How to Tame That Gentle Male Lead - Chapter 5.2
Renard grinned. Resena patted his back and then looked down at the unconscious culprit tied up below. After tearing a light scroll to brighten the area, Resena removed the robe the culprit was wearing.
“…! As expected…”
“Sister, you were right. He’s a priest of the earth god. He was trying to steal wheat to offer as a sacrifice, damaging the land’s sanctity. He set fire to places where he could offer immediately.”
Looking down at the culprit in his clearly visible priestly garments, she muttered coldly.
“He’s probably a local who knows this area well. But a local priest shouldn’t have any inconveniences, so why did he try to offer this place to the demon god?”
“……”
Renard kept his mouth shut, having a guess. Resena also had an answer to that question in her mind. The corruption of temples wasn’t described just once or twice in novels…
“The priests harbor distrust towards the temple. It’s probably not just one or two reasons, nor simple emotions. Since he tried to become a dark mage to gain power himself…”
“That means, if we get a confession from this guy, a considerable number of dark mages will be exposed in succession.”
“That’s right. Sister. And considering the temple’s recent actions, it’s highly likely that even if they had resentment, they couldn’t reveal it to people and instead turned to dark magic to create the world they envisioned. Even if it’s an imperfect world completed through sacrifices.”
Resena nodded.
Soon, they watched as the knights gagged the culprit and tightly bound his feet and fingers before taking him away. The lighting magic cast on the culprit’s body would allow easy observation no matter what tricks he might try, so those carrying him would be able to handle him well even if he woke up.
Resena took Renard’s hand.
“Good job. Let’s go back and rest now. You haven’t been able to sleep until dawn lately. Let’s rest a bit, and in the morning, we’ll make him spill everything by giving him a truth serum.”
“Sounds good. I was just starting to feel tired.”
Since the sleepyhead hadn’t been able to sleep properly and had stayed up all night, she should let him rest well. Resena patted his arm a few times to show her appreciation. Renard seemed to understand her intention and slowly walked beside her back to where the carriage was.
After resting, as soon as morning came, they headed straight to the interrogation room. The dark mage was blindfolded, with iron gloves on his fingers, tied to a torture chair.
“I don’t think you’ll willingly confess everything.”
Resena said coldly.
“So I’ll use a truth serum. When your confession is all done, I’ll give you poison so you can go comfortably. You can drink it and die. You won’t be lonely since there will be many of your comrades there.”
Resena held the truth serum in her hand. Though it wasn’t certain if he was still unconscious, she put the drug inside the dark mage’s lips and blocked his nose. Then, as he automatically inhaled, the drug went down his throat.
“He’s unconscious. Wake him up.”
“Yes, understood.”
Standing beside Renard, Resena observed as water was splashed onto the dark mage. As consciousness returned to him, he groaned and began to survey his surroundings. Noticing his attempt to remove the blindfold, Resena’s voice cut through the air.
“Don’t bother. We’ve secured it tightly.”
“…Ugh.”
“Let’s get to the point quickly. What’s your name?”
After a moment, as if the truth serum started working, he let out a pained groan. But soon, a hoarse voice began to mumble a name.
“Periot Vader… it is.”
“Alright, Periot Vader. Where do you belong?”
After swallowing, he continued.
“I serve as the 9th priest of the Earth Lumine Temple, a sanctuary dedicated to the earth god in the vicinity…”
‘Surprisingly, he was quite a high-ranking priest. The 9th priest is almost at the level of a high priest. But he became a dark mage?’
Resena was surprised inwardly but didn’t show it. Then she calmly continued her questions.
“That’s quite a high position. Why did you try to become a dark mage? What did you hope to achieve by becoming one?”
He answered slowly.
“…The current temple is too corrupt… The practice of selling priesthood positions for money is becoming more frequent… Not only that, but they even expel people from the temple if they don’t have money. They say it’s to maintain the solemnity of the temple, but those who are expelled are mostly poor people. They aren’t even given the freedom to pray…”
“It seems the corruption in the temple is quite serious. For it to be such a direct reason…”
Resena nodded at Renard’s words, biting her lip tightly.
The dark mage continued.
“I wanted to become a dark mage to create a world where everyone is equal. I couldn’t ignore this unfair world where only nobles and the wealthy have the right to live. According to what’s taught in the earth temple, everyone who shares plants grown on blessed land should be in an equal position, so I couldn’t understand why poor farmers and housewives who grow plants should be expelled.”
Resena looked at him quietly and asked a question.
“Then why did you set fire to their farmlands and offer plants, damaging their sanctity? According to your words, shouldn’t the farmers and housewives be guaranteed the crops they’ve grown through their efforts? If you damage the land and offer plants, nothing will grow properly in that place, so isn’t it different from being expelled from the temple?”
“That’s…”
The dark mage swallowed, seemingly thirsty. Then he continued.
“For a greater benefit, small benefits must be sacrificed. Although they suffer losses now, when I become stronger and create a world where everyone is equal, the farmers and housewives, who outnumber the nobles, will benefit. So I… damaged their farmlands for a more equal world than now.”
“…This is absurd.”
As Renard spoke, Resena agreed.
“It’s sophistry. Knowing that the sacrificed people might not survive the year and could starve to death. That’s neither equality nor anything else. It’s not even honoring their souls.”
The dark mage fell silent.
Resena continued asking with a cold gaze.
“Then how many people agree with your sophistry? How many collaborate with you within the Earth Lumine Temple at least?”
The dark mage’s lips quivered.
“Almost everyone agrees with my opinion, except for the highest priest, High Priest Elura Tieo. Some select the next farmland to be damaged, and when the execution team goes out to steal wheat, we perform a ritual offering the wheat to the demon god inside the temple. Since Aota, the earth god, sealed the demon god, the corrupted ritual performed in his temple evokes even more power.”
Resena clenched her fist. So this was why it was difficult to find dark mages. Who would dare perform rituals for the demon god inside the Earth temple? It was a crazy act that no one but priests could think of.
“Then, what kind of power do you mainly petition for?”
“That’s…”
The dark mage fell silent.
But Resena, immediately sensing danger, shoved her fingers into the dark mage’s mouth without thinking. Despite the pain from his fierce biting, she couldn’t let the dark mage die by biting his tongue.
“Gag!”
“Yes!”
As Resena counted “One, two, three!”, a knight pushed the gag into his mouth. At the same time, Resena barely managed to pull her hand out of his mouth. Her fingers ached from being bitten so hard that teeth marks were deeply imprinted, but it was better than letting the dark mage die and being unable to interrogate him properly.
“We need to use a drug that clouds the mind.”
“Yes. It seems difficult to break the will to commit suicide with just the truth serum.”
“Sister! Are you alright? Let’s treat your hand first.”
Resena shook her head and pulled her hand away from Renard, who was urgently looking at it. The nearest earth temple would be crawling with dark mages, so calling a priest who could use healing magic would be like giving the dark mages a chance to escape. Therefore, she just wrapped it with a bandage handed by a knight.
