Ch.20How Many Hits Will You Take? (2)

“So……”

Olivia stroked her chin and said.

“The princess sent you? Then did she draw this picture too?”

Calliophe nodded obediently. It seemed she had realized her place after fainting once.

“That’s quite strange. I’ve never met the princess, yet how did she draw me so accurately?”

That was actually what Calliophe wanted to ask.

She had no memory whatsoever of Aria meeting this devil before her, no matter how hard she tried to recall.

Even a close friend’s face can be difficult to draw from memory, yet Aria had sketched this devil’s face in one go.

Of course, Olivia’s face wasn’t exactly ordinary. If anything, it was the kind that would be instantly burned into one’s memory.

But still, how could someone draw a person they’d never seen before?

It seemed impossible no matter how she thought about it, yet here it was happening in reality—enough to drive one mad.

– Was it really the princess’s dream? She met this woman in a dream. And the princess was such a genius that she could remember it perfectly and draw it.

Now that nonsense didn’t sound like complete nonsense anymore.

‘I don’t even know what to think anymore.’

She couldn’t help but sigh.

“What did she say when she sent you?”

“Nothing special. Just to report back if we found you.”

“And did you report back?”

“……”

Calliophe pressed her lips tightly shut.

She seemed like someone who lived thoughtlessly, yet her questions were painfully sharp. It felt like being interrogated by a professional.

Seeing Calliophe reluctant to speak despite being beaten, Olivia grinned.

“You couldn’t report back, that’s why you came all the way here, right?”

“……”

“Answer me.”

“…That’s correct.”

Olivia felt relieved inside.

‘That’s fortunate at least.’

Princess Aria doesn’t know yet. Above all else, discovering this fact was the biggest gain.

Even Aria couldn’t deduce that the Night Ravens’ disappearance was connected to Olivia without any information.

‘Even if she considered all possibilities and assumed I was a regressor.’

She couldn’t remember exactly since it was so long ago, but at this point, Olivia’s level was probably still single-digit.

Even for someone like Olivia, with such a low level, she couldn’t hope to gain an advantage against the Night Ravens—her head would explode with a single blow.

Aria must have thought the same thing.

‘That’s why she sent the Night Ravens.’

To kill her perfectly the moment they found her.

If she just wanted to locate Olivia, she could have hired nobles she was friendly with or information brokers. But Aria didn’t do that. She sent the two strongest from the Imperial Princess’s Palace to eliminate any possibility of Olivia escaping.

But too bad.

‘I’m a transmigrator.’

Hehehe.

“Let me ask a few more things. How many of you came to the North?”

“…Just the two of us.”

“Come on, really? Would someone of commander rank move so thoughtlessly?”

“……”

“Seriously?”

“Y-yes, that’s right!”

SLAP!

“AAAAARGH!”

Calliophe clutched her head and collapsed to the floor.

“This bastard thinks I’m a fool.”

Calliophe was fundamentally a cautious person.

She would have certainly prepared safety measures.

Whether leaking information to acquaintances or leaving marks that only Night Ravens could recognize.

‘I’ll need to eliminate all of those before I can rest.’

Thirteen years until the Demon God’s advent. To raise the White Tower’s trio and one ice chicken to continental top-ten level within that time would require grinding their souls to dust and more.

There was no time to waste dealing with these people.

Olivia pointed her staff at Seth.

“Do you know anything?”

“I have some guesses.”

“What are they?”

Seth glanced cautiously at Calliophe. She had a resigned look on her face. She knew too that it was too late to keep silent now.

“May I speak?”

“…Do as you please.”

Go ahead and spill everything, even the Emperor’s underwear location!

Calliophe had adopted a “whatever happens, happens” mindset. If she had to confess, it was better to do so with minimal beating.

Seth spread his fingers.

“There are four things.”

“Four?”

“Our commander has somewhat obsessive tendencies. Please understand.”

Olivia folded her arms.

“Continue.”

“Before that.”

Seth interrupted.

“Promise me one thing.”

“What? To spare your life?”

Seth shook his head.

“I don’t even hope for that. Just kill me quickly, without pain.”

“I can do that.”

“Words alone aren’t enough. Swear by the true name of the devil you serve. Swear that if we tell the truth, you’ll kill us painlessly.”

“Why should I?”

“Do you know the biggest flaw of torture?”

Olivia raised an eyebrow as if telling him to continue.

“You can’t tell if it’s the truth or a lie told to escape the situation.”

“And?”

“If you swear, I’ll swear too. That I’ll only tell the truth.”

Olivia opened her eyes in surprise.

Indeed, Seth showed cleverness in this regard.

He prevented the other party from playing tricks while securing a painless death by proposing conditions that cost him nothing.

It certainly wasn’t something an ordinary criminal would think of.

‘The Emperor had good reason to accept him into the Night Ravens.’

Who would have thought that a man with such dull eyes could be so clever?

Even Commander Calliophe looked surprised, which was proof enough.

But…

‘You chose the wrong opponent, fool.’

Olivia nodded.

“Fine. I’ll swear.”

“Good.”

“I, Witch Olivia, swear…”

Woong!

Magical power spread from Olivia. A magic circle forming at her heart proved she was making a vow.

A mage’s oath and a witch’s oath aren’t very different. But while mages only lose mana for breaking oaths, witches lose their lives and have their souls taken by demons.

With her life at stake, no matter how bold she was, she couldn’t joke around…

“…um, that thingy. What was it…? That thingy… anyway, I swear.”

Seth’s face contorted.

What kind of witch makes an oath like that?!

“Do it properly!”

“I did?”

“What kind of nonsense…”

“I’m not dead, am I? So I did it properly.”

Seth blinked blankly.

Huh…

That’s true?

Witches die if they break their oaths. They die if they joke about them. They die if they invoke another demon’s name.

That was an unchanging truth and common sense.

‘So that “thingy, whatchamacallit” is the true name?’

Is this why demons weaken when they hear their true names? Because it’s something like “thingy, whatchamacallit”?

It made his head spin.

“Are we good now?”

“Uh… um…”

“I asked if we’re good.”

“…Yes.”

What could he do?

He had to believe it since she was still alive and well.

Seth spread four fingers.

“First is the mark. We have a special mark that only we can recognize, but honestly, you don’t need to worry about this. Unless we walked barefoot all the way to the North, we didn’t have time to make marks while capturing wyverns to ride.”

“Right, next.”

Seth folded his fingers one by one.

“Next is…”

Olivia compared the information Seth provided with what she already knew, verifying in real-time whether his words were true.

‘It all checks out.’

That each royal family member has two Night Ravens assigned to them, that the reporting system is thorough, that they leave marks in major cities.

Of course, none of it had any real substance.

Because they came to the North in such a hurry, they had no time to place informants at intermediate points or leave marks.

After speaking non-stop for five minutes, Seth exhaled as if relieved.

“…That’s everything.”

“Alright, alright.”

Olivia nodded.

“You’ve told me everything, right?”

“Yes.”

“Really everything?”

“……”

After hesitating briefly, Seth nodded.

‘So this was your plan from the beginning.’

Calliophe, who had caught on to Seth’s intention, smiled grimly from behind.

Even if the witch had the ability to detect lies, it would be useless in this situation.

Because Seth hadn’t actually lied.

He simply hadn’t told the whole truth.

Calliophe had five insurance measures in total. And Seth had omitted one of them.

The most important one at that.

It was a scroll with embedded message magic.

If the circuit wasn’t renewed weekly, it would assume something had happened to Calliophe and send a message to all Night Ravens.

– North. White Tower.

‘I used to hate renewing it every week.’

Who knew it would be so helpful now.

Even if she died here, the remaining members would avenge her.

Calliophe finally found peace of mind.

At that moment.

“I’m just asking in case…”

“Ask anything.”

“…For instance, a scroll that sends messages to all members if not renewed every week.”

“……”

“Something like that. You don’t have anything like that, right?”

Seeing magical power gathering in Olivia’s staff, Seth’s pupils trembled violently.

“Last question. You don’t, right?”

“I, I, don’t…”

“By the way, you both swore, remember? To tell only the truth.”

Olivia grabbed Calliophe and Seth by their hair and pulled them toward her.

“Just so you know, I have plenty of potions. About ten years’ worth. How about it? Want to try holding out? Feeling confident?”

Olivia’s eyes bulged.

“Where did you hide it, you bastards?”