บท 24: Chapter 23: The Threat
You can read 505 episodes for $10. p.*atreon.com/Astrid02
****
"…You want me to be your personal maid?"
"Yes! From now on, you will be my personal maid and serve me for the rest of your life!"
"...."
When I inquired again in an absurd tone, the Saintess once again declared, pointing a finger at me with a look of triumph.
As she said so, the corners of her lips slightly turned up.
"You mean to say I'm a woman?"
"Yes! You're a woman!"
"…Why?"
According to the prophetic book, arguing with the Saintess is a dangerous action that can directly lead to a bad ending.
But if I didn't ask now, the situation would spiral out of control, so I took the risk and inquired. The Saintess then crossed her arms and then opened her mouth with a smug look.
"Fufu, you're going to come out like this…? Fine! Then… I'll tell you why!"
Having said that, she looked down at me as she raised her three fingers and stated.
"There are three reasons why you are a woman!"
"…Three reasons?"
"Yes! Well, let me tell you the first reason!"
Saying so, the Saintess folded one of her fingers and began to narrate her reasons.
"You've already confessed in front of me that you're a woman!"
"…I did?"
"Yes! In the hallway back then!"
"…Ah."
Only then I realized why this situation transpired.
Apparently, this naïve Saintess really believed the lie I spouted to test the skill that raised the persuasiveness of lies while passing through the hallway.
My mind was occupied with plenty of other concerns, so I left her alone, wondering if she really believed it… But I guess I've overestimated Ferloche's intelligence.
"Don't you know it was a joke?"
"Ha… Now, that excuse won't work! And this isn't the end!"
When I stated it was just a joke with a pitiful expression, the Saintess snorted and snapped back at me, then folded her second finger and spoke.
"The second reason is… your pretty face!"
"…What are you talking about?"
When I asked her while tilting my head at those words, the Saintess opened her eyes wide and said.
"Your pretty face… In fact, it clearly aligns with the truth that you are actually a pretty girl disguised as a man!"
"...…"
"What do you think? Aren't I right? I hit the nail on the head, didn't I? As expected… My guess was right!"
As I stared at the smug Saintess, who finished stating her second reason, for some reason, I had a sudden urge to flick her forehead.
However, I held back since it would be a true evil deed that wouldn't bring in any false evil points, and I asked the Saintess, who was still shrugging her shoulders, one last question.
"…What's the last reason?"
"The last reason… I'll come up with it right now!"
Saying so, she threw a white stone at me.
"…What's this?"
"As expected… I knew it… This proves it…!"
When I involuntarily grabbed the stone and asked her while tilting my head, the Saintess replied with a satisfied grin on her face.
"The stone turns black when an impure person touches it!"
"It turns black?"
"Yes, I'm sure of it! Since it's a stone that the Church's bishops make me hold every day!"
The Saintess excitedly declared with a twinkle in her eyes, then slowly rose from her seat and gradually came down to where I was.
"Frey Raon Starlight… The reason you're a virgin, even though you have so many women by your side…"
"…Reason?"
Eventually, the Saintess stopped right in front of me, and then pointed at me and declared.
"It's because you're a woman, you can't embrace them!"
Then a heavy silence descended upon the cathedral
"…How did you even learn about that sort of stuff?"
As I quietly stared at Ferloche, I was so impressed by the fact that she knows about the act of making love that I muttered without even realizing.
"Yes! Of course! Back in the day, the nuns taught me for several years, saying that if I went to the academy in that state, I would get in trouble! So I definitely remembered their teachings!"
"…Sigh."
After hearing her explanation, I earnestly prayed that she wouldn't go around, claiming she had regressed. Soon afterwards, I gazed down at the white stone in my palm and fell into deep thoughts.
'…Considering it's the Saintess, she racked her brain quite a lot on this, but she's still sloppy.'
Now, my left arm is charred from forcibly absorbing Kania's dark mana last night, so it's covered in a bandage.
And, of course, the bandage is also wrapped around my left palm, holding the stone.
In other words, the chastity meter she threw right now is not working as it supposed to be.
"Come here!"
Meanwhile, the Saintess picked up the maid's outfit at my feet and held it out to me with sparkling eyes.
If she was eventually going to do that, I don't know why she even bothered to throw the maid's outfit at me earlier.
"Once you put this on, make sure to clean the whole cathedral."
"Hey…"
"After that, you will recite the purification prayer along with me! And after that, confession! And then…"
"…How long are you going to keep doing this?"
As I spoke in a cold tone because I didn't have time for any more of her charade, the Saintess' eyes widened and she said.
"Geez, aren't you afraid that the truth will be revealed!? If you keep behaving like this… I'll expose your secret to the academy…"
"…Expose."
"Yes! I'm going to expose it!"
I looked at her, who suddenly began to squeal, and I responded to her threats in an impassive tone.
"Sure, do it."
"…Eh?"
"Go ahead, expose it."
"...?"
As I left those words and began to head for the exit, the Saintess caught up to me with a panicked expression on her face.
"Do-Don't leave!"
"…Let go of me."
"If you leave, I'll reveal that you're a woman..!"
"…How many times do I have to tell you? I'm a man."
"B-But…"
"I'm a busy man. I don't have time to kid around with a bitch like you. So, let go of me and return to that seat."
I gave Ferloche one last warning, holding back the irritation that was about to explode, but she suddenly began to speak in a quavering tone.
"Why… Why the hell do you keep lying…?"
"Sigh… If you bother me any longer, I'll formally protest to the Church…"
"Stop lying already!!!"
Saying so, she approached me with fast strides…
"Lying is a great disrespect to the Sun God… huh…?"
"...!!!"
– Grab
""...…""
And there was silence for a while.
"…What's this?"
The Saintess, who grabbed my lower half, looked up and asked in a confused tone.
"…A man's family jewel."
And the moment she heard my words, her face turned red, and she began to stutter.
"Th-Th-The—Then… you're really… a ma-man…?"
"…How long are you going to hold on to it?"
"Kyaa!!"
Eventually, unable to resist any longer, I slapped her hand, then Ferloche backed away and screamed, as she held her hands together in devotion.
"Lo-Lord Sun God!! Forgive me for my sins and save me from evil!!"
"…You won't apologize to me?"
" So-Sorry…! No… I won't apologize to you… Well, it's still my fault… Ugh…"
I stared at Ferloche with a pitiful gaze, who was spouting gibberish and still had her face dyed bright red, and just as I was about to leave her behind and head out of the cathedral.
– Click Click
"…Hmm?"
For some reason, the door to the way out was locked.
"Hey, what's going on…"
So, as I was perplexed for a moment, I turned around and tried to ask Ferloche what this was all about.
"Frey… you… are you really not a woman… ?"
Before I knew it, she was approaching me with a murderous expression on her face.
False Evil's Intuition
[A strong murderous intent is felt nearby!]
Eventually, I saw the system window floating in front of me, and I hastily tried to unsheathe my sword.
"Are you sure you're not!!!"
"Gasp!!"
Before I could draw my sword, the Saintess grabbed me by the throat and flung me on the floor.
This was the moment when the true power of the ⟦Blessing of the Sun God⟧ was demonstrated, as there are not many techniques that can counter it in a 1:1 situation.
"Cough…! What are you doing… right… now?"
When I barely asked her a question, struggling to endure the dizziness caused by her overwhelming strength, Ferloche, who had been biting her lips, slowly opened her mouth.
"If you're… really not a woman… then I don't have your weakness… after all, I have no choice but to kill you…"
"…What?"
"Although… I met people like myself… and decided to cooperate with them… in the end, it was all in vain…"
"Now… what are you talking about?"
"…I saw the future."
I listened to her while struggling to hold on to my fading consciousness, as she choked the wind out of me, then closed my eyes shut when I heard her say that she had seen the future.
"The future… what kind of future…"
"The future in which you'll ruin the Empire… The future in which you'll destroy this world…"
Ferloche, who was on the verge of tears, exerted more pressure on my throat and began to speak.
"I… I did my best… to make you repent in that future…"
"Cough… Cough…"
"Every day I visited you and recited the doctrines of the Sun God… Every night I prayed to Lord Sun God for your salvation… Whenever you did something bad, I tried to stop you…"
"Ugh…"
"But you still ended up shattering the Empire … and made the people of the Empire suffer."
And before I knew it, Ferloche, who continued to narrate her story, began to shed tears of grief as her hands trembled while gripping my throat.
"I was an ignorant idiot… a coward who couldn't do anything besides watch you ruin everything…"
"Ughhh…"
"So, I was overjoyed when I thought I had discovered your fatal weakness…at the thought that maybe I can change the future…"
Unable to take it any longer, I grabbed Ferloche's hand and tried to say something, but she continued to add strength to her grip.
"Perhaps… this time… before the future I saw looms… If I take advantage of your weakness… I might be able to reform you, as you never repented, no matter what I did…"
"That's why… you kept saying… I'm a woman…"
"But in the end, even that weakness was my foolish blunder."
Having said that, Ferloche closed her eyes and continued to speak as tears rolled down her face.
"So… In the end, it seems I'm doomed to kill you, Sir Frey…"
"Wa-Wait…"
"Still, for the Empire… for the sake of its people… and to save your soul from getting tormented in the abysmal pit of hell… this is the only way…"
The Saintess, who was speaking in a quavering tone with a guilt-ridden look, said so as she struggled to form a broad smile.
"After I kill you… I'll take my own life as well. No matter how you destroy the Empire in the future… It's a clear sin to commit a murder for something that hasn't transpired yet."
"Ugh…"
"…Instead, I will help you repent till the end, in the afterlife."
– Crack!
After saying those words, Ferloche snapped Frey's neck with all her might.
"…Ugh."
Ferloche, who felt the sensation of Frey's neck being snapped with her own hands, trembled with the guilt of having committed murder, and soon clasped her hands together and prayed in silence.
"Lord Sun God, please be content with the offering of my humble soul for violating your doctrine… and I beseech you to forgive the Empire and Frey…"
Having thus finished her prayer, Ferloche quietly placed her hands on Frey's neck and muttered.
"…He, too, was once a kind man."
Notice!
[❰Emergency Protection❱ skill automatically used!]
Target: Ferloche Astellade's strength enhanced by the ❰Blessing of the Sun God❱
[Details: The ❰Blessing of the Sun God❱ is a legendary blessing granted only to the Saintess by the Son God, boasting devastating 1:1 capability. The beings who can resist or overcome this blessing are limited only to the Demon King and Star Hero wearing the awakened Hero's Armament.]
I was knocked out for a while, but as soon as the system window appeared in front of my eyes, I came back to my senses and witnessed Ferloche grabbing her own neck and mumbling something with a sorrowful expression.
"I hope in your next life… you remain your old pure self till the end…"
"Yes! Actually, I'm a woman!!"
"Oh God!!"
I hastily exclaimed.
"…Why didn't you die?"
The Saintess who had been gawking at me with her mouth hung open for a while, soon asked a question with a dumbfounded look, and I, who was agonizing over my reply, averted my gaze and answered in a muffled voice.
"…A snapping sound coming from the neck doesn't necessarily mean the death of a person."
"…Ha."
Upon hearing this, Ferloche momentarily froze with a dumbfounded look on her face, then soon began to approach me while crying.
"So-Sorry…! I didn't know that, I'm such an idiot…! It must have hurt a lot, right…?"
"N-No… not really…"
"I'll snap your neck properly this time around. Just give me a moment…!"
"No, I'm a girl! I'm actually a girl!!"
I shouted, hastily waving my hands in fear of Ferloche, who was approaching me with blazing eyes, and then Ferloche asked a question with her eyebrows raised.
"But… then, that long thing I touched earlier…"
"…It's fake! It's fake! I put a fake one there so I can pretend to be a man!"
Not wanting to feel the sensation of my neck being snapped ever again, I lied as plausibly as I could… Then Ferloche flinched and asked once more.
"…Then what about your voice?"
"Huh?"
"Now that I think about it… Sir Frey's voice is too deep for a woman…"
"…That's because I altered my voice!"
"Then what's your original voice like?"
When she inquired skeptically, I concentrated my stellar mana around my throat and spoke in a voice that was as thin as possible.
"…This is my original voice."
"…..!!!"
Then she looked at me with a shocked expression and soon opened her mouth with a beaming smile.
"…What a relief! So I got hold of your weakness again!"
"…Yes."
As I quietly nodded my head, the Saintess opened her mouth, wiping away the welled up tears from her eyes.
"Then… From now on, make sure to visit the cathedral every day after the academy is over! I'll make you repent!"
"No… that's a bit…"
"It's an order! Don't I have your 'weakness' in my hands now…?"
"Sigh, I understand… then… give me a moment."
"…Yes?"
After roughly escaping the situation, I was planning to get out of here and file a formal complaint to the Church, but soon I stopped talking as I began to brood over a thought that suddenly occurred to me.
'The moment Ferloche receives the help of the Church, her position will be tremendously lowered…'
Now is a time when Ferloche is still properly treated as the Saintess in Church, even if she is considered as an imbecile.
However, the corrupt Pope and the bishops are probably filled with ideas to undermine her power and monopolize it for themselves.
Therefore, if I receive Church's assistance to deal with Ferloche… it will be beneficial in the short term, but in the long term it will be problematic.
Because the crime of attempted murder and insulting the heir to one of the Ducal families in the Empire is a grave sin that even a Saintess will be condemned for.
'…So, do I have to obey her? No, that's also a problem…'
But if I don't borrow the Church's power, that's also a problem.
If I can't inform the Church, I will eventually have to resolve this situation on my own.
In that case, I'm left with two options: either I can force Ferloche into submission or I can follow what she says… Both of these options are problematic.
First of all, it's next to impossible to subdue her forcefully.
In order to overwhelm and subdue Ferloche, who has the ❰Blessing of the Sun God❱, so she won't fool around with me anymore, I need the ⟬Awakened Hero's Armament⟭.
In my current state, I will never be able to overwhelm her unless I fight with the sole intention of killing her.
And, no matter what, I will never kill Ferloche.
It's a game over condition to begin with, not to mention it goes against my conviction to protect everyone
Then, the only way left by method of elimination is to obey her orders… but I don't want to wear that cute maid outfit even if I have to die.
I mean, I'm a hero, not a maid.
Besides, she declared she was going to make me repent.
That means, if I show even the slightest hint of repentance in front of her… another penalty will be incurred.
It's truly a dire situation.
"…Hey, what's wrong?"
"Ah, that's… that's just…"
While I was sweating profusely struggling to come up with a response, Ferloche cautiously asked me what's going on.
In the end, in order to buy more time, I asked her about something she mentioned earlier that I found a bit odd.
"…Didn't you say earlier that you and 'people like yourself' met and agreed to cooperate? What did you mean by that?"
"…Huh?"
"And what did you mean when you said it was all in vain?"
"Ah… that…"
When I posed that question, Ferloche was about to reply without thinking, but soon she asked with a wary look on her face.
"But why are you asking me that now!?"
"Oh… You've gotten a little more intelligent, after all."
"What? What did you say just now…"
"Ah, what I meant was… as a maid who will serve you for the rest of my life, I need to know all such trivial details."
When I lied to relieve her vigilance, Ferloche soon relaxed her guarded expression and began to speak in an excited tone.
"Aha! So that's what you meant! To be honest, Frey, I'm still a little skeptical about your words… but for some reason I feel it's true, so I'll tell you something special!"
"…Yes."
"Actually, there are a few others who have seen the future as I have!"
"..."
Then I closed my eyes and held my forehead as I listened to what she said, wondering if it was true.
'…They have already formed an alliance.'
The fact that the Main Heroines have already formed an alliance is quite troublesome. It seems I quickly need to come up with a contingency plan.
'…By the way, is it fine for Ferloche to tell me all of this? This is crazy.'
Apparently, Ferloche should never be an ally.
"Hey… can you tell me who these people are, who saw the future just like you?"
"…No!"
With such determination, I posed a question, trying to figure out which of the Main Heroines are part of the alliance, but Ferloche shook her head in denial and exclaimed.
"Her Highness Clana warned me not to tell anyone!"
"…Clana?"
"Yes! Y-You asked me again… Hiik…!"
However, it was all for nothing since the very next moment she spilled Clana's name.
"…I'll pretend I didn't hear it. Keep talking."
"Ah, thank you! Anyway, I stumbled upon people who saw the same future as I did, and I tried to cooperate with them."
"…Cooperate on what?"
"Frey, cooperating to ruin your life and eventually kill you!"
"....."
I honestly wasn't expecting such a kind explanation… Apparently, the Saintess is a tree that keeps on giving.
"I understand. But why do you think it's all in vain?"
"Ah… that's…"
As I nodded and asked one more question, the Saintess began to speak in a sullen tone.
"Recently, I received an oracle from the Sun God whether or not what I'm doing is right…"
"…An Oracle?"
"Yeah… But the Sun God said it wasn't right…"
When my brows furrowed at her words, Ferloche once again opened her mouth with a bright smile.
"In other words! I can't beat you if I cooperate! So… I have decided to act individually!"
"…I see."
"And so, with my amazing reasoning, I discovered your weaknesses… and by threatening you like this, I created an opportunity to reform you and change the future! After all, the oracle is always right!"
"Sigh…"
I sighed and tapped the brooch on my chest, wondering if I should blame the Saintess for misinterpreting the meaning of the oracle, or the Sun God, who I had no idea what in the world they were thinking.
Now, it's time to go back to being a false evil.
"Okay, now I have explained it, right? So, put on that maid outfit and start cleaning…"
– Her Highness Clana warned me not to tell anyone!
"…Eh?"
Ferloche, who was speaking in an enthusiastic tone as she suddenly picked up the maid outfit and offered it to me again, tilted her head when her earlier remarks came out of the brooch I tapped earlier.
– …Cooperate on what?
– Frey, cooperating to ruin your life and eventually kill you!
"...!"
Then, when her own fairly dangerous statement came out of my brooch, she flinched and asked me a question.
"Wha-What's this about…?"
"What do you mean? It's a threat."
"Th-Threat…?"
As I said so, glaring coldly at Ferloche who inquired in a trembling voice.
"The third Princess of the empire and the Saintess conspired to capture someone…?"
"U-Um…"
"That too, the next head of the Ducal family of Starlight, the revered family of the Hero…?"
"Hiiik…!"
The Saintess, who had been trembling for a while, soon began to scream.
"If you're going to keep acting like this…! The fact that you're a woman…!"
"Sorry, I'm actually a man."
"No, you said earlier you're a woman!"
"I lied. You should know better since you touched it, didn't you? It can't be faked easily."
"Ughhh!!"
Then Saintess, who had been sweating profusely at my brazen attitude, said with a cold expression on her face.
"Then, after all, you must die here…"
"Well, it doesn't matter if you kill me… Then this recording will soon be transmitted across the Empire, right?"
"…What?"
When she showed a puzzled expression at my words, I opened my mouth while stroking the brooch on my chest
"This brooch… not only has a simple recording function, but it also has transmission magic."
"…Transmission magic?"
"I believe it must have been passed on to my subordinates by now. Of course, I have already given them prior order that in case if I die or disappear, the recording I sent them must be released to the entire world."
.
"You're lying!"
She is right. My words are blatant lies.
The ⟬Recording Brooch⟭ is one of the three brooches I always wear on my chest, along with the ⟬Remote Life Force Transmission Brooch⟭ and the ⟬Brooch of Death Oath⟭, and it has a function of recording what the other person says.
But of course, it doesn't have the ability to transmit those recordings. Adding such a function would cost tens of thousands of gold and is basically a waste of money.
'…Still, I'm glad I chose to wear these brooches.'
It became a habit to wear these brooches on my chest, which I used to cherish even in my previous life, and thanks to that, today I was able to turn the table.
Therefore, I want to craft and wear more brooches with diverse functionalities… However, unfortunately, I haven't yet found the artisan who was beaten by Isolet in the back alley.
So it seems that crafting additional brooches will have to be postponed for the time being.
"If you think I'm lying, why don't you give it a try?"
Regretting that I couldn't add more brooches, I soon shook my head and retorted to Ferloche, who was denying my words.
"…Argh!"
"Well, if you snap my neck I'm going to die… but don't you know that both you and the poor third Princess won't be safe either? However, you're still going to kill me anyway, won't you?"
"Ugh…!"
The Saintess, who had been furiously glaring at me, soon lowered her head and muttered.
"…I lost."
"Hmm?"
"I lost! You damn Frey!!"
Ferloche began to yell at me, almost on the verge of tears.
"The door is now unlocked, so get out of here! Let's pretend nothing happened today…"
"…No. Why would I pretend that nothing happened today?"
"What do you mean…?"
I approached her with a sneer, and I whispered while gently stroking her chin.
"…Isn't it your turn to be blackmailed now?"
"…..Hiik!"
Hearing my mocking whisper, the Saintess trembled and looked at me with fear in her eyes as I spoke while handing her the maid's outfit that was lying on the floor.
"Put it on."
"…Huh?"
"Put it on."
"Uh, here…?"
I nodded at her bewildered look, then soon spoke with a smile.
"…From now on, you are my personal maid."
Upon hearing those words, the Saintess slowly began to change her clothes while making a face full of shame.
After all, I'm really good at being hated.
****
You can read 505 episodes for $10. p.*atreon.com/Astrid02
สถานะพลังงานรายสัปดาห์
-- การจัดอันดับด้วยพลัง 
-- หินพลัง