Chapter 171. Cardinal

The Cardinal seems to be aware that I’m prolonging the conversation to buy time.

However, he answered with a smile.

「I am overestimating you? You killed a Cardinal. Of course I will think highly of you.」

He sounds quite certain that I had killed the Cardinal.

I am very worried about how that information was leaked.

Even so, I can’t simply confirm his words.

「I killed the Cardinal? What are you talking about?」

That’s why I feigned ignorance.

「You don’t have to play dumb. I know you were the one that killed that guy.」

The Cardinal seemed confident. As if it was not uncertain information, but information obtained from a source with a high degree of certainty that can be believed.

Just how did he get the information?

I tried to figure things out while prolonging the conversation.

「”That guy”?」

I asked, despite knowing he was mentioning the Cardinal I killed.

「He was the weakest of us. But he was still ordained a Cardinal.」

So, he’s saying that the one I killed was the weakest of the Cardinals.

「If a child killed one of the Cardinals, it’s worth going directly to kill him, don’t you think?」

「Who knows. If it was only the weakest who was killed, can’t you just overlook it?」

While giving out an unserious answer, I kept thinking.

When I defeated the Cardinal the other day, the Cult units around me were annihilated, including the reconnaissance units.

However, the Cardinal in front of me knows that I am responsible.

As to how the Cardinal may have obtained that information, there are three possibilities.

One possibility is that there is a traitor in the Salvation Organisation or the academy. No matter how rigorously the candidates are screened and selected, it is still an Organization created by humans. It will never be perfect.

Regarding that, even if it cannot be completely prevented, you can find the traitor and dispose of them. Dealing with it is relatively easy.

And another possibility is the possibility of getting information by some method such as technology or a special ability that I do not know of. It may have something to do with this barrier that we are inside of now.

This barrier had the function of completely blocking information. Even Rubeum, who is the best at detecting presence, could not detect the Cardinal approaching the camp.

Perhaps he was even peeking into the battle between me and the Cardinal I killed. It’s very troublesome. If they are using a method I do not know, then there is no way to deal with it.

And the third possibility.

This is the worst of the three, but it is possible that there are traitors in the Organisation or academy and that they are using special methods to gain information that we do not know. In other words, it is possible that both the first and second possibilities are occurring.

「By the way…」

「What?」

「How did you find out that I killed him?」

Since it became difficult to prolong the conversation to buy time, I decided to ask straightforwardly.

「Hou. I thought you would continue to play dumb, but you admit it instead?」

By changing the direction of the conversation, it seemed that the Cardinal was now interested.

For the time being, it was a success.

「I didn’t mean to play dumb. He was just too weak. I didn’t think he was a great demon like the Cardinals.」

「This is what it means to fall for your own lies. You expected that I was an Archbishop aiming for the Cardinal position at first.」

「Oh yeah, now that you mention it…」

He called out my bullshit.

However, there is no point in regretting it now.

「That means you must have known that the Cardinal was dead, or rather, you killed him.」

「…」

Perhaps because I was silent, the Cardinal continued.

「And you must have struggled to fight him.」

「You say that as if you were watching the fight.」

「Since you’re going to die here anyway, I’ll tell you. I was actually watching.」

The Cardinal told me, sounding to be in a good mood.

It seems that he was peeking using a special method. The problem is how he did it.

「How did you watch me?」

「I can’t give out that much information.」

「Well, I can guess at least.」

「Really now?」

The Cardinal took the bait.

I can buy a little more time with this.

「With this barrier technique, you could even peek unnoticed.」

「You’re quite wise for a child.」

「That coming from a demon, doesn’t make me happy.」

「I suppose.」

The Cardinal was in a good mood..

Tina continues to use healing magic behind me, but the Cardinal doesn’t seem serious about interfering with it. As far as I’m concerned, this is fortunate. But it gives me a bad feeling..

「I’d like you to tell me about something, as a pleasant memory I can take to the afterlife.」

「What is it?」

「How did you know that I would attend this training camp?」

I decided to participate in this training camp after the intelligence department of the Organisation sensed that there might be a possibility of an attack.

In other words, the attack comes first, and my participation comes later.

It is natural to think that the plan to assassinate Jema was changed to the plan to assassinate me in the middle.

「You’re guessing that you have a traitor in your midst, right?」

「…………」

As I was silent, the Cardinal threw a person’s head at my feet.