Scapegoats and Heroes
Hero Lure. Because of this incident, fifty-three innocent victims would never again return to their families' embrace. Many people harbored doubts about the event. The higher-ups selected a substitute to absorb the citizens' fury in their place, and that substitute was left to endure the onslaught of questions.
“The plan to capture Museum Director Fossil was already underway, correct?”
“Yes, it was.”
“Then why did you execute the plan without evacuating the citizens?”
“We feared the perpetrator would flee if we initiated a sudden evacuation, so we did not.”
At the end of the higher-ups’ game of hot potato, the chosen substitute had to answer while painstakingly avoiding every landmine word that might spark controversy. The pressure to speak in a way that stirred the least possible backlash was enough to make his head feel ready to burst.
“So you’re saying catching the museum director was more important than the lives of the citizens?”
“I never said anything of the sort.”
There was no time to moisten his mouth, which had gone as dry as a desert. The barrage of questions never let up.
“Why did you send only a single agent?”
“The agent dispatched for this incident claimed he could resolve it alone, and we made the same judgment. However, that was our error. We are truly sorry.”
The agent had said no such thing. In fact, he had requested backup. Yet this single lie added one more card to the pile of scapegoats.
The government prepared a space for the bereaved families to mourn. Victims’ families, friends, acquaintances, and even complete strangers came to cry, share old stories, and lay flowers.
As soon as the agent’s hospital treatment ended, he followed the higher-ups’ orders and went straight to the mourning space. There he became an excellent scarecrow, absorbing the families’ rage on their behalf.
“You got them killed!”
“Bow your head and apologize right now!”
“Don’t you feel any remorse for my child…!”
Having prepared two such scarecrows to buy time, they waited until people’s mental erasers began to wipe away the tragedy of the Museum of Origins. Once a new incident erupted and stole the public’s attention, the operation would be a success. Nothing had changed. The world kept turning just fine. The same tragedies repeated, curses flew for a while, then everything was buried under the next disaster. Regimes changed, the faces of the higher-ups were swapped out, protests erupted, yet nothing truly shifted. The only things that changed were the deaths of fifty-three people and the shattered lives of their families. To say it once more, the world kept turning just fine. All too cruelly.
“How could you send students on a field trip to a place like that? Are you out of your mind?”
“My son nearly died!”
Principal Nelson was losing his mind trying to endure the parents’ justified fury. Of course, he had his own grievances. The government had concealed the plan to capture Director Fossil so thoroughly that Nelson had no way of knowing such a catastrophe would occur.
Though he wanted to scream How the fuck was I supposed to know?, the wisest response was to simply accept their anger and apologize. After all, if the students still clung to their dream of becoming summoners, they would crawl back to the academy on their own.
“Sigh… Did I live this long just to deal with this?”
The next day, the award ceremony took place. The academy’s central auditorium was packed with a massive crowd: the survivors of the Museum of Origins, their fellow Class 1 students, Professor Ellyer, Professor Pezen from Class 3 who had co-authored the paper, numerous scholars who had read it with interest, and even her mother. The enormous hall was filled to capacity.
“We will now present the Righteous Citizen Award! Student Lure, please step forward!”
The principal’s voice reached Lure where she sat.
“U-um… what do I do… I’m so nervous…”
“It’ll be fine, Lure. Just take a deep breath.”
“Huuu… haaa…”
“Feeling any better?”
“Yes. Thank you, Liz.”
“No need to thank me. You’re the one who saved my life.”
Bolstered by her class president’s encouragement, Lure climbed onto the stage under everyone’s gaze. The audience burst into applause, calling her name and cheering wildly.
You’re trash. Hopeless. How do you manage to get F-rank in every single category?
That was what people had once said. Whether as a summoner, a tank, an assassin, a swordsman, an archer, a mage—there had been no talent anywhere. Or rather, the human-made system had made it appear that way.
The label of F-rank had slowly transformed the ordinary life she once led. Her once-confident personality grew timid. She could no longer voice her opinions boldly and began tearing herself down at every turn.
But today everyone was calling her a hero. Today might finally be a day she could hold her head high without shame.
“Student Lure devoted herself to saving others even in the face of mortal danger. Her courageous actions have become a shining example for our society, and therefore we award her this prize! The principal will present it on behalf of the mayor.”
Lure wiped her tears with her sleeve and accepted the award. A gentle warmth spread through her chest.
“Please share a few words!”
Standing before the podium, Lure spoke through trembling lips.
“Thank you for giving someone like me such a tremendous honor…! And this achievement isn’t mine alone… In truth, my Thanatos is the one who did it all. So… if you could please say a word of thanks to Thanatos as well… I would be grateful…!”
At her words, fresh applause and cheers erupted, along with gratitude directed at both Lure and Thanatos.
Afterward, Teren, Adam, and Lifter received their own awards. Louis, grumbling I drew all the aggro—why the hell don’t I get one?, stormed outside and secretly smoked with his Dimension Traveler.
“Our daughter… You did so well. Your father would be incredibly proud.”
“Yeah…!”
“Shall we head home?”
“Okay…”
Lure and her mother walked hand in hand toward home. Even so, Lure’s gaze kept drifting back to Teren. The boy who had always been so bright now carried nothing but despair and regret in his eyes.
Falling flower, how have you come to resemble my fate?
One step forward, and there is no turning back!
Bury your fear deep in your chest! Stake your life upon the blade!
The blacksmith hammered away with all his strength, desperate to save his family.
Beside him stood his terrified wife and two young daughters. How had it come to this? A skeleton dressed in samurai armor had suddenly appeared and declared that if a proper sword was not forged, he would slaughter them all.
Genshin tilted back the beer he had pulled from the refrigerator. The liquid poured straight through the gaps in his ribs.
“Krr~! How refreshing!”
Genshin gazed at the sword whose edge had been completely worn away.
“That wall was a truly curious thing. It took considerable effort to cut through! Uhahaha!”
He slapped his knee in delight, then walked back to the refrigerator, opened the door, and drank more while watching the terrified family.
“Would any of you care for a drink as well?”
When they shook their heads, he simply continued enjoying the beer alone.
“I know your family well. Your grandfather’s grandfather’s grandfather… or perhaps his grandfather? I am not entirely certain, but in any case, they once received a truly fine blade!”
The blacksmith had nearly finished. The sword was forged from the ore known as Nogsight—a mineral born when the negative energy scattered in nature condensed and accumulated over eons.
“Th-the sword is complete…”
Genshin accepted the blade. It gleamed with an obsidian light. Even at a glance, it was no ordinary weapon.
“Hoh! Its presence alone is extraordinary! A renowned sword worthy of one such as myself—how could I possibly refuse!”
“Now that the sword is finished… please, I beg you, spare my family…!”
Paying the blacksmith no mind, Genshin examined the blade.
“Hmm, I should test its edge…”
“Pardon?”
The blacksmith’s body split cleanly in two, as neatly as an apple sliced vertically. His family screamed. The blacksmith himself, unaware he was already dead, murmured his final words.
“D-dear… why are you screaming like that…”
He toppled to either side.
“Uhahahahaha! Good, good, very good!”
Genshin turned his gaze to the three women weeping in the next room.
“Where might one obtain more of this drink called beer?”
“Please… don’t kill my daughters. It’s all my fault. I beg you, please…!”
Genshin swung the sword without another word. The sobbing stopped. The house fell deathly silent in an instant.
“Hmm, beer… yes, a truly excellent drink. Tonight we shall gallop beneath the moon and drink until dawn!”
He pulled out armfuls of beer from the refrigerator and stuffed them into a nearby sack.
“Hmm~ Shall we get properly drunk?”
His wooden clogs swept through the pool of blood on the floor. Behind them they left two long red rectangles stamped at regular intervals, like seals pressed into the wood.
The house was utterly peaceful. As if nothing at all had happened.