Riser Phenex isn't a villain

Chapter 327: As a ruler, being gentle isn't a good thing

With a pen and paper, Riser wrote various names and made them into the list of criminals. Unlike the original, he gave those who could catch those criminals money, which made many excited.

Frankly, in this world, the only thing that he never lacked was money.

Not only could he make more money with "Phenex Tears," but his business spread to every continent, whether it was the Underworld, the supernatural world, or the Earth. Moreover, he was even thinking of expanding his business to space from mining, manufacturing, tourism, etc. Lastly, he also had a "Control T," a magic that made him able to change the size of anything, so even if he found a small gold like a pebble, he could make it as big as a boulder. He could even make a "Mocking Gear."

In other words, the value of money was similar to the toilet paper in his eyes.

Yet, while it was easy for him to make money, it wasn't easy for the others to do so, so the chance of them making a lot of money by hunting down all the criminals that were listened to by him was a good opportunity for everyone as having more money definitely wouldn't hurt anyone.

Moreover, with the help of Meredith, who could control humans as easily as he played with a doll, this bounty system worked well in the supernatural world.

He listed quite a lot of criminals.

Whether it was all members of the Khaos Brigade, from the various different factions to the members of the Slash Dog, Bikou, Arthur, Le Fay Pendragon, or even Lavinia Reni, the owner of the Absolute Demise.

Those who were members of the Khaos Brigade aside, he had talked with the leader of the Grauzauberer, Mephisto Pheles, and he was okay with Lavinia Reni being listed as a criminal, especially when Reni was no longer a member of the Grauzauberer.

As for Bikou and Arthur, even though Riser had caught them before, Ajuka told him that they had run away somehow, one or another. Anyway, his actions were simply ridiculous, especially when he had let go of the criminals caught by Riser without even consulting anyone. It was also because of this the Ajuka faction in the Underworld became smaller and smaller, especially when Riser's faction took over after the production of the Evil Pieces and also became the controller of the "Rating Game."

By showing his ability in this area, Riser told everyone that even if Ajuka didn't exist, everything would be alright. He also took down those key points in the Ajuka faction, killing them in the name of the Khaos Brigade.

Still, as expected of Ajuka, even though he had done all of this, Ajuka never did anything as if Ajuka had acquitted him and let him do whatever he wanted until he was satisfied.

Nevertheless, in this world, no one could stop him anymore, and he had become the existence above everyone. Moreover, those weren't the only names that were mentioned, but as there were a lot of lists, it was troublesome to write them, so he only paid attention to those who were strong and needed to be paid attention.

Yet, somehow, someone came to him at an unexpected time.

"What's wrong, Michael?"

"Ah, um, Riser-kun, there is something that I want to talk about with you."

"Please talk. There is no need for you to get nervous like this, right?" Riser said as he took a lightly salty rice cracker bought by his wife. "Or will our conversation involve something that makes you extremely nervous?"

Michael was quite awkward, then let out a long sigh. "Hm... I am not sure how to say this, but like how there is a devil who can't accept the peace between us, there are also some people who can't accept our peace, Riser-kun."

"Oh? It isn't the angel, right?"

"No, no. If it's the angel, they will already fall. It is the members of the church, the exorcists, who have a dissatisfaction toward us about this peace."

"Oh, why did you want to tell me this?"

"I... I just wish for you not to list them as criminals like what you did to others."

Michael bowed his head deeply, telling his purpose to come to Riser's office. When he saw the bounty hunt made by Riser, he knew that those who would be listed on that list definitely wouldn't have a bright future and could only end up dying due to the cruelty of the living being.

It was said that a devil was an existence that brought sin, but Michael knew that sometimes even humans were even crueler than the devil.

Still, what he was worried about was the people under him who couldn't bear this peace would do something stupid. It was also why he came to Riser, hoping their names wouldn't be listed for this bounty.

"Since you come here by yourselves, then it will be troublesome if those people are listed on the bounty, Michael?"

"Um." Michael nodded helplessly.

"So, who are they?" Riser asked curiously.

"They are Vasco Strada, the strongest exorcist and the second-highest official in the Church as Cardinal Priest; Ewald Cristaldi, the third-highest official in the Church as Cardinal Deacon; and Teodoro Legrenzi, one of the highest ranking officials in the Church ranked at Cardinal Bishop and also a Miracle Child."

"Miracle Child?"

"It's a child that is born as a result of a union between a human and an angel."

"Can you do such a thing? Won't you become a fallen by then?"

"We can." Michael nodded. "As long as our heart is pure and only moves by love, then everything is possible."

"But do you think there is no lust in such an act?"

"...it's hard, but it is possible, but then again, we are developing a room that can be used specially for an angel to reproduce without being worried about falling." Michael looked at Riser with a smile and said, "When we are able to craft it, I will give you one."

"....."

Was this Michael's bribe?

He wasn't a hypocrite, so he thanked Michael. "Thanks."

"No, it should be me who should thank you as you have listened to my selfishness."

"Then, what are you planning to do then? Their position is high, you know? Moreover, even if you stop them, it doesn't mean that they will give up, and the more something is suppressed, the more that it will be uncontrollable."

"Then, what should I do?" Michael was also helpless since, as an angel, he needed to be kind and gentle, especially in front of the believers. He was different from Riser, who could kill those who made trouble without hesitation.

"Are those three the leaders?"

"Yes."

"Tell me more about those three."

Michael nodded as he told Riser about those three figures who led a group that wished to break away from peace and the alliance.

Still listening to Michael, Riser raised his eyebrow and asked, "Teodoro Legrenzi is a child?"

"Yes, he is."

"I wonder why two people who are so old are willing to listen to a child's tantrum."

Riser felt speechless when Vasco and Ewald, who were so old, would follow Teodoro to cause trouble in the church.

"..."

What could Michael say in this situation?

Still, Riser also understood why Teodoro couldn't accept this peace, as Teodoro's parents were killed by the devils, so Teodoro still felt hatred toward the devils and wished to eradicate them.

However—

"Sorry, no."

"Wh—" Michael was startled. "Wh-Why? Riser-kun, can you explain to me why you can't let go of them?"

"It's because if I do that, they will trample the law that we have set up. If we have an exception, then what will the others do? While I know that with our position, there is no problem in making some exceptions, you should see from my perspective." Riser looked at Michael and asked, "Look, Michael, like Teodoro, whose parents were killed by the devils, there are also many devils whose parents, lovers, family, and many others were killed by the angel and the exorcists, so in case, I let Teodoro go just because of you, there might be some devils who think this is unfair and they will come to me, asking me to let them kill those who had hurt them in the past, especially when their identities can give them some special treatments like this "Miracle Child" of yours.

"By then, the cycle of hatred will never end, and it will continue. Probably, by then, we will have a war against each other."

"....."

Michael was unable to say a single word as he had never thought his gentleness would make everything like this, but then, he also didn't think that Riser overexaggerated this matter since he knew if Riser really let go of this group of people, everything would become more complicated.

"Instead of being gentle, you should be strong, or rather, you should use this group to show your power within the heaven and the church, so no one will question your decision again and make you able to sit firmly above everyone on the angel side.

"If you let them go, then there won't be more people who will try to antagonize you even further.

"If you are gentle now, you will only have a rough future."

In an era where no gods existed, anything could happen.

Maybe, in the future, Christianity might even cease to exist, like those religions that could only be labeled as pagan.

If Michael didn't want the fate of the pagan religion to happen to him, he had to make a strict decision.

Moreover, the values of Vasco, Ewald, and Teodoro weren't as huge as the value of the future of heaven.

Michael took a deep breath and said, "You are right. I might be a little too gentle with my ruler."

"If you need help, just tell me. You don't need to rely on a human. It's a human who needs to rely on us."

Michael stared at Riser in a daze, bowing his head before leaving as he was ready to do what he needed to do as the ruler of heaven.

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