Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Zakum Screening and the Commoner Hero
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As expected, the nobles gossiped about Millie.
Having overheard every word, Millie trembled violently as she tried to leave.
Then she spotted something and froze in place.
I noticed the person approaching her and understood the situation.
To be precise, they weren't heading straight for Millie.
I approached her and grabbed her shoulder.
"H-Hiiik-!"
"Are you alright, [Phantom Thief Ressit]?"
"M-M-Mage... sir."
At that moment, the baroness approached us as well.
"It's been a while, Mage."
"Likewise, Madam."
The baroness addressed me, not Millie.
We were already acquainted.
"You were truly fortunate. I never imagined I'd make it here. Come to think of it, I should have bought Maple Leaf Tale back then too. Would I have made the expedition team if I had?"
"Of course you would have, Madam. Did you manage to get a copy later?"
"Fortunately, I snagged one from the third batch."
After a brief chat with the baroness, I led Millie away from the spot.
The baroness didn't even remember her.
"Pardon the interruption, [Phantom Thief Ressit]. The screening is about to start—please take your seat."
"A-Ah... Y-Yes..."
Millie sat in her assigned front-row seat for the expedition members, her expression dazed.
With grand music swelling, the "Zakum Conquest Screening" began.
The four-hour footage had been edited down to thirty minutes, trimming out the dull parts.
The audience watched the expedition's battle in breathless silence.
Some even shed tears of emotion.
Millie, still not grasping the situation, couldn't focus on the screen.
She kept stealing fearful glances at me and the baroness.
I considered explaining but decided against it.
I recalled the moment the first batch sold out.
.
.
.
"There's a commoner among the buyers."
"A commoner? It's still quite pricey for one."
"Yes. It's definitely an amount no commoner could scrape together alone. Turns out she was a maid at a rural lord's castle. She quit and moved away recently."
"Hmm... Suspicious."
"I thought so too when I sold it, but your words came to mind, Mage. You said you wanted to gift everyone a life they forge for themselves, regardless of what they're born with."
After hearing from the Blue Hair Merchant Guild leader, I headed to that rural lord's domain.
By the time I arrived, one of the maids was about to be punished for allegedly stealing the baroness's ring.
But she wasn't the one who bought Maple Leaf Tale.
Another maid must have taken the fall.
I paid the baroness on that maid's behalf.
Since the real culprit was the one who'd bought the game.
I covered for her expenses, in a way.
That's when I first met the baroness.
Soon after, I learned that [Phantom Thief Ressit] was the maid who'd stolen the ring.
Even choosing the tough dagger thief class, [Phantom Thief Ressit] played harder than anyone.
More than "playing," she was "living" diligently.
Like she was truly living a new life.
Enjoying a fresh start.
She built her life harder than anyone.
Seeing that, I decided to let the ring theft slide.
I vaguely understood why she'd made that choice.
I got her longing for a fair shot at life, unbound by birth.
I just hoped she'd keep enjoying Maple Leaf Tale like that.
That was the reason I made it—to give those not born lucky a taste of such a life.
And now, as an expedition member, she'd helped defeat Zakum.
.
.
.
While lost in those memories, the video neared its climax.
The moment just before [Phantom Thief Ressit] unleashed Meso Explosion.
Right as she was showering the boss in mesos.
"Here it comes. The highlight."
Finally, [Phantom Thief Ressit]'s funds ran dry.
Only one last coin remained.
Ting-
She flicked the coin, and a massive explosion engulfed Zakum.
-Ooooooh!!
The crowd went wild as Zakum's health bar plummeted in an instant.
Of course, some still eyed her disdainfully as a mere commoner.
The surviving members then finished off Zakum with its health critically low.
Items and mesos rained down simultaneously.
It was a spectacular sight, drawing sighs from the audience.
"Ah... Look at those Zakum Helmets dropping."
"One, two, three... A total of three."
"Three expedition members have Zakum Helmets, so that makes sense. Not everyone gets one just for participating, apparently."
As expected, eyes locked on the Zakum Helmets.
We'd set them to drop randomly from zero to five.
This time, three dropped—to [Tower Master in the Corner], [Empire's Light], and [Phantom Thief Ressit].
"Heh heh heh... Jebit scored a Zakum Helmet."
Jebit muttered that while watching, and sure enough, the on-screen Jebit proudly donned hers and dashed around the map.
There were apparently more helmet-related antics later—I'd ask Hina or Rikal about it sometime.
Anyway, the screening ended.
The audience applauded so thunderously for the heroes' historic Zakum takedown that the banquet hall seemed ready to collapse.
The expedition members basked in cheers, bowing to the crowd one by one.
Like a stage greeting.
"Th-Thank you...!"
But [Phantom Thief Ressit]'s applause and cheers were noticeably subdued.
Meaning some still resented her commoner status.
Even after that epic performance, envy lingered.
Well, haters gonna hate.
And with her snagging a Zakum Helmet too, it only fueled them more.
Of course, plenty were awed by her feats.
But Millie already seemed cowed by the negativity.
Despite doing more than enough to earn acclaim.
Seeing her like that left a bitter taste.
Then [Fallen Power Warrior] Galliard stood and began to speak.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Once the screening wrapped, Galliard stepped forward.
He planned to deliver the message Rye had asked him to beforehand.
"It's true. There were always people like that back then too."
Galliard figured he'd have spoken up anyway, even without Rye's request.
Even as world-saving heroes, his comrades had faced scorn for being commoners.
"We have finally vanquished 'Zakum'!"
The crowd roared at Galliard's booming declaration.
"Long ago, I had a similar experience—to when we defeated the Demon King. This raid's thrill rivals that. 'Zakum' was a formidable foe, demanding more comrades fight longer than back then."
"The video's condensed, but we battled nonstop for about four hours. Fiercer and more desperate than any fight I'd known."
The audience hung on his every word.
"The joy of victory feels the same then and now. Gratitude for comrades, glory of heroes—all of it. And just like back then, a similar situation arose here, which I want to address."
Galliard drew a severed human arm from his coat.
A real one, still clutching a dagger.
"This is the arm of my old comrade 'Ressit.' Everyone knows who he was. In the Demon King battle, he sacrificed himself, securing our win. We searched for his body afterward but found only this arm. To honor him, we cast preservation magic on it."
It was a famous tale.
True to legend, Ressit's grip on his dagger never slackened.
No one knew why he clung to it so fiercely.
Perhaps to protect someone, or for some conviction.
Whatever it was, it suited a hero.
"As you know, 'Ressit' was a commoner, a thief and assassin before joining the hero party. When I welcomed him aboard, everyone pointed fingers."
"But I knew then: though born with nothing, a thief and killer, he was more hero than anyone."
"The fortunes he stole were ill-gotten gains; his marks, irredeemable villains. Anyone still finger-pointing at 'Ressit' today is no better. Setting that aside, he was a hero who saved this world."
Galliard turned to Millie.
She stared at the floor, head bowed.
"And in this raid, a comrade reminded me of that 'Ressit.' No need to say who—her exploits just played out. Without her, we'd have failed. She sacrificed all her mesos for glory. In real terms, that's about this much. Virtually everything she'd earned."
Galliard spread his fingers wide.
The staggering sum left mouths agape.
"Even I couldn't sacrifice that much. But she did, unhesitatingly for the greater good. It reminded me of 'Ressit.'"
Galliard grabbed Millie's arm and pulled her forward.
She flinched but couldn't resist his strength.
"How could we not praise her? She gave nearly everything to fell 'Zakum'—is she not a hero? She's a commoner, with far less than us. Could any of you here abandon your possessions like her, without hesitation? For the greater good?"
Silence blanketed the hall.
No one present could match her resolve.
"She became a hero before a commoner. How dare we point fingers?"
Galliard addressed the nobles directly, his voice thundering.
He was likely the only one with the guts and conviction to say it before this crowd.
"I credit all the raid's glory to [Phantom Thief Ressit]. Without her, failure. Even the 'Zakum Helmet' belongs to her."
Millie still hung her head.
The hall dead silent, she assumed they still despised her lowly birth.
"Without Ressit, this world wouldn't exist. Without [Phantom Thief Ressit], no Zakum conquest. Thus, I boldly dedicate all glory here to these two commoner heroes—true heroes worthy of the name, who sacrificed everything to protect us!"
Galliard thrust Ressit's severed arm and Millie's aloft.
The hall remained utterly still.
Not a breath escaped the crowd.
In that hush, Millie thought they all scorned her.
That everyone hated a mere commoner stealing the spotlight.
She couldn't lift her head.
Her long brown hair veiled eyes fixed on the floor.
[Raise your head and look.]
Letters appeared on the floor she stared at.
An illusion. Visible only to Millie.
Very slowly, she raised her head.
The hall's dazzling lights revealed the nobles' faces.
All eyes on her.
But their expressions differed from her fears.
"Ahh..."
"S-Sniff..."
"Lord Ressit..."
Some gazed afar, reminiscent of Ressit.
Others wiped away tears, while some furrowed their brows in deep emotion.
Clap—clap clap clap—
One person's applause shattered the silence.
It spread like wildfire, filling the hall.
No—the thunderous ovation echoed across the continent.
"Wha...?"
"You did wonderfully, [Phantom Thief Ressit]."
Galliard beamed down at her.
Only then did the anxiety flooding Millie's chest begin to melt.
A tear welled in her eye.
One became two, two four, swelling like rain down her cheeks.
"H-Hue... Hwaaaang..."
An emotion she'd never dreamed of feeling in her lifetime.
No one could've foreseen it happening again.
A nothing-born commoner receiving such thunderous applause in such a grand hall.
Impossible.
Yet her efforts made it real.
And so, amid her first-ever massive cheers and recognition, Millie wept for a long while.
"...Good for her."
Rye clapped from the hall's corner, smiling as he slipped out.
Thus, the "Zakum Expedition" saga concluded.