Chapter 27 - Each One's Contract

Originally, being unsullied meant maintaining “purity”.

But in a world where countless people were dying from monsters and everything was burning, being unsullied meant “naivety”.

Therefore, an unsullied person in this world was someone who held hope for human beings,

Believed in human goodness even while doubting, and furthermore, thought this was natural.

That was why Dale was suitable as a hero.

And since the imperial family and the church are always looking for beings suitable to be heroes.

She could pride herself that this would be a proposal they would like very much.

However, there was one problem.

Being suitable to be a hero didn't mean one could become a hero.

Being chosen as a hero wasn't just about suitability.

Background, political conflicts, relationships, crises, or special events surrounding those who choose heroes had direct and indirect influences,

It could be difficult to be chosen just for being suitable, so there was a need to throw bait to the imperial family and church.

Therefore, she introduced someone that a commoner could never meet.

"Sir Dale. There is someone who wants to meet you."

And that was something that could be resolved without much difficulty using her position as a grand duchess and the connections she had built since childhood.

"It's Archbishop Mikhail."

In this world where monsters and demons were pouring out and there seemed to be no future, people wanted their daily lives to be maintained.

However, maintaining daily life was impossible in the current situation.

So the imperial family and church needed something to cover people's eyes, not maintenance.

It could be cultural media, or not mentioning the crisis.

But what was more effective was propaganda to give the illusion that things were improving.

And Dale, wearing the mask of a hero, was suitable for this propaganda.

Of course, Dale wasn't the only person suitable to be a hero for the imperial family and church.

Conversely, there was no reason not to choose him, so he would likely be adopted with high probability.

If he becomes a hero like that.

He would become Hero Dale, not just a commoner.

The revenge he dreamed of would change from impossible to possible.

***

I fell into contemplation about how to counterattack Dale.

It would be impossible to go catch Dale in his lodgings.

In addition to the matter getting bigger, if I caused a disturbance by going to the lodgings,

It would be difficult to handle quietly anymore, so this was impossible.

Not only would it not end with just one or two deaths, but there's a high possibility that ordinary people living near the lodgings would see it.

If so, the option of handling it quietly would completely disappear, so I had to find another way.

Should I secretly call him out or set a trap?

That might be the best option for now.

I was even considering mentioning an impotence cure to lure Dale out when Siren pulled on my clothes and pointed in one direction.

Wondering what it was, I glanced over and saw Liana waiting for me with a sly face.

She approached me naturally, as if greeting someone she knew, and said, "Have you been well?"

In the original work, she was always a guide leading to the right path.

But that applied to Hero Dale, not Villain Damian, so it would be right to be wary.

But I want to draw her to my side someday.

So I decided to be wary but not reject her, and as I returned her greeting, she calmly brought up the main point.

"There's someone who wants to meet you, so I came to deliver this message."

Judging by the fact that she wasn’t saying who it was, it seemed to be someone difficult to talk about on the street.

And the fact that she was avoiding mentioning them meant there was a high possibility it was a very high-ranking person, so it wouldn't be bad to meet them, but right now, my head was complicated with matters concerning Elisia and Dale, so it felt like it was being pushed down in priority.

"I'm sorry, but next time. I have a lot of problems to solve right now."

"Hmm. I still think it would be good for you to follow me."

"Well..."

Right now, sorting out the situation was more important than expanding connections.

Above all, I felt strangely swayed by Liana, so there was a need to draw a line.

So I was about to pass by when an interesting thought occurred to me, and I said to her, "I'll go if you answer one question."

"Are you expecting a free answer from an information merchant? Huhu, you've got guts."

At those words, I was about to ignore her and pass by when

Liana grabbed my hand with an "Ah!" and said, "H-hmm. It's a bit much to reject someone so heartlessly and then make a blatant request, but just this once, I'll give it to you. So what do you want to know?"

At those words, I asked about the information I was most curious about at this point, "Do you know any information about an impotence cure?"

"..."

At those words, Liana looked at me with a bewildered expression for the first time.

Seeing that, I thought it was exactly the same as the description in the original work and smiled lightly.

***

A shabby hut near a small monastery.

Judging by how far it was from the center, it seemed this meeting absolutely must not be known to others.

Thinking it was strange that such a cautious meeting was necessary, I entered the hut and saw a person wearing a black robe.

As expected earlier, it wasn't an ordinary person, as Liana gave a very polite greeting to the robed person.

"You've worked hard."

It was a delicate and soft voice that made me think this might be what a loving voice sounds like.

Hearing that voice and looking at her, she made a careful gesture for us to sit in chairs and said, "Thank you so much for responding to my invitation."

I nodded as I sat in the chair.

Seeing me sit in the chair, she continued speaking in a calm voice, "First, I'll convey words of gratitude on behalf of the church."

Representative and gratitude.

The moment I heard these two words, a thought crossed my mind, but I shook my head thinking it couldn't be.

After all, that character was a very noble person, and a pure and innocent character who knew nothing about secretly calling people out or such things.

So I denied it, but the silhouette was very similar.

I'm not sure if I should say this, but…

It reminded me of the description I once saw in a community, "I came to another world and my chest is as big as my head".

Even though she was wearing a loose black robe, those curves were quite prominent.

Of course, it was quite dangerous to guess who someone was based on just this, so I tried to stop speculating.

...But it kept making me think of one character.

Saintess Ruen.

A character who always smiled gently and kindly embraced everyone no matter how desperate the situation.

Ruen was such a popular character that most original fans called her the "official wife".

Of course, this is just speculation. I don't know if it's really Saintess Ruen.

So, for now, I buried my doubts in my heart and looked at her.

She presented me with a somewhat vague question.

"...What do you think about the church, Damian?"

Is she trying to gauge my intentions?

Not knowing what she meant by it, I retraced the process so far.

Judging by the fact that she's using Liana, she probably knows that our family is involved with black mages.

In addition, given that she thanked me on behalf of the church, she must also know about the contract between the black mages and the church.

Moreover, considering that she thinks this meeting absolutely must not be known, and chose this place, the woman in front of me was likely not very friendly towards those eating away at the church, so I gave an appropriate answer.

"The situation doesn't look very good."

"Ah..."

At my words, she let out a short sigh in a subdued voice, then sighed and said, "Given that we don't have much time, I hope you'll understand that we need to get straight to the point."

I wasn’t sure what it was, but it seemed that her being here itself was quite risky.

And it seemed she didn't have much time to stay here.

I nodded to show I understood, and she took a deep breath and continued speaking, "As you know, Damian, the state of the church is not very good. Some clergy have started acting while forgetting their duties as clergy."

The moment I heard those words, I thought that the robed person might not be Saintess (Ruen) as I had speculated earlier.

After all, Ruen was only concerned with saving people, and showed no interest in the corruption of the church.

Therefore, I concluded that it didn't seem to be her as it was quite contradictory to the Ruen I knew.

But something... something kept nagging at my mind.

As I was pondering for a moment what it could be, one question arose in my mind.

Is everything that appeared in the original work true?

The original work was narrated in first person, not third.

In other words...

The original work was narrated from “Dale's” perspective, not from the author's perspective that oversaw everything.

The moment I recalled this fact, as I was falling into confusion with the image Elisia had shown constantly circling in my mind, the woman wearing the black robe in front of me slowly took off her robe and said, "So, can you help me? I'll give you as much compensation as you want."

Golden hair flowing softly onto the desk.

I slowly looked at her face following this, and saw a beautiful face that felt noble just by looking at it.

As I was silent for a moment, momentarily dumbfounded by her appearance that was stunning just to look at, Loraine spoke in bewilderment, "S-Saintess?"

"It's embarrassing, but that's what I'm called... Although in reality, it doesn't suit me at all to be a saintess."

"Ah... No, that can't be!"

Loraine waved her hands in bewilderment, but Saintess Ruen seemed unchanged in her thoughts even hearing such words, and just looked at us with a bitter smile.

"Of course, if you say no, there's nothing I can do, but I hope you'll help. Because you're the only one who can save the church."

With those words, she carefully grabbed my hand and looked at me.

Ruen's ears turned bright red, seemingly unaccustomed to holding a man's hand, but she pretended to be nonchalant and opened her mouth, "So please help me. Of course, I'm not forcing you... If circumstances don't allow, it can't be helped, but if possible..."

At those words, I punched numbers in my head.

Whether accepting such a proposal would be beneficial or not.

Let's think about the disadvantages first.

It would be turning the core forces of the church into enemies.

And this would cause considerable problems, so just looking at this, it would be right to refuse.

But have I already crossed the church in the first place?

I had openly picked a fight with the church to save Sister Lilia, so retaliation for that would come soon.

Moreover, since the Carsaril family and the church don't get along well, even if I don't make a contract with Ruen, the core forces of the church will start to be hostile to me.

As that judgment was made, I firmly grasped Ruen's hand and said, "Then shall we hear the conditions first?"

Still, that was that, and this was this.

I smiled, deciding to be careful about contracts and agreeing to terms.