Chapter 134: 27th Floor: The Fierce Final Week
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 134: 27th Floor: The Fierce Final Week
I pull on a thick robe over the riding clothes I wore yesterday and head outside.
Just as I arrive in front of the cathedral, the Saintess and Elina are coming out, right on time.
She emerges with dazed eyes, but they widen in shock when she sees the dense crowd that has gathered.
'Heheheh... How about it? Surprised?'
A surprise party to celebrate Elina's graduation from virginity~~!
"What were the results!"
"So, is she a virgin? Or not?"
"Tell us the results, quickly!"
The large crowd shouts, looking at Elina.
Elina keeps her mouth shut.
She looks to her escort knights, but far from trying to stop the crowd, they stare at her as if urging her to hurry up and announce the results.
Of course, the escort knights were surely expecting Elina to confidently declare, "I am indeed a virgin!" and disperse the crowd.
But what can you do? Elina is a non-virgin...
It was a situation where their faith in each other had turned to poison.
"......"
Elina remains silent.
She tries her best to control her expression, but there's no way she can pull it off in this situation.
As if sensing the result from her silence alone, the crowd begins to condemn her.
“It's true! She really is a non-virgin!”
“How dare she lie so openly?”
"Filthy non-virgin!!"
“Did you think the Saintess of the Sun Cult would accept a bribe?!”
Now it begins.
'Hehehe... Now I'll humiliate the non-virgin to my heart's content!'
My spymaster and I had diligently planned a whole course of humiliation for her, starting with a massive public shaming by the crowd, a shower of rotten eggs and feces, and much more.
But just then, as if sensing this, Barkan sweeps Elina up in a princess carry and immediately leaps to the roof of a nearby building.
'Huh? How dare he?'
Running away?
With incredibly swift movements, he dashes across the rooftops, and no one can catch him.
I could catch them, but if I'm not careful, it could be considered assault on a Crown Princess candidate.
'Hmm... As expected, capable followers are the problem.'
Of course, running away doesn't change the fact that she's a non-virgin.
A non-virgin who runs away is still just a non-virgin on the run. What else could she be?
The Saintess publicly declared that Elina was indeed a non-virgin, but since the person in question had already fled, I couldn't enjoy the full show.
But the rumors began to spread like wildfire.
‘They say Elina was physically confirmed to be a non-virgin!’
'She deceived us!'
'They say she had no hymen!!'
The agitators my spymaster had prepared in advance spread the news that Elina was a filthy non-virgin even louder and wider.
Of course, they didn't forget to mention that the only virgin pure in mind, body, and spirit was none other than me, Kalisha Crawford.
*
The next day.
After the first day's attendance, the trials let out even earlier.
I finish the paperwork in less than an hour, have a brief chat with the Empress, and then leave.
I didn't see Elina.
I heard the Lord of the Blue Magic Tower is helping her commute via teleportation.
'Why on earth are they still following a non-virgin like her?'
I don't get it,
“Seriously, why are those idiots still following that non-virgin?”
and neither does my spymaster.
What's more, it seems they've decided to move openly now, spreading false information in the underworld.
They're actually spreading the opposite rumor—that Elina is a pure virgin, and that I, Kalisha, am the filthy non-virgin.
A fabrication so pure it's absurd.
But when combined with my existing notoriety as a villainess, a surprising number of people are believing it. Their power to incite is also quite strong, causing considerable confusion among the citizens of the imperial capital.
“Many of my informants have been taken out. It seems he, the Ruler of the Back Alleys, has gotten involved personally.”
Elina's minions, who had until now either stood by or helped cautiously, have begun to intervene directly.
“A war has broken out in the northern part of the Empire. King Barthion Crawford was scheduled to be present on the final day of the Crown Princess competition, but that has become difficult now.”
The father of this body, Kalisha.
I heard he was a war hero with immense martial prowess, so I wanted to meet him and maybe have a sparring match, but that's off the table now.
'Is it true he can split a mountain with a single swing of his sword?'
But the problem wasn't just that I couldn't meet him.
“The force currently attacking the northern Empire was not originally on bad terms with us. They are the Dragonia, a race of half-dragons, and their Dragon King had come to the Empire for diplomatic reasons. He fell for Elina, and things were heading towards peace. There's a high probability that Elina instigated this war.”
Elina's minions even started a war!
Although there hasn't been a large-scale, all-out war, I'm told there have been some casualties from minor skirmishes.
'Wait, the Dragon King is on Elina's side too? When the hell did she seduce him?'
The whole world is really on Elina's side.
With that much power, she could take over the Empire...
'Nah, no way.'
“Is there anything else?”
“Yes, several cardinals in the Sun Cult are proceeding with the Saintess's impeachment. It's likely a show to undermine the power of her testimony. The actual chance of her being impeached is very low. However, this will cause some people to temporarily distrust the Saintess's words."
“Hmm… The truth will come out eventually, but for now, their goal is just to create chaos…”
I think I know what Elina's strategy is.
A mud-slinging fight.
This way, it will take time for the public and the non-hereditary nobles to make a proper judgment.
She's judged that my past notoriety as a villainess will give her the upper hand.
Her plan is to just hold out for a week, and after that, the truth won't matter.
'Sigh... Even after making her a non-virgin, this isn't easy.'
How long has she been pulling stunts like this?
The reason Kalisha was treated as a villainess was probably Elina's doing as well.
Of course, she did commit some actual evil deeds, but was stripping and assaulting the bitches who hit on the Crown Prince really that big of a deal?
Then again, maybe it was...
But that's not what's important right now.
So the enemy wants to play rough?
You think we haven't done the same because we couldn't?
“We'll counterattack. Since it's come to this, let's get rid of Elina's limbs.”
"But we're not a military force...?"
The spymaster made a troubled expression.
So it was true that we couldn't, not that we wouldn't!
It's fine.
Because now, you have me, don't you?
"It's alright. I'll take care of it."
Now, it's an all-out war.
Five days remaining.
A silent war unfolds.
*
The next day.
In the back alleys where Elina's minions lived, red flowers began to bloom.
“Max? Did someone plant these flowers here?”
“How should I know? Maybe it's the boss's new hobby.”
The two gang members paid it no mind and turned to go on their way.
And behind them, the petals of a Necroumbra opened into a large mouth, flashing hundreds of teeth.
CRUNCH!
Necroumbra, the expert assassin.
It was deployed among them and began to pick them off one by one.
The executive meeting room of a gang under the Ruler of the Back Alleys.
“Where the hell did all our members go?”
“Could they have been taken out by the Crawford family's intelligence unit?”
“But those guys aren't a military force, are they?”
They were holding a meeting in a dark, underground secret room.
And in one corner of that secret room, a human-sized flower was in bloom.
“By the way, who brought that flower in? Was it you?”
“Why would I bring it? I don't know who did, but they've got a weird hobby. Haha... Huh? Why is it moving...?"
CRUNCH!! CRUNCH! CRUNCH-CRUNCH-CRUNCH!!
That day, one of the subordinate organizations of the Ruler of the Back Alleys vanished without a trace.
My counterattack didn't end there.
'As long as I don't touch the Crown Princess candidates, it's fine, right?'
The rules clearly stated not to touch the candidates, which means it's fine to touch other things.
Of course, it's not that it really doesn't matter, but it probably means I can smooth things over even if I get caught.
I ride a Bicorn, arriving at a destination that would normally take two days in just three hours.
I activate my stealth skill and approach.
The target is the Blue Magic Tower, located a short distance from the imperial capital.
'That's right, you bastard. I didn't like the location you chose for your commoner life experience from the start.'
Suddenly, I think of the cream pie, and I feel grateful... no, I feel the need for revenge.
'He's probably acting as Elina's ride home from work right about now, right?'
The master of the tower isn't in his tower? Then let's make him suffer some losses.
I can't just go slaughtering civilians, so I aim my spear precisely at the very top floor of the magic tower.
[Deep-Rooted Giant Tree]
I activate the skill that braces me against the ground,
and pour an immense amount of divine power into the tip of my spear.
[Sky Breaker]
My control over divine power has gotten a little better.
I still can't manage fine control, but just ramming power into something is surprisingly doable.
TWANG!!
My spear tears through the air, flying past the speed of sound.
KRA-KOOOOOM!!!
All of the tower's defensive magic is pierced, and the top floor explodes as the spear strikes it.
BOOOOOM!!
As if there was something flammable up there, the top floor goes up in a roaring blaze.
'Kesira will be happy when she hears about this.'
And so, we too did not hesitate to engage in simultaneous sabotage and displays of force.
My opponent is a non-virgin demon who would start a war just for the Crown Princess competition! I had no intention of going easy on her from the start.
And so, the heated atmosphere continued through the third day, the fourth... all the way to the final seventh day. There were no direct battles, but the schemes against each other continued without any lines being drawn.
Elina's minions didn't hesitate to go after the families of our mansion's servants, and I was busy leaving work after just an hour to go crush them.
The imperial family, of course, as well as the hereditary and non-hereditary nobles, were somewhat aware of the situation, but they did not intervene.
Why?
Because it would all be decided on the final day anyway.
Since there were no direct fights that would drag in ordinary citizens, they were just watching and letting us handle it ourselves. Some were even enjoying the show.
*
And so, after the fourth week of trials ended, the time for the final verification arrived.
Inside a massive arena.
Everyone with a vote gathers in the same massive arena where I challenged the Mercenary King to a duel on the first day and blew his head off.
The hereditary nobles, of course, and all the non-hereditary nobles were present.
And once again, the Emperor and the Crown Prince grace the event with their presence.
"Only two days remain. One day will be for the final verification, and the other will be for the vote! Once the vote is over, you must accept whoever is chosen without complaint. Do you understand?"
The Emperor, who had not looked favorably upon our fighting, shouts with a stern voice.
"We understand, Your Majesty the Emperor."
Elina and I answer as if nothing is wrong, and when the Emperor's gaze turns to the Crown Prince, he too hastily replies.
"I understand. Whoever is chosen, I will marry that woman."
So, what happens on the stage for the final verification?
The first verification.
The Prime Minister steps forward.
"This concerns the second week's trial. We will now hear the vivid testimony of the supervisors from the commoner life experience."
It was the testimony of the commoner life experience supervisors!
Both Elina and I wore confident expressions, but...
"His Majesty the Emperor has given special permission to use an ancient magical artifact. It is a tool that can perfectly detect human lies!"
The Prime Minister confidently introduces the ancient artifact.
It was none other than a lie detector!
It even looked exactly like the type you place your palm on.
'Ah...? Wait, I think I'm fucked.'
I glance at Elina beside me, and she's looking back at me with a similar expression.
Hey, you too?
Yeah, me too!
Meanwhile, Kesira looks at us calmly, as if to say, 'What are you two doing?'