This was no different from drugs and I wasn’t the only one addicted to it.

As the days passed, Ito Sota’s reputation had gotten worse to the point where it was now impossible for it to recover. His reputation crashed so hard that if we assumed that this continent was made from the same material as Earth, his reputation probably would have reached the Earth’s inner core by now.

‘Piece of trash...’

There was no other word to describe him. Less than four days later, he became a scumbag and was even called the hidden king of the underworld. He had also become known as someone who wouldn’t hesitate to trade slaves and traffic organs. He was a cold-blooded man who ridiculed women and killed many people to maintain his power. The wonderful news about him trying to assassinate me to cover hide his weakness was fueling this groundless rumor.

‘Of course...’

There were still a few people that didn’t believe in this juicy gossip, but it didn’t matter since people didn’t care whether the news was real or fake when everyone in the castle was talking about it.

‘It’s interesting news amidst their boring lives.’

The majority of the people hoped that this interesting news wouldn’t die down and that it wasn’t a lie. They wanted the witch hunt, the main topic of their conversations nowadays, to continue.

“Now this is what you call a witch hunt. Hahaha.”

Choosing to be with the noblewomen rather than with the duke, count or those with power was the better choice because once I returned home, they would talk to everyone about the conversation we had today regarding Ito Sota. It was like having workers I didn’t need to pay. It was better for them to tell their families since they trusted them the most rather than me having to tell them since they could be suspicious of my intentions that way.

The sudden change in Ito Sota’s public opinion must have caused his people to start moving because they were trying their best to respond to the public opinion, but it wasn't enough to stop the rumors from spreading. They tried to give an excuse, but the people were already looking at them coldly and if we were living in the modern world, I was certain that they would have already held a press conference to prove Ito Sota’s innocence, but since he had to follow the procedure and go through with the investigation, his movements were limited which should be frustrating to him. Unlike them, I was in my element so I was walking around freely. 

The people of the Vatican who were trying to get rid of Ito Sota because of the bad rumors surrounding him were my important customers.

“Oh, Father Glang. It’s been a while,” I greeted.

“Haha, it’s only been a day,” he said.

“Hahaha, I always want to meet you because talking to you about god is a very useful and fun time for me.” I smiled.

“You’re flattering this humble priest, Mr. Lee Ki-Young. Oh, there’s someone I want to introduce you to today. Have you heard of Sister Jessica?” he asked.

“Of course. It looks like I’ll become closer to the Benigoa goddess today,” I answered.

“You’ll first have to get close to Sister Jessica because she has high expectations of you,” he remarked.

“I’m getting quite nervous,” I said.

“Hahahaha.”

I had a meeting with Father Glang today and tomorrow would be Sister Jessica’s turn. Once I became close to her, I would look for the others right away.

“Oh, you’re here, Mr. Ki-Young!”

“I rushed over here because I wanted to see you, Sister Jessica,” I told her.

“You promised you would call me Jessica when it’s just the both of us,” Jessica said.

“Oh, right! I did agree to do that.”

“We’ll be meeting Father Andurin today. When I told the archbishop about you, he said that he really wanted to meet you,” Jessica said.

“I’m feeling kind of nervous, but I’ll do my best for you, Jessica,” I told her.

“You’re embarrassing me, Mr. Ki-Young,” she said, shyly.

After getting close to Sister Jessica, I met the next highest person.

“It’s nice to meet you, Father Andurin,” I greeted.

“It’s an honor to meet the person that has been the talk of the town lately,” he said.

“I’m more honored to be able to meet you in person. Sister Jessica told me a lot about you, but you’re better than I expected,” I told him.

“Hahaha, you flatter me, Mr. Lee Ki-Young. By the way, it’s almost time to eat so why don’t you join us? Father Basel will be joining us as well. Why don’t you join us too, Sister Jessica?” Andurin suggested.

“Thank you for the offer, Father Andurin.” Jessica expressed her gratitude.

Every time I took a step forward, I would meet with someone higher up. After meeting with so many people, it had gotten to the point that I was having a hard time memorizing their names.

“I know this is sudden, but I’ve prepared a gift for you, Father Basel,” I said.

“You shouldn’t have, Mr. Lee Ki-Young. Geez, you didn’t have to get me anything…” he commented.

“It’s okay to accept it since it’s just a small gift to express my gratitude. It’s a good drink so it should help you when you’re feeling lonely. Oh, and this is my donation to the Vatican,” I offered.

“You didn’t have to…” Basel wanted to refuse.

“My offering to god may not be much, but I included a small amount of 50,000 gold. If I get the chance in the future, I’ll do my best to continuously make donations,” I told him.[1]

“Now I know how much you love god, Mr. Lee Ki-Young,” he remarked.

“Haha, I honestly prepared more. I would like to donate to you, Brother Basel,” I told him.

“W-What are you…”

“I know you’ll use it for god,” I added.

“Ahem…”

The way Father Basel took my gifts without hesitation was a sight to see and it showed how the Vatican was rotten to its core. Usually, when a religion was permanently established, it would eventually become corrupt. Onlookers might frown at the corrupt religion, but it was a beautiful environment for people like me to run around in.

“How about meeting the Patriarch as well, Mr. Lee Ki-Young?”

“Yes, of course, I would like to meet with him,” I answered.

“Before that, there’s someone I want to introduce you to. Her name is Helena and she’s the Heresy Inquisitor,” Basel said.

“Helena?” Basel called out.

“Yes, Father Basel,” Helena answered.

“He’s an important guest, so you should introduce yourself,” he told her.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Lee Ki-Young. My name is Helena and I’m the Heresy Inquisitor,” she said.

“Yes, I’ve heard about you. I heard you’ve been doing the honorable job killing the dirty heretics… forgive me for saying this, but I never imagined such a beautiful woman would be doing that kind of work,” I said, complimenting her.

“Oh…”

“You’ve been doing a great job in the task that everyone else would feel burdened by,” I added.

Naturally, I either looked around or looked down at the ground as I said it.

Honestly, managing relationships was difficult because there were a lot of things I had to take into account.

I wouldn’t have any excuse if someone told me that contacting the other person and giving them small gifts on important dates wasn’t that difficult, but there was a reason why the majority of people weren’t able to do this.

I was certain that there were people who thought that interacting with people they weren’t close to was a chore because their own time and space were more important than those strangers. They prefer self-development rather than getting stressed about socializing with strangers. Of course, I respect their lifestyle, but the majority of them would obviously lack connections.

‘The world is rotten...’

Talking to people and seeing their faces often would help me. Men were blind in their own cause and people would usually be more friendly toward people they knew than to people they met for the first time. Some wouldn’t get jobs just because they were from the same area as those they were familiar with and others would feel awkward toward their coworkers because they hadn’t been attending the company dinner meetings that often. It was a very personal opinion, but society was built so that people like me had the advantage. When applying that in the last meeting I had, I was getting a lot of help from them, and even though our meetings only lasted for a short period of time, my schedule was still full to the brim. Of course, I wasn’t the only one busy.

Cha Hee-Ra was meeting with the high-ranking officials and even though she wasn’t enjoying it, it was necessary for her to show her face since she was an individualist. Kasugano Yuno was the busiest out of all of us because she was managing the distribution and management of the potions. She also had to work on manipulating the public opinion within the Free City of Celia, and it seemed like she was having a hard time adapting to her new lifestyle. Jung Ha-Yan looked like she wasn’t busy, but she was getting stressed because she was spending less time with me than before and I guess the last incident must have shocked her because she was so focused on her magic training that she often stayed in her room nowadays. The person who was just as busy as I was none other than Lee Ji-Hye. She looked really exhausted as she was returning to rest after finishing today’s task.

“What did you do last night?” Lee Ji-Hye asked.

“I was with Sister Jessica and Sister Helena,” I answered.

“You’re pretty skilled,” she complimented.

“I just participated in the prayer meeting,” I said.

“All night?” she asked, doubtful.

“Yeah,” I replied.

“No one is going to believe that. I don’t care about that stuff, so do whatever you want.” Lee Ji-Hye furrowed her brows.

“It’s up to you whether you’ll believe me or not.” I shrugged.

“They’re useful, right oppa?” she asked.

“They’re not bad to use temporarily,” I answered.

“That’s fine, then. Have you made any progress?” Lee Ji-Hye asked, changing the topic.

“The plan I’m personally handling is moving along pretty well… I didn’t bother talking about Ito Sota though. When I mentioned the word donation, their smiles were really bright. How are things going on your end, Ji-Hye?” I asked, concerned.

“I got some hot news today. You might be shocked when I tell you…” she said.

“What is it?” I asked, curious.

“The trial has been scheduled,” she answered.

“That… is surprising,” I said, nodding.

I thought they wouldn’t hold a trial so this news was a bit surprising to hear. Even though Lee Ji-Hye and I had always been working hard to spread rumors after considering Ito Sota’s position, we still thought he would stand trial much later.

‘I was also charged as well…’

Like I mentioned last time, Ito Sota and my relationship were basically Celia and Lindel’s relationship right before blowing up. If Ito Sota received an unfair trial, then there would naturally be an uproar in Celia, so from the Holy Empire’s point of view, it was better to settle it in a civilized manner even if there were a lot of people watching. I thought that maybe they were going to hold a formal trial and just give him a fine, but…

‘They’re not that dumb.’

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the moment he stood in court, he would basically be the suspect and if Ito Sota knew that Lee Ji-Hye and I had been reducing his influence little by little, there wouldn’t be a reason for him to pick a battle where he was at a disadvantage. Ito Sota’s political life was on the verge of coming to an end and it was difficult for the Vatican to continue supporting him.

“What about bribing the judges?” I asked.

“It’s half and half. Some met with me, but there seemed to be a few that are still on his side, but you know what’s more interesting?” Lee Ji-Hye asked.

“What?” I was curious.

“Ito Sota told the judges himself that he wanted to stand trial,” she answered.

“Ooh…”

“I thought maybe his side was just trying to end this before the situation gets even worse, but… I don’t think that’s the case. Seeing them working hard made me think that maybe we don’t have enough information on them,” she explained.

“I see…”

“You’re not exactly innocent either, Oppa. Of course, I don’t know if the information that Ito Sota has would have any influence in the trial, but considering the fact that he asked to stand trial himself, it’s most likely that the information we have on them is fake, or the information’s so good that no one will doubt it,” she remarked.

“Do you also think so?” I asked.

“You don’t seem that surprised… did you already think of a way to handle this kind of situation beforehand?” she asked.

“Pfft… hehe. Something like that. Do you remember me telling you that I had a lot of insurance?” I asked, snickering.

“I do.”

“I prepared several plans for different situations and naturally, I had also thought of the situation where Ito Sota himself would request to stand trial so that he could attack me in court…” I explained.

“Hmmm…”

“I can guarantee that he picked the worst option and if he moves based on my assumption… pffft. He’ll know exactly what it feels like to get backstabbed. Look forward to it, noona,” I told her with a hint of mystery in my voice.

1. The Benigoa Goddess is the main subject of their devotion, but there are other gods at well ☜