Chapter 469 - 469: What Is Justice?

The sound of water echoed, and the wait felt unusually long.

Clusters of crystal reflected the elf girl's beautiful face, adding a measure of quiet calm to the two sitting side by side.

Just as the boy had said, Ryuu's left hand had stopped trembling. But inside, all kinds of emotions were still churning.

"Cranel-san, I'm the reason your hands were stained with blood."

Ryuu lowered her head. Her normally resolute face was filled with uncertainty.

"Is that so? Ryuu-san didn't push my right hand away."

Bell answered at once.

"That's just sophistry…"

Ryuu let out a dispirited sigh.

They had held a similar conversation before, after resolving the Golden Casino incident, when Ryuu had chosen to tell the boy about her past.

Justice was subjective to begin with, and having blood on one's hands did not necessarily mean someone was evil. If Ryuu wanted to acknowledge her own guilt, she would have to push the boy's hands away, because there was not much difference between what the two of them had done.

But this time was different.

Bell had assassinated Jura for the sake of Ryuu Lion's safety. He had no connection to the dead man himself. Ryuu felt that it was her own arrogance and hatred that had dragged the boy into the abyss of sin.

"…"

Bell fell silent for a moment.

His way of looking at the world was rather unusual. Outside Orario, many people still lived amid war, and to them, justice and evil were little more than a matter of opposing sides.

Bell could understand it. The nobler and kinder an Elf like Ryuu was, the easier it was for her to fall into self-doubt.

If she let hatred consume her and took her enemy's life, that meant she had lost her justice and fallen into the same evil as her foe. That was the thought tormenting Ryuu.

This way of thinking was especially common among Elves, so persuading Ryuu in a short time would be extremely difficult.

Bell turned slightly in thought, looked into the elf girl's blue eyes, and said,

"I've thought this for a while now, Ryuu-san. You and Goddess Astraea are actually kind of like that, aren't you?"

"Like… what?"

Ryuu blinked in confusion.

Bell cleared his throat and answered with solemn conviction.

"How should I put it? The kind who shouts, 'Die, villains! This is our justice!' 'Silence! This flame in my heart is not hypocrisy!' 'Our friendship and justice are invincible!' 'Fulfill our mission! Restore the scales! Until the day we become stars!' Toward justice."

"Huh?! N-no… stop saying that?!"

A whimper like a little girl's slipped from Ryuu's lips.

She quickly reached out with her left hand and covered Bell's mouth, cutting him off.

By the time Ryuu belatedly pulled her hand back after realizing how close the contact had been, a faint blush had already colored her ice-queen-like cheeks.

"I'm just telling the truth. After all, Ryuu-san looked very happy when she played [Justice's Partner] in Sword Smithing City Solingen."

Bell dug up a sealed-away memory.

"Cranel-san? Please don't bring up the past anymore?!"

As the memory flashed through her mind, the blush on Ryuu's face deepened even further.

Just as the boy said, Ryuu really had been enjoying herself back then.

"And besides, Ryuu-san was always masked, and you were constantly agonizing over things like justice and hypocrisy…"

Bell continued as if nothing had happened.

"Wah… B-Bell?!"

Ryuu had not expected the boy's attack to be so fierce, and she could not help resorting to "violence."

"I get it, I won't say anymore, I absolutely won't say anymore, so please stop pinching my arm!"

Bell begged for mercy again and again.

Why was it that when the elf girl beside him got physical, her strength was just like Lefiya's, several degrees stronger than it had been during their past training? Was this some kind of curse?

Seeing that the timing was right, Bell kept the retort to himself and changed the subject.

"Ryuu-san, justice means something different to everyone. If you asked the laborers in the Labyrinth City, they would definitely tell you that having parents who live long lives and a healthy wife and children is genuine justice."

"…"

Ryuu listened to the boy in silence.

After the playful mood from just now, her heart had grown much calmer.

It was as if a warm current had filled the great hollow inside her, letting the boy's words flow into her parched heart.

"To me, justice is much the same. If someone threatens the people who are important to me, then that person is evil. Depending on how dangerous they are, I'll take the appropriate measures."

Bell continued to lay bare what was in his heart.

Take the act of taking another person's life, for example. Even if Ryuu were swallowed by rage and tore the remnants of Evilus to pieces, Bell would acknowledge it as an act of justice.

Because Ryuu's anger was being poured onto evildoers, not directed at innocent people.

Likewise, if a remnant of Evilus raised a blade and killed someone, even if the victim had nothing to do with Bell, he would not hesitate to regard the culprit as evil and return the favor in kind.

The reason was simple. A person who killed without aim or limits might one day turn that blade on someone Bell cherished.

"That way of thinking is pretty selfish, isn't it?"

Bell gave her a bright smile.

"…"

Ryuu could not refute him.

The justice upheld by Elves so easily led to self-doubt because they were too idealistic.

Whether someone was good or evil, justice was meant to treat them equally.

Whether to forgive a crime was the gap between ideals and reality, and it was also the root of why Ryuu believed she had fallen.

Only now did she realize that what the boy wanted to share with her was not comfort, but true salvation.

"Ryuu-san, you cast aside that selfishness and pursue a nobler justice. But have you ever thought about it? That selfish feeling is something every ordinary person has. If justice is separated from them, what meaning does it have?"

Bell dug deeper into the concept of justice.

Following the hatred in her heart, Ryuu had killed countless members of Evilus. Whether by ambush or assassination, some people might feel uncomfortable with it and condemn Ryuu's revenge.

But were those people really the majority?

The answer went without saying. Laborers, merchants, low-level Adventurers, their families and friends. The ordinary people who made up the vast majority of Orario's population were the real beneficiaries.

Once that hidden evil was destroyed, they would only clap their hands in relief.

"Ryuu-san, you've overlooked what ordinary people think. They simply never had the chance to send their support to you. Their abilities are limited, and if they spoke carelessly, evildoers might set their sights on them."

Bell looked at the elf girl and spoke his final words.

"But they will support what you did. They will quietly send you murmurs and blessings. The death of the remnants of Evilus will lift the stone hanging over their hearts. That, at least, is something none of us can ignore."