Chapter 34
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Interrogation (1)
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Finally, the escort knight had arrived.
About seven minutes had passed? Faster than expected.
He must have come running without a break.
Is this the level of dedication needed to protect the Saintess?
Impressive sense of responsibility.
"S-Saintess?"
"Step back."
"What is the meaning of...?"
Ortella blocked her escort's path.
The knight, who had charged in like he meant to kill me, came to an abrupt halt.
He looked utterly confused, his eyes trembling faintly.
It was understandable.
The kidnapped Saintess taking the kidnapper's side...?
This was the kind of thing that could easily be mistaken for demonic possession.
"Saintess, what are you doing?!"
"I'll explain later. Just listen to me for now."
"No, I have a duty to protect you no matter what. I can't allow some unidentified man near you!"
"Sir Beston!"
"......"
Hm, his name is 'Beston,' huh.
Beston raised his sword again.
He'd finally realized that duty took precedence over orders.
But Ortella had no intention of backing down either.
"Stick behind me. Then they won't touch you."
"He might be able to."
"At least it'll make him hesitate."
"I suppose so."
As we casually bantered, Beston shouted in fury at the sight.
"What have you done to the Saintess!!"
So that's the misunderstanding.
It's unlikely they'd think the Saintess had gone mad, so they're assuming mental manipulation or something.
A reasonable hypothesis given the circumstances.
Of course, as the Saintess, Ortella is immune to all mental attacks... but in the heat of the moment, they might not think that far.
I get it.
"What have I done, you ask?"
Naturally, I know how to resolve this situation.
This conflict exists because of my presence, so recovering the avatar would end it all.
However.
"Take a guess."
Instead of recovering the avatar, I draped an arm over Ortella's shoulder.
"Get off her right now!!"
Beston exploded in rage.
The intensity felt like he could lunge at any second.
I stifled a laugh threatening to escape while bracing for a possible attack.
"Don't make this more complicated!"
"It's fun."
"It's not fun at all!"
Ortella smacked my side.
It didn't hurt much.
Considering how much chaos I'd caused, it was like a feather-light punishment.
So, why go through all this trouble?
The reason is simple.
"It's fun for me."
How could anyone resist this?
The Saintess herself fighting her own escort for my sake—it's a sight you won't see anywhere else.
I'll enjoy it for just one minute.
And so the chaos began.
"Sir Beston, calm down first."
"I can't do that!"
"This is an order."
"No order takes precedence over your safety, Saintess."
What is this, a drama? The lines just keep coming.
I half-wished I had some popcorn.
"I'm perfectly fine!"
"I'm not so sure. You're not in your right mind right now."
"Are you saying I've been hit with a mental attack?"
"We can't rule out the possibility. That's why I need to protect you first."
"......This person's safe."
Ortella was starting to get out-argued.
Her voice was losing confidence—she was on the verge of defeat.
No choice but to lend a hand to one side.
"How could a Saintess-kidnapper possibly be safe?"
"You stay quiet!"
I didn't say I was helping her side.
"Alright, that's enough. You can stop now."
If I let it go on, it might strain their relationship.
Can't have that when she'll be stuck with me all day.
I grabbed Ortella's shoulder and gently pushed her forward.
"......Demon?"
Ortella turned back in confusion, but I was already gone.
[Avatar has been recovered.]
[Remaining usage time: 1 hour 39 minutes 34 seconds]
Back in the inner world.
I trust Ortella to handle the aftermath.
Who would've thought her blessing would become unusable like this...
I can't interrogate the demons now.
I have no idea when Ortella's faith will recover, and leaving the demons unchecked feels a bit risky.
Above all, that 'paper' they were after nags at me.
"Hmm..."
Guess I'll have to go myself.
The succubus's charm won't work on me either.
"Using the avatar feels iffy... maybe full possession instead."
Then I can go in two days.
I roughly planned it out and sat at my desk.
I wondered how Roel was doing.
"Good girl."
Roel was swinging her sword in the corner of the training grounds, drenched in sweat.
She'd grown a lot stronger lately, so she could afford to slack off, but there wasn't a hint of that.
Glad she's keeping her.
I watched Roel like that to pass the remaining time.
And two days later, in the dead of night when most were asleep.
[Full possession of the target has been initiated.]
I opened Roel's eyes.
"It works."
As I mentioned before, full possession requires specific conditions.
Roel consents directly, or she loses consciousness.
Most would think 'unconscious' means knocked out, but sleep counts as unconsciousness too, so possession is possible.
I got out of bed.
I moved around a bit to get accustomed, then left the room.
"Hmm."
To leave the dorm, I have to pass the duty room—and someone's in there right now.
Leaving the dorm at dawn violates rules, so whoever's on duty won't let me go easily.
So I need to sneak out...
Like how Sera got scared during my first possession—if I wander carelessly, I'll wake everyone, professors and cadets alike.
That's why I've been suppressing my presence from the start, planning to keep it up until the basement.
I'm not sure if I can eliminate all signs of movement, though.
Can't silence the door opening.
"......Maybe the rooftop?"
No, that's tough too.
Roel's no assassin; the landing would make noise.
"Hm? Wait."
As I racked my brain, realization struck.
I don't need to sneak out.
Thud, thud.
I strode boldly toward the duty room.
"Hm? What's this about?"
Tonight's duty was Patrick.
Lucky. If it were Cigarette, it'd be a headache.
Patrick was reading a book.
Not his usual image, but what won't you do to endure boring duty?
"Professor, I have a question."
"......Cadet Roel, it's 2 a.m. Save questions for tomorrow. Go back and sleep."
No real suspicion.
Patrick gestured for me to leave and turned back to his book.
Now's my chance.
I swung at Patrick's jaw with my maximum speed.
Thud.
Patrick face-planted on the desk, out cold.
"You looked tired, so I put you to sleep. Sweet dreams."
I controlled my strength, so no broken bones.
Thanking him for letting his guard down, I slipped out of the duty room.
After that, it was easy.
I waited for the patrolling staff to move away from the basement and went in.
The locked door? Well...
"They probably won't notice."
I broke it.
No key, so no choice.
"Oh, you're alive? Demons really can survive without eating, huh."
Thanks to that, I got here fast.
I had no idea where the key was.
"Why are you...?"
Anyway, time to start the interrogation.
"......How long do you humans plan to keep us locked up?"
"Until that so-called Saintess figures something out. Then we'll kill you."
Gloomy exchange.
This was the underground prison. Spacious, but only two demons occupied it now.
"If they at least fed us."
"It's that wench keeping everyone away. Tsk, we'll starve to death at this rate."
"What?! If you hadn't insisted on coming here, we wouldn't have gotten caught!"
This was what, the umpteenth fight?
They're on edge from stress, probably.
......Do I really have to die trapped here?
Is my future that bleak?
"Agh, this sucks. Harlan, if we get out, you're first on my kill list."
"Shut it."
"You yap when it's convenient!"
Sitla pouted. She didn't even have the energy to get mad anymore.
But Harlan told her to shut up not just because she was noisy.
Faintly, footsteps approached.
"......Someone's coming."
"What? Not the Saintess?"
"Different."
As the sound grew closer, even Sitla could hear it.
Definitely not the Saintess's footsteps.
Who could it be?
'If it's not the Saintess, I can charm my way out...!'
Hope sparked.
Suspicious that someone other than the Saintess was coming suddenly, but anything to escape this hellhole.
Sitla looked up toward the stairs.
"Why are you...?"
The figure that appeared was human.
The guy who'd faced off against Harlan during the raid.
His sudden appearance muddled her thoughts.
'No, don't think about it. That's not important right now.'
Steeling herself, Sitla mustered her remaining strength.
Charm.
The racial trait of all succubi.
Humans classify it as such.
The power of a succubus—the strongest form of 'mental attack' in this world.
"......Huh?"
But.
Does this make sense?
"Kehk."
Sitla took backlash instead, blood gushing from her nose.