The player spoke to Tracker.
He clutched his chest, his tone conflicted. "Oh... I'm sorry. But that loathsome flame..."
His voice was hoarse, filled with deep self-reproach.
The player selected [What happened?]
Tracker lowered his head to look at Irina's body. "...Ah, I did something shameful-raised my sword against someone unarmed."
"This young lady was tainted by the Frenzied Flame, just like her father... How tragic. Why must such sorrowful things exist in this world?"
As though hypnotizing himself, he kept stressing his oath. "Even so, I must uphold my oath! Protect what can be protected, sacrifice what can be sacrificed."
But Tracker still could not help voicing his doubt. "Even so... Tarnished... can you accept this kind of justice?"
Options appeared on the screen.
The player selected [Perhaps...]
Tracker said, "Perhaps? That means you can't... Yes, neither can I."
He lowered the hand clutching his chest, asking and answering his own question. "Think about it carefully. If no price is too great to uphold justice, what exactly is that justice protecting? Justice itself! That's meaningless..."
"Knights abide by virtue and duty, but there are many things we cannot abandon as human beings..."
His voice suddenly grew very quiet, as though he were examining himself. "How selfish I am... Facing this young lady, I could raise my sword with a clear conscience, even in the face of punishment from the Great Runes. But if it were Duchess... the Great Runes could instead become an excuse to show mercy."
The player selected [That's normal. Law enforcers aren't machines either.]
Tracker gave a bitter smile. "You're right, but as an Inquisitor Knight, I cannot use that as an excuse."
His tone grew more and more impassioned. "If that flame is the root of all evil, I should not blame those it persecutes,