Chapter 95 - Episode 11: "It Is I!"
Good day! I am Violia Nico Fortesia!
I am currently basking in the morning sun, having finally finished the disposal of the lewd demon corpses, and my heart is trembling with a strong resolve!
Since I was struck, I shall strike back. It is a very important thing.
I have decided to make all the other Saint candidates who sicced lewd demons on Carol go into heat in public.
"Good morning, My Lady."
While I was solemnly holding my resolve in the morning sun, Giovan, who could win a contest for the person least suited for the morning sun, arrived.
"Oh, good morning. Are you alright now?"
"Yeah. Except for Doran."
...Well, a werewolf's keen sense of smell is a bit of a problem at times like this. Yes. I've learned that certain drugs are more effective on them than on humans.
"So. There was an attack like this, but what's the plan? There are at least two days until the vote. Should we bring Chesta from Elsemarin to help with security?"
"No. Things are fine as they are. I do not believe they have the stamina to summon lewd demons over and over again. Even Doran should be able to handle it."
The future processing will likely not be that difficult. They shouldn't have the leeway to send out assassins in small batches, and since they likely used their full power to summon that many lewd demons, I don't think any more will come.
"Besides, by tonight, Carol-san will already be in Elsemarin. In that case, it would be better to have Chesta wait there and work on maintaining public order in Elsemarin."
"Can he even do that?"
"He'll at least let us know in advance if there's trouble. Probably."
Our trust in the druggie is thin, but well, Chesta does a reasonably good job. Since visiting Rugel-sama, his behavior has become a bit more subdued. It should be fine. Probably.
"More importantly, Giovan. I have thought of a wonderful thing."
"Yeah. What kind of crazy thing did you think of?"
"I intend to make all the Saint candidates other than Carol go into heat in public on the day of the vote."
And so, work began immediately.
First, I shall make a 'charm' for Carol.
Calling it a charm is simple. In short, it is an anti-lewd demon antidote. Yes.
It can be easily made by processing lewd demon bones, even by an amateur, so I shall be the one to make it.
Next, I shall make a lewd demon bomb. In short, it is the poison to be used for the indiscriminate heat terror.
I shall make a super-potent type that is used by dissolving it into the air. ...Well, it is an illegal drug. Yes.
It is something that can be made in tiny amounts from a lewd demon's heart, but since I have this many lewd demon corpses, I can make as much as I want. The enemy has given me quite a nice gift.
...By the way, it goes without saying that I shall handle all the processing of the lewd demon corpses. Anyone other than me would be affected by the lewd energy and self-destruct.
And so, by the afternoon of that day, the rough preparations were finished.
However, I could not decide on the final move.
"I still think it would be best to set it off at the polling station. You see, the Saint candidates will be lined up at the polling station in the Capital, right? And they will be enclosed in a glass-walled room."
"Well, I've never voted in the Capital, so I wouldn't know. Is that how it is?"
That is how it is.
Since polling stations are set up in major cities, they are located in various places, but the polling station in the Capital is special.
After all, the Saint candidates become desperate to make a final stand at the very end.
...The glass-walled room at the Capital's polling station is a room to isolate those overly desperate Saint candidates, and also a room to protect the Saint candidates from danger.
Well, it means those who vote at the Capital's polling station can choose their candidate after seeing them one last time.
...Now then.
The point is, the Saint candidates are displayed in a showroom at that time. It is an ideal situation where the Saint candidates are gathered together in a state where no one can interfere from the outside or the inside... however...
"Does anyone know the details of the glass-walled room at the polling station on the day? When I last saw it, I was still small, and I do not remember the details of what kind of protective magic was applied or how it was constructed."
The problem is that I do not remember the construction of that glass-walled room in detail!
"Onii-sama, you have seen the Saint Selection once since I entered the academy in Elsemarin, have you not?"
"Forgive me, Violia. Actually, I did not vote in the Capital either. In fact, I only just learned that the Saint candidates are gathered at the Capital's polling station. Please forgive your incompetent brother."
Onii-sama, my ray of hope, apparently has never voted in the Capital!
...Well, Onii-sama has been flying around here and there since then, so it is no wonder.
"Then, Doran. Do you remember anything?"
"...I felt a presence that couldn't be broken by a fist. I'm not familiar with magic either."
Oh. That is somewhat useful information.
Doran is unfamiliar with magic, but in exchange, he has his instincts. It seems he is good at intuitively seeing the essence of things.
If Doran thought it 'couldn't be broken by a fist,' then there is likely a strong protective magic applied to the glass walls. Well, since it's a box to keep Saint candidates in, it's only natural to make it incredibly sturdy.
"Keeb?"
"I've never voted. You know slaves don't have the right to vote, right?"
Ah, that's right. I completely forgot this boy was a slave until recently.
"Giovan... you have never voted in the Capital, have you?"
"Yeah. Sorry."
He also seems to have been in Elsemarin since being exiled from House Hornbone, so it is no wonder.
...Now then.
"I am not expecting much, but Chesta. Do you know anything?"
When I asked Chesta as a last resort.
"Yeah. I know. I mean, you should've asked me first."
...An unexpected answer came back.
"You know, meaning..."
"The factory I was staying at when I was a kid was making that box. I remember a fair bit about it."
Eeeh... what is this? What does this mean?
"Did I never tell you? I lived in the artisan district of the Capital when I was a kid. Of course, as a street child."
...This is the first I've heard of it.
"So, I found a kind-looking, easygoing artisan and rolled into his place, managing to get some food. Smart, right?"
I'm not sure if that's smart... well, it's wisdom for survival. Smart... is it smart... I wonder...
"Anyway, what do you know about the glass-walled room where the Saint candidates are kept?"
"I remember the specs roughly. I don't know if they were able to build it according to the order, though."
The... the manufacturer is strong!
"Specifically, what?"
When I leaned forward and asked, Chesta said with a slightly troubled face:
"Ah... well, it's probably bad news for you. It's designed so that once the door is closed, a perfect protective magic is applied for nine hours. I'm not an expert, but they said you can make the protection magic incredibly strong if you shorten the time limit or limit the area it acts on, right? I think they said that was it."
...Eh.
"So, the voting hours are from 8:00 to 16:00, right? So they put the Saint candidates in around 7:00 in the morning, and from then until 16:00, not even a single thread can enter or leave."
...Eeeh...
In that case, my perfect plan to throw an aphrodisiac into the room where the Saint candidates are gathered and make them all lose their minds cannot be executed! To think I prepared the tools and yet cannot use them—this is too much!
"In that case, I suppose it would be best to plant the poison in the room beforehand..."
"Wouldn't the Saint candidates just be ruined the moment they enter the room? Wouldn't the poison be discovered before voting starts and all the Saint candidates disappear?"
...That is true.
My goal is to prevent people from voting for the other Saint candidates by showing them their unsightly behavior to their heart's content. In other words, if it starts and ends where the voters cannot see, it has no meaning at all!
"Then, why not have Carol-san bring the poison in? She can use it when the time is right."
"It would be difficult to have her use it without being suspected of being the culprit in a room that is entirely glass-walled..."
If someone inside the room uses the poison, it means they would be committing the crime in full view of everyone, so that is not a very good plan.
"Carol-san must not be suspected, but the poison cannot be planted in advance, nor can it be brought into the room later..."
"It's difficult. There's really nothing we can do."
Hmm, should I just bribe one of the Saint candidates and use them? No, that is far too sloppy. I don't believe there is a Saint candidate who is that tight-lipped, nor is there one whose interests align with ours.
In that case, I have no choice but to have a new Saint candidate run for office starting now.
"I wonder who would be good. Keeb, perhaps?"
"What are you talking about?"
"No, I mean someone to run as a Saint candidate starting now."
When I made that proposal, Keeb and everyone else looked blank.
"...Is that even possible?"
"It is possible to run until the day before the vote. Therefore, if we fly to the Capital now, we will be in time."
"That was a blind spot... having one person who doesn't need to win. We should have prepared them in advance."
Well, it cannot be helped. We didn't have much leeway in terms of personnel. After all, we were building a Settlement! We didn't have a shred of leeway!
"Therefore, let us quickly set up a Saint candidate to use the poison. That way, we can make the other Saint candidates behave disgracefully without increasing suspicion toward Carol-san!"
But we are still in time! In fact, if we assume we'll use the excuse that 'terror was the goal,' then a sudden candidacy the day before isn't bad at all!
...But.
This selection of personnel is very, very difficult.
"I wonder if I should use one of the students... ah, but that won't do. Since the use of poison will be exposed, they'll be guaranteed to go to prison the moment the room opens..."
The reason is that there is hardly anyone who would commit a blatant crime in a glass room in full view of everyone!
"I feel like those girls would listen to you, though."
"I cannot have those girls serve time in prison!"
My cute students would certainly have the resolve to die for me. But that is exactly why they should not be thrown away in a place like this.
Their strength lies in their power to win over people's hearts with their beauty and the pretext that they are living decent lives. It would be a waste to make them criminals!
"...They won't do. If anyone investigates, they'll immediately find out they were slaves. A connection to Carol-san might be suspected."
Also, as Doran says, it's easy to trace them. We know they came to the slave market in Elsemarin around the same time as Carol-san, and it would be immediately obvious that they were with Carol-san for a while after being freed. Therefore, we cannot use them.
"Then, an adventurer from the Guild..."
"Are you going to ask them to become a criminal and get thrown in prison? I think that'll be hard."
"Right. If it were me, I'd refuse no matter how much money was offered."
Aaaah, that's right... I can't ask unless it's someone I trust, but I don't want to make someone I trust into a criminal... Oh, what should I do! Is there no one trustworthy who it wouldn't be a problem to make into a criminal!
...At that moment, my eyes suddenly fell on the mirror hanging on the opposite wall. A wall mirror I obtained through looting during the fire in Elsemarin's noble district. It is my favorite wall mirror, but... seeing it, I had a flash of inspiration.
...There was one. A woman who it wouldn't be particularly regrettable to make into a criminal 'at this point,' and yet who is perfectly trustworthy.
"It is I! I shall run for Saint myself!"