Chapter 24: Confession
Chapter 24: Confession
Upon Jaejin’s return from his outing, Sinclair requested a private audience. There was much to discuss—the matters concerning Rebecca and Valerie, the Demon Lord candidacy, and several personal questions they had for one another.
After sending away Lena, who departed with a meaningful smirk, Jaejin headed toward the confessional as Sinclair had requested.
He wondered why she had summoned him to a confessional rather than a reception room. As he entered the waiting area, he saw people lined up for confession. Among them were a few men he had encountered on the streets earlier.
Most were men, and every single one of them seemed soaked in a strange sense of anticipation. Whenever the inner door opened, a dazed-looking man would emerge, and another waiting man would enter under a nun’s guidance.
The atmosphere in the waiting room, where dark and damp desires spread like a thick fog, was submerged in the silence of men lost in fantasies about what was happening inside.
Soon, it was Jaejin’s turn. He followed a nun down the hallway, which was lined with several wooden doors.
While sound would normally leak from such wooden rooms, the soundproofing magic Sinclair had devised sealed the contents of the confessions in absolute secrecy.
He opened the door he was guided to. Inside was a cozy yet enclosed space, much like any other confessional, dimly lit by the soft glow of mana stone lamps.
"You’ve arrived right on time, Ginger."
Sinclair’s voice drifted from behind the curtained window that obscured his view. Her voice was slightly lower and more refreshing than the bright, high-pitched tones of Lena or Rebecca; perhaps because of the setting, it carried an even greater sense of solemnity.
Her silhouette was cast against the curtain. Even from just the shadow of her profile, one could tell her figure was near perfection.
"Lena will be sad if you stare so intently at another woman’s body."
"Ugh... It’s just a shadow..."
Despite not being of the Three-Eyed Tribe, Sinclair seemed even better at seeing into one's heart than Sheryl. Jaejin awkwardly turned his head away and continued the conversation.
"So, why did you call me? You’re not exactly a person with a lot of free time."
"The position of Archbishop is a busy one, but I have plenty of time for someone as important as you, Ginger."
Was it her years of experience that gave her the eloquence to skillfully turn a question into a compliment? As Jaejin basked in the praise, Sinclair asked:
"The reason I called you here is to repay the help you’ve given me. You awakened Rebecca anew and resolved the issue with the spy, Valerie."
Jaejin felt like things had just happened to work out that way, but it was true that without his help, both issues might have dragged on.
In particular, if he hadn't turned Valerie into a Majin to seize the initiative, they would have had to negotiate with the Saintess’s faction from a much more disadvantageous position.
"So, please, tell me the worries you’ve been harboring. I solemnly swear, in the names of our predecessor Demon Lords, that everything said in this confessional will remain a secret."
It seemed Sinclair had noticed that Jaejin had been troubled by a few things since arriving at the Demon God Cult. Perhaps Lena knew as well, but had refrained from speaking due to her position.
"Was it that obvious?"
"Of course. But please, do not be ashamed. Children your age are at a time of life when worries are many."
Children... To her, Jaejin, who had just turned twenty, probably looked like a babe who had barely been weaned.
Since she was offering her kindness, he figured it would be a great help if he could clear his mind.
"Then first, I want to ask about my role as a Demon Lord candidate. I became one because Lena asked me to, and I don't have many regrets about that."
Why had Jaejin become a Demon Lord candidate? He had followed Lena, who promised him a new life, discovered the demonic power and abilities he possessed, and at her request, became a candidate for the Lust Demon Race.
"But... if I actually become the Demon Lord, and if I live as a member of the Demon Race from now on, does that mean I have to point my sword at the people here?"
What made him reconsider his lighthearted attitude was the concern over fratricide.
The Demon Race and humans were in a state of hostility. To be precise, the various races of the continent, led by humans, had emerged victorious in the war against the demons.
Composed of humans, elves, dwarves, celestials, and various beastkin lineages, these races harbored a deep hatred for demons.
Even during his outing today, he saw that some adventurers couldn't distinguish between monsters and demons, and some seemed to have clashed with demon villages in the north.
If Jaejin became a more deeply integrated member of the Demon Race than he was now, conflict with them seemed inevitable. If he became the Demon Lord, he might have to clash with them, or perhaps even give the order to burn down Lakeside.
"That is what it means to be a leader. If you rule a nation like the Demon Race, the death of people and ideological conflicts are unavoidable. If you fear such things, then you are not fit to be a leader, and you should quit being a Demon Lord candidate."
"...I can't do that. I made a promise to Lena."
The thought of humans dying by his command as the Demon Lord was frightening, but he also didn't want to see Lena sad because he gave up his candidacy.
"Lena would be happy to hear that. In that case, why not think of it the other way around?"
Hehehe. Sinclair chuckled behind the curtain after hearing Jaejin’s answer. She immediately thought of a way to persuade him.
"If the newly crowned Demon Lord is belligerent, he will not hesitate to go to war to restore the prestige of the Demon Race. Commands issued from the Blood Throne are absolute; even if influential figures try to stop him, war will be decided according to the Demon Lord’s will."
The Blood Throne was an important relic that formed the framework of the Demon Race while also granting control over them. The number of times it could be used was limited, and there were constraints—such as not being able to inflict harm on one another—but something like starting a war could be handled easily.
Only one person could sit on the Blood Throne. Ascending to the throne was a competition, and the number of competitors was fixed at seven. Jaejin was one of them, one of the few who could prevent a warmonger from taking the throne.
"Then, if I... become the Demon Lord..."
"That’s right. If you become the Demon Lord, Ginger, you can reduce the blood spilled between both sides. Even if you don't ascend, you can keep that person in check through alliances."
Until now, he had been looking at things with a narrow perspective, only thinking about what was right in front of him. But depending on the disposition of the leader—the Demon Lord—there was room to prevent war in advance or improve relations by maintaining peace with the surrounding areas.
He was glad he had consulted Sinclair. He felt as if his head had cleared.
"Thanks, Sinclair. It was a simple problem, but I guess I was just agonizing over it by myself...?"
As he was thanking Sinclair for her clear answer, the door in front of him opened. The blocked section beneath the curtained window slid back with a creak.
Emerging from behind the curtain was Sinclair herself. The silver-haired elf bishop. A woman whose voluptuous figure, despite being an elf, rivaled that of any succubus.
"And above all, since you possess Alice’s ability, you should have more confidence in yourself. ♡"
She wore a snow-white ceremonial robe that was even more obscene than her usual scandalous nun’s habit. The deep-cut neckline revealed her cleavage, and the fabric was so thin it was practically see-through.
Naturally, the pink of her areolas and the texture of her head-sized breasts were clearly visible through the white cloth.
If she had been wearing nothing at all, he might have just thought of it as the bare skin he was used to seeing. But the breasts and fine skin glimpsed through the see-through robe emphasized her figure, creating an eroticism far more intense than if she were simply naked.
"Sinclair, what is this all of a sudden..."
More unbelievable than the fact that the bottom of the window opened like a door was the sight of Sinclair, who had just been radiating such a dignified and weighty aura.
She slowly pinned Jaejin against the adjacent wall and pressed her breasts firmly against him. Jaejin could see the shape of her breasts being crushed beneath the thin, transparent robe.
It was a provocative sight that would make an erection at any moment unsurprising, and Jaejin had to try his hardest to suppress his excitement.
"It’s not sudden. I’ve wanted to do this ever since you first arrived here, Ginger. ♡"
Wearing heeled shoes, Sinclair was taller than Jaejin, naturally creating a position where she looked down at him slightly as she spoke.
Not sudden? Did she mean she had wanted to do this since the very first time they met in the cathedral? Ah, it felt like words wouldn't reach her. Her eyes were half-crazed.
"No, I am perfectly sane. Think about it from your perspective, Ginger. Imagine a very beautiful woman of your favorite age group standing there, defenseless and dazed."
Sinclair read his thoughts and answered before he could even speak, pushing him relentlessly. She was an elf who must have lived for hundreds of years, and she was saying that Jaejin, who had just turned twenty, was exactly her type of man.
This was bad; at this rate, he wouldn't be able to hold back his excitement. Sinclair’s breasts pressing against his chest felt even softer, perhaps because of the robe she was wearing.
However, there was one thing Sinclair was overlooking. Jaejin’s cock was still in a state where it couldn't undergo Demonization unless he was facing a member of the Demon Race—he hadn't crossed that wall yet.
"Fufufufu, you really only know one thing and not the other. I actually prefer it this way. ♡"
"...What?"
While Jaejin’s cock had grown to the size it should have been originally as he gained experience through Demonization, it was still slightly shorter than his middle finger.
Of course, that was better than when it was only two knuckles long, but there was no way Sinclair didn't know its current size...
"Of course, I could just pour demonic energy into it. Demonic energy is just one tendency of mana. It’s easy to mimic it and pour it in. But..."
Sinclair was pressing her palm against Jaejin’s cock, which was making a slight claim for itself through his pants. His fragile, original cock twitched at just that much.
"This way is much cuter, so of course I’m going to leave it like this. ♡"
He had thought Sinclair was the most normal person he had met in the Demon God Cult. But he was mistaken.
It made sense; the leader who had created the current Demon God Cult and turned a religious organization into a den for sex slaves couldn't possibly be normal.
"Ginger, do you know why this is called the Beni Monastery?"
The voluptuous elf slowly lowered his zipper. She seemed to have no intention of stopping.
"The very first child I ever devoured, a boy about your age... his name was Benny. ♡"