Ch.140Chapter 140. Obsessive Fixation

The war at the excavation site ended in humanity’s victory, but achieving that victory came with far too many sacrifices.

I know this, which is why I don’t claim the achievement as mine alone.

I would be content with just being acknowledged for delivering the final blow to secure victory, and being given the opportunity to advance on my own afterward…

“From what I hear, you’re a Foreign Laborer. Is that true?”

But what is this?

Why is there such intense disgust in the eyes of the person looking down at me now?

“Kuhehe, that’s right. So a guy who was stuck in some mine digging coal suddenly awakened tremendous power overnight and led us to victory? And in a battle where two of the Four Knights were involved?”

“That’s…”

-Crash!

As I tried to explain, a bottle of alcohol collided with my head.

It was an attack I could have easily dodged if I wanted to.

In the battlefield I experienced through the memories of my other personality, countless attacks more fierce and merciless than this had come at me.

“A Foreign Laborer taking down the Four Knights? Talk sense! Do you think I’m an idiot, huh!?”

But the person before me showed no awareness that I was capable of such a thing.

As if they believed their position and influence guaranteed them absolute immunity against me.

“From what I hear, you must have conspired with the soldiers there to make up a convincing story, but no matter what kind of report you submit, the truth will eventually come out during investigation.”

And that was somewhat true.

I’m aware that acting out in this place would be suicidal.

If I killed the person in front of me, I would next have to face the nobles around here, and then the soldiers and heroes who would come to protect them.

Even if I survived that, I would turn the entire empire against me.

“…I don’t understand what you mean by ‘come out,’ sir.”

Yes, my current patience stems from such distant concerns.

Not because I’m submitting to the person in front of me, but solely to protect myself.

“Kuhehe, keep pretending you don’t know. Anyone with half a brain can see right through your obvious intentions~”

But whatever the case, it’s clear I can’t talk back to this damn pig.

The Lord of Elmart, seemingly deciding he had nothing more to hold back, began to continue his verbal abuse toward me without restraint.

“I sent a legion there, but the commander was an incompetent old man who was dying off, making him hard to follow, and trusting him nearly led to annihilation… Well, to mitigate such responsibility, the birth of one hero who turned the tide of battle would be just enough to save face, wouldn’t it?”

What nonsense.

The soldiers who sacrificed themselves there were all noble and honorable.

They were able to throw themselves into danger and fight because they trusted me, and because even the corpse of the officer who led them fought to protect humanity.

“And I hear the dragon’s bones were shattered beyond recovery? Taking losses and then trying to dress up the victory by promoting some Foreign Laborer… It makes me regret the money I invested.”

But the Lord of Elmart showed no concern for such sacrifices, instead trying to vent his frustrations through false accusations.

As he tapped my cheek with his palm, his voice carried the firm belief that his thoughts were correct.

“From the beginning, Foreign Laborers like you should be grateful just to be alive. Do you know how many resources we invested in summoning you, only for you to be capable of nothing more than the labor of a single person~”

From the start, they judge the abilities of those summoned and hold absolute faith in their assessments.

If those assessments are later overturned, it would mean their judgment was flawed.

Having to face their own incompetence, there’s no way these high-self-esteem nobles would accept such a thing straightforwardly.

Even if one demonstrated powerful and impressive abilities right before their eyes, once labeled from the beginning, they would look for every possible fault they could find.

“Besides, do you know who was among the heroes who went with you? Seoyul Jung! Seoyul Jung! The strongest hero who has completed the most requests among existing heroes! And you’re saying she died and a Foreign Laborer led us to victory!? That’s nonsense unless you conspired with the soldiers to betray her and take all the credit!”

“That’s right! Just as Lord Elmart says!”

“Do you think we’ll believe whatever you say just because we weren’t there!?”

The nobles around began to stand up one by one, joining in the jeering centered around Elmart.

The sneers on their lips and excitement in their eyes showed that their targeting of me wasn’t just criticism of a con artist.

“Let’s not drag this out—why don’t you just be honest here? If you’re not careful, you might end up on trial before the royal family and become a death row inmate.”

Yes, what’s important to them isn’t the truth.

They just want to pull me down.

They feel revulsion at the very thought of someone they didn’t acknowledge and looked down upon rising to an equal position with them.

“No, execution isn’t enough! Make him spit out everything he’s earned!”

“Do you know how much I sponsored the hero who went there? And he backstabbed her to take all the credit, making my efforts worthless!?”

“Throw him in prison and make him a slave for life!!”

Isn’t it ironic?

Heroes are clearly called humanity’s hope and saviors, yet they consider them disposable beings who can be easily killed if they upset them or get in their way.

Because the weight of the title “hero” is extremely light.

Because even if one is eliminated, they’re just “mass-produced” replacements that can be summoned again by squeezing out wealth for another summoning ritual.

‘Dad.’

What if a real hero—not some mass-produced one—were to see this situation?

Not someone who awakened fragmented power overnight, but a hero who navigated the most brutal era and fought battles between life and death?

‘I would have killed them all.’

Tachia Pailoi.

I felt the voice of the last hero born in this world faintly reaching my ears.

I couldn’t tell if she had truly awakened again to speak to me, or if this was just my imagination of what she would have said if she existed.

But this much was certain:

Part of what I’m feeling right now stems from her, and giving in to those emotions and killing as many of these bastards as possible is one of the options available to me.

“…Don’t worry. I won’t go berserk.”

I decided to suppress my killing intent because I also read the concern embedded in her voice.

Though I felt like I could snap at any moment, the faces that followed in my mind emphasized that I needed to endure.

‘You can go berserk. I’ll be on your side until the end, Dad.’

“But we have people we need to protect.”

‘…’

“…You know that if I go berserk here, Tashian will get involved too, right?”

Not just Tashian.

Irie, Merilyn… Everyone connected to me would be at risk from these arrogant and corrupt powerholders who hold grudges against me.

So I must endure for now.

At least until I meet someone who can guide me in this one safe zone, and help me grow and rise to a higher position.

“Oh, by the way, something’s been bothering me, and since we’ve met like this, let me ask you one thing.”

In front of me as I continued to endure,

The Lord of Elmart began to speak in a hiccupping, sarcastic voice.

“I heard rumors that an actual living dragon appeared there and then disappeared. Do you happen to know anything about that?”

“Wh-what…?”

“A dragon, I’m talking about a dragon. I heard a dragon appeared and wiped out the Undead legion there… Khuhuhu, well, if dragons really exist, I suppose it’s entirely possible they could transform into humans.”

-Thump, thump.

I felt my heart beating violently.

As I stiffened my body, afraid that reaction might be visible to the person in front of me, the Lord of Elmart, taking a swig from a new bottle, spoke in a domineering way.

“Oh, and I had someone investigate a bit. I heard you’re living with several women these days? And I heard one of them joined recently…”

-Ziiing.

I felt a sword forming in my grip.

It wasn’t something I did consciously.

The impulse.

The phenomenon that occurred when my thoughts aligned with those of the child dormant within me was now ready to point killing intent at the person before me.

-Swoosh!

Just as the blade was about to reveal itself to the public, a shadow flew in.

My body, unable to recognize what happened so suddenly, was pushed down by the pressure.

-Thud!

What? A surprise attack!?

Did someone notice my move in advance and throw themselves at me to stop me?

Whatever it is, I need to get away first.

As I tried to push the other person’s body away, I felt something soft in my grip.

-Squish.

Something large and heavy, almost too big to hold in one hand…

Yet something that strangely stimulated a desire that tickled a corner of my heart.

“Ugh, hehehehehe~”

Amid my confusion about why this was in my hand, I heard a faint laugh.

“F-found you. I finally f-found you…!”

I knew who the owner of that voice was.

Though I hadn’t heard it for nearly half a year, it was a voice I had recalled countless times since that day.

“Bi…”

The name of the woman who gave me such déjà vu soon left my lips.

“Vivi…an?”

“Ehehe, y-you remember me~”

Vivian Platonis.

A mage from the magic tower whom I briefly stayed with before becoming an adventurer.

And a formidable being who could destroy an entire evil criminal organization with just her finger, who defined herself as a “witch.”

“L-long time no see, h-housekeeper. H-have you been… well?”

This woman had suddenly appeared before me wearing only a nightgown, and now she was hugging my body tightly.

The moment her distinctively voluptuous body pressed completely against mine…

But I couldn’t feel any excitement.

Rather than that, I wondered why she was at the imperial palace, and why she was embracing me so affectionately.

“W-wait a moment, Miss Vivian. The situation is a bit… could you please let go…”

“Eek! Some bitch appears to interfere when things are getting good!?”

Whatever the case, the situation isn’t good.

The person I was dealing with until just now is the second highest authority in this empire after the imperial family.

I couldn’t take lightly the situation where cold water had been thrown on the actions of someone who wouldn’t listen to anyone except the emperor or crown prince.

“You can’t do this, Lord Elmart! The person over there is…”

“Shut up! How dare you block my way!?”

Cheska was the only one who tried to stop Elmart, but a royal bastard couldn’t possibly stand in his way.

Rather, as if further provoked, the hand he was about to swing at Vivian carried even more violent force.

“You woman there! Get out of the way right now! Who do you think you’re interfering with…”

Almost simultaneously with that angry outburst came a sound that rang out “snap!”

It didn’t take long to realize that sound came from Vivian’s fingers.

Yes, just like before, she snapped her fingers at someone who annoyed her.

-Splat!!

I only realized this fact when I saw the fountain of blood shooting up in place of his head.

That this applied without exception even to the second most powerful person after the imperial family.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Starting with a scream from a noblewoman, the scene turned into chaos.

As if they never imagined a bloodbath would occur before their eyes.

As if they never thought such a tragedy would target the noble they looked up to.

“C-crazy bitch! Do you know where you are?!”

“More importantly, Lord Elmart…!”

“Soldiers! What are you doing! Kill that crazy woman!”

Yes, she had casually committed an act that no one present had imagined possible.

Something that even I would need much preparation and near-loss of sanity to do.

She did it without hesitation, simply because someone annoyed her.

“…So noisy.”

Yet Vivian remained unconcerned.

Rather, she directed the killing intent she had just displayed toward those around her.

“Should I just kill everyone here?”

She was unhesitatingly extending it toward the leaders of this empire.

Despite the fact that the responsibility might strangle her.

Despite the fact that she might commit something irreversible.

“Vi-Vivian. Wait…”

“If I kill everyone here.”

As if to show me that I myself was the starting point of all this.

Her face, smeared with blood, gradually began to turn toward me.

“Then there would be nothing to interfere with us being together, right?”

The creepiness emanating from her slightly parted smile.

Just facing it made even the thought that I should stop her fade away in my mind.

No matter how powerful I was or how much experience I had in life-or-death situations.

I first thought that, just like before, it would be impossible to counter the phenomenon she had created.

“…Everyone, be quiet.”

As I watched helplessly, a dry voice suddenly reached my ears.

The moment it was heard, the surrounding commotion instantly subsided, and everyone’s breath seemed to stop.

“Be quiet.”

It was an anomalous phenomenon by anyone’s standards.

Despite being just a voice imbued with solemnity, it managed to quell even the chaos stemming from the death of the highest-ranking authority in the empire.

“The Crown…”

But if this was the imperial palace, there was exactly one person who could do such a thing.

Someone even the leaders of this empire could only look up to in awe.

“Crown Prince, Your Highness…!”

If the person who would soon inherit this empire had set foot in this place.