Chapter 95
Chapter 95
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: Questions
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"Aack!"
Thud. She collapsed from the first slap she'd ever received.
Immediately after, she looked up at me, her pupils trembling in disbelief.
"Making such a fuss over a single slap."
I'd only ever seen people collapse from a slap in TV dramas.
How sheltered must a person be to react like that?
Even I got the hell beaten out of me by my parents when I was a kid.
I guess living such a pampered life isn't all it's cracked up to be.
Look at her, unable to react after just one hit.
The reason those high-and-mighty nobles quietly accept treatment from a commoner Saintess is probably because even they can't bring themselves to spit on a pretty, smiling face.
But I can spit on a smiling face. Not only that, I can even slap it.
No, if someone I hate is smiling, it's just annoying, which makes me want to hit them even more.
"You, you! What do you think you're doing to our Saintess?!"
"You cruel bastard! How could you hit a woman!"
"Apologize to the Saintess!!"
The students in line immediately protested.
Our Saintess?
Well, well. Looks like she's already formed a fan club.
When I shot a bit of killing intent at the protesting students, a clear warning that I'd kill them if they defied me, they immediately shrank back and fell silent.
"Luna, you see this? This is the pathetic creature known as a man."
What a pitiful species.
They don't even look in a mirror, mistaking simple pity for affection.
That's why she should have put up a wall from the start, so these guys wouldn't get any funny ideas.
Unfortunately, these idiots are already caught in the Saintess's net.
If she were a succubus instead of a Saintess, they'd all be desiccated husks by now, their life force completely drained.
"You shouldn't go around being nice to just anyone, either."
"You should be saying that to Yui, not me."
True. Luna can take care of herself.
She's a quick learner; show her once, and she'll figure it out on her own.
"Hey, you crazy bastard! How can you hit someone who's completely defenseless?!"
The next one to flare up was Arthur, now perfectly fine after being healed.
Still, true to her title as Saintess, her performance as a heal-bot was impressive. In that short time, all the bruises had vanished, and any lingering scars were gone as if they'd never existed.
This bastard must be thinking of turning a side heroine into the main one based on looks alone.
Well, whatever. That's his choice.
She's not my heroine, anyway, right? Whether I hit someone else's heroine or not is my business.
"So I can't hit someone just because they're weak?"
When I said it as if I genuinely couldn't understand, the fool just stood there with his mouth agape, speechless.
No, isn't it stranger to act tough when you have no power?
Let's take the example of what they called a 'loser' in my past life.
On the way home from school, three delinquents are smoking in an alley. A powerless loser walks up to them and says, "Students shouldn't smoke!"
Do the delinquents say, "You're right, friend. We're sorry," and then apologize and quit smoking?
A real loser would just pretend not to see them and walk past, but the correct answer is: he gets the shit beaten out of him.
Do you think they'd go easy on him just because he's weak?
It wouldn't even be one-on-one. The three of them would just mercilessly stomp him.
Sure, being filled with a sense of justice is all well and good.
But when it goes too far, it's just meddling, nothing more, nothing less.
"By that logic, you can't kill Demonic Humans weaker than you, can you?"
Once a human becomes a Demonic Human, they can't go back.
No, they chose to become one with the intent to betray in the first place, so would they meekly return to being human?
That's why we kill them without mercy. According to Arthur's logic, we should be sparing all the weak Demonic Humans too.
"That's different!"
Looks the same to me.
"But this bastard keeps talking back with every damn word. It's annoying."
"Gah! Aaargh!"
So I hit him again.
If the bruises disappear, I just have to make new ones.
"Wait...! He hasn't done anything wrong!"
The Saintess, who had been standing there dumbfounded, quickly got up and blocked my path.
Birds of a feather flock together. Look at them, defending each other like their lives depend on it.
The same mindless defenders from my past life. Absolutely disgusting.
They should all be put on the guillotine for a public execution.
"Luke. I think we've become the villains."
"Yup~ I'm fine with being the villain~"
A hero? A champion? Don't need it.
I'll pass on such a troublesome and inconvenient position.
I'd rather be a villain.
A villain who lives freely, killing who they want and doing what they want, is far better than a hero who's so bound by a pointless sense of justice they can't even kill the bad guys.
If I were the protagonist, I wouldn't even be able to kill people freely, worried about what the other heroines might think.
It's the accumulation of those little losses that creates morons like him.
Right. Since I'm the villain anyway, let's try corrupting someone.
"Hey, Angela. Come here."
Angela.
That was the real name of the girl called the Saintess.
"How do you know my name...?"
"That's not important. I'm going to ask you a few questions now."
"Questions... all of a sudden?"
Yep. Because something very interesting is going to happen depending on your answers.
***
Angela, the girl known as the Saintess, didn't think she had only seen the good in the world, sheltered in a cradle.
Like Arthur, she was of common birth, so she had seen much of humanity's darker side.
If there was one thing that set her apart from others, it was that she simply believed.
That everyone feels guilt, and that they can reflect on their wrongdoings and mistakes and repent.
From petty lies to cursing at someone, even to the cases where this world forced one to take another's life.
Everyone carried guilt, and they could reflect and repent for their sins and mistakes.
In all her life, no one to whom she had shown kindness and goodwill had ever responded with hostility.
When she offered kindness and goodwill, others would return it in kind.
That was why she couldn't understand the man before her.
His entrance had been different from the very start.
He had appeared out of nowhere, spewing curses, and when she tried to warn him of the dangers of violence, he had immediately resorted to it against her.
She had never received such treatment for performing a good deed.
Of course, she never expected a reward for her kindness.
But this was the first time kindness had been repaid with violence.
And while she stood there in a daze, he had assaulted Arthur as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
*'Wh-why...?'*
Why can you commit such a cruel act without batting an eye?
Can't you see him writhing in pain right there?
Doesn't your heart ache? Are you a monster, devoid of empathy?
Honestly, she was against responding to violence with violence, but how many times must Arthur have been beaten to not even think of fighting back, simply taking the blows?
"Hey, Angela. Come here."
Leaving Arthur sprawled on the ground, he called out to her.
"How do you know my name...?"
She was sure she'd never told him her name, so how could he possibly know it?
Had they met somewhere before?
No, she was certain they hadn't. She would never have forgotten someone with the rare combination of black hair and red eyes.
"That's not important. I'm going to ask you a few questions now."
While she was lost in thought, he spoke as if he couldn't care less.
"Questions... all of a sudden?"
"Yep. Now for the first question. A wounded Demonic Human is in front of you, begging for his life and promising to live a good life from now on. What do you do?"
A Demonic Human was someone who had once strayed onto the wrong path, but if they recognized their mistake, she believed there was a good chance they could repent.
As long as they didn't transform, they were no different from anyone else.
"...I think I would trust him."
"Wrong, wrong!"
-*Crack!*
Without warning, the man before her stomped on Arthur's arm, snapping it.
"Aaaaaargh!!"
"Wh-what are you doing?!"
Startled, Angela rushed to heal Arthur's arm.
Fortunately, the power the heavens had granted her was second to none when it came to healing people, and Arthur's arm slowly returned to its original state.
Immediately after, Angela glared at the man, demanding to know why, but he simply replied with an indifferent expression.
"Isn't it sad? The Demonic Human you spared goes on to kill someone, just like this."
"...You did this to him just for that?"
"Hey, don't say 'just for that.' It's because people like you never change unless you see it with your own eyes."
What on earth had she done wrong?
While she was trying to understand.
He gave her no time to rest, asking another question.
"Alright, second question. You and your party are fighting demons, and your frontline fighter is seriously injured. What do you do?"
Wasn't the answer obvious?
"Of course, I'd go to heal him...!"
"Muda muda muda!!!"
-*Crunch! Craaack!*
"Aargh!! Aaaaaargh!!!"
This time, it was both his arms.
The spot she had just healed was mangled again, twisted in a bizarre direction that was hard to look at.
Along with it, Arthur screamed in agony.
For Angela, who prided herself on her empathy, just watching it was painful.
"Hey, hey! Angela, don't you feel sorry for this guy?! Do you have any idea how many people just died because of you?!"
"Wh-what do you mean..."
"Don't you know there's nothing more foolish than a healer rushing to the front lines? Who do you think you are, Tsunade? Can you use the Strength of a Hundred Seal or something?"
He rattled on with words she couldn't understand. And Angela thought.
*Ah...*
*This person. He's definitely strange.*
*He's someone you can't have a normal conversation with.*
"Okay, third question. The demons have invaded the Empire. You're being chased by them and are cornered alone in an empty building. What do you do?"
What could she possibly do if she were cornered by demons? Even powerful warriors lost their lives to them.
For someone like her, with not an ounce of strength, all she could do was pray.
"I would pray..."
"Pathetic!! Pathetic, pathetic, pathetic!!"
-*Slap!*
"Aack!"
This time, it wasn't Arthur she heard get hit, but herself.
No, to be precise, that's what she thought. If it weren't for the sounds that followed.
-*Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!*
"Aaaaaaaargh!!!"
This time, it was both arms and both legs. At a glance, there wasn't a single part of him left unscathed.
Arthur screamed until he lost consciousness, slumping like a puppet with its strings cut.
He had fainted from the continuous agony.
"What are you going to do now! He could have lived if you hadn't foolishly prayed to some non-existent god! You call yourself a Saintess, and you can watch this without feeling anything?!"
"Ah... Aah..."
Tears streamed down Angela's face.
Why was this happening...?
She had only come to heal those who were hurt and in pain.
Why...?
"Good. Then, on to the fourth question."
Hearing the voice from in front of her, Angela managed to lift her trembling gaze to look at him.
The sight that greeted her could only be described as shocking.
*'Why... Why are you doing this? While assaulting someone...'*
*'...why are you smiling...?'*
Seeing him smile, as if he himself wasn't aware of it, Angela shuddered.
***
By the time Angela had a look of complete surrender on her face, unable to answer my questions.
Luna, who had been watching all this time, finally spoke from over my shoulder.
"Is it really okay to do that to a student...?"
"Breaking his arms and legs is fine."
He's the protagonist, isn't he?
He's got protagonist buffs, and since he's the protagonist *you* chose, he'll just have to grit his teeth and bear it.
"And Luna. Where I used to live, there's a saying."
If there are no witnesses, it's an assassination.
It's a declaration of intent to kill everyone who saw it, thereby making it an assassination.
What I'm doing now is along the same lines.
"As long as you shut everyone up, it's like nothing ever happened."
"Can you really do that so easily...?"
"Of course. They'll all die if they talk."
Luna, how many times have I told you?
People prioritize their own lives.
Even if they become bystanders, if there's even a speck of a chance they might die, people become paralyzed by fear and do nothing.
Angela, who had flinched violently at my threat to kill them all, came to her senses and moved her legs.
Though she was in a daze, she fulfilled her duty and healed Arthur completely, then turned to leave, muttering just loud enough to be heard.
"I hope we never meet again..."
"The feeling's mutual."
I have no intention of getting involved with such a frustrating mess, either.
But there's something you're forgetting.
We're scheduled to meet at the tournament in four days.
Look forward to it.
"Gehgehgeh."
I laughed as I watched Angela walk away.