Chapter 10
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I'll purchase divine power with money.
Chapter 10
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I crawled slowly out of the drawer where I had been hiding my body.
Back in my detective days, when I took pride in my impressive musculature, squeezing into tight spaces always left my entire body aching. But hiding in Ordel's slender frame felt surprisingly comfortable.
I could strengthen my body with divine power too. No need to bulk up like I did during my detective days.
"You, you, you! You, what are you doing! Why are you here!"
As I emerged completely and brushed the dust from my clothes, Kento pointed his finger at me accusingly.
I was tempted to snap it right off.
"You said I should come to the Kitchen when night falls, didn't you? I'm someone who keeps promises very well, so I came gladly. Unfortunately, you'll be locked away in the Prison and unable to come, so I thought I'd at least take a look myself."
"Th-this is..."
"But since you, who should still be locked up, came in, I was curious about what you were doing here, so I've been watching for a while."
Of course, that was a lie.
I had already anticipated that he would escape the Prison at night and sneak in here.
According to the original story, Kento didn't have just one place where he hid money.
I was staking out the place to catch him in the act.
"And look what a wonderful sight I discovered. I must be quite lucky."
"You're unlucky for appearing in front of me like an idiot!"
Kento calmed his startled nerves and sprang to his feet.
Somehow, he was now gripping a sharp dagger.
"I've been wanting to deal with you anyway. Do you know who I am? Huh?"
"Of course I do. You're a criminal caught embezzling who'll be tortured by the High Priest tomorrow. And since you've escaped Prison like this, you'll get a proper torture session. Just imagining what kind of torture it'll be is terrifying, really."
"Torture, my ass. That guy's never even held a blade besides the knife used for meals—he's pathetic. You think I'd be afraid of someone like that?!"
...Oh. Ignorance truly breeds courage.
Who was Airic?
He was a candidate for the male protagonist of this world.
Though he wasn't the true hero who ended up with the Female Protagonist in the end, he was still a male lead candidate with numerous devoted readers.
Male leads in romance novels would do anything for the Female Protagonist—there's no way Airic could be weak.
In the original story, Airic was renowned as a genius at torture, unable to bear watching Ordel torment the Female Protagonist any longer, and he lent his strength to killing her.
This guy was already dead.
"Stop spouting nonsense! Do you know who planted me here? Count Kiris himself! How dare you, a fake saint, try to interfere with the Count's plans?!"
At that all-too-familiar name, I smiled crookedly.
Right, Kento was the representative of the spies Count Kiris had secretly planted in the Temple of the Sun God to make Ordel a fake saint.
Whoever broke him out of Prison was probably another spy.
The largest expenses leaving the Temple of the Sun God were my dignity maintenance fees—or rather, my extravagance—and the food budget used in the Kitchen.
Kento always allocated a large food budget under the pretext that he needed to serve the saint high-quality meals.
Whenever poor-quality meals were served, Ordel would always fly into a rage, so even Airic had no choice but to accept it.
But he didn't know.
That Kento had been secretly embezzling using that very excuse all this time.
And most of the embezzled funds circled back to Count Kiris's hands through Kento.
From the start, Count Kiris had planted him as a spy for precisely this reason.
The problem was that Ordel Kiris had also pretended to indulge in luxury and occasionally assisted with the embezzlement.
That way, Airic Dert wouldn't notice the embezzlement.
In other words, I was currently cleaning up the mess Ordel Kiris had created.
"If you understand, kneel before me this instant. If you resist even slightly, I'll report everything you've done today to Count Kiris in detail!"
Kento pointed his dagger at me.
Seeing his face brimming with excitement, he must have been imagining me—a noblewoman and Holy Maiden—kneeling before him in degradation.
You've misjudged your opponent.
"Oh my, how unexpected. So you were sent by Count Kiris. I hadn't realized that."
"Yes, so kneel right now—!"
"Which means you're a spy, aren't you? Not a true follower of the Sun God? You don't believe in our Sun God?"
"...What?"
Kento's expression went blank at my sudden question.
But this was an extremely important matter.
If he wasn't a Sun God Follower, I could expel him without the unfortunate consequence of reducing the Sun God's followers.
"If he were a true follower, I would have mobilized all my power to bring about his repentance somehow, but if not, there's no need to bother."
So what was needed now?
Divine punishment for one who dared covet the Sun God's treasures.
【Activating skill 'Body Enhancement'.】
"What nonsense are you—!"
In a fight, always strike first!
I drove my enhanced fist directly into the center of his pathetic face.
Crack!
Along with the satisfying impact, Kento's already low pride completely crumbled.
This was divine punishment delivered in the name of the Holy Maiden, God's representative!
"Gack, cough! You, you damned bastard!"
"What? Was the divine punishment too weak? You're still standing?"
Earlier today, he collapsed from a single flick to the forehead.
This time he was staggering but still gripping the dagger tightly.
His nose was completely crushed, so his brain must have been rattled again.
"Just collapse already. You're going to die like this."
Back in my detective days, I'd seen someone who acted tough like this end up brain dead.
Yet despite my genuine concern, Kento didn't stop.
"Jus, just take your, your head and go. Then the Count will, will forgive me, right?"
His tongue was so twisted it looked genuinely dangerous.
Yet remarkably, he still aimed accurately and swung his dagger at me.
I was about to dodge, wondering if my enhanced body could even block that blade, when—
"Huh?"
Something grabbed me forcefully from behind and pulled me back.
Before I could even process what was happening, there was a sharp clang as Kento's dagger flew through the empty air.
"Aaaaaahhhhh!"
As a result, Kento's wrist, which had been gripping the dagger, twisted in an unnatural direction.
"Are you hurt?"
At that moment, a crisp, refreshing scent drifted past my nose as a deep voice poured down from above.
I hadn't noticed his presence until he pulled me toward him.
Startled, I quickly turned my head.
The first thing that caught my eye was silver hair gleaming brilliantly, even in the kitchen where moonlight barely penetrated.
Beneath short bangs, eyes the color of a bitterly cold winter sea gazed down at me from close range.
"Gasp."
Goodness. He possessed beauty that shone even in the dead of night.
"Are you injured anywhere?"
"I... um..."
"Are you hurt?"
I was so startled by his beauty that words wouldn't come properly.
Apparently misinterpreting my silence, the man fixed Kento with a frigid stare.
Simultaneously, an indescribable weight of presence bore down upon my entire body.
An intangible force I could never have felt on Earth.
This was killing intent—the manifestation of his power.
"How dare you threaten an unarmed woman with a blade within the sacred Sun God Grand Temple. Do you wish to die?"
Terrifying.
I thought I'd stopped feeling fear like this after living as a Major Crimes Unit detective, but...
This was utterly unbearable.
Just as my legs began to buckle from dread.
【The AI System has detected fear levels exceeding the standard threshold in the user.】
【To facilitate normal activity, the System is elevating your mental fortitude.】
"...?"
The moment the System Message appeared, my body instantly calmed.
This works better than a sedative injection.
The System's got some capability, doesn't it?
"I'm not hurt. I'm fine. Thank you so much for saving me."
I exhaled in relief and stepped out of his embrace.
As my reason returned now that the strikingly handsome face was no longer thrust directly before me, I could identify who this man was.
Handsome enough to rival High Priest Airic, one of the male lead candidates.
If the High Priest is the Female Protagonist's shield, then he is the blade that cuts down her enemies without hesitation.
Male lead candidate number two and Holy Knight Commander of the Sun God Grand Temple.
It was unmistakably Seth Noel.
I was certain he'd been dispatched on an assignment elsewhere—so why was he here?
And why did he have to appear at precisely this moment?
I'd been trying to handle this alone, but now things have become rather awkward.
"Are you truly unharmed?"
At Seth Noel's worried question, I nodded vaguely and glanced at Kento.
He too seemed just as flustered as I was by Seth Noel's sudden appearance.
Well, it wasn't I who should fear the Holy Knight Commander right now—it was the escaped prisoner Kento.
So what choice did I have?
The situation had already unfolded; I could only seize this opportunity to my advantage.
"Holy Knight Commander, that man was caught embezzling funds from the Temple of the Sun God this afternoon and was imprisoned! He even escaped!"
I decided to inform on him first.
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org