Chapter 116
Chapter 116
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 115
Chapter Title: Demon Sword Forte (17) - Puppet Theater
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“A doll, you say?”
At Pina's retort, the cranky mage right in front of her froze for an instant.
But only for a moment.
“What nonsense is that? I don't know where you crawled out from, but get lost!”
With that, the mage tried to slam the door shut, but Forte spoke up faster.
《If you let him close it, he'll just reset again. Block it.》
Pina's reaction was immediate.
She shot her leg out like lightning, jamming her shoe between the door and the frame. The closing door came to a grinding halt.
“What the hell do you think you're doing? Get your foot out!”
Forte considered having her relay his answer through her mouth for a second, but decided against it.
Assuming this situation was some kind of play, it wouldn't do for him to reveal his presence too much.
Not yet, at least.
《Act like you can't hear my voice at all. In other words, pretend you're judging and thinking for yourself. If it fails, it'll just reset and go back to how it was, so go wild without holding back.》
Pina looked momentarily at a loss for words, but buoyed by the promise of retries, she soon opened her mouth.
“I-it is a doll! I've already figured it out, so confess!”
“I told you it's nonsense! Got any proof?”
“Proof? You can just tell it's a doll at a glance!”
Of course, Pina had no idea why the mage in front of her was a doll.
But she trusted Forte.
If Forte declared it was a doll, there had to be a reason.
The mage's face twisted at Pina's utterly resolute attitude.
“Ridiculous! Calling a perfectly fine person a doll? What makes you say that?”
“I-it just looks exactly like a doll, so that's why! Don't make me explain it!”
“Such sheer stubbornness...”
The mage threw his head back with a sigh, then grumbled.
“Fine, whatever. I'll hear you out, so come in. But cut the doll crap.”
Pina's eyes darted around at the mage's offer.
Forte advised her.
《You can accept. He seems to want to hide his identity—the Sage of the Skies.》
‘I see... Wait, what? The Sage of the Skies?’
《Look at his face. Doesn't it match the statue?》
To the stunned Pina, Forte calmly continued his explanation.
《Of course, if that body is a doll like I think, it won't be his true form. But at least the 'Sage of the Skies' known to the world is this guy.》
《And judging from that narration earlier, your role, Pina, is the hero Fernando Valestia. So this scene is the hero's first meeting with the Sage of the Skies.》
《The Sky Academy system wants something from you, its contractor. But since you're not likely to do quests its way, it's set up this stage to persuade you. Got it so far?》
‘Yeah... I think so.’
It wasn't a very confident reply, but Forte didn't mind.
He already knew her head wasn't bad—she was just clueless with people and short on confidence.
《The experience you'll go through from now on is probably the journey of the hero Fernando and his companions. The system thinks you'll bend to its will after this.》
‘So, what do I do?’
《We need info to fight the system, at least. Play along for now, and flip the table if things go south.》
The mage—no, the Sage of the Skies—irritably shouted at Pina, who had frozen at the door.
“What are you waiting for? Get in!”
“Ah, yes!”
Scamper.
The sage eyed Pina, who burst into the room with oddly small-animal-like movements, then snapped his fingers.
Tree roots sprouted from the ground, instantly forming a table and chairs.
The sage plopped down carelessly in one of the makeshift chairs and asked.
“So, what's your business?”
“Hm.”
Pina fell into thought for a moment.
As a descendant of Valestia, she knew the hero Fernando's saga in great detail.
It was only natural, having been immersed in plays, novels, and related tales every day since childhood.
‘The hero and the sage's first meeting was definitely...’
The wise sage appeared at the hero's call.
The sage asked,
“What brings you to seek me out?”
The hero replied,
“I seek your aid in defeating the Demon King.”
The sage shook his head.
“What help could a mere forest mage provide?”
The hero said,
“Everyone nearby knows of your wisdom. Don't be humble—please help us.”
The sage asked,
“Why do you wish to defeat the Demon King?”
The hero replied,
“Simply to help the people.”
The sage exclaimed in admiration,
“Ah! How could I refuse such noble intent? Though lacking, I shall join your journey.”
And so, the hero and the sage set off together.
Pina cleared her throat and said,
“Ahem. I want to defeat the Demon King to save the suffering people. I need your help, Sage.”
The sage replied,
“Why should I?”
“?”
“What do I care if a bunch of idiots croak?”
Pina's mouth fell open.
Where was the prudent, calm sage who fretted over the world's chaos and strove to right it? This was just a crotchety old jerk.
The sage's complaints—no, gripes—continued.
“Some moron starts a war because he can't marry the girl he wants. Another summons the Demon King out of the blue when he's losing. And the ones scheming from the shadows, hoping for mutual destruction. The world's in this mess because of selfish idiots like them. Why should I clean up after trash like that?”
The Sage of the Skies stared at Pina like she was a fool wasting effort on stupid things.
“The countries suffering now all brought it on themselves. They're just reaping what they sowed. It's their mess to fix. So don't go playing hero—flee somewhere safe.”
“No thanks.”
“What?”
Pina shot back, a bit miffed.
“Does that mean you can't try fixing something if you're not directly involved? That people who screw up deserve whatever they get? Hell, can you even call it a screw-up in the first place?”
There were those who started the war.
Those who summoned what they shouldn't have to win it.
Those who fueled the war for profit and greed.
But were all the victims of the Demon King's hands like that?
“Farmers just plowing their fields day by day, innkeepers diligently baking bread, kids playing in alleys. Do they bear responsibility for this? Is it their just desserts to die by the Demon King's hand?”
“Maybe not. But does that make it your job to help?”
“Then don't. I'll help anyway.”
“...?”
Pina glared at the sage.
“It's not my business. Not my responsibility. Not my fault. No gain for me, so why bother? But I'm betting the 'selfish people' you mentioned acted the exact same way.”
“How dare you compare me to those scum!?”
The sage shot up from his chair.
At the same moment, the surroundings began to waver unstably.
Proof that this development was veering from what the system had prepared.
The hero Fernando surely hadn't persuaded the sage like this.
Sensing the system gearing up for another 'reset,' Forte pushed back with his power.
If you invite a live actor to a puppet show, you have to expect some deviations, right?
Unaware of the power struggle backstage, Pina and the sage on stage glared at each other.
Then, Pina spun on her heel.
The sage watched her retreating back with complicated eyes, then clicked his tongue.
“Hey, why'd you call me a doll earlier?”
“It just... looked like one.”
“Hmph, not gonna explain properly, huh? Fine, tell me if I join the Demon King hunt?”
Pina hesitated for a moment.
She'd trusted Forte's words from the start, but still didn't grasp what he meant by the sage being a 'doll.'
“It's like a gut feeling—hard to put into words.”
“Whatever. I can just observe from the side then.”
Suddenly, her vision warped.
The system seemed displeased with the altered details, grinding its gears, but deeming it within tolerance, it opened the next page.
With the sage as a new companion, the hero traveled the continent, resisting the Demon King's invasions.
He cut down monsters that turned people to stone, protected abandoned fiefdoms, and infiltrated strongholds to take out officers.
One day,
the two heard a curious tale.
It was the rumor of a saintess wandering the war-ravaged continent, healing the people.
Judging she might aid their quest to defeat the Demon King, the hero sought her out.
The woman with beautiful silver hair and blue eyes was using divine blessings to heal people.
Moved by her devotion, the hero's party asked her to join them.
“Hah, seriously. Hey, hero. That girl's bad news. No good.”
“Huh? Why?”
“You're from the Balt Kingdom, right? The first nation the Demon King wiped out.”
“Y-yeah? Sort of.”
“Her dad summoned that Demon King.”
At the sage's snide remark, the beautiful woman's face paled.
That's right.
The saintess was the princess of the kingdom that summoned the Demon King.