Chapter 39
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: That's Why.
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When debating just how much value a single individual holds...
An idealist would say.
That the value of a human can't be measured.
But ask if they'd hand over their entire fortune to save just one person, and few would nod.
A realist would claim.
That humans can indeed be valued.
Yet when asked how much their own life is worth, few could answer properly.
Defining a human's value was that difficult—and thus, from ancient times, countless people had pondered it without ever finding an answer.
"To be honest, we just got lucky."
In that sense, this very moment.
This girl who dared challenge that impossible question head-on.
And Li Chingwei, who declared that her clan's vast fortune was a bargain compared to Rimon's value, was truly one of a kind.
"...Lucky?"
"Yes. When we first devised this plan, we braced ourselves for up to a century."
The white-haired man wore a baffled expression.
Looking at Rimon, she smiled brightly as she continued.
"Even if a thousand years passed instead of a hundred, I doubted the Sword Duke's fame would ever fade."
That was no exaggeration.
Humanity's Guardian Deity who slew the Demon God.
The hero who resolved the spirit disaster that ravaged the American continent.
The last Sword Master who thwarted the Seven Dragon Society's schemes time and again.
The legend Rimon Asfelder had built over centuries was so immense that, even just thirty-odd years ago, there was no sign of it waning.
The Seven Dragon Society, which had pushed forward the World Peace Plan, had even doubted its own effectiveness.
"But people are truly remarkable."
In that sense, after the Iron Age dawned and Constellations and Players appeared in the world.
The changes people wrought were astounding.
"They forgot the Sword Duke's name entirely—not in a hundred years, but in a mere thirty."
Players intoxicated by their sudden power.
Power brokers blinded by the wealth from dungeons.
The masses who took peace for granted.
People adapted to the era's shifts with astonishing speed, discarding the old world just as swiftly.
They drowned in immediate riches and peace, cleanly forgetting who had saved the world time and again up to that point.
No—less forgotten, more buried.
As if the world's salvation by some brutish swordsman was an embarrassing black mark on history.
Without anyone leading the way, people naturally buried Rimon's achievements and turned Sword Masters into laughingstocks.
It happened so fast that even the Seven Dragon Society, who had intended it, was taken aback.
"Isn't it strange? People forgot the Sword Duke faster than even we—who planned everything—predicted."
One of the doubts Rimon had felt.
Building on that with her own suspicions, Li Chingwei continued with a sly smile unlike before.
"And not because some transcendent beings intervened on a global scale or anything."
A light, joking tone.
But seeing her eyes, which weren't smiling, Rimon raised an eyebrow.
"...You're saying my faster-than-expected downfall was because of the Constellations?"
"Anyone else would call it crazy."
"So you do know."
Rimon furrowed his brow.
He was letting it slide this much precisely because of that; anyone else hearing Li Chingwei's tale would dismiss her as insane.
"If what you say is true, it means the Constellations are brainwashing and controlling Players."
"Not quite that extreme. I just suspect Players are unconsciously influenced by them."
"That's what brainwashing is."
It was heresy.
No—madness itself.
In this Iron Age, where Constellations were common knowledge as great transcendents granting boons and blessings to humanity.
Even conspiracy nuts would scoff at such nonsense.
But instead of retracting, Li Chingwei calmly spoke.
"As I mentioned before, the Seven Dragon Society has worked tirelessly for world peace these past decades."
"I know."
"Our most diligent effort was gathering information on people."
"Figures."
As one hailed Humanity's Guardian Deity, Rimon could empathize with her words on multiple levels, so he nodded.
The problem came next.
"I started suspecting the Constellations after spotting something odd in that data."
"Something odd?"
"Far more people changed personalities after becoming Players than you'd expect."
"It's common for people to change after suddenly gaining power."
"Sure, if they gain great power. But what if even those with minor power change too?"
Merely level 10 or 20.
Those contracted to unremarkable Constellations, barely treated as Players.
Li Chingwei calmly explained their changes.
Criminals who repeatedly raped and robbed turning into philanthropists donating their fortunes.
Someone who loved swimming developing a hydrophobic phobia.
A lifelong aspiring doctor suddenly pursuing a career in martial arts.
Listening to her examples, Rimon narrowed his eyes.
"Not impossible."
"Yes, one in a hundred might happen. But what if over 70% of Players undergo these big and small changes?"
"...Seven out of ten Players change personalities?"
"When you run the stats on those contracted for over ten years."
"I've been watching Players for decades, and I never noticed such shifts."
"The longer you've known them, the harder it is to spot. It happens gradually over decades."
Anyone would suspect a sudden overnight change.
But over years or decades?
They'd just think, "They've changed a bit since the old days," without finding it odd.
Even the person themselves.
"But you know better than most, Sword Duke. Human nature doesn't change easily."
"..."
"Do you really think such massive shifts without incident or trigger are normal?"
Rimon had no choice but to fall silent at her point.
Surviving near-death experiences.
Or facing life-altering events.
Plenty change personalities or life paths after such triggers.
But if seven out of ten Players change just from becoming one?
What if the remaining three are still in the process or simply haven't noticed?
Could you confidently say Constellations had no hand in it?
"...Even if true, that's hardly enough evidence to outright suspect the Constellations."
"You're right, Sword Duke."
Li Chingwei admitted it frankly.
Even if Players' personality shifts were real, it didn't prove Constellation brainwashing.
It could just be their inclinations influencing contractors.
And plenty would shrug it off anyway.
A personality tweak was nothing compared to Constellation benefits.
"That's why, in the Seven Dragon Society, I'm the only one wary of Constellations besides you. At most, we watch Players' growing influence."
"...And why are you so guarded against them?"
"I don't know much about Constellations, but one thing I do know."
They weren't harming the world or obstructing the Seven Dragon Society.
Just faint evidence of Players' personality changes—why the extreme caution?
As he asked in bewilderment, Li Chingwei smiled faintly.
"That there's no such thing as a favor without a price."
"...Obvious, isn't it?"
From spirits to gods to the seven dragons.
History had no shortage of transcendent beings beyond humanity besides Constellations.
But none ever gave humanity selfless goodwill without cost.
Sacrifices, affection, faith, obedience.
They exacted payment in their ways and granted equivalent boons.
So what did Constellations demand for showing achievements and granting skills as "contracts"?
Turning contracted Players into entertainment?
Possible, sure.
If Constellations transcended even gods, they might pay that lightly, like a tycoon footing a TV license fee.
But the Constellations Rimon had seen didn't seem that grand.
More importantly, his long life had taught him many truths about existence.
"The things that seem free always demand the steepest price."
"Yes. But in this era, too many have forgotten that simple fact."
Li Chingwei gave a wry smile.
She glanced at the wreckage of the decorative cabinet Chao had smashed with his body and let out a soft sigh.
"Even within the Seven Dragon Society, plenty have fallen under Constellation influence."
During the World Peace Plan.
The Seven Dragon Society maintained ironclad secrecy.
Only each clan's princesses and elders knew the full truth.
Even the clans executing it were kept in the dark about the true intent.
If the secret leaked, all their efforts would be wasted—and worst case, Rimon might intervene.
Paranoid levels of secrecy.
The Sword Master's swifter-than-expected fall due to Constellation intervention.
The result? People like Chao.
Clan members dyed in the era's common sense, undervaluing Rimon.
Even Chao, her guard who'd heard tales of Rimon countless times.
Aside from leadership and a few exceptions, no need to mention how the Society viewed him internally.
Even the Seven Dragon Society, long shadows behind the world, couldn't escape Constellation influence.
"You weave conspiracies, only to get caught in your own— what were you thinking...?"
"Ironic, isn't it?"
Perhaps ashamed herself.
Li Chingwei's cheeks flushed faintly.
But she added one more thing.
"Maybe inevitable."
Those who wield poison must always be prepared to ingest it themselves.
Yet they had been negligent.
No—careless.
Just as the ignorant fell drunk on Constellation power and dungeon riches.
The Seven Dragon Society grew arrogant with wealth from alchemy and illusions of world domination from the shadows.
Other clans not just ignoring Constellations but feeling no need to check Rimon while upholding the World Peace Plan proved it.
In that sense, it was inevitable.
An unstoppable current of the times no one could evade.
"That's why I staked everything on proposing to you, Sword Duke."
"...Because I'm the only one in the world who can slay a Constellation?"
"Yes, exactly."
Li Chingwei nodded.
She gazed at Rimon steadily and continued.
"Now that Players have seized the world, the only one who can defy the tide and shield the Seven Dragon Society from Constellations is you, Sword Duke."