Chapter 20
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: The Gambler
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Life sure ain't easy.
- Thud.
The glove I'd thrown at the Hero's face dropped to the ground.
'Wasn't trying to hit her in the face.'
As the glove fell, it revealed the Hero's expression.
Her face was as coldly frozen as when she'd seen Mael.
Her hollow eyes stared at my glove.
"What."
"……."
The Hero picked up the glove from the ground.
"Is this a challenge to a duel?"
"...No."
For a split second, her expression made me flinch.
Stay calm. I didn't defy the Hero on a whim.
If I just go along with what she says, I'll never dream of freeing the slaves and will spend my life cleaning up after her and the others.
'Let's use one Life Point.'
Better to die quick now than waste time.
My goal is to shed the slave status entirely.
A Life Point might be precious, but this life is for that goal in the end.
If I can't read the Hero's mind here, I have no future.
"Then what does this mean?"
"You damaged it... so pay for it."
My body trembled.
Defying someone overwhelmingly stronger than me.
If she wanted, she'd kill me like Selena did, and I wouldn't even realize it.
I acted as nonchalantly as possible to stop my shaking body.
"Damaged? With the rune, surely I..."
"No. I never asked you to do it. It was made of lambskin—my entire fortune."
I cut her off and replied.
Didn't the rune save your life multiple times?
True, that's fair.
But when did I ever ask for it?
It might be shameless to say this after owing her my life twice.
But.
Imagine someone secretly attaches a surveillance camera to you and shows up to save you when you're in danger.
The point is, this Hero bitch was sneakily bugging and tracking me.
I'm grateful she saved me, but it's still damn unpleasant.
I'll push the Hero with this claim.
And probably die for it.
I'm just a slave with no right to speak anyway.
"What that rune means is none of my business."
"……."
The Hero's brow furrowed.
Of course a mere slave talking back wouldn't sit well.
"Isn't it a waste for someone like the Hero to waste effort monitoring slaves?"
"……."
I said it with a bit of sarcasm.
But the Hero's reaction remained dry.
Truth be told, it's a waste to even assign someone to watch a slave, let alone use magic the Hero developed herself.
It's wasteful. She probably attached it because she has some purpose for me.
"I did it with good intentions."
"Why?"
The Hero's fingertips trembled.
A fundamental question.
Why be nice to a slave like me?
"Why...?"
"No need to be nice to a mere slave out of good intentions, right?"
The Hero's eyebrow twitched.
I'm just a criminal slave.
No need to treat me well.
"Especially after you tried to kill me at first."
"……."
The Hero just blankly listened to my words.
No need for her to answer.
It'll be logged if I die anyway.
"Actually, isn't my life in more danger because of you, Hero?"
"……."
"All that devotion to the Empire—don't you just need a loyal slave?"
"……."
"If you wanted to treat me like a slave, you could've just said so."
"That's not..."
The Hero finally spoke.
As if she truly meant it wasn't like that.
"You really thought we could be friends after threatening to kill me at the start?"
"……."
With no reaction from the Hero, I decided to go harder...
- Bam.
Her fist slammed right next to my face.
The Hero's murderous eyes glared down at me.
Her aura had darkened even more.
"Seems like you don't understand what 'friends' means, Hero."
I clutched my pounding chest and replied steadily.
The fear of death is still hard to overcome.
Even with one life left, I've only died once.
"...You want me to kill you?"
"Whether you spare or kill me is up to you, Hero."
Her killing intent made my body tingle.
It was close to begging for death.
At least a log would remain if I died.
"Do you hate devoting yourself to the Empire that much?"
"No. I want to devote myself to the Empire..."
I came here to become the Gatekeeper in the first place.
"Then why..."
"I just don't want to be the Hero's slave."
I corrected the direction.
"I've never treated you like a slave."
"Attaching that rune to monitor me isn't treating me like a slave?"
The Hero's lips sealed shut again.
Her claim of never treating me like a slave was contradictory.
If I were normal, she wouldn't have attached something like that.
Can't escape this western village anyway.
"Do you have feelings for me or something?"
- Twitch.
The Hero's body shuddered slightly.
"...What?"
I heard her teeth grinding.
Her expression crumpled even more.
Ah, guess not.
"Then why dodge my questions and keep the rune?"
"……."
Time to hear the answer.
Whether it's surveillance or some other purpose.
The Hero's pupils shook as she whipped her head away.
As if she didn't want to show her face.
"...I've told you repeatedly."
The Hero grabbed my collar with both hands.
"Friends...!"
Her hands tightened.
"Friends don't strangle each other like this, Hero. Or monitor them."
Choked by the collar, I could barely breathe.
"Ah..."
The Hero released her grip.
"Sorry..."
The Hero apologized, looking dejected.
"If all you wanted from a slave was friendship, couldn't you just ask?"
"……."
I straightened my clothes and said to the Hero.
What...?
The Hero couldn't respond to my words.
Was her goal really just to be friends?
"You threatened, contracted, and monitored me because you needed a friend?"
"...Wouldn't you have run?"
The Hero mumbled evasively.
Surprisingly, she really wanted to be friends with me.
This was outside my expectations.
"Why would you want to be friends with a criminal like me?"
I couldn't understand this part.
I thought she spared me to make me devote my life to the Empire, but no?
The Hero was silent for a long time.
Finally, she seemed ready to speak and slowly opened her mouth.
"...Overcoming your status to devote yourself to the Empire seemed admirable."
"...What?"
Her words exceeded my expectations.
When did I ever devote myself to the Empire...?
"Do you know how I learned about you, Gatekeeper?"
"Someone reported it..."
Too hectic after arriving, I'd forgotten.
Things started going wrong after someone snitched to the Hero.
"Yes, one day I got a letter from a senior I didn't even remember. It said there was a slave suspiciously good at Gatekeeper duties."
Senior? If it's a Hero senior from the previous village...
Kyle went straight into the military without school.
And Kyle wouldn't have said that.
Then... Florian?
"But they said you'd committed crimes like forging status, colluding with soldiers... and more."
"……."
The Hero continued.
No one but Florian would know in such detail.
"But soon they'd head east, and they'd send the Gatekeeper west. Perfect timing as I was heading west too."
So that's why I ended up in the same carriage as the Hero.
Florian, that bastard, orchestrated it all.
"Know what I felt when I heard that?"
"……."
"Defying status to serve the nation—it was admirable. Serving at the new eastern gate without greed."
Unlike before, the Hero looked at me with pity.
Like she was seeing someone tragic.
"If you weren't a slave, you'd have risen much higher by now..."
Turned out she had a huge misunderstanding about me.
That's the Hero's personality.
She doesn't care about breaking laws for the Empire.
"Someone else thought the same as me."
"...Who...?"
Someone besides the Hero?
"Sir Kyle. He probably wrote your recommendation with the same idea."
An unexpected name from the Hero.
Misunderstanding the recommendation letter.
"I thought he was just a playboy, but he still has an eye for people. Didn't know Sir Kyle shared my ideals."
The Hero suddenly praised Kyle lavishly.
With the brighter expression from our earlier talk.
"So... I liked everything about you, Gatekeeper."
The Hero never intended to kill me.
Her initial threats were all an act.
"That rune held my feelings. A gift for the Gatekeeper who fakes his status to serve the Empire."
The Hero obsessed endlessly over the Empire's prosperity.
Her fox-like eyes curved.
But it felt fearful instead.
Once alluring, now laced with unknown madness.
"That rune. It's an ability inspired by the clothes that killed Envy."
The Hero's eyes darkened again.
She bowed her head low.
"I don't want to lose another friend, so I gained a power from the clothes that killed Envy."
The Hero's fingertips trembled.
Tears welled in her eyes.
"But it's embarrassing to say outright. The Empire... must become great."
As the Hero lifted her head, tears dripped from her eyes.
Tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Otherwise... there's no reason Envy had to die..."
The reason the Hero obsessed over the Empire...
To find meaning in Envy's death.
"That's why I need you, Gatekeeper."
I understood why she obsessed over the Empire, why she didn't kill me despite my defiance.
She still couldn't accept Envy's death.
"Sorry for the threats and surveillance... Truth is, I never planned to kill you at first. I'm just bad at approaching people."
"……."
"But... if the west falls, the reason Envy had to die vanishes."
The Hero apologized, but tears still flowed.
I understood her circumstances and feelings.
Why she obsessed over friends.
By giving me the rune and protecting me, she was atoning for failing to protect Envy.
A form of vicarious satisfaction.
That's why she always hovered nearby...
Thinking back, she always looked happy when saving me.
"I'll remove the rune now. In return... protect this west as my friend, Gatekeeper."
The Hero sniffled and erased the rune from her right glove.
'This is tricky...'
If it ends like this, the reason I defied the Hero vanishes.
That's not what I wanted.
I wanted to escape her control.
Then...
"Hero, sorry. I was rash too."
"No..."
I apologized, and the Hero wiped her tears with the back of her hand.
"Then, as highly as you've rated me, Hero, I'll prove it now."
"Huh?"
No worry of death? Then I'll do what I'm good at.