Witch Hunt (2)
This was no different from a drug.
And naturally, I wasn’t the only one intoxicated by it.
As the days passed, Ito Souta’s reputation plunged so far into the ground it looked ready to punch straight through to the other side and keep going.
If I assumed the substance making up this continent was the same as Earth’s, then by now his reputation had probably already reached Earth’s inner core.
Trash.
Utter, unquestionable trash.
In less than four days, he had already transformed into a hidden king of the underworld, a complete human ruin who wouldn’t hesitate to traffic slaves or smuggle organs.
A cold-blooded monster who had stained his hands with the blood of countless people to preserve his power, while preying on women wherever he pleased.
And the lovely rumor that he had tried to have me assassinated to cover up his own disgrace only gave this baseless gossip more fuel.
Of course.
There were a few people who didn’t believe this hot-off-the-press piece of scandal because it was so absurd, but what did that matter?
Whether the rumor shaking the royal palace right now was true or false, people didn’t actually care.
It was just interesting news to spice up a boring daily life.
Most people only wanted this delicious bit of gossip to keep spreading. They didn’t want it to die down.
They wanted to keep this witch hunt going, with this conversation as its centerpiece.
“This is what a proper witch hunt looks like. Puhihahahat.”
Targeting not just dukes and counts, but also the noblewomen standing beside them, had been an especially beautiful move.
They would go home and spend all day retelling the story of Ito Souta in my place.
A workforce you didn’t even have to pay.
Rather than me, who was being checked from every direction by people who weren’t exactly my allies, it was better to have their families—the people they trusted most—do the talking.
The Church’s people were doing their best to respond to the suddenly shifted public opinion, but of course they couldn’t silence everyone.
They were making excuses, but the public had already turned cold. If this were modern times, they would’ve held a press conference to prove his innocence, but the man was still restricted by the formal investigation, so he probably had to be burning up inside.
By contrast, I was flitting about like a fish that had finally found water.
Of course, the most important customers were the Church officials trying to push Ito Souta out because of his rotten reputation.
“Ahhh. Vice-Bishop Glang, it’s been so long since I’ve seen you.”
“Ho ho. It’s only been a day, hasn’t it?”
“Hahaha. I always want to see you. Talking about God with you, Vice-Bishop Glang, is always such a useful and pleasant time for me.”
“You truly gild the face of this unworthy priest, Lee Kiyoung. Ah, today I’d like to introduce you to someone. Have you perhaps heard of Bishop Jessica…?”
“Of course. Then today, I may have a chance to grow a little closer to Goddess Benignore.”
“You should probably get closer to Bishop Jessica first. She’s been looking forward to meeting you.”
“That feels rather overwhelming.”
“Ho ho ho ho.”
Today I met Vice-Bishop Glang, and tomorrow I’d meet Bishop Jessica.
After building up enough familiarity with Bishop Jessica, I’d immediately begin looking for the next person.
“Ah, Kiyoung, you’re here!”
“I ran over because I wanted to see Bishop Jessica’s face.”
“You promised you’d call me Jessica when it’s just the two of us.”
“Ah. Did I?”
“Yes. Today, we’re going to see the archbishop together. I told Archbishop Andurin about you, and now he absolutely wants to meet you.”
“That’s a little intimidating. I’ll have to be brave, if only for the sake of your face, Jessica.”
“You really are something, Kiyoung.”
In the same way, after I’d built a deep enough connection with Bishop Jessica, I would climb one more step up the ladder.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Archbishop Andurin.”
“It is an honor to meet in person the man so widely spoken of these days.”
“No, the honor is mine. I’ve heard much about you from Bishop Jessica, but you seem even greater than I imagined.”
“Hahaha. Our Lee Kiyoung has quite the amusing way with words. Now that I think of it, mealtime is soon. Would you care to join us? Cardinal Basel is scheduled to dine with us as well. Bishop Jessica will come too if she has time.”
“Thank you for your consideration, Archbishop Andurin.”
After climbing yet another step, I moved on to even higher ground.
With so many people to meet without a moment’s rest, I was reaching the point where I could barely keep their names straight.
Still, compared to that poor bastard being investigated to death, it wasn’t all that difficult.
“This is sudden, but I’ve prepared a gift for you, Cardinal Basel.”
“Oh, whatever could you have prepared a gift for, Lee Kiyoung? You really didn’t need to do this. This is far too much….”
“Please, don’t hesitate to take it. It’s just a small token of my sincerity. It’s good liquor, so it should keep you company when you’re lonely. Ah, and this is a donation I’m making directly to the Holy Empire.”
“My, now this is something….”
“It may not be enough as an offering to God, but for now I’ve put in a modest fifty thousand gold. If I get the chance, I’ll keep striving so I can continue making offerings in the future.”
“I can see just how much you love God, Lee Kiyoung.”
“Hahaha. In truth, that’s not all I prepared. I’d also like to make a separate offering to you personally, Cardinal Basel.”
“W-what could you mean by that….”
“I trust you’ll use it all for God.”
“Hmm….”
The sight of Cardinal Basel gobbling up everything I gave him was a spectacle indeed.
The Holy Church was already rotten to the core.
Once religion becomes entrenched, corruption is only natural.
Anyone looking in from the outside would frown, but for trash like me, it was a truly beautiful environment.
“Wouldn’t it be better to meet the Grand Patriarch as well, if we’re going this far? Lee Kiyoung.”
“Yes, of course. Naturally, I should meet him.”
“Ah, before that, there’s someone I’d like to introduce you to. This is Helena, the head of the Heresy Inquisition.”
“Helena?”
“Yes, Cardinal Basel.”
“She’s an honored guest. Shouldn’t you introduce yourself?”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lee Kiyoung. I am Helena, head of the Heresy Inquisition.”
“Ah, I’ve heard plenty about you through the rumors. I’ve heard you perform the glorious duty of cutting the throats of filthy heretics and all that… Forgive my rudeness, but I never imagined you would be such a beautiful woman.”
“Ah….”
“It must be a great burden to take on work that makes everyone else flinch away.”
Of course, I didn’t forget to look after the direct combat factions or the people beneath them, either.
In truth, managing a network of connections is hard.
There’s surprisingly a lot you have to keep track of.
If you asked what was so great about being the one to call first, greet people first, and prepare small gifts on important days, I wouldn’t have much to say—but there was a reason most people couldn’t do it.
Some people genuinely consider even contacting or greeting someone who isn’t close to them to be a chore.
To them, their own time is precious, and protecting their private space and territory matters more than anything.
Rather than talking to other people, they focus on self-improvement and feel stressed out just from contacting someone pointless.
I respect that kind of life, but most of those people end up losing out in human relationships.
Because the world is rotten.
Just becoming familiar with someone’s face and exchanging a few words already helps.
Arms naturally bend inward, and people always grow attached to a face they know more than one they’ve never seen before.
Some lose out in job competitions simply because they’re from the same region, and others feel the distance from their coworkers after skipping a few company dinners.
It was just my personal opinion, but the social system itself seemed designed to favor people like me.
Seen from that perspective, my recent meetings and gatherings had been tremendously helpful to this side.
It had been a fair amount of time, but my schedule had already become so packed it felt ready to burst.
Of course, I wasn’t the only one busy.
Cha Heera, in her own way, had met with high-ranking officials too.
It probably didn’t suit her personality, but showing her face even briefly each day was necessary for a woman as individualistic as she was.
Kasugano Yuno was, in practice, the one working herself the hardest.
She was in charge of all potion distribution and management, so of course she was busy. On top of that, she seemed to be having a hard time adapting to the added task of manipulating public opinion inside the free city of Celia.
Jung Hayan looked a little more relaxed, but she was clearly stressed because the time she could spend with me kept shrinking.
Fortunately, the last incident must have been quite a shock, because she’d taken to magical training on her own and holed herself up in her room.
And among them all, the one being forced through the same brutal schedule as me was obviously Lee Jihye.
By the time today’s appointments were over and we were heading back, she looked absolutely exhausted.
“What were you doing last night?”
“I was with Bishop Jessica and the Inquisitor Helena.”
“Wow, you really do have talents.”
“We were just at a prayer meeting.”
“All night?”
“Yes.”
“Who do you expect to believe that? I don’t care about that stuff, so do whatever you want.”
“Believe it or not, that’s your freedom.”
“They’re useful people, right? Oppa?”
“They’re fine to use for a while.”
“Then that’s enough. So, did you bring back anything useful?”
“The things I’m handling personally seem to be going fairly well… and I didn’t bother bringing up Ito Souta specifically. The moment I mentioned donations, his face practically split in two. How about you, Jihye?”
“I’ve got some hot news from today, and I think you’ll be a little surprised when you hear it….”
“What is it?”
“The trial has been scheduled.”
“That’s certainly… surprising.”
Honestly, I had thought they might not even make it to trial.
It was a little unexpected.
Jihye and I had been working our mouths off, but given the man’s position, a trial should have come a little later than this.
I do have some charges hanging over my head, after all.
Like I’d said before, the relationship between me and Ito Souta was basically the relationship between a Lindel and Celia that was one spark away from exploding.
If he were to receive an unjust trial, then naturally Celia would erupt into chaos.
From the Holy Empire’s point of view, even if people were watching from every direction, it was better to settle things smoothly.
I had even thought this might become a formal trial purely to fine him…
But he’s not stupid enough for that.
The moment he stands in court, he’s effectively wearing the mask of a suspect in earnest.
If he knew that Jihye and I had steadily been reducing his influence, then there was no reason for him to choose a battlefield where he’d be at a disadvantage.
His political life was already on the verge of collapse, and even the Church, sensitive as it was to outside scrutiny, could no longer keep watching his back forever.
“How’s the bribery of the judges going?”
“Fifty-fifty. Some have met with me, and some seem to have sided with them, but there’s one thing that’s a little strange, isn’t there?”
“Yeah.”
“Ito Souta himself apparently said he wanted the trial held.”
“Ahhh….”
“I thought maybe he just wanted to settle things on his own terms before the situation got worse, but that doesn’t seem to be it either. Seeing how hard he’s been moving, I can’t help wondering whether he has some sort of information that would make us uncomfortable.”
“Ahhh.”
“Oppa, you’re not exactly clean yourself, either. Of course, I don’t know whether the information he’s holding has enough power to matter, but the fact that he’s trying to drag it to trial makes me think it probably isn’t fabricated. Or maybe it’s just so well made that no one would notice anything strange at first glance.”
“Really?”
“You seem oddly lukewarm about this… Have you already thought about how to handle something like this?”
“Puh… heh. Well, something like that. Remember when I said I’d taken out a lot of insurance?”
“Yes.”
“Depending on the situation, I’d already mapped out dozens of different options in my head. And of course, one of them covered the case where Ito Souta personally requested a trial and came after me….”
“Hmm….”
“I can say with confidence that he chose the worst possible option. If he really did move exactly as I expected… puhuhup. You’ll find out exactly what it means to get stabbed in the back. You can look forward to it, sister.”