Chapter 122
Chapter 122
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 122
Chapter Title: Senior Fake Hero - 2
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I had to put in a tremendous effort to keep from showing any signs of alarm in front of my companions and those guys.
[What’s wrong? Why are you freaking out?]
‘That bastard’s sinned against too many people.’
[How many?]
I took a light breath and said,
‘About 129 million.’
[······You’re kidding, right?]
‘Unfortunately, it’s real.’
This was the first time I’d seen a list this long.
Other than pre-regression Kaild Wake.
The fake hero who’d sinned against 148 million people.
But Consvious had racked up nearly as many sins.
Well, 20 million fewer than Kaild, so maybe that made it slightly better?
‘No. Hold on.’
Were those sins really all against people from the ‘same era’?
With such an extreme number, rather than saying he’d sinned against 20 million fewer, wouldn’t it make more sense that the Blood Letters were recorded at different times?
I expanded the Blood Letters first.
Soon, a massive transparent window formed, big enough to fill the room.
Each individual Blood Letter was so tiny, like fine print, that it was hard to read without squinting.
That dizzying sensation from seeing pre-regression Kaild’s Blood Letters washed over me again.
‘Among these, a name that might hint at the guy’s identity······.’
Damn it.
Could I really find a clue in this flood of Blood Letters?
Nothing to do but start from the top and scroll down. Huh?
I nearly rubbed my eyes.
The third name from the top.
-Bedrake Hoffman.
‘It’s Bedrake Hoffman.’
[Who’s that?]
‘You don’t remember? The ancestor of Count Akain of Dronor Territory. The captain of Alcahad, one of the heroes in the Four Heroes’ party!’
[Ah······.]
‘See? My hunch was right. This guy isn’t from this era.’
And he’d sinned against Bedrake, who was a full-fledged hero, no less?
Just to be sure, I checked above and below Bedrake’s Blood Letter.
-Neo Magan.
-Lloyd Imagin.
-Arthur Smith······.
These names were very familiar.
They were members of the Four Heroes’ party.
And if these were here, then that name had to be here too, obviously.
The name of the Four Heroes’ leader, Padania Brook.
‘······.’
But that name wasn’t there.
[You just didn’t find it? There’s over 100 million of them.]
‘The heroes’ party members’ names are all clustered together. You’re telling me the leader’s name is off somewhere else?’
[······No way.]
‘Yeah.’
It was unbelievable.
But denying reality just because ‘it can’t be’ wasn’t my style.
I swallowed hard and said,
‘This guy is Padania Brook. The Four Heroes’ leader was the first finger of lies!’
The ludicrous reality that a hero had become a subordinate of the Demon King.
For now, I swallowed the information.
If I straight-up said, ‘You’re Padania, right?’ to him now, all I’d get was the sight of Kaild’s twisted face, and nothing else.
I shut my mouth.
My companions followed suit and said nothing, and neither did Consvious or Kaild.
How long did that bizarre staring contest last?
Knock knock.
The door opened with a knock.
“The lord has returned.”
“Ah.”
“Who would like to see the lord first······.”
That’s when Kaild spoke up.
As if he’d gotten prior ‘instructions’ from Consvious, he spoke smoothly without hesitation.
“We’ll go together.”
“Pardon? Well.”
“We can’t waste twice as much of the busy lord’s time. Right, Maide?”
What was his angle?
But his suggestion was welcome on my end too.
I didn’t know what nonsense they might whisper into the lord’s ear if I wasn’t there.
“Yeah. Let’s go.”
And so, we all followed the butler’s lead to the drawing room.
When the door opened, the lord of Gavril Territory came into view.
This territory had been under direct imperial control for a while after the Erenica family fell.
Then a noble house without a territory of their own had lobbied and politicked their way into receiving it, and it had passed down to this day.
It was a pretty famous bit of history, so I remembered it.
“Welcome. I’m Mike de Gran.”
“Lord Mike. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“That’s my line.”
He dabbed the cold sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.
[He doesn’t look pleased to see us. More like he wishes we’d leave ASAP.]
‘Two heroes—the continent’s top celebrities right now—showing up at once.’
Even a lord couldn’t handle that easily.
That’s when Kaild spoke.
“You’ve heard the oracle, I assume, my lord?”
“O-Of course. That is······ I heard it twice.”
“The second one was fake.”
Kaild declared it like it was fact and crossed his arms.
Naturally, my party members started murmuring.
“He’s consistently obnoxious.”
“How does he keep that shamelessness after losing to Maide so many times?”
Their words felt like cheers to me.
So I straightened up and cut in.
“I can’t stay out of that one, Kaild.”
“······.”
“My lord. Why don’t you contact Avis, Hasfil, Dronor, and the others right now? It’d be good to hear how they evaluate me.”
The count, now sweating so profusely he could wring water from his handkerchief, replied,
“There’s no need. The territories you mentioned have all issued statements to the Empire.”
“True enough.”
“And I’m aware that recently, a territory that sided with Kaild······ even staked their lives on rebellion······ has turned to you, Maide.”
Atrium Territory, probably.
He glanced cautiously at Kaild and continued.
“In summary, the territories you’ve visited have recognized you as the hero without a shred of doubt.”
“Because it’s the truth.”
“B-But, conversely, territories you haven’t visited yet lack that faith. Including ours in Gavril.”
“······.”
“Ahh. Please don’t make me choose something so difficult. Picking the true hero between you two is too heavy a burden.”
I scratched my head.
That’s when Kaild said,
“Then let me lighten that burden for you.”
“What do you mean?”
“A hero is ultimately one meant to slay the Demon King. The gods of heaven wouldn’t choose the weak for that, would they?”
“······.”
“It might seem a bit barbaric······.”
He looked at me and continued.
“But simply put, let’s settle it with strength.”
“What? You wanna fight me?”
“Yeah.”
“You serious? Leaving out arrogance and speaking pure fact—I’m stronger than you. Much stronger.”
For a while after regressing, Kaild and I were evenly matched.
But after hearing the ‘Imperium’ voice in my dream and gaining the ability to see the dead’s Blood Letters, my strength had skyrocketed.
The thought of losing to Kaild now didn’t even cross my mind.
But Kaild smirked confidently.
“Arrogant.”
“I said it was pure fact.”
“Is that so? Then it’ll be even more fun. Imagine if the guy spouting such arrogance falls to one of my party member’s swords.”
I saw through his scheme.
Sure enough, Consvious—who’d been silent until now—finally spoke.
“Scum like you doesn’t even warrant Kaild taking the field.”
Just like a nameless thug on the verge of death.
“I’ll handle you. Maide Mohan.”
“And who the hell are you?”
“Consvious. Kaild’s companion.”
The count, who’d been listening intently, tilted his head.
“That······ If I may be so bold, weren’t all of Kaild’s companions supposed to have gone over to Maide?”
“Correct. Those traitors are standing right beside Maide now.”
“······.”
“But that’s just because their eyes were clouded and they couldn’t see Kaild’s true worth. No, wait—that’s too rude.”
Consvious switched tack with a sly grin.
“You could call them victims, in a way.”
“What?”
“Maide is the vanguard of the Demon King of Lies and Deceit, Idria. A servant of the King of Lies would be pretty good at deception.”
“······!”
“So they must’ve been fooled. I wish they’d come to their senses even now······.”
Before he could finish, Neril cut in coldly.
“Shut your trap. It’s painful to listen to.”
“As you can see, they’re completely brainwashed.”
“What a farce. Kaild’s the Demon King’s servant.”
“Quiet.”
“No, did I overestimate Kaild? He’s not even a limb—just a puppet doll.”
Her tone was still sharp as ever.
I wedged myself between the heated exchange.
“So you wanna fight me? Consvious, so-called Kaild party member.”
“That’s right. I’ll ask the lord to hold a duel tournament.”
“······.”
“I hear you crushed the Martial King Ters in a duel at Rior Territory. The first big incident in your fake hero charade. Think of it like that.”
Pretend to slip up during the duel and kill me?
Or was there more to it?
I glanced at the count.
His face looked much improved from before, and he was nodding.
I didn’t know if settling the hero question with a duel was reasonable.
But reasonable or not, if the parties involved accepted it, he’d step aside······ that was his expression.
[What now?]
‘They walked right into this fight. Backing out would look bad. Like I’m chickening out.’
[Still, feels like they’re plotting something.]
‘You’re right. And I’ve got a pretty good idea what.’
He’d commented on my Hero’s Mark earlier.
Asked if Neril made it.
So, as unbelievable as it was.
‘Show me the secret between Padania and Defir Erenica.’
[Wait, Defir······.]
‘Just show me.’
[Alright. One sec.]
Snap.
A screen popped up.
[Used Eye of Omniscience.]
[Current Eye of Omniscience level is 4. Can view up to A-rank secrets.]
[Selected: ‘The secret between Defir Erenica and Padania Brook.’]
[Secret rank: A. Viewing.]
In the screen, Defir faced Padania in his own room.
Defir spoke with a somewhat anxious expression.
“What brings you here today?”
“What other reason would an investor have?”
Defir rubbed his palms awkwardly.
“You mean the Withering Jewel research. Don’t worry—it’s definitely succeeded.”
“Then show me that success with my own eyes.”
“······As I said, Neril’s being incredibly stubborn.”
He walked over to the window.
Then, hands behind his back, he gazed outside.
Mystically, the Eye of Omniscience adjusted the view slightly to show what he was looking at.
‘Neril.’
Little Neril was watering the garden flowers with a heartbreakingly sad face, on the verge of tears.
Seeing her childlike side after only knowing her mature one felt strange.
“But that won’t last much longer. As I mentioned before, I’ve been applying sufficient pressure to Neril.”
“Heh. You mean the pressure that her friend May will kill her?”
“Yes. Of course, she didn’t believe it easily. Neril even made a weird headband to check if we were lying.”
“Headband?”
“Just a basic illusion magic headband, but no one could tell it was fake. She really is a genius, Neril.”
Padania nodded coolly in acknowledgment.
Then a cruel smile crept onto Defir’s lips.
“A genius, sure. But that headband was still a fluke.”
“What do you mean?”
“No matter how genius she is, it’s beyond Neril’s capabilities. She seemed to have lost the inspiration from when she made it. Probably can’t even replicate the magic circle engraved on it.”
“Hmm.”
“Guess she was that desperate. For someone who never formally studied magic to make something like that—humans pull off miracles when cornered, huh.”
Padania had zero interest in how profound the headband’s magic was.
He scratched his ear and asked,
“So? How does that headband help me?”
“Neril plans to use it to disguise herself as May. Then talk to us as May to test if it’s true.”
“······.”
“But I’ve already caught on. I’ll confiscate the headband and give it to May. Her birthday’s soon—perfect excuse for a gift.”
Padania let out a low chuckle.
“Kukuku. Yeah, seeing that would drive the wedge of doubt in. Neril will kill May with the jewel’s power.”
“Exactly.”
“One last pointless question, but—you sure you’re okay with this? Even sacrificing your own daughter?”
It was blatant mockery or contempt, but Defir didn’t flinch.
He replied calmly.
“Are you judging me? You, the fake hero?”