Don’t Look for the Resurrected Villainess - Chapter 197

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 197

Soana was genuinely flustered. The Captain’s question was that blunt and direct.

“You don’t want to serve me?”

Another shocking statement came from the Captain’s mouth. Soana, who had never lost her composure, was already speechless for the second time.

Having missed the timing to naturally move on, an awkward silence settled between them.

No, perhaps only Soana felt awkward. At least the Captain showed no sign of disturbance.

The Captain, who had been looking at Soana expressionlessly, crossed her arms and let out a long sigh. Then she asked again in a calm voice.

“You dislike me, but you won’t interfere with realizing the final divine power either. You care for the other Knights. Right?”

She hit the nail on the head remarkably. Soana, who had been frozen stiff, barely came to her senses under that piercing gaze.

[Captain, I don’t understand why you’re suddenly saying such things…]

“Just answer.”

Soana, who had been hesitating, spoke quietly.

[…Yes.]

“Good, that’s at least fortunate. So your failure to report about the Lizardman Habitat wasn’t to trap me and kill me?”

If Soana had been in human form, she probably couldn’t have hidden her pale face.

Having lost her words and fallen silent, Soana tried to answer calmly.

[The report… I accidentally forgot to make it…]

“I don’t need pretty words.”

The Captain cut off Soana’s words mercilessly. Since she seemed already certain of her feelings, any pleasant excuses would only sound like disgusting lies.

Soana gave up everything she had planned to fabricate. Abandoning her pretentious attitude and accepting resignation, the answer came easily instead.

[If you release the Young Lizardman and leave immediately, there won’t be any problems.]

“So there will be problems if I don’t leave immediately?”

The Captain’s lips twisted crookedly.

“You arbitrarily assumed I would leave immediately and omitted the report?”

Rather than assuming she would leave immediately, she had tried to guide her to leave immediately. After all, there was no reason to linger in the Lizardman Habitat.

Either way, it would be unpleasant for the Captain to hear, so Soana decided to apologize calmly.

[I’m sorry.]

“Is a monster subjugation force approaching?”

[Armed soldiers are approaching, but they’re moving slowly and not adapting to the environment, so there’s a possibility they’ll give up on subjugation and withdraw.]

Soana recalled the distant scene. The dense undergrowth couldn’t hide the large number of soldiers. The soldiers didn’t even seem to think about moving stealthily.

Who they were and how they acted was none of Soana’s concern. She simply hoped the soldiers and Knights wouldn’t get entangled.

Looking at the area near the habitat, it wasn’t suitable for military movement. With just a little thought, they would realize there was nothing good about blindly pushing soldiers in.

“There’s also a possibility they’ll withdraw?”

[There are many poisonous insects near the wetland, so if they approached unknowingly, they’ll suffer greatly.]

“Right, even if they withdraw from ignorance, there’s a possibility they’ll reorganize and return.”

Soana easily grasped the hidden meaning in the Captain’s words.

[Do you still intend to save all life in the world?]

Like in the old days, to save everyone, while actually treating the Twelve Knights who follow you with neglect?

Did she notice the subtle resentment underlying Soana’s question? The Captain wore a cynical expression while explaining her intentions.

“I’m not trying to attack the soldiers for the Lizardmen’s sake. It’s to interfere with whoever is leading those soldiers.”

[How do you intend to attack the soldiers?]

“How?”

[You’ll put the Knights at the forefront in the end.]

In the end, all the dangerous work would fall to the Knights. While the Avatar of the Goddess simply receives praise from all things.

Of course, the Knights willingly complied with whatever tasks were given to them in any situation. It was blind and desperate obedience.

[No, the Knights will step forward first before you even command them.]

Soana forcibly suppressed her bitter emotions.

She had been a priestess serving Birth. And Birth, the morning god she had served, enjoyed making his followers blind and foolish.

The god manipulated his toys at will with ‘threads of fate,’ and Soana was one of those countless toys. When living as a toy, Soana had been faithful enough to throw away her life for the god without hesitation.

However, she only learned after being liberated that all those emotions she had felt were illusions created by the god.

That’s why Soana was always troubled. Watching the unwavering faith of the Knights serving the Captain.

Could she not guarantee that this loyalty was the Goddess’s manipulation?

The Avatar of the Goddess not only treated all things and Knights without discrimination, but was also using the Knights as tools to save the world. The Knights’ loyalty went unrewarded.

So even now, weren’t they being used after being resurrected as monsters?

[I heard there was an announcement that Dura’hans are cursed creatures. Captain, do you intend to use the Knights to enhance your reputation and carry out your duties more easily?]

What returned to the Knights who had waited for the Captain for so long was the world’s persecution and contempt. Cursed creatures, they said.

While the Knights who had served the Captain so faithfully became cursed creatures, the Captain gained the brilliant reputation of being a Reviver of God.

Even in this absurd situation, the Knights were serving the Captain as if nothing had happened.

[I would appreciate it if you would stop exploiting the Knights’ innocent loyalty.]

Apart from her personal feelings toward the Captain, she couldn’t turn away from the Knights as well. That’s why she had accompanied them.

Anyway, once the final divine power was completed, peace would come to the Knights. She resolved to focus on that.

While Soana spoke, the Captain listened quietly.

The Captain seemed lost in thought alone. After pondering something carefully, the Captain nodded while keeping her arms crossed.

“So that’s why you found me disagreeable as soon as you met me.”

Soana, who had been holding her head high, flinched slightly.

She thought she had never shown it, but apparently the Captain had noticed Soana’s discomfort long ago.

“From the rumors.”

The Captain, who was touching her lower lip and tilting her head slightly, glanced up at Soana.

“Then why did you show your Dura’han form to Chechye?”

[…It seemed like the Captain was using the Knights who had become Dura’hans, so I wanted to join them.]

And preferably, after joining, to intervene slightly so the Knights wouldn’t recklessly sacrifice themselves for the Captain anymore.

It would have been faster if she could have sought out the Captain directly, but unfortunately Soana lacked the ability to find the Captain first. So what could she do? She had no choice but to make the other party come to her.

“I can see why the past Captain took you in.”

[What do you mean?]

Instead of answering Soana’s question, the Captain asked in return.

“You died last?”

That pierced Soana’s heart more cruelly and sharply than all the previous questions.

Soana, who had been looking at the Captain with frozen eyes, slowly opened her beak. But no words came out.

“You saw everyone die?”

She had seen it.

Soana was the Knight who had been killed last. She didn’t remember the Betrayer’s face, but she remembered how his sword had torn through the Knights.

The Betrayer was the strongest Knight among them. He was also the first to be saved by the Captain, and was respected and admired by the other Knights.

The reason he betrayed was… because of the Captain. Even while soaked in betrayal, the Knights somewhat understood his choice.

That made Soana angry.

Why were they all so blind? Could they be certain that loyalty truly came from the heart?

“You think their deaths were my fault?”

[…That is the truth.]

“No. The Knights’ deaths weren’t my fault, but the Betrayer’s fault. You’re placing blame in the wrong place.”

[But the Betrayer acted that way ultimately for the Captain…!]

“Not for me, but for his own satisfaction. Not just the Betrayer, but all the other Knights judge and act for themselves. They don’t follow the Captain’s coercion.”

The Captain spoke firmly.

“Soana, you have no right to judge the Knights’ emotions.”

The Captain lowered her gaze. Soana noticed her eyes reaching the bracelet.

The jewels sparkled, announcing the presence of the Dura’hans within. The Captain rubbed the jewels with her fingertips and said.

“The loyalty the Knights show me, or all the choices and actions that stem from it. That belongs to them and is not something to be evaluated by someone else.”

The Captain’s voice was cold, but her touch on the bracelet was gentle.

“If you want to care for and look after the Knights, do so. Just don’t disparage their actions.”

[I have never disparaged the Knights.]

“Questioning the authenticity of loyalty is disparaging.”

Soana fell silent.

Soana was certainly suspicious of whether the Knights’ emotions were genuine. The Captain was pointing out that such suspicion was disrespectful.

“They follow me of their own will, and I respect that loyalty. That’s why I’m trying to find their heads.”

The Captain, who had been looking down at the bracelet, raised her eyes.

“Honestly, what do I care about some final divine power? I don’t want to worry about whether that thing gets completed or not. If my Dura’hans weren’t involved, I wouldn’t have been interested at all.”

‘My Dura’hans.’

That was a very strange expression.

At first glance, it seemed like she was treating them as simple possessions, yet there was a sense of possessiveness that distinguished them from other things.

Moreover, it was strange how she made such indifferent remarks about the final divine power.

The Captain was the Avatar of the Goddess. Someone who should prioritize the mission given by the Goddess above all else. Someone who had used the Twelve Knights without hesitation for the sake of duty.

Soana, who had been opening and closing her beak, let out a long breath.

[Why are you telling me all this?]

“I can clearly tell that you hate me, but I can’t tell whether you want to kill me or not.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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