Just hearing Mide’s voice was enough to make Kaeld feel like he was about to lose his mind.

That inferiority he had felt toward Mide since their very first encounter.

The envy he had harbored for the man who overcame every obstacle and scheme to steadily build his reputation.

And now, the overwhelming difference between them, a gap so wide that there was no longer any competition in terms of fame.

The anger that had been building for so long burned fiercely in Kaeld’s chest.

‘C… calm down.’

First, he needed to find out where the voice was coming from.

He quickly scanned his surroundings.

Soon, he spotted a communication orb installed beside the fountain in the village square.

‘That’s not a normal transmission tone. Hm, so he has added some magical enhancement to it.’

So this was how he gave those continent-wide speeches during that dirty political mess.

At that moment, Mide’s voice came again from beyond the orb.

–As a hero recognized by all of you, I sincerely pray for everyone’s peace and well-being today as always.

What a nauseating line.

Tch.

Kaeld spat on the ground.

But the reactions around him couldn’t have been more different.

“It’s Sir Mide!”

“His voice is so good, even now.”

“I heard he is incredibly handsome too.”

“Shh. I can’t hear. Keep your voice down.”

Mide spoke again.

–Today, I have an important announcement to make.

But before that, there’s something I want to show you.

To explain in advance, this is a recording of a conversation I had with His Majesty the Emperor, ruler of the Empire.

After preventing the great flood, I had an audience with His Majesty.

And I reported to him many of the secrets of this world that I have uncovered.

His Majesty and I agreed that these truths must be known to all people of the continent.

For you to know the truth of this world is itself a great blow to the Demon King of Lies.

Just like during the great flood, this time too, you will save yourselves.

“Sniff… sniff.”

Some people around him were already tearing up.

Even during the great flood, Mide had declared that humanity must save itself.

For ordinary people who had always lived as those being saved, that declaration struck a deep chord.

Hearing the same words again now, tears came naturally to their eyes.

Kaeld tensed.

‘What is he planning this time?’

–Now then, I will show you the truth of the world through this vision.

In an instant, Kaeld’s vision changed.

‘Append View!’

It was a spell Kaeld himself had experienced once, during the great Tetra earthquake.

In the new view, Mide was speaking with the Emperor.

That alone wasn’t surprising, Kaeld himself had once faced the Emperor too.

The truly shocking thing was that the same vision was being broadcast to everyone across the continent simultaneously.

“Huh? My sight just changed.”

“He said he was going to show something, right? This must be it.”

“Wow, amazing. I felt it last time too, how is this even possible? Can the hero use magic too?”

“To be precise, last time was an illusion. This time he said it’s real.”

“Maybe it’s the work of the Saint of Compulsion?”

At that last remark, Kaeld bit his lip.

Of course it was the Witch of Carnage, Neril’s doing.

‘But… was that witch ever capable of this much? No, impossible.’

She must also be using fame as a source of power.

Why can’t I do that?

Kaeld shook his head and refocused on the vision.

In the image, Mide spoke.

“Hmm, where should I begin?”

Not “where should I begin” he started from the very beginning and told everything.

That Idria had tried to turn Kaeld Wake into a fake hero to harvest power from it.

That the Celestial God was, in truth, a human named Adin Press.

That beneath the Imperial Palace slept an unknown monster called Velosian.

And even…

“So you’re saying Velosian is trying to raise Kaeld anew?”

“Yes. Idria and Velosian have turned against each other. Velosian, like Idria, is a Demon King of Lies.”

“…”

“To distinguish between them, perhaps we should call him a Great Demon King. In any case, Velosian plans to use Kaeld as his puppet.”

At that, a twitch appeared on Mide’s lips.

“Kaeld may once have been a rival of sorts, but at this point, I must say it with all due feeling, he is the enemy of humanity.”

“…”

“How can someone who was once human side with the Demon Kings? And twice, no less.”

“Hmm.”

“It’s not because I’m biased. Ask anyone in the world and they will tell you the same, he is a trash.”

The Emperor nodded deeply in agreement.

“To think I once considered such a man a hero. On behalf of the Empire, I apologize.”

“Your Majesty, please retract your words. It was a scheme orchestrated by the Demon King of Lies herself. Anyone could have been deceived.”

“I’m relieved nonetheless. Humanity now has a new hope, Sir Mide.”

“Ahem.”

Kaeld staggered.

This was dangerous.

Velosian had once advised him that by absorbing Adin’s remaining fame, he could barely regain about 800,000 points.

But Velosian had also warned him, if his fame fell again, it might all be lost.

‘D… damn it. So this is how he is playing it.’

What now?

Should he just kill Mide before it’s too late?

While he was thinking that, the vision ended.

And once again, Mide’s voice came from the communication orb.

–Everyone, did you see it clearly?

I stake my name, my honor as a hero, and everything I have built up until now to tell you…

Everything I said in that video is true.

Murmur murmur.

The crowd around him began to buzz.

“I… I think we just heard too much.”

“Where do we even start talking about this?”

“Obviously with Kaeld! Idria and Velosian aren’t even human. But Kaeld is!”

“Yeah. A human siding with Demon Kings… twice, even.”

“My god…”

Kaeld felt his stomach twist.

He staggered into a narrow alley.

“Uwaaaagh!”

And vomited up bitter stomach acid.

He hadn’t eaten anything, so nothing came out.

That somehow made him feel even worse.

Even as he retched, Mide’s voice continued.

–Soon, my party and I will face Idria in battle.

Kaeld froze where he stood.

–For that, we will be making our final preparations. The location I have chosen for that is called the “Starting Point.”

Yes, that’s right. The very place that the lowly human named Adin once declared forbidden while pretending to be the Celestial God.

The Starting Point can be called the place where all the lies that have deceived you until now began.

If one were to choose the most deceit-soaked place in the world, it would undoubtedly be number one.

It’s there that I intend to steel my resolve to face Idria.

Once my resolve is set, the battle against Idria will begin.

And I plan to show that to all of you.

Let us witness together the fall of the Demon King.

Once again, I earnestly ask this of you.

This isn’t about believing in me.

Believe in yourselves.

Let no lie ever again shake your hearts.

Do that, and I will bring victory to humanity.

Thank you all. Have a wonderful day.

Click.

At last, that bastard Mide’s voice fell silent.

Kaeld wiped his mouth.

‘My fame… Is my fame all right?’

Unlike Mide, he couldn’t directly check his fame.

But he could feel it instinctively.

His fame was plummeting, fast enough to be dangerous.

‘If I kill Mide now… He said he would stay at the Starting Point, didn’t he?’

Kaeld wasn’t a complete fool.

He knew that Mide’s so-called speech was meant to lure him out.

A trap. An utterly obvious trap.

‘But…’

What if killing Mide could turn things around?

‘.…’

It could work!

‘Velosian transferred Adin’s fame to me.’

So why not the same thing now?

If I kill Mide, wouldn’t his fame be transferred to me too?

Still, Velosian had told him to stay hidden no matter what.

What should I do?

Thud.

He sank down in the alley.

Clutching his head, he groaned in torment.

“Damn it. Damn it all! What the hell am I supposed to do?!”

***

Under the pretext of a speech but with the real purpose of setting a trap, we immediately moved to the Starting Point.

By the time we arrived, night had fallen.

After getting off the carriage from Agril, we began setting up camp.

As we sat around the crackling campfire, Neril spoke.

“It feels strange to be here again.”

“What do you mean?”

“Every time we came here, I was always on edge.”

True enough. Whether it was when we came to ask an oracle from Adin or to reclaim Agril, both times we had risked our lives.

Lisel fiddled with her trumpet for no reason and said,

“Hehe. Should I play a little? I’m actually pretty good with instruments.”

“Huh?”

“Well, my mother….”

Serein quickly cut in.

“If you’re going to brag again, forget it.”

“It’s just the truth.”

“Still, I would like to hear you play. It’s too quiet out here.”

Everyone turned to me.

Well, Adin’s dead anyway, what’s the harm?

I nodded, and Lisel lifted the trumpet to her lips.

Ba-bam. Baaaaaam.

The tone she produced was mournful yet full of feeling.

I had only ever heard trumpets used in military marches or parades, but I hadn’t realized one could make such a wistful sound.

We let Lisel’s music accompany our conversation like an appetizer.

Adwin asked,

“Do you think Kaeld will really come?”

“He will come. Without a doubt.”

“Because his fame is being chipped away in real time by your speech? I agree with that much, but…”

He scratched his head.

“Even for an idiot like Kaeld, it was too obvious. The fact that this is a trap.”

“Yeah. We didn’t even try to hide it. We even told him exactly where we would be waiting.”

“Even if he is full of confidence after receiving Velosian’s power, he has already been beaten by you several times. Wouldn’t he have at least learned something from that?”

I smirked.

“I would like to say no… but that’s not quite true. Kaeld’s not that dull. He probably wouldn’t come… under normal circumstances.”

“Huh?”

“But he will see a sliver of hope.”

His fame was dropping by the second.

He might not be able to see the exact numbers, but just walking around any territory, he would feel it.

He would know he was falling hopelessly behind me.

Cornered, he would cling to one desperate thought.

“Killing me, that’s Kaeld’s hope.”

“What? Oh!”

“Yeah. Velosian transferred Adin’s leftover scraps of fame to Kaeld by killing him. You can’t transfer the fame of someone who is still alive.”

“…”

“The more his fame drops, the more desperate he will become. In the end, he will come for me, to kill me and steal my fame. It’s his last chance.”

Hope is a terrifying thing.

Rationally, you know not to walk into a trap that obvious. But hope numbs that reason.

Offense chimed in.

“He is not just after you, though.”

“Huh?”

“We have got our own fair share of fame, don’t we? Speaking of which, how are our numbers looking these days?”

Xenia spoke teasingly.

“Our reliable ‘first hero,’ please confirm.”

[Oh, for crying out loud. The first hero was Impelium to begin with.]

“What is Trail saying?”

“He says it sounds nice, so keep calling him that.”

“Pfft.”

[When did I ever say that?!]

Trail protested, but soon pulled up the screen.

Mide Mohan / Total Fame: 1,220,900

Neril Slane / Total Fame: 727,160

Xenia Seide / Total Fame: 714,390

Adwin Ayn / Total Fame: 708,500

Offense Dake / Total Fame: 690,970

Lisel Vint / Total Fame: 689,400

Serein Magnus / Total Fame: 676,880

When I read out the numbers, Offense nodded.

“See?”

“See what?”

“If the bait in our trap were only you, Mide Mohan, Kaeld might hesitate. But here we have got six others, each with around seven hundred thousand fame.”

My expression stiffened.

Offense smirked.

“Don’t tell me you didn’t think of that?”

“Ahem, well…”

“He won’t just want to kill you, Mide. He will want to kill all of us, and take all our fame for himself. Let’s see… how much would that be? Hah, I can’t even calculate it.”

As I started thinking, Serein quickly counted on her fingers and said,

“Over 5.4 million. To be exact, 5,428,200.”

A mind-numbing, almost incomprehensible number.

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