Me Again?
As consciousness returned, the first thing to greet me was an unfamiliar ceiling.
If you defeat the Demon King, you can return to your original world.
"……."
This is a nightmare. If it's a dream, wake up right now.
"You trash! You planning to tarnish the goddess's name?!"
"Pretending to be sick so shamelessly!"
"Pay for your sins, you heretic!"
I let the noise from the side flow in one ear and out the other, closing my eyes once and opening them again.
Don't fuck with me—this isn't funny.
"Kill him!"
"Purify the sinner!"
But no matter how much I repeated it in my mind while waiting, nothing changed.
All that remained before my eyes were people howling like monkeys and idiots looking down at me with contemptuous gazes.
"Fuck."
I'm not one to curse much, but in this situation, how could I hold back?
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Silence! Silence, I say! We shall proceed. The defendant, against the imperial princess—"
The old man before me... probably the judge. He surveyed the surroundings, banging the gavel on his desk.
An antique wooden table, and crowds split and seated to either side. A courtroom...?
The building's architecture differed from modern styles, yet it felt familiar, like I'd been here before.
It had to. In the game The Five Stars, which I'd cleared countless times, updating the fastest clear record every run, this was unmistakably the kingdom's courtroom.
Moreover, the heavy restraints on my limbs added a layer of realism.
"……."
My body creaked with every movement, my breathing ragged. I was certain. This wasn't me.
Catching my reflection in the gleaming restraints, a familiar man's face stared back: snow-white skin, sharp nose, delicate features—a beautiful youth so pretty it was hard to believe he was a man.
This bastard.
I couldn't help snorting in disbelief.
"No way this is real..."
He looked exactly like the in-game illustration.
So I really was inside the game. I'd vaguely sensed it when the monitor lit up and floated before me, but to end up like this again...
My head throbbed painfully.
"A being with grave responsibility as the goddess's proxy commits a heaven-defying crime..."
"Kill him!"
It wasn't just the shouting people right in front of me.
"……."
Everything had been fine up until I heard about the new DLC and Extreme Mode patch, got my hopes up, and bought it without hesitation.
But then... Ha. My body trembled.
How many people would be happy to be dragged here by force? If they'd at least given me a cheat skill or two, I might've been thrilled, but no such luck.
Survive with grit and malice alone. Again?
And not even as the protagonist, but as an extra hero...
The nightmare from a year ago resurfaced.
"……."
Rage boiled to the top of my head, but I took deep breaths to calm myself. One hit at a time. Cool down first.
My hands shook for a while before reaching for the cigarette tucked in my shirt pocket, but of course, it wasn't there. I wasn't even wearing a shirt—just rags.
"Fuuuuck!!"
"He's finally lost it! Spouting vulgarities in this sacred court!"
"No dignity at all... As expected of an orphan."
"How could the one called the goddess's sword do such a thing!"
"You vicious bastard, is that how you killed the princess too?"
To the judge's left and right sat the goddess's high priest and a man I'd never seen. Probably from another hero's faction. No doubt about it.
In short, I had no allies here.
Ha...! Why?! Why me again?
That grueling 5700-character slog wasn't short! And this wasn't even a novel—it was a game!
But the anger didn't last long.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"I ask once more. Sinner Tanas, do you admit your guilt?"
The question of admitting guilt. I hadn't caught what the judge said earlier, but the meaning was clear.
"……."
Calm down. Excitement is poison.
The idiots chattering around weren't my problem.
Say the wrong thing here, and it's over.
Shit was shit, but to survive, I needed a clear head. I didn't know if I'd make it out alive this time either, but first, assess the situation.
"Ha."
I craved a smoke, but of course, none. A deep sigh escaped from deep within before the anger could rise.
The silver lining in this misfortune was knowing the game inside out.
With a trial already underway, it was too late to do much maneuvering.
I've already been framed.
Even now, fake evidence and witnesses were probably piling up.
At least for now, it's not the worst. No verdict yet, so the situation wasn't irreversible.
"Sinner Tanas, answer. Do you admit your guilt?"
I swallowed the rage rising to my throat and scanned the surroundings.
The hero... the protagonist isn't here...?
All I saw were fools sneering at me.
This flow was bad. No hero in court meant the death route.
Admit guilt, and it's instant execution. Then revival as an undead, enslaved as the Demon King's pawn.
No hero to defend me meant I had to get myself out...
"Sinner Tanas, this is the last time I ask. Do you admit your guilt?"
What a headache... No, actually, this was good.
Dodge execution, and it's my win.
"No. I don't admit it."
The moment the words left my mouth, the crowd erupted again.
"What?!"
"That shameless bastard!!"
"How can you say that wearing a human skin?!"
I snorted at the crowd's uproar and picked up the parchment on the table, shaking it at them as I spoke.
"You really think I killed the princess?"
"What nonsense are you spouting?!"
"Denying it to the end, hero?!"
"Foolish talk. No evidence or witnesses—just treating me as the killer based on wounds and lingering mana traces? You think that makes sense?"
"……."
At that instant, the man beside the judge shot up in fury. I recognized the high priest and judge, but him?
"That statement directly denies royal authority!"
"You?"
"The materials submitted by the royal investigator dispatched by the crown are all—"
Ah, so you're the one who prepared this garbage as 'evidence'?
"Let me ask you something."
"What?"
"Does authority let you throw innocent people in prison without a shred of proof?"
"You bastard..."
"And you call this 'evidence'? Even a beast could've done better."
I tossed the parchment to the floor. He glared at me, speechless for a moment, then spat through gritted teeth.
"Y-You... You'll regret those words..."
"Shut up and bring real evidence."
Fake evidence and witnesses piling up meant, conversely, they had nothing solid right now.
Lucky it hasn't blown up yet.
Tanas's imprisonment or execution hinged mostly on a coerced confession. As if I'd confess unless I was insane.
"Th-That's right! We have evidence! It was definitely the hero's unique mana signature!"
So? I glared at the investigator and shot back.
"Use your brain. There are multiple heroes. And nothing's easier to fake than mana traces."
"That's..."
I pressed on without missing a beat as he faltered.
"And unfortunately, with my skills, beating a single kingdom soldier is my limit."
The crowd's eyes focused on me, as if wondering what nonsense this was.
It was common knowledge among kingdom folk—he was a symbol of incompetence.
Which made it perfect.
"...You think someone like me could kill all the princess's elite guards and then her?"
"……."
Murmurs grew louder around the room.
"Come to think of it, the inferior hero has a point—it's weird."
"Those were imperial elites, renowned even abroad."
"No way an incompetent hero like that beats the guards."
The investigator's and high priest's faces paled.
Good. Crisis averted.
That's why they packed the courtroom. To pressure me psychologically into confessing.
Fat chance. That shallow trick was now tripping them up.
"Judge. Do I still look like the princess's killer to you?"
"Silence! Then, Tanas. That night the princess was murdered, what were you doing?"
"……."
The murmuring crowd, speculating wildly, fell deathly silent.
They were dying to know: where was the prime suspect hero that night?
What was I doing? Simple.
"At a brothel."
"Wh-What?!"
The judge's and investigator's faces filled with bewilderment.
"No need to spell out what I was doing there, right?"
"How dare the goddess's proxy commit such depravity!"
"To think this is a hero!!"
I shrugged nonchalantly, nodding coolly.
"Well, I've got a lot pent up, you know."
Hero or not, survival first.
Then someone shot up, shouting a rebuttal.
"That's ridiculous!"
Grandpa, it's over. Sit down.
"High Priest, what do you mean?"
"A hero wouldn't go to a brothel. He..."
He what? Finish your sentence.
"If you can't believe it, go verify. Or do you know where I was, High Priest?"
"Kuh..."
I flashed a sly grin at the high priest, who ground his teeth and averted his gaze.
"So that's it, Judge."
He knew, but couldn't counter. Speaking up would confirm my alibi.
The real Tanas would've truthfully said he was at the temple for confession.
But the high priest was my enemy. Even truth wouldn't help—he'd play dumb. No need to fall into the trap.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"We'll recess here. Verdict in one hour."
I'm alive.
The moment I reached the lounge, I leaned back on the massive sofa and lightly rang the bell on the table.
"What can I do for you, hero?"
"Cigarettes. Strong ones."
"Right away."
Oh right.
"Wait."
"Something else...?"
"Don't forget the ashtray."
"Understood."
The maid swiftly brought the items. I lit one and took a drag.
"Fuu—"
Exhaling deeply, clean smoke filled the air.
Finally, my mind cleared.
Don't smoke, kids.
"……."
I slowly exhaled, checking my body.
By now, everyone's figured it out, but I'd been to a wuxia world once before. Wanted to try magic or holy power, but all I knew was theft, so martial arts first.
Low muscle mass, no stamina.
A deep sigh escaped involuntarily.
Like a junker car. One that barely rolls...
No dirt-poor scrub's this scrubby.
Big trouble. So what if he's handsome? Useless as fuck.
With a trial already, the eastern continent would soon fully fall to the Demon King's army. No way to survive with this.
"Ha..."
Anyway, the immediate fire was out. Escape the capital before the frame-up restarts.
And as fast as possible...
KABOOM!!
"Tanas! You bastard!"
"Why didn't you confess?!"
Who the hell are these guys?
"You..."
Two of the five in-game heroes: the Spear Hero and the Magic Hero.
"Because you didn't confess, we're in a bind now!"
"Didn't think a useless fuck like you would drag us down like this..."
Why's that my fault? Drunk at noon?
I pointed at the door splinters on the floor.
"Shut up and clean this shit when you leave."
"This fucker's joking?!"
Heroes are arrogant pricks by default. No chance of winning in a talk.
"Looks like you're here for a fight."
Ashing my cigarette, I grabbed the ashtray.
"Listen while I'm being nice, Tanas!!"
"Bring it."
I rose slowly, beckoning with my fingers.
"Ha-! You sane? Think that junk blocks my holy spear Bryunak?!"
"Ridiculous. My Kadukedus doubles as a blunt weapon."
"You're not worthy of an ashtray."
"You trusting the capital's magic barrier?"
"Can't use holy power, but you're lightwor—"
Tongues wagging too much.
"Quit whining. Am I your mom?"
Come on already.
"Th-This fucker really!"
"I'll kill you!!"
They roared and charged.