CH 60

That night, a most unbearable incident took place.

The mayor’s daughter was murdered by the Hero Reid.

It all began back at dinner time, when she went to call him out of his room.

She had been enamored with the Hero ever since she heard about him and his party setting out on a journey to defeat the Demon King.

After spending several days imagining what sort of man he was, her wish finally came true.

Her heart bursted with love at the sight of the Hero Reid fighting to the bitter end even though he was alone and battered.

It was normally a servant’s job to come to his room and call him for dinner.

But she deliberately took on that role.

She was not the most beautiful woman in the world, but she was still attractive and confident in her own body.

She was at the thought of how lucky she would be if she could use this opportunity to get even closer to the Hero.

[Great Hero? Excuse me? Great Hero? Dinner is ready. Please let me take you there.] (Mayor’s daughter)

Looking nervous, she knocked on his door and called out to him.

But the man gave no response.

Not only that, but she could hear something like a mumbling curse coming from inside his room.

A series of inaudible and malicious shirt words leaked through the doorway.

What the…? What’s going on…? (Mayor’s daughter)

A chilling sensation ran through her.

Her breathing short and uneven, she turned the doorknob, and the door opened without resistance.

“G… Great Hero…? Dinner is ready…” (Mayor’s daughter)

With a crack of the hinges, the corridor light shone into the room, but the Hero Reid was nowhere to be seen.

She began to feel even more uneasy in this eerily quiet, foreign space.

“Great… Hero…? Um, where are you? Your meal is—” (Mayor’s daughter)

It all happened right after that.

Something dripped onto her feet.

She looked up in horror, and what she saw was the Hero skillfully clinging to the ceiling.

He was holding his weapon, a sword, between his teeth, showing his gums, and with his eyes wide open.

“EEEK!?” (Mayor’s daughter)

Seeing the man she had been dreaming about with such an indescribable look on his face made her yell without thinking.

In the next instant, he swung his sword as he landed on the floor.

And a geyser of blood spurted from her neck, soaking the whole room.

The resting room was immediately turned into a hellish bloodbath.

[Huff… Huff… Damn you… EVIL SPIRIT!!] (Reid)

He mounted the body of the woman on the floor, and tore off her clothes as if he was searching for a monster’s weak point.

He then swung down his sword multiple times at her exposed skin.

Like juice leaking from the skin of a fruit, her blood splattered out of her chest and into the floor.

『What the hell are you doing!? Stop! Cease that!』(“McLain”)

[RAAAAHH! …Huff…Huff…Huh? Eh? The… evil spirit… Where did that evil spirit who took the form of Angelica and kept hurling slander at me go!?] (Reid)

Reid came back to his senses when he suddenly heard McLain’s voice.

He calmly witnessed what he had done.

An innocent woman died.

With her lifeless eyes staring at him, and a look on her face that could be taken as either despair or anger, her life was senselessly brought to an end because of the Hero Reid.

『…This is the result of your actions. She was simply worried about you. And yet… You trampled on her goodwill.』(“McLain”)

[Ah… N-No, you’re wrong! This was just… some kind of accident!] (Reid)

『You call this an accident!?』(“McLain”)

The hallucinogenic McLain stood in front of Reid, with the sound of his footsteps echoing wildly.

With his face full of anger, the priest was staring straight at Reid, who was mentally worn out.

『Have you come this far as the Hero just so you could do this? Well!?』(“McLain”)

[No! This is a misunderstanding! What should I do!? What should I do…!?] (Reid)

『Are you still trying to run from the consequences this late in the game!? You imbecile! I guess this is the end of that righteousness of yours! When will you finally learn from your own stupidity!?』(“McLain”)

As McLain yelled at him, Raid leapt away from the mayor’s daughter and curled up against the wall, shivering.

But even then, McLain was relentlessly admonishing him.

『You’re gravely mistaken about yourself. That “righteousness” you’ve been fostering so far, was it truly mature and lawful enough to be considered just? Well? You rejected your environment and the people you couldn’t deal with… And because you never got your way, you deluded yourself into thinking you were just. Am I right!?』(“McLain”)

[N-No, no, no, NOOOO!! I’m… I’m fighting for the world… I swear…] (Reid)

『……ッ！？　レイド、なにを考えているやめろッ！』

『And since when does fighting for world mean killing one innocent person? …You need to understand. At this rate, you will never be the same again. I… wanted to help you. Believe me.』(“McLain”)

McLain observed the girl as she died, with Reid freezing and shivering beside her.

Because the Hero’s room and the place where the rest of the residence were located were far apart, no one was aware of the chaos that took place yet.

After offering his prayers for the tragic death of that girl under those circumstances, McLain walked over to Reid.

[Put down your sword, Reid, and go confess your sins. This is the only path left for you. Give up your life as the Hero, and spend it in atonement. Perhaps a terrible condemnation awaits you. You will inevitably be incriminated for that, but… You have to take this thorny path. …Come on, take my hand. Then let’s go.] (“McLain”)

McLain crouched down to make eye contact with Reid, and gently extended his hand to him.

He was no longer giving him a look of anger, but one of pity.

Reid stopped shaking, and his breathing was now more even.

However, this was only to mark the very beginning of an unimaginable course of action.

『…!? Reid, what the hell are you thinking!? Stop that!』(McLain)

Suddenly, McLain started looking glitchy, and his very existence was fading away.

The McLain in this room was a hallucination from Reid’s mind, and the very last bit of conscience in him, modeled after the priest.

And Reid was in complete denial of its existence.

Even if it was a hallucination, he had a large influence on it.

[“Atonement”? What are you talking about? I didn’t do anything wrong. You always run into difficulties on adventures. But there’s nothing I can’t handle.] (Reid)

『Reid, don’t do anything rash!! If you erase me, there’ll be no turning back for you… ever again!!』(“McLain”)

[Oh, shut up… I’m fighting for the sake of justice, and for the world. I can’t let this little setback stop me when I’ve come this far. I’ll take care of the rest somehow… Now get lost.] (Reid)

The moment he said those words, McLain screamed in agony and vanished.

A feeling similar to exhilaration permeated in Reid.

[Phew… I’m worn out. That’s right, I’m the Hero. The savior of the world. I can’t stop in my tracks just over one single insignificant death, for god’s sake. …Ah, right. I gotta hide this girl.] (Reid)

Reid turned his dark eyes towards the corpse of the girl and walked over to it. First, he sewed up her wounds with his own magic, then he cast an anti-decaying spell on it.

Afterwards, he took the body, which looked as good as new like nothing happened, and hid it in a closet.

Next, he took out a magic potion he found in his carriage from his pocket, and wiped up the blood splattered on the floor and walls.

It did not completely remove the stains, but if he did not let anyone enter the room, then surely no one would notice.

[Well, my clothes got dirty, but if I clean them up with some chemicals… There, that should do it. Now, time to enjoy a delicious dinner.] (Reid)

Saying that, Reid showed up at the dinner table as if nothing had happened.

[Sorry for being late, everyone. Hm? The lady of the house? Oh, well she went outside right after calling out to me. She said there was something she wanted to show me, so she went to fetch it.] (Reid)

[Yes, she insisted that we eat ahead of her. Then let’s take her up on her offer and eat. …Hm? My scent? Well, I just sprayed myself with a bit of magic drug. After all, since I’ve accepted your hospitality, I have to follow the right etiquette… Ahahaha! Yes, now then… I’m digging in.] (Reid)