CH 98

“Just checking here. But what’s the name of the female priest you encountered?”

“It might be Ariane.”

Suzumoto has an unusually cramped face.

“So, the “person she’d fallen in love with that she shouldn’t” in her confession since the day before yesterday is…”

“No, wait, she never…it’s not necessarily me!”

“…when your equipment was burned by the fire dragon, what happened to the netsuke* with [Temptation]?” (*Kimono sash ornament)

When I said that, he was holding his head.

“…I equipped it because it didn’t get burned…”

Yup, I thought it’d be like that.

For now. For now, I could guess a little.

Suzumoto first wore that flashy kimono when he inadvertently fell to the temple. Well, that’s his strongest armor.

And so, in that state, he encountered the priest Ariane…maybe [Temptation] is already in action at that time.

And then, the Demon King Army unveiling party. That was the evening of the day before yesterday.

At that time, even though Suzumoto was wearing a fox mask, he was still in that flashy kimono. It can’t be helped since that’s his strongest equipment.

…that means. From the perspective of Priest Ariane-san. The formula “Suzumoto = flashy kimono = demon king army general” is complete.

However, Ariane-san, by that time, [Temptation] had already taken place. Considering her repentance at noticing that her crush was a general from the Demon King Army, it perfectly matches.

“And with that, you’ll also be dispatched.”

“…it’s quite painful to be at home without doing anything, but this is also quite painful.”

Well, I want you to give up since I think your punishment for laughing has come around.

“Let’s have President think about the scenario.”

“Oi, stop it! If President does it, it’ll be a truly irreparable level scenario!”

“But it’d also be the most rational scenario, definitely.”

When I said that, Suzumoto didn’t make a sound and just shut up with a bitter face.

Yup, maybe President would be happy thinking about it. Yup.

If we could get information from the Priest Ariane-san, I think we’d be one step closer to the Great Priest. Will we act tonight?

After noon, it’s time for everyone to hide and get in touch.

[This is “Asagi”. I found out about the amulet. It seems that it was originally made by a Hero from a long time ago. As you might expect, the effect is invalidation, but it seems like the former Knight Commander who was equipped with it got affected by Utagawa-san’s [Magic Voice], so there should be a loophole somewhere, right? That’s all.]

[Wah, Hagasaki-kun finally did it…!]

[“Ayame” is being noisy! Pass it over! …seriously!? Stop messing around!?]

Yup, thank you very much.

[Uhhm, this is noisy “Ayame”. When I talked to a knight, I got information that the female priest we encountered at the temple was repenting, saying [she had fallen in love with someone she shouldn’t]! That’s all!]

Yeah, we saw and heard that.

[Here…uhm, “Mikan”. The female knight acted normal after that. …I didn’t ask anything about the Knight Commander just in case. …yeah, that’s all.]

Kadomi-kun, thank you for your hard work. You’re so bittersweet fufufufu.

[This is “Moegi”. Uhm, I have 10 priests here. Mystiana-san, Neil-san, Berg-san, and Chase-san don’t seem to be the Great Priest. Err, when I tried the medicine I got from “Sakura”, they fell asleep normally.]

…ahh, I can see President’s face in my mind again…

Kariya used medicine! Is this also due to the otherworld’s good-looking correction? If so, it’s too versatile, this good-looking correction.

Well, seems like most things are only allowed for good-looking guys, I think that’s what this is.

[Err, this is “Tokoyo”. For my side…I was told endlessly about the romance novels that are popular among women these days…it’s amazing, there are a lot of people reading that kind of thing even though it’s the temple here. When I looked at the library, all the corners are filled with romance novels…I wonder if they’re hungry for that because it’s a temple…Ah, that’s it.]

…thank you very much for that. But it’s also useful, maybe.

As expected, Suzumoto has to seduce Ariane-san, so I think it’d be a good idea to extract popular situations from popular romance novels as a reference, but it’s no good, I can’t stop laughing! My abs! Oh, my abs!

[“Head Maid”, are you okay?]

“Sorry, I’m okay.”

When I was laughing, I worried President. Sorry, I’m very fine.

[Then, this is “Sakura”. I handed a new medicine to “Moegi”. Since then, I’ve continued to instill skepticism about religion. And it’s going well. I think some people will separate once it becomes a full-scale war. That’s all.]

Collect information seriously! Don’t preach!

“Yes. This is “Head Maid”. Here’s the main issue. It’s about our lady-killer.”

“Stop that.”

“…uhm, when I checked with our samurai, it turned out that there’s a very high possibility that the Priest Ariane-san, who’s said to be in love, was [Tempted]. Therefore, I think it’s a good idea to infiltrate our samurai to approach Ariane-san! Please give us your opinion!”

[Ahahahaha that’s amazing! That’s seriously amazing! Why not!]

[No objection!]

[I have no opinions.]

[Isn’t it okay?]

[I was wondering why Samurai-dono didn’t work even though we worked so much.]

[Eh…isn’t it okay? …it sounds fun.]

[The scenario will be decided after talking to “Tokoyo” this afternoon. Since we’ll create a romantic setting from trendy romance novels, please be prepared.]

We got support from everyone, and President is still quick to arrange things. That saves trouble, thanks.

“W-wait, it’s dangerous for me to enter the temple.”

[We’ll do something about it. Please play the lady-killer role with confidence.]

Since President said that, Suzumoto can’t escape anymore. Yup. When I looked at him, I found Suzumoto holding his head. Hang in there!

[Write the scenario on a piece of paper and give it to “Minamo”. Is there anyone else reporting? …then, please do your best until this evening. Dismissed.]

Suzumoto didn’t close, so President closed the meeting and dismissed everyone.

Now then, I wonder what to make for lunch.

Hariu contacted me, so I taxied him, made and ate lunch, then taxied him again. While I was sewing Suzumoto’s equipment leisurely, Hariu contacted me.

[Seems like President and Katori did their best so it’s finished. I’ll bring it so I need a taxi, please.]

Ooohh, it’s finally here! I could only smell a toxic substance called [a scenario in which a female priest is seduced based on trendy romance novels written by President]!

When I [Transferred] to the hill near the temple, Hariu was already there and handed me the envelope with a big smile.

“I also read it, but when I thought that Suzumoto would do this, I couldn’t stop laughing, hehehehahaha ahahahahaha.”

“Is it that interesting?”

“It’s interesting because Suzumoto will do it, and there’s also the fact that President and Katori wrote this…ahahahaha!”

Stop it! Stop making me laugh!

“Then I’ll come pick you up this evening, so do your best, Hariu. Fufufufufufu.”

“Yup, I’m mainly escorting Hagasaki-kun. Ahahaha, because if he’s left alone, it might become dangerous.”

Yup, that’s wise. Otherwise, Hagasaki-kun would be in danger.

“I’m back. Here.”

When I came back with [Transfer] and handed over the envelope, Suzumoto received it with a very disgusted face and started reading.

At first, he just had a rather annoyed face.

But as he read on, his face gradually turned more interesting, and by the end, he had a face like he’d seen the end of the world.

“Is it that interesting?”

“…hey, have you read this?”

“Not yet.”

“Read it…”

Hmm, then I’ll do so.

[Implementation is at 21:45 today. The place is the temple’s chapel. For more details, refer to the enclosed map.]

Hmm, when I looked at the map, the chapel is a little east of the center of the temple. Isn’t it close to the courtyard?

[Hariu and Maito will cooperate in invading.]

Suzumoto has no movement skills…in other words, the only people who have movement skills are me and Toriumi, who have [Transfer], and Hariu, who have [Shadow Transfer].

[Moonlight enters the chapel, but if clouds appear, Katori and Hagasaki will do something about it.]

So detailed! They must have called Miura-kun! That Romeo must have given the [Weather Magician] idea!

[When it’s time, Suzumoto will break in and hide his presence next to the door and wait. Priest Ariane will go to the chapel at around 22:00.]

Oh, they even specified the time. Amazing. Did Toriumi do this? Good job.

[Hide for a while after Ariane entered. After hearing the confession halfway, leave. Ariane should notice. When you leave, make your presence known.]

Oh, there’re lines from here.

[Suzumoto: Tonight. The moon is beautiful.]

So….so good!

T-that’s right! The moon should be visible even if they have to use wind magic to make full use of this line! As expected of President!

[Hereafter, respond according to Ariane’s reaction.]

[Ariane (expected): You! Where did you come from!?]

[Suzumoto: I want to see you again before attacking the temple.]

[Ariane (expected): I won’t be fooled! etc…]

[Suzumoto: I came to protect the temple…no, you. (Here, look at Ariane with a serious expression.)]

[Ariane will probably shut up here. If she wants to say something, hug her and she’ll probably shut up.]

[Suzumoto: Please believe me. I’m from the Demon King’s Army, but before that, I’m also a man.]

[Suzumoto: I apologize for misguiding you when we first met. But my current feelings are not a lie!]

[Ariane will probably want to talk at this point. If she does, please make full use of your looks.]

…that’s terrible!

[Suzumoto: The Demon King is now going to kill all the people in this temple.]

Of course, I won’t!

[Suzumoto: If we do, many innocent lives will be sacrificed. That’s why I’m going to talk to the Demon King to at least just fight with the Great Priest and be done with it. I don’t think I’ll be very successful in the current situation…]

[If Ariane became worried about Suzumoto here, it’ll be a success. If you want to get info about the Great Priest, please ad-lib and roll with it. After this, please get the information while referring to the following lines.]

…t-terrible!

[Suzumoto: The Demon King is running out of patience because the Great Priest didn’t appear. At the very least, if he knew where the Great Priest is, he’d delay the invasion of the temple a little more.]

[Suzumoto: I’ll give you information about the Demon King so that the Great Priest can win when it comes to a one-on-one fight between the Great Priest and the Demon King. Does the Great Priest have any means to nullify (say something appropriate) attack?]

[Suzumoto: I can’t stand the meaningless loss of life. And more than that, you can get involved.]

…and the lines for collecting information follow this format, and then…there’s even something where Suzumoto have to show a certain look…examples of lines to troll Ariane continues…and on the last line:

[※The above scenarios and dialogues are based on the trends found in three popular romance novels. Please use it with confidence. If you make full use of that appearance with good-looking correction, the winning percentage is expected to be quite high. Good luck.]

…OH.

Not the hydroxyl group. It’s an exclamation.

However, it’s okay even if it meant the hydroxyl group…I have no words…i-it’s not coming out…!

When I looked up, there was Suzumoto, who’d given up, with a face saying [Right?].

…yeah, this is…this is…this is terrible.