This Is Not a Game - This Is Not a Game chapter 161

reason for existence

“Shoot!”

With the cry of the knight, the soldiers who were aiming their bows toward the sky all at once let go of the demonstration.

The target is a demon that flaps its wings of black skin.

However, the arrows did not even get close to the target, let alone grazed.

The moment the knight gritted his teeth at the sight of the demons moving away, a flash of golden light erupted from the fortress.

Instinctively feeling the danger, the demons hurriedly tried to twist their bodies, but the flash was too fast and too powerful.

The flash accurately pierced the vital point, and the demon who lost its heart fell to the ground.

“… … Thank you for your help.”

The knight bowed his head towards the man holding the pure white great bow.

He was a prodigal son of a warrior family, a pathetic human being who was not chosen as a hero using the goddess’ wrath, but he was still grateful.

While Yuseong was being thanked by the commander, people led by Earl Hartmann arrived late.

“A demon. Where are the demons?”

Hartmann looked over the wall and frowned.

No matter how much I washed my eyes, I couldn’t see even a single mouse, let alone a demon.

Seeing Count Hartmann’s gaze demanding an explanation, the knight stood still and shouted with a trembling voice.

“There, there it is!”

Earl Hartmann, who turned his head to the place pointed out by the knight, found the corpse of a demon lying on the ground and asked with a puzzled expression.

“Certainly, is that the end?”

I heard that demons appeared, so I thought the demon king’s army was invading, so I ran to it in a hurry, but there was only one.

Before the absurdity, I felt a sense of wonder.

It was because it was common sense for a single demon to attack a fort on the front line, as it would have been if it were a village on the outskirts.

‘Is it a messenger who has gone astray?’

When Count Hartmann confirmed that there were no monsters around and sent a signal, the knights behind opened the castle gate and approached the fallen demon.

After a while, the knights returned with a crumpled letter in their hands.

‘I don’t know what it says. Is it a passphrase?’

Count Hartmann thought his guess was correct.

That is, until the voice of the saintess was heard.

“… … If you don’t mind, may I take a look at the letter?”

“Are you familiar with the text?”

“… … .”

El was staring at the letter as if he hadn’t heard what Count Hartmann said.

I couldn’t read what it was written at all, but the distinctive shape of the round and straight letters was familiar to my eyes.

I can tell you.

These were obviously the same letters written in the letter the monster delivered to Han Jae-kyung.

El’s eyes trembled and the letter in his hand was mercilessly crumpled.

But the surprises are not over yet.

“Count! It’s a big deal!”

After breaking through the crowd and arriving in front of Count Hartmann, the servant looked around with a puzzled expression.

If other people heard it, it seemed like they couldn’t open their mouth easily because it was difficult, but if that was the case, I shouldn’t have said it was a big deal in front of so many people in the first place.

“What’s the matter?”

“That, that… … .”

“Come on, tell me!”

“Yo, the hero killed a man!”

* * *

Murder was not a problem in this world.

It would be a big problem if you killed the ruling class, such as royalty or nobles, but it was a world where people’s lives were so light that they would not be punished even if they killed the lower classes, such as serfs and servants, as long as they paid a reasonable price.

Even if the perpetrator is a warrior, there is nothing more to say.

Power is also power, but it was because there was a justification for being chosen by the goddess.

You don’t have to have a good reason.

If the hero defines it as evil, that’s it.

You can’t interrogate the hero even if you erase the entire noble family, but there’s nothing wrong with just one attendant.

If it were a normal situation.

“So you mean that attendant was watching you?”

“okay. He was clinging to the door!”

“Still, with your skills, you could have captured him alive without killing him.”

“I was trying to capture him alive. He kicked the door hard so he couldn’t escape, but he didn’t know he’d die from that.”

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Jenny, who was seriously listening to Han Jae-kyung’s story, nodded and said,

“Probably a spy sent by someone. I’ll find out what happened, so rest here.”

“I’m not hurt anywhere, so what’s the point of resting? Okay, let’s go and do what Count Hartmann asked us to do.”

“You don’t have to do that. Count Hartmann said he would entrust it to a mercenary.”

“for a moment. Then there is no reason to stay here any longer, is there?”

“Um… … .”

“Good. Then, let’s set off for Halton Kingdom.”

“No way!”

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Jenny shouted in a loud voice and cleared her throat at the sight of Han Jae-kyung looking at her with blank eyes.

“Hmmmm, there might be more spies. It may be annoying, but please wait until the confirmation is finished.”

“… … Well, if that’s the case, there’s nothing you can do about it.”

“There is an attendant outside, so if you need anything, tell me. Then I’m done.”

When Han Jae-kyung gave an expression of understanding, Jenny let out a sigh of relief and got up from her seat.

And at the same time Jenny left the room, Han Jae-kyung’s expression hardened.

Having been bullied for a long time, I was confident in my ability to read other people’s notices and grasp the atmosphere.

‘They are wary of me.’

I’ve felt it occasionally since I first received the letter from the Demon King, but it wasn’t as blatant as it is now.

If it was doubt then, now it can be called certainty.

There were nooks and crannies.

Letters exchanged with the Demon King.

I told him to keep it a secret, but it seemed like Abel had blown it all away.

“Cowardly bastard.”

Han Jae-kyung, who spat out a low curse, bit his lip and fell into thought.

You now have two options to choose from.

Acting as a hero, or holding the hand of the demon king.

The problem was that both options were too risky.

I decided to act as a hero, but what if the devil’s words were true?

At the same time as defeating the Demon King, he is abandoned.

I held the devil’s hand, but what if he lied?

It would be like stepping into a trap.

As it was a matter of life and death, it was not easy to make a decision.

On the other hand, it was the same with other people who were worried.

“Did the hero really say that?”

“He clearly said that he attacked because the attendant was watching him. He said he killed it by mistake, but that’s nonsense.”

“Isn’t that a bit strange? You could have covered it up by saying that the attendant was about to launch a surprise attack or that you found a body that was already dead, but why did you bother to tell the facts that were against you?”

“You must be smart enough not to come up with an excuse like that. You know how stupid he is, right?”

Three women were talking in a dark secret room.

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Jenny’s role was to answer the two’s questions, L’s role was to defend Han Jae-kyung, and Sasha’s role was to refute L’s argument.

“If you say that Abel found and dealt with the demons who were carrying the hero’s letter, and that Abel killed the attendant who witnessed the transaction with the demons, it seems like a pretty straight line. What do you think?”

It was a somewhat far-fetched reasoning, but no one raised any objections.

It was because I had already come to a conclusion before we had a conversation.

After a while, El muttered in a dejected voice.

“I can’t believe it, but it seems that the hero is really communicating with the Demon King’s army.”

When the hero first received the letter, he thought that the Demon King’s army was using crude tactics.

When Abel testified that the hero and the demon army were exchanging letters, it was unexpected.

And now that he has obtained the clear physical evidence of the letter, he has no choice but to admit the reality that the hero betrayed him.

The moment El finished speaking, the air in the room became heavy.

A saintess is an existence that represents the will of the goddess.

El’s words carried a different weight than those of the warrior Jenina or the magician Sasha.

“… … So what should I do now?”

Those who cooperated with the Demon King’s army should be punished regardless of the reason, but I couldn’t figure out how to deal with a hero with power equal to that of a nation alone.

Fortunately, El had a solution.

“No need to worry. If it is certain that the hero has betrayed humanity, then with all our strength, no, with our strength alone, we can deal with it.”

“Can we deal with it alone? How is that possible?”

El hesitated for a moment without answering immediately.

What he was about to say was a secret that should never be known to the world.

Top-secret information that only the pope and the cardinals, the dragon that has lived for thousands of years, and a part of the Andrei family, which has produced heroes for generations, know about it.

But it was also a fact that would be known anyway.

“What I am telling you now is a secret. Promise me you will never tell anyone else.”

“I promise.”

“Okay, so tell me quickly. What are you so hesitant about?”

El finally opened his mouth after letting out a long sigh.

“The goddess is making the hero, no, take away the qualifications of a hero from Han Jae-kyung.”

* * *

– According to the common sense known to the world, beings who are chosen as warriors do not lose their power until they die, but that is not true. The hero’s power was bestowed by the goddess. If the goddess takes away the qualifications of a hero, naturally the hero loses his power. But this rarely happens.

The reason for the hero’s existence is only to defeat the demon king.

Conversely, it was like saying that there would be no problem doing anything as long as the demon king was ultimately defeated.

It is okay to focus on correcting the absurdities of society and making the world a better place, or pursuing individual self-interest and disturbing the world.

Extremely speaking, even if the hero destroys the country, the goddess does not take away the qualifications of the hero.

However, there was only one exception.

-It’s when the hero denies the reason for his existence.

A long time ago, there was a hero who surrendered to the demon king.

I don’t know if it was because he was afraid of a fight or because he fell for sweet tricks, but the hero surrendered to the demon king anyway.

The problem happened after that.

The hero who surrendered to the demon king lost his power and became an ordinary person.

If you think about it, it makes sense.

The power of the hero is the power given to fight the demon king.

He said he would not fight the demon king, but there was no reason to leave the hero’s power behind.

-In the end, the 8th generation ancestor who surrendered to the demon king died at the hands of the 9th generation ancestor who became a hero after him.

Subtly, a terrifying family history came out, but neither Abel nor Yooseong cared.

“It’s too blunt. Even if you think in your heart that you can’t win against the demon lord and that you have to surrender, you won’t lose your qualifications as a hero, right?”

-Anyone has weak thoughts. If you lose your qualifications as a hero at least that much, dozens of heroes will be born and disappear every day. I’m not sure because there’s only one case, but I’m guessing that you lose your qualifications as a hero when you directly deny the reason for your existence, whether it’s words or actions.

“You have to directly deny the reason for its existence.”

If it’s easy it’s easy, if it’s hard it’s hard.

No matter what tricks he tried, the success or failure of the quest ultimately depended on Han Jae-kyung’s whims.

Even if you make people believe in the devil with all kinds of flattery, if Han Jae-kyung doesn’t express it outwardly, the quest will inevitably lengthen.

“Haam.”

Yuseong, who was watching Jaekyung Han’s room, yawned and stretched out.

My body wasn’t tired, but my mind was tired because I kept rolling my head.

Familiar figures entered the field of view of Meteor, who was about to return to his room after watching.

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Jenny, L, Sasha.

It wasn’t a day or two for them to cling to Han Jae-kyung, but I felt something out of place.

‘… … Fully armed?’

Feeling that something unusual is about to happen, Yuseong stared at Han Jae-kyung through the room.

Is it time for a cup of tea?

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Just when he wondered if his feelings were wrong, something unexpected happened.

Awesome!

With a terrifying cutting sound, the building began to collapse.

this is not a game