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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: The Price of an Attack
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The swordmaster effect is incredible.
I inwardly suppressed a laugh at the sight of the frozen Sembus and the Great Sea God’s holy knight.
Those two see me as some incredible saintess, but in reality, I barely did a thing.
I just added a little of my divine power to the aura Seth was exuding. They’d never dream that I'm a saintess who's not even half-baked, possessing a mere ten percent of the required divine power.
“We don’t need to be on good terms, but to think you’d send an assassin after me, a saintess. I must say, I’m quite surprised.”
“…It seems there’s been a misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding?”
I burst out laughing, as if I’d heard something truly amusing.
“I personally caught an intruder who broke into my bedroom with a knife, and you call it a misunderstanding.”
“It is true that I came to retrieve the man currently held by the Sun God’s Grand Temple. But we also do not know why he came here! And of course, we never ordered an assassination!”
Aha, so you’re going to deny it completely.
Well, they can’t let the kidnapping plot itself be revealed, so feigning ignorance is the right move. And according to Jeremy, it’s true they didn’t order an assassination anyway.
“We issue commands to him through divine power, and it seems there was some confusion, causing him to make a mistake. It was an unforeseen accident on our part…”
“An accident?”
At that moment, the aura of Seth, standing behind me, grew twice as sharp.
“I suppose the saintess of the Great Sea God’s Grand Temple is the type to say it’s fine if a vicious, knife-wielding criminal ‘accidentally’ breaks into her bedroom, since it was just an accident.”
Wow, my goodness…
To think it was none other than the straight-laced Seth being this sarcastic. He must be really angry about this.
“…I misspoke. I apologize.”
Sembus apologized with surprising meekness.
I guess even he knows the Great Sea God’s saintess is not that kind of person, right?
She’s the type who would extract information through all sorts of torture before tearing him limb from limb while he’s still alive.
“But we truly never gave such an order. Assassinating you, Saintess, is unthinkable!”
Of course, I wasn’t the target of the assassination, nor was I the original target for the kidnapping planned by the Great Sea God’s Grand Temple.
According to Jeremy, their target was just some random priest.
But Jeremy targeted me.
‘I don't know why. But for some reason, I had this intense urge to approach you, Saintess. Even while being controlled, I still have the instinct not to harm a saintess.’
I don’t know why the target changed to me, Jeremy doesn’t know, and those guys who gave the order don’t know either, so let’s think about it later.
The important thing now is that I was the victim, and I'm more than ready to use that to my advantage.
“So it was just an unfortunate accident… Then to whom should I, the one injured in this accident, complain?”
At my words, Sembus’s face stiffened.
“…Injured, you say?”
“That assassin was no ordinary opponent. Do you think someone like me, who has never fought before, could have subdued him without a single scratch?”
Jeremy, who was cloaked in divine power?
It was only because of my unique constitution; logically, it would have been impossible.
Naturally, that man would think so too.
“It was a truly bloody affair. I swear to the Sun God, it's the first time I've shed so much blood in this life.”
It’s not a lie, is it? It’s true that it’s the first time in this life.
The truth is I coughed up blood while trying to remove the curse, but it’s also true that there was bloodshed.
They cleverly avoided the truth, so I did the same.
“If the High Priest hadn't treated me in time, or if the Sun God's power didn't specialize in healing, I wouldn't even be here facing you right now.”
“Uh, that…”
“So, regardless of the Great Sea God's side of the story, I will be getting ample compensation for this incident.”
Sembus squeezed his eyes shut. I could feel the fury in his tightly clenched fists.
“Understood. We will compensate you. Will money suffice as compensation?”
Oh? What an unpleasant tone.
That one sentence was overflowing with the dismissive attitude of ‘how much could she possibly ask for.’
“However! We will take the one who made the mistake. Revealing our shame would be problematic, so please keep this quiet.”
Calling Jeremy, who holds divine power, a ‘shame.’ They're certainly determined to get him back no matter what.
I suppose I should satisfy that determination, shouldn't I?
“Captain.”
At my call, Seth nodded, walked to the door, and opened it.
“That…!”
Startled by the person revealed through the open door, Sembus shot to his feet.
Jeremy, wearing a pristine black outfit instead of the clothes I had torn to shreds, and High Priest Airic, who was holding him, stood side by side at the door.
“I never thought you’d call a man filled with the Great Sea God’s divine power a ‘shame.’ Well, I suppose he is a very suitable person to send as a saintess's assassin.”
It's not because he's a shame, but because of that divine power that you absolutely must take him back, right?
As if he understood my meaning, Sembus's cheeks quivered.
It seemed he had clearly realized they were in no position to make demands.
“I'll return him. I won’t kill him, harm him, or torture him for information.”
“…”
“Furthermore, I will not make this public.”
Despite the sweet words, Sembus did not look pleased.
Because doing them a favor meant I intended to exact a much greater price in return.
I smiled brightly and spread my hands.
“A ransom of one hundred thousand gold.”
“One hundred…!”
Sembus was horrified.
One hundred thousand gold.
I guess he didn't expect me to ask for so much, huh? There's a limit to how much you can treat someone like a pushover.
“What? You're begrudging the money when I'm offering to quietly hand over a man who holds the Great Sea God's divine power?”
I asked coldly, dropping the honorifics.
Biting his lip hard, Sembus glanced at Jeremy standing by the door. He looked as if he was about to order him to flee on the spot.
“The one holding that assassin is our High Priest. Go ahead and try it if you want.”
“…”
Sembus's face turned pale. Like a cornered rat.
“Will you quietly pay the ransom, or will you get caught here too?”
I kindly gave him two options.
“…One hundred thousand gold is too much. Even the Great Sea God’s Grand Temple cannot procure such a large sum immediately.”
A lie. I know full well how the Great Sea God’s Grand Temple is overflowing with money.
They could definitely scrape it together if they pushed themselves, so his reluctance must be due to fear of the repercussions when he returns to the Grand Temple.
“So you can't pay?”
“I-I can give you twenty thousand gold! But any more than that is truly difficult!”
I burst into a scornful laugh at his desperate cry.
“Hahaha! Twenty thousand gold! I guess he really is the Grand Temple’s shame! To think his ransom is only that much.”
Sembus's face flushed with anger and embarrassment.
But if he shouted that it wasn't true, he'd have to pay more, so he had no choice but to endure it.
Who’s to blame? You should blame your own mouth for calling Jeremy a ‘shame’ in the first place.
“Well, fine. I want to end this headache here, so I'll let you off with twenty thousand gold.”
Ah, how merciful I am.
“…Are you serious?”
“Don't like it? Then hand over one hundred thousand gold.”
“Not at all! I can only thank you for your deep mercy, Saintess.”
Sembus bit his lip hard enough to draw blood as he bowed his head to me.
The truth is, I knew one hundred thousand gold was impossible and just threw it out there. The amount I actually had in mind was ten thousand gold.
For him to offer twice that amount on his own, well, I'm so grateful, aren't I?
“Now that the ransom is settled, shall we discuss the compensation for damages?”
Since I'm so grateful, let's squeeze him for a little more.
“…Pardon?”
As I spoke with a smiling face, Sembus stiffened.
What's there to be surprised about?
“What we've negotiated so far is the assassin's ransom, not compensation for damages. The two are distinctly different matters.”
“Th-that can't… That's…”
“What, you don't want to pay?”
Then I have no choice.
“I'll have to spread a rumor that I, the Saintess, was severely injured in an attack from the Great Sea God's side. Oh! Don't worry. Since you paid the assassin's ransom, I won't reveal his appearance.”
How's that for merciful?
I gave the dazed-looking Sembus a radiant smile.
Honestly, you bastards, who told you to attempt a kidnapping? You have only yourselves to blame.
“So, what will it be?”
There was only one choice he could make, anyway.
The sight of Sembus's face, quietly sinking into despair, was truly a pleasure to behold.
