Chapter 182
Chapter 182
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 182
Chapter Title: Life is a Series of Escapes (6)
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“Hmm…….”
Spreading the rumors had been all too easy.
The beautiful princess already famed as the north’s greatest beauty! And the hero who saved that princess from the clutches of a wicked evil dragon!
It was a story that would blaze fiercely on its own, so how could it not erupt when I poured oil on it and fanned the flames?
On top of that, I pressured the nobles scheming politically by joining hands with the princess.
I secretly uncovered their corruption, silenced them, and pulled them to our side as allies.
It was the same method the imperial family—practically a demon cave—had used to fleece the princess.
The technique of stripping nobles bare one by one, leaving them bewildered without even knowing how they’d been fleeced, astonished even the prince who’d come at the princess’s request to lend a hand!
I passed on those high-level skills and even received thanks along with generous rewards.
As the high nobles began getting fleeced one after another and fell silent, the lower nobles noticed something was off and shut their mouths too. Satisfied with those silenced mouths, the princess began whispering softly through the royal family’s channels.
- Touch the hero, and I’ll kill you.
Heh. Scary stuff.
It was a threat so potent it made my body shudder, and I’d experienced similar things often.
Thanks to that, the intimidation worked perfectly!
Shocked by this side of the princess they’d never seen amid her recent quietude, the nobles all nodded in agreement.
With the people gripped from the outside and the nobles from within, the princess recruited bards.
She began spreading the tale with even more tender embellishments, and eventually, it spread to other kingdoms.
By the time they were starting to be recognized as the north’s official couple, just as I’d planned, the princess began appearing in high society alongside the hero, and I worked diligently behind the scenes to create and spread more rumors.
A week passed, then another, and soon whispers spread that the two were already engaged.
“Alright, now it’s time to push hard.”
“Yes. I’m confident.”
At my words, the princess nodded with a self-assured smile.
“As the one who trained him, I’d advise that he’s exceptionally good at running away, so it’s crucial to weave a tight net and close in carefully.”
“It already seems sufficient, but… these are words from Naruan, the hero’s master and great sage, so I’ll take them to heart.”
“Thank you.”
The nickname “great sage” felt a bit awkward, but for the plan, I could endure being called great sage, great hero, or even great demon king.
“Then… I’ll be off!”
“Good luck!”
I waited with pounding anticipation as the princess left the room, her face slightly tense.
“Naruan!”
And about three hours later.
Hearing the princess’s high-pitched voice as she rushed in, I knew the plan had succeeded.
“How did it go?”
“Success! The moment I pretended to trip, the hero caught me, but I fell flat, creating the scene of him pinning me down—and a real maid who happened to walk in saw it all!”
It was bold talk coming from a princess of a nation, but since it was all part of the plan, I nodded to convey my satisfaction.
“Perfect.”
“Yes, perfect!”
The rumors were already circulating inside and outside the kingdom—everyone except the hero and his party knew. In that situation, tossing out such massive bait? The fish couldn’t help but swarm.
And it was the maid and servant network, faster than even the empire’s intelligence bureau!
Of course, that network was so outrageous that by the time a story returned to the original witness—from something vague like “I wonder who was holding hands with whom~”—it had bloated into “Actually, those two already have a kid together~.”
Still, for this job, it was the perfect lineup.
“Alright, on to the next phase.”
“Yes!”
Thanks to my achievements, the princess, now reliant on me, listened intently and diligently executed the plans.
And finally.
“Wait, an engagement ceremony?”
“The rumors are already flooding the entire kingdom, aren’t they?”
I personally delivered the checkmate.
“What are you talking about?”
“Oh? Are you trying to back out?”
Even as I watched the flustered hero, a laugh nearly burst out, but my maxed-out poker face wouldn’t allow it.
“I never put a foot in, so what foot is there to pull out?”
Right. You never stepped in. It just walked right into where your feet were.
But to think he still hadn’t caught on!
Just as it’s warm sunlight, not cold north winds, that makes the traveler shed his coat, so too is stripping away escape not with brute force but with gentle politics amid peace!
“Answer with just ‘yes’ or ‘no.’”
“What…….”
“Have you ever pinned the princess down?”
“Yes?”
“Was that your answer?”
“N-No! That’s not it, it’s just that it really…….”
“Answer with only ‘yes’ or ‘no.’”
The hero shot me a frustrated look, then turned his head slightly and murmured “Yes……” in the tiniest voice.
“Have you ever seen the princess’s undergarments?”
“That was because a teacup fell and showed through her white dress!”
Of course. I’d deliberately sent her in a see-through style.
“Just ‘yes’ or ‘no’ is fine. No, I’ve already gotten your ‘yes.’”
“Master!”
To avoid risks with just the two of us, I’d called not only his companions but my daughter too.
“Hero…….”
“No way…….”
The saintly shuttle squad gazed at the hero with utmost pity, while the elf Selena began eyeing him like trash.
“Daddy, that uncle really is a pervert, huh?”
“Seems like it!”
“N-No, it’s not!”
He looked utterly wronged, but since it was all true, he couldn’t continue.
There were plenty more similar incidents besides.
“And yet, after all this, you won’t take responsibility?”
“They were all coincidences!”
“Coincidences repeated become inevitability. Or rather, before that—these matters have already reached the royal family, the nobles, and the commoners’ ears. The fallout’s too massive to brush off as coincidence. Do you intend to ruin a young princess’s marriage prospects?”
“So… you’re saying I should take responsibility by marrying the princess?”
“That’s what a man does.”
- Whoa, to think those words came from the master!
- Shut it! My marriage matters, but his doesn’t! If he marries, I’m happy, the princess is happy—everyone’s happy!
- If the master marries, world peace might actually happen……
- The world grows through conflict.
- What a personality……
Ever since ancient times, his life motto has been “Us over you, me over us.”
So if sacrificing the pesky hero brings peace to me and my daughter, I’d gladly offer up ten heroes!
“But shouldn’t that be up to what the princess wants?”
The hero clung to his last lifeline with a desperate expression.
But.
“I’m fine with it.”
Seeing the princess enter at the perfect timing, he realized it was a rotten rope.
“P-Princess?”
“I’m fine with it, hero.”
She repeated herself, sealing the hero’s attempt to speak—twice she’d said yes, so protesting further was outright rejecting her.
“Don’t you like me, hero?”
“Yes? No, that’s not it…….”
As tears welled in her eyes, the room’s atmosphere grew heavy.
The elf and my daughter whispered at the hero: “Trash…….” “He really is a bad guy…….”
“Then it’s fine, right?”
Though I’d planned it all, the hero still didn’t realize the princess herself had agreed to carry it out.
To laze in bed, lost in comfort all this time, without realizing defeat was sealed the moment he rolled into it! Pathetic, hero!
“It’s too sudden, so just…….”
“So I told Father we should start with the engagement.”
“His Majesty the King?!”
“Since Father was the one who first brought up marriage.”
He tried dodging every which way, but even he seemed to realize his words were only tightening the noose.
Pressing his lips shut and rolling his eyes—he clearly wanted to flee this place ASAP.
- But only someone like the master could pull that off.
- Well, escaping a palace like this? I’ve got it covered!
Unlike me, who’d prepared escape routes for any contingency, the hero—lacking immunity to such ploys—fumbled his response.
Heroes change overnight, after all. So strike while his coping’s still clumsy!
“As your master, I’m deeply disappointed in my disciple’s lack of responsibility.”
For a split second, the hero shot me a look screaming, “What nonsense from your mouth! Where’s your conscience?!” But I breezily ignored it.
“Please, just give me a little time.”
“Yes, hero.”
In the end, the hero—who’d tucked tail first—begged the princess for time to think, and she graciously accepted.
After all, she knew he couldn’t escape the perfectly baited pond.
Foolish hero! The longer time passes, the worse off you’ll be!
At that moment, I savored the victor’s joy.
While lording over the hero, with one final blow left… like a third-rate villain grown complacent!
#7 Their Circumstances: Some Hero’s Circumstances.
“Hero, this is…….”
“I know. Master’s behind it. His goal is probably…….”
The room emptied, save for Hill.
As Hill tried sharing his thoughts on the matter, I realized it all too.
“To escape.”
“Yes…….”
A method I’d never imagined. Linking me with the princess to stop the pursuit!
Marrying a nation’s princess.
She’d have basic combat training from childhood education, but following a hero’s journey wouldn’t suit her.
Post-marriage, I’d end up staying in Neiden Kingdom as a live-in son-in-law.
Then I couldn’t follow Instructor, and he’d use his honed skills to ditch the next hero and flee.
I could declare it: I’m the only hero in this world with the tracking prowess to catch Instructor.
Only I can tail and seize him!
If not me, at least a third of the church’s forces worldwide would need to swarm for one-on-one surveillance.
“Should I try persuading the princess?”
“No. She’s already fallen for Instructor.”
I couldn’t fathom what words swayed her, but from her demeanor earlier, she wouldn’t yield easily.
Of course, the princess ranked among the beauties I’d seen……
Yet being near her felt chilling, like a frog before a snake.
Some instinctive aversion.
“There’s… a way… a way…….”
I bit my lip so hard blood trickled into my mouth.
A habit No. 17 used to have……
“Ah!”
The instant No. 17’s face flashed in my mind, I hit on the solution.
“A way?”
“Yeah. We run away.”
“Easily?”
“With the top expert in that field helping!”
The master of escape. Even the continent’s mightiest power, the Karan Empire, couldn’t catch Instructor at full tilt—so a little kingdom’s net? Child’s play.
“Will Naruan help?”
“Absolutely not. But if we cooperate to create an escape scenario!”
Instructor once said:
Today’s foe can be tomorrow’s ally, and today’s ally tomorrow’s foe.
To survive, distinguish enemy from ally clearly—but never overlook the chance of switches!
“Hill, can you deliver a letter tomorrow? To no one’s knowledge, as fast as possible!”
“With the church’s top priests still here, it’s doable.”
Thus, I wrote a letter and handed it to Hill.
[To. Mira
Instructor, found you.
From your colleague No. 1]
With that, I drew my ace against Instructor’s greatest trump.