[ The Administrator ]

Part I Chapter 11 - Troublemaker

Damn it... I got careless. I was too focused on Yoko that I completely forgot about his presence. What should I do now? Disposing of the witness? It doesn't seem like a pertinent choice, the poor guy didn't do anything wrong... Should I ask Yoko to do something about him? No, not a good idea. I'm pretty sure she will just kill him. Threatening him? It is less safe, but I guess that is the only option I have.

I stepped forward.

"Raise your head." I ordered, trying to be as cold as possible.

The man obeyed. He slowly lifted his head up, but he was still unwilling to look at me in the eyes.

"How much have you heard?" I asked with the same apathetic voice.

The man froze. He probably understood that he had heard something he shouldn't have and that I wasn't very pleased about that. Still, he didn't dare to lie.

He swallowed. "Y-You are Her Holiness' Creator a-and the Goddess of A-All Creations..."

Yup. As I thought, he heard too much. I crouched down in front of him and lifted his chin, forcing him to look at me in the eyes. I made sure to show him my most sadistic smile, to make him understand what I was thinking.

"Is that so? This is not good. This is supposed to be a secret, you know~?" I told him.

Yoko suddenly spoke up. "Eh? If you don't want him to know, why don't you just kill him?"

As I thought... Hearing this, the man started shivering. Ignoring Yoko's remark, I continued.

"So... You can't tell anyone about what you saw or heard today, understood? It will be really troublesome if you started saying unnecessary things... I don't like troublesome things... You... understand my point, don't you? You should know that I see everything... I know everything..."

This is embarrassing. I think I have to work on my villain lines. Hearing something like this from a teenage girl can't possibly be intimidating, yet, for some reasons, it worked. Seeing the sweat droplets on his skin running down his face and his body shivering, I concluded that he had understood. Besides, I highly doubt anyone would believe him even if he started talking. People in this world aren't aware of my existence... I think...

The man quietly nodded.

"Can we go now?" Yoko asked, the tone in her voice clearly indicating that she was losing patience.

"Before that, there is something I want to ask you." I said, returning my attention to her. "I'm looking for someone. A man. It's been a few days he disappeared and his son Axis is looking for him. Since you are the one who knows this forest the best, do you happen to know anything?"

Yoko stared at me with her squinted eyes for a while, seemingly thinking about something. She then turned her gaze on the man, bowing on the ground, completely stiff.

"Hey, Goyle, Roy, Troy, or whatever your name was. Didn't you say that you had a son named like this too?" She asked.

Processing what she just said, my eyes slowly fell upon the man on the ground, who was now as rigid as a statue. It can't be... Him...?

"It's Troy, Your Holiness...And I-I may have mentioned s-something like this but..." He tried to speak up, however, his voice fell silent again.

...What in the world? He is Axis' father? But... He seems well and uninjured. How come did he not return to his son? No wait... Is he not Yoko's worshipper? I turned my gaze to her, with a meaningful look.

"I told you already, I did not kidnap anyone," she said, answering my unspoken thought. "I found this one weakened, wandering near my den. Ever since, he wouldn't stop following me. And since he's not completely useless, I granted him a little protection against the miasma. End of the story."