“Please go ahead and speak.”
– Yes.
After bowing to me, Witness began to report the investigation results in a clear voice.
“The entity [Witness] traveled through this world’s communication network searching for creations that use ‘evil’ as a resource, as instructed by the Pope. Consequently, we quickly narrowed down the candidates.”
Soon, words appeared before my eyes. It was a simple document, not too long.
“And by applying the information that the impersonator is American, we have narrowed it down to three candidates.”
As I listened to Witness’s explanation, I gradually read the text.
[1. Max Wilson]
– Possessed the NPC ‘Charon’ from the Nintendo 64 exclusive title [Shadow World], released in 1997.
– Return occurred two years ago.
– Has the ability to manipulate spirits.
This person seemed a bit vague.
Are you telling me that with a mere ability to control ghosts, they pulled off a scam against the likes of an Evil God, an Evil Dragon, an Evil Immortal, and a Great Demon?
It’s not entirely impossible, but it seemed unlikely.
[2. Meltarion]
– Reincarnated as the final boss ‘Meltarion’ from the light novel [I Became Powerful in Another World Full of Demons After Living There], published in 2022.
– Pre-reincarnation name: Henry Robertson.
– Return occurred eleven months ago.
– Specializes in illusion magic that confuses enemies.
This returnee had a pretty plausible ability.
However, I couldn’t be certain yet. The evidence was still too lacking.
As I organized my thoughts, I moved on to the next.
[3. Abigail Myers]
– Possessed a character created by herself to enjoy the TRPG system [End Times], released in 2013.
– Return occurred seven years ago.
– Utilizes various magical techniques that borrow the powers of demons and evil gods.
– iTuber Sister Cat.
I frowned as I examined the information of the third candidate. A familiar name was written on the last line.
‘Sister Cat?’
That’s the owner of the channel I referred to when I first learned about internet broadcasting. Also, the person with the most subscribers on iTube.
To think she was also a suspect. It was perplexing.
If the world’s most influential returnee, Sister Cat, turned out to be the culprit, exposing her publicly would pose serious risks due to mass social repercussions.
Hoping that one of the other two was the culprit, I asked the most important question.
“Who do you think the culprit is?”
– Hmmm…
Witness pondered briefly before answering with a serious expression.
“According to our investigation, the first candidate [Max Wilson] cannot influence other dimensions. He can be excluded right away.”
That aligned with my thoughts. To pull off a scam with just ghost manipulation seemed too grand a scheme.
“What about the second candidate?”
– Returnee [Meltarion] is notoriously brutal and cruel, with power at the top tier among American returnees. Therefore, he is currently under intensive monitoring by the Returnee Management Bureau.
Witness paused for a moment before continuing.
– So, paradoxically, I don’t think he’s the culprit.
“What’s the reason?”
– The American returnee management system is among the best in the world. It is impossible to conduct schemes across dimensions while evading their intensive surveillance.
“……”
That’s a plausible conjecture. I would have come to a similar conclusion myself.
That means.
Only one candidate remains.
“…So the famous Sister Cat is the impersonator, then.”
Unbelievable, but I had no choice but to arrive at that conclusion. The only remaining possibility was one.
– Yes. As of now, the returnee [Abigail Myers] is the most likely culprit. We need to delve deeper into the investigation immediately.
“Ji-yeon, please.”
Since she was connected to Witness, Kim Ji-yeon, who had been eavesdropping on our entire conversation, nodded next to me.
I sipped warm green tea in a daze, trying to clear my cluttered thoughts.
Then I suddenly blurted out.
“Witness, is it possible to connect a call?”
– Yes. The tool [Demon Crystal] is compatible with all communication devices in this world.
“That’s great.”
Rising from my seat, I made a request in a low voice.
“Please connect me to Quick Eagle.”
I needed to talk to Quick Eagle first, who was originally asked by Liam to handle the shard of the Great Demon.
*
In the quiet atmosphere of the Pope’s Rest Area.
While enjoying a massage from the massage chair, I focused on the vivid voice that emerged nearby.
– …Sister Cat is an atrocious villain?
After explaining the whole situation, Quick Eagle suddenly raised his voice.
He seemed entirely disbelieving, even though I couldn’t see his face, his skepticism was clearly communicated.
I was not disappointed but calmly addressed it, as I had expected this reaction.
“It’s not certain yet. Circumstantially, she’s simply the most likely culprit.”
– Remember the principle of presumption of innocence, my friend.
“I’m already doing that. I’m not rushing to send Liam out but gathering more evidence instead.”
– …….
Presenting my reasonable logic caused Quick Eagle to go silent. It seemed he had run out of arguments.
I maintained the silence intentionally, then spoke again after a moment.
“The shard of the Great Demon is currently imprisoned somewhere unknown, undergoing periodic torture. And you were asked by Liam to handle that shard. Don’t you have any comments for me?”
I didn’t suspect Quick Eagle was in cahoots with the impersonator.
However, the two had to be close, or else the situation wouldn’t make sense.
“Please tell me the truth. I don’t want to argue with you…”
– Absolutely not.
“What?”
– Abigail cannot be the ‘imposter.’
Is he denying reality?
But he appeared too calm for that. Such a strong conviction wouldn’t surface without justification.
“Why do you think that?”
When I quietly asked, I received a very serious answer.
– Do you know what her hobby is? Volunteering. She goes out every weekend to help those in need without even posting it on iTube. She does it for pure goodwill.
Certainly, she displayed a personality rarely seen in today’s world.
A conduct that can only be described as kind-hearted.
There was nothing to critique. She was a person who deserves great praise.
But.
This was too flimsy to serve as reasonable grounds to dismiss suspicious eyes.
“Quick Eagle, just because she does good deeds often doesn’t mean she cannot be a villain.”
Altruism itself is extremely commendable.
The fact of performing ‘good’ has significance merely by its existence; what really matters is the intention behind it. I had no intention of belittling it as hypocrisy.
But that alone wasn’t enough.
“There’s no person defined solely by one aspect. A fearsome villain might also be kind to their own child. The opposite is also true.”
I understood Quick Eagle’s desire to protect his friend, but I couldn’t exclude Sister Cat from the list of suspects.
Until there’s solid evidence that she cannot be the impersonator, suspicion must persist.
“Regardless, you confirmed that she was indeed asked to handle the shard of the Great Demon, correct?”
– …Yeah.
“That’s sufficient. I will call again later.”
If I continued this conversation, I would just hear his desperate attempts at defending her, so I hurriedly ended the call.
With that, I closed my eyes and lost myself in thought while feeling the vibrations of the massage chair.
‘Almost certain…’
With over a 90% chance, Sister Cat was the impersonator.
Technically, I could settle the conclusion here, but I preferred ensuring it was definitive. I must proceed carefully, as I wouldn’t know what chaos might ensue if I acted recklessly.
So what should I do now?
Kim Ji-yeon is collecting the lacking information, and the trivial tasks are taken care of by Kelaout.
In other words, I currently had no tasks of my own.
‘Guess I can just relax.’
While I’d love to be busy, I couldn’t wander around aimlessly, so I decided to simply enjoy a massage since my back was sore from being hassled by Liam all night.
I opened my eyes and picked up the tumbler with green tea.
After savoring an extended leisurely tea time, I was about to head out for a light walk.
– …Pope.
Witness, who had been hiding, suddenly appeared in sight with a look of confusion on his face.
“What’s the matter?”
– First, please take a look at this. It’s a video that just went up.
Immediately afterward, a video started playing right in front of me.
Against a backdrop of a wall darker than the night sky, a girl lay bound to a pillar, seemingly unconscious.
Surrounding her were small demons, eagerly drooling as they gazed at her.
The video simply continued to show this sight.
Then, suddenly, a peculiar voice that seemed to have a special effect flowed out.
“Hello, everyone! Today, we’re going to play tag. Live-action style!”
The words echoed with Liam’s translation magic, yet the script was in Korean. Almost as if it was targeting a Korean audience directly.
It seemed my instinct wasn’t mistaken.
“Unless you have something at stake, it would be boring, right? So let me place a bet.”
With those words, an arrow appeared on the dark wall pointing at the girl. In the opposing direction was written in Korean.
[Servant of the Evil God (Hostage)]
“If you can’t catch me, I’ll kill the hostage. In precisely three days, by Korean time.”
I’d been harboring doubts for a while now, but only at this moment did it feel absolutely certain.
This video was a sort of video letter targeting me.
“I didn’t want to do this either, but it seems you’ve gleaned some understanding of what I did? So I have no choice but to respond this way. Well then, good luck.”
The video came to an end.
I stared blankly into space for a moment before speaking.
“Was that uploaded by Sister Cat?”
– No, it wasn’t. It was posted on a channel with zero subscribers. The title was ‘To Pope of the Sun,’ with a laughing emoticon at the end.
“……”
I sat there incredulously, stifling laughter.
After an extended fit of laughter, I wiped my expression and stood up straight.
“Witness.”
– Yes?
“Please comment on that video. In English.”
– How should I phrase it?
While I wasn’t fluent in English, I could manage to formulate a simple sentence for such an occasion.
“You will die.”
I was going to make them regret declaring war against me.
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