Evil God-chan’s analytical skills either equaled or surpassed mine. Despite her power being reduced to just 7%, her sharp intuition and wisdom gained through centuries of experience remained intact. So much that she could easily detect even the slightest cracks in my or Pink-Haired Lesbian’s Poker Face.
When it came to someone like Yuna, whose emotions were practically broadcasted on her face, reading her was a piece of cake for Evil God-chan.
With just a few questions and a quick study of Yuna’s expressions, Evil God-chan could grasp the entire situation and deduce the correct answer.
She uncovered the truth about me—that I was once a woman who shook the continent to its core and even managed to charm the Grand Duke of the North.
And the result of that was…
“Puhahahahahahaha──!!”
“Stop.”
“Heu, euheu, ahhahahahahahack──!! Hiiick⋯⋯!”
“Stop goddamn laughing, you punk!!”
The laughter persisted for a full ten minutes. This damned son of a bitch.Evil God-chan was unfazed by the blows of my indignation and embarrassment. She clutched her stomach and rolled on the floor, laughing so hard she seemed to be adding an extra 10 years to her lifespan. They say laughter extends life after all.
Meanwhile, my own life felt like it was being drained away. I was about to die of anger.
Biting down on a handkerchief to manage my fury like a refined noblewoman, Pink-Haired Lesbian only pretended to tap on my shoulder as she spoke.
“Why are you so sensitive all of a sudden? You’ve boasted to me before about your skills in charming men. Weren’t you even a little proud of it?”
“If it’s her teasing me, I get pissed instead of amused, okay? You’re different. I actually enjoy everything you do to me.”
“⋯⋯It is a unsettling. To hear things like that out of the blue. Please warn me in advance next time.”
What in the world had I said that required a warning ahead of time?
Evil God-chan, still snickering from the aftermath of her laughter, wiped away her tears and sidled up beside me.
“So? So?”
“So what.”
“Well⋯⋯ I was asking if you had any feelings for the Grand Duke of the North. I mean, the daughter with the blood of a man who you used to hang around with, is right in front of you. Are you jealous, by any chance?”
“It wasn’t that kind of relationship, ‘Daisy’ and I were just friends, I’m a man, and it’s not even confirmed that she’s really his daughter.”
Honestly, the reason I stopped seeing Daisy was because the Grand Duke of the North got a fiance.
From what I’d heard, he hadn’t gotten divorced or anything, so it must’ve been around that time he settled down, got married, and started a family.
But how could he already have a daughter this old?
Evil God-chan burst into laughter again, mocking me for giving the Northern Grand Duke the nickname “Daisy.” She found it ridiculous that I’d call a man by such a flowery name.
I seriously considered putting Evil God-chan in an armbar.
Yuna, who remembered what I was like back then, chimed in. During my early days with illusion magic, when I wasn’t skilled in most aspects of it, she often helped me stabilize and maintain holograms.
As someone familiar with the Grand Duke, Yuna paused to calculate something, tilting her head as question marks floated around her.
“You’re right, timeline-wise⋯⋯ it doesn’t add up, does it?”
“Yes. That young lady’s age⋯⋯ seems to be at least fifteen. When did I even create Heart?”
“It was the Lion Calendar Year 445. The year Heart graduated and disappeared was 448.”
“It’s currently 453. Even if ‘Daisy’ had perfect timing, got married, and had a child immediately, it would only have been eight years at most. If the difference is this large, it would be hard to even call this an error. ”
Something about this wasn’t adding up.
This contradiction could easily be resolved if the young lady was just an impostor faking a bloodline connection to the Grand Duke of the North. However, I doubted that was the case.
The link between Daisy and this young lady was clear. Her striking sky-blue hair was an unmistakable mark of Northern lineage, and I had confirmed her background through a series of questions.
These included insider details I had heard directly from Daisy, and stuff you would only know after years of living in his mansion⋯⋯ and even questions like if bookshelf made out of mahogany was still there.
The young lady answered every question correctly, even nailing the trap question flawlessly. It left no doubt that this unlucky girl who had been abducted by that crazy Paladin was indeed a member of the Northern Grand Duke’s family.
But then, where did this baffling eight-year age gap come from?
Could she have been someone who matured unusually quickly during adolescence?
Or could it have something to do with why she was traveling so far south with only two attendants?
Regardless, none of these speculations were important matters. As Daisy’s old friend, I felt a sense of duty to help his daughter and honor our friendship. But that was as far as it went.
I had no intention of abandoning our family trip for her sake. It would only be until our destination
If she wanted, I could leave her in a nearby city with some travel funds, or we could take her along and contact the Northern Grand Duke’s household on her behalf.
While I concentrated on the individual in front of me, Yuna seemed to be considering the broader perspective. She murmured to herself.
“The Grand Duke Family of the North, what could possibly be happeningggg⋯⋯.”
“Tower Master, are you suspicious of something?”
“Eueung. Do you remember the think-tank Irid organized by any chance?
I did. Oh, how delighted I was back then to get so many materials that easily. The members were quite an odd bunch too: a mage from the Red Tower, Bloodwind Princess Elaine, and…
“He introduced himself as⋯⋯ former Cardinal, now War Priest Julius. His surname matched the Grand Duke of the North. Could he be his brother?”
Ah, right. There was someone named Jul-something too.
At the time, I hadn’t paid much attention, assuming the similar names were a coincidence. But now, in hindsight, they might have been from the same family.
Back then, I was completely isolated from the outside world and consumed entirely by my research, so I didn’t know the weight of titles like “Cardinal.” But now, with more worldly experience, it was different.
The Goddess was an immensely powerful being, and the divine power she bestowed was monopolized by her Church. So, a Cardinal within that structure wielded immense authority.
To think someone had briefly held such a position of influence…
So, the current situation of the Northern Grand Duke’s family boiled down to this:
1. Daisy was still the Grand Duke of the North.
His brother was a religious man, had once been a Cardinal but was fired. His eldest daughter’s timeline didn’t add up, and she was far from the Northern territories for unclear reasons.
Compiling all this information, I felt an unsettling sense of foreboding. As an old friend, I couldn’t help but worry. ‘Daisy’, what are you going through right now?
Even though I had abandoned my old identity as Heart, I still believed in our bond of friendship.
Once I dealt with all the matters at hand right now, maybe I should investigate a little about it⋯⋯.
“What, are you worried sick over your boyfriend that you spent a day with?”
“You’re beyond saving. Let me demonstrate the destructive power of the joint lock.”
“That, AAAAAAACK──!!”
I applied a Sensitivity Amplified Armbar on Evil God-chan without an ounce of mercy.
The sight was apparently so jarring that the young lady turned to Pink-Haired Lesbian and, in a tone of utter bewilderment, asked,
“I, is that okay to do⋯⋯?”
“Ah, don’t worry. Lady Ervasilion. That girl isn’t what she seems. She’s a being closer to a captured demon, so keep that in mind. Also⋯⋯ do you like women by any chance?”
“Pardon?”
“Hey Pink-Haired Lesbian! If you’re going to flirt with the young lady, don’t forget about me! You do realize you’ve been neglecting me lately, right⋯⋯?!”
And like that, time passed.
=============================================================== We decided to take a brief rest in the village. The young lady was in a frail state, and we had unresolved matters to investigate.
So, I postponed the opportunity to sit down and speak with the young lady for a more suitable time.
Once again, we divided into two teams. Yuna and Yuri were tasked with caring for the young lady, helping her recover her strength through proper eating and rest.
Meanwhile, Evil God-chan and I took on the responsibility of searching the village.
I could sense traces of the Queen lingering on the corrupted Paladin, so there might be a hidden altar or magic circle somewhere in this village. If we were uprooting weeds, we might as well get rid of them completely from the roots.
“Is it here?”
“It looks like it’s here.”
Tuck. Our steps stopped simultaneously.
The overpowering stench of the Queen’s influence was unmistakable. I kicked open the door and stepped inside, with Evil God-chan following close behind.
The building seemed to have been used by the Paladin, but its interior was crudely modified so that it would look like a cathedral. There was a podium in the far corner of the room, and there was a glass bottle carefully placed on top of it.
The moment Evil God-chan spotted the bottle, she hurriedly dashed forward.
“⋯⋯ I’ll get it, so just wait, Mima!”
“⋯⋯? Wait.”
Why was she suddenly acting like a loyal golden retriever when I hadn’t given her any orders? This wasn’t like her—highly suspicious.
Snap!
I snapped my fingers, activating the Golden Headband. In an instant, ropes shot out from Evil God-chan’s choker, swiftly binding her entire body.
It was a straightforward and flawless full-body restraint. Evil God-chan, mid-sprint, toppled to the ground with a thud at the same speed, unable to move.
“Eugyak!”
“Don’t do anything reckless. Stay still, kid—I need to run some tests.”
I approached the podium and uncorked the glass bottle. Even at a glance, it was clear that it contained traces of the Queen’s information, but Evil God-chan’s suspicious behavior made me want to examine it even closer.
I narrowed my eyes and carefully looked at the color. It was colorless.
“⋯⋯D, don’t do it! Don’t look!”
I brought the bottle closer and sniffed it. The familiar seductive, corrupting essence of the Queen’s information was unmistakable, but something about it seemed off—it felt as though it had been altered or corrupted with something else.
The only way to confirm would be to taste it.
“Don’t doooo ittttt──!!”
Evil God-chan flailed her arms desperately, her face reddening. My hand, which had been tilting the bottle, paused mid-motion as I considered her reaction.
The Queen’s Information. During the final battle, Yuna had supposedly erased all traces of it using 『Subtraction』. But what if some fragments had been overlooked, and Evil God-chan had eaten them like a pig?
If she realized I had forgotten this detail, what if her anger spiraled out of control, triggering the Golden Headband’s fail-safe mechanism?
And while trying to repress her Malice, if Evil God-chan had spilled Queen’s information by losing control of her body…
If she ate the Queen’s excess information, she knew she would get scolded if she didn’t tell me about it. But if she was being silent because she would need to explain what had happened during that time, then…
Everything connected.
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
A tense silence settled over us. Slowly, I turned my gaze toward Evil God-chan. Her expression looked like that of a student praying, ‘Please tell me he couldn’t find my hidden grade report’.
This same mischievous troublemaker who was mocking my v-tuber stories now sat drenched in nervous sweat and kept mumbling. Whenever I tried to make eye contact, she quickly avoided it.
Her furrowed brow seemed to say she had nothing to hide, yet her trembling body betrayed her.
I smiled serenely like a saint as I delivered a single sentence.
“You did it, didn’t you?”
“⋯⋯⋯⋯!!”
Flinch. Evil God-chan’s body showed undeniable panic.
I smiled brightly. And the meaning behind that smile, our smart Evil God-chan, seemed to understand what it meant.
“No, nonono! Hey, wait! Don’t do it!”
“Heuuuup──.”
“Whatever you’re about to do, don’t even think about it! I swear I’ll kill you in your sleep at ni⋯⋯.”
“──GUYS!! EVIL GOD-CHAN JUST CONFESSED TO DRAWING A MAP ON HER BLANKET AT HER AGE!! AND FANATICS ARE LOOKING AT THAT BLANKET AND WORSHIPPING IT!!”
“HEY──!!”
Clutching the glass bottle, I dashed through the building, shouting loud enough for the whole world to hear. I needed to inform the Pink-Haired Lesbian and Yuna about this glorious revelation.
Completely bound, Evil God-chan couldn’t keep up with the speed of my free limbs. Even if she somehow managed to catch up, there was no way she could make me keep my mouth shut, so…
“Wow, how did you live that long and still wet your bed?”
“⋯⋯I’ll kill you! I’ll make sure you can’t die peacefully, Crazy Wizaaaard!”
“Honestly, threats from an isekai hydro map-maker don’t scare me”
“EUAAAAA!!”
Watching Evil God-chan’s face turn red as a tomato from pure embarrassment was more than enough entertainment. Even plain biscuits would taste like a gourmet dessert at this moment.
The young lady’s expression grew increasingly weird as time went on, but⋯⋯.
For now, today’s score between Evil God-chan and me stood at one-to-one. A perfect tie.
===============================================================
The infamous Evil God-chan Map-Making Incident had now been officially recorded. One thing was clear—some remnants of the 『Succubus Queen’s Information』she leaked was out there somewhere in the world.
According to her reluctant confession, the leak occurred roughly a week ago in the Elmest Estate. The corrupted information likely hadn’t spread far yet and was probably still circulating within the region.
While we were en route to fulfill the promise Evil God-chan had made to the boy, but…
A new side quest had conveniently fallen into our laps: To recover the remaining fragments of the Queen’s information. It didn’t seem too difficult.
“Specialized Tracking Magic complete.”
“⋯⋯Fucking monster.”
Because, of course, I had created a tracker.
Step step. Pink-Haired Lesbian pulled the carriage. I sat comfortably in the driver’s seat, fanning her, while the young lady gawked in disbelief at the sight of a person pulling a carriage.
Elmest Estate was straight ahead.
As the forest passed by, a thought suddenly struck me, so I pulled out a notebook to jot it down.
The Queen had impersonated the Goddess to manipulate the Paladin. It was highly unlikely that the Paladin was the only one corrupted. There were likely few others.
These individuals probably carried remnants of the 『Queen’s Information』 as well. So this short trip would double as an opportunity to root out the corrupt members of the Church of the Goddess.
This was a small window of opportunity.
I could use them as subjects to learn about the Goddess.
At the top of the page, I wrote『Goddess Analysis』. Below that, I wrote the number 1, and recorded what I had figured out.
When the Paladin succumbed to the Queen’s temptations, indulged in lust, murdered the innocent, and trafficking innocent lives, he continued to receive divine power. No divine retribution ever befell him.
A ruler is often expected to act without sentiment, so it would not be surprising if the entity governing this world carried an equally detached heart of winter.
The heavens and earth, indifferent by nature, would regard all beings as mere dogs made of straw.
In summary:
1. The Goddess does not distinguish between good and evil. Or, she places minimal value on such concepts.
***
https://ko-fi.com/genesisforsaken