The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I'm a "Farmer", Not a Demon King! ~ - Chapter 550

The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I’m a “Farmer”, Not a Demon King! ~

Chapter 550   “Talk” begins

“How about a drink before that? It’s sad when top-level discussions yield nothing. This is fruit juice I painstakingly made. It’s delicious, you know? The taste is even praised by some princes. There’s no poison in it, and if you want, you can even swap yours with mine. Or perhaps—aren’t you brave enough to drink something offered by someone claiming to be the Demon King?”

As I said that, a plant with deep, pitcher-like bottoms resembling pitcher plants hung in front of the Pope, and juice dripped from above, filling it.

The cup looked extravagant—not poisonous—so it could be enjoyed visually.

The juice inside was truly splendid, as praised by the princes. Well, it’s been improved since then, not only in taste but also with some hallucinogenic and special effects added.

But if you overlook that, it has a transparent color and a sweet scent that is soothing, so it can be enjoyed.

Also, there are no seeds this time. Because unless it’s something I’ve directly touched, it’s not subject to the effects of “Growth.”

Technically, with Flora around, we could use her power to make it grow even at this distance, but it’s not a situation where we need to go that far. After all, this is just a game.

“By the way, how about some fruit as well? It was quite a task to make them grow here where plants struggle, but they turned out quite decent—”

“It seems neither of us has time to waste on such trivial matters, don’t you think? I, too, must attend to matters as soon as possible.”

“…Right, right. You’re busy, I get it. Well, I didn’t come here to chit-chat anyway, so let’s get down to business.”

Glancing at the cup I made, the Pope didn’t entertain any more jests and moved the conversation forward. I think he should go along with the conversation to buy some time, but is it just regular caution against poison?

That possibility is more than plausible enough. In reality, there’s no poison—just some medicinal effects. From the Pope’s perspective, it would seem highly suspicious.

Or perhaps there’s a plan to escape this situation?

He could escape at any moment, but maybe he’s not fleeing yet because he still wants to confirm what I want to discuss and how much I know.

Honestly, both scenarios are possible.

But well, regardless, I’m in favor of moving the conversation forward. So let’s just get on with it.

There are many things I want to ask. Like about Lilia’s whereabouts, her purpose, and how much they know about the evil god. But first and foremost, I want to ask—

“First things first. —Why did you kill Roroel?”

Yeah. That’s where I’ll start. I don’t care about the evil god or the Church’s past actions. I’m looking for Lilia right now, and I’ll find her eventually.

I’m worried about whether she’s okay until then, but from what I’ve been told by the plants, she’s alive even if she’s asleep, so there’s no problem. Even if she’s been tampered with by drugs or whatever, she’ll mostly recover if I purify her. So, in that sense, there’s no issue.

That’s why I want to ask about Roroel. Why was it necessary to kill him? I already have a rough idea, but I still want to hear it directly from the person himself.

“…Roroel? …I’m not sure who that is, but you’re saying I killed him?”

“Are you playing dumb? Even if you try to play dumb, at least come up with a better lie. There’s no way you haven’t heard reports from the Holy Maiden, right? …But well, I’ll tell you. It was one of the surviving elves who managed the Sacred Tree.”

“…Ah, it was mentioned in the reports. However, since the name didn’t come up, I didn’t know. But are you saying that I killed that person? I’ve been in this holy city all along.”

Even at this point, the Pope is still trying to act stupid unnecessarily, and that attitude only irritates me further.

He himself understands that it’s pointless.

“Don’t play dumb. You understand, don’t you? I already know you gave the orders. After all, I got it directly from the one who carried out the deed.”

“Directly, you say? Well, even if you say such a thing, I—”

“Hey. Show your face.”

As I say this, several of the guards who had been wearing hoods remove them, revealing their faces.

Men and women with vacant eyes, their mouths slightly open. Their occasional twitching makes them look eerie, or rather, unsettling.

“Do you recognize these faces?”

“I don’t. What happened to them?”

The Pope’s face twitches for a moment as he looks at their faces, but this reaction is one of someone who knows.

But even then, since he’s still pretending to be clueless, I turn back and give a signal.

Then, those guards, more than the others, step forward and speak up.

“I am Robert Lott, under the command of the Pope’s Special Operations Unit. I was tasked by His Holiness to disrupt the actions of the Demon King.”

The guards… former subordinates of the former Pope, directly and clearly address their former superior, the Pope.

If you wonder why that is so, just take a look at the red flowers visible behind their heads.

These are the perpetrators who killed Roroel. That’s their end. After I had them parasitized by the parasitic tree at that time, somehow managed to move their bodies, purified them, cut off parts of their bodies, and applied healing, they returned to a fairly normal state.

Although most of their bodies are still masses of black flesh, they still retain a humanoid form, and their tentacles have disappeared. Most importantly, their faces have returned to normal, so I decided to bring them here like this.

They’re still alive, and their memories can be extracted by the parasitic tree.

That’s what they’re saying. These words are true.

“…Well, well, are you really going to believe such nonsense? Have you considered the possibility that they themselves might be lying? Or is this just a farce to frame me?”

Even so, the Pope keeps repeating that he doesn’t know, but that’s just words. His attitude, pretending not to know, is still too naive.

He’s good at putting up a facade. I’ll give him that.

But his demeanor, the look in his eyes, suggests that despite his confusion, he harbors a deep resentment towards us.

“You politicians might be good at deceiving each other with your tricks, but do you really think such lies would work on us, who have lived in a place like Karakas, where you either die if you’re fooled or end up as slaves?”

Normal politicians probably don’t judge their opponents based on their presence or atmosphere. Even if they consider those factors, ultimately they judge based on their words and actions.

But we’re different. To put it simply, we judge based on intuition. Because if we were to judge based on behavior every time, we’d end up dead. While gestures and expressions are indeed factors in judgment, the main criterion is the overall atmosphere they exude—basically, it’s intuition.

And according to that intuition, this guy is shady. No matter how much he tries to deceive, I won’t believe him.

Well, I’ve recognized from the start that he’s the mastermind, so I wouldn’t trust him anyway.

So whether he’s the mastermind or not doesn’t matter. What I want to know is the reason for the killing.

“First of all, you’re misunderstanding something. I may have said I’d talk, but I never said anything about making a fair judgment. I don’t care about evidence or logic. After all, I have no intention of appealing to anyone for a fair trial. I believe that’s the case. That’s enough for me.”

This question isn’t about making him confess. I’m just asking because I want to be satisfied.

If I’m not satisfied with his answer, well, I think we all know what the result will be, don’t we?

“From now on, be careful how you answer. If I’m not satisfied with your response, I’ll terminate this discussion.”

In accordance with my words, the four former subordinates of the ex-Pope drew their weapons, each aiming them towards the Pope.

Observing our attitude, the Pope took a deep breath and then began speaking again.

“Indeed, I gave the orders. The reason being, entities like the Sacred Tree were becoming troublesome. Additionally, lending a hand to the madman claiming to be the Demon King, criminals gaining power, and having our lives controlled by entities like the Sacred Tree—all of these were unacceptable.”

“So you killed him.”

“Yes. Ideally, I wanted to capture the elf and extract information about how to utilize the Sacred Tree, but well, that didn’t happen.”

Of course not. Underestimating a Tenth rank who has lived for hundreds of years is a mistake.

Although I felt a slight relief when Roroel thwarted his plans, it doesn’t mean I’ll forgive him or his accomplices.

“Are you satisfied with this answer?”

“Yeah. I prefer it over listening to the ramblings of a senile old man. But I’m still not pleased.”

It’s much better than being needlessly evasive like before. But that’s just relatively speaking.

The former subordinates of the ex-Pope, who became hosts for the parasitic tree, are controlled by it, but they still have consciousness. Even though essential organs like the heart and lungs have been replaced by the parasite, they continue to live with their consciousness intact until their brain dies. That’s their punishment.

He, too, will pay some form of compensation, just like them.