When I checked Pepe's skills with the appraisal crystal, a ridiculous sentence appeared.
『Blessing of the Incubus... a compound skill. The number and power of skills you can use increases as your level increases.』
Combined skills.
It refers to a single skill that contains multiple abilities.
My
"Well, right now Pepe can use paralysis poison, division, seedbed transformation, personality release and sex toy transformation, and also, he can tell where Master is, so even if he leaves he can come back to get a good pat."
"I-I see... Pepe is great."
"Right! Eheheh."
There were a few skills I wish I hadn't heard, but anyway, Pepe had managed to capture the fleeing Holy Knight using a compound skill that had been manifested by
…And so, with Pepe now manifesting a fearsome combination of skills, it became necessary to teach him common sense and how to go easy on him… but right now there was something that had to take priority over that.
A report to Empress Stacey, who had asked us to purify the water source.
And then we discussed our future course of action.
"...So, to sum it up, it's like this."
After we had finished purifying the water source and returned to the dungeon city, Stacey, who had heard the whole story , muttered while clutching her temples.
"You are a strange Gift-type Incubus that was banished from the Imperial Capital, and a Holy Knight who has been pursuing it. The recent water pollution was orchestrated by agents of the Church who are after the lives of the Holy Knights, to lure you out."
"yes"
I nodded to Stacey's words as she compiled the report.
I had explained the whole story of what had happened to Stacey and Lisa, including our origins.
Due to the influence of the Master-Servant Contract, Stacey and the others would never leak any information, and more importantly, since they had caused damage to the town by involving us in their affairs, they couldn't continue to keep it a secret.
"...Haa. Normally I would have pulverized you with Abyss magic if you had told me a more reasonable lie."
Stacey says, covering her forehead with her hands.
"It's hard to believe at first... But, the extraordinary powers you two have displayed so far, and the status plates you just showed us. And when you say you've actually captured one of the Thirteen Holy Swords, it's hard not to believe it."
Stacey sighed loudly as her gaze fell on the disarmed grey-haired woman.
"Ugh... my body is refusing to fight back or flee... what is this powerful enslavement skill?! I'm a Holy Knight who can nullify all mental control...! Why...?!"
The Holy Knight, Kokoro Anarski, has been rendered completely powerless by the effects of the Master-Servant Contract. Despite being thoroughly "taught" by Pepe's brutal skills, his eyes still glitter with wickedness.
While giving Kokoro a sharp look, Empress Stacey spoke in a serious voice.
"Anyway, on behalf of the city, we would like to thank you for purifying the water source. We don't think for a second that you are the cause of this. ...So, what are you planning to do from now on?"
Stacey asked seriously what they planned to do about the church, which had polluted the town's water source and was even willing to send one of the Thirteen Holy Swords to try to kill a Holy Knight.
To that question, I replied with the obvious answer.
"I will protect Alicia by any means necessary. Even if it means destroying the world's greatest religious nation, the Holy Kingdom of Romalia."
"Elio..."
Hearing my words, Alicia gripped my clothes tightly.
Then, from behind us, we heard loud laughter.
"Ahaha, hahahahaha! Destroy the church!?"
Despite being under a "master-servant contract," Kokoro continues to maintain a rebellious attitude.
"Are you an idiot?! Don't get cocky just because you defeated me! The church still has a mountain of fighting power! The Holy Knights, the Incubi, and the thugs from Dungeon City who are cooperating with you, all of you will end up as lumps of sludge--"
"Pepe."
"Yes. Let's eat."
"Huh? Wait, wait, there's a kidding me out there watching that!"
Kokoro, who still doesn't seem to understand her place in the world, is disciplined by Pepe. With all of her holes sealed, Kokoro becomes quiet.
However... what Kokoro says is true.
The Holy Land of Romalia is the largest religious nation in the world.
Its national power exceeds that of the Empire, and the number and quality of its Holy Knights are among the best.
No matter how strong the power of the Incubus was, and how he possessed the extraordinary skill of being able to enslave even a Holy Knight, it was insane to try to crush him with one person's strength. It was just too absurd.
However...
(Considering the current state of the church that I heard from Kokoro...I can't protect Alicia unless I'm prepared to destroy the Holy Land.)
Kokoro appears to be merely an errand boy specializing in assassinations, and does not understand why Alicia was being targeted or the deeper workings of the church.
But even from what she knew, the church had turned into a nation that, behind a facade of beauty, used violence and power, pursuing its own selfish desires... In order to protect Alicia, she absolutely had to be prepared to destroy the church.
That is how much the church is today...
"Well, if you want to protect someone from a church that's serious about their cause, you'll need the determination to destroy the Holy Land, no matter how reckless it may be."
Stacey, who had heard my decision, said this while completely ignoring Kokoro who was being punished.
"If you make the church your enemy, the Empress's Brigade will cooperate in secret. With the incident involving War Princess Sophia and other things, there have been a lot of rumors recently in the underworld that if the church continues to gain power, it could be bad. If you explain some of the situation, I'm sure the Lion King will cooperate, and the Dungeon City will side with you. We won't even need a Master-Servant Contract."
However, Stacey continues with a serious expression.
"There's something strange about the Church lately... but their authority and influence is still strong. You've kidnapped the Holy Knight, the symbol of the Church. The Church is trying to save it, so the Church, which has the advantage in publicity, has the overwhelming advantage. No one would believe that the Church is trying to kill the Holy Knight. Your skill in enslaving everyone will eventually become unreasonable, and if you play your cards right, you could end up alienating not only the Church, but all the countries around the world that have Romalia as their state religion."
"I thought so, that's what would happen..."
As Stacey said, I had to think about how to fight.
Not only would he be in danger of being labeled as a "Succubus" for kidnapping the "Holy Knight," but if he were to repeatedly activate the "Contract of Master and Servant," he might truly turn the world against him.
In the first place, it was unknown how many people could activate such a powerful Master-Servant Contract on their own. Whether they really wanted to destroy the church or not, they needed to fight carefully to ensure that Alicia was protected. They were not going to choose their means to protect those they held dear, but they wanted to avoid any gambling tactics if possible.
"Hmm, it doesn't seem like the entire church is corrupt, and if a respected member of the church could vouch for our legitimacy, it would be easier to move forward to a certain extent…"
However, with the Thirteen Holy Swords, the church's greatest strength and authority, now involved in assassinations, it was too risky to contact the higher-ups of the church in a situation where it was difficult to distinguish between friend and foe.
Of course, if push comes to shove, I'm prepared to turn my heart into a succubus and even enter into a Master-Servant Contract, but... Just then, as I was racking my brains, wondering what to do,
"It's a misunderstanding! There must be some kind of mistake!"
Outside the window, I heard some kind of commotion.
"Eh, this voice...?"
I suddenly stopped talking to Stacey and the others when I heard a voice that sounded familiar.
Wanting to keep an eye on her as much as possible, Kokoro and Alicia ran towards the direction the voice had come from.
Then, on the grounds of the Empress Brigade headquarters, a woman was being led away by a female member of the Empress Brigade, causing a commotion.
"If I had bet on the red number 5 back then, I would have gotten all my losses back! I thought it was a bit risky to go all-in with all my money because my hunch of a positive outcome often turns out to be wrong, but I didn't mean any harm! So please forgive me!"
「Shut up! You stupid fool, trying to run away from your bet! Don't think you can get away with it! ...But even so, this guy, he's really good looking...」
"It would be a waste to sell her off, so we female members might as well take good care of her and use her as collateral for the debt..."
"No! Actually, I'm not completely uninterested in women together, but now's not the time! I want to experience it with a man first! I can't do this without drinking! Wait...huh?"
The beautiful woman making the fuss looked at me with wide eyes.
"Lord Elior! And isn't it Lady Ally? My hunch was not wrong after all! It was worth all that drunken mayhem at the gambling den after I managed to outwit that fussy Silvia!"
"Eh, perhaps you are...?!"
As the beautiful girl makes a big fuss and uses our fake names, I, too, widen my eyes.
It was the eccentric sister who had previously saved him when he had collapsed from a monster's poison.
A mysterious woman who gave me a super high-end magic item called "Akuma Crystal" and then disappeared.
It was Sister Claire, a drunkard who claimed to have escaped from a corrupt church.