Duke Yuma tapped on the desk with his index finger.
What bait should he pull out?
What scenario would make the Evil God Malphas choose to possess the body of Holy Maiden Yulicia?
“Well, it’s bound to be a gamble anyway.”
From now on, whether the script he was about to write could pique Malphas’s curiosity would depend on Malphas himself, who would hear the words through the voice of Yulicia, the Holy Maiden of the [Piggero] order.
Duke Yuma rose from his seat, leaving behind Princess Brigitte and Garoon, as he recalled others who could provide more details about this matter.
Yuma summoned people into the training hall.
This was not something to be thought out with just Brigitte alone.
Tap, tap.
The people Yuma called began to enter the training hall, where the rest had been forbidden to enter.
Following the blue-haired swordswoman, Bell, came Cloney and Hestia. Finally, Holy Maiden Ermel gathered inside the training hall. These were the members he thought he absolutely needed to hear opinions from.
Bell and Cloney sat on either side of Yuma. Ermel and Hestia also sat directly across from him.
A moment of silence passed.
“Is peace about to be broken?”
The one who broke the silence was none other than Bell.
Stretching her arms and yawning, she continued, “Well, it has been too peaceful for too long. It’s about time for it to break… Ugh! Muscle ache!”
Contrary to her words about peace, Bell rubbed her aching shoulders vigorously.
“Are you tense…?”
Cloney raised her hands to massage Bell’s shoulders.
“Ahh…so good.”
Bell murmured, closing her eyes.
Click, click.
Cloney’s golden eyes, firmly using her tiny hands to massage Bell’s shoulders, shifted toward Yuma, a glance expressing that it was okay to speak up.
Yuma slowly opened his mouth.
“The current peace won’t be completely shattered. I won’t allow it.”
Yuma immediately got to the point.
He conveyed that the current Holy Maiden Yulicia of [Piggero] hoped to act as quickly as possible. From Yuma’s perspective, this was indeed a matter that needed to be resolved in a flash.
Yuma looked at Bell.
“Bell, a couple of years ago, I found out who the Evil God related to the black knights and the nun we met in the capital was.”
He gave Bell a heads up. Bell easily recalled the peculiar events that transpired on their way back from the capital, during their little adventure together. It was a memorable incident that was etched into her mind.
With the memory of that outing, I could easily recall the incident that happened on the way back. It was such an intense event that it was etched in my mind.
“Ah… that time!”
Duke Yuma nodded at Bell’s exclamation and continued speaking.
“The Evil God Malphas. That’s the evil god who descended upon the nun that died in front of us back then.”
Duke Yuma relayed the story he had heard from Garoon, the younger brother of the former Holy Maiden of Piggero, to the four people in front of him. This was the main reason for gathering them. It wasn’t just to get clear answers; they were the closest confidants who needed to know, so he explained everything in detail from the start.
“The problem is that we must induce the current Holy Maiden of Piggero, Yulicia, to become a vessel for him. To make that happen, we need bait that would entice Malphas.”
Duke Yuma added that if they could successfully have him descend, there was a method to kill the evil god.
The four understood everything Duke Yuma said.
Cloney nodded slowly, collecting her thoughts that sprang to mind. Then she looked at Duke Yuma.
“What do you have in mind, Duke Yuma?”
Duke Yuma honestly laid out the conclusion he had reached. There was no reason to hide it.
“To make Malphas descend, it’s essential to instill a sense of pressure. He needs a strong conviction that he could be killed someday. For the Evil God Malphas, that fear is what will make him want to be summoned.”
Cloney nodded slowly at Duke Yuma’s answer.
“That’s right. And if he descends… he’d probably want to come down with the confidence that he could deal a blow to you, Duke Yuma, who’s been pursuing him.”
Hestia and Bell widened their green and pink eyes, focusing intently on Cloney.
“Oh, right!”
“It’s true!”
Cloney continued without stopping.
“That connects with the bait you mentioned, Duke Yuma….”
After a moment’s pause, Cloney pointed to herself with her left index finger.
Swipe—
And then with her right index finger, she pointed to Hestia.
“I think there’s a good chance that Malphas knows that both I and Lady Hestia have fallen into the nightmare of the ‘God of Precarious Maces,’ Morg.”
Cloney’s words caught the attention of everyone, including Duke Yuma.
“Even though both of us have awakened from that nightmare, if our minds aren’t fully healed and Malphas mistakenly believes we’ve lost faith in Duke Yuma, he would certainly descend to use us.”
“If Malphas mistakenly believes that we’ve lost faith in Duke Yuma, he might very well descend to use us.”
Cloney took a moment to catch her breath before continuing.
“Duke Yuma will eventually find a way to overcome his challenges. Before he kills me, he’ll first want to find my weaknesses and kill me instead.”
Cloney’s words struck a strong chord in Yuma’s mind.
“That makes sense.”
There was certainly a degree of truth to it. And from Malphas’ perspective, it was intriguing enough.
“I’ve become a disciple of Duke Yuma. Entering the church of Piggero, which can be considered Malphas’s territory, won’t affect me mentally at all. Right?”
Yuma slowly nodded.
Given Yuma’s current divine power and status, Cloney would hardly suffer mentally within the church of Piggero.
Even if Malphas possessed the body of Piggero’s Holy Maiden, Yulicia, he still wouldn’t be able to harm Cloney.
Naturally, a god’s disciple’s power is determined by the standing of the ‘god’ they serve.
In that sense, no one in the Intermediate World could mentally touch the disciple of the one true deity, the God of War.
Cloney’s golden eyes bore into Yuma’s unreadable eyes.
“I’ll follow the male counterpart of the former Holy Maiden of Piggero to infiltrate their ranks. As someone who has lost trust in Duke Yuma, I’ll be in the closest position to their inner circle.”
Bell, standing next to Cloney, narrowed her eyes with concern.
“It sounds dangerous….”
It’s dangerous.
“Yes, it will be.”
But Cloney believed that such a risk was necessary.
“But don’t worry, Bell.”
And honestly, she wasn’t very worried.
“Now that I’ve fully rooted myself at the 7th Circle and have become the disciple of the God of War, even if the entire force of Piggero comes at me, what can they do?”
That wasn’t arrogance.
It was an objectively accurate statement.
“I don’t think anything more enticing than what I’ve just said will come from Malphas’s perspective, at least not at this moment, Duke Yuma.”
Cloney’s golden eyes locked onto Yuma’s deep gaze.
The golden eye stared at Duke Yuma’s wall eye.
Yuma let out a faint sigh.
“It seems so.”
Hearing Cloney’s words, Yuma could only respond that way.
At this point, there couldn’t be a more likely plan than what Cloney had just conceived.
Cloney’s proposed plan had enough grounds to support it.
There was even enough reason for Cloney to believe she would be safe.
“I’ll go. Piggero.”
“Let’s consider it. Cloney, follow me.”
Thus, Yuma couldn’t refuse Cloney’s suggestion.
He planned to take Cloney to where Princess Brigitte and Garoon were to reach a conclusion.
Step by step—
Cloney and the God of War Yuma walked out of the training ground.
Bell, Hestia, and Ermel stared blankly at their departing figures. It was Hestia who broke the silence this time.
“I’m jealous.”
Bell and Ermel immediately grasped what the Cat-Folk Saintess Hestia was envious of.
It was the envy of Cloney’s confidence, boldly stating she could march right into enemy territory.
And the envy stemming from being empowered by Yuma as a Messenger.
*
Creak—
Brigitte and Garoon’s gazes fixed on Cloney, who stood beside the returning Yuma.
“Cloney?”
Brigitte’s eyes widened in surprise as she spoke. Cloney skipped any necessary explanations and went straight to the conclusion.
“I’ll go. Piggero Church.”
“Huh?”
Brigitte’s response implied, “What does that mean?”
Cloney then added the next explanation, recounting the same scenario she had just shared with Yuma and the others.
Upon hearing the explanation, Brigitte and Garoon nodded unconsciously. It seemed they were convinced by Cloney’s words.
Garoon, who had lost his older sister, the Second Holy Maiden, to Malphas, opened his mouth.
“…It certainly is a story that’s hard to resist from Malphas’s perspective.”
Brigitte asked something else.
“Are you going to be okay?”
It was a concern for Cloney’s safety.
“Not a problem, Lady Brigitte. Don’t worry. I’m quite strong, you know?”
Cloney smiled faintly.
“It’s just that I’m surrounded by so many monsters that it doesn’t show at all.”
Brigitte shared a smile in return.
“That’s true.”
In the end, it was decided that Cloney would head to the Piggero Church.
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