Episode 1140
Episode 1140
Unaware that the temple members had observed them from afar and left, Lee Han continued conversing with the knights.
"First, let's gather some information."
-Your Highness the Successor. Information isn't what's important right now. The inspector concealed a report to protect a mage—who knows, the sun might set in the opposite direction tonight, and the entire continent could sink beneath the sea by tomorrow morning!
"...I-I don't think it'll be that extreme."
"That's right. Lord Wardanaz is quite friendly with the bureaucrats too."
Siana and the other priests came to Lee Han's defense.
Considering the achievements Lee Han had accomplished during vacations, it wasn't strange at all for bureaucrats to take his side.
After all, the Skeleton Principal had even brought Lee Han along to handle negotiations on his behalf.
-Tsk tsk tsk.
However, the knights clicked their tongues and shook their heads.
Having lived long lives, these knights were deeply set in their ways. Such radical opinions were hard for them to accept.
-That just shows how little you know about bureaucrats. Listen well. The Empire's bureaucrats are despicable creatures who'll grab a mage's ankle at any time, anywhere, and drag them into the swamp. Demons and monsters are more virtuous by comparison.
"......"
"......"
-You must be especially cautious with bureaucrats if you're a mage from Einrogard, Your Highness the Successor. Even if they act kindly, you must never trust them...
"I'll just go greet them. Please handle the interrogations in my stead."
Lee Han let the knights' words go in one ear and out the other as he moved to join his friends.
He didn't know the reason, but it wouldn't hurt to express his gratitude.
And if there really was some sinister conspiracy as the knights claimed, he'd only know by meeting them.
-You mustn't! That bureaucrat might have laid some evil trap...!
Of course, there was no such trap.
When Lee Han went to meet the inspector, he only received a mild warning.
"You'd do well to be more careful from now on. Villains don't hesitate when they're the ones committing wrongdoings, but when they're on the receiving end, they'll spread rumors and appeal to the law."
"Ah. Yes. I'll be careful."
"Good. The examiners were quite worried about you. Are you having any particular difficulties living at Einrogard these days? Is Lord Gonadaltes making any unreasonable demands..."
The inspector seemed more interested in other reports.
While he didn't care about a Wardanaz boy roughing up a few criminals, he was concerned about the Skeleton Principal roughing up a Wardanaz boy.
Even other bureaucrats in the imperial capital felt the same way.
"Ugh. Ughhhh!"
Siana was frustrated that she couldn't speak.
If only she could talk, she'd chatter away reporting all the times the Skeleton Principal had tormented her friend.
"What's wrong?"
"Haha. It's nothing. I'm perfectly fine."
Since he'd already borrowed the knights to act on his own, Lee Han couldn't afford to ignore the Skeleton Principal's watchful eye either.
Even if he were to stab someone in the capital, it should be done later—when there was nothing left to lose.
Lee Han gestured for Siana to calm down.
"Anyway, thank you once again. For not being swayed by the villains' schemes and making the right judgment..."
"No need for thanks—it's only what should be done. The treasurers were quite worried about you too. Are you really having no particular problems at Einrogard?"
'...Aren't there too many bureaucrats worrying about me?'
Siana thought to herself.
At first, she thought only a few bureaucrats cared, and even her friends could understand that.
But as they talked, it seemed there were more than just one or two.
Just how...?
"Yes. I'm really fine."
"Come to think of it, His Eminence the Bishop visited earlier."
"!"
Not only Lee Han, but the priests' faces stiffened slightly.
Had they been found out?
Beating up criminals at night with friends wasn't exactly what temple priests were supposed to be doing.
Of course, Einrogard students had the noble Einrogard spirit that took precedence over imperial law or temple rules—but would the Bishop understand that...?
"He said not to be deceived by the villains' schemes."
"Whew!"
The priests sighed in relief. Nigisor spoke with a proud expression.
"Seems our thorough preparation of lies paid off."
'Should we really be feeling proud about this...?'
"Ahem. I'm simply moved by His Excellency's thoughtfulness."
"The gratitude should be coming from the people here to you. Don't forget to pay your respects to His Excellency the Bishop. Not that someone like you would forget, of course."
"Yes!"
Lee Han's group safely exited the supervisor's office.
As Wardanaz consulted with Dijiling about what kind of gift would be appropriate for the Bishop, Siana suddenly grew curious and asked,
"By the way, Lord Wardanaz. Does that mean you won't be hunting criminals tonight?"
Given that many had come to surrender in front of the mansion and there were many eyes watching, it seemed unlikely they'd continue tonight...
"No? Why wouldn't we?"
Lee Han asked back as if the question itself was absurd.
An Evil God Worshipper might very well be biding their time alone, waiting for precisely this situation where criminals were surrendering en masse.
"W-well, I don't think that's likely. I doubt the other criminals would just leave someone like that to fend for themselves..."
Never overlooking even the slimmest possibility.
That was the lesson Lee Han had learned from dealing with Evil God Worshippers.
And true to his word, Lee Han kept his promise.
Until the request was completed and it was time to return, Lee Han never missed a single day of combing through the city, shaking up every suspicious corner.
For Bepaim City's criminals, this was an even greater disaster than a heatwave. So many couldn't endure it that dozens abandoned their established bases and fled to other regions.
And for those criminals who remained in Bepaim City, it left deep psychological scars.
Even after Lee Han's group had left, the events of that time left such a strong impact that they referred to it as <The Night of Death>.
The tavern owner who had been the first to be attacked even put up a new sign on his wall:
1. No Evil God Worshippers
2. No Mages
Tezareku, one of the few remaining executives of the Sanguiros Cult and a devoted fanatic, frowned at the incoming reports.
The western Empire was currently in a state of considerable chaos due to sudden natural disasters.
And such chaos was precisely the best time for Evil God Worshippers to expand their influence and seize opportunities.
'Yet we keep failing one after another? Useless trash!'
Tezareku believed that the god he served was the most fair and righteous among all deities.
Unlike other gods who remained silent despite thousands of prayers, this Fair Regent always rewarded his devotees appropriately for their sacrifices.
Of course, some of those sacrifices required bloodshed, but for a vampire of an ancient western lineage like Tezareku, that was hardly an issue.
After all, there were plenty of lowly creatures nearby who could offer their lives in their stead.
Tezareku closed his eyes and reminisced about the past. The golden age when the Regent's power was at its peak had truly been an abundant era.
The god, receiving sacrifices from his devotees, bestowed powerful Authorities like life-giving rain, and that omnipotence, in turn, drew devotees flocking like clouds.
The quality of the cult's members was also on a different level.
Nobles from prestigious western vampire families like Juzen and Tezareku had gathered to lead the cult's strategies. Socializing among those of matching refinement had been a great pleasure in itself.
But now...
With many of the cult's key figures dead and core territories ruthlessly destroyed, rebuilding the organization was taking time.
Even if they had recovered somewhat, the quality of the members paled in comparison to the past.
Had this been the old days, they would never have failed so repeatedly.
Was infiltrating a few western cities to establish hideouts really such a difficult task?
"M-mercenaries are acting hostile toward suspicious outsiders, they say. Not just mercenaries, but thieves, smugglers, and fences too..."
Shady criminals operating in the Empire's underworld often cooperated with Evil God Worshippers.
Even without the old saying that "the enemy of my enemy is my friend," their mutual desires were simply too clear-cut.
The criminals wanted money, and the Evil God Worshippers wanted people. The two could easily trade as much as they wanted.
Even if they didn't trade, such individuals rarely reported the Evil God Worshippers to the Empire. Who knew when they might need to cooperate again? Why make enemies for no reason?
But for some inexplicable reason, these lowlifes had started chasing out or driving away any outsider who seemed even slightly suspicious.
This was a fatal change for the Evil God Worshippers attempting to infiltrate anew.
"Has there still been no contact from Juzen?"
"No."
"Even if they're dealing with those Fire Giants, this is taking too long. Fine. Gather the remaining members and... send them to Bepaim City. With the severe disaster there, it should be easier to knock on doors."
Tezareku decided to focus first on secretly establishing control over a single city.
Bepaim City would be a fairly decent choice.
But this vampire failed to realize something.
Due to the weakened intelligence network of the cult, he hadn't received reports that Bepaim City had already largely recovered from the shock.
Nor did he know about the countless criminals who, after suffering all sorts of hardships because of the Evil God Worshippers, were now seething with resentment!
Though the Skeleton Principal had criticized it as "disgustingly cheerful," the students positively assessed the recent lively transformation of Inspector Uman.
Sure, the rules were still a bit stifling, but at least they had improved (and since the Skeleton Principal had never shown such changes before, this was even more of a relief). Above all, the sight of this dragon personally roaming the school grounds to resolve issues had earned considerable goodwill.
As long as he tormented the problems within the territory and not the students, who would complain?
But Jowurin thought differently.
'I think I preferred the gloomy Uman from before.'
"Elder Sister! Please, Elder Sister, smash and grind the forest trees! This Uman shall neutralize the poison!"
As Uman, now transformed into a massive Black Dragon, shouted from the sky, Jowurin muttered again.
"Jowurin thinks it would be better to leave the forest alone..."
The side effect of Uman's newfound liveliness.
Namely, that Jowurin was also dragged out and semi-forcibly enlisted in the territory improvement work.
Of course, Uman didn't issue direct orders. Given his personality, he would never commit such disrespect toward his heaven-like elder sister.
Instead, Uman brought the task with pure intentions.
He had arbitrarily decided that the noble Jowurin would naturally enjoy such work.
Bound by the dignity of her position, Jowurin couldn't refuse. Her mind was filled with regret—she should have followed Lee Han outside, even if she had to force herself.
"A moderate amount of poison energy supposedly helps develop students' coping abilities, or so Gonadaltes once said, I think..."
Hm? What was that?
"...It was nothing..."
Sulking in place of her younger brother, Jowurin prepared to transform into a Gold Dragon.
Just then, the sound of carriages rumbling through the main gates of Einrogard's walls reached her ears—thanks to her superhuman hearing.
"Ah! The Contractor has arrived! Jowurin shall take her leave now!"
"Elder Sister! It's not good to interfere with the Contractor's—"
Jowurin pretended not to hear and whooshed away.
Watching her, Uman couldn't help but marvel. His revered elder sister's physical abilities seemed to have improved yet again.
Whoosh!
As a massive golden light descended from the sky, the priests startled in surprise.
But Lee Han greeted her calmly.
"Good day, Your Highness."
'Huh? Did she get even faster?'
The knights flinched involuntarily at the golden meteor.
Her speed seemed far more terrifying than what they remembered.
Since it was their duty to subdue her if she started rampaging or rolling around, the Gold Dragon's growth was enough to make the knights nervous.
"Lee Han!! Jowurin wishes to hear what happened outside!!"
"Haha. Nothing much."
Lee Han answered with an honest, Contractor-like smile. Jowurin tilted her head, then noticed the prisoners shuffling out from the last carriage.
"Who are they?"
"Criminals I happened to pick up along the way."
"......"
Jowurin shot a suspicious look at the Contractor.