episode_0054

Except for special circumstances, Isabel was basically a very gentle woman.

His kind, affectionate, and thoughtful personality doesn’t really suit him as an Inquisitor.

As I said before, it wasn’t a disadvantage because I was clearly more assertive in situations where I didn’t have to be. For example, when I was scolding Israfil or me…

Anyway, if we were to find any flaws in Isabel, the problem would be in other areas.

“Okay, Mr. Evan. Now that you’ve had a good rest, let’s get going and start exploring the city!”

“… … .”

The day dawned. Isabel, who had woken up early and finished getting ready since she had gone to bed early the day before, woke me up with a bright smile on her shiny face.

I woke up with a pale face and a twinkling look in my eyes as if I wouldn’t tolerate oversleeping.

I didn’t look in the mirror, but it was clear to me that my table top was in some kind of tatters.

On the other hand, Isabel must have slept so well all night that her pale face was glowing.

… … Sometimes, the next day, after squeezing me all night, Lete would show up like that.

Could it be that Isabel is using me as a living doll to extract my energy? Like the Star-Sucking Great Method used by the warriors of the Eastern Empire?

It was a ridiculous delusion, but there would be no objection to the fact that the principles and conclusions seemed similar.

I muttered with difficulty, holding back the harsh sound that almost came out reflexively.

“… … I’ll go wash up… … .”

“Okay, have a nice day.”

I ran into the bathroom, passing Isabel, who was smiling brightly, oblivious to the speed of others.

Then, I woke up from my hazy consciousness as best I could while being hit by the cold water pouring down from the shower.

“Sigh.”

I sighed involuntarily. Isabel left me with only a few meaningful words and immediately went off to dreamland, but I couldn’t do that, which was the nightmare of last night.

It was so strong that I couldn’t even shake my body off unless I really made up my mind to do so.

But I didn’t feel comfortable waking up someone who was just falling asleep and dropping them.

I gave up thinking that if I just closed my eyes for a bit, I would fall asleep quickly. That was my mistake.

A beautiful woman, who was like my mother to me, was sleeping defenselessly while hugging me from behind in her thin clothes.

The mental strength she had accumulated through training was of no help at all. Every time she tossed and turned, her lower body would tremble. What could she do?

I wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t fainted from exhaustion at the very end.

To get back to the topic, these aspects were ultimately Isabel Cedent’s ‘weaknesses’.

I guess people are a little naive. The day before, they said to me, “Hey, I won’t do anything dirty!”, and then when I assured them that I wouldn’t do anything like that, they let their guard down.

‘Still, how reassured must you have been to treat a guy like that… … .’

Suddenly, the memory of the hug from behind from the night before comes to mind, and her face becomes hot, and her lower body also reveals its presence.

She was truly a cruel woman. What can I do when she acts so trusting towards me?

I couldn’t resist my desire and fell asleep, but I didn’t have the confidence to handle Isabel’s reaction when she looked up at me sadly with a shocked face…

“Oh my.”

In the end, the only thing left for me was to use all my patience.

I wiped my face nervously once, my heart boiling with anger, and decided to do my best to appear calm anyway.

Anyway, the reason I came here is for the evaluation test.

In addition to the frequent reports coming from the duchy, the oracle His Holiness received this time, and the duke of Leicester’s suspicious attitude, when all is considered, the situation is definitely not simple.

It was the law that a candidate for sainthood must concentrate on his mission no matter what obstacles there were.

With that firm determination, I quickly wiped off the moisture and started preparing to go out.

*****

The Duchy of Lehem, especially the city of Verdil, was entirely in the palm of the Duke’s hand.

Even if it was the Solar Church, it was difficult to exert influence as a simple dispatched priest.

If he had revealed such a strong atmosphere so blatantly on the topic that he had invited us to, it would be obvious that there must be something going on.

That’s why Isabel and I went our separate ways for a few days, to disperse the surveillance that was probably 100% under us.

Isabelle is on a mission to search for warlocks in the outskirts slums at the request of the Duke of Rayham.

I shook off the surveillance personnel and secretly went to the pleasure street located in the center of the city.

The Duke would be paying most of his attention to Isabel, so it was relatively easy for me, a mere candidate for sainthood, to make moves.

So sometimes I visited the red-light district and sometimes the casino as a guest… … .

“… … I didn’t feel any particular discomfort. The red-light district and casino were ordinary.”

“Um.”

The problem was that I couldn’t really feel anything. Not even the presence of the demon world or the devil, not even the unpleasant and low-quality magic that the black magicians were spewing out.

If I, who could now rival Israfil and Isabelle in terms of the level of divine nature, didn’t feel anything, then it really meant that there was nothing.

After repeating this story for four days, Isabel’s expression gradually became more serious.

As always, she wrapped herself in a hotel gown and dried her blonde hair with a towel.

She frowned for a moment as if thinking about something, then let out a deep sigh.

“Haa, this situation is really annoying. My anger towards Duke Rayham is growing more and more.”

“Um, how was the slum area?”

“… … Well, of course, no particular problems were found on that side either. The shady organization that the Duke’s butler found suspicious was also an extremely ordinary group of people. ”

She blurted it out with a sour expression, and I muttered in a complicated voice as well.

“Then is the auction house the source of the problem? The red-light district was full of ordinary prostitutes, and the casino was full of addicts and guards.”

“That’s probably the most likely.”

“As of now.”

Isabel nodded at my comment. It had been four days since I had been searching the entire city, and the only place I could not approach was the auction house.

If you try to sneak in, the security is so tight that the knights are guarding, and if you ask the duke outright, it feels a bit awkward.

That’s why we had no choice but to wait for the auction day when nobles from all over the empire would gather.

As time passed, I had an ominous feeling that something was going to explode that day.

As I was thinking about such things and my face was dark, Isabel looked at me bitterly and lightly clapped her hands.

“Okay… … . Let’s not look so gloomy. You know that missions under the mountains often don’t go as planned, right?”

“… … Yeah, right. I know. ”

It wasn’t easy to get rid of distracting thoughts, but I managed to make my expression comfortable.

Isabel smiled brightly as if she was amazed by him.

“Then shall we stop here for today and rest?”

“… … .”

She was sentenced to death. It was a death sentence she had survived five times already.

I groaned and turned my head, but Isabel was already in bed.

“Welcome, Evan! You need to sleep well so you can be strong tomorrow, right?”

The gesture of someone quickly lying down and tapping the spot next to me couldn’t have been that scary.

I was very sad, but it was difficult to refuse her words.

Because I had already succumbed to Isabel’s thoughtless attack when she asked me tearfully if I hated her after pointing to the sofa and saying I wanted to sleep alone once.

“… … Yes, Miss Isabel.”

It wasn’t a yes or no choice. For me, nodding and repeatedly pressing the yes button was the only option.

But at some point, in this relaxed atmosphere, I realized that she started calling me comfortably, that is, ‘Evan’ instead of ‘Mr. Evan’.

What importance would such a trivial fact have?

I smiled like a liberated person and crawled into bed─.

“… … hmph… … .”

Today, too, Mother Isabel fell into a wonderful deep sleep, using me as her living pillow.

He was truly an evil man.

*****

“Yeah… … .”

Isabel blinked blankly and babbled at the sudden feeling of emptiness.

It felt like she had been forcibly awakened from a very good dream. Isabel stared at the darkened ceiling of the guest room and wavered for a moment.

“Evaan… … ?”

After clearing her vision a little, she looked to the side. Before she knew it, her bio-pillow had disappeared from its place.

It seems that the identity of the empty space I felt before waking up was none other than Evan.

“… … Haaam.”

Isabel got up, stretching her arms out in defenseless attire.

I blinked my eyes again and looked around. The bathroom caught my eye. It was the only one in the large room with a dim light shining on it.

Although she was still half-conscious, Isabel unconsciously jumped out of bed.

After scratching the ball like that, he took a step forward.

Naturally, towards the bathroom.

Until then, Isabel had no particular thoughts. She thought Evan had probably gone in to do some business and planned to surprise him when he came out.

She was moving as quietly as possible, trying to make as little noise as possible, when she reached the front of the bathroom.

Beyond the glass door, a faint silhouette was visible, and a small voice could be heard.

Could this be Evan’s soliloquy? Isabel listened with curiosity, without much thought.

“… … Haa, haa. Miss Isabel, ugh… … !”

“… … .”

The very next moment, I was jolted awake by the tiny voice that struck my ear like a bolt of lightning.

She blushed silently and her fingertips trembled like a broken robot.

What did he just hear? Or did he hear it correctly?

‘Okay, okay, okay, in my sleep, in my sleep, there’s a chance I heard it wrong, wrong.’

In an instant, her brain shut down. Isabel turned bright red and swayed as if steam was pouring out of her head.

“──Ah.”

My legs, which were already weak from the cold, gave out at that very moment.

Isabel’s body leaned forward. She instinctively reached out for support.

and.

‘Ah, ahhh, okay… …!?’

The glass door of the bathroom… … . How inconsiderate, it pushed my body backwards with just that one light touch.

It was faithful to its role as a doorway, allowing the outside presence to enter.

“… … Miss Isabel… … !?”

“Ah, ugh. Aaaah.”

It was a very unfortunate thing for Isabel.

She slumped down and landed on the bathroom floor.

She saw an elephant.