To the Holy Kingdom - 1
The divine power I had absorbed from Almat was largely depleted after using it during my anal session with Cattreya. Even so, I could still feel a portion of it remaining inside me. It was almost shocking that I had burned through so much of that vast reserve just by conquering an elf’s ass.
‘……If I head to the Holy Kingdom, won’t it just refill itself?’
Using divine power to attack me only ended up replenishing my own strength. Realizing the true nature of this predation made the Silverion Holy Kingdom suddenly seem far less intimidating. Of course, storming the Holy Kingdom alone would still be suicidal. The Holy Knights, the kingdom’s main fighting force, were plenty strong even without relying on divine power. On top of that, the existence of the inquisitors weighed heavily on any potential invader. Only after crushing every last one of them could the Holy Kingdom truly be conquered.
It was frustrating not knowing the exact scale of the Holy Kingdom’s military power, but I felt satisfied simply knowing I had the means to oppose them. After all, my real enemies weren’t the entire Holy Kingdom—just Cardinal Chaluto and his inner circle. It was better to leave those uninvolved with him alone.
‘If I let my hatred for NTR blind me and end up harming innocent people, I’d be no different from the trash I despise—just with a different crime.’
I stared at Silverion’s territory for a moment before turning away without a shred of regret. That old, pot-bellied bastard who used his authority to fuck every woman he could get his hands on inside the Holy Kingdom. I would wring the neck of that utterly repulsive cardinal. With that firm vow in mind, I carried the thoroughly exhausted Cattreya on my back and returned to the kingdom’s lands.
I was curious just how well Scarlet had trained the kidnapper Aquila had brought in. I hoped something useful would come out of their mouths. Still, since they were just low-level grunts, it was probably best not to get my hopes up.
While lost in a whirlwind of thoughts, I reached the mid-slope of the mountain where Scarlet greeted me with a faint smile.
“You’re back? Looks like you brought the prickly elf in one piece.”
“Yes, I got her here safely.”
“So what happened? You took forever to return after Aquila dragged that kidnapper back. I was getting worried.”
“I came face to face with the mastermind behind the kidnapping.”
I told Scarlet everything I had experienced. Upon hearing that the Silverion Holy Kingdom stood behind the elf abductions, she stroked her chin and fell into thought. The silence didn’t last long before she shared what she knew.
“Before we left the Empire, we received one new piece of information related to the Silverion Holy Kingdom.”
“What was it?”
“Cardinal Chaluto declared that he would rebuild the Holy Kingdom’s entire system with himself at its center.”
“……Excuse me?”
There had never been any such event in the game. The original Alvin had only operated within the Empire, but that didn’t mean he was completely cut off from news of other nations. Through bards and messengers, he had diligently kept track of world affairs. After all, gathering information was the key to unlocking the main story routes.
Chaluto’s systemic reconstruction had never once occurred. Moreover, the idea that this rotten cardinal would be at the center of it was the most absurd piece of news I had heard in recent memory. I needed to figure out what variable had caused this change.
“Could you tell me more details?”
“I was a little hesitant to say this to you, but if you want to know……”
Scarlet explained that Chaluto had begun these actions right after I left the party. With my disappearance, the Demon King’s army had gained momentum, and to make matters worse, the fortress I had reclaimed had been taken back again. Using that incident as an excuse, Chaluto claimed the Empire could no longer be trusted and was now wielding power to force through radical changes.
It was a complete mess. I had no idea how to clean this up. On top of that, the fact that Chaluto was trying to profit from the Empire’s crisis pissed me off. Even worse was how he painted me as an incompetent, cowardly knight and blamed everything on me. That was utterly unforgivable.
“You remember how the current Pope showed his support for you by sending the Holy Maiden and providing regular aid, right? But after you abandoned your mission, the Pope’s authority within the Holy Kingdom took a serious hit.”
“……I ended up doing something terrible.”
“There’s no need to blame yourself like that. I think the Pope made a mistake too. He sent a woman who clearly lacked the qualifications to be a Holy Maiden.”
Her tone was a direct, unfiltered jab at Celestia. But she wasn’t wrong. The Holy Maiden, who was supposed to remain pure and upright at all times, had been fooling around with another man. It almost felt like they had mistaken the title of Holy Maiden (聖女) for something far more carnal (性女).
“Honestly, I don’t really care that much about the Pope losing authority. What disgusts me is the fact that Chaluto is strutting around like he owns the place.”
“You have some kind of bad history with Cardinal Chaluto, don’t you?”
“Yes. He’s the last person I want anything to do with.”
Even though I hated it, getting entangled with Chaluto seemed inevitable. As you can see, despite fleeing to the Yudica Kingdom to avoid him, I still ended up caught in his web. This damned, cursed connection born from NTR. Maybe it would all end if either Celestia or Chaluto died.
‘Though I plan to crush them both.’
But for now, I lacked information. It would have been nice if I could freely travel to other countries without the risk of fainting from overexertion. Pushing aside my regrets, I decided to ask about the progress on the task I had left to Scarlet.
“What happened to the kidnappers?”
“Obviously, I made sure every single one of them repented for their sins!”
The woman had been placed on the same triangle wooden horse that Cattreya had suffered on. A stake had been driven into her hole, with strings tied to her nipples. It was a far more advanced form of torture than what Cattreya had endured. She was now writhing in the realm of pure agony rather than pleasure.
As for the man, they had smeared honey on his genitals and tied him to a tree. When I checked on him, he was in torment as various insects swarmed over and gnawed at his cock. Since this was the wild elf forest, the bugs were disgustingly large. It was like seeing hundreds of those Tinkerbells I had witnessed during my military days all gathered in one place.
“And the leader?”
“I gave that one special treatment. I’ve been handling him with the utmost care.”
“You didn’t kill him, did you?”
“Don’t worry. I kept him alive so I could properly extract information.”
I wondered what kind of treatment the former commander of the Red Lion Knights was giving to a heinous criminal. I quietly followed Scarlet and soon witnessed the kidnapper boss lying bound on a tree stump. His head was thrown back as if giving fellatio to a sharp sword lodged in his mouth. The slightest movement of his head would cause the blade to cut him, making blood flow from inside his mouth. On top of that, the blood was rushing to his head. But the pain didn’t end there. Aquila was slowly raking her claws across his body, creating fresh wounds. Every time he flinched from the pain, the blade would slice him again.
Sword fellatio torture. Just watching it was horrifying.
“Won’t he just commit suicide like that?”
“He’s already tried to end his life several times. But Aquila’s saliva has the ability to heal wounds almost instantly. So every time he tries to die, he’s forced to swallow her spit.”
“So that’s why Aquila was staying by his side.”
“Exactly. By the way, according to my subordinate’s testimony, Aquila’s saliva is thick and has a fishy taste that makes you want to vomit.”
He should have been begging for a quick and painless death. No matter what, I resolved not to get on Scarlet’s bad side. Not that I ever would.
“But if he can’t use his mouth, how are you supposed to interrogate him?”
“For that, take a look at his hands.”
When I examined them closely, I saw blood flowing from his crushed fingernails, staining the tips of his fingers red. His wrists were bound, but his hands themselves were free, allowing his fingers to move. He was writing letters using his own blood as ink.
“Just so you know, we’ve healed his fingernails with Aquila’s saliva multiple times. Since he needs to leave information in writing, every time they regenerated, I crushed them again.”
“Now that’s what I’d call special treatment.”
“Right?”
It was a comprehensive set combining every kind of physical torture imaginable. I had thought the other kidnappers’ torments were horrific, but compared to this, they seemed like child’s play. He couldn’t even find relief in death, since that too was under their control. If it were me, I would have spilled every piece of information I knew just to be done with it.
“Did you get any useful information?”
“To some extent. The mastermind was the Holy Kingdom, just like you said. That was all they knew.”
“Of course they wouldn’t give important details to disposable pawns.”
“It’s too early to be disappointed. We couldn’t identify the key figures behind this plan, but in exchange, we learned where the illegal slave market operates inside the Holy Kingdom and where the kidnapped elves were taken.”
The Silverion Holy Kingdom officially prohibited slavery. Their doctrine stated that all life was equal under their god. Yet despite there being no legal slave market, slaves were still being circulated. If we could infiltrate the illegal slave market and rescue the abducted elves, it would be an enormous gain.
‘This would give Yudica legitimate grounds to officially condemn Silverion, forcing the Holy Kingdom to provide compensation. And whoever is behind distributing those slaves—whether it’s Chaluto or one of his close associates—would take a massive hit.’
Since they were committing such filthy acts, it was highly likely to be one of his subordinates even if not Chaluto himself. It would deal damage to my enemies while providing tremendous benefits to my allies. There was no choice but to head to the Holy Kingdom.
The only question was whether I should report this to the king and go as an official envoy, or sneak into the Holy Kingdom, rescue the elves, and expose the conspiracy. I had to choose one.
‘Going as an official envoy means no repercussions even if I fail, but the timing is too slow. There’s a high chance the elves will be moved elsewhere. On the other hand, entering illegally would let me catch the critical moment and protect the elves’ safety. But if I fail, I’ll only suffer losses.’
Since I was trying to build favor to become a citizen of Yudica, sneaking in illegally could result in losing trust and being expelled. No matter how I thought about it, it was a choice I shouldn’t make.
“Master.”
“Yes?”
My reason screamed at me not to do it, but my heart said otherwise. Even if I took a loss, if it meant I could crush my enemies, I wouldn’t hesitate. Besides, what if the kidnapped elves had loved ones waiting for them? Wouldn’t that lead to another disgusting NTR situation? That was the one thing I could never tolerate.
“Let’s go to the Holy Kingdom!”