Chapter 119: Hero (2)
The hero’s face became so stunned that she looked like she had lost her senses. Her pupils shook as if there was an earthquake.
It was a natural reaction.
It was because the biggest secret of the Holy Sword, which only she should know, had come out of someone else’s mouth.
The fact related to inheritance was unknown to anyone on the continent except for the Overlord of Calderic, the archdemons, and the hero.
“…!”
Suddenly, a huge energy burst out from the hero.
It’s not a killing intent, but rather an oppressive feeling that was close to hostility.
Despite the [Soul of the King], it was a power that could still make me tremble a little. This was the first time I had encountered such an opponent.
Even though the [Soul of the King] was a 9th grade skill, was it not fully effective against a level 99 hero?
“How…”
The hero’s voice seemed a little hoarse.
She looked at me with a glare and said,
“Explain, Seventh Lord. How do you know about the inheritance?”
If I didn’t answer properly, a chilling feeling as if my neck would be cut off right away compressed the space.
It felt like standing on a judgment seat surrounded by sharp blades on all sides, but I soon regained my composure.
Because my purpose was purely to assist the hero.
The ultimate goal of the hero and I could be considered almost the same.
Even if I didn’t give a proper answer to some of her more difficult question, I would only say the truth whenever I could, and the hero would know that I wasn’t lying by using her ability.
“First of all, I will say this before we get into the main subject.”
I crossed my arms and met the hero’s eyes.
“I cannot answer the question of how I know the secrets of the Holy Sword that only you and a few others should know.”
“….”
“But I swear everything I say is true, and the reason I cannot answer the question is not because I am hiding any intentions. It’s because telling you would be meaningless, and you wouldn’t understand it, anyway.”
The hero’s expression twisted slightly.
She probably thought I was talking nonsense. Nevertheless, she would know that everything I said just now was sincere.
“You are saying something that is difficult to believe. Answer the question properly. This is not the kind of problem that can be passed over like this.”
“That’s true. But can’t you at least listen to what I have to say?”
“….”
“You’re the one that had the advantage in this situation. If something bothers you, you can just cut my throat. Isn’t it better to do that after hearing my story?”
I deliberately spoke in a way that made it seem like I was risking my life.
It wasn’t entirely empty talk, but it was a bluff that I could make because I knew what the hero was like.
She would never harm an innocent person. That’s why she was the hero.
Just because I didn’t reveal my reasons until the end, it didn’t mean she would threaten or cut my throat.
“….”
The hero looked at me with a deeply troubled expression, but eventually nodded as if to say, “Tell me your story.”
…Okay, things were going smoothly up to this point.
This conversation with the hero was the most critical starting point for my future plans.
Depending on whether I could persuade her or not, the future would be completely different.
I organized my thoughts once again before starting to speak.
“As I mentioned before, I know about the succession of the Holy Sword.”
“…”
“And I also know that you don’t have much time left due to the after-effects of your battle with the Demon King. So we need to find the heir as soon as possible and let them inherit the power of the Holy Sword.”
The expression on the hero’s face seemed to stiffen slightly.
For her, I was revealing critical secrets one by one.
But she didn’t say anything and just listened quietly. As she mentioned earlier, she would just listen to my story for now.
Since there was no point in dragging it out, I got straight to the point.
“I know who the heir is.”
The hero’s eyes widened at my bombshell declaration.
She stuttered, “What…?”
“As I said. I know who the heir of the Holy Sword you’re looking for is.”
The heir.
At this point in time, the hero didn’t know anything about the heir. Not their race, gender, age, nothing.
She had only received a prophecy to find the heir somewhere in the world through the Holy Sword.
But I knew.
Playing RaSa, I knew a lot of information about the heir.
That information was the absolute card to persuade the hero in this conversation.
She was still in a state of restlessness, chasing after time and endlessly searching for the heir.
“It’s hard to believe you.”
It was the words uttered by the hero who had been silent for a while.
“Do you know who the heir of the Holy Sword is?”
Even so, the hero seemed extremely confused.
Because she knew I was saying the truth.
I nodded.
“Yes, I know.”
“How…?”
“As I’ve already said, I cannot answer that.”
“Are you asking me to believe that absurd story without even telling me the reason?”
“You have no choice but to believe me. You know very well that I am speaking only the truth, without a hint of falsehood.”
The hero seemed taken aback.
“So you knew about my abilities, too.”
“As I’ve said before, it doesn’t matter how I know these things. What matters is that I know who the heir of the Holy Sword is, and that it is the truth.”
I caught a glimpse of the hero’s expression.
It was clear that she was more agitated than before.
Now, the initiative in the conversation had passed to me.
“Do you understand now? I have the information you want more than anything else.”
“…”
“And this is not a story I brought up for the purpose of bargaining for something I want.”
The hero still seemed to not understand what I was trying to say.
I said forcefully.
“I will help you find the heir. That’s the only reason I brought up this story to you.”
The hero stared at me in silence.
I met her gaze, waiting for her response in silence.
“…This is confusing.”
The hero narrowed her eyes, trying to gauge my intentions with a perplexed expression.
It was natural for her to react this way when I suddenly offered my help.
After all, I wasn’t her ally, nor did I belong to Santea, and until a moment ago, I was just an outsider with no connection to her cause.
Moreover, I wasn’t even an ordinary person, but a Lord of Calderic, a position that made it natural to be hostile to the hero, and had no reason to help her.
However, I had no ulterior motives whatsoever.
There was no impure intention behind my desire to help the hero.
And that was all that mattered.
The ability to distinguish truth from falsehood in words was the strongest link of trust in such a situation.
“I swear it. I have no impure intentions in offering to help you.”
“Then why do you want to help me?”
“Our goals are the same. I want peace in the continent, and helping you, the hero, is the best way to achieve it.”
Yes, it was the best way.
To prevent the impending attack of the demons in the near future, this was the best and only way.
As far as I knew from the main story of RaSa, the resurrection of the Demon King was almost certain.
The only way to stop it was to go to the demon’s stronghold and destroy the Demon King’s resurrection base, but that was close to impossible.
If it were possible, would the hero waste time looking for the heir?
Even though the Demon King was sealed, the demons were still the strongest force on the continent.
They were currently lying low, cautiously planning to achieve a perfect victory unlike in the past.
The hero was barely maintaining a precarious balance as the deadline approached.
If the hero was in a normal condition, the story would be different, but…
Anyway, there was nothing the hero could do about it.
If it was possible, I would have made other plans, but no matter how much I thought about it, this was the only way.
To stop the resurrected Demon King, there must be the hero. Only the hero could stop the Demon King.
I couldn’t know for sure if my unique 10-star skill could work on the final boss of this world.
And even if it did work, it would be foolish to rely on it without any preparation.
So, this is the best option.
I would do everything I could to prepare for an uncertain and unpredictable future.
This was the first step.
“…”
The hero still looked like she couldn’t understand.
“You want peace for the continent?”
“Yes. Is that strange, when a Lord from Calderic desires peace?”
I spoke honestly and added;
“There’s nothing strange about it. I simply judged that only the hero with the power of the Holy Sword could stop the Demon King if he were to be resurrected. If we can’t stop the Demon King, this continent will be finished. Even if I am a Lord of Calderic, would I wish for the destruction of the world?”
Actually, there was nothing grand like a great cause to save the world for me.
First of all, if this world qs not safe, how could I guarantee the safety of my own life? So, I had no choice but to fight to survive.
“…Is that so?”
Anyway, although the hero didn’t completely dispel her doubts, she showed some signs of understanding.
Even if I didn’t completely gain her trust, it didn’t matter.
The important thing was to establish a cooperative relationship with the hero. And when it came to the issue of succession, the hero was more urgent than anyone else.
She would not be able to easily dismiss my proposal just because of her suspicion.
“Even if you don’t trust me, it doesn’t matter. Like I said, I don’t want a deal. If you want, I’ll share the information with you right now.”
“…!”
“I don’t even know the exact location of the heir. It will take some time to find them. Of course, if you help, it could be shortened.”
That was all I had to say.
“Now, I hope you can tell me your answer, hero. Will you cooperate with me to find the heir?”
The remaining decision was up to the hero.
For the hero, all of this would be sudden, so she couldn’t answer right away.
I waited calmly for her response.
She asked me, “Are you also going to accompany me in finding the heir?”
I nodded.
“I don’t plan on just giving you the information and watching from the other side of the river. This is an urgent matter for me as well.”
“…”
“Even if I don’t feel inclined to get involved, I can’t compromise on this. Working together to find the heir and providing information is the only condition.”
It was somewhat unsatisfactory to just give the hero information about the heir.
I also had to keep planning for the future while observing the situation.
Of course, it was also to increase the hero’s trust.
After a long silence, the hero spoke.
“…Alright.”
She said with a complicated look of mixed emotions.
“Seventh Lord, I will cooperate with you.”
