The leader of the Naturism Sect was named Flight Ken, a man in his thirties. His thin face had brown whiskers, and there were evil-looking tattoos on his neck.
He was brought in front of Klein by Luan. He looked ragged, as though he had suffered the most severe mental torture.
"Your Excellency, while he was being captured, he kept exchanging his intelligence for strength, and he's on the brink of a mental collapse..." Luan reported the facts, ignoring the possibility that Admiral Amyrius could tell the exact details.
That's perfect... Klein had been previously worried that, as a Lunatic, Flight Ken would refuse to answer his questions while under the mental pressure. That way, he had to take the risk of being suspected of dismissing his subordinates and attempting a spirit channeling.
As he looked coldly at Flight Ken, Klein's left hand wore a golden luster under the cover of the desk.
He had switched Creeping Hunger to the Interrogator's soul!
And Interrogator happened to be Sequence 7 of Admiral Amyrius's Arbiter pathway!
Deep in Klein's eyes, two indistinct flashes of lightning appeared as they overlapped with Flight Ken's figure.
Psychic Piercing was poised for attack!
However, Klein didn't directly use the Beyonder power, as it was only at the level of a Sequence 7. Once he used it in front of Luan, he would immediately expose himself to the blond secretary.
With the pressure provided by Psychic Piercing on Flight Ken's Spirit Body, Klein sat there like the real Admiral Amyrius as he said in a deep voice, "Do you know Cynthia?"
As he spoke, he raised his right hand high and dangled the black miniature rhinoceros horn from his palm.
"What is its use?"
The dispirited Flight Ken trembled as he felt as if a dagger was being held to his psyche, capable of penetrating him at any moment.
He couldn't help but lower his head as he stammered, "Yes, I know her.
"Cynthia—Miss Cynthia wished to have a child with Your Excellency, a child with Beyonder powers. She was introduced to me by her parents.
"It's a Proliferation Necklace created with the bestowment of the goddess's aura. By consuming its powder and wearing it for prolonged periods of time, it... it will be able to make Your Excellency unable to resist her..."
Klein listened in silence as he was half-convinced by Flight Ken's explanation. However, he still had his doubts.
He believed that it was partially Cynthia's goal. This beautiful lady did wish to have a child with Admiral Amyrius, either by her own will or from the urging of others. This could be seen from her persistence even after she mutated.
Although the Loen Kingdom's aristocrats didn't like or even discriminated against their illegitimate children, it was situational. A child who had successfully inherited their father's Beyonder characteristics would similarly be given importance. Those ancient families who knew many secrets viewed this with importance, and the Rieveldt family was one of those families.
Furthermore, Admiral Amyrius is a stern and old-fashioned man on the surface, but he's someone who treasures his relationships. Even an illegitimate child would receive his love and have importance attached... This might be the real reason why Cynthia was eager to have his child... Klein sighed inwardly.
The doubt towards Flight Ken's answer was concentrated on the true effects of the Proliferation Necklace, as well as the possibility of the Naturism Sect deliberate misleading of Cynthia.
As he strengthened the pressure brought about by Psychic Piercing, Klein silently stared into Flight Ken's eyes until he could no longer take it and bowed his head again.
"What other uses does this necklace have?" Klein shook the cracked pendant.
His tone was calm, as though he knew every secret. His questions were only to obtain the final confirmation.
An indescribable pressure inundated Flight Ken, who was already on the brink of a mental collapse. He plopped to the ground and shouted nearly hysterically, "I-it can corrupt you!
"As long as Cynthia consumed the powder ground from it and sincerely chanted Mother Tree of Desire's honorific name, a-any man who has sex with her and successfully has a child would be corrupted!
"Th-that will make you become a believer of the Mother Tree of Desire! To become ‘Her' Blessed!"
So that's how it is... Klein instantly understood the entire story, and he was no longer puzzled by the mutation that happened that very night.
The Naturism Sect's goal is to use Cynthia and the Proliferation Necklace, which looks like an ordinary object, to corrupt Admiral Amyrius, making this important military figure of the Loen Kingdom become the Mother Tree of Desire's devout believer. He can then help their sect develop and provide them protection.
The key to the success of this method is that it's sufficiently concealed and normal. It is in no way directly connected to terms like "potency," "strike," and "terrifying."
Therefore, after three rejections from me, Cynthia was unable to expel the corruptive forces in the Proliferation Necklace's powder from her body. She gradually reached her limit and finally connected with the Mother Tree of Desire and ended up with what seemed like a sudden mutation...
Therefore, the monster after the mutation wasn't able to pose any threat to the real Admiral Amyrius. Even my usage of the Ninth Law charm easily resolved the matter. This is because this wasn't the outcome the Naturism Sect wished to have. They wished to have Admiral Amyrius be secretly corrupted, and not have a conflict with a demigod... Klein silently looked at the Secretary Luan.
Luan had also gained a rough understanding of the entire situation. He immediately lowered his head and said in a deep voice, "Your Excellency, it was our oversight.
"We only monitored Miss Cynthia and the servants here without expanding the monitoring to their friends and family.
"I'm willing to accept any punishment for this, even if you send me to be court-martialed.
How would the real admiral reply? Klein once again immersed himself in the character of Amyrius, experiencing his recent pain, helplessness, grief, and anger.
He maintained his seating posture and sternly said, "We shall leave this for later."
The hidden meaning behind this sentence meant: "I'll decide based on your upcoming performance."
Luan was taken aback for a second, seemingly finding the admiral's mild punishment unbelievable.
Klein half-closed his eyes and said in a deep voice, "My father, the deceased Earl Rieveldt, once taught me this.
"He said to pardon the first mistake of a subordinate.
"Luan, you, as well as the other bodyguards, should be thankful for his benevolence."
Luan's gaze shimmered as he drew a silent breath. He was no longer as calm, as he rather earnestly said, "Your benevolence is admirable.
"I pledge my utmost loyalty to you, apart from my principles, god, and kingdom."
The pride in you is extremely exaggerated... Klein didn't believe him as he said seemingly calm, "There's a second half of the saying, that is ‘punish them for their second mistake.'"
Luan nodded, unsurprised at that.
Klein cast his gaze back to Flight Ken who was slumped on the ground. He pressed without a change in expression, "Who instigated you to do this?"
From his point of view, Flight Ken's answer was likely that they had planned it. After coming into contact with Cynthia and learning of her requests and knowing who her lover was, the Naturism Sect boldly had the idea of corrupting the naval admiral, Amyrius.
Flight looked left and right somewhat neurotically as he apprehensively said, "I-it was the Mother Tree of Desire. ‘She' instigated me to do it in my dream. I-in the beginning, I only wanted to lend Cynthia the Proliferation Necklace and for her to wear it. I never planned on her consumption of the powder."
Instigated by the Mother Tree of Desire? This is almost equivalent to a revelation... Klein nearly frowned.
Although Admiral Amyrius is an important figure of the Loen military and the highest-ranking commander of the Central Sonia Sea, making his standing and power rather tremendous, it shouldn't be important enough to have an evil goddess set "Her" sights on him... However, I'm not an evil god. I have no way of comprehending their thought process. Perhaps the corruption of Amyrius is for subsequent plans... Yes, I can't eliminate the possibility that Flight Ken is lying. I'll have to confirm it later... Klein thought before sternly asking, "When did you have this dream?"
Flight forced a smile filled with fear and said, "I-it was nighttime on 4th February, last Friday. I-I remember it very clearly. I had just released the spirituality of a lady."
4th February... Klein ruminated over the date, momentarily unable to find anything special about it.
After two seconds of silence, he turned to ask, "What relationship do you have with the Rose School of Thought?
"What relationship does the Mother Tree of Desire have with the Chained God?"
He wasn't worried that Admiral Amyrius might've already known of this, with Secretary Luan having a certain understanding of the matter. This could be easily understood as a confirmation question.
Flight Ken revealed a passionate look he could hardly keep in.
"W-we're a branch of the Rose School of Thought. My mentor is the Rose School of Thought's saint, Zatwen.
"The Chained God is another manifestation of the Mother Tree of Desire.
"The Mother Tree of Desire is the true and only deity that surpasses the seven gods and the True Creator!
"Your Excellency, you are a candidate to be ‘Her' Blessed!"
Who can't brag... Can it be understood that the Mother Tree of Desire is an alt of the Chained God? According to the evil spirit in the underground ruins suspected to be Red Angel Medici, the Prisoner path of the divine and the Devil pathway can be swapped. Therefore, it's no surprise that the Rose School of Thought's Chained God can magnify the various desires of creatures. They have the temperance and indulgence factions internally... This matches the situation... Klein thought as he turned his head to Luan and said, "Go out for a while."
He planned on questioning Flight Ken on whether he had done anything evil, and if he was suitable to be Creeping Hunger's meal.
"Yes, Your Excellency." Luan didn't ask why as he briskly walked out the study and closed the door behind him.
After the echoing sound of the door closing subsided, the entire study suddenly turned quiet. It was as though it was isolated from the outside world.
The Beyonder powers of a Baron of Corruption? The Distortion of "door closing" to seal the study? Very considerate... Klein pondered for a few seconds as he recalled the series of thoughts he had previously. Hence, he suddenly asked, "6th February. What did you do on Sunday evening?"
Flight Ken was taken aback as he said, "W-we followed the revelation given by Mother Tree of Desire, and using the Proliferation Necklace and a hair obtained from a particular tramp, we held a ritual to magnify the tramp's gluttony."
The tramp stand-in meant for Admiral Amyrius was indeed killed by you! It was to prevent the admiral from leaving and, hence, fall into a trap so that he can have sex with Cynthia and end up being corrupted? Klein instantly connected all the matters together.
And my appearance provided another possibility that coincidentally destroyed this plan... Coincidence... That's not right! When the words "coincidence" flashed in his mind, Klein suddenly recalled the peculiarity of 4th February—the day the Mother Tree of Desire gave Flight Ken a dream revelation.
It was the first day he arrived on Oravi Island!
