Running Away From The Hero! (Remake) Chapter 276

Evade The Hero and Flee! 276

Side Story – Memories of a Princess (49)

#65 Their Situation: The Situation of a Certain Villain

Why are they looking at me like that?

They mentioned receiving a report about an evil presence, but why are they all staring at me?

“Is it you?”

Hey, the saintess is misunderstanding because of you all! Could you please stop giving me those looks?

“No, it’s not.”

I quickly responded. I definitely don’t want to be on the bad side of a religious organization. The mere thought of a saintess being suspicious of me in an evil organization that’s already not on good terms with the church is nerve-wracking.

“Then why do the princess and the knight look at you that way?”

I glanced away. The princess and Sir Lea were giving me the kind of look that said they knew I was guilty but didn’t want to admit it because I was a close a.s.sociate.

Like I said, why are they looking at me like that? You’re just making things worse!

“They’re just playing around. Her Highness and Sir Lea are quite mischievous and often tease me.”

“What…?”

Sir Lea gasped as if horrified.

What? Why?

“Don’t you think there’s a problem here, Sir Ast?”

“I don’t think there’s any problem, Sir Lea.”

I smirked at Sir Lea’s cold glare.

“Your Highness?”

The saintess looked at the princess in slight confusion, but the princess responded nonchalantly.

“We have that kind of relationship.”

“It seems like a relationship that requires a lot of explanation. Could you explain it to me?”

“Um… It’s a bit hard to explain in words.”

“Is that so?”

Even if she’s a saintess, she couldn’t ignore the princess of the empire. The saintess forced a smile that seemed like she was suppressing a sigh.

“So, you’re saying he isn’t the evil presence?”

The saintess pointed at me as she spoke, and the princess naturally nodded… or not.

“Hmm… um… uh…”

“Isn’t this the part where you nod, Your Highness?”

“But it’s Ast, after all.”

“This isn’t the time for jokes, Your Highness! What if he gets taken away by the church?”

“But it’s Ast.”

“Is my name a.s.sociated with some evil G.o.d? This is too much!”

There are things you can and can’t say in front of a saintess. The princess was practically labeling me as an evil ent.i.ty.

“Put your hand on your heart and think. Isn’t there something you’re guilty about?”

Wham!

I placed my hand on my heart and shouted confidently.

“No!”

“He really is an evil presence.”

“It seems so, Your Highness.”

Despite my bold proclamation, cold stares continued to focus on me.

“Shall we take him away?”

The saintess, holding her forehead as if dealing with a headache, pointed at me.

No, please…

If I get taken away and tortured, I’ll spill all the information about Howling in three minutes. Even though I underwent torture training in the organization, that was under the condition that they wouldn’t kill me and that I knew I’d be dealt with if I spilled. Outside, it’s the opposite: they might kill me, and if I spill, I might survive.

So,

“Oh! A church that loves peace taking an innocent person away? That would tarnish the reputation of the Peace G.o.d. I live by the divine will more than anyone and abhor the evil G.o.d. d.a.m.n the evil G.o.d!”

I decided to act first.

“……”

The saintess was left speechless, watching me.

Great, it worked.

“Saintess, I can become a follower of the Peace Church at any time. Peace is the best! Long live peace! For world peace!”

“Do you know what we’re doing right now, Ast?”

“A war for peace! WAR & PEACE!”

“His nonsense has reached its peak.”

The princess’s cold gaze pierced through me, but I needed to please the saintess right now.

Well, I never really tried to please the princess anyway.

“All this fighting is for peace. The Merdea Kingdom brutally murdered our peaceful diplomats. If they had lived, we might have avoided a continent-wide war. The Merdea Kingdom has turned the continent into a battlefield for their desires!”

“I learned something. When Sir Ast speaks at length, it’s all lies.”

“Even as a princess of the Empire, I feel sorry for the Merdea Kingdom. Is it just me, Lea?”

“It’s not just you, Your Highness.”

They should be helping, not pushing me into more traps.

What did I do to deserve this?

“They’re just teasing me because they trust you, the saintess representing the Peace Church. If I were truly an evil presence, would I be so blatant? I’d be hiding. This is war, and morale is crucial. Having an evil presence among our commanders would be disastrous for our soldiers’ morale. You understand what that means, right?”

“Hmm…”

The saintess nodded unconsciously.

The behavior of the princess and Sir Lea must have seemed very strange to the saintess as well.

They were treating a core member of their own forces very carelessly, not something you’d expect even from an enemy.

“As I said, Her Highness is quite mischievous. She likes to tease her subordinates and watch their reactions.”

“That’s true.”

“Lea?”

Sir Lea’s unintended support was helpful.

The tide was turning.

The saintess was starting to believe that the princess’s behavior was a joke.

“Sigh… Is that so? The report we received said there’s a very dangerous individual among your upper ranks…”

“That can’t be true. We follow international laws and conduct a proper war.”

“Is that so…?”

The saintess sighed at my words.

“I expected that. As the Peace Church, we must try to stop wars… But the Peace G.o.d has also said that war is an inevitable part of human life. As long as humans have desires, war will continue.”

“It’s a sad reality.”

This is genuine. Resolving conflicts with violence like war…

Would it be easier if the leaders just settled things one-on-one?

The people who start wars don’t suffer; it’s the ones below them who do.

Those who don’t want war end up fighting, while those who want it just watch.

It’s a tragic situation for a pacifist like me.

“So our church is inherently contradictory, advocating for peace but unable to prevent war. But when evil motives are involved in war, it’s different. For instance, starting a war to summon demons or a war led by worshippers of evil G.o.ds to disrupt the world’s balance—then our church can intervene.”

The saintess sighed with a sorrowful expression.

“Because of this… there have been instances where people falsely accuse others to stop a war.”

They ignore it when starting the war but call in the Peace Church when they’re losing. It’s a despicable but effective tactic.

As soon as there’s an accusation, it creates conditions for divine intervention.

“Especially with the evil G.o.ds, even the great G.o.ds can’t see through their domain. Most who worship evil G.o.ds are just ordinary humans, but if one truly connected to an evil G.o.d is among them, it could cause great chaos.”

So the Peace Church has to act on every report.

I knew religious organizations were gullible, but the Peace Church was the most gullible of them all.

“That’s why we’ve been rude.”

“It’s an honor to meet a saintess who strives for world peace.”

I bowed respectfully to the saintess’s apology.

Good. This should prevent any further complications with the church.

“I knew it was nonsense. Watching people die while having a feast, using wicked weapons that cause unprecedented pain with a single hit, sightings of human flesh being eaten at night… Sir Ast, your expression doesn’t look good.”

“What? That’s not true.”

My poker face slipped, and the saintess noticed.

d.a.m.n! I didn’t expect them to know about the wooden bat.

I need more training.

“Surely…”

The saintess’s kind expression turned cold.

I worked hard to clear suspicion, and now it’s all falling apart!

“It’s all nonsense spread by the enemy to demoralize us. Eating human flesh? Our supplies are in top condition. Watching people die while feasting? That’s absurd, even in war.”

Of course, I did something similar. But this is war.

It was all a deception tactic against the enemy.

“An evil weapon that causes unprecedented pain? Such a thing couldn’t exist…”

“We found it, Saintess!”

Found what?

A holy knight suddenly appeared, holding something aloft.

“It matches the description perfectly!”

“Uh…”

It was a simple wooden bat.

I hadn’t used it recently, but I had kept it hidden to use on captured spies.

“Where did you find it?”

“In the officers’ quarters. It was in the room of someone named Ast…”

The saintess’s gaze turned icy as she looked at me.

‘What’s this? Explain yourself,’ her expression said.

Stay calm. Even in a tiger’s den, you can survive if you stay calm, as our ancestors said.

Though I’m not sure if they actually survived a tiger’s den to say that!

“That’s my training sword.”

“A training sword?”

“Yes. It’s a wooden sword. Knights must always be able to train. It’s a simple wooden bat for indoor practice.”

This is serious.

So, Sir Lea, could you please stop making that face as if I’m insulting knights? I might get dragged to the church’s underground torture chamber!

“Indeed. A weapon that causes unprecedented pain? The Empire wouldn’t have such a thing.”

I nonchalantly took the wooden bat from the holy knight’s hand.

“Look, it’s just a simple wooden bat.”

Whack! Whack! Whack!

I struck myself with the bat. It recognized its owner and didn’t cause pain.

It felt like being hit with a regular wooden stick.

“It’s just an ordinary wooden stick.”

The saintess glanced at the holy knight, who bowed in apology.

“Sorry, it looked just like the one in the report…”

“A simple wooden stick found in any village. There’s no way it’s a cursed weapon.”

The saintess’s harsh expression softened.

A wooden stick like this being a cursed weapon? Anyone could tell that was nonsense.

“Sigh… Another mistake. I’ve been so rude today.”

The saintess seemed to think so too and sighed.

“Please bear with me a little longer.”

“Huh?”

I thought she was apologizing, but she suddenly s.n.a.t.c.hed the wooden bat from my hand and struck her own thigh.

Whack!

“Ah!”

She groaned and collapsed to the floor.

“……”

“……”

“……”

“……”

Time seemed to stop.

Everyone—me, the princess, Sir Lea, and the holy knights—stood still, staring at the saintess writhing on the ground.

“……”

The saintess trembled, then glared at me with tear-filled eyes.

And then,

“Arrest him! He’s an evil presence!”

With a voice full of resentment, I instinctively began to run.