Chapter 62: Return (6)

‘Once a priest transfers regions, they must stay in that region for at least 3 years. It’s a rule created because many priests sent to provincial posts would apply for a regional transfer again without even receiving a handover.’

Alice clicked her tongue without a sound. It was because one more reason had been added for why she couldn’t move right away. I said to Lumia, smiling broadly.

‘I see. Then, while we’re here, is there any situation where Lumia would suddenly go somewhere?’

‘Even if someone requested a transfer voluntarily to a quiet, provincial area like this, there’s no reason for me to accept it, and for priests, there’s no reason to specifically seek out a place like this. For corrupt priests, there’s nothing to gain, and for priests with ambition, it’s too small a place.’

‘That’s right.’

Alice nodded to my words as if understanding. Then, turning her head, she looked at the plaza. In the plaza, Sophia, wearing a maid outfit, was talking with people. To the people who didn’t know her past as a prostitute at the academy, Sophia was a new and cute maid.

‘Ah, right. You originally worked in a factory?’

‘Yes. It was a place that produced sensor devices, so if you have anything like small magic devices, I can fix them for you.’

The people particularly interested in her were the well-known and wealthy figures in this town. Their faces were wrinkled and blotchy, and their backs were hunched roundly as if carrying greed. These people clung to Sophia’s side, pretending to be friendly.

‘Ho ho, then I happen to have a broken item at my house, can you fix that too?’

‘Ah, what kind of item is it?’

As Sophia asked, the man, as if he’d been waiting, grabbed his own crotch and shouted.

‘Here, it’s this thing right here. Ho ho ho ho ho!’

‘Wow… Really dirty bastards.’

Alice cursed in a voice so quiet they couldn’t hear it. The local influential figures who maintained a close relationship with Carlson were the key players tightly controlling the wine business in this region.

No matter how much of a high-flying official Carlson was in the central government, now that only one line of career remained, he needed to show himself in a good light to them. Instead of treating them to entertainment, he was making a deal to be treated as an ‘adult’ from the capital’s administration.

Alice, knowing their collusive relationship and dirty inner workings, looked even more disgusted. They crawled like insects more than anyone towards powerful people, but acted unreasonably cruelly towards those weaker than themselves.

The man currently harassing Sophia was someone who had raped a tenant farmer’s wife and daughter and gone to court. He claimed that instead of rent, the wife and daughter had ‘voluntarily’ offered themselves to him, and the judge, who received cheap wine and liquor from the man, acquitted him based on his testimony and the tenant farmer’s ‘confession’.

‘Really, dirty bastards.’

‘It won’t be for much longer that we have to see that sight, so don’t worry.’

Alice tried to forget the cruel incidents constantly surfacing in her mind. I watched the local influential figure keep telling unfunny jokes while Sophia endured them with a truly strained expression. She must have met all sorts of obnoxious young men at the academy, but even she seemed to be encountering humans this blatant for the first time. Sophia wiped away the slight sweat trickling down her face, skillfully deflecting the man’s jokes.

Alice said.

‘But, this won’t cause problems, right? Like someone coming to find a priest won’t happen, right?’

To her worry, I scoffed.

‘The only priest in this region who uses holy power is on our side, so who would come looking? Just watch carefully. Normally, we have to reel them in one by one, very slowly.’

Sophia kept responding to the local figure, glanced at me once, and winked.

I gave her a thumbs-up.

Sophia’s plan. Its first stage was proceeding smoothly.

‘Wow, the new maid who came to the mansion this time, her tits… Ooh…!’

The middle-aged bald man, drinking alcohol, shook his head back and forth, praising Sophia’s breasts. The succubus’s unique, voluptuous and alluring figure was setting fire to the hearts of the middle-aged men.

‘Hey, that Alice girl too, she was just walking around smelling so much like a woman. Did you see that? Her thighs were just so firm, Ugh…! It’s driving me crazy. Huh?’

‘Hey, boss. Why are you so quiet?’

The bald man asked the fellow who was quietly drinking in the corner. The man’s name was Eport. He was a wealthy man who owned a fairly large-scale vineyard for wine cultivation. Rubbing his belly that stuck out like a tadpole’s, he said.

‘That girl named Sophia. I think she likes me.’

‘Oh dear, boss. Stop talking nonsense and have another drink. What could a woman who got into the Flancia mansion possibly lack that she’d be fooling around with you?’

They were very sleazy and dirty people, but they prided themselves on having some sense of judgment. They hadn’t stormed the Flancia mansion to rape Isabel, nor had they molested Elena, the mansion’s maid. They were merely pathetic individuals who preyed upon tenant farmers or powerless travelers.

‘My friend. Didn’t I tell you I saw it? Didn’t you see her talking with me today? She subtly sent me signals. Signals? Yeah. The way she laughed heartily at my jokes, and how her face turned red. It means she likes me.’

But what shook the judgment of these ordinary local folks was the emotion called love. Eport believed that although he and Sophia had just met, an invisible connection had formed between them. He also believed that following this line, moving forward, a beautiful ending surely awaited.

‘Boss…’

‘Hmph!’

Eport yelled and raised his glass at the other local figures who were about to retort. It was a gesture to change the subject, but they just looked at Eport with indifferent faces.

‘Ah, Uncle Eport. Hello!’

The next morning. Seeing Sophia greet him warmly, Eport’s mouth fell open wide. Another local figure passing by saw Eport’s slack expression in broad daylight, and Sophia, looking like she came to meet Eport, clasping her hands tightly together and shyly glancing, couldn’t help but tilt their head.

‘No, really?’

‘It seems to be true.’

Sophia was showing a display full of affection, to the point where the local figures were half-believing, half-doubting. She skillfully responded to Eport’s jokes, laughing heartily, and she was well-versed in the alcohol Eport liked and stories about the old military. Furthermore, even on days she didn’t go shopping, seeing her standing by the fountain looking as if she came to see Eport, the local figures couldn’t help but mistakenly believe Sophia had feelings for Eport.

A few days later, at a drinking gathering, Eport said with his back straight and a proud face.

‘Did you see, you guys? Huh? I’m still in my prime. That’s what I’m talking about!’

He looked happier than usual. The other local figures, despite witnessing it themselves, couldn’t help but shake their heads or chuckle in disbelief at the sight. Anyone could see Eport was just an ordinary middle-aged man.

The local figures gathered here each possessed a baseless sense of superiority, believing they were better than their counterparts. Having slightly more wealth or being slightly more promiscuous, they faced humans lacking in all other aspects, and their true nature was to spectate behind masks. This was the reality of the local figures’ gatherings.

But now the object of that voyeurism had become one-sided. Eport, at this gathering of local figures, was now proudly voyeuristically observing the losers as a man who had won a beauty.

‘Tomorrow I’m going to the Flancia mansion. Our Sophia pestered the mistress so they decided to invite me. Isn’t that adorable?’

‘Uh, yeah. I see.’

The demoralized local figures couldn’t even muster the energy to retort to Eport’s words. Seeing Eport’s beaming smile made them feel unreasonably angry.

‘I, I will be leaving first today.’

‘Boss. I’ll be going too. Something urgent came up…’

‘Oh, right. I should get going early too. I can’t smell like booze tomorrow, can I?’

At Eport’s words, the local figures shook their heads and walked away. Eport was happy even though they hastily broke up the drinking session. Because tomorrow he would be able to spend time with a cute woman like Sophia.

The next morning. Eport wore a neat suit and applied oil to his hair. After combing it into a shape like a plaster statue, he held his yellowish teeth up to the mirror, praising his own perfection. Although his belly protruded slightly, a respectable middle-aged man was still standing beyond the mirror.

Eport, humming a tune, bought a bouquet in the plaza.

Red roses, they say, signify passionate love. The roses’ fragrance was so intense that Eport felt almost drunk already. In his other hand, he held wine. It was a high-quality wine from his own vineyard.

‘Heh, How romantic.’

Eport, intoxicated once more by his romantic gifts, exclaimed in admiration. Passersby nearby, fearing they might unnecessarily pick a fight with Eport, quickly widened the distance.

‘Excuse me-‘

By now, Eport had arrived in front of the rusted iron gate. In the distance, the Flancia family crest was visible. When Carlson was around, the crest had seemed approachable, but after Carlson’s death, it often felt like a wall.

‘Ah, a guest.’

The door opened, and Elena, the mansion’s maid, appeared. Seeing Eport, she seemed slightly surprised, then immediately turned away. Eport smiled contentedly, wondering if Elena wasn’t captivated by his appearance too.

‘You can go this way.’

‘Ah, yes. I understand.’

Eport, beaming, stepped into the mansion.

Click!

As soon as he entered, the door locked.

‘Welcome. Guest!’

Evan, dragging a wheelchair, approached him.

‘Wh, what…’

‘Now, sit down quickly.’

Sophia, grinning, appeared behind him. Before Eport could even notice, his wrists were bound with leather straps.

‘Gasp…! S, Sophia…! What is this!’

Evan said.

‘Don’t worry. You bitch. It’s nothing serious.’

‘You, you bastard! Do you know who I am! I won’t let this go! Untie me right now!’

Evan and Sophia both laughed. Elena hummed a tune as she walked towards the kitchen, and on the second-floor lobby railing, Alice was watching Eport, leaning casually. Sophia said.

‘It’s okay. After it’s over, you’ll become a good person.’