I used magic to hurl them high up to the ceiling before pulling them back down to the ground as if they were on a roller coaster.
Since this was a banquet hall, the ceiling was exceptionally high. Because of that, plunging straight down from such a height must have delivered the sensation of pure terror, as if they were free-falling from a great distance.
“Eeeek…!”
Hearing their collective screams, I repeated the process several more times.
“Ugh….! Mmff….! Mmph….!”
“Oh, so you’re saying you’ll answer?”
Eventually, one man stepped forward to offer an answer. While I continued subjecting the others to various methods of torment, I released only his mouth from the magical restraints.
“We… We are distinguished figures even in the Holy Empire. How dare you—”
“Oh, so you weren’t actually trying to answer? I didn’t free your mouth to listen to nonsense.”
“N-No! That’s not it! I’ll talk…!”
As I moved to restrain his mouth again, he hastily switched to a deferential tone and quickly offered to speak.
“Well, the truth is… We wanted to try certain things with the saintess, so we petitioned His Holiness…”
“What kinds of things? You’ll have to spell it out for me. I’m too naive to guess.”
I smiled brightly and urged him to give a proper answer.
“W-We wanted to… have a physical… conversation…”
“So His Holiness approved of that?”
No matter how distantly related they were by blood, His Holiness didn’t strike me as someone who would allow such a thing. Apparently, you really can’t judge people by appearances.
Moreover, even though the pope held a position slightly higher than the saintess, he had no right to treat her as his property.
“Well, fine. I’ll ask His Holiness about it later. For now, it doesn’t seem like you’ll be heading home today.”
I sealed his mouth again, suspended him midair, and began channeling my magic to inflict pain on them, stopping just short of death.
“Ugh, that man. He’s dumped another mess on me because he didn’t feel like dealing with it himself.”
Estelle, who had been watching, sighed deeply and began to speak.
“The pope. He always shoves troublesome tasks onto me whenever there’s someone he wants to deal with but doesn’t want to confront directly. I’m sure he guessed I wouldn’t let these scum off easily, given my personality.”
It seemed that situations like this weren’t uncommon. Gathering those who admired the saintess and orchestrating such schemes to get rid of people who displeased him…
And Estelle wasn’t the type to sit idly in such circumstances. By involving witnesses like maids or servants to back her up, she could make sure these men faced punishment beyond just a beating, which likely included demotion or worse.
“In any case, I owe my life to you this time, Sir Theo.”
Hmm, I acted out of anger without even realizing it.
But honestly, considering Estelle’s skills, I think she could’ve handled those guys on her own without me stepping in.
“To be fair, it’s difficult to handle that many people all at once, so I thought I’d have to allow a little leeway. But thanks to you, Sir Theo, there was no need for that at all! It’s amazing~”
“Indeed, this is the first time I’ve seen someone handle such a large group so effortlessly.”
Huh? Isn’t this something anyone with a bit of magical power could do?
Wait, maybe not. Now that I think about it, yeah. It’s still the early stages of the game, so they might not have that yet.
Maybe it’s just me. Perhaps I got weirdly overpowered after picking up that hidden job last time.
Hmm, having a strong character early on isn’t a bad thing.
It makes it easier to deal with villains when they show up.
“Anyway, what should we do with those guys?”
By now, they had been repeatedly slammed into the floor and the ceiling at high speed, over and over again, leaving them in a constant state of terror.
Most of them had already peed themselves, and some were desperately trying to beg for their lives, though their words were barely coherent.
“I’ll deal with them however Estelle wants.”
“I’d like them to be tormented just enough to stay alive. And mentally, I think it’d be good to push them to the point where they completely break. Physically, well… considering they tried to use their lower bodies recklessly, I think castration would make a fitting punishment…”
Oh, castration? Turns out this saintess is one terrifying lady.
“Of course, I’ll take care of all that myself. I couldn’t possibly ask Sir Theo to handle such unpleasant tasks. It seems they’ve already taken plenty of psychological damage, so I’ll wrap things up here and head back. Could the two of you return to my room and get ready to go out? Once I’m done, we can go have some delicious food and look around.”
“Will you be okay on your own?”
I was worried that something might happen to Estelle, so I couldn’t help but ask.
“I’ll be fine. How long could it possibly take to deal with trash like that? Besides, Sir Theo has already left them in shambles.”
“Alright. But if anything happens, contact me immediately.”
Even though I knew they were too weak to put up much resistance, it didn’t hurt to be cautious. You never know what could happen.
“If something comes up, I’ll use teleportation magic to come straight to you.”
“Good. Even so, I’m not going to undo their restraints.”
“Oh my, that would make things much easier for me~”
Although Estelle was fully capable of restraining them herself, I kept the binding spell active. There was no telling what they might do if they got even a moment of freedom. With that, Iris and I left the hall ahead of her.
“Sir Theo, you truly are amazing.”
As we walked, Iris suddenly spoke quietly.
“Hmm? Me?”
“Yes, you. Whenever you see something unjust, you always step in without hesitation.”
“Well, that’s probably because the person facing the injustice this time was Estelle, right?”
Generally speaking, when people see something bad happening, it’s normal for them to hesitate and start wondering whether to intervene or stay put.
But when it came to Estelle or Iris?
If anything happened to them, there was no doubt in my mind that I would throw myself into the situation without a second thought.
“…Would you have done the same if it were me in a similar situation?”
“Of course! If anything happened to either of you, I’d go after whoever was responsible, even if it were the emperor or the pope.”
I meant every word of it.
If anyone became an obstacle to these two reaching their happy ending…
Well, to be honest, it wasn’t just about their happy ending anymore. I’d grown to genuinely care for them both.
How could I just stand by and watch as people I cared about went through something terrible?
Ah, of course, I mean this in a “friends” kind of way. Just as friends.
“Fufu, that’s one of the things I truly admire about you, Theo.”
“Haha, really? Doesn’t it come across as reckless or over-the-top, though?”
“Not at all. It’s admirable.”
Oh… to think I’d hear someone call me admirable in my lifetime.
Wow, maybe I’ve actually lived a decent life after all.
While chatting about this and that, we waited in Estelle’s room for her to return. It didn’t take long before she came in.
“Let’s go already!”
It seemed everything had been handled well, as Estelle didn’t appear to have any injuries or signs of trouble.
Well, that made sense. After all, the restraining spell had remained active the entire time, so they couldn’t have moved at all.
“Alright, I’ll share my list of the Holy Empire’s best restaurants in the group chat now~!”
Oh! A local’s list of the best restaurants!
Moreover, Estelle loved food and had traveled extensively since she was young, so this could truly be considered a trustworthy list.
“Since today’s visit is a short one, let’s start by going here to eat lobster. Then, after that, there’s this amazing pie shop nearby. We can have some pie as a snack, and if we go a little further up, there’s a fancy restaurant. We can wrap up the day there with more lobster and steak! Oh, and there are plenty of small shops and sights to check out along the way, so we can enjoy those as well!”
Estelle explained everything enthusiastically.
Wow, starting and ending with lobster?
This was irresistible.
“Lobster, huh? I’ve heard it’s the best when eaten here in the Holy Empire.”
“That’s right! Iris, you’re going to be blown away! You’ll think, ‘Was what I’ve been eating even lobster?’ That’s how good it’ll be.”
Whoa! Was it really that amazing?
My mouth was already watering.
“Alright, alright! Shall we get going? I’m starving!”
I was the first to act, signaling that we should stop talking and get moving.
“Alright then. I’ll send you the coordinates, and we can meet there. As always, I’ll…”
“Ah, would it be okay if I traveled with someone this time? I think I should practice traveling together with someone.”
When we traveled to the Holy Empire, I had teleported alone, while Iris and Estelle traveled together. But considering how stable the mana flow had been during the journey here, it seemed possible to try traveling with someone this time.
“Oh, uh, hmm… sure…”
However, Estelle’s expression didn’t seem too pleased.
“Is it too risky because I’m still a beginner?”
“No, it’s not that… It’s nothing. See you there.”
Estelle cut herself off mid-sentence, quickly cast a teleportation spell, and vanished.
“What’s up with her? Is something wrong?”
A sense of unease crept in. What if something went wrong with her teleportation or if something happened during the transfer?
“Let’s go, Sir Theo.”
“Alright. Just saying, I might mess this up a bit.”
“It’s fine. As long as I’m with you, we’ll end up wherever we’re meant to be.”
Oh… That felt oddly… like a confession or something.
No way, come on. It’s just a friendly comment that was spoken kindly.
Good grief, calm down, heart.
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