“Sniffle…”
Hmm… What in the world is going on here?
Lilia, who had just been ganged up on by our female party members, was now sniffling like a child being punished. She looked utterly pitiful on her knees with both hands raised above her head.
She’d clearly been beaten quite a bit. Her hair was a mess, her clothes were in disarray, and her face was so swollen you could hardly recognize her.
Since the saintess was with us, healing was possible, but considering she had deceived us and endangered the people of the territory, we were intentionally leaving her be for now.
“So, Lilia… that is your real name, right?”
“Yeah, it is.”
“Then, Lilia. Can you tell us why you did all this?”
I approached the visibly dejected Lilia with the kindest smile and gentlest voice I could muster, trying to put her at ease.
She seemed to have prepared something outrageous to show off but ended up utterly defeated by the furious young ladies’ relentless assault. As much as she was the enemy, I did feel a bit sorry for her.
“Ha! You want me to say it myself? Screw off, you eunuch! You useless coward who can’t even take what’s handed to him! No woman’s ever gonna love a guy like youuuu—!”
Apparently offended that I hadn’t fallen for her seduction, Lilia screamed curses at me, only to be instantly knocked down by a flying kick from the side.
When I turned my head in disbelief, I saw the visibly furious noble lady stomping toward Lilia again, as if she wanted to add another footprint to the ones already stamped on Lilia’s body.
“You’ve got a mouth, so you think you can say anything, huh?! You got a death wish?!”
“Please calm down, young lady. If she passes out, things will get more complicated.”
“You’re not even mad? Ugh, you’re hopeless…”
I was grateful to the noble lady for getting angry on my behalf, but honestly, I really didn’t feel anything at all.
In my previous life, I lived in a place where curses as dazzling and intricate as a tapestry flew back and forth by the dozens. So Lilia’s one-dimensional insults didn’t even register. They were more ticklish than offensive.
I lifted her up from where she had collapsed groaning in pain and, wearing my usual good-natured smile, began questioning her again.
“Let me ask something else first. Lilia, you said you absorb life force. How exactly do you do that?”
“Why are you asking that all of a sudden…?”
“Answer.”
“Ugh… Well, I usually absorb energy by making skin contact with the target. If I want to absorb richer and purer energy, then it’s better to… um, engage in intercourse.”
Pressed by my gaze urging her to answer, Lilia hesitated for a moment but then decided that refusing further might risk her life and opened her mouth.
The idea of absorbing life force, which was the vital energy unique to each living being, through mere contact was a surprising revelation.
She added that this was an innate ability unique to her. Something she had instinctively become aware of as a child.
Judging by the expressions of those around who seemed to be hearing this for the first time, it appeared to be a unique ability yet to be known to the world.
“If you had that kind of power, couldn’t you have just found the right guy and lived comfortably? Why bother joining something like the Heavenly God Church and going through all that trouble?”
“You think my ability was this strong from the start? At first, it was just a power that made others like me a bit more easily. But someone from the Heavenly God Church grew intrigued by my ability, took me in, and enhanced it. That’s the only reason it evolved into what it is now.”
An ability that enhances another’s power… hmm.
In the past, Lilia’s ability to easily win over men’s hearts had apparently evolved under the influence of someone within the Heavenly God Church into a power that forced absolute obedience to her words.
That revelation sent a chill down my spine.
What if the princess, gifted in magic, or the saintess, the chosen daughter of a god, had been taken by the Heavenly God Church and turned into test subjects or enhanced using that same method?
The thought alone was horrifying, so I quickly shook it from my mind and turned to look at Lilia, who had started freaking out again.
“You’re going to kill me, right? Huh? You’re definitely going to kill me! Aaaaah!! Damn it! To die so pointlessly… I still had so many men I wanted to devour…!”
“Hey. I’ve got a question.”
“…What is it.”
“That offer you made me before… were you serious?”
I was thinking of that peculiar proposal Lilia had made to me.
It was so shocking that forgetting it was pretty much impossible.
“Haa… Yeah, I was serious. You’re the strongest energy source I’ve ever encountered. The taste, the density, the sheer amount…it’s like you were tailor-made for me. Given that my power lets me grow stronger and younger the more high-quality energy I consume, you’re basically the perfect partner for me. Happy now?”
“Then if I let you consume my energy… could you betray the Heavenly God Church?”
“What?”
Not just Lilia, but everyone in the party widened their eyes and stared at me in shock at my response.
“No, I don’t actually mean we’ll have sex or anything… You said just physical contact is enough to absorb energy, right? I’ll share my energy that way. So in exchange, I want you to spy for us.”
Honestly, despite everything we’d been through, we still didn’t know much about the Heavenly God Church.
They were so thoroughly hidden, always operating out of sight, that we hadn’t had any real chance to gather information.
But if we could bring someone from their members over to our side, things would become a whole lot easier for us.
“Y-You really mean that…?”
“That’s r—”
“Don’t be ridiculous!”
But the unexpected pushback came from our side.
At my proposal, the princess, the noble lady, and even the saintess all spoke up, insisting it was completely out of the question.
“Mars! I get what you’re trying to do, but this isn’t it!”
“She’s right. I agree. How can we trust a woman who does something as vulgar as feeding on life force?”
“Yeah… she’s gross…”
Their sudden resistance to my sacrifice brought tears of gratitude to my heart. But this wasn’t the time to be picky about who did what.
“I understand how you all feel, but the truth is….we don’t have much information on our enemies right now. If I can get that information just by giving a bit of my energy, I’d say that’s a good deal.
Lilia. You said my energy was way more than average, right?”
“Huh? Oh… right. I fed on you for hours and didn’t even run out, so yeah, you’re definitely way above a normal human.”
“…You fed for hours?”
No wonder Lilia’s face had been glowing that morning. She must have drained me pretty hard while I was asleep.
“I promise. If you agree to become our spy and help us from the inside, I’ll share my energy with you. It won’t be unlimited, but I won’t skimp either.”
“T-To act as a spy, I’ll need test subjects… What are you going to do about that?”
“Hmm… From what I know, the empire has quite a few death row inmates in prison… wouldn’t they work?”
I casually turned my head toward the imperial princess, and she sighed, shaking her head.
She looked like she had a headache, but the emperor would probably approve.
After all, it would be killing two birds with one stone. Getting rid of the scum rotting away the empire from within, while also supporting a spy almost free of charge.
Of course, if we handed them over as-is, it’d only strengthen the enemy’s forces, so we’d have to curse them or something first to weaken them.
She bit her lip, clearly deep in thought.
Well, it made sense. Suddenly being asked to spy for your enemies wasn’t exactly an easy choice.
To sway her wavering heart, I took her hand and let her taste my energy.
“!!”
When I took her hand, she seemed to regain her vitality almost instantly, as if she could taste my energy. She was no longer looking as drained as before.
Crunch-Creak—
A chilling sound echoed from somewhere, accompanied by a wave of cold air, but I decided to focus on persuading her for now.
“Ugh… Haa, fine. I’ll do it. I mean, how could I ever go back after tasting something like that?”
And so, Lilia agreed to become our spy.
Though she felt some gratitude toward the Heavenly God Church for recognizing her abilities, her lack of combat strength had caused others to quietly look down on her. That made it easier for her to make up her mind.
“So, what exactly were you doing here?”
“…I was here to secure humans to use as test subjects, on orders from above. Unfortunately, thanks to some people stirring up trouble, chimera production came to a complete halt.”
Maybe it was because she accepted my offer, but Lilia was now much more cooperative and answered my questions without hesitation.
“Because of your interference, the supply of humans we use as test subjects has dwindled. That’s why even an executive like me has to step in now. Though to be honest, most of what I’ve done as an executive is more like managing personnel or brainwashing cultists.”
“Hmph.”
“Let me just say this up front. Don’t expect to get your hands on top-secret information just because you’re using me as a spy. I may be an executive, but I’m practically stuck doing rear support work. Ever since someone started taking down high-ranking members, combat ability’s become the priority, and I naturally got pushed down the ranks.”
“Ahem…”
“Mars… are you sure about this?”
Pollo who had been quietly watching my conversation with Lili, approached me with a worried look.
Even if she wasn’t strong in combat, the idea of bringing someone capable of brainwashing others onto our side without hesitation seemed to deeply concern him.
“Don’t worry. It’s not like I trust her completely, either. We’ll take her with us for now, explain the situation to the others, and then form a contract with her using mana. That’ll keep her from betraying us so easily.”
“…Alright. If that’s what you want, Mars.”
And so, we succeeded in recruiting Lilia, the now demoted executive of the Heavenly God Cult, as our spy.
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