58
Chapter 58
The Empire's sudden shadowboxing.
I stared blankly at the real photo of the Main Admin for a long time, utterly dumbfounded, before somehow managing to gather my wits.
I still couldn't believe it, but no matter how many times I rubbed my eyes, the sight before me didn't change.
Written as his real name was the bizarre moniker, Teolbakteolbak.
Attached to it was a photo of a random Mister you might occasionally bump into on the street. Below it, an explanation stated that this guy was the Leader of Black Fang.
That was the Wanted Poster the Empire was distributing nationwide.
Since the person responsible for such bizarre antics looked so incredibly confident, it almost made me wonder if it was actually real.
'That can't be right.'
There was absolutely zero chance that the Leader of Black Fang was a possessed Main Admin like me.
While I couldn't play Bone and Blood 2 right at release due to work...
That guy definitely would have beaten it and gone on to enjoy multiple playthroughs.
'Then there's no way to explain his actions so far.'
Outstanding main characters like Ciel, Rien, and Miss Rubia.
For someone who would know the original story inside out to not even attempt to contact such people...
It made no logical sense.
Therefore, there was no way that guy was the Leader of Black Fang.
In the end, there was only one conclusion.
Either the Leader of Black Fang had pulled some trick, or the Empire had completely barked up the wrong tree.
How exactly an attempt to attack the Leader of Black Fang led to the Icon reveal of a game forum's Main Admin from another world...
No matter how much I guessed, I couldn't wrap my head around it.
'There's only one thing I need to do.'
Whatever misunderstanding the Empire had, and whatever ingenious method Black Fang used to make fools of them...
That had little to do with me.
It was better to prepare for the fallout this would bring.
Once that Wanted Poster was distributed nationwide, the Empire would begin suppressing Black Fang in earnest.
I needed to take preventative measures right now.
I immediately stood up from my spot.
Ciel, who had somehow walked over and was stroking my head, looked at me with a questioning gaze.
"Ciel, could you gather the people for me?"
I couldn't keep lying in a situation like this. It was about time I explained things properly.
...It was time to reveal the truth.
*****
People began to gather one by one in front of the Relief Center.
As they did, the ominous murmuring only grew louder.
In a way, it was only natural. The message was that there was an important matter to discuss, so everyone needed to gather without exception.
Nothing like this had ever happened before.
"Did something happen?"
"Now that you mention it, I think I saw some Knights nearby recently...."
"What are you even talking about, that was ages ago. Didn't the Leader already subdue them a long time ago?"
However, that noisy commotion died down with the appearance of just one person.
In a way, it was only natural.
Standing before them was the undisputed Leader of Black Fang.
A giant among giants who lived in a completely different world from theirs.
Everyone's gaze focused on the white-haired man wearing that Wolf Mask.
"I've gathered you all here because there's something I absolutely must tell you."
Unlike his usual demeanor, his tone was incredibly grave.
The people swallowed nervously, waiting for what would come next.
And... it wasn't long before their expressions clouded with confusion. In a way, it was only natural.
"I am not the Leader of Black Fang."
The words coming from that man's mouth were utterly incomprehensible.
Why would he tell such a bizarre lie?
There wasn't a single person here who hadn't witnessed the miracles that man had performed.
Subduing Knights of the Empire and making them his subordinates, curing incurable diseases as if it were nothing.
He was undoubtedly the Leader of Black Fang.
"I simply impersonated them due to certain circumstances."
Such an explanation followed, but of course, that nonsensical drivel did nothing to help them understand the situation.
If that man had deceived people for unfair gain, claiming to be from Black Fang would have made sense.
But all they had done was relief work.
Who in the world would impersonate someone just to go around helping people?
As the people remained bewildered by the string of bizarre lies, a moment came.
"The Empire will soon search the entire country for Black Fang. If things go wrong, you all might get caught up in it."
Those words.
The moment they heard that, everyone understood what was happening.
In a way, it was only natural.
They were from the Slums.
Anyone without some street smarts wouldn't have survived this long in the first place.
That was why everyone here could grasp it.
The true meaning hidden beneath that man's words.
"None of you have any connection to Black Fang. So... hide yourselves and don't get caught up in this."
This was exactly the same as what the man had always done.
Even when he first opened the Relief Center and everyone was on edge, keeping their guard up against him. The man had always treated others with kindness.
Even though he possessed the power to force everyone into submission, he never used it to oppress others.
He had only ever used his strength to protect, to help, and to give.
This, too, was a repeat of what he had always done.
Just as he had always done, the man intended to shoulder the entire burden by himself for everyone's sake.
That was why he was telling such an obvious lie.
He was willing to tell the blatant lie that he wasn't the Leader of Black Fang, just to distance them from danger.
"We will help you hide properly and settle into a new place."
Even while making such a sacrifice, the man ultimately asked for nothing in return until the very end.
He simply asked, until the very end, to be allowed to help them.
After the Leader finished speaking, a cold silence hung over the crowd.
'This... is the right thing to accept.'
Among the crowd, a man clenched his jaw.
Telling himself he had been drunk on an overly idealistic fantasy until now, and that this was ultimately the realistic choice.
'There's no other choice if I want to survive.'
The days he spent somehow surviving in the Slums after escaping during a lucky lapse in the Slave Trader's surveillance.
Life here had taught him that.
That if you wanted to live, you had no choice but to act selfishly.
He knew that full well.
He knew exactly how sickening it was to receive such immense help, only to turn a blind eye when that very person was in danger.
But that was how the man had somehow survived this far. If he hadn't lived selfishly, he wouldn't have made it this far.
Probably the vast majority of people here were the same.
That was why everyone was staying silent.
So, he just needed to do as that man said.
The man was thinking exactly that... but then suddenly remembered.
His life before the Leader came and changed everything.
Previously, he had beaten a young girl half to death.
The reason was incredibly simple. That girl had tried to steal his money.
He had a family to support.
That money was his family's lifeline.
That was why the man had been furious. He had taken out all his anger on that ungrateful brat who dared to threaten his family's lives.
He had thought it was only natural.
Because he believed that if you didn't retaliate when wronged, you couldn't survive in this place.
And not long after, the man ran into that girl at the Relief Center.
Along with her apology, he heard her circumstances.
That girl was never some cruel murderer trying to kill his family.
She was just a kid who had no choice but to do whatever it took for her sick mother.
Both the man and the girl had apologized to each other. Yet, he still couldn't understand.
Whose fault was this, really?
Everyone was just struggling to survive. They were simply desperate to protect the people they loved.
But just because they weren't born as Nobles, just because they were born in the Slums...
They had lost the right to live like human beings.
They had lost the right to be decent.
They could barely scrape by in life only by stealing from others.
Was this kind of world truly right?
"Just forget about everything that has happened so far."
The man recalled the days up until yesterday.
He remembered the days he spent helping out at the Relief Center, aiding the people.
He recalled the smiles on people's faces back then. He remembered the smile that had formed on his own face as he watched them.
He remembered that everyday life, so ordinary, yet beautiful because of its ordinariness.
"You can just erase things like Black Fang from your minds."
The man's feet began to move.
Before he even realized it, he was stepping forward.
"I refuse."
He blurted out those words.
He could feel the crowd's gazes focusing on him.
However, the man didn't care and kept walking forward.
He spoke as he walked.
"Even if you offer me a life where I'm alive but not truly living, I will decline."
He didn't want to live like this anymore.
He didn't want to pass down this kind of life to his unborn child.
That was why.
"Please, let me stay by your side."
The man fell to his knees before the Leader.
And... he wasn't the only one making such a bold move.
They were undoubtedly the most selfish of people. People who had no choice but to be more selfish than anyone else.
But precisely because of that, they were now speaking in unison.
""Please, Leader!""
Declaring that they didn't want to live selfishly anymore.
Declaring that they wanted a world where everyone could live an ordinary life.