Rania needed her rest and planned to return to her house after this. So we separated after I explained what I meant by kidnapping someone. Both teachers listened quietly and somehow agreed with my decision.
Afterward, Emilia and I left the Counseling Room together.
"Will that work?" Emilia asked as we went down the corridor together toward a class that became my destination.
"It will," I replied with a smile. My hands were inside my pockets. "Also, I want to get someone out of her hiding place too. It's a bother. She didn't even show up when I killed Adam this morning.
"Huh?" Emilia stopped on her tracks for a second, shocked. "W-Wait. You killed student Adam?! Why?"
Stopping and turning around, I waited for Emilia to catch up to me. She had a surprised expression as she continued walking.
"Just something personal. And this relates to the person we are about to kidnap. It's not only the matters of nobles and the church anymore. But someone is instigating this, and I want to pull the root."
"Someone is instigating this… Could it be a Succubus from the Sin Kingdom?" Emilia's eyes widened in revelation as she stopped beside me.
She was quick to catch my hint, as usual. Still, to think she immediately related it to a Succubus from the Sin Kingdom was unexpected.
However…
"You're half-correct," I replied as I continued to walk. She followed right on my side.
Beatrice was indeed a Succubus with a special power. <Charm Magic> being one of her racial magic, the one magic all Succubus had. Innate magic from a race perk, you could call it that. Half-succubus had no chance to inherit it, though. It was such a shame.
Anyway, she came from a different place and not the Sin Kingdom. It was a more primordial and old place that existed before two Kingdoms and the Goddess of Lust, Lilith, came into this world.
That was why I was wary of her. But if this world's rules worked on her, then I could work on my way around to get what I wanted.
"She's not just an ordinary Succubus."
I only told Emilia that much. It should be enough to satisfy her curiosity, and she was also sensible enough not to ask more questions.
We continued walking in silence; a serious atmosphere around us as we were about to intrude into the most important Class in the Virtue Royal Academy, Class 1.
This would be a surprise for some. Maybe the headmistress would call me when she returned from Royal Capital. But still, better move fast rather than late. Cut the root of the problem before it could become a big tree.
'He will only get stronger and troublesome as time passes if Beatrice keeps feeding him stolen status from every man she meets.'
Unlike Adam, Alexander probably couldn't double the Sins he gained. He was nothing special, even with the stolen title from the protagonist. I really doubted the one he got from Beatrice was as good as the original.
Any stolen or temporary status and skills wouldn't be as good as the original. That was the rule that wouldn't change back in Horizon Online or Sins Paradise. So maybe he was just a temporary guy to play with for Beatrice.
'But I won't allow her to get back to Adam. There is no way I would do that. It's better if I break his mind after I deal with this blue-haired bastard. He reminds me of the sly King Cassius, who made a bad joke this morning.'
After walking for a while and taking a few turns at the intersections, we finally arrived in front of Class 1. Unlike the normal-looking Class 3 and 4, which were located in separate corridors, Class 1 had an entirely different atmosphere.
The decoration around the corridor where Class 1 was filled with some gaudy-looking lamps, and there was even a red carpet.
I looked at Emilia and pointed at the floor, and she only shrugged her shoulders in defeat and shook her head. I see, so it wasn't the school's decision but the students?
The teachers were taking this too easily… Maybe because they couldn't do anything about it. The other party was a bunch of kids who would run this country eventually. It would hurt their future if they told those kids not to decorate – or renovate – the corridor to their liking.
"Well, whatever."
In the end, I didn't really care about what they did to the corridor. It was their right. As long as it didn't bother the aesthetic of the area near my class, I wouldn't do anything to them.
"Shall we enter then?"
I grinned and held the door's handle. Without even knocking, I pushed the door open and intruded into an ongoing class.
The teacher, the professor-looking person who had taught monster ecology, looked at me with a shocked and baffled face. He was a good teacher; I felt rather bad for intruding like this.
But the red dot on my radar was in this place, so I hoped he could tolerate my behavior a little bit.
"Please excuse us, Professor Bernand."
Emilia stepped in front of me and spoke to the professor. I meant, he wasn't a professor-looking but an actual professor, huh?
"We are sorry for disturbing your class. But we need to get one student from this class for some–" Emilia continued as she glanced at the first row of the seat where a blue-haired boy was sitting beside the Princess. "–questioning."
Professor Bernand nodded slightly as he scratched his hair which turned gray in some parts. "I don't understand, but if it's important, then please take your time."
Emilia nodded gratefully. "Thank you."
The Princess looked at me with a shocked expression. But then she turned to her left, where Alexander Bluerose was sitting.
That blue-haired boy had a sour expression as he glared at me with a deadly gaze mixed with hate and anger. He realized that we were coming for him, and so was the Princess.
For some reason, she stood up and braced herself.
"Excuse me, sir Paladin. Is there a need to disturb a class for… this?" She glanced at Alexander for a second without breaking her fake smile. "I believe we can wait for half an hour instead of making a ruckus."
"I am afraid we can't, Princess," I replied instead of Emilia, as this was something I had planned.
"Because we have a Sinner here." And I had the authority to judge a Sinner as a Paladin of the Castitas Church.
The students were shocked at my words, and their eyes landed on Alexander, who we had been implying since the start, with disgusted expressions. Even the Princess took a step away from Alexander.
"Wait, no!" Alexander tried to explain, but no one heard him.
My words as a Paladin carried such weight, and I noticed some students here attending the morning prayer this time too. So they believed me more than the son of Duke Bluerose, who didn't realize that he had oozed some dangerous purple aura now.
If you asked what a Sinner was and why their reactions were that excessive, then it was simple. They were a person who committed a certain grave sin but paid for the Sins with Virtues so they wouldn't be seen with a disgusted look.
Alexander might not notice it as he was overjoyed with his newfound strength, or he did notice it but didn't really care. But his Virtues… it was all gone when Beatrice gave him the stolen power.
And as expected, Adam's ability to nullify the side-effect from having Sins wasn't properly transferred either.
So when he gained Sins points from trying to threaten a Paladin earlier, the side-effect of having Sins was activated, and an unpleasant purple aura leaked out from his body.
"Now then…" I approached his seat and stopped right in front of him. "Would you let me kidnap you politely or rudely? The choice is in your hand."
Emilia stood beside me with a menacing gaze, glaring at Alexander as if he was just a mutt in the sewer. No, even lower than that.
With this, I created a scenario where Alexander Bluerose was a bad guy who gained more Sins than Virtues he could pay. Everyone knew that a high-ranking noble Virtues would be a lot due to their position.
So Alexander Bluerose in this case was now the massive villain who did a lot of questionable acts in their eyes.
"So, what's your answer?"
"You fucking scum!" He growled in anger.
