“Then, I wonder if the lady knows as well.”
“W-What are you talking about?!”
“I’m talking about the fact that the professor is involved in a cult called Asylum.”
*GASP!*
Relic’s expression changed dramatically.
Sweat was trickling down his neck endlessly.
He was expressing his tension all over his body, even without saying a word.
“Hahaha… What an interesting joke! Is that a trend these days? It’s so out of context that it’s hard to understand.”
“It seems like you’re asking how I knew.”
“……”
Relic’s forced laugh stiffened again.
How did I know?
I’m a novelist, so of course I know.
Relic had been a member of Asylum since the story began.
So my embodiment doesn’t change anything.
With a position like a professor at the Imperial University, he must have reached an executive position in Asylum by now, so I decided to reel him in.
If this backfires, it would be truly disastrous.
“W-What are you talking about? I don’t understand at all!”
“*Sigh…*”
It seems it’s tough to get him to confess without presenting decisive evidence.
I didn’t want to do this, but I had no choice but to use a somewhat rough method.
“Professor Relic. Choose one. Either you tell the truth and guarantee your family’s lives, or you kill me here and escape. Ah, either choice means your family will die. If I don’t hear from you in ten minutes, the police will capture your family.”
“A-AHH…!”
Relic’s face began to turn pale.
If there’s no evidence, then I can just create it.
If I press down with power, he’ll spill the evidence himself without the need to struggle for it.
Relic hesitated for a moment but soon tucked his tail in.
“Y-Yeah… I’m involved in Asylum…”
He hadn’t managed to escape from Asylum yet.
That was good news.
With that amount of experience, the likelihood of him being an executive was quite high.
“Just answer the question, Professor Relic. The ranks of believers in Asylum include ordinary believers, higher believers, common priests, archbishops, and the Pope, correct?”
“Y-Yeah, that’s right…”
Relic looked slightly surprised.
Did he really think I couldn’t figure out this much?
Most of the structure of those Asylum bastards had already been mapped out by the Empire’s intelligence agency.
They have so many slippery little organizations that it’s a problem that we can’t capture them all.
“Which position do you belong to?”
“……”
“Answer within three seconds. Three… Two-”
“Common priest. I’m a common priest…”
A common priest.
It’s a tight fit, but that’s an executive-level rank.
Not a single one of them has been captured up to now.
I just found valuable intel that could lead to the hidden hierarchy of Asylum.
“Professor Relic. As of now, you are my subordinate intelligence agent. You will provide me with unlimited information about Asylum, and I will secretly pay you in return.”
“W-Wait a moment! I can’t betray Asylum-”
“I won’t give you the right to refuse.”
Asylum can combust their polygraphs every day to root out spies or whatever; I don’t care.
Avoiding those traps is now Relic’s responsibility, not mine.
The only important fact is that if Relic runs away, his family will die.
“NO… I can’t… I’ve gone too deep. I can’t escape. If I betray them, they’ll notice immediately and annihilate me and my family. Can’t you give me a break? At least for old times’ sake?”
“……?”
Old times?
What on earth is he talking about?
For a moment, I wondered if this Relic had lived in another world.
“Professor Relic. Listen carefully. Whichever path you choose, your life remains in jeopardy. However, if you risk your life and stand with me, you will earn a chance to carve your name in history.”
“……!”
“Now, think it over and decide. Will you lose your family and spend your life on the run from those cult bastards, watching the destruction of the continent, or will you risk your life to save it?”
This might sound a bit strange, but I believe in Relic’s character.
He may be petty and mean, but he isn’t evil.
The reason he even joined Asylum was due to receiving power from some Majin when he was young, curing his terminal illness.
That he remains a common priest after all this time shows he hasn’t been very active in Asylum’s activities.
So I trust that Relic won’t make a foolish decision.
*Cough…* Damn it! There’s no other way! I’ll be your intelligence agent! It’s not because I want my name in history, but for the future generations, I have no choice!”
“Professor Relic…”
“Honestly, I’ve been fervently active and rose through the ranks to provide information to the royal family! Do you understand my feelings?”
“……”
The shift in his attitude was pretty fast.
That’s not a bad thing.
It means he’s quick to assess what’s in his favor.
Of course, if the situation tilts against him, he might be the first to run away, but that’s a problem that won’t surface if I don’t let things tilt.
“From now on, someone will come to keep an eye on you.”
“Who is that… GUH?!”
As he turned at the sound from behind, Relic was startled.
There stood Erwin, expressionless, arms crossed behind him.
He was faithfully acting like a mechanical servant without emotions, just as I’d asked.
“Erwin has nothing to lose, Professor Relic. If you betray me, he’s ready for a double suicide at any time.”
“……”
Of course, Erwin has two dearly beloved younger siblings, but I didn’t expect Relic to be aware of every grad student profile out there, so I blatantly lied.
Seeing Relic’s face remain pale indicated that my lie hit home.
“Honestly, I’d like to embed spells in your heart, eyes, and ears, but… ”
“EEK?!”
“I wouldn’t want to injure our VIP.”
I approached Relic and straightened his tie and adjusted his disheveled clothes.
It was a pathetic sight, clinging to the back of the sofa, looking terrified.
Finally, I patted his shoulder and extended my hand.
“Let’s save the continent together, Professor?”
“Uh… uh…”
I gripped Relic’s trembling hand.
He’s a bit dim-witted, which is a cause for concern, but for now, he’s our first executive-level asset.
I have to handle him carefully so he doesn’t fall apart.
The intelligence agency are the experts in this area, so I should be getting their advice on this.
Or perhaps I should just leave it all to them.
‘It was worth the wait.’
I stifled a laugh that was trying to escape.
It seems the fight against Asylum is finally coming into view.
Once I finish the fight among humans, the war against the Majin will actually be easier.
At the very least, it’s a war where distinguishing friend from foe is incredibly straightforward.
*
“Urgh…”
On a warm afternoon, the gentle sunlight tickled Yulia’s face.
She lifted her heavy eyelids and tried to stretch when…
“AH…!”
She suddenly realized she had been leaning against something and panicked, almost falling.
As she leaned back, a large arm went around her back and caught her.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes…”
Schlus Hainkel.
The man who helped her up was closing the book he had been reading.
They had come out for a walk and rested on a bench…
The memory of what happened afterward was gone.
It seemed she had dozed off comfortably against Schlus’s shoulder.
Yulia was a bit surprised by how refreshed she felt.
It was her first time sleeping so deeply outside, leaning against someone else.
“Do you want to sleep more? You normally sleep a lot.”
“No… I think I can stop napping now.”
That confident tone of voice…
As if he knew her well.
Was he speaking of her previous life?
Yulia felt a strange sensation rising within her.
“Hmm…?”
But then, as she examined her fingers, she noticed a tiny puncture wound.
It looked like a little prick from a needle.
It seemed the bleeding had ceased a while ago, and because it was so small, it was likely to disappear after just one day.
Did she accidentally poke herself with a piece of wood while asleep?
Yulia decided to shrug it off.
“Let’s move. The sunlight is getting hotter.”
“Then, just a moment—”
“Wait a moment. I can do it myself.”
As Schlus’s hands naturally reached under her legs, Yulia blocked them.
Then, she struggled to maneuver the wheelchair that was standing nearby, turning it around with difficulty, and began fussing over how to sit down in front of it.
No matter how much she strained, she couldn’t manage to climb into the wheelchair.
After a good struggle, Yulia had no choice but to give up.
“Please help me…”
“It seems you didn’t eat enough, so you’re lacking strength. You used to get in just fine, right?”
“Yes…”
Schlus’s hands came in and lifted her body effortlessly.
Then, he placed her in the wheelchair, making her comfortable.
This guy has become quite skillful already.
Aside from maids or family, he’s probably the only one that makes her feel no humiliation while receiving help.
“Here’s a hat.”
“Ugh… I can’t see.”
“Don’t look ahead and guess. Where do you think we’re going?”
“Hehe…”
*Clatter. Clatter.*
The wheels rolled over the dirt path, making a pleasant sound.
With the hat pressed down over her eyes, she couldn’t see anything below her, but Yulia felt no anxiety at all.
It felt as if she had genuinely stepped outside for the first time in ages.
“Where are we now?”
“Hm. Aren’t we at the back gate of the mansion?”
“Wrong! completely the opposite direction.”
“Ah…!”
The moment the hat flew off, a cool breeze caressed her.
The expansive view of the lake opened up before her eyes.
They always said it was dangerous, preventing her from even approaching this area…
Is this really okay?
Worrying about Schlus, she glanced back, but he seemed completely unfazed.
“I heard we could roam anywhere in this garden. So why not row a boat to the center of the lake?”
“Ah, then we’ll get scolded…”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“No, it’s fine.”
She couldn’t refuse.
Even though she knew she would get scolded, she couldn’t bring herself to stop.
Schlus scooped her up and settled her on the boat.
Schlus sat behind, while she sat in front, using his chest as a backrest…
It was a rather embarrassing position, but it felt comfortable and nice.
“Alright. We’re off.”
“Ugh…”
As Schlus pedaled, the boat began to move.
At first, she struggled to keep her balance as the boat swayed heavily, but soon they found their rhythm.
Before long, they were cutting through the water, heading straight for the center of the lake.
The maids would probably explode with outrage if they saw this…
Perhaps she would be forbidden from seeing Schlus again.
But none of that mattered now.
“Want to try pedaling?”
“I don’t think I can; my arms are too weak.”
“I’ll help you. Grab on. Now push…”
“Ugh…”
“That’s it. Now pull back and push again…”
“Ugh…”
After losing the use of her legs, she had never felt this free before.
Of course, she knew her family was worried, but taking a calculated risk was infinitely more enjoyable.
Yulia wished this moment would last forever.
As she leaned against his broad chest, feeling the cool breeze and warm sunlight, a thought struck her.
‘Why is Schlus being so kind to me?’
A sudden curiosity arose.
It’s not like he would come to me because he likes me as a woman, I’m just a little kid.
Is he still hung up on his first love that possessed my body and can’t let go?
Or why did that person’s soul come to inhabit my body in the first place?
What was that person’s identity, certainly coming from another world?
Questions began to spiral endlessly, leaving her head spinning.
There was so much about Schlus that she didn’t know, it made her head ache.
“Schlus…”
“Yes?”
“I want to explore that cave.”
“That one? Are we allowed to go in there?”
“I’m sure it’s fine.”
She pointed to the small cave at the edge of the cliff.
She had heard legends of being able to glance into one’s past from within.
She wanted to check what happened to Schlus for those ten years after her death.
