Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: The Protagonist is a Villain
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It hadn't been many days, but the air in my territory felt refreshingly crisp after such a long absence. The moment I crossed the boundary, I took a deep breath, reveling in my freedom.
Trailing behind me were Eve, locked in a massive iron cage, and the mermaid humming away cheerfully in her tank.
She'd kept her mouth shut tight, only speaking when absolutely necessary, right up until I dragged her to the guildmaster. Turns out, she was actually quite the chatterbox with a bubbly personality.
"Mom, what's got you so happy?"
"Heh heh, feels like we're going on an outing."
"Fuck, Mom. We don't even know what this psycho bastard's gonna do to us, and you're enjoying it?"
"It's fine, it's fine. We've done our share of crazy shit too. I don't mind dying."
Eve’s face was marred by a deep blue bruise. It happened right after we left the trading city—she’d tried to smash the cart and escape. She might be unstoppable at sea, like a peerless warlord, but on land, I was king. I punched her defiant face and shoved her back into the cart.
True to her nature as an event boss in the game, Eve's body was insanely tough. It was hard to believe just a few days ago her gut had been pierced and her skull cracked—she moved around as if nothing had happened. She occasionally rubbed her stomach or grumbled about headaches, so there were some lingering effects.
Even now, Eve was rubbing her face and hurling curses at me. I ignored her profanity. Beside us, the mermaid hummed her tune, gazing around curiously. Mountain paths must have been a novel spectacle for someone who'd spent her whole life in the sea.
"Hey, what the hell are you even planning, dragging us along like this?"
Eve paused mid-rub to glare at me. Riding at the front on horseback, I flashed a grin.
"For your reformation."
"Bullshit. Who's gonna accept me if I'm reformed? And if my mom gets reformed, people will still drag her off. That's why you religious nuts are the worst."
"Plus, there's a lot I personally want to look into."
What I was curious about was Evangeline. But whatever spin Eve put on my curiosity, she alternated glances between me and the mermaid, shaking her head.
"Fuck, you pervert. How does a priest even think about sticking it to a mermaid?"
"I think it'd be great... Heh heh."
"Mom, please just shut up?"
From the village entrance onward, people's gazes fixed on me. Shouts of "The Lord's back!" drew crowds rushing out to see me, only for them to stare puzzled at the two women being hauled behind. One was a bruised beauty, the other a mermaid in a tank.
The mermaid waved happily, grinning ear to ear. The villagers recoiled in fear, averting their eyes.
"By the way, what's your name?"
I knew it already, but to avoid the hassle of explaining the status window, this was the simplest way. The mermaid gave it without hesitation.
"Celu."
"Good. Celu, for now, that tank will be your quarters. Our territory's inland—no lakes nearby. There's a reservoir in the neighboring fief, but I can't just send you there."
"Heh heh, fancy treatment. Eve said elsewhere they don't even give mermaids a sip of water till they collapse."
"The Great Heavenly God Church doesn't abandon penitents seeking reformation."
"Bullshit."
Eve threw another jab. Her taunting in that state was clearly begging for another beating, but I held back for now. Today, I had far too much else to handle to waste time on her.
I dismounted upon reaching the manor. Bellix Karin was approaching slowly from the main gate. She scanned me and my group with a face full of concern for the Hero and me. As 'Lord's Proxy,' she had no need for armor, yet she always wore it—a perfect specimen of a princess knight. Not that she was actually a princess.
"Were things alright in your absence?"
"Bellix Karin, you mean you—no issues on your end? I feel bad piling on the work. In these chaotic times, the Lord shouldn't be away."
"Not at all. You'd organized everything so well, I had nothing to touch."
"Any reports?"
"No, nothing major, just..."
Bellix Karin trailed off. Fearing some incident, I scowled before she could finish.
"Among the documents handed over during the transition, I spotted mentions of criminals dealing in aphrodisiacs."
"Yes. Right. That's not urgent, so..."
"I had them arrested promptly. They're in custody now. Unfortunately, two died during interrogation, and the third hasn't regained consciousness."
Fuck. I barely swallowed my curse. This girl must've gotten excited seeing the files—her palace job was cracking down on criminals. Human rights for crooks? She'd probably gone full torture the second they spilled their hideout.
Suddenly, a faint whiff of blood hit me. And it wasn't my imagination—Eve, bound behind me, stared at the manor and muttered.
"Smells like blood."
"Ah, prisoners sometimes fake unconsciousness to dodge torture, so we keep going even if they pass out."
I shook my head. Guess I was one of the nicer ones in this world after all. Karin eyed the mermaid and Eve curiously. Eve met her gaze and whistled with a smirk.
"What are they? Mermaid slaves? Or did those two commit some crime together? Wait, are they the infamous..."
"Yes, that's them. I brought them here for personal interrogation."
"I see. Could you entrust the interrogation to me? I can make them spill everything by tomorrow."
I shook my head. No way I'd hand my onahole to a torture fanatic. Karin smacked her lips in open disappointment. That matched her canon vibe—no mercy for criminals, hated the protagonist's evil deeds. Didn't know she enjoyed torturing them, though.
"Where's the Hero?"
"He's off escorting the incident victims back to their hometowns."
"As expected..."
She praised his nobility, but I let it go in one ear and out the other. Noble, sure—but not something you'd do with a wife waiting back home.
I ordered guards to separate Eve and Celu—Eve to the underground dungeon, Celu to the bathhouse for now. It was minimal security, betting Eve wouldn't ditch her mom.
"Fuck, if you assholes mess with my mom, you're dead! Got it?"
Eve kept yapping even as they dragged her off. Karin looked puzzled at her calling the mermaid "mom," but I brushed it off. Too annoying to explain. I wanted to bang Karin someday, but tales of human-mermaid breeding wouldn't boost her favorability.
Up in the office, Karin and I sorted documents. As a knight handling both paperwork and fieldwork at the palace, she was a pro at this. I nodded, satisfied with the neatly processed petitions.
"These are matters beyond my authority, so I set them aside."
One pile was tasks for the Great Heavenly God Church's Priest Leader. Headache incoming—personnel shifts, simple petitions, all a chore to read.
"Got it. Good work. As expected of the capital's top knight, Bellix Karin. Invaluable help."
"You're too kind. May I head out now...?"
Then Erina's words hit me. She'd told me to report Evangeline to the kingdom too. Yeah, that was it. I stopped Karin.
"One report on the Demon King."
"Regarding the Demon King?"
"Before dying, he said, 'I made a promise with Evangeline.'"
"Evangeline?"
Karin frowned. She didn't know much about Evangeline. Muttering the name a few times, she nodded.
"Understood. Is this Evangeline an important figure?"
"Yes. Princess Erina called her highly significant and dangerous. The kingdom should be on alert given her involvement."
"Got it. I'll include that and the Hero matter in the report."
I sent her off with a sparse report I'd prepped en route. It already noted the mermaid mentioning Evangeline—no need for extras. I'd omitted capturing Eve and Celu to avoid needless scrutiny.
I headed back to the underground dungeon to see Eve. That's when I realized where Karin had done her interrogations. The place was a sea of blood. Walls splattered red, floor littered with unidentifiable metal and wood scraps. The stench of brutal torture assaulted my nose. Shaking my head, I peered deeper.
In the center of one cell hung a red, human-shaped lump impaled on a hook.
"What the fuck."
My startled curse prompted a scream from Eve, bound across from it.
"Fuck! You psycho bitch! What's your hobby, skinning people alive and displaying them? That's why you called me a murderer? You, a priest? Fuck, are you even human? You piece of shit! Ah, fuck, thinking about it pisses me off!"
The meat lump twitched and rasped.
"K-Kill... me..."
No way—was this one of the aphrodisiac dealers? How the hell did they keep him alive like this?