Ch.117Chapter 117 – I Will Show You Mercy

“So, you’re saying this man is the one who orchestrated the explosion at my repair shop from behind the scenes?”

I looked at the man whose face was beaten to a pulp.

His name was Demiurgos.

Apparently, he was a bishop-level figure in the demon cult who led this operation from a small warehouse on the outskirts of Archenium.

“Yes!”

Etherna answered my question with a bright smile.

I noticed Demiurgos’s body flinch slightly at her response.

Wait, how badly did she beat him that he trembles in fear just from hearing her laugh?

The emotion visible between his swollen eyes was unmistakably terror.

As expected of the Chief Inquisitor of the Solar Order, I suppose?

‘Wait a minute.’

Something seems off.

Wasn’t Etherna a saint of the Solar Order?

Perhaps the role of Inquisitor suits her aptitude better than the stuffy title of saint?

Well, I’m personally pleased to have gained such a reliable guardian in Etherna.

‘Even though my body ended up in this state because of the terrorist attack by demon cult followers, I suppose it’s a matter of giving flesh to gain bone.’

I lost quite a few chunks of flesh in the process.

But instead of taking just one bone in exchange for my lost flesh, Etherna completely shattered the enemy’s legs… That’s a good deal, isn’t it?

“Demiurgos, was it?”

“Ah, yes! Yes! That’s right! Please don’t hit me anymore!”

Excuse me… I only asked for your name?

“Why did you send explosives to someone else’s shop?”

“Uh, what? Explosives? What are you talking about?”

“I’m asking why you sent items that would cause an explosion to someone else’s shop.”

This was exactly what I wanted to know.

Why send potentially explosive items to someone else’s shop?

I was severely injured from the explosion at the shop, but at least I managed to survive.

Within Glesius Academy, there were safety measures in place to ensure that even if arms and legs were broken, students’ lives would be preserved.

One such protective measure was the terminal that helped access the student management window.

In fact, I survived despite being caught in the explosion thanks to the shield created when my terminal was destroyed.

So at this point, I’m thinking:

‘If they wanted to get rid of me one way or another, an assassination attempt would have been more effective.’

To be honest, I have zero combat ability.

My abilities are focused on supporting allies from behind rather than confronting enemies on the front lines.

So if they wanted to achieve their goal easily, they could have just sent an assassin to kill me.

With my lack of combat ability, I would be defenseless against an assassin’s attack.

“W-well, you see…”

Is it awkward for him to explain why he tried to kill someone to the very person he attempted to murder?

Demiurgos was struggling to answer my question.

—Swoosh.

“I-I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything! Starting with who ordered this operation, I’ll reveal all the information I know!”

At that moment, as Etherna gently raised her hand, Demiurgos’s mouth opened like a dam bursting.

“T-the one who ordered this operation is someone higher ranked than me! I merely followed orders and executed them. I don’t really know why this was done—”

—Swoosh.

“…is what I was about to say. Hahaha!”

Wow. His attitude changes instantly just from Etherna raising her hand.

Is she really that terrifying?

The Chief Inquisitor is truly something else~.

“Ahem. Let me explain again. Within our cult, there was a belief that the disappearance of our outpost near Mount Aigaster was connected to you, sir.”

“What was the reason for that?”

“Because the items we were supposed to trade were the high-purity magic stones of the highest grade—the same ones you distributed to the students.”

Oh, I see. But what does that have to do with anything?

“You had an outpost near Mount Aigaster?”

“Yes, that’s correct. Although I don’t know what they were planning to do there, the upper echelon of our cult believed this incident was related to you, and thus ordered an attack on you, judging you to be a threat to our cult’s greater purpose.”

Hmm.

I just handed out high-grade magic stones as a service, and it led to this.

My life was threatened, but that was something I had to deal with.

If anything, isn’t it fortunate that one of the demon cult’s outposts was destroyed?

“S-so following the instructions from above, I ordered the delivery of alchemical reagents vulnerable to shock in glass bottles! That’s all I know!”

Judging by the severe trembling of Demiurgos’s eyes, he seemed to be telling the truth.

I looked at Etherna, and she nodded.

It doesn’t seem like he’s lying.

Since he’s not lying, I should show him mercy.

“Lady Etherna. Could you show this man mercy?”

“What? How can you show mercy to such a heinous criminal?”

When I asked if she could show mercy to him, one of the holy knights stepped forward to dissuade me.

“Although he ordered the attack on me, he was merely following orders, and thanks to him, we’ve confirmed that the demon cult is targeting me, haven’t we?”

Their attack officially confirmed that the demon cult was targeting me.

As a result, both the Celebrio Empire and various religious orders, including the Solar Order, became aware of the demon cult’s activities.

Of course, they were probably already monitoring their clandestine activities, but this incident revealed that their operations were active enough to carry out terrorism at Glesius Academy.

Now, countries and organizations would closely monitor the demon cult’s movements and remain vigilant.

‘The demon cult’s activities will slow down, and as their public operations decrease, they’ll move even further underground.’

Ah, I forgot to ask something.

“Bishop Demiurgos. Let me ask one last question.”

“W-what would you like to know?”

“How many assassination attempts have been made against me so far?”

“Ah, assassination attempts? From what I know, there have been over 50—gah!”

Wow. The demon cult is really something else.

Over 50 assassination attempts?

‘Wait a minute. Then who saved me?’

If there were 50 assassination attempts, that means all 50 attempts failed?

‘Did His Majesty the Emperor or the Chancellor assign secret guards to me?’

That’s the most likely possibility at this point.

Either the Emperor or the Chancellor must have assigned skilled individuals to intercept assassins targeting me, anticipating such incidents.

I should express my gratitude to them separately later.

“That’s all I wanted to know. Lady Etherna.”

“Yes, Count Severio?”

“Please show him mercy within reasonable limits.”

“Hmm, since it’s a request from you, Count Severio, not someone else… I suppose I should comply as much as possible.”

Etherna seemed reluctant to grant my request, but she agreed to it nonetheless.

“Thank you for accepting my request.”

“Don’t mention it. May I define what constitutes ‘reasonable limits’?”

“I leave that entirely up to you, Lady Etherna.”

For reference, I never intended to let him live in the first place.

If someone tries to take another’s life, isn’t it right that they forfeit their own?

Moreover, this world still maintains capital punishment and collective punishment systems.

“Hehe, then don’t worry and rest well. Soon, priests from another order will come to perfectly heal your injured body.”

“I understand.”

I left Demiurgos’s fate entirely to Etherna.

There’s no point in trying to persuade and convert someone who might betray us at any moment.

Rather than going through the troublesome process of convincing him to join our side, it’s more beneficial to eliminate him.

“P-please spare me! Please spare me!”

“Well then… shall we have a deep~ conversation in the secret room?”

With Demiurgos’s screams as my lullaby as Etherna led him away, I drifted back to sleep.

Perhaps thanks to capturing a bishop of the demon cult, I was able to enjoy a very peaceful, deep sleep.