TOM Chapter 33

I grabbed her jaw and pressed firmly to force her mouth open.

From the exposed roof of her mouth, I could faintly sense a coiled energy.

"What are you doi—urk!"

When I gently scraped at that energy with holy power, black mana recoiled and burst out.

A key about the size of a middle finger was pulled from Qudil's palate.

Quite a bizarre sight.

Though there was no blood, it was visually unpleasant and made my hands feel grimy.

"It's not covered in spit, is it?"

I looked at the purple key with disgust, then tore a piece of Qudil's shirt to wipe my hands thoroughly.

At this point, I really should start carrying a handkerchief.

"Huk, heok! Ah shit, huk, I've been caught."

"Why the hell did you hide this in your mouth?"

"Heu, well, heu, if I planted it in my skin, it'd be discovered right away..."

Then don't go babbling about it.

Constantly exposing your palate like that. How ridiculous.

Qudil hung her head low as if about to collapse to the floor, catching her breath before slowly lifting her face.

The burst blood vessels in both eyes had turned the whites red, making her look exactly like a ghost.

Qudil grinned wickedly.

"But Priestess, how did you figure all this out? Did His Grace tell you?"

"No. A prophecy book was offered to my god's altar, and I learned it from reading that."

"Well, of course that's how it'd be. His Grace brought in the temple to catch the snake. He's going through his rebellious phase these days."

"Why bother asking if you're not going to listen anyway?"

I knew from the start she wouldn't believe it anyway.

"What did His Grace whisper to seduce you?"

"Huh?"

"Looking at your holy power density, you seem like a person with good values. I'm curious what words you heard that made you become His Grace's dog."

Since all her random nonsense didn't work, now she's shifting to sowing discord.

"That you need to deal with a demon-worshipping cult? That you need to eliminate Morion for world peace? That it's for humanity?"

"You can figure it out yours—"

"You've been deceived, Priestess."

Qudil whispered like a snake.

"Look at His Grace's track record. If he truly cared about justice, why would he grovel under the Grand Council, wagging his tail?"

"..."

"Look at him now. He dumps all the work on you and stays away himself. What do you think this means?"

"Just say what you want to say."

"Don't trust His Grace. His goal isn't anything as peaceful as that."

"Then what is it?"

"Well, probably Morion?"

I blinked slowly.

My mood was gradually sinking.

"It's power that makes anything possible. They say if you devour it, you become a god? No, I should say a demon. Wouldn't that be tempting? You're being used to steal that power, Priestess."

"Is that all?"

"I can help you. I can find out what His Grace is thinking, and if necessary, help you escape. If you just turn a blind eye now—"

"I'm asking if that's all for your last words."

Well, even if I have less social experience than others, I'm not naive enough to listen to a council member's words.

And I believed I knew Kruelo better than this woman did.

Qudil blinked slowly.

Then her lips twisted into a sneer.

"Ah, this is why they say priestesses don't understand even when you explain. Stupid and clueless."

I didn't bat an eye at Qudil's fierce criticism.

She let out a light sigh.

"Hey, kid. I didn't mention this earlier, but I have another specialty. I'm good at trivial and delicate magic."

"..."

"For instance, I can temporarily break magical tools."

At that moment, the carriage shook.

It was the impact of the horses, which had stopped, pushing the carriage toward the cliff again.

Qudil giggled as she moved her hands.

Twisting her joints to slip her hands through the chains, she roughly grabbed my arm.

"I'm not stupid enough to leave the magical tools alone. I played along because it seemed fun, but I just wasted time."

"What. You want to die together? Don't you value your life anymore?"

"Fuck it, I'm going to die if I fail anyway. And you know what, it doesn't matter if I die anyway."

As if worried I might break free and run away, Qudil's arms wrapped around me almost in an embrace.

Even during our conversation, the horses continued pushing the carriage relentlessly.

And finally, the carriage began to tilt.

"Because that person will revive me!"

Eyes flashing, Qudil burst into mad laughter.

At last, the carriage was hurled into the air.

However.

"Ahahaha! Haha, ha... huh?"

We're not falling.

Qudil gaped blankly.

"What! How is the carriage...? There shouldn't be flight spells in divine magic!"

"A magical tool that doesn't break easily came along."

From where the driver's seat had been torn away, a familiar voice could be heard.

Given this timing, naturally.

"Kruelo..."

Qudil muttered in bewilderment.

At the same time, with a single gesture from Kruelo, she was pressed against the carriage wall.

Like a tasteless pancake.

He approached me, now that I was free again.

"Done playing, darling? I'm glad I made it just in time."

Just in time?

Did he seriously just say just in time?

"You're quite late. Do you know how many minutes I had to listen to boring conspiracy theories waiting for you?"

"Still, I had to properly observe the ceremony. If something happened over there, I'd end up like a dog chasing chickens."

"Ah, the 10th Council member should be over there, right? I heard them talking through the communication device earlier."

"It's fine, that much. They're not idiots who'd attempt assassination during a ceremony, and even if they did, well, it would just make for an interesting show, wouldn't it?"

Is it interesting for the bride-to-be to become a straw doll?

...It probably would be, though.

When Kruelo flicked his hand, Qudil, who had been stuck to the wall, fell to the carriage floor.

I approached her and asked.

"By the way, how much time is left for the dummy?"

"10."

"10 minutes?"

"9, 8..."

Is this guy joking at a time like this?

Incredulous, I turned around to see Kruelo laughing out loud.

"About 6 minutes left. Until the dummy whose magic is dispelled turns back into straw."

"...Did you come leisurely because you wanted to see that spectacle?"

"As if. Alright, I'll hurry."

Kruelo smiled lightly and gestured.

The mana extending from his fingertips wrapped around the writhing Qudil in a circle.

At the same time, her appearance began to change.

Her short hair grew long and turned golden.

Her bone structure changed and her features altered.

What was completed was a face quite similar to Siora Bonetti.

"Kkulk!"

Qudil, who had briefly fainted, regained consciousness.

Seeing the blonde hair that had fallen in front of her face, she quickly grasped the situation.

"Ha! You're going to disguise me as Siora Bonetti and kill me?"

The voice remained the same, creating a tremendous sense of discord.

"Precisely, we're disguising you as bait to kill you."

I planned to make it look like Qudil had been deceived and killed the fake Siora Bonetti.

You might wonder what difference it makes, but there's quite a difference between Qudil being found as a corpse and simply going missing.

Well, they might think Qudil, having failed at work again, ran away?

It would only buy a little time, but that little bit is important.

"You said you handle odd jobs, right? Please take care of this too."

"Nonsense, what transformation magic doesn't dispel after death? It dispels even with a strong wind."

"That's why I'm here."

Contrary to before, I grabbed Qudil's wrist.

Her face showed she couldn't even imagine what would happen.

Naturally.

There wouldn't be anything like this in external divine magic.

The followers of ancient gods had a few more unique spells.

Like the reversal I used at the harvest festival.

"Great and wise Phebula, your servant dares to wish."

"Phe... bula?"

The spell I'm about to use is the same.

"Please twist the truth that has unfortunately hardened. Please open a new path."

The holy power sleeping in my soul overflowed, carving a rough path.

Though weaker than last time, I had a strong premonition that tomorrow's me wouldn't be in good health.

That's just how unique spells are—I miss my original body.

"Please grant one choice to the pitiful soul trapped in its birth-given flesh."

"Keoook!"

The holy power flowing from me evenly wrapped around Qudil's body.

The black mana that had been sleeping within her was annihilated without even being able to exert its power.

Not stopping there, the holy power reconstructed Qudil's body following the illusion overlaid on her form.

Into a completely different face.

Into an appearance that would never disappear even if the transformation magic was dispelled.

"Your sole devotee wishes for this."

—Phebula Theology 9th Spell. Modification.

Originally a spell used for treating incurable diseases or congenital disabilities, and now I had no benevolent intent.

But the spell flowed out smoothly and changed Qudil's appearance.

Even if my intent wasn't good, it was Phebula who had instructed me to do all this, including the Council hunt.

Unable to withstand the shock of the black mana disappearing, Qudil lost consciousness again.

Maybe... she's already dead.

I withdrew the binding chains from her body.

"Is it done?"

To Kruelo's question, I slowly nodded.

As I stood up, he extended his hand to me.

The moment I took Kruelo's hand, we exited the carriage using levitation magic.

He withdrew his magic from the carriage floating in mid-air.

The carriage plummeted.

First slowly, then quickly, soon at an unstoppable speed.

It fell to the bottom so distant it couldn't be seen with the eyes.

I thought I heard the faint sound of the carriage being smashed to pieces.

Someone died.

I felt strange.

"At this rate, the engagement ceremony will be over."

Oh no, this isn't the time to indulge in useless sentiments.

I came to my senses and nodded.

"Let's hurry."

Kruelo looked at me with an odd expression before opening a gate.

"So that this union may continue safely..."

The place connected to the gate was the chapel of the Whitedesert ducal residence.

To be precise, the roof of that building.

Having opened my senses, I could hear the boring voice conducting the ceremony clearly.

We carefully descended from the roof and peered inside through the window.

Though we had cast invisibility magic, someone sensitive to mana might notice us.

"Oh, is that the dummy?"

Two people, a man and woman, stood before Count Goldenstove.

Unmistakably Siora Bonetti and unmistakably Kruelo Whitedesert.

So you're telling me that's actually straw?

It's fascinating, but how did they even manage the switch?

"How much time is left?"

"50 seconds."

"Ah, now it's 49 seconds!"

"Now 45 seconds?"

"Then should we... give up?"

"If that's what you want, darling."