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When he descended the stairs to the basement storeroom, he found himself face-to-face with the guard—Veronika.
“Well, well. What brings you here?” the mercenary said with an air of irony.
Perhaps her smirk had to do with how long the interrogation of Angela had been delayed. Maybe she thought that Yukinari shied away from the idea of having to face someone who deliberately tried to anger him. She wasn’t entirely wrong about that.
The other part of it was that the serial murders had kept not just Yukinari, but many of them horrendously busy, and there hadn’t been time to interrogate their prisoner. Incidentally, the reason Veronika hadn’t been put on guard duty in town was because they had needed somebody with strong fighting skills to keep an eye on Angela. On the off chance she tried to escape, only Yukinari or Veronika would be likely to match her. Such was the judgment of Yukinari and Fiona, and so Veronika had found herself cooped up in the Schillings residence, watching Angela closely.
“I’m here to interrogate Angela Jindel.”
Veronika nodded and opened the door, and she and Yukinari stepped inside.
“I could do it for you, if you tell me what you’re trying to find out,” she said.
“No, it’s all right. Well... If I snap again, stop me.” There was a bit of a smirk in Yukinari’s voice as well. “Or... when.”
“When. Sure.”
The exchange made clear what Yukinari had in mind.
The underground room was surprisingly large. Angela was in the far corner. The two of them made no effort to hide their footsteps as they entered, and they heard a rattling from her direction. What was she doing? They glanced at each other, then came farther into the room, where they found Angela with her back to the wall, watching them alertly.
“And how are we doing today? Not well, I suppose,” Yukinari said, walking up to Angela.
It might have been wiser, normally, to keep some distance. The door of the underground storeroom was so sturdy that they hadn’t bothered to manacle Angela’s arms or legs. If she’d had a mind to, she could have attacked him barehanded. But instead...
“Of course not,” she said, glaring at Yukinari. “But it doesn’t matter. Why are you here? Come to have your way with me?”
“Have my way...?” Yukinari repeated in annoyance. “Huh. Well, I guess that depends on you.”
Angela shivered. In anyone else he might have taken it for fear, but Yukinari could see her eyes shining with excitement. Assuming he wasn’t just imagining it, then Veronika must have been right—the girl had some strange tastes.
“There’s something I want to ask you.” He briefly explained the situation in Friedland. And then he said, “Is there any possibility Harris Church people are involved in this?”
His question was simplicity itself. But such typical tactics were unlikely to work on a girl like Angela.
“And if I don’t answer, what do you have for me?” she said, staring up at him. “Another slap...?” A mocking smile played across her lips. She probably imagined this would provoke Yukinari. “You enjoy beating defenseless women, don’t you! You’re just a fallen angel, you show the influence of that contemptible alchemist who created you. You’re twisted inside—”
Yukinari kneeled in front of Angela, looking directly into her eyes. Silent. Expressionless. Nothing more.
“Twisted and... and...”
Angela opened and closed her mouth, finally frozen in place by Yukinari’s stare. He looked at her a moment longer before he said, “What’s the matter, you insect?”
“I—Insect!”
“Nothing else to say? Is that all your empty little head can come up with? I guess a good brain really does go to waste if you don’t use it. You missionaries really have it easy, you know? Don’t wonder, don’t think, just invoke the name of God over and over like a yapping dog. It’s so simple, even a bug like you can do it.”
This time it was Angela’s turn to fall silent.
But Yukinari insisted, “Say something!” And then he slapped her face again. The dry sound echoed around the basement room.
Angela’s head snapped to the side with the force of the blow; then she turned back toward him, amazement on her face.
“Wh—What the...”
He grabbed her head, pulled her face close to his.
“Looks like you were right. I will slap you if you don’t answer me. ...Well?”
He let go of her and then delivered another blow, this time backhanded, in the other direction.
“Ah... ahhh...”
“But I guess I would’ve hit you anyway.”
“...oww... ahh...”
“You should learn your place, you insect. But since you don’t seem to know it, I’ll teach you. It’s under my heel.”
“Wh-Who are you calling an insect...”
“You,” he whispered into the missionary’s ear. “You, Angela Jindel. Admit it: you are nothing more than a worm, than a fly. Have you learned that yet?”
“H-How dare you—”
“No? That’s what comes of having a bug-sized brain.”
Another strike.
Then, wordlessly, Angela looked at Yukinari. She was shaking. Were her cheeks red because he had hit her? Or...?
“Hm?” Yukinari noticed that Angela, still kneeling, was moving her knees a little. He studied her lower body. “Had a little accident, have we, Angela?”
“What?! N-No...”
“Am I wrong? If you haven’t sprung a little leak, then what has happened? Answer me!”
“This... is...”
He was silent.
“This... It’s...”
“...I see.” Yukinari nodded and stood. She was keeping her thighs together, trying to hide her crotch. He looked down at her coldly. “Well, fine. I didn’t expect an insect to be able to answer my questions. It was a waste of effort.”
“You all right with that?” The question came from Veronika, who had been watching the exchange silently until that moment.
“Yes, I am. I have no more interest in Angela Jindel. I’m leaving.”
Angela’s face snapped up. “W-Wait right there!” she practically shouted. “H-How can you humiliate me like this and then just—”
Yukinari kept his back to her, silent. He took a step, was about to leave, but Angela shouted from behind him:
“V-Very well, let me t-tell you a secret!” She was practically groaning. Yukinari ignored her; he began to walk out without even turning around. “Hold it! Wait, I tell you! I thought you wanted to know if the Missionary Order was behind what’s happening in your town!”
Yukinari resisted the urge to turn around; he stopped where he was.
Whatever Angela made of this gesture, her breath grew harsher, and she went on. “These incidents are trivial—they are meaningless—how could knights of the Missionary Order ever concern themselves with something so small? If they have the time to play these little pranks, they should return to Aldreil and summon reinforcements!”
Yukinari was silent.
“The Missionary Order may be invincible, undefeated, but even we know that sometimes we may be forced to make a temporary withdrawal because of some underhanded tactic! I promise you, the surviving missionaries have gone back to Aldreil! In fact, even if some derelict has remained, he would be far too proud to haunt a town of ignorant cultists, picking them off one by one!”
Angela’s voice was so high it was beginning to crack, but she hardly seemed to notice.
“The True Church of Harris is righteous! And we are the agents of its justice! Why should we hide? Instead, we walk the true path boldly, sweeping away the barbarians before us! We will point out your foolishness to your faces, and if you lack the intelligence to listen to us, we will exhaust every measure to correct you by force. All who attempt to interfere will be dispensed with. That’s all there is to it!”
Now, at last, Yukinari looked back over his shoulder at Angela. The knight’s face was shining. She believed her shouting had stopped him, made an impression on him.
“You’re awfully noisy, insect.”
Angela’s breath caught in her throat.
“But I like the noise you made. Maybe later I’ll get you out of this hole and let you see the sun. Collared, of course.”
“C-Collared...?” Angela clutched herself with both arms as if shocked. Yukinari spared a glance at her as he and Veronika left the room.