It didn't feel like much time had passed, but the air of the estate felt refreshingly crisp as I returned after a long while. As soon as I crossed the boundary, I took a deep breath, savoring the taste of freedom. Behind me, Eve was locked in a large iron cage, while Sellu, the mermaid, hummed a tune in her water tank.
When I first dragged them to the guild leader, Eve had stayed silent, only speaking when necessary. But now I realized she was quite chatty and cheerful—for a mermaid, anyway.
"Mom, what's so funny?"
"Heh, it's like we're going on a trip."
"Fuck, Mom. Are you seriously enjoying this when that psycho could do anything to us?"
"It's fine, it's fine. We've done crazy stuff too. I don't care if I die."
Eve's face was bruised a deep blue. She'd tried to break the cart and escape as soon as we left the trading city. In the sea, Eve might be a powerhouse, but on land, I was the one in control. I'd punched her in the face for resisting and tossed her back into the cart.
True to her status as a game event boss, Eve's body was incredibly resilient. It was hard to believe she'd had a hole punched in her stomach and her head cracked open just days ago. She seemed fine, though she occasionally rubbed her stomach or complained of a headache, hinting at lingering aftereffects.
Now, Eve was cursing at me while rubbing her face. I didn't bother responding. Beside her, Sellu hummed a tune, looking around curiously. For a mermaid who'd spent her entire life in the sea, the mountain path must have been an entertaining spectacle.
"Hey, what's your plan for bringing us here, anyway?"
Eve paused rubbing her face to ask. I was riding at the front of the group, and I smirked in response.
"For reform, of course."
"Bullshit. Who's gonna take us in if we're reformed? If Mom's reformed, will people stop hunting her? This is why religious nuts are the worst."
"And personally, there's a lot I want to find out."
What I was curious about was the story of Evangelin. But Eve misinterpreted my curiosity. She alternated her gaze between me and Sellu, shaking her head.
"Fuck, you pervert. How can a priest even think about sticking it in a mermaid?"
"I think it'd be great… Heh."
"Mom, please shut up, okay?"
As we entered the village, people's eyes turned to me. They shouted that the lord had returned and rushed out to see me, only to stare in confusion at the two women being dragged behind me. One was a bruised beauty, and the other was a mermaid in a water tank.
Sellu waved her hand and grinned, but her smile made the villagers fearful, and they averted their eyes.
"Come to think of it, what's your name?"
I already knew her name, but to avoid the hassle of explaining the status window, I had to go through this simplified procedure. Sellu told me her name without hesitation.
"Sellu."
"Good. Sellu, for now, that tank will be your temporary residence. Our estate is inland, and there's no lake nearby. There's a water source in the neighboring estate, but I can't send you there."
"Heh, great hospitality. Eve said other places don't even give mermaids a drop of water, just let them dehydrate."
"The Church of the Great Goddess doesn't abandon those who come seeking reform."
"Bullshit, really."
Eve argued again. The way she kept provoking me made it clear she wanted another beating, but I decided to hold back. Today, I had too much to do to waste time on her.
I dismounted at the estate mansion. Velix Karin walked slowly toward me from the front gate, her expression filled with concern for my well-being. Despite not needing to wear armor as the 'Lord's Proxy,' she always did, embodying the ideal of a princess knight—though she wasn't a princess.
"Are you well?"
"Velix Karin, and you? I hope you've been well. I feel guilty for leaving so much work to you, especially in these chaotic times. The lord shouldn't be away for so long."
"Not at all. You left everything so well-organized, there was nothing for me to do."
"Is there anything to report?"
"No, nothing major. Just…."
Karin trailed off. I frowned, worried something bad had happened before she could finish.
"I found documents during the handover about criminals dealing in mind-altering drugs. They're in custody now."
"I see. That's not urgent…."
"We arrested them quickly. Unfortunately, two died during interrogation, and the third hasn't regained consciousness."
Fuck. I barely held back a curse. Karin, being from the royal palace, had probably jumped at the chance to arrest them. In a place where criminals' rights were nonexistent, they'd likely been tortured to reveal their base.
Suddenly, I smelled blood—or thought I did. But it wasn't just my imagination, as Eve, still captive behind me, remarked:
"I smell blood."
"Ah, sometimes prisoners fake unconsciousness to avoid torture, so we continue even if they pass out."
I realized I was still one of the kinder people in this world. Karin's interest shifted to the mermaid and Eve. When their eyes met, Eve whistled and smirked.
"What are they? Did you buy a mermaid slave? Or are they criminals tied together?"
"Yes, they are. I brought them here for personal interrogation."
"I see. Can I handle the interrogation? I'll get the truth out of them by tomorrow."
I shook my head. I couldn't hand my 'toys' over to a torture enthusiast. Karin looked disappointed, her expression openly longing. True to her character in the original story, she had no mercy for criminals and despised the protagonist's misdeeds. But I hadn't known she enjoyed torturing criminals.
"Where's the Hero, by the way?"
"The Hero is traveling to return the victims of this incident to their homeland."
"Of course…."
I tuned out her praise of the Hero's noble actions. While admirable, it wasn't something someone with a wife waiting elsewhere would do.
I instructed the guards to separate Eve and Sellu—Eve to the dungeon, Sellu to the bathtub for now. It was a minimal security measure, as Eve wouldn't abandon Sellu.
"Fuck, if you hurt my mom, I'll kill you! Got it?"
Eve shouted as she was dragged away. Karin looked puzzled at Eve calling the mermaid 'Mom,' but I brushed it off. Explaining this would be too tedious, and I doubted sharing stories of mermaid-human breeding would improve my standing with Karin—though I did want to sleep with her eventually.
In the office, Karin and I sorted through documents. Velix Karin was highly competent, handling both paperwork and field duties in the royal palace, so she was efficient. I nodded in satisfaction at the neatly processed requests.
"These are tasks beyond my authority, so I've set them aside."
On one side were tasks for the High Priest of the Church of the Great Goddess. The thought of more backlog gave me a headache. Most were personnel transfers or simple petitions, but reading them was tedious.
"I see. Thank you for your hard work. As always, Velix Karin, the capital's finest knight. You've been a great help."
"You're too kind. Then, may I take my leave…?"
I suddenly remembered Erina's words: to inform the kingdom about Evangelin. So, I stopped Karin and said:
"There's one report related to the Demon King."
"The Demon King?"
"Before dying, the Demon King said, 'I made a promise with Evangelin.'"
"Evangelin?"
Karin frowned, clearly unfamiliar with the name. She muttered it a few times before nodding.
"I see. Is Evangelin an important figure?"
"Yes. According to Princess Erina, she's a very important and dangerous person. The kingdom should be cautious, given her involvement."
"Understood. I'll include this in my report, along with the Hero's matter."
I sent Karin off with the report I'd written during the journey. I'd already mentioned the mermaid's connection to Evangelin in the report, so I didn't elaborate further. However, I omitted the part about capturing Eve and Sellu.
Adding unnecessary details would invite unnecessary questions.
I returned to the dungeon to see Eve. And I quickly realized where Karin had conducted her interrogations. The dungeon was a bloodbath. The walls were splattered with blood, and the floor was littered with unidentifiable metal and wood fragments. The stench of torture and blood assaulted my senses. I shook my head and looked inside.
In the center of the room hung a hook with a bloody, human-like mass impaled on it.
"What the fuck?"
My curse startled the meat mass, and from across the room, Eve shouted:
"Fuck! You psycho! What kind of sick hobby is skinning someone and putting them on display? And you beat me for being a murderer? You call yourself a priest? Fuck, you're not human! Thinking about it pisses me off!"
The meat mass twitched and whispered:
"P-please… kill me…."
Is this the drug dealer? How is he still alive after this?