Chapter 197
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「This is so incredible, I don’t even know how to respond.」
He had gathered information from this distant place, analyzed it, and through deduction, arrived at the correct conclusion entirely on his own. Even Sherlock Holmes would be impressed.
「He—the Hero is behind everything, right?」
Just thinking about those days still brings back bitter memories.
With a simple intention in mind, I finally nod at Anon’s question.
「Most likely.」
I confirm his suspicion.
Though I avoid making any definitive statements, there’s no longer any doubt that he was the cause of everything.
「Would you tell me what you know about Hero Ryūgūin?」
After thinking for a few moments, Anon makes this request.
Whether I tell him or not, someone like Anon would probably figure out what happened between Ryūgūin and me from just fragments of information.
「Alright. Where should I start?」
As he mentioned, regardless of whether I respond to the summons and expose Ryūgūin’s misdeeds before the King and Chancellor, I figure it might be good to tell my friend about everything that’s happened.
However, my intentions aren’t just that—
Taking a sip of my now-lukewarm tea, I begin speaking to Anon, who waits quietly for my response.
First, I tell him about what kind of person Ryūgūin appeared to be from my perspective, and how he had been living since being summoned.
The essence of this story isn’t just about Ryūgūin’s personality. To convey that, I necessarily have to talk about myself and the women who were around him.
I tell him about how Puffy, Mika, Angie, and Eris, who I’d been close with at various times, had confessed to Ryūgūin and started serving him.
How after that, these women who had been good friends suddenly started treating me like a completely different person.
Talking about those times doesn’t feel particularly good, but I continue the story thinking that if it’s Anon—
When I was finally able to get in touch with Purume after a long time, I realized that I had been caught up in some kind of abnormal situation.
Then recently, I reunited with them in the Sealed Dungeon, and as we deepened our dialogue, they gradually returned to their former selves.
It was quite challenging to tell everything at once, but I managed to convey to him what had happened to me.
After listening, he puts his hand to his chin and spends about a minute in thought before speaking.
「Ichiro, I understand some things from your story.
But before that, I want to tell you something.」
「What is it?」
「Thank you for working so hard for this world until now. And I’m happy that you’re safe and alive.」
「Stop it! I’ve been getting too many compliments since yesterday, it’s making me uncomfortable!」
「Listen without saying such things. From now on, you don’t need to voluntarily tackle dungeon clearing. This world’s crisis should be handled by the people of this world. You should receive a formal apology from the country for their previous wrongdoings, and your great achievements deserve appropriate rewards. I’ll make sure they acknowledge that too.」
「About that, as I said earlier—」
Before I can finish my response, he puts his hand over my mouth.
「Stop. I understand what you want to say and your intentions.」
Saying 「wait a moment,」 Anon stands up.
He prepares fresh tea to replace the cold one and refills the empty plate with snacks.
「From your story, I’ve figured out several things about the Hero.
Based on the episode about Purume’s ‘two memories,’ he has some kind of ability to implant ‘false memories,’ though we don’t know the extent or targets.
Let’s call this ‘Ability α.’
And as expected, he must be using some special ‘power’ like ‘Charm,’ ‘Mind Control,’ or ‘Body Control.’ Whether this is from a skill, an item, or something like ‘Evil Eye’ or ‘Evil Mouth’ from the ‘Primitive Curse’ category, I don’t know.
Let’s call this ‘Ability β.’」
As these words leave his mouth, several things suddenly click into place. That time, and that time, and that time too—
「While we can’t rule out the possibility that Ability α is caused by Ability β… but if that’s the case—」
I can no longer tell how much truth he has grasped from my story.
「According to you, the Hero’s skills were Limit Break, Hero’s Sword, 5x Growth Rate, and Light Magic: Master, right?」
I nod at his confirmation.
「Unfortunately, even experts don’t understand much about skills. The Hero’s Sword is suspicious, but we can’t rule out the possibility that he has ‘a skill that can hide other skills.’」
In other words, what he’s calling a Concealment Skill.
「Well, no matter how much we worry about that here, we’ll never get an answer.」
「Then what should we—」
「I don’t know what’s causing his two ‘abilities’ either. Still, knowing that ‘something is there’ means we can devise countermeasures. It’s simple.
In addition to the three mentioned earlier, we just need to eliminate all possible possibilities.」
「Is that even possible?」
「I can do it, though of course I’ll need help from you and Omi.」
Seeing the joy appear on my face,
「Now, haven’t I managed to take away your worries?」
「Yeah, I guess so.」
I give a brief acknowledgment.
「If we can prove that everything was the Hero’s fault and that the women themselves were also victims, they’ll likely not only get their sentences reduced significantly but be found innocent.」
「Thank you, Anon.」
It was Anon who lifted this weight from my chest.
To be honest, I feel relieved.
However, the Anon before me doesn’t seem to feel the same way.
He grips my hand tightly.
「I’m frustrated.」
His grip is almost painful.
「I’m incredibly frustrated that you aren’t being recognized. And I can’t stand the situation where you’re being falsely accused.」
A single drop falls onto my hand.
It might have fallen from under his hood, or it might have been my imagination.
「But these are just my selfish feelings. You must have your own circumstances. I understand that people aren’t that strong. So I have no intention of forcing you to respond to the country’s summons.」
He maintains his somewhat arrogant attitude toward me.
But there—
「Don’t worry. Even if you don’t respond to the summons, I’ll figure something out for them.」
There was tremendous kindness.
Our conversation ends with these words.
Should I respond to the summons or not?
I still don’t have an answer.
The warmth of that tear still lingers on my hand.
Just as I’m thinking about visiting Sensei and then returning to Hidden Mountain where Sena is, Anon tells me:
「Tomorrow morning, the Tesoro brothers from Vienetta are coming to meet you. They also contributed greatly to the Sealed Domain incident. Please show them your appreciation. They’ve both been eagerly waiting to meet you.」
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