"I thought the Primrose Path investigation was handled only by the Brandenburg Investigation Bureau and the Federal Governnt Prosecutor General's Office, I never dread Bavaria would also be cooperating. You must be truly pleased to have gotten the scoop that Prussia couldn't capture first."
"......"
I remained silent, suppressing a laugh.
Earlier, before coming to Primrose Path, I stopped by Bavaria.
The tal card the Chairman held was the ID card I made back then.
Naturally, it was fake.
', belonging to so Investigation Bureau.'
Maybe if I were the Bavarian Administrative Minister or the Head of the Counterasure Headquarters, but not this.
I was just grateful that the event I prepared to induce a split between the Chairman and Pleroma had exploded successfully.
With this, his and my interests align.
He gained a justification not to hand over to Pleroma, and at the sa ti, crucial information that held my life in his hands. Thanks to that, I gained ti and opportunity to delve deeper.
Of course, I already have a clue to save the Professor.
But there's one final problem here.
Even if I reveal the Chairman's existence and abilities to claim the Professor's innocence, I cannot provide definitive proof of his innocence, nor can I punish the Chairman.
Putting that reason aside for now, the goal should be to extract as much information about the Chairman as possible. So I can combine it in so way later.
'It'll be a bit tiring...'
I can endure it.
And even excluding that final problem, there's this imdiate issue.
The conditions for Revelation are probably not just one.
If agreent in conversation was the sole condition, this man should have dominated the world long ago. There is definitely sothing more.
"Normally, I would comply with Pleroma's request for re-education... but I cannot tolerate such a slippery character on my street. Especially since the re-education wasn't even properly carried out."
He calls the process of giving a 'Revelation' re-education. I heard that term back with Asman too.
"Let's do this. If we find common ground, I will send you back to your Excellency. But if we cannot, you will have to stay under ."
"Who decides that?"
"Isn't 'whose fault is it?' a more accurate question? Since this wouldn't have happened if your preparation was more thorough, let's say I'm solving your mistake on my own terms."
He sat down matching my eye level and asked with his tone.
"You want to go back, don't you?"
"To where?"
"You should go ho. Don't you want to rest comfortably, drinking warm tea where your loving family is?"
Instead of answering, I stared intently at him.
At that mont, I felt a pain in my head.
He grabbed my hair, lifted up, and t my gaze.
"I've never seen anyone who doesn't want to go ho in this situation."
"......"
I looked at him calmly and smiled.
I never said I didn't want to go ho.
'This guy can tell whether I agree or not without even answering.'
He must have used his ability on after asking the question, and it didn't work.
It's a good ability.
I looked into his clear eyes and twisted the corner of my mouth.
"Now that I see you, Chairman, you're quite emotional. What, perhaps you've lost your anger managent ability because your trump card didn't work?"
"......"
The Chairman remained silent with a benevolent face.
Then he smiled with a benevolence that was hard to believe he was the person who had just attacked my solar plexus with his full weight.
"Is life in the Investigation Bureau enjoyable?"
"Not particularly."
"I understand. There's nothing as tiring as organizational life."
"It's not the organization that's tiring."
It might sound like wordplay, but I was sincere.
He would know better than anyone now that I wasn't joking. Because his ability wouldn't have worked.
"I see. I'm not much different. More importantly..."
The Chairman looked around and stroked his chin.
"I belong to several places, so I have multiple things I must do every day. Recently, things haven't gone according to plan, so I spend most of the day working. Sotis I wonder if I'll just close my eyes in my sleep and never wake up."
"......"
"How about it? Can you understand my feelings?"
I just smiled.
His intentions were obvious.
'He's suspicious.'
Whether I am Nicolaus or not.
Since Nicolaus lives with his face concealed, the suspicion that he might be doing other things under the identity behind the mask is rational. Moreover, if soone has infiltrated this far looking for him, it's perfectly reasonable to suspect him of being Nicolaus.
The Chairman laughed and looked into my eyes for a long ti, then clucked his tongue and shook his head with the sa expression.
"......"
It wouldn't work.
I had never made any judgnt about my workload, and right now, if I were to be strict, my feeling is the opposite of what he said.
The Chairman opened his mouth softly.
"Earlier, you called it a trump card. That wasn't a trump card."
"Then?"
"Think carefully. Whether your dissolute tendencies are false or true, from my perspective, you are optimal to be the protagonist of a new business."
He leaned his face closer and whispered.
"I an, there's a way to throw you right into that Old Human Venus flytrap."
"Hahaha..."
"It must not be welco, as it's sothing you've never considered even once in your life. I understand."
As I just twisted the corner of my mouth instead of answering, he laughed, shaking his head as if surprised.
He isn't afraid, so his ability wouldn't have worked this ti either.
Anyway, things wouldn't go his way, and even if they did, I've beco a master at enduring.
"Shall we create a new common ground? If you're not afraid, then I suppose I'll have to make you afraid."
The Chairman lightly tapped the floor twice with his cane.
CRASH!
A deafening roar, as if a door had been torn off, was heard. People in black robes entered the room.
If I wasn't afraid, he would make afraid.
It was a statent whose future was clear.
I reflexively pulled up the corners of my mouth and clenched my fists tightly.
* * *
Thump—
"......"
Thump—
'For the wages of sin is death...'
"...but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans chapter 6."
"......"
"It's a verse that's like the heart of Pleroma. Are you feeling better?"
I felt the water clinging to my hair touching my face and dripping, and slowly lifted my eyelids.
Similarly, water covered my eyes, making it impossible to see the world properly.
The familiar sll of blood from monts ago stung my nostrils anew.
"They said you lost consciousness for a while, so I ca to wake you up myself."
I closed my eyes again.
Sleepiness washed over .
The lighting in the room I had been moved to was just right, dark enough to sleep no matter what he said.
"You must be in a lot of pain. How difficult it must be. You probably want to go back now..."
A warm voice, mixed with worry, lingered in my ears.
Perhaps my eardrum had burst, as the sound in one ear already sounded like soone was speaking from far away.
He lifted my head and examined my eyes. Fortunately, even amidst all this, the hair covering my vision was bright gold. My eye color, which I had probably changed to gold as well, would also remain the sa.
He looked at with a worried face, then after a long while, he laughed in disbelief and shook his head.
"...Amazing. Don't you actually want to go back?"
"......"
"You're an impenetrable fortress. You don't want to go ho, you don't care if I throw you among the Old Humans, and you don't feel like giving up even when you're beaten... Perhaps training specializing in torture? I don't know if the Bavarian Investigation Bureau is training detectives or special agents."
He's wrong.
I'm not even part of the Investigation Bureau to begin with.
I thought, half-falling asleep.
"No matter how much of a special agent you are, New Humans are people who grew up being doted upon in warm mansions..."
His words ca through disjointedly.
"If the situation wasn't enough, you can experience it a bit more."
After that, no sound was heard.
I realized he had already gone out when soone holding a hamr grabbed my hand and moved it to the armrest of a chair.
* * *
I don't know how many hours had passed.
Soone lifted my head.
Splash—
The cold air hitting my face flowed into my lungs. My head started aching terribly.
I coughed, repeatedly taking deep breaths and expelling the water.
Soone's voice above echoed loudly. Now I could barely understand what he was saying.
[You didn't open your mouth no matter what I did all this ti, but now that I've put you in water, you finally manage to open your mouth.]
"Cough...! Cough."
[You must want to stop here, don't you? I understand.]
"......"
[I'll send you back as you wish. Isn't this what you wanted?]
I continued to regulate my breathing while letting out a laugh.
I don't know if it was conveyed that way, as the corners of my mouth were already split open.
One thing was certain: he had failed this ti too. Perhaps even if he kept here for another 24 hours, my thoughts wouldn't change.
As expected, he also realized his strategy had completely gone wrong, and he clucked his tongue, shaking his head.
[This is a disease at this point.]
Where did I hear that phrase?
It didn't take long to rember.
I heard it from Strauch.
I think so too. Based on what he said a few days ago, Leo probably thinks so too.
[Are you aware that the instinct you should have to protect your body is not functioning properly? I don't know if you've already received this level of training at the Investigation Bureau, or if you have poor mory and are going to forget everything anyway, or if you've given up because you think you can't go back anyway...]
I heard the sound of him taking sothing out of his clothes.
[Why don't you tell ? You must know the reason for this insensitivity.]
He touched my arm for a long ti, found a vein, and stuck a needle in deeply.
The faint sll of blood wafted in.
"...What..."
[What am I drawing for? Naturally, I'm drawing it to drink.]
However, instead of drinking the blood, he injected it into another bottle.
In this state of sensory fatigue, the sll of blood ca across as stimulating, making my stomach churn.
[Actually, I already drank one bottle, and it's quite strange that I need to drink more because that wasn't enough. I've only experienced this twice in my life. The other person was a very eccentric individual.]
'...Good.'
I've learned one more condition for Revelation.
Earlier, the Chairman called the street created by spatial magic 'the Primrose Path as I perceive it'.
In the catacombs too, he converted the images in my thoughts and mories into spatial magic. But that was only possible after I had taken the drug.
He pulls out images from my mind with spatial magic without even giving the drug?
He drinks the blood and gains the authority to intervene with the target.
This must be the closest inference to the truth.
'This ability is more like Pleroma's than anyone else's.'
He is the Pleroma of Pleromas.
Pleroma drinks blood to replenish Magic Power and gives baptism, but that's it. This man doesn't stop there; he can control the target after drinking their blood.
This is why he must think he is too valuable to be tied to a denomination.
To take Vitriol and then plan to create a new denomination... It's unfortunate for Pleroma, who is likely to give everything and be betrayed.
[If only bad things keep happening, you don't even know it's a bad thing, so let's have a calm conversation again. It seems you're interested in blood, after all.]
"......"
[I cannot help but appreciate Pleroma's elaborate resurrection philosophy and the ability of Vitriol, but I find one thing unreliable. Do you know how the resurrection they claim is achieved?]
How is it achieved, indeed.
Even the thods of baptism and blessing are unknown to outsiders, so would they really reveal the core technology of actually raising corpses?
[You don't know, do you? 99% of Pleroma don't know the process and principles either. anwhile, they only repeat that the blood of the covenant has co to save the children from death. Do they truly possess the blood of the Son of Man? No, it's highly likely they use so other profane dium to resurrect, and for legitimacy, they borrowed the the of blood from the Bible and packaged it plausibly.]
Saying that, he shifted to an unrelated topic.
[Magic depends on human cognitive ability. The aning and holiness contained in a Spell allow it to fully borrow God's authority. In that sense, have you ever heard of a magic Spell that involves blood?]
No.
The Ministry of Magic absolutely never registers Spells involving blood in official magic incantations, even if they are core verses from the Bible.
[No, you haven't. Why? Because no one can use magic with a blood Spell. But unlike them, I can take blood and get close to the life of others. That's the ability Pleroma truly lacks.]
He laughed, truly satisfied.
That's right.
If he can utilize blood, surpassing Pleroma's ability, he's fit to be a cult leader. Of course, I'll have to eliminate that.
He flicked his Wand, drawing a chair from the corner towards , and sat down.
[You are not a Buddhist. Romans 6:23... To reflexively recite a verse even while your consciousness hasn't fully returned, I am touched by your loyalty.]
"......"
[That's good. If it's true that you converted knowing that He atoned for our sins, then only eternal punishnt like hell...]
"Let it be."
My voice, unfamiliar after not speaking properly for so long, scratchily grated against my throat.
After a long silence, my opponent replied.
[I apologize. It seems religious talk has gotten on your nerves. I thought we were almost there, but the common ground disappears at the crucial mont, starting from earlier.]
It seems there are types of agreent.
Perhaps to use his ability, he needs to obtain agreent on more intimate and profound matters?
As is the case with most magic, the conditions for activating the ability would vary depending on the target's rank.
Since it doesn't work well on , he must need to obtain more agreent.
He leaned forward to et my gaze.
[To you, I am soone to be judged. Why is that? If you are soone determined to judge the world, shouldn't you rightly uphold justice? The evil nature and ignorance of Old Humans cannot coexist with the truth of New Humans, and justice rests solely in the hands of us New Humans, the wise ones.]
"Do you think New Humans are significantly different? Are you unaware that everything you're saying now is no different from the evil nature of Old Humans you so despise?"
[The wicked have been judged for generations, and Old Humans still live in Sodom. I will save them before they perish. Therefore, my business is beneficial to all humanity. Providing primal pleasure to Old Humans, and granting eternal rule to New Humans, that is my religion and my business.]
When I didn't answer, he laughed and stood up.
[As expected, you don't agree. Further conversation seems pointless. See you later.]
"No."
At my words, he froze and turned back.
"Is your na really Abraham?"
[Of course.]
"No."
I squeezed out the last of my strength, lifted my head, and looked him straight in the eye.
He was staring intently at as well.
"You are Gregorio."
The Chairman stood still, his mouth slightly open.
[...Hahahaha! Where did you hear that? You keep exceeding my expectations. That's a na only Pleroma knows. If that's the case, are you a spy sent by Pleroma to kill ...]
He burst into laughter and approached .
[Or... truly Nicolaus.]
The mont I was about to sneer at those words, my eyes went wide.
Just a little, but my Core felt lighter.
I hadn't even realized it felt suppressed until now, but now I clearly did.
[......]
The Chairman raised his head and looked into the air.
He had definitely felt sothing too.
But his expression remained calm. He looked down at and spoke gently.
[Did you prepare this? Why don't you try attacking?]
I didn't prepare this. I don't know what's happening either.
'Anyway...'
It's an opportunity.
Of course, for an opportunity, he was looking down at with a very calm face.
I know why he is so confident.
'His ntal Power was -6.0, and 8.0.'
Marco Schreiber has a ntal Power of -6.0. However, for so reason, he currently has a ntal Power of 8.0.
His other stats also show a stark difference, enough to consider him a different person.
What does this an?
The person currently dominating his brain has a ntal Power of 8.0.
That is not Marco Schreiber...
'It's Gregorio's ntal Power.'
The problem I thought of earlier, the reason I 'cannot provide definitive proof of innocence and cannot punish the Chairman', was exactly this.
He is standing before using soone else's body.
[Do you think you can attack and get out? Now that things have co to this, let tell you a secret.]
He approached again, bent down, and spoke close to my ear.
[This is not my body.]
That's why he didn't drink my blood earlier but put it in another bottle. He probably intends to go back now and give it to his own body.
If I turn back ti and accuse Marco Schreiber as the culprit, Gregorio will never use his body again.
And he will use another person's body to operate in Primrose Path and create his denomination.
Again, the real culprit escapes, and only soone else's physical body is punished.
'It's completely hopeless.'
Whatever threat I pose to Marco, the Chairman just needs to withdraw from that body.
Therefore, in the next tiline, I must claim the Professor's innocence and simultaneously et the *real* Chairman.
This is what I need to see at that ti.
Marco Schreiber's Title.
'Chairman.'
Even the Status Window's Title calls Marco Schreiber the Chairman.
My Title settled on the uninteresting na 'Sir Nicolaus' after passing through '??? Hunter' because people perceived that way.
That is, Marco Schreiber is already accepted as the Chairman by many people. This ans the Chairman always uses that body for external activities.
And as I've experienced and known since Strauch, I can use a little magic in the air around them.
Since it's entirely using my life force, there's always a clear limit, just like before.
'Opportunities are...'
If I use small spells frequently, I can do it safely about five tis.
If I use large spells, maybe once or twice. Any more than that, I'll lose consciousness.
Especially in a situation where my body is not healthy, the consumption will be even greater.
[Even if you are Nicolaus and cast brainwashing on , the body's owner won't be able to answer anything.]
He smiled with a benevolent face.
[Even if you attack, it's no problem for at all. I'm sorry you can't use the device you prepared.]
―Therefore...
As I quietly opened my mouth, the Chairman tilted his head and looked at .
*CRASH!*
I broke the chair and thrust out my hand.
There was no strength in my broken hand, but it was fine because I had drawn out Magic Power.
*BOOM—!*
I checked him through my blurry vision. Fortunately, my Magic Power targeting was good. Because I released all my Magic Power in one go to knock him down, I felt sharp pain in my Core.
Anyway, he said he was sorry.
There's no need for that at all.
*BOOM-CRASH— BANG—!*
I put up a barrier against the incoming Vitriol and suppressed him with Magic Power. I groped the floor, and the water that had been used on earlier sared my hand.
―Go therefore...
"What..."
―and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the na of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age!
The Chairman's face, which had maintained composure throughout, contorted.
An expression of not understanding my actions, as if asking what the hell I was doing, flashed across his face.
'Of course.'
I just gave him a baptism.
I said that in the next tiline I must claim the Professor's innocence and simultaneously et the real Chairman.
First of all, to et the real Chairman's physical body, I have to et this person in the next tiline as well, and to do that, I have to get baptized by Ludovika and be dragged here again.
'How can I do this crazy thing again?'
I can't do that.
The trace of a legitimate baptism remained even after turning back ti.
The Chairman, who is using Marco Schreiber's body, will notice that sothing unusual has happened to the mind of the body he likes to use in the next tiline.
With this, in the next tiline, I can et Marco Schreiber without going through this tedious process.
Because I used magic in the air that was blocking magic, I felt sharp pain in my Core. The barrier broke, and pitch-black Vitriol lood before my eyes.
'Retry...'
I have to use it.
I cannot go on like this. I felt my consciousness fading and bit my tongue hard.
*CRASH!*
[...Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.]
At that mont, my ears beca muffled. Light poured into my vision.
It was a familiar voice.
Ivory hair ca into my blurry vision. The mont I recognized the face of a person who shouldn't be here, my eyes went wide.
"...Lucas!"
Leo was gripping my shoulder.
"Turn it back!"
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