Healing System

"Hey, Shingen, long time no see." Michael decided to talk to him. Now was as good a time as any to try to pry something out of him.

"...Indeed," he replied in his usual untalkative manner; it was not very surprising.

Nonetheless, Michael had to do something. The atmosphere surrounding the two traitors did not give him much of a chance to engage in small talk.

"I see you healed up well since the dungeon."

"Indeed."

'...This is the driest conversation I have ever had since coming to this world.' Michael sighed in exasperation.

The others were still discussing the matter regarding the gate, and only a few people were sitting by, none of whom were paying attention to the three of them. This meant Michael could do something a little bold.

"So who's the woman?" As those words fell, he could immediately see a change in Shingen's expression. Although it was very minute, barely even noticeable, it did not escape his sight.

"She is part of the roundtable, just like I am," Shingen replied patiently. It seemed like his first thought regarding the question steered toward another path—a more personal one, perhaps.

His heart is racing oddly fast. Seems like you are on the right track.

'You can hear that?'

So would you if you infused mana into your ears.

Michael raised his brow and tried it out. Surprisingly, he could indeed tell Shingen's heartbeat was much faster than it should normally be. It seemed like the perfect method for getting something out of someone. That also meant that he could finally make use of the cultists—even if they didn't answer, they would still react to his words.

"I see, you two seem pretty close for colleagues," Michael said sarcastically with a chuckle. Yet again, Shingen's heartbeat increased for a moment until it finally settled down again.

"We all sit together in a room all day; it's only natural to be friendly with one another," Shingen replied once more, trying to mask his unease at the questions regarding the woman.

But alas, it could not escape Michael's perception. It was like adding fuel to a fire.

"She seems a bit hotheaded to be a part of this table, though. Don't you think so as well?"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Even though that question seemed innocent at a glance, it was not received well by either Shingen or the woman. She had heard their whole conversation, after all.

Michael could feel a tinge of malice coming at him from both sides, yet he chose to ignore it, instead smiling to himself.

He was not very good at provoking people, but it seemed like slowly, he would get a reaction out of one of them—most probably the woman first.

That was why he decided to redirect his attention to her instead. Shingen had yet to reply, after all, probably dismissing that question of his as something an immature child would say—not even worthy of a response.

Michael glanced to his other side at the woman, who, for just a moment, was staring daggers at him. But as the two of them met eyes, she returned to complete neutrality—almost like she was not a traitor and did not want to kill him.

"Sorry about earlier. I did not mean to call you old. Oh, sorry, I did it again," Michael said slowly while holding eye contact with her. It was clear he had said that on purpose, and since she was looking directly into his eyes, she could tell that as well.

But alas, they were around a bunch of people, most of whom were not paying attention to them. However, if a situation were to arise, they would step in.

And who would they help other than him—the 14-year-old Saint from Vivum? It really was a cruel world... for the Evangelists, of course.

"It's alright," she said through gritted teeth. It was really a wonder how she had not given her identity away yet.

The Evangelists are likely wary of you by default; your Light affinity mana grows stronger by the day. Let's just say I might have instilled a bit of a generational fear in them. It's only natural for them to also be cautious of you as well... or, you know, more irritated towards you.

'Oh... well, that's pretty convenient, huh?' Michael couldn't help but praise the system. Something it had done who knows when came back to be quite the convenient boon for him.

'Maybe it is finally time to put the nail in the coffin?'

As Michael thought that, an idea popped into his mind—one he had wanted to use from the very start. But now, it was the perfect time.

The two of them held eye contact until he let out a smirk and cast his newest skill, Charm.

Immediately, her eyes began softening up, glancing at him with reverence, and the connection between the two grew incredibly strong.

It seemed like his Charm worked best on women; no surprise there.

Michael noticed that their connection was strong enough to the point where he could order her around without even talking, and that's exactly what he did.

'Speak your true thoughts.'

As he made his first order, a sudden shout startled all of the people present. "You fucking brat!"

Even though she said that in an ominous tone, she was still staring at him with reverence. Despite that, her words garnered enough attention.

The one most surprised by this outburst was Shingen. He was staring at her with widened eyes and a rapidly beating heart. It was beating even faster than when Michael had asked those questions earlier.

But who wouldn't be nervous? After all, she was currently putting their whole facade and mission—whatever that may be—in jeopardy.

However, no one could stop her from talking—well, with the exception of Michael.

"How dare you speak to me like that? Do you think anyone gives a shit if you are some sort of Saint from a city half the continent away? I would rather k—"

Her words were suddenly interrupted as Shingen quickly dashed behind her and covered her mouth.

'Is he stupid?' Michael thought. He could have just stayed put and let her fall, yet he went out and pretty much doomed himself along with her.

The suspicion would naturally fall onto him as well.

Nonetheless, now that the two of them were right next to each other, he could finally take the next step in his plan.

'Kill him.'

The moment he ordered the woman, her eyes flashed with a hint of refusal, but because of the sheer difference in strength between Michael and her, she was not able to refuse.

She twisted her head and suddenly summoned a pure black rapier, immediately aiming for Shingen's throat.

However, he managed to dodge it, just barely. Michael remembered him for his extremely fast speed. It seemed like not much had changed since then.

But with the addition of the current exchange, the whole room fell silent. Some remained quiet due to the shock of what had just happened, while others simply out of pity for what was about to happen to them.

The woman kept trying to kill Shingen until finally, a sudden wave of pressure stopped her. It was Reginald.

Michael inwardly smiled and dispelled his Charm on her, immediately freeing her from his clutches.

Her eyes cleared up, yet she was unable to speak due to the pressure Reginald emitted. It was authoritative and definitely determined to end her at any moment.

I would normally not praise you for such acts since they are pretty vile, but good job; the Evangelists deserve all that is coming to them.

'I know, right?'

Reginald began walking up to the two of them, stopping right in front of the frozen woman.

"What do you think you are doing?"