Chapter 43

“What! Are they insane? Mixing magic beast blood into the water main!”

“So the residents didn’t die solely because of the demonic energy.”

Arianne rested her chin on her hand, pondering Ilian’s estimation before speaking.

“Perhaps, as Priest Kalat suggested, they were slowly poisoned until they died.”

Ilian nodded.

“Yes. Likely the children and the elderly, who are relatively weak against demonic energy, started showing symptoms first. Then, the contamination generated during the Kektumatu’s flowering period must have claimed their lives.”

The protagonist added to their opinions as if something had occurred to him.

“Then it makes sense why the people didn’t flee to escape the demonic energy. They couldn’t just leave the sick behind.”

-Whoa, that’s right. Rask’s family was found dead in exactly that state.

“M-My goodness…”

Kalat sat down on the floor, seemingly heavily shocked. My fatigue finally overcame my discomfort, so I leaned my weight against the damp wall and closed my eyes. However, I was forced to open them again at the sound of Arianne’s voice.

“You’ve all realized it by now. There is no way the Countess could have built a facility of this scale on her own.”

“It’s obvious to anyone that she has a massive backer! It has to be the Kingdom of Brishwin, doesn’t it? Technology like this couldn’t be implemented by anyone else!”

“I agree with Priest Kalat. However, it’s a shame that clear physical evidence linking this magic beast experiment to the Kingdom of Brishwin hasn’t turned up yet.”

At the protagonist’s worried voice, Arianne gave a light shrug.

“Well, don’t we have the Holy Relic? The fact that a relic the Church lent to the Kingdom of Brishwin is here in the County is physical evidence itself, and also…”

“That is absolutely not allowed!”

Kalat suddenly sprang up and shouted.

“Why not?”

Arianne asked with an expression of total incomprehension, but Kalat reacted as if he couldn’t believe she didn’t understand.

“Because our Church obviously does not want to be caught between the Countess and the Kingdom of Brishwin!”

“No, we aren’t saying the Church conducted the magic beast experiments. we’re just trying to prove the collusive relationship between the two.”

“Even being associated with it at all is out of the question! H-How dare you! One must not even think of the God Ralphican in the same breath as magic beast experiments and massacres!”

Kalat flew into a rage as if the mere thought was horrifying. Arianne, quite shocked by their opposition, also raised her voice.

“So you’re saying you’ll turn evidence into trash just for the sake of your reputation?”

“Shall we both calm down?”

It was Ilian who stepped in between the two as the conversation grew heated.

“Regardless of the circumstances, the Order of Ralphican will entirely deny any facts regarding the Holy Relic. They’ll say they know nothing about it. Besides, didn’t you say the Countess’s maid would stand as a witness? Isn’t that enough evidence?”

He spoke calmly with his arms crossed, but this was also a firm signal of rejection. Ilian’s gaze, warning her not to cross the line, was directed at Arianne. Arianne beat her chest as if she were about to explode from frustration.

“Do you think the testimony of a mere maid will work against a foreign nation? Moreover, the Emperor will likely try to shield the Countess. Right now, even with definitive evidence, it’s a gamble whether it’ll work or not!”

“Stop it.”

Eventually, the protagonist stepped in personally to stop them. Letting out a low sigh, the protagonist spoke to Arianne.

“Sir Arianne. We know other ways, do we not? Even without the Holy Relic.”

“But!”

“Sir Arianne.”

Arianne, who had been about to protest the protagonist’s firmness, clamped her mouth shut.

-The atmosphere is so tense.

-It’s so cold in here.

Tell me about it. I’m freezing too. However, I was the only one who could speak up between the icy Imperial Knights and the Church members. I carefully suggested our next destination.

“We haven’t finished searching the entire basement yet. If this place was built with support from the Kingdom of Brishwin, there might be traces of them somewhere, so why don’t we look around further?”

“…That is a very reasonable suggestion.”

Arianne answered while biting her lip hard, and the other three lowered their voices as well. Actually, I couldn’t tell them directly, but there was still evidence remaining somewhere in the basement. Except, unfortunately, we didn’t find it. I hadn’t expected there to be so little outside of the spots I already knew, so I ended up feeling quite awkward.

‘I really thought there’d be at least something.’

And so, with nothing but hurt feelings, we trudged back up to the surface.

“Saintess. It’s time for a meal!”

Kalat knocked on my door. When I went to the dining room, everyone except me was already seated at the long rectangular table. They hurriedly stood up when I arrived and sat back down once I took my seat. Every single one of them had a rotten expression on their face, making me want to turn back and go to my room.

-Why are they all gathered?

-Right? lol.

Well, since they were bickering like that earlier, they were probably sending a signal to make up. As I swallowed back a sigh, Kalat and Ilian began to set dishes on the table that looked delicious even at a glance.

“Assuming they would be isolated for a long time, there was a vast amount of drinking water and food stored in the warehouse. Based on sixty employees, it was an amount that could last for a month if they were frugal.”

I guess they decided to use that stockpiled food unsparingly here. Steaks made from aged meat. Side dishes made from various root vegetables. Even wine to pair with the meal. It was quite luxurious. But here’s the thing. Every single employee was currently in custody… so who on earth cooked this?

“I made it. I can guarantee the taste, so please, help yourselves.”

Everyone flinched at Kalat’s remark. He didn’t look the part, but I guess he had a knack for cooking?

‘He has the face of a sheltered young master, though…’

It was an unexpected side of him.

“Thinking back, I feel like I got a bit too worked up earlier. This food is my way of apologizing. Come on, let’s all clink glasses and let bygones be bygones!”

“…No, I also failed to consider the position of the Order of Ralphican. I apologize.”

“It’s not something Sir Arianne needs to be sorry for. Our Church is just… a bit excessively sensitive, that’s all.”

-Ilian just roasted his own side lol.

Kalat shot a stinging look at Ilian, but since he couldn’t ruin the finally warmed atmosphere, he changed the subject back to his usual bright tone instead of snapping.

“The personnel to help with the recovery will arrive within two days. Until then, let’s wash away all the hardships we’ve faced. Let’s just relax!”

“I appreciate the sentiment, but as for drinking… there is still much to be done. We haven’t achieved any meaningful results from the Countess’s interrogation yet…”

“That’s true. Let’s drink just enough to whet our appetites.”

“Aha~ let’s not worry about those things right now!”

“Ah, this is why dealing with the stodgy elites of the Imperial Knights is so difficult. It’s hard to even have fun with you.”

Ilian sure talked a big game for someone who also followed an elite course just because his father was the Pope.

“Now, now~ let’s all have a toast!”

One by one, glasses filled with shimmering red wine gathered.

“Saintess? What are you doing? Hurry and raise your glass!”

I gave a half-hearted response and held out my glass.

“For Ralphican, and for our hardworking Saintess, cheers!”

“Cheers!”

“Uuuugh…”

Kalat, who had been making a scene by singing at the top of his lungs in his drunken excitement, rushed to the bathroom claiming he felt sick. Ilian’s face had turned beet red as he stared blankly into space. Arianne seemed to have fallen asleep with her face buried in the table. And the protagonist was drunkenly crying out for his father, Robert…

‘And you said you’d only drink to whet your appetite.’

In the midst of all this, I was… Perfectly fine. Apparently, Belita had a high tolerance for alcohol. Kalat kept refilling my empty glass so much that I must have drunk at least twenty bottles by myself, yet my mind was crystal clear. The problem was that every single member of the group, except for me, had passed out.

What am I supposed to do with them?

Just leave them and go?

“Heeeuugh… Belita…”

…?

Hearing a strange presence, I turned around to find the protagonist approaching. Grabbing my shoulder tightly, the protagonist spoke with a slurred tongue and teary eyes.

“My father… hic. Is he… did he go back to Ralphican’s side safely?”

-Look at his slurred speech lol.

There was no need to answer a drunkard. I pried his fingers off my shoulder one by one and stood up.

“Why won’t you a-a-answer me? You’re the Saintess! Go ask Ralphican! Can’t you even do that?”

Unfortunately, even if the real Saintess were here, that would be impossible. There was never a scene where Ivanke actually spoke with Ralphican. She only received revelations unilaterally in the form of dreams.

“Stop drinking and answer me!”

-Look at him go.

The wine in my mouth tasted incredibly bitter… I stood up and waved my hand in front of the conscious Ilian’s eyes.

“Sir Ilian? Can you snap out of it?”

“Ummm…”

“If you’re okay, could you he—”

Thud!

Ilian slammed his head onto the table with a loud noise. It seemed he wouldn’t be much help to me…

-???

-He’s not dead, right??

-Lita, check if he’s breathing.

Meanwhile, the protagonist followed me around like a shadow, refusing to give up and demanding an answer… Wow, this is driving me crazy.

“An-An-Answer me!”

“…”

Creeeeak— Clack!

I walked out, carefully closed the dining room door, and slid the bolt shut.

“Be-Belitaaaa…”

Thump… Thump…

I could hear a zombie-like voice from beyond the door, but I planned to ignore it.

“Belita, you’re heartless!”

-Being a mean drunk is the worst.

-Leaving him behind lol.

He could criticize me all he wanted, but it couldn’t be helped. Think about the weight class difference. How am I supposed to move that heavy body with this slender frame of Belita’s? And isn’t the one acting like a drunkard more deserving of criticism anyway?

‘How unfair.’

I’ll have to get an apology later.

Tap— Tap—

The surroundings, once noisy with the chat window and Mo Je-won’s voice, gradually faded away. Only the sound of my footsteps echoed pathetically in the corridor where faint moonlight poured in.

‘The time has come.’

I grabbed one of the lamps lighting the hallway and moved my feet. Toward the dark, damp, narrow corridor.

Doesn’t the description sound familiar?

That’s right. I had descended back to the first basement—the one Arianne had described as a “side path.” The reason for returning here was clear.

‘To obtain evidence about the other faction that colluded with the Countess, which we couldn’t find earlier.’

It was also the reason I came to the County. Now that everyone else had lost their senses, it was the perfect opportunity to obtain the True Ending progression item without any interference.

Based on what has been revealed so far, the Countess is simply a madwoman. In modern terms, it was as if a mayor had intentionally distributed a 100% lethal drug to their own citizens to wipe them out. And they did it using the city’s taxes. If you include the smaller details, there was also the intentional murder of Hans, the stablehand, by pushing him outside the barrier because he had secretly reported the Countess’s secrets to the Imperial Palace.

‘Hans only found it suspicious that a carriage loaded with diamonds was heading toward the Kingdom of Brishwin.’

Why on earth would someone of the Countess’s status commit such deeds?

It was a point the protagonist was very curious about earlier as well. And that secret could be partially uncovered once I obtained the progression item I was about to go for.

‘It was here.’

If you pass the pond and move further, there are rooms clustered together that look like a dormitory. Entering the second room on the right from the hallway leads to an ordinary small room. On the wall next to the bed is a bookshelf, and on that bookshelf, a single physics theory book protrudes slightly. Tucked inside that book was something like a researcher’s journal.

The Countess is mad. She tells me to build a device to culture the Mother. I was only ordered to assist the Lady, and I don’t know why I must participate in such mass slaughter. But if I refuse this, will I ever be given another chance? How did I even get this far…

This journal could be seen as evidence that a researcher from a certain faction was dispatched here. Surprisingly, even this was a fake—intended to make any potential intruders stop searching the room.

‘It’s saying, “Be satisfied with this and get out.”’

But the real deal is behind the bookshelf. I pushed the bookshelf in the center of the wall aside with all my strength, revealing a hidden secret door.

‘Man, this is exhausting.’

A secret room within a hidden passage, and then another hidden door within that… Is this a Matryoshka doll or something? Well, this is finally the end. I just need to enter the password to open this door.

It was something I had done as a mini-game in the game, but doing it in person felt strange. Normally, you’d have to do some prerequisite task in the Countess’s room to solve it.

I’m glad it was still in my head.

Click—!

The latch released and the door opened. Entering the room, I saw a single desk with three books sitting on top. These were the secret sponsorship ledgers that the Countess had wanted to hide so badly.

And they contained quite shocking content…

I quickly flipped through the blue-covered ledger in the middle of the table, which had no title. Then, I stopped on a specific page.