28 – Once a Hero

‘A Hero appointment, huh…’

In the original story, it was after Dale prevented the second invasion from the North.

After travelling alone, and saving a ‘Saintess’ in peril, achieving immense merit, that he would be appointed a Hero according to the established narrative.

Yet, without so much as a journey, not even helping a Saintess, they already intend to appoint him a Hero—somewhat perplexing.

‘The only person connected to Dale is Elysia, so it’s most likely Elysia who pulled some strings.’

Unable to discern how she did it, my worries deepened.

For a moment, I tapped my fingers against the desk, lost in thought, before shaking my head, dispelling the contemplation.

‘Perhaps it doesn’t truly matter. Not a Hero yet, at least.’

They were only in the process of appointing him, not having actually made him a Hero yet.

If I stomp out the seedling before it sprouts, there shouldn’t be a problem.

Therefore, I resolved to crush Dale as soon as possible before he could be appointed, and started down the corridor.

‘First, commission the potion’s creation…’

Based on that, I can summon the Hero.

I walked down the silent corridor, lit only by moonlight, pondering how to deal with Dale.

*

Once the potion was complete, I immediately sent a letter to Dale.

The letter contained two pieces of information.

That I possessed the cure.

And that if he desired it, he should come alone to the clearing in the outer district.

Of course, sending only these two things without any proof meant there was a chance they would be ignored.

But the fact that someone was attempting to bargain using my weaknesses bothered me.

He would likely come, if only to find out who sent such a letter.

‘Considering his desperation in seeking a cure the moment he arrived here, in addition to this…’

The possibility of him ignoring it approached zero.

Lost in that thought, staring at the empty wall,

Lorraine posed a question.

“Will you kill him?”

At the question of whether I would kill Dale, I paused, considering.

‘There’s no need to keep a potential problem alive.’

Even if things were fine now, once he became a hero, once his growth was complete, he would inevitably become an annoyance, clinging to me.

There was no need to tolerate that, so killing him wasn’t a bad choice.

‘Besides, killing him now, cleaning up afterward, it wouldn’t be too difficult.’

Stomping out the bud entirely was also an acceptable plan.

So, as he had only been chosen as a hero, was not yet truly a hero.

And although he was the hero of the North who stopped the second invasion, his essence was still only Dale, a wanderer of unknown origin, and my thoughts began to favor his elimination.

But then a question bloomed in my mind.

The fundamental question: Would it truly be alright if the original protagonist disappeared?

‘The story has already deviated so significantly from the original, maybe it wouldn’t make much difference if Dale vanished…’

But if there was a difference, and if it later transformed into a huge problem as a result of the butterfly effect, it would become exceedingly troublesome.

As I pondered what to do, I suddenly noticed a bird far in the distance, carrying a basket.

A bird that had lost its freedom, only performing its assigned tasks.

That sight inspired a brilliant idea, and I smiled.

If what I was thinking succeeded, I could reap all the benefits without taking any risks.

Deciding to proceed, I rose from my seat.

*

It might seem somewhat surprising.

But, truthfully, I didn’t dislike the original protagonist. No, I was rather fond of him.

Even in the most hopeless situations,

The existence of a hero who proclaimed the glory of mankind, who believed in its inherent goodness, shone with its own light.

Even if a little… no, a lot foolish, I couldn’t help but like him…

But that kind of fondness… I couldn’t feel it for Dale, waiting for me in the empty lot far out in the outskirts.

Why was that?

Was it because he openly expressed his affection for Elysia, even though he knew perfectly well she had a fiancé?

Or was it because, even after hearing everything Elysia and I said in her office…

he brazenly walked in, laughed and chatted with her, blatantly giving me the middle finger while I stood outside?

I couldn’t know. All I could know now was that a line had been crossed, one beyond return.

The reality was, we were forced to push forward until one of us reached the end.

Thinking this, I gestured to Lorraine and slowly started walking towards the empty lot.

In the middle of that empty lot, overgrown with weeds, littered with unfinished construction and trash…

There, Dale twirled his sword, waiting for whoever had summoned him to arrive.

Approaching him, I called his name.

“Dale.”

“…Ha.”

At the sound of his name, Dale let out a hollow laugh and looked at me.

Was it because I was unexpected? Or was it because he was consumed by rage?

I couldn’t be sure which was right, but one thing was certain: his hand gripped the sword hilt, trembling.

“Damian.”

His face and hands were webbed with veins, revealing his fury, like he wanted to draw his sword and attack me at any moment.

But it seemed he desperately needed the cure, as he strained to hold back his attack and merely glared at me.

I met his gaze, doing my best to appear nonchalant.

Dale took a forced, ragged breath and said to me.

“That letter… did you send it?”

“Yes.”

“…What do you want?”

Dale was suppressing his emotions, trying to strike a bargain.

If I really had the cure, he’d be dead meat the moment he attacked, so he was holding himself back.

‘And that also meant Dale’s desire for the cure had reached a fever pitch.’

To deliberately poke at his emotions even further, I threw a question back at him.

“Shouldn’t you tell me what you’re willing to offer first?”

“…Ugh, you crazy b*stard.”

He drew a deep breath, eyes narrowing as he regarded me, then scanned the surroundings.

Confirming Lorraine’s absence, he offered a sardonic smile, speaking to me.

“Alright, fine. The fact that you came out, that you’re even trying to strike a bargain proves a cure exists.”

He was saying something amusing enough that laughter bubbled up from me.

I chuckled briefly, thinking he wasn’t being very Dale-like.

Then Dale drew his sword, addressing me.

“And I’m sure I can extract it from you, with a little persuasion.”

Hearing those words, I decided it was time, and spoke to Lorraine, who was still hidden.

“Knock him out.”

At my command, Lorraine, who had been standing far off, rushed forward with unimaginable speed, striking Dale’s head.

*

I bound Dale securely, so he couldn’t escape.

Preparing to begin the convincing (physically), I arranged various torture instruments around the perimeter.

Of course, I had no intention of actually using them, only to create a sufficiently intimidating atmosphere.

I placed the sharpest and most dangerous-looking tools within easy reach.

As I finished arranging them for maximum intimidation, Lorraine, beside me, gazed at the display with a wistful look, saying.

“This brings back memories. Back in the day, during torture training, we used to stab our thighs with these.”

“…?”

“Don’t bother with Little Master. It’s not very effective. Unless you’re the one doing it, maybe.”

Her words were incomprehensible, so I mostly ignored them, as Dale’s body twitched.

Realizing he was awake, I was about to say something casual when.

Dale, in a voice that sounded strained, screamed out.

“You son of a b*tch! You goddamn extra! “

The anger he’d been suppressing had exploded, devouring his reason.

Realizing he needed calming down, I simply took a hammer and struck him on the head.

Thwack!

Just enough to feel the pain.

Since his body was tough, thanks to that protagonist buff or whatever, a few taps like this wouldn’t kill him. It’d be fine.

If things got too dicey, I could always splash him with a potion; it wouldn’t be a big deal.

Well, in any case, the best thing was to avoid persuasion (physical).

Hoping that dialogue might be possible, I woke the unconscious warrior.

“Shi-, shibal! And you call yourself…!”

*Thwack!*

Seemingly still lacking persuasion, I put him back under, applied some suitable healing, and woke him again.

“…”

Finally, quiet.

I gazed at Dale, holding the prepared elixir in my hand, and spoke.

“…This is the remedy you so desperately desire.”

I omitted to mention that its effects would last only a day, and simply regarded him.

Dale, clearly coveting the cure, stared intently at the potion in my grasp, ignoring me.

Watching his behavior, I pulled out the contract.

[Slave Soul Binding Contract]

A contract capable of binding a slave’s soul.

It had been quite difficult to acquire, but with enough monetary persuasion, it wasn’t so insurmountable after all.

I showed it to Dale and said,

“Sign here, and you’ll have it.”

At that, Dale let out a hollow laugh and said,

“Are you insane? Now that I know you have the cure, I don’t need to beg…”

Mid-sentence, I swung my hammer, inducing a temporary ‘calming’.

The downside was that it made him overly silent, but nothing was quite as effective, so I patched him up somewhat and woke Dale again.

“Shibal, crazy b*stard…as if I would.”

“Lorraine.”

Perhaps my own abilities were insufficient for true calming, so I turned to Lorraine.

Lorraine promptly delivered a punch to his head, rendering him unconscious once more.

By this point, I felt a touch of remorse…

‘Considering he tried to kill me in that open field a while back…’

If I had been weaker, I would have been killed by this one, or left fatally wounded, collapsing.

So, I decided to feel sorry, but not to show leniency.

After repeating this about 30 times…

“Heh…”

Dale was broken.