Copy Skills with Affinity!

Chapter 192

Cleanup

The Great Chieftain—more precisely, her daughter who was acting as a proxy—was in a rather complicated situation for various reasons.

“-That’s exactly why bringing in an outsider was the problem!”

I supposed the real beginning of the problem was the fact that I was sitting face-to-face with someone shouting at the top of their lungs, spittle flying as they spoke.

The Great Chieftain barely suppressed the rising headache and gestured for the man to sit down.

“You were the one who set the trap first and waited for him.”

“……”

“Even if it ended up being nullified in one blow. Isn’t that right?”

“……”

“To even think of doing something like that during the most important religious ritual of the nation… well. I’d say that’s quite an admirable level of nerve.”

At the Great Chieftain’s continued remarks, the tribal leader who had been shouting so fiercely became speechless in an instant.

Well, it wasn’t wrong. They were the ones who had first done something that went against the intent of the religious ritual, so there wasn’t even room for excuses on that front.

But then again, if he had been the type to consider such things in the first place, he wouldn’t have brought up such an argument to begin with.

“-However, it is true that Lord Urgan was enraged because of that outsider!”

“……”

Well.

Rather than enraged, it felt more like he had smashed the head of someone who set a trap while warning others not to touch what was his.

Had they already forgotten the actual sequence of events and replaced it with something convenient inside their heads…?

“This is something that the majority of the tribal leaders have agreed upon. Even you, Great Chieftain, will have to take responsibility for this!”

But this was the real problem.

Even if it was a distorted and conveniently edited memory, once it gained the support of multiple people, it began to carry weight.

“The disaster brought by that outsider must be resolved by himself. Didn’t the priestess end up being sacrificed because of him!”

“……”

And this, at least, was not something even the Great Chieftain could refute.

No matter how things had unfolded, it was true that Urgan had left his priestess in such a situation and had entrusted its resolution to Aiden.

‘…How is a human supposed to deal with the proxy of a god?’

It was undeniably a task that naturally invited such thoughts, but since it was something assigned directly by the god who had manifested physically, there was no room to object.

“……”

In that case.

If it was something unavoidable, then the best course of action was to think of a way to make use of it wisely.

The Great Chieftain took a deep breath and began running through possibilities in her head.

So, among the things she could say right now, the most appropriate would be—

“Then what if that man succeeds in eliminating the disaster?”

“……Pardon?”

“In other words, wouldn’t he become the one who personally removed a disaster sent down by a god?”

“……”

“Wouldn’t that be enough to prove his legitimacy beyond doubt?”

Rather than thinking about the scenario where everything fell into the worst possible outcome if he failed,

it would be far easier to steer the conversation toward maximizing the benefits if he succeeded.

“I’ll promise this. If that man fails, I will take responsibility as well. However.”

The Great Chieftain paused and slowly swept her gaze across each of the people gathered around to condemn her.

“If he succeeds, then you will also have to take responsibility for daring to doubt him.”

“……”

As a tense silence filled the tent,

hurried footsteps rang sharply in everyone’s ears.

At the end of that sound was a messenger who burst into the tent, clearly carrying urgent news.

“Great Chieftain! Urgent report!”

“-What is it?”

At the Great Chieftain’s tilted question, the messenger caught his breath and glanced around nervously.

“Th-that is……”

His face pale, the messenger hesitated, rolling his words around in his mouth as he gauged the reactions of those around him.

Seeing his clear hesitation about whether it was appropriate to say such a thing in this situation, the Great Chieftain interjected firmly.

“No matter what you say, no harm will come to you because of it. Speak.”

“……Just now, near the Void Zone, the destruction of the Harvester has been confirmed.”

“……”

“A-and, there is also evidence that Urgan descended there, along with signs that an unidentified god was present. The shamans are all testifying to this—”

At the murmured report spilling from the messenger’s lips, the faces of the tribal leaders nearby gradually turned red.

Well.

Judging by what he was saying, it was obvious why he had hesitated before speaking.

For those who had gathered here to condemn Aiden’s unworthiness and bring trouble upon the Great Chieftain, this was nothing short of a disaster.

It was the kind of thing that could provoke retaliation driven by personal emotions.

“……Who is said to have done such a thing?”

However, the decisive piece of information to seal the matter had not yet been revealed.

The Great Chieftain barely suppressed the laughter threatening to escape her lips and spoke.

So now—

“Th-the outsider… there are also testimonies suggesting that he was at the center of all those events—”

—if even those words were spoken.

Hmm.

Then the decision she had made just seconds ago was nothing less than seizing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The Great Chieftain finally couldn’t hold it in this time and let out a snickering laugh as she looked around.

It seemed the people gathered here had come to question her about something, but at this rate—

“Listen.”

“……”

“I’m calling you. I mean you all.”

Creak, creak.

As if a machine that hadn’t been oiled and had rusted over was moving, everyone’s heads turned awkwardly toward her.

“Rather than trying to question me here right now, well.”

“……”

“Wouldn’t it be better to start thinking about how you’re going to beg for forgiveness from me—and that man—from this point on?”

“……”

There was likely no one here who could refute those words at this moment.

▣

The first thing worth celebrating was that Rania had regained consciousness.

“…What the hell did you do?”

It would have been a much happier occasion if she hadn’t thrown that question at Aiden the moment she opened her eyes.

When Aiden expressed that thought honestly, Rania, who had gotten up drenched in sweat, clutched her head as if it were about to split apart.

“Aria revived, and Urgan descended and had a conversation with you?”

“Yes.”

“…And the revived Aria defeated Wornil’s proxy. And Urgan was there as well.”

“…Yes.”

“Are you even human? Or are you something like a caretaker of the Pantheon or something?”

Her words were filled with a genuine question of how someone could be involved in such things and still remain intact within the bounds of being human, and even Aiden had to admit that the scale of it all made such a question natural.

Rania, who had been sitting and organizing her thoughts for a while, finally wiped her face up and down with dry hands and spoke.

“…I don’t know. Once my strength returns, I’ll have to meet Urgan again and ask. Did he leave any words regarding me?”

At that, Aiden scratched his cheek awkwardly.

Well, it wasn’t Urgan, but Aria had left behind something regarding her.

To be precise, it wasn’t just about her, but about all the women around him.

“…She did leave one thing.”

“What is it?”

“She said that you and I will get married later.”

“……”

Rania stared at him blankly for a moment, then looked at the ceiling, then the floor, before sending that dazed gaze back at him.

“…Me or my sister?”

There was a faint hope in her words, as if she wanted to escape, even a little, from the idea that she herself would be tied to Aiden until the end, but unfortunately for her, what Aiden had heard was unmistakably clear.

“Both.”

“……”

“She said I’d be living with all of you.”

“………….”

“Not just you two. Yes. Everyone who’s become deeply entangled with me—I’ll be living with all of them. Apparently, that’s my fate.”

Rania once again stared blankly at the ceiling, the floor, and Aiden.

Then, in a voice that sounded like her soul had left her body, she squeezed out her words.

“…Where’s my pipe?”

“What kind of person lying in a sickbed asks for a smoke?”

The moment he rebuked her, the pillow she grabbed and swung smacked Aiden’s jaw sideways.

For something so soft to deliver that much impact, just how hard had she swung it…?

“…Just bring it. I’m seriously troubled right now…”

“…Yes.”

Even so, the fact that she accepted such a future without even trying to deny it—perhaps that really was what made her a priestess.

While Aiden quietly brought the pipe and placed it in her mouth, Rania puffed on it and spoke.

“…Hey.”

“Yes.”

“I don’t particularly dislike you.”

“…That sounds like you don’t particularly like me either.”

“……”

A look that clearly said he had zero sense of tact flowed from Rania, but Aiden met her gaze calmly.

Well, it wasn’t wrong.

“There’s nothing worse than forcing something like that on someone you don’t even like.”

Of course, Aiden’s principle was not to stop those who came nor hold onto those who left.

…Regardless of whether he wanted it or not, the situation was also flowing in a direction where something terrible might happen if he didn’t take responsibility for everyone around him.

Just looking at Princess Katya or Dame Noel, it felt like if he abandoned even one of them, his head might fly off immediately.

As he was thinking that—

“…Still, I know you risked your life to help me and my sister.”

Rania spoke again.

“If a god said something like that, it must have meaning. Probably, before long, a situation where ‘it’s okay’ will arise.”

“No, what kind of logic is that? If you like someone, you like them. If you don’t, you don’t.”

“……”

“You shouldn’t force something like that. That’s obvious, isn’t it?”

Serious, yet firm.

Aiden said that as he brushed his hair back.

Then—

Rania, who had been quietly looking at him, spoke bluntly.

“…I never said I didn’t like you.”

“……”

“The way you helped me and my sister to that extent… honestly, it was cool. Thank you.”

“……”

“…………I’m going to rest, so get out.”

At the order to leave, which felt like something bad would happen if he disobeyed, Aiden immediately accepted and stood up.

…Well, to be honest, he wasn’t thick-skinned enough to stay there any longer.