A few days ago, when Eze saw that horrifying steak made by Virilian, he had an idea.
If even the faint magic that seeps out during cooking could turn the steak into something like a magical doll, then wouldn’t all other things work the same way?
Virilian gave an affirmative answer.
So, under Eze’s guidance, the witch lady carried out a sweeping transformation of the manor.
Anyone could climb over the courtyard walls or easily kick open a window or door on the first floor to enter inside, but what awaited them were various “surprises.”
The courtyard walls would automatically rise, doors and windows would self-repair and become incredibly tough, and the floor would transform at any moment into man-eating traps.
The cabinets and carpets were modified into something like carnivorous plants, capable of ensnaring people or swallowing them up to imprison them.
A Soundproof Barrier covered the entire mansion, ensuring that no noise would attract the guards even if a commotion was made.
They also set up magical dolls modeled after Eze and Virilian, used to test intruders’ intentions.
The whole house was basically a giant mousetrap.
Unless you were a hero wielding a Blessed Sword capable of cleaving down walls with one slash, or a high-level adventurer battle-hardened in dungeons with maximum trap sensitivity,
anyone else who entered was not getting out.
Originally, this was prepared for the scoundrels from the Adventurers’ Guild who handled dirty work.
Unexpectedly, it actually caught something other than adventurers.
Eze stared at the knight corpses lying on the ground, already lifeless, his face dark.
“Enchanted Plate Armor, Blessed Sword… these really are from the Holy War Knights.”
Enchanted Plate Armor is armor imbued with defensive magic, powered by the wearer’s own magic, allowing even non-mages to use it.
The Blessed Sword is a low-tier version of the Holy Sword, forged in the workshops of the Holy Capital, causing additional burning damage to all non-human creatures.
Only the Holy War Knights currently use both these pieces of equipment.
And the Holy War Knights are without exception led by heroes.
Did a hero from another squad want to kill themselves? Or want Virilian dead?
Eze turned to Virilian.
“Did you kill them?”
The witch lady shook her head.
“No, I only used the traps in the house to restrain them. When I released them, they were already like this.”
“Suicide? Tch—”
Suddenly remembering something, Eze bent down, pried open the mouth of one of the Holy War Knights, and took out a small white fragment.
His expression changed drastically.
Curious, Virilian leaned closer.
“What’s that?”
“A piece of Poisoned Denture, containing deadly poison to prevent suicide if captured. It’s an invention from my original world. Only the knights under the Goddess’s Blade are equipped with these.”
Not everyone liked the feeling of poison hidden in their mouth.
So, although Eze created this item, he never forced his subordinates to use it; it was entirely voluntary.
Eze himself wanted to wear one, but using it meant pulling out a tooth.
And with a hero’s regenerative ability, the tooth would regrow the next day, making it useless—so he gave up.
But no matter what, this item in the mouth was enough to prove their identity.
Virilian looked puzzled.
“Knights under the Goddess’s Blade… so those are your subordinates? Your subordinates wanted to kill me?”
The knights had also seen the magical doll shaped like Virilian.
Unlike the kidnappings and hostage situations with adventurers, the knights unsparingly drew their swords and stabbed with full intent—they came to kill her.
That magical doll Virilian had placed at the entrance to scare Eze was the work of those knights.
“……”
Eze darkened his face, saying nothing.
The Goddess’s Blade knights were established by his own hand, and most members were personally selected by him.
Other heroes, like Leah, had a terrible reputation among knights and soldiers.
If she wanted to lead the knights into battle, fine—that was their duty.
But if she ordered them to carry out assassinations, the knights would absolutely refuse.
Moreover, Leah, though arrogant, short-sighted, hot-tempered, and petty, was, to be fair, someone without much scheming and was straightforward.
The blunt way to put it: simple-minded.
In any case, she wouldn’t stoop to assassination or sneak attacks.
So the only ones left who could have done this…
After thinking for a moment, Eze shook his head.
“There’s nothing more to get from the dead. Preserve the bodies and go check on those adventurers.”
Without enough evidence, no certain conclusion could be drawn.
It was better to set this aside for now and handle other matters first.
“Understood.”
Virilian nodded, lightly clapping her hands.
The floor beneath them suddenly opened its mouth as if alive, spitting out the captured adventurers.
The adventurers were still trapped in the Earth Coffins Virilian had made, their mouths stuffed, unable to make a sound, looking quite ridiculous.
Their pupils trembled as they looked at Eze and Virilian.
Eze wore a face full of disgust.
“Today, I’m in a very bad mood and have no patience, so each of you gets only one chance. If you dare to lie, even once…”
He turned and pointed to the row of knight corpses lying on the ground.
“Even once, your end will be the same as theirs. Understand?”
The knights who could casually slaughter an adventurer team were so easily wiped out here.
Their deaths instilled a terrifying dread in the adventurers’ hearts.
They could only nod repeatedly.
Eze approached the adventurer on the far left and removed the soil gag from his mouth.
“Who are you people?”
“P-ple-pleh—”
The speaking adventurer spat out the dirt while his eyes flickered sideways toward Nilson, rolling as if trying to spin a lie.
“I… we’re slave traders, here… here to capture slaves…”
“Kill him.”
Eze gave the verdict.
At his command, the Earth Coffin wrapped around the adventurer began to expand again, fully enclosing his facial features.
The suffocating pain made him struggle desperately, but no matter how hard he tried, only faint sounds came out.
Eze, expressionless, then turned to Nilson, the one the adventurer had been sneaking glances at, and removed the soil gag from his mouth.
“You seem to be the leader, right? Why don’t you answer instead? Who are you people?”
Looking at his struggling subordinate still trapped in the soil, and then at Eze’s icy gaze as if looking at garbage, Nilson’s mental defenses completely collapsed, and he dared not attempt any tricks.
“I… we’re from the Adventurers’ Guild… we’re President Roderick’s confidants…”
Eze nodded expressionlessly.
“And then? What’s your purpose?”
“To… kidnap the lady of this house, then… smuggle her out of the city, hide her until the heat dies down.”
“Who’s the mastermind?”
“It’s… President Roderick…”
“And there’s a red-haired woman too, also a co-conspirator, right?”
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