Of course, it only almost happened. I didn't actually spray tea across the Headquarters Chief's face.
On the contrary, my expression barely changed from the moment I took a sip. The sudden question hit me in the back of the head. In fact, ever since I first came into contact with Verita, I was able to maintain my composure because I was always mentally tense. After all, the Hero Society wasn't a place where I could completely relax.
I swallowed the tea as naturally as possible before replying, "I don't understand the intent of your question."
"Really? Then I will change it. Did you know that Sister Razbet is a member of the Dark Church?" Taon asked directly.
Damn. This time, my poker face and composure really came close to breaking.
I remained silent for the moment. I did not know whether silence was the right choice in a situation like this, but I did know that speaking before I had organized my thoughts would be the worst possible move. I could come up with an excuse for my sudden silence later.
Taon, however, had no intention of giving me time to think. "Why did you suddenly go quiet? Are you flustered? Feeling guilty? That's suspicious. Are you also a church member?"
"That is absurd," I said. "Are you seriously treating me as a church member? Do you know what my last name is?"
"Goodspring?" Taon laughed. "I'm joking. It's Badniker."
He looked like a naive boy, but it was impressive that the Badniker name didn't intimidate him.
Taon continued, "Even a priest was hiding in your fortress-like family, right?"
He actually knows about Juan. That made me curious. Had the Iron-Blooded Lord told him directly, or did Taon have his own information network?
"This is an era where we have to consider every possibility imaginable. For example, isn't it plausible that someone with Badniker blood could be a church member?"
I said, "By that logic, the Headquarters Chief of the Hero Society could also be a priest."
"Right?"
I looked at Taon as he casually brushed off my sarcasm.
The owner of this annoying face might actually be a great strategist. So calling Heero in with me, pretending to sleep at the desk, and even offering tea before bringing up Verita... All of it might have been part of his elaborate plan.
His half-closed eyes no longer contained the same intensity as before, but they still carried a strong presence. Was he really the same young man I had first seen slumped on the desk?
"So what is your relationship with Sister Razbet?" Taon asked, returning to the original topic.
I couldn't remain silent any longer, so I sighed and finally spoke. "I don't know. I met her for the first time after coming here, so what could I possibly know?"
"Yet she keeps clinging to you?"
"That's right," I replied. "Well, I'm used to it."
Taon looked puzzled. "What are you used to?"
I brushed my hair back and offered the excuse I had already prepared. "I am a bit popular."
Shit.
Taon stared at me without smiling or sneering. After a short pause, he spoke again. "Well, let's go with that for now. So, the Popular Luan Badnicker?"
I never thought I would end up with a nickname I hated more than Golden Fairy.
"Yes," I said flatly.
Taon continued, "As I just said, Sister Razbet is a member of the Dark Church—"
"I'm sorry to interrupt you, but I'm actually doubtful about that."
"What are you doubtful about?"
"Sister Razbet is a nun of the Seventy-Two Churches, isn't she? In addition, I saw that she can wield a great deal of divine power. She may have a radical side, but she used it in a righteous way to kill many church members," I reasoned.
Taon nodded. "That is true."
"She also appears to be trusted within both the Seventy-Two Churches and the Hero Society. I find it hard to believe that someone like he is a member of the Dark Church," I concluded.
Taon hummed. "I see. You want me to provide some plausible evidence first?"
In short, yes. I couldn't press him directly, so I phrased it more tactfully.
He told me, "In fact, there is no evidence."
"I see."
"Look at you," Taon said. "You don't believe me now?"
"No," I replied bluntly.
"Ah, really. You are bothersome in a different way from your father." Taon scratched his disheveled hair before saying, "Honestly, it doesn't matter whether Razbet is a church member or not. I have no intention of harming her. At the very least, not right now."
After that, Taon took another swig of his drink.
Was he an alcoholic? Alcohol was supposed to dull the mind, but for some reason, his eyes seemed to sharpen the more he drank.
"That isn't something the Headquarters Chief of the Hero Society should be saying," I noted.
"That is true, so just don't repeat it anywhere else."
I raised an eyebrow. "And if I do?"
"Well... what would happen..." Taon's sentence trailed off as he rose from his chair.
A flicker of nerves ran through me. I quietly circulated my internal energy, ready to react at any time.
Taon walked past me, returned to his desk, and collapsed onto it.
The sight was almost pitiful. Still, I used the pause to organize my thoughts.
What is this man up to? How much does he know and what is the purpose? No. Before that... Is he a clear threat to me?
It was hard to say. I had too little information. In other words, I had to rattle him in some way to extract more information.
I spoke slowly. "What you just said. Can you take responsibility for it?"
Taon frowned. "What do you mean?"
"You suspect someone with Badniker blood is a church member. If my respected father heard this, he would probably be quite angry." I naturally had very little means of pressuring Taon, so I had no choice but to invoke the Iron-Blooded Lord.
Taon rolled his eyes and chuckled, his cheek still pressed against the desk. "Ah. Really? Then go ahead and tell him."
"Should I?" I drawled. "While I am at it, I should tell him that Razbet is a church member."
His laughter stopped for a moment. To me, the silence felt like a punch that had somehow landed squarely on his chin.
I smiled. "I believe the family head will kill Razbet for being a church member and then hold you accountable for covering it up. What do you think?"
If Taon really knew my identity as a priest of the Colorless Demon King, he would see through this threat at once. For me to summon the Iron-Blooded Lord would be no different from summoning a ravenous beast to eat me.
On the contrary, if he takes a step back here...
Taon spoke. "You are fiercer than I expected. Are you really fifteen years old?"
I shook my head. "I turned sixteen this year."
"I see. You seem experienced." Taon straightened and looked at me, then nodded slowly. "Very well. As expected, if I push too hard for easy gains, it will come back to bite me. I'll be a bit honest."
"Please do."
Taon explained, "As you said, Sister Razbet has a rather radical temperament. Don't you think she will be discovered one day because of it? She hides it well for now, but she is definitely a time bomb. That is why I want you to keep a close watch on her and control her if you can. According to the reports, she is quite fond of you."
"I don't understand. If you know that she is a church member, shouldn't you deal with her immediately, or at least arrest her?" I questioned.
"Normally, yes. However, a bigshot like Razbet is different. I am letting her simmer..." he replied. "With a little more effort, I can enjoy a more satisfying meal."
I was confused. "What do you mean?"
"Sister Razbet could lead us to the church's headquarters, or even the Dark Pope."
Honestly, this makes more sense. If that was true, I could understand Taon's unconventional attitude. From the start, I had viewed Verita's very existence as precarious. If no one in the Hero Society had discovered her infiltration, I would've doubted this organization's competence. If they had known from the beginning, then this development was natural.
But... Still, something strangely bothered me. Taon's words made sense, and everything lined up but the explanation felt oddly manufactured. It struck me as a collection of excuses, each one produced at exactly the right moment. He spoke as though he had prepared them in advance.
Of course, there was no logic behind this impression. At best, it was suspicion rooted in a vague sense of unease.
Still, this gut feeling has rarely betrayed me.
I briefly considered it before deciding to test him one last time. "What if I refuse?"
"I will disqualify you as a hero."
"Are you serious?"
"Who knows? Am I serious? Am I joking? One thing is for certain. I am capable of doing it." After saying that, Taon laughed again.
I pressed, "Why me? There are many heroes stronger than I am. Shouldn't you assign one of them to watch her?"
Taon sighed. "I've tried that. It did not work. She noticed them too quickly. Her energy detection is abnormally developed, so we can't secretly watch her."
From his tone, it was clear he had tried to monitor or control Verita more than once.
"Then you appeared. The one person that the cautious Sister Razbet opened her heart to—Casanova, the beautiful boy adored by girls, the ruinous playboy, Golden Fairy Luan Badniker!"
"Ah, great," I grumbled.
"So, will you take the job?"
"Give me a moment to think," I replied.
By then, I felt I had extracted everything I could from him. Now it was time to connect the scattered information together and draw a conclusion.
I didn't believe everything he said. At the same time, I didn't believe it was all a lie. Given his attitude and skill as a strategist, it was highly likely he spoke a blend of truth and lies.
Then how should I determine the truth?
Truth often surfaced revealed in moments of agitation. So when he briefly stopped breathing, the reaction Taon showed had to be genuine.
Today, I witnessed Taon Gludd lose his composure only once. It happened when I mentioned the Iron-Blooded Lord. More precisely, it was when I said I would tell the Iron-Blooded Lord about Verita. In other words, this was the scenario that Taon wanted to avoid the most.
So why did he want to avoid it so badly?
It was when he showed agitation. Think bigger, broader, and freer. I imagined hitting my slightly dull head. In a case like this, it was best to consider the most ridiculous possibilities. That would lead me to a truly ridiculous thought. I let my imagination run wild, and a past conversation with Verita flashed through my mind.
"Do other believers know that you have been in contact with me?"
"That's right."
"How many?"
"Ten people, including me."
"Ten people..."
After that exchange, Verita had added, "Also, you don't have to worry if I leave... If I disappear or can no longer carry out my protection duties, another believer will quickly join you."
Is the Headquarters Chief of the Hero Society a Colorless believer? I immediately rejected that idea. No matter how I looked at it, that conclusion went too far. Even so, the direction of my thinking was not entirely wrong.
A sense of victory rose in my chest as I spoke. "Did you join forces with Sister Razbet?"
"What nonsense is that?" Taon snapped.
"Ah, my wording was awkward." I paused. "Then did you join forces with the Dark Church?"
The moment I said that, Taon's expression changed slightly. "Do you know what you are saying?"
"Of course I do. However, the way you have been acting—"
"Stop." The air around Taon changed in an instant, and the steaming tea froze solid.
I flinched and sprang to my feet by instinct.
"Kneel." The voice echoed as if it came from inside a cave.
At that brief command, the ground beneath me sank. I didn't have time to react. In an instant, the weight on my lower body multiplied dozens of times.
This... I couldn't move as I wanted. I was able to circulate my internal energy, but shaking off this sudden paralysis would take time.
"You have poor manners, young Badniker," Taon said solemnly.
The Headquarters Chief of Hero Society was wielding a power completely different from magic, sorcery, shamanism, or even the blessings.
Before I knew it, his eyes turned gold, and his pupils had split vertically. His pressure was terrifying. Just meeting his eyes made me tremble, and the urge to bow my head was nearly irresistible.
To put it bluntly, even moving my lips felt difficult. I knew that if I stayed silent now, I would be at Taon's mercy forever.
Therefore, I forced myself to speak. "Now I understand why you have held the Headquarters Chief position for 100 years."
I finished speaking and swallowed the blood that had risen in my throat. I had suffered an internal injury just from uttering a few words. Even so, it made sense, given who my opponent was. A minority race had once ruled the continent with unmatched power. In the present era, that race had dwindled to the brink of extinction. They were the only beings capable of enforcing laws through their language alone—dragons.
The gold dragon, Taon Gludd, stared at me.