Chapter 2 Lichtenstein Castle, Second Floor

As night fell, the corridor seemed to blend into the darkness, the only light coming from a row of old chandeliers hanging in the middle of the hallway.

Outside the windows on both sides of the corridor, filled with dim mist, the castle's trees and the distant cliffs seemed to disappear.

Now, the young master of the Canberra Kingdom's Chamber of Commerce, along with his bodyguard siblings and the returning Frey, were downstairs preparing to receive the Count.

But before the arrival of the vampire Count Palocas, the others had an important task—

To convert the captured priestess of the Rebirth Church and obtain complete intelligence about this Shadow World from her.

Lange said he wasn't good at interrogation; he had always been soft-hearted and couldn't bear to see others suffer.

And although the three clergymen had been fighting cultists for many years, they had never conducted an interrogation.

Generally speaking, defeating these bizarre and unpredictable cultists was difficult enough, let alone capturing them alive.

Even if they were captured, these clergymen were not allowed to privately try cultists, because there had been cases where deep communication with cultists led to their own unconscious corruption.

However, thanks to the professional legal guidance provided by the lawyer, Rebirth cultists captured in the Shadow World can be subjected to any trial, provided their own safety is ensured!

Therefore, in order to make up for the three clergymen's lack of professional skills, Lange also invited an expert to guide them.

…

Outside bedroom 202, where the captured priestess of the Rebirth Church was being held.

"The Executioner is responsible for the punishment, the Priest is responsible for the healing, and the Paladin is responsible for repentance. Don't ask anything, just gag her mouth. Practice on her for a good hour, and no matter what she says, don't stop the punishment. Then I'll come and question her myself."

A girl's clear and bright voice echoed in the corridor. Her gray hair shimmered in the dim light, like the brightest star in the night sky.

The Poet of Great Love stood in the center of the corridor, with historical murals behind her, as if telling an ancient and mysterious story.

"Wh-why such interrogation?"

The three clergymen couldn't help but ask, confused and troubled.

You're inflicting torture without asking questions; isn't that just pure torment?

Although the Poet of Great Love was a demonic summon, since she was the training teacher appointed by the lawyer, she must be an expert.

Even if the Poet of Great Love wasn't a summon but a real demon, the clergymen of the Church of the Goddess of Destiny would treat her the same. After all, there had been demon clerics in history.

"Don't underestimate the elite followers of the Rebirth Church. She must have undergone professional anti-interrogation training. To deal with such prisoners, a general interrogation requires a process, long or short, before the prisoner is willing to confess."

The Poet of Great Love sighed and sat directly on the windowsill, explaining to the three clergymen. She was like a goddess in the painting, elegant and dignified, full of a charm that made it difficult to tell whether she was an angel or a demon.

"I call this long process 'the prisoner's reserve.'"

"So, since the prisoner will remain tight-lipped for a while, it doesn't matter if we gag her mouth first."

"Interrogating while questioning is an inefficient method of interrogation. It only makes the prisoner feel that they still have bargaining chips and room for negotiation."

"As interrogators, we must make the prisoner understand one thing—intelligence doesn't matter. Whether she speaks or not, the severe punishment will definitely be carried out. She has no dignity or value in front of us!"

"And you must remember one thing: the best interrogators don't give prisoners pain, but fear..."

"..."

Listening to the Poet of Great Love's guidance, the three clergymen's eyes were filled with entanglement and worry.

"But, Miss Lange, is this really something we clergymen should do?"

The Priest couldn't help but ask after listening to the Poet of Great Love's instructions.

Although they could all understand the Poet of Great Love's teachings and felt they made sense, considering that they were clergymen of an orderly and benevolent church, they were worried that learning such forbidden interrogation theories would violate their teachings.

The more they listened to the Poet of Great Love's voice, the more clearly they felt their minds wavering, and the more afraid they were that they would go astray.

"Gods are inherently cruel. They cannot interfere in the world, but they use one person's hand to kill another."

Seeing the three clergymen's bewildered appearance, the Poet of Great Love gently curled the corners of her mouth and murmured in an incredibly gentle voice,

"The gods must also like to do this. They are always doing it. Aren't we made according to the gods themselves?"

Her whisper was full of temptation, constantly swirling around the three clergymen's ears like an unmelting magic spell.

"Cruelty and torture are best regarded as a kind of love, because you can't control who you fall in love with... So, this is not your fault. Everything is just to carry out your faith, nothing more."

"So that's how it is... This is love..."

The three clergymen murmured, their eyes becoming chaotic, as if they gradually understood everything.

They began to emerge from their confusion, replaced by a renewed, fervent faith!

…

In the corridor not far away, Lange and Hyperion were watching.

"Lange... are you sure this is okay!?"

Hyperion felt her heart about to jump out. Lange's move might be creating a super karmic disaster!

"Providing professional and reliable skills training services to clergymen is also a kind of doing good deeds. You can rest assured about the quality of teaching."

Lange listened to the Poet of Great Love's public lecture for a while and then signaled Hyperion that the two of them could leave.

The Poet of Great Love always had some inexplicable talents. Even Talia wasn't good at it, or rather, apart from her appearance and race being the same as Talia, everything else was different.

It can only be speculated that the magical material [Hymn of Compassion] gave the Poet of Great Love too many strange characteristics.

"..."

As Hyperion walked, she couldn't help but look back at the Poet of Great Love's teaching of the three clergymen.

This issue of the Shadow World is called *The Saintly Villain's Dinner Party*, but it's actually *Purgatory Corridor Academy 2*, and it's a five-day, high-intensity training session for the headmaster.

Hyperion was now only hoping that when she and Lange disguised themselves and traveled to the Northern Continent to visit Bishop Ascesan of Oblivion during the winter vacation, they wouldn't encounter these three clergymen in the Northern Continent.

She could already imagine these three people holding Lange's selected works, singing the Internationale, and proclaiming that only by cracking down on cults can the Northern Continent be saved.