Chapter 40

“Anyway, I need your help to capture the lord so we can get out safely.”

 

“It’s not too late to do that once your safety is secured.”

 

“Nope. It’ll be too late by then. I’ve heard that the longer the evil dragon’s thoughts, the more difficult it is to purify it.”

 

“…”

 

“If thoughts are strong enough to be seen, they must have long since been stained with thoughts. It must be cleansed before the lord becomes completely incapacitated.”

 

I tried to persuade Lexion by stating only the facts that could be revealed.

 

After being silent for a while, Lexion asked Aiden.

 

“Aiden, do you have any purification stones?”

 

“Yes, here.”

 

Aiden rummaged through his pockets and handed him a purifying stone.

 

Lexion took it and patted my head.

 

“I’ll take care of this here, so stay safe first.”

 

“No, I…”

 

“You don’t have to.”

 

Lexion and I were about to argue, but the lord intervened.

 

At that moment, the lord’s knights, who were waiting, surrounded us as if protecting us.

 

Soon after, he started beating people mercilessly.

 

I stared at the scene, frozen.

 

Lexion then stared at the lord with cool eyes.

 

The lord was looking at this side from afar and smiling slyly.

 

The common people could not bear the beatings and were scattered.

 

When the situation calmed down to some extent, the lord apologized under the cover of the knights.

 

“Hey, my people have been rude.”

 

“…”

 

“But you understand. The common people are crazy about it and rush to it if it’s free.”

 

“I can’t believe that the lord was the cause of the commotion in the first place.”

 

As Lexion spoke coldly, the lord shrugged his shoulders.

 

Looking at his face, there was a hint that he couldn’t help it.

 

“If you would’ve accepted my request, this wouldn’t have happened, right?”

 

“I politely declined, Lord Hakun.”

 

“I also almost left it be. Then some news gave me hope.”

 

Lord Hakun smiled slyly, and then he gestured to someone.

 

Then the little lord dragged John towards us.

 

Lexion looked at John indifferently and stopped.

 

He seemed to remember that he was a child who sold jewelry the other day.

 

Lord Hakun then said.

 

“If the Esol stays for more, I will be very grateful.”

 

“I think it is excessive greed to expect more favors.”

 

“Well. Unlike the ruthless Duke, Esol seems to be quite merciful, so he will ask without being disrespectful.”

 

With those words, the little lord dragged John in front of me.

 

John trembled and couldn’t make eye contact.

 

“You remember this child.”

 

“…”

 

I clenched my fists without answering.

 

The lord continued.

 

“The child’s mother was crippled by an accident. She was healed in one day. You can’t pretend you don’t know.”

 

Lexion pushed me back under the pressure of the lord.

 

“If you are rude to her any longer, I will consider it to be against me, Lord Hakun.”

 

I stared blankly at Lexion’s back.

 

As soon as I heard the lord’s words, Lexion would have known that it was true, but he prioritized protecting me rather than getting angry.

 

‘You really…’

 

I stared at Lexion with half happiness and half regret.

 

After a while, I glanced at the book.

 

The book was exceptionally quiet.

 

It usually suggests actions to be taken at this time.

 

It was then.

 

John, who had stood still for a while, suddenly fell to his knees on the floor and shouted.

 

“Hey, I’m seeing her for the first time today! My mother was treated by a priest…!”

 

The little lord who was beside him then kicked John and stopped him from speaking.

 

“This lie!”

 

“Ouch!”

 

At this, John fell helplessly.

 

As a result, the table collapsed and the glass was shattered.

 

“…!”

 

Unknowingly, Aiden stopped me from calling him.

 

Then he shook his head without saying a word.

 

This meant that I should pretend to not know the child.

 

I clenched my teeth and trembled.

 

As if there was a small commotion, the lord sighed insignificantly and asked again.

 

“Tiarozety, have you really never seen this child?”

 

“…No.”

 

I answered reluctantly, holding my elbow with my hand.

 

Then, with a fishy smile, the lord asked again.

 

“Is that true?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Then the young man must have lied to avoid paying the money back.”

 

When he responded harshly, the lord made a gesture from his chin at once.

 

Then the knights grabbed a young man and dragged him away.

 

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John groaned and shouted.

 

“Brother!”

 

“How dare you tell a lie. I must cut off that useless tongue.”

 

With those words, he brought the sword to John’s brother.

 

The young man was shocked and shouted.

 

“Hah! This child! You’re still my brother?! Come on, tell me the truth! That woman cured mother!”

 

The young man was swearing at John.

 

John struggled to swallow his cry and covered his mouth with his hand.

 

It was a gesture he would never say.

 

That was the moment.

 

People stopped moving as if time had stopped suddenly, and the guide book spoke lively with a light notification sound.

 

― Time to choose! This is the section where the story differs depending on which choice you make.

 

‘What?’

 

I opened my eyes to the event I heard for the first time.

 

This also seemed to be a changed rule when I became the main character.

 

When I looked around, everyone but me stood still.

 

I looked at the book and asked.

 

“You didn’t say anything like that before, did you?”

 

The book clarified my doubts.

 

― Unlike Tiarozety Esol, the supporting actor, the main character, Tiarozety Esol, is given a choice. Once an option has been made, it cannot be undone, so choose wisely.

 

With those words, a system window opened and options appeared.

 

It always said only what it wanted to say.

 

I opened my mouth slightly and read the options that were laid out on the top of the book.

 

It was a window I had never seen before returning.

 

[1. After denying the use of purifying to the end, immediately leave Hakun. (In this case, there is a possibility that Hakun will be completely absorbed by the evil dragon’s thoughts and become part of a colony of evil dragons.)

2. Stay in Hakun for a while, grant the lord’s request, and then safely purify Hakun’s estate.

3. Pretend to comply with the lord’s request and immediately try to purify.]

 

The clock moved next to the option.

 

There was probably a time limit.

 

I quickly cleared things up.

 

First of all, in case 2, it was good to exclude it because I did not know what Lord Hakun would ask of me.

 

‘Then I have to choose between 1 and 3…’

 

If I choose 1, there is a possibility of harming John.

 

‘Besides, the content in parentheses is very annoying…’

 

Since I became the main character in 『The Opponent of the Dragon』, it meant that I am the one who has to deal with that group in the end.

 

I didn’t know if it would be better to purify and leave than to leave behind a lot of waste for nothing.

 

Fortunately, option 3 seemed okay.

 

I chose 3 without hesitation.

 

At that moment, the stopped time began to flow again, and the man cut off his brother’s tongue.

 

“Ahhh!”

 

John’s scream echoed through the hall.

 

I turned my head away from seeing him.

 

― Use the Purification Stone to purify the source of thoughts. If there is no purification stone, you must use ‘Asta’.

 

I whispered to Aiden.

 

“Give me a purifying stone too.”

 

“What? Was that why…”

 

“Don’t ask, please.”

 

Aiden rummaged through his pockets at my uncommon, resolute voice.

 

Then he secretly placed the purification stone in my hand.

 

“Uwah! (my tongue!)”

 

The young man rolled on the floor with a blue tired face and cried out.

 

When the lord gestured as if he did not want to hear it, the knights dragged the young man out.

 

It looked like he was probably going to kill him.

 

“Stop.”

 

I commanded in a low but precise tone.

 

Then the lord raised the corner of his lips and raised his hand.

 

The knights stopped dragging him and waited.

 

“That’s right, I treated the child’s mother.”

 

“Tiarozety!”

 

Aiden shouted in shock.

 

Lexion looked back with a hard face.

 

“I thought so too.”

 

“Why do you want us to stay here?”

 

“Titi, you don’t have to listen.”

 

Lexion held my shoulder and restrained me.

 

He seemed to know my actions.

 

I measured the distance between the lord and us.

 

The lord was protected by the knights and was far away.

 

First, I spoke to the lord to narrow the distance.

 

“Lord, it’s okay, so tell me.”

 

“Please help stabilize the public mind in Hakun.”

 

“Don’t you think we’re too far apart for the request you were asking for?”

 

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

 

When I showed a friendly reaction, the lord willingly bid the knights.

 

One step, two steps.

 

As the distance with the lord narrowed, my heart was pounding.

 

‘I can’t make a mistake. I only have one chance.’

 

I measured the distance by fiddling with the purification stone.

 

After a while, the moment when the lord came right in front of me, I inserted the purification stone into the lord without hesitation.