Volume 7 Chapter 37 Ridge's Loneliness
Ridge was lost in a dream.
It was a peaceful time before the war. She was with Moruru, living a life completely free from fighting. She was accompanied by Windy, and she was often troubled by Moruru's mischievousness, or she would let her win completely on purpose.
'Oh no! Wait! You have to dry yourself off after getting out of the bath!'
'Ahahahaha! You'll never catch me, Ridge!'
The Moruru of the past was much more tomboyish and childish than the Moruru of the present. To Ridge, she was like a troublesome little sister, cute but annoying.
Now, it was a bit different. Moruru was much smarter and stronger than Ridge, and she could see that she was growing up quickly, leaving her behind.
'This is a board game called chess, and you play it like this. Now, let's play a game. ... Huh?'
'Here, like this, like this, like this. And, checkmate. Weak, Ridge? Should I teach you?'
'N-no, I'm serious! That's enough! No more chess!'
A longing for adulthood. A desire to grow. Inspired by Moruru, Ridge tried to learn from the people around her. From her lord father. From the Wade Party members. From Moruru.
'Moruru, you know, I want to be strong like Papa. Then I can fight alongside him. I can do it. ... That's what I want to be like.'
'Moruru... I see. I too, when I grow up, will I be recognized by Wade-sama?'
'Eh, no way? I'd never want Ridge to be my stepmother?'
'If you say that, I'll spite you and join Wade-sama's harem.'
'Noooo!'
She thinks she's finally started to understand what it means to be an adult. It doesn't mean giving up being a child.
As people grow older, they gain more adult qualities. They start to think about others, they become more compassionate, and they're willing to sacrifice themselves. But this doesn't mean that their childlike selves disappear. They keep them hidden away, somewhere deep inside them, protecting them.
Ridge came to believe that being able to skillfully hide and manage one's inner child was the true mark of adulthood.
--Now, Ridge opened her eyes.
She was strapped to a chair, her arms bound. She had been held captive here for days. The room was filled with the sweet scent of incense.
"Well, well, Ridge-chan."
A beautiful elf stood before her. Ridge looked up at her with hazy eyes and spoke her name.
"Alkei Fragrance... Have I divulged any information?"
"Oh, yes, you've told us quite a lot. Alchemist's truth serum is truly remarkable."
"Is that so? Then I haven't said anything of importance."
"...You're a clever one, aren't you?"
Alkei lifted Ridge's chin.
"You'd better talk soon. Otherwise, the increasingly potent truth serum will eventually break you. All I want to know is a little thing."
"Yes, I remember without you having to remind me. 'Wade-sama's weakness' and 'the new entrance to the stronghold,' right?"
Ridge chuckled softly.
"I will never tell you. I was already careless enough to be captured, causing worry to others. I will never allow myself to cause any more trouble."
"...You're just a noble lady who can't even use magic, aren't you? How can you withstand the truth serum? Where does that mental strength come from..."
Ridge only responded with a defiant laugh. Alkei furrowed her brow slightly, then smirked.
"Well, whatever. I still have more powerful potions left. I'm looking forward to seeing how long your sanity can last."
"Another concoction, I see," Ridge said as Alkei turned to leave. She watched the elf's retreating figure and the closing door, then let out a sigh.
"...Sanity? There's no way I could withstand the truth serum with just sanity."
Ridge sighed in relief as she made it through another day unscathed. She had once again managed to deceive her captors, the troublesome Alkei.
As Alkei had suspected, Ridge was just a noble's daughter. She had never received any training in interrogation, nor did she have the mental fortitude to endure it.
So, why was Ridge able to resist Alkei's truth serum? --The answer is that she couldn't resist it.
In other words, it was simple. She wasn't resisting the truth serum and withholding information; she simply didn't know the information they were asking about.
Ridge didn't even suspect the existence of Wade's weaknesses, let alone the entrance to the new base. She simply didn't know.
That's what she meant by deceiving them. She acted as if she knew information she didn't, leading Alkei's questions.
As a result, Alkei interpreted Ridge's "I don't know" statements as "information concealment" even though she genuinely didn't know. She was fixated on those questions.
That's where Ridge's advantage lay. She wasn't completely clueless. She had some information that would be painful for Alkei to know. She was guiding the conversation to avoid revealing that information.
"I wonder if I'm starting to act like a curse master. Maybe I should apprentice myself to Lord Birk...?"
Ridge muttered in a weak voice. Ridge's fight was on a higher level than simply leaking or not leaking information. She had always thought she was good at this kind of thing.
In any case, Ridge had successfully won her first battle of the day. Next, the second battle would begin.
That is, the true reason why Ridge had induced her kidnapping.
The closed door creaked open.
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