However, Übel wasn't so easily fooled.
"..."
Her trademark smile, edged with a hint of dangerous malice, didn't change in the slightest. Beneath her green hair, her eyes glinted with purple magic as she narrowed them slightly. First she stared at Elaina, then glanced at Lawine, Kanne, and Laufen, and finally asked in her uniquely playful, probing tone:
"Really..."
"Is that all there is to it?"
"Why do I still feel like something's off?"
She couldn't say exactly what was wrong. She just felt that none of them had told the whole truth.
"Nothing's wrong!"
Elaina's expression didn't change. She waved a hand, then loudly insisted with an earnest air:
"Of course it's true!"
"Oh?"
"You... swear?"
"!!"
"Fine, I'll swear!"
Elaina's eyes darted about cleverly, then a sly glint flashed across them. As if in defiance of Übel, she raised one hand and spoke in a solemn tone:
"I swear!"
"Everything Lawine, Kanne, and Laufen just said about the arena is completely true!"
"Those things they described really do happen in there!"
"I feel the same way they do. That's really what it's like in there!"
Just like that, she deftly avoided making any direct guarantees herself. Instead, she referred to the three new victims' account, swearing only that what they'd said was true.
"Oh?"
Unfortunately, Übel was far too shrewd to be fooled so easily.
She swept her gaze over their uneasy faces once more, then continued pressing them for answers:
"You only said that the things they described would happen, and vouched for the truth of that, right?"
"Then..."
"What about the things they didn't mention?"
"For example... besides the specific 'feelings' of being 'injured' or 'killed' in there, is there anything else?"
At that, Elaina immediately put on an expression that said she couldn't comment, then