Chapter 225
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───Hero Ryūgūin not only stole my achievements, but through his mysterious ability, he manipulated my precious companions and forced them to commit terrible acts.
Finally, I speak up.
Chancellor Madison nods with an 「Hmm,」 and I continue.
「The women I knew were always kindhearted people who would act for others’ sake. Now that they’ve regained their former selves, they strongly regret their actions and insist that everything was their own fault. But is that really right?」
I direct my words to the noblemen and church officials present.
「Many of you here must have known these women before.
Some of you might understand what I’m getting at.
Their true nature was altered by Hero Ryūgūin. They had no choice but to act according to his words, their beliefs and hearts forcibly twisted. Rather than perpetrators, they were victims. I sincerely hope that everyone here will show them leniency.」
I had already heard from Anon about everything Ryūgūin had done. Among his actions were countless unforgivable crimes.
This information had been shared with Chancellor Madison and the church officials.
「Finally, all responsibility for these crimes lies with Hero Ryūgūin.」
No matter how painful it may be, he must atone for his sins.
Chancellor Madison, seated at the front, lets out a sigh.
「Well now, Hero Ryūgūin. Haven’t you had enough?
Your every objection has been overturned, and even the Holy Knight you desperately demanded to see is here.」
As Ryūgūin continues to hang his head without responding, Chancellor Madison is about to speak about his punishment, internally deriding Ryūgūin’s pathetic display. That’s when it happens.
「I’ve been regretting it all this time.」
Ryūgūin says, raising his face.
「Ever since Yamada left, I’ve been filled with regret.
After you disappeared, I seemed to lose my touch. Everything that had been going so perfectly became like a lie. No matter how hard I tried, everything fell apart, and I became consumed by anxiety.」
He once again refers to himself as 「boku」—
「You know what, I envy you. Just look at this situation.」
Around him are at least myself, Mika and the others, church officials, Anon and Puru, and Chancellor Madison along with other nobles—
「This is like sitting on pins and needles.
Hostility, hostility, hostility, hostility in every direction, 360 degrees around me.
But what about you?」
Ryūgūin, who had seemed frightened just moments ago, appears to be getting excited as he continues speaking with increasing enthusiasm.
「That speech from your companions earlier was amazing!!
It really gave me chills!! That’s exactly what having companions is all about!!
It was like a scene straight out of a shounen manga!!」
「It was so passionate!」 he says with a grin.
「And you know what? I think I’ve finally gotten my groove back just now. And that made me realize again how envious I am of you.
Oh? You want to know why?
Sure, I’ll tell you. It’s not like anything will change if I do.
Actually, I’ve been keeping this a secret until now, but I can see it. Your companions here—especially the women—every single one of them harbors extremely strong feelings for you. No, it’s really incredible. Man, you are truly loved~」
Ryūgūin puts on a beautiful smile.
It was the kind of pure smile that could only come from genuine feelings of joy and pleasure.
He raises both arms and stretches his body with a long reach to loosen up.
「But you know what? Isn’t that cheating?」
「What are you—」
「Here I am suffering so terribly, while you’re loved and adored by everyone. That’s definitely not right, is it?」
Even the normally cold Chancellor Madison shows confusion at his strange behavior, seemingly unable to tell if this is just the desperate thrashing of a cornered rat.
Having said whatever he wanted to say, Ryūgūin continues with, 「Changing the subject…」
「You know, I never believed in God or anything like that before. But now, I’m truly grateful to God from the bottom of my heart.」
A wicked and mysterious light gleams in his eyes.
I check on Anon and the others behind me, gripping the three rings on my right hand.
「God, oh God, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for keeping my Yamada alive. Thank you for keeping my Yamada healthy and whole. Thank you for letting my Yamada succeed. And above all—」
Ryūgūin spreads his arms wide and tilts his head back toward the ceiling.
「—thank you for bringing my Yamada here to me.」
Ah, ah, ah, aah— Ryūgūin writhes in excitement, letting out voiceless moans.
「And Yamada!! Thank you so much!! Thank you for coming all this way!! Thank you for coming before me!! Thank you for going through so much trouble just for me!! Thank you for remaining my willing puppet!!」
At this point, several church officials finally begin to move.
Panicked voices echo through the throne room: 「Stop him! Stop the Hero!」
「To avoid any complications, I’ll use both *abilities* at once.」
He announces this as casually as someone saying 「I’ll use my points」 at a supermarket checkout.
「And wow, everyone is so beautiful, such cute girls, my future is looking rosy!! What should I do?! Just thinking about it makes my body shake!! Ah, I can’t wait!!」
He spins around and around on the spot, imagining his bright future.
「You’re probably thinking I’m talking way too much!! Don’t worry!! This talkative ‘me’ will probably end up being something ‘you’ did anyway!!」
With the corners of his mouth pulled up to the extreme, he lets out a battle cry.
「I’ll make a new vow to you!!
I absolutely won’t let your efforts go to waste!! 」
He raises his voice.
「Now then, time to dig in~!!」
Something indescribable begins to pour out from his body.
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