Chapter 57
On a pleasant afternoon—
Having left the bustle of the great city of Lyon behind, I’d retreated to my estate and was enjoying a leisurely life.
When I called, “Liera, some tea, please,” a maid quietly bowed at my side.
“Yes, Ultos-sama. Would you like me to feed it to you?”
“...Liera, I’m fine. Could you let me drink hot beverages at my own pace? Please? Don’t look so sad.”
I stopped the dangerous maid from trying to pour scalding tea straight into my mouth, then picked up a high-end cookie specially prepared to go with the equally high-end tea.
The estate was utterly quiet.
Three days after that long night in Lyon.
Afterward, exhausted, I’d slept in with my parents until well into the afternoon.
But the moment I woke up, I made a request to them.
“This trip has been rather tiring. Would it be all right if we returned to our estate a little earlier than planned?”
My carefree parents had said,
“Oh, dear. Did you have too much fun at the party?” and things like that,
but if they heard that their son had spent the whole night fighting, they might faint, so I decided to keep quiet.
By the way, I also made sure to tell them not to let any suspicious characters get their hooks into them.
Especially the mayor. And the mayor. And the mayor.
Well, never mind.
Enrique still seemed to be drinking his way around Lyon, so the estate was quiet.
“Phew.” I took a sip of tea and relaxed.
Time flowed peacefully.
Warm tea. Delicious treats.
This is it. This is what I’m talking about.
—This was the mob life I’d been waiting for.
Crossing swords all night with a bunch of chuunibyo sufferers who had something wrong with their heads was definitely not something a mob character should be doing.
I was going to take my time retiring from the action.
“Oh, that reminds me, Ultos-sama. The newspaper arrived. You’re so diligent, wanting to read the paper all of a sudden.”
“It’s important to stay informed.”
The newspaper.
Lyon was a major city bustling with commerce and industry, so it had a newspaper. I’d insisted that they deliver it all the way to my estate.
In short, I wanted to see how the public had reacted to the incident.
“Here you are, Ultos-sama.”
I took the newspaper Liera handed me and began to read.
“I see.”
First, regarding the nobles who’d been carousing at the party, the Randall family, as the local lords, wasn’t mentioned at all.
It seemed the story was being presented as a case of dissolute nobles disgracing themselves over something unrelated to the purpose of the party.
Not bad.
I read on.
“Huh.”
Apparently, that shady secret club I’d visited had been raided, too. Figures. Don’t set up places like that for minors...
The rest was all lighthearted news, like “Strange New Festival Suddenly Appears in Hafen Village?!” and “Noise at City Hall at Dawn; Mayor Apologizes for Disturbing the Neighbors.”
“Good, good.”
I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Ultos-sama, I also have a second newspaper,” she told me, so I decided to skim that one, too.
It’d probably be more of the same—
But then again...
A headline leaped off the page.
‘—The Order’s Fall: The Knights’ Order Half-Destroyed.’
“Huh?”
I was stunned.
For a moment, my mind went completely blank.
But then—
“No, no...”
I thought, “Hold on a second.”
Rain, the hero who led the Lyon Order of Knights, was an incredibly strong, burly man. In the original story, he appeared early on as Sieg-kun’s father, an opponent the protagonist would have to surpass.
And even near the end, he remained just as strong. He was a properly written character.
And he’d been half-destroyed along with the rest of the Order...?
Trying to keep my hands from trembling, I read the article aloud.
“A large-scale battle broke out near Hafen Village. Around half of the Order’s knights were wounded, including Order Commander Rain. The man responsible is still at large, despite having fought alone. The Order urges residents in the surrounding area to remain alert—”
Familiar words filled the page.
Near Hafen Village. A man fighting alone.
I knew.
It could only be him.
“That sword-licking bastard...!”
Why was a character who got crushed in the original story pulling off a giant-killing feat?
And that wasn’t all.
“The man who fought the Order used unidentified magic.
He made remarks such as, ‘I won’t let anyone get past me!’ and ‘I swore it to that man, to those eyes!’ suggesting there may be another mastermind behind him. In response, the Lyon branch of the Order has requested assistance from headquarters—”
“...I-I’m done for.”
This was the worst.
That sword-licking man apparently hadn’t been satisfied with licking swords; he’d gone and blabbed my secrets, too.
What the hell was with all that “behind me” and “those eyes” stuff? He made it sound so ridiculously poetic.
And on top of that—
“T-the Order’s headquarters is getting involved, too? Hahahaha...”
A dry laugh slipped out of me.
“A-are you all right, Ultos-sama?”
Liera asked, but I was definitely not all right.
The Order’s headquarters was a powerful organization with branches throughout the kingdom. Its organizational strength was on a whole different level from adventurers, who didn’t even feel any particular loyalty to their guilds.
In other words—it was an organization I absolutely could not afford to attract the attention of.
“They’re starting to take an interest in me...?”
This was the worst...
“Is something wrong?”
“Y-yeah...”
I decided to put this nightmare behind me.
I handed the newspaper back to Liera and tried to erase the information from my mind.
“N-no, it’s nothing, Liera. I think... I’ve had enough of the newspaper.”
“Huh?” Liera looked at me blankly.
“Are you done gathering information? There are about three more papers...”
“No, when I think about it, maybe it’s not good to focus only on information. Yeah. Newspapers don’t have much warmth to them, do they?”
I took back what I’d said.
“Well, then. Have I gotten any letters?” I decided to check those instead.
That’s right. There was no need to let the newspaper wear down my mental health.
I was pretty sure my parents had said they’d write, too. A nice, warm letter would refresh my spirits—
“We have some,” Liera said with a bright smile.
“Oh? Great. Let’s start with the first one.”
“Yes. The first one is from Lady Iris.”
“What?”
Had I heard her wrong?
Why was a young lady who hated me writing to me?
“L-Lady Iris?”
“That’s right...”
Yeah, but why?
◆
After a brief silence, I finally pulled myself together and asked Liera again.
“So, what did Lady Iris say?”
She was a young lady who appeared to be the daughter of a low-ranking baron, but in reality, she had royal blood. A landmine among landmines.
She was certainly a beautiful girl, but honestly, I didn’t want anything more to do with her.
A complaint about how she wouldn’t forgive me for what I’d said the other day would’ve been fine, but...
“Well, let’s see. She wants to question you about what you said the other day, Ultos-sama—that you’d ‘make her your mistress.’ She says she’ll come here soon.”
“...Huh? She’s coming? Here?”
“She is. The letter itself is very polite, but I’d say she’s completely determined to do this.”
For some reason, the maid looked at me sidelong, as if to say, “This is what happens when you say weird things like ‘I’ll make her my mistress,’ Ultos-sama...”
“No, no, no, no...”
For some reason, the main heroine I’d thought I’d completely severed ties with was trying to get closer to me.
And only now did I finally understand what she’d meant when we’d met while I was in my Genesis getup and she’d said, “I’m motivated.”
“W-was that what she meant when she said she was ‘starting to feel motivated’...?”
I’d only given her advice along the lines of, “You’ll be able to play an active role in the original story someday,” not encouraged her to go pick a fight right now with the person who’d insulted her.
But apparently, she’d come to the conclusion that she should “try talking directly to Ultos, the son of that duke.”
...This was a complete mess.
Iris was coming to see me?
Of course that was a problem.
Even if we met, how was I supposed to act around a princess who didn’t know her own lineage?
If I acted haughty, I’d inch closer to a future death flag. But if I humbled myself despite being a duke’s son, she’d grow suspicious.
T-this is such a pain...
After thinking through all sorts of things—
“Liera,” I called out with a bright smile.
“I think... we can forget about that letter now.”
“Huh? Are you sure?”
“Yeah... I think I’ve had enough... O-oh, right! Who’s the next one from?”
The maid, relieved that Ultos-sama didn’t seem interested, was still patting her chest when I asked for the next letter.
“Um, this one is next.”
Oh, nice.
Even the stationery looked a little fancy. At last, a letter from my parents—
“It’s from Mayor Gregorio.”
In an instant,
I set down my teacup and my sweets, then reinforced my body with magic.
I immediately dashed over to Liera’s side.
“Eek!” Liera cried out.
I smoothly reached for the letter. I couldn’t sense any particularly suspicious magic from it.
Which meant—
“Let’s throw it away.”
“What?! B-but it’s a letter!”
“It’s definitely trash. It’s fine.”
A letter from that madman was bound to be trash.
Trash, trash, definitely trash.
“Actually, let’s burn it. Just set it on fire in a big way.”
“O-okay...”
Liera went to burn it.
There was no way a letter from that man could contain anything good.
It probably said something like, “How dare you do that to me.” It wasn’t worth reading.
I sighed and reached for the teacup that brought me rest and peace—
But before I could take a breath, Liera came hurrying back, her cheeks flushed.
“I-it’s amazing! Just like you said, Ultos-sama! When I held the letter over the fire, different words appeared!”
“...Good for you.”
Defeated by the pressure, I reluctantly took the letter from Liera, whose eyes were sparkling as she said, “As expected of you, Ultos-sama...”
I already had a terrible feeling about this, but I opened the letter and read the words that had appeared after heating it.
The letter said:
“My king—Your guild, your organization, the Bright Night, has already begun moving again. Give us your orders. We are ready to act for you. Come, let us bring chaos and despair to the world—”
“Stop.”
I looked away from the letter and clutched my head.
To put it plainly, the letter made absolutely no sense.
First of all, there was that bizarre form of address: “My king.”
Since when had I become your superior?
And then there was the incredibly dishonorable title of “a guild for you.”
Who had ever said they wanted to become the leader of a dark guild? And when?
“I-I don’t understand.”
I was terrified.
What on earth was this guy talking about?
My head was starting to hurt, too.
“But this is amazing! You defeated a powerful dark guild in a single night and even made them your subordinates... Ultos-sama, how should we reply?!”
“A-a reply...”
I thought about it.
How could I solve this problem?
But then—
“...N-no, let’s put it on hold.”
I answered with a stiff smile.
No way. I couldn’t read his thoughts at all.
What was this about joining together to “bring chaos and despair to the world”?
When had I ever said I wanted to do that?
I couldn’t make heads or tails of it.
◆
In the end, while Liera cheerfully nodded and said, “Ultos-sama really is amazing, isn’t he?” I could only stare in stunned silence.
I wasn’t getting any closer to being a mob character at all...
A-at the very least, I needed some better news—
“That’s it!”
And then I finally had an idea.
“How about Sieg-kun? Has he been doing well with his training?” I asked Liera.
That’s right.
When I sent someone to Hafen Village to ask if they’d been all right after the bandit attack, I’d also asked them to check on Sieg-kun in the neighboring village of Rag.
If things were following the original story, Sieg-kun should already have started training himself to the point of throwing up blood, based on whatever bits of knowledge he’d picked up from a traveling merchant—
But Liera’s answer went beyond anything I’d expected.
“Oh, Sieg-san? I heard that he’s still shut away at home.”
Huh????
“S-shut away at home...?”
“Yes. Apparently, he fought someone on the night Hafen Village was attacked... and he’s been a shut-in ever since, shocked by his defeat.”
“...”
“Is something wrong?”
Huh? Sieg-kun isn’t going to start training?
No, that’s... that’s pretty bad, isn’t it?
“...He’s not Sieg-kun, anyway. He’s Sieg-chan, the beautiful girl from the village...”
“Hahahaha...”
Liera seemed to be muttering something, but I couldn’t hear a word of it.
Click.
I opened the window, staggering over in search of air.
The atmosphere outside was infuriatingly peaceful, but my thoughts were anything but.
Baldo, a man rampaging in my name somewhere I didn’t even know about.
Iris, a main heroine with a complicated past, suddenly getting motivated and rushing to get closer to me for reasons I didn’t understand.
Gregorio, a madman who’d become devoted to me and was trying to recruit me for something like world domination.
And the protagonist of the original story, who showed no sign of getting started.
Enrique’s words from the other day came to mind: “You’re stuck like this for life.”
“No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!”
I swore to the peaceful scene before my eyes.
There was no way things would turn out like that.
This was just a minor misunderstanding.
I’d never call myself Genesis again, and I’d never get involved with the original characters.
That’s right. I would absolutely—
“—Become a mob character in an 18+ game.”
But at the time, I didn’t know.
That I would end up wearing the mask I’d sworn never to put on again, over and over.
That despite swearing I’d never interfere with the original story again, I’d keep meddling behind the scenes.
And that despite swearing to become a mob character, I’d keep getting dragged into battles between the strongest people imaginable.
At that time, I had no way of knowing what lay ahead—
――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――
Protagonist
→ Just when he thought he’d somehow wrapped up the Lyon events, death flags attacked from every direction and killed him.
Death Flag 1: Baldo Route
→ After being defeated, Baldo awakens like a character in a shonen manga and regains his former self. As a result, the Order, which wields influence throughout the kingdom, has come to view both Baldo and the masked man who manipulated him—Genesis—as threats. Good for you!
Death Flag 2: Lady Iris Route
→ After Genesis tells her, “You can do it,” she reconsiders and decides, “Maybe I should try facing Ultos more directly, too.” Given her lineage, it’d be a pain to treat her carelessly. But even if she takes a liking to him, he’ll be forced into the public eye, so that’d be a pain, too.
Death Flag 3: Mayor Gregorio Route
→ He’s delighted to have met someone crazier than himself. He’s invited the protagonist to build up a massive, far-reaching criminal dark guild together. He’s infatuated with the protagonist, so there’s no need to worry about betrayal, but getting deeply involved in the criminal underworld is still pretty dangerous.
Death Flag 4: Sieg-chan Route
→ A beautiful girl whose mental state has been shattered. If she’s left like this, the protagonist will have to fight in her place when the world is on the verge of destruction. Her spirit is nearly broken, so he wants to help her regain her motivation—but if he handles it badly, she could become dependent on him for the rest of her life, which is dangerous.
※
That brings Chapter 2 to a close!!!
I’m thinking, “Maybe I should do a little more training before coming back,” so Chapter 3 will probably take a while.
And I’m looking forward to your comments, support, reviews, and all that!!!
By the way, this is a warning: if someone who’s only ever written isekai romance starts posting an isekai fantasy every day with no outline and barely any experience reading the genre, things can get seriously out of hand—from the plot to the exhaustion. So be prepared for a wild ride (not that I think anyone would do that).※