Chapter 93
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『You know, there’s no way noble ladies would flock to a hero who lacks manners, compassion, and thoughtfulness. He’s just a walking collection of ‘nots’.』
I had always wondered how he could have ever attracted more than ten noble women at once.
『Well, that’s not to say there weren’t some idiots who willingly threw themselves at him, blinded by the illusion of a ‘hero’.』
「So then, after all…」
Siesta finally understood the doubts she had harbored all along.
『That’s right. Unfortunately, as you suspected, it was all our doing.』
Thank goodness, there weren’t any women with questionable eyes and thoughts… Or is that a bit unladylike of me to think?
『We conspired with Hilbert to introduce women we had prepared to our dear hero.』
Siesta waited for Gilbert to elaborate further.
『Where should I begin? Well, let’s start by talking about human beauty and ugliness.』
He paused to take a sip from his glass.
『I don’t really like talking about this kind of thing, but human beauty is actually quite simple.
If you have big eyes, a straight nose, and all the facial features are properly arranged, you can achieve a certain level of attractiveness.』
Of course, it’s only to a certain extent, he added, before continuing.
『What I’m about to say could be disastrous if misused, so keep it to yourself.
There’s actually an application of Heal called ‘face-changing magic’ – with just a bit of that, voila! You’ve got yourself a beauty.』
Siesta was left speechless.
『So first, we had Hilbert visit several ‘not-so-reputable brothels’ and approach the women working there with a contract. We offered them guaranteed food, shelter, and clothing for a set period, plus educational opportunities and a large sum of money.
In exchange, we would change their original faces into beautiful new ones, give them a bit of noble education as a façade, and after completing their education, they would spend a certain amount of time sharing nights with our hero.』
As soon as he finished speaking, he hastily waved his hands in front of his face, saying, 『By the way, this wasn’t forced. Don’t misunderstand me on that point.』
In modern Japan, such actions would be condemned as inhuman.
Siesta felt a pang in her heart for the women who had been tasked with sharing the hero’s bed.
『Don’t make that face… Though I suppose someone like you would make that kind of face…』
For a moment, it seemed as if a shadow had fallen across Gilbert’s face.
『But you know, it was apparently a feeding frenzy.』
That impression of a shadow was mistaken.
『Of course it was!
They could earn in such a short time what would have taken them years to earn if they had continued working there! Plus, they got the option of becoming beautiful!
All the women were overjoyed, saying 〚I can start my life over again!〛
In fact, there were even some fierce competitors who volunteered for this role multiple times!』
Gilbert clapped his hands and cheered, 『Yay!! We did it!!』
It was conduct unbecoming of a clergyman.
『So you see, you don’t need to feel bad about it.
It can’t be helped, but that’s just how the world is.』
Gilbert told this to Siesta, who was holding her head in her hands.
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『Man, that was fun! It was really something else! I wish you could have experienced it in real time!』
Gilbert said, sounding regretful.
『〚I like women who are new to this. This time, they were all inexperienced, innocent girls. It was the best!〛』
Gilbert was doing an impression of the hero.
『〚Noble girls really are the best. Only they can heal this heart of mine.〛』
Gilbert’s impression was a poor, malicious imitation that bore no resemblance to the original.
『There wasn’t a single noble or inexperienced girl among them!! Ha, it’s too funny!!』
At this point, Siesta felt that Gilbert was somehow different from his usual self.
It was as if he was more unhinged than usual…
While Siesta was pondering this, the conversation had somehow shifted to topics such as how the proof of virginity was created using a bag made from some kind of slime material, into which blood was collected by pricking a finger with a needle (details omitted), and utterly tactless comments like, 『I bet his you-know-what didn’t have time to dry (laughs).』
If Yamada had been present, he would have exclaimed 『Boom!!』 behind Gilbert and declared, 「Gilbert!! You should leave the church right now!!」
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According to Gilbert’s further revelations, it was obvious by now that not only the imported ingredients and the women assigned to the hero, but also almost all of the various ornaments and jewels he had purchased were fake.
Moreover, the jewels weren’t even imitations made by mixing ore into soil with earth magic—they were complete counterfeits.
『If he believes they’re real, then maybe they are real,』 Gilbert sneered mockingly.
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Gilbert’s story continued.
Apparently, they hadn’t intended to set the hero up from the beginning.
Indeed, the hero had both trust and the remarkable achievement of conquering seven of the Newly Constructed Most Challenging Dungeons.
Above all, Saint Mika had supported him.
There was no reason not to believe in the hero.
That was precisely what they regretted—their delayed initial response in dealing with him had allowed various damages to spread unnecessarily to many areas.
While Gilbert was disparaging the hero, he didn’t think he was completely incompetent. He was just convinced that the hero was foolish.
In fact, the hero’s propaganda after conquering the Blade Dungeon was astounding.
He had the country make a grand announcement about the existence of Hero Ryūgūin and his achievements, and even prepared a stage performance by a first-class theater troupe to spread the word among the common people. He even wrote the script himself.
Even more clever was how he approached Princess Puffy and Saint Mika to secure two solid backers from the Arcana Kingdom and the church to protect himself and his position.
If the hero hadn’t made this judgment, the possibility existed that he—no, or perhaps—who was an ally in this scheme, might have become enraged and directly taken the hero’s life.
Gilbert briefly explained these circumstances to Siesta, omitting parts here and there.
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A whirlpool of various emotions swirled in Siesta’s chest.
The fact that they had summoned a boy for their own convenience.
The memories with the boy.
The current hero.
Gilbert’s treatment of him.
It was unavoidable… but still—
『There you go again, making that face.』
Gilbert let out a small sigh.
『This can’t be helped, you know.』
Gilbert looked a bit tired, different from before.
『I wonder what people who treat others’ precious things so carelessly are thinking?
Such people will eventually be treated the same way themselves. Yet, how can they think they alone deserve special treatment?』
He spoke to Siesta as if soliloquizing, seemingly with no intention of lecturing.
『There’s a saying in his world: ‘the last straw that broke the camel’s back.’』
Siesta listened silently.
『As you know, straw is hollow inside and has almost no weight.』
Gilbert made a gesture as if pinching something—
『You place these light straws one by one on the camel’s back. One by one, over and over again.』
He made the gesture of placing something somewhere several times.
『And you see, even the sturdy back of a camel will start to creak as you place a thousand, ten thousand, a hundred thousand straws, and eventually—』
Gilbert stopped speaking there.
Siesta thought she heard the sound of something breaking.
『In other words, they say the ‘last straw’ is the decisive blow that causes something that had been barely contained to overflow.』
His voice grew even lower.
『He kept placing straws on the back of the camel that is our world.』
Siesta felt her back crawl at Gilbert’s attitude, so different from his usual self.
『One straw for every unnecessary luxury.
One straw for every time he strutted around loudly, using his hero status as a get-out-of-jail-free card.
One straw for every time he looked down on us.
He kept adding straws by belittling everything—our faith, our wishes, our hopes, our people, and even Saint Mika.』
So what was the 「last straw」 for Gilbert?
『The girl in Lemone was a cheerful, lively Sister loved by everyone.
As a result of being abducted by ‘a certain individual,’ she lost everything and decided to completely cut herself off from the secular world by going to a monastery at the edge of the world…』
Siesta had an idea about what he was referring to.
『In the end, no matter how much I act high and mighty, I’m not much of a person either.
I just can’t stand him, you know.
I can never forgive him for treating everything I hold dear with such disrespect.
So I think it’s fine.』
She felt an unusual chill from him through the screen.
『Even death is too mild. That’s why I’ve decided to use him until he’s completely crushed.』
The hero’s fate was already sealed.
No matter what words were thrown at him, his will could not be changed.
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