The meal had been cooked to perfection, only for someone to scatter ashes all over it.
And of all possible ashes, it had to be the charred lump named Leon.
“Put down your swords and back away, now!”
‘You’re the one who needs to get lost!’
Ex wanted to shout that right back at him, but he couldn’t.
Leon was glaring at Gary with deadly serious eyes.
“Fucking hell…”
Gary swallowed his anger at Leon’s sudden interference.
The Sword Gang executives had issued strict orders never to clash with Leon.
But he couldn’t simply walk away, either.
There was no telling what Daniel might do to him if he returned empty-handed.
“This is between us and that bastard. Outsiders stay out of it.”
Leon answered in a flat voice.
“You call ganging up on one weaker student and tormenting him ‘business’? Do you honestly think that excuse is going to hold up?”
“W-Weak? He’s the one who beat all those guys lying around over there! That bastard attacked us first!”
“That doesn’t change the fact that several of you threatened one person. More importantly, you were clearly trying to kill this student. Did you really think I wouldn’t notice that you were using a live blade?”
“You goddamn…”
Left with nothing to say, Gary bit down on his lip.
As Ex watched the scene unfold, he remembered that, on a personal level, he had never liked Leon very much.
‘Right. This was the kind of guy he was. A rigid, suffocating justice freak…’
His standard of justice was as unyielding as steel.
Once he established a principle, nothing could make him compromise it.
That was why Ex had always considered Leon painfully inhuman.
‘It worked well for the protagonist, though…’
Seeing it firsthand was frustrating enough to drive him insane.
Gary looked just as frustrated, but he forced his anger back down.
Even if he hadn’t completed the job, he had a valid excuse.
He could always deal with Ex later.
“…Let’s go.”
Gary gathered the Sword Gang members and headed out of the alley.
The area behind the dormitory, which had been filled with groans only moments ago, fell silent.
Only Ex and the five members of the Hero Party remained.
‘All right, what do I do now…?’
This was bad.
The infuriatingly good-natured Leon was bound to conduct an interrogation that technically wasn’t an interrogation.
“Are your injuries all right? Your name was Ex, wasn’t it?”
Exactly like that.
After examining Ex’s condition, Leon turned toward the others.
“Frey, could you heal him? The wounds all over his body look severe.”
“Yeah, of course.”
Frey, the silver-haired beauty and Saintess Candidate standing behind him, approached while drawing upon her divine power.
‘Wait, I took off the ring…!’
The moment Ex remembered that, panic surged through him.
If that divine power touched him, a demon, his entire body would begin sizzling and burning.
Naturally, his true identity would be exposed as well.
‘No other choice. I’ll have to do this…!’
All he had left was an improvised Plan B.
Operation ‘A Man Drowned in Grief’!
“I don’t need it! Just get the hell away from me!!”
Ex shouted as though pleading with them, his face overflowing with despair.
“What…?”
Startled by his outburst, Frey hurriedly stepped back.
Leon’s eyes widened as well.
Rosaria and Diana’s expressions immediately turned sharp.
“…Haa.”
Only Circe remained expressionless, watching him with a quiet sigh.
Ex continued shouting as though he were wringing every last breath out of his lungs.
“Keep your halfhearted pity to yourself! I could’ve handled them alone! You’re only a little stronger than me, that’s all…!”
“That wasn’t what I meant. I think there’s been some kind of misunderstanding…”
“A misunderstanding? You stand there flaunting your power in front of someone who just lost miserably, like you have every right to look down on me, and you call that a misunderstanding? Fine, good for you… You even received the Goddess’s blessing…!”
“…”
Leon tried to help him up, but Ex shoved him away roughly.
He had stopped the bleeding from his arm, but he spoke as though there were no stopping the resentment leaking from his heart.
“Right. A worthless insect born as trash like me could never earn even a sliver of the Goddess’s attention. It doesn’t matter how hard I work, how faithfully I pray every day, or how much blood and tears I sacrifice.”
The expression was crucial.
He needed to look utterly defeated, consumed by jealousy.
With that expression on his face, Ex glared sideways at Leon and twisted his lips into a bitter smile.
“But some people are born special, so one day the Goddess suddenly chooses them, and they get to become the Hero… And what’s this? Have you already started building yourself a harem? That’s our mighty Hero for you. A filthy insect like me could never even dream of standing in your presence.”
“You’re going too far.”
At that exact moment, Ex felt something cold against his throat.
A beautiful woman with blue hair flowing like a lion’s mane had placed a dagger against his neck without him even noticing her approach.
It was Rosaria, the Reincarnated Rogue.
There had probably been some description about how playful and mischievous she usually seemed, but right now, her eyes burned with the desire to kill Ex.
“Ha. How impressive.”
Ex didn’t shrink back.
Instead, as though daring her to do it, he pushed his throat against the dagger.
The blade broke his skin, and bright red blood began to flow.
“W-What are you doing…?”
Rosaria recoiled in alarm and hurriedly pulled the dagger away.
Had she not done so, it would undoubtedly have pierced his artery.
Enduring the pain spreading through his neck, Ex spoke.
“That’s our Hero, all right. You’ve already found yourself such a devoted lover. One wrong word, and I might disappear without anyone ever knowing what happened. Not at the hands of Sword Gang, but at the hands of the Hero Party.”
“Rosaria, stop!”
Leon quickly forced Rosaria to step back.
Her furious gaze stabbed into Ex, but he paid it no mind.
‘If I’m going to make enemies of them, I might as well do it properly.’
This was where he had to plead his case with the expression of someone going insane from injustice.
“I did everything I could. I ground my entire soul into dust. I worked twice as hard as you, spent twice as much time training, and poured out my blood and sweat. And I never received a single thing in return. Do you understand?”
“I do understand. I know how hard you’ve worked…”
“No! You’ll never understand. You have no idea what it feels like to have no talent, no ability, nothing at all, and quietly rot away while the world passes you by. You never will, not even if the entire world comes to an end!”
The raw, ugly emotion in his appeal silenced everyone.
Ex quietly studied their reactions as well.
Now he needed to pretend he was slowly regaining his composure.
Leon was the first to speak.
“…Why are you so desperate to become stronger?”
Leon asked with a bitter expression.
He had seen many people consumed by grief like this.
None of their stories had ended well.
Some sold their souls to demons, while others took their own lives…
Leon knew he couldn’t save everyone.
Even so, he at least wanted to hear the reason.
Ex stared at Leon with envy and resentment in his eyes before giving him a single answer.
“There’s someone I absolutely have to kill.”
That was all.
Blind revenge.
Leon wouldn’t interfere if that was the reason.
Helping someone take revenge was not an act of justice.
“…I see.”
Leon accepted the answer with a complicated expression.
He did not offer to help Ex.
Just as expected.
Ex decided it was time to bring the performance to an end.
“Now get lost! I’m sick of looking at you!”
At those words, Leon nodded bitterly and left with his party.
Rosaria and Diana’s anger and disgust had reached their peak, but this was better than the alternative.
‘Are they gone? Yeah, they’re gone.’
Ex released a long breath.
An unexpected situation had erupted, but he had handled it well.
The performance should also have fooled Andras, who was undoubtedly watching everything.
He turned around, about to check the Synopsis.
“Hey.”
A familiar voice came from behind him.
Ex turned around naturally and found Circe standing directly in front of him.
She merely stared at him with her usual indifferent expression.
“…What?”
“…Hmph.”
Whack-!
“Aagh-!”
Circe kicked Ex directly in the shin.
A small scream escaped him as pain exploded through his leg.
The attack had been so sudden that he collapsed, clutching his shin, only to feel warmth spreading through the wounds all over his body.
It was healing magic, stopping the bleeding and accelerating his recovery.
“Ah, this is…”
When Ex raised his head, Circe had already walked quite a distance away.
Only then did he understand what had happened.
‘She realized it was an act.’
Judging by how she had kept quiet despite knowing, she apparently intended to stay out of his affairs, just as she had promised before.
He had no idea what she was thinking when she decided to help him, but either way, the bleeding had stopped.
Fortunately, the situation had been brought under control.
Now he needed to check quickly.
‘She hasn’t run away yet, has she?’
Ex immediately opened the Synopsis and checked on Andras.
『Synopsis – Beatrice de Dritania’s Viewpoint
「…Andras discovered an unexpected side of Ex. It had been a long time since she had witnessed negative emotions that powerful. She could use this. If everything went well, she might even finish the job today.」』
‘She hasn’t run away!’
Fortunately, the fish he had hooked was still inside the net.
Perhaps thanks to the passionate performance he had put on in front of Leon, Andras wasn’t suspicious in the slightest.
In fact, she seemed pleased by the situation.
She apparently believed this was the perfect opportunity to turn Ex into a demon.
Then all he had to do was play along with that belief.
Ex began walking slowly, pretending he was heading back.
Then, as though his foot had caught on a loose stone, he suddenly collapsed.
Little details like this mattered.
“Ugh…”
The line spoken by a character desperate for power was always obvious.
It was the ultimate incantation, guaranteed to summon the villain lurking behind the scenes.
Ex spoke like a man ready to sell even his soul.
“If only I could become stronger…!”
“Would you do anything for it?”
Ex raised his head.
A woman stood before him, concealing her identity beneath a black robe.
Her true identity was obvious.
『Synopsis – Beatrice de Dritania’s Viewpoint
「…Believing there would be no better opportunity, Andras concealed her identity and approached Ex.」』
Naturally, it was Andras.
A shout of triumph nearly burst out inside him, but he held it back.
He couldn’t afford to ruin everything after coming this far.
“Who are you?!”
Ex rose to his feet and recoiled, openly displaying his wariness.
The robed woman laughed at his reaction and slowly approached.
“I asked whether you’d do anything if it meant gaining power.”
“I asked who you are!”
“That isn’t particularly important.”
As Ex continued retreating from the robed woman, his back eventually struck a wall.
There was nowhere left to go, and she stopped directly in front of him.
Beneath her hood, a pair of sinister eyes gleamed like those of a serpent.
“If you could become stronger, would you do it?”
“…”
Ex pretended to hesitate.
A mysterious stranger had suddenly appeared and started offering him power.
If he accepted without hesitation, it would only make her suspicious.
Still, he couldn’t play too hard to get.
“What… do you want me to do?”
“Kuhuhu… It’s very simple.”
The robed woman placed one finger against Ex’s forehead.
Then she whispered secretly into his ear.
“Forsake the Goddess.”
“…What?”
“Forsake the Goddess who forced these trials upon you and cast your life into despair. Do that, and you will finally be free.”
“Forsake the Goddess? Don’t tell me you’re…!”
Ex slapped her hand away.
“A demon worshiper…!”
He needed to resist at least once here.
The Church of Deuslute, the state religion of the Empire, was a faith with deep roots.
Telling someone to betray it was one of the demon worshipers’ favorite lines, so his resistance was only natural.
However, he made sure to leave the bait dangling.
“There’s no way betraying the Church of Deuslute would make me stronger that easily…”
“It will make you stronger.”
At that moment, the robed woman demonstrated a spell above her palm.
It was a high-tier fire spell, its intense heat compressed into a dense, blazing mass.
Ex had known she would demonstrate her power, but he pretended to be shocked when he saw it.
“Fifth-Tier magic…?! How…?”
“You can obtain the power you desire with astonishing ease. All you need to do is abandon the Goddess who abandoned you first.”
“B-But if I leave the Church…”
Here, he brought up a practical concern, acting as though his resistance had begun to weaken.
“If anyone finds out, I’m finished… You can’t expect me to do something like that so easily…”
“You don’t need to worry about that. There’s a way to ensure no one ever discovers it.”
The robed woman took something out and displayed it to him.
It was a crude-looking gold ring.
Naturally, it was the Soul Trap Ring.
Of course, Ex pretended not to recognize it.
“What’s this? A ring?”
“It’s an artifact that prevents anyone from discovering whatever contract you make. It will even pay the contract’s price in your place.”
“A contract…?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
This time, she took out a parchment scroll.
A dark, damp sense of foreboding clung to its surface.
The robed woman carefully placed the scroll into Ex’s hand and whispered.
“A demon contract. That’s all you have to make.”
“Y-You really are… a demon worshiper…”
“Then what will you do?”
She took one step back.
Her gleaming gaze remained fixed on Ex’s eyes.
“Will you continue living like this? Will you devote your entire life to struggling in darkness, never seeing even a glimmer of light, rotting away without anyone ever recognizing your efforts? If that’s the life you prefer… I won’t stop you.”
“But-” she added, conjuring several spells of Fifth Tier or higher around herself.
The fact that she could activate so many high-tier spells simultaneously, and with such speed, proved that she was an exceptionally powerful mage.
“If you reclaim your freedom and discover your true self, you may find a light brighter than anything you ever imagined. And there is only one thing you need to do to obtain it.”
She dismissed the spells and pointed to the ring and contract scroll in Ex’s hand.
“Put on the ring and make the contract.”
“…”
“You may take your time and think it over. But if you hesitate for too long… you might die before you ever get the chance to use them.”
Ex avoided her gaze and lowered his eyes.
He clenched his teeth as though he were too ashamed to look up at the sky.
The robed woman smiled in satisfaction and turned away.
“Then I hope you make the wise choice.”
She began strolling away at a leisurely pace.
Her steps were light, as though she had just accomplished something monumental.
Ex was celebrating just as wildly on the inside.
‘I hooked her-!!!’
Andras did not suspect him in the slightest.
The fact that she had handed him both the ring and the contract scroll during their very first encounter proved it.
‘I went through all that trouble for exactly this.’
Under ordinary circumstances, she would have approached him slowly and cautiously.
She would have identified the emptiness inside her target, connected that emptiness to the Church of Deuslute, urged the target to abandon the Church, made them use the ring so she could place the Corruption Curse upon them, and only handed over the contract scroll once they had fallen deeply enough.
She had gone through the same process during the Pallon Episode in the original story.
‘But you don’t have that kind of time right now.’
If she wanted to screw over the demon Gremory, whom she despised, she needed to create a subordinate demon as quickly as possible.
There was less than a month remaining, and opportunities like this didn’t come easily.
She must have been burning alive with impatience.
‘And then a fully prepared feast suddenly appears in front of her?’
It was no different from throwing a slab of meat in front of a dog that had been starving for days.
That was why she had fallen for the trap so cleanly.
For now, everything had been settled.
Ex had obtained the Soul Trap Ring and the Demon Contract Scroll, and he had successfully deceived Andras.
Now it was time to take the next step.
–TL Notes–
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