Red Room

Beneath the capital’s beautiful cathedral, a place countless believers of the continent wish to visit before they die.

The pure white room was, true to its name “Red Room,” dyed crimson with blood.

Benedicto, who had interrogated countless heretics and innocents, tossed the bone crusher he held onto the floor with a weary face.

He had experienced numerous interrogations in this place, but he had never encountered such a tough nut. Not even the proud knights or the deranged fanatics could withstand his torture without their minds collapsing or sincerely begging for death.

But the young man before him was different. Even after depriving him of sleep for two days and using drugs to prevent him from adapting to the pain, this bastard absolutely would not break.

The empty potion bottles rolling on the floor and the pure white room entirely stained red spoke volumes about the severity of the torture. There was no need to elaborate.

Even the priests watching the interrogation were making faces of disgust.

Just watching the torture was mentally exhausting, but the sight of him counting sheep until the very end without losing his mind, despite the brutal torture, was beyond unpleasant-it was grotesque in itself.

One of the priests, wearing a disgusted expression, cautiously approached Benedicto.

,You’ve been interrogating him for two days without sleep. This is really dangerous as it is.”

At those words, Benedicto wiped the blood from his hands and ran them over his face.

,Hoo, who knew he’d be such a tough nut. I’m exhausted from torturing him non-stop without sleep. How on earth is he enduring it?”

Now he was really starting to doubt if this guy was even a heretic. It was nearly impossible for a first-year academy student to possess this level of mental fortitude.

Whether he heard Benedicto’s words or simply wanted to keep counting sheep, a small, watery voice, soaked in blood, reached Benedicto’s ears.

,Nine thousand eight hundred and one sheep…”

The emotionless voice sent shivers down the spines of not only Benedicto but even the priests.

Even after cutting his lips and sticking needles in his throat to prevent him from speaking, the guy somehow kept counting sheep.

As time passed, Benedicto grew increasingly worried that his deal with the Princess would fall through. Unlike what he had confidently promised, Ross was neither breaking mentally nor making a false confession.

,Hoo, listen, Ross. Why don’t you stop counting sheep and have a conversation? Then I’ll stop the interrogation.”

Driven by impatience, Benedicto spoke coaxingly, and Ross slowly lifted his face.

Ross, whose eyelids had been cut off to prevent him from sleeping, looked at Benedicto with bloodshot eyes and said,

,Nine thousand eight hundred and two sheep…”

,You crazy bastard!”

Benedicto, enraged, checked to see if there were any torture devices he hadn’t used yet, but he couldn’t find anything satisfactory.

What could he do to break Ross? As Benedicto wracked his brain, someone knocked on the door of the Red Room.

,What is it!”

Annoyed at being interrupted, Benedicto shouted, and a priest answered from outside the door.

,Princess Bella-nim will be arriving soon.”

At the priest’s words, Benedicto regained his composure. Accepting the fact that he had lost to Ross, Benedicto sighed and said to the priest,

,The potion from the Saintess-nim.”

At those words, one of the priests handed Benedicto a sealed box.

Breaking the seal on the box and taking out a black potion bottle, Benedicto immediately poured the potion on Ross.

Watching the lips, eyelids, fingers, and ears he had cut off regenerate in an instant, as expected of a potion made by the Saintess herself, Benedicto felt a sense of regret.

If he had broken under the torture, he had planned to heal him with the potion, turning him into a flawless simpleton, and blame it on the black magician’s actions. But this guy had endured all that pain.

Tossing the empty potion bottle onto the floor with annoyance, Benedicto asked the priest,

,How much does it come to, including the potion we just used?”

,Including the potion just now, it’s a total of 11 bottles. At least… eight years of his lifespan will have been reduced.”

At the priest’s words, Benedicto shook his head.

,Hoo, trying to become Pope is so difficult. Everyone, you’ve worked hard. The Princess-nim is coming, so everyone change your clothes.”

Always wearing a warm smile, Benedicto said.

After wiping off the blood, changing into clean clothes, and waiting in the Red Room, Princess Bella appeared, leading the Knights.

,Princess Bella-nim.”

Benedicto and the priest bowed deeply.

,Nice to see you, Benedicto. But I heard you failed to keep your promise?”

Under Bella’s cold gaze, Benedicto licked his dry lips.

,Well… this guy is incredibly mentally strong, even if he is a heretic. I’ve never seen anyone like him among all the guys I’ve interrogated.”

At Benedicto’s excuse, Bella wore an intrigued expression.

,Even trash has blood in their veins, huh? Unexpected.”

Approaching Ross, Bella bent down to observe him.

,But what is he muttering right now?”

,He’s, uh, counting sheep.”

,Counting sheep…?”

At Bella’s questioning gaze, as if asking for an explanation, Benedicto scratched his head.

,He said he would count ten thousand sheep himself to endure the torture.”

At those words, Bella turned to look at Ross and said,

,Then he doesn’t know yet, does he?”

,About…?”

,Whether he’ll become an idiot after counting ten thousand sheep, or whether he’ll find his true self.”

At the monotonous voice, Benedicto felt a chill run down his spine.

,R-right? It was torture that even an Imperial Knight wouldn’t be able to endure.”

,Then shall we have a cup of coffee while he counts ten thousand sheep?”

,It would be an honor.”

Nodding to Bella, who was smiling, Benedicto glanced at Ross, who was still counting sheep, before following Bella out of the Red Room.

***

,Ten thousand sheep…”

I regained consciousness with a murmur. In a dreamlike state, I vaguely remembered the interrogator torturing me.

Thankfully, I didn’t feel any pain because I was focused on counting sheep, and there were no traces of torture, so other than a lingering feeling like I had a nightmare, everything was normal.

I didn’t understand the meaning of “fortress of reason” in “indomitable courage,” but after experiencing it, I realized what it was. My mind was not affected at all by the interrogator’s harsh torture.

Admiring that great ability, I smiled with satisfaction, pleased that I had chosen Gias’s reward well. Then, I heard a scream close to a shriek from somewhere.

When I looked up, a priest was looking at me with fearful eyes and asked in a trembling voice,

,D-did you… finish counting the sheep?”

,…Excuse me?”

,Ten thousand, ten thousand sheep…”

Sensing something strange about the priest’s attitude, I nodded. The priest, with a frightened expression, ran out of the room.

Puzzled by the priest’s inexplicable behavior, I was wondering if five thousand sheep would be appropriate for the next torture session when I heard several footsteps. Then, the Princess appeared, leading the Knights and priests.

,You’re awake?”

Looking at me with a disappointed expression, Bella made me unconsciously recall her setting.

The future Emperor and Roel’s greatest helper. She was a heroine who kept the trash-like nobles in check, who cooperated with the Order to gain power and immortality, and bought time in every way possible until Roel’s hero party headed to the Demon King’s castle.

Bella’s setting was that she would do all sorts of dirty deeds for Roel and the world, even as Emperor. You could say she was a female version of Daddy Long Legs?

I never expected to be caught up in those dirty deeds… That’s how unpredictable things are.

,Are you upset that you were dragged into the interrogation room?”

At Bella’s question, I let out a hollow laugh without realizing it. It was a natural thing to say. If I didn’t have indomitable courage, I would have definitely broken down and become an idiot.

,Of course. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

At my calm voice, Bella raised one corner of her mouth and asked,

,Really? Then can you tell me?”

I felt a sudden sense of unease at Bella’s mischievous voice.

,What kind of magic you used in Destin Village and the restaurant?”

It felt like my tongue was swollen and filling my mouth. I never expected that she would suspect that, so I couldn’t react and showed my flustered appearance as it was.

,You can’t say? Because that’s black magic, isn’t it?”

,…It’s not.”

,Really? Can you prove it?”

At Bella’s sharp question, I swallowed hard.

If I took out Patulga’s magic book from the space warehouse, I could prove it on the spot, but Bella, with the wisdom of a snake, couldn’t possibly not know the value of Patulga’s magic book.

I needed Patulga’s magic book for my plan. Quickly racking my brain, I looked at Bella and said,

,I can prove it in front of my brother and a notary.”

In front of my brother and a notary, even the Princess-nim wouldn’t be able to forcibly take my things.

As if mocking my answer, Bella shook her head and said,

,Do you think you can get out of here?”

It was a clear provocation. Recalling Bella’s setting, I provoked her in return.

,Then I’ll count twenty thousand sheep.”

Staring straight into her golden eyes, I said nonchalantly. Bella’s eyes wavered for a moment.

Bella had a natural ability to discern people’s true feelings. That’s why she absolutely trusted and loved Roel, who always treated everyone with sincerity.

Having discerned my true feelings, Bella glared at me and gestured to the Knight behind her.

Receiving a bundle of papers handed over by the Knight, Bella approached me with a strange smile and shook the papers.

,I met Ellie before coming here. Everything here is a petition written directly by Ellie.”

At those words, my gaze involuntarily went to the papers. The petition, filled with letters pressed down with sincerity, stated that the Ross she knew would never do such a thing.

,She was incredibly worried about you and even argued with me. How impertinent.”

At Bella’s whisper, I flinched greatly without realizing it.

Wearing a satisfied smile at having found my weakness, Bella whispered in my ear in a sweet voice,

,If you do as I want, I can let you play and eat with Ellie-yang, whom you love, for the rest of your life. I’ll even guarantee you a noble status if you want. I can even swear before the gods if you’re suspicious.”

It was a sweet temptation. If I had Bella’s power right now, Ellie and I could live a wealthy life forever.

But I knew Bella well. This was a trap. Once you set foot in a trap designed by Bella, you can never escape.

,I refuse. I don’t want to live a false life.”

Rejecting Bella’s offer, Bella sighed, threw the petition she was holding onto the floor, and said in a low voice as if threatening me,

,I’ll spread rumors that you cooperated with a black magician and kill you. Ellie-yang, whom you love, will remember you that way. As ‘a minion of a black magician who deceived her.’ Roel will be sad too, but he’ll fight the Demon King for your revenge.”

From Bella’s perspective, that might be better. If she could awaken Roel by sacrificing me, who had no value, there would be nothing better than that.

But the reason Bella was saying these things to me was because she couldn’t actually do it. I don’t know why, but if she really intended to do that, she would have taken out a knife and stabbed me in the neck instead of explaining.

,Even if the truth is hidden, it will eventually reveal itself.”

At my words, Bella stopped pretending to devour me and sighed, taking out a gold-trimmed staff from her chest and waving it.

Was she going to attack? I instinctively closed my eyes, then slowly opened them, feeling the freedom from my bound limbs.

,If you had accepted, I would have killed you right now, even at the risk of any danger. There are people who are not used, but there is no one who is used only once.”

I felt a little puzzled at Bella’s words. Bella’s behavior, as if the interrogation was over, was far from what I had expected.

I thought there would be one or two more interrogations because of her unyielding personality, but Bella was giving up so easily? Could Roel have done something?

As if to resolve my doubts, someone opened the door of the Red Room and appeared.

Seeing that person, I involuntarily let out a sound of “Ah.”

There was another person who could stop Bella’s rampage.

It was just that I never expected that person to appear.

The person who entered the Red Room, stroking his well-groomed beard as if showing it off,

Was the Headmaster of Transcendence Academy and the father of the students with the title of ‘Sage’.

It was ‘Nelson’.

,Nice to see you, Ross.”

Nelson waved at me and smiled warmly.