“*Uh! Ugh! Ugh!*”
“*…*”
As if sensing the presence, the hooded guy started to writhe.
My head began to throb.
From the physique, it couldn’t be Hertlocker.
So, this meant he was the one Hertlocker had caught…
“*Inquiry.*”
I activated my ability first.
*[Erwin Rosenthal]*
*[Gender: Female]*
*[She is a graduate student, studying under Sergey von Freust at Freya Imperial University.]*
“*Damn.*”
It was none other than Sergey’s assistant.
“*She’s the one on the list you gave me. She tried to sneak out of Imperial University and escape the day you cut off the Untear. So, I caught her.*”
“*…*”
Feeling the presence, I turned around to see Hertlocker leaning against the wall with his hands stuffed in his pockets.
Right. Sergey’s assistant was also one of those zealots.
It’s clear she wasn’t depicted as powerful in the original, but seeing her act in Whist Forest convinced me.
She must have received a transfusion of a Majin’s power.
But since she wasn’t found among the corpses in the back mountain, I thought she had missed joining the Untear liberation group, and never expected she’d get caught like this.
She shouldn’t be caught like this…
“*What did you do?*”
“*Haven’t done anything yet. Just restrained her and covered her face and ears, brought her here, and locked her up. I’m leaving the decision to you.*”
“*…*”
“*Hey! If you take that off now!*”
I crouched in front of Erwin and removed the hood.
Squinting as if the light was bright, her eyes widened when they met mine.
I untied the gag in her mouth and took it off.
“*Y-You are…!*”
“*Nice to meet you. Glad you’re alive.*”
“*Wow. Your speech style has changed…*”
I decided to ignore the grumbling from behind.
Right now, figuring out what to do with Erwin was the top priority.
“*You can break free from those bindings with your strength, can’t you?*”
“*How on earth can I do that? More importantly, why am I locked up?*”
“*Since you’re someone who’s received a transfusion of a Majin’s power, you should be able to do it easily.*”
“*…*”
Erwin’s mouth closed.
Her pupils shook as if searching for a way to get out of the situation.
But there was no way out.
Her identity had already been discovered by me completely.
If she kept pretending, I’d just have to use a rough method to make her admit it.
“*You might have the strength to break free, but… I just don’t think I can win, so I gave up. Is that okay?*”
She answered, biting her lip as if resigned.
That was the answer I wanted.
I was relieved I didn’t have to resort to rough methods.
“*I have many questions. First, could you tell me about the group you belong to?*”
“*Do you think I would…?*”
Erwin turned her head, pouting her lips.
That made sense.
If I asked this way, she wouldn’t say anything until I carved her up.
“*This is troubling. If this goes on, your family will be in danger.*”
“*Ha. Schlus Hainkel, how do you even know about my family?*”
“*I don’t know, but Professor Sergey will.*”
“*Schlus Hainkel! No way!*”
“*If you don’t cooperate, there’s a chance I’ll call Professor Sergey. After all, the professor is a former soldier, and he knows more ways to make someone talk than I do.*”
“*Gah…!*”
She didn’t know her family was at risk.
I just threw out a hunch, and it seemed the threat hit home.
With that, two things were confirmed.
First, Sergey had nothing to do with the zealots.
Second, if Erwin continued to be uncooperative, I could bring up Sergey.
“*Alright, let me ask that question again.*”
“*I-I’m not one of those trashy guys! I infiltrated to gather information on them to report to the imperial family!*”
“*Oh. So can I ask His Majesty about that?*”
“*W-Well, I didn’t receive direct orders from the imperial family… I was trying to investigate on my own… I swear. I was about to quit this time…*”
“*Who gave you the right to decide?*”
“*Ack?!*”
I grabbed a handful of Erwin’s hair.
Suddenly, excuses started pouring out, but whether they were true or not was of no concern to me.
Whether she had intended to be a spy or was a loyal believer right from the start didn’t matter to me now.
The only thing that mattered was that she would be my spy from now on.
“*You won’t quit. You’ll stay in the organization and work hard until you reach a leadership position.*”
“*I-I don’t want to. They make people kill too…*”
“*Then kill. Kill and rise. Do you think you still have a choice?*”
“*Aaah…*”
“*Listen well. I’ll explain your situation. If you escape alone, your family dies. Even if they suspect your family is escaping, they die. If you refuse my orders or ask someone for help, you and your family will die. Understand?*”
Erwin trembled, lowering her eyes in response.
She was not someone who needed to be treated kindly.
She was a trash that crawled into a group beneath human standards driven by a desire to become stronger.
Even if she had been a spy, her failure to hide it from me was her mistake.
“*Answer me.*”
“*Ugh… Yes…*”
I lightly slapped her cheek, and finally, a reaction popped out.
It seemed she had been a bit dazed.
Confirming that her focus had returned to her eyes, I let go of her hair, slamming her face to the ground.
“*You should avoid unnecessary thoughts. If things go south, I’ll just kill you and report to the imperial family that a terrorist was eliminated.*”
“*Ugh… Yes…*”
I had found a spy I liked.
A spy who could infiltrate deeper than Hertlocker.
Whether she would be more obedient and useful than Hertlocker is something that remains to be seen, but she definitely didn’t seem to be stronger than me, so I really couldn’t dislike her.
“*What a garbage-like person. You’re really hardened by threats.*”
“*Isn’t the intelligence agency worse? Those who would kill innocent civilians at the risk of leaking information don’t seem like a group that should be saying anything.*”
“*Hmph…*”
Now was not the time to care about ethics or human rights.
Fighting against sinister figures lurking in the shadows means I couldn’t afford to restrict my methods.
Using Erwin, I’d gather as much information on the zealots as possible.
And if possible, eliminate them swiftly.
That was my strategy.
“*First, I need to ask how many remnants are still at the Imperial University. It would be nice if you answer honestly.*”
“*W-Well, that is…*”
I began to hurriedly extract information from the now cooperative Erwin.
For today, I planned to only gather basic information and teach her the code before releasing her.
Sergey must be very worried about his missing assistant.
Ah, just one thing…
*
“*Um, Professor…*”
“*Oh! Erwin-kun!*”
As the laboratory door creaked open, Sergey, the giant, jumped.
In an instant, Erwin was enveloped by Sergey’s muscles as he rushed across the laboratory, nearly choking her.
“*Are you alright?! I was worried since I hadn’t heard from you for several days! You didn’t stop by the lab at all!*”
“*I’m fine. Actually, I just needed a break since I was stuck with research, and I came out to relax.*”
“*Without telling your supervising professor?*”
“*S-Sorry. I didn’t expect it to take this long…*”
“*Well, still! You’ve been working hard for a while, so I guess you can think of this as much-needed rest! I’m just relieved you came back safely!*”
“*Thank you for your concern…*”
Erwin frequently bowed in apology, feeling very uncomfortable with her conscience pricking her.
She had to deceive such a kind person like Professor Sergey…
“*Hahaha! I was so worried you might be one of the graduate students who betrayed the empire.*”
“*That can’t be true.*”
“*Hmm. You can go rest now if you want.*”
“*Yes…*”
But Sergey wasn’t completely free of suspicion.
Feeling pressure from Sergey’s meaningful smile, Erwin closed the lab door and came out into the corridor.
-Professor seems to be mistaking you for a boy, huh?
“*Shut up.*”
At that moment, a crackling voice echoed near her ear.
Schlus Hainkel…
He was the mastermind who had me captured and turned into a slave.
-So, are you now heading home?
“*…*”
-You’ll be able to see your cute little siblings.
“*I said shut up.*”
That damn bastard.
I was really feeling incredibly unjust.
I had just stumbled upon some suspicious propaganda, thinking I could possibly earn a reward from the imperial family by doing a bit of spying…
Yet, it turned out to be more than Erwin had imagined.
Planning to overthrow the empire with a transfusion of a Majin’s power and worshipping Majin as rulers of humanity.
A normal person would have run away at that point.
But at that time, Erwin was somehow filled with confidence and patriotism.
Being greedy and wanting to dig a little deeper, she ended up getting caught by Schlus Hainkel.
-Ah, is this a shortcut to the back door? I didn’t know that. Thanks.
“*…*”
The constantly echoing voice became exceedingly annoying.
Becoming Schlus Hainkel’s ‘slave’ was no exaggeration.
At any time he desired, Schlus shared my sight and hearing.
Because of this, I couldn’t prepare for a counterattack secretly.
The moment he confirmed any suspicious situations or the sharing of sight and hearing stopped, Schlus would blow up the spell installed in my heart.
“*Haa…*”
Having no privacy and having every move observed was frustrating.
I’ve only acted for the empire, so why has it turned out like this?
If there was anything wrong, it was receiving a transfusion of a power that shouldn’t be accepted by humans.
And that was forced upon me.
“*Damn bastard…*”
-I can hear everything.
Overwhelmed by unjust anger and sorrow, tears nearly welled up in Erwin’s eyes.
