* * *
I slowly crawled out from inside the drawer where I had been hiding.
Back when I was a detective, proud of my splendid muscles, squeezing into tight spots would always make my whole body ache. But hiding with Ordell’s slender body felt quite cozy.
With how I can use divine power to enhance my body, I guess I don’t need to bulk up like I did in my detective days.
“You, you, you! What the hell are you doing here!”
Kento pointed at me, trembling, as I stood up and brushed off my clothes after fully emerging.
Should I just break that finger?
“You told me to come to the kitchen at night, didn’t you? And I’m someone who keeps my word, so I was happy to oblige. Unfortunately, you were imprisoned and couldn’t come, so I thought I’d take a look around alone.”
“You, ugh…!”
“But when I saw you sneaking in here when you should still be supposed to be locked up, I got curious about what you were doing and decided to watch.”
Of course, that was a lie.
I had already expected him to break out of prison and hide out here in the middle of the night.
Because according to the original story, Kento had more than one place where he hid the money.
I was staking out to catch him in the act.
“And then I found this wonderful scene. I must be quite lucky.”
“You’re unlucky for appearing in front of me, you fool!”
Kento, seemingly having calmed his startled heart, sprang to his feet.
He was now holding a sharp dagger.
“I’ve been itching to deal with you anyway! Do you know who I am, huh?”
“Of course I do. You’re a criminal who got caught embezzling and will be tortured by the High Priest tomorrow. And since you broke out of jail like this, you’re in for a proper torture session. Just thinking about what kind of torture you’ll get makes me shudder.”
“Torture, my ass. He’s nothing but a wimp who’s never even held a blade other than a knife used at mealtimes. Do you think I’d be afraid of someone like that?!”
…Well. They do say ignorance makes you bold.
Who is Airek?
He is a candidate for the male lead of this world.
Though he isn’t the true hero who ends up with the female lead in the end, he is still a male lead candidate with countless fans among the readers.
In romance fantasy novels, male leads will do anything for the female lead. So how could Airek, then, be weak?
In the original story, Airek, unable to bear seeing Ordell torment the female lead any longer, helps in killing her and is renowned as a torture genius.
He’s as good as dead now.
“Enough of your nonsense! Do you know who put me here? It’s Count Kiris! How could a fake Saintess like you dare to interfere with the Count’s plans?!”
I smirked at the all-too-familiar name.
Indeed, Kento was the representative of the spies that Count Kiris, who had made Ordell a fake Saintess, had secretly planted in the grand temple.
The person who helped Kento escape from prison must also be another spy.
The most significant expenses in the grand temple were for maintaining my dignity—which really means luxury expenses—and the kitchen’s food costs.
Kento had always allocated a large budget for food, citing the need to provide the Saintess with quality meals.
Whenever the quality of the food dropped, Ordell would explode with anger, and even Airek had to tolerate it.
But Airek didn’t know.
That Kento had been embezzling money using that excuse all this time.
And most of the embezzled funds found their way back into Count Kiris’s hands through Kento.
It was for that purpose the Count had planted him as a spy in the first place.
The problem was that Ordell also occasionally helped him embezzle at times, under the guise of indulging in luxury.
That way, Airek won’t notice the embezzlement.
In other words, I was cleaning up the mess Ordell had made.
“If you understand, kneel before me right now. If you resist even in the slightest, I will report to the Count in detail what you have done today!”
Kento pointed his dagger at me.
Seeing the exhilarated look on his face, he must have been imagining me, a noble and Saintess, groveling on my knees…
You’ve picked the wrong person.
“Oh my, you were sent by Count Kiris? I didn’t know that.”
“Yes, that’s right! So get on your knees immediately—!”
“So that means you’re a spy, right? Not a follower of the Sun God? You don’t believe in our Sun God?”
“…What?”
Kento gave me a bewildered look at my sudden question.
But this was a very important issue.
As long as he’s not a follower of the Sun God, kicking him out won’t cause a decrease in the number of the Sun God’s believers.
“If you were a believer, I’d do everything in my power to make you repent, but otherwise, there’s no need to bother.”
So, what’s necessary right now?
Punishment for daring to covet the Sun God’s treasures.
【Activating the skill ‘Body Enhancement’.】
“What nonsense are you spouting…!”
In a fight, the first strike is crucial!
I drove my enhanced fist squarely into his pathetic face.
Bam!
Along with the satisfying impact of the blow, the bridge of Kento’s nose, which was already low, completely flattened.
This is the divine punishment delivered in the name of the Saintess, the agent of God!
“Keuk, ugh! You, you damn bastard!”
“What’s this? Was the divine punishment too weak? You didn’t fall down?”
During the day, a single flick to the forehead was enough to knock him out.
But now, he’s still clutching the dagger tightly even while staggering.
With the bridge of his nose completely crushed, his brain must have been rattled again.
“Why don’t you just collapse? You might die otherwise.”
Back in my detective days, I’d seen someone who kept pushing through bravado and ended up brain-dead.
Despite my genuine concern, Kento didn’t stop.
“F-Fine, I’ll just take your head… Then the Count will f-forgive me!”
He sounded really dangerous with his slurred speech.
Still, to my surprise, he swung his dagger at me with pinpoint accuracy.
Just as I was about to dodge, wondering if my enhanced body would be able to block that dagger—
“Huh?”
Something yanked me backward forcefully.
Before I could even realize what was going on, there was a clang and the dagger Kento had just swung at me flew through the air.
“Aaaaah!”
As a result, Kento’s wrist, which was gripping the dagger, twisted in a grotesque direction, causing him to scream.
“Are you alright?”
Just then, a deep voice, accompanied by a refreshing scent, poured down from above me.
I didn’t even realize his presence until he pulled me back.
Startled, I quickly turned my head.
The first thing I saw was silver hair shimmering even in the dimly lit kitchen.
Peeking out from beneath the short bangs were a pair of icy winter sea-blue eyes, peering down at me closely.
“Eek!”
Oh my god. His beauty shines even at night.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Uh…”
“Are you injured?”
I was so stunned by his beauty that I couldn’t speak properly.
Perhaps misunderstanding this, the man glared at Kento with cold eyes.
At the same time, an indescribable heavy aura pressed down on my entire body.
An intangible energy I could never feel on Earth.
It was killing intent and his power.
“How dare you threaten an unarmed woman with a dagger in the sacred grand temple. Do you wish to die?”
Scary.
I thought I had already become immune to fear after working as a violent crimes detective, but…
This was unbearable.
Just as my legs began to wobble from fear.
【The AI system has detected an above-threshold level of fear in the user.】
【Increasing the user’s mental strength for smooth activity.】
“……?”
As soon as the system message appeared, my body instantly calmed down.
This is more effective than a tranquilizer!
System, you’re quite capable, aren’t you?
“I’m not hurt anywhere. I’m fine. Thank you so much for saving me.”
I breathed out a sigh of relief and stepped out of his embrace.
As my reason returned from the sudden close-up of his handsome face, I then realized who the man was.
A man whose looks rivaled those of Airek, the High Priest, and a candidate for the male lead.
If the High Priest was the shield for the female lead, this man was the sword that would eliminate her enemies without hesitation.
He was the second male lead candidate and the Captain of the Holy Knights of the Sun God’s grand temple.
It was definitely Seth Noel.
He’s supposed to be out on assignment right now, so why is he here?
And why did he have to appear at this exact moment?
I was planning to figure out this situation alone, but now it’s a bit complicated.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
As the handsome Seth asked worriedly, I gave a slight nod and glanced at Kento.
He seemed just as shocked as I was by Seth’s sudden appearance.
Well, in this situation, the one who should fear the Captain of the Holy Knights was not me but the escaped convict, Kento.
So, there’s no other choice.
Since things have already unfolded this way, I can only capitalize on this situation.
“Captain of the Holy Order, that’s the man who was caught embezzling funds from the grand temple earlier today and was imprisoned! But now, he even escaped from prison!”
I decided to start by tattling.
SoundlessWind21’s Notes:
If there are any errors, whether it be grammatical, spelling, translation, or website-related issues, feel free to let me know. (´◡`) Anyway, thank you for reading!
You cannot copy content of this page