The importance of establishing dominance is truly monumental.
From the moment Rina grabbed the kid by the scruff, they were completely intimidated and could no longer act recklessly towards us. They hadn’t been bathed yet, so they hadn’t encountered anyone else, and who knows how they’d behave around others… but still, this is better than nothing.
Honestly, it’s much better than dealing with a wild, uncontrollable brat.
Now that I think about it, Rina has always had an intimidating air about her. If I hadn’t known her character beforehand, I probably wouldn’t have dared approach her. In school, I was terrified of students with that delinquent vibe.
…A timid saintess who is afraid of people—it’s a rather niche character you’d expect in a light novel.
“So, are you going to talk or not?”
True to her nature of accommodating my requests, Rina asked in a somewhat gentle tone. However, her crouching position was troubling enough to stir up some bad memories from school days.
It’s not so much a flawless re-enactment… more like Rina inherently possesses delinquent instincts, being a succubus and all.
She may dress modestly in a school uniform, though.
“If you don’t talk, I’ll kill you?”
“I’ll kill—”
Rina, who seemed to have something to say, glanced at me and continued.
“Guess I need to think about it.”
…Isn’t that a bit vague?
“Then I won’t say anything.”
The kid shut up instantly and turned her head away sharply. Huh, I get that she’s probably around ten, but isn’t she acting a bit younger than today’s ten-year-olds? I hardly ever come across kids, so I wouldn’t know.
“Hm.”
Surprisingly, Rina didn’t seem particularly annoyed or angry at the kid. Instead, she stared at her intently and asked, “Why would you say ‘I’ll kill you’?”
The kid’s shoulders flinched slightly.
“…Hah.”
Like a delinquent character in a movie faced with bothersome challenges, Rina scratched the back of her head roughly, releasing a sigh as she stood up.
“…That’s how it goes, huh?”
When I cautiously asked, Rina nodded.
“Yeah, pretty much.”
While looking down at the kid still kneeling on the floor, she asked, “You know how to wash yourself, right?”
“Do you think I’m an idiot?!”
With a voice that clearly mocked, the kid retorted. Then, glancing up at Rina, she added softly, “…Yes.”
Rina surveyed the bathroom and then bent down to grab the kid’s hand, leading her toward the shower. She picked up the showerhead from the wall and pointed to the shampoo and soap, saying, “Use this for your hair and this for washing your body. I’ll check afterward, so make sure you wash properly. You’ll have to do it again until you pass.”
“Ah….”
Before the kid could even finish her response, Rina stomped out of the bathroom.
“““……”””
Uh… Is it really okay to leave her alone?
Even though I was of an age suitable for marriage in my previous life, it’s not like I had a house, money, a car, or even a girlfriend I promised to marry, so of course, I had never raised a child. I wasn’t involved in volunteer work either, nor did I graduate from any relevant departments.
I was thinking about how old I was when I started bathing alone, when Aurora gently leaned toward the kid and said, “I’ll leave the bathroom door slightly open, so if you need anything or don’t know something, just call us. We’ll be outside waiting to help.”
The way Aurora spoke softly and reassuringly was downright angelic.
“Uh-huh….”
Maybe the kid couldn’t rebel against the angelic Aurora or was still scared from what Rina had said earlier, so without much resistance, she nodded.
“Then we’ll wait outside.”
Following Aurora’s words, I followed her out of the bathroom and asked, “Is it okay to leave her alone?”
“It should be fine.”
Linea replied.
“Kids at the convent have been bathing by themselves since they’re seven. While there’s concern about them not washing properly, there shouldn’t be any problems. The kid has lived on the streets, which are much more dangerous than the bathroom.”
That’s certainly true, but even if I said I’d help wash, it felt a bit off. I mean, she is technically a young girl. Given my identity still being male, washing her without careful thought feels… wrong on many levels.
But leaving it all to Rina, Aurora, or Linea felt too guilty… so this might be the best solution.
At that moment, I heard a splash sound, indicating the shower was turned on.
Aurora peeked inside and nodded.
“It seems okay.”
Well then… I nodded to Aurora and turned to Rina.
“So, what kind of smell did you catch from that kid?”
“What smell could it be? Obviously the smell of a demon.”
Of course, Rina wouldn’t volunteer to wash the kid out of pure altruism.
I sighed deeply, rubbing my forehead.
“Again…?”
“Right? You really seem to have a knack for this kind of thing. Are you finding witches, or just getting into trouble wherever you go? This time seems more like the former.”
Rina scoffed. Ugh, can’t really argue with that. I mean, no one made me come here; it’s true I came here intentionally.
“Is that kid also under the influence of a witch’s magic?”
If that were the case, just using Holy Power to give her a shower would make her a much calmer and kinder child.
“No, she’s fine. It has nothing to do with magic. The smell is just lingering.”
So, she was completely hopeless, then.
If she experienced brainwashing since childhood, it’s not unreasonable to think it doesn’t involve magic.
“Then, tracking her by smell like last time isn’t possible.”
“Last time, the witch was nearby when her scent lingered. This time, it’s the opposite; she encountered the kid who came out of the witch’s lair.”
…Hmm.
“So, the one ‘taking care of the kid’ is either the witch or one of her minions.”
“Exactly. At this point, we can’t know for sure. Even if there’s a smell of demons, with it faint like this, we can’t tell if it’s from being close to a demon or being affected by the witch’s power. Demons originate from the power of demons, so fundamentally, there isn’t much difference.”
“Nothing is certain, huh.”
At Linea’s words, Rina merely shrugged. Then, she turned to Aurora.
“You didn’t have any strong feelings about this girl either time, did you?”
“No…”
Aurora replied somewhat gloomily.
“Well, if it’s not a real demon, the level is weak enough that it can’t be sensed properly. The residuals from the jealousy incident we had with other students were almost imperceptible. This time, if you don’t pay attention, you probably wouldn’t notice at all.”
Phew…
If I hadn’t happened to come here, or if I hadn’t gotten tied up with the government’s support, and if the church wasn’t playing some loyalty game, I probably would have missed it altogether.
“I wonder what the witch is thinking right now?”
Curiously, with all these coincidences piling up and my plans getting thrown into chaos, I wondered what the witch was up to.
“Who knows? I’d guess she’s either really flustered or sees it as an opportunity.”
Well, that’s likely.
Regardless of what the witch thinks, one thing is certain.
Even if we can’t eradicate the hatred in this area, we need to smash the witch’s plans before we go.
If the ideologies she’s seeding grow faster because of her, a terrifying situation will surely arise in the near future.
“……”
Seeing my expression, it seemed Rina figured out what I was thinking and just shook her head.
*
The problem is that whether the lurking being is the witch or her minion, there’s no immediate way to find them.
If there were lingering scents on the street like last time, Rina could have found them easily, but this time, the kids seemed not to be directly affected by magic; rather, it was just how they were raised, and the smell was merely faint. Unless the girl opens her mouth, we wouldn’t know where the lair is located.
For reference, the child hadn’t even shared her name.
“Are you going to kill me if I don’t answer?”
This was the kid’s usual question, and naturally, answering ‘no, we wouldn’t kill you’ meant she’d clamp her mouth shut.
…But I couldn’t exactly threaten a kid with death.
This seemed more about the kid’s real issues rather than the concept of the strong preying on the weak.
It’s as if she instinctively feared death when she heard about being killed.
Or perhaps she’s witnessed such scenes firsthand.
Could those teaching such nonsensical logic of the strong preying on the weak really have protected and raised the children in a normal way?
“At least she hasn’t refused meals since then.”
After being intimidated by Rina, the kid obediently ate the meals provided at the camp and wore the proper clean clothing, but the supervising priest wasn’t convinced that it came from the heart.
“And there are still bruises that haven’t healed. The kid doesn’t show them on purpose, so we only catch glimpses when she pulls up her sleeves, but there are signs showing she’s been hit or perhaps assaulted in some way.”
“……”
Upon hearing this, I started to think that the reason the kid surrendered so easily to Rina was not just because of Rina’s attitude.
Maybe, with her keen instincts, the kid sensed that Rina is somewhat similar to someone who used to ‘protect her.’
“If that’s the case, we need to rescue the other kids too.”
After finishing breakfast, I’d been caught by the supervising priest who spoke about this, and though it made me a bit gloomy, I responded in agreement—
but that morning, I didn’t encounter a single orphan.
It felt as if all the many orphans that had been present had vanished in an instant; the shouts of children that once echoed in the streets were no longer to be heard.
*
“…I guess using a simple-minded approach might be better.”
“A simple-minded approach? You’re always simple-minded. Saying it like that doesn’t make it special at all, does it?”
…Although that’s completely true, Rina’s direct rebuttal was a bit irritating. So what if my thought process is simple? I can’t just suddenly become a genius overnight.
Of course, I knew if I answered, Rina would definitely pull out a hundred examples of why she thinks I’m simple-minded, so I suppressed a sigh and stirred the soup in front of me with my spoon.
“I think I might contact the Knights.”
The spoon, which had been bustling back and forth between the dish and Rina’s mouth, suddenly froze mid-air.
“…The Inquisition Knights?”
Oh right, Rina didn’t have the best relationship with those folks, did she? Thinking back to when Andrea and I were locked up, the Andrea side didn’t hold any grudge against Rina, but it seemed Rina didn’t have any love for Andrea.
I couldn’t blame her. After all, Rina had lived freely on her own as a demon, and suddenly, as a witness, she was forced into the monotonous life of a nun in a convent.
Even now, she seemed to hate convent life… I wondered how she’d react if I told her in my dream, I was a cardinal.
Eek, no, I was the Pope in that dream, right.
“Are you feeling unwell?”
“Oh, no.”
While I was lost in thought and shivering in my seat, Linea asked, but I quickly shook my head.
“No, I’m thinking of calling the Inquisition Knights… and also the Saint Knights.”
“…The Saint Knights? What, did you have a squad under your command?”
Rina narrowed her eyes in question. Indeed, it was a shocking fact I had been unaware of for quite some time. When I learned about it, I was flabbergasted. I thought they were just temporary guards, but they were actually under my command.
Though it was rather fortunate that since I held the command, they wouldn’t just trail me everywhere. Still, if I gave a standing order, they would heed it.
“Are they nearby?”
“They’re not here yet because I haven’t called any yet. The Knights, even those not part of the Saint Knights, don’t always need to accompany me.”
And honestly, even if they did follow me, there wouldn’t be any space for them to stay. While the Saint Knights’ numbers weren’t huge, the camp was already filled with people, so their presence would indeed complicate matters. It’s an emergency situation, and if I call them, we’d need to figure out some camping arrangement.
“When we went for joint training?”
“There was a swordsman who could slice through high-ranking demons and a former hero known for his fame. So, there was no need for anyone else to come.”
Of course, the church was horrified after I nearly died even with those A-listers around. But technically, the church law stated that it was my decision how the knights would act, so they haven’t taken any actions against me yet.
At this point, having to compete with the government, they must be feeling a lot of internal conflict regarding my safety and the tug-of-war with the government. Objectively, things seemed to favor the government, but unfortunately for them, since I had no intention of joining them, that was not an option. Sorry, folks.
“……”
Eventually, Rina, having run out of things to say, decided to concentrate on stuffing her lunch into her mouth. While she didn’t look fully convinced, she was focused all the same.
In fact, there were discussions about having a dedicated aircraft, and the ongoing reforms in the church were also influenced by the government, but I hesitated to bring those up during mealtime.
…By the way, considering the Inquisition, they probably didn’t know about Rina’s true identity.
What if they found out later and overreacted? “There’s a demon next to the Saint!” they might scream. I hear the members of the Saint Knights are composed of much superior people compared to regular knights.
Should I tell them in advance?
…As I watched Rina quickly devour her meal, I seriously pondered this.
*
In the end, there were no major breakthroughs during the afternoon. The residents continued to be unfriendly and uncooperative, and the street orphans were still nowhere to be found.
“Nope, haven’t seen any.”
Even when I asked about the orphans, the responses were grim and uncompromising. I could understand that. Even I wouldn’t know where the homeless person from this neighborhood went if someone asked me.
I asked Rina if there were any residents that smelled like demons, but she just shook her head.
“Using orphans is a pretty clever strategy.”
Eventually, while we were heading back after a fruitless day, Rina admitted.
“…No one really cares if they vanish, and there’s no one actively trying to protect them either.”
Aurora grumbled, seeming a bit upset.
In fact, some people would probably be glad if they disappeared. The orphans were one of the top reasons for disturbances in this district. Of course, we couldn’t speak such thoughts out loud.
“Linea, you mentioned you made contact earlier?”
“Yeah, if we leave right away, we can arrive today.”
…So Andrea was in the 21st District.
The district I resided in was about a two-hour flight away from here. If the Inquisition headquarters were in the 1st District, there’s no way they’d get here today. Considering the preparations, it’d be at least a ten-hour journey.
Thus, if they could arrive today, it meant they were fairly close by. Not just Andrea but a considerable number of knights, too, who could be referred to as ‘forces.’
…And proving that point—
In the middle of the camp, I found Andrea and Uncle Paul locked in a staring contest.
Excuse me, but can you reserve your competition for the government and church?
Honestly, saying, “Don’t fight over me!” feels strangely awkward as I seem to have become a shoujo manga protagonist for a moment.
You may also like Mesugaki Tank Enters The Academy
