Chapter 29
Chapter 29
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: 7. Killing Felix (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
[Temporary Hero: Vivian]
Vivian received her certificate back from Taylor.
Taylor, who had been watching until just moments ago, smiled warmly.
"Congratulations. I heard you went through a lot, so I'm glad it worked out."
"Hehe, thank you. The staff you gave me helped a ton too."
"I'm happy it found its true owner."
Vivian proudly looked down at the certificate in her hand one more time before slipping it into her pocket.
A lot of people recognized her outfit, which made her feel self-conscious, but thanks to Kati's protection, there were no annoying incidents.
Even so, she wanted to express her gratitude to Taylor in person.
"Your name's already spreading everywhere, huh?"
"Ugh, yeah... I didn't expect it to spread this fast..."
"How's it feel to become famous overnight?"
"Hmm... It doesn't feel real yet, but honestly, it feels pretty good..."
Vivian scratched her cheek as she replied.
The stares from others were burdensome, but not entirely unwelcome.
Most of them held admiration and recognition, and she had sturdy Kati by her side.
Above all, this reality was exactly what she had longed for.
To have her abilities acknowledged and become an object of envy.
To accomplish even greater feats and build a world where more people could live in peace.
Standing before that possibility now, complaining about people's gazes would be too indulgent.
"You'll do even better soon enough."
"I hope so. But for the time being, it'll probably stay like this, right?"
She had overcome the hurdle of the provisional exam by slaying the unprecedented "King Slime,"
but there was no guarantee her fame would hold until the official Hero exam.
Vivian didn't harbor overly high hopes.
But Taylor shook her head with conviction.
"If it's the Ian I know, he won't just sit still right now."
"...?"
"He's the type to seize anything he can get his hands on."
Vivian didn't quite get what she meant, but since it sounded positive, she nodded with a smile.
*
Leaving the clothing shop, Vivian walked side by side with Kati.
Mage Vivian, clad in her white robe and pointed hat.
Passersby glanced her way, recognizing her.
Though embarrassed, Vivian endured and accepted the attention.
Especially with Kati beside her, the fear was lessened.
"Kati, thanks for coming with me."
It was on Ian's orders, but Vivian was still grateful to Kati.
Kati simply nodded in response.
As they headed back to the training grounds side by side, a small, familiar silhouette appeared amid the crowd ahead.
Vivian looked at them curiously.
They seemed to have something to say to her, fidgeting restlessly.
But with Kati there, they couldn't approach easily.
As they drew closer, Vivian recognized the boy in the middle first.
"...Humphrey?"
Behind Humphrey stood two girls a bit taller than him.
They were still just young girls, by no means adults.
Vivian recognized them too.
"Daisy? Laura...?"
Humphrey, the boy who had been sold off during training before Emma.
And Daisy and Laura, the two girls Vivian had helped escape from the orphanage.
They were right there in front of her now.
The three children were delighted but couldn't approach because of Kati beside her.
Sensing the situation, Kati toned down her presence and stepped back a couple of paces.
"Vivian sis—!"
Then the three kids rushed in at once.
Vivian knelt down, not minding if her robe got dirty, and pulled the children into a hug.
"Kids, you guys, how... No, ha..."
Vivian couldn't find the words.
Kati, observing the scene, remembered the boy's name.
Humphrey.
That was the name of the boy Felix had supposedly contracted with.
Vivian asked the sobbing children.
"Do you kids have a place to stay?"
They all shook their heads.
Vivian pondered for a moment.
She had grown tremendously compared to before, and her abilities were outstanding now.
'But it's not something I accomplished entirely on my own...'
Honestly, Ian's role was overwhelmingly large.
She still hadn't received payment for the magic stones she'd supplied.
'Asking Ian to take these kids in based only on my connections and sympathy would be too shameless...'
As selfish helplessness weighed on her shoulders,
Kati spoke curtly.
"I'll ask."
Her meaning was clear.
"...Thank you."
As Kati crossed her arms and communicated via telepathy, the three kids anxiously glanced back and forth between Vivian and Kati.
Vivian couldn't reassure them that it would be okay.
If Ian refused, there was nothing to be done.
Kati's response came quickly.
"He permits it. Come to the training grounds first."
Only then did Vivian let out a sigh of relief.
She thanked Ian's consideration in her heart once more.
"Kids, let's go to a place where we can rest first."
Vivian led the children ahead, with Kati following behind.
Along the way, the kids asked all sorts of questions.
"Where are we going?"
"Yeah, a safe and comfy place."
"Sis, are you a mage again? I heard a lot about you! What happened?"
"A really good person helped me out. The place we're going to now is something they prepared too."
The kids' eyes sparkled as they imagined who this good person might be.
Kati, trailing behind, nodded contentedly while watching Vivian's praise and the kids' excitement.
'Hmm...'
[What is it? Something happen again?]
She unwittingly sent a satisfied tone via telepathy.
'...Nothing.'
*
Daisy, facing Ian, whispered to Vivian.
"He doesn't seem like a good person..."
Laura and Humphrey nodded faintly too.
Indeed, his impression was light-years away from "good."
If a guy like that was good, there'd be no bad people left in the world.
"Kids...! You can't say that...!"
Ian, forcing a smile, stood up from his seat.
The children shrank back in fear.
Seeing that, Ian sighed with mixed feelings.
"They'll be in the next room, so feed them something simple, let them wash up, and bring them over. I have some questions."
"Y-Yes. Got it."
Ian pulled out some preserved rations suitable for a quick meal and left.
Vivian, left alone with the kids, gently scolded them while soothing them and fed them first.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Is my face that scary?"
Mercy responded to his sudden mutter.
"Didn't you already know?"
"...Yeah, I knew."
But lately, seeing kids more often than his luck warranted was making him a bit cynical...
His face had served him well in negotiations or when antagonizing others.
"I'm fine with it."
Kati interjected suddenly.
"...Yeah. Thanks."
"I'm fine too, so why worry?"
"We've known each other for years—you two not being okay would be the real problem."
He brushed aside the pointless worries and drafted a letter to Amos.
"What are you up to?"
"Stirring up some trouble."
He handed the finished letter to Kati.
"Amos, you remember?"
"Yes."
"Bring him. He'll come if you show him that."
"Understood."
Kati left the room immediately.
Soon after, Vivian came rushing in with the kids in tow.
"Ian...!"
"What's up?"
"Humphrey, Humphrey he...!"
After calming her down and hearing the story, it turned out the boy Humphrey couldn't speak.
He didn't know how to write either, so he couldn't communicate that way.
Daisy and Laura thought he'd lost his voice from trauma.
This felt vaguely familiar.
"Humphrey? Come here for a sec."
"......"
"He's not a bad person...!"
At Vivian's words, Humphrey cautiously approached.
Grabbing his chin and looking inside, sure enough, there was the seal of silence.
"It's a bit hot."
A simple removal spell.
He pressed his thumb on the boy's tongue to erase the seal.
"...Ah, ah? Uh, uhh?"
Startled by his own voice, Humphrey burst into tears.
"Waaah, sob—!"
Daisy and Laura wiped away tears in surprise too.
While Vivian comforted the three, he examined Humphrey first.
A boy too young to even call a teenager.
Probably not even ten.
Mercy, gauging his age, sighed deeply from behind.
Now they all seemed settled.
"Humphrey?"
"Y-Yes..."
"Sit in front here."
Humphrey sat in the front seat, trembling.
He looked ready to faint if I said anything wrong.
"...Mercy, switch with me."
In the end, he handed it over to Mercy.
"Nice to meet you! I'm Mercy! Ever seen an elf before?"
Humphrey shook his head vigorously.
"Really? Look here. Elves have pointy ears like mine. Cool, right?"
Her large, pointed ears weren't something elves typically flaunted to humans.
But Mercy had no such reservations.
"I'll probably be the most beautiful elf you ever meet, so take a good look today!"
With silly jokes to lighten the mood, Mercy gently steered toward the main topic.
Naturally, as if asking about everyday things.
Humphrey got drawn into the conversation like he was enchanted and started answering.
When Felix's name came up and he listed what had been done to him, Vivian's face grew icy.
Daisy and Laura, listening along, bowed their heads.
Abuse and violence disguised as training to awaken superhuman potential.
Somehow he survived.
Humphrey recounted the harsh memories without shedding a tear.
His eyes showed he'd already grown accustomed to the pain.
Mercy looked more bitter than Humphrey.
"...I see. You must have suffered. You'll be safe from now on, so best to forget all that."
Next, Daisy and Laura.
They hadn't been abused anywhere.
After leaving Arke Village, they'd come to the capital where there were more people and survived by begging.
That's when they found Humphrey abandoned by the roadside.
They learned Vivian's name from a recent bulletin board.
They were shocked to see the mage who slew the King Slime was named Vivian.
When the conversation ended, Mercy glanced at me.
"All done?"
"Enough."
While Vivian quietly hugged the kids.
'Master. He's at the door.'
[Come in.]
Kati and Amos entered through the slightly open door.
Amos was sweating bullets as he counted the people in the room.
Mercy stood, and I sat.
"I have important business. Sit."
"Y-Yes... What, what business do you have with me...?"
"When does the knight issue come out?"
"The clerks are working on it now, so the first print run will be out in two days."
"Two days... If it's in production, no time for edits?"
"W-Well, if it's a scoop, we can make time."
A scoop.
What I'd prepared should qualify as one.
Quietly, so Vivian and the kids wouldn't hear, I told Amos alone.
"Do you know the rumor that Felix tried turning civilians into superhumans?"
"I've heard whispers, yes..."
"What if that rumor is true, the victim and survivor is right here, and we have vivid testimony?"
"...P-Pardon?"
"And all the violence and criminal acts Felix has committed so far. Like, after the provisional exam, he couldn't accept failure and tried stabbing another manager with a knife. Stuff like that?"
As the conversation took shape, Amos's eyes darted around.
"I was nearly the victim once."
"Gak, cough...!"
Amos bit his tongue trying to speak.
"S-Sorry... Ah, I see. That time Felix tried to stab... Yes."
"Where'd you hear?"
"Yes... Not in detail."
I pulled out a bundle of documents from my pocket and showed him.
Amos's face grew more horrified as he checked each title.
"How's this scoop?"
The horror turned to wicked glee.
"Makes my mouth water. But that survivor kid..."
I nodded toward the boy in Vivian's arms.
"His name's Humphrey."
As if piecing it together in his head, Amos nodded and licked his lips.
*
After sending Vivian and the kids to the next room, Mercy and I gave detailed testimony ourselves.
I handed the documents for evidence to Amos.
Mercy had made copies beforehand, so no worry of them being destroyed.
Amos, who had been tense and watchful, suddenly lit up with excitement and dashed off.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Two days later.
"......"
Felix closed the magazine early that morning.
"What the fuck..."
He crumpled it up like he wanted to rip it apart and threw it to the floor.
-Thud!
Leaving the department office, Felix stormed toward somewhere.
Even without his angry strides, the guild staff glared at him plenty.
Everyone else held the latest magazine too.
"All that bluster..."
"Marie said he'd crash eventually. She'll love hearing this."
"Why's he so pissed anyway?"
Felix ignored the contemptuous, disgusted stares and kept walking.
His destination was the training grounds' Building C, third floor.
Where Ian and Vivian were staying.
Felix flung open the door to room 302 with enough force to break it.
It wasn't locked, which was suspicious, but he had no time to dwell.
"Vivian...!"
Instead of Vivian, Ian greeted the growling Felix.
Ian sat at the table.
"You... you bastard...!"
"Sit down first."
His attitude was like he'd been waiting.
Felix loomed over Ian threateningly.
"Where's Vivian... You, you spread this fucking fake news? Are you insane?!"
"You'll find out who's sane soon enough."
"Hah... Useless reject acting tough? Still think you're the 1st Party manager, huh?"
Felix's hands trembled like he might strangle Ian any second.
Ian remained unfazed.
He simply reached into his pocket.
Felix stepped back, thinking it was a weapon.
But what he pulled out was something else entirely.
First came high-grade parchment enchanted entirely on both sides.
Second was a gleaming gold coin.
"Wh-What the hell..."
Felix stared at the two items Ian set down.
The moment he realized what they were,
Felix froze, breath caught.
An imperial edict promising treatment equal to royalty for great service to the Empire.
A gold apostle coin granted by the Holy Flame Church to only seven people.
And third, a black stamp subtly gleaming.
The three items made Ian's identity crystal clear.
When Ian had shown the stamp to Arke Village's chief, it was just to say, "You're officially done."
He didn't care if he was recognized.
But pulling out three proofs here had clear intent.
Recognize me.
"Sit now?"
If you recognize, kneel on your own.
-Thump!
Felix had no choice but to sit.
His knees hit the floor hard, and he lowered his posture rigidly.
His body trembled as he knelt.