novelraw Chapter 206
Chapter 206
Grade looked around at the others and asked,
“What about you guys?”
Then, starting with Lepia, they each answered in turn.
“Of course I’m fine with it. If it’s to save the world.”
“As expected, you’re admirable. I will follow Lady Lepia as well.”
“Me too.”
“I might not trust anyone else, but I can believe in that hero, Mide.”
“I will lend it but just tell that Padania to hurry up and die.”
“I will be counting on you to take care of this world, Mr. Mide.”
I could feel my eyes growing hot. Neril, rarely for her, spoke in a voice of genuine admiration.
“As expected, heroes and champions really are made of something else.”
“Yeah.”
“Though the way they act is just like a bunch of drunkards.”
“Being bad with alcohol isn’t a crime.”
“No, I mean they weren’t even drinking. Well, you’re not much better yourself.”
At that moment, Leon spoke up.
“Wait, didn’t you say you were borrowing it earlier? For how long are you borrowing it?”
“Velosian can only transfer the fame of the dead. For me to return the fame I borrowed, I will have to die as well.”
“Huh.”
“But I plan to die of natural causes, so… I’m afraid the term will be a bit long. Would you mind waiting, say, fifty years?”
“You’re planning to live a long life, huh.”
Leon chuckled and continued.
“Just take it, take it. It’s not like fame matters much in the underworld anyway.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m saying, don’t just borrow it, keep it. You don’t have to return my fame. I can’t speak for the others, of course.”
Once again, I was deeply surprised, not just by Leon’s generosity, but by the fact that the other seventeen heroes and champions nodded in agreement to his words.
“If we wait until you die, we will probably forget we even lent it to you.”
“Yeah, just take it, Mr. Mide.”
“That will make things easier to keep track of anyway.”
I stayed silent for a moment.
Their fame was something they had risked their lives to earn.
And yet, they weren’t just lending it, they were offering to give it to me permanently.
To them, fame was merely a means, not the end itself.
Having already defeated the Demon Kings of Destruction, Greed, and Corruption, the fame they had gathered had served its purpose, so it no longer held any special meaning.
‘I should learn from them.’
I meant it from the bottom of my heart.
Then Lepia spoke.
“There is just one condition.”
“Please, go ahead.”
“Mr. Mide, you were originally planning to let that Demon King, Velosian, live, weren’t you?”
“Yes. Since I was going to die naturally fifty years later, I would have returned the fame I borrowed then.”
“But just now, we agreed to hand it over permanently.”
I could already guess what she was about to say.
Lepia’s eyes turned cold.
“We don’t have the memories anymore, but you said that I, Sir Grade, and Sir Leon were all killed by Velosian, didn’t you?”
“That’s right.”
“Then avenge us. Don’t wait fifty years, do it right now.”
I smiled faintly and bowed my head.
“How could I refuse?”
We asked the heroes and champions to wait for a moment, then went upstairs.
Using spatial rend, I summoned Velosian, whom I had confined earlier.
He looked up at me with a lifeless expression.
“What is it?”
“We are ready.”
“…Whose fame should I transfer to you?”
“Before that, let’s go downstairs.”
“…Pardon?”
“Oh, right. I can’t just take you like this. Neril?”
As if reading my mind, Neril cast a binding spell.
Chrak.
Magical chains coiled tightly around Velosian.
His face twisted in anger.
“What is the meaning of this?”
“Is there a problem?”
“You don’t have to do this. I will cooperate.”
“Sure, I know you will. This is just… for my peace of mind.”
“What do you mean?”
I stared at him coldly.
Once, this being had been an absolute Demon King I couldn’t even imagine handling, but now, he flinched under my gaze.
I said,
“Down there, every hero and champion from the First to the Fourth generation is gathered.”
“…!”
“If a Demon King like you shows up there with your head held high, that would be a problem.”
“You’re saying I should be their plaything?”
“Yeah. So behave yourself.”
“Kh…”
Velosian bit his lip.
Ignoring him, I dragged him downstairs.
The heroes and champions didn’t know who I was bringing at first.
Neril pointed at him and said,
“That’s Velosian.”
“…!”
The atmosphere instantly turned grim.
A moment ago, they had all seemed like ordinary drunks, but as expected of heroes and champions, even though they were only spirits simply watching quietly, their presence alone was enough to make my knees feel weak.
Then Grade spoke.
“Hey.”
“…”
“I heard you tried to become a Demon God.”
“…”
“Ha. Doesn’t even answer. Demon Kings these days have no manners.”
That sounds so old-fashioned…
I thought about stepping in, but missed the timing because the heroes and champions’ flood of insults and curses rained down on Velosian.
“Click, click. Look at that. Treated like a prisoner.”
“He basically is one. Probably committed the worst crimes in history.”
“Hey, come here.”
“Can’t even fix that scowl?”
“Big ambitions for someone so useless. A Demon God, seriously.”
“My kid got over that phase when he was ten.”
“If it were me, I would be too embarrassed to even say it out loud.”
Velosian trembled all over, unable to endure the barrage of insults.
Now that I looked at him, his posture was too stiff.
Thud.
I lightly kicked the back of his leg.
A cracking sound followed.
By force, the bastard was made to kneel before the heroes and champions.
“Guh… What is this?”
“Where do you think you’re going, keeping your head up? Kneel. Oh, never mind, you already are.”
“Why are you doing this to me? I thought we were cooperating.”
“That doesn’t mean I can’t rough you up.”
“Even if you and I stood on opposite sides, don’t you think I deserve a little respect?”
What a refreshing load of nonsense.
I spoke with killing intent.
“Why should I respect you? Did you ever respect humans?”
“…”
“I remember what you said. You called humans one of the dumbest species you had ever seen. Even your polite speech, you only use it to mock.”
Velosian bit his lip.
He tried to heal his broken knee.
Sreung.
But I drew my sword and pressed it against his neck, stopping him.
“Don’t move.”
“Mide…”
“Now. Transfer their fame to me. Right now.”
Velosian’s face twisted in sheer despair.
But if he couldn’t do anything against me even inside the special room, there was no way he could resist here.
In the end, he activated his authority.
There wasn’t anything particularly grand about it.
Still..
Tak.
And then…
……
Not going any higher?
A line appeared on the screen window.
‘That’s not enough!’
‘Didn’t you say before that gaining additional fame in this era was impossible?’
‘……’
That eased my mind a little.
‘That’s not a great way to phrase it.’
‘Fine, whatever. Just tell me one thing, if I kill Velosian now, what happens to the fame? Does it return to the original owners?’
I asked, feeling a bit tense.
That was the part I had been most worried about.
The heroes and champions had asked me to kill Velosian immediately, but if doing so affected the fame I had received, it would be a huge problem.
Until I killed Aktion, I needed to maintain the full ten million fame.
Fortunately, the message window typed out words as if to reassure me.
‘Good.’
‘Because Impelium said Velosian tampered with one of the world’s laws. He claimed that if Velosian died, the modified law would revert to its original state.’
The sentence paused for a moment, as if Bion were hesitating.
Then the next line appeared.
‘A core law?’
I thought for a moment, then asked,
‘Hmm. Are there more of these core laws?’
‘Ah, right. That’s why he tried to devour Idria because he couldn’t do it on his own. So that’s because it was a core law.’
‘Any others?’
Fair enough.
What mattered was whether I could kill Velosian right now.
Bion answered, Yes.
‘Thinking about it, I actually have to kill him now.’
‘And that would mean I couldn’t convert fame into power…’
I clicked my tongue lightly and looked at Velosian.
“Yeah, looks like you will have to die today.”
“…What?”
Thwack.
I struck the back of his head.
“Urgh!”
He crumpled forward, smashing his face against the floor.
I placed my foot on his back and said,
“This bastard just transferred your fame to me.”
“Did you reach your target?”
“No. About 9.5 million, still a bit short.”
“Ah.”
“Don’t worry. The minimum required to kill Aktion is ten million. I only need to gather another half a million.”
Lepia let out a faint, helpless laugh.
“When you explained it earlier, didn’t you say my fame in my prime was about four hundred thousand?”
“Ah. Well.”
“Heh. I’m kidding. Still, hearing it put that way really drives it home. Mr. Mide, you’re not just any hero, are you?”
A “normal hero” is a contradiction in itself.
I spoke firmly.
“No matter how much fame I have accumulated, they are just numbers. Regardless of that, I genuinely respect all of you here.”
“…”
“Even if you don’t remember it…”
Tap, tap.
I nudged Velosian lightly with my foot.
“Ugh.”
“You all refused the world’s reward simply because this creature still existed. How could I not look up to you?”
“Mr. Mide.”
Everyone smiled warmly.
But those smiles quickly turned cold.
Lepia glared at Velosian and asked,
“What will you do now?”
“I will do as I was asked. Of course.”
Velosian, ever quick-witted, widened his eyes and stared at me.
“As you were asked? What do you mean by that?”
“They asked me to kill you in exchange for the fame.”
“Foolish! If you kill me now, the fame they transferred will remain forever bound to you! Don’t you understand?”
Ah. So that’s it.
Now I see why he had been so obedient, even while being threatened with his life, he must have assumed he was safe for now.
“So that’s what you were thinking. You figured you wouldn’t actually die here, at least not right away, right?”
I said coolly,
“They told me they no longer care about fame.”
“Lies! Lies! There’s no such thing as a hero who doesn’t care about fame!”
“That’s the damage done by only ever dealing with people like Kaeld and Aktion. Even Impelium alone should have proved my point.”
“…!”
I asked casually,
“By the way, what’s your core, Velosian?”