Chapter 201
Chapter 201
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 201
Chapter Title: Play - 4
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Crazy.
I never imagined it would surpass 4.8 million all at once.
I could no longer hold back the itch in my throat.
So I hurriedly signaled to Neril.
Neril waved her hand lightly and said,
“Canceled. Event View.”
“Uwaaaah!”
“M-Maide? What’s wrong?”
“We did it. We really did it.”
This was probably the first time everyone had seen me this excited.
They all looked shocked.
I practically jumped up and down in place as I shouted,
“Our fame has exceeded 5.3 million!”
“J-Just how much is that?”
“I told you. The minimum needed to kill Bellosian is 4.8 million. So…… that means.”
It was then, as my excited self trailed off,
That Idria smirked and said,
“Now we can kill Bellosian.”
Yeah.
That’s right.
I could now even kill the Bellosian in the special prison.
Tears welled up in everyone’s eyes.
“I never thought it would happen all at once like this…….”
“Mr. Maide’s idea was something no previous hero ever came up with.”
“Not to mention, it lets us judge the Demon King with our own hands.”
“We can see the end now.”
“Huuaaa. It was so tough, really.”
“Honestly, I was more nervous about flubbing my lines.”
I calmed everyone down and said,
“It’s at 5.3 million right now, but depending on how far the aftermath of this spreads, it could rise even more.”
“Could we kill Acteon too?”
“I don’t know what level of fame it takes to kill Acteon, but no matter how high I estimate, it shouldn’t exceed Bellosian. We’re truly at the endgame now. Everyone, you all did great. Really.”
That was when Idria cut in.
“Can’t you pull this out now?”
“Oh, right.”
I drew the sword stabbed into Idria.
Idria caressed her gut, now punched clean through.
The hole sealed up in an instant.
She said,
“But I didn’t expect you to actually throw a poisoned dagger. You, from her party.”
“I grabbed the wrong one by mistake.”
“Sure you did. Anyway, I’ll bring the kids.”
Crackle.
She opened a rift in space, and Soviers, Firensha, and Savark appeared.
Unlike Firensha, whose disappearance was staged without a trace, or Savark who merely collapsed, Soviers’s head had been severed.
“Your head’s back on nicely? Your neck.”
“Mother took care of it beforehand.”
Idria had been surprisingly enthusiastic about this play.
Firensha spoke with a dissatisfied look.
“What do we do now?”
“You all have to hide. Idria will keep you concealed until the trial ends.”
“And after?”
I didn’t answer.
Surprisingly, Idria provided the response.
“You’ll have to rely on humanity’s mercy.”
“…….”
“Don’t make that face.”
Idria soothed the children.
Then she turned to me and said,
“I’d like to rest a bit.”
“Go ahead. I’ll call you when the trial prep is ready, so show up then with a sword in your gut. You can make one that looks like the hero’s sword, right?”
“I made the fake hero’s sword in the first place. What can’t I do? Easy.”
She pointed at me.
“But won’t it be trouble for you to carry that sword around? That’s supposed to be in my gut.”
“Neril made the Hero’s Mark too. Changing it to a normal sword with magic should be simple.”
“Good. Then let’s part ways.”
“Rest up. Acteon’s still alive, so stay cautious.”
“Got it.”
Crackle.
Idria opened a rift in space.
And vanished with her limbs.
Only then did the certainty that it was all over sink in.
Thud.
I plopped down where I stood, and my party members followed suit.
Physically, it probably wasn’t that taxing.
But everyone looked utterly drained.
For a moment, I recalled their acting from just before.
We hadn’t rehearsed at all; it was just a basic script and improvisation.
Even so, my party members’ “lies” had been brilliant.
But I teasingly said,
“You guys really can’t lie.”
They burst into laughter.
Neril said,
“You’re rubbing off on us, leader.”
We took a short break and returned to the capital.
And immediately requested an audience with the emperor…… or rather, the emperor had come out to greet us first.
“Hero! Heroes!”
He threw aside all dignity and formality, spreading his arms wide to welcome us.
We had landed on the roof of the imperial palace.
The emperor was meeting us in a place he’d never normally set foot in.
I scratched my head and said,
“Your Majesty. Why are you in a place like this?”
“I just couldn’t sit still and wait.”
That wasn’t it; he’d probably prepared a triumphant general’s welcome in advance.
I glanced down at the palace grounds.
An enormous crowd.
Nearly everyone in the capital was waving handkerchiefs or flags, looking up at us.
If you saw just this scene without context, you’d think a massive rebellion had broken out.
I said,
“Hasn’t the capital been evacuated?”
“No. We can finish within the one-month deadline you specified. We’re evacuating by district in sequence.”
“Then how are there so many people?”
“You can assume every single person left in the capital is here. It couldn’t be helped.”
I nodded at his words.
And looked down once more.
“It’s the hero!”
“The hero looked at me.”
“Funny. He looked at me.”
“Aah. How is he so handsome?”
“He even made the Demon King kneel. That’s on another level from just killing it.”
“But where’s the Demon King?”
My sharp hearing caught the last voice.
This calls for a speech disguised as an explanation.
I sought the emperor’s permission.
“If it’s alright…….”
“Of course. Hero.”
“I haven’t even said what yet.”
“It means you can do anything. In this case, it seems you want to say a word to the people.”
“Ahem. Is that alright?”
He was once the emperor who coveted the hero’s position and tried to assassinate me, even if he’d reformed.
But he bowed deeply and said,
“You are an unprecedented hero. There were three heroes in the past, and I don’t mean to diminish their legends…… but they can’t compare to you, Mr. Maide.”
“…….”
“With the heavenly god gone, all of humanity’s hopes and expectations rest on your shoulders. Whatever you wish to do, I approve.”
Knowing the truth, I felt a twinge of discomfort.
The three past heroes had devoted themselves to the world and humanity to the end, despite the screen’s advice to leave it to posterity.
And they hadn’t been defeated by Bellosian in the end, losing their memories and departing to the afterlife.
‘I can’t even hold a candle to them.’
[Fame-wise, you’re overwhelming.]
‘That’s not the point. It’s whether I could’ve made their choices in that situation.’
[I think you could’ve. I do.]
This guy overestimates me.
Anyway, I said,
“Then, if you’ll excuse me for a moment.”
“Yes. Take your time.”
I stepped past the emperor to the edge of the roof.
My party members lined up to my left and right.
The already loud cheers grew even louder.
“Woooaaah!”
“Hero! Hero!”
“Thank you so much. Sob sob.”
I scanned my party members’ faces one by one.
They all nodded with gentle smiles.
Suuup.
Seeing Neril quickly cast a voice amplification spell, I took a deep breath and shouted,
“The Demon King has knelt before humanity!”
Since I’d cut off Event View midway, Idria wouldn’t have shared whether she accepted my proposal or not.
They could guess from our bright expressions, but declaring it myself carried far more weight.
However, the cheers didn’t intensify.
If anything, they died down.
Everyone gulped and fell silent.
Even conservatively, there were tens of thousands gathered, yet not a single breath could be heard.
But I sensed their emotions surging even higher.
‘Look at those eyes.’
[Bloodshot red. Can’t be helped.]
I shouted again,
“The Demon King of Lies, Idria, has been sealed by me. She can no longer use her powers!”
“…….”
“As you know, I believed simply killing the Demon King wasn’t enough. Past heroes all killed the Demon King, but that’s different from judging it.”
“…….”
“I will make the Demon King apologize to you all. I will make it right the wrongs it committed with its own hands!”
“……!”
“Starting today, this hour!”
My throat felt like it’d give out.
Neril clicked her tongue lightly.
With voice amplification, she meant I didn’t need to shout that hard.
But it couldn’t be helped.
Right now, it wasn’t about volume—it was about how much the resonance of my voice shook their hearts.
I cleared my throat and shouted again,
“Starting today, this hour, humanity no longer needs to fear the Demon King!”
“…….”
“Because humanity has defeated the Demon King in the most straightforward way possible. Fear the Demon King no more. You are the ones who defeated it!”
“Woooaaaah!!”
Finally, the pent-up emotions of the people erupted.
Drowning in joy and ecstasy, they expressed their feelings in their own unique ways.
Some wept rivers of tears and hugged those around them.
Others leaped into the air.
Some waved prepared flags wildly. Others blew trumpets with all their might.
People trumpeting with liquor bottles. People collapsing where they stood and sobbing, and so on.
Neril whispered, careful not to let her voice carry through the amplification magic.
“What a sight. In a good way.”
“Yeah.”
“People will pass down this moment, this scene, through generations in history. I already did.”
“Event View?”
“Yeah. A story this good can’t just stay in the capital. The world is watching us right now.”
Trail picked up on that.
[No wonder. Check this out.]
Tap.
A screen popped up.
[Maide Mohan Cumulative Fame: 5,357,200]
[Maide Mohan Cumulative Fame: 5,410,000]
[Maide Mohan Cumulative Fame: 5,689,700]
Not as dramatic as when I first mentioned the Demon King trial, but it rose steadily.
How high is it going to go?
‘Calm down. Gotta wrap up the speech.’
I decided to end by answering what everyone was dying to know.
I raised my hand.
The cheers gradually subsided.
In a much calmer voice than before, I opened my mouth.
“Idria is being escorted separately by me. Even sealed by the hero’s sword, a Demon King is a Demon King. She’ll appear only once I’m certain it’s completely safe.”
Then someone shouted,
“H-Hero! When will that be?”
Whoever it was, great question.
“It will be at the ‘Demon King Trial’! We’ll hold the trial as soon as preparations are ready.”
“……!”
“If you wish, you can attend the Demon King Trial. We’ll announce the date and place soon.”
“We’ll wait!”
“Haha, yes. Thank you. Hmm…… I’m a bit torn on how to wrap up.”
I shrugged.
“I’ll substitute with what I want to say to you all.”
“What you want to say to us?”
“Yes. Nothing special.”
I paused briefly and bowed to everyone below the palace.
It wasn’t pre-planned, but my quick party members elegantly bowed alongside me.
Murmurs.
The crowd grew noisy, unfamiliar and flustered by the hero and heroes bowing to them.
I raised my head and shouted,
“Everyone, you’ve all worked hard! I dedicate this victory to you!”