The reason Dwener knew the truth about that day.
It was because Zero had given him a hint.
‘Keke, did you know? Sometimes fairy tales are created to hide a cruel reality.’
‘Hmm? What do you mean by that?’
‘Go pay Grandma Peggy a visit. You’ll hear an interesting story from her.’
Zero had only said that to shake off Dwener, who kept pestering him, but even he hadn’t realized it.
That this action would become the final puzzle piece needed to complete a hidden piece.
Dwener’s story cut through the sound of the rain.
A tree that had grown deep inside the mine.
The conscripted woodcutter and the beast’s attack.
The woodcutter who mustered his courage and killed the beast.
The lord who killed that woodcutter to turn his land into a tourist attraction.
The knights who kept quiet about it all, and the villagers who secretly passed down the story of that day.
“To think something like that happened…”
“How tragic.”
“It’s a disgrace to us knights.”
The knights, shocked that the fairy tale hadn’t just been a made-up story, muttered to themselves.
What they couldn’t understand was why they were being told this story.
It was right as the knights were starting to question it.
“Pffft!!”
Laughter came from above. A laugh he could no longer hold back, bursting out past his lips.
It was Dwener’s laugh, overflowing with scorn.
“…Why are you laughing?”
“Ah, my apologies. It’s just funny. Whether it’s the past or now, whether they share blood or not, they all throw away their honor in exactly the same way.”
And yet, with that on their conscience, they still hold their heads high and pretend to be noble knights.
“It was so hilarious I just couldn’t hold it in. I’m sorry. I apologize.”
But even after saying that, Dwener’s mocking laughter didn’t stop.
It was only natural that the knights eventually exploded.
“Y-you bastard! Are you insulting us?!”
“Stay right there! I’ll crush that arrogant mouth of yours!”
“You’re a villain! Even if you soothe yourself by saying you kill villains, in the end you’re just as much of a villain as they are!”
In an instant, Dwener’s expression completely changed.
The mocking smile that had filled his face was gone without a trace.
“How strange. I don’t recall ever saying I wasn’t a villain.”
That was true. From the very beginning, he’d explained that he was an evil that hunted evil.
His expression didn’t twitch, and his eyes were cold and still. The knights unconsciously took a step back.
“I’m fully aware of my own sins, and I intend to pay the price for them. But what about you?”
“You make excuses that you didn’t know, and comfort yourselves by saying it wasn’t your fault.”
“All you’re doing is running away.”
“…”
There were dozens of people gathered here, yet aside from the sound of the rain, not a single sound could be heard.
Probably because, deep down, they all agreed with Dwener.
The world was filled with nothing but the hollow echo of falling rain.
“So what exactly are you telling us to do? We’ve already gone down the wrong path. What can we possibly do now?”
It was Pjol, a knight of Trash Village.
Pjol slowly walked forward through the other knights and took the lead.
Dwener looked down at him and spoke.
“I’ve been saying it from the start. I’m giving you a chance.”
“The Evil-Slaying Group… you want us to join that group?”
“That’s right.”
“…To be honest, I don’t know how I feel about it.”
Would their sins really disappear just because they killed evildoers.
If they did, then how many would they have to kill.
And in the end, wouldn’t they just become twisted into villains themselves, slaughtering villain after villain.
“You’re right. As I said earlier, I’m a villain. And you’ll end up the same way.”
But that isn’t the only problem.
Right now, they were legally criminals. Even if Dwener pulled some strings, they’d be recorded as fugitives or as dead.
Which meant that no matter how many just deeds they carried out, their names would never be recorded anywhere.
“So we’d be wandering spirits with no names… We couldn’t even hope for a knight’s honor anymore.”
“I’ll do it anyway. We’d be catching villains, wouldn’t we?”
“You idiot. This means ignoring the law and the system. What if it turns out later that the person you killed was innocent?”
“I agree. More importantly, there’s no guarantee that man won’t fall into corruption himself.”
“It could just be a murder squad the Empire’s rat is running for his own gain.”
“We can work with them for a bit, and if it’s not what we thought, we can run. I’m in!”
Opinion was split right down the middle.
But the opposition still held the majority.
They wouldn’t be able to live a normal life, and no matter how hard they tried, they’d only be seen as villains. Was there really any point in joining the Evil-Slaying Group?
It would be better to pay for their crimes and then act on their own afterward.
That viewpoint was the mainstream one.
As the heated back-and-forth continued, Dwener opened his mouth.
“You’re right. The end of this path is becoming a villain, and no matter how righteous your actions, no one will acknowledge you for them.”
It would almost be a blessing if people never knew. In Dwener’s case, there was a good chance he’d go down in history as the worst of villains.
Pjol and the other knights were puzzled.
Normally, those who try to punish evil justify themselves by claiming they are justice.
But Dwener didn’t do that. On the contrary, he openly declared himself evil and was inviting them to walk that path with him.
“Knowing all that, why do you still choose to do it?”
“To pass on a better world to the children.”
Up until recently, Dwener had lived his life the wrong way.
He’d been lazy, clinging to the strong.
He’d blamed the world for everything and cursed those in power as evil people.
But after meeting Zero, he’d realized something.
‘That I was just another bad adult.’
That was why he’d formed the shadowy group known as the Evil-Slaying Group.
To cut down the evil that existed in this world and give the children a world that was even a little bit better.
He had willingly chosen to become an evil that hunted evil.
“Aren’t you all bad adults just like me? That’s why I’m giving you this chance. Well, mostly because it’s hard for an old man to do this alone and I’m short-handed.”
Dwener laughed awkwardly.
The knights understood then. Dwener, too, was someone who had walked the wrong path, just like them.
“To be honest, there’s not much I can do for you. If there’s anything at all I can offer…”
Dwener lifted the fairy tale book slightly.
“It’s to leave your names behind in a fairy tale. That’s about all.”
The knights let out faint laughs at the ridiculous reward.
It was grueling work with a miserably small return for their efforts.
And yet, for some reason, their hearts were being swayed.
“That’s enough for me.”
“We can’t be less brave than an old man.”
“This might be our last chance to change anything.”
The sins of their ancestors and their lord. Their convictions as knights.
And their last chance to change the ending of the story.
Starting with Pjol at the front, the knights slowly went down on one knee, one after another.
It was the posture taken at a knight’s investiture ceremony. The ground was nothing but mud, yet not a single one of them complained.
“Make your vow. Not to me, but to yourselves.”
That they would never abandon their convictions again. That they would cut down evildoers and stand up bravely against injustice.
There were no dazzling lights, no cheering crowds, no splendid sword being bestowed upon a knight.
And yet, somehow, this ceremony looked more noble than any other knighting they had ever seen.
“…Welcome. To the path of villains.”
The knights of Trash Village had made their choice.
They chose to discard their names and be forgotten from everyone’s memories.
“They’re like heroes from a fairy tale.”
“Now that you mention it, yeah. Maybe that fairy tale was real too.”
“Then we’ll be leaving our names behind as heroes too? I like the sound of that.”
If they have the will, people can change at any time.
No matter how filthy or disgraceful a person is, they can become noble and pure.
As long as that person truly wishes it.
All at once, the surroundings grew bright.
Even with the rain pouring down, a light was shining brightly enough to illuminate everything?
Everyone turned to look.
The source of the light was nothing other than the fairy tale book in Dwener’s hands.
“W-what the hell?!”
“This feeling…!”
The pages of the book tore out one by one and began fluttering up into the air.
The sheets of paper drifted around the knights, and then each one stuck itself onto the back of a knight’s hand.
It was no use trying to dodge or block them.
This was one of the inexplicable forces that existed in this world.
A Mystery.
“A Mystery…?”
“Hold on, look at this.”
“…It’s the Trash crest.”
That was right. The paper attached to the back of their hands turned into a glowing trident shape.
A trident. It had long been the symbol of Trash Village.
That wasn’t the only change.
“W-what’s happening?!”
“My arm! The arm that was cut off grew back!”
“M-my leg!”
For those who had lost an arm, an arm grew back. For those missing a leg, a leg.
Those with bent backs could suddenly stand straight.
Pjol was the same. The body that had been ruined by his contract with a Demon had returned to normal.
“My disability… it’s gone?”
“How is this even possible…”
They weren’t the only ones with marks on the backs of their hands.
The same shining Trash crest was engraved onto the hands of Dwener and Caron.
The two of them looked at each other. They could feel the change.
‘Headaches, muscle pain, arthritis… all the chronic ailments I’ve lived with my whole life are gone.’
‘…My body feels light. Like I’m back in my prime.’
A Mystery. And not just any Mystery, but one of the highest rank.
There would surely be activation conditions, penalties, and limits, but even with all that, there was no doubt this was an extraordinary Mystery.
“What the hell? So we don’t qualify? That damn Mystery… pretty stingy, isn’t it?”
The rat, Roy, grumbled.
Even the usually silent Bernstein nodded, showing his agreement.
Ron… was napping, so he hadn’t even noticed that a Mystery had manifested.
Roy saw Caron tilt his head and shouted.
“Hey! Rookies! Eyes up here! Get over this way! I’ll tell you what you’ll be doing from now on!”
The knights lined up in front of Roy and Bernstein.
Pjol gave Caron and Dwener a small nod, then joined the formation.
There was a lot he wanted to say, but for now, getting out of here came first.
‘If we keep working on the same side, we’ll run into each other again someday.’
Under Roy and Bernstein’s orders, the knights boarded the prepared carriages in teams.
“The Evil-Slaying Group… this is a good start.”
“Seriously. That guy Dwener… doesn’t he seem a lot more impressive than the rumors said?”
“Yeah. He’s not like the rumors at all.”
Their conversation was full of nothing but praise.
Hearing that, Roy curved his lips into a dubious smile.
“You’d better be careful around him. He’s a lot scarier than you think.”
“Hmm?”
“You’ll understand once you spend some time with him. If you don’t want to get thrown out, you’d better work hard.”
Maybe it was because of Roy’s words, but Bernstein started moving in an exaggerated way as he barked orders at the knights.
It was because of his trauma. The trauma of almost getting tossed aside by Dwener for “not being that useful at work.”
It had started from a misunderstanding, but if you asked whether it was just a simple misunderstanding…
That wouldn’t be quite right either.
Dwener watched the departing knights.
Then he looked down at the back of his own hand.
“The crest… disappeared.”
“But I can still feel the power. As long as we meet the activation conditions, it should show its strength again.”
“I see. Appear, abracadabra!”
“…”
Dwener fiddled with it in various ways, running little experiments.
He was a strange man who usually seemed like an idiot but sometimes showed flashes of brilliance.
‘To win over the knights without a single threat… it’s unbelievable.’
If it had been him doing this, he would’ve been lucky to secure eighty percent of them.
A fool, or a genius.
Which of those was Dwener’s true face?
He didn’t know which, but for now, he was just glad things had wrapped up well.
“Well done. I believed in you.”
Dwener heard Caron’s words and looked straight at him.
“That so. So you’ve decided not to kill me?”
–TL Notes–
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Interesting event
I have got the feeling story is progressing faster since 3-5 chapters
Dwener is becoming more and more a main character
Holy shit…That Zero us seriously lucky!
How many playthrough will it take him to figure out all the hidden piece outside his control?
Still though what an utterly amazing hidden piece…Pjol and the Knight are one thing but Super Caron as well? Now the future will change a lot!
Maybe Dwener will actuakly be able to revive his ancestor spear skills too