Snapping his finger, the Duke created a barrier to isolate the sound inside this small cubicle. The barrier's color was black. He used <Dark Magic> to create it.
'A Mage, probably with Lv 5 Dark Magic. He's quite strong.' I looked at Duke Blacktomb with a bit of surprise written on my face. As someone in this world, having Lv 5 skills was quite remarkable.
Among people I knew, only Alesia might have magic skills higher than Lv 5. Beatrice had Lv 6 skill, but she gained it from taking other people's status and not naturally, so I wouldn't count her.
As for Tristan… She managed to get to Lv 7 as Isabelle, but that was also thanks to her experience in Horizon Online. She could get to Lv 7 because she had experienced it before, so she also didn't count as naturally.
'Looking at his mastery, he is probably also around Level 60, quite high for a human.'
Duke Blacktomb's smile deepened as he put his hands together, putting them on the table.
"I also have some questions to ask you, if possible, Sir Paladin. Of course, you don't need to answer it if you don't want to. That's also my stand, so please ask your questions first. Even if I am like this, I am quite experienced in reading a person's expression. I swear on Goddess Tera's name to answer truthfully."
The Duke laughed once more. Naya didn't say anything and maintained her smile, while Milea also maintained her expressionless state, looking at the empty plates on the table.
'Questions… What should I ask?'
I had many things I wanted to ask Duke Blacktomb, but he probably wouldn't answer most of them. No criminals would admit their wrongdoings.
"That's fine by me," I replied to Duke Blacktomb with a smile. "Well then, I will ask my first question. Did the Sin Kingdom really sign a cease-fire agreement for 100 years due to Paladin's appearance?"
"That's true." The Duke replied almost immediately with a nod. "Now is my turn. Did you become a Paladin recently, or did you keep it a secret for a long time?"
That was such a bad question, but I guessed they wanted to know whether the church nurtured me to become a Paladin or I became a Paladin due to my pure skill. Milea being with me probably was the reason why he asked such a thing. He probably thought she was by my side to observe me.
"I will swear on Goddess Teri's name that I will answer truthfully," I spoke with a calm voice as I clasped my hands together. "I became a Paladin just recently, around a month ago," I replied, gaining a nod from Duke Blacktomb.
"I see. You're quite a talented boy, then."
"I am just lucky," I added without changing my expression. "Second question, then. What happened to the assassins that attacked me the second day I became a Paladin?"
"They will be dealt with. The faction of the nobles who thought of you as dangerous, which is, unfortunately, also my subordinates, are already punished by our Queen. I will formally apologize to you for this matter after those people are punished. I truly apologize for my negligence."
Duke Blacktomb bowed his head deeply. Naya looked rather surprised, but she also bowed her head in an apologetic manner, following her father's gesture.
"Raise your head, Duke Blacktomb. I will accept your apology as long as they are punished accordingly."
"Thank you for your generosity." The Duke revealed a toothy smile. "It's my turn, Sir Paladin. What happened to the Dark Elf assassin that didn't return with the others?"
"She's living happily," I replied immediately.
"I see. Thank you."
Whatever the Duke had in mind, I didn't know. Was he happy that I forgave his subordinate? Did he think I would be mad and couldn't control myself to kill his subordinates and send their souls to the Goddess?
'Or he might even do this to assert my personality.'
Anyway, I proceeded to ask my questions, and Duke Blacktomb answered almost everything. I found out he wouldn't answer when I asked the name of the Queen that he mentioned earlier or anything related to the Royal Family of the Sin Kingdom.
And I also didn't answer anything related to my personal relationship or the inside information of the church. Unexpectedly, though, Duke Blacktomb didn't mind answering a question such as his goal of visiting this Kingdom.
Because he was swearing in the name of the Goddess, I doubted he told me a lie. But that didn't mean he told me everything. He could've only given me a portion of the real answer.
For example, his goal in visiting this Kingdom was to sign a cease-fire agreement with the Virtue Kingdom and make a friendly approach. But he omitted another goal he had and didn't tell me about it. That made him answer truthfully but not completely.
As for me…
'I can lie no matter how much I want to as I am not a real believer of the Goddess Teri or Tera. Heck, Goddess Lilith is even on my side. She won't smite me even if I lie after swearing using her fake name.'
The questions game continued after that, and we pretty much just asked about each other Kingdom's situation because our curiosity over each other was already dispelled. We understood each other's bottom line.
My questions were regarding the Races that lived in the Sin Kingdom, especially the Devil Race, which included Vampire, Succubus, Lamia, Oni, and many others. And Duke Blacktomb's questions were about delicacies and monsters in the Virtue Kingdom.
Fortunately, my cheeky nun was a chef and understood many delicacies, so she answered it for me.
I used this chance to ask what kind of border the Sin Kingdom had on the east side and slightly changed Duke Blacktomb's expression.
"A giant hole. It's just a pure sinking hole that light can't reach. No one approaches that place as it's dangerous. Our Holy City is located near that border to protect it from adventurers or other people who are curious about the World End border."
"That's just like the Virtue Kingdom," I told him, and he finally smiled again.
"Hahaha, the Goddess told us not to approach the border. Are you interested in it, Sir Paladin?"
"Slightly," I replied, shrugging my shoulders. "I was once an adventure, too, so I tend to be curious about new areas I never visited."
"I see. I was once a curious young man too." The Duke nodded. "Now is my turn, right? Can I ask whether you are interested in visiting our Kingdom?"
Hearing that, I couldn't help but smile. I was about to ask whether I could visit their Kingdom as a guest, but it seemed like I didn't need to.
"If there is a chance, I will visit the Sin Kingdom." I nodded at him.
At that moment, I noticed Milea fidgeting while keeping her head down. The chair was slightly wet, and I noticed liquid began to accumulate on it.
'This girl… She's about to cum?'
Noticing my gaze, Milea raised her head and smiled playfully as if nothing was wrong.
'Well, I already asked everything I wanted to, so it's time to return.'
I secretly used <Purification> and turned to the Duke.
"Duke Blacktomb, Miss Naya. It's really nice to talk with both of you, but unfortunately, my duty as a Paladin is calling. I hope we have a chance to meet again." I stood up and stretched my hand toward them.
Duke Blacktomb and Miss Naya stood up. The former shook my hand and smiled wryly.
"Oh, right. I am sorry for taking your time, Sir Paladin."
"No, it's okay. I have fun having breakfast with you and hearing such interesting things from the Sin Kingdom. May fate allow us to meet again."
"Yes." The Duke nodded and released my hand. "I will prepare a way to invite you to the Sin Kingdom when the time arrives. Unfortunately, [Earring of Communication] can't pierce through the strange barrier in the border and is a useless article to communicate between the Kingdoms."
"That's understandable." I smiled at him, urging Milea to stand up. "I will be waiting."
With that, I left the fourth floor with Milea and paid for everything at the cashier. I looked at the cheeky nun as we exited the restaurant and whispered.
"In the alleyway or home?"
"Home, please. But… Can you carry me and arrive fast? I might cum in seconds." Milea answered as her body shivered, trying to hold back as much as she could.
"It can't be helped," I said, pulling her into an empty alleyway and carrying her in my arms. Then I jumped to the roof and jumped around toward my mansion.
The cheeky nun orgasmed once we stepped into the garden. Her love juices were squirted out from her pussy as she lifted her skirt, spraying over the beautiful flowers that Lisa and Lara tended to.
It happened with Lara watching her from the side, dropping the watering can in her hand, with a baffled expression. As for Milea, she didn't care and just released her accumulated pleasure while moaning loudly.
In the end, Lara was mad and pulled Milea's ears before asking for my permission to punish the cheeky nun with a scary smile. I allowed her to.
'Lara looks like a scary sibling even though she's the younger of the twins.' I thought as I walked out of the mansion again. 'I should probably give her more money to buy new flowers later. Yes. It's ruined because of Milea.'
Also, Naya Blacktomb. That girl might look simple and pure, but her blood-red eyes kept watching my every movement earlier.
'I might need to keep watch on her.'
