Chapter 45

Chapter 45. A Hero Who Is Hard to Recognize

One fine day.

It had only been a day since we defeated the boss known as the Corrupted Ascetic.

We were sitting quietly beneath a parasol at a rooftop café.

Ai'en had a sulky expression, apparently unhappy about something.

The Village Chief had his stomach in his hands and was running toward the bathroom, probably because he had gotten an upset stomach after tasting the new menu.

Even Malrang was quietly sitting there, enjoying the pleasantly cool temperature.

None of us had much to say.

“Good grief.”

I was the first one to speak.

Since this awkward atmosphere was caused by my problem, I had no choice but to open the conversation.

“What exactly is the problem? You knew about this too, didn't you?”

“...No, it doesn't make any sense! This entire incident was practically handled by Uncle alone! How can you say he can't receive any reward?!”

Yes.

That was the problem.

No matter where you went, money and rewards were always the problem.

And if you looked at it broadly, it was ultimately a problem between people.

After the boss battle ended, every member of the raid party except me received proper rewards.

Their names had even begun spreading quietly among the Empire's NPCs.

But I was different.

If someone asked whether I had received absolutely nothing, I would say no.

From my perspective, I had received something.

But from Ai'en's perspective as an NPC rather than a player, there was no choice but for her to be dissatisfied.

“Ai'en, there's no way you don't know what my position is within the Empire right now. No, you're practically the signpost showing my position, so I don't know why you're reacting like this.”

The Empire's position was simple.

They could not make me, a person who was clearly connected to Madness and probably possessed the power of Madness, into a hero who defeated the demon that had threatened the Empire's safety by living in the sewers and had actually been polluting its water.

To most people, Madness was something like the embodiment of evil or an unstoppable plague.

If someone like me became friendly and familiar to the citizens, their wariness toward the dangerous power known as Madness would naturally decrease.

And if that happened, even without me intentionally spreading it, seeds of Madness would emerge among the people who followed me because of my growing fame.

Madness would then spread out of control, eventually destroying the Empire.

If I had been an ordinary human, there would have been no problem.

But that was simply what Madness was.

The Great Hero himself had explained this to me with an expression as frustrated as Ai'en's.

Really, just as Ai'en said, people carrying the title of Hero seemed to be nothing but overly kind-hearted fools.

“But still...!”

“But still what? It's just that I haven't become known to the people. The people up there already know everything I did, don't they? Isn't that enough?”

That had been my goal from the beginning.

I wanted to accumulate good deeds so that I would not be restricted in my actions.

I wanted people to develop the impression of, ‘Eh, come on. Would he really cause trouble?’ no matter what I did.

And it was enough to create that impression among the rulers.

The more it became clear that I was not particularly problematic, the less justification they would have to restrain me.

“Besides, you don't know this, but I obtained quite a lot of loot from this battle.”

The Empire had lent us many priests and even a Great Hero, so they had claimed the right to receive a share of the loot.

At first, some of the players complained.

But after receiving more compensation than expected and what seemed like a fair distribution of the loot, they were satisfied.

Moreover, the Great Hero, whom the Empire had used as their justification, converted his own share into money and distributed it among the players.

So the whole thing simply ended as an event that greatly increased the players' favorability toward the Great Hero.

“Loot?! Those are all corrupted items! You can't sell them anywhere, and ordinary people can't even use them!”

The items found in the church's underground area were all corrupted weapons.

Anyone without resistance to corruption could not use them.

And after becoming fully aware of their danger through Kim Inbang's broadcast, no player would willingly pay money to buy them.

And because I had resistance to corruption, I received a pile of items that were practically worth zero if converted into money.

I thought I had received enough because I got three of the four wings dropped by the boss.

But apparently, Ai'en did not think so.

Hmm.

Could it be that?

Was she upset because the golden armor the boss was wearing at the end went straight into the Empire's warehouse?

“You really think I don't know about that?”

There was no helping it.

I had to reveal what I had secretly stolen.

Originally, I planned to examine it alone and tell the others later.

But if I did that, Ai'en might get upset and leave the party.

So I decided to tell them now.

I gestured to the Village Chief, who had just returned from the bathroom, telling him to quickly sit down.

Then I looked around and motioned for everyone to come closer.

Clink.

What I carefully pulled out of my pocket was a rusty black key.

Its design looked ancient, like an antique key from a very old era.

Personally, I liked it.

“What is this...?”

“...Is something hidden beneath the church?”

“My goodness... Then you're saying this isn't over yet? Then what meaning did everything I did in the sewers have until now...? Was all my effort to purify the sewer water meaningless?”

“That is not true. Because Miss Malrang purified even a small amount of the polluted water in the sewers, the people of the Empire were able to enjoy peace for a longer time.”

“Yeah, yeah. I think so too... Huh?”

A strange voice suddenly entered the center of our conversation.

We all jumped and moved backward.

And finally, we saw the owner of the voice.

It was the Great Hero of Right View.

Despite being at an old age, his body was so sturdy that even young men would look weak beside him.

His name was too long, and I had not listened carefully enough to remember it.

He was practically the key figure in the battle against corruption.

You could even say that he had determined the outcome of the fight.

I had never imagined that such a person would suddenly appear here.

Ai'en probably did not know that she had received a buff because there had been no message window telling her about it.

But when the boss unleashed the power of indomitable at the end, the Great Hero's buff skill had been applied to me.

Normally, there was no way my stats could defeat the boss.

But suddenly, I could clearly see the boss's movements and even its next patterns.

That allowed me to somehow reduce its health through the melee battle and lure it into the trap.

Ai'en probably felt it too.

Her body must have felt much lighter than usual.

She must have felt stronger.

And she must have been able to see the movements of corruption clearly.

Most importantly, at the end, I accidentally absorbed all the chains, leaving only the power of corruption behind.

The boss's defense should have become insanely high.

So how could Ai'en have cut through its neck in a single strike?

Now that I thought about it, this was a buff skill that was impossible not to notice.

So why didn't Ai'en know about it?

Wait.

Could it be that Ai'en really cut off the Great Demon King's head using nothing but her own strength?

Ai'en is amazing...

“G-Great Hero...”

“Hoho. I noticed you seemed to be secretly taking something, so I was keeping a close eye on you. And now I see you were hiding something like this.”

Before I knew it, the Great Hero had taken the key from my hand.

He examined it with great interest.

Until I saw the key in his hand, I had not even realized that he had taken it from me.

Damn it!

I never imagined this would happen!

I had been worried that the key might attract some attention.

But I never thought the Great Hero himself would come here!

“Is it really all right for a Great Hero to be with someone like me?”

Cold sweat ran down my back.

Still, I deliberately spoke to the Great Hero in as sarcastic a tone as possible.

I had no idea why he had appeared, and it was driving me crazy.

“I slipped out secretly. I thought leaving you alone would lead to an even bigger incident. When I look at you, I can't help but think of fire. The kind of fire that can burn down even mountains.”

“...”

I had nothing to say.

I really had burned forests and mountains before.

That made his words even harder to deny.

There had certainly been many things hidden beneath the church.

But there was nothing that could be opened with this key.

There were not even any doors down there.

In other words, whatever this key could open had been hidden extremely thoroughly.

It could be something precious.

Or something dangerous.

...Even if something dangerous was hidden inside, I thought it would make a good gift to the Empire that had treated me specially.

The Great Hero had seen through me quite accurately.

“Of course, I don't believe someone who defeated that corrupted one would do anything that might harm the innocent citizens of the Empire.”

“...Uh...”

“Of course he wouldn't, Great Hero!”

Clatter!

Ah.

Ai'en suddenly stood up and shouted on my behalf.

Ah, no...

Don't make that an established fact here!

This was bad.

Her face was completely stiff, and she looked even more nervous than I was.

That expression!

She was definitely about to do something!

“Kim Ingwang, the Indomitable Ascetic! He is a man who declared that he would overcome every hardship with an indomitable will and continue performing good deeds for the sake of many people!!”

Ah, no!

No!

The words I threw out are coming back at me like a boomerang!

I never even said it to that extent!

And Ai'en, the reason I keep enduring everything is because of my stubborn pride!

I went to Jageun Village simply to find out whether the Village Chief, who had kicked me out to the training center, was alive or dead!

I wanted to bother him if he was alive!

Not anymore, of course!

Good deeds?

That was just something I said!

I didn't start doing good deeds out of kindness.

I did them for my own personal benefit!

“Yes, yes. I know all about it. From what I have learned, you defeated the monsters that attacked Jageun Village, poured a purification solution similar to holy water into the sewers almost free of charge to purify them, and even took the lead in defeating the corrupted one responsible for the sewer pollution.”

Ai'en and the Great Hero both nodded with pleased smiles.

...The Great Hero of Right View.

I did not know what the term Right View meant, so after logging out of the game, I searched for it myself.

It apparently meant having the correct perspective and viewing things without prejudice.

It could also mean seeing through to the true nature of things.

Anyway, it was a somewhat complicated concept.

If I interpreted it simply, I had to assume that this man could understand to some extent the meaning behind my actions and what I truly wanted to accomplish.

“In that sense, when I saw you secretly trying to take this key, I thought there must be something behind it.”

He had been speaking ambiguously from the beginning.

Everything he said could have different meanings depending on how you interpreted it.

“But no matter how I think about it, I believe that as the Great Hero of the Empire, I should not continue being indebted to you any further.”

“H-Haha... I have absolutely no idea what you mean.”

“Would you mind if I investigated this key together with you?”

Great Hero...

Even though he knew that if he simply used force, I would have no choice but to surrender it...

Is this it?

‘Follow me quietly if you don't want to get hurt.’

Is that what he meant?

“If there is something more dangerous than the corrupted one deeper inside that church, it would be a serious problem. Let me help.”

“No. We're enough. Why would we need help from someone as important as the Great Hero?”

“Haha. Are you really asking because you don't know?”

“...”

It was unfair.

Of course, I could not confidently defend myself if someone asked whether I had made some bad plans.

But still!

I had played a huge role in defeating the boss.

How could I receive so little recognition?

“Still! There could be a risk of contamination by corruption! Wouldn't it be dangerous for someone without resistance to enter?”

“Didn't you take all the corrupted equipment with you? This old man may not have resistance to corruption, but I have an eye for danger, so I can avoid it. I'm not so old that you need to worry about me yet! Hohoho!”

If I said something like that, someone would probably tell me to stop talking nonsense.

But when someone as powerful as the Great Hero said it, I couldn't help thinking, ‘Huh? Really?!’

His stats were completely ridiculous.

“W-Well... We don't even know if there's really something beneath the church. There might even be a trap that we can't escape from, so entering carelessly...”

“I will be careful.”

“Grrrrk! Then! You secretly sneaking out like this and secretly heading toward the church with me... Even if it doesn't affect you, Great Hero, won't it affect me?”

“How?”

“For example, people might say, ‘That madman lured the Great Hero with sweet words and dragged him into a dangerous place! Who knows what he intends to do!’”

“That is not so different from the current situation.”

“There's a difference between merely having suspicious circumstances and creating a result that leaves people with no choice but to suspect me!”

“Don't worry. I know you have no intention of trapping me. If it becomes a problem, I will explain it properly.”

“No, that's exactly the problem! If you say that, they might go, ‘Oh, is that so?’ But humans aren't built to trust other people one hundred percent! They'll just become even more suspicious of me deep down!”

“Hoho! If you have no intention of doing anything that could become a threat, then what is the problem?”

This... this old man!

He was basically saying he would completely ignore all of my problems!

If he pushed all the problems into the future and said, ‘I'll take care of it!’, did he really expect me to happily believe him and go with him?!

This was a serious problem.

The Great Hero's appearance meant that I could no longer act freely.

If someone later used this incident against me, it could interfere with my future plans.

If someone came at me later and said that I had used this incident as an excuse to harm the Great Hero, then I would be finished.

“Why are you doing this?”

That single sentence contained every emotion I was feeling right now.

Had this man, who could see through the true nature of things, somehow seen something enormous about me?

Damn, this is annoying.

The Great Hero seemed to think the conversation would take a while.

He pulled over a nearby chair and sat down in an empty spot.

I had no idea what he would say next.

He might even say something that would cause my reputation to plummet.

I gestured to the nervous Ai'en and Village Chief, asking them to step away for a moment.

Then I moved my chair so that I was sitting directly across from the Great Hero.

“W-What about me?”

“You? For my peace of mind.”

“...Me? I want to leave too.”

“No.”

Perhaps sensing the irritation rising from deep within me, Malrang looked extremely anxious.

If I thought about it, I wanted to let Malrang leave.

But if even Malrang disappeared, I might actually become reckless enough to challenge the Great Hero to a fight without knowing my place.

I let out a deep sigh.

Then I irritably gulped down the drink in front of me and stared at the Great Hero across the table.

“Actually, there is something I should tell you. After you left Jageun Village, I also went to Jageun Village late that night.”

“Kk! Cough! Cough-cough! Kheuk!”

“You should have drunk more slowly. Here, use this towel.”

...Huh?

What?

The Great Hero himself had gone to that village?

And he had met the badger too?!

“I received information rather late that a badger beastman had attacked Jageun Village. There was a possibility that it was connected to the Witch of Corruption. If the Witch of Corruption had begun moving again, it would be a national disaster.”

“...Ahem! So?”

“I am certain that you are connected to the Witch of Corruption.”

Suddenly?

Straight to the point?

That expression of his, as if saying ‘You know that too, don't you?’, was incredibly irritating.

“Did you hear that from the people at the training center?”

If I had known that Pie was being watched so carefully as such a dangerous person, I would never have said anything.

Of course, even back then, I had spoken somewhat instinctively without thinking much.

So even if I had known, perhaps I would have said the same thing anyway.

“No. Except for Ai'en, the trainees who were with you had been infected by Madness. They did not say anything that would disadvantage you. Ai'en also said that she didn't really know.”

“...Tsk.”

I had thought the badger had been badly injured.

But had that beastman eventually been captured?

Good grief.

The badgers I knew were much stronger than that.

Did they get nerfed?

Then again, everything I had said to the trainees had been vague.

At that time, I had simply spoken while the situation itself was unclear.

So even if the trainees had told him about it, it would not have been enough to turn his suspicion into certainty.

That made things even worse.

Originally, the Empire probably viewed me as nothing more than a dangerous person connected to Madness.

Now, they also knew that I had a deep connection with the Witch of Corruption.

...The fact that none of this was completely false made it difficult to lie.

“They called you the Great Warrior. The Ruler of Madness.”

“...That's the first time I've heard the second part.”

“Hoho. Well, that is none of my concern. What matters is that you entered the sewers and stayed there for nearly a month. Then suddenly, you rushed out saying that you had found the corrupted one.”

“...”

“I also heard you have some connections with merchants in the back alleys. Furthermore, you sold large quantities of an excellent purification solution capable of cleansing the polluted sewers.”

“...”

“I have not yet decided that you are evil. But I possess more than enough clues to classify you as a dangerous individual.”

“...”

“Are you still unhappy about me accompanying you?”

“...Sigh. Life... Fine.”

Of all people, the Great Hero had to know everything about me.

Even if I wanted to rebel, there was nothing I could do about it.