Chapter 165: Wow! The Iona Bus! (3)


    “Crazy woman…”


    The branch head muttered as if he had enough.


    Hmm… Even to me, Iona seemed a bit psychotic with her erratic behavior.


    Of course, I wouldn’t show it.


    Even if Iona was crazy, she was our kind of crazy.


    Wondering if Ca was thinking the same, she awkwardly scratched her cheek and replied.


    “Ahah… Professor Iona is still relentless against the cultists.”


    “What? Ca, you’ve seen Professor Iona fighting?”


    “Yes. Just once, though. There was a time during practice when a cultist trying to spy on the academy was caught…I was shocked to see her change so drastically after that.”


    “Aish! Don’t say such things! It’s embarrassing!”


    Iona covered her cheeks and twisted her body as if embarrassed.


    Disgusted, the branch head spat out blood-mixed phlegm as if he found it revolting.


    “Pfft! An old monster, acting all sweet and cute.”


    “…Look at this. See? I still have some leeway.”


    “Ha! Babble all you want. If you don’t believe whatever I say, then I might as well return to His embrace.”


    Then, he turned his head towards me.


    “You there! Daring to act as an opponent.”


    “Eh? Me?”


    “Yes. Yandel, was it? You’ve got guts. Leaving a stronger ve unattended.”


    “It’s not that I left her unattended. I pamper her whenever I get the chance.”


    “…So, there’s a reason the mad woman cares for you. You’re just as crazy.”


    <em>Tsk.</em>


    The branch head clicked his tongue lightly. Seeing Iona raise one hand as if to start the interrogation again, I briefly interrupted.


    Whether he knew I spared him some pain or not, the branch head continued,ughing mockingly.


    “I’ve seen plenty who got too attached to their ves and met their end. Why would a magician better than you serve under you? And you, daughter of Lindelheit. The same goes for you. Are you sure your vigorous master won’t tire of your body and prefer other ves?”


    “Huh? I waited to see what you were trying to say, but…”


    What kind of nonsense…?


    Even as he was dying, was he trying to nt seeds of jealousy between Ca and me? It was a fitting move for a follower of the Cardinal of Intolerance.


    Snorting, I exposed my neck to Ca.


    “Ca. Wanna ask?”


    “Yes.”


    Without a moment’s hesitation, Ca nibbled at my neck as if tickling with her teeth.


    It was just a yful bite, but it could have been considered affectionate if the atmosphere was any spicier.


    Enjoying the sensation of Ca’s teeth on my neck, I yfully eximed.


    “Aaaah! Ca bit my neck… I’m losing strength…”


    “Kraang! Kraang!”


    Ca yed along with the rhythm.


    Was this unexpected? As weughed together, the branch head started grinding his teeth.


    Without any prior collusion, how could that work?


    Not even a priest from the Boiling Silence could easily get one over on us.


    After lightly biting Elisha’s lonely neck, I turned to Iona with a “Pfft?!” expression.


    She looked like someone who had had a fistful of sugar forced into her mouth.


    Well, it was natural. Having witnessed such affectionate y right before her eyes.


    I had been through a lot in my past life, so I understood that feeling well.


    Awkwardly scratching the back of my head, I stood beside Iona.


    “Professor? What did you ask that you didn’t like the answer?”


    “That, that. I asked about the locations of other branches and how they report to each other. Something didn’t seem right.”


    “Ah? What was the answer like?”


    “Let’s see… if I were to exin it in order…”


    Iona calmly informed us about the content of the interrogation. It was quite surprising.


    “…What? That sounds like a usible lie?”


    Someone unfamiliar or only vaguely familiar might actually believe it because it was well-constructed.


    It was surprising that Iona could detect that it was a lie.


    “Eh? Eh? It’s not that I knew it was a lie! It’s just that, based on my experience so far, when interrogated to a certain degree… Ahem. Many would pretend to give in and confess falsely when interrogated moderately!”


    “It feels like you are talking from experience…”


    How much had she tortured cultists?


    The moment of being dumbfounded by Iona’s calm response was brief.


    The branch head’s face crumpled in frustration, shaking his head desperately as if wronged, sttering blood everywhere.


    “Nonsense! Utterly baseless! What do you know? I spoke nothing but the truth! So stop! Just let me die peacefully. Let me return to His embrace…”


    His tone, unlike his initial rage, seemedpletely drained.


    It was as if, despite being angered, he had resigned to everything and just wanted to end his suffering.


    But…


    “Professor, who do you trust more, me or him?”


    “Of course, of course. It’s definitely Yandel.”


    After all, it wasn’t wise to trust a cultist’s word.


    A snort naturally escaped at the sight of the branch head, still exuding a thoroughly exhausted aura.


    “Heh! What now? Our professor trusts me more.”


    “…Aren’t you ashamed to hide behind your teacher and boast?”


    “What are you talking about? It’s the same for those hiding behind the Cardinal of Intolerance, rationalizing themselves.”


    “Eek…!”


    Even a cultist remains a cleric, I suppose. Mentioning the god he served triggered a reaction in him.


    Ignoring his verbal curses, I casually spoke.


    “Let’s see… using the hidden ruins in the Orthos Mountains as a branch? Well, it’s not wrong. But that’s a story from about 30 years ago. What’s left now are barely functioning guardians of the ruins and traps you guys set.”


    They even spread rumors about treasures to actively lure adventurers.


    Anyone daring enough to step into ancient ruins must be confident in their abilities.


    And the stronger they were in life, the stronger they became undead after death.


    In other words, this ce called the ruins became a source of undead for the followers of the Cardinal of Intolerance.


    …I knew this well because I was annihted trying to find treasures there, thinking it was an event in my newbie days.


    The bad ending illustration was of the protagonist turning into an undead.


    No matter how much you customize, decay makes everything grotesque.


    Traumatizing a naive (?) past me, hoping for quick riches. Unforgivable.


    “Ah, and the branch at Kundal Harbor? Sure, it belongs to the Cardinal of Intolerance, but it’s not just an ordinary rural branch, as you im.”


    Officially, even the townspeople think of it as a fishing warehouse bought by a small business.


    In reality, it was an undead storage facility for the Cardinal of Intolerance.


    While other minor branches also create undead, they turn to Kundal Harbor’s warehouse for additional numbers when needed.


    Ideally, it would be great to destroy it, but the security was tight.


    The power of the Cardinal of Intolerance, by nature, bes exponentially more dangerous with pre-prepared traps.


    And to attack a ce heavily guarded by the high priests’ powers without proper preparation?


    It was like telling us to just die.


    “Lastly, about the reporting system… that’spletely wrong.”


    ording to Iona, he imed he regrly sends encrypted reports to a city named meng.


    I wasn’t sure what that ce was, but I knew that the Cardinal of Intolerance’s reports rely entirely on their powers.


    They would gather selected individuals with psychic abilities,pletely break the minds of kidnapped civilians, and control them like familiars.


    Afterpletely shattering their psyche and turning them into soulless dolls, it felt like linking senses.


    The puppets created this way travel around the branches across the continent, directly receiving reports from the branch heads.


    Of course, the city mentioned for sending reports must also be a trap, like the two ces mentioned earlier.


    “And you hope to die peacefully after this? Professor! Show your skills! Let’s reverse his blood until the truth spills from this liar’s mouth!”


    “Eek… Yandel, you say such frightening things so casually!”


    Iona looked at me as if amused, but soon pulled up one corner of her mouth in a grin.


    “Still, it’s not bad! It’s Yandel who wants it, after all. Let’s give it a try!”


    The branch head’splexion turned deathly pale at Iona’s eager look.


    Hiding behind Iona, who was rolling up her sleeves, I peeked out my head and middle finger.


    An insult that worked across the Eurelia Continent. The guy’s face, which had gone pale, now flushed red, even though he couldn’t see it.


    “How… no, what do you know?! To think a green young thing would interfere with our grand endeavor…! Who are you? Who is Yandel, and who’s behind you?!”


    He screamed as if in a tantrum.


    This was the most intense reaction we had seen so far. It wasn’t my middle finger that set him off, was it?


    Well, anyway, if we were able to shake him up this much, Iona’s interrogation should go smoothly.


    Pausing before resuming the interrogation, Iona looked at me with a strange expression, and I gave her a thumbs up.


    Then, I returned to where Ca and Elisha were staring nkly.


    “While the Professor finishes the interrogation, let’s search the office.”


    “……”


    “……”


    Both nodded, as if they had a lot to say but chose not to.


    <em>-Aaaaagh!!</em>


    <em>-Kuhhhh!</em>


    <em>-Gwaaak….</em>


    The screams of the branch head could be heard in the background, and we rummaged through the office here and there.


    Just as we started to tire from reading trivial documents…


    -……


    Suddenly, it got quiet.


    The office filled momentarily with the rustling of paper, soon followed by a familiar rm sound.


    <em>Dding!</em>


    [You have subdued a cultist branch!]


    You have sessfully annihted a stronghold of cultists, leaving no survivors!


    Since those who were friendly with corpses have be corpses themselves, they probably won''t have anyints, right?


    If they''re upset, let theme back to life andin!


    Even if it wasn''t solely your effort! Even if the branch you subdued was small!


    An achievement is an achievement!


    You are fully entitled to its rewards!


    -Your skill slightly increases.


    -Your magic power increases.


    Oh. It seems like he’s dead.