Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: The Hero Drops the Sun - 2
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I clenched my right fist and raised it high.
“Everyone! It’s all over. The Black Sun has vanished!”
“Waaaaah! Hero!”
“This wasn’t my doing alone.”
I quickly continued.
“My other companions left to save any people who might have turned into monsters. Adwin, a friend of the deceased here, summoned the soul of a past hero to give us advice.”
“......”
“And above all!”
I grabbed Neril’s hand tightly.
She panicked greatly and asked.
“W-what? What’s wrong?”
“Now’s the time, Neril.”
“What’s now?”
“I told you. As of today, you’re no longer the Witch of Atrocities. This is our chance, having achieved such a great feat right before the capital’s citizens.”
“Maide.”
“Come on.”
She relaxed her arm.
Thanks to that, I could lift her hand as well.
“Here is Neril Slaine. She enchanted my sword with magic!”
“Neril Slaine?”
“Neril... don’t tell me...”
“Isn’t she the Witch of Atrocities?”
I shouted as if I’d been waiting for this.
“That’s a misunderstanding on your part. The truth will soon be revealed to the world.”
Even if it doesn’t, I plan to flip Dame upside down until it is.
“So please forget the moniker of Witch of Atrocities from now on. Neril is unequivocally my companion.”
“Hmm. But.”
“No, if the hero acknowledges her, that settles it.”
“True. If the hero says so, that’s the end of it.”
I suppressed my pounding heart and waited for their ‘verdict’.
A moment later.
The capital’s citizens shouted.
“Maide! Maide!”
“Thank you, Lady Neril.”
“Thank you for saving us!”
“Please defeat the Demon King too!”
It worked.
Amid their cheers, the reaction I’d hoped for was clearly mixed in.
Now, if Dame officially issues a statement saying most of the Witch of Atrocities infamy is false, it’ll wrap up nicely.
[Will that stubborn old man really do as you wish?]
‘I won’t even need to ask.’
[Huh?]
‘Jenia will make the same request anyway. And Dame has never ignored what Jenia says.’
Come to think of it, did Jenia safely rescue Dame?
It should be fine, but I’m still worried.
That’s when it happened.
“Hand...”
“Oh. Sorry.”
I startled and tried to let go.
But.
Squeeze.
Suddenly, Neril gripped my hand even tighter.
“I didn’t say to let go.”
“Huh?”
“Maide.”
She looked up at me.
For a moment, the real sun shone behind her.
“You cleared my infamy and found the heirloom from the Enerica family, which was my lifelong wish.”
“Dame found the heirloom.”
“Just listen.”
“Yes.”
She continued in a soft voice.
“I told you once, didn’t I? Meeting you was the luckiest thing.”
“Yeah, you did.”
“Want to add one more.”
“Add what?”
“You...”
She cut herself off.
Then shook her head vigorously.
“No. What am I even saying.”
Why start and stop like that?
You’re making me curious.
That’s when it happened.
Ding.
A screen window suddenly popped up.
[Ding! You gained 12,000 Fame Points.]
[Fame Points needed for next level: 67,760/100,000]
[Your name will echo throughout the capital from now on.]
[Total Fame Points to be acquired from this incident: 18,000]
[Your name is echoing in Drucker Territory. (All points collected!)]
[Your name is echoing in Quelk Territory. (All points collected!)]
[Your name is echoing in Rior Territory. (All points collected!)]
[Your name is echoing in Avis Territory. (All points collected!)]
[Your name is echoing in Reynus Territory. (All points collected!)]
[Your name is echoing in Tetra Territory. (All points collected!)]
[Jenia Side thinks of you as ‘someone I’d stake my life on.’]
[Offense Daik thinks of you as ‘the one who will grant my wish.’]
[Adwin Ain thinks of you as ‘the coolest big brother in the world.’]
And.
[Neril Slaine thinks of you as ‘the one who makes me happy.’]
Ah.
I wasn’t trying to look, Neril.
Jenia plopped down on the floor, catching her breath lightly.
Across from her lay Dame, sprawled out like a starfish.
Jenia’s once neat and beautiful home looked as if it had been hit directly by a siege weapon—walls blown out on all sides and completely collapsed.
Jenia said.
“This’ll be an unexpected expense. What’s the daily wage for laborers these days?”
Dame coughed up blood and replied.
“That’s the first thing you say after trampling your father so mercilessly?”
“Who told you to lose to monsterfication.”
When Jenia rushed back home, Dame had been fully affected by the Black Sun.
The monsterfication had finally reached his marrow.
The moment she saw her father covered head to toe in that black muck, Jenia drew Kesal without hesitation.
And subdued Dame.
Her home was destroyed in the process, but Jenia didn’t care.
It was true that the house held precious family memories.
But nothing was more precious than Dame himself.
Though Dame’s physical abilities had skyrocketed due to the monsterfication, their fight didn’t last even three minutes.
“I’d noticed long ago that you surpassed me, but I never imagined it by this much.”
“I didn’t know the gap between Father and me had grown this wide either.”
“Haha. Somehow, this hurts my heart.”
“Hehe. Just be happy about your child’s growth, Father.”
Dame smirked and turned his gaze to the sky.
Thanks to the ceiling being cleanly blown off, the heavens were visible.
“The Black Sun is gone.”
“Maide must have done it. Can you hear the cheers?”
“Yeah. Hero, hero—my ears are ringing.”
“It’s well-deserved. Who else but the hero could drop a sun from the sky.”
Jenia stood up.
Dame slightly turned his head to look at his daughter.
“Heading out?”
“Yes. I’ve safely rescued Father, so I need to report back.”
“Haha. Leaving your mess of a father behind?”
“History says when the three great Demon Kings fell, all monsterfied armies returned to human form. Father will recover with some rest. Plus.”
“......?”
“Until cleanup is fully done, I’ll have a lot to help with. Maide was considerate enough to let me step away from the party for personal reasons.”
“You now see yourself not as Vice-Captain of the Knights of Light, but as a member of Maide’s party.”
Jenia answered without hesitation.
“Yes. Exactly.”
“......”
“Father.”
“Yes.”
“Once you’ve recovered, issue an official statement recognizing the secret contract with Neril and step down from Captain.”
Dame didn’t reply for a moment.
Jenia continued.
“The Emperor will personally oversee the trial of the Knights of Light Captain. And His Majesty thinks highly of you, so he won’t impose a heavy sentence.”
“His Majesty is far more terrifying than you think. But the problem isn’t my punishment—the Knights of Light will bear an indelible stain.”
“Neril bore an indelible stain too.”
“She agreed to that.”
“So I’m asking Father to agree as well.”
Dame was at a loss for words.
Jenia stared at Dame with unwavering blue eyes, waiting for his answer.
Dame slowly rose to a sitting position.
And nodded quietly.
“So be it.”
A soft smile graced Jenia’s lips.
“Thank you so much, Father.”
“Will you take my place as successor?”
“Well, as sorry as I am to say it, Father will be a criminal who dragged the Knights of Light’s name through the mud. If his daughter then claims Captaincy, what would people say?”
“......”
“So I need to build my own fame too.”
Understanding her meaning, Dame smirked.
“By slaying the Demon King?”
“Yes. Maide values not just his own fame, but his companions’ as well. Helping him should make me pretty famous too.”
“......”
“I’ll think about the Captaincy again then.”
“Hmm. Abel can hold it until then.”
They settled on that.
Jenia moved to leave.
But she paused, turned back, and quickly approached Dame.
“Jenia?”
“We’re good now, Father.”
“......”
“Didn’t I say if we reached this point, I’d greet you like this?”
Jenia lightly hugged Dame.
Dame laughed genuinely for the first time in ages.
This incident left aftershocks in many ways.
First, Dame Side issued an official statement.
It confessed the secret contract with Neril and accepted his trial.
It also stated he would step down from Captain regardless of the trial’s outcome.
The capital’s citizens buzzed at the announcement.
“So, the Witch of Atrocities stuff was pinned on her by the Knights of Light?”
“Seems so. Those knights strutted around, and now look at them.”
“But they say Dame acted alone.”
“Tail-cutting?”
“No, they cut off the head. Who does that?”
“Anyway, as expected of the hero. He knew about that secret contract like the back of his hand.”
Whenever I heard such talk, I glanced at Jenia, but she seemed unfazed.
“Not boiling Father alive right now is mercy enough.”
“Hmm. True, the Witch of Atrocities is too distant a tale for common folk.”
“Yes. Compared to that...”
As she tried to continue, more buzzing arose.
“I was more shocked about the Alcahad Captain than Dame.”
“Ah, Patrick Benjamin.”
“Such a nice face, and he was behind this Black Sun.”
“Isn’t he the real Demon King?”
“Damn, my arm nearly rotted off back then too.”
Hearing that, a refreshed smile appeared on Jenia’s face.
Seeing it, Neril said.
“Joy at others’ misfortune as a Knight of Light? The Demon King of Corruption’s power is scary indeed.”
“Not funny at all?”
“I meant it seriously, so funny would be a problem.”
“Ugh! I already have beef with you, Neril. Did you have to use that reality-engraving magic?”
“Why? Patrick’s face isn’t bad.”
“Eugh.”
Patrick might feel a bit wronged.
The Black Sun incident was Idria’s doing, technically.
But without proof, and with prior cases of blackmail via monsterfication surfacing, he couldn’t escape suspicion.
Adwin asked.
“What’ll happen to Patrick?”
“Who knows. The Emperor’s handling the trial personally, like with Dame.”
“Emperor, huh... Is it okay to call the Empire’s ruler so casually?”
“Better than calling him ‘ant’ like someone.”
We chatted like that and returned to the inn.
We’d gauged the citizens’ mood, confirmed everything wrapped up to our liking.
Jenia took a day’s leave to spend time with Dame before rejoining us.
‘Time to head out soon.’
I was about to say so and open my mouth.
That’s when it happened.
Bang.
The inn door flew open, and a line of soldiers marched in steadily.
They scanned the surroundings, then paled upon seeing me.
Offense whispered.
“Alcahad. I’ll slip out first.”
“Wanted?”
“Obviously. What do you think I lived off of?”
“......”
“If Neril had bad blood with the Knights of Light, I was Alcahad’s top target.”
“Gonna have to wipe your notoriety soon too? Exhausting.”
“Pfft. I’m different from Neril. The Witch of Atrocities is infamous to the masses, but no commoner’s heard of ‘Bright Dead’.”
Well, true.
Anyway, Offense vanished without a trace in an instant.
Even I briefly lost track of his movement.
He was stuck flat to the inn ceiling.
‘Impressive as always.’
One Alcahad member stepped before me.
I looked up at him slightly and asked.
“What’s this about?”
“Are you Hero Maide Mohan and his companions?”
“Yes.”
“Please come with us for a moment.”
Neril raised an eyebrow.
“What’s the problem? Jenia and Dame already explained everything.”
“Huh? No, I—”
“They should just send us off nicely after we did good and stopped bad.”
Neril seemed to think they were here to arrest us.
Jenia said to her.
“Neril, look at their vibe.”
“Huh?”
“They’re not intimidating us.”
“......Oh.”
“Your situation’s changed a lot from when the Knights of Light hunted you. Time to get used to the new treatment.”
Neril’s face went blank.
As Jenia said, the member quickly bowed formally and spoke.
“I must’ve sounded too intimidating. Let me rephrase.”
“......”
“We’d like to escort you. May we?”
Neril’s expression was priceless right now.
She rolled her eyes nonstop, as if she’d never imagined being ‘escorted’.
I said.
“May I ask who summoned us?”
“Of course. But do you even need to?”
“......?”
“A Black Sun bearing the Demon King of Corruption’s power verbatim. And the hero and champions who felled it. Anyone meeting such noble figures must be of equal stature, no?”
I got the gist.
My companions did too.
Adwin stammered.
“W-wait. You don’t mean...?”
“Yes.”
The member nodded.
“You’re off to an audience with His Imperial Majesty the Emperor.”
Neril muttered.
“Crowned ant.”
No way. Hey.