Chapter 23

The signpost could wait. Right now, Daddy came first.

He used to be a hero of the Order—was this really okay?

‘If he starts to resent or distrust me, that could be a serious problem…’

And it’s not like I could change Guardians or anything.

Just thinking about it…

Throb.

A sharp pang hit my chest.

“…Am I gonna faint soon?”

“Hm?”

“I mean, did you do something again? Like what happened when you came out of the portal—are you about to pass out?”

“Ohh.”

Sharp as ever. How did he pick up that I used a skill?

I shook my head.

“No, not yet. I’ve still got some time left.”

“I see.”

Still, I didn’t let my guard down.

“Is this the method the God instructed you to use?”

Then Daddy suddenly said something weird.

“Well done.”

…Yeah, like a god would ever teach me this kind of method.

I glanced at the still-floating signpost out of the corner of my eye.

‘This guy’s supposed to deliver divine messages, and all he ever tells me to do is kiss someone?’

Naturally, my distrust was growing in real-time.

“There are far too many fanatics infiltrating the Order. We’re working to root them out, but it’s a never-ending battle.”

Exactly. The Order was helpless in the face of these increasingly cunning infiltrations.

“Hiding a tree in a forest is often the best way to conceal it.”

Daddy didn’t ask how I identified the fanatic, or what kind of interaction I had with him.

He said nothing about how I changed my tone or acted like a completely different person.

He just kept praising me.

“You’re… not going to say anything?”

“Me? Why would I?”

Daddy looked at me with calm, hollow eyes.

“In times like these, when you can’t tell who to trust, that was the best decision you could’ve made.”

I blinked.

The fact that he didn’t question anything… it felt like he trusted me completely, no matter what I did.

“But… it was too dangerous.”

As I struggled to find the right words, Daddy carefully reached out his hand.

Flinch.

“…D-don’t shrink away.”

His hand gently rested on my shoulder. When I didn’t pull back, he awkwardly pulled me into a hug.

“It just looked like you were shouldering too much on your own. Dangerous and exhausting. So…”

The moment our eyes met as he spoke softly—

“Then I’ll become a fanatic too.”

…What?

What did you just say?

What the hell does that even mean?

“…D-Daddy?”

Something’s wrong with my ears.

“What kind of insane thing are you saying?!”

Does he think being a fanatic is a joke?! It’s not a joke!!

I glared at him, my face tightening with tension.

“…Why is that so crazy?”

He looked a little downcast, watching me carefully.

“You can pretend to be a fanatic, but I can’t?”

“Oh, pretend…”

Oops. Probably shouldn’t have admitted that so casually.

“There’s more than enough justification.”

Daddy began explaining seriously.

“If I say the Order abandoned me for years, and even tortured me… it wouldn’t be hard to convince the fanatics.”

“Wait, wait! Hold on!”

I pressed my fingers to my temple.

‘Where do I even start with this?’

If I get found out, I can at least use my “Purification” skill to prove I’m the Pope candidate.

But you—if word gets out that the former hero of the Order is a fanatic, the whole place will explode!

On top of that, I’m the only one who knows the Guardian can’t be switched.

The Order, unaware of this, would try to separate us and possibly even execute you.

If Daddy actually died… I’d die too.

‘No way I’m letting that happen.’

First, I had to address the part that bugged me the most.

“What do you mean by torture?”

He wouldn’t have made that up.

And it wasn’t vague enough to be just a hypothetical.

“….”

Sure enough, the look of discomfort on Daddy’s face confirmed my suspicion.

“I-it wasn’t a big deal…”

“Daddy, are you keeping secrets from me? That’s so unfair!”

“No! That’s not it…”

Fidgeting awkwardly, which didn’t suit his size at all, Daddy eventually ran a hand down his face.

“…It really wasn’t much.”

“Mhm.”

“In the past, within the Order… they needed a corrupted holy knight with a strong tolerance for pain to study the degree and spread of berserk episodes…”

He trailed off, but I easily filled in the blanks.

‘Those insane bastards! You’re telling me they experimented on their own knights?!’

There’s a similar story in the official lore, but I never thought they actually did it to him—the former hero of the Order.

‘There’s not a single normal one among them…’

Even if their goals or individual intentions are noble, their methods are anything but.

“Anyway, creating a believable backstory wouldn’t be hard.”

“Yeah, I get it.”

I said I understood—not that I agreed.

Luckily, I had something else to redirect attention.

“Let’s talk about this a bit later.”

I turned my head.

“Looks like Bennett’s about to wake up.”

* * *

A little while later.

We’d moved locations.

Here’s a brief recap of what happened in between:

1. I passed out when the “Child Actor” skill wore off.

※Note: Daddy freaked out. Thankfully, I woke up sooner than last time—but he still looked pale as a sheet.

2. We were questioned by a Heresy Inquisition team from the Vatican branch.

※Note: Surprisingly, the questioning ended quickly. They treated me like I was some holy unicorn—awed and reverent.

※Note 2: But they didn’t share any information with us. Stingy bastards!

3. Bennett woke up.

※Note: He came to in my room. And then…

Currently, our dear supporting cast is like this:

“Y-you won’t get anything out of torturing me…!”

Looks like he remembers getting knocked out by Daddy.

Backed into a corner, he looked like a puppy separated from its mother.

He was holding a broken wooden stick, shaking violently. No clue where he got it.

Out of humanitarian concern (yes, I tied him up), I’d restrained him gently, but now the ropes were lying undone on the floor.

The chair he was sitting on? One leg completely broken.

Looking closer, the stick in his hand was that broken chair leg.

‘He must’ve woken up while I was out during the follow-up interview.’

I glanced upward.

“Daddy, did you know?”

Five minutes ago, one of the Inquisition officers had come to my room for a few follow-up questions.

“Candidate Nemesia! Thank you for your cooperation in the garden just now! May I ask just one more question?”

Bennett had still been unconscious then. I let my guard down because all I had to do was answer at the door.

“…I did hear him waking up.”

“Then why didn’t you say anything?”

“Didn’t think he’d get out.”

So basically, Daddy heard everything—Bennett waking up and even breaking the chair?

That explained why Bennett couldn’t escape.

‘When did he even cast the divine shield? Meticulous, huh.’

Thanks to Daddy’s preemptive move, Bennett had been trapped.

Honestly, such thorough prep is a trait of the fanatics.

“…Maybe he really would make a good fanatic?”

Daddy responded to my murmur.

“Do you think so?”

Sir, why do you look so pleased?

‘Please stop looking happy about that.’

I gave Daddy a look of exasperation.

But he wasn’t the only one who heard me.

“I-if this is some twisted attempt to convert me into a fanatic…!”

Yes, I’d said that loudly on purpose—just for Bennett to hear.

To be honest, us dragging him here and unintentionally locking him up didn’t really hurt him.

‘If we hadn’t brought him, he would’ve been taken by the Inquisition.’

Every single priest, holy knight, or follower who interacts with a fanatic is dragged in by the Heresy Inquisition.

As their name implies, they’re intense.

And right now, Bennett has no backing. He’s just a promising young seedling.

The hardcore inquisitors wouldn’t care about his situation. They’d force a confession out of him, no matter what.

Considering how many people come out of there as broken husks…

‘Forget philosophical debates about justice—we did this kid a favor.’

But since we couldn’t explain all that, I just smiled brightly instead of saying a word.

“Yup yup. Want me to make you a fanatic too?”

“H-hk! D-do you think I’d let that happen?!”

Still using polite speech, huh?

“No, no. I’m just joking.”

“No matter what you—what?!”

“I said it’s a joke.”

Man, that face screams I don’t believe you.

“You can torture me all you want, I still won’t talk!”

“I never said anything about torture, though?”

Bennett’s stick trembled in response. Oh yeah, it’s shaking now.

“Y-you might do it anyway!”

“Well… true.”

I nodded. Bennett’s expression grew even more confused.

I grinned wickedly on purpose.

“…I’ll leave the rest to your imagination.”

“Eeeekkk!”

Guess I’ll stop messing with him now.

I looked up at Daddy and gave him a subtle signal with my eyes.

On our way back from the first round of questioning, I’d asked him for a favor.

“Daddy, can you bring me ‘this’?”
 

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Translator: Japchae