Chapter 217
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Cardinal Gilbert of the Crater Church and Chancellor Madison, known as the right hand of the King of Arcana Kingdom, share the same anger.
The source of their anger is Hero Ryūgūin Ouji, who was summoned to the Arcana Kingdom by the pro-hero summoning faction’s forceful actions.
Their patience has finally reached its limit after more than six months of increasingly selfish behavior and attitude from him, despite his reputation for proper conduct and his achievement of conquering seven supposedly unconquerable dungeons.
In particular, Chancellor Madison has been harboring growing anger over the Hero’s repeated disparaging remarks calling his people 「primitive barbarians.」 Then the Hero failed to explore the Time Dungeon, unnecessarily endangering many members of his party, and used the sword saint Eris as a flimsy excuse, forcing her to prostrate herself in apology.
Witnessing such an absurd act that defied common sense, Madison’s sense of mercy completely vanishes.
Meanwhile, Cardinal Gilbert deeply regrets an irreversible past incident. A Sister he had taken under his wing was violated by Hero Ryūgūin, left broken in both body and spirit, and driven to take her own life. By the time he learned everything, it was far too late. That regret still burns within him like a blue flame—quiet, yet fierce.
Around the time the Hero conquered the Blade Dungeon, criticism of him somehow became taboo. However, for these two men, once they made up their minds and steeled their resolve, there was no such thing as a half-hearted option like backing down.
As Chancellor Madison and Cardinal Gilbert carefully sought out others who held grievances against the Hero, it was only natural that they would find each other.
And so, Chancellor Madison, the nation’s most powerful authority, joined forces with Cardinal Gilbert, the cardinal of the nation’s largest religion, the Crater Church.
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Madison is the first to suggest, 「Let’s just kill him.」
Ironically, he had initially been one of the people who viewed the Hero favorably.
As the leading opponent of hero summoning, he had felt his own sense of remorse toward the summoned young men.
Originally, he believed that they should handle this world’s problems themselves, and he had even been in the middle of planning to tackle the Newly Constructed Most Challenging Dungeon with a famous large-scale clan.
He had even considered that if they found the Wish Orb during that process, and if the two summoned heroes wished to return home, he would help them return to their world without delay. However, such compassion had long since dissipated.
In response to Chancellor Madison’s suggestion, his newfound ally Gilbert calls for restraint.
He argues that granting the peace of death would be premature, and that even if they ultimately decide to kill the Hero, they should first inflict maximum suffering upon him.
While both opinions were harsh, it was clear which was more severe.
For a while, both parties remained at an impasse. Concerned about the continued spread of damage during this time, they proceeded to implement the 「Terrarium Project」 under Gilbert’s leadership.
The 「Terrarium Project」 was simple in concept.
Its outline involved controlling the Hero’s behavior by providing him with the three basic human desires to their extreme: sexual desire, hunger, and sleep. Of course, this also included the intention to confiscate his unnecessary wealth.
At any rate, the plan proved immediately effective against the greedy, pleasure-seeking Hero. He accepted everything without question and allowed himself to be domesticated through the excessive provision of women and food.
Only after going this far did the Hero finally stop causing victims every time something caught his interest, and stop kidnapping women he took a fancy to while using his title of Hero as a shield.
However, Gilbert’s anger didn’t end there.
To realize his desired treatment of the Hero, he quietly gathered supporters within the church and steadily increased his allies.
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At this point, the remaining major issue was the Hero’s ultimate fate.
Chancellor Madison desires a clean death for him, while Gilbert, still consumed by unrelenting fury, wishes to make the Hero suffer worse than death.
The tide begins to turn about a month ago.
Both men receive contact from an information broker named Anon.
While they would have dismissed contact from an ordinary information broker, this was *the* Anon.
The information broker Anon was such a legendary figure that anyone of significant standing in this country would know of him.
Previously, there had been a large-scale conflict between two underground guilds in the Arcana Kingdom. The fighting continued for a long time, steadily wearing down both guilds. It caused extensive casualties among both parties’ personnel, to the point where their continued existence became difficult. Yet for some reason, neither side would back down, and it ultimately culminated in a direct armed conflict between their remaining members.
Strangely enough, the day before this final conflict, someone had sent a tip-off letter to the Royal Knight Commander. The contents naturally included details about the upcoming conflict—when and where it would occur, and what kind of conflict it would be.
Thus, the shadow mastermind who conveniently manipulated both underground guilds from the shadows, caused their mutual destruction, and even mobilized the Royal Knight Order to prevent any escapees, was rumored to be none other than Anon.
This was just one of Anon’s many tales, so his reputation was appropriate—or rather, perhaps even understated.
Given Anon’s reputation, Chancellor Madison and Gilbert had no choice but to listen. While they would have dismissed such grandiose claims as ridiculous if they came from an ordinary person, they had to consider them carefully.
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Anon’s initial contact comes in the form of letters.
Moreover, these letters are embedded with a magical formula that turns them to ash the moment they finish reading them.
The letters delivered to each of them begin with 「Regarding Hero Ryūgūin.」
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The contents of these letters, filled with intelligence and sarcasm, essentially state that the Hero has used an 「unknown ability」 to steal the dungeon-clearing achievements of the summoned Holy Knight, and furthermore, has been pinning all of his evil deeds on the Holy Knight. Additionally, this ability is more vicious than imagined, potentially allowing him to alter the memories of everyone involved.
The story doesn’t end there—it also suggests that through 「another unknown ability,」 he has brainwashed and is controlling the Saint, the wise, the sword saint, and likely Princess Puffy as well.
Madison groans in his office.
Anon’s story makes far too much sense.
The Holy Knight and Hero’s complete personality reversal as if they had switched places, the three individuals following the foolish Hero despite his behavior, and the once-brilliant Princess Puffy now being a shadow of her former self—the more he thinks about it, the more everything aligns.
Similarly, Gilbert, reading this letter in his chamber, becomes convinced from a rational perspective that this story is likely true.
Regarding the three who follow the Hero—particularly Saint Mika—he had known her since she was young. There was no way that she, who embodied pure innocence and integrity, would respect such a foolish Hero or do the things that some commoners whispered about.
Unless she was under the influence of some kind of 「unknown ability」—
The letters continue.
Both men’s letters contain the following additional information:
「Compare the numerous evil deeds allegedly committed by the Holy Knight from when Hero Ryūgūin was summoned until he conquered the Blade Dungeon, with the evil deeds allegedly committed by the Hero after conquering the Blade Dungeon.」
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