Chapter 77
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: Lesson 17. How to Clear the Trick Room - 2
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Having heard about the events unfolding in the small city, As Light leaped to his feet, his eyes bulging wide.
"A murderer is brazenly on the move...? How dare they pull off something so shameless!"
"Calm down. We haven't even confirmed an actual murder scene yet. We're just piecing together assumptions from the circumstantial clues about what's happening in the city."
The man who had been sneaking around in a hood had mentioned a murderer, which led to that guess, but they still couldn't grasp the full picture.
But As Light, who aspired to be a messenger of justice, wasn't about to settle for such words.
"But if a murder could happen there tonight, we can't just sit around so casually!"
"They're not real people, so no need to worry."
"What...?"
In the end, it took Dokgo Yeon stepping forward and revealing the final secret hidden in this room to calm him down.
As Light's big, sparkling eyes blinked in bewilderment, looking utterly adorable.
"Not real people?"
"Of course not. No humans aside from us climbers can enter the tower in the first place. To exaggerate a bit, those things that look human are no different from monsters. It all means they're part of the scenarios the tower creates."
In truth, even Ban Yu-won had been a bit confused until he sneaked into the small city himself at night.
But now that he knew the power of the constellations was at play in the small city, he was certain.
This was all just an elaborate, fabricated prank.
'If there were real constellation contractors among the humans in that small city, they wouldn't be stuck in a mere Room 23. Those contractors are fakes created by the tower, borrowing the power of constellations to test climbers. The constellations probably lent their power in exchange for some share of the profits...'
Since everything was fake, there was no need to feel any misplaced sense of duty or guilt over the events in the small city.
It was just like a mafia game played among people on Earth—Room 23 was merely a game where you wiped out the enemy team before your allies all died.
As Light's expression soured halfway through the explanation.
"Ban, my head's spinning right now..."
"Why overthink it? I gave up trying to gauge the tower's authority the moment monsters started spawning endlessly."
"Yu-won really is... wise? Or impartial?"
Even Lucelle was taken aback by Ban Yu-won's attitude, which seemed to equate monsters and humans.
But Ban Yu-won didn't change his expression as he addressed the group.
"The hints were there from the start. Remember when Professor Yumina said there might be times in the tower when we'd have to protect the weak?"
"Oh, right, she did say that."
"Trick rooms that restrict our actions will keep popping up... and some might require protecting beings like those. Let's get used to it now."
In fact, Ban Yu-won was less shocked by the appearance of 'fake humans' compared to As Light or Lucelle, probably because he was familiar with NPCs (Non-Player Characters) from RPGs and such games.
'If it's the tower, it wouldn't be surprising if it summoned real humans from other dimensions to exploit... Nah, probably not. Gotta be NPCs, right?'
It would be nice to investigate their bodily concepts up close, but even if they turned out to be 'real humans' by some chance, treating them as NPCs would be better for his mental health. He decided not to dwell on it.
"Yu-won...?"
"Alright, everyone, good work. Let's crash quick and head out at dawn tomorrow. We need to conquer Room 23 before leaving the tower."
Lucelle watched Ban Yu-won's subtly shifting expression with concern, but he flashed a fabricated smile and declared bedtime.
Would the small city's humans accept them just because a day had passed?
The short answer: no.
"We told you not to come closer, you monsters!"
"People died yesterday too! Why try to enter the city at a time like this!"
"Get lost! If you don't vanish from sight, I'll shoot!"
Fierce rejection.
But having failed to infiltrate the city at night, they couldn't back down this time.
"We have to get inside somehow."
Dokgo Yeon declared firmly as she approached the gate, deflecting all the arrows shot from the walls without even touching them.
"Eek!"
"M-Monster. A real monster!"
"No doubt, that's the murderer!"
Ban Yu-won smacked his own forehead at the sight of the humans—even those manning the walls and gate who had staunchly blocked their entry—frozen in fear by her presence.
Was this really the same Dokgo Yeon who insisted on building her fellow party members' crisis response skills?
She was just charging ahead, radiating murderous intent!
"We're not in the city yesterday, so we're not the murderer. And we need to enter the city."
"D-Don't come any closer!"
"We're asking you to let us in."
"Eeeek!"
Any further advance might injure people directly, so Dokgo Yeon merely stood firm before them.
Yet even her faint killing intent had the gate guards collapsing one by one, wetting themselves.
"Hey, if we ever do a siege, just send Dokgo Yeon charging in."
"Don't say that to her face, Ban, unless you want to end up like those guys."
"But Dokgo Yeon's approach seems right. When they won't even listen, what choice is there?"
Lucelle, seemingly enlightened by Dokgo Yeon's breakthrough, added her piece and advanced behind her.
"Eeeeek! A m-monster's approaching again!"
"B-Bow... b-bow, the bow!"
"D-Don't aim. You'll die! Die, I tell you!"
Ban Yu-won and As Light, who hadn't moved yet, could only see Lucelle's back... but they grasped why people were terrified as they watched half her hair turn pitch black.
That girl's handling Heartroad so naturally now, even outside direct combat! I'm so proud, tears are welling up!
"Ugh, yeah, that's skill too..."
"Ban?"
"Let's go. Should be time to talk now."
"Talk, huh. Not threats... talk."
As the relatively fragile-looking Ban Yu-won and As Light reached the gate, the people finally showed a hint of composure.
"Y-You lot! What are you! What the hell are you!"
They must have seen them as the easier targets.
And they were, in a way.
"How dare you...!"
"It's fine, Lucelle."
Lucelle bared her teeth at the shouting aimed at Ban Yu-won, but he held out a hand to stop her (deliberately staging it, of course) and smiled amiably.
"We're looking for the murderer."
"What?!"
The citizens guarding the gate jumped in shock, glaring at Ban Yu-won.
Truth be told, his own party members were equally startled but managed their expressions.
"There've been murders in the city, right? Those are the work of followers of the 'Evil God.' We've been tracking them down. Killing them is our mission."
"L-Lies. Don't think we'll fall for it. Aren't you lot in cahoots with them!"
"If we were, would we bother talking like this? You all realize it too—rejecting us isn't rational."
The serial murders plaguing the city.
They reacted sensitively to the slightest change because of it.
Logically, the odds of outsiders being suspects in this murder spree approached zero.
"Letting it go will only spread the damage. You want peaceful daily lives, and we want to catch the murderer. Same goal, no need to antagonize each other."
"T-That's..."
"Really? Chasing the murderer...?"
"But yeah, they haven't entered the city, so they couldn't have..."
The citizens gradually regained their calm under Ban Yu-won's oddly persuasive words.
It was as if he'd cast a wide-area status ailment dispel—the effect of his innate authority amplified by Ortima's Divine Words he'd recently acquired.
But in truth, Ban Yu-won's argument wasn't the best for quietly gaining entry—
"No, we still can't trust you! Showing up at a time like this, claiming to hunt the murderer—we can't let you in—"
Because casually mentioning the murderer, now a taboo in the city, invited needless suspicion.
Even pretending to have nothing to do with it might not get them in, let alone openly stating their goal!
But of course, this was all part of Ban Yu-won's plan.
"You all seem convinced we're not the murderer. So not wanting to let in those hunting the murderer means..."
Hoxy...?
The man who received Ban Yu-won's suspicious gaze panicked greatly.
"N-No! I'm not the murderer! I was just protecting our city..."
"Then why the overreaction? Were you perhaps out last night...?"
"No!"
"The more I hear, the shadier you sound. These people aren't the murderer. Why block them so hard?"
"Could you really be...?"
"N-No, I said! I'm innocent, I really am!"
Huh?
The Rebellion party tilted their heads as Ban Yu-won swiftly shifted from suspect to accuser alongside the other citizens, cornering one man.
How'd it turn out like this?
Ban Yu-won gave a quiet explanation to his puzzled group, inaudible to the citizens.
"The game's already started. And the best way to survive this game is to gang up on and lynch anyone not on our side first."
"You're no human!"
He'd taken a strong stance from the outset for this very reason.
Turn the clueless masses into allies with words (really, brute-forcing with his authority), then turn on the (smart) few still doubting him!
The best way to bond with others? Create a common enemy.
Ban Yu-won was just putting it into aggressive practice!
"No doubt, he's the murderer!"
"Knew it when he insisted so hard on keeping outsiders out!"
"Hang him! String the bastard up!"
While the group stood stunned, the impromptu trial by the citizens heated up.
In the meantime, wariness toward the outsider party faded, allowing them to slip into the city unnoticed.
"Execution! Execute him!"
"Kill the murderer!"
"Everyone, calm down! No one gets saved this way...!"
"Anyone blocking just punishment is a murderer too!"
The frenzy Ban Yu-won ignited spread through the small city like wildfire, leading seamlessly from trial to execution.
Dokgo Yeon and Ban Yu-won, who watched it all until the end, nodded simultaneously as if enlightened.
"Wasn't him."
"But we're fine."
"...?"
As Light tilted his head, not understanding, then suddenly realized.
"...Wasn't the murderer?"
"Yeah. He came on strong, so I had hopes, but nope. Just a deeply suspicious guy."
"He treated us like murderers off the bat, so he must've been prepared for the same."
"..."
Leaving pale-faced As Light behind, the two continued chatting.
"Was testing the trick too. Looks like we don't trigger the room's penalty unless we kill them ourselves."
"I thought it'd be fine from the start. Unless every climber has powers like yours, they can't clear this room flawlessly."
"Ha, haha."
As Light let out a dry laugh.
Meanwhile, having confirmed with his own eyes that the NPC dissolved upon death—verifying they weren't human—Ban Yu-won declared with a much lighter expression.
"Alright, now it's your turn. I'll only assist minimally, so give it a shot. Let's see how many more lynchings it takes to end this room."
"As Light, Lucelle, hear that?"
"N-No way... I hate this stuff! This isn't the tower I imagined!"
"Lucelle."
"Yes!"
As Light finally exploded, but it was within expectations, so Lucelle swiftly subdued him.
A trial of blood washing blood began.