Legend of the Crimson Demon

The members of the Axis Church were running wild through Arcanletia, using every ridiculous method imaginable to solicit votes. Bribery, coercion, seduction, outright scams—nothing was off-limits.

Among them, the charismatic older sister Tristan even promised that "as long as there is love, even between siblings..."—a slogan so bold that Zunzun nearly rushed over to vote for her right then and there.

Even now—

"I support Tristan. He's sincere and said he'll make Axis the state religion."

"...Zunzun, when did you join the Axis Church?! No—you can't join a cult like this!"

"I think he just likes the promised conditions," Yunyun muttered.

Yunyun and Megumin sat on a bench in the park, exhausted. Meanwhile, Zunzun kept staring wistfully at the distant crowd where Tristan was still giving his speech.

When morale hit rock bottom, Cecily clapped her hands.

"Well, since our plans were unexpectedly delayed… it's almost time to go rescue Lord Zesta!"

With no better options, they headed to the hot spring hotel.

But what they heard there surprised them.

"We turned on the faucet, and grape-flavored agar slime came out instead of hot spring water."

So they made their way to the hot spring source behind Arcanletia.

The entire mountain region was threaded with pipes that transported the sacred hot spring water to the city below. Their destination: the main Axis Church supply station.

Cecily puffed up proudly.

"Look! This is the spring source circulation hub—under the full control of the Axis Church!"

...That explained a lot. Like why they were allowed to be this reckless.

But it also meant that if anything went wrong, they'd be the ones punished.

Apparently, the Axis cultists took turns cleaning the equipment and purifying the spring. And the last person scheduled to clean it was—of course—Zesta, making him the prime suspect.

When the group arrived, the town guards were already there.

"Axis cultists, you're too late. We've already found the evidence," one said coldly.

They held up large sacks full of agar slime powder, and claimed an eyewitness had seen Zesta moving them into the facility last night.

Case closed.

Cecily blinked. Then, without a trace of concern:

"Welp. Let's just focus on how I can become the next Supreme Leader of the Axis Church."

…She had already given up on Zesta.

Dejected, the group returned to the town—only to find Zesta himself standing in front of the guard building, completely refreshed, berating the weary guard captain.

"I told you I'm the most devout Axis follower alive—and your highest leader! You think I'd ever help the Demon King's Army?!"

"W-we're sorry, Lord Zesta! Please calm down…"

"Calm down?! If apologies solved everything, what's the point of your security team? You call yourselves law enforcement? Bah! I'm genuinely worried about this city's safety!"

Somehow, their roles had completely reversed.

"Lord Zesta, why are you… here?" Cecily asked in disbelief.

"What do you mean? I was released." Zesta waved a hand casually. "There's no way I'd do something so stupid. Colluding with demons? Disgraceful. Utterly beneath me."

Even the Axis Church—insane as they were—would never ally with demons.

"Oh, and I must say… that prosecutor with the glasses? The way her confident face twisted into tears during questioning… delightful! Thanks to her, I was declared innocent!"

"That prosecutor's being transferred to Axel soon… Sorry," said a female knight nearby, hanging her head in shame.

Apparently, the kingdom had used a lie-detection magic tool during questioning.

Zesta probably answered questions like:

"Are you colluding with the Demon King's Army?"

"No."

And that was enough to clear him.

Of course, those tools had loopholes. Ask Zesta if he's a man, and he might say:

"I'm not a girl."

Technically true, and technically misleading. Just a simple word game.

The group walked back in awkward silence, the atmosphere now oddly light.

"Oh, I never expected you'd go so far as to hunt down the real criminal just for me," Zesta said. "I'm touched. Truly."

"Then how about you buy this?"

Zunzun pulled out a bottle of potion filled with shimmering purple liquid. A single bold character—[Zun]—was written on the side.

Cecily blinked.

"Isn't this just agar slime?"

"Absolutely not!" Zunzun rolled his eyes. "This is a skill point potion—made by yours truly! Since we're heading to Axel soon, we need travel funds."

"Wait… is this skill potion even authentic?"

"Are you trying to insult me? I'm a certified magic item master from the Crimson Demon Village. Do you think I'd sell a fake?! It's 10 million Eris—friendship price."

"10 million?! Isn't that way too expensive?!"

"You think I'm happy about it?! But skill point potions are all handmade in our village and usually sold only to nobles. I had to borrow the academy's gear, force my sister to help, and fail a dozen times just to make this one bottle!"

It wasn't a lie.

Skill point potions weren't exactly rare—but they were precious. Most were hoarded by aristocrats, and selling even one was enough to fund an entire quest.

Cecily stared at the bottle with jealous eyes.

Megumin also stared at it in shock. She'd downed who-knows-how-many of these potions while training, never realizing each one was worth tens of millions.

"If I had just saved one bottle… I wouldn't be broke right now…"

"Hmm…" Zesta frowned, thinking it over. "Sorry. As much as I want it, the church's budget can't handle that kind of spending…"

"Oh well. That's too bad."

Zunzun sighed… and then smirked.

"Guess I'll just sell it to the Eris Church instead."

"WHAT?! No way! You can't sell that to them!"

Cecily lunged forward, snatched the potion, and smashed it to the ground.

"AAAAAH!!!"

"NOOOO!!!"

Zunzun and Megumin screamed in unison as the potion spilled into the dirt.

Zunzun grabbed Cecily by the shoulders, livid.

"You… you actually destroyed my potion?!"

"Hmph! That potion would've strengthened the Eris Cult! As a devout Axis believer, I had no choice!" Cecily said proudly. "Lord Zesta, did I do the right thing?"

The hell kind of logic is that?!

If I've committed a crime, then let the kingdom's laws punish me—not these lunatics in the Axis Church who think breaking potions is a form of justice!

-End Chapter-

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