The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I'm a "Farmer", Not a Demon King! ~ - Chapter 551

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

Chapter 551   How to use Lilia

“…Well, let’s put that aside for now, onto the next question. Second, why did you abduct Lilia?”

I understand that they abducted Lilia for some purpose, but I don’t know what that purpose is yet. If they intended to use her as an energy source, they could have chosen an elf instead of Lilia.

“Do you know about the barrier covering this city?”

“Yes. And its energy source as well.”

“Then, isn’t the answer simple?”

“I understand why you’d want to abduct an elf. But why specifically Lilia?”

While Lilia might provide higher quality energy or a larger quantity of energy, I think it would have been easier to abduct a regular elf with less security rather than Lilia, who was heavily guarded and by my side.

It would have required abducting more of them, sure, and it would have been more work, but it would have been easier to handle than planning and executing such a commotion. Considering it’s like defeating one dragon versus defeating a thousand goblins, the latter would be much easier.

“According to reports from the Holy Maiden, the elven girl in question possesses far greater power than the average elf. Even if using elves as a power source, the process is laborious. The more you use, the more unnecessary effort it entails. However, if one person can suffice, wouldn’t that be efficient? Furthermore, I’ve heard that the elven princess is cherished by other elves. If that’s the case, wouldn’t using the princess as leverage make future retrieval operations easier?”

Certainly, if the intention was to torture and break someone’s mind, it would take considerable effort. Abducting someone and then subjecting them to further hardship would consume quite a bit of time. Instead of going through that process hundreds or thousands of times, it would be easier to abduct just one person like Lilia.

Moreover, normally, even if suspicious, one wouldn’t immediately rush in but would start with discussions or investigations. Unless decisive evidence emerges, it’s natural that they can’t intervene, and it’s a typical and common flow.

And if there’s no evidence that the Church captured Lilia, even if we’re suspicious and our relationship suffers, ultimately, we can’t do anything concrete. At most, it would only sour our relationship with the Church, which wouldn’t be much of a loss for them.

In fact, our hostility towards the Church might even be advantageous for them. They could claim that the criminal organization Karakas is antagonizing the righteous Church. They could further develop the incident from there.

Well, this time, we went against common sense, revealing the kidnapping and immediately launching an operation, which deviated from his expectations.

That’s fine, but… gathering not just as an energy source but other elves as well?

Certainly, using Lilia could gather other elves. After all, she’s considered the “Child of the Sacred Tree.” If someone proposed exchanging ten elves for Lilia, there might have been someone willing to agree.

Or perhaps someone might have agreed to cause a commotion in Karakas to save Lilia.

There could be various uses like that.

However, planning to use her in such a way indicates that he doesn’t intend to turn Lilia into a “tree” just yet.

“As a princess, huh? So, you don’t plan to turn her into a tree yet?”

“Yes, rest assured. Originally, that was the plan, but recently, we’ve improved the process so that she can generate energy while remaining human, without needing to be turned into a tree. Other elves are also alive. However, it’s still a work in progress, so about dozens of them have already been transformed into trees.”

The way he casually talks about manipulating and modifying human bodies, something that most ordinary people would find repulsive, makes me think he’d fit better in one of Karakas’ criminal hideouts rather than in the church. This guy truly deserves the name of a villain.

Well, Karakas folks are surprisingly emotional, so maybe he does fit better in the church after all. Hiding malice behind a smile, not recognizing evil as evil—those are actions that could be considered human-like.

But well, if there are a few people who can be saved, that’s a good thing. I don’t know if there are any plants nearby or what the situation is, but they’re probably being held in a place similar to where Lilia is. Rescuing Lilia is the priority, but if there’s room, I’ll try to save them too.

As for anything else to ask… Ah, it might be too late for this, and I don’t really need to know, but I’ll ask just in case.

“Finally, I want to ask—Who is the god you worship?”

Well, I expected as much.

Even though I didn’t ask directly, he probably understood what I meant. When I asked, the Pope widened his eyes and then began to laugh.

“Haha… Well, excuse me. But if you’re asking such a question, you must already know, right?”

“Still worshipping the evil god, huh?”

“Oh no, that’s not it at all. The term ‘evil god’ is not appropriate. That god is the most revered god in this world. He loves people and accepts everything about them—a truly magnificent being.”

“I see. So, you’re worshiping that evil god.”

I don’t care about the differences between gods or whatever. Whether it’s called evil god or divine god, it doesn’t matter to me. In the end, the name doesn’t carry any reverence or faith for me.

It’s like using polite language doesn’t necessarily mean you respect the other person.

Well, religious scholars and the spiritually inclined might find meaning in such terms, so I guess someone like me wouldn’t be accepted.

“It seems you don’t understand the greatness of that god. No, that’s precisely why we’re in this situation, isn’t it?”

Indeed, the Pope is glaring at me with displeasure because I didn’t change the way I referred to the evil god.

“I don’t care about the greatness of a god who loves all of humanity, even if it means my comrades and I are the only ones happy. I have no interest in or understanding of the supposed magnificence of a god who loves all of humanity.”

Think about it. Even if someone claims to be a god, it’s still creepy when someone you don’t know suddenly shows affection towards you, right? If they directly confess their feelings to you, it’s one thing, but if they start pushing things onto you using this or that method, it’s another. It’s like finding a million yen in your mailbox—it’s creepy and scary. I think skills are pretty much the same thing. Well, it might be too late to say that now, and I’ll use them because they’re convenient anyway.

“Well, then, I’ve heard what I wanted to hear, Your Holiness. Let’s call it a day here. You can leave now. If you want to give orders to your subordinates, feel free to do so. Well, I’ll be on my way too—”

As I was about to say that and stand up, a plant-like entity hanging from the ceiling, resembling an eyeball, exploded, scattering white mucus everywhere, and a person covered in white goo fell from above.

Well, it seems the church has its own share of surprises with people suddenly falling from above. Maybe they should be more careful with safety measures? Well, even if they take precautions, if someone sneaks in from the ceiling and walks on the beams, people falling from above might still happen frequently.

“What the!?”

The Pope is wide-eyed in surprise, but what exactly is he surprised about? This is my territory, you know? Did he seriously… or rather, sanely think that he could hide assassins in a space surrounded by plants like this and not be noticed by me?

I had already given instructions in advance for them to explode if they attempted to attack me.

The scattered white mucus serves as an adhesive, sticking the seeds inside to other creatures and carrying them far away.

But, this is my special concoction, so the stickiness is much stronger than usual. How strong? Well, like flypaper. Once it sticks, it’s pretty hard to remove.

“Guggh!?”

“…Assassins trying to kill me, just because they’re assassinating pigs in a peaceful country.”

The supposed assassins, entangled in the adhesive, fall from above, but I scatter seeds towards the floor where he land.

“With that level of skill, they’re just fodder in Karakas. Over there, even the lowest ranks can walk through hell. Anyone who relies solely on their rank is nothing but trash.”

Skills are convenient, and being higher in rank means higher physical abilities, making them stronger, but if you can’t wield them properly, they’re meaningless.

A kid with a sword that can cut anything versus a master swordsman with a wooden sword. Which one is stronger? Needless to say, it’s the latter.