Vol 2 Chapter 34 – Pleasure

Thanks to Alice-san, my personnel acquisition plan has come together, so I’m going to pay Abyss-san a visit.

That person is the key to this plan.

When I knocked on the door of the inn room he’d told me about, Abyss-san came out, dressed impeccably even while indoors.

“Hello, Abyss-san.”

“Oh, Nine-kun. Welcome.”

After chatting for a bit and exchanging updates on our recent situations, it seems Abyss-san’s reputation around here really isn’t good.

In that case, he wouldn’t have to hear bad rumors if he just set up his base in a safer, more public-order-friendly area where he was accepted, or so I thought.

But this person, who goes out of his way to make this surrounding area his main base of operations for the sake of maintaining public order, apparently has no intention of changing his location.

“But, isn’t it painful being treated so coldly when you’re doing the right thing?”

“Yeah. Well, to be honest, there are times I feel that way. But I believe it’s necessary.”

“Actually, I’ve been agonizing over something similar. Or more accurately, I want to do the right thing, but I can’t, so to speak.”

“Hmm? You are?”

“I was being looked after at the church for now, but the priest there ended up skipping town in the middle of the night.”

“Good heavens. I wonder if he was suffering from financial difficulties. No, forgive me.”

“I too am someone who, however unworthily, holds a seat at the back of the Saria religion. I figured that if the church remains non-functional, the hearts of the residents here will only continue to grow desolate.”

“You’re right. People losing their emotional sanctuary is absolutely not something that can be overlooked.”

To be completely honest, I don’t think the people around here believe in God or anything in the first place, though.

“That being said, I can’t do something as presumptuous as suddenly taking over as the priest’s replacement.”

“Right. That makes sense. It’s a difficult problem.”

It would be a problem if he said something reasonable here like, “Then let’s have a replacement dispatched,” or “I’ll do it instead,” so I need to press the attack.

Since he’s an Apostle, Abyss-san is probably a devout believer too.

“I have accumulated a decent amount of training, at least. I foolishly thought that if I could build up some kind of track record in this city, perhaps I might be acknowledged to act as the priest’s substitute.”

“I see.”

It really is just ‘decent’, though.

I just memorized the scriptures and stuff word-for-word.

I don’t have a lick of faith, so I can’t use holy magic at all.

“Therefore, I was thinking of perhaps trying to give sermons to the prisoners, something a normal priest wouldn’t really want to do.”

“Ooh! Isn’t that an admirable endeavor!”

“However, I’m just a drifter, after all. I’m worried I might be treated with suspicion and turned away at the gates.”

“What, is that all? Then leave it to me.”

“Oh my, are you sure? Well, it’s true that I was going to ask for your help. But won’t it be a bother?”

“Don’t be a stranger! There is no reason not to cooperate in spreading the merciful heart and majesty of God.”

“I really am always in your debt, Abyss-san. Thank you, so much.”

I bowed my head deeply.

I can’t stop my face from smirking.

He didn’t see me, right?

“It’s fine, come now, raise your head.”

“No, I couldn’t.”

“N-No good, don’t laugh yet. But!”

“When you thank me this much, it makes me feel terrible. Please.”

“U-Understood. I will definitely repay this favor.”

“P-Please, don’t cry. Really, I understand your feelings.”

I was laughing so hard I almost burst into tears.

Oh man, this is seriously hilarious.

I’ll definitely repay this favor with malice.

I’m the absolute worst right now.

Self-deprecation is fuuuuun!

Sorry ’bout that, Abyss-san.

I think I’m going to have you and those sparkling eyes of yours get a little dirty.

Don’t stay in such a dazzling place, come on over to this side.

Try tasting a little bit of the frustration of not being able to do anything with your own power.

In other words, I’m taking things out on you.

Ahaha, sorry~.

Please forgive me, won’t you~?

It’s fine, no problem at all.

It’s surprisingly comfortable down here, after all.

Ufufufufu.

Vol 2 Chapter 35 – The Joy of Life

A few days later.

I returned to this prison together with Puria-san.

The guards who had captured me before looked at me with suspicious faces, but since I came with an introduction from Abyss-san, they let me through, albeit with complicated expressions.

I had already finished the face-to-face greetings with the higher-ups here, so my job starts today.

I have Alice-san handling the groundwork for the plan.

“Here, this is the break room. We’ll gather the prisoners here after lunch and give you time for your sermon.”

“Sorry for the trouble.”

“We still don’t trust you. Don’t say anything stupid. I’ll be listening in too.”

“By all means, please do. If you’re curious, feel free to invite your colleagues as well.”

“Hmph.”

If possible, that would actually be more convenient for me.

I tried talking about safe topics for the time being, but as expected, the reaction was poor.

Everyone was yawning out of boredom.

They even started playing around halfway through.

I’m telling you, this isn’t a school for children.

The first day ended turning into a massive brawl between the prisoners and the guards.

The second and third days were exactly the same.

The guards’ gazes of contempt hurt.

On the fourth day, while heading to the cells as usual, Puria-san whispered secretly into my ear from my shoulder.

“The interior floor plan will be finished today.”

“The location of the keys?”

“Perfectly mapped!”

“Good, good, what a good girl. We’re having a feast tonight, you know?”

“Really!? I wanna eat meat, meat!”

“Chicken?”

“Beef! Are ya trying to make me a cannibal!”

During the sermon time, I had secretly let Puria-san loose inside the facility to scout, and with this, half of my objective was achieved.

After this, it would be easy if I could just make contact with the prisoners.

Generally speaking, in the slums of any country, the military police won’t even move for crimes like petty theft.

In other words, the people gathered in this prison are basically heavy criminals, like murderers.

Well, to put it bluntly, it’s a collection of idiots who left evidence obvious enough for the unmotivated military police to find, or who just straight-up got caught.

By the way, the residents of the slums are basically people who don’t have citizenship because they can’t pay their taxes.

And according to Ista’s laws, if someone without citizenship commits a heavy crime, they are guaranteed either life in prison or the death penalty.

There’s no way the teachings of God and all that would easily reach such people right from the start.

It’s obvious that what they seek is a much more materialistic salvation.

In the teachings of the Saria religion, there is a phrase that says: ‘If there is something you want, first you must give.’

On this point, just for this once, I’ll agree.

They will definitely jump at my bait.

Because even I would do the same if I were them.

And so.

“Umm, everyone, please pay attention. Today, I will be telling a slightly different kind of story.”

A little over a hundred people.

Having that many scary faces suddenly turn toward me is, as expected, intense and frightening.

I feel like I might wet myself.

“The hell, you sure don’t learn your lesson, do ya.”

“Hurry up and go back to the church and get your ass plowed.”

“Or what, gonna lend us your hole instead, huh?”

Gahahahaha, vulgar laughter erupted.

No way. My exit isn’t an entrance, you know.

I’d want to dedicate it to Chris, at the very least.

“Today, I will be speaking about food culture.”

“Hah? What the hell is this priest spouting?”

I spoke.

So that the guards wouldn’t stop me, I interwove the history of the Saria religion with Ista’s meat dishes, Folkus’s teppanyaki, Seneca’s wild vegetable cuisine, Indira’s fish dishes called sashimi, and seasonings from all ages and cultures.

I talked, and talked, and talked until I exhausted the topic.

“And so, in order for the people to live rich lives, God sent various creatures to this land. And when we partake of them, we must not forget our feelings of gratitude for taking their lives.”

Even though it was right after lunch, I could hear the sound of people slurping their drool in the middle of my story.

And by the end of the story, that sound could be heard from all over the room.

“Ah, it seems it’s about time. Thank you all for listening so quietly today.”

To the prisoners glaring at me with starved expressions, I decided to leave one final word before walking away.

“I’ll be going to enjoy that beef dish I introduced earlier now. Tehe~.”

Receiving angry roars of “Don’t fuck with us!” at my back, I finished my work for the day.

I’ll have them, who can’t even get a decent meal, remember once again.

That outside the prison, they can eat things far more delicious than what’s in there.

You guys have lingering attachments to the outside world too, right?

Remember it. The vastness of the blue sky, the scent of the tide.

The taste of freedom.

The next day, and the day after that too.

I stoked their appetite.

“The Evangelist Saria gave the people bread and wine. By the way, there is a fine vineyard to the west of Folkus, and the liquor there is absolutely exquisite.”

I stoked their lust.

“‘O people, multiply in the fields and fill the earth,’ God said. However, the means to fill is to multiply. And the means to multiply is fornication. Then, up to what point does God forgive fornication? Allow me to introduce some specific examples from the precedents of religious trials held in Seneca in the past.”

I stoked their desire for sleep.

“God rested on the seventh day of creation. You are given four hours of sleep for every twelve hours of labor, aren’t you. When resting for an entire day, just how much comfort do you think God felt? God, who performed the great deed of creating the world, deserved to rest exactly that much.”

The guards seemed irritated every time I spoke, misinterpreting the words of the scripture just barely short of outright disrespect, but since they knew from our previous Q&A session that they were no match for my knowledge of the scriptures, they couldn’t intervene.

Spending my days like that, it came to the point where there were three days left until the execution of the plan.

“Alice-san, is the gathering of the monsters going smoothly?”

“Yes. We can attack the city whenever you give the order. We can.”

“Is the ship alright?”

“That is also, yes, fine. We have taken the captain’s daughter hostage. We’ve told him we’ll release her after confirming the ship carrying us has departed.”

“Oof, doing something so cruel. Is the daughter safe?”

“I have already disposed of her.”

“I see.”

“Was that bad of me?”

“I’m just an amateur, so I’ll leave the judgment to you, Alice-san.”

“It was a hundred and eight of them we were putting on the ship. Right?”

“Yes. Including the slaves originally scheduled for shipment, and the crew. Two hundred and fifty-two people in total. Or in your way of speaking, two hundred and fifty-two animals.”

Well then, the groundwork is perfectly laid. All that’s left is.

“Monsters are gathering outside the city?”

“Yes. It seems there was instigation from those damn demons. Abyss-sama, please protect this city.”

“Yeah, make sure you don’t push yourself too hard either.”

“Sir!”

Seeing off the messenger soldier leaving his room, Abyss let out a sigh.

Perhaps they had let their guard down, since this city had enjoyed continuous peace for the past few years.

Even so, for an organized swarm of monsters to appear this suddenly, he had to assume the messenger was right and there was demon intervention.

It didn’t seem to be on the scale of a full-fledged invasion, but it still absolutely wasn’t something he could let his guard down against.

Always on the battlefield.

He himself was still inexperienced, so he needed to brace himself.

Because he had to become the shield that protected the people of this city.

To protect the lives of innocent people, he, Abyss Helen, would do everything in his power.

Just as he renewed his resolve, the soldier from earlier returned.

“Abyss-sama. There was a suspicious guy in front of the inn, so my comrades captured him. What should we do?”

“Public order tends to fall into disarray during emergencies like this. It would be best to confirm his identity.”

“Sir! He didn’t give a surname, and he’s not someone we see around here often, so he’s probably a newcomer, but.”

“Hmm. With monsters gathering nearby, I can’t imagine outsiders coming here.”

“He said he came to meet an acquaintance. He called himself Nine.”

“Nine? Ah, he’s an acquaintance of mine. He probably came to see me. Did he say anything?”

“I don’t know. If he’s an acquaintance, should we let him through?”

“Hmm, I’m a bit busy right now, but. Well, I should at least say hello.”

“Understood, I will bring him here.”

“Yeah, please do.”

He wasn’t an acquaintance he’d known for long, nor had it been a long time since they last met, but the man looked strangely depressed.

The reputation from the place he had introduced him to earlier was something along the lines of, “His knowledge was abundant. Just his knowledge, though,” but since the prisoners were actually listening to his stories seriously, Abyss had been relieved.

“What’s wrong, Nine-kun? Did something happen?”

“Yes. Actually. I’m sure it has already reached your ears, but apparently, monsters are gathering outside.”

“Yeah, I just heard. So it’s going to get a bit busy from here on.”

“As expected, will you be taking charge of the defense here, Abyss-san?”

“Yeah. I’ll be working on the defense at the boundary between the city and the outside.”

This city faces an inland sea, and there are very few cases of demons or monsters attacking from the sea.

It seems Agusta doesn’t have many ships, and even if they flew in, the archipelago in the inland sea is secured by humans. Therefore, the main reason is thought to be that they would get exhausted halfway without a relay point.

Thus, if they could suppress the invasion from the land, this city wouldn’t fall.

Conversely, it could also be said that they were able to learn this because other cities located inland had already fallen to the demons.

“I see. Actually, I have an acquaintance who makes a living hunting monsters. They’re all fired up hearing about this, but I’m just so worried.”

“Hmm. That’s not good. The numbers this time are different from before.”

“Yes, so I just told them not to push themselves.”

“Yeah, if possible, I really don’t want civilians coming out.”

“Abyss-san, you too.”

“Hm?”

“Please don’t push yourself too hard either. There is no replacement for you, and for the people of this town, you are someone they need.”

After that, we exchanged some idle chatter and I left the room.

At any rate, I found out that Abyss-san won’t be near the harbor when the plan is executed.

“Puria-saaaan.”

When I called out after getting to a spot out of sight from Abyss-san’s inn and confirming there was no one around, Puria-san smoothly flew over and settled into her usual spot on my shoulder.

“Yeah?”

“Please give a message to Alice-san. Tell her we’ll execute as planned.”

“Gotcha. These kinda things are a bit exciting, ain’t they.”

“Right. I’m putting my life on the line here, so the thrill is on a completely different level.”

“Aha. If ya fail, I’ll hold a memorial service for ya.”

“Even if I make it back to Agusta, if I fail I’ll end up dead anyway. In that case, Eva-san will probably dissect me or something, so there won’t even be a corpse left.”

“I won’t let her. Let Eva-sama have you, I mean.”

“Eh?”

“If it comes to that, I’ll put ya out of your misery. Before ya have to suffer through anything painful, I will.”

And then, I’ll eat you.

That way, we can be together, right?

Muttering that, Puria-san flew off.

Tia-sama.

Isn’t that a bit bad with Puria-san?

Didn’t you say her jealousy would calm down right away?

—Something like that is just cute.—

—You should at least accept that little bird. You were the one who made her like that, weren’t you?—

—You’re a boy, so you need to show how broad-minded you are.—

The men of this world really have it rough.

Maybe it’s fine for me to stay a virgin for now.

If we ended up doing the deed, things might get even worse.

Nine never noticed that there was someone staring intently at him from the shadows.