Ch.169169 – How Could Such a Terrible Thing Happen

<169 – How Could Such a Terrible Thing Happen>

“I solved it!”

I proudly showed off the ring.

Perhaps this alone doesn’t convey much.

Sing frowned and urged me with his swollen face.

“Show me.”

“Not here. There are too many eyes watching, it’s embarrassing…”

“You all. I’m borrowing Oknodie.”

Just so you know.

Sing turned his back after making this one-sided announcement.

That certainly couldn’t be called a conversation.

It was Sing’s typical communication style, having received only orders from his family his entire life.

Titosoga just crouched down nervously, but Hestia, who had learned the mercenary way of splitting heads when someone was disrespectful, immediately reached for her axe.

“Who do you think you are? What are you planning to do with Oknodie? That child is already living a complicated and difficult life without you. Don’t even dream of doing anything foolish.”

“Who said I’m doing anything foolish?”

“Why are you trying to take a child who’s embarrassed by people watching to a place where no one is watching? Quickly confess your filthy intentions!”

The suddenly hostile atmosphere was bewildering.

“Everyone, please don’t fight because of me!”

“Who said we’re fighting because of you!”

“It must be because of your filthy lust for children!”

“You… do you want to die?”

“Hestia, please stop. Why do you keep provoking Sing with such harsh words? You shouldn’t bully someone who’s already weak, with a face all swollen from being stung by bees somewhere!”

“I wasn’t stung! I was cursed!”

Unable to contain his anger any longer, Sing finally drew his sword.

Not to be outdone, Hestia raised her axe.

On one side, a murderous swordsman.

On the other, a chapter boss.

A crazed swordsman versus a berserk butcher.

If they fought, it wouldn’t end prettily.

At minimum, an arm would be lost; at maximum, a head might roll in this incredible matchup!

The crisis that seemed destined to escalate dramatically ended in an unexpected way.

*Swoosh*

A ghost from the ring, fake Lin.

She became clearly visible to everyone.

“A-A ghost?!”

“Lin. Go back inside.”

Because it’s dangerous here.

As Sing said this, Lin grabbed his pant leg and clung to him.

As if telling them to stop fighting.

Hestia awkwardly lowered her axe.

With the fake sister clinging to his leg,

Sing, finding it difficult to maintain hostility, reluctantly sheathed his sword.

“Oknodie. Can you explain? What’s this ghost about?”

“Ah, well, actually…”

“Stop.”

Sing warned in a low voice.

“Don’t involve outsiders. I trust you, but I can’t trust others.”

Sing was barking angrily like an enraged dog just moments ago, but he’s scarier now.

Even with animals, a dog that stares silently is more frightening than one that barks.

He’s not warning me not to make him draw his sword; he’s sharpening his blade, ready to kill at the slightest crossing of the line.

Sing, prepared for murderous destruction.

This can’t be stopped or prevented.

‘Ugh. It’s really stinging.’

I can feel it.

Sing’s <Murderous Intent Precursor> is warning me with much greater intensity than before.

Ghosts are originally monsters.

Beings that harm humans.

I may have kept the secret, but others might insist on exorcising the fake Lin, claiming they can’t have a ghost around and that it should be eliminated for my sake too.

If that happens, the Chapter 1 boss might become Berserk Sing instead of Berserk Hestia.

‘He’s several times scarier?!’

Hestia isn’t that frightening unless her berserker switch is flipped, but Sing is scary by default.

What if an already frightening person completely loses it and starts rampaging like a crazed berserker?

At least if he rampaged wildly, he might tire himself out or show an opening, but what if he starts a mechanical slaughter with cold rationality?

‘The academy would be in chaos!’

From the moment one student dies, the academy’s atmosphere begins to deteriorate into complete desolation.

External interference intensifies, and evil organizations start to flourish, seeing an opportunity.

The professors might start doing strange things to strengthen students, and the principal might grow weary of running the academy.

Ultimately, if the principal leaves the academy…

The acting principal would run the academy, facing even more intense external interference and a changed internal atmosphere to counter it.

‘This is definitely a misunderstanding trigger!!’

I absolutely must not speak.

Fake Lin and Sing’s relationship must remain secret.

The fact that fake Lin might be a dangerous ghost who could harm people must not be revealed.

I need to make an excuse.

An excuse everyone can accept.

“Oknodie. Could it be… that?”

“Huh? What?”

But I didn’t expect this.

“You’re carrying around your friend’s soul, right?”

“What??”

“You couldn’t bear to see your friend’s body put into a plant at the foundation, so you extracted at least the soul to free it from suffering, right?”

“Plant? Gasp. Did you come into my room?”

“…Recently. I went to give you something at night, saw your door open, and found out.”

The fact that Hestia saw the baby mandrake.

And even made a huge misunderstanding because of it.

“Sing found out too, right? So this pedophile is trying to make you do embarrassing things in exchange for keeping the secret?”

How should I put this?

If we go with Hestia’s misunderstanding, the relationship between Sing and fake Lin can be perfectly concealed.

But doesn’t that make Sing’s treatment too pitiful?

Sing seemed to be caught in the same dilemma, flinching slightly. A brief but intense struggle flashed in his eyes before resignation set in.

“That’s right.”

Not even a real sister, but a fake one.

Sing, willingly bearing the stigma of being a pedophile to protect fake Lin who pretends to be his sister.

I almost burst into tears at this man’s moving self-sacrifice.

Sing, you bastard…

I thought you were just an unpleasant murderer, but you really do care about your sister!

“Don’t cry, Oknodie. It’s okay now. We’re here for you.”

“Oknodie, this is my handkerchief. Wipe your tears with it.”

“Thank you, Titosoga… sniff!”

“N-no… not your nose, your tears… heeeng.”

“Oknodie. We can’t take down that man, right? If we did, your ghost friend’s identity would be reported to the academy, and she might be hunted down based on reports from other students or professors.”

“Y-yes…?”

Fake Lin seemed to realize she was in mortal danger and startled.

As she clung more tightly to Sing’s leg, Hestia’s face contorted with rage into an expression that would frighten even evil spirits.

“Sing, you bastard. Even when Oknodie’s friend is clinging and begging, you’re trying to satisfy your sexual desires by exploiting friendship…! Unforgivable. You’re not even human!”

“…Shut up. If you upset me, this child’s life is forfeit. It would be better not to provoke my temper.”

“You should be the one being careful. Oknodie might have played along with your wishes, but I’m different.”

Veins bulged on Hestia’s forearm.

“For Oknodie’s sake, I might report your criminal activities even at the risk of the ghost friend being exorcised.”

Thanks to Sing’s quick wit in going along with Hestia’s misunderstanding, Hestia and Titosoga came to believe their misconception was true.

The fatal mistake was not knowing that Hestia—who has no friends, treats monsters as post-meal playthings, despises the weak, and feels comfortable around the strong—suffers from terrible delusions.

[Your understanding of character <Hestia> has increased.]

━━━

Hestia’s Understanding

No Friends (Understanding 10) – Hestia, who transitioned to the Berserker class, has lived a life without friends.

Monsters are Toys (Understanding 20) – The berserker, whose strength is inversely proportional to her social relationships, treats monsters that others find challenging as mere post-meal exercise.

Fondness for the Strong (Understanding 30) – Having grown up watching weaker people engage in envy, jealousy, and slander, Hestia despises the weak and conversely feels comfortable around the strong.

Serious Delusions (Understanding 40) – Having taken on countless missions that reveal the depths of human depravity, Hestia takes everything seriously and frequently falls into misunderstandings.

━━━

[Your understanding of character <Hestia> has exceeded 40.]

[You receive the 2nd special benefit <How Could Such a Terrible Thing Happen>.]

<How Could Such a Terrible Thing Happen>

Classification – Hestia’s 2nd Special Benefit

Description – Having performed mercenary missions that exposed her to the depths of human depravity, Hestia tends to connect even minor phenomena to the darkness of the world and overinterpret them.

Effect 1 – The probability of receiving concerned care from character <Hestia> increases dramatically.

Effect 2 – When playing along with Hestia’s misunderstandings, you can receive her voluntary protection for a certain period.

Effect 3 – If Effect 1 is overused, you may unknowingly degenerate into a greedy baby who only receives care from others.

Effect 4 – If Effect 2 is overused, Hestia’s overprotection becomes severe, threatening your daily life.

A random trait that changes with each playthrough.

Who knew it would lead to such a terrifying trap benefit this time!

What I thought was a convenient benefit allowing me to freely use chapter boss-level protection for a short time has side effects that are frighteningly significant.

‘As expected of a chapter boss. Even after removing the rampage trigger, I can never let my guard down!’

Hestia continued hurling abuse, saying that Sing’s swollen face must be from being cursed while trying to kidnap Oknodie from the bushes.

Sing, forced to accept her verbal assault one-sidedly, turned away in frustration.

“You’d better take good care of that kid. If you don’t want to regret anything.”

“That bastard. Now he’s even threatening to kidnap the ghost friend? You’re thinking of violating even ghost children, you horrible pedophile!”

“……”

Realizing that arguing would only make things worse, Sing quickly retreated, his departing figure looking pitifully sad.