"Whoa, look! Isn't that the Saint?"

"She sure is beautiful... Huh, what’s up with the holy knights?"

"Don’t look too happy, huh? Usually the bastards would be all smug, walkin' by Her side."

"Weren't they supposed to be picking up the hero today?"

"Yeah, the whole kingdom’d been preparin' for this since my father's time... I heard they’re bringin' him over from another world, but where's this hero guy?"

As 'Maria' and her entourage returned to the city of Zorn, the whole town was filled with confusion and whispers of suspicion. Because of the holy knights’ usual behaviors, when something went wrong, the townspeople could easily tell by the lack of attitude from them.

Moreover, they were supposed to have a parade, showing off to the people that the Saint had successfully summoned beings from another world to this one for the sake of humanity.

I watched everything play out on the side while dragging along my slave, Dasha. I promise all you people that this black haired woman has nothing to do with the beautiful and divine Saint over there, kukuku...

How did we arrive at this scenario?

Well, simple: when the priests and knights woke up, I had cleaned up the mess with Maria and hid myself with skills. We then all rode in the same carriage that Maria used to reach the altar. However, with Thylenna's cognitive blocking spell, the priests and holy knights, including Glenn, had no idea that the real Maria and I were tagging along. We even sat face to face inside, and he still thought there were only him and 'Maria.'

With me there, it was easy to sync up with Thylenna and supply her with lies to feed Glenn.

“You... chased him away!?”

“Yes, Lord Glenn. You saw what he truly was. I’m afraid... we have unleashed a disaster into this world...”

“M- More importantly, are you alright, Your Highness!?”

“I am fine. It’s a hundred years too early for such a fledgeling of a hero to harm me.”

“As expected of Saint Maria! But, things sure have gotten complicated...”

“Indeed. Be alert, Lord Glenn, of the rogue hero.”

“Understood.”

—so went the conversation between Glenn and Thylenna posing as his beloved Lady Saint. Of course, the story of the rogue hero was fabricated by me, whose rogue arse was sitting right beside them.

The real Maria, however, was regaining the will to resist when she saw Glenn before her. She wanted to scream for help, but [Puppeteer Lv.9] kept her firmly in check. She could only plea with her teary eyes, of which Glenn could not even catch a glimpse, because of Thylenna’s spell.

Having her final hope right in front of her, yet knowing it was eternally out of her reach broke Maria’s spirit even further. She hung her head and walked behind me without resisting my [Puppeteer Lv.9].

At the city’s plaza, we parted ways.

Thylenna went with Glenn and departed for the capital in a hurry, while I took ‘Dasha’ to the residential quarter. Even though we would be hundreds of kilometers apart, telepathic magic worked just fine, still.

“Room for one.”

We entered a decent looking inn.

“A grey for two nights, meals not included.”

The innkeeper shot a suspicious glance at Dasha, but once he saw the lifeless look in her eyes, he seemed to understand something and lost interest.

Dasha, on the other hand, seemed quite shaken by the fact that, now, even a lowly commoner ignored her like some slave. She’d lived a lifetime of being the center of the world, after all.

“Here.”

I put two grey crystals on the counter.

The humans of this world used mana crystals as currencies. Every country had a different way of making them. However, the universal rule is: grey contains little mana - white, a moderate amount - gold, very high mana density.

“Upstairs, third door on the left.”

The innkeeper checked the crystals with a special drop which would light the crystals up if they were real. This special liquid was also a national secret.

Well, there was no need to worry about that stuff, anyway, since I looted these crystals from the pockets of those church members when they were unconscious.

I took Dasha upstairs and found our room.

It was a little small, but I'd had to stay in much shabbier places, so I didn't mind.

However, the wretch immediately looked uncomfortable the moment I opened the door.

Just to be sure, I soundproofed the room with a barrier, but left everything else alone. A magical lock would be great, but that would make us stand out. Securing a simple inn's room too extensively is no different from yelling, "Oi I have something I don't want people to know about, right here!" to everyone.

Not that I'm afraid of anything in this world anymore, but my goal is to enjoy life in the background while having total control of the world. Sending Thylenna to the church is the first step toward that objective.

If it works out well enough, I plan to replace every major figure in the world with my own minion.

Speaking of which, the kingdom of Corland is a rather ideal first target. The Corsch government isn't exactly military-focused; that's why they originally came to the church to request a hero summoning ritual.

After all, having some superhumans fight in their stead is efficient.

"Let's go get some food."

The moment my mind relaxed, hunger struck me like a bull's headbutt. It's likely because of how high my stats are and how much energy they consume. Even [Increase Vitality Lv.9] won't be able to help me forever.

"...leave me alone."

However, Dasha wasn't in the mood.

Her body moved because of [Puppeteer Lv.9], but she glared at me with miserable eyes and rejected my plan to go eat. It’s not like her wish really mattered, but it’d be a pain, so there was no need for me to insist on taking her with me. If anything, her good looks would attract a lot of eyes.

"Don’t die without my permission."

When I left the room, I saw her curling up like a fetus in a corner.

She'll have plenty of time to reflect on her crimes.

There were quite a few diners and taverns in this quarter, where traders, hunters, and explorers would spend the night, but I knew of one which was a cut above the rest when it comes to food flavour.

Leaving the inn, I took a left and walked away from the busy roads.

Before long, I arrived at a small diner.

It was a unique building, since it shared a wall with an extremely shady looking place. There were always suspicious people wandering about this place in the evening.

I picked a spot in the corner and ordered dinner.

Luckily, it was still early, so there were quite a few empty tables.

This place wasn’t particularly gaudy on the outside, but those who knew about it wouldn’t pick any other diner to eat at. Back then, it was always impossible for me to get a seat when I came back from grinding tokens late at night.

“Enjoy~”

“Thank you.”

The waitress who brought out the food was quite pretty.

She had brown hair and blue eyes, wasn’t very tall, but sure had enough curves to make up for it. Back on Earth, if someone from a talen agency saw her working at a restaurant, he’d probably invite her to a try-out.

The food was already good, but the sight of her just made it even better.

When I finished my meal, the girl came back to collect the dishes.

“Would you like dessert?”

She asked with a smile.

The problem is: I saw no desserts on the menu she gave me earlier.

“Sure.”

But I went along anyway.

“Here’s my recommendation.”

She handed me a different paper; this one was folded in half.

I opened it and read the “menu.”

“...”

Even though this was my second run in this world, I was stunned, rendered completely speechless, yet overcome with the urge to laugh out loud at the same time.

So that’s why people like this place so much...

I only heard about the good food from those guys.

They never mentioned the special dessert menu, those assholes.

“Well, I’m not that full yet, so I think I’ll take ‘em all.”

“I’ll do my best~”

The girl replied with a cute chuckle.

She took out something from her apron’s pocket and placed it on my table, alongside a small wooden tray to collect my crystals.

“How much?”

“How does thiry-two grey’s sound? Dessert included.”

Oh? The price is negotiable?

“Well, I know the food is good, but I’ve never tried your desserts before. So paying thirty for that is a little much, I think. If it turns out great, then I’m happy to pay more than thirty next time.”

“Hmm~ How’s twenty-six?”

“That’ll do. Promise I’ll fully savour your desserts.”

“Thank you. I’ll go get ready, see you next door~”

The girl took my 28 grey crystals to the counter and left the dining room through the backdoor. At the same time, I noticed other waitresses were also talking to their guests about desserts.

I looked at the object on my table.

It was a key with the number 7.

I left my seat and went to the other side, the shady spot.

“You have a key?”

The guy who seemed to be a guard there asked.

I showed him the key.

He opened the door and let me through without saying another word.

Since the room numbers ended at 5 on the first floor, I went upstairs.

Most of there doors there were unlocked, except for number 7.

I knocked a few times before entering with the key she gave me.

There was no one inside, but I heard a running showerhead from the en suite bathroom at the back. A rectangular hole was left for people to walk in and out, but no door was installed there.

I guess there was no point, having a door there.

“Sorry, but could you lock the door please?”

The waitress from earlier called out to me from inside the bathroom.

“I did.”

“Thank you. Give me just a minute~”

“Sure.”

I sat down on the bed with great anticipation.