"He hasn't lied once. For an Archbishop, it is…concerning just how forthcoming he has been." Karsten was the first to talk as we sat down in a separate room. She had taken me to the side while Romanée-Conti remained under the watchful eye of Wilhelm.

Frankly, we needed the time to gather ourselves, Natsuki especially. I watched the kid storm out of the room, giving one last glance at Romanée-Conti before heading into where Argyle had taken Emilia to.

The interrogation, if you can even call it that, had brought up too many questions, more than answers, really. First off, Emilia was nowhere near one hundred years old. Considering the power she held, the contract she had with a Great Spirit, and the resemblance she had to the Witch of Envy, had she been older than what she said she was, she would have already been in the history books.

Either Romanée-Conti managed to get one up against Karsten, or Emilia was somehow able to remain hidden for that long. I'll need some way to figure out whether or not the Permafrost had anything to do with it, as that was the only thing I could think of that could have been the cause when you consider everything else.

Secondly, I needed to find out just how much Natsuki's clairvoyance missed the mark, and why it happened. So far, this was the first time that the kid was this wrong. Sure, dealing with an insane Cultist was difficult, and we likely would have had more casualties had he been insane. You know what's worse? Dealing with a sane Cultist that could plan out with their own heads.

It was bad enough to deal with the regulars. They followed their damned Gospels to the letter, believing that by doing everything written in there that they could achieve their goals. More often than not, it would lead to their deaths. And yet, by the time they realized that dying was the only ending they'll ever get, they were so deep into the Cult that they'd start to believe that it was what they wanted in the first place.

Now we had to deal with Romanée-Conti and him being a suspiciously reasonable individual. For all I know, this was all part of his plan, considering just how he was captured in the first place.

Though I trusted that Beatrice would be able to keep him contained, I was not fully certain as to whether she wanted the Archbishop to remain in that position. Call me paranoid or hypocritical and I won't say I'm not. I still wouldn't change my mind about Beatrice just yet.

The fact that I had begun to trust her, even as just a colleague in terms of magic, and having said trust be spat on as we discovered that she had known Romanée-Conti in the first place was something I didn't want to repeat.

Oh. Karsten said something there. I should probably listen to her before she notices.

"Hikigaya, are you listening to me?" The green haired woman frowned as I stayed silent. I blankly stared at her as she poked my head, her frown turning more into a pout. Shit, she noticed.

"Oi, what the hell woman?" I swiped at her finger in annoyance, only for her to do it again.

"Hachiman, I will not have you ignore me when I ask a question." Karsten told me in a low voice, and I groaned internally in response.

Really, this wasn't what I expected when she first came into my shop a couple of years ago.

…

"Fine, what were you saying?"

"I was asking you whether or not we should trust the Archbishop. My abilities aren't exactly privy to differentiating between actual reality and perceived notions." Karsten rolled her eyes, an expression that most would never see from the taciturn woman.

I guess I was 'lucky' in that regard.

"Normally, I would tell you to not bother with thinking a Cultist is in any way sane." I told her with a dry look, "That being said, this is far from a normal situation, is it? I'd…take his word as true for now, but send some of your men to investigate, particularly the kingdom's records if you can."

"And I suppose you want a commission if I were to have you do it?" Karsten smirked at me as I shrugged back at her.

"You already know my normal rates."

"You know, we could skip all this if you'd accept being my spymaster."

"And be the target of every single one of your enemies? No thanks." I scoffed back at her, though I left the fact that I dealt with two of her rivals as well. Both Hosin and Barielle paid well, and not even just in money. If I took Karsten's deal, I'd have to give that up.

Plus, it would be in bad taste to leave my customers behind, you know.

Sticking it out as a blacksmith that moonlights as an info broker was way more profitable, and just leads me all the more closer to finding a way back home with minimal risk. After all, most people would know better than to go after info brokers, what with the brokers being near neutral parties.

Ignore that I only deal with non-criminals, or those that Felt and Rom that had no choice but to turn to crime in order to survive. And that some people like Granhiert just plain don't respect neutrality.

Other than that, perfectly safe.

"Hm." She gave a smile that I narrowed my eyes at, "Fine. I'll have Felix forward you the payment once we're back in the capital. For now, I'll trust you'll have the data around the same time."

"Sure." See, this is something that I appreciate about Karsten. She's definitely a driven individual, and idealistic to a fault. And yet, she understood that trying to wipe out crime was an exercise in futility, and was willing to turn a blind eye to my relatively harmless side business so long as it benefits her as well.

In fact, I would be lying if I said that I never considered accepting Karsten's offer. The other candidates were just way too volatile. Emilia had already told me that she disapproved of my business venture, Hosin had already implied that whatever I found would always have to be shared with her, and Barielle was a bitch.

Karsten would be curious as to why I wanted the things I did, but would respect the professional boundaries between her and I. Accepting her deal would just mean more resources for me to funnel into my own research.

But, and call me arrogant all you want, I didn't want to be beholden to anyone other than myself.

I respected her, to the point where I could maybe call the woman my friend. But that didn't mean I wanted to be under her.

So I would work with her, as I always did, and respect her as much as she respected me.

Just as it has always been for the past few years.

…So why, as I was mentally drafting up the orders for Felt to gather the info I needed, did I feel that something was wrong?

…

"Shall we continue?" Karsten, now sporting her signature look, nodded to everyone. Including Emilia and the maids, strangely enough. I would have thought Argyle would have kept the elf in bed considering her little episode, and judging by both the healer's pinched face and Natsuki's unmasked worry, they had likely argued for her to do so.

"Before that, I would like to warn you that by my estimations, we do not have much time." Romanée-Conti spoke, still eerily calm despite everything. Karsten held up a hand, stopping Natsuki from demanding something or the other. The Cultist adamantly ignored Emilia, though I don't know if that was a good thing or not.

Her other hand on her sword, the Duchess narrowed her eyes, despite the inability for Romanée-Conti to do anything, "Speak, Archbishop. What do you mean by that?"

Of course, I spied Wilhelm keeping careful watch of Beatrice, if only because I was doing the same. All of us knew that everything hinged on Beatrice holding the barrier in place, and that if she wanted to release the Archbishop, she could also imprison all of us in the same breath.

"Duchess Karsten, you remember when I said that I was not your enemy? That I was trying to help you? That was not a lie, as you could probably tell by now." Nodding to his words, Karsten motioned for Romanée-Conti to continue, "Please do not panic, but to be honest, I am here to contend against the White Whale."

He paused, apparently, and rightly so, expecting us to jump up in surprise. The reveal would have had the desired expectation had we not just killed it. Suffice it to say, I was already smirking when the people around me started looking at each other.

And, of course, I couldn't help but burst the bubble for the Archbishop, "Sorry to rain on your parade, but we've already killed it."

Romanée-Conti's head snapped towards me, wide eyes and jaw loose, "Wh-What? You killed the White Whale?"

"As unbelievable as it is, it is the truth. The White Whale fell thanks to the brave men and women that joined us just earlier. The final blow was thanks to none other than Subaru Natsuki's ingenuity." She gave a proud smile to the suddenly bashful NEET. Way to downplay my part, Karsten. Still, that's just how I like it.

We certainly didn't expect the Archbishop to suddenly collapse and start laughing. In relief, it seems.

"I-Ha, sorry. It's just, I'm-I'm relieved." Romanée-Conti laughed one more time, before smiling at Natsuki, "I'm glad, truth be told. You must tell me just how you managed to beat both the Whale and the Radicals."

"...the Radicals?" Natsuki looked utterly confused.

Slowly, the smile faded from the Archbishop, shifting from sharing the same confused look as Natsuki, to a thoughtful frown, to alarmed in less than a minute. He slammed his hands on the translucent barrier, prompting everyone to shoot up in alarm.

"The Radicals! The other Cultists, led by the Archbishop of Gluttony! The entire point of the White Whale is to act as a distraction while they attack!"

"...What?"

"Look," And this was the first time Romanée-Conti looked annoyed, "The Witch Cult is divided into two factions: the Moderates and the Radicals. I lead the Moderates, which more or less are just myself and my Fingers. The rest of the Cult is composed of the rest of the Archbishops and their sects. The White Whale is under control by Gluttony, and is usually directed to attack an area before he acts.

"What I'm getting at is, you need to keep guard of the village and Emilia-sama!"

"What guarantee is there that you aren't going to take this opportunity to-"

"If you want a guarantee, then have this then." Cutting off Karsten, Romanée-Conti pulled out a box. The moment he did, I could feel something was off. Tense. The sickly sweet smell that permeated out of the box was monstrous. I could only imagine how it would smell out of it, and I already knew whatever was in it, I didn't want to be anywhere near it.

"If you don't trust me even with how honest I have been this entire time, then maybe this will do it. Believe nothing if you want, but at least listen to this: do not open it."

"What the hell is that thing?" Natsuki was the first to speak up, backing away to cover Emilia with his body, the elf herself showing signs of another PTSD attack. Grimacing in response, Romanée-Conti motioned for Beatrice to take the box. The Great Spirit seemed to recognize the box, and was visibly uncomfortable handling it.

"Long ago, Master Flugel entrusted me with it for safekeeping, to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. I trust that you will do the same once I tell you that what you now hold is the Witch Factor of Sloth."

The box, floating towards Karsten, was suddenly enveloped in another barrier as more than one person drew their weapons. With good reason. An Archbishop was an Archbishop of a particular sin, and they gained their domain by possessing a Witch Factor.

That one was floating right in front of us was downright ludicrous.

"DO NOT DESTROY IT!" Roaring in sheer fury, Romanée-Conti still couldn't stop the numerous weapons from crashing into it. Thankfully, the barrier protected it from any damage, though looking at Beatrice after the fact, I could tell that it had taken more than a bit of effort to fend them all off. Myself included, shamefully enough.

"And why the hell not?!" Natsuki had practically dragged Emilia to a far off corner of the room, far away from the Witch Factor.

"Please just listen for once! Should you destroy the box, you risk the Witch Factor escaping into the World and finding a host. Master Flugel managed to seal it before his death in order to prevent that from ever happening!"

Panting for breath by now, Romanée-Conti continued, "I am giving it to you as a gesture of good faith, so please, just listen."

"...Beatrice, seal the Witch Factor in your library. Nobody, not even you, is to approach it for now."

It wasn't Karsten that spoke. It wasn't Natsuki. It wasn't even me.

Emilia, gently pushing past Natsuki, stepped forward with a pained half-frown, half-smile.

"Emilia-tan?!" Natuski gaped in shock. I could feel my surprise mount, as she stepped right up to the barrier.

"I can't remember everything from back then, or if you were truthful all the way or not, but...I can't say why I feel so, but I feel that you are a good person. So, since you gave us your trust, I'm willing to do the same."

…

I can't say I approved of Emilia's words, nor did I think that she had thought things through for more than a moment. Yet, I can't say that she didn't earn some more respect from me. It takes a different kind of courage to believe yourself, and in others, when the entire world seems to be against you.

Nobody here truly believed the Archbishop. Even Karsten and myself, despite my earlier words to her, could not take him at face value. Not when he could be certifiably insane.

And yet, Emilia had that inner strength that the younger me would have been envious of, not that I would admit it.

So, as the people in the room grudgingly followed her lead, what with her technically having the final say with Mathers not in the mansion, I could finally see what made her a candidate for the Royal Selection.

Idealistic, with dreams too far out of reach for the normal person. In a modern world, that sort of thinking would be stamped out by the time you got into the workforce. Here and now though, she had the faint hope of doing so.

I can't say I would support her, however. She was still green around the gills, yet even I could see the start of a good leader. You can't, after all, be a leader without being an inspiration to your people.

What better inspiration was more idealistic, then, than to wish for an all around better world?

…I would have left with that final thought in mind, as the last person to go through my portal to Arlam, had not a single word stopped me.

"Hikigaya."

Romanée-Conti stared back at me with hardened eyes. I could tell what he was telling me through them without any words. I scoffed.

'If you try anything, I will kill you?'

Really, he was the Archbishop in this scenario. I should be the one telling him that! I'm not even part of the Witch's Cult, for fuck's sake!

So what if I had my own isekai cheat power? It's not like having the Witch Factor of Greed made me a bad guy, you know.

...

A/N: If you like what I do and want to support me, check out my P-atreon at P-atreon•com(slash)Almistyor.

And a special thanks to: FireRogueWolf25, brutalcrab and Tassimo.