The Failure Marquis Is A Genius [EN]: Chapter 136

The Scoundrel of the Marquis House is a Genius – Episode 136 (136/200)

Chapter 17: The Fake: Injected Scoundrel

Holonium Grand Temple.

Just a month ago, I was worried about how to even get in here.

It’s different now.

I was heading to the deepest part of the temple, guided by a holy knight.

‘Everything is going according to plan.’

After using Merian as the Shadow Saintess, I slipped a letter into the temple.

A message stating that I knew about her backers.

The temple, already desperate to catch the Shadow Saintess, quickly took the bait I offered.

“You must be especially careful in front of the Saintess. She is the future of the Holy Nation and the hope of the continent.”

‘Why is this knight guiding me being so talkative all of a sudden?’

“I’ll take care of it, so mind your own business.”

“Pardon?”

“I said mind your own business. Are you the type who needs to be told twice to understand?”

The reason for treating the holy knight rudely?

It’s because of the whispers of the Heavenly Demon.

-That holy knight reeks. He must know that the Saintess is a high-ranking member of the Twilight Order. There’s a high chance that he’s also a Twilight Order member.

Even though the Heavenly Demon is an old man who lusts after women, his instincts are strangely good.

Even if that wasn’t the case, I was annoyed by his insane talk of praising lust from earlier.

“Ahem, I know that you are a famous adventurer, Kahn, but this is the Holy Nation. Please be discreet.”

Those unlikeable guys always have to add a word or two.

I decided to give him a special gift for being like that.

[Wood Control]

[Bind]

A tree root sprang up from the ground and subtly wrapped around the holy knight’s ankle.

The holy knight, completely unguarded inside the temple, tripped.

Thud!!!

“Ugh!”

Oops.

Even I think he fell in an unsightly way.

If you fall like that on the street, you’d be so embarrassed that you’d cover your face and run.

But what to do?

This is a temple, so there’s nowhere to run.

“It seems the temple is short on donations. The flooring is terrible.”

The holy knight, with a reddened face, quickly dusted off his knees and turned around abruptly.

“Follow me.”

He should have just shut up and guided me from the start.

He finally became quiet after being humiliated.

The place we arrived at was a chapel.

A space filled with a sacred atmosphere.

The floor was covered with a carpet with a sun pattern, and the walls were lined with various sacred objects and statues.

For a Twilight Order executive to live in such a place, she is the most hypocritical and detestable person among the executives I’ve met so far.

“Welcome. I am Repli. I am in charge as the representative of Bellanus.”

Saintess Repli was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty.

She was exactly as I imagined a saintess to be.

Perhaps that’s why.

A strong sense of incongruity was felt.

She was fundamentally different from Merian, who was simple but full of human warmth.

The Saintess greeted me from a high platform, as if to say, ‘I’m above, and you’re below.’

“I am Kahn, an adventurer.”

*

His tone is polite, but his posture is stiff.

There is not a single word of praise for the god or admiration for her dazzling beauty.

Repli’s eyebrows twitched.

‘What an arrogant bastard.’

Has there ever been such an arrogant person among all the people she has met?

Even the great nobles of the empire would humble themselves when they met her, but what is this guy trusting in to show such unfounded confidence?

She barely restrained herself from wanting to make him kneel and kiss the back of her foot.

Because Kahn had the information she wanted.

‘I’ll suck out all the sweetness I need and then kill him.’

Repli’s eyes gleamed coldly.

*

‘As expected, she’s uncomfortable.’

It was a short time, but the analysis of lust was complete.

She was a woman who needed to be admired by everyone as a saintess to be satisfied.

A mass of vanity and twisted personality.

Even if she tries to hide it with a pure white saintess robe and heavy makeup, her ugly essence remains the same.

“I have read the letter you sent, brother. Is the content really true?”

“Yes, it is. I know the backers of the Shadow Saintess.”

“That fraud is a big headache for the Holy Nation. Bellanus is also worried.”

“That’s an unfortunate story.”

“If you don’t mind, could you tell me who the mastermind you mentioned is?”

Finally, the main point.

It would be good to tell her right away, but…

Let’s play hard to get here.

“Well, it’s a bit ambiguous to call them backers.”

Seeing my hesitant expression, the Saintess’s attitude changes.

“Are you perhaps bringing false information?”

A suffocating pressure.

The holy knight who came with me flinches.

On the other hand, it had no effect on me at all.

[Self-Purification]

[Complete Status Immunity]

The druid’s skill worked, and my accumulated mana level was also considerable.

The Saintess looks a little surprised at my calm expression.

‘Is he really an orichalcum adventurer?’ My sensitive ears caught her muttering softly.

“The information is accurate. It’s just… Haha! This is troubling.”

Only after I repeatedly scratched the back of my head did the Saintess understand and change her words.

“It was my fault. The information you brought will be used meaningfully, and Bellanus will bestow blessings and grace accordingly.”

Finally, the story of rewards has come out.

Here’s the main point.

“I am an orichalcum adventurer. I’ve earned enough money and fame. That’s why I always want something different.”

“Brother, please speak comfortably. My ears are open.”

“It’s an era where even noble titles are bought and sold. But I wonder if titles in religious nations can also be bought.”

“Are you saying you want to become an honorary bishop of the Holy Nation?”

“Just a bishop? I want the position of archbishop.”

The holy knight who was listening to me becomes furious.

“How dare you! You need to know your place!”

“Crimson, stay still.”

The Saintess, who calmed the knight, continued.

“The archbishop is one of the highest positions in the Holy Nation. It is a position with great responsibility and duty. Above all, you must have a strong faith in God.”

If it weren’t for the fact that the Twilight Order executive was talking about faith in God, I would have burst out laughing.

“Besides, the archbishop also serves as a candidate for the next pope. It seems that your request is impossible.”

“Then there’s nothing I can do. It was a pleasant meeting.”

I turned my body away without any regrets.

Of course, I have a lot of regrets.

Because I have to search for the Golden Branch.

But the skill of hiding an urgent heart is also part of the skill.

‘Either way, they’re the ones who are desperate. I’m the boss. They’re the subordinate.’

Repli is desperate for information to catch the Shadow Saintess.

I expected them to grab me first, and my prediction was exactly right.

“Where are you trying to go?”

The holy knight called Crimson blocked my way with his hand on the hilt of his sword.

“Before you leave, spit out everything you know. And pay the price for daring to show off in front of the Saintess.”

I glanced back at Repli.

“Saintess, even thugs don’t trade like this these days. Please let me go.”

The Saintess, hearing the question, raises one corner of her mouth.

“Everything is according to Bellanus’s will. Bellanus wants to hear a lot from you.”

Oh, she’s going to stand by and watch.

The Saintess’s tacit permission has fallen.

Crimson, emboldened, draws his sword and approaches.

“It’s not too late now. Kneel down and repent your sins. Then I’ll let you off with just cutting off one arm…”

[Wind Control]

[Haste]

[Instant Step]

A sudden wind blew inside.

My figure moved with incredible speed.

Crimson’s pupils dilated at the speed that exceeds his expectations.

“What is this!”

He tried to swing his sword rashly, but I was already close.

“A longsword in this narrow space? You don’t even have the basics of fighting.”

I landed a right hook and an uppercut to his abdomen.

His head shakes, and vomit comes up.

As the guy who collapsed to his knees received a knee kick to his chin, Crimson’s eyes rolled back, showing the whites.

The time it took for him to be neutralized was exactly 5 seconds.

“Was Crimson falling also Bellanus’s will?”

*

‘What? Why is he so strong?’

Repli was very surprised.

She had heard that he was an orichalcum-ranked adventurer, but his true skills were shrouded in mystery.

According to the preliminary investigation, Kahn did not gradually accumulate points like other typical adventurers.

He was an adventurer who was promoted at once by subduing the Guardian of the Beast Forest.

As such, she thought that his skills must be inflated, but what’s this?

Kahn’s skills were more than rumored.

‘Still, Crimson is not an easy opponent.’

Even though his work was sloppy, he was a considerable expert who had reached the level of an expert.

If he could subdue such an expert at once, there was a high possibility that the opponent did not even use half of his power.

‘Should I call the Holy Army and overwhelm him with numbers?’

Repli shook her head.

That was a bad move no matter who looked at it.

Where did this guy fall from?

Her head became complicated.

*

Saintess Repli’s pupils are shaking.

She probably didn’t know that Crimson would be defeated so easily.

“Amazing.”

“I will erase the rudeness from earlier from my memory. I’ll be on my way.”

I grabbed the doorknob of the chapel.

Just as I was about to go out of the room,

“Brother, if you leave like that, I can’t protect you either.”

The Saintess consistently threatens me until the end.

At this point, I’m impressed.

But there’s no reason to show weakness after even knocking down a holy knight.

I responded with the same counterattack.

“Do as you please. However, the price for touching me will be very high.”

I crossed the last hurdle.

Maintaining a poker face, I tried to really leave.

After all, the other side was still the one who was in a hurry.

“Wait a minute. Stop.”

Eventually, the Saintess, whose patience had reached its limit, raised the white flag.

“Okay. You win. I’ll give you the position of archbishop, but there are conditions.”

“Are you saying you’ll give it to me only if you like the information?”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

“Don’t worry. You’ll be surprised when you hear my information.”

Is it time to unravel a plausible bundle of lies?

“The backer of the Shadow Saintess, he is…”

After a moment of silence, the waiting Saintess Repli became impatient.

She had an expression that said she wanted to torture me right away and extract all the knowledge I had if I wasn’t an orichalcum adventurer with great skills.

It’s not good to make her wait too long, so should I slowly bring up the main point?

“…Baron Henon Lloyd.”

* * *

After that, the content I reported to Repli was as follows.

Baron Henon Lloyd suffered a fatal surprise attack from the Twilight Order executive, Sloth, and survived by the skin of his teeth.

After that, he disappeared and was known to the world as missing.

During his disappearance, Henon found out Sloth’s identity.

Her identity was none other than the master of the information guild that controlled the night of the empire, .

Confirming that she was a formidable figure, Henon felt that he also needed a support base and plotted to bring the Holy Nation under his control.

“So… are you saying that Henon Lloyd is hiding somewhere in the Holy Nation and acting as the Shadow Saintess?”

“No. What divine power does Henon have to do that? The Shadow Saintess is separate. Henon is trying to control her from behind and make her a puppet saintess.”

“Overthrow me, the existing saintess, and put forward a new saintess to swallow the Holy Nation whole?”

“That’s right.”

Repli taps the table with her finger.

“Let’s say what you said is true. Then this question remains: How do you know all this? It’s a secret that Kahn wouldn’t know unless he was Henon himself.”

As expected of one of the Seven Apostles of Twilight.

Lust was sharp, as her name suggested.

But only up to there.

I had prepared an answer to that question in advance.

“Do you know where I worked before I became an adventurer?”

“I heard it was the Blue Hawk Mercenary Corps.”

“That’s right. And the Blue Hawk Mercenary Corps is practically Henon Lloyd’s private mercenary corps.”

I explained in detail the relationship between Henon Lloyd and the leader of the Blue Hawk Mercenary Corps.

Since I was Henon myself, I could tell the story more realistically.

“At the time, I was hiding my strength and acting as an ordinary mercenary, but I accidentally found Henon’s letter while cleaning the captain’s office. That’s the secret to knowing all the secrets.”

“So the reason you came to the Holy Nation is…”

“Yes. Henon was slapped down by Sloth and is venting his anger on the Saintess. I understand that he needs his own power, but does it make sense to overthrow the innocent Repli? It’s such a selfish way of thinking.”

I tried to act as angry as possible.

I repeatedly instilled the fact that you are your ally.

So that I can buy her carelessness.

“To be honest, I don’t know where Henon is. But it’s certain that he’s somewhere in the Holy Nation. I want Baron Lloyd to pay the price. I want to help Repli, so please allow me.”

Repli has a tempted expression.

She’s almost completely convinced.

“It’s okay to have an archbishop with excellent martial arts skills, right? At least he’ll be more reliable than a holy knight who falls with one punch.”

I add the final blow here.

“If necessary, I will fully assist in resolving the Shadow Saintess case. The opportunity to freely use an orichalcum adventurer doesn’t come easily.”

In the end, Repli was completely persuaded.

“Okay. I’ll trust you once. From now on, you are Archbishop Kahn. Welcome in the name of Bellanus.”

“Thank you. Glory to Bellanus.”

“Glory to Bellanus.”

I was appointed as the Grand Archbishop of the Holy Nation in an unprecedented move.

With this, I was able to freely enter and exit the Holonium Grand Temple.

And the acquisition of the Golden Branch was also imminent.