I Reincarnated as a Mob Villain in a Game World I Had Been Playing~ Using My Knowledge of the Game, I Lived a Carefree Life but for Some Reason I Became Famous Everywhere~ - Chapter 46 - The Holy Church After the Visit

Chapter 46 – The Holy Church After the Visit

“W-Why did you bring back the gift!? Why did you even bring back a duplicate key!?”

“Oh, Marie…”

“Yes, I completely understand both of your feelings! After all, we did so much planning and simulation, and thanks to that person’s advice, we managed to avoid any backlash from the new religious group. So, it only makes sense that we should’ve given him the perfect reward, right?!”

After successfully handling the demonstration and completing the information gathering, next was…

Marie, who had safely finished thanking Jet-black as the representative of the Ansage family, arguing with her parents.

Nina was intentionally left out of this situation.

It was to avoid having Nina think, ‘My family ended up in conflict because I was saved by Sir Jet-black.’

“But it really couldn’t be helped! Heck, he just handed us the duplicate key!”

Marie, who showed understanding but didn’t back down, spoke with all her might.

“I don’t care if you think I’m making excuses. I really couldn’t handle that. He knew right away that I was putting up a front, and he constantly played me in the palm of his hand. It’s impossible to win over someone who has everything under control.”

“……”

“……”

Marie shook both her hands and her head vigorously.

They were silent as Marie appealed for surrender, but then the Archbishop—Marie’s father— opened his mouth to speak.

“I’m sorry. If Marie says that much, then it must be so…”

While Marie may have a mischievous side, she is quite intelligent. Her ability to handle situations is second to none, and she excels in her strategic approach.

And such a daughter was saying she couldn’t handle it.

The Archbishop quickly regained his composure.

“It’s not that I didn’t anticipate it, but to think that person has such a thorough grasp of everything…”

“No doubt. And listen to this, after hearing my report, you two are going to thank him and show our gratitude, right?”

“Of course we intend to.”

The Mother nodded to support the Father’s words.

“In anticipation of this happening, he said it again. ‘There is no need for your parents to come.’ and ‘I have no intention of receiving any more rewards, so it would be a waste of time to come to this mansion.’”

The Jet-black would have to know both of Marie’s parents’ personalities to say this.

And he was not supposed to have anything to do with them. It was unimaginable how he came to know.

“H-Hey. Did he really say something like that?”

“I swear to God.”

“B-But… Even if it’s a waste of time, shouldn’t we show our sincerity?”

“He said, ‘Don’t your parents have other things they should be doing?’”

Marie, who has good dexterity, remembered what they exchanged when they met, and relayed the words that Jet-black said.

“He said, ‘I’d rather your parents spend their time doing something good for the city than wasting their time.’ He also said he understood that we wanted to stick to our position and principles, but he said, ‘Your parents shouldn’t be the type to waste time.’ Then he talked something about ‘If the Holy Church gains more power.’”

“…S-So… Our backing from the emblem…would not be of help…?”

“L-Let’s take it as a plus? Later on, Sir Jet-black has decided that we could be of help…”

“When I heard that, I was like, ‘Really?'”

Marie’s parents shuddered.

Normally, it would be impossible. The backing of the Ansage family, one of the three powerhouses, is not a force to be reckoned with.

They had never been told that their emblem was not useful. Of course, not even an idiot would say that.

If even a fool won’t say it, then it must be the truth.

“It’s really weird, isn’t it? I’m just repeating what he said to me when we met, and it’s convincing you two. It’s amazing how far ahead his thinking is.”

The sight of Marie being praised for her true self was no longer present.

Thinking back on it, she realized once again how monstrous he was.

“So, he wants us to use this returned money for the good of the city. As for the heirloom, I think he meant it to be kept safe.”

“So, half of the money is meant to be used in that way…huh?”

“Yes. He said, ‘Use the money more meaningfully.’ I honestly respected him for being able to say that even with such a large sum of money in front of him. It was kind of cool.”

Marie smiled softly, and her expression had the connotation of ‘even though I haven’t seen his face.’

“…I see. I suppose the only way we will be able to meet that gentleman is if we do it well.”

“It feels like he’s also conveying, ‘If you’re prepared to show sincerity, this should be easy enough.'”

“Well, that’s why I didn’t give him all the rewards… But we were able to thank him in a mutually satisfactory way.”

“I understand. Good work.”

“Thank you for your hard work. Marie.”

“Ah…”

Receiving words of gratitude, Marie remembered.

“Right now, I’m really getting goosebumps… He also told me to tell the two of you, ‘Thank you for everything.’”

“…………”

“…………”

“T-This… He must be talking about that…”

The three of them looked at each other in this room that was enveloped in silence.

There was no need to elaborate.

This is undoubtedly for the effort and result with the new religious group.

He wouldn’t have been able to say that if he didn’t know that there’d be a demonstration at the Church today.

The Father and Mother, the Archbishop and the Bishop, both had the same thought.

They could imagine Jet-black’s expression on his face that says, ‘I sent them home just as soon as that matter was settled, didn’t I?’

“That man is truly a frighteningly reliable person…”

“We can’t have him turn against us…”

“Well, he belongs to Vertal because he’s such a man. And quite a senior position at that.”

No counter-arguments were raised.

The circumstantial evidence could only suggest that it was true.

“T-That reminds me! Have we got any information on the mastermind?”

Delving deeper into this was strictly forbidden.

Marie, who recalled immediately, hurriedly changed the subject and Marie’s Mother quickly picked up on it.

“Well, we’ve passed all the information we can to the city, so they’ll probably try to flee the city.”

“Eh, we’re not going to catch him!?”

“It’s not that we are not working in that direction, but it’s not a good idea to completely block the escape route because they might take revenge on those who have faith in us or on Sir Jet-black. There’s a chance that the reasons for taking thorough precautions could reach the mastermind, right?”

“Hah… Even though they were doing such malicious things…”

Marie’s shoulders slumped, but she decided that it was not a mistake to reflect on the situation.

Then, a few hours later, during the night hours.

The man was on his way to the inn to meet the inn-keeper he was indebted to.

With a large amount of money in his pocket, he was dressed in jet-black armor with a sword at his waist.