The war that erupted over the excavation ended in humanity’s victory, but it ca at a great cost with many sacrifices.
I knew this, so I never considered the victory solely mine. I only accepted the recognition for driving the final nail into the victory and the opportunity to move forward on my own afterward…
“I heard you’re a foreign worker. Is that true?”
But what could it be?
Why was there such a deep-seated hatred in the eyes of the man looking down at now?
“Kuhuhu, yes. A guy who was stuck mining coal in a mine, suddenly awakens incredible power overnight and leads the war to victory? And in a war that involved two of the Four Knights?”
“That’s…”
-Clang!
The mont I tried to explain, a swung bottle collided with my head.
It was an attack I could have easily avoided if I had tried.
On the battlefield, experienced through the mories of my other persona, far more fierce and rciless attacks had co my way countless tis.
“A foreign worker dealing with the Four Knights? Make so sense! Who do you take us for, huh?”
However, the one in front of showed no awareness that I was capable of such a thing.
As if they believed their status and influence guaranteed them absolute immunity against .
“From what I’ve heard, you must’ve colluded with the soldiers there to make a convincing report, but such things will eventually co to light after an investigation.”
And to so extent, that was true.
I was aware that making a scene here would be suicidal.
Killing the man in front of would an facing the surrounding nobles, soldiers, and heroes, and even if I survived that, I’d be making the entire empire my enemy.
“…Co to light? I’m not sure what you an by that.”
Yes, my current patience stemd from such distant worries. It was not out of submission to the man in front of , but to protect myself.
“Kuhuhu, keep pretending you don’t know. Unless you’re a complete fool, I pretty much have a grasp on your obvious intentions~”
But whatever the case, it was clear that I couldn’t stand up to this damned pig.
The Lord of Elmat, judging that he had nothing more to lose, began to continue his verbal abuse towards without restraint.
“You must have been uneasy following a dying, incompetent old commander with your legion, almost getting wiped out. Anyway, to sowhat mitigate that responsibility, having at least one hero who turned the tide of battle to erge victorious would suffice for saving face, wouldn’t it?”
That’s absurd.
The soldiers who sacrificed themselves there were all noble and honorable.
They believed in and threw themselves into the fray because even the corpse of their leading officer fought to protect humanity.
“And they say the dragon’s bones were too shattered to retrieve? We lost a lot, and now they’re touting an outsider as the hero who wrapped up the victory? What a waste of money.”
But Lord Elmat, as if disregarding such sacrifices, instead wanted to vent his frustration, turning things around on .
Afterward, as he tapped my cheek with his palm, his voice carried a firm belief that his thoughts were not wrong.
“From the start, you foreign workers should be grateful just for being able to breathe, considering how much resources we’ve invested in summoning you, and all you can do in return is the work of a single person~”
From the beginning, they evaluate the abilities of those summoned, wanting to have absolute faith in such assessnts.
If that evaluation were to be overturned later, it would an their judgnt was flawed.
In such a situation, where they must confront their own incompetence, it’s unlikely that the high self-esteem of the nobles would allow them to accept such a reality as it is.
Even if one were to prove their strength and flashy abilities right before their eyes, being branded from the start, they would try to find fault within their ans.
“Moreover, do you know who else went with you? Jeong Seo-yul, that’s who! The strongest hero who has completed the most quests among all existing heroes! But she died, and a foreign worker led the war to victory?! That’s absurd. Unless you’ve conspired with the soldiers to backstab and monopolize the glory!”
“Yes! Exactly as Lord Elmat says!”
“Do you think we’ll believe anything just because we weren’t there?!”
The nobles around him, rallied by Elmat’s incitent, began to stand up one by one, jeering.
The sneers on their lips and the excitent in their eyes told that their aim was not just to rebuke a fraud at this mont.
“Why not just be honest here instead of dragging this out? Otherwise, you might end up facing trial in front of the Imperial Family and could even beco a condemned criminal?”
Yes, the truth didn’t matter to them.
They just wanted to bring down. The re thought of soone they deed inferior rising to their level was revolting to them.
“No, execution alone isn’t enough! He must be made to cough up everything he’s earned!”
“How much did I support the hero who went there, only for you to treacherously take all the credit and render it all for naught?!”
“Throw him in prison right now and make him a slave for life!!”
Isn’t it ironic?
Heroes were supposed to be humanity’s hope and saviors, yet they saw them as expendable and easily killed if they displeased them.
The title of a hero was so light because, even if one was removed, they could summon another with their vast resources—a re ‘mass-produced’ existence.
‘Dad.’
What if a real hero, not a mass-produced one, saw this situation?
A hero who fought life-and-death battles in the most brutal tis, not soone who awakened imnse power overnight.
‘I would have killed them all.’
Tacchia Pheloi.
The voice of the last hero this world produced, Tacchia Pheloi, faintly reached my ears.
Whether she really awoke again to convey this ssage to , or it was just the product of my imagination thinking she would say such things if she existed, I couldn’t tell.
But one thing was certain.
Part of the anger I felt now was from her, and giving in to that anger to kill as many of these people as possible was one of my choices.
“…Don’t worry. I won’t rampage.”
Having read the worry implied within, I decided to quell my murderous intent.
Though it felt like my rationality might snap at any mont, the images of those who followed emphasized the need for patience.
‘It’s okay to rampage. I’m on your side till the end.’
“But we have people we need to protect.”
‘……’
“…You know that if I rampage here, Tashian would also get caught up in it, right?”
Not just Tashian.
Airi, rilyn… and everyone else involved with was at risk of being played by the arrogant and corrupt power-holders who bear grudges against .
So, I must endure now.
At least until I et soone in this one safe place who could guide , and through them, continue to grow and reach higher places.
“Ah, now that I think about it, there’s sothing bothering . Since we’ve t like this, let ask you sothing.”
In front of , as I continued to endure, Lord Elmat soon began to spew his mocking voice with hiccups.
“I’ve heard rumors that an actual living dragon appeared and then disappeared there. Do you know anything about that?”
“Wh-what…?”
“Dragon, I said. A dragon that appeared and wiped out the undead legion there… Kuhuhu, well, if dragons really exist, transforming into a human would be well within possibility.”
-Thump, thump.
I could feel my heart beating fiercely.
Just as I tensed, fearing that reaction might show to the person in front of , Lord Elmat, holding a new bottle to his lips, began to press with a swaggering tone.
“Ah, and I’ve had people look into it, you know. I’ve heard you’ve been living with several won lately? And I heard there’s one woman who joined you recently…”
-Ziiiing.
I felt a sword forming in my grip.
It wasn’t sothing I did consciously.
It was an impulse.
The phenonon, where the thoughts of and the child hidden within aligned, turning into murderous intent ready to be directed at the one in front of .
-Swish!
As the blade began to reveal itself in front of the crowd, a shadow darted towards it.
My body, not realizing what had happened so suddenly, was pushed by the pressure and fell to the ground.
-Thud!
Ugh, an ambush?!
Could it be that soone, sensing my intentions beforehand, threw themselves at to stop ?
No matter what, I had to get away.
As I tried to push the other’s body away, I felt sothing soft caught in my hand.
-Squish.
Too large and heavy to grasp with one hand…
Yet, it strangely stirred a tickling desire in the corner of my heart.
“Ugh, hehehehe~”
Amid my confusion about why it was in my hand, a faint laughter could be heard.
“I’ve found you. Finally, I’ve found you…!”
I knew who the owner of that voice was.
Though I hadn’t heard it for nearly half a year, it was a voice I had repeated countless tis since that day.
“Vi…”
The na of the woman, prompting such a sense of déjà vu, soon escaped my lips.
“Vivian?”
“Ehehe, you, you rember ~”
Vivian Platonis.
A mage of the Magic Tower to whom I had once been indebted before becoming an adventurer.
And an absurd being who defined herself as a ‘witch,’ capable of wiping out a vile criminal organization with just her fingers.
“If that happens, the two of us… won’t have to worry about being disturbed anymore, right?”
The chill felt from the thinly spread smile.
Just facing it made the thought that I should stop her gradually disappear from my mind, becoming distant.
No matter how strong one was or the experiences of wandering the brink of death one has had.
Just like at the beginning, the thought that it would be impossible to oppose the phenonon she had caused ca to mind first.
“…Everyone, be silent.”
In the midst of watching helplessly, a dry voice was heard before long.
From the mont that voice was heard, the commotion around suddenly subsided, and their breaths were all halted.
“Be silent.”
To anyone looking, this was an alien phenonon.
Even though it was just a voice filled with solemnity, the fact that it could quell the chaos stemming from the death of the empire’s highest-ranking authority was astonishing.
“Hi…”
However, if this place was the Imperial Palace, there was exactly one person capable of such a thing.
Soone whom even the leaders of this empire could only look up to with reverence.
“His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince…!”
If the one who would soon inherit this empire had set foot in this place…
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