Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter Title: Undeserved Hero
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A magic circle was discovered in the basement of the Pulsnal Church. It was large enough to encompass the entire church.
'This smell...'
Han U-sol, who had found the magic circle, pinched his nose shut.
'So this is the source of that faint odor.'
"...A magic beast summoning circle? They might have planned to offer up the followers as sacrifices to summon one."
Well, they could find out by interrogating the captured bastard. One of the heroes muttered as much.
Summoning magic beasts from another realm was a demonic power, but turncoats who had contracted with demons could crudely imitate it.
That was what this summoning circle was for—offering up sacrifices to call forth magic beasts.
The more lives offered, the more powerful the beast that could be summoned.
"How many followers did the church have?"
"Around a thousand, give or take."
"...We dodged a real disaster by acting fast."
Nearly a thousand sacrifices would surely have summoned a high-rank magic beast.
'...Anis, you're incredible.'
Han U-sol glanced at Anis, who was staring blankly at the magic circle beside him.
She must have been troubled by her unchanging magic power reserves, yet even in that state, she'd risked everything to save all these people. It made Anis seem all the more impressive.
Anis wore a somewhat dazed expression, though.
"Haa..."
I let out a sigh. What the hell was all this?
Heroes suddenly burst in and surrounded the cult leader, calling him a turncoat.
The leader then unloaded a barrage of 5,700 characters' worth of abuse at me, demanding if I'd done it.
The heroes agreed that I had.
Then they came over, praised me, and started clapping.
'What the fuck.'
I was dumbfounded.
Yoon Na-rin and Han U-sol each said a word to me.
"Anis! That was way too reckless!"
What was so reckless about it?
"Anis, you're amazing as always. I'll work harder too."
Work harder at what? You're already training every single day.
I quietly listened to their stories.
Apparently, she had stumbled upon the cult by chance, pretended to be brainwashed, and infiltrated it.
While infiltrating, she caught on to their plan and secretly sabotaged it.
She tricked the watchful eyes and covertly alerted those around her to the church's existence.
Apparently, apparently, apparently...
'Hmm.'
Whose story was this?
It was truly impressive and heroic, no matter what country the person was from.
If it had been a tale from a biography of great figures,
Or if—just conceding a hundred times over—it wasn't about me, I might have shed tears and given a standing ovation.
'Fuck. What the hell happened.'
Putting together the info that trickled in, I quickly pieced it together.
In summary: I really was brainwashed and did nothing, but the cult leader suspiciously fixated on me for no reason, backed away, and tripped over himself.
'...What an idiot.'
Thinking I wasn't brainwashed and shadowboxing alone? Hilarious.
'...But is my mental strength really that trash?'
I was shocked that I'd fallen to brainwashing so easily. Sure, everyone else thinks I was just pretending, but the truth is I really did succumb without a fight.
'...Normally, you can resist brainwashing to some degree with mental strength, right?'
It didn't make sense. Few had mental fortitude as strong as mine.
I grew up under my father's abuse, endured a miserable school life, and even as an adult, bounced between day labor offices without a proper job, living in a cramped studio for 200,000 won a month rent.
Not a single day passed without wounds on my body. My previous life was too wretched to sum up in one sentence.
Objectively and subjectively.
Yet I persevered steadfastly. That counts as solid mental strength, doesn't it?
'Hmm.'
Tempered by a harsh life, my mentality should be ironclad. What kind of powerful brainwashing ability could overcome me? Terrifying. Lucky they caught the guy.
A magic circle was found in the church basement. It seems they planned to summon magic beasts using the followers as sacrifices.
'Maybe it was an event from the original story.'
If things had gone as planned, it would've been a huge incident, but perhaps it got resolved early because of me.
The process was idiotic, but it ended without casualties, so that's a relief.
In life, as long as the outcome's good, the stupidity doesn't matter.
The heroes who captured the cult leader began investigating the followers too, to root out any hidden turncoats.
Of course, I was excluded. I was the top contributor to resolving the incident without harm.
...Not that it was my intention.
Chatting with various people left me mentally exhausted. Nodding along to their questions as if I'd done all that pricked my conscience.
They even scouted me for the Hero Association's intel division. ...They have a department like that?
Drained in body and mind, I returned to the dorm and flopped onto my bed.
*Ding*—An alarm rang from my phone.
'...Maybe just this chapter.'
I'd sworn off reading it anymore, but honestly, I was a little curious how it turned out in the novel.
If the cult leader's plan had succeeded in the novel, causing a disaster—regardless of the process—hadn't I saved a bunch of people in reality?
Wondering how many lives I'd unintentionally spared, I started reading on impulse.
"...What."
...Not much different from reality.
In the novel too, the cult leader ultimately failed to complete his plan and was captured by the Hero Association heroes.
The Association arrived a bit later than in reality, but the leader had been trying to gather more followers for a stronger beast when they burst in first.
'...This guy's a moron in the novel too.'
And I got played by that moron. Self-loathing welled up.
'But in the end, no one died even without me.'
Yeah. It would've been fine without me.
But the Association folks don't know that. They think it's all thanks to me.
'Ugh, fuck.'
My stomach started to hurt.
I turned on the computer for a mood change.
'Some web surfing before bed.'
The moment I opened the browser, the flood of news headlines made me freeze.
"...Fuck. What is this."
...Ah.
Ugh.
Blergh.
My stomach really started hurting.
After that day, the way people looked at me changed.
Acamedy Academy's top prospect, already leaving a clear mark.
A special admittee with a promising future.
Top rankings guaranteed upon graduation.
That was the assessment of me.
The media kept hyping me up wildly.
The teachers cast subtle expectant glances my way for my standout feats, while students showed glints of jealousy.
"Outstanding! Anis Harper!!"
"Ah, yeah..."
...Fuck. That bald guy was the worst.
No one would've died even without me.
People aren't safe because of me.
His fervent gaze was driving me insane.
'...No choice.'
At this point, I had to use 'that method.'
If you can't avoid it, enjoy it.
And those who enjoy it are the elites.
'...I'm fucking awesome.'
I chanted inwardly.
'I'm fucking great!'
Even amid the relentless stares while eating, I decided to just enjoy it.
Because I was fucking awesome.
I'd already become a superstar worthy of such attention. Time to get used to it.
Lately, my thoughts kept skewing negative. Even after overcoming that illusion and steeling my mindset properly.
I wasn't originally this pessimistic, was I? Weird.
Thinking negative changes nothing for the better.
Think positive. Positive.
I stopped picking at my food while eyeing surroundings and started shoveling it in.
"Anis, eat slower. You'll choke."
Yoon Na-rin looked at me with eyes saying, 'What's up with her now?'
Far outside the city—very far—a dilapidated temple stood.
Space warped there, and a white-haired girl covered in tattoos appeared.
The girl dashed to the deepest part of the temple, yelling at the top of her lungs.
"Kahatiel-nim!! We're fucked!!"
"What now."
A man lying on a bed frowned and sat up. A golden-haired young man.
"Geum Taeyang got caught! Plan failed! We're screwed! What do we do!?"
"What's with the fuss? Explain first."
His youthful looks clashed with his aged speech, creating a strange disconnect.
"So, like... this girl named Anis Harper barged in and messed everything up!"
As Betty flailed her arms explaining fervently, the man's face grew serious.
"I see. Anis Harper..."
Yeriel. The man muttered.
You finally found a way. You awakened her.
You sacrificed one human under the pretext of protecting humanity. You tore her apart, burned her, erased her.
"But that Anis girl was bawling her eyes out at first! First time seeing that!"
"......She cried?"
"Yeah. Sobbing buckets? Geum Taeyang said it was acting, but it didn't look fake to me."
But since the heroes showed up, she must've been faking brainwashing! Betty added.
Hearing Betty, the man rested his chin and pondered. Cried... cried, acting?
Ah. I see. So that's it, Yeriel.
You hypocrite.
You haven't burned her yet. Erased her.
No, you couldn't.
She's not yet in the state you want for erasure.
The man's lips curled into a smirk.
"What do we do, Kahatiel-nim? We can't summon without sacrifices!"
Betty's shrill voice interrupted his reverie.
"Hm? What are you saying, Betty? That magic circle was to extract malice and strengthen the magic beasts—not a summoning circle."
"Oh? Really?"
"Yes."
The man sighed faintly at Betty's blank reaction.
"...Haa. For now, just focus on placing the summon stones."
"Got it."
...What to do with this child.
Looking at the innocent Betty, the man rubbed his forehead.
It was night.
The night, not long after the spring rains ended, hung damp and heavy.
In the pitch-black principal's office of Acamedy Academy, where nothing was visible, a woman and an old man sat facing each other.
"The captured turncoat is dead."
"...Is that so?"
"His heart burst before we could extract any info."
"...I figured as much. Can't be helped."
The woman, Yeriel, sighed.
"...The child's magic power is still the same?"
"So they say."
"...I see. Go check on her."
"...Yes."
The old man rose and stepped into the dim corridor.
Gazing into the impenetrable darkness, he recalled recent events.
[Fergus, could you specially admit this child?]
[Special admission? Yeriel-nim, what you've brought is...]
[A corpse, isn't it?]
"......"
Staring into the jet-black darkness, Fergus opened the door again and called to the woman.
"Yeriel-nim."
"Yes?"
"Um..."
Fergus hesitated long, then spoke.
"It's so dark outside. Could you walk me to the front gate? I can't see a thing—it's a bit scary."
"......"
Yeriel's expression turned to one of pity, as if looking at something pathetic.
It was night.
The damp night began to dry out crisply.