Chapter 121
I only came to the next morning.
Lying in the shabby infirmary, I let out a long sigh and stared up at the ceiling.
If I passed out despite having a resistance to poison, then it must’ve been one hell of a lethal dose.
It’s a miracle I’m not dead.
So let me get this straight… he went out of his way to become the prison warden-slash-bishop just to get revenge for me trying to poison him, made up some “Specially Managed Devotee” program as an excuse, and laid out a full-course meal to bait me into it?
So much for acting cool. Talk about holding a grudge?
Yeah, I definitely ran into a whole different breed of lunatic.
“You bastard, calling hunger a sin? Then let me do photosynthesis like plants, at least!”
Still pissed, even in hindsight.
Suddenly, a line from the scripture I was forced to read all day in solitary by Damian came to mind.
A demon, trying to sway a devout priest away from worldly temptations, sent him a beautiful woman to seduce him, offered power and wealth, gaslit him with “humans are slaves to desire,” but the priest never so much as blinked.
That demon was a persistent one.
In the end, he even offered up his entire domain and power to the priest, begging him to give up his path, but the priest stood firm and ascended to the divine realm in the end.
I remember rewriting that entire passage in my head at the time, imagining the demon sobbing, “Damn it! What do I have to do for you to stay with me! I offered you everything! Don’t go!”
Now that I think about it, this situation isn’t all that different from some Iron Wall Priest x Obsessive Demon King dynamic.
From my perspective, whether god or demon, he’s just another all-powerful being who sits back and watches a human fall into ruin.
He plans to keep testing me and messing with me like this in the future, right?
That’s why he’s here, isn’t he?
To torment me in the name of “enlightenment” or some crap?
Come to think of it, didn’t the newly appointed prison warden order all members of the Sloth bloodline to be captured?
That’s probably just another way to push me closer to the edge.
Grinding my teeth and barely containing my rage, a face suddenly popped into view above me.
“Hey, I heard you were so hungry you ate a poisonous mushroom.”
Johann and Enrique were both looking down at me.
Their twitching lips made it pretty clear they were holding back laughter more than actual concern.
You damn T-types. Stop laughing and worry about me for once.
What the hell did that divine bastard El go around telling people?
“I heard it was the Pink Madcap Mushroom. I know you’re proud, so I figured there’s no way you tried to kill yourself. But even if you’re starving, don’t eat mushrooms. Roasted grasshoppers would be a better choice.”
Enrique offered the advice with all seriousness.
Great. Even the mushroom name was a perfect insult.
The Pink Madcap Mushroom is a hallucinogenic, highly toxic fungus.
No wonder I saw cherubic angels blowing trumpets behind El.
Given the context, El definitely knows I’m a dual-ability user and that I have something going on with Marvas.
All that talk about being chosen by a demon or a god, I was certain he’s holding a grudge.
He didn’t kill me, so clearly, he’s decided to keep me alive and mess with me for fun. Gods are fickle like that.
I will never forgive him. I will take his powers somehow, no matter what.
Putting on my most pitiful face, I looked at Johann and Enrique.
“The Bishop fed me poisonous mushrooms. Lethal ones. I could’ve died.”
Now, in any normal romance, the male leads would hear something like that, eyes flashing with murderous intent, flipping chairs as they rushed off for revenge.
Johann just frowned slightly.
“You ate it ‘cause he gave it to you?”
Enrique looked genuinely surprised, like he’d discovered something new.
“I didn’t think you were that naive. But turns out you’re weak to food, huh?”
So this is how the villainous male leads react? Sure.
Staying true to their original characterization. I love that for them.
* * *
When does human labor actually end?
When a plank falls on your head? When you cough blood and pass out from overwork?
When you eat a toxic mushroom?
When a powerful demon picks you as their vessel?
Nope. Only death can end it.
Still groggy from mushroom poisoning, I’d just come back from being forced to help repair the collapsed arena.
Shouldn’t Johann be the one fixing it? He’s the reason it fell apart!
“This is hell.”
I was staggering toward the prison block when Enrique, who’d been sent elsewhere, approached me.
“Can I ask you something? That day… what exactly happened with the Bishop?”
“I told you. Aside from eating a poisoned mushroom, not much.”
“I don’t buy that. You shouldn’t keep secrets. Not between us.”
He leaned in, meeting my gaze, and brushed his finger along the corner of my mouth.
Those gold eyes, growing colder with each blink, convinced me I should at least tell a partial truth.
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