🔊 TTS Settings
~Chapter 57~
Of course, Nemesia was extremely wary.
“No.”
See? She was always so cold to me.
Maybe I’d been too scary at first. Well, no matter.
‘I can always change that now.’
Sure, he could’ve just barged in through the open door,
but this room had a barrier: if an uninvited person entered, an alarm would sound.
“Your guardian’s coming soon anyway, isn’t he? The former Hero, I mean.”
Nemesia’s shoulders flinched.
For an instant, her eyes shone with trust.
For some reason, Usher felt a pang of regret.
It was fine. Trust like that could always be manufactured with brainwashing.
“…Still no. Who knows what you’ll do.”
Since no one else was around, Nemesia showed her defiance and suspicion without hesitation.
“I said I’d save him.”
“…How do I know you won’t lie?”
“Then should I just kill the boy? Makes no difference to me.”
Nemesia’s round eyes twisted with disgust.
But then—unexpectedly—they pierced right through him.
“Fine. Better than letting you in. If you can sacrifice civilians so easily, why would that be hard?”
“….”
Usher’s eyes widened a fraction.
“In the end, I’m what matters most. Even to the Church. A candidate is worth more than some boy.”
That told him two things:
She knew exactly what Bennett had reported,
and she was warning that even if the Committee heard, she’d come out ahead.
A thrill jolted the back of Usher’s neck.
Adrenaline surged.
A rush he hadn’t felt since war and covert ops.
‘Strange.’
The more she talked like this, the closer she fit his theory.
‘Still… being swayed by mere attachment doesn’t suit her image…’
Yet on the other hand, contradiction was precisely what tied fanatics to the Evil God’s doctrine.
“Good grief. Too smart for your own good. You must want something, then?”
That was why she was stalling instead of closing the door.
“Well then, candidate. What should I do? Want me to swear an oath?”
As he chuckled low, Nemesia’s eyes flashed. He didn’t see it.
“Fine. Make an oath you can’t break.”
“To God?”
“No.”
He paused.
“Stake a token.”
Usher glanced at the child’s trembling hand.
…She was deliberately avoiding an oath to God. Or was it his imagination?
Knights had two kinds of oaths.
-
Swearing to God, staking their holy power and very being.
-
Swearing upon a token, using their holy power to bind it.
The first left a mark on the body, the second on an object.
Both were binding.
He smiled brilliantly.
“All right. I was too scary last time, wasn’t I? I’ll repent. As proof… I’ll swear on my life not to kill you.”
Absurd, really.
A knight swearing not to kill the Pope candidate.
But both were dead serious.
Usher unpinned the emblem from his chest.
Holy power gathered, and the jewel in the emblem glowed with a blue light.
Brilliant, sacred radiance wrapped both Usher and Nemesia, tracing the sigil of God.
“There. Satisfied?”
He offered the emblem, but Nemesia still didn’t step out.
‘Hmm. Not fooled, are you?’
Smart, aren’t you.
“…Throw it. Hurry.”
The emblem clinked to the floor and rolled to Nemesia’s feet.
She picked it up conspicuously and tucked it into her inner pocket—
a spot nearly impossible for anyone else to reach.
Only then, still wary, did she step back.
“…Come in.”
Usher grinned.
He’d keep the oath, of course.
Why not?
He didn’t need to kill her.
Click!
The door shut and locked.
Usher moved fast. The moment his hand gripped the child’s nape—
Thud!
Her body collapsed to the floor.
But she felt no impact.
He’d caught her weight skillfully, lowering her gently.
Not a single bruise.
“…!!”
Flat on her back, her eyes widened in horror at the hand threatening her throat.
“You asked me not to kill that boy, right?”
Usher’s smile was sweet.
To be fooled by something like this—
how dumb.
How adorable.
“Of course. I’ll cherish you both. Don’t worry.”
He’d already wasted time in the hall.
Now he’d wrap this up quickly.
“Shhh. Stay still and you won’t get hurt. Kind and gentle, remember?”
“What are you talking about! Ugh!”
His ability Persuasion had three stages:
Suggestion, Hypnosis, and Brainwashing.
‘Go straight to brainwashing—’
As she glared in panic, the eye contact time he needed passed.
So…
Crash!
Usher blinked.
Ceramic shards clattered from his head.
A porcelain ornament from the cabinet had just “accidentally” fallen right onto him.
It didn’t hurt.
But it puzzled him.
‘Why now?’
Still, no time to waste. He tried to use his power again—
Slip.
His foot slid, though the carpet had always lain flat.
Now a fold had appeared right where he stepped.
Coincidence? Holy power at work?
But he felt none.
Maybe the barrier? But since he’d been invited in, the barrier shouldn’t hinder him.
So it had to be chance—
‘Wait. There’s way too much holy power in this room…’
The barrier should consume a fixed amount.
Yet he sensed many times more, saturating the room.
“Cough, cough!”
While his grip slackened, Nemesia hacked violently.
Usher caught her again.
“Candidate? I held you gently. Why cough…? No matter. Bear with me a little.”
He readied his ability.
“Go ahead.”
Her eyes gleamed at him.
“Cough—give it your best shot.”
And oddly—
the fear and wariness she’d shown at the door were gone.
“…Huh?”
She was smiling.
As if delighted.
Usher felt a chill of wrongness.
[Congratulations! Luck increased by 150%! (Duration: 1 week)]
It was one of the blessings she’d received from the fortune-telling priest.
Yet despite the impressive number,
her daily luck had only seemed to give her things like two candies in a snack bag.
Now she knew why.
“Candidate, within a week… death will come for you.”
This blessing only worked when death was near.
[Luck +150% effect activated!]
The sign appeared the moment Usher tried to brainwash her.
No, even earlier—
back when he schemed to get into her room.
Even earlier still, when she’d planned with Dad.
‘The death foretold was tied to Usher.’
It was the only logical conclusion.
She’d forced him to swear with a token, so he couldn’t kill her.
[You are enjoying the effect of Luck! (Value: +150%)]
The sign practically told her:
‘If you get taken, it’s over.’
Even if he didn’t kill her here,
she’d die in a fanatic’s hands later.
Maybe another fanatic, maybe another cause.
Either way, Luck might not save her then.
“Hmm?”
For now, though, Luck was working perfectly.
When Usher reached for her throat again,
his hand snagged awkwardly in her hair and slipped.
All thanks to Luck.
“…Strange. You want me to try? What do you mean by that? Hm?”
He wasn’t smiling anymore.
He didn’t even realize it himself.
“No, no. It’s fine. You don’t have to answer. I’ll hear it straight from your mind.”
“L-let go!!”
But Luck wouldn’t last forever.
Soon he regained his focus and seized her shoulder.
“No time left… Suggestion or Hypnosis will do.”
His voice was barely audible, but she heard enough.
She remembered the other blessing from the fortune priest.
Why the ability Never Fall Asleep? Why indeed.
‘For this very moment!’
In a hurry, he’d never risk the slow path of brainwashing.
He’d go for the quick ones—Suggestion or Hypnosis.
“….”
His brows furrowed.
Sure enough, a faint look of frustration crossed his face.
She smirked.
“What’s wrong? Not working like you thought?”
His expression twisted.
“You… What do you know?”
“What do you think? Let go!”
Damn right. How’s that for a fanatic counter, you bastard!
Her dad’s confinement? Clearly Usher’s doing.
But unless he abandoned his official status, he couldn’t pull this twice.
‘He has another mission here. I know it.’
He couldn’t make a second move like this.
So she had to end it now.
“Ahhhh!”
Taking advantage of his distraction,
she grabbed his hand and sank her teeth into it.
“Urgh…!”
He yanked it back.
A tiny gap opened between them. She seized the chance.
“Dad!!”
[Crisis detected! Summon ‘Dad’!]
[‘Dad’ cannot be summoned in this area! (Location: Inquisition Underground)]
By design, she couldn’t summon her guardian here.
That was fine.
This wasn’t a real summoning.
“It’s you I called, bastard!!”
As if she’d let a fanatic into her room with no backup.
She grinned.
‘My turn now.’
Usher’s eyes flickered with confusion—
then he whipped his head toward the sudden white silhouette.
Kiiiiing—!
Shock froze his face.
“What? Why’s that here, when it should be on the battlefield…?!”
“Die, you bastard.”
BOOOOOOM!!
