The Broken System Chose the Antagonist
Chapter 13: Murky Truth

Chapter 13: Murky Truth

Nadia kept a steady sprint as she travelled towards the destination. Although with the addition of the satchel, which weighed her down, she didn’t stumble like before.

Obviously, this could be attributed to the fact that she was no longer carrying Ben, but it was also because she had managed to rest enough to get back the majority of the Vitality she had used up.

She was now only one rest away from being back to her peak condition.

’Is this it?’

Nadia eventually slowed down into a walk as she reached what she assumed to be the location Hilda wanted her to be in.

It was a large and open area, as Hilda described, but it was also incredibly torn down and destroyed. The buildings around this area, in particular, were in absolute ruins—unlike where she ran from.

She walked around and inspected the area.

The stone ground was littered with craters, corroded bits of metal, and shattered wooden poles that were charred black in some areas. It was like... a chain explosion happened in this area, one that happened several decades ago.

Most of the land around her was reduced to rubble.

’Is that... an hour hand?’ Nadia knelt down, staring at a strangely large black metal arrow that was dented in a way that made it seem it had been blown over here. It was also surrounded by bits of yellowish glass shards, which she could only assume came from a large clock.

Nadia then moved on and found a shallow puddle of rainwater, which she stood over to get a good look at her reflection. The water was an awful, murky brown, most likely from the dirt and dust of debris.

She stared down at her reflection, which only appeared as a vague silhouette of her due to the murky water. Any other person would’ve found themselves struggling to discern their features in their reflection, but Nadia could. She could tell it was obviously her, and yet she found herself feeling unsettled about it.

Before she knew it, this feeling had led her mind to wander back to the house where she had left Ben in Hilda’s hands.

She...

She was puzzled.

’Why didn’t she want me to stay and help?’ Nadia pondered, a sense of unease brewing inside her Heart.

She eventually left her thoughts when she sensed footsteps coming her way.

"I see that you’ve arrived here safely, meine Dame~"

Hilda slowly walked towards her from behind, her arms folded behind her back with a small smile on her face. She had a serene look on her face as she glanced around the open area.

"Place d’Armes... It’s one of the many places in Calais that suffered from the Germans’ bombings during World War 2." Hilda swept the entire area with her eyes, "I’ve been told that this spot was originally used as a marketplace, und that apparently, this area had a particularly large civic clock tower..."

She then sighed in disappointment.

"But I don’t think it exists anymore..."

"I suppose it is, but that’s not what’s important, right now," Nadia commented as she stepped away from the puddle, "Let’s just try to find somewhere that has medical supplies. Surely, there is a pharmacy somewher—..."

Nadia looked back and stared at Hilda, who was now carrying two satchels over her shoulders.

Ben was nowhere to be seen.

Her eyes widened a little before relaxing.

"Hey... where is he? Did you drop him off somewhere...?" She asked in a stale voice.

"Ah..." Hilda glanced away with an apologetic look on her face; the gentle smile she wore before was now replaced with a sorrowful one. "He... he passed away. After I tried to pull him out of the bathtub, his body... seized up. He then went into some kind of shock that eventually did him in..."

Hilda shook her head with grief as she walked up to Nadia, placing a hand on the woman’s shoulder as she expressed a sad look in her eyes—tears bottled up in the corners of her eyes.

"I’m sorry I couldn’t do anything more... but we have to keep on moving, that’s what he would’ve wanted." Hilda expressed, staring at Nadia, whose face was partially hidden under the shadows of her hair.

She then shook her head again and walked past the woman.

When the tears in the corners of Hilda’s eyes were wiped away, so was the sad look she had in front of Nadia—no longer needing to keep up the act now that she was behind the woman.

"Although it’s a bit of a hassle, we’ll have to head back north and try to reach the port. I’m sure, by now, that the other examinees had gathered there already. So, our chances of passing this exam will increase exponentially the moment we meet up with them."

Hilda continued to walk forward with her arms behind her back before abruptly stopping in place. And with an inquisitive look in her eyes, she asked herself:

’Now that I think about it. Didn’t this woman have a sword earlier?’

Before Hilda could think about this question further, she immediately bowed 90 degrees, narrowly dodging—

SWISH!

—A silver blade that flew horizontally through the air, exactly where Hilda’s neck was previously.

The German immediately backed away from the Heroine, who had suddenly turned hostile towards her.

’The sword was a Relic?’ Hilda widened her eyes before regaining her composure and asking, "What’s the meaning of this? Why are you suddenly attacking—"

"Don’t give me that crap!" Nadia shouted.

The Heroine then entered into a hostile stance, holding her blade in the direction of the German.

"This is now the second time you’ve lied to me! The first being when we were being chased!" Nadia tightly gripped the hilt of her sword, gritting her teeth with a furious expression, "I knew something was up with how you were acting... You had planned to discard him the very moment we got into that house, didn’t you!?

"And even worse, that whole thing about you being tiring easily was also another lie! You could’ve easily casted another Spell back then, when we were being chased!"

Nadia gnashed her teeth, remembering the remnant heat of Hilda’s hand on her shoulder, "You still have plenty of Vitality left, so why didn’t you use it? And tell me what you really did to Ben!"

Hilda matched Nadia’s rageful gaze with emotionless eyes; the smile she had on now was completely gone, her face now expressionless, yet taciturn. It was like she had swapped to an entirely different mask.

The two continued to stare at one another in silence—the air between them stale and heavy with tension.

But eventually...

"Ho?"

Hilda made a response.

"You could tell I was lying, even back then? Und here I thought I was somewhat cut out for acting. But I suppose that’s my fault for not expecting you also have a Gift like me..."

At her words, Nadia immediately stiffened, her eyes widening slightly in shock. This reaction alone immediately piqued Hilda’s interest and confirmed her suspicions.

After fixing her hair and adjusting her black cap, Hilda cracked a smirk as she tilted her head slightly to the side—now giving off the impression of an appraiser who got their hands on an intriguing item.

"To be able to tell what is true and what is false... oh~ meine Dame, as a fellow human, won’t you tell me what your Gift truly does?"