Chapter 27 - The Chosen Ones (3)

"I, I..."

After a long while, the Sword Star spoke. The hunters were watching him. The old man's lips were parched.

"To Kim Gongja, I..."

There were many things the Sword Star could have said here.

Above all, he didn't have to trust the Paladin. He had no reason to. However famous she was for her integrity and fairness, she was still a powerful figure in one of the five great guilds. Why should he trust her?

"You're all in league to deceive me!"

He could have lashed out like that.

Or... he could simply have revealed his skill card. [Detective's Insight]. An ability that showed another person's kill count. Exposing his skill to others wasn't a particularly wise choice, but it would have been more than enough to serve as an excuse.

"I didn't suspect Kim Gongja because I'm some stubborn old fool. It's all the skill's fault! What am I supposed to do when my skill says so? Isn't it only natural to trust your own skill rather than rashly trust someone else?"

When people did something wrong, they generally distrusted others or made excuses to them.

'Though there are psychopaths like the Flame Emperor who just kill the other person outright.'

Distrust. Excuses. Silencing.

Just as the Flame Emperor had proved himself a psychopath by choosing [silencing]... the Sword Star would also determine what sort of person he was through the choice he made.

That was all there was to it.

"Hmm."

The Sword Star's lips moved.

Then he made his choice.

"... You said your name was Kim Gongja?"

"Yes."

"If you truly haven't slaughtered innocent people... No, no. That's not right."

He shook his head mid-sentence.

The old man slid his sword into its scabbard.

SHING

As he put it away, sighs of relief escaped from around the audience chamber. The hunters surrounding him relaxed a little. Amid all this, the Sword Star neatly straightened his tie.

"Allow me to start again."

The elderly swordsman bowed his head deeply.

"I am truly sorry."

The old man had apologized.

"I was wrong. I was careless in my thinking and careless in my assumptions. ... And so I nearly took a life just as carelessly. Until now, I have judged for myself and believed that those who deserved death should be wiped from this earth even a second sooner. I have killed according to that belief."

The Sword Star lowered his head a little farther.

"But from now on, it will never happen again."

His voice sounded low in the audience chamber.

"An apology in words alone is worthless. I shall grant whatever you wish... It would be splendid if I could say that."

Self-mockery crept into his low voice.

"But please spare me from having to surrender my life. I beg you. I still want to live. I want to live to set foot on the summit of this Tower. ... I committed a grave wrong and nearly killed you. Even so, will you forgive me and allow this wretched old body to go on living?"

The palace audience chamber fell quiet.

The old man could easily have chosen otherwise. He could have distrusted the Paladin. He could have used his skill as an excuse. But he hadn't. Instead, the elderly swordsman had acknowledged that [perhaps he might have been wrong].

"..."

The Paladin glanced at my face. Our eyes met. She nodded silently. Not a word passed between us, but I knew exactly what she wanted to say.

'It's true.'

Everything the old man had said was true.

That he was sorry. That he would no longer kill people on the basis of [Detective's Insight]. And not only that: he didn't want to die.

He wanted to live longer.

And so he begged me to forgive him.

-You stubborn old bastard.

The attendant spirit muttered, but added nothing more. He merely watched the old man who had once been his disciple, his gaze seemingly tinged with regret.

Did that mean he was leaving the decision of whether to forgive the Sword Star entirely to me?

"Hmm."

Hearing that silence, I made up my mind as well.

"Sword Star, sir."

"Please speak."

"Teach me swordsmanship."

"..."

The Sword Star raised his bowed head and looked up at me.

"Or rather... Whenever I ask you to spar with me, please accept. I happened to find a swordsmanship teacher, but I still don't have a sparring partner, which is crucial. I'd like you to be that partner."

As it happened, I'd made a promise to the attendant spirit on the eleventh floor: I would seriously train in swordsmanship before clearing the twentieth floor.

Making the Sword Star my training partner here would be a good way to keep that promise.

Ultimately, it would benefit me and help me grow...

"..."

No.

That wasn't it.

That wasn't what I wanted to say.

I shook my head.

"I'm sorry. Please let me start again."

"...?"

"Honestly, I could forgive you without asking anything in return. But..."

I spoke.

"That would be kind of embarrassing, wouldn't it? It would make me look like a much bigger person than you. I'm not that amazing. I'm just quietly satisfied that a hunter as strong as you isn't going to be my enemy anymore."

"..."

"But after all that sword fighting, it'd be a little embarrassing to just say, 'Okay!' and forgive you. Pretending to be some magnanimous soul for no reason would make me cringe, too. I just don't like it. So give me the most valuable thing you have. Teach me swordsmanship."

For some reason, I grew embarrassed.

No, my cheeks twitched.

"This way, I won't be embarrassed... and you'll save face, too."

"..."

"..."

Fuck!

Was laying your feelings bare really this embarrassing?

Good God. How had the Sword Star managed to say he valued his life and beg for forgiveness? He seemed so proud, too. Amazing. Incredible. Could a person really apologize sincerely to someone? Could they plead for forgiveness? I could never do that. I wouldn't. I'd rather die.

"... My goodness."

The Paladin murmured.

"Astonishingly... it's all true."

Silence settled over the audience chamber again.

It was heavy.

It was still silence, yet the atmosphere was utterly different from before.

"Uh."

Viper was the first to open his mouth.

"Seriously? You can ask the Sword Star for anything, but you're embarrassed to act all high and mighty...? So you're just asking him to be your sparring partner?"

"Hard as it may be to believe, it's true, at least according to my skill."

"What's with this rookie? Is he some kind of protected species?"

Shut up before I boil you into snake soup.

"... That's refreshing."

The Witch sounded bemused.

"How should I put it? After seeing nothing but kids desperately scrambling for even the slightest extra advantage... it's been a very long time since I met someone like you, Hunter Kim Gongja. It's a wonder you've survived this long without dying."

I had died. I'd died a hell of a lot.

More than four thousand times, to be precise. Happy now?

"Ahhh."

For some reason, the Inquisitor's eyes were brimming with tears.

"One who sincerely repents and one who sincerely forgives! What a beautiful sight! Indeed. Humans quarrel endlessly. Yet paradoxically, that is precisely why they can forgive endlessly! This is a holy miracle! Ah, everyone. I..."

"You're making too much noise. Shut your fucking mouth."

"Yep."

At Viper's remark, the Inquisitor actually shut up.

That was a rather astonishing miracle.

"Excuse me. It seems everything has ended amicably, but doesn't this mean my ten thousand gold was simply wasted?"

No one listened to the Count's complaint.

I sighed. I desperately wanted some soju.

"Anyway, that's what I'm asking, Sword Star. We don't need to train right now. Just join me when I ask. Please be my sparring partner."

"..."

The Sword Star said nothing for a while. He merely stared at my face. Then, suddenly, he slowly opened his mouth.

"Such a..."

His lips trembled along with his mustache.

"To think I misjudged such a good-hearted young man!"

"Uh..."

"Oh! You asked me to teach you the sword? To be your sparring partner? Of course! Gladly! I'll spar with you as much as you like!"

The Sword Star seized my hand in both of his.

"Uh, excuse me. Sword Star?"

"Call me Grandpa Markus!"

"What?"

"How old are you, young Gongja? Hmm. Judging by your appearance, you can't be thirty yet. I left a very sweet granddaughter in the outside world. A kind-hearted girl. If she ever enters the Tower, I'll be sure to tell her all about your charms!"

"No. Really, I'm fine..."

I wasn't interested in romance. More importantly, my hand hurt. My hand.

The Sword Star's grip was tremendous, as if to prove his number-one ranking wasn't just for show.

"What? Are you saying you aren't interested in my granddaughter?"

"Uh, yes. I'm sorry, but it's not just your granddaughter. I'm not particularly interested in dating right now..."

"Now, now! That won't do!"

His grip leveled up by one.

"The spring breeze of love ought to blow through one's youth. You needn't marry. But dating is essential! When you're in love, you begin to see sights you've never seen before and learn many things you never knew! Indeed. Above all, you discover just how ugly you can become!"

"Ah, right..."

"Do you know how important it is to recognize your own ugliness? Let me tell you about my case. I was sixteen then, still looking down on everything in the world. But after I met a girl my own age..."

Huh?

This old gentleman had suddenly become monstrously tiresome.

His face was far too close, too. I could practically see the pores and blackheads on the sides of his nose.

Honestly, it was overwhelming.

I wished he'd move away already.

-I told you he was a stubborn old geezer.

The attendant spirit clicked his tongue.

-For better or worse, he's a stubborn old geezer. Know what makes someone one? Not listening to other people. Old Markus doesn't listen. Put nicely, he's a man of conviction. Put less nicely, his convictions are so absurd they're practically ready to ascend to heaven.

I hadn't known at all.

I hadn't wanted to know, either.

"Anyway, don't worry, young Gongja! From now on, I'll make certain you're well looked after. Ah, do you need some spending money? I've done nothing but pile my money up in the Union's vaults, and now I hardly know what to do with it all."

"Look, I earn my own money. And spending money? I'm a perfectly grown adult..."

"Now that I look, your clothes are positively shabby! Come now, one must dress neatly to keep one's mind clean. I know a skilled tailor. How about having a suit made?"

What was this?

Was this another kind of [countless requests for handshakes]?

Normally, I should have been delighted to receive the goodwill of the current number-one hunter, but I wasn't particularly happy. Instead, I was seriously embarrassed. It felt like standing beside an actual grandfather and listening to him brag about his grandchild in real time.

Why was I the one who had to be embarrassed?

'What should I do? Should I just kill myself and start today over?'

-You lunatic...

It happened then.

[Welcome, Hunter Kim Gongja.]

[You cleared the eleventh floor in first place.]

A voice rang inside my head.

As though it had been waiting for my fight to end.

3

'Ah.'

I reflexively looked around.

Most of them were sighing in relief, their expressions saying how fortunate it was that the Sword Star had stopped fighting without further trouble. No one else seemed to have heard the voice yet.

'I'm first!'

I smiled.

'I don't know why, but there was very little strategy information for floors twelve through twenty.'

Had the press been censored? There was no way to know the details. Before I had regressed through four thousand deaths, plenty of strategy information had been released for the other floors, but information about floors twelve through twenty had been particularly scarce.

As though the great guilds had banded together to forcibly suppress it.

[Your eleventh-floor clear reward will be granted.]

I soon learned why.

[The Goddess of Protection offers you a reward.]

[The Demon King of Autumn Rain offers you a reward.]

[Choose one of the two rewards.]

'Huh?'

I blinked.

'Choose a reward?'

Announcements I hadn't heard in the previous stages had come one after another.

As if responding to my surprise, a selection window smoothly appeared before my eyes.

+

[The Goddess of Protection]

Description: The goddess who protects the Aegim Empire has been moved by your devotion! She has decided to entrust you with an important imperial office.

You may become the empire's chancellor, supreme commander, or commander of its knights. Upon choosing an office, you will also inherit its abilities and renown!

Hero of the goddess! Join forces with your fellow heroes.

And destroy the Demon King's core on the twentieth floor!

※If you choose the Demon King's reward, you cannot choose the goddess's reward.

+

I read the reward carefully and nodded.

'So far, it's exactly what I know.'

So-called Role-playing!

The hunters would act as actual people of the Aegim Empire. One could become the imperial chancellor, while another could become the commander of the imperial knights.

They didn't merely fill those offices. A commander of knights would also inherit that commander's abilities and renown.

[Displaying special classes available on the twelfth floor.]

And hunters who had cleared the previous stage with a high ranking received a reward.

The right to choose a 'special office' a step ahead of everyone else!

+

[Chancellor of the Aegim Empire]

[Supreme Commander of the Aegim Empire]

[Finance Minister of the Aegim Empire]

[Foreign Minister of the Aegim Empire]

[Commander of the Aegim Empire's Knights]

[Commander of the Aegim Empire's Imperial Guard]

.

.

.

+

A truly dazzling succession of offices filled the list.

'Wow.'

I marveled inwardly.

'Before, I could only choose roles like Guard A...'

Of course, I'd reached the twelfth floor before experiencing regression, too. But things had been completely different then. The mid-to-high rankers had monopolized every position, not just commander of the knights but even offices like captain of the guards.

And now?

'Stage rewards really are good.'

I could choose to be the imperial chancellor or supreme commander.

What a world of difference.

The saying that you should row when the tide comes in was right a hundred, a thousand times over.

'... But what's this Demon King's reward?'

I turned my gaze.

There was something written there that I'd never seen in my life.

+

[The Demon King of Autumn Rain]

Description: The Demon King admires your accomplishments. He proposes that you cooperate with him in secret. He promises exactly the same reward as the goddess, with one additional gift.

Kill every hero in the top ten except yourself!

Then the Demon King will use his power to transport you directly to the Tower's ninety-ninth floor.

※Only one of the top ten will receive the Demon King's reward.

※If multiple people choose this reward, only one will be selected at random.

※If no one chooses it, the Demon King's reward will disappear.

+

"..."

I was speechless.

When I finally reacted, two voices overlapped in my mind.

'What?'

-Huh?

The attendant spirit's and mine.

We blinked and read the Demon King's reward again.

But even on rereading it, the same sentences were written there.

[Kill every hero in the top ten except yourself!]

[Then the Demon King will use his power to transport you directly to the Tower's ninety-ninth floor.]

That was unmistakably what it said.

I looked around. The Sword Star, the Witch, the Inquisitor, the Count, Viper, the Paladin, and the others. The top-ranked hunters I'd already gotten somewhat acquainted with stood there.

'These people...'

If I killed them all.

'I could clear everything up to the ninety-ninth floor in one go?'

I swallowed.

The voice rang out one last time.

[Hunter Kim Gongja.]

[Choose one of the two rewards.]