“Johann! What is this?”
“Oh, it’s not human!”
“It’s a demon. I brought her for interrogation.”
Millia and Rue circled around Cidri with curious eyes, while Cidri seemed to try and ignore the fact that the two were circling her with a tense expression.
Did she realize that Millia and Rue were not ordinary beings because she’s a demon?
Well, I guess it doesn’t matter.
I set a pillar in the corner of the garden and tied Cidri to it. There was no resistance. She must have seen the fate of the one who tried to attack me. I looked at Cidri tied to the pillar and declared,
“Alright, let’s start the interrogation again.”
“Ask whatever you want!”
“Do you have any clue where Agares is?”
“I know where Agares often hangs out!”
“Didn’t you say you didn’t know before?”
“I meant I don’t know the exact location!”
Look at her dodging questions. I contemplated hitting her a few more times, but decided against it for now. I could still punish her after asking everything.
“What was Agares doing in hell?”
“He’s one of the high demons! He’s famous for being a strong one even in hell!”
“How does he compare to Harpas?”
“Agares is probably stronger!”
“Johann, is this a conversation I shouldn’t be hearing?”
Millia looked at me anxiously. Her face clearly showed her concern about being a bother. I patted her head and replied,
“It’s fine as long as you don’t tell anyone else.”
“Hehe.”
“…How many women are there, exactly?”
“I wouldn’t know.”
I wondered if Karina was resting well. With that thought, I asked my next question.
“What’s Agares’ weakness?”
“Uh… I don’t know.”
“Really don’t know?”
Since she’d already lied once, I had to be careful. I asked Rue, who was wandering around Cidri.
“Rue, is that a lie?”
“It’s not a lie!”
We’ve been together for quite a while, but she doesn’t know his weakness?
No, if she was that capable, she wouldn’t have been caught so easily. She would have sensed the danger and run away long ago.
“Next question. How did you manifest in this land?”
“I seduced a black magician into summoning me…”
“And Agares? Is he in a manifested state or still in hell?”
It didn’t seem like he’d manifested like Harpas, but if he had, it’d be a serious problem. Cidri replied immediately to my question.
“He’s already manifested!”
He’s already manifested?
“A high demon manifesting isn’t an easy feat.”
“Hmm, not exactly.”
Not exactly? I glared at Cidri, who gave a cryptic answer. Letting out a deep sigh, Cidri started answering, watching my expression closely.
“Normally, there’s a clear boundary between hell and here, making it very hard to cross… but right now it feels like there are holes everywhere? So it’s much easier to manifest. Someone like me could cross over almost without restriction…”
“So you’re saying you were weak, and that’s why you could easily manifest.”
“No! Well, actually, yes…”
Seeing me watch her, Cidri hurriedly changed her words. From the look on her gloomy face, it seemed sad to admit that she was weak.
Then why didn’t she just stay in hell?
Of course, if I hadn’t intervened, there was a high probability that the empire would have been completely destroyed by civil war, so from their perspective, it was an unforeseen misfortune…
“Last year, it didn’t seem like that.”
“No. Around last autumn, the boundaries started to have holes.”
“That’s not a lie, is it?”
Last autumn. That roughly coincides with Harpas’ manifestation. If that’s the case, then Cidri’s words must be true… Is this the influence of outsiders?
“Do you have any connection with Harpas?”
“No.”
Was she perhaps one of Agares’ minions in the original story? Or did the situation get tangled because of the outsiders, leading her to fall under Agares?
And does the information she mentioned connect to the fact that Harpas’ manifestation was brought forward by a year?
Comparing it to the original story raised all sorts of questions.
“Hm. Do you know why there are holes in the boundaries?”
“I’m just a low-ranking demon, so I don’t really….”
“Have you heard of the existence of outsiders? I heard that Harpas made a contract with them.”
“Um… I’ve heard rumors that some demons made contracts with suspicious types, but I heard Agares rejected it! He didn’t like that someone who’d been chased out long ago was acting like they were something!”
So there seems to be more than one demon that made a contract with the outsiders. That’s not very good news. From my perspective, demons entering this world is just as bad news.
If they team up, it would double the number of troublesome enemies.
“Next question. What is Agares’ goal?”
“Maybe he wants to settle in this land and build his kingdom? Hell isn’t that big, so real estate is tight…”
What a needlessly realistic reason.
“Next question. Do you know how to summon Agares?”
I know how to summon Harpas, but I can’t guarantee that the same summoning method applies to Agares.
They are two distinctly different beings.
It wouldn’t be strange if they had entirely different summoning methods.
“I know how, but… it’s probably best not to? It requires a lot of sacrifices.”
“So someone must have offered them.”
“The Agares cult has always existed…”
Why are that guy’s demon cults so persistent? I thought the Kalon Church caught them like rats, but they seem to have expanded their influence while attention has waned.
“Last question. Do you know about the ‘Quartz’ family?”
“Quartz?”
“Yeah.”
“I think I’ve heard of it… but I don’t know much.”
“The contractor, not lying.”
…Great, nothing. At this point, I’ll have to give Agares a once-over.
“Then tomorrow, guide us to the spot where Agares stayed. Rue, Millia, let’s head back.”
“Okay!”
“Lumi baked cookies! Let’s go eat them together!”
“Wait a sec! You’re not just leaving me here, are you?!”
Cidri’s voice was desperate, unlike before. I turned around, reacting to her entirely different response, and approached her again. She crossed her legs and shouted at me.
“Please release me! Or at least let me go to the bathroom!”
“Why would I let you go? You might run away!”
“No, really! I won’t run away! A contract! Yeah! Let’s make a contract!”
“Not happening.”
“I-I’m in real danger!?”
“Tsk.”
I reluctantly dragged Cidri like a piece of luggage and headed into the mansion.
————–
“I’m going to live~”
After finishing her business, Cidri came out, looking much more relaxed with a sigh of relief. I had been waiting in front of the bathroom, and once she returned, I wrapped her up in vines again.
“Well, I’ll hang you up again, so stay still.”
“I heard from the Third Prince that in this world, prisoners should at least be treated decently, right? I’m a prisoner too, so I should be treated…”
“Does it look like we’re in a war? I don’t need any prisoners.”
“But I provided information faithfully! At least let me sleep well in the house~!”
Hmm…
“I’ll provide a room, but don’t expect good treatment.”
I decided to accommodate her for now. She still had value to use.
But… no one can know if it’s better than being outside.
I took Cidri to the lounge. It was a place we mainly used for discussions. As I opened the door to the lounge, everyone was waiting for me with tense faces.
“Johann, welcome. Is the interrogation over?”
“Mostly. Karina, are you alright?”
“I haven’t really done much. You’ve worked hard, Johann.”
“I heard Karina did something in the imperial court. You even received immunity? That’s really hard to get.”
“It’s not just hard; I’ve heard only about three people in the entire history of the empire have received it. Even the one you received was almost after hundreds of years.”
“Right, right!”
“W-wow, that’s amazing…”
“Of course, it’s Johann!”
“Impressive!”
Is that so? I don’t really have any interest in history.
I walked to my designated seat and leaned back against the backrest. So much had happened in such a short time that I felt both physically and mentally exhausted. Cidri, standing awkwardly beside me, whispered while glancing at the others.
“C-can I sit too~?”
“Sit on the floor.”
Cidri plopped down on the floor without hesitation, grimacing upon landing, and quickly returned to a tense expression, looking at me.
“Ouch… my butt hurts…”
Given that I’d hit her dozens of times, I’m sure it hurts.
“First, I plan to keep her locked up until we take care of Agares. Karina, set up a sanctuary in a suitable room. Make sure she can’t even attempt an escape.”
“Understood.”
“Shuri, Elisa, you two set up detection barriers in this mansion.”
“Y-yes, I’ll do my best…!”
“Leave it to me!”
“Viola, can you make reagents? Preferably flammable liquids.”
“If you provide the materials, I can do as much as you want.”
“Renny, continue to guard Karina as you have been.”
“Johann, what about me?”
“Contractor, what about me?”
“Millia, you will monitor her when she goes to the bathroom or eats. Also, clean the adjacent room where she’ll stay, so she can stay there for a few days.
Rue… just come when I call you.”
Your place is on the battlefield, not in the mansion.
Having given my commands, I stood up and said,
“I’ll take a short nap, so keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn’t escape. Rue, if she tries to flee, feel free to wreak havoc. As long as we can extract information, that’s all that matters.”
“Okay!”
“Huh?”
Ugh, I’m tired. I left my seat and headed toward the bedroom.
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