Chapter 301

The story of Damien, which began with a shocking act of immorality, continued to unfold.

His mother’s dying wish was for him to act if he couldn’t understand emotions, and his role model for acting was the “noble knight.”

Through Milia and her parents, he even experimented with it in real life.

“Haah…”

A wisp of smoke rose from his fingertips, crawling up the wall like a swarm of termites.

His breath was filled with the scent of mint.

“So… to sum it up, you’re acting like a noble knight because you’re afraid of being rejected if people find out you don’t understand emotions.”

I found myself sitting next to Damien, leaning against the wall, chatting with him.

I lit a cigarette to soothe my tired mind.

“That’s about right.”

Damien nodded casually.

If he had such experiences since childhood, it was natural for him to think he’d be killed if his lack of emotions was discovered.

In fact, being beaten up by me the moment he was caught only reinforced that belief.

…Maybe I should’ve gone easier on him. Nah, that would’ve defeated the purpose.

I understood his motivation. It’s all about survival. Even without emotions, the survival instinct is still there.

But still, his actions were contradictory.

A guy who acts to survive ends up fighting to the death like a “noble knight” when faced with a strong enemy instead of running away.

There were several close calls where he could’ve died if luck had been slightly worse.

‘What do you think?’

[It must be the obsession that he’ll be killed if people find out he’s not a “noble knight.” So, if he’s going to die anyway, he’d rather die fighting a strong enemy than running away and being rejected… I don’t know if that’s warrior-like or just foolish.]

Hersela let out a disbelieving laugh.

I also chuckled, bringing my right hand to my mouth. The pungent yet fragrant smoke filled my mouth, and the reddish glow and warmth subtly approached me.

Seriously, how twisted can one’s personality get? I don’t even know where to start fixing this.

Like Hersela, all I could do was laugh.

In reality, the idea that he’d be killed if he didn’t become a noble knight was just Damien’s own delusion.

At ten years old, maybe he couldn’t survive alone, but now, being rejected wouldn’t kill him.

With his near-master level skills, he could easily live as an adventurer, making money without any issues for the rest of his life.

It’s obvious if you think about it. The fact that he can’t even consider this… must be because his childhood experiences are deeply ingrained in his mind.

But I can’t just tell him it’s all a delusion.

If Damien’s unyielding will to fight is because of that delusion, then the moment he realizes the truth, he might stop risking his life in battles.

He’d probably just run away when faced with a stronger opponent.

So, from my perspective, I need to make sure Damien doesn’t break free from this delusion…

What a headache.

Even if I tell him the world will end if he doesn’t become a hero, he probably wouldn’t believe me.

—

In the first place, I’ve never told anyone that this world could face destruction within a few years.

It’s not something anyone would believe, and I wouldn’t have an answer if someone asked how I knew.

I didn’t even mention coming from another world.

In this world, the only beings that come from other worlds are monsters.

So, confessing that I’m from Earth would be like admitting to being a new type of monster.

I thought about claiming to have seen the future… but visions and prophecies are the domain of the gods.

Even Lacey said she’s never received such direct revelations, so lying in the name of the gods would only make things harder.

Besides, the future I know and what actually happens in this world are vastly different. About 80% of it was my own doing.

If I tried to recite future events as evidence, and the story twisted into something completely different, I’d just end up being labeled a fraud.

Like that so-called prophet who said the world would end in 1999.

Actually, being called a fraud would be the least of my worries. Given the social climate of this world, I could be accused of heresy for impersonating divine authority and inciting people.

Lacey might not do it, but who knows what the Holy Kingdom would do.

So, I have no intention of revealing that I know anything resembling the future.

Hersela might not care, but… there’s no point in telling her. She’s already cooperative enough.

So, what should I do…?

Should I plant the belief that if he doesn’t become a hero, I’ll beat him to death?

Even if he realizes that being rejected by people won’t kill him, knowing that I might beat him to death would make him strive to survive… right?

Alright. Let’s go with this. This is my style of hero training.

Get stronger, Damien. Unless you want to be beaten to death by me.

—

Of course, getting stronger doesn’t solve everything.

There’s still one more serious problem.

“Haah…”

A sigh escapes, melting into the surroundings.

Can this guy even pull out the holy sword with this mindset?

I mean, it’s a given that the hero will pull out the holy sword, but I’ve been proven wrong too many times to be sure.

The holy sword Zwei.

As if blessed by the gods, it grants its wielder endless power and glory.

The sword of joy that was bestowed upon him.

Even in its unawakened state, it displayed immense power, and when its wielder reached the realm of heroes, it would evolve further, revealing its true name and abilities—a weapon exclusive to Damien.

The item description stated that only a chosen hero with no evil intentions could draw and wield it…

Looking back, it was a rather ambiguous description.

Was it that only those without evil intentions could be chosen as heroes, or that even heroes couldn’t draw it if they harbored evil intentions? It was hard to tell.

And what exactly did “evil intentions” even mean? It was all so vague.

One thing was certain: if the current Damien, whose personality had twisted in a bizarre way, couldn’t draw the holy sword, things would spiral into chaos.

A hero without a holy sword was just a slightly stronger knight, after all.

At the same level, wouldn’t I be stronger? That would make it all meaningless.

…Though it’s a problem I can’t solve right now.

I wouldn’t know until I reached the level of a master and went beyond the mountains to the northern snowfields to try drawing it myself.

For now… I should focus on the urgent matters at hand.

—

The heat tickling my fingertips snapped me out of my thoughts.

Before I knew it, the cigarette in my mouth had burned halfway.

I flicked the ash onto the floor and brought it back to my lips.

Through the dissipating smoke, Damien was staring at me with those emotionless, transparent eyes. It was hard to tell what he was thinking…

“Well, want to try one?”

I chuckled, holding out the cigarette, and to my surprise, he nodded.

Wait, I was just joking…

This is something, him actually smoking a cigarette.

Should I really give it to him?

In the original world, I wouldn’t have handed a cigarette to a sixteen-year-old boy, but…

It’s not particularly harmful here, and seeing Ophelia openly smoking in this world, it shouldn’t be a problem.

“If you want it, here. Put it in your mouth and inhale.”

I took out a cigarette from the pack, handed it to him, and lit the end after he put it in his mouth.

Damien stared at the lit cigarette with unfamiliar eyes, then deeply inhaled the smoke. Like most first-time smokers.

“…Cough! Hack! Hack!”

Damien coughed violently, spitting out smoke as if he were vomiting. Exactly as I expected.

I leaned my head against the wall, watching him and chuckling. See, I knew it.

“Ugh, why would anyone…!”

“It’s smoke from burning herbs, even if it’s mint-flavored. Did you think it’d be sweet? That’s just how it is.”

Honestly, you shouldn’t inhale it all at once like that. Your chest must be burning.

“You could’ve warned me…”

“But this is more fun, isn’t it?”

Watching a kid stubbornly try smoking and then cough is always hilarious.

[You have a twisted sense of humor.]

What a rude thing to say. If we’re talking about twisted humor, you’re no better.

I don’t really know about Hersela’s hobbies, but they’re probably not normal. It’s obvious just by looking at her.

After laughing for a while, I took the cigarette from Damien, who was looking at it like it was poison, and put it out.

Actually, the cigarette I was smoking was almost down to the filter, so I was going to switch, but Hersela had a fit when I brought it to my lips. So dramatic.

In the end, I decided to count it as a wasted cigarette. Consider it the price for a good laugh.

—

“By the way, there’s something I want to ask you. You better answer well.”

“…What is it?”

Damien’s voice seemed tinged with unease. Whether it was real or just the smoke, I couldn’t tell.

Logically, it should be just the smoke, but… it’s ambiguous because this guy does seem to feel emotions like fear or anxiety, even if faintly.

Like earlier, and back when we were in that VR-like lecture.

Though his fear was only directed at me.

When fighting Suin or monsters, there wasn’t even a trace of such emotions.

Anyway, no need to be anxious already. It’s just a normal question.

“About Milia’s feelings. You knew, right? Even if you couldn’t understand them in your heart, you said you could judge someone’s emotions by their expressions or actions.”

“That’s…”

There’s no way he wouldn’t know.

Looking at Milia, it was obvious even to a three-year-old that she liked Damien.

Even if he couldn’t understand love, he must have noticed.

Though he acted like a clueless idiot, pretending not to notice.

“Why are you pretending not to know?”

Answer carefully, Damien.

If you say something stupid, you might end up getting neutered.