Chapter 63
"By the way, how did you know that demon was at the church?"
Isabel looked a little embarrassed.
"…A kid from the same church came to tell me during class.
The other priests told me to take my time, but since class is over, I should head there right away."
A nun showing up in the middle of class and it not being a big deal—what terrifying authority.
This is exactly why I hate church people.
Society treats them as if they must be understood because they serve their god, no matter what they do.
Bullshit.
They’d happily watch as my flesh was torn apart, only deciding to heal me when I was on the brink of death—all in the name of their god.
"Ah, I see."
"What’s with that exaggeratedly polite reaction?"
She was still a church person in the end.
No doubt her insides were just as twisted and rotten.
It was always the ones outside the church who displayed true sacrifice and devotion.
The moment you put a knife or hammer in front of a priest, they’d start babbling everything—truths, lies, whatever they thought would save them.
"Well, I can’t not react at all, can I?"
There’s no such thing as fate.
If there were, that would mean a god existed, and if a god existed, I would’ve been struck down long ago.
I followed Isabel toward the church, not quite remembering the way.
I suppressed my distaste as much as I could.
What if I walked in and had a violent episode, gunning down everyone in sight?
Not that I’d actually do that—my skin was too pale for such reckless behavior.
"…Ellen?"
"Yes? Why are you calling me?"
"We’re here. I was telling you to come inside…."
Isabel was holding the church doors open, waiting for me.
So this was why Julian had stopped giving me work lately.
Why Marco always intervened when I tried to get involved.
But life was so boring.
Without work, all I did was think about Alicia.
The inside of the church was as gaudy as it was plain.
I remembered sitting there, talking with Isabel.
Wait, when?
I’d never been here before.
"Ugh, mmph…."
"Ellen, are you okay?!"
"It happens sometimes. Don’t worry about it, ahaha."
"Still, you should check if you’re sick—"
Isabel’s worried words were abruptly cut off.
A scream rang out.
—"Aaaaaagh!! A-Are you torturing me?! Humans really are all—AAACK!!"
"L-Let’s go, quickly!"
I nodded and followed Isabel as she rushed ahead.
The long-lived one lay tied to a bed, their wildly beating heart practically visible beneath their skin.
They must have thrashed too much during treatment, so they restrained them.
Hah.
This was useful.
Imagine dragging some useless priest here and forcing them to cast healing spells all day long.
With their lack of skill, they wouldn’t actually heal anything—just maintain the suffering.
Watching, receiving, and administering such treatment would be equally hellish.
They were still strong, though.
They were only just starting to feel pain—probably because Marco’s anesthetics had worn off.
Or maybe all the happy drugs had finally left their system.
Huh. So they even taught magic to talentless nobodies like this.
The fact that their ears were still intact meant they had refused to cooperate.
Defiant ones were usually sent to the mansion’s underground.
All the valuable ones had already been moved to the new facility, so I guess no one was properly managing this place.
Our eyes met.
I remembered this one.
I had watched Marco have a rather interesting conversation with them.
"Y-You! You’re from the mansion…!"
They had been alive while The Wonders of the Human Body was being explored.
Marco liked inflicting pain, sure, but he preferred making people watch themselves be taken apart, piece by piece.
That must’ve been why he left them in that state.
"Isabel, don’t heal this one."
"…Huh? Why?"
"Just don’t."
"…We can’t just leave someone to die."
Despite my warning, Isabel cast her healing spell.
Wounds that had refused to close moments ago suddenly disappeared, skin knitting itself back together in an instant.
"So why didn’t you want me to heal them?"
"Kyaaa!"
The long-lived one suddenly sprang up and bolted.
They shoved a nun aside and ran for it.
Shame.
They could’ve at least clung to Isabel’s side, pointed at me, and screamed about how evil I was.
That would’ve made things more interesting.
But I understood.
When fear took hold, your mind went blank.
I knew that feeling well.
I’d experienced it countless times as a child.
Like when my mother came at me with a dinner knife—so dull it barely cut flesh.
I pulled out my gun and shot them in the back of the head.
Isabel stared at me, wide-eyed and slack-jawed.
To clear up any misunderstandings, I scratched the back of my head and explained.
"You know what my family does, right?"
"Uh… yeah. Not exactly, but roughly…."
Even better.
It would’ve been a hassle if she did know exactly.
"That one escaped from an execution a few days ago.
Didn’t expect them to still be alive.
You heard about what happened that day, right?"
"…Yeah."
"That day, the group that one belonged to was plotting against His Majesty the Emperor."
Of course, there was no execution ground or anything like that.
But when words come from wealth, power, and noble lineage, even lies can become truth.
Sometimes, even a bullet to the back of the head isn't enough to kill them.
So I walked up to its collapsed body and fired one into its spine, then two more into its head for good measure.
"I’ll send a servant later to clean up the mess."
Isabel still hadn't said a word, staring at me, utterly dazed.
I put on a slightly sorrowful expression and asked her,
"Oh, now that I think about it… do you also believe I deceived you, Isabel?"
Crying would be too much, but looking troubled seemed appropriate.
Isabel's expression showed nothing but confusion, as if she had no idea what I was talking about.
"Ethel told me.
She said I was her closest friend, and she never imagined I’d be this kind of person.
That killing people so easily meant I wasn’t normal…."
"I-I never said—"
Ah, that delivery was awful. The line was bad, too.
Improv really wasn’t my thing.
Moments like this made me appreciate Marco—he could spin a story effortlessly.
Still, Isabel was gullible about these things.
Sharp when she needed to be, but the moment emotions got involved, she turned into a fool.
Should I just drop this?
She was with the church, after all—no one would care if she died.
No, this was our mistake.
If we had done our job right, that thing wouldn’t have escaped.
Maybe I had been too generous when I claimed we’d spare all the long-lived ones.
The uncooperative ones were too much of a hassle to keep locked up.
Most weren’t as strong-willed as the one that just died, so that was a small relief.
Someday, Theo would come looking for me.
Since we had a friendly relationship, he’d probably want to talk before trying to kill me.
"Anyway, I’m done checking things here, so I’ll get going.
Sorry for causing a scene."
And if things went south, I’d just pretend to cry and throw myself into Theo’s arms.
Even the strongest swordsman couldn’t swing a blade properly with a dagger lodged in their armpit.
***
I arrived at the newly built facility.
The massive chimney overhead showed no sign of stopping its smoke.
At least it was the tallest building around, so the stench didn’t reach this far.
Inside, things were moving along far faster than expected.
"Look at their ears—those things aren’t even human, so why are they over there?"
"Fucking demons—why the hell are they…?!"
"You two whispering over there—step forward!"
The sight of demons obediently lining up and calmly marching to their deaths…
Yeah, putting the long-eared ones in charge was the right move.
As I wandered through the building, inspecting the progress, I came across the leader of the long-lived ones.
They were sprawled on a sofa, lazily flipping through one of Alicia’s favorite novels while snacking.
"…And what exactly do you think you’re doing?"
"Eh—wh-what?! Why are you here…?"
"I asked what you’re doing instead of working."
They fumbled for words, stammering.
I reached into my coat and pulled out my gun, holding it in my right hand.
That got them talking.
"I-I can’t hit people properly… I’m bad at cursing too… so they said I was useless and kicked me out…."
"…Huh."
Didn’t see that coming.
Just how useless did they have to be for the others to kick them out, despite being a so-called "elder"?
"B-But still! I tried to help the ones who got abused for resisting!
I even visited them in the interrogation rooms sometimes!
And, um, I got spat on and slapped for being a traitor…."
"I don’t know what to say, but… sounds rough."
No need to use formal speech anymore—this one was mine now.
Strange, though.
They took hits well but couldn’t throw a punch?
"By the way, that escapee—was it you who let them out?"
"Huh?"
Gone was their old arrogance—they were practically groveling now.
It was amusing.
They had no idea what had escaped.
Well, made sense.
They could lounge around here all they wanted, but they weren’t allowed to interact with their kind freely.
Especially not the ones who still had their ears intact.
"Never mind."
At least, on the surface, there was no sign of any issues.
Nothing had happened, was happening, or would happen.
Not now.
Not ever.
Leaving the room, I headed down to the first floor.
Rows of demons were being transferred by the long-lived ones, their wrists bound with rope.
Most of them would be taken to the guillotine, their blood drained before being burned.
The ones with useful information would get a proper conversation.
Just another normal day.