Antagonist Protection Service-Chapter 114: Accused

The young girl with refreshing teal hair, or "Thaddeus" to those of us in this church, had only ever been kind.

She was the only person here who had always actively intervened whenever a situation looked like it was going to turn into a fight, at least more than she needed to.

Of course, it's not like just pretending to be a good person is something I'll wholeheartedly believe in, but my point was that she also showed no signs of being 「Judas」 in the first place, so I couldn't understand what led to this accusation.

At the very least, all I could say was that during these three days, nothing about that girl, whether it was her tone, actions, or anything else―absolutely nothing gave me the feeling that she had any bad intentions.

Regardless, the Detective was adamant.

Follow curr𝒆nt nov𝒆ls on fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com.

"Well? Dare you oust yourself from that recreant position of hiding behind a mask, behind a false name, behind a deluge of bloody pigs and lost sheep? 「Judas」?! Or will you continue to scurry like a lily-livered mouse, hiding without a squeak, praying to that figmental Lord you adore so much to save you, to rescue you, to free you from the burning pile of filthy garbage that is your faulty, trashy, pitiful failure of a Trial! Truly, assuredly certainly a scheme of such low-level, rudimentary plotting that it could only make me laugh!"

And laugh she did.

Giggling mockingly, she gave no time for retorts.

"Are you truly so stupid, so imbecilic, so smooth-brained that you thought this would scare me into worshipping such a pathetic, nonexistent god? Confessing, repenting, lamenting nonexistent sins to that phantom deity, one that doesn't respond no matter how many prayers are offered, no matter how many hymns are sung, one that frankly couldn't care less if you died, were smashed, were squashed, were cut, were sliced, were burned, were choked, were suffocated, were violated or murdered!"

The Detective's tone turned ruthless and hostile as she continued, shouting in a raised, rough voice that no longer matched the previous sweet, high-pitched timbre a young lady like her should ordinarily bear.

Though, that was nothing new by now.

When she was eventually finished, glaring with those bright yellow eyes and wearing a terrible grin... Returning that diabolical gaze with her bright and blue, steadfast eyes, "Thaddeus" responded calmly.

"I am not 「Judas」. Nor am I "Judas Thaddeus", and I most certainly am not the mastermind behind this inhumane and cruel 'Trial' you seek to blame me of."

She denied all claims of guilt.

When I heard the rejection of the Detective's accusation, a slight feeling of relief fluttered in my chest―if this girl was outed as the Antagonist, then I would be in a great deal of trouble too.

I didn't know who the Antagonist really was here, or even if it was any of us that remained, but it wasn't necessary for me to know. So long as the Detective also didn't know, that's all that mattered.

So long as they were safe.

"Oh indeed? So interesting!"

The Detective put on an innocent smile and clapped her hands together lightly. Then, squinting her eyes, she looked at the other through narrow slits, tilting her head.

"Wow~! I wonder, then~ By what name should we call you?"

Meeting that face of clearly feigned sweetness head-on, the teal-haired girl replied simply.

"My name is Cecilia."

Immediately after introducing her like so, she continued.

"It is rather thoughtless of you to accuse me so baselessly, particularly when you yourself are under a significant amount of suspicion among us here. Both for all of your unnecessarily hostile actions thus far, and as well for the fact that you somehow are still alive despite breaking the rules of the Trial. Shouldn't you instead be looking out for your own hide and defending yourself, rather than accusing and on the pursuit of others, who are not so hotly seen?"

Rolling her eyes, the Detective stuck her tongue out playfully, the same condescending smirk on her face.

"Bleeegh~ I've already told you, haven't I? Do you have dementia or something too in that hole-ridden brain of yours? Well, little Cici, you can hide and lie as much as you like, but let it be known that I will ultimately expose you in the end. It is certainly, assuredly, inevitably, undoubtedly, indisputably, unquestionably, and undeniably what will occur!"

Bellowing that, she swiftly regained a sweet voice and giggled.

"Ah, and don't worry your frightened little selves, it's obvious that I am the one who was intended to confess on the Third Day, so don't let yourself work too hard and relax okay~ Unless you want to give my exceptional neurons some playground exercise, then feel free to try your hardest, sheepies~"

Trailing the ends of her words with an unnervingly benign, melodic inflection, she then turned her back and walked off, disappearing into the girls' South Transept without any further trouble.

After that, everything returned to being mostly tranquil.

The Detective had already declared that she was the target for the Third Day, so nobody else seemed to worry too much about confessing. Perhaps part of it was also because they knew what sins they had committed to warrant being brought here.

Since she admitted the Third Day was intended for her, I wondered if something might happen since she didn't really confess what she did, and especially considering the amount of committing of that very same sin she continues to do.

Well, even though I couldn't understand how it was possible, I didn't think she would have any troubles surviving the night, or any of the remaining nights we would spend here, in fact.

Whether it was a manifestation of plot armour or something more logical, I didn't know, but it was incredibly irritating regardless. Well, even more irritating was the fact that I couldn't do anything about it.

In this Contract, I had little to no agency, and that was far and away the worst part.

'I really should have just gone with the Beast Tamer...'

We returned to our groups until around lunchtime, after which people seemed to get bored and go off to nap or find something else to do.

"John" and "Peter" and their little ones steered clear of most of us just out of caution, but particularly the newly-revealed Cecilia.

I personally didn't think she was suspicious at all, but even though the Detective's words weren't really to be trusted, they still seemed to have her accusation stuck in their minds.

Of course, in a situation like this where tensions were high and trust was scarce, something like that was only to be expected even if there wasn't any evidence provided to back up the claim.

Maybe part of my thinking was also biased by the fact that I had nothing to be afraid of even if she was the Antagonist, since I was on their side.

Still, the highschooler duo also seemed to not care much for the Detective's words, so at least those three were getting along well.

At some point, the accused asked me about it.

It happened around the time when people were just splitting off, some going to either Transept to sleep the boredom away.

I was not alone in the nave, and not just because there were corpses lined up in one corner―the two highschoolers were resting in their respective Transepts, with "John" and "Andrew" in the kitchen, and with "Peter" and "James" likewise having retired to the South Transept.

"Pardon me... why do you not avoid me like those others?"

The two of us, I and Cecilia, sat on one of the empty pews in relative silence. Glancing at her in confusion when she asked that rather abruptly, I reflexively asked back.

"Excuse me?"

Meeting my questioning gaze only briefly, Cecilia slightly nodded before looking at the floor and muttering, almost downtrodden.

"I understand why they do it. It's only right to be cautious, I suppose, and it is indeed true that there is no way for me to prove myself innocent... Nevertheless, I cannot deny that it feels... rather lonely."