solve all three deficiencies at once: the Menaton Estate's security, the power of the dungeon city, and the mercenaries of the Brotherhood Corporation.

Moreover, from the witches' standpoint, it would be safe to stay in a dungeon city or Menaton, where Evan, the witch's descendant, was the overlord, and Anastasia, a witch herself, was the governess.

"Of course, we must get rid of conventions like having servants. As I said last time, I wouldn't interfere with how many people you live with, as long as you have a man you like, but the exception is when you use him as a servant. That's an old-fashioned way."

"That's a very good offer!"

While Melonia ground her teeth in humiliation, some witches cheered about this. It would sound like an attractive suggestion because he only said good things and could understand their hearts.

"Of course, this includes men. Even though you aren't witches, you can be treated as a war power. And if you work hard in clearing the dungeons, your lifespan will increase, so I hope you follow my instructions."

"Increased lifespan?"

Ctheasil reacted sensitively. Evan knew she would, but he felt sorry that she reacted so accurately at the expected timing.

"Yes, you have an increased lifespan. As your level rises, the physical perfection increases and the soul's size increases, so with that, the lifespan will naturally increase. In the dungeon, you can raise both the existence level and the dungeon level. If you don't die in the dungeon, you can unconditionally get a longer and healthier life."

"...Is that why he told me to come to the dungeon city?"

"FYI: all of the proposals made before are still valid. I mean, you can help with the research about the Devil Rune. I'm an alchemist, too. So, intelligent research partners are always welcome."

Hope was brimming in Ctheasil's eyes. Then Melonia spoke to Ctheasil in a light tone.

"I forgot to say this, but losing the Rune doesn't mean that your life as a witch will be reduced."

"What!?"

"If you want to live long with Default, it would be better to do new research."

Perhaps it was a measure to help Evan, but thanks to that, Ctheasil was angry again.

"You... You told me earlier that....!"

"Such disrespect towards your mother. I just didn't say that because there was nothing good that would come out of it."

It was a good thing, but Evan just found out that Melonia was Ctheasil's mother.

That meant that Default was Melonia's son, and that Ctheasil's first love was her servant......

"I think Melonia is the worst."

"But why!?"

Evan came back to the main point after calming Melonia's fit of rage.

"Moving on, I will talk more specifically about 'responsibility'. You'll have to be troops for the next 50 years if I ask you to. It's like escorting high officials, guarding the city, dealing with Devil Rune monsters, or subduing demons."

"That's the price we must pay?"

"Isn't this a bargain compared to the price I paid to save your lives, cover your past mistakes, and help you live a new life?"

What would be heavier than life? Melonia was silent again.

On the other hand, Ctheasil's eyes were completely rejuvenated. It seemed that she had gained hope for a new life.

"I believe I will be your research partner. With you...... I feel like I can somehow find a new way."

"Well... Yes, fine. Please do well."

Evan felt a burdensome gaze from Ctheasil. It seemed like she was dreaming of forbidden love with her younger brother.

Evan looked around, trying to avoid her gaze. If there were any objections, Evan would crush them right now, but fortunately, everyone seemed to have no complaints.

"...Good. Then, Princess Anastasia, it's finally your turn."

"I was waiting. I will enforce the contract of nature!"

Anastasia stepped forward and unleashed the power of the druid. To organize the conversations they have had so far, she prepared a contract to impose compulsion!

But the moment Melonia saw her face, her eyes opened widely.

"A witch and druid at the same time......? She looks familiar! Are you the daughter of Franc?"

"Huh, how do you know my mother's name!?"

"Sister Franc?"

"She's sister Franc's daughter."

The witches started talking here and there. Even Ctheasil and Default was looking at Anastasia with surprised eyes.

Evan thought while looking at them.

'I hope they don't make a sub-quest now.'