30 – A Hollow Laugh

Dale lay on the bed, groaning, lost in thought.

Do you know how it feels to be kidnapped and then beaten with a hammer until you give the answers your captors want?

No… no, that’s putting it lightly. There’s a far more shocking event that makes that feel trivial, so let’s skip that.

Then, do you know what it feels like to wake up after being hammered dozens of times and realize something that should be there is gone (even if it wasn’t working), and something that shouldn’t be there has appeared?

‘Fuck… fuuuck!’

To put it bluntly, it felt utterly fucked.

No, since my dick is gone, perhaps ‘utterly hollow’ is a more accurate description.

…Anyway, that’s not the important thing. Whether it’s because something I held dear is gone, just breathing made my anger surge and my head pound.

Loose-fitting clothes, longer hair… no, why did my hair even grow? Does that even make sense?

Anyway, thinner arms and ankles, and… this inexplicable… *bustiness*.

These things, more painful even than the fact of having been tortured, kept me groaning.

Unable to bear it any longer, I threw on some clothes and started running towards that garbage son of a b*tch.

* * * * *

Around the time Liana’s rough coughing filled the room, I felt something was amiss and opened my mouth.

“Liana, that stuff you gave me… it was medicine, right?”

“……”

“Right…?”

Why wasn’t she answering?

I felt a headache coming on and sighed, at which point Liana added an excuse.

“…Well, at least it was a treatment, so isn’t that enough?”

Because she was spouting such nonsense, I gave her the same ice-cold stare as before, and Liana clamped her mouth shut, averting her gaze.

She must have realized how ridiculous she sounded, even to herself.

I decided to officially protest this later… Right now, what was important was dealing with Dale, or rather, Daesoon-ie, so I sighed.

“Go bring Lorraine Dale here. I think if we leave her alone, she’s going to break down the dorm door to get in.”

“Yes.”

I sighed and sent Lorraine, and before long, with a huge shout, someone threw the door open and stormed inside.

“You son of a b*tch!”

I looked at the woman who had come inside… and glared back at Liana.

Liana only coughed uselessly, ignoring my gaze.

I sighed deeply, trying to calm Dale down, but then I suddenly decided to provoke her on purpose, to check if she properly understood the contract I’d written yesterday.

“Daesoon-ah, you came?”

At the word “Daesoon-ie,” Dale’s eyes widened, and she let out a high-pitched shriek and lunged at me, trying to grab my collar.

“Uwaaah.”

Whether it was the protective clause written in the contract taking effect, she started vomiting and retching on the floor.

Seeing this, I confirmed that the contract was working well and pushed Daesoon-ie away.

“But, like, could you step back a little, it’s kinda gross.”

“Hnnng… you bad person. Hng-heung.”

Perhaps because the original protagonist’s appearance was so handsome, Daesoon-ie’s appearance was also quite pretty.

But knowing Daesoon-ie’s true nature, I felt a strange aversion, so I deliberately kept my distance, stepping backwards.

At that moment, Siren scampered to my side, narrowed her eyes and began to be wary of Daesoon-ie.

Seeing this, Dale, sputtering something like, “This is total bullshit,” vented his anger.

Then, as if his heart calmed, he took a deep breath and spoke to me.

“…Haa. Turn it back, while I’m asking nicely.”

I didn’t need to shoulder the responsibility for this, so I glanced at Liana.

Liana gave a hesitant smile and offered a solution.

“Just wait a day, the potion will wear off, no need to worry too much.”

“Ha, a day? You want me to stay like this for a day?”

“……”

Whether Liana had no other way to undo it, or if she had a way but didn’t particularly want to tell me, she simply sealed her lips and smiled.

Watching this, I sighed inwardly and fell into thought for a moment.

‘Best used as a whip, rather than a carrot, I wager.’

I’d written in clauses that he couldn’t refuse commands, threatening to turn him into a woman if he disobeyed wasn’t so bad, I figured.

Just as I was about to decide to find another carrot for Dale,

someone knocked and relayed a message.

“Young Master, Lady Elysia requests an audience.”

At the mention of Elysia, my expression momentarily hardened, and I was about to refuse the audience.

But, seeing Dale’s flustered state before me, an amusing idea struck, and I said I would accept.

“Yes. Then, please escort Lady Elysia to the drawing room.”

After nodding in acknowledgement, I spoke to Dale beside me.

“You’ll be coming with me. Prepare yourself.”

“What? Me?”

“Yes, you.”

“This is utterly insane.”

Dale showed an extreme aversion, but since he couldn’t refuse an order anyway, he’d have to grit his teeth and follow me.

Seeing Dale, I chuckled softly and headed towards the drawing room where Elysia was waiting.

*

To calm myself, I fidgeted with the hammer in my pocket as I entered the drawing room and Elysia came into view.

“How have you been?”

Her tone was still smooth; it seemed she hadn’t given up on her plan.

Listening to Elysia’s words, I slowly sat on the sofa and gazed at her.

“……”

As in the original, he seems tormented by hallucinations, both visual and auditory; the deep shadows under his eyes and his pallid skin are stark.

Perhaps because I’ve poured out every emotion I possess, even looking at him, I feel nothing in particular.

…Watching him, I’m suddenly reminded of how I came to adore Elysia.

After my parents passed, during my elementary school years living under my grandmother’s roof.

Enduring every conceivable humiliation due to poverty, living a life where no one understood.

In my third year of middle school, I encountered a fantasy novel at the library.

The novel was a common fantasy, a hymn to humanity that was prevalent at the time.

But the scene where Elysia reached out to the protagonist, who had lost all his power and fallen to rock bottom, helping him rise again, was so profoundly moving that I came to love her.

The reason isn’t quite clear in my memory.

Perhaps it was because I hoped such a person would exist for me.

Or maybe, without parents, I was curious about the emotion of love and tried to emulate it.

If not that, perhaps when even my grandmother, who cared for me, passed away, I felt utterly alone in the world and clung to her even more desperately.

…Well, such things are no longer important now, so let’s move on.

In any case, that experience and thought etched into my childhood persisted for five long years.

The important thing is that these things became a part of my life.

‘And so, in January of my 21st year.’

I possessed this world, and overjoyed to meet Elysia, I strove for even a single glance, a moment of genuine recognition.

But she broke the promise to face me properly once I restored her warmth.

On top of announcing my achievements as her own, taking my sacrifices for granted.

Despite being my fiancée, she not only gifted Dale flowers plucked from the garden I had given her, but

even knowing the full truth, she refused my plea for even a single word… deeming it meaningless.

Rational emotions aside, I simply lost all sense of human connection and put an end to it.

The hammer I threw was simply a cathartic release of a year’s worth of pent-up frustration.

Therefore, no longer wanting to be involved, no longer wanting to share understanding, I stared at her blankly.

Elysia, looking back at me, pointed to Dale… no, to Daesoonie, in a composed voice.

“I would like to discuss something important, but who is this woman?”

“A new guard; you can ignore her.”

It sounded like a veiled request to be left alone.

But wanting to show Elysia’s true colors to Dale, I refused.

She offered a strained smile and nodded, a small, almost submissive gesture.

“Ah… I see.”

That she gave in so easily suggested it wouldn’t be a problem to speak openly.

Or perhaps she judged that any rumors could be contained.

And so, Elysia turned her gaze from Dale and spoke to me.

“The reason I’ve come this time is to tell Damian, something of vital importance to you.”

Of all the recent events, the most significant was undoubtedly the council’s decision to appoint Dale as the Hero, making it the most likely topic.

Though rage still simmered within me, I feigned composure and nodded, prompting Elysia to continue.

“The council has decided to appoint Dale as the Hero.”

“What?”

“Exactly as it sounds. The council has deemed Dale suitable, and after a brief trial, they intend to make him the Hero.”

Behind her, Dale flinched noticeably when his name was spoken.

Observing this reaction, I chuckled inwardly and continued the charade.

“…And what reason do you have for telling me this?”

“As I mentioned before, all of this stems from the regret I feel for my past actions. There are no ulterior motives here.”

I knew it was a lie.

Elysia’s every move was for the sake of the North; these words were spoken to undo the broken engagement and reclaim warmth that was lost, which was already known.

But to continue the conversation, I held my tongue and simply met her gaze.

She put on an act as if her words were true, “Thus, what I wish to say is… if Dale becomes the Hero, it will pose a grave danger to you.”

“……”

“As I said previously, Dale harbors a great deal of resentment towards you.”

“I imagine he does.”

“Yes. While Dale is a commoner now, unable to directly affect you… that will change the moment he becomes the Hero.”

Finding the silence an invitation, Elysia, seemingly gathering that she could continue speaking, calmly resumed her earlier thread.

“Dale attempted to kill you…”

Before she could finish,

Dale, standing behind her, suddenly chuckled dryly and muttered.

“Is this woman completely insane?”