“Oh…”
Sophia, having embarrassed herself in front of everyone, blushed slightly. She awkwardly sheathed her sword and silently walked back to Selim’s side.
At this moment, Sophia couldn’t help but feel a lingering fear. That extreme pleasure that surged up from her very soul—the temptation was simply overwhelming.
If she hadn’t only inhaled a tiny bit of Zerlo, and just for a very brief instant, she probably would have succumbed to it herself.
“And you call me reckless? You actually tried to deal with it using magic, and nearly got yourself caught, didn’t you.” Selim wasted no time mocking Sophia.
“Then you tell me.” Sophia reached out and pinched Selim’s cheek, a hint of angry embarrassment in her tone. “What are we supposed to do with these things called Zerlo? We can’t just leave them lying around.”
“Simple!”
Selim snapped her fingers.
“Just hand these things over to me as spoils of war, and I’ll know how to make use of them.”
“No, absolutely not!” Sharn’s voice was filled with anxiety. She looked at Selim worriedly. “These Zerlo abominations, you must never touch them.
“Even the most renowned noble in the Rhine Territory, the ever-respected Regent Prince Charles, got caught up in them and became someone unrecognizable.”
“You mean Prince Charles Philip, the Regent?” Upon hearing that name, Sophia couldn’t help but cry out in surprise. “Are you sure you aren’t mistaken?”
As a Demon Hunter, Sophia had always mingled with people from all walks of life. In her mind, Charles had always been a rare and generous noble.
He not only cared for the local common folk, waiving taxes on a large scale of his own accord, but also never held anything against Demon Hunters. He had often paid large sums to hire many Demon Hunters for simple tasks.
Under his governance, the Rhine Territory could truly be called prosperous; Charles was practically the model lord acknowledged by all his subjects.
“That’s right, him.” Sharn clenched her teeth at the memory of his face. “I actually thought he was a visionary, a model noble who could help us High Goths coexist peacefully with humans.”
“I’d met Charles a few times myself. He was the one who helped push through policies allowing High Goths to do business legally in the Rhine Territory, improving our lives. If not for that, I wouldn’t have gone to him for help.”
“I was sold out to the Order of the Blood Players by Charles—for nothing more than some Zerlo powder. He used his magic to inhale it right in front of me.”
She strode quickly over to the Zerlo powder, forcefully closed the lid, then turned to Selim, her gaze intense and pleading. “This kind of evil thing, Little Selim, promise me, never touch it. We can’t let the tragedy happen again.”
“So that’s how it is? After this is over, I’ll report it to the Demon Hall and let them handle these things.”
“That should be the right thing to do, shouldn’t it, Selim?” As she spoke, Sophia seemed very proud of her Demon Hunter status.
“Ha~” Selim looked at Sophia and sighed. “If Sophia wants to be hunted down by both the Demon Hall and the Order of the Blood Players, then go ahead.”
“How could that be?” Sophia’s green eyes widened in disbelief. “Why would the Demon Hall collude with the Order of the Blood Players?”
“You still don’t get it, do you?” Selim swept her gaze over everyone. Only after she saw that all eyes were on her did she continue: “Charles is no victim—he’s the real mastermind behind all of this.”
“In fact, the prosperity of the entire Rhine Territory is nothing but a fruit of evil, piled atop countless corpses.”
Selim raised a finger.
“First: Charles likes to waive taxes in the Rhine Territory, but where does all his money come from? It can’t just fall from the sky, can it?”
Sophia was the first to ask her question.
“But in the Rhine Territory, aren’t there several mines, and some forests…?” Sophia counted on her fingers as she spoke. “I remember a lot of fixed assets are registered under the Marquis… which is you, Selim.”
Selim looked at Sophia and couldn’t help but ask, “Even I didn’t know I had all those assets—how did you find out?”
Sophia blushed and replied, “Just thinking about how much I might get if the Demon Order is enforced, that’s all…”
“That money might be enough to maintain a noble’s lifestyle.” Selim tapped her temple, hinting for everyone to think more. “But do you really think it’s enough to fund a trade caravan with Moonlight Tier Transcendents? Enough to support an entire Transcendent army?”
That question was beyond Sophia. In the end, it was Sharn who shook her head and said, “No. Keeping a group of Transcendents is a huge expense.”
“So isn’t the answer obvious?” Selim waved her hand. “He’s been working with the Order of the Blood Players to get Zerlo, then exporting it to the upper echelons of the Kingdom and even the Empire, raking in enormous profits.”
“This addictive pleasure-inducing substance has no side effects, and can even slightly extend one’s life. To those at the top, it’s just another way to feed off the masses.”
“Charles built a whole network of vested interests on mutual benefit.”
“But if it’s just for money, why bother maintaining such a good reputation locally?”
Bart asked from the side.
Selim held up a second finger and began to explain to everyone.
“Second: Charles doesn’t just want to be rich. He wants to rule the entire kingdom, but he isn’t the first in line for the throne.”
“Building a good reputation is easy to understand. People don’t generally believe a charitable lord would harbor a cult in his own land. Even if rumors appear, most would assume he was duped.”
“After all, everyone in the Rhine Territory lives comfortably, and they’re benefiting from the wealth brought by these sins. Who would care about broken families and corpses far away, killed by the cult?”
Selim gave the others a teasing look.
None of the other three could find a word to refute her.
“If one day the Lupine Heart Kingdom’s royal family is hit by a huge scandal and loses the people’s trust, then a Prince Charles, who wipes out the cult and saves the day, might just seize the highest power in the kingdom.”
“Working with the Order of the Blood Players—hmph.” A look of disdain flashed in Selim’s eyes. “Two birds with one stone. What a lovely scheme.”
“That bastard…” Bart clenched his fists, swinging them through the air as if that alone could bring Charles to justice.
“I say we destroy all this evil Zerlo powder. It’ll be a small revenge on him, and protect Miss Selim as well.”
Sharn made her suggestion again. Everyone nodded in agreement, finally turning their eyes to Selim, who had yet to voice her opinion.
“Little Selim, how should we deal with this Zerlo powder? You must know a way, don’t you?”
“Ha~” Seeing the group so determined to protect her, Selim could only sigh.
She wanted to claim all the Zerlo powder for herself—after all, it had no side effects on her, no pleasure, no addiction.
In the end, Zerlo was simply a vast reserve of soul energy; to her, it was nothing less than a limitless Blue Potion.
Since she couldn’t persuade them in a few words, she had no choice but to put on another act for the group.
Selim’s body suddenly swayed, her supporting Soul Tentacle growing faint, and her face turned a shade paler.
“Sophia,” she whispered weakly, “hold me…”