## Chapter 887 – Illegal Slave Traders

ㅡCreak.

I opened the carriage door and showed the Holy Woman the captured heretics.

“Are they in those sacks?”

The heretics were individually packaged and lying neatly.

It’s hard to breathe inside a sack. With their bodies in such poor condition, they have no choice but to lie still to breathe. Plus, it must be incredibly hot.

They probably don’t have the energy to move.

Of course, they don’t have the energy to speak, so they’re quiet.

Only when Tommy, that bastard, unties the sacks to give them food and water do they start screaming.

“I’ve packaged them very carefully. I checked on them every mealtime on the way here and took good care of them. Their condition isn’t great, but their lives aren’t in danger. I gave them medicine too.”
“Well done. This should be enough. The Order’s inquisitors can use healing magic, so there won’t be any problems with the interrogation.”

Healing magic is primarily used to heal people, but it’s also very useful for interrogations involving torture.

Prisoners caught by religious inquisitors can’t even hope for death.

“That aside, human trafficking… it’s truly atrocious.”

The Holy Woman, who had been touching her lips, made a face as if she were looking at something utterly disgusting. No matter how benevolent and loving the Holy Woman is, she doesn’t extend that mercy to evil humans.

“They not only kidnapped innocent people and sold them as slaves but also used women as sacrifices for perverse and wicked lusts? It’s truly horrifying. As a woman, I don’t even want to imagine it.”

But even this expression is a little charming.

Maybe I should ask her to give me a blowjob with that expression next time.

“Verde desires the death of such people. They are to be annihilated.”
“I think so too. I couldn’t contain my anger while interrogating them after capturing them. As I wrote in the report, I freed the captured people and gave them a chance to take revenge.”
“Yes… revenge is the shortcut to salvation. It would be best if they were satisfied. Well thought out.”

Even though she’s the Holy Woman, she’s merciless towards evil beings, so she was thinking positively about the people taking revenge themselves.

“Then can I leave now?”
“Drive the carriage. I, the Holy Woman, will speak directly at the entrance.”

So, I drove the carriage back to the Great Temple.

When we arrived at the entrance, the Holy Woman informed the Holy Knights that she had brought in heretics, and the Holy Knights nearby swarmed like a beehive.

“What is this, a beehive?”

Nevertheless, the Holy Woman worked hard to restrain them, so the Holy Knights couldn’t move rashly. No matter how uncontrollable their impulses are, they still restrain themselves a bit in front of the Holy Woman.

Thus, I drove the carriage to the front of the interrogation room.

“Paladin! Hurry to the basement!”
“Yes!”

I knocked on the door of the interrogation room, and soon masked inquisitors came up from the basement.

“Inquisitors! I’ve captured the heretics! The other Holy Knights are very excited, so please take them over quickly!”
“…Understood.”

A cold voice flowed from inside the mask, and I handed over all the sacks containing the heretics to the inquisitors. I carried the last sack myself and followed them down to the underground interrogation room.

I need to give them an explanation, after all.

ㅡThud, thud.

The inquisitors silently carried the sacks down the stairs, like Santa Claus. The basement, where we arrived, was quite bright. Orange lamps illuminated the interior.

It truly felt like an interrogation room.

The hallway was quite clean, and empty cells lined both sides. I heard that there aren’t many cases of heretics being captured. Still, the Holy Woman said that the inquisitors’ skills are considerable.

ㅡCreak.

The masked inquisitors mechanically opened the cell doors and went inside to untie the sacks.

“Cough!”

The first one out was Terton.

The inquisitor immediately closed the iron bars and locked them with a key. It seems they plan to put them all in separate cells since there are many empty rooms.

Soon, all the prisoners were locked up.
The masked inquisitor looked at me and said.

“…Please follow me.”
“Yes.”

These people are kind of scary.

Wearing masks and being taciturn only gives off an inhuman feeling. Anyway, I followed them, and we came to a room that looked like a lounge. Following their guidance, I sat down on a sofa.

“…”

Excruciating silence.

“…”

The masked inquisitor brought out a cup of tea and stood silently next to me, doing nothing and remaining still.

ㅡTick, tock.

Then, footsteps were heard.
The Holy Woman had arrived.

“You’ve all worked hard. I’d like you to do some work for me for a change.”

The inquisitors bowed their heads as the Holy Woman entered.

“Here are the materials for this case. And these are the things you need to find out.”

The Holy Woman skillfully took out documents and handed them to the inquisitors as she spoke.

“This New World Advent Society religion, which they believe in, is something we’ve only just discovered, but the doctrine itself is similar to that of the Paradise Ascension Society. It’s presumed that they simply changed the name and doctrine slightly, but we need to find out for sure. Be sure to dig up its origins and information.”
“Understood.”
“I’ll say this in advance, do not kill them in the middle of it.”
“We will keep that in mind.”
“I’ll come again later.”

The Holy Woman, having finished speaking, gave me a look. I stood up and went outside with her.

“Is it okay to just explain that much?”
“They are experts. I’ve given them the summarized case materials, so they’ll figure out what they need to know.”
“Well, yeah. I guess so.”

The inquisitors will probably do a better job interrogating than I would. I just acquired the skill from living, but they’ve been honing it their entire lives.

Compared to the skills of those true inquisitors, Kim Kat’s skills are nothing more than a mere puppy or a three-year-old child. The heretics will spill everything they know about their religion.

And so, we returned to the audience chamber.

“This matter is almost completely finished. Now, after extracting information from them, we will disseminate information about the human hunter unit and the dangers of the New World Advent Society to the local churches.”

An excellent response.

“The New World Advent Society seems to be quite widespread, so there will surely be places among the local churches that are investigating it. If we give them information, results will come out immediately. I have confirmed the heresy charges in the name of the Holy Woman, so we will be able to make arrests and conduct searches.”
“They’ll all be caught.”
“Not all of them. There will always be those who escape. And there are no greater experts at slipping away than the leaders of heretical religions.”
“That’s true.”

Those guys are better at escaping than spies or operatives.

“Ah, Holy Woman. Here’s the investigation permit you gave me last time. It was nice to have, but I didn’t use it much.”

I returned the investigation permit I had received last time to the Holy Woman.

“Is that so? Why?”
“I didn’t investigate by showing this and confidently investigating, but rather by infiltrating and tailing.”
“I see, that makes sense.”

The Holy Woman nodded.

“Well… then. I’ll be busy again for a while. But I can make time on the weekend. I was hoping the Paladin would whisper sweet nothings to me in celebration of his return. How about spending some quality time together this weekend, just the two of us?”
“Hehe, specifically what kind of time would you like to spend?”

The Holy Woman gazed at me with eyes full of affection and took my hand.

“I’ve been building up a lot of pent-up feelings, so I’d like you to treat me like your sex slave from morning this weekend. My lust has risen to the point where it’s hard to go about my daily life.”
“Do you like being dominated by me that much?”
“Doesn’t the Paladin like it too? Well, I am always benevolent. I can grant any request, so come to my house to work this weekend.”

The Holy Woman said with a smile.

“Hmph, it’s called going to work, but it’s really an invitation to have sex. This is an order from the Holy Woman. You must satisfy me that day. Now, go in and rest, Paladin. You’ve worked really hard.”

The Holy Woman smiled and stroked my head.

“Yes. I understand. Then I’ll see you on the weekend.”
“Ah… I feel like my heart is already pounding. Just imagining it makes me happy. My heart feels so warm…”
“Is it that much?”
“As I said, I am only a lewd woman to the Paladin.”
“Hehe, I understand.”

I received a kiss from the Holy Woman and went home.

* * *

“Have you returned?”

When I returned home, Lisha, dressed in light clothing, hugged me.

“I have been waiting with great difficulty.”
“Oh my. Was it very hard for Lisha?”
“It was so hard that I couldn’t even sleep properly. To see your face again like this… I am truly happy.”

She was burying her face in my neck with a smile full of her face. Seeing her genuinely happy made my lust boil over at the same time as my joy.

“Hehe, I should have come sooner. Anyway, Lisha. You’ve worked hard.”
“Didn’t you work even harder? I was just waiting. Anyway, from now on, I will attend to you as much as you like, so rest well now.”
“Yeah, yeah. Thank you. But where’s Ari?”
“She is sleeping now.”
“Oh, what did you do?”

When I asked, Lisha stepped away from me and began to explain.

“I took the time to learn about Ari’s abilities and develop them.”
“Develop?”
“You know the holy water you received last time? As it is water containing sacred power, it is very good for `plants`. After some experimentation and absorption, I tried to increase Ari’s abilities.”

Increased Ari’s power?

“Did it go well?”
“The ability itself has definitely progressed. You could say that her power and authority have been amplified. As expected of an Alraune, she showed a very high absorption rate in that regard.”

Amplified.

Well, Alraunes are truly amazing monsters. Their growth rate and potential cannot be compared to humans.

“But I am worried about how to develop this… It would be better to think that we are currently focusing on increasing her power rather than controlling her abilities.”
“Develop? What directions are there?”
“Combat skills and authority focused on dominating the forest. It seems that it will be narrowed down to these two.”

In other words, there are paths to becoming someone who fights directly and someone who is similar to a support-type supporter.

“But if she’s an Alraune, can’t she do both?”
“Wouldn’t it be difficult to do both from the beginning? It would be better to decide on one first and continue to develop it, then get the other one later.”
“That’s true. I should go see Ari first.”

It seems that everyone has gone into the bathroom. I could hear voices coming from the bathroom. I immediately went up to the bedroom with Lisha.

ㅡ…

When I went inside, Ari was sleeping under a blanket.
When I sat down next to her, Ari’s eyes opened.

“Ah, Father?”

Did she wake up as soon as she felt me coming?

“Yeah. Ari. I’m here.”
“Ah… I missed you…”

A sadness mixed with something similar flashed across her face, and her eyes narrowed.

“Aren’t you too late…?”
“I’m sorry. Was it hard to wait?”
“I’m always having a hard time… in many ways.”

Ari, who had gotten up, met my gaze and reached out her hands to grab my face.

ㅡSlide.

The blanket covering her upper body fell off.

“Huh?”

I noticed something strange.

“…Ari?”
“Isn’t her physical growth clearly visible?”

Lisha said.
As she said, Ari’s chest had grown.

“…”

Ari quietly held my face and then came down from the bed.

Her long legs stretched out, and her feet touched the floor.

Ari’s height had noticeably increased. Is she about 170 cm now? Still, she was definitely shorter than me, but she was taller than my other wives. Of course, that wasn’t all. Her breasts were fuller than the last time I saw her, and her hips and thighs were also more toned.

“More than my increased strength and abilities…”

Ari, who had gotten up, leaned against me.

“I wanted to show you this.”
“…This?”
“Do you like my development…?”

Ari said that she wanted to show me that her feminine charm had been added more than her increased strength.