Chapter 83
Chapter 83
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: Hero
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[Herooo!! Even though it was just a verbal contract, you have to honor it!! If you act like this, Hero, it puts us in a real bind!!]
"Contracts made in a weakened state of mind and body are invalid!!"
[But you're still using the gift we prepared for you without any issues, aren't you?!]
"What gift..."
Right in the middle of our back-and-forth bickering, her words sparked another question in my mind.
The existence of the shop window.
I was originally(?) supposed to go to that world, but I ended up in this one instead—why did something like this exist?
"...By any chance, is the 'gift' you're talking about this shop window?"
I was a little surprised.
Who would've thought the shop window came into being for a reason like that?
"But if it's a gift, why not just hand over an item?"
"...Even holy relics?"
That one might've been a little tempting.
I mean, it's a holy sword. Even for a body like this, wouldn't it drastically cut down the odds of some ignoble death?
Hermit's Cloak...
That was the name of the cloak I was currently wearing.
I'd bought it as my top priority thanks to Master's prophecy, but I had my doubts about whether it was truly worth 2000 points.
It perfectly concealed my face and came equipped with ventilation, cold resistance, and insulation—a real all-purpose cloak, sure, but...
"Does this cloak really pack that much power?"
I couldn't quite buy that it warranted the Saintess's level of hype.
Truth be told, I'd partly bought it on a whim to commit to a concept: the enigmatic fortune teller whose name, age, and face were total mysteries.
It had worked decently well for drumming up business back then, but these days I wasn't even trading anymore. And traveling with the Sword Empress—who already knew my identity—rendered it pretty pointless.
Yet she was reacting like this?
Maybe it had some hidden features I didn't know about?
"Oh, for real?"
"Be what by now?"
"Tch."
Eh, at worst, probably something like getting caught in a fight and dying.
How many other ways were there to go out in this world besides that?
Sure, I'd breached the contract, but that was their one-sided assertion—and rejecting it when my life was on the line wasn't petty.
"So, is there any way I can actually head to your world?"
"No, just... your tone makes it sound like you haven't given up yet."
They kept saying I'd been snatched away to this world, but she seemed to have a ton of lingering attachment right now.
Ten years later, and she was still bothering with this conversation—didn't that mean they still had some way to drag me back?
"...Opening it won't summon me right away, will it?"
With a wary look, I opened the shop window.
And sure enough, one change stood out.
A brand-new item had been added right next to the perennial top-slot "Return" button that cost 10,000 points.
"Why's this so damn expensive too?!"
"Hah..."
10,000 points, same as Return.
That was 27 years' worth—or ten thousand nyang in gold.
"...But this 'Return'—that's definitely back to Earth, right?"
I wanted a return to Earth most of all, huh...
Now that I thought about it, I didn't remember seeing it right after the possession.
Back then, my body was on the brink of death, so I'd been too busy buying potions to properly browse the shop.
"Got a question, though."
"Why are the 'Summon' and 'Return' buy buttons overlapping?"
The [Purchase] buttons for both items were stacked right on top of each other.
Not only could I not tell which was which, it was impossible to press just one.
"Fix it, or I'm cutting this conversation short. Done."
Her voice carried genuine desperation—like, startlingly so.
"Yeah, got it. Confirmed."
Thank goodness it was just her voice.
If I'd seen her face, I bet her eyes would've been bloodshot.
Her tone eased up a bit after my response, and I spoke up.
"Any particular reason you're so fixated on me...?"
I got the population shortage bit—summoning a hero for breeding stock—but was I really worth this much effort?
Unless men had gone fully extinct, the population would rebound eventually, even if it took time...
"...Ah..."
Men had gone extinct...
Yeah... that would do it.
Makes sense...
"..."
The mood turned so heavy it was hard to just blurt something out.
I was only hearing about it secondhand; she'd lived through it.
A war spanning decades—she must've lost countless comrades along the way.
"Uh..."
There wasn't much I could say.
Just...
"Hang in there?"
A lame attempt at comfort was all I could manage.
Lost in thought, perhaps? The stifling silence dragged on.
"...What can I do to help?"
"You're perfectly fine, aren't you?!"
What a terrifying woman.
Turning even that heavy moment's consolation into an opening.
Though it did speak to how desperate their situation must be.
"Yeah... pretty much."
Sex felt good once or twice, sure—but who in their right mind would sign up for a life as a semen tank, drained dry until death?
Some might, but not me.
"...A reason?"
.
.
.
"...Destruction?"
It sounded like a curse, but to me, it rang like lived experience.
"...Yeah."
They didn't match jiangshi at all.
The traits were too spot-on with what I knew.
The shop window had mentioned vampires plenty of times too—it'd be weirder if I hadn't noticed.
"And that's enough to destroy this world?"
She trailed off there, but I could guess what came next.
War would break out all over again.
This time against an undead legion even hungrier for revenge after tasting defeat.