The type of character I hate the most in this world is the ‘easy-going villain’.
Characters like the Demon King, who serve as the final boss, are technically the ultimate goal of most stories, so I can tolerate their appearance at the very end. As long as the plot doesn’t involve the Demon King winning or cheating me out of my waifu, I can endure it for the sake of a satisfying finale.
If the final boss dies halfway through, there’s no way to wrap up the story properly. Plus, usually in these novels, it’s revealed that the Demon King was a decoy and something even more evil and powerful lurks behind them. If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be better to finish neatly with just the Demon King’s story?
Well, sure. The final boss being strong is inevitable. I can even turn a blind eye if the Demon King sits on the throne at the end and says, “Come at me!” As long as that last battle is really fun, the outcome satisfying, and it has a happy ending, I can forgive nearly anything.
But I absolutely cannot tolerate an easy-going mid-boss.
Even if they end up losing later on, I don’t see why they have to show up unnecessarily in the middle to kill a friend of the protagonist or wipe out a party member, only to retreat while snickering, “Hah, you guys are weak!” I don’t understand why such characters exist.
Some say they’re cool, but I hate them. The moment such a villain shows up, I might as well stop watching the work altogether; that’s how much I despise them.
It’s fine for the protagonist to be laid-back, but I absolutely don’t want to see the villain being chill.
“Get it?”
“What are you, what are you talking about?!”
Sitting face-to-face with the demon, I slammed the head of the morning star I was holding upside down on the ground with a thud, and the demon’s face turned pale as it shouted that.
No, it’s true.
Just the other day, I nearly died falling off a cliff. Not just a simple hit to the head — I almost drowned painfully, sinking into the depths!
Out of my nine-day vacation, I only truly enjoyed one day, and all my plans got completely wrecked!
Uncle Paul was whining about how the knights had to follow him, and the Pope sent official documents saying it would be safer for the saintess to stay at the Central Church. Some local council members have even requested meetings… Anyway, I had spent my vacation reading, writing, and responding to all that instead of relaxing on the coast like I was supposed to.
And this guy…
This doppelganger was lounging comfortably in an office with the air conditioning blasting, looking through documents!
After failing to assassinate the saintess, he was sitting there completely at ease! I simply cannot allow that!
The office door had been completely blown off, but no one dared to follow me inside. I may have told them to stay back, but the knights who followed me, along with Linea and Aurora, were the only ones in the office. The others — like his secretary or guards — were too scared to come in at all!
I mean, who could blame them? I broke down that thick door myself and rushed in to punch the demon without giving anyone a chance to stop me. Those regular folks out there must be terrified!
Plus, the inquisition’s knights are surrounding this building, and they’ve been gaining notoriety lately for their thorough investigations conducted in partnership with the Pope. Of course, the past tortures aren’t returning, but unless that fact is announced to the outside world, no one outside would know.
“Sending beasts to kill me was you, right?”
I pondered whether I should speak formally out of consideration for the onlookers or just speak plainly as I did with this demon or witch. For now, I decided to speak in a low voice so the people outside couldn’t hear.
There’s no way I’m giving this guy the dignity of respect.
“I don’t know! I’m not even a demon — Augh!”
As soon as he insisted he wasn’t a demon, I blasted him with holy power in the foot, and he writhed in agony.
“Just because others didn’t see it doesn’t mean it isn’t true.”
“Grrr…”
He seemed to have no counter, lowering his head.
Where I currently was, was an office in the 21st District’s Board of Education.
Of course, it was under the government—though not directly under the central government’s command, it was still part of the 21st District’s structure. While the local government is technically under the central government’s jurisdiction, it’s not wrong to say that.
The reason I barged into such a local government organization is that one of the educational supervisors there is a demon disguised as an inspector. I’m not sure how he made it up to that post, but he was one of those who abducted students as a stepping stone to the witch of suspicion.
So, if you ask what use the post of supervisor has in trying to kill me…
Well, the supervisor has access to information about the schools in his area and the students they contain.
While it’s impossible to extract personal information completely, he should have the authority to examine whether budgets for clubs and the fair treatment of students are being monitored properly.
However, if he focused solely on me to gather information, the Academy would start to doubt. So they probably conducted thorough inspections of all students, just to be safe.
By the way, the Academy is known for attracting children of famous figures while also admitting capable but impoverished individuals. If it wasn’t closely supervised, it could easily rot away, so no one would suspect a tighter regimen.
“How in the world… There shouldn’t be any evidence…”
Well, that’s true.
In the original story, things started with coincidences upon coincidences as they caught his subordinates first. But instead of going through all those intermediary steps, I jumped right in here.
Thus, there was a LOT I wanted to ask him.
Those who are positioned in places that take time to infiltrate like this usually can’t change their roles easily, but this guy’s subordinates are different. After all, there’s a high chance positions might swap when the witch of suspicion dies and those who were positioned in between change sides.
In that case, it means I need to extract information on all those nuances too.
Of course, I don’t have any specialized interrogation skills for that.
I’d be much better off leaving it to reliable folks who possess those skills.
Like inquisition knights, for example.
“But it’s of no use. Even if I disappear, there are still many out there living in disguise! Even if I can’t complete my mission, others will…”
With that typical, third-rate villain’s final words, I bent down to bring my face close and said:
“I know.”
Even with my knowledge, it’s impossible to track down every demon existing in human society.
“But I’m not completely clueless.”
That’s right. Even beyond here, many knights are deployed, surrounding and hunting down demons in numerous locations.
Every demon the protagonists found until the witch of suspicion died, plus a handful of demons I had in mind for later use, all of them are etched in my memory.
The reason I didn’t immediately dash here as soon as I regained consciousness is due to all that.
…The government in the 21st District is probably pulling its hair out. The church, which had posed little challenge until now, has suddenly begun mobilizing military force. Even if they protested to the Central Church, it’s likely going nowhere.
Just looking at the stunned faces of all the staff who saw me come through, it must be a mess.
“So… If you don’t want to die, you might want to spill all your knowledge, down to the last detail. In the church, I’m considered an exceptionally lenient figure.”
“How can I trust you? Where’s the guarantee that you won’t just extract all the information and kill me afterward? If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be better just to die without saying anything —”
“Oh, do as you please.”
Though it seemed like he wanted to negotiate, I had zero intentions of granting him that.
And I’m sure the panicked government feels the same way right now.
No negotiations with terrorists.
More fittingly, there’s no negotiating with demons.
In this world, you’re taught to chop off a demon’s head before they start talking. In that sense, the rules are even more ruthless.
As I stood up after saying everything, I heard a crunching sound from the demon. He seemed to be sharpening something.
“…If I spill ‘everything,’ you too could find yourself in a tough spot, you know?”
“What?”
I turned back to him, puzzled by his nonsense, and he flashed a wicked smile as he curled one corner of his lip. But… he looked like a pudgy, balding middle-aged uncle in his polymorphed form, and the shiny sweat on his bald head didn’t give off quite the intimidating vibe I expected.
As I looked back, the demon was glancing at the entrance of the office, now missing its door, where my knights were blocking the way.
“I know you’re protecting one of the demons. If your friend doesn’t want to end up like me…”
“Sigh…”
I exhaled deeply and rubbed my forehead with my palm. Observing my demeanor, the demon seemed to catch onto my complete lack of interest, causing sweat to bead off his temples.
“What’s up?”
“You’re telling me there’s a total disconnect in information sharing among you guys?”
Hmm, could it mean the church handles its internal information pretty tightly? Perhaps a thought about a demon hiding in the church was better set aside… but not entirely, given there’s a chance a human collaborator might exist who worships demons.
The information regarding my assignment to the battlefield likely leaked from the church rather than the academy itself. It’s far-fetched that anyone would know the names of the bases I’d be going to within the academy. Information, no matter how trivial, traveling around the military would be considered classified.
In that sense, it’s better to assume the witch above this guy is controlling information among the demons. Being captured like this certainly presents a scenario where utter silence would be more advantageous for them during interrogation than sharing anything.
“Wait, wait! I still have more to say! More important information…!”
“Yeah, save that for the interrogators.”
“What will happen if the church hides information from you? You might end up getting used by that information!”
…Yeah, I’m worried they might end up crafting a beautiful, multi-hundred-page book with the information I extract from this little turd. Just when I’d tell them to simplify it, cardinals would come over to draw on the whiteboard while they explain it…
Imagining the sight of white-haired elders, at least three times my age, coming over and bowing formally while using honorifics made me shudder. No matter how much it is summer vacation, I’d like to be allowed some rest. I’d prefer it if they only answered questions I posed.
The demon was still shouting something behind me, but I ignored him and quickly left the scene.
*
[Church and Government Engaged in Armed Conflict After 300 Years.]
…Such news was written in the morning paper.
With the newspapers delivered to my spot without fail every single day, I ultimately found myself glancing through them rather than ignoring them altogether. At first, I wondered if the previous occupant had left the papers behind, but they were too neatly folded, like no one had unfolded them at all.
It seems like a friendly gesture telling me to read. So I often read the papers when my name hadn’t popped up in them for a while. To think, there wasn’t a large TV in the church, either. In the dining hall, silence reigned, and there wasn’t even any news broadcast on a TV.
In that sense, it felt like the purpose of the morning paper was to provide me with information… But, well, I do have a smartphone. While I usually leave it in the convent, if leverage the matter of being the saintess, I can easily grab it to read.
Honestly, wouldn’t it help more to read newspapers from outside the church rather than being stuck with just a paper from the church?
Thus, today’s morning paper had a headline that sufficiently stirred inner conflict within me.
As for the church and government fighting one another, I certainly had an interest. The fact it was occurring for the first time in 300 years makes me think it might contain details about the major compromise from 300 years ago, as well as insights into the church’s views on this conflict.
However, at the same time, considering I was the cause of the conflict, I also felt like I’d rather shove it aside and just eat.
“…”
Ultimately, I decided to put it aside for now, eat, and after failing to suppress my curiosity, returned with the newspaper to the convent.
“I don’t think the government could really protest to the saintess.”
As I held up the paper and read it, Linea said that beside me.
That was indeed a valid point. After all, my actions were justified.
Of course, I didn’t have concrete evidence. But the result was that we’d apprehended real demons in bulk.
If the government accused me of doing an investigation without evidence, I’d have something to say, too. I could simply say it was what the goddess told me. While, in reality, it would fall under the category of ‘I knew it all along,’ I wouldn’t be able to respond to the question of why I stayed silent this whole time with ‘I forgot.’
And, while I’m not a history major, I hadn’t researched deeply, but the general topic of the great compromise that comes up in history class is the separation of church and state. Politics are entirely handled by the government, while matters regarding religion are entirely managed by the church.
If there’s a legitimate area where both could rightly intervene in each other’s domains, they can do so in those areas. Overall, while the government managed the entire society, the church usually followed suit, but if examined purely on the terms of the great compromise, the church and government are fundamentally equal by that logic. Only the government hadn’t thought of it that way until now.
The church had been proactive too, diligently developing holy powers among their strongest fields and slowly embedding themselves into society, but the direct collections of taxes in contrast to the voluntary donations and tithes meant a substantial difference in scale.
[The government has yet to make an official statement.]
This was the content written at the end of the article.
They surely don’t have anything to say. After all, they were merely six heads, and the church had apprehended a multitude of subordinates from those six.
I’d argued that for the sake of society, it was right for the government to grow stronger than the church, and that notion had now been shattered.
…Well, though I certainly don’t think there are no infiltrators within the church, it’s still too early to tell. I suppose the enraged government side would handle that matter.
For the record, it was the Central Church that had been the most pleased when I put forward my plan.
In the church’s perspective, where the pope was treated equivalent to the president due to being suppressed by the government, this was the perfect opportunity to openly challenge the government.
I also had the impression that, due to that, the support from the elders in the Central Church for me has grown slightly more intense.
“I guess it’s only a matter of time before my true identity is made public to society as a whole.”
As I sighed and muttered that, Linea and Aurora shared a bitter smile.
“Well, I actually don’t think it’d be so bad if the story gets around.”
Aurora sat down next to me, saying that.
“I think so too. You are the hope of humanity after all.”
I shot a bewildered look at Aurora—
I returned with an entirely serious expression.
…No, that might actually be true.
The very reason I was brought here was because the goddess thought the future of this world was hopeless.
The fact she brought me along can be considered a plea for help.
Seeing me suddenly go quiet and contemplative, Linea and Aurora chuckled.
Well, it does make sense.
After all, it’s quite amusing to see a being who was directly sent by the goddess pondering whether they are indeed hope or not! In most fantasy tales, when a character like that appears, they’re often depicted as an extremely heavy and arrogant figure.
Yet here, I came down appearing like a regular peer, saying I didn’t want to be famous~ and all.
“Still, I really don’t want to be famous…”
As much as I can’t avoid being famous, I just don’t want more responsibilities piling on! I’d rather just eat and have fun since I’m earning plenty of money.
…That’s right. This is all the fault of the demons.
I’ve become a munchkin and come to another world, yet I have too much to do!
And all of it is tied to demons and witches, so I can’t help but feel frustrated!
They even ruined my vacation!
“I won’t let those demons off the hook…”
That’s right. I need to deal with them swiftly so I can finally relax!
…But if I end up catching the demons, wouldn’t I be blowing up to a much more famous and higher position than before?
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