Chapter 59
Translator: penny
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: Deadly Sin (2)
It had been five days since I split off from Isabel in Verdil and started poking around the city every which way.
Ever since facing down the duke in the lord's castle, whenever I stepped out of my lodgings, there was no ignoring the persistent gaze of surveillance clinging to me.
They were keeping their distance to avoid detection, likely wary of my senses...
'Sloppier than I expected.'
Perhaps they were less guarded against a mere saint candidate tagging along with Isabel.
Five presences in total, but they all stayed within my detection range.
I'd spread my senses cautiously for a couple days, suspecting a feint, but those tailing me—and not Isabel—numbered exactly five.
Knights around the 5th or 6th rank. Shaking them or turning the tables wouldn't have been hard, but it was tricky.
With Duke Rayhem's intentions unclear, and them not posing any direct threat, striking first wasn't an option.
So I let them be. Annoying as it was, having them slink after me like shadows.
On the flip side, I could turn their surveillance to my advantage.
"...If I pretend not to notice them and act like I know nothing, they'll just stupidly report my movements. Right?"
"Y-Yes? Uh?"
I leaned back in the rather luxurious chair and tossed the question to the man standing beside me.
He froze, probably thinking I was talking to myself.
Of course, I hadn't expected a reply. I gave the pale-faced man a indifferent glance and picked up the glass on the table.
"They're too scared of me spotting them to get too close anyway... They probably have no idea what I'm doing in here right now. At best, they'll assume I'm just whoring around."
The whiskey ball swayed quietly amid the rippling liquid. I tossed it back lightly, and the burning heat scorched down my throat, warming my insides.
"Mm."
I winced slightly. I didn't hate liquor, but... this strong a whiskey might not be my thing.
Clink. The glass hit the table with a small sound, and the man's face drained of color again.
Then, as if struck by a thought, he bowed frantically toward me.
"N-No...! I-I swear, there's nothing in it this time! Please believe me!"
"...Did I say anything?"
I let out an incredulous chuckle. Setting the glass down because it wasn't to my taste—did he think I'd spotted poison?
Not that I could blame him entirely, given their attempt a few days back.
I sank deeper into the backrest, savoring the cool breeze from the side.
A redheaded beauty fanning me diligently from across the table, sweat beading on her skin.
She was the whore who'd slipped an aphrodisiac into my drink a few days ago. The man was the brothel owner who'd schemed with her to screw me over.
The grand "welcome" at my first stop while hunting traces of black mages—a perfect cover to fool the watchers ever since.
And since it wasn't a big-name joint, no real ties to the duke's house.
'Whether I'm actually screwing around in here or not, no worries about the duke finding out. They don't even know who I am.'
Worked out great that they took me for some noble's son out for a night of fun.
Their ignorance of my ability to neutralize aphrodisiacs was their misfortune.
Either way, I'd branded myself as a pathetic inquisitor's aide wasting his visit lounging in the red-light district.
That report must've reached the duke by now... Perfect conditions for slipping into the auction unnoticed soon.
"...Hm?"
I was mulling how to stir things up inside the auction house later.
When a heavy weight suddenly settled on my left shoulder. I blinked and turned.
"Heh, hehe... Feeling good?"
"..."
The redhead had paused her fanning to slyly slip her top's shoulder strap down.
Karen or Karin, was it? I'd heard it once but already forgotten. No point remembering—she'd be history once I left town.
So I smacked away the breast pressing against my arm with cold eyes.
"Ahng?!"
"Don't make weird noises. You'll get hit again."
She retreated with a hurt expression, pride wounded, after my bored glare.
After I casually flattened a dozen of the brothel's toughs sent to silence me, they'd switched to honey traps.
"Sorry, but I've got eyes. Karin. Throwing yourself at me half-assed will just hurt you."
"I-It's Karen..."
"So?"
Maybe because the women I hung around were goddesses of beauty?
Karen was undeniably hot, but she didn't stir me.
Even without Lete or Eliya, saintess candidates were typically stunning sheltered flowers.
No way I'd fall for a brothel girl now—frustrated as I was by Isabel's sadism or not.
"...Hmph."
Last night's events suddenly resurfaced. I'd tried ignoring them, but once started, memories don't obey.
Isabel Sedent, cornering me with an ultimatum. That stunning naked body flaunted, yet preaching restraint—the wicked mother.
Deep down, I wanted to shove her off me and ravage her as she toyed with my cock.
"Tch..."
But the last thread of reason held me back, steering me to her second option.
I propped my chin irritably, recalling her then.
Hearing my answer, she smiled faintly but visibly delighted.
-Great answer, Evan. I heard it loud and clear.
And releasing my cock, tail wagging like a nine-tailed fox—Isabel's image evoking just that.
-I'll be waiting for an even more dashing proposal. Hehe.
-Of course... I'll reward your restraint then?
Whispering softly as she redonned her gown—that moment's emotion.
Proud of my iron will, yet my mind blanked somehow.
In that instant, she loomed over me maturely, transcending her youthful frame and height.
'Does that woman really have no experience with men?'
I'd heard from Israfeel once: Isabel had shunned men since her teens.
Yet she toyed with me so expertly. Or was that foxiness pure instinct?
"..."
A chill ran down my spine; my arms twitched involuntarily. Scary. Really scary.
Mom wasn't some woman I could easily handle. A tough opponent.
'If I'd groped her, I could've called it offense. Better than taking it lying down—should've fondled those tits.'
"Ugh, what the...?"
"...Hm?"
Right then, Karen muttered blankly. Staring out the window, eyes glazed.
I followed her entranced gaze, puzzled.
"...Whoa."
Me, Karen, and the man gasped in unison, same awe.
Probably like everyone else in the city.
The clear sky split. In half.
Kwaaazzzuzzuzzuk──!!!
Kwaaaaang!!
"...!"
"Eek?!"
The man gaped in shock; Karen clung to me like a normal girl her age, terrified.
I silently channeled divine power, staring at the formless crescent blade that halved the sky.
Vmm...!
Pulling the man and Karen inside, I erected a barrier against potential shockwaves. A red veil sealed the window.
But my barrier went unused.
The massive blade descending like judgment targeted one spot precisely.
Not far from this brothel street in the pleasure district.
'...The lord's castle.'
I swallowed hard, staring blankly. I knew exactly what that blade's manifestation meant.
And that nothing short of dire straits would force her to use it.
"...You two stay inside and hunker down. Wander out stupidly, and your heads'll roll before you blink."
"Y-Yes...?!"
I lightly peeled Karen off my arm like gum and intoned.
No real danger for outsiders unless things went south, but exaggeration never hurt.
That holy art's use meant the situation was irreversible.
"Y-Young master!? Where are you──!"
Ignoring Karen's panicked cry, I vaulted the window. Third floor? No issue.
Thud! Landing on the opposite roof, I eyed the lord's castle worriedly.
Even mountains would flatten before that formless blade...
"...Ha."
Yet the castle, struck dead-on by the crescent blade, stood unscathed.
Kagak, kagagagak...!!
Instead, from its pinnacle, jet-black energy blazed, repelling the blade.
"Not even hiding it."
I grimaced with a hollow laugh.
I knew that black energy well.
'...Demonic qi.'
The loathsome aura of demons, unmistakable.
I kicked off the roof and charged.