Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Evangeline's Enigma
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"Please... kill... me..."
The hole that I assumed was its mouth was opening and closing with a faint peck-peck.
I needed to figure out if this thing could understand me. A chick that only begged to die had no value whatsoever.
"You want to die? Nod your head if you do."
"Demon bastard..."
I could hear Eve muttering curses from behind me, but I ignored her and focused on the minor criminal in front of me. The criminal slowly nodded. It seemed his hearing and judgment were functioning normally. To think they'd really skinned him alive while he was conscious... Had Karin been a butcher in her previous life?
"Please... I want... to die..."
"Where's your aphrodisiac sales point? Your base?"
My original plan had been to rough up the aphrodisiac peddlers just enough and work out a win-win deal. But if they were all ending up like this, dead, there was no room for negotiation. Sadly, it looked like there was no choice but to enforce justice and restore order.
Eve, still bound in chains, rolled her body closer to me. When I glanced at her, she casually spread her bound hands to show she was fine and safe. The aphrodisiac dealer seemed to think for a moment before slowly opening his mouth.
"Peta estate... mansion... back... mountain... cave..."
Was this what they meant by "darkest under the lamp"? To think the aphrodisiac sellers had set up a hideout in the back mountain right behind the mansion. I asked about their organization and a few other details, and the dealer spilled everything easily. A professional torturer from the kingdom really was on another level. Even without one present, the criminal trembled as if being tortured, confessing his crimes.
If I'd done it myself, he probably would've died midway through. Once the testimony ended, the criminal pitifully repeated his plea to be killed. With nothing more to learn, I decided to grant his wish.
After all, I wasn't some psychopath like Karin.
But then I realized too late that I hadn't brought my mace. I patted my waist and glanced at Eve. Our eyes met suddenly, and she flinched, pulling back slightly.
"Got a gun?"
"A gun? Oh, yeah. Should be on my waist."
I stepped into the iron-barred cage where Eve was. When I patted her waist, I spotted the pistol tucked there. Eve glared at me with extreme disgust as I touched her.
"Fuck off, don't grope weird places, you crazy murdering religious psycho bastard."
"You seem to have an aversion to religion. That's not good."
"What the fuck are you saying! It's not religion—it's you I hate, you shitty personality wreck! And you were all casual last time, now you're being polite? What the hell!"
Because it pisses you off, obviously. I drew the pistol from her waistband and examined it. It was just a flintlock pistol, the kind from a pirate movie set in the Caribbean. The powder was loaded, ready to fire at the pull of the trigger. Eve spoke up.
"That one's loaded, so..."
Bang!
I immediately aimed at the aphrodisiac dealer's head and pulled the trigger. A small hole appeared in his head, and the faintly twitching dealer went still. I looked around; traces of torture were everywhere. I'd wanted to make this dungeon a bit more comfortable, but that seemed hopeless now.
I confiscated the gun from Eve and called for Robin. She screamed about giving her gun back, but I ignored her completely.
"Robin."
"Yes, my Lord."
"Leave Eve here and clean up the basement thoroughly. Bloodstains, corpses, all of it."
"Yes, understood."
"And bring me a map? Meet me at the bathhouse."
Once Robin left to carry out my orders, I headed to the bathhouse. Not to wash, but to meet Selu. Selu was splashing lazily in a separate tub installed in the bathhouse. She was touching the bathroom floor when she saw me and grinned. For a murderous mermaid who'd killed plenty of humans, she was surprisingly sociable.
"You came? What's got you curious? Me? My body? My tastes?"
"Tell me more about Evangeline."
"Evangeline?"
"Yeah. You said before that she suggested wiping out the city, but you refused."
"Yeah, yeah. That's right."
"What does Evangeline look like?"
The name Evangeline had never appeared in the game. It ended once you defeated the Demon King. Come to think of it, even the Demon King in the game hadn't uttered a name like that. He'd just died screaming about his grudge.
Something was definitely off. I suspected this Evangeline was at the center of all these changes. Unknown identity or not, to resolve all these bizarre incidents in the world, eliminating her was key.
"No idea."
Selu shook her head, saying she didn't know. I'd hoped for a lead, but I couldn't help getting irritated.
"No idea?"
"Yeah. She wore a mask. I only know she's female. No clue on race or specifics. She covered her whole body in cloth."
"Build?"
"Just a normal human woman. About that size."
"What about her voice? You knew she was female, so you must've heard it."
"Normal human voice. Want me to imitate?"
"You can imitate it?"
"Heh... I'm a mermaid. Imitating voices is easy for me."
Selu grinned, cleared her throat, closed her eyes, and opened her mouth to mimic it. But she grimaced and clamped her mouth shut. She tilted her head and tried again, but nothing changed.
"What's wrong?"
"Can't do it."
"What?"
"What?"
Selu suddenly mimicked me perfectly, not missing a single word or inflection. She tilted her head again.
"Weird. Yours works fine."
"You just can't imitate Evangeline's voice?"
"Yeah. How do I put it? Feels like I can't explain it any more specifically."
"Can't explain specifically? Any unique habits or speech patterns?"
"Um... can't say?"
"Pardon?"
Selu looked confused as she touched her mouth. She opened it again to explain. Her lips moved like she was talking underwater. Pursing them in an almost lewd pout, she strained to speak.
"So, Evangeline... can't say. Can't talk about Evangeline? Can't. What? She's female, normal build, but can't say?"
Selu repeated "can't say" like a parrot. It didn't seem like she was messing with me. For a while, she tried describing Evangeline's other traits in front of me. But every attempt failed. She'd try drawing pictures or letters in the air, or explaining in roundabout terms.
But every method Selu and I tried ended in failure. Her hand trembled uncontrollably when drawing, veering off course, or whenever it neared anything about Evangeline, "can't say" popped out. Selu scratched her head and frowned.
"This is weird. I was trying to cooperate. Why can't I talk?"
"Does Eve know about Evangeline too?"
Come to think of it, that's why I'd gone to see Eve in the first place. I'd gotten sidetracked by the meat-lump prisoner. Selu nodded.
"Yeah, yeah. Eve was there when I talked with Evangeline. But Eve hated her."
That was enough. I left Selu in the bathroom and stepped out. Perfect timing—Robin was waiting in the hall with the map.
"Uh, are you done bathing?"
He must've thought I meant for him to bring it to the bathhouse and wait until I finished. No wonder he hadn't shown up sooner. I nodded and took the map. It detailed the back mountain behind the estate mansion. I gauged the hideout location from the prisoner's description and pointed it out with my finger.
"Center your investigation around this area. Take the guards and knights."
"Yes, understood."
Robin nodded and headed out. Now I had to return to the cleaned-up basement dungeon. If Karin hadn't made such a mess, I could've wrapped this up in one trip. Thanks to her, I was going back and forth unnecessarily.
Eve lay in the basement dungeon looking more comfortable than before. The blood-soaked prison had become somewhat cleaner, with just a faint bloody smell lingering. Eve was rolling around on the bed in the central iron-barred cage, chained to it.
"Why're you back?"
"Got some questions."
"Questions?"
"Do you know Evangeline?"
"Evangeline? Oh..."
Eve frowned briefly at the name, then nodded as if remembering something. I asked her.
"Who is Evangeline?"
"No idea. She showed up on the island out of nowhere and said her name was Evangeline. She talked at length with my mom, but it didn't go well, apparently."
"What does she look like?"
"Uh... She wore a mask and covered her whole body in cloth. Said it was hot and briefly took off her hat. That's when I saw... can't say?"
Eve frowned. Only then was I certain. Unless Selu and Eve were conspiring about Evangeline, this was some kind of magic or prohibition hiding her existence.