Chapter 88
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“Divine Master, we also belatedly realised that Hexion was falsely accused. The methods of the Demon Race were so cunning that we’ve decided we must be more cautious going forward.”
When I asked if they had apologised to Hexion, their tongue grew longer with excuses. Judging by how they’re making excuses first, Hexion probably hasn’t received an apology.
“It’s not the Demon Race who has cunning methods, but you.”
“Divine Master?”
Priest Baal showed a surprised expression, then looked at me with a pitying face, resembling someone viewing a person in distress.
“How painful it must have been for you when your favoured guardian knight was falsely accused. We deeply regret that we failed to understand your feelings and committed such foolish actions.”
“That’s not what you should be regretting.”
After patting Hexion’s shoulder, he put me down. I walked toward Priest Baal.
“Priest Baal. You never liked Hexion from the beginning, right?”
“Forgive my impertinence, Divine Master, but I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“I’m talking about what you brought as evidence that Hexion was conspiring with the Demon Race.”
While I can’t blame people for misunderstanding about Marvis’s items that Venom found initially, since I transferred them to Hexion’s inventory, the piece of parchment they brought at the end wasn’t sent by me.
That letter was probably forged to imitate Hexion’s handwriting.
I understand they were frustrated because I didn’t believe them, but they crossed the line when they presented fabricated evidence. If they wanted leniency for having reasonable suspicions, they shouldn’t have committed perjury.
“The items you brought as evidence of conspiracy were things I confirmed while I was at the Demon Race’s dwelling. There… I saw with my own eyes them being sent to Hexion.”
Since I sent them myself, saying I saw it with my own eyes wasn’t exactly a lie.
“But there was exactly one item I had never seen before.”
I turned to look at Hexion.
“Hexion. That letter supposedly written in your handwriting, you didn’t write it, correct?”
“I have never written any letter.”
Since this is before I confronted Hexion with the evidence, he probably hasn’t seen that letter yet. Now that it’s clear the evidence was fabricated, there’s no need to verify the handwriting.
“Hexion never wrote a letter, so how did a letter in his handwriting containing content about conspiring with the Demon Race appear? Priest Baal.”
“Well, Divine Master. That is a misunderstanding… It seems we made a mistake since it was such a common handwriting style.”
After insisting it was Hexion’s handwriting, now you’re saying you don’t know whose writing it is?
“My goodness, then this is an even bigger problem! It means there really is someone in the temple conspiring with the Demon Race. Now that Hexion has been cleared, we should capture and punish whoever framed him, right?”
As I emphasised the words “whoever framed him” while glaring at the Priest Baal, he pressed his lips tightly together.
Unfortunately for you, exercising your right to remain silent won’t work in front of me, you extra.
“Priest Baal. I can use the Scales of Judgment.”
As I raised my right hand, appearing ready to activate the Scales of Judgment, Priest Baal’s face turned pale.
The one who blocked me was Grand Priest Largo.
“Please calm yourself, Divine Master. This, too, could be a plot by the Demon Race to cause internal division within the temple!”
Marvis doesn’t care about you, you fool!
I wanted to hurl insults at him, but I barely managed to hold back. My patience is quite remarkable, isn’t it? To the point where Hexion doesn’t need to cultivate it further.
“Divine Master…”
Hexion called out to me with a troubled expression. Rather than disliking the commotion I was causing right after returning, he seemed concerned that I was creating trouble with the priests because of him.
Right. Our Hexion is so kind.
How dare they slander him, how dare they!
‘I’ll show you what real slander looks like.’
I cleared my throat and folded my arms.
“Grand Priest Largo, I entered the Demon Race’s dwelling of my own accord.”
“Yes. Because you fell victim to the Demon Race’s schemes…”
“Resisting their schemes wasn’t difficult. But I needed to know. What their purpose was, and why they were doing this.”
You may be game characters, but I’m someone who has written scripts before. I won’t lose when it comes to instigation and fabrication.
“The moment I witnessed decisive evidence, I realized. It would be impossible to resolve this within the temple, so I had no choice but to invade enemy territory to gather information. That’s why I left for Niflheim… the City of Darkness.”
I spoke freely. The knack for writing episodes all night while crying hasn’t left me. Creating a plausible story isn’t difficult at all.
“While observing there, I realized. The Demon Race’s tentacles actually extend deep into the temple.”
“Divine Master? What do you mean by that…”
“The Demon Race used Hexion to create conflict within the temple! They encouraged the holy knights who envied and were jealous of him, and they deceived the priests who were wary of him rising to a high position!”
I stretched out both arms, pointing at Priest Baal with my left hand and the holy knight Venom with my right. There were actually more people to point at, but since I only had two arms, I pointed at the two most conspicuous ones.
“That’s why the fabricated evidence ended up in Priest Baal’s hands. The Demon Race knew who would be most suitable for causing turmoil in the temple. So they incited Priest Baal!”
“Divine Master. When you say ‘incited’… are you suggesting that the Priest Baal conspired with the Demon Race?”
Grand Priest Largo looked back and forth between me and Priest Baal with an incredulous expression.
“I cannot tell whether his actions were intentional or if he was under the Demon Race’s curse. But it’s undeniable that Priest Baal is at the core of this incident.”
“Ohhh…!”
In case he might cause a disturbance by claiming innocence, I laid the groundwork by suggesting he ‘might have been under a curse.’
Once the advantage shifted to our side, swaying public opinion was simple. The priests distanced themselves from Priest Baal, and Venom, pushed by the holy knights, knelt before me.
I never liked Priest Baal to begin with, but Venom had been quite kind to me, so I feel a bit sorry about having him imprisoned.
But since Venom also has a history of slandering Hexion, I decided not to sympathize with him.
“We never know when the Demon Race might extend their tentacles again. It would be best to isolate these two.”
“Divine Master, it wasn’t me! This is unjust!”
“Divine Master, please listen to us!”
Baal and Venom called out to me with desperate voices. Well, you should have listened when Hexion and I were pleading.
“Don’t misunderstand. I’m simply protecting you in my own way.”
When I smiled sweetly, the two men’s expressions darkened further. They probably realized that begging for sympathy wouldn’t work.
The holy knights escorted Baal and Venom to prison. I told the priests that I wanted to rest and returned to my room. The sensation of stepping on the glass-smooth tiles after so long felt unfamiliar.
“I don’t think I was gone for that long, but somehow it feels strange.”
“Divine Master. Why did you say such things?”
After closing the door, Hexion spoke to me.
“Even the Demon Race cannot cast spells on someone they’ve never met. Moreover, Priest Baal has never even left the temple.”
“But he slandered you.”
Hexion opened his eyes wide at my response. It seems he hadn’t considered that it might have been deliberate rather than a misunderstanding.
“I still believed in you, so they went as far as fabricating evidence to drive you away. They started the fabrication first, so I just responded with fabrication. Priest Baal started it first, so why should I lose to him?”
“It was my responsibility for failing to manage my reputation. You shouldn’t have had to step in, Divine Master.”
“Hexion belongs to me, right? So I should take responsibility.”
When my foremost guardian knight was falsely accused, clearing his name was my responsibility as his master. Isn’t that the story that was set up for me to pursue?
“If I don’t protect my foremost guardian knight, who will?”
“…Divine Master.”
[Hexion’s current affection level: 80]
Someone’s affection level is rising quite nicely.
There are variables, but it seems Hexion’s affection generally increases when I act like the Divine Master or say things that show I trust him. If I follow the standard route and avoid doing anything that might drastically lower his affection, it shouldn’t be difficult to reach the maximum level.
“Hexion.”
I moved closer to him and looked up. I blinked my eyes, hoping for praise, but he took half a step back, then lowered himself and picked me up.
“I’ll take you to bed.”
“Hexion? It’s not time to sleep yet…”
“I’ll serve you until you’re satisfied.”
“What?”
“I’m not unaware of how you’ve been looking at me. As your foremost guardian knight, I can at least do this much.”
“No. Wait a moment. I think you’re misunderstanding something…”
“I’ve also noticed that Divine Master gets embarrassed when caught in the act. You don’t need to be that way in front of me.”
It seems like there’s a barrier between Hexion and me.
What am I supposed to do about this?
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