I Killed the Demon King. It Was a Mistake. Chapter 98

I Killed the Demon King. It Was a Mistake.

Chapter 98

Harrison took a sip of his drink to calm his trembling heart.

“…If others hear those words, they might misunderstand you as a heretic.”

“The Royder Order is too corrupt now. Potions only go to nobles and wealthy people, and they don’t even sell to the poor. From the start, there weren’t many potions, so they can’t cover the increased population. Everyone knows this fact.”

“But no one speaks about it openly.”

“Didn’t I say that to Cardinal Hyginus last time?”

“What?!”

Harrison jumped up in surprise.

“How are you still alive?! We could all be branded as heretics and killed!”

“Are we in that situation now? No, right. Do you think I would do such a thing without any insurance?”

At Caesar’s words, Harrison calmed his excitement and sat back down.

“May I hear what that is?”

“If the Royder Order acts up, support will come from the Imperial Province and the Redfield family.”

Caesar tapped the federal sheriff’s badge on his chest.

“You think I got this for nothing? This has already been discussed with the Prime Minister and Mitchell.”

Only then did Harrison breathe a sigh of relief.

“Thank goodness. Now I can finally feel at ease.”

“But this matter might not go as smoothly as expected.”

“Why?”

“Miles has a grudge against me, right? When someone who knows my situation well starts firing shots, it could be quite tricky, don’t you think?”

Harrison’s face turned pale.

“Then we should block him right away!”

“That’s your job. Find out what Miles is trying to do to me. Okay?”

-Throwing such an impossible bomb and telling me to block it…

-What sin did I commit in my previous life…

You can hear the sound of his insides rotting away.

But Harrison didn’t show it and obeyed Caesar’s words.

“Understood.”

This is why I like Harrison.

His proactiveness in accepting things first and then finding solutions.

Yes.

Keep doing just like this.

Then I’ll arrange that congressman position you want.

Just then, there was a knock on the study door.

“Come in.”

Jake entered carefully.

“Lord Caesar. A guest has arrived.”

Caesar downed all his drink.

“At this hour of night, there’s only one person who would come. Tell them to come in.”

“Yes. Understood.”

***

Caesar poured a cup of tea for Tina.

“I didn’t expect Inquisitor Tina to come. I thought Cardinal Hyginus would come personally.”

At the mention of Hyginus, Tina’s expression slightly hardened.

“Actually, he sent me. Since I at least have some acquaintance with Lord Caesar.”

“It’s not just for that reason, right?”

Tina silently took a sip of tea.

And while savoring the aroma, she chose her words and spoke.

“Stop here. You could really be branded as a heretic.”

Heretic.

The public enemy of mankind designated by the Royder Order.

If asked who the representative heretics are, it would be the demon race.

One isn’t branded as a heretic simply for not following the Royder Order’s doctrines.

If that were the case, all people following other religions like Dre, Apsin, or Minuel would be branded as heretics.

The heretics the Royder Order speaks of refer to ‘devils’ or ‘those who follow devils.’

Caesar gave a cynical smile as if finding it amusing.

“You’re saying I’m a heretic? What’s your basis?”

“Because you’re trying to manufacture and sell unverified drugs from the Order. We see that a second Night Maker incident could start from Sir Caesar.”

“Are you saying the malaria treatment promotes demonization?”

“There’s no guarantee it won’t.”

Caesar used psychometry.

-Block product launch until there’s perfect verification of the malaria treatment.

-Since the efficacy of the malaria treatment is certain.

-But… Caesar must know too. That this is all bullshit.

Right.

Tina didn’t come here voluntarily either, but rather appeared before Caesar after being pressured by her superiors.

Just the fact that a psychopath came here maintaining rationality instead of killing all the higher-ups shows remarkable patience.

She probably wanted to kill them all.

“Professor Smir has already thoroughly checked the possibility of demonization due to the Bufonemiton incident. Whether people who used the malaria treatment had magic flowing toward their nervous system or experienced violent emotional changes. The results showed no problems at all, as submitted to the Order.”

“We need to investigate more thoroughly. Hand over the malaria treatment samples and tell us the manufacturing method.”

-If it doesn’t work out, we need to make counterfeit malaria treatments and strike first.

-When the malaria treatment is officially released to the market by Caesar’s hand, it will be impossible to handle.

So it seems this is how it’s going to turn out.

If the malaria treatment is truly effective, then instead of Caesar making it, the Royder Order can make and sell it.

The Royder Order’s malaria treatment would be much more trustworthy than Caesar’s.

Having maintained silence for quite a while, it seems they’ve prepared to attack from various angles.

“That’s Wizard Smir’s authority. You should ask Wizard Smir.”

“Wizard Smir refused.”

“I know. Then I can’t give it to you either.”

“Then please give us a sample and some time. We need time to verify.”

Yes.

This must be the absolute limit of what Tina can request.

But Caesar wanted to go further.

“It’s too late for that. If you won’t give us an exact deadline, we’ll create a system to sell only to cities and people who request to purchase.”

This was Caesar’s bottom line.

A deep shadow fell across Tina’s expression.

Tina took a sip of tea before speaking.

“Sir Caesar. This is the final warning. Do not challenge the authority of potions and holy water.”

This must be the Royder Order’s typical behavior.

When they can’t win through rational dialogue, they resort to threats.

But it didn’t work on Caesar at all.

“Then can potions completely cure malaria patients?”

Tina slammed the table.

Bang!

A stake with a chain attached to its end was deeply embedded in the center of the table.

She had instantly pulled out the stake hidden in her robe and thrust it in.

Given that even Caesar had trouble seeing the speed, it seems Tina was also an Aura user.

“I know Sir Caesar to be very perceptive and intelligent. So you must know very well what the Royder Order wants.”

Tina’s hands trembled.

Her face couldn’t be seen as she hung her head low.

-The Royder Order’s dissatisfaction with Caesar isn’t because of the malaria treatment.

-It’s because he’s trying to develop and sell the treatment without consulting the Royder Order.

-Why does that damn pervert keep trying to antagonize the Royder Order when he knows exactly what they want?

Caesar focused on just one word, ignoring everything else.

‘Pervert?’

Caesar clearly saw Hyginus face flash through Tina’s mind for a moment.

Could it be that Hyginus had…

“Sir  Caesar. The Royder Order can make you an enemy of humanity. The only reason we haven’t is because we believe you still have a chance for redemption.”

Tina raised her head.

Her expression was the most impassive of any Caesar had seen so far.

But her eyes were colder than ever before.

Like a snake whose expression is hard to read, it’s impossible to tell whether it will strike with its fangs or flee.

However, Caesar, who could read Tina’s mind, knew very well.

Tina saw Caesar as a giant.

A giant who wouldn’t be affected even if bitten.

She wasn’t afraid, but she was convinced she couldn’t win.

“Did you know that Bufonemiton was actually just a painkiller?”

“……”

“You didn’t know? Bufonemiton is originally a drug with less addiction potential than morphine. It has nothing to do with demonization. But they say if you combine Bufonemiton with certain ingredients, it creates Night Maker. That’s what Wizard Smir, who made the drug himself, said.”

Though she didn’t show it outwardly, he could feel her inner self wavering.

This seems to be news to Tina as well.

“That’s why Smir backed down at the time. But the malaria treatment is different. It’s a drug that has gone through dozens, hundreds of verification processes and has absolutely no problems. Honestly speaking, even Bufonemiton, if used correctly, there’s no more effective painkiller. The problem lies with those who abuse it.”

“So let me be clear here. I won’t stop at the malaria treatment. I will establish a pharmaceutical company that provides drugs capable of treating other diseases that potions can’t cure, in large quantities at cheap prices. A world where common people can visit nearby hospitals or pharmacies whenever they’re sick and buy medicine. That’s what I will create.”

Caesar stood up the fallen teacup.

“So don’t try to persuade me, Inquisitor Tina.”

Tina immediately pulled out the stake.

“I completely understand what you’re saying.”

Tina hid the stake behind her robe.

“You’ll receive my answer soon.”

Caesar activated psychometry to its limit.

He needed to figure out exactly what the Royder Order was aiming for.

But what Caesar read in Tina’s mind was something completely different.

“Inquisitor Tina……”

“What is it?”

“……Nothing.”

Tina smiled and said.

“I’m sorry for damaging the table. But consider it punishment for provoking my temper. You know what kind of person I am, don’t you? Think of it as receiving your punishment.”

With those final words, Tina quietly left the study.

***

Tina walked toward the church.

In front of the church’s main entrance, despite the bitter cold, there were many sick people wearing patched clothes, waiting to receive potions.

Usually she would have just passed by, but Tina stopped quietly and listened to the patients’ whispers.

“Please, just one potion…”

“My child is sick.. I don’t know what illness it is… But if you give us a potion, they’ll get better. Please, someone… A potion…”

“So cold.. So cold…”

Like insects.

A dragonfly with torn wings.

A grasshopper with its hind legs cut off.

A locust with its neck pierced by a foxtail stem.

A slug sprinkled with salt.

A butterfly thrown into a spider’s web.

Insects struggling with all their might to survive in Tina’s hands.

When such writhing of life flowed through her fingertips, she became addicted to fresh stimulations she couldn’t normally feel.

So when Tina would sometimes get physically tired during interrogations, she would come outside for fresh air and watch the patients praying in front of the church.

How would Royder, the goddess of purity whom they believe in, view them?

Probably with the same emotions Tina felt.

Freshness.

Elation.

Superiority.

Pleasure.

Curiosity.

So goddess Royder quietly watches them pray in their broken and severed state.

How long can they endure?

Would they survive if helped?

She torments the believers, indulging in that curiosity and sense of superiority.

That’s why Tina, though irreverently, has always thought she was the closest being to goddess Royder.

Tina slowly entered the church.

The church interior was particularly magnificent.

Silver candlesticks.

Artifact vases with flowers that never wither even in winter.

A pipe organ reminiscent of massive tree branches, like an old tree rooted in the ground.

Finally, stained glass that shatters and colors the pale moonlight.

In the middle of all that splendor and luxury stood a Cardinal wearing blood-red clothes.

“How did the talk go? Inquisitor Tina?”

Cardinal Hyginus expression was hidden in the moon’s shadow.

But as always, he must be smiling.

Tina stood before Hyginus.

Only then could she slightly see Hyginus deep wrinkles.

She always thinks this, but that smile looks like a mask.

Because Hyginus real smile isn’t like that.

“Caesar rejected the proposal.”

Slap!

Hyginus struck Tina’s cheek.

Still not satisfied, Hyginus struck her cheek more.

Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap!

Even as Hyginus struck her, Tina stood still and took his anger.

Hyginus biretta flew off and his hair became disheveled.

Hyginus grabbed Tina’s chin.

“You damn bitch. You couldn’t do even this simple thing?”

Blood flowed down Tina’s lips from her burst inner mouth.

“Can you only open your mouth to someone whose hands and feet are tied? Useless bitch. A real inquisitor should be able to draw out the devil hiding in that bastard’s head with that precious tongue of yours.”

Tina suddenly found Hyginus’ bloodshot eyes and flushed face amusing.

Hyginus clearly knew Tina would fail.

If it had been someone that easy to handle, there would have already been results when Cardinal Hyginus had his discussion with Caesar.

Hyginus just wanted someone to take responsibility for this situation.

“So what do you plan to do now? I think Inquisitor Tina must have a way to stop Caesar.”

A way to stop Caesar.

Caesar was the strongest and most solid person Tina had ever met.

At the same time, he was like a principle that everything revolved around wherever his footsteps reached.

A way to stop such a person.

Would there really be one?

“Perhaps there isn’t? That would be somewhat disappointing.”

Hyginus shook Tina’s face back and forth.

“Since you don’t seem to know, I’ll tell you. Seduce him with that pretty face of yours. Anyone who violates an inquisitor is immediately burned at the stake, so if we just kill Caesar, everything will return to the beginning, Hyginus it?”

Higino pulled out a potion from inside his clothes.

“Here, I’ll heal your face. And go to Caesar right now. If you become defiled, I’ll make you pure again. That’s the power and ability the goddess gave me.”

Tina looked at the red swaying potion.

While believers outside are enduring the bitter winter cold unable to get even one of these potions.

They’re using a potion just to heal this face?

Tina couldn’t help but laugh.

“What’s so funny?”

“Just… Can’t help but laugh.”

“What.”

Thunk!

A stake protruded from Hyginus forearm.

“Aaaaaaaaaahhhh!”

Wrinkles of pain appeared on the old man’s face.

Rattle!

Tina pulled the chain connected to the stake embedded in Higino’s forearm.

“Kuaaaaaaaahhhhh!”

Hyginus couldn’t resist and was helplessly pulled toward Tina.

“I wonder why I didn’t choose such an easy path earlier.”

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