The Academy’s Deceased Ate It All - Chapter 31
Chapter 31
She snorted at my words.
It was a natural reaction.
“What are…… .”
I just kept calm and continued the conversation with her.
Now I had to somehow make her believe that I was an assassin who came to kill her and shut her mouth.
It was then.
Tiling!
[A quest has arrived!]
A single line of sentences appeared in the air, and immediately a translucent window appeared in front of me.
[Quest]
― Bind oneself by one’s own rope (自繩自縛). A honeyed tongue and a sword in the stomach (口蜜腹劍).
[Explanation]
― You have been given the opportunity to interrogate Esmeralda Lysnerger, who was captured by the guild ‘Thunder Lord’s Hammer’, alone.
Also, Lee Myung-Joon, who has entrusted you with the interrogation, is determined to observe and tolerate whatever you do.
Please use your abilities to get information from her.
[Success Condition]
― Esmeralda Lysnerger’s Confession (0/3)
[Success Reward]
― Contribution to the ‘Thunder Lord’s Hammer’ guild.
― Lee Myung-Joon’s fixed favorability.
— ???
* It will be paid differently depending on how many confessions you have received and how you have obtained it.
I didn’t know the quest would appear here.
I took another breath and let it out quietly, staring at her as she turned her head away from me.
One of her secrets she might be hiding the most.
“You didn’t really think no one knew you were looking for the boss’s back, did you?”
“…Huh?”
She looked at me, startled at what I was saying.
It was because I mentioned a fact that only she and her truly trusted colleague would know.
Well, technically, I guess some of them already know.
“Well, I didn’t know that the entire infiltration and operation team, including you, was involved…… .”
“Wait, wait!”
She called me in an urgent voice.
Then she looked at me with trembling eyes.
“No, that’s absurd. Are you… ?”
At that question, I looked at her without saying a word.
Then she shook her head slowly and muttered blankly.
“No… You misunderstood, betrayal. I didn’t say anything! On top of that, I even infiltrated to steal relics as ordered by the boss, but because of you… !”
I nodded my head slightly at her urgent excuse.
Then I replied with a small laugh.
“You know that the original order you received was the destruction of relics, right? But didn’t you try to steal it? Why?”
At my answer, she bit her mouth.
Looking at her staring at me as if she didn’t have anything to say, I let out a small sigh of relief inside.
‘Thank God.’
To some extent, it was as I remembered.
Although the situation is different now, I clearly remember that there was an event to face Esmeralda Lysnerger and interrogate her.
And in the process, Esmeralda Lysnerger would ask pitfall questions and make false confessions, as if she was trying to test me repeatedly in her questioning.
‘I’m sorry, but I’ve been through this many times.’
Rough personal information about her.
Why was she committing herself to the Red Case, and trying to betray it?
I also properly remembered information such as what she cherished.
And as expected, she had tried to test me by spitting out a false confession, but it was rather counter-attacked.
‘Let’s focus. Focus.’
However, it is clear that she would notice something strange if I continued to mix words.
So I quietly opened my mouth, intending to put pressure on her quickly before her bottom line was revealed.
“You not only tried to steal the relic that you were told to destroy, but you were also even captured… The boss is worried that you might divulge all the information you know, being as incompetent as you are.”
“…… .”
“You’re going to keep your mouth shut? Well, I just think it’ll all be over if you’re not the only one who dies….. .”
She glared at me at my subtle threat.
“Wait.”
She growled when I touched the line.
She, who was physically and psychologically limited, could not find her usual leisure.
“You, what the hell are you talking about?”
“I told you in the beginning. We have determined that the entire infiltration and operation team, including you, are involved.”
At my words, Esmeralda Lysnerger screamed for the first time.
“They don’t have anything to do with it!”
“That’s not for you to judge.”
I sneered at her, who glared at me as if to kill me.
“On top of that, not only the Watering team, including me but also the guards of the boss are moving.” [ ‘살수팀은’ – watering team.]
“What….. .”
“You dare to dig behind the boss, reveal your intentions of treason, fail to fulfill his orders, and even be captured by the enemy and spit out information…… Did you really think that you alone should bear the responsibility for such an abomination?”
At my words, Esmeralda suddenly began to struggle roughly.
However, since she had been poisoned just a moment ago and was restrained, there was no way she could get out.
Then suddenly Esmeralda shouted in a tense voice towards the glass wall.
“What are you doing! Hurry up and catch this bastard! He’s a spy for Red Case, You bastards!”
“It’s no use.”
I said that and glanced at the door
Fortunately, Lee Myung-Joon didn’t seem to be moving whether he believed this or not.
I said to her, who was looking at the door with a desperate expression.
“How do you think I got here in the first place? You and I are the only two people alive here.”
“It, it can’t be…. .”
I quickly retorted before she realized something strange.
“More than that, I think your actions just now proved that you have the intention to betray us.”
“Oh, no… I, that… .”
Esmeralda, who had been mumbling in a hazy voice, now seemed to be completely psychologically driven.
She looked at me with trembling eyes and asked.
“Then… Why did you heal me just now? If you had left me alone, I would have died anyway…… .”
I answered right away.
“It’s our leader’s order. He told me not to let you die so easily and comfortably.”
Saying that I got up from my chair.
She was staring at me blankly with a look of almost giving up.
“You have to be an example. An example to show to those who have impure thoughts.”
I burst out into the meanest laugh I can make here.
“I’m going to kill you slowly, with more pain than you can possibly imagine.”
“Oh, no. This can’t be..… .”
She shook her head.
“You can’t kill us, you can’t kill us all… It can’t be! The boss has told us many times how important this is! But, at this point, if you purge all of our entire operative team, how much delay the plan will be, you don’t even know!”
“It is not a job to replace manpower like yours. So you don’t have to worry about the organization.”
At my words, she clenched her teeth to the point of making a crackling sound.
“Don’t be ridiculous…! No one other than our captain could penetrate that deep inside the association! Do you know how many of us died for that?!”
Tiling!
[Esmeralda Lysnerger’s Confession! (1/3)]
[Red Case’s infiltration, we found that the person in charge of the operation team is hiding inside the association.]
‘Great….. .’
No matter how relaxed a person was, in a situation like this, even the slightest impulsive action would cause blood to flow to her head, making it impossible for her to make a rational decision.
I decided to keep provoking her.
“That’s none of my business. No matter how many trash like you die or not… Our leader told us to put the traitors under our chin and do our best, even if the plan is delayed a little bit, we should strengthen the internal solidarity.”
“Who says we’re traitors…!”
In Esmeralda’s eyes, it was as if there was a spark of fire.
“In the first place, that person killed the original boss and took his place! Your watering team, the current bodyguards, and us too! All the other bastards had their heads down there too! But now, you’re calling me a traitor… !”
Tiling!
[Esmeralda Lysnerger’s Confession! (2/3)]
[It has been discovered that in the past, a civil war broke out in the huge villain organization Red Case, and the current Red Case boss was the leader of the rebellion.]
One more to go.
With that in mind, I took one more step towards her.
“Should we stop chatting now? I’m a very busy person. There will be many opportunities to sit down and talk with each other in the afterlife, right?”
Esmeralda then bit her lower lip as if she had given up now.
Anger and resentment. Her eyes, full of abandonment, began to get wet little by little.
“Then… Promise me one thing.”
I looked at her.
“Yo, you can kill us all… But not the captain, please… .”
Looking at her bowing to me and begging for mercy, I wondered how I could scratch off the last piece of information.
A way to erode and disintegrate psychological resistance more effectively than constant disenfranchisement and irresistible fear.
I knew all too well from my childhood experience that it was a small mercy, applied on a whim, in unexpected circumstances.
“… Okay. As a matter of fact, I don’t know if it’s you guys, but that guy is worth using.”
At my words, Esmeralda looked at me in surprise.
I could even see faint anticipation filling the corner of her eyes.
“I’ll advise the leader once. You have to answer me one question in return.”
She immediately nodded her head.
I asked her the fact that Lee Myung-Joon was probably most curious about.
“Why did you guys suddenly turn against the boss? If you had just stayed as you were, the boss would have been willing and merciful to grant you everything you wanted.”
“…… .”
Esmeralda was silent.
In fact, I knew very well why all the infiltrators, including her, had rebelled.
But this was a story that had to be heard from her.
“You don’t want to tell me? Then I guess I don’t have a choice.”
I reached out towards Esmeralda’s head.
Then she sobbed quietly and asked me instead.
“Are you seriously asking me that…?”
“What?”
“The boss, that man is crazy. And so are the guards who truly admire and follow him, and your waterers who walk around killing people without hesitation. It’s all crazy.”
“What bullshit….. .”
“Bullshit? It’s your delusions that are the bullshit.”
she muttered quietly.
“Breaking the seal of the Seven Evils…? There is no way a person who sincerely thinks like that would be sane. Do you really not know what will happen if that happens?”
Tiling!
[Esmeralda Lysnerger’s Confession! (3/3)]
[We found out that the purpose of the present Red Case is none other than to break the seal of the Seven Evil Sects.]
‘Good.’
I got all the information I wanted.
I reached out and grabbed Esmeralda’s head, and she swallowed her breath a little.
“I’ve done everything you’ve asked. So… please… .”
“Don’t worry.”
I looked at her and smiled a little.
“It was all a lie.”
“… Huh?”
She looked dazed at my words.
She always had a squirrel-like expression in the game, so it was quite refreshing to see her with such an expression.
“It was a lie. lie. A LIE.”
“What….”
“Wow, was it that shocking? Well, it was a lie, starting from the fact that I was with the Red Case, it was all a lie.”
I pulled my hand away from her head and walked towards the door.
Then I put my hand on the doorknob and waved my hand towards her.
“Thank you for being tricked into telling me all of these by an obvious lie, sis.”
“This…. .”
After a while, a startling scream erupted from behind.
“Hey, you baaaaastard!!! I’m going to kill you, you, I’m going to rip you apart with my hands and kill you!!!”
Leaving her behind me screaming, I opened the door and came out.
Then, in front of the door, Lee Myung-Joon greeted me with an indescribable expression.
“Is this enough?”
“You’re really…. .”
Esmeralda Lysnerger had no other options left.
Even if it wasn’t intentional, she had confessed all of the important information.
Now, as a traitor, she had only two options: either she would be executed as a traitor, including her colleagues, or she would cooperate with Lee Myung-Joon with a glimmer of hope.
Both I and Lee Myung-Joon knew that fact, but no one had to bring it out of their mouth.
“So….. .”
Lee Myung-Joon continued to look at my face, and then opened his mouth as if his worries were over.
“… Do you have any plans to join our guild after graduation?”
