episode_0214

Chapter 214 – Year-end Party

After returning to the academy, one day, after several days had passed, I sought out Kenneth for the first time in a while.

Ever since the break began, he had been diligently training under a knight, constantly moving between the dormitory and the annex of the Friuli household.

The knight in charge of training rushed over to me the moment he spotted me.

“Young Master! It’s been a long time! How have you been?”

“Yes, yes. Could you step aside for a moment so I can talk to Kenneth?”

“Yes. Please call me anytime if you need assistance!”

His discipline was exceptionally strict.

This was because Count Gardin had spread rumors in the noble circles that I had been chosen as the successor.

‘Well, it doesn’t really matter.’

Anyway, there wouldn’t be any trouble, so I just needed to pick and choose the parts that were advantageous to me.

I quickly dismissed my thoughts about the knight and approached Kenneth, who was diligently swinging his sword.

“Kenneth.”

“Oh! Ruan?”

The moment he heard my voice, he flinched, then quickly turned to face me.

He seemed a little flustered.

Indeed, it was understandable that he would be surprised, as I rarely visited this place.

“What brings you here?”

“I have something to tell you. Follow me.”

“Uh, okay!”

Kenneth followed my suggestion without much complaint.

Up until he called himself a serial killer, I worried a lot about what to do with this guy, but he hasn’t caused any trouble since then.

Perhaps he was framed?

‘But from the way he talks, it doesn’t seem that way.’

The fact that there was no hint of injustice in his demeanor made it feel like he truly killed them of his own will.

Or perhaps he couldn’t endure the bullying from the school thugs and caused a shooting incident?

This was a fairly plausible hypothesis.

After pondering, I decided to ask him directly without beating around the bush.

“Hey. So you said you were a serial killer before you possessed this body, right?”

“I did.”

“Why did you kill them?”

“Just because I wanted to kill them.”

“…”

Was it my misconception after all?

The answer, which came out without a moment’s hesitation, seemed like it would get a perfect score on a psychopath test.

I had a hunch that digging deeper would only destroy the trust I had barely built, so I didn’t press further and ended the conversation.

A moment later, we arrived at the reception room.

Sitting opposite him on the sofa, I gazed at Kenneth in silence for a moment.

‘Can I trust this guy?’

What I was about to say was very important.

It wasn’t just about the importance of information; it was a choice that would greatly affect my future safety and all my actions.

But no matter how many times I thought about it, the conclusion remained the same.

I immediately dropped a bombshell.

“Kenneth.”

“Huh?”

“I’m also a possessor.”

“…What did you say?”

At the sudden ‘possession reveal,’ Kenneth’s eyes widened in shock.

For a moment, he rolled his eyes as if trying to grasp the truth of my words, then he suddenly slammed the table, stood up, and pointed a finger at me.

“I knew it! You were a possessor too! My gut feeling was right! And you pretended otherwise? You sneaky bastard!”

“Be quiet and sit down.”

“Oh, okay.”

When I frowned at his noisy behavior and ordered him, he meekly sat back down.

That meant my strategy had worked perfectly. For someone already addicted to the benefits I provided, the fact that I was a possessor held little significance.

Even if he knew I was a possessor, there was nothing he could do.

If he reported me to the Holy Order, his own identity would be exposed. And since he didn’t know that killing another possessor granted unique abilities, there was no reason for him to even try to kill me.

We were already in an excellent alliance.

However, even for such a foolish person, my actions seemed to puzzle him.

“Why did you tell me that?”

“Because I felt things couldn’t go on like this. You saw what happened at the festival recently, right? Actually, I’m Eunrang.”

“What?!”

“Sit.”

“Oh, okay.”

I calmed the guy who was about to cause another commotion and slowly continued speaking.

“As you know, I’m currently wanted nationwide. That’s all because of the Apostle, Golden Ghost. You know who the Golden Ghost is, right?”

“Ethan Gloucester.”

“Right. To reach the ending, I’ll have to deal with him, but it’s too difficult in my current state. So I need a reliable helper. And that’s you.”

“Huh? Me?”

“Yes. The problem is you’re too weak. No matter how much you train, you can’t overcome the limits of time. To bridge that gap, you’ll have to rely on something else.”

That is, the hidden pieces.

If he borrows the power of countless artifacts and steadily grows, Kenneth will eventually be able to do his part.

I paused there and pulled out a map I had prepared beforehand from my pocket.

“Everything marked here is the location of a dungeon. From now on, you’ll conquer these.”

“No, all of these? There were this many dungeons?”

“This world’s history is quite long. It has to be this many.”

Since the Goddess of Darkness, Nepheli, last descended tens of thousands of years ago, the history of this world can be considered several times longer than humanity’s history on Earth.

The dungeons accumulated over that time easily exceeded three digits.

This was even after excluding dungeons that had already been taken by other possessors.

Kenneth, who had been staring blankly at the map for a moment, soon broke into a wide smile and grasped my hand.

“As expected! You’re my friend! Thank you so much!”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself. You haven’t fully gotten your hands on them yet. There’s also a risk of encountering other possessors along the way. And let go of my hand right now. It’s gay.”

“Uh-huh. Got it!”

When I snapped at him somewhat coldly, he quickly withdrew his hand and put it back in place.

I took out a pager from my pocket and held it out.

“I’ll give you this for now, so if you run into any danger while conquering a dungeon, call me. Understood?”

“Of course! I don’t want to die either!”

“Right. You’re only allowed to conquer one dungeon a week. If you get greedy for artifacts and neglect your training, I won’t let it slide.”

“Yes! I’ll work hard!”

“Then I’m leaving. See you later.”

The moment I turned to leave after a brief farewell, Kenneth shouted.

“Ah, wait!”

“Why, is there something else you need?”

“That…”

He hesitated, then needlessly looked around before whispering quietly.

“Last time, at the festival, when you raped the Crown Princess, what was it like?”

“What?”

“Did the Crown Princess’s pussy feel good?”

I learned a new fact today.

That even a psychopathic serial killer was ultimately a man dominated by his dick.

“…I don’t know, you bastard.”

I gave a vague answer and turned away.

“What was it like? Answer me!”

I heard Kenneth’s pleading voice, but I exited the annex without the slightest hesitation.

‘Is this reassuring for now?’

I had been dissatisfied that he was too weak to be properly utilized even though he was under my command, but now, if he grows according to the build I’ve set up, he’ll quickly become strong enough to be useful.

I decided to stop thinking about Kenneth for now and started recalling other matters.

*

One day, with only a few days left until the new year, I passed by the kitchen and spotted a familiar face.

“Oh? Why is the Saintess there?”

The Saintess, wearing an apron and her hair tied back tightly, was busily making something, her captivating ample bosom jiggling.

However, since it was below the windowsill, I couldn’t see what it was from my position.

Eventually, after getting closer, I was able to figure out its identity.

‘It’s a cake?’

Come to think of it, I think I heard that the Holy Order was holding a year-end party in a few days.

Perhaps she was practicing cooking beforehand for that occasion?

“A party…”

I needed information from the Holy Order anyway, so I wondered if I could make things work out well by using this opportunity effectively.

Even if not, there was no harm in just closing the distance with the Saintess.

‘Good. Let’s go.’

Having quickly made up my mind, I circled the building and headed towards the kitchen.

*Thud—*

I roughly pulled open the door.

Hearing the sound, the Saintess looked back and, upon meeting my eyes, was startled.

“Oh? Young Master?”

“Saintess-nim. It’s been a long time. What are you doing here?”

“I was making a cake. A year-end party is being held by the Holy Order in a few days, and I wanted the orphanage children to taste some delicious food too.”

As expected, a Saintess is a Saintess.

Her generosity was as ample as her large bosom, as she put so much effort into helping the underprivileged children.

I smiled contentedly and approached.

“Really? That’s truly wonderful. Is there anything I can help with?”

“Ah! Then, could you taste it for me? Actually, I’ve made cakes and brought them to the children several times, but they didn’t seem to like them very much. I’m curious if the taste is strange.”

“Hahaha! Of course. As much as you like… huh?”

I, who had been readily expressing my willingness to accept, only then discovered the true nature of the cake, hidden by the Saintess’s chest.

‘What is that?’

A giant fish head protruded from the center of the three-tiered cake.

Moreover, hundreds of octopus legs were attached to the outer edges, and a fermented sauce tasting similar to Earth’s fermented soybean paste was thickly spread all over it.

When I had looked from outside, it had definitely seemed like a normal cream cake, but I had no idea how it had turned out this way.

She couldn’t have ruined it on purpose; it seemed that due to her own taste, she must have thought she was making it delicious.

I wanted to point it out immediately, but I doubted whether it was even possible to persuade her with words.

If it were something that could be easily corrected, wouldn’t it have been resolved long ago?

Suddenly, a surge of pity rose within me for the orphanage children whose faces I didn’t even know.

‘Poor things.’

To present such monstrous food to children who were already growing up without parents, year after year…

Since the Saintess brought it, they probably couldn’t show their dislike and had to force themselves to swallow it?

Tears spontaneously blurred my vision.

But before worrying about others, I had to take care of my own well-being.

Although my words were cut off in the middle, they were clear enough to understand, so the Saintess, understanding my intention, smiled happily and expressed her gratitude.

“Thank you! Now, say ‘Ah—.’ I’ll feed you!”

The Saintess lightly picked up a piece of cake with a fork and held it out.

The pure Saintess-nim was going to feed me a cake she made herself! Normally, I would have eaten it without any hesitation, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

The cut cross-section was so bizarre that it was impossible to even guess what ingredients were used.

The mixture of purple and blue colors made it look truly unappetizing.

Cold sweat dripped down me.

‘What should I do?’

If I said I’d help her directly and then now said I didn’t want to, all the goodwill I had painstakingly built up might be lost.

Then there would be significant obstacles to digging up information from the Holy Order.

It was truly a dilemma.

Just as I was about to brace myself for the loss of goodwill and point it out, a vibration rang from my pocket.

“Oh?!”

It was the sound of the communicator!

Roxana had given it to me before, and its ownership had now transferred to Deborah.

‘I trusted you, damn it!’

Cheering inwardly, I quickly pulled out the communicator before the Saintess could say anything.

“Ah! I’ve received a call. Saintess-nim. May I step away for a moment to take this call?”

“Oh, yes. That’s fine.”

“Haha! Then, if you’ll excuse me.”

Having asked for her understanding, I moved a little away from the Saintess and answered the call.

“Hello?”

“Ruan! Where are you right now?”

“Me? I’m in the kitchen with the Saintess-nim right now?”

“…The Saintess-nim?”

“Yes. Why? Is something wrong?”

To my question, asked out of concern for her darkened voice, a truly shocking answer came back.

“You’re not having sex, are you?”

“…What?”

“Having sex with the Saintess-nim…”

“No, I’m not!!”

Even though I had given her a chance, Deborah repeated the same thing, and I ended up yelling at her.

Thanks to that, the Saintess’s gaze turned towards me.

I gave her an awkward smile and said with a sigh.

“More importantly, come here right now. I have a favor to ask.”

“…It’s not a strange favor, is it?”

“What do you mean, strange?”

“Threesome…”

“I told you it’s not like that!!!”

Why had Deborah changed so much?

‘I miss when she was innocent.’

Remembering the Deborah of the past, I hurriedly hung up the call.

I was afraid the Saintess would hear if I continued any longer.