Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Examination
Jima had just had a nightmare in the carriage. She dreamed that the lie “Jima is kind” backfired on her, causing her to become a good person who couldn’t help but give her clothes to anyone she saw with torn garments. When impoverished, she would give money directly, even selling her wife’s diamond ring to help others.
Her beautiful wife divorced her in front of her, holding hands with another man.
There were too many poor people, so Jima sold the last bed in her home for charity, sleeping on the floor in the middle of the cold. Just as she was about to fall asleep, a group of creditors came and sold her house, driving her into the street in the dead of winter. Unable to bear seeing the poor, she turned and walked toward a brothel.
It was terrifying.
As Jima thought of this, her body shivered.
The content of the nightmare was exactly her worry.
Her extraordinary ability could make rumors come “true.” So what did this “come true” refer to? Did it mean truly becoming real, or deceiving others?
Jima uneasily checked her personal system for the fifth time, looking at her faction, and upon seeing the large words “Neutral Evil,” she sighed in relief.
She was not affected by the lie. She wondered if it was because the lie had no such capability, or because the “deceiver” himself was immune to the influence of lies. Her extraordinary abilities still needed time to explore.
“We’ve arrived.”
The white-armored guard wearing a bucket helmet said.
Under the guard’s leadership, Jima and George had entered a white church in the inner city.
Afternoon sunlight streamed through the stained glass, landing on the carpet. This church, rather than being a church, resembled a fortress; the windows were small, and there were iron railings behind the colorful glass. The sound of heavy footsteps echoed from nearby, accompanied by the clanking of armor.
Jima couldn’t help but feel nervous, the hair on her neck standing on end.
George reassured her, “This is part of the normal examination process.”
Jima trusted George because if he wanted to capture her, one hand would be sufficient.
Jima asked, “It’s not necessary to examine every time, is it?”
George remained silent for a moment before answering honestly, “Yes.”
“Is it because of me?”
“Yes.”
The church’s main door suddenly swung open, and a dozen fully armed white-armored paladins entered, looking like iron crabs, their hands resting on the sword hilts. Among the sea of white armor, three red-robed cardinals stood out, especially Gregory, the old fox whose fiery and dangerous gaze was hard for Jima to forget.
The second most conspicuous was a man on his left. The shine atop his head was hard to ignore, with a thick mane of brown hair surrounding a somewhat dazzling scalp.
Compared to the first two colleagues, the third cardinal wearing a golden mask appeared rather ordinary.
This group approached Jima, creating significant pressure for her. Especially since the silver ring George had given her was confiscated, revealing her previously hidden horns and tail. Dozens of vigilant gazes scrutinized her limbs; Jima had no doubt that if her mind were to slip and she used any extraordinary ability at that moment…
In less than half a second, she estimated she would be chopped into meat paste by a dozen swords emitting white light, fine enough to be used for dumplings.
Jima asked:
“Are all those people part of the examination as well? To prevent an unarmed you from escaping, right?”
“That’s the regulation.”
“Then I’m really quite proud,” Jima said, “to be considered capable of corrupting platinum heroes with just a mere silver. The sanctuary really holds me in high regard, which brings me great joy.”
George remained silent as Gregory, who was walking at the front, sized up Jima with eagle-like eyes and asked George:
“I just want to know, can I put her on the pyre now?”
“Hmph.”
Jima crossed her arms.
“Not allowed.”
Gregory sighed lightly, “If you strive to secure her lifelong harmless imprisonment, I could understand, but I would oppose that.”
The bald-headed cardinal said, “Aside from the first half, I completely agree with Gregory.”
The metallic-faced cardinal said, “Brothers, I think you are overly optimistic and underestimate the cunning of a succubus.”
George said, “She did not betray me; rather, in the most critical battle, she sacrificed herself, plunging a sword into her chest to release my bindings, allowing me to turn the tide.”
The room fell silent.
Gregory incredulously asked, “What did you say?”
“She did not betray.”
“I meant sacrifice; I must have misheard.”
“Yes, it was self-sacrifice.”
“I would sooner believe the oceans dry up.”
The metallic-faced cardinal looked at Gregory and said, “You underestimate the cunning of the succubus.”
George said, “Your prejudices are too naked.”
Jima added, “Ahem, it’s truly heartbreaking.”
The metallic-faced cardinal said, “For succubi, we can only choose silence or speak the truth. Everyone here, except for brother George, believes it is best to neutralize you as soon as possible. I don’t want to say the truth too harshly; this is already the limits of my courtesy.”
Gregory said, “Fire is one of the most effective and best methods of purification.”
George interrupted them, saying:
“Cardinals, no matter how much you want to execute Jima on the spot, it must go through the legal process; your personal likes and dislikes cannot replace judgment.”
Gregory looked at Jima with disappointment and meaningful eyes: “It seems you have a good relationship.”
In the end, George was taken away for questioning.
Jima, however, faced no difficulties; she sat on a bench in the church. All the men fled her sight as if avoiding a plague, while a female priest silently brought wine, blood sausage, and bread.
Jima enjoyed her dinner, quite satisfied. At least her current treatment was much better than she had imagined.
There weren’t a group of hulking executioners wielding barbed whips, nor zealots grinning with red-hot branding irons, and she wasn’t even locked in a small dark room for interrogation.
After finishing dinner, when the female priest came to take the dishes away, she said her first words to Jima:
“If you need to use the restroom, you can follow me.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Jima said, “until George comes back.”
…
…
In the dark interrogation room.
Wearing cotton clothes after having his armor removed, George sat straight in a chair.
In front of him, there was no one. But George knew that behind the glass window, the interrogators were watching his face, and everything he said would be filtered through the “Field of Honesty” to ensure there was no trace of falsehood.
Even though he was a paladin who could not lie, this was one of the rules.
George had already undergone faction check, physiological, and psychological examinations to ensure he had not fallen, nor had his thoughts been twisted by any magic, or that he had not been hypnotized.
All results were clear, just as George had expected. In this regard, he was very confident, just as he believed he could redeem Jima.
The long reporting process was nearing its end when he was frequently interrupted to answer the interrogators’ questions.
Interrogator: “… Are you certain that the order in Shalin City was disrupted by supernatural forces?”
George: “Not just supernatural forces; without the oppressed slaves and the conspiracies of the avenger – Acanis, the order of Shalin City wouldn’t have been significantly impacted.”
Interrogator: “Were the sudden extreme emotions of the people and the resulting bloodshed caused by Jima’s extraordinary abilities?”
George: “Yes.”
Another interrogator said: “That’s terrifying; even the soldiers bound by military discipline were affected.”
The voices of the interrogators sounded flat, not human.
George knew their voices had been processed to conceal their identities.
Interrogator: “At that time, the succubus Jima’s strength was only bronze?”
“That’s correct,” George said. “But she agreed to reveal her abilities. I verified the truth of her words; they were true. She said that as long as a large number of people developed lust for her, she could use that power to influence negativity within a certain range, allowing those emotions to dominate.”
Interrogator: “If true, there should be seven types of negative emotions: greed, jealousy, anger, lust… all very frightening negative emotions.”
George said: “Even if she harbored evil intentions and wanted to cause destruction, she has proactively explained; we can completely avoid this. She shouldn’t be locked in a cell.”
Interrogator: “You said she can enter dreams and distort people’s dreams, correct?”
“Yes.”
Interrogator: “Currently, we do not have effective means to prevent this extraordinary ability; we can only check whether a person has been haunted by nightmares.”
Another interrogator said: “She is very dangerous, very lethal.”
George said: “I disagree.”
Interrogator: “Have you engaged in intimate sexual conduct?”
George said: “No! I consider that an insult to me and prejudice against her.”
Another voice asked: “Have there been any lesser intimate acts than sexual conduct?”
George said: “I remain silent.”
Interrogator: “Alright, the questioning is over. Brother George, welcome back home.”
Gregory’s aged voice came through: “Ahem, let’s discuss how to deal with Jima.”
George said: “If you continue to accuse Jima based on her inherent evil, that would not hold legally.”
“She is dangerous,” said the metallic-faced voice, “When she was just bronze, under certain conditions, she could disrupt an entire city. Now that she is silver, who knows how terrible her abilities could be; her very existence is a threat.”
George said: “Then so are you lot; she is just a little witch compared to you.”
Gregory’s aged voice resounded: “It is precisely the respect for morality and order that restrains our force and enables us to benefit society.”
“You have no evidence proving Jima will commit a crime.”
“Alright, without evidence we cannot judge a succubus,” another cardinal said, “According to the law, we need to check Jima’s faction.”
George asked: “If she is still evil, how would you judge her?”
There was a moment of silence after the bronze trumpet.
“I believe, at least she should be humanely imprisoned.”
George was slightly surprised, as that was not Gregory’s voice.
George said: “Ridiculous! If we lock someone up due to their evil faction, then at least three out of ten people on the street should be imprisoned. The regulation states that for those of evil faction who have committed no evil deeds, verbal education is the main response.”
“But she is too destructive now, George.”
Despite George’s reluctance to accept it, the results of Jima’s faction detection were extremely important at this moment.
