129. Hostage (1)
“Thank you. I came here all of a sudden…”
“No, please come again if you need more counseling, Saintess.”
Cornelia waved her hand with a cheerful smile.
I smiled back at her and left the office.
Cornelia’s atmosphere seemed to have changed strangely recently.
I should say she seemed to have gained some confidence.
Anyway, something had changed.
‘Maybe she’s in love.’
She said her late husband was a terrible man.
They say that the wounds inflicted by men can be healed by men.
Cornelia seems to be doing the same.
And Eugene will probably be the same.
I’m sure Eugene has been spending time with other women to relieve the stress because I’ve been nagging him and hurting him.
It’s all my fault.
I’m the one who committed the infidelity because I’m incompetent, and Eugene must have been so bewildered when I got angry at him.
The more I think about it, the more I feel like an idiot.
“This method won’t work.”
And I realized after talking to Cornelia.
No matter how much I want to find Eugene.
Even if I want to see him, I shouldn’t do it by issuing a warrant.
I was desperate to see Eugene right now, and I wanted to see his face so badly that I went to extremes.
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Saying that I urgently needed Eugene’s help was just an excuse.
Did I try hard enough on my own before I even asked for Eugene’s help?
Wasn’t I trying to depend on Eugene from the beginning?
Thanks to Cornelia, I was able to have such doubts.
And I decided that I had to drop the warrant.
I was too hasty.
I almost ruined my future relationship with Eugene because I wanted to see his face right away.
Even if it’s a little late, take it slow.
I need to show Eugene that I’ve changed first.
I can’t repeat the same mistake I made when I was spamming the entire continent.
‘Even if the white smoke comes, there’s no good solution if Eugene comes. If Eugene takes off his shoes and investigates, it’s not much different from me running around. Let’s do it myself. Don’t hurt Eugene again…’
I’m going to stand up on my own.
I’m not an idiot who can’t do anything without Eugene.
No, it seems to be true…
I feel uneasy and can’t do anything without Eugene by my side…
But I have to overcome it.
Eugene will hate me like this.
To change, you have to stand up on your own first.
“Cornelia. I’m going to go now. I’m going to stop the investigation.”
“That’s a good idea.”
Cornelia smiled as if it were her own business.
It’s all thanks to Cornelia.
I thanked her and left Briem’s mansion and headed for Cologne Cathedral.
Even though I didn’t tell him in advance, the parish priest came out to greet me and welcomed me.
“Hello, Saintess. Are you here for Mass?”
“Yes. I’m also here to see Cardinal Nicholas.”
“The Cardinal’s room is on the second floor. I’ll show you the way.”
“Thank you.”
It was when I went up to the second floor and there were fewer people.
The parish priest covered his mouth and whispered in a small voice.
“This is the devil’s magic that was found from former Mayor Lawrence. Unlike the devils that have been found so far, it seems to belong to a high-ranking devil.”
“A high-ranking devil… Do you mean a great devil?”
“Yes.”
Cornelia seemed to have intended to keep it a secret from me.
But because of my position, I inevitably learned a lot about my ex-husband.
I thought he was just a servant of an ordinary devil, but I never thought he would have made a contract with a great devil…
“The expectation that the great devil would not be interested in the human world has been broken. Why are they suddenly interfering like this after being quiet until now?”
“This is a hypothesis from the Magic Tower, but the warlocks believe that the great devils and the monsters from the other world that have been discovered recently are related.”
“······.”
Were the monsters from the other world actually from the devil world?
No. That can’t be.Is it right to see this as the transgression of a single great demon?
A great demon has joined hands with beings from another world and is attempting an invasion of this world?
For what purpose?
I don’t know.
The information provided is too limited to even speculate.
“This is difficult.”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
“Even so, information is being exchanged actively with the Magic Tower and Elvengarde, so the truth may come to light soon.”
Now that we have a lead, it shouldn’t be long before we uncover the identities of these guys.
There was the recent incident in Elvengarde where the corpse of an intelligent monster was stolen.
But other than that, there haven’t been any major incidents yet, it seems.
“This is the room.”
“But Your Holiness. By any chance, the Cardinal······. Um.”
“Yes?”
“No. Never mind. I’ll go prepare for mass.”
“Yes. I’ll be down soon.”
The parish priest left.
I knocked twice on the door of the now-empty corridor.
But there was no answer from inside.
I waited for about 20 seconds and knocked again.
“Your Eminence. This is Jill Diner. May I have an interview?”
“······.”
Even after calling out loudly, there was still no response.
There was no “out” sign, so he must be inside.
I pulled on the doorknob, wondering what was going on, and it opened because it wasn’t locked.
Inside the office that was revealed were piles of documents stacked in disarray.
And Cardinal Nicholas could be seen standing stiffly, looking out the window.
“Your Eminence······?”
The Cardinal just stood there with his back turned, as if his body was frozen.
I called out to him again and again, but he still didn’t respond.
Could he have fallen asleep standing up?
I approached him quietly and went right up next to him.
The Cardinal’s eyes were definitely open.
He was standing with his center of gravity balanced, but he didn’t react at all, as if he were dead.
The moment I thought that his face was lacking in color and that he looked like a corpse.
“Gasp?!”
I checked his pulse on his wrist and jumped back in surprise.
There was no pulse!
He’s a corpse!
Thud!
The Cardinal fell sideways because I touched him as I stepped back.
The Cardinal fell over in the same position he was standing in, like a mannequin collapsing.
I was so scared and creeped out that I turned and ran away.
As I passed through the door, I suddenly felt a chill.
It felt like a cold wind had suddenly brushed past me.
And the moment I stepped out into the corridor.
A familiar voice came from inside the room.
“Is this the Saint?”
“Ca, Cardinal?”
“Oh my. I apologize. I accidentally fell asleep.”
I peeked my head out and saw the Cardinal standing up naturally and brushing off his clothes.
He had definitely been stiff and frozen just a moment ago.
Now he was moving and speaking normally, and there seemed to be color in his face.
Did I see wrong?
“You were sleeping······ standing up······?”
“I have something like narcolepsy. Everyone is surprised when they see it for the first time. hahahahaha.”
“But I couldn’t feel your pulse······.”
“My pulse may have been a little weak. Would you like to check again? It should be beating normally now.”
It’s real.
I checked again, and this time it was beating vigorously.
It seems my misunderstanding was correct.
I was so surprised······.
“What brings you to this humble office?”
“I’m here to cancel the warrant.”
“Are you referring to the attempted rape case?”
“Yes. I met with the person involved and we reached an agreement. So I would like you to suspend the investigation.”
“You met with the person involved······?”
Cardinal Nicholas narrowed his eyes.
His face looked a little creepy, and I couldn’t help but hiccup.
“How did that happen?”
“Th, that’s a secret. It’s all good now. The conclusion was that it was my misunderstanding, so that person is not a suspect. So I would be grateful if you could end the investigation and drop the warrant.””Yes, well. I understand. The parties involved have apparently resolved the matter amicably, so of course we must do as they wish.”
“Thank you. You’ve even accepted the wanted notice we put out without question. And now you’re suddenly canceling it…”
“hahahahaha. When it’s a request from the Saintess, no one thinks of it as being unreasonable.”
The Cardinal smiled broadly and pulled a sheet of paper from the pile of documents.
It was a copy of the warrant with the Cardinal’s seal.
He stamped it with another seal and called over a bishop to hand him the warrant.
“This warrant is no longer valid as of this moment. Cease the investigation. And erase the identity of the individual known as Eugene.”
“Yes. Understood.”
“Is this what you wanted, Saintess? Does it ease your mind? hahahahaha.”
“Yes…”
It was all settled.
Everything had turned out just as I had wished.
And yet, for some reason, I couldn’t shake this uneasy feeling.
What is it?
Why does the Cardinal seem so strange today?
***
If there’s something hidden in Cologne, it’s in the sewers.
If there’s something suspicious going on in Cologne, it’s happening in the sewers.
The sewers of Cologne are treated like a realm of demons, as the saying goes among the users.
It’s not surprising, given their vast size and the fact that they were once the site of a dungeon.
Even if I were a villain, if I were up to something in Cologne, I’d do it in the dark, deserted sewers.
That’s why I’m exploring the sewers with Mijin, but…
“Ugh! This stench is killing me! I should have bought a gas mask!”
“······Trash.”
“Is your nose okay?”
“······Trash.”
“Seriously, how long are you going to keep that up…”
“······Trash.”
The stench is unbearable.
The part of the sewers we visited when we defeated the dungeon must have been one of the less smelly areas.
The deeper we go, the harder it is to breathe.
If it were just a bad smell, that would be one thing, but there’s also poisonous gas mixed in, making it hard to breathe.
I feel like I could suffocate if I push myself too hard.
In the end, we weren’t able to explore all the way.
We had to give up halfway through and run outside.
“Excuse me! Who are you people?”
“Oh. Are you the sewer maintenance worker?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Just one question. Have you seen any suspicious people in the sewers lately?”
“I haven’t seen anyone other than you… But I heard from a colleague that he saw something floating in the water.”
“I see.”
“Wait, who are you people! Don’t run away! Hey!”
“Mijin. Run. No, just carry me.”
“······Okay.”
It’s impossible to check every inch of this vast sewer system within 24 hours.
So we have no choice but to trust the maintenance worker’s word that there haven’t been any suspicious people in the sewers…
‘He said he saw something floating in the water?’
Does that mean they traveled through the water channels?
No. That can’t be right.
The water flowing through the water channels is contaminated with sewage and all sorts of chemicals.
There are probably places where you have to completely submerge yourself, and it would be impossible for a living person to pass through those places.
‘Wait a minute. If a living person can’t pass through, what about a dead body?’
The only suspects are vampires.
And necromancers, who are made of spirits.
Luna, one of the Four Heavenly Kings?
“There’s not enough evidence…”
In the first place, there’s no evidence that the enemy is even one of the Four Heavenly Kings.
No. Before that, it’s not even certain that the enemy exists.
It all started with the story of the white smoke that Jill saw.
I need more concrete evidence.
I need to confirm the enemy’s identity.
I need to figure out their location and their plan.
The only person who might know the details is…
‘Damn it. That would be Solara.’
Solara, the paladin who is in league with the Four Heavenly Kings.
The problem is that the bastard is currently buried underground, and the moment I dig him up to ask him anything, he’ll attack me.It seems that Jill doesn’t know much either, so it’s useless to contact her.
Then who else is a useful source of information?
“······힘들어.”
“I’m tired too. I’ve been running around without resting and I’m having trouble breathing. I’m dying of thirst.”
We both collapsed on the bench, completely exhausted.
Mi-jung also looks expressionless and doesn’t seem to be breathing hard, so she doesn’t seem to be tired.
But when I see her eyes gradually turning red, I can see that she is definitely close to exhaustion.
Soon, she will try to knock me down and take my blood.
“Excuse me······. Can I have some water?”
“Oh. Thank you.”
At that moment, a cup of water was pushed in from the side.
Judging from her neat apron, she seems to be an employee of the store next door.
I gratefully take the cup and drink the water.
But now that I see it······.
This beautiful boy.
I’ve seen his face somewhere before.
Blonde hair and clear blue eyes.
The typical handsome protagonist, but he looks just like someone.
“What’s your name?”
“My name? I’m Zenon Artemisia.”
“Ah.”
Artemisia.
I thought so.
He was Solara’s younger brother.
“Nice to meet you. I’ve always wanted to meet you, but I never thought I’d meet you like this.”
“Huh? Ah? Yes? Who, who are you?”
“I’m Solara’s friend. Aren’t you her younger brother?”
“Ah······! Yes! That’s right!”
‘Hostage acquired.’
The material to blackmail Solara came to me on its own.