Chapter 107
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 107
Chapter Title: Awakening to Desire (2)
After several days of work, once Linian returned, I asked her about the situation.
"Is the incitement done?"
"Of course. Who do you think I am? Humans are idiots anyway. Just mix in a bit of truth with a bunch of stimulating lies, and they swallow it hook, line, and sinker. Everyone in the empire's cities is convinced Celine is dead. To fool the church, we charred one of the discarded warrior corpses and shoved her gear on it. Now we just need to lure them to the wild hills."
With preparations complete to deceive everyone, sure enough, the church was detected mobilizing an investigation team our way.
The moment Linian sensed the church's movements, we kept it from the prisoners and relocated everyone to the empty kingdom outpost where Lenis's father's private soldiers had been stationed.
While the church scoured the imperial outpost and the nearby wild hills, Linian deployed a magic barrier to conceal our presence. After combing through the Second Western Outpost and the surrounding hills for days, the church wrapped up their investigation and withdrew.
"They fell for it completely. They're convinced that charred body was Celine. If they head back like this, she'll officially be listed as deceased."
"Can't wait to see what happens. Once word spreads that Celine's dead, will Brayden come for revenge... or do something else?"
Luna answered my question.
"He won't come for revenge. Alvis, you've already glimpsed those fragments yourself. The futures of ruin you experienced... they unfolded from Brayden's perspective, didn't they? There were always minor variables, but what was the end result?"
I recalled the game Holy Warrior Brayden NX.
Back then, the player experienced the game from Brayden's viewpoint.
The player... that is, Brayden... when defeated heroines like Ravi, Elfin, and Lenis fell to corruption or turned into enemies, he just killed them outright.
Even if they became allies, he used those in peril as bait instead of rescuing them, with no room for the player to intervene.
Rather than grieving the heroines' deaths, he went village to village collecting compensation.
At first, I thought it was just shoddy game design, lacking basic interactions. But if that was Brayden's actual behavior...
If the player's scumbag actions weren't just a greedy self-projection but Brayden's true nature, then there were ways to exploit it.
I decided to turn those game scenarios against him.
The protagonist of that trash game, Brayden, always prioritized the flood of rewards above all.
And paradoxically, that trash game gave the most rewards when Brayden's allied heroines died.
In-game, it was framed as citizens' voluntary donations and church consolation money to comfort and encourage Brayden.
So what if a similar situation unfolded in reality?
With Linian able to flit unseen across the continent without detection, we could make Celine "dead" without actually killing her.
Linian zipped from region to region, spreading rumors of Celine's death.
Naturally, at first, no one bought the "ridiculous nonsense."
But merchants and travelers between cities kept hearing the same rumor everywhere, and soon, that baseless tale became "truth," passing from mouth to mouth.
Ask people in City A where they heard it, and they'd say City B. City B heard it from City C...
Three people can conjure a tiger that doesn't exist; imagine dozens of cities across a nation repeating the same story. Who wouldn't believe it?
Once the rumor reached the Lunia Church's ears, we let them "gather" the fabricated evidence. Done.
Thus, Celine hadn't died—but she was now dead.
Meanwhile, we used the Second Western Outpost as our base, imprisoning the captives while scouring the land for Underground Vermin activity.
Thanks to spotting them in the underground cathedral that day, I knew where the Underground Vermin were operating.
From confirmed intel, Bastol—the one posing as a royal court mage—had taken leave for health reasons. Robert seemed to have vanished entirely.
Thanks to Levedale's priests, Robert was branded a heretic, prompting the church to cut ties. In turn, to boost their image, they spotlighted Brayden's "noble sacrifice" and "great resolve" even more.
A high-ranking Sword of the Goddess member exposed as a heretic tanked their image, so they propped it up with the holy warrior's tearful sacrifice.
It was kinda funny.
Brayden hadn't sacrificed himself; he'd just ditched his associates. Packaging that as the holy warrior's sacrifice...
Afterward, just like in the game, countless citizens offered massive donations and tributes to honor the holy warrior's sacrifice. The church hyped Brayden's sacrificial spirit and relief efforts even louder.
Two weeks later.
I got shocking news from Linian.
"Hey, that Brayden guy. He and Celine were really lovers? He's been hopping from bed to bed, changing women every day wherever he goes."
"Huh?"
"You know how it is with heroes. Women line up to 'entertain' them."
"Yeah, that's common enough."
Heroic lechery, they called it. Past holy warriors had plenty of wives, and other history-making heroes were no different.
Women in villages would throw themselves at visiting heroes, desperate to catch their eye and bear their seed. It was routine.
I could see doing that for the acclaimed hero Brayden... but...
"No, but it's only been two weeks since the announcement of Celine's death, and he's already at it? He actually liked her?"
"Who knows human emotions? But yeah, new woman every night while staying in a village. Same in the next town. He's single now anyway... or is he? Whatever, it's not weird to switch partners."
Linian tossed it out casually, but it stunned me.
I'd hoped for this eventually when spreading the Celine death rumor, but not this fast.
Is he finally unleashing pent-up urges now that Celine's "dead"? Late bloomer, huh?
"So when do we release him? It went just like you said. Time to let him go now, right?"
"No. We need Brayden fully hooked on that pleasure first. If we move too soon while guilt outweighs the thrill, it'll snag. Watch him a bit longer. Tell me when he starts bedding two women at once."
"As if there's another creep like you out there."
Linian shot me a sidelong glare...
Another two weeks later.
"This is why humans are...! No, are they all just itching for a gangbang at the first chance!?"
Linian came back fuming from whatever she'd seen, taking it out on me.
"What now."
"That Brayden! No, not even a month since his lover died, and yesterday he brought two women to his room? And went at it? His mana was surging so wild it nearly burst through the door! Do all human males act like beasts-?!"
Linian ranted on, but I tuned her out.
Brayden had a threesome with village girls.
Once the human brain tastes dopamine at that level, it never goes back.
So I'd waited for Brayden to sample pleasure he couldn't abandon, even if Celine returned. And now he'd crossed that threshold.
"Good work, Linian. No more flitting around the empire."
"Ugh, all this hassle for one human... I'll claim my payback later! Let me kill those Underground Vermin myself!"
"Sure, sure."
After Linian left, I headed to where Goldie—munching snacks in bed as usual—lounged.
"Lady Goldie."
"Munch munch... I'm not Goldie. I'm Lunia... no, Luna."
"Same difference. Anyway, I need a favor."
"Munch munch... I refuse."
"You don't even know what it is."
"It's about lending your power to persuade that woman Celine, right? All those demands on Linian were part of that process. Even as a goddess, I restrained from meddling in this world's flow. And now, without my help, things are proceeding exactly as you planned."
"True, but to wrap it up perfectly, we need extra measures."
"Munch munch... No role for me in a plan already on track. Unless it derails. No sign of your pain means no major obstacles to shattering the fate of ruin, so I'll just watch."
Freeloader.
I snatched her snack and said,
"Those who don't work, don't eat. No cooperation? No more snacks for you. No meat sides. Dinner's rice and water from tonight on."
"Th-that... You're threatening me with that? Not to brag, but for millennia, I endured traitors exploiting my power without yielding. Even if you stoop this low, I won't interfere needlessly."
That night.
Celine, in her windowless detention cell, curled up on the hard bed in her ragged beggar clothes, as usual.
When could she escape? When would her lover come to save her?
'Brayden... I miss you...'
Clutching her tear-soaked pillow, Celine jolted up at the sound of the cell door opening.
But it wasn't Alvis, Ravi, Elfin, or Lenis with their usual coaxing. It was a total stranger.
"Who... are you?"
Hoping for rescue, Celine eyed the visitor with faint anticipation.
White hair, white eyes, clad in white— the woman exuded a mystical aura, her expression serene and beautiful, almost ethereal.
"I'm Luna. I came to talk to you, Celine."