Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Other People's Stories (2)
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# 29
4. Other People's Stories (2)
#2 Their Circumstances: The Imperial Army's Circumstances. (1)
“Now that the person who ran off disguised as Rain, that Astr fellow, is about to be caught too, we just need to wait here and meet up.”
“Pardon?”
Hearing the lady humming a tune while fastening a collar around his neck, Rain realized in that instant that something was very wrong.
“Ah, you wouldn’t know, right? The reason so few people were sent after you was partly to fool you, but also to fool that Astr guy. Everyone who’s worked with Her Highness the Imperial Princess for a long time is quite wary of him. Just in case, they all rushed over there except for the people here. No matter how amazing he is, there’s no way he can handle it alone.”
And with those words, Rain became certain. He had fallen into a trap, but so had the lady.
And if he didn’t tell her quickly, he might be the one who had to deal with the aftermath.
“Um, Lady...”
“Rain, you used to refuse calling me by name because it was against club rules, but that’s not the case now, right? Call me Iris instead of ‘Lady.’ Oh, or ‘Iri’ like family calls me would be nice too.”
“No, Lady. That’s not...”
“Iris!”
“Uh... yes, Lady Iris... but right now, that’s not what’s important...”
“It is important! Hmm, since you’re not used to it yet, it’s fine to add ‘Lady’ for now, but gradually drop it, okay?”
“Ah, got it. Anyway, to get back to the point. There’s something important...”
“What is it? There’s no need to stutter between us, right?”
Rain hesitated whether to say it, but since the instructor had already fled far enough, he decided to tell the truth.
“Lady Iris, actually... the one who ran off in my form wasn’t the instructor. It was a semi-contracted doppelganger.”
“Huh?”
In an instant, the lady’s radiant smile, which had been gazing at Rain so lovingly, froze solid.
“The instructor already escaped somewhere else, and said he’s living leisurely farming in some village at the edge of the continent...”
The lady had no response to Rain’s words. But her expression said it all.
Her face growing paler by the second.
Her teeth chattering with a clatter. And her hands shaking so much that the tremor reached the collar around Rain’s neck.
A moment later, after trembling like that for a while, she muttered softly.
“I’m screwed...”
#3 Their Circumstances: The Imperial Army's Circumstances. (2)
‘Finally, it’s over!’
Unless it was one of those so-called great demons, getting them to lend power in exchange for a soul was about as likely as touching the stars.
Ordinary demons usually made semi-contracts for survival, receiving treasures or goods, and that’s how I proceeded too.
And then I saw hell.
I’d contracted with what humans call an evil organization, a group of humans who make great partners with demons, but the ones I dealt with were on par with reserve heroes.
Not only did their skills improve, but they charged forward relentlessly, as if they didn’t feel pain at all, ignoring their wounds and limits. Even the fellow doppelgangers working with me were left speechless.
I once consulted a doppelganger who had actually met a hero whose name was recorded in history—well, more precisely, one who’d been a victim in that hero’s saga—and he said this:
-What the hell? They’re scarier than heroes...
It really was hell. Once, in a fit of rage, I slipped out of the contract just a bit and unleashed my true power to inflict pain.
Even excluding doppelganger abilities, with my unique skill of amplifying senses, I made it so even a graze caused immense agony.
But even with burns, sliced flesh, and tears, they were laughing.
‘You, how do you endure this pain!’
‘Kahahaha! This level of pain is nothing compared to batta pain—it’s like a rookie!’
What the hell is batta anyway?
And the next generation of disciples was even worse.
-Surtr-nim. Why are you here...
-I got tricked into a scam contract.
Seeing the great giant who burned the world reduced to slave labor, the doppelgangers vowed to escape this place by any means.
And soon after, most of them achieved the liberation they desired. Everyone except me!
“Finally, we got you!”
“Surrender, Sir Ast!”
“You must return to Her Highness!”
Fearing they’d use any sloppiness as an excuse for re-contracting, I fled with my soul burning like fire, giving my all.
But even that had reached its limit. Once caught, the contract would finally end.
‘I’m never coming back to the human world!’
Even if the price was my soul, I resolved never to contract with humans again.
‘Humans... scary...’
Howling opposes the Empire. And the beings before me are the Imperial Army.
If the Imperial Army is this monstrous, then that Howling organization must be raising monsters like these!
Who dared call humans the weakest race? They’re stronger than demons and outnumber them—the strongest race!
“No sign of the batta!”
“As expected, he handed it over to that Rain guy to fool us.”
“There’s info that a superior weapon has been developed, so stay sharp!”
To reiterate, the humans before me were ones I couldn’t beat even using my full power.
Even they feared this batta thing! Just what is batta—some planet-destroying weapon?
But thanks to it, I’d bought time, so the doppelganger was satisfied.
And about 40 minutes later.
“Ah, the contract’s ended.”
“W-What?!”
“T-This guy’s a doppelganger?!”
“Does that mean the real one was with Vice Captain Iris?!”
“Ah, message from Vice Captain Iris: the one she caught is indeed Rain, and Sir Ast has escaped! Relaying again: Sir Ast has escaped! He’s already left, saying he’ll farm leisurely in a village at the world’s edge!”
As its soul departed, the living metal forming its body melted away formlessly, and watching the humans plunge into despair and shock, the doppelganger shouted.
-Hahaha, perfect! I’m taking both freedom and despair!
But even so, the doppelganger thought.
‘Just what are humans like these so afraid of...’
#4 Their Circumstances: Atia Nel Caruan’s Circumstances
“So, it failed?”
“I-I’m sorry, Big Sis!”
The strongest nation on the continent, Karan. And the next Emperor of Karan was kneeling and begging me. Yeah, whatever. No big deal.
“You’re going to die anyway...”
“Eek!”
“Your Highness? Even so, that’s...”
“Shut up.”
“I’m sorry!”
Lea cringed into the corner as I said it with a bright smile. Right, where was I?
“Little Bro, where did I leave off? Your last words, Little Bro.”
“I was still explaining the situation, Big Sis! It’s not last words!”
“That’s exactly what makes it your last words.”
This was the moment I’d waited 10 years for. For this day, I sent people directly to that Howling organization, cooperated indirectly with places that inserted personnel, and even swayed his disciples inside.
And naturally, the Howling organization was annihilated. But.
“Little Bro, you did great as Crown Prince. The organization’s destroyed, we secured a ton of research data and results from their evil organization studies. We confiscated heaps of wealth, enough to fund major investments in next year’s national plan. We even got the list of humans on Howling’s bribe payroll, so a bloodbath’s brewing in the imperial court for the first time in ages. We needed to clean out the trash anyway, so if that’s perfect, it’s perfect! And as a finale, capturing the organization’s leader alive—His Majesty must be thrilled.”
Word is, the capital’s citizens are already cheering for Little Bro and Father, holding festivals.
Yeah. Good. It’s good. Little Bro’s competent as expected. But.
“If a Crown Prince like that turns up as a corpse tomorrow, wouldn’t that be fun?”
“I’m sorry, Big Sis! Spare my life at least?!”
I kicked his jaw as he lunged to grab my legs, sending him flying all the way to Lea’s corner.
But Little Bro soon crawled back on all fours to grab my legs again. Ast once said there are perverts who enjoy getting beaten by women—is my brother one of them?
Whatever. He’s dying anyway.
“But why hasn’t the one thing I ordered gotten done? Weird, huh?”
“W-We’re still in pursuit.”
Still pursuing...
“Chasing him? Astr? And you’re sure it’s really Astr?”
“According to the pursuit team’s report, he took down the Sword Saint in one strike and fled. No one in that organization except Astr has that kind of power.”
“Really now?”
The Sword Saint I sent after negotiating with Nermia’s old monster lost.
The Sword Saint’s skills were beyond what was known. Especially his endlessly surging mana—even as a child, people sighed that if he’d chosen magic over sword, he’d be history’s strongest mage.
If even the Sword Saint fell, it had to be Astr.
I sent him because Nermia’s second daughter was his disciple, and it yielded unexpected results.
“Right now, Big Sis’s direct subordinates plus every resource I can muster are tightening the encirclement, so please wait just a bit longer, Big Sis.”
Sensing my anger had eased a little, Little Bro approached cautiously. Fine, putting off killing Little Bro for now.
“First, explain why it failed.”
By my estimates, there was no way he could escape the organization.
But he did. So we need to find the problem. One failure is enough. We can’t let him slip away again.
“First, approaching the main base was harder than expected. There were too many civilians nearby—we couldn’t tell who was a civilian and who was organization.”
“Civilians? Living near an evil organization?”
“Yes, more precisely, they were being raised. They distributed land and property to slash-and-burn farmers and slaves around, helping them until they were self-sufficient. Plus, the local lord was in on it, so they levied lower taxes on nearby civilians. The soldiers were shocked at how it was praised as a great village to live in.”
Ah, I can picture it vividly even without seeing it.
People sold as slaves not knowing when they’d die, those who fled to become slash-and-burn farmers due to taxes or corrupt lords—someone gave them the world they dreamed of and let them live there. Their minds must’ve been a flower garden.
“It’s called the Utopia Plan. In fact, heroes and such came dozens of times, mistook it, and left. So when we raided Howling, there was fierce resistance. We had to knock them out with stun spells and sleep magic to enter, and it could’ve been dangerous, but most bases were already destroyed and burning—probably sabotage from inside, right, Big Sis?”
“Hmm... No idea. There were insiders, but I only told them to catch Astr, nothing else.”
Well, someone might’ve done it for internal chaos.
Anyway, Utopia Plan. The name’s hilarious. He’s always pulled off weird stuff and packaged it well.
Utopia... Sounds nice, but it’s a perfect dystopia plan. Still, if those people don’t realize they’re being raised, maybe it is utopia?
“Could this be useful?”
“Huh? Big Sis?”
“No, just thinking out loud.”
Humans must be free.
That’s how individuality shines, and true value emerges. That’s what he said.
His words have rarely been wrong so far. Gotta respect that.
Of course, he’s the exception. No one has individuality or value like him.
So, it’s fine if he doesn’t get freedom.
“Lea, tea.”
“Yes!”
Lea from the corner rushed over and served tea quickly.
Yes, not yet. There’s still a chance. It’s too early to give up. I’ve waited 10 years—that’s plenty.
No more patience needed. I gathered useful subordinates for this, networked with countless nobles for this.
Now’s the time to trust 10 years of effort. But just as I thought that, a memory of him from the past surfaced.
‘Your Highness. I have a favorite saying.’
‘What is it?’
‘Trusting an axe chops your own foot.’
‘...You’re weird as always.’
‘Your Highness, take it to heart. This is truth right now. Even what you trust most can backstab you at the critical moment, in any situation.’
Why am I thinking of his face with that odd smile now?
“Crown Prince, Your Highness! Urgent news!”
And the answer came surprisingly fast.
“The one presumed to be Sir Astr who defeated the Sword Saint—different person! Sir Astr’s whereabouts currently unknown!”
“W-Wait! You say that right now?!”
Ah. Yeah. Right.
Astr. Your words always hit perfectly at these subtle moments?
I prepared for 10 years. I trusted.
So this is what it feels like to chop my own foot.
Crash!
“Eek! Y-Your Highness! Y-Your hand?!”
“Lea, this knight ran all the way here—it must be exhausting. Guide him to rest comfortably.”
“W-Wait! Lady Lea! Don’t leave me alone!”
“By Your Highness’s command!”
“Lady Lea? Lady Lea? L-Lea!”
As expected of my longtime guard, Lea swiftly took the messenger knights and left. Closing the door was a nice touch too.
Alright, now then.
“B-Big Sis? F-First, it might be dangerous, so treat your hand...”
Little Bro’s pupils are shaking.
Ah, I crushed the teacup without realizing. Blood’s dripping, but whatever. It’ll get dirty again soon anyway.
“Big Sis? Big Sis? H-Hey! Anyone there! Th-The Crown Prince is about to die! S-Save him!”
Ah, seeing Little Bro like this brings up a different memory with him.
-Your Highness, always wearing an angry face isn’t good.
-Smile. Smile in everyday times, and even brighter when angry. Smile. Sometimes, smiling conveys your rage better than yelling.
-Yes, that’s it. See? Lady Lea’s trembling in the corner, isn’t she?
Ah, right. That’s how it was.
Then now, this moment. Let me show the greatest smile of my life.