Chapter 46
“Hmph. Heh heh.”
However, soon Leira’s face twisted into a mocking grin, while Halsenberg’s was painted with resignation.
“Haha. I wish it was that easy for me too. But, Master Jung Yong, I don’t sense the kind of formidable magical power from your lady that could accomplish such astonishing feats. In fact….”
“In fact, as far as I can tell, all I sense from her is weaker magic than from you, young sir. A man-shaped scarecrow might have more magic than that woman.”
Leira chimed in from the side.
Halsenberg, having been interrupted, awkwardly cleared his throat and then nodded, seemingly agreeing.
Their expressions of disappointment and disbelieving gazes—these were directly observed by the Undying Demon King, whose face immediately turned beet red with rage.
“You, insolent wretches… how dare you mock me…!”
His face expressed a mixture of resentment, anger, and disdain. But since he’s currently powerless, he has nothing to say. So, he can only futilely gnash his teeth in frustration.
Pitiful enough to make one feel sorry for him. At that moment, I decided to quietly support Ruci’s side.
“She doesn’t use magic. She employs some other special power, that’s why it doesn’t feel like traditional magical energy.”
Halsenberg stroked his chin contemplatively, his face showing interest.
“Ah, like Mistress Seop Baek, perhaps? Is this lady a hero?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
I nodded calmly, and the Demon King suddenly glared at me.
Upon closer inspection, his eyes seemed to ask, ‘What in the world are you going on about with this Yu Wan-yong independence fighter nonsense?’
Of course, he wouldn’t literally ask that, but that was the vibe I got.
‘You might want to pick up on the hints, Undying Demon King.’
I made a dismissive gesture, silently indicating he should just nod along.
As if understanding perfectly, Ruci, with a face etched with humiliation, reluctantly nodded.
“Y, yes… I am a hero… one who defeats Demon Kings, your hero…”
“Indeed. If that’s the case, it’s understandable.”
Luckily, Halsenberg believed me right away.
If we hadn’t established a proper trust relationship with him, this instant belief would have been impossible. Networking is indeed important.
Just as I was about to let out a sigh of relief…
“Hold on a moment.”
Leira, who had been my nemesis in every reincarnation, naturally interjected to challenge me.
Leira shot up, surprising Halsenberg’s easy agreement, pointing an accusatory finger at me.
“Surely you’re not blindly believing such an absurd lie without any evidence! You don’t intend to invade the Undead Legion of Eldritch, do you, Master?”
“On the contrary, I do.”
Halsenberg, instead of backing down, replied with wide eyes and remarkable terseness.
Leira threw up her hands in exasperation. Her gaze towards Halsenberg was filled with reproach.
“Master, please stay rational. I can tell you’re not thinking clearly.”
“Hmph, quite cutting words for a servant.”
“What makes you trust this person so much? This one is a hero, the primary cause of all our current trouble, like living plagues!”
“Yet, Guin was also a hero who came from another world.”
At this, Leira suddenly clamped her mouth shut, momentarily at a loss for words due to Halsenberg’s confident stance.
But soon she clenched her lips and retaliated with venom.
“Think about it, Master Halsenberg. Words can claim anything. With words alone, I could claim to kill the hated Eldritch a hundred times over.”
“Hmm.”
“What evidence supports your belief in his outrageous claim? Please enlighten me, because I truly can’t understand it.”
Thinking back, which reincarnation was it where Leira used similar lines to kill me?
— “Do you know what’s most crucial when trusting someone? I think it’s evidence.”
From her perspective, my proposal might indeed be absurd and hard to believe, especially since I cannot produce any tangible proof.
All I’m doing is appealing to emotions and goodwill.
As far as I know, you can either believe me or not. That’s the extent of it.
Frankly, if I were in her position, I wouldn’t believe it either.
‘But this Halsenberg would lend me strength now.’
During my exchanges with him, I saw that potential.
Halsenberg doesn’t just hate heroes; he is practically distrustful of all humans, having fallen into despair.
Halsenberg guards this place not out of some grand sense of justice.
No, there’s only one reason: to save face for his resting place.
‘Do you actually think Halsenberg believes in me enough to help?’
Leira, your entire premise is wrong.
Halsenberg… In reality, this guy doesn’t believe in the slightest that my plan will succeed.
Simply put,
He merely wants to throw caution to the wind and follow my word to the end.
‘What have you been watching by clinging to him all your life?’
He desires the justification, “Perished gloriously while leading a raid into enemy territory under the orders of Hero Park Jeong-yong,” and wants to expediently end his miserable existence.
Even someone who knows nothing like me could see that immediately.
—I’m sorry, but I once dreamed of a future for Halsenberg.
Well, of course.
Even Halsenberg’s ultimate demise, an event that has already occurred now, contributed to my certainty.
Leira, unaware of the inner thoughts of both me and Halsenberg, continued pointing a finger at Ruci and spoke.
“Also, who exactly is this woman? Where has she been hiding before suddenly appearing? The summoning of heroes had long ceased before your generation, young sir.”
With this remark, Leira also shot a cold glare towards Seop Baek.
Seop Baek shrunk like a frog before a snake. With an ashen face, she started coughing continuously.
I stepped between this tense atmosphere between Leira and Seop Baek.
“Hey, no need to increase unnecessary bad karma.”
“… Hmph.”
A subtle threat: don’t vent your irritation on an uninvolved person like Seop Baek.
Leira twisted her face and turned her gaze away. Seop Baek let out a sigh of relief and quietly thanked me from behind.
“Th, thank you, Lord Jung Yong.”
“Enough. You should eat.”
“Yes…”
Come to think of it, Seop Baek was the last survivor of the previous summoning ritual before me. Her relationship with Leira is even worse than mine.
It’s problematic for us to split up like this when we need to all pull together.
“And that’s all for now.”
I clapped my hands, drawing everyone’s attention.
And at this point, I decided it was time to end this chaotic argument.
“Hey, Leira. If you’re annoyed, just don’t come. You’re not really needed anyway.”
“?! What—”
In truth, she’s extremely necessary. But I was just posturing. There’s no more time to waste.
I want to escape this wretched castle as soon as possible.
And I aim to do it in a clean way that leaves no lingering trouble for you or Halsenberg.
‘Because of this, I’ve given up on my revenge on you. Understand?’
Anyway, my successive, meaningless deaths in past lives have now faded into nonexistence.
Will releasing the anger from past lives in this life help my future survival?
‘No. Not at all.’
It would be utterly pointless, counterproductive behavior.
I’m famously a sucker, but I’m certainly not a fool or an idiot.
So, starting when I fawned over Leira in the sewers, I decided: put aside personal feelings and aim for the bigger picture instead.
‘For that, I need to quickly destroy Eldritch, the threat to this castle!’
I’m working hard this way for your happy endings. Really.
Do you have to be this uncooperative just to irritate me and others? Huh?
“Why so much chatter? If you don’t believe, then don’t come. What gives you the right to stop Halsenberg if he wants to go? Do you even smell like a proper fart?”
“Prince Jung Yong. Be careful with your words.”
From the side, Halsenberg issued a warning with a stern voice.
I licked my lips and nodded. If the landlord tells you to shut up, you shut up.
“… K!”
Leira glared at me through narrowed eyes, her face filled with resentment.
But in the end, she said nothing. Instead, she slammed the table hard and briskly stormed out of the dining hall.
“Bratty little thing.”
I clicked my tongue demonstratively and turned my attention to the others: Seop Baek, Halsenberg, and Ruci, who wore a bewildered expression.
I gave a firm nod and lowered my voice slightly as I addressed those around me.
“The nuisance has left.”
I started by putting down the utensils and getting up.
“Let’s prepare to leave. We’re going to take down Eldritch.”
