Chapter 29 - The One Who Was a Hero

Hero appointment...

In the original work, it was after Dale stopped the second invasion in the North.

Then, while traveling alone, he helped the “Saintess” who was in danger and made a great achievement, only after which he was appointed as a hero in the orthodox story.

But now, without even traveling, let alone helping the Saintess, they were already trying to appoint him as a hero, which was somewhat puzzling.

Since Elisia is the only one connected to Dale, there's a high probability that Elisia made a move.

Not knowing how she made her move, my worries deepened.

I tapped my finger on the desk for a while, lost in thought, then shook my head to clear my mind.

It doesn't matter much. He's not a hero yet.

They were just moving to appoint him as a hero, he wasn't a hero yet.

If I crushed the sprout before it grew, there would be no problem.

So, I decided to step on Dale as quickly as possible before he was appointed as a hero, and moved my feet to the corridor.

Then first, I'll request the production of the medicine.

Based on this, I could lure out the hero.

Walking down the quiet corridor illuminated only by moonlight, I fell into contemplation about what to do with Dale.

***

When the production of the medicine was finished, I immediately sent a letter to Dale.

The contents of the letter were twofold.

That I had the cure, and if he wanted it, he should come alone to the vacant lot in the outskirts.

Of course, there was a possibility he might ignore it since I sent just these two things without any evidence.

But the fact that someone was trying to make a deal using his weakness would bother him.

There was a high probability he would come, if only to check who had sent such a letter.

Considering that he was desperate enough to look for a cure as soon as he came here...

The possibility of him ignoring this converged to zero.

While thinking this and staring at the empty wall, Loraine asked me a question.

"Are you going to kill him?"

At the question of whether I was going to kill Dale, I fell into contemplation for a moment.

There's no need to leave a problematic sprout growing.

Even if it was like this now, after becoming a hero and finishing his growth, it was obvious he would grab my ankle and be a nuisance to me.

There was no need to leave this be, so killing him wasn't a bad choice.

Moreover, right now, both killing him and cleaning up the aftermath wouldn't be too difficult.

It would be fine to completely crush the sprout.

So, considering he was just nominated as a hero but wasn't one yet, and although he was a hero of the North who stopped the second invasion, essentially he was just a commoner, a wanderer of unknown identity, I was leaning towards killing Dale.

But one question arose in my mind.

It was the fundamental question of whether it would really be okay if the original protagonist disappeared.

The content has already diverged greatly from the original work, so even if Dale disappears, there might not be much difference...

But if by any chance there was a difference, and it later transformed into a huge problem due to the butterfly effect, it was obvious it would become quite troublesome.

So while I was contemplating what to do, suddenly I saw a bird holding a basket in the distance.

The sight of a bird that had lost its freedom and only did what it was told.

Seeing that sight, I succeeded in coming up with a very good method and smiled.

If what I was thinking now succeeded, I could gain benefits without needing to take risks.

So, deciding to proceed with this, I stood up from my seat.

***

It might seem somewhat unexpected, but actually, I didn't dislike the original protagonist, or rather, I was closer to liking him.

No matter how desperate the situation, the existence of a hero who sang hymns to humanity and believed in human goodness was radiant in itself.

A little... no, very gullible, but I can’t help but like him...

But I didn't feel such affection for Dale, who was waiting for me in the vacant lot in the outskirts.

Why?

Was it because he kept expressing affection for Elisia even though he clearly knew she had a fiancé?

Or was it because even though he heard everything Elisia and I said in Elisia's office, he casually entered the office and chatted happily with Elisia, blatantly mocking me who was outside?

I didn't know. All I knew now was that we had crossed a line that couldn't be undone.

It had become a situation where one side had to push until the end.

Thinking this, I gestured to Loraine and slowly moved my feet towards the vacant lot.

In the middle of the vacant lot overflowing with unfinished buildings and garbage due to poor management, Dale was waiting for the one who called him, fidgeting with his sword.

I approached him and called his name, "Dale."

"...Ha."

When I called his name, Dale let out a hollow laugh and looked at me.

Was it because I was an unexpected person, or because he was consumed by anger?

I didn't know which was correct, but one thing was certain: he was grabbing the sword handle with trembling hands.

"Damian."

Although he was showing anger with blood vessels popping up on his face and hands as if he wanted to draw his sword and attack me right away, he seemed desperate for the cure, so he was just glaring at me, trying hard to hold back from attacking.

As I looked at him, trying to maintain as calm an expression as possible, Dale let out a forced deep breath and said to me, "That letter... did you send it?"

"Yes."

"...What do you want?"

Dale suppressed his emotions and asked me a question.

If I really had the cure, he would be no match for me the moment he pounced, so he seemed to be suppressing his emotions.

And that also means Dale's desire for treatment has reached its peak.

To deliberately provoke his emotions more, I threw a counter-question.

"Shouldn't you first tell me what you can give?"

"...Huh. You crazy bastard."

He took a deep breath and looked at me with narrowed eyes, then looked around and, confirming that Loraine wasn't there, he smiled coldly and said to me, "Fine, whatever. The fact that you came out to make a deal with me is proof that you have the cure."

It was quite an interesting thing to say, so I burst into laughter too.

As I laughed for a moment, thinking he really wasn't like Dale, Dale drew his sword and said to me, "And I can easily get that by torturing you."

Hearing those words, I thought this was enough and said to Loraine, who was hiding, "Knock him out."

At those words, Loraine, who was far away, approached at an invisible speed and struck Dale's head.

***

I tied Dale's whole body so he couldn't escape.

After finishing preparations for physical persuasion, I placed various physical persuasion devices around.

Of course, I didn't really intend to use these, I just wanted to create a somewhat threatening atmosphere, so I placed the sharpest and most dangerous-looking ones near me.

Just as I was doing this to make it as threatening as possible, Loraine, who was beside me, looked at them nostalgically and said, "It reminds me of the old days. We used to stab thighs with these during torture training back then."

"...?"

"Young Master, don't do it. I've tried it, and it's not very effective. Unless you're on the receiving end, maybe."

It was an incomprehensible statement, so I was just letting it pass when Dale's body twitched.

Realizing he had woken up, I was about to speak lightly when Dale shouted loudly in a strained voice, "You fucking bastard! You extra, you fucking!"

It seemed the anger he had been holding back burst out and consumed all his reason.

Realizing I needed to calm him down, I just silently hit his head with a hammer.

Bang!

Just enough to feel pain, moderately.

Anyway, his body would probably be tough due to some protagonist buff or whatever, so he definitely wouldn't die from being hit like this a few times.

Even if it seemed dangerous, I could just sprinkle some potion on him, so there wouldn't be a big problem.

Well, anyway, the best thing was not to do physical persuasion.

Thinking it would be good if we could have a conversation if possible, I woke up the unconscious hero.

"You, you bastard! How dare you!"

Bang!

Seeming to need more persuasion, I put him to sleep again, treated him moderately, then woke him up again.

"..."

Finally, he became quiet.

Looking at Dale like this, I held up the cure I had made earlier and said, "...This is the cure you want so badly."

I looked at him, omitting the fact that the effect only lasted for a day.

Dale seemed to crave the cure so much that he stared intently at the cure I was holding, ignoring me.

Looking at Dale like this, I took out a contract.

[Slave Soul Binding Contract]

A contract that could bind a slave's soul.

It was quite difficult to obtain, but with some money throwing, I was able to get it without much difficulty.

I showed this to Dale and said, "I'll give it to you if you sign this contract."

At those words, Dale let out a hollow laugh and said to me, "Are you crazy? Now that I know you have the cure, there's no need to cling to you..."

I swung the hammer to calm him down for a moment while he was speaking.

The downside was that it made him too quiet, but there was nothing more effective than this, so I treated him moderately and woke Dale up.

"You fucking crazy bastard... I won't..."

"Loraine."

Thinking my capacity might be insufficient for calming him down, I asked Loraine.

Loraine knocked him unconscious again by hitting his head with her fist.

By this point, I felt a little sorry, but...

Considering he tried to kill me earlier in the vacant lot.

If I didn't have strength, I would have been killed by this guy or collapsed with fatal injuries.

So, I pitied him but didn’t bother to go easy on him.  

After repeating this process about 30 times…

"Heh..."

Dale broke down.