Chapter 306.2: Mayhem (2) Part 2

"Roughly."

"There are many kinds of desires of devils, but there aren't countless ones. Most desires are similar. If the desires are like possessiveness or a thirst for knowledge, it wouldn't be a big problem in human society, but if the desires are like theft or arson, it's troublesome. Anyway, the desires of devils aren't that new and fresh. And they always have the characteristic of being for oneself. There's no desire to help or save someone."

Frondier nodded.

Lily also brought criminals into her knights and let them out into the world, but she only saved men with appearances that she liked.

As a result, they were living better lives, but they were already under Lily's charm. And it wouldn't be fair either.

Paul continued speaking.

"And devils are more sensitive to things related to their desires. Simply put, they have a good sense of smell. If someone has a desire for wealth, they have an extraordinary eye for the value of things, and if they have a thirst for knowledge, they are good at finding ways to obtain the knowledge they need."

"......Hey, don't tell me."

Frondier began to gradually guess what would follow. Naturally, his eyes narrowed.

"So, to find humans, you just need a devil with a desire related to humans. The deeper the connection, the better they can find them. What do you think is the closest desire?"

"......Murder?"

Frondier came up with a somewhat plausible answer, but Paul chuckled and shook his head.

"Unfortunately, you're wrong. It's cannibalism."

"......!"

"Devils with a desire for cannibalism can accurately find humans. Then what comes next is simple. Those who look exactly like humans but have no desires, they are devils."

"......Then the devils of the West that came swarming in back then,"

"Yes. One of them must have had a desire for cannibalism. Or most of them."

"Is the desire for cannibalism that common?"

"It's hard to see as you go higher in rank, but it's common among low-ranking devils. Those with simple ways of thinking have simple desires. Things close to appetite, sexual desire, and sleepiness become their desires."

Certainly, Lily's case also remained at a thirst for knowledge about humans. Especially men.

Possessing men also felt like an extension of that thirst for knowledge. Paul probably wouldn't be that different. He would be craving knowledge about Magitechnology.

'So Lily also had a hunch that she could recognize devils. It wasn't a desire unrelated to humans. But it was difficult to find them because it wasn't that close.'

However, Lily didn't know the information that the desire for cannibalism could find people.

But Paul knew.

This difference.

Frondier asked.

"Then among the devils you know, is there one with a desire for cannibalism?"

"......There is."

Paul answered hesitantly. Naturally, Frondier's expression hardened.

"......Did they eat people?"

"You know about the drug incident, right? The incident where you and Pro found the culprit who made the Mana injection."

"......Don't tell me, at that time."

"Yes. The people who died from the Mana injection experiment. It was a devil who disposed of them."

"I understand that monsters ate the bodies at the time."

"There's no way they would eat together with monsters. They sent fresh, high-quality corpses separately and ate them with the formality of a 'meal'. Thanks to that, they weren't caught when the monsters were rounded up. They never went to such a place in the first place."

They sorted the corpses separately and ate them with the formality of a 'meal'?

Frondier's eyes sank.

"......That guy, they're in Hitchcock."

There weren't many places where that was possible. A place where corpses could be transported without anyone noticing, where they could have a leisurely meal, and where the aftermath could be cleanly taken care of.

"Who is it? I need to meet them."

"......They're not doing that anymore. They only ate people who were already dead, they didn't kill,"

"That's a devil's way of thinking."

Frondier cut off Paul's words.

"Humans have friends and family. There are people who are still desperately searching for and waiting for them, who have disappeared as missing persons. Without even knowing if they are alive or dead. Can you say the same thing to them? Even if you don't know morality, you must have learned it?"

"......."

"Who is it? I need to meet them even if it's just for a hint to distinguish between humans and devils."

At Frondier's words, Paul bit his lip. As if it was too awkward to say.

Of course, Frondier had no reason to wait for every single gesture like that.

"If you're not going to say it, I'll withdraw all my statements so far and burn down this company from the bottom of the basement to the entire rooftop. The company employees who die are a bonus."

"What......! There are not only devils here! You humans are also researching and making products together!"

"That delusion hasn't gone away since earlier, Paul."

Frondier's head tilted.

"What does it matter if there are humans here? Just like I don't kill devils indiscriminately, I don't forgive everyone just because they're human."

"......!"

"I'm the one who was in charge of personnel placement in the Manggot War. It's because I judged that those were the 'positions where I could kill the Manggot bastards the best'. I killed all those people."

Just as he didn't exclude devils indiscriminately, he didn't defend humans.

For Frondier, individuals were just individuals. What race they were was a much later issue.

"So why should I spare a company that's doing cannibalism somewhere?"

"......No. You're lying, Frondier."

There, Paul raised the corners of his mouth. It was a half-forced smile, but it wasn't without any basis.

"You don't touch innocent people."

"......."

"Even if it's true that you don't distinguish between humans and devils, you just punish them. You even try to save innocent people. I've been watching you."

Frondier stared at Paul for a moment. Paul seemed determined not to speak.

Paul thought he was playing a psychological game with Frondier right now.

Frondier wouldn't harm people who had done nothing wrong. People who knew nothing and just worked for the company. There were plenty of them at Hitchcock too. He wouldn't let them get swept up in this. Never.

...However, Frondier

was thinking something completely different.

"──So that's what you were hiding so much."

"......What?"

"The possibility of me destroying this company wasn't exactly zero. That's the kind of person you want to protect even with that much bluff. Or maybe it's someone you have to protect."

At that moment, Paul's mouth slightly opened, and the corners of his mouth drooped. His eyes widened, and the skin from his eyes to his ears stretched.

Confirming the change in his expression, Frondier asked.

"Where is the CEO's office in this company?"