Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

In my memory, this Saint of Orleans, although from a farming family, had a very good temperament and I had never seen her lose her temper. What happened this time?

However, when the warden rubbed his eyes and looked again, the Saint of Orleans was indeed sitting upright, praying calmly and devoutly as always.

That's strange, did I drink too much today?

The warden scratched his balding head, shook his head and muttered to himself for a while, then turned and went downstairs.

"Right, where were we? Oh, it was about faith."

At this moment, amidst the silence of the Saintess of Orleans with her lips twitching, the guy crouching in the dark corner continued to mutter to himself.

"What's so good about that piece of cured meat hanging on the cross? Trust me! As long as you believe in me and pray to me, I'm always very understanding of believers' feelings. Wouldn't that perfectly solve the problem?"

Hearing this scoundrel slandering the Messiah who saves the world again, Joan of Arc was filled with hatred, but there was nothing she could do.

Over the past few days, she has tried everything: silverware, holy water, crosses, scriptures, hymns, divine pronouncements, and even garlic.

However, the demon before them remained alive and kicking, enduring all sorts of so-called exorcism rituals without suffering any harm.

Furthermore, this guy actually stayed in jail, and whenever he had free time, he would spout all sorts of dirty jokes about heaven, the Father, angels, the Son, and saints, making it almost impossible for her to calm down and pray.

In addition, this guy tried every day to tempt her to convert to Christianity and turn her away from the Lord and the Messiah, which annoyed Joan of Arc to no end.

Faced with this peculiar demon that she couldn't drive away or move, the Saintess of Orleans, whose head was throbbing from the torment, couldn't help but grind her teeth in a very unladylike manner and glare at someone with a deep, resentful look.

Don't you think your behavior is despicable?

Upon hearing this, the man was taken aback at first, then his face lit up with a smile.

"Wow, you're actually praising me like that! Thank you for the compliment!"

……

Upon seeing this, Joan of Arc twitched her lips, her face stiffening.

She forgot that for demons, "despicable" is a compliment.

Damn it, why are there such talkative species?

Lord, this noise is making it impossible for me to hear your teachings. Please shut this bastard up.

Or are all the demons in hell like this?

Tortured to the point of despair, the Holy Maiden was on the verge of tears and began to lose her mind.

The devil, unashamed, pointed to the sunlit iron bars outside and, in a seductive tone, began to persuade the Saint of Orleans before him to surrender.

"How about it? Think about it and trust me. As long as you're willing to embrace the devil, I can take you away from this prison right away."

"Samael, give up! I will not betray my faith to survive, much less associate with a degenerate like you!"

Joan of Arc suppressed her agitation, looked quietly at the demon before her, and reiterated her words once more firmly.

"However, I have heard that Henry VI has set up a temporary papacy in the past few days to try you in public."

Samael raised his hand and stroked his chin, offering a quiet reminder while observing the saintess's reaction with great interest.

"Friendly reminder, you don't have much time left..."

"The Lord will guide me and grant me justice."

The girl clasped her hands together in prayer, responding devoutly, her azure eyes filled with purity.

Samael smiled and offered a gentle reminder.

"Henry VI bribed and won over many clergy members, including Bishop Pierre, who is presiding over this trial. Has your Lord guided you in this regard?"

"..."

Upon hearing this, Joan of Arc's breath hitched, her cherry lips pressed tightly together, and her brows furrowed.

Unexpectedly, even the bishop was bribed by them, which makes the purpose and justice of this trial obvious.

"It seems your Lord is not omniscient and omnipotent, so why believe in Him? Believe in me, the ready-made savior."

"The Lord must be the all-knowing and all-powerful Supreme Being, but I was too dull to hear His guidance, which is why I suffered this calamity. This is also a test of my weak faith."

Faced with the devil's temptation, Joan of Arc did not hesitate to speak out in defense of her faith and took the blame upon herself.

"My fate is to be decided by the Lord, so you should stop bothering me; it's pointless."

Then, the Saintess of Orleans patiently looked at Samael, once again attempting to expel the demon before her.

"Okay, as long as you can answer a few of my questions, I'll leave right away."

Upon hearing that she could get rid of the man in front of her, Joan of Arc hesitated only for a moment before nodding in agreement.

I remember you just said something about being omniscient and omnipotent?

Tsk tsk, here comes another topic he likes. I really miss it.

Samael smiled with narrowed eyes, looking at Joan of Arc with a pleased upturn on his lips, a kind of indescribable mockery, as if he had crossed time and space to see a certain purple-haired saint who had been lying in his bed and tricked into his hands back then.

"You were so convinced that your Lord is an omniscient and omnipotent being, so could He create a stone that He cannot lift?"

Chapter Three: The Days of Living with Joan of Arc

……

Faced with this classic rogue question, the naive Saintess of Orleans pondered for a long time, and finally looked at the smiling devil in front of her with a frustrated expression, helplessly giving up.

"It seems you have no objection to me staying here. It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Excellency. From now on, we'll be cellmates, so let's get along well."

Samael smiled and held up his hand teasingly.

"When did I say I would agree to let you stay?"

Joan of Arc was stunned; naturally, she would not accept the devil's offer of goodwill.

“Look, according to the agreement, if you answer the question, I will leave; but from an equal point of view, if you can’t answer the question, I can stay.”

Samael's expression turned serious, and he adopted a righteous and indignant posture, arguing forcefully.

That seems to make a lot of sense.

Wait, something seems off...

Joan of Arc's gaze wavered for a moment, and she nodded subconsciously, but her eyes quickly regained their clarity. She shook her head, realizing the trap was there, and her face darkened.

"You only talked about what would happen if I answered correctly, you never mentioned what would happen if I didn't! This is fraud! Why should I agree?"

"That's not how it works. The philosophy of trading is fairness, requiring equal effort and reward. Since I've taken on certain risks and consequences in this game, shouldn't you theoretically bet an equal amount as well?"

Samael smiled and asked in return, then looked at Joan of Arc with feigned surprise, a hint of doubt showing in his vertical pupils, and shook his head with a sigh.

"Could it be that a saint who believes in God would have the idea of ​​only taking without giving? How lazy!"

Faced with this pressure on her faith, Joan of Arc, who had unknowingly fallen into the trap, trembled for a long time before finally uttering a pale rebuke.

"...Shameless!"

"Oh, you're praising me again!"

The demon grinned broadly, seemingly quite pleased.

Joan of Arc's lips twitched violently. The pent-up frustration in her chest rushed to her head, and her originally peaceful nature was almost unable to suppress her anger. Her pretty face was filled with resistance and resentment.

"Forget it, this question is a bit too much for you. How about we try another one?"

Samael blinked, then changed the subject and spoke leisurely.

"As the scriptures say, God created everything in the world. Are you convinced of this?"

Such a simple preliminary question aroused suspicion in the saintess of Orleans, who became wary and chose to remain silent.

Having already learned my lesson once, I know that you can't believe a single word a devil says.

"What? You don't even dare to admit this? Has your faith in the Lord wavered to such an extent?"

Samael glanced at Joan of Arc, then shook his head and sighed in a pretentious manner.

Faced with the repeated instigation from heretics, the saint, whose faith could not be tainted, hesitated for a moment before nodding with a furrowed brow.

Just admit it.

Samael smiled, narrowing his eyes, and continued to press for answers.

"So, light was created by Him?"

"Yes……"

"Is good what He created?"

"Yes……"

Faced with such a simple question, Joan of Arc hesitated only for a moment before nodding.

However, the demon in the corner, seeing this, curled his lips into a playful smile in the dim light.

"Then, does the darkness and evil of this world also originate from Him?"

"..."

"So, shouldn't humanity's sins and punishments, all its conflicts and turmoil, also be attributed to Him?"

"........."

As the devil revealed his true colors, Joan of Arc was stunned. She moved her cherry lips several times, wanting to refute him, but no matter how hard she racked her brains, she was speechless.

Because this is truly a dilemma.

"What, are you going to admit that your Lord is not the creator of everything in the world? Or perhaps, He is the root of all evil?"

Samael looked at the conflicted Joan of Arc, raised his hand to stroke his smooth chin, and after a few teasing remarks, he contentedly bent down to tidy up the straw mat beside him.

"Your Holiness, you shouldn't have any objections to me staying overnight now, right?"

"You're cheating! There are no answers to either of these questions!"

Joan of Arc bit her cherry lips tightly, her heart filled with pent-up frustration, when a flash of inspiration struck her and she immediately retorted.

"Since the contract is based on fairness, what is the correct answer? My inability to answer is only one aspect. If these questions are merely a form of obstruction without reasonable solutions, then the question itself violates fairness, and the previous agreement shall be null and void!"

Upon hearing this, Samael looked up at the saintess who had launched the counterattack with great interest, a hint of inexplicable satisfaction in his eyes.

"Oh? Now that you've learned how to find loopholes, it seems you're much smarter than the last one."

The previous one?

Could there be other victims who have been deceived by this devil?

Joan of Arc understood the unspoken meaning, and her gaze toward the man was filled with a hint of doubt and wariness.

However, before the Saint of Orleans could figure out the key point, a mocking smile appeared on the ancient serpent's face as it examined the white mouse in the cage.

"Unfortunately, I can certainly answer my questions, so which one would you like to hear first?"

Impossible! How could there be an answer to such a question?!

Joan of Arc's breath hitched, her face filled with disbelief, and she instinctively shook her head.

"Alright, let's start with the first one. The question is: since God is omnipotent, can he create a stone that he cannot lift?"

Samael leaned lazily against the corner of the wall, smiling as he looked at the saintess before him, and spoke leisurely.

Major premise: It is known from the question that God is omnipotent.

Minor premise: The requirement is to create a stone that even God himself cannot lift.

Inferences: First, the question of whether it is possible contradicts the major premise, violates logic, and therefore does not constitute a proposition; second, the stone does not exist.

Stepping outside the problem, how can we prove the contradiction within the problem itself?

Although Joan of Arc could not fully understand, she grasped the gist of it and could not find any flaws in the answer for the time being.

"This utilizes the syllogism of the Greek philosopher Aristotle, which is a logical argument. Of course, if you are not satisfied, there is also a religious interpretation."

Before the saintess could react, Samael spoke again leisurely.

"God can be divided into two: God No. 1 created the stone that he could not lift and gave it to God No. 2, who could lift it."

It seems that's right...

The question can actually be answered like this!

Joan of Arc was stunned, then suddenly felt as if the clouds had parted and the sun was shining through. After a moment of deep thought, she still couldn't find any flaws.