Chapter 3
Chapter 3
You Really Are One of Those “Answer Already Decided” Types.
At my question, Elara elegantly crossed her legs.
Resting her chin on one hand, she whispered softly with a moonlit face.
“ Are there different kinds of filth? Filth is simply filth. ”
“ ……Ah, is that so? ”
The “filth” she spoke of wasn’t just a simple metaphor.
That word carried fragments of something she had experienced in the past.
This isn’t an abstract concept.
Could it be some kind of past trauma……?
“ Teacher. ”
“ ……Yes? ”
At her call, I instinctively answered back. Elara smiled brightly and returned the question to me.
“ To you, Teacher, what is ‘filth’? ”
“ …… ”
Now Elara’s counterattack had begun. If I failed to answer correctly, things could become troublesome from here on out.
Especially with the golden dagger placed on the desk reflecting light like a threat.
It was a cold declaration that she would separate white from black.
First of all, how should I define “filth”?
If I said muddy water on pants was filthy, she would surely sneer, “To you, that’s what filth is?”
But if I self-destructed by saying I myself was filthy, she would definitely smile and say, “So you really were black after all,” happily seizing justification for judgment.
……Damn it, this is a trap card with no correct answer.
— AnywayTheLegalWifeIsOne: According to her standards, good has to be perfect. Perfect white. The moment you start with “Actually, I also...” you get painted black and stabbed.
At that moment, the gallery bastard’s words flashed through my mind. Good had to be perfect. Perfect white……
Ah.
I realized it.
The trap in this question ended the moment I defined “filth.”
If I used muddy water as an example, then I became gray, someone who understood filth.
If I confessed my own sins, I would be admitting that I myself was black.
Either way, by her standards, I would no longer be perfect white.
Then there was only one answer.
Not to define filth.
But to reject it from the standpoint of perfection.
Slowly, I raised my head.
I didn’t avoid her gaze.
Not the golden dagger gleaming with killing intent on the desk, but her moonlit eyes glowing coldly before me.
“ Filth, huh. ”
I quietly rolled that cruel word across my tongue.
“ ……Well? Isn’t it hesitation? ”
“ …….”
At my answer, the corners of Elara’s lips froze for the first time.
The fingers supporting her chin stiffened ever so slightly.
“ ……Wouldn’t you agree? White does not doubt whether it is white. White is simply white. The very moment someone questions, ‘Am I truly white?’ is the only opening through which black can seep in. ”
I lightly gestured toward her dagger with my chin.
“ Filth is not black itself. ”
“ ……That’s an interesting answer. ”
“ Black is simply black. In a way, it’s straightforward. Real ‘filth’ is every attempt by white to compromise with black. That deception. ”
I finished firmly.
“ Neither white nor black, but the cowardice of trying to remain a convenient gray. That is all I know filth to be. ”
“ Ho…… I see. ”
Elara smiled lazily and slowly closed her eyes. After pondering something for a moment, her eyelids gently opened again.
“ Then perhaps…… I’ve been suffering from obsessive stress. ”
Looking once more at the crescent moon, Elara gave a small smile.
“ Teacher, you’re someone who travels around outside the world, aren’t you……? ”
“ Ah, yes. That’s right. ”
“ Then you must know quite a lot about the 「 Hero Party 」 too, correct? ”
「 Hero Party 」.
A legendary group said to have defeated the Demon King, and at the same time……. a gang now followed by ugly rumors.
“ Heroes must always be moral. They have to set an example before the people, and even amid the bravery of hunting demons, they must never show weakness. Even leading their companions as the strongest hero. That is the existence people desire. ”
“ I suppose so…… people want heroes, after all. ”
“ But…… ”
Elara’s expression darkened.
“ ……They’re filthy. Whether it’s the mage, the saintess, the archer, whatever…… none of them are worthy of being heroes. Someone must judge them. A judgment that purifies the entire world……! ”
I carefully chose my response.
Right now, she was spilling out her beliefs, or perhaps wounds that had festered and burst open.
If I clumsily argued or recklessly agreed with her here, the test I had just passed would crumble to nothing.
Silence enveloped the room.
The moonlight remained pale, and only the blade of the golden dagger on the desk gleamed with an especially cold light.
Elara didn’t seem to be waiting for an answer.
She was simply expelling poison she had kept bottled up for far too long.
“ They……. ”
She opened her mouth again. It was no longer the languid voice from before.
A cold, sunken rage flowed beneath it like water under a frozen lake.
“ They didn’t even realize they were gray. No, they knew, yet pretended not to. ”
A dry laugh escaped her lips.
That laugh was so cold it felt as though it lowered the room’s temperature by several degrees.
“ Behind the cheers they received for saving villages, they demanded larger shares while claiming they were dividing the spoils fairly. The saintess accepted dirty money from nobles in exchange for prayers, and the mage touched forbidden magic under the excuse of research. ”
“ …… ”
“ They always said the same thing. That this much was fine. That since they had saved the world, they deserved at least this much compensation. ”
Her voice trembled faintly.
“ That’s the ‘cowardice’ you mentioned just now, isn’t it, Teacher? Isn’t it? ”
Here it comes.
She stared directly at me.
The logic I had thrown out moments ago to survive had now returned like a boomerang aimed at my throat.
If I agreed here, then I became an accomplice agreeing with her judgment.
If I denied it, then I became a “gray” person defending their corruption.
Calmly, I steadied my breathing.
“ I don’t think it’s my place to judge that. ”
“ ……. ”
“ I merely defined ‘filth’ by borrowing the words you yourself used, Lady Elara. Whether that truly is cowardice or not…… perhaps you already know the answer yourself. ”
I tossed the ball back to her. The judgment belonged not to me, but to the one already holding the knife.
And then, I struck at the core.
“ So…… that mission was never completed. ”
At my final words, Elara’s eyes widened in shock for the first time.
Sliiide.
Her pale hand slowly gripped the golden dagger resting on the desk.
“ ……Teacher. ”
Her voice sank dangerously sweet.
“ Just what exactly are you? ”
Fuck, is she going to stab me……?
Swallowing dryly, I thought to myself.
Yeah, this is all or nothing now.
I decided to answer as honestly and sincerely as possible.
“ I am…… Lady Elara’s 「 Mental Counselor 」. Nothing more, and nothing less. ”
At my words, Elara suddenly let out a soft laugh.
Was it because my answer amused her? Or because it was absurd?
Either way, it didn’t matter.
“ Interesting…… Just as the rumors said, you really are quite capable. ”
“ Haha, you flatter me. ”
……That’s what I said, but there was no way I was truly capable. Outwardly, I may have been a famous village “mental counselor,” but in reality I was just an ordinary person who had never studied counseling psychology even once.
“ I think my thoughts are roughly sorted out for today. I feel a bit better now. It’s getting late, so let’s continue tomorrow, Teacher. ”
“ Very well. Lady Elara. ”
And so our dangerously unstable counseling session came to an end.
Just as I was about to leave the room—
Ding.
[ The counseling session has been successfully completed. ]
[ Elara von Heim’s mind has awakened. ]
[ You have awakened the passive skill 「 Psychological Insight Lv.1 」. ]
A new skill……?
♣
[Chat] Holy shit, almost got stabbed during my first counseling session lol
Author:
Ah lololol I just came back from counseling with the silver-haired big boobs chick and I seriously almost died.
Almost got fucking stabbed.
She asked me what filth was, so following you guys’ advice, I thought it through and answered, “hesitation.”
Then this bitch grinned and slowly picked up the dagger on the desk.
Holy fuck, my heart almost stopped and I nearly pissed myself. I wracked my brain trying to figure out what answer would keep me alive, and then it gave me a skill lololol
Isn’t this a total jackpot? The skill I got was 「 Psychological Insight 」.
[7 Comments]
BlondBigBoobsDaisuki: LOOOOOOOOOOOOL hey lolol weren’t you a rookie who just started yesterday? Elara von Heim, that insane psycho bitch... everything about her is hell difficulty, so I thought you’d instantly hit the suicide route. But you survived that? You’re crazy lololol
: Glad I came back alive. Almost never got to see you bros again.
KimSilsil: Oh? 「 Psychological Insight 」? Hey, isn’t that the stage-one reward for successfully “capturing” a villainess? Did you already win Elara’s heart? You deceptive bastard lololol
: Win her heart my ass lololol I just barely avoided getting stabbed, I thought I’d freeze to death.
KangkangRobot2nd: Typical rookie who doesn’t know the game. In this game, 「 God of Under World 」, wasn’t gaining NPC affection and awakening skills always basic gameplay?
KangkangRobot2nd: I reincarnated as a 55-year-old blacksmith named Kim Makrye, and because “the villainess didn’t like me,” I got my skull cracked open with a wooden rolling pin used for kneading dough. Said my craftsmanship sucked. Anyway, what does 「 Psychological Insight 」 do?
Judging by this, it seemed not everyone started as a “mental counselor” like me.
A blacksmith, ordinary……
Everyone must have fallen into this damned world with different professions.
Then this skill I obtained…….
I opened the skill window in the interface.
[ Skill Name: Psychological Insight (Passive) Lv.1 ]
Effect: Detects subtle “noise” in the target’s emotional changes or lies.
Description: When the target’s psyche wavers, those ripples are conveyed as sound.
……In simpler terms, it was a “lie detector.”
: Says I can hear “noise” from emotional changes or lies. Passive skill.
WhiteMage: Holy shit LOOOOOOOOOOOOL hey, getting that early isn’t easy. Awakening a passive skill in just one day against that completely insane psycho villainess? Are you seriously talented? That’s insane. Rookie! You seriously have talent.
Talent, huh…….
The praise didn’t please me.
If anything, all I wanted was to escape this place.
Still, according to the community information, this skill was an essential weapon for purifying that villainess.
……At least for now, this let me breathe a little easier.