Chapter 180
Chapter 180
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 180
Chapter Title: Spoiled Food - 1
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Special chamber.
A bizarre space where even ordinary—no, extraordinary people would lose their minds if they stayed too long.
The colors and shapes there shifted every moment.
A blue sky would dye blood-red in mere seconds.
A fragrant floral scent would suddenly give way to a freezing blizzard.
The floor would turn to mud, then sand, repeating endlessly.
In the center of that grotesque place sat an unremarkable bed.
Bellosian slumbered peacefully upon it.
Swoosh.
Then a shadow fell over his face.
“Hey. Wake up.”
“......”
“Wake up. The situation’s serious.”
“......”
“Sigh. Seriously.”
Shing.
Someone drew a dagger.
Stab.
Without the slightest hesitation, they plunged it into the heart of the sleeping Bellosian.
It should have been instant death, but Bellosian simply opened his eyes as if it were nothing.
He blinked a few times, then looked up at the one who had stabbed him.
“Mr. Acteon?”
Acteon.
A man who had been one of Impellium’s party members, alongside Adin and Serad.
Just the mention of his name at the banquet had hardened Impellium’s expression.
Acteon spoke.
“You awake?”
“Yeah. Could you pull this out first?”
“Tch.”
Acteon yanked the dagger free.
Bellosian tapped around his chest.
The wound closed in an instant, and his heart began beating again.
He rose from the bed and stretched languidly.
“What brings you here? Why are you the one in this place?”
“Something came up.”
“So what happened?”
“Kaild got done in by Maide.”
Freeze.
Bellosian’s body stiffened.
Acteon pulled over a nearby chair and sat.
“That bastard Kaild was born to screw things up. Should’ve locked him in here so he couldn’t get out.”
“This is a space where humans go mad after just a few hours. Kaild’s a worm, so he wouldn’t last even that long.”
“Who cares if he loses it.”
“If he does, we can’t control him.”
Bellosian cracked his neck.
“With his fame still riding high, we need to stage the play where he kills Idria. Then Idria harvests the lies and grows stronger, and after that...”
“She gets eaten by you.”
“Yes. Kaild’s role is crucial. Can’t have him going mad.”
“Too late for that.”
“Done in by Maide? I’ll just revive him, no big deal.”
Acteon shook his head.
“It wasn’t just a simple kill. Probably got advice from Impellium on this too.”
“Hm. The world’s law that heroes can’t kill people?”
“More precisely, the law you altered.”
“......”
“That’s what makes it worse. He tore open space and imprisoned Kaild beyond it.”
Bellosian tilted his head.
“With the power I gave him, he should’ve overcome that much.”
“Adwin erased his soul first, then imprisoned him.”
“Ah. Yeah, that’s impossible then. Definitely a problem.”
“Don’t rush ahead. There’s one more problem.”
Creak.
He leaned back in his chair.
“The play you just mentioned? Maide might beat us to it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Maide and Idria teamed up. She’s going to boost his fame, just like she did for Kaild.”
“......!”
“Then they’ll storm in here and take your head.”
Bellosian’s expression hardened.
Acteon found the look on his face quite intriguing.
It might be the first time this guy had looked this tense since Impellium.
“Even the Great Demon King of Lies finds himself in a bind, huh.”
“......Yeah. Who’d have thought Idria would betray me.”
“I saw it coming. I was shocked when you tried to use Firensha. Told you to rethink it, didn’t I?”
“......”
“Anyway, what’s your plan? You’re stuck in this special chamber. You can’t stop Maide’s scheme.”
Bellosian rubbed his forehead.
Acteon stood, as if to give him time to think.
By then, a small table had appeared beside them.
As he brewed a cup of tea, Bellosian spoke.
“Sigh. I’ll have to summon Kaild and Idria here.”
“Huh?”
“Gotta keep them from contacting Maide.”
“What if Maide storms this special chamber?”
“I doubt he’s that stupid... but if he does, all the better. I’ll be the winner of this game.”
Acteon tilted his head.
“You still need more sleep. You won’t wake unless your body’s on the brink of death, right? Like just now.”
“......True. So I’ll count on you then.”
Acteon sipped his tea and said,
“Why should I?”
“Like you said, I need a lot more rest. Just waking up to talk to you has me exhausted.”
“That’s not a reason for me to help.”
“Then watch my plan fall apart. Is that what you want?”
Of course not.
He didn’t want that, but...
“What a pain... Fine, I’ll give it a shot. Kaild’ll follow orders without complaint, but how do I lure Idria?”
“Figure it out. You’ll come up with a good plan.”
Bellosian added in a subtle tone.
“The plan to kill Impellium came from your head too, didn’t it?”
Acteon smirked.
“I just said it first. Your devious brain would’ve thought of it soon enough.”
“Who knows. My head’s pretty rigid. The idea of ‘using the world’s laws to kill a hero’ wouldn’t have crossed my mind.”
“Enough. You’re overpraising me.”
“That’s not all.”
Bellosian’s expression softened a bit.
“You were the one who advised me to become a demon god.”
“......”
“Alter the laws to invert humans’ negative and positive emotions. Create countless demon kings that way, and sit at the top.”
“......”
“How brilliant is that? Even I, the Demon King of Lies, couldn’t help but admire it.”
Acteon tilted his head.
“You’re laying it on thick today.”
“It means I’m counting on you.”
“You’ve always pressured me like this. Bad habit.”
“Well, it’s my nature.”
“I’m out. Rest up.”
Acteon walked away with steady steps.
Then he turned back, as if remembering something.
“Oh, right. That thing you just mentioned? Idria figured it out too.”
“Huh?”
“Your real goal. Eating her and using that power to become a demon god. Her betrayal wasn’t just the Firensha thing—it was realizing your goal that sealed it.”
Bellosian’s expression sharpened.
“How would she know that? Only Impellium, Adin, you, and I know about it. In this era.”
“Batore ate Adin’s body and absorbed his memories.”
“......Damn it.”
“Killing Adin and passing his fame to Kaild was fine, but the cleanup was sloppy. Idria got Adin’s memories through Batore, and ate his soul through Firensha.”
Eating Adin’s soul wasn’t a big deal.
How much stronger could she get from that trash’s soul?
But Idria learning the memories of the ‘Forgotten Age’ was prickly.
“She’ll come for my life now.”
“Using Maide.”
“Whew. Back to square one. You’ll have to bring Kaild and Idria here.”
“Okay.”
He turned again.
His leisurely steps irked Bellosian for some reason.
He snapped at the retreating back.
“No apology?”
“Why should I apologize?”
“You said Idria got the Forgotten Age memories through Batore. You should’ve controlled that.”
“Huh?”
Bellosian continued.
“You’re Batore.”
Acteon turned.
Bellosian pressed on.
“Batore ate you. Normally, you’d have been absorbed into Batore’s ego, becoming mere nourishment for his memories and knowledge...”
Bellosian narrowed his eyes.
“But you did the opposite. You ate Batore’s ego instead.”
“I let myself get eaten for that purpose. You asked me to, didn’t you?”
“......”
“Idria was the final key to your plan. You needed someone to monitor her and report back.”
So he’d let Batore eat him.
To track Idria’s every move and confirm the plan was on track for Bellosian.
After deciding ‘Idria alone can’t handle Maide,’ Bellosian had dealt with her directly.
Bellosian said,
“Either way, you devoured Batore’s ego ages ago. You shouldn’t have let the truth slip to Idria.”
“Bad timing.”
“What?”
“Right before, Idria absorbed Adin’s soul and got ridiculously stronger. She powered up, so Batore—made from her—gained strength too.”
“......”
“For a moment, Batore took control of this body again. By the time I regained it, it was too late.”
Acteon scratched his head vigorously.
“Bottom line, the truth leaking was an unfortunate accident... But why am I even explaining myself?”
“......”
“You’re not blaming me for failing to stop it, are you?”
The mood soured a bit.
Bellosian quickly backpedaled.
“No, of course not.”
He continued sincerely.
“I haven’t forgotten what you’ve done for me. You threw yourself onto Impellium’s sword. To make him break the immortality.”
Yes.
Acteon had deliberately offered his life to Impellium.
So he’d be bound by the ‘altered’ laws of the world.
So Bellosian could win.
Acteon smiled bitterly.
“But in the big picture, we lost. Even stripped of power, he locked you and me in this special chamber.”
“Adin got off lucky. Well, he was trapped at the starting line too.”
“Still achieved his wish. What was it? Loved by everyone?”
“Don’t really remember.”
Acteon shrugged.
“Anyway, quit sulking. To a friend I’ve known for 10,000 years.”
“Yes. Sorry.”
“Later.”
“Take care.”
Bellosian bowed deeply to Acteon.
No trace of the contempt he showed Adin.
If anything, there was respect.
This entire grand scheme was Acteon’s.
He’d merely joined in.
The bow was fitting.
Swoosh.
Bellosian lay back down.
‘Now I can rest easy.’
Acteon fundamentally hated getting involved.
Even 10,000 years ago, he’d tossed out the plan roughly and told them to handle it themselves.
But once he committed, there was nothing to worry about.
Bellosian sank into deep sleep again.
First, I stopped by the nearest territory to get a sword.
The weapons shop owner kept his waist bent at ninety degrees from the moment we met.
“Y-Your Excellency the Hero and esteemed heroes visiting our humble shop. It’s an honor for generations of my family.”
Oh god, please stop.
Even asking him to straighten up felt burdensome, so I changed the subject.
“I heard this is the best weapons shop in the territory.”
“We’ve run the forge and shop for three generations. Looking for anything specific?”
“Where can I see the swords?”
“This way.”
He backed away a few steps, as if withdrawing from an emperor’s throne room, then guided us.
Soon we faced a wall filled with swords of every kind.
Ophense stroked one and said,
“I’m not as knowledgeable about swords as you, but this looks like the best.”
“Same here. I’m not that picky about swords anyway.”
“The Unyielding Sword Emperor saying something so humble.”
“It’s true. No matter how good the sword, it wouldn’t last a month in my hands.”
Even back when I was just a wandering mercenary, most swords couldn’t handle my strength.
Eventually, picking swords felt like a waste of time, so I carried multiples of plain ones as spares.
“So you get how much it hurt when the fake hero’s sword broke?”
“Hm.”
“It was the first sword to endure all my techniques unscathed. I was almost grateful to Idria for it.”
“Shouldn’t you be grateful to me? I took it from Kaild.”
Serein chimed in with a grin.
“Speaking of, why’d you leave that note back then? About finding a better leader.”
“Got a rare playful urge.”
“Kaild totally exploded. Nearly got us in the crossfire.”
Ophense shrugged.
Old memories surfaced, and I smirked too.
The flustered shop owner, who’d been fidgeting, asked,
“So, that sword then, Your Excellency?”
“No.”
“......?”
“From here.”
I pointed to one end of the wall.
Then slid my finger to the other end.
“To there.”
The owner’s eyes went wide.
“You need all of them?”
“Yes.”
“A-hem. Well... Your Excellency. Of course, I wouldn’t dream of disturbing your noble quest to save the world and humanity with petty words.”
“Yes?”
“Business has been rough lately. Please understand.”
What’s this now?
As I blinked, Neril cut in.
“You think we’re here to rob you of the swords?”
“N-Not exactly...”
“Sigh. We’re not Kaild. Maide wouldn’t do that.”
Only then did I realize the owner had a ridiculous misunderstanding.
“Of course. We’ll pay full price. How much for all?”
The owner gaped so wide I worried his jaw would hit the floor.
We paid fair price and left the shop.
Loaded them into the carriage hold, then mounted the whole thing on Agril’s back.
Jenia said,
“That shop owner’s attitude was hardly how you treat a hero.”
“Hm?”
“Records show past heroes were so kind to imperials, yet he reacted like that. Maide’s status must be beyond a hero now.”
Yeah, the emperor and Alcahad’s captain thought so too.
It just gave me a headache, so I let it slide.
Adwin spoke up.
“Bro. Do we really need this many weapons?”
“The fake hero’s sword broke.”
Adwin tilted his head.
“Yeah, but the ‘real’ hero’s sword is still here.”